#heads I take Benadryl tails I… also take Benadryl!!!

[myorgansaremelting]

Flip a coin except whatever it lands on is me doing what I want anyway

[balloonboyismyson]

I am getting sick and my only saving grace has been to think about how my FNAF crushes would act finding out Y/N is sick 🙏

So headcanon time, how would the Glamrocks (and Sean mayhaps) act finding out Y/N came into work sick and is trying to act normal about it (and failing)

OOOOOHH OKAY HEADCANON TIME (I hope it is just a fluke and you do not end up actually getting sick)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Freddy would most certainly recognize your posture and demeanor first. Instantly, he races to you and makes you face him. With one scan, he can tell just what ailments you have. You attempt-in vain-to tell him you are fine, but he interrupts you with all the information he has received: "Runny nose, itchy and sore throat, fever, cold sweats, coughing and fatigue. You also appear to be having a mild allergic reaction to Dayquil." You try telling him it is all you had, but he brings you to a first-aid station in an attempt to scrounge up some benadryl and ice packs. Afterwards, he brings you back to his room and lays you on the couch.

Roxy notices your skin first. It is extremely dry, and your lips are extremely chapped. "What're you doing here?? You need to lay down now, you look like you're gonna pass out!" Since it is a Saturday, you try to tell her that you are hungover, but she rolls her eyes at you. "Someone who's hungover wouldn't be able to walk two steps in here without sunglasses as dark as Monty's." She orders you to go lie down on her couch and sleep. You try to remind her you are here for your job, but she has already moved on and is preoccupied brushing her hair. After a moment of not moving, she snaps her fingers and points to her couch. You walk over with your metaphorical tail between your legs and get comfortable.

Monty gets the wrong impression when you first step in his greenroom. He sprints over to you, his face painted with concern. "Hey did somethin' happen?? 'Re you okay??" When you meet his gaze, he softens. "Oh. Caught a bug?" You shake your head and tell him it is just allergies. Even through his sunglasses you can see him squint at you. "Tch'yeah. 'Kay. 'N' I'm a crocodile." You look away from him and attempt to steer the conversation to your nightly duties. "102.2" He states. You quirk a brow and question the number he gives you. "You're 102.2°F." You try to tell him you are not that bad, but before you can he picks you up, plops down on the couch and places you on top of him. You bring up your job, but he cuts you off. "Don't care."

Chica can hear just how awful you are in your voice when you greet her. "Woah!" She yells as she covers her beak and runs over to scan you. Once she is done she wastes no time grabbing your hand and back. "C'mere, c'mere now, easy does it." She leads you and sets you down on her surprisingly comfortable chair. Before you have time to de-escalate the situation, she is already out of the room. After a few minutes she returns with a few ice packs, water bottles and some benadryl. Again, you attempt to speak, but she shuts you down. "Here, take this!" Since she is the one who deals with sick and hurt kids the most, you give up on trying to stop her and take the meds.

---

Sean goes to greet you when you walk in the room but is cut short by seeing how miserable you look. "Woah my god!" He quickly puts his things down and makes his way over to guide you to the nearest table. He reaches in his chest compartment and pulls out a small package of tissues for you. "What made you come in!?" You try to convince him you had just been standing in the cold for a bit and needed to warm up, but he looks at you with a low-lid stare. "Sorry shortstack, but the cold doesn't make you sound like that." You clam up and try to find a different excuse, but he cuts you off. "How 'bout this. You go find an employee break room somewhere and I'll finish your shift for you." Your eyes widen and you tell him that you are fine and are totally capable of doing it. "You deserve a break," He smiles, "and some much needed rest." Then, he gets up to see you to the break room.

[glitchyk]

Average day

DP Episode it takes place: none

Got bored so like… made another one of these, not an official episode, more like an in between chapter- basically y’all get fanfiction written of this but I’m too lazy to put it like in Quotev or some other shit/silly

Also yes it’s short I got lazy, take the filler, knave/j/silly

Just wanted to show you what a day can sorta look like

Favorite quote from the ‘episode’: “He wishes he was a twink” - Kay

||MAIN PAGE|| ||Previous ‘episode’|| ||next ‘episode’||

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“—And than it like blew up!”

Kay was just standing in her apartment, unamused, as some odd substance was splattered all over the floor. She just took a sip out of the mug of chocolate milk, “…Okay then.”

Kai turned to Creak who was looming nearby as usual, “Can someone remind me why the child knows witchcraft?”

“I am not a child,” Edith huffed as she crossed her arms, a slight glare in their red eyes, “I simply slipped up on an ingredient, that’s all.”

Tabitha propped her legs on the coffee table, arms crossed behind her head, “At least it wasn’t on the carpet.”

“At least it wasn’t on the carpet.” Kay mirrored in a tired tone, man, it was too early for this shit. It was like.. two in the morning, great. “I think I’m gonna go back to bed.”

Kay than promptly phased through the nearest wall, going into her room, only to hear a gasp and get dragged back, “The fuck-“

“Woah kid- when were you gonna tell me you could do that?” Tabitha asked, to which Kay just shrugged.

“I knew she could do that” Lilith said, looking bored as hell as they kicked briefly at the spilt substance, “I just kinda forgot for a bit.”

“Okay but are we not gonna talk about how weird it is?” The older woman asked, looking around the room.

Creak responded in their ghost speak murmurs, Kay just gave them a look, “…Sometimes I forget it’s not really normal to be half dead.”

“I wonder why death let that slip.” Kai snickered and halfheartedly said, “Maybe they’re losing their touch.”

“Death- I- what?” Kay just mumbled tiredly, “dude I have school later.. I don’t know what the hell you guys are talking about.” She was just tired and had school later on today. “This is more confusing than when I took 17 Benadryl and was seeing the hat man.”

“The who-“ Kai started, only to have Kay go back into her room, god damn, they just wanted to drink their chocolate milk and vibe.

A ‘blob ghost’ made a little purr like noise as it nuzzled into the couch, Catpooto’s eyes dilated as they then attempted to pounce on one.. as usual.

Tabitha adjusted how she was sitting, leaning on the side of the couch as she suddenly remembered something, “Oh wait- did you guys hear what happened just like.. a couple days back?”

Kai shook his head, “I have no idea.. and I’d rather not deal with mortal affairs” he mumbled, the ghostly wisp of a tail shifting as he sat nearby.

“Pff, you’re acting as if you aren’t a deceased soul yourself.”

“Just spit it out.”

“Apparently some others slipped through the old man’s portal and caused some problem’s at Kay-Kay’s school. Some ghost kid dealt with them.”

Lee gave Tabitha a bit of an unamused glance, almost a glare. Kai chimed in, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree on his statement, why should we care?”

“Pretty gay that you can read him so easily.” Tabitha teased, she just was doing this to fuck with them, since she knew damn well how much they argued

“Go die- again.”

——

“Jaaazzzzzzz” Kay groaned, head laying face first on the table in front of them, to which the redhead seemed unamused

“You know, you need to start having a proper sleep schedule, you’re not staying up all night on your phone, are you?” Jazz asked on her usual tone, as if she knew everything… not to say she didn’t deserve to use that tone, she was right a lot of the time.

“I’m fucking and balling it” Kay stated sarcastically, finger guns pointed at Jazz.

“..That’s a crude term.”

Kay rolled her eyes halfheartedly, unable to contain a small smile, “It means I’m just kinda going with the flow, miss psychologist extraordinaire.”

Jazz just nudged her friend in a playful manner, “You’re lucky we’re friends.” The redhead stated playfully.

“Yeah, I really am aren’t I?” Kay smiled a bit, Jazz giving a small smile back, Kay just looked into her eyes, that shade of blue.

For a moment, she was gone, she wasn’t in that place, she was in that white space again. Yet the floor this time was a reflection, she looked down and there it was, her ghost form she saw instead of human. Those eyes, two different blues, staring back up at her, Jazz’ somewhat reminded her of one of those blues. It still felt odd, looking and seeing that it was her.

Jazz noticed her friend zoning out, a slight frown on her face, she gently shook Kay’s arm, “Kay?” She could see the brunette’s pupils return to normal shape, focusing, as she did so. A slight frown, she was joking about the sleep before, but, Kay did seem kinda.. off.

“Oh, uh… sorry. I was studying all last night.” They threw out an excuse, it would probably be hard to explain to jazz, all this ghost shit.. especially with Jazz not believing in ghosts. And Kay didn’t exactly want to get thrown into a psych ward or be thrown oh a vivisection table by her friend’s parents.

Vivisection? Dissection? Yeah she didn’t know, technically being half dead, or would it matter which form she’s in, if it’s like, vivisection or dissection? Oh she’s not going down that rabbit hole right now.

Jazz, as she always was, seemed to be worrying over the younger teen, big sister complex much? She gave Kay’s arm a little reinforcing pat, “You can talk to me if you need to.”

Kay had a bit of a smile on her face at that remark as she nudged Jazz playfully, “You tell me that every day.”

“That’s because your fragile little teenage mind needs to be reminded.”

“I’m only like two years younger than you-“ Ah shit, that was the bell, “Anndd there goes study hall.”

“Nasty burger at 4?”

“Nasty Burger at 4.” Kay added sarcastically, “If I’m not asleep, see ya then. The two left, going to their respective classes, Kay let out a sigh, leaning against her locker for a moment.

“Fuck this seasonal prison, for real, man.” Kay grumbled to herself, she hated school, it just was so much repetition.. so fucking much. But.. it’s like the only non ghost interactions she had, aside from her legal guardian- basically this woman that checked up on her every now and again.

She didn’t want to go to class, it would be annoying to have to deal with the bullshit of math class, but at least she didn’t have that annoying of classmates… unlike in some classes, like when she was stuck in Mr.Lancer’s class, it seemed like half the people she could recognize by name were there, including some bitchy jocks, and girls that never stopped gossiping with some petty shit.

Geez, she hated that class, at least she got left alone most of the time. It was probably after she threatened to gouge someone’s eye out that they decided to shut the fuck up.

All she could do was wait until class was over, than she could hang out with Jazz, or just Kay down at home, even some annoying comments from her roommates were better than dealing with some of the annoying ass kids here.

Most of the time was just her doodling in a lined notebook, and the static in their mind slowly growing, eventually the noise of the teacher talking was just a dull noise, unfortunately, little moments like this were common, just disassociating in class… fun. Really damn fun. It helped the day go by quicker at least.

Her eyes snapped open again as she registered the bell ringing, looking down at the notebook, notes scribbled throughout it, just rubbing her eyes as if she was simply tired and it would go away. It would.. after a bit.

Next was gym. Fuck. Gym. She hated that class.. it wasn’t too bad, just walking around the gym over and over again basically. Fucking sucked to have some jocks in the class— at least, having someone like Dash in the class, what was mostly annoying was that he wouldn’t stop fucking around with others.

That was basically his personality at this point-

“Dash messing with twinky again?” Someone asked aloud, some people talking amongst themselves.

Kay huffed and stated, “He wishes he was a twink,” she added, “at least some people would like him. He’s really bringing the ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype up.”

“Pfh-“ Tucker snickered, only to see the Jock’s attention turn to him.

Sam had her arms crossed and stated plainly, “You should run.”

“Yeah I should run-“

Kay just went back into the girls locker room as the poor guy got chased around, yeah, she didn’t give enough of a shit about gym to be doing this, she grabbed something from her bag when she felt that odd feeling again, seeing what looked like a mist of sorts come out of their mouth, they looked around. That only happens when they’re at home, and when they saw ghosts, so they could only assume it detects ghosts, “Oh hell no..” they mumbled, yeah, it was going to be a pain in the ass if ANOTHER lunch lady type incident at school happened.

She looked around, it must be close, right? Not like all ghosts were bad, she should know with how many she lives with- but god damnit it was gonna be annoying if it was a malicious ghost.

There was a crash in the corner of the locker room, “HEY!” Kay shouted over there, she only saw a glimpse of something black and white in the corner of her eye, but when she looked.. there was just some toppled over supplies and bags. She groaned, “Nothing, I guess…” maybe the stuff that’s been happening recently was just getting to her head..?

“Yeomans! What’s going on in there?” She heard the shout of the teacher, grumbling under her breath.

“It’s nothing, just forgot to take my jewelry off like you said.” What was she going to say, ‘I saw a ghost’? Psh, these people don’t pay enough attention to the world around them, they’d think she’s crazy.

“Just another day..” she mumbled to herself, before reluctantly going back to the class.

[tj-crochets]

Hey y’all! Crafting update! - the Benadryl Hamster (his name is Herman P Hampster the third) is still waiting for ears and possibly limbs. He will definitely get the ears! And then I will decide about limbs.  - I have another grumpy bunny about halfway done, made by request for a friend of mine. The ears, feet, legs, and arms are sewn, so just the body, tail, and head left before it’s So Much Handsewing Time - after that I think it’s time I make another auction fill item, which will be (depending on my spoon levels) either another Bucky Bear or crocodile Loki - then either a teddy bear (for a different friend) or quilting one of the quilt tops I have sitting around - also somewhere in there I gotta finish the donut chair for the Hypothetical Dollhouse, because the pieces of that are taking up all the space on my ironing board and I need that for the teddy bear

[akki-rre]

Starting Over

Characters : Diluc x F!reader

N/A: smol fluff, I can't stand a diluc fic without fluff.

Mentions of death too ( Crepus)

Diluc

As a Knight of Favonius, you have kept the City of Freedom to be free as the wind for the children to play at along with your fellow knights.

You sacrificed everything you have been needing for yourself to Mondstadt, even your love life.

But as time passes by, You have been accompanied by a certain bard, a nun and a fellow knight.

In the tavern, with Venti passed out by the counter, and everyone else being happy with a non-eventful joyous day as you drank your drink of choice.

"I still can't believe people likes grape juice" kaeya puts up his signature grin, like every other day I mean, with a mocking joke to pair it with.

" let her be idiot, atleast she doesn't drink till she pass out like a certain bard " she gave venti glimpse as he just raised his head from his "Naptime"

" Heyyyyyy at least I didn't become a nun and do nothing but drink" he slurs in his words but still got it out off his mouth.

Kaeya just looks at Rosaria with a grin, clearly trying to hold it in.

" Well I still give prayers to bartobas- barto- benadryl?- " Rosaria tried to think while sipping on her drink.

And you were just there trying to process the whole conversation.

Venti stood up, " Hey-! My name is not pronounce benadr-"

As venti goes on and on with his words, you caught a glimpse of a red strand by the door.

" It would be nice if you go home now, Venti " Diluc gave venti a glare as he walks behind the counter with a box and telling Charles that he will be taking over.

"....While I'm being nice Venti " He looks at him with a small smile as he puts down the box carefully, but you and the gang knew that's fake.

Yeah... You all knew it all too well.

" Or what??" Venti gives off a stupid smirk to him as Diluc took out what's in the box.

" No way-" Rosaria said quietly- Diluc took out a cat, a stray cat-

Wait... Isn't that the cat you have been feeding for the past months by the gate??

As soon as venti saw the cat he usher to the door as he bid goodbye to Diluc and the gang.

Kaeya and Rosaria also went on their way.

It's only you and him.

With the other people too.

You didn't want to leave yet, atleast, your heart said so.

Everytime you go to the tavern, it feels nostalgic.

But Dawn winery... That place feels like home...

Time passes by it was midnight.

Diluc went to the cellar a few hours ago while you stare at your 7th cup??... You didn't count.

You saw a glimpse of tail around where kaeya sat.

It was the black cat.

She probably recognized you.

She Snickers throught the legs of the chairs to your feet.

You picked her up and caresses her fur.

It was quite soft.

"... You remind me of someone little one" you whisper to the cat who was enjoying the petting session.

You smile at it as he snuggles to your hands. ""She really is like him"" you spoke to yourself.

" It seems he likes you" a voices comes out of the door at the employee's room as you saw who it was.

"Ah yes; you may not know, but it's also the cat I have been looking after... Well I seem to be looking after" you told him while staring at the cat who jumped off to go to Diluc.

" And also... It's a she" you told him

"....I see. Well I have been seeing him around the Gates hanging around with the ... Knights." he seem to grit his teeth on the last word.

You looked down on your hands, you were gripping on your shirt as you remember that you are one of those people he..

Despised.

" It's getting late, you should go home" he told you while cleaning a glass cup.

You looked at the clock, it was around 1-2 am already.

' Time flies fast...' you told yourself.

You were about to stand up and clean the table you have been occupying until-

" I'll handle that instead" in a second, you saw him beside you with a rag, cleaning the table as you assemble the cups your- friends used earlier.

You looked at him

He smells like sandalwood...

"...../n? Y/n?? " He called for you as you were staring at his face in awe.

You realized what you were doing and you went red with embarrassment.

"M-my apologies - I should go" you headed to the door as you saw the cat behind him.

You walked to her to carress her for the last time of the day.

" Your such a good girl.." you said quietly as you pat her.

" Her???" Diluc asks you as he went to the counter and clean his station.

" Yes her--- wait you didn't know it was a she?? " You smiled at him, about to laugh to his mistake of the gender.

He looked at you, you were the same as ever.

A gentle smile that can awe everyone... Including him

He brushed it off as soon as he remembers what he did to you

The awful mistake he did to you...

"... Do you mind if I walk you home?" He asked as he awkwardly stares at- nothing-

You chuckled as you knew the awkwardness too well as you agreed and waited for him because if you declined, he'd request to walk you home again.

As both of you are walking down the path to the City, you were entertained either way.

"Im Sorry if this will bother you but... Did anything interesting had happened to you for the past 4 years before when you were still.. y'know.." you asked shyly, scratching your neck as you look away.

He was about to speak but you interupted him.

" Don't bother, my sincere apologies for even asking such sensitive question" you apologized as you thought that you really shouldnt have asked that.

Diluc stared at you.

"...I have traveled across teyvat" He continued to walk at your pace, which has got your attention.

He told you stories of the days he spent on every nation he'd been through.

About how the famous liyue really was a magnificent view with high mountains that can even make a dull man surprised

About how he invaded snezhnaya and even got banned and will sure get in a bigger collision if he even ever set foot on the land.

You enjoyed his company.

It has always been like this.

Where did it ever go wrong..?

-----

It was Diluc's birthday.

A joyful birthday turned into, something undescribable

The day he lost his father, and brother.

And the day he lost you..

He stopped walking as you walk further, not noticing him.

"...Y/n." He called your name

You glanced at him while tucking a hair behind your ear.

It has gotten windy.

You may think you look messy right now. Wearing your favourite dress whenever it's your day off.

But to him, You look Ethereal.

He chuckled to himself as he walked to your side again.

"It was nothing" He smiled to you.

You knew what this meant. You know him well.

He feels guilty again. And and again.

"I told you I have forgiven you, Diluc" you have arrived at your abode. You open the door to your house as you were about to go in. He grabbed your wrist ever so gently.

"Can I perhaps, some of your time again tommorow?" He wanted to catch up to you. Apologize again and.. even start over again.

You held his hand within your hands. You have really forgiven him but, it indeed hurt.

" Yes you can. At windrise in the afternoon tomorrow okay?" You reassured him with a smile.

He doesn't need to worry no more.

But it'll take long to redeem you to himself again.

He'll wait for you. Even if it took an Eternity.

N/A: This was supposed to be part of my other work, but it went the wrong path and it went- lovey dovey and it's Soo rushed huhu it's 12 am

[i-need-entertainment]

Haikyuu!! Boys as Bad Dad moments

Characters: Akaashi, Washio, Konoha, Kita, Suna, Ushijima, Yahaba, Iwaizumi, Futakuchi, Daishou and Numai

**These are ways they “failed” as fathers. I am not talking about ACTUALLY failing as fathers, just things dads have done that most of us either remember/get told about NOT TO BE TAKEN  S E R I O U S L Y  it is just for      f u n  I also gave them all at least 2 kids cause SibLiNgS**

A ‘*’ means it happened to me lol

TW- Mentions of giving too much medicine, accidental pain caused to child, these are things I either experienced/knew people who experienced them, allusion to cursing/a FEW bad words (but I substitute a letter for something else :)

*Akaashi Keiji: 

He had been working in his office when his son had come in.

You had been putting your newborn to sleep for a nap when your son decided he wanted to be with his dad.

His son was only 3, so when Akaashi was held up in his office editing his son, Kenji, would sometimes come in and plop himself in Akaashi’s lap.

His sons small feel padded on the floor while he made his way to his father, softly tugging on his pants as he stuck his arms up.

Akaashi smiled and softly chuckled before gently picking up his son from under his arms and placing him on his lap.

He got to work soon after, reading and revising the pages.

Other than having his son on his lap it wasn’t unusual for him to be drinking coffee while working.

Keep in mind, your son had inherited a lot from Akaashi, and not just his looks or personality.

But also his habits.

Because of this, your son was very fidgety, usually toying with a string or your fingers.

That meant he tended to move around a lot.

Akaashi had just lifted his not-so-cold coffee to his lips when his son had made a sudden movement, causing him to knock his arm and, “AHH” Akaashi’s eyes snapped open as his son started crying, cursing under his breath he stood up gently holding his son in his arms as he carried him to the bathroom.

Sitting him down on the counter he dried the coffee off of his son, luckily it hadn’t been hot enough to burn him, but it was still hot enough to hurt.

“What happened? I heard crying, is he okay?” Akaashi sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, he’s okay, he bumped my arm and I spilled my coffee on him. He’s okay! It didn’t burn him, but it did hurt...” Your frowned as you stood in front of your son, giving him a soft smile before kissing his arm, cause kisses always make it feel better~

You carefully picked him up from the counter, rocking him slowly side to side as he burrowed into your shoulder.

“Are you okay little man~” He nodded as he sniffled into your shoulder, little hands clutching onto the fabric of your t-shirt.

“You know daddy didn’t mean it, it was an accident.” He nodded again, lifting his head to rub his eyes and reach out for his dad.

Akaashi gave a wobbly smile before reaching over to grab him, kissing the top of his head as he carried him back to his office, making sure to have some iced coffee instead.

Washio Tatsuki: 

This would be the first time Washio was left alone with the twins.

5 months ago, you and your husband had had your first children, your adorable fraternal twins Natsuki and Tatsuo.

Today would be the first day you would be away from them, but with your mother being sick and you being the only one available to take care of her you had to go.

You weren’t too worried about your husband, he was already a good dad so you had no doubt they were in good hands.

But it was never an enjoyable experience to have to leave your kids, especially your babies, and for the first time. 

So, you decided to leave early in the morning, give them their good morning kisses and head over to your parents house.

Before you left you changed their diapers, letting them play in their little play pen while your husband tried to get up.

Rubbing his eyes Washio walked into the play room.

He had to go to the gym today for a meeting, fortunately EJP had a really good daycare system in the stadium, so he could leave his kids there while he attended the short meeting.

He stopped in his tracks as his face blanched and he felt his breath stop.

You had changed the twins’ diapers...but you hadn’t dressed them.

The twins were still young, so without looking at their, uh, biological differences you couldn’t tell them apart....

Now, usually when this happened you guys would just check the diapers, but you had just done them..

And he was already running a bit late.

So, he made his best guess, got them dressed (one in pink, the other in blue), fed and in the car driving them to the stadium.

Once he got there he quickly dropped them off, rushing to his meeting.

The meeting had been fairly simple, just some pre-season info he’d need.

After chatting with his coach/teammates, and stopping Suna and Komori from pulling a prank, he made his way back to the daycare.

He walked into the building when one of the younger care takers, Yui, walked up to him, One twin in each arm.

He smiled as he carefully put them into their carriers.

“Uhm, just a question...” He looked up to her and motioned for her to continue.

“...Were you aware that Tatsuo was wearing the dress?” Washio sighed as he ran a hand down his face shaking his head. Yui light heartedly smiled, “Don’t worry, we switched them.” Thanking them, he picked up his babies and went home.

He was not prepared for the way you cackled when he told you what happened.

*Konoha Akinori: 

You had gone away for a business trip, leaving your husband Konoha home with your 3 kids. (You guys have 2 girls and a boy)

Your middlest child, your son Akira, had recently come down with a cold making the poor thing miserable when he tried to sleep.

Being the good dad that he is, he gave his son some benadryl!

The next morning he woke up, and after letting his kids sleep in for a little bit he woke them up too.

...two of them.

He tried several times to get his son to leave his bed, but the little kid couldn’t so much as swing one foot over the side of his bed with out falling asleep again.

He didn’t think too much of it, the kid had a cold after all.

So he let him sleep for another hour or so before making him get up for real.

A day later you got home, and everything was pretty much normal.

Until you went to put your son to bed, and realized he had crashed on the couch.

“...Uhm, Akinori?” Your husband lifted his head at your voice, setting the dishes in the sink and drying his hands with a towel as he made his way over to you. 

“Yeah babe?” You took a look over towards your son before looking back to your husband.

“...Has Akira been like that all weekend?” Konoha ran his hand through his hair as he sighed. “No, only since Saturday. He wasn’t feeling good so I gave him some benadryl, he’s been dead to the world since.” You slowly nodded.

“Uhm, Akinori?” He raised an eyebrow at you. “How much benadryl did you give him?”

He left to grab the box, coming back with it in his hand as he continued to look at it.

He shook his head in confusion. “I gave him the amount the box said, 1 teasp-”- He paused.

Uh oh.

He in fact, had not given his son a teaspoon of benadryl.

He had given him a tablespoon.

*Kita Shinsuke: 

You had to leave early one morning for a doctors appointment; you were pregnant with you and Kita’s second child. 

Usually for these appointments Kita’s grandmother would watch your 3 year old daughter Kyoka.

But she had something to do that morning so Kita was the one responsible for getting her ready for preschool.

Kita was a good father so you weren’t worried.

You knew she would be put together, fed, and on time.

There was just one thing you couldn’t account for.

“Daddy?” Kita looked away from the mirror he was shaving in and down to his daughter, washing away the traces of shaving cream. “Yes sweetheart?”

She held out her small hand, 2 bright pink hair ties with little butterfly charms on them held out in her palm.

“Can you do my piggy tails please?” His eyes widened.

He hadn’t done hair...like...ever.

But from the puppy eyes his little princess was giving him, how could he not do it?!

Plus, it couldn’t be that hard...right? I mean, he had watched you do it plenty of times, and it was pretty straight forward.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed he had her stand on the ground in front of him.

He grabbed her brush and put the two hair ties she had given him on his wrist.

He brushed her hair and parted it as evenly as he could, trying to be gentle in the process.

Now time for the pig tails..

He pulled her hair back, trying to make it tight to it would stay.

...But he might have made it a little too tight.

He turned her around and realized he had made them way too tight.

Not only did her hair look like he had slicked it back with x4 strength hair gel, but it was so tight that her eyebrows had been stuck way up on her forehead.

He was quick to turn her back around, loosening the hair ties so she looks like a 3 year old again.

His face turned undeniably red as he told you what happened later that night, you light heartedly laughing at his misfortune.

Suna Rintaro: 

Suna had just gotten out of practice, and now he was on the way to his kids school. 

You and Suna had 4 kids, 2 boys and 2 girls. 

The youngest 2 had a doctor’s appointment earlier that day, which you had taken them too. Meaning Suna needed to pick the older 2 up from elementary school.

He had been listening to music, his music to be specific.

He had pulled into the parking lot, changing the playlist to a kid friendly one right before his children got in the car.

After they had told him about their days, and he had told about his, he switched back on the music.

It had been fine for a song.

Until he realized that he had a few songs qued.

The fun little song had just ended when the bass dropped, the color draining from his face as soon as the song started.

The mentioned song being “Big Bank” by YG, 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj of course~.

He was quick to turn the radio off, waiting until he could pull over, empty the que, and turn on kid friendly music.

He told the kids to ‘forget what they heard’ and he continued on his drive home.

Now, you’ve got to remember, his daughter is in kindergarten and his son is in 2nd grade, so they’re still kind of at that “monkey see, monkey do” age range.

Or rather, “monkey hear, monkey repeat.”

He thought it was gonna be okay, they were good kids so he figured telling them to forget they even heard it, they would let it go.

There was just one thing about his children that he didn’t account for.

As obedient and well behaved as his children were, they were also very curious.

That night at dinner they had all been sat down at the table, eating dinner and talking about their days. 

You had been feeding your infant son while Suna had been watching the 3 year old, the other 2 older children happily eating their food. Until...

“Hey mommy?” You looked at your daughter with a smile, “Yes baby?” She continued to eat her dinner, “What’s a b!tch?” Your eyes widened as your husband choked on his food, your baby laughing at the scene before him.

Hitting his chest and taking a sip of water Suna tried to catch his breath.

“Nezuko we don’t say that, where did you hear that?!” She tilted her head as she looked at you confused before turning to look at Suna, pointing a small finger at him.

“It was on the radio, daddy told us to ‘forget’ but I didn’t know what it meant...What does it mean?” You sent a glare towards your husband as you sighed.

After explaining to your daughter why it was bad to say those things and not to repeat everything she heard you cleaned up your kids and put them to bed.

...You had quite the conversation with your husband later that night.

Ushijima Wakatoshi: 

Ushijima had been on grocery duty this week since you had a meeting with a friend.

He had the Friday off, and since you weren’t home he took the kids with him.

Now, I would like you to know that you guys have 6 kids. S I X.

Growing up with no siblings and divorced parents, Ushijima wanted to make sure none of his kids were lonely.

Originally you guys had two, each kid had a buddy.

...but then you had a third, and you couldn’t just leave him alone...

so you had another...then another...

And now you guys have 6. But it’s okay cause you both love kids anyway~

He was doing his best, he truly was. He had his 2 youngest sitting in the little seat by the handle bar, 2 kids in the basket, 1 hanging onto the side and the oldest walking alongside him.

When they got to check out he had to take one of the kids out of the basket, so he opted for his 3rd oldest, his son Kazue, figuring he was older so it’d be a-okay.

He checked out his extensive amount of groceries before loading them up into his car, and his kids.

He pulled out of the grocery store parking lot and got on the road, his kids singing along to the radio and chatting amongst themselves.

They had been driving for 6 minutes when his oldest child, Ren, spoke up. “Uh, dad?” He hummed, briefly checking the rear view mirror before returning his gaze to the road. “When are we going back to get Kazue?” His face lost all color as his eyes widened.

As swiftly and safely as he could he pulled over to the side of the road, whipping around in his seat to take a head count. ‘1..2..3..4..5...oh sh-’ Turning back around he got back onto the road, taking the nearest u-turn and rushing back to the store. 

Unbuckling his kids from their carseats he hurried them back into the store, his oldest holding the 2nd borns hand, as he held all 3 of the younger ones in his arms.

He frantically entered the store, almost collapsing with relief when he saw his son sat at the customer service desk with the security guard, eating a lollipop before smiling when he saw his dad come to pick him up.

After giving proof that yes, he was his father, he took all of his kids back home after getting them some ice cream.

...this would be one conversation he was not excited to have with you....

Yahaba Shigeru: 

Yahaba and his 2 sons had been hanging out in the living room while you finished making some snacks in the kitchen.

Yahaba had been trying to set up a DVD player, you guys were going to watch some home-videos from your high school days but they were all on CD.

So, after borrowing one from his parents house, he set out to hook it up to the TV.

...Which was proving much more difficult then he first anticipated.

His two boys, Itsuki (6) and Hayato (8) were in there with him, ‘helping’ as they had called it.

Yahaba groaned as he sat back, a hand ruffling through his hair as he racked his brain to think of the problem.

You had finished preparing everything so you came in, with the food, and set it down on the coffee table.

You came up behind your husband, kneeling down behind him and placing your hands on his shoulders.

“How’s it going?” He sighed, leaning back into you.

“Well, I think I know what I need to do, I’m going to have to stick my hand back there though. Hey Hayato, can you help me out buddy?” The 8 year old excitedly nodded.

“Great, I need you to hold this flashlight here, hold it steady okay?” Hayato nodded with a ‘Yup!’ before Yahaba laid down on his side, maneuvering to where he could see the back of the TV.

All had been going well, he had just got it hooked up, and after having you test it, it worked!

He tried to get himself out from behind the TV, until a sharp edge caught his finger.

“Sh!t!” Your eyes widened, “Shigeru!” He hadn’t realized his slip up until he was out from behind the TV, faced directly with your glare.

“Kids, don’t say that.” His youngest blinked at him. “But why?”.

Kneeling down in front of him Yahaba tried to explain, but it was a little hard when you were glaring holes into the back of his head and his oldest was giggling at the situation.

*Iwaizumi Hajime: 

It was a weekend in summer vacation, and you and your husband were both off work.

This meant, you guys got a whole day to spend with your 3 boys, and one of the things you guys loved to do as a family was play games.

On this particular afternoon, your sons had chosen to play twister.

You were a little skeptical because you had 3 competitive, rambunctious boys. 

And an equally competitive rambunctious husband.

But after getting 4 identical pouts you couldn’t say no...

But, you elected to be the spinner. (..for your own safety)

“Left hand, green.” This put your middlest son in quite the predicament.

The only space available was the Green directly by his fathers hand, meaning he’d have to crawl under Iwaizumi.

“Okay Hajime, right hand, yellow.” Iwaizumi grimaced as he tried to reach it.

 This wasn’t good, the mat was slick, his hands were sweating-

“oOf” Before he could catch himself he had completely lost his balance, landing right on his son.

You gasped in horror as you saw the life get squeezed out of your 5 year old, scrambling from where you sat to check on your now pancaked son.

“...Hiro..are you okay..?” 

His small head shot up with a “I’m okay!” Before he, albeit wearily, stood up brushing off his godzilla t-shirt before continuing on with his life.

You took a deep breath as you sat back down, flashing a warning look towards your husband who sheepishly smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

And after checking that yes, your son really was okay, you guys continued on with some...safer games.

Futakuchi Kenji: 

You had left for a weekend visit to see your parents in your hometown, leaving your husband and Your 3 girls alone.

It was a friday night, so after having a less than healthy dinner, ice cream and a fair amount of other sweets, Futakuchi figured a movie before bed would be a good way to finish off the night.

He scrolled through netflix trying to find a movie he could watch with his girls.

“Daddy, can we watch snow white?!” Futakuchi looked down at his oldest, Hayami, before he shrugged. “Sure.”

He may be a guy, but he was not above watching princess movies if it meant his babies were happy. Besides, it was a disney movie, what bad could be in it!

Everything was going swell, until the witch showed up.

He felt the sick feeling of dread in his stomach as soon as he felt his middlest curl in tight to his side, his youngest hopping off of the couch and climbing into his lap.

...Disney SHOULD have been a safe bet, but with the way his 3 girls were clinging onto him for dear life, he probably should have previewed it first..

That night he put them to bed, reading them a quick story before giving them each a kiss on their forehead and tucking them into bed. 

15 minutes.

15 minutes of almost sleep when he heard you guys’ bedroom door creak open, 3 sets of little feet pad over to his side of the bed.

“...daddy..?” He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he opened them, brown eyes meeting the teary ones of his 3 children as they stood there. Speaking in as soft of a voice as he could he tried not to sound as tired as he knew he was.

“What is it munchkin?” His daughters all fidgeted where they stood, fiddling with the hems of their princess night gowns as they stood there.

“...We’re scared...can we sleep with you..?” Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get them to sleep like you could, and being incredibly tired himself he moved to the side, opening the covers and making room for all 3 of his princesses.

...This was going to be a long night for him.. 

Daishou Suguru: 

Daishou had been playing outside with his kids, his 2 year old son Kento and his 5 year old daughter Shizuko.

His son was sat on his shoulders, one of Daishou’s hands wrapped firmly around the boys ankles while the other pushed his daughter on the swing.

You had been inside getting dinner ready while they had been outside; smiling fondly at the smiles that were plastered on their faces.

When dinner had finished you walked to the sliding glass door, opening it and calling to them. “Dinners ready! Come inside and wash up so we can eat.” Your daughter and husband replied with ‘okay!’ as you went back to get plates. 

Slowing down the swing Daishou brought it to a stop so Skizuko could safely get off.

In all honesty, he was a good dad.

He was very mindful of his children and their surroundings, so they didn’t get hurt too often.

He was also very careful not to accidentally hurt them.

But accidents happen.

Walking to the back door, he, somehow either forgot or the thought didn’t register in his mind that his son was still perched on his shoulders.

He didn’t remember until a loud *whack!* was heard, and his sons cries sounded above him.

..He had tried going inside, through the door, with his son on his shoulders.

Bringing him down from his shoulders he quickly brought him inside to set him down on the counter, you almost screaming when you saw the bruise forming on his little forehead.

“Ah-wha-how- SUGURU! What happened?!”

Groaning Daishou gently put a small ice pack on his sons head, “...He whacked his head on the door frame...” You looked at him, “And how did he do that?”

Daishou sighed as he looked down, grimacing at the purple mark already present on his sons head.

...For the next few nights the couch became a good friend of his.

Numai Kazuma: 

Today was your son, Kazuya’s birthday. Today he would be turning 1.

Kazuya was the first, and so far only child you had with your husband of 3 years Kazuma Numai.

You and Numai were still learning how to be parents, and it had been an interesting journey to say the least, but you guys were doing good!

Your relatives and friends had just left, leaving you, Kazuma and your son.

It was pretty late so you started cleaning up in the kitchen and Numai started in the living room.

Kazuya had been pretty fussy, you both figuring he was tired, but when you tried to put him to sleep he wouldn’t even close his eyes.

So, deciding it’d be best to get it out of the way Numai held Kazuya as he was cleaning.

Things had been going just fine before Kazuya had reached out to grab at something on a nearby book shelf, causing the book shelf to start tipping over.

At that moment the only thing going through Numai’s mind was ‘stop the book shelf’, because at the moment, getting his son and him crushed by a bookshelf seemed like a very bad thing.

But what he hadn’t thought of was the fact that reflexively he had used both of his arms to stop said shelf (which didn’t even fall), the same two arms that had been holding his- “WAAAHH”

His eyes snapped down to the BABY he had just let go of, now crying on the floor.

You rushed into the living room, seeing your husband now cradling your still crying son, whispering apologies into his hair as he kissed the top of his head.

“Kazuma what happened?” 

He avoided eye contact. 

“...Kazuma...” Looking down he spoke.

“...I dropped him...”

...

“...you what?”

[kelliealtogether]

These prompts have been rolling around in my head and one in particular was stuck in my brain the past few nights. I have also learned a new term, pentadrabble! It's a fic exactly 500 words long. 😊

I present to you:

16. you make me sick. babe I want to make this work but I’m so allergic to your fur

Adam woke in an empty bed with a tickle in his nose.

It was that liminal time of night, no longer fully dark but not yet dawn. Towards the east, there was only the promise of the sun flirting with the horizon. The bedroom was gray, courtesy of the full moon still hanging in the sky, the type of gray where muscle memory wasn't needed to navigate but was still useful.

Adam sniffed. He took two short hitching breaths, then sneezed.

"Ronan?" Adam asked the near-dark. A prickle in his nose, another sneeze threatening. Adam fended it off to continue, "You can't keep doing this."

Adam turned to the shadows in the corner of the room when he heard a grunt, and the crouched shape of his boyfriend resolved itself in the darkness. Ronan’s coiled form was restless, shifting, and when he said, "Sorry," it sounded garbled, like his mouth was stuffed with too many teeth.

Congestion rapidly set in. Adam’s eyes itched. When he couldn’t hold off any longer, he turned his face into the sleeve of his t-shirt and sneezed again. He needed an antihistamine before he really started wheezing.

“I’m turning the light on.” 

“Don’t.”

“Get over yourself,” Adam said, his voice more nasal by the moment. “Like I haven’t seen it before.” 

The duvet fell around his waist as he sat up and reached for his nightstand. Adam pulled the cord on his lamp, gave his eyes a second to adjust to its brightness, then turned to look at Ronan. 

He was still part-lupine, though more part-human, and becoming more human by the moment. His snout was receding, his teeth rearranging, his ears shrinking and moving back into place. His tail, fur, and claws were retreating, and his eyes were changing, fading from a glowing yellow to their normal ice blue. 

He was purposefully not looking at Adam. 

“It’s not that bad,” Adam said gently before he stifled another sneeze in his sleeve. 

Ronan growled, a remnant from his shift. “Jesus, Parrish. Take your goddamn medicine.” 

Adam turned back to his nightstand, to the pack of pink pills kept there. He swallowed one with a sip of water, and when he turned back to Ronan, Ronan was back to normal. “This is the fourth time in four full moons.” 

“I said sorry.” 

“I know. It’s okay.” Adam looked at Ronan and he looked as pathetic as Adam felt. “We’ll just keep Benadryl in business.” 

When Ronan was back in bed, Adam turned off his lamp. In the brightening gray, they lay facing one another and Adam traced the circle of teeth marks scarring Ronan’s shoulder. “Everything go alright?” 

Ronan nodded. “Yeah. Got a deer.” 

“Gross.” 

“Fuck off, you asked.” 

“Doesn’t mean I wanted to hear about it.” They wrestled for a moment until Ronan pinned Adam down, and when Ronan leaned in for a kiss, Adam turned his head so Ronan’s lips landed on his cheek. “Dog breath.” 

“That’s what you get for dating a werewolf.” 

[wiypt-writes]

Riding High

Ch6: The Mother Ship

Chapter Summary: Mary gets into another spot of trouble and Frank’s mother pays them an unexpected visit.

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings:  Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: Contains SPOILERS for the film!!!!! If you haven’t seen it please be aware of that before you read on. As a Lawyer I know how long the types of cases depicted in GIFTED can take, however they can also be done pretty fast. With that in mind, and because it fits with how I want the story to go I’m spreading it over approximately 6 weeks or so, so just roll with me!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding High Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 5

“So she hit him?” Fliss looked at Frank.

Frank took a deep breath. “In the face with a book.” Fliss frowned “That doesn’t sound like Mary.”

“She hit him hard too. Broke his nose. I saw the kid leaving as I was going into the school, blood all over his shirt…” Frank scoffed. “But, you know the really bad thing about it? I’m actually kind of proud of her. I mean this kid was twelve and he was picking on another kid Mary’s age and…”

“That’s not a bad thing, that you’re proud!” Fliss said, shoving the last of her sandwich in her mouth.

“You should have seen the look her head teacher gave me when I said that.” Frank snorted, scrunching the empty bag of potato chips he had been eating in his hand and tossing it into the rubbish basket in Fliss’s office. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know you can’t hit people, and I told Mary that…”

“Well, that’s it then.” Fliss shrugged. “Job done. She did something wrong, albeit for the right reasons and you dealt out the chastisement.”

“And punishment. I told her she had to apologise in front of the class.”

Fliss leaned back in her chair and studied him for a moment “What’s really bugging you Sailor?”

“Am I that easy to read?”

Fliss shrugged “Sorta.”

Frank scratched at the skin around his collar “They raised the issue of her being gifted again, told me she would be better off in a special school.”

“Ah.” Fliss made a noise “And I’m assuming you told them to politely fuck off?”

“In a fashion” he snorted “I was honest, said the last thing that she needs is reinforcement that she's different. She already knows that.”

“Well if you keep saying it they’ll get the message. They can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to, Frank.” Until the authorities get involved… Frank shrugged the thought from his mind and looked up as Joanne walked into the office.

“Your 1pm is here.” she smiled “Hey Frank.” He nodded to her as Fliss stood up, shooting him an apologetic look “Sorry to kick you out.”

“I need to get back anyway.” he shrugged “Look, do you wanna come over later? I kinda told Mary if she apologised properly and didn’t misbehave we’d get pizza. She told me to ask you so…”

“Sure.” Fliss nodded, smiling softly. “Sounds good. I finish here at…” she checked her diary “5ish so I’ll come straight over.

Frank nodded and with a last smile he left her to it.

The rest of the day went smoothly. There were no calls from the school, he managed to fix the fuel line on the boat he was working on which meant he was done ahead of schedule, meaning his payment would be ahead of schedule too which suited him fine, he could pay Roberta early for a change. He’d promised to pick Mary up from School, instead of her getting the bus, so he did just that and Bonnie came out to tell him that she had, in fact, apologised and gone one further by telling the class that the kid who’s project had been destroyed deserved the class prize.

“I’m proud of you.” Frank looked at her as they drove home.

“What for?” Mary looked at him.

“For being big enough to own up to being wrong.”

Mary looked at him.

“And because you did what you said you were gonna, Fliss is coming over for pizza.”

“Yessss!” Mary let out a whoop, and threw her hands up in a cheer.

Frank chuckled and shook his head. The woman had certainly made an impact in Mary’s life, that was for sure. And his, if he was being honest.

He pulled up outside the apartment and knocked the car out of gear before he reached down for the handbrake.

“There's a lady standing in front of our door.” Mary said.

“Who is it?” he asked, cracking the handbrake up.

“How should I know? I'm seven.” she scoffed back.

Good point. He turned to look and did a double take as he looked at the familiar woman stood on his doorstep, dressed in a pale brown dress, sunglasses and handbag slung over her shoulder. Frank cut the ignition, one arm resting on the steering wheel as he glanced at her.

“That would be your grandmother.” he stated simply as Mary continued to look out of the window

“Holy shit!” she exclaimed.

He was too shocked himself to chastise her for her language, that and he kind of agreed. Holy shit indeed.

“Come on.” He said, getting out of the truck. Mary hopped out of her side and walked with him up to the door.

“Mother.” He greeted.

She looked at him with a tight smile. “Frank.”

“Mary say hello.” He said, his hand falling to the back of her head.

“Hello.” Mary greeted his mother politely.

Frank headed up the steps and his mother moved out of the way as he unlocked the door. She reached for the large bag by her feet, which Frank could see was loaded with gifts and he rolled his eyes. He gave her a look and she simply smiled as he picked up the bag and carried it in. That was typical of her, thinking she could throw money at something and make it all ok.

Frank wasn’t stupid. He knew full well that damned principal would have caused this, and his mother was here for one thing only, to see if Mary was as smart as they all said. And he didn’t like it. One bit. Still, she was his mother so he behaved as politely as he could and offered her a drink, which she declined. Then, not wanting to cause a scene, he sat down and simply let her talk to Mary as she handed out gift after gift, whilst she sniffled into a tissue.

Nice one, Fred!

“An Apple?” Mary gasped as she unwrapped the sleek, white box from it’s pink and gold polka dotted paper. “Woah.”

“It's a MacBook, Darling.” his mother spoke. “Top of the line with the Retina display.”

“Hey, you know who else has a Retina display?” Frank looked at her, arching an eyebrow.

“Fred!” she grinned. Frank looked over and saw the cat who was lounging on Mary’s bed swish his tail.

“Mary, I understand you like mathematics.” His mother spoke and Frank took a deep breath, glancing to his side where she was stood “So, on there you will found a great out of print book by Charles Zimmer...”

Oh here we go. Frank thought to himself as he sat back, running his hand over his stubble.

“…called Transitions in Advanced Algebra.”

“Yeah. Love that book.”  Mary turned the laptop over in her hands.

“You're saying you've read it?” his mother spoke and Frank didn’t miss the tone of surprise, yet excitement in her voice.

“Yeah, I've kinda moved on to differential equations now.” Mary shrugged.

“Hey, don't forget your manners.” Frank spoke from where he was sat on the chair, elbow resting on the table, hand supporting his temple “Thank you, Grandma.”

“Thank you, Grandma.”

“Grandmother or Evelyn will do just fine.”

God, she never changed. Frank inhaled and looked away, his hand falling softly to the table in a fist.

“There's so much more on there. Things I know you'll find really challenging.” she moved towards Mary and Frank stood up.

“Yes, but sadly it's a school night and there's homework to do.”

“I thought you said Fliss was coming over?” “She is, so you need to get that homework done. But…” he gestured to his mother. “What a surprise though, right? Say good night to Grandmother or Evelyn.”

“Goodnight.”

“So who’s Fliss?” His mother asked as Frank ushered her out of the house “Don’t tell me you finally sorted your life out and got a girlfriend?” “Mary’s riding instructor, and no, she’s a friend.”

“Mary goes horse riding?”

“Yeah.”

Evelyn nodded, before she sneezed into her tissue. “I'd kill a priest for a Benadryl.” she said as they strode towards the black Mercedes she was clearly hiring.

“Still with the allergies?” Frank looked at her.

“Why in God’s name have you got a cat? You don't even like cats.”

“It’s not my cat, it's Mary's cat. I'm just along for the ride.” he shrugged. “So let me guess, our lovely principal, Miss Davis…”

“Never get on the bad side of small minded people who have a little authority. I thought I taught you that.” His mother turned to face him as she reached the side of her car. Frank took a deep breath and looked up just as Fliss’ white jeep Cherokee turned onto the road. She gave a wave and he tossed a hand back and turned to his mother.

“What are you doin' here?” he asked her bluntly.

“You don't think I have a right to see my granddaughter?”

“I do. I'm thrilled your seven year exhaustive search has finally come to a fruitful conclusion.” He retorted sarcastically.

Even before she got out of the car, Fliss could tell the exchange between Frank and whoever the woman was looked tense. Frank’s face was stony and his eyes were hard in a way she’d never seen before. She hesitated for a moment, then deciding it was far ruder to sit in her car and watch, she jumped out.

“I don't think this is appropriate time to talk.” She caught the woman’s British accent and her head snapped towards her. Was this his mother?

“It’s certainly not the setting.” The woman continued as Frank rolled his eyes and leaned back against the car bonnet. “When I was waiting a cockroach this big tried to steal my shoe.” She finished, holding her thumb and forefingers as wide apart as they would go. Fliss shook her head, and shut her car door loudly and turned to look at Frank.

“Yeah. They'll take a shoe.” he nodded.

Fliss smirked to herself at Frank’s response and he caught her eye as she was passing.

“Mary’s inside. I’ll be with you in a sec.” he nodded to her, but as she turned to go the woman spoke to her. “You must be Fliss.” the woman looked her up and down, causing Fliss to glance down at her legs.  She was still in her riding gear only had traded her boots for a pair of sneakers, her long checked socks still pulled up to her knees, not that she should give a shit what this woman thought but she suddenly felt a little self-conscious.

“Yeah.” Fliss said, holding out her hand politely.

“Fliss, this is my mother.” Frank informed, confirming Fliss’ suspicions “She was just leaving.” He turned to look at her. His mother held his gaze and then glanced around

“Honestly, this? This God forsaken mosquito ranch was a conscious choice?”

Fliss felt a rush of anger and before she could stop herself she jumped to Frank’s defence.

“I wouldn’t worry, I find Mosquitos are pretty particular about who they bite. I hear they’re not fond of things that taste bitter.”

Frank’s mother turned to face her. Fliss could feel the nerve in her jaw twitching at the out and out bitchiness of the woman in front of her and she could sense Frank watching her. Nevertheless, she didn’t move her gaze from the woman. Frank’s mother cocked her head, almost like she was assessing her for a moment before Frank spoke up deciding to break up the battle for alpha female that was going on.

“I could drop you back off at the airport.” He looked at his mother. She shot him a look and climbed into her car, shutting the door. He walked a few paces till he was besides Fliss before he turned and looked at her as she reversed the car.

“That’s your mum?” Fliss asked as the car drove off up the road

“Yep.” Frank said, his eyes on the tailgate as it rounded the corner.

“No offence but she seems like a total bitch.”

“Not total.” Frank sniffed. “More like 90%”

Fliss laughed and snaked an arm round his waist “Come on Sailor, I’m starving.”

Tossing his left arm round her shoulder they made their way into the house. Frank stepped aside to let Fliss in first and she headed into the living area to see Mary on the couch, cross legged with a Mac Book open

“This thing is loaded with cool problems.” Marry muttered.

“Only problem I’m interested in is picking what to have on my pizza!” Fliss spoke. Mary’s head jerked up and she grinned.

“Lissy!” She dropped the laptop to the sofa besides her and jumped up. Fliss bent down to give her a hug before she started to chatter incessantly about the laptop. Whilst Mary was talking, Fliss spotted Frank as he leaned against the doorframe, his face stony.

“Hey.” she nudged him and he turned to face her, giving her a tight smile. “Push it out.” she gently reached up and tapped her finger against his temple “Order dinner and then when Mary’s asleep we’ll talk, that is if you want.”

He gave her a smile, this time genuine and nodded.

Two hours and a couple of large pizzas later Mary was in bed and Frank and Fliss were sat on the steps outside the kitchen, drinking beer.

“So the teacher calls her, and she turns up?” Fliss shook her head “Because you pissed her off?” “The Principal.” Frank corrected her, “But yeah, pretty much.” Fliss let out a sigh.

“The thing is, Evelyn won’t give up. Not now Mary’s confirmed her suspicions.” he drained his beer.

“What you think she’s gonna do?” “I dunno.” Frank bit his lip. “But one things for certain, there’s gonna be nothing good that comes from her showing up.” He looked out over the lawn, the various lamps illuminating the grounds and the street. He felt Fliss slip her arm round him and she leaned against him.

“Well, you won’t be on your own. You got me and Roberta in your corner, along with your, what was it you called them?” "Circle of Truth” he said, laughing at the fact she’d remembered the nickname he and his friends had for their group.

“Am I in that circle yet?”

“Dur.” he nudged her gently before he rest his head against her. “But, if you’re along for the ride, Cowgirl you better buckle up, coz it’s gonna be bumpy.” “Well,” she gave a small huff of laugh, “in my experience all the best road trips are.” *****

Turns out the appropriate time and place his mother was referring too was the next lunch time at a little bar overlooking the beach. He nodded to his mother as he took his seat.

“So, are you teaching?” she asked him as he took a sip from a glass of water.

“I repair boats.” Frank replied.

“Please.” She rolled her eyes.

“I'm not bad at it either.”

“Well, then, that explains this.” She said, gesturing to his face “They don't sell sunscreen here?”

“I wear sunscreen.” He replied, in the same tone he would use on Mary when she was making a pointless statement.

“Not enough. And you need a hat. A big hat that shades your face and neck. You're playing Russian roulette with your skin. You look like porn producer.”

“Okay.” Frank shook his head, suppressing a smile “I appreciate the advice. I do. But we're not here to talk about sunscreen, are we?”

“So no more small talk? That's a shame.”  Evelyn took a deep breath “Okay, the environment you have created for that child, where she lives, the school she attends. It's substandard. Every bit of it.”

“I disagree.” Frank said calmly

“We're going nowhere if we're not being honest with each other.” Evelyn shook her head.

“I am being honest.”

“I see. Fine. Well, I'm not leaving without her.”

“Well, welcome to Florida.” Frank smiled again.

“Frank, please listen to reason” Evelyn leaned forward slightly “At some point, you are going to get to the conclusion, or someone in authority is going to spell it out to you, that the child’s best interest is all that matters.

Frank bristled slightly, the child? Her name was Mary. Best interest? All he had ever done for Mary was what he thought was exactly that. He took a breath and looked at his mother, holding her gaze.

“If you're gonna make me pull rank, I will. Diane didn't want you to have her.”

“”Diane...” Evelyn started before her voice dropped slightly and her tone became softer “Diane didn't always think things through.

“Arguably one of the brightest minds on the planet, okay.” Frank nodded sarcastically “Good luck going down that road”

“And what do you think she'd say if she saw how her child is living now?” Evelyn shook her head “Do you honestly think she'd be pleased?”

“That she's living a somewhat normal life? Yes. I do.”

“She's not normal. And treating her as such is negligence on a grand scale.”        

Frank glanced down at the table cloth as his mother continued

“I know your hearts in the right place on this but you are denying the girl her potential. I can provide for her. I can enrich her life.”

“Come on, Evelyn.” Frank scoffed, holding his right hand out and ticking off the points as he made them by raising his fingers “You're gonna take that girl, you are gonna bury her in tutors. Then you’ll loan her out to some think tank where she can talk non-trivial zeros with a bunch of old Russian guys for the rest of her life.”

“And you'd bury her under a rock.” Evelyn shot back “Look, I didn't expect you to understand the price you have to pay for greatness.

“Oh I do.” Frank replied, his tone stern “That's why I have Mary in the first place.

“That's uncalled for.” Evelyn’s face slipped slightly and Frank looked away. When he turned back her expression was the same as it had been prior “Your sister had a laundry list of problems. She could have solved Navier-Stokes and gone down in history as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. But she didn't, because she couldn't finish. She was weak. Weak like her father and weak like...well…”

Frank raised his eyebrows and simply smiled at his mother as she trailed off.

“Now, if it's who I think it is,” he said, looking down and wrinkling his nose, “that kinda puts a black cloud over our luncheon.”

“You're still stubborn and vindictive.” Evelyn shook her head.

“Careful, Mother.” Frank intoned, leaning forwards resting both arms on the table “There's an apple and tree analogy lurking.”

“You guys ready to order?” the waitress interrupted the stare off they were having and Evelyn, ignoring her completely, stood up, reaching for her large bag which was resting on the table

“Here's an idea.” She said, reaching into her bag “Stop thinking about me and you and start thinking what's best for the child. For any reasonable person, a clear picture will emerge. If it doesn't, I suggest you call your attorney.” With that she slammed a $50 note on the table and placed a salt shaker over it. Frank glanced at it before he looked back up at her.  “He'll have a bucket of beer.” she said to the waitress as she left.

Frank sighed and looked down at the table. The waitress glanced to him and he waved her away before he stood up and headed out, leaving the money where it was.

The rest of the day passed pretty fast, even if his mind was on this whole sorry mess. He managed to keep a front on for Mary, and bribed her with a trip to the stables to get her away from her Laptop and Math’s books. He had debated hiding the damned things but knew it would cause more trouble that it was worth.

“So she’s gonna take you to court?” Fliss scoffed as they watched Mary who was brushing Monty with Joanne.

“Looks that way.” Frank shrugged.

“That’s fucking unbelievable.” she seethed, and Frank had to smile at her indignation on his behalf

“Sadly it isn’t. “ Frank looked at her “I told you, she’s an exacting woman. I also told you nothing good would come of her turning up. Looks like I was right.”

“Also looks like I was right when I said she was a bitch.” Fliss replied, turning to look at him “Surely, you’re Mary’s legal guardian so they can’t just…” “Well, that’s the thing” he sighed “I’m not, it was never made official. I just tell people I am, stops them asking questions.” He paused. “Sorry I lied but, well I didn’t know you back then.”

“I get it.” Fliss looked at him before she glanced back at Mary. She took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose “You got a lawyer?”

“Yeah my friend, Greg.” Frank nodded “He’s a family law specialist. I already called him. I’m going to see him tomorrow so I can tell him everything, then it’s a case of waiting.”

He didn’t have to wait long. Two days later he received the court summons for little over a fortnight later.

*****

October 2017 “Hey, wait.”

Frank turned to see Fliss who was jogging up the steps to the courthouse. He glanced at Roberta who was smiling, a little smugly, and then back to his friend who he hadn’t expected to see today.

“What are you doing here, not that I’m not glad to see you but…” “I’m sorry I can’t stay I just wanted to swing by on the way to work and wish you luck.” She smiled reaching up to straighten his tie.

“It’s just the preliminary hearing today.” Frank said.

“I know but…” she took a deep breath, smoothing out his jacket. He looked at her for a second before she pulled him into a hug.

“Call me later ok?” “Yeah, I will...”

She nodded to him, giving Roberta a smile before she turned to go.

“Hey” He called after her and she looked over her shoulder at him “Thanks…”

She smiled and nodded heading back to her car.

“So she deviates here, just to give you a hug good luck, and you tell me there’s nothing going on…” Roberta looked at him.

“She’s a friend, a good friend.” Frank turned and shot her a look.

“Whatever you say.” Roberta sighed.

Frank shook his head, avoiding her gaze. If truth be told there had been the odd little moment where he’d picked up a few signals that perhaps she had feelings for him that went beyond simple friendship, the same way his did for her. But he convinced himself he was imagining things. They were from different worlds, why would a girl like her look at someone like him that way, especially with all this fucking baggage.

With a last look around he turned and headed into the court where after a short wait, they were ushered in.

Judge Edwards Nichols was a bald man with a moustache that any cowboy would be proud of. He gestured for everyone to take their seats and then pulled the case file over to him.

“Okay. Adler, grandmother and uncle…” he trailed off and looked up, glancing from Frank to Evelyn. “Really? Sure you folks don't wanna go on the hall and settle this?”

Silence ensued as Frank glanced sideways at his Mother who shifted slightly.

“No? Well, that's a shame. Mr. Cullen, you're here for the uncle.” the judge continued.

“Yes, I am, your Honor.”

“Should start charging you room and board.” Judge Nichols spoke, not looking up “Mr. Highsmith, you're on the wrong side of a bay, aren't you?”

“I'm very happy to be here, Your Honor” Evelyn’s lawyer replied.

“For the record, Mrs. Dibbons is representing the state of Florida Child Welfare Department.” Nichols spoke and Frank glanced over to look at a woman in a blue and white jacket and orange top in the gallery who held her hand up.

“Proceed.” Judge Nichols instructed and Evelyn’s attorney began to speak

“Your Honor, my client, Mrs. Adler, is the maternal grandmother of the child. Her daughter, the girl's mother was a troubled woman...who seven years ago sadly took her own life. It was at this time that Mr. Adler primitively and illegally…” At that Nichols shot a disapproving look at Frank and he shifted a little nervously in his seat, taking a deep breath.

“…took custody of the girl and spirited her across eight lines for the purpose of denying my client custody.”

Frank glanced over at his mother who was staring straight ahead, avoiding his gaze.

“And there's the evidence that the child currently lives in unclean and unwholesome conditions. We petition to court to grant my client full custody of the child so that she can return to the state of Massachusetts and be given the care to which she is entitled.”

Frank stiffened and Greg gently placed his hand on Frank’s shoulder, shaking his head before he stood up and addressed the accusations his Mother’s attorney had made.

“My client took an infant under his wing for one reason only. It was his sister's desire that he do so. My client has been her constant caregiver.”

Judge Nichols looked at Frank and he held his gaze.

“And your Honor, as far as the living conditions go, I've been in this home. It's fine. I mean, if we adopt standards based on our Northern friend's aversion to palmetto bugs we won't have a child left south of Tallahassee.”

There were a few dumbed down laughs from the gallery and Frank felt his spirits lift ever so slightly as Judge Nichols gave a smile and reached for a paper to his side, pen in his right hand.

“All right, last chance before this starts costing a lot more money.” he said.

“Your Honor, my client would need reasonable access to the child.” Evelyn’s attorney spoke after a pause.

“So ordered.” Nichols nodded “Ms. Dibbons, would you go out and check the living conditions?”

“On the books, Your Honor.” she replied.

“All right, folks. Drive carefully.”

Frank remained in his seat deliberating what that meant. So whilst the case was on going, Evelyn would have access to Mary and his home was going to be inspected by some woman as to how sanitary and safe it was. Fan-fucking-tastic.

“Her lawyer has a nice suit.”  Frank mumbled, his voice bland, betraying the hopelessness he was starting to feel.

“Relax, Frank.”  Greg looked at him “More weight's put on the talent competition. Go have a cocktail. huh?”

A cocktail, or fifteen, felt like a damned good idea by the time Frank had picked Mary up and gotten home.

“Roberta,” he caught her as she was walking back to her house with a clothes basket full of dried washing from the line. “Would you like to have Mary tonight?

It was a pointless question, it was a Friday, she had Mary every Friday, but still.

“Why wouldn't I like to have Mary tonight?” she shook her head “I told you something like this would happen. Now look where we are”

Frank looked away, waiting got her to finish ranting.

“And I'm supposed to believe you know what you're doing. You couldn't even find a white lawyer.”

Frank scoffed “Wow…Look, just don't worry, okay?

“Don't tell me that.” Roberta looked at him. “There's nothing you can say that's gonna make me feel good because I have no say in any of this, Frank! I'm not a blood relative, I'm not a legal guardian. I’m nothing. Just the lady who lives next door, whose opinion means nothing. Whose feelings mean nothing”

Frank looked down, he knew Roberta cared about Mary. Hell she cared about the both of them, even if she wouldn’t admit it. He already felt bad enough about this as it was, and she wasn’t helping.

“So would I like to have Mary tonight? I'd like to have Mary every night.”

With that she walked past him towards her house, leaving Frank staring at the floor, his mood darkening by the second.

***** Fliss was edgy. She’d messaged Frank a few times and called but he wasn’t answering or picking up, and she was getting a little worried that things hadn’t gone that well. She locked the gate to the yard and glanced at her watch. It was a little before seven.

Biting her lip she decided to head over and see if he was still in, or if he had already left for Ferg’s, given that it was a Friday night. If he had already gone, then she’d go and keep him company instead of letting him drink himself into a stupor alone.

She pulled up and, shrugging on a short sleeved plaid button down over her vest top she jogged up the steps, knocking on the door, but even as she did she knew there was no one in. The TV was off and the usual chatter wasn’t audible. As she turned to leave she heard a yell and looked over to see Mary hanging out of Roberta’s widow.

“Hey!” she grinned “Frank’s gone out…but me and Roberta are having Karaoke…wanna join?”

Fliss smiled, “How could I refuse that offer?” she laughed, and headed to the door.

“Hey Fliss!” Roberta grinned as Fliss kicked off her sneakers and stepped inside “You just in time! Grab a microphone.” Fliss took the hairbrush Mary was holding out and laughed before she turned to Roberta. “How did it go? I tried calling Frank but…”

“Not too bad.” Roberta dropped her voice. “They opened with some bullshit about his house being unclean so there’s some woman coming to inspect it at some point…”

Fliss wrinkled her nose and shook her head “That’s crap.” “Yeah, well, I’m gonna give it a clean anyway.” Roberta shrugged. “And then apparently the Grandmother gets access whilst the case is going on. Frank’s lawyer did a pretty good job to be fair.”

Fliss let out a sigh “I thought it was gonna be worse than that given I haven’t heard anything.”

“Well me and Frank may have had a disagreement.” Roberta’s face was contrite “So I probably put him in an even worse mood.” “Look, I know this is frustrating for you.” Fliss nodded gently “But the last thing he needs is everyone telling him I told you so. It is what it is, and we just gotta support him.” “I know.” Roberta sighed, her eyes filling with tears “I just, well, I’ve known that little girl since they arrived here looking for a house 6 and a half years ago…” “I get it, I do.” Fliss smiled “I mean I’ve only known them eight weeks and I can’t imagine life without either of them now.” “Either of them?”

Fliss rolled her eyes “Stop it, you’re as bad as my mum.” Roberta chuckled and then both of them were instructed by Mary to stop talking and start singing, so they did.

After an hour and a rendition of what felt like Aretha Franklin’s back catalogue Fliss made her excuses to Mary and gave the girl a hug goodnight. Roberta walked her to the door.

“You gonna go find him?”

“Yeah.” Fliss said “Well, I’ll stop by Ferg’s see if he wants some company.” “Sure he will, it’s you.” Roberta smiled. Fliss snorted, shaking her head again at the woman’s insinuations and headed to her jeep. She climbed in and headed down to the bay, mulling everything over in her head. The stupid thing was, Roberta wasn’t wrong. She did have feelings for Frank that went well beyond being merely platonic. In the short time she had known him he’d broken through every barrier she had put up, and she trusted him in a way she never thought she’d trust a man ever again. It was almost liberating for her to realise she could feel that way about someone else after everything John had put her through.

But, now really wasn’t the time to act on it, that is if she was going to act on it. She had no idea if Frank felt the same way and she needed to figure out if it was worth potentially sacrificing their friendship for. No, for now she’d simply enjoy being able to be around him, be his friend…at least until this sorry mess was all sorted.

Pulling up outside Fergs she checked her hair before she reached into the back of her car and grabbed her knee high boots. Her riding breaches were a light blue so they looked like jeans, meaning she didn’t feel too conspicuous. A quick squirt of perfume later she hopped out of her car and headed into the bar.

It was loud and she glanced around trying to find a flash of one of his usual hideous Hawaiian shirts, but failed to spot one. Frowning, she was just about to give up thinking he must be somewhere else, when she spotted him at the bar, dressed in a pretty smart black and grey striped dress shirt. But he wasn’t alone. He was sat, quite close, leaning towards the woman Fliss recognised as Mary’s teacher. She hesitated for a second, and began to make her way over when Frank leaned even closer to Bonnie and Fliss’ breath caught and she felt an unwelcome, hot, buzzing sensation fill her entire body as he kissed the woman next to him.

Well, that answered her question about what she was going to do about her feelings.

Absolutely fuck all.

Swallowing and blinking slightly, she turned and headed to her car, gently wiping away a stray tear as it fell down her cheek.

**** Chapter 7

[neo-culture-mafia]

무서운 평온

previous chapter

이제노 Lee Jeno

If I were to know what I knew now...I would've gotten out with the rest of the boys when I had the chance.

The seven months we were back under Taeyong's care, nothing but hell and heartbreak is what the rest of the Junior Forces and I experienced. We were housed, clothed, and treated like nothing had ever happened, but the three empty chairs that plagued the dining table was a painful reminder that life was full of pickers-and-choosers.

"No. Renjun. You can't take Benadryl for diarrhea." "I wasn't asking for me! One of my students asked!" Renjun said as he was following me down the school corridor. "Oh?" I laughed as I could see smoke coming out of his ears. "Sup' nerds." Jaemin walked up smoothly as he flicked my glasses. "Hello, you social reject. Up to mischief, I presume?" I asked as Jaemin could only roll his eyes. "For your information Professor Bozo, I'm actually up to some very secret business." We could see Jaemin's eyebrows wiggling. His eyebrows would disappear as quickly as they showed up behind the rims of his sunglasses.

"And what is this 'very secret business'? Solving world hunger?" I asked with a humorous chuckle, but I could tell he was getting pissed off as his arms crossed over his chest. "You can always start smaller with a specific country. Like, China," Renjun suggested, "there are so many starving people in China, but, more importantly, there is a starving Chinese person right here. So, I'll be heading off first." Renjun concluded and walked away with a wave towards the cafeteria.

"He has a point-" "I'm going to convince Taeyong to let Mark and y/n back in." Jaemin deadpanned. It felt as if the passing students were tuning into the conversation at the mention of those forbidden names.

"Come with me now." I gripped the top of Jaemin's arm and pulled him down the hall to my classroom, where no students sat yet. "Ugh. You can at least ask me out to dinner first. Jaemin chuckled as I shut the door with a bang.

Jaemin took a seat on my desk as he stretched a couple of rubber bands on his fingers and hands. "What the hell are you saying, Jae." My voice was in a whisper in fear of anyone hearing this conversation.

"I was going through Mark's discharge papers." Jaemin pulled out a packet of paper that was hiding in the inside of his jacket. "Don't worry. It's a copy. Not the actual document, you neat-freak." As Jaemin unfolded the individual papers, I realized he had been doing his homework.

"It says here that, 'Due to the unwillingness to follow orders given by Hierarchy, Lee Taeyong, that was given to the elite soldier, Lee Minhyung. Minhyung has been dishonorably discharged from the Neo Culture Mafia clan as the Management Coordinator of the Junior Forces subdivision and all subdivisions thereof." Jaemin's smile made me uneasy as I was having a hard time following where he was going with this. Jaemin reached in his pocket to grab the cherry suckers he had been snacking on since we returned to the family.

"y/n wanted me to stop." Jaemin reasoned. "But, y/n's not here anymore." Chenle fought as he was abruptly punched on the upper arm. "Well, I am. And I'm going to honor her wish for me to stop." Jaemin said, shoving the 5th lollipop in his mouth for the first night...the withdrawals not setting in yet.

"So? He was discharged." I concluded. "Turn to the first page and read his work title." Jaemin's eyes disappeared by his cheeks as his growing grin set an uneasiness in my stomach. I took the first page and flipped it, so it was laying on it's back.

이름: Lee Minhyung

D.O.B: 1999년 08월 02일

일자리: Management Coordinator of Junior Forces Subdivision; Promoted - Head Supervisor of Junior Forces; Elite Soldier

"...I'm still not following your train of thought," I confessed, and he rolled his eyes, flipping the pages once again.

"Mark was discharged as the Management Coordinator of the Junior Forces subdivision blah blah blah. In reality, that wasn't his position at the time of his discharge." The lightbulb went off in my head, "He was technically discharged for the wrong position. A position he wasn't in when the papers were authorized." Jaemin finished, and I felt like jumping for joy.

"What about y/n?" I asked, and he grabbed another packet. Hers wasn't messed up. It was filled out correctly. I sighed as my eyes ran over the black ink and saw nothing but the correct answers.

I turned to the authorization pages and saw that only Taeyong signed it when I knew that it had to be Taeyong and the Underbosses. There was still only one signature meaning that it would be voided once brought to the elite's attention. "Is the actual authorization page? You didn't alter it or anything?" I asked in a hurry as I saw that we only had 15 minutes left before class. "Yeah, it's just copied. I didn't touch anything, why?" He asked, confused.

"You. You're absolutely amazing." I said, pinching his cheeks roughly. I grabbed the papers and started running. "Out of my way!" I yelled as I sprinted down the hall with Jaemin hot on my tail.

They were going to be coming home.

I screeched and almost fell as I rounded to hall corner to go into the soldier offices. I slammed the wooden doors open and was looking for the man I could guilt into helping us.

There he sat, a sandwich hanging out of his mouth. "Johnny-hyung!" I yelled, and everyone stared at me.

"You didn't sign these papers!" My voice was getting louder, and I could feel the tears prick the sides of my eyes. "Then bring them here, I'll sign 'em right now-" "No. They're already authorized. They're y/n and Mark's discharge papers." Doyoung dropped his food, and Taeil choked on his coffee.

"Mark was discharged in the wrong position. Also, both of their papers weren't correctly authorized. It is missing both the underbosses signatures." I took a breath looking at both Johnny and Taeil. They only looked at each other.

"It's been 90 days since they've been relieved from duty, meaning that no changes can be made to these documents, and they are as they stand." I held the papers up to my face making sure I wasn't making a complete fool of myself.

"They've had 7 months of non-described inactive duty, meaning that...they don't exist, basically." I pieced together. Once an elite soldier went 6 months without an authorized hiatus, titles would be revoked from the elite as they would become m.i.a.

I turned around as I spoke, looking at all the elites and teachers. Everyone looked shocked. I could see Chenle, Renjun, and Jisung sitting at their desks at the back of the room. Their expressions were unreadable.

I turned to Johnny again.

"Technically, they were never kicked out," I concluded. Johnny turned to Taeil, who sat next to him. "I thought you signed the papers for me." He asked as Taeil shook his head, 'no.'. "Taeyong said you signed them for me," Taeil confessed. They knew that they fucked up.

I had them exactly where I wanted them.

"Johnny." I started walking closer, one foot in front of the other. This was it.

"Remember when we returned without Hyuck? You confided that you were the one to shut the tunnel's door? And, you told me as I took the oath to become the new supervisor of the Junior Forces: 'I would do anything to try and make up for what I did.' ?" I looked down at the papers and went to my desk that sat 5 feet away. I tossed the messed up discharge papers towards Johnny and Taeil and made a b-line for my own desk.

I opened the old wooden drawer and grabbed my own authorization papers. It was a copy that I held. Taeyong held the official documents, but this would get the point across.

"Well, I know what you can do." I nodded.

"My order is that once the Junior Forces track down and retrieve Mark and y/n," I took a breath, grabbing my supervision authentication.

"You recruit Lee Minhyung to take my position as Supervisor of the Junior Forces."

"Jeno. Stop." I heard Jungwoo call out for me from his nearby desk.

"As Lee Jeno, the Head Supervisor of the Junior Forces Subdivision, I resign my title by the turnover of the position. You will swear in Lee Minhyung and y/l/n y/n by the end of the month." And, with that, I took my title papers in my hands and gripped the stack of paper roughly.

"No-" rrriiipppp

I dropped the ripped paper in my trashcan and kicked it to the center of the aisle. I grabbed some matches from my desk and lit one. I dropped it, and I walked out of the office with a small blaze leaving my mark.

I walked down the hall just in time for the class bell to ring.

I took my time walking to my class. The killed and missing soldier memorial sat next to the auditorium, where we would read a complete list of all those killed and missing at the end of each month.

Donghyuck's picture hung in the middle in the 'Hierarch' section. All the other junior soldier's pictures were formal and well displayed. Yet, the Junior Forces didn't want to remember Hyuck as something he wasn't. So, we all went through our phones and found the most appropriate photo that would capture his personality and well.

A picture that Jaemin took was hung in its place. A laughing Donghyuck greeted all who looked at the memorial. It's who he really was. Laughing and spreading brightness wherever he went.

"I miss you, dude." I sighed.

"I'll bring back Mark and y/n. I promise." I bid my farewell and walked down the hall towards my class, ready to start the day with my students.

I knew deep down that this was only the calm before the storm.

[whumphoarder]

Death by Waffles

Summary: When Tony decides to adopt a cat for Morgan, Peter is almost more excited about it than the six-year-old. He just failed to mention one minor issue before coming to visit at the lake house for the weekend.

Or, in which Peter is horrifically allergic to cats but JUST LOVES THEM SO MUCH.

Word count: 1,638

Genre: Fluff, slight whump, humor

A/N: Thanks to @xxx-cat-xxx & @sallyidss for beta reading and giving me ideas! 

Link to read on Ao3

“I still think we should have called him Winston Furrchill,” Tony says with a shrug, watching Peter, who’s sitting cross legged on the living room floor, grinning ear-to-ear, stroking the long-haired cat’s fur.

“That’s so boorrring, Daddy,” Morgan complains. She grabs the little feather teaser and dangles it in front of the cat’s face. He lifts a paw lazily to bat at it. “All your ideas were so boring.”

“What are you talking about?” Tony balks at her, eliciting giggles from Peter and a dramatic groan from the six-year-old. “My ideas were gold. Mr. Meowgi. Bill Clawsby. Genghis Khat.”

Peter snaps once and shoots a finger gun Tony’s direction. “Luke Skywhisker!” he throws in, causing Morgan to groan. “Ooh! Call him Nick Furr-y!”

“No! His name is Waffles!” Morgan exclaims, throwing up her hands in exasperation and causing the kitty in question to dart across the room and dive into his favorite hiding place—the cardboard box that his brand new, untouched, three-hundred-dollar cat tree came in. Tony just rolls his eyes; it’s behavior like this that makes him almost regret spending the last four days in the workshop designing that damn feline an elaborate catwalk and perch system spanning every room of the lake house.

(Almost.)

Morgan sticks her lip out in a pout.

“Aw, Mo, we were just teasing,” Peter says, patting her arm with a kind smile. “Waffles is a great name—I love it.”

That seems to console her. She grins back at him. “It’s ‘cus when we brought him home, he was really scared the first day and he just wanted to hide under my bed. So Daddy said I could eat breakfast in my room with him so he’d feel safer, but then I had to go to the bathroom and when I was gone he stole my waffle,” she rambles.

Peter quirks an eyebrow. “Your cat ate a waffle?”

Morgan nods. “Uh-huh, and then he puked it up again on the carpet!” she explains cheerfully.

“Ah yes, fond memories…” Tony mutters.

“So I named him Waffles,” Morgan concludes. “But I almost called him Syrup, ‘cus he got that on his paws when he walked on the plate, and then he ran around everywhere and it was all sticky. Mommy says that’s why we got ants after.”

While Peter snorts out a laugh, Tony just runs a hand over his face and sighs. “It’s been a long week.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Peter laughs, rubbing a hand at his eyes. He uncrosses his legs and gets to his feet to walk over to the box where Morgan is trying to lure Waffles out again. “I always wanted a cat, but May never let me get one—said they were too much hassle.”

“They are,” Tony says emphatically.

“Are not,” Morgan disagrees. As Peter sits down by the box, she picks up the bag of kitty treats and starts shaking it, causing Waffles to poke his head out. She pours out three little treats onto her open palm. He sniffs them suspiciously, then turns his nose up and buries himself back in the box.

Morgan turns to Tony and shrugs. “I don’t think he likes chicken flavor anymore. You gotta get him the salmon ones, Daddy.”

“But you told me this morning that he doesn’t like salmon,” Tony argues. “He only eats the premium chicken with gravy.”

Morgan shakes her head. “No, no that’s his wet food. He only eats dry salmon, and wet chicken. And sometimes tuna, but only that one in the blue bag.”

“And waffles,” Peter throws in with a wry smile, sitting down to start stroking the cat inside the box. “Don’t forget the waffles, Mr. Stark.”

“At this rate, I’m thinking it’d be better to just install a cat flap and let him find his own mice for dinner,” Tony grumbles.

As if on cue, Waffles meows irritably and leaps out of the cardboard box, straight onto Peter’s lap. However in doing so, the cat’s fluffy tail tickles the kid’s nose. Peter sneezes twice—rather violently—startling the cat to the point that it shoots across the room and climbs halfway up the drapes.

“Waffles!” Morgan cries and races after him.

Sniffling a bit, Peter gives a sheepish smile. “Whoops.”

Tony rolls his eyes and extends a hand to help lever the kid up again. Peter rubs at his eyes again—which Tony notices are redder than usual. He raises an eyebrow suspiciously. “Are you sure ‘too much hassle’ was the only reason May was against you having cats?”

Something flashes across Peter’s face, but it’s gone just as soon as it appears. “Yeah, yeah of course. Well, that and she’s more of a dog person, really, but they’re not allowed in the apartment.”

“Hm.” Tony glances at his watch. “Alright, well it’s almost His Royal Highness’ dinner time.” He gestures to the kitchen. “Let’s go see if we can get him to choke down some caviar and truffles or something…”

X

Three hours later, Tony can’t ignore the signs any longer. After witnessing Peter’s third sneezing fit since dinner, he privately pulls the kid out into the kitchen. “Pete, c’mon,” he sighs. “Just admit it already.”

Taking a tissue from the box Tony holds out to him, Peter shrugs innocently. “Alright, you got me. Guess I’m coming down with a cold.” He wipes his nose.

Tony raises an eyebrow. “A cold that began ten minutes after entering our home and has only gotten progressively worse since?”

Peter chuckles a bit. “Yeah, go figure, right? Perfect timing for my weekend off. What does Doctor Banner call that again?” He tilts his head to the side in thought. “Starts with an L…”

“Pete…”

“Leisure sickness!” he recalls, his face lighting up. “That’s the word. Think I’ve got that.”

Rolling his eyes, Tony starts ticking each symptom off on his fingers. “Your nose is running, your eyes are watery, you’re sneezing—”

“Which is all from the cold,” Peter cuts him off. He coughs twice into his elbow. “See? Sick.”

Tony scoffs. “In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never once admitted to being sick unprompted.” He pauses a beat. “Including that time you were actively vomiting.”

Peter rubs a hand at the back of his neck and gives a sheepish grin. “So I'm really demonstrating growth, then, huh?”

Tony ignores him and soldiers on. “You’re itching,” he says, gesturing to the red welts emerging on Peter’s forearms and neck. “You’re getting a rash—”

Peter tugs his hoodie sleeves down to cover them. “I think that’s the new laundry soap I’ve been using...”

Tony blinks at him. “Your eyes are bright red, kid.”

Peter opens his mouth to retort something, but then closes it again. He drops his gaze to the floor and lets out a hard sigh. “Okay… okay you’re right,” he admits. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t wanna say it around Morgan.” He looks up and, with a totally straight expression, whispers, “I’ve been smoking weed, Mr. Stark. I’m actually tripping balls right now.”

“Peter, just admit that you’re allergic to cats!”

“Huh?” Morgan cries from the living room where she has her kitty on her lap while she watches Curious George. “Peter’s allergic to Waffles?!” The cat dives off her lap and out into the kitchen, hiding behind Peter’s leg.

Peter winces. Then his nose wrinkles up and he sneezes four times into his wad of tissues. When he draws in his next breath, it’s more of a wheeze.

Tony heaves out a sigh. “Alright, we’re done here.” He bends down and scoops the cat up. “Waffles is staying in Pep’s office for the remainder of this weekend.”

“What?” Morgan blurts.

“Yeah, what?” Peter echos, snatching the cat back from Tony’s arms. “You can’t do that!”

“Pete, he’s making you sick,” Tony points out as Peter sneezes yet again. “If you’re already this bad in three hours, how do you expect to breathe in a couple more days?”

Peter looks stricken. “But… But you don’t understand.” He hugs the cat a little tighter and Tony swears he can see fresh hives emerging on Peter’s neck. “I just love him so much, Mr. Stark,” he says earnestly. “I would honestly die for this cat.”

Tony sighs and pats his shoulder consolingly. “Yeah, and that’s looking more and more like it might become reality, kiddo...”

X

It takes some convincing—and a bit of bribery—but eventually he gets the kids to agree to his plan. In the end, Morgan and Peter settle for a six-foot-tall ‘Royal Castle Kitty Condo’ (complete with a litter moat) in exchange for Waffles’ temporary banishment. He then sends Peter to the guest room while he and Morgan transfer the cat’s most essential supplies into the office, grateful for once that Pepper’s staying downtown this weekend.

Waffles promptly makes himself at home on the very top of her bookshelf—after first knocking over two glass figurines and a meticulously ordered stack of papers, sending legal documents flying around the room.

(Tony wonders just what kind of royal castle equivalent he’s going to have to bribe Pepper with when she gets back.)

X

It’s 12:16 a.m. when Tony remembers that they forgot to give Waffles his anti-hairball paste that evening and comes grumbling out of bed to do so.

It’s 12:19 a.m. when Tony opens the office door to see Peter, sitting on the floor with that damn cat curled up in his lap, wheezing out a high-pitched chant of, “Who’s a good kitty? Who’s a good boy?” between puffs of his inhaler as he strokes Waffles’ fur.

It’s 12:21 a.m. when Tony just gives up trying to reason with the kid and goes raiding the bathroom cabinets for Benadryl.

X

Link to all my fics

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Beanimia

Morgan Stark, M.D.

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[what-is-your-plan-today]

Riding High Ch 6: The Mother Ship

Chapter Summary: Mary gets into another spot of trouble and Frank’s mother turns up. (what a bitch!)

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings:  Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: Contains SPOILERS for the film!!!!! If you haven’t seen it please be aware of that before you read on. As a Lawyer I know how long the types of cases depicted in GIFTED can take, however they can also be done pretty fast. With that in mind, and because it fits with how I want the story to go I’m spreading it over approximately 6 weeks or so, so just roll with me! As always I’m a ho for a REBLOG and COMMENT!

Chapter Song: Satellite Call by Sara Bareilles

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

“So she hit him?” Fliss looked at Frank.

Frank took a deep breath. “In the face with a book.” Fliss frowned “That doesn’t sound like Mary.”

Frank shook his head “She hit him hard too. Broke his nose. I saw the kid leaving as I was going into the school, blood all over his shirt…” he scoffed “But, you know the really bad thing about it? I’m actually kind of proud of her. I mean this kid was 12 and he was picking on another kid Mary’s age and…” “That’s not a bad thing, that you’re proud!” Fliss said, shoving the last of her sandwich in her mouth.

“You should have seen the look her head teacher gave me when I said that.” Frank snorted, scrunching the empty bag of potato chips he had been eating in his hand and tossing it into the rubbish basket in Fliss’s office. “I mean, I know you can’t hit people, and I told Mary that…” “Well, that’s it then.” Fliss said, shrugging “Job done. She did something wrong, albeit for the right reasons and you dealt out the chastisement.” “And punishment.” Frank said “Told her she had to apologise in front of the class.” Fliss leaned back in her chair and studied him for a moment “ok, what’s really bugging you Sailor?”

“Am I that easy to read?”

Fliss shrugged before she nodded and deadpanned “Yes.” Frank scratched at the skin around his collar “They raised the issue of her being gifted again, told me she would be better off in a special school.” “Ah.” Fliss made a noise “And I’m assuming you told them to politely fuck off?” “In a fashion” he snorted “I was honest, said the last thing that she needs is reinforcement that she's different. She already knows that.” “Well if you keep saying it they’ll get the message. They can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to Frank.” Until the authorities get involved… Frank shrugged the thought from his mind and looked up as Joanne walked into the office.

“Your 1pm is here.” she smiled “Hey Frank.” He nodded to her as Fliss stood up, shooting him an apologetic look “Sorry to kick you out.” “I need to get back anyway.” he shrugged “Look, do you wanna come over later? I kinda told Mary if she apologised properly and didn’t misbehave we’d get pizza. She told me to ask you so…” “Sure.” Fliss nodded, smiling softly. “Sounds good. I finish here at…” she checked her diary “4:30ish so I’ll come straight over.”

Frank nodded and with a last smile he left her to it.

The rest of the day went smoothly. There were no calls from the school, he managed to fix the fuel line on the boat he was working on which meant he was done ahead of schedule, meaning his payment would be ahead of schedule. He’d promised to pick Mary up from School so he did just that and Bonnie came out to tell him that she had, in fact, apologised and gone one further by telling the class that the kid whose project had been destroyed deserved the class prize.

“I’m proud of you.” Frank said as they drove home.

“What for?” Mary looked at him.

“For being big enough to own up to being wrong.” Mary looked at him.

“And because you did what you said you were gonna, Fliss is coming over for pizza.” “Yessss!” Mary let out a whoop, and threw her hands up in a cheer.

Frank chuckled and shook his head. The woman had certainly made an impact in Mary’s life, that was for sure. And his, if he was being honest.

He pulled up outside the apartment and knocked the car out of gear before he reached down for the handbrake.

“There's a lady standing in front of our door.” Mary said.

“Who is it?” he asked, cracking the handbrake up.

“How should I know? I'm seven.” she scoffed back.

Good point… he turned to look and did a double take as he looked at woman stood on his doorstep, dressed in a pale brown dress, sunglasses and handbag slung over her shoulder.

Frank cut the ignition, one arm resting on the steering wheel as he glanced at her.

“That would be your grandmother.” he said as Mary continued to look out of the window

“Holy shit!” she exclaimed.

He was too shocked himself to chastise her for her language, that and he kind of agreed. Holy shit indeed.

“Come on…” he said, getting out of the truck. Mary hopped out of her side and walked with him up to the door.

“Mother.” he greeted.

She looked at him with a tight smile “Frank.”

“Mary say hello.” he said, his hand falling to the back of her head.

“Hello.” she greeted his mother politely.

Frank headed up the steps and his mother moved out of the way as he unlocked the door. She reached for the large bag by her feet, which frank could see was loaded with gifts and he rolled his eyes. He gave her a look and she simply smiled as he picked up the bag and carried it in. That was typical of her, thinking she could throw money at something and make it all ok.

Frank wasn’t stupid. He knew full well that damned principal would have caused this, and his mother was here for one thing only, to see if Mary was as smart as they all said. And he didn’t like it. One bit. Still, she was his mother so he behaved as politely as he could and offered her a drink, which she declined. Then, not wanting to cause a scene, he sat down and simply let her talk to Mary as she handed out gift after gift, whilst she sniffled into a tissue.

Nice one, Fred!

“An Apple?” Mary gasped as she unwrapped the sleek, white box from it’s pink and gold polka dotted paper. “Woah…”

“It's a MacBook, darling.” his mother spoke. “Top of the line with the Retina display.”

“Hey, you know who else has a Retina display?” Frank looked at her, arching an eyebrow.

“Fred!” she said with a grin. Frank looked over and saw the cat who was lounging on Mary’s bed swish his tail.

“Mary, I understand you like mathematics.” his mother spoke and Frank took a deep breath, glancing to his side where she was stood “So, on there you will found a great out of print book by Charles Zimmer...”

Oh here we go… Frank thought to himself as he sat back, running his hand over his stubble.

“…called Transitions in Advanced Algebra.”

“Yeah. Love that book.”  Mary said, turning the laptop over in her hands.

“You're saying you've read it?” his mother spoke and Frank didn’t miss the tone of surprise, yet excitement in her voice. Nope, he did not like this one bit.

“Yeah, I've kinda moved on to differential equations now.” Mary shrugged.

“Hey, don't forget your manners.” Frank spoke from where he was sat on the chair, elbow resting on the table, hand supporting his temple “Thank you, Grandma.”

“Thank you, Grandma.”

“Grandmother or Evelyn will do just fine.”

God, she never changed…Frank inhaled and looked away, his hand falling softly to the table in a fist.

“There's so much more on there. Things I know you'll find really challenging.” she moved towards Mary and Frank stood up.

“Yes, but sadly it's a school night and there's homework to do.”

“I thought you said Lissy was coming over?” “She is, so you need to get that homework done. But…” he gestured to his mother. “What a surprise though, right? Say good night to Grandmother or Evelyn.”

“Goodnight…”

“So who’s Lissy?” his mother asked as Frank ushered her out of the house “Don’t tell me you finally sorted your life out and got a girlfriend?” “Mary’s riding instructor, and no, she’s a friend.”

“She goes horse riding?”

“Yeah.”

Evelyn looked at him, before she sneezed into her tissue.

“I'd kill a priest for a Benadryl.” she said as they strode towards the black Mercedes she was clearly hiring.

“Still with the allergies?” Frank looked at her.

“Why in God’s name have you got a cat? You don't even like cats.”

“It’s not my cat, it's Mary's cat. I'm just along for the ride.” he shrugged. “So let me guess, our lovely principal, Miss Davis…”

“Never get on the bad side of small minded people who have a little authority. I thought I taught you that.” his mother said, turning to face him as she reached the side of her car. Frank took a deep breath and looked up just as Fliss’ white jeep turned onto the road. She gave a wave and he tossed a hand back and turned to his mother.

“What are you doin' here?” he asked her bluntly.

“You don't think I have a right to see my granddaughter?”

“I do. I'm thrilled your seven year exhaustive search has finally come to a fruitful conclusion.” he retorted sarcastically.

Even before she got out of the car Fliss could tell the exchange between Frank and whoever the woman was looked tense. Frank’s face was stony and his eyes were hard in a way she’d never seen before. She hesitated for a moment, then deciding it was far ruder to sit in her car and watch, she jumped out.

“I don't think this is appropriate time to talk” She caught the woman’s British accent and her head snapped towards her. Was this his mother?

“It’s certainly not the setting.” she continued as  Frank rolled his eyes and leaned back against the car bonnet. “When I was waiting a cockroach this big tried to steal my shoe.” She finished, holding her thumb and forefingers as wide apart as they would go. Fliss shook her head, and shut her car door loudly and turned to look at Frank.

“Yeah. They'll take a shoe.” he nodded.

Fliss smirked to herself at Frank’s response and he caught her eye as she was passing.

“Mary’s inside. I’ll be with you in a sec…” he winked at her but as she turned to go the woman spoke to her. “You must be Lissy…” the woman looked her up and down. Fliss glanced down. She was still in her riding gear only had traded her long boots for a pair of sneakers. Her long checked socks still pulled up to her knees, not that she should give a shit what this woman thought but she suddenly felt a little self-conscious.

“Felicity…” Fliss said holding out her hand politely. Frank smirked to himself at her correction to his mother, using her full, formal name not nickname before he gestured between the pair of them as they shook hands, his mother raising an eyebrow at her.

“Fliss, this is my mother…” Frank said, confirming Fliss’ suspicions “She was just leaving…” he turned to look at her. His mother held his gaze and then glanced around

“Honestly, this? This God forsaken mosquito ranch was a conscious choice?”

Fliss felt a rush of anger and before she could stop herself she jumped to Frank’s defence.

“I wouldn’t worry, I find Mosquitos are pretty particular about who they bite. I hear they’re not fond of people that taste bitter.”

Frank’s mother turned to face her. Fliss could feel the nerve in her jaw twitching at the out and out bitchiness of the woman in front of her and she could sense Frank watching her. Nevertheless, she didn’t move her gaze from the woman in front of her. Frank’s mother cocked her head, almost like she was assessing her for a moment before Frank spoke up deciding to break up the battle for alpha female that was going on.

“I could drop you back off at the airport.” he looked at his mother. She shot him a look and climbed into her car, shutting the door. He walked a few paces till he was besides Fliss before he turned and looked at her as she reversed the car.

“That’s your mother?” Fliss asked as the car drove off up the road

“Yep.” Frank said, his eyes on the tailgate as it rounded the corner.

“No offence but she seems like a total bitch.”

“Not total…” Frank said, looking down at her “I’d say about 89%”

Fliss laughed and snaked an arm round his waist “Come on Sailor, I’m starving.”

Tossing his left arm round her shoulder they made their way into the house. Frank stepped aside to let Fliss in first and she headed into the living area to see Mary on the couch, cross legged with an Mac Book open

“This thing is loaded with cool problems.” Marry muttered.

“Only problem I’m interested in is picking what to have on my pizza!” Fliss spoke. Mary’s head jerked up and she grinned.

“Lissy!” She dropped the laptop to the sofa besides her and jumped up. Fliss bent down to give her a hug before she started to chatter incessantly about the laptop. Whilst Mary was talking, Fliss spotted Frank as he leaned against the doorframe, his face stony.

“Hey…” she nudged him and he turned to face her, giving her a tight smile. “Push it out…” she gently reached up and tapped her finger against his temple “Order dinner and then when Mary’s asleep we’ll talk, that is if you want.”

He gave her a smile, this time genuine and nodded.

Two hours and a couple of large pizzas later Mary was in bed and Frank and Fliss were sat on the steps outside the kitchen, drinking beer.

“So the teacher calls her, and she turns up?” Fliss shook her head “Because you pissed her off?” “The Principal.” Frank corrected her, “But yeah…pretty much.” Fliss let out a sigh.

“The thing is, Evelyn won’t give up. Not now Mary’s confirmed her suspicions.” he drained his beer.

“What you think she’s gonna do?” “I dunno.” Frank said “But one things for certain, there’s gonna be nothing good that comes from her showing up.” He looked out over the lawn, the various lamps illuminating the grounds and the street. He felt Fliss slip her arm round him and she leaned against him.

“Well, you won’t be on your own. You got me and Roberta in your corner, along with your…what was it you called them?” "Circle of Trust” he said, laughing at the fact she’d remembered the nickname he and his friends had for their group.

“Am I in that circle yet?”

“Dur.” he nudged her gently before he rest his head against her. “But, if you’re along for the ride, Cowgirl you better buckle up…coz it’s gonna be bumpy.” “Meh..” she said, giving a small huff of laugh “The best road trips are.” *****

Turns out the appropriate time and place his mother was referring to was the next lunch time at a little bar overlooking the beach. He nodded to his mother as he took his seat.

“So, are you teaching?” she asked him as he took a sip from a glass of water.

“I repair boats.” Frank replied.

“Please.” She rolled her eyes.

“I'm not bad at it either.”

“Well, then, that explains this.” she said, gesturing to his face “They don't sell sunscreen here?”

“I wear sunscreen” he said, in the same tone he would use on Mary when she was making a pointless statement.

“Not enough. And you need a hat. A big hat that shades your face and neck. You're playing Russian roulette with your skin. You look like porn producer.”

“Okay.” Frank said, shaking his head, suppressing a smile “I appreciate the advice. I do. But we're not here to talk about sunscreen, are we?”

“So no more small talk? That's a shame.”  Evelyn said, taking a deep breath “Okay, the environment you have created for that child…where she lives, the school she attends…it's substandard. Every bit of it.”

“I disagree.” Frank said calmly

“We're going nowhere if we're not being honest with each other.” Evelyn shook her head.

“I am being honest.”

“I see. Fine. Well, I'm not leaving without her.”

“Well, welcome to Florida.” Frank smiled.

“Frank, please listen to reason” Evelyn leaned forward slightly “At some point, you are going to get to the conclusion...or someone in authority is going to spell it out to you, that the child’s best interest is all that matters.

Frank bristled slightly, the child? Her name was Mary. Best interest? All he had ever done for Mary was what he thought was exactly that. He took a breath and looked at his mother, holding her gaze. “If you're gonna make me pull rank, I will. Diane didn't want you to have her.”

“”Diane...” Evelyn started before her voice dropped slightly and he3r tone became softer “Diane didn't always think things through.

“Arguably one of the brightest minds on the planet, ok.” Frank said, nodding sarcastically “Good luck going down that road”

“And what do you think she'd say if she saw how her child is living now?” Evelyn shook her head “Do you honestly think she'd be pleased?”

“That she's living a somewhat normal life? Yes. I do.”  Frank replied honestly

“She's not normal. And treating her as such is negligence on a grand scale.”       

Frank glanced down at the table cloth as she continued.

“I know your heart's in the right place on this but you are denying the girl her potential. I can provide for her. I can enrich her life.”

“Come on, Evelyn.” Frank scoffed, holding his right hand out and ticking off the points as he made them by raising his fingers “You're gonna take that girl, you are gonna bury her in tutors. Then you’ll loan her out to some think tank where she can talk non-trivial zeros with a bunch of old Russian guys for the rest of her life.”

“And you'd bury her under a rock.” Evelyn shot back “Look, I didn't expect you to understand the price you have to pay for greatness.

“Oh I do.” Frank replied, his tone stern “That's why I have Mary in the first place.

“That's uncalled for.” Evelyn’s face slipped slightly and Frank looked away. When he turned back her expression was the same as it had been prior “Your sister had a laundry list of problems. She could have solved Navier-Stokes and go down in the history as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. But she didn't, because she couldn't finish. She was weak. Weak like a father and weak like...well…”

Frank raised his eyebrows and simply smiled at his mother as she trailed off.

“Now, if it's who I think it is... “ he said, looking down and wrinkling his nose “That kinda puts a black cloud over our luncheon.”

“You're still stubborn and vindictive.” Evelyn shook her head.

“Careful, Mother.” he said, leaning forwards resting both arms on the table “There's an apple and tree analogy lurking.”

“You guys ready to order?” the waitress interrupted the stare off they were having and Evelyn, ignoring her completely, stood up, reaching for her large bag which was resting on the table

“Here's an idea.” she said, reaching into her bag “Stop thinking about me and you...and start thinking what's best for the child. For any reasonable person, a clear picture will emerge. If it doesn't, I suggest you call your attorney.

With that she slammed a $50 note on the table and placed a salt shaker over it. Frank glanced at it before he looked back up at her.

“He'll have a bucket of beer.” she said to the waitress as she left.

Frank sighed and looked down at the table. The waitress glanced to him and he waved her away before he stood up and headed out, leaving the money where it was.

The rest of the day passed pretty fast, even if his mind was on this whole sorry mess. He managed to keep a front on for Mary, and bribed her with a trip to the stables to get her away from her Laptop and Math’s books. He had debated hiding the damned things but knew it would cause more trouble that it was worth.

“So she’s gonna take you to court?” Fliss scoffed as they watched Mary who was brushing Monty with Joanne.

“Looks that way.” Frank shrugged.

“That’s fucking unbelievable.” she seethed, and Frank had to smile at her indignation on his behalf

“Sadly it isn’t. “ Frank looked at her “I told you, she’s an exacting woman. I also told you nothing good would come of her turning up. Looks like I was right.”

“Also looks like I was right when I said she was a bitch.” Fliss replied, turning to look at him “Surely, you’re Mary’s legal guardian so they can’t just…” “Well, that’s the thing” he sighed “I’m not, it was never made official.”

“Oh.” Fliss said, looking at him before she glanced back at Mary. She took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose “You got a lawyer?”

“Yeah my friend, Greg Cullen.” Frank nodded “He’s a family law specialist…I already called him. I’m going to see him tomorrow so I can tell him everything, then it’s a case of waiting.”

He didn’t have to wait long. Two days later he received the court summons for little over a fortnight later.

*****

October 2017

“Hey…wait…”

Frank turned to see Fliss who was jogging up the steps to the courthouse. He glanced at Roberta who was smiling, a little smugly, and then back to his friend who he hadn’t expected to see today.

“Lissy? What are you doing here? Not that I’m not glad to see you but…” “I’m sorry I can’t stay I just…I wanted to swing by on the way to work and wish you luck.” she said, reaching up to straighten his tie.

“It’s just the preliminary hearing today.” Frank said.

“I know but…” she took a deep breath, smoothing out his jacket. He looked at her for a second before she pulled him into a hug.

“Call me later ok?” “Yeah, I will...”

She nodded to him, giving Roberta a smile before she turned to go

“Hey” he called after her and she looked over her shoulder at him “Thanks…”

She smiled and nodded heading back to her car.

“Lissy?” Roberta looked at him.

“What?” he frowned “It’s just a nickname...”

“Mmmhmmm...” Roberta eyed him “A nickname.”

“Yeah...”

“And she deviates here, just to give you a hug good luck, and you tell me there’s nothing going on…” 

“She’s a friend, a good friend…” Frank turned and shot her a look.

“Whatever you say…” Roberta sighed.

Frank shook his head, avoiding her gaze. If truth be told there had been the odd little moment where he’d picked up a few signals that perhaps she had feelings for him that went beyond simple friendship, the same way he had for her. But he convinced himself he was imagining things. They were from different worlds, why would a girl like her look at someone like him that way, especially with all this fucking baggage.

With a last look around he turned and headed into the court where after a short wait, they were ushered in.

Judge Edwards Nichols was a bald man with a moustache that any cowboy would be proud of. He gestured for everyone to take their seats and then pulled the case file over to him.

“Okay. Adler, grandmother and uncle…” he trailed off and looked up, glancing from Frank to Evelyn. “Really? Sure you folks don't wanna go on the hall and settle this?”

Silence ensued as Frank glanced sideways at his Mother who shifted slightly.

“No? Well, that's a shame. Mr. Cullen, you're here for the uncle.” the judge continued.

“Yes, I am, your Honor.”

“Should start charging you room and board.” Judge Nichols spoke, not looking up “Mr. Highsmith, you're on the wrong side of a bay, aren't you?”

“I'm very happy to be here, Your Honor” Evelyn’s lawyer replied.

“For the record, Mrs. Dibbons is representing the state of Florida Child Welfare Department.” Nichols spoke and Frank glanced over to look at a woman in a blue and white jacket and orange top in the gallery who held her hand up.

“Proceed.” Judge Nichols instructed and Evelyn’s attorney began to speak

“Your Honor, my client Mrs. Adler is the maternal grandmother of the child. Her daughter, the girl's mother was a troubled woman...who seven years ago sadly took her own life. It was at this time that Mr. Adler primitively and illegally…” At that Nichols shot a disapproving look at Frank and he shifted a little nervously in his seat, taking a deep breath..

“…took custody of the girl and spirited her across eight lines... for the purpose of denying my client custody.”

Frank glanced over at his mother who was staring straight ahead, avoiding his gaze.

“And there's the evidence that the child currently lives in unclean and unwholesome conditions. We petition to court to grant my client full custody of the child...so that she can return to the state of Massachusetts... and be given the care to which she is entitled.”

Frank stiffened and Greg gently placed his hand on Frank’s shoulder, shaking his head before he stood up.

“My client took an infant under his wing for one reason only. It was his sister's desire that he do so. My client has been her constant caregiver.”

Judge Nichols looked at Frank and he held his gaze.

“And your Honor, as far as the living conditions... I've been in this home. It's fine. I mean, if we adopt standards based on our Northern friend's aversion to palmetto bugs...we won't have a child left south of Tallahassee.”

There were a few dumbed down laughs from the gallery and Frank felt his spirits lift ever so slightly as Judge Nichols gave a smile and reached for a paper to his side, pen in his right hand.

“All right, last chance before this starts costing a lot more money.” he said.

“Your Honor, my client would need reasonable access to the child.” Evelyn’s attorney said after a pause.

“So ordered.” Nichols nodded “Ms. Dibbons, would you go out and check the living conditions?”

“On the books, Your Honor.” she replied.

“All right, folks. Drive carefully.”

Frank remained in his suit, deliberating what that meant. So whilst the case was on going, Evelyn would have access to Mary and his home was going to be inspected by some woman as to how sanitary and safe it was. Fantastic…

“Her lawyer has a nice suit.”  Frank said, his voice bland, betraying the hopelessness he was starting to feel.

“Relax, Frank.”  Greg looked at him “More weight's put on the talent competition. Go have a cocktail. huh?”

A cocktail, or 15, felt like a damned good idea by the time Frank had picked Mary up and gotten home.

“Roberta…” he caught her as she was walking back to her house with a clothes basket full of dried washing from the line “Would you like to have Mary tonight?

It was a pointless question, it was a Friday, she had Mary every Friday…but still.

“Why wouldn't I like to have Mary tonight?” she shook her head “I told you something like this would happen. Now look where we are”

Frank looked away, waiting got her to finish ranting.

“And I'm supposed to believe you know what you're doing. You couldn't even find a white lawyer.”

Frank scoffed “Wow…Look, just... Don't worry, okay?

“Don't tell me that.” Roberta looked at him. “There's nothing you can say that's gonna make me feel good... because I have no say in any of this, Frank! I'm not a blood relative, I'm not a legal guardian. I’m nothing. Just the lady who lives next door, whose opinion means nothing. Whose feelings mean nothing”

Frank looked down, he knew Roberta cared about Mary. Hell she cared about the both of them, even if she wouldn’t admit it. He already felt bad enough about this as it was, and she wasn’t helping.

“So would I like to have Mary tonight? I'd like to have Mary every night.”

With that she walked past him towards her house, leaving Frank staring at the floor, his mood darkening by the second.

***** Fliss was edgy. She’d messaged Frank a few times and called but he wasn’t answering or picking up, and she was getting a little worried that things hadn’t gone that well. She locked the gate to the yard and glanced at her watch. It was a little before 7.

Biting her lip she decided to head over and see if he was still in, or if he had already left for Ferg’s, given that it was a Friday night. If he had already gone, then she’d go and keep him company instead of letting him drink himself into a stupor alone.

She pulled up and, shrugging on a short sleeved plaid button down over her vest top she jogged up the steps, knocking on the door, but even as she did she knew there was no one in. The TV was off and the usual chatter wasn’t audible. As she turned to leave she heard a yell and looked over to see Mary hanging out of Roberta’s widow.

“Hey!” she grinned “Frank’s gone out…but me and Roberta are having Karaoke…wanna join?”

Fliss smiled, “How could I refuse that offer?” she laughed, and headed to the door.

“Hey Fliss!” Roberta grinned as Fliss kicked off her sneakers and stepped inside “You just in time…grab a microphone…” Fliss took the hairbrush Mary was holding out and laughed before she turned to Roberta. “How did it go? I tried calling Frank but…”

“Not too bad.” Roberta dropped her voice “They opened with some bullshit about his house being unclean so there’s some woman coming to inspect it at some point…”

Fliss wrinkled her nose and shook her head “That’s crap…” “Yeah, well, I’m gonna give it a clean anyway.” Roberta shrugged “And then apparently the Grandmother gets access whilst the case is going on so…Frank’s lawyer did a pretty good job to be fair.”

Fliss let out a sigh “I thought it was gonna be worse than that given I haven’t heard anything.”

“Well me and Frank may have had a disagreement.” Roberta said, her face contrite “So I probably put him in an even worse mood.” “Look, I know this is frustrating for you.” Fliss said gently “But the last thing he needs is everyone telling him I told you so. It is what it is, and we just gotta support him.” “I know.” Roberta said, her eyes filling with tears “I just, well, I’ve known that little girl since they arrived here looking for a house 6 and a half years ago…” “I get it, I do.” Fliss smiled “I mean I’ve only known them 8 weeks and I can’t imagine life without either of them now.” “Either of them?”

Fliss rolled her eyes “Stop it, you’re as bad as my mum.” Roberta chuckled and then both of them were instructed by Mary to stop talking and start singing, so they did.

After an hour and a rendition of what felt like Aretha Franklin’s entire back catalogue Fliss made her excuses to Mary and gave the girl a hug goodnight. Roberta walked her to the door.

“You gonna go find him?”

“Yeah.” Fliss said “Well, I’ll stop by Ferg’s that is, see if he wants some company.” “Sure he will, it’s you.” Roberta smiled. Fliss snorted, shaking her head again at the woman’s insinuations and headed to her jeep. She climbed in and headed down to the bay, mulling everything over in her head. The stupid thing was, Roberta wasn’t wrong. She did have feelings for Frank that went well beyond being merely platonic. In the short time she had known him he’d broken through every barrier she had put up, and she trusted him in a way she never thought she’d trust a man ever again. It was almost liberating for her to realise she could feel that way about someone else after everything John had put her through.

But, now really wasn’t the time to act on it, that is if she was going to act on it. She had no idea if Frank felt the same way and she needed to figure out if it was worth potentially sacrificing their friendship for. No, for now she’d simply enjoy being able to be around him, be his friend…at least until this sorry mess was all sorted.

Pulling up outside Ferg’s she checked her hair before she reached into the back of her car and grabbed her knee high boots. Her riding breaches were a light blue so they looked like jeans, meaning she didn’t feel too conspicuous. A quick squirt of perfume later she hopped out of her car and headed into the bar.

It was loud, and she glanced around trying to find a flash of one of his usual hideous Hawaiian shirts, but failed to spot one. Frowning, she was just about to give up thinking he must be somewhere else, when she spotted him at the bar, dressed in a pretty smart black and grey striped dress shirt. But he wasn’t alone. He was sat, quite close, leaning towards the woman Fliss recognised as Mary’s teacher. She hesitated for a second, and began to make her way over when Frank leaned even closer to Bonnie and Fliss’ breath caught and she felt an unwelcome, hot, buzzing sensation as she watched the pair kiss.

Well, that answered her question about what she was going to do about her feelings. Absolutely fuck all. Swallowing and blinking slightly, she turned and headed to her car, gently wiping away a stray tear as it fell down her cheek.

@the-omni-princess​​  @momobaby227​​ @geekofmanythings16​​ @angelofhell-666​​ @thewackywriter​​ @marvelfansworld​​​  @cobalt-gear​​  @asgardlover75​​ @jennmurawski13​​​​  @jtargaryen18​​​ @saiyanprincessswanie​​​  @navispalace​​​ @patzammit​​​  @joannaliceevans-fanficblog​​​ ​​ @djeniiscorner​​​  @ayamenimthiriel​​​  @coldmuffinbanditshoe​​​  @disneylovingal​​​ @madzmilllz​​  @sgtjaamesbaarnes​​ @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​​ @southerngracela​ @goldenfightergir​ @kellymat​ @official-and-unstable-satan​ @icanfeelastormbrewing​ @pagesoflauren​

[daydreaming-jessi]

Lmao guess who’s dealing with an existential crisis so she decided to write more for the Beetlejuice cat au???? If you wanna see the previous posts then just go to the shoggoth au tag on me blog kk

So, now Charles and Delia go from having 0 cats in the house to suddenly having 5.

It’s worse than the sudden ghosts

Because! Charles is allergic to cats! Emily was allergic to dogs, it’s why they never had any pets in the house before.

But he can’t exactly say no he’s seen shoggoth bring Lydia down from sudden panic attacks in like ten minutes and the kittens just lessen the panic attacks altogether!

Delia points out that the house aura has never felt better than when the cats were there. He sighs a heavy dad sigh and resigns to like twenty years of constantly taking Benadryl. (Shoggoth has also declared him a perfect nap lap and he also seems to be doing so much better mentally with the cats around. He likes seeing the kittens trample over each other after string sue him)

Barb and Adam are ecstatic!! Barb just adores animals! She had all kinds growing up, like snakes, lizards, fish, dogs, rodents, ferrets, and especially cats!!

I personally think she may have grown up on a farm, thus was constantly around animals (and doing hard work making her ultra strong).

Adam is more into bugs and snakes, but he loved fostering cats whenever he and barb took in a batch of christmas kittens, and these guys are so! Smart! Shoggoth has figured out how to open the attic door to sunbathe in the windows in the afternoon and the kittens have learned how to fetch! For them! When they need something for their town model!!!! (They of course are specially made for the model)

They name one kitten Patchie because it’s just so splotchy with it’s black and white fur and looks like a mini version of his mom but like a printer ran out of ink while making him. Beej tells them they are the most basic people he’s ever known and he loves them

Delia loves the cats, shoggoth will supervise Delia’s morning yoga everyday, sometimes joining in her own kitty way, and the kittens jumble up everywhere in the kitchen and garden whenever she is working in there, But one kitten... one kitten!

Delia swears they have some strange competition going on! This kitten pops out of nowhere and scares the daylights out of her every time! It is exactly like Lydia! (Lyds, Beetlejuice, stop laughing, it’s true!)

Lydia grins deviously and names this lil tabby brown lad Azazel. Beej cackles in the background while Delia is a lil confused.

But there’s this other fluffy black kitten with the most gorgeous dark eyes, and it reminds her so much of Lydia as well, so she names that little baby Circe. Lydia and Beej secretly think this is the coolest thing ever. Charles just smiles fondly and is ever more grateful for this eccentric lady that has become a part of their lives. Adam and barb think Delia is a delight (lol)

But there’s one kitten. One lil tabby black girl that’s just... dumb.

Like, you never think cats can be dumb, they’re so graceful and elegant and just.... smart! But this one kitten...

Shoggoth seems to always be supervising this kitten and yet it still gets in trouble. She’s managed to lock herself in the guestroom closet twenty two times- make that twenty three. (Charles get the coat hanger, she’s done it again!)

This kitten doesn’t seem to be mentally lacking behind her brothers and sister, she just... doesn’t seem to think things through.

Whenever someone takes a bath she wants into the bathroom, and she’ll want to sit in their laps while they’re in the bath so she’ll jump in without realizing that the human is... in a bath. Of water. Many times a soggy black shadow will sprint down the stairs away from the bathroom while someone in there laughs.

Beej took it upon himself to name this kitten.

“Her name... is Beef.”

“... Beej that is the worst name I’ve ever heard.”

“No, no, my mother is the one that’s come up with the worst name ever and that’s calling your son Beetlejuice instead of Lawrence in front of everyone they know forever sealing his fate as beetlejuice.”

“.... Beej you okay?”

“I am never okay Lyds.”

Beef is a special kitten that Shoggoth seems to stretch herself thin trying to keep in check. The parents can relate when this cat comes into the living room at night looking haggard and crashing on the nearest soft surface to pass out for twelve hours away from her kids currently crowded on lydia’s bed.

Many of lydias photography now include dozens of pictures of the cats (and pics Beej had a hand in choreographering). The cats being goofy, the cats being majestic, shoggoth is a star in many creepy photos, being a cat that just screams bad luck with her one eye and crooked tail, there’s one of Delia about to be scared by azazel that always cracks lyds up

Lydia feels her aesthetic is complete when she goes out walking five cats on harnesses wearing full mourning clothes and her camera while electric green haired Beej follows wearing college sweatshirts and jogger handmedowns from Charles. What is this aesthetic? Hell if she knows.

If you can’t find Beej anywhere he’s most likely where the cats are. He loves to nap in the sun with shoggoth, he loves slinking around the shadows with azazel, he loves playing with patchie in the wood shavings of the maitlands model town carving, he loves drifting after beef as she gets in mischief. Sometimes he’ll be sitting down and suddenly the cats all climb on top of him and take a nap, and he’s just still and suddenly at peace and doesn’t need to do anything else. He just, really loves these cats.

It’s kind of scary for him, since they have a much shorter life span than breathers do, and he’s not entirely sure where animals go when they die. He’ll get really quiet sometimes thinking about death and how suddenly it can change his entire life when before it was basically all he knew. He feels much better when shoggoth begins grooming his crazy hair and Lydia shows him another breather thing or Delia asks him to go shopping with her, or the maitlands ask him questions about ghost things, or Charles shows Beej another cool house he’s selling.

Head cannons of Beetlejuice now lives with the deetz time

Everyone... tries to get used to beetlejuice. Delia makes the most surprising progress. Within two days she’s calling Beej Lawrence and both him and Lydia are helping her make breakfast in the morning before he helps her with her garden and dusting her crystal collection. She’s pretty much adopted him like she instantly adopted Lydia when Charles hired her.

Charles has some reservations. This guy tried to marry his daughter, chased him and Delia out of their house, getting him fired from his job, and tried to kill him several times. But then he sees what Delia sees.

And what did Delia see?

A kid. Just, a kid that was really badly abused by his mom. He has abandonment issues from losing his dad and basically learned that the only way to get people to be nice to is by manipulating them. People don’t love you, Lawrence, you’re a useless mess of a boy that’s good for nothing and has no friends. Love is not for people like you.

Charles joins the Beej protection squad lyds and Delia have formed pretty quickly after that.

It’s harder for Adam and barb. They both are still a little scared of Beej. They would be cool with him, but he harassed them a lot before. Lydia can’t blame them but she also knows that Beej struggles to understand personal boundaries and really does have a big crush on them. Lydia is helping Beej better understand personal space (she had a tough time with it too when she was younger) and he’s learning to not force himself on others quite so much.

Beej really does like the maitlands, they’re stable, really in love with each other, actually genuinely nice, they’re kind of the coolest couple of newlydeads he’s ever met. He... wants to be a part of that. But he’s not completely sure how to join that. His usual tactic of overtly sexual actions usually work all the time, but not here. They enjoy... genuine affection??? Who??? What??? What do you mean you like me for my personality my personality is depressed garbage?

Lydia is relieved. No more keeping secrets from her family. Her pseudo brother best friend is now summoned again, being on his best behavior and allowed to stay with them and is now also healing from his mom troubles, and she has five cats now. Nice. Dead mom would love this new family Lydia and Charles made themselves. They love it too.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Lydia and Beej haven’t given up their favorite pastime.

Whenever Delia and Charles are out, and the maitlands are busy up in the attic, the two share an evil grin, and start to call some numbers, ready to hear that beautiful sound once more.

Now with the added bonus of cat yowls and howls. That really freaks people out.

What? Just because he’s getting over trauma and is a part of a loving family doesn’t mean Beej is a better person now. It just means his mom isn’t holding him back anymore >:3

So... what happens when Juno comes back wanting revenge on her no good son?

Lemme know if y’all wanna hear anymore of this au or have ideas of your own I’m kinda on a beetlejuice kick rn lol

[carethedog]

Can Benadryl Help With Dog Anxiety?

While some sources of dog stress are chronic in nature, like separation anxiety, many are temporary and situational. Thunderstorms, fireworks, and even holiday gatherings are often stressful for dogs.

For these short-lived events, what can a pet parent do to assist their anxious dog?

With good intentions, pet parents may rummage through their own medicine cabinets for potential solutions. Perhaps you've got done so yourself and you’ve wondered if Benadryl can calm dogs. If so, you're not alone.

But is Benadryl safe for dogs? Can Benadryl ease a dog’s anxiety? These are questions I often hear as a veterinarian.

The answer isn’t an easy yes or no—it’s a touch more complicated than that. Here’s what you would like to understand about using Benadryl for dogs and what you would like to take care of.

Can You Use Benadryl to Calm Dogs? Benadryl is usually mentioned by healthcare professionals by its generic name, diphenhydramine.

It’s an antihistamine, meaning that it acts to prevent or prevent allergies . For this reason, Benadryl is usually used for the treatment of environmental allergies and allergies to insect bites and bee stings.

Benadryl is additionally wont to decrease the severity of or prevent vaccine reactions. Occasionally, Benadryl is useful for mild kinetosis , though it's infrequently effective for this purpose.

But what about using Benadryl for dog anxiety? you'll have heard that Benadryl are often used as a sedative to calm your dog while traveling or during fireworks or thunderstorms.

It’s true that Benadryl may alleviate symptoms for a few dogs, but the sedative effects are mild and not nearly as pronounced in dogs as they're in people.

So overall, Benadryl isn't commonly helpful for dogs battling anxiety or phobias.

Alternatives for Treating Dog Anxiety If Benadryl’s not the solution for dog anxiety, what are you able to do? Work together with your veterinarian to work out ways to decrease your dog’s anxiety depending upon the trigger. Here are a couple of helpful options that they could suggest to ease your dog’s stress.

Dog-Appeasing Pheromones One OTC option that some dog owners have great success with is DAP (dog-appeasing pheromone).

These synthetic pheromones may induce relaxation and help modify your dog’s behaviors. they're available in many forms, including sprays, plug-in diffusers, and even collars, a private favorite of mine.

Dog Anxiety Vests and Head Halters Dog anxiety vests, mats that reduce static (for thunderstorm phobias), and head halters may help to calm your dog further.

Noise Machines and Music For noise-induced anxiety, attempt to provide background sounds from the radio or television.

Music with tons of constant drumbeats, like rap, usually helps. Don’t turn the music up loud; instead provide a continuing distracting rhythm to focus your dog’s attention on the music rather than the triggering noise.

Using noise apps can help alleviate noise-induced phobias also .

Prescription Medications Prescription medications are often very helpful within the majority of dogs battling fearful or anxious behaviors.

Maintain a relaxed , Supportive Demeanor Never punish your dog for his or her anxious behaviors (or in general). this suggests physically or by yelling or reprimanding him for things like chewing, digging, or eliminating within the house.

Here are some anxious behaviors your dog may exhibit:

Elevated pulse

Panting

Trembling

Pacing

Loss of bladder or bowel control

Hiding or fleeing

Lowering their body and tucking their ears on the brink of their head

Opening their eyes wider than usual

Curling their tail on the brink of their body

Showing defensive aggression

Destructive behaviors, like chewing and digging excessively

Excessive vocalization

Remember that punishment for any behavior will only worsen anxiety in dogs. Instead, help to calm your dog and always reward them once they respond positively to things that sometimes cause anxiety.

In general, a dog’s anxiety are going to be lessened when their owner is calm, patient, and on top of things .

[ma-sulevin]

Mattie’s made it to the Henbane! You know what that means?

Pairing: Sharky Boshaw/Female Deputy Rating: E, but mostly for swearing Warnings: Canon-typical violence, but nothing particularly explicit I don’t think Word Count: 5939, chapter three of twelve

Read it on AO3 instead and say nice things.

It wasn’t so bad at the marina, but the deeper into the Henbane they get, the more Mattie feels like she’s been smacked right in the sinuses with like a bat or a metal pipe or something. The pollen from the fucking fields of fucking bliss is so pervasive that she sneezes once every ten minutes on the dot, more than once alerting a nearby peggie to her hiding spot.

She just wants to pop three Benadryl and take an eighteen-hour nap. Maybe that would help.

Hurk and Boomer stay with her, neither of them particularly bothered by the clouds of icky greenish pollen floating in the wind, sticking with her through all the snot and the sneezing. Hurk is a constant source of chatter, which could be annoying but is actually pretty nice when the alternative is sitting in her own head worrying about everything that’s going on.

Joey. Staci. Earl. Burke. She hasn’t died again, and now she’s not sure those times weren’t bliss hallucinations. If they were -- could they happen again? Is she going to wake up in a hospital in Missoula strapped to the bed as a 10-96, her reputation in Hope County ruined?

Listening to Hurk’s (made up, she assumes) tales of the Monkey God and Kyrat is a much nicer way to spend her time. It’s good for a laugh, at least. The man is a little scattered, but he’s a natural storyteller under all that.

Mattie keeps an eye out for rogue peggie helicopters, but getting Tulip back for Adelaide isn’t her top priority by any stretch of the imagination. If she’s meant to find it, she’ll find it, and she’s not going to waste time and energy driving around until she stumbles across the right vehicle. There are real lives on the line she needs to take care of first.

A couple days after they leave the marina, Mattie’s radio comes to life once more with a request for help that has Hurk cheering before she can really parse out the message.

“Hell yeah, Sharky here--” (excited whooping) “--brain-dead cultists at the trailer park.”

“That’s my baby cousin!” Hurk says, somehow fucking bouncing even with that RPG cradled in his arms like a thirty-pound infant. “He’s at the Moonflower, let’s go get him!” He pins her in place with a hopeful look that she assumes he perfected on his mother -- and then sighs because it works.

She knows Sharky by reputation, even if she’s never personally arrested him before. She’s heard Staci and Joey talk about him, and she’s seen his wanted poster still up by the Spread Eagle even though he’s not actually wanted and is out on probation, probably.

“Okay, fine.” She makes a shooing motion at him and he sets off at a jog, heading up the mountain at a pace she knows he’ll be tired of in just a few minutes. She follows anyway, more sedately, along with Boomer, and they catch up with Hurk soon enough.

About halfway up, they find a car abandoned on the side of the dirt road. There’s blood smeared on the front passenger seat and on the door, and Hurk happily climbs in the back with Boomer, leaving Mattie to climb in the relatively clean driver’s seat.

The rest of the way to the trailer park is peaceful, no cultists or bliss fields, and Hurk barely snickers when she sneezes hard and accidentally jerks the wheel to the right and runs them through the grass for a bit.

Okay, next time they come across a gas station or a truck stop or a corner store or just a regular old house that hasn’t been ransacked: she’s dosing up on Claritin. This shit is getting old.

“This used to be a real nice trailer park,” Hurk comments, leaning forward in his seat to speak almost directly into her ear. She parks the borrowed vehicle a safe distance away from another one that’s already on fire, and they both watch as something inside the fence explodes. “Not so much anymore.”

She snorts, then coughs into her elbow. “Apparently not. Let’s go.”

They climb out and Boomer runs ahead, nose to the ground and tail wagging. There don’t seem to be any cultists hanging around right now, so she keeps her weapons safely holstered even though Hurk doesn’t bother with the same courtesy, just waves with one hand when he sees a man standing on top of one of the trailers.

Mattie casts a critical eye around the place as they climb up one of the ladders to walk across the makeshift platforms. Obviously this used to be a pretty standard trailer park, small but with a cute little playground in the middle for the kids. There are no cars sitting around other than hers and the one that was on fire, and the only bodies she can see are wearing Eden’s Gate clothes. Most of the residents must have joined up with the cult or turned tail before Sharky took over.

When they get close enough, they can see Sharky is holding a flame thrower which, okay, it’s technically legal, but it still makes Mattie frown to see him with one, and apparently that frown makes her look too much like a law enforcement officer, because Sharky takes a whole step back and yells, “You’ll never take me alive!”

Mattie just stares at him. Sharky stares right back.

Hurk laughs. “Man, we ain’t here to arrest you. You think I’d bring the cops to a barbeque like this? The dep’s cool, man.”

Sharky looks her up and down and then cocks his head to the side. “ ...oh, you’re not here to arrest me?” When she shakes her head, still frowning a bit, he shrugs and seems to accept her at her word. “Cool, sorry. I am Victor Charlemagne Boshaw, but--”

She listens as he launches into his speech about who he is and what they’re going to be doing over the next few minutes, and she knows it’s a terrible idea, and it must just be whatever genetics Hurk and Sharky share beyond frankly ridiculous names, but his enthusiasm is infectious and she finds herself agreeing to help him even though she shouldn’t.

The people he’s luring in need help. They need to be taken away from the Seeds’ influence and given to someone who can de-condition them, whatever that looks like. She doesn’t know how this stuff works -- it wasn’t covered in school or in the training she got from the Sheriff’s Department.

Her mind changes when she finally sees an Angel up close. Its eyes are completely white, unseeing but not in the way someone who’s simply lost vision would look. There’s a green shimmer to them, and standing too close makes her head spin around like she’s wandered too close to a bliss field again. They fight with inhuman strength, giving more of themselves over to the trouble than any human in their right mind would, and they shake off injuries that would bring down a normal person.

They’re fucking zombies. She nearly gets bit by one, saved only by the stained white mask covering its face, and it grunts and growls and then screams when she puts a bullet between its eyes. The sound makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, a shiver go down her spine.

What the fuck has Faith been doing to them?

What the fuck.

After the last Angel is put down and the last cognizant cultist is also put down, and Sharky’s speakers are all disconnected from his stereo, and Mattie is done celebrating the fact that she managed to not fucking die this time , Hurk and Sharky jog up to where she’s sitting on the playground steps reloading her rifle. They’re both keyed up, excited after the battle and running on adrenaline, but she’s just tired now.

She keeps saying it, but she’s so goddamn tired.

The first thing out of Sharky’s mouth is, “That was fuckin’ hot and uhhh not just cause of the fire.” She freezes, her rifle across her knees, the magazine in one hand and a few loose bullets in the other. Hurk is grinning at him, the beginnings of a laugh starting to bubble up, and Sharky immediately turns red and starts talking faster. “I mean, that didn’t help, but. I mean. Anyway. You did good, shorty, and if you want me to join up with you and Hurky, just say the word.”

Mattie clears her throat and goes back to putting the bullets back in the magazine. The smoke and gasoline fumes are mixing with her already irritated sinuses to give her a headache, and she has to pause to sneeze into her elbow again before she comes up with an answer.

“Sharky? If you burn down every field of bliss we come across, you can follow me anywhere.”

He absolutely lights up at her promise, face breaking into a wide grin as he does a little jig like he just can’t contain his joy.

It’s cute.

She ignores it.

---

“I don’t wanna argue with your plan or nothin,” Sharky says, tone conversational and voice loud over the roar of his flamethrower, “but do you think this is like… lightin’ up a giant joint?” 

Mattie laughs behind the bandana she has tied over her face. “I wouldn’t be upset about it if it wasn’t a hallucinogen,” she says. “It’s one thing to be high and another to think you can fly when you’re on the edge of a cliff.”

Sharky glances at her over his shoulder, eyeing her up and down. “You’re kind of unusual, for the fuzz.”

She shrugs, glances away before he does, catching movement out of the corner of her eye that’s probably just Boomer or Hurk. “These are unusual times, dude.” The movement isn’t either of her other companions, so she wanders a little closer while Sharky continues burning the plants. 

“Be careful!” She can barely hear his voice now, but it doesn’t occur to her to turn back to him, back to safety. “You can’t trust your senses out here!”

There are lights flashing in her vision, and she pauses to rub at her eyes with her knuckles. The lights are still there when she opens them again, her chest tight, and she pulls her bandana down so she can breathe freely.

It’s a mistake.

The bliss hits her full force, knocking her off balance, the vertigo from the marina back as Faith steps in front of her.

“Welcome to the bliss.”

Faith’s hands are on her shoulders, slipping down her arms to her hands, then she’s slipping away, and Mattie is following her without question, without even trying to grab a weapon , just… blindly following this woman through bliss pollen so thick it might as well be fog.

Faith stays just a step away the whole time, no matter how fast Mattie moves or how she lunges, giggling and twirling and speaking about who she really is in a sing-song voice.

Mattie barely even notices she’s on top of Joseph’s statue because Burke is there too, and when she tries to tackle him, he just… steps off the statue as Faith urges Mattie to do the same.

And, still surrounded by the bliss… she does.

---

“Oh, she’s waking up. Come on, Dep, you okay, man?”

She opens her eyes slowly, forcing herself to move even though every fiber of her being is screaming for her to keep her eyes closed and surrender to the white black white she’s gotten used to, that she’s started to miss just plowing through Hope County like it’s her own personal sandbox to destroy however she wants.

“I knew we shouldn’t have stuck around after the bliss started burning,” Sharky says, his voice coming from her other side. She can’t see either man, just the blue sky above her. There’s a single cloud that’s almost a perfect circle. “And you know I love fire, man, it’s just the best.”

She squeezes her eyes closed again, tight enough that she can see white lights that don’t have anything to do with bliss, then she opens them and sits up. She’s wobbly, but two sets of hands are there to help her, overlapping chatter from the two men drowning out her spiraling thoughts.

One of them hands her a water bottle and she drinks from it, unconcerned with the dampness from the grass cooling on her shirt and sinking deeper into her worn jeans. The water is warm and unpleasant, but she forces herself to swallow three mouthfuls before passing it back.

“Mayor’s on the radio,” Hurk says, talking a little louder to cut Sharky off. “Says they got supplies over in the jail, maybe they can help. Here, cuz, where’s the radio?”

Sharky produces the little hand-held with a flair, and Mattie wonders if they took it to call for help but doesn’t have time to ask because it’s switched on and she can hear Minkler’s voice coming through all tinny. “ Anyone looking for refuge, come to the Hope County Jail. We have beds and food here. ”

The radio goes silent and Hurk clicks it off. Mattie stares off in the direction she thinks the jail is instead of looking at either of the guys, and then she takes a deep breath. She doesn’t really want to go back to the jail, doesn’t want to see what happened to it once Joseph’s people took over, doesn’t want to face anyone she might know.

“It would be nice to have some real food,” she says, voice hoarse and throat raw. “Like, some vegetables.”

Both the boys are nodding, but Sharky’s the one who opens his mouth first. “I am not going to lie to you,” he says. “I have not pooped in six days.”

Mattie’s attention snaps from the crest of the hill to Hurk’s eyes, then they’re both turning to look at Sharky, whose face is a little screwed up like he’s not totally sure he actually said that out loud , and then... 

They’re all laughing, the tension broken, worry she hadn’t realized was on their faces melting away. She starts to stand and they both haul themselves to their feet and pull her up with them, propping her up between them, and she lets them because it’s been weeks since she felt the warmth of another human’s touch.

She lets Hurk drive, lets Sharky sit up front next to him, stretches herself across the back seat with Boomer on the floor, listens to them chatting about how weird it is that Hurk and his dad have the same name, smiles at the absurdity of it all, then frowns when guilt at feeling happy when her friends are being tortured sneaks in.

It takes a few minutes to get to the jail, driving slowly down the mountain and along switchbacks that Hurk is taking much more carefully than she really thought he would, and she’s able to stare at the trees passing upside down over her head. 

“Oh, shit, man.” The car comes to an abrupt stop and Mattie almost slides off the seat and onto Boomer. “Looks like peggies got the jail.”

Mattie’s stomach clenches; a cold sweat stands out on her skin. She sits up, leaning forward with her hands on the front seats. Sharky looks over at her, but she just stares through the windshield, squinting to see the details. There are peggies absolutely swarming in the front parking lot, up the hill from where Hurk pulled the car to a stop. 

“Shit.” Mattie digs her fingernails into the front seats, letting the little pricks of pain ground her for the half-second she needs to pull her thoughts away from fresh food and back to fighting. The peggies are overwhelming the jail; they need to help. “Jesus Christ, fucking -- okay. Hurk, do not blow up the jail, there are civilians in there. Find something off to the side, make a distraction. I’ll come in from the other side.”

“What do you want me to do, Dep?” Sharky asks, still too loud but serious now. His fingers are drumming on the door handle, ready to go.

She bites her lower lip, accidentally pulls a piece of dead skin off. “Fuck shit up.”

He hops out of the car and cheers. Hurk follows suit, and she jumps out with Boomer more quietly, double checking her AR-C before she follows them up the hill.

The place is a disaster. There are burnt-out cars in the parking lot, enough smoke floating through the air to make her eyes water, peggies screaming and attacking the outside walls. There are people she doesn’t recognize up on top, behind the razor wire, and she hopes they see her red flannel, Hurk’s stars-and-stripes, or Sharky’s green hoodie and realize they’re not peggies, hopes the smoke and chaos won’t be their downfall.

She doesn’t want to have to do this again, too.

Two peggies fall under her spray of bullets as something explodes off to the left side of the jail. As she’d hoped, the peggies scramble around, not sure who’s attacking them, and it makes it easy for her to sneak around and snap the neck of a third man.

When her radio crackles to life, she almost doesn’t hear it. “ Hey is that you, Rook? ” Earl. Earl. It’s Earl. He’s alive. He’s here? She blinks hard to clear her eyes of tears that suddenly have nothing to do with the smoke and squats behind a car that smells of burned rubber, pulling her radio to her face to hear the rest of his message: “ Ah, Christ, help us out here. ” 

She starts to press the talk button but a woman spots her, runs over with a shovel raised, and Mattie has enough time to wonder who shows up to a prison siege with only a shovel as a weapon before she has her pistol up and puts a bullet between the woman’s eyes.

When the last parking lot peggie falls, there are a few seconds where the only sounds are the roaring of flames, and then one of the doors in the wall opens. She walks through, doesn’t look back to see if Hurk or Sharky are following her, just steps into the courtyard and waits.

“Holy shit.” She snaps around to see Earl weaving his way through the rubble, his hat on his head and a smile on his face. He looks good, he looks healthy, and he’s trying to talk to her but she’s throwing her arms around his neck and bursting into tears before he has a chance to get out a full sentence.

He grunts and staggers back a step, but his arms still wrap around her waist and he squeezes her almost as tightly as she’s squeezing him. He rubs one hand up and down her back, soothing, shushing her when it only makes her cry harder.

She doesn’t care that she’s standing in the middle of the courtyard where everyone can see her. She doesn’t care that she’s getting tears and snot all over the shoulder of her boss’ uniform. All she cares about is that he’s alive, and he’s healthy, and he’s not an angel or trapped in a bunker, and she’s so overwhelmed with relief that she doesn’t know how to handle herself anymore.

“You’re alright, sweetheart.” He cups the back of her head like he might a child’s, comforting, and she draws in a shaky breath in an effort to just stop fucking crying. “We’re okay.”

She squeezes him even tighter for half a second then forces herself to step back. It feels like she has to unclench each of her fingers individually, has to scrape the toes of her stolen boots over the crumbling asphalt before she can give him the space she’s supposed to. She wipes at her eyes with the backs of her hands, wipes at her running nose and makes an ungodly noise when she intends to make a dainty sniffle.

“Sorry.”

“You’re alright,” he says, again, this time clapping her on the shoulder like he used to sometimes. “You really saved our bacon. The peggies’ve been throwing themselves at these walls for days. They just won’t let up.” He looks at the injured stretched out on the ground, then back to meet her eyes, a grim look on his face. “We really kicked open the hornets’ nest.”

Yeah. Yeah. They weren’t ready to arrest Joseph, should have waited longer or should have done it months earlier, before John had bought up so much of the county, before Jacob started kidnapping the locals, before Faith perfected her bliss formula, before everything went to shit.

Their moment of silence is interrupted by a man yelling a warning from the high walls, then being pushed back by a grenade. He falls in front of Mattie, his body hitting the asphalt with a sickening thunk. Blood pools under his head and his eyes stare, unseeing, up at the blue sky.

Earl jumps into action before she does, numbed as she is by everything. He checks the man’s pulse, yells for a medic, and part of her brain that she’d tried to bury wants her to respond. I’m a medic. I know that man’s gone. 

He snaps her out of it. “I need you up on that wall, Rook,” he says, and he looks sorry to say it, but his silent regret doesn’t make the need less dire, doesn’t mean not fighting back won’t lead to all of them being tortured at the hands of Faith or her brothers.

So… she does it. She does what he asks her to, does what she needs to do to protect the people in the jail. Minkler fights by her side for as long as he can, but he’s a politician, not a soldier, and the second time he trips over his own feet, she shoves him in the shoulder and tells him to get the fuck inside.

Sharky and Hurk fight with her too, performing better than she thought they would when she first saw them. Hurk, in particular, is able to keep his mouth shut and grenades sailing through the air with remarkable precision, so much so that she starts to think there’s some truth to the wild stories he’s been spinning in their down time. Sharky swaps his flamethrower out for a more reasonable AK-47, and she smiles when she sees it but doesn’t bother to reflect on why she thinks that weapon is reasonable, just keeps fighting.

It’s all she can do.

Just keep fighting.

---

“So are you fucking the sheriff, or…?” Sharky lets the tail end of his question trail off, like he hadn’t already asked the most important part, the part that has her wrinkling her nose in distaste before she starts laughing. He blinks at her, lips pulling up in a grin when she starts to laugh, and pulls his hat off to run his hand through his hair. It sticks up when he’s done, dirty, greasy from hours of sweating under the brim, and she’s happy the jail still has working showers.

“No,” she says. “I’m not. I’ve never even thought -- why would you ask that?” She sits on the edge of the cot she’s been assigned even though there’s still dirt on the seat of her jeans, starts untying her boots as she listens to Sharky take a sharp breath before launching into what she assumes is going to be quite the speech.

“It’s just, you were pretty happy to see him, I guess.” He pauses and sighs. “I’ve never seen anybody cry that hard into a hug.”

Mattie sits up and scratches the tip of her nose. She can feel her cheeks heating up a bit as he stares at her, waiting. “The Seeds have all my other friends. I thought they had him too.” She shrugs and fiddles with the tail of her shirt, rubbing the soft cotton between her fingers. Sharky’s looking at her with something a little too understanding on his face, so she looks down into her lap and chews at the dead skin on her lip.

“Hurky and me, we’ll help you get your friends back,” he says, squeezing the bill of his hat between his hands. She watches the motion, the nervousness of it, then meets his gaze just before he says, “That’s what friends are for, right?”

The earnestness on his face, of his offer, makes her smile. It eases the tight ball in her chest, and she takes what feels like the first full breath of the day. “I really appreciate it, Sharky.”

He shrugs, dismissing her thanks. “Once you get the other deputies back, you still won’t arrest me, right? For all the fire, and the murdering, and all?” He pitches his voice lower, but he’s still too loud. It’s like the man never learned how to whisper.

She stands and knocks his shoulder with her fist. “If anyone’s getting in trouble for what we’ve been doing out there, it’s me. You’re fine. I promise we won’t arrest you.”

“Okay, good,” Sharky says, voice brightening again. “You gonna shower now?”

“Mhm. Be right back.” She knocks him in the shoulder again for good measure.

He throws his hat at her back as she walks away.

---

She doesn’t remember dying this time. She knows what it feels like -- getting shot, falling too far, having her neck snapped, drowning, being run over by a car, or being struck in the face with the butt of some peggie’s rifle -- but she doesn’t know which of those things put her in the black white black this time.

She doesn’t remember, but she’s trapped here, searching through a place she can’t see for an exit she’s not sure exists.

Is this the final time? Has she used up her thirty lives and is now doomed to run through this place for the rest of eternity? Was she supposed to do something different, behave better, make choices for good and she ran out of chances and this is what hell is?

She grew up expecting a lake of fire, not this… nothingness.

She can’t stop the sobs, can’t stop herself from screaming for help even though it's useless.

She screams and screams and screams and

She wakes up with a start, her limbs jerking like she suddenly fell, and she tries to sit up but there’s a hand in hers and another wiping tears from her face. It doesn’t feel like a threat, so she relaxes and forces her eyes to look at something other than the ceiling.

For half a second, she’s certain the gentle touches belong to Joey, like she’s fallen asleep during a movie night and Joey’s absently stroking her hair. A half-second after that, she’s certain the gentle touches belong to Staci, because the hands are bigger than Joey’s, and he never complained when she flopped on him like a cat needing attention.

“There you are, shorty.” Sharky’s voice reminds her where she is and who she’s with, and she draws in a wet, shaky breath as the reality of everything crashes full-force into her. His fingers tighten around hers, and she curls her body around that point of contact. “You been crying in your sleep and didn’t wanna wake up, but you calmed down as long as I was holding your hand.”

She wipes her face on the back of her sleeve. “Sorry,” she says, voice thick and wet. “Did I wake you up?”

He brushes her hair away from her face. “Nah, I was still awake. Don’t worry about it.”

It doesn’t seem right that this large, boisterous man should be the one comforting her in the middle of the night, but she can’t help the impulse that tells her to nuzzle into his hand. She turns into it, blinking up at him in the dim light of what used to be the department’s bullpen, and he grins back down at her.

He’s sitting on the floor at the edge of her cot, long legs stretched out on the dirty tile floor, still in his jeans but now without his boots or hoodie. He’s got a ratty wifebeater tank on instead, stretched out at the neckline, and she can see faded swirls of ink on one of his biceps. She huffs out a laugh, and he squeezes her fingers in reply.

“How long’ve you been sitting there?”

She doesn’t mention their entwined fingers. He doesn’t seem keen to bring it up either.

“Uhh, dunno, like thirty minutes?” He shrugs, still playing with her hair. “You wouldn’t wake up.”

“I took like… four benadryl after my shower.” She starts to roll onto her back to stretch, and he releases her, moving back a little like he’s going to get on his bed. “I was dreaming that, uhm.” How best to describe it? He won’t believe her. “I was just trapped and no one could hear me.”

He nods again. “Don’t like small spaces?”

She actually does laugh this time, a sharp noise that surprises them both. “You could say that, yeah.” She considers telling him more, then remembers something he said earlier. “Wait, you’re still awake? Not sleeping?”

“Can’t always make my brain shut off,” he says. “Specially these days.”

She turns back onto her side and props herself up on one elbow, considering, weighing the pros and cons and the chances he’ll take what she wants to say the wrong way… then she decides a guy who’s willing to sit on the cold, hard floor holding her hand for half an hour to make her feel better is exactly the kind of guy she can trust.

“Come lie down with me.”

He blinks at her, cocks his head to the side like a puppy, like he’s not sure he heard her right. 

“I always sleep better when there’s someone with me. Maybe you will too.” When he doesn’t respond right away, she adds: “Humans need touch. It’s good for you. Just hop up here and go to sleep.”

He’s surprisingly silent, but he moves from his cot to hers, sits on the side to test the waters, then stretches out next to her when she doesn’t do anything to make him think her offer is a joke. She makes room for him, waits for his head to hit the pillow before she cuddles against his side, curling into his warmth with a self-satisfied sigh.

“See? It’s nice.”

It helps her forget the cold emptiness of the black white black in her dream, reminds her that this is real and she’s real and the people she’s fighting for are real too.

He jumps a little when he hears her voice, then he rolls onto his side, toward her. She gives him room to settle, then moves back in, head tucked under his chin.

“All good?”

He takes in a deep breath, lets it out in a slow exhale before he replies. “Yeah. You’re right.” His arm loops over her waist, just resting, then pulls her a little closer. “All good.”

---

Sharky doesn’t say anything about her nightmare or her offer-slash-demand for three a.m. cuddles, just slips out of her bed without waking her up from the second half of her nine-hour benadryl nap, leaving behind a cold spot and a pillow that smells faintly of gasoline. She was right though, sleeping with another body next to her soothed her until she was able to float dreamlessly through the rest of the night. 

She can only hope he feels the same.

Breakfast is instant coffee and a crumbly granola bar eaten at Earl’s side as he and the mayor take turns talking about events around the Henbane: bliss in the water, bliss plants growing unchecked, angels wandering along the roads, and Burke still with Faith.

“I can’t leave Joey and Staci to go after Burke.” She feels guilty even as she says it, knows the importance of the Marshal, but… “I can’t. You haven’t seen what I have.”

Minkler looks shocked, but Earl is nodding before she’s even finished her sentence.

“You do what you need to do, Rook,” he says. “We’re counting on you.”

She nods at him even though that makes her angry -- why is everyone counting on her? Why is this her responsibility? She’s not the only one in Hope County who’s physically capable of fighting back against the Seeds; she’s not even the most qualified.

She’s just the one person who managed to completely escape the Seeds on that first night.

“Hey.” His voice, pitched low, draws her out of that cloud of anger, and she blinks up at him as he says, “Stay safe out there, okay?”

The fight bleeds out of her as she sighs. “You too.”

Sharky and Hurk are already dressed and kitted up, standing by the jail gates and arguing good-naturedly about something. She catches just the tail end of the discussion, right when Hurk raises his voice and throws his arms out to the side: “--show my chimps, that’s right, they’re chimps, some respect! And don’t go slanderin’ their names!”

Sharky catches her eye and her confused expression and starts laughing even harder, tipping his head back and letting the sound echo around the courtyard. It’s catching, and she finds herself laughing before she has time to remember why she’d been frowning in the first place.

“You boys ready to go?” She stops a few paces away from them, tucks her hands into her pockets while she waits, and Hurk turns around to look back at her.

“I think I’m gonna head back up to the marina,” Hurk says, “maybe see if I can’t find Mama’s helicopter. You’n’Sharky’ll be okay without me?” He looks nervous like he’s afraid she’s going to say no, so she makes sure she keeps smiling at him even though the idea of him flying a helicopter makes her super fucking nervous.

“We’ll be okay, Hurk. You do what you need to do.” It’s the same thing Earl said to her, and she sighs a little even as her smile stays.

His face lights up. “Okay! Call me when you come back around, and I’ll come help you, okay?” He’s grabbing her up in a bear hug before she has time to nod, and she can’t do anything but chuckle as he picks her up off her feet and sets her back down. “Don’t get into too much trouble without me.”

“You too,” she says, breathless, amused, and she waits quietly as Sharky gets a similarly enthusiastic goodbye.

“Have you seen Boomer this morning?”

Sharky answers by pointing; Boomer’s on his back in a patch of sun, a woman Mattie doesn’t recognize kneeling beside him to scratch at his belly. Boomer blinks his eyes open when his name is called, then rolls to his feet like he’s just remembered he’s late for work. He gives the woman a wet kiss, which makes her laugh, and then runs over and jumps up onto Mattie with his front paws.

“There’s my good boy,” she coos, and ignores Sharky’s vague noise of disgust when she accepts a slobbery Boomer-kiss of her own.

When Boomer calms down enough to sit by her feet, she puts her hands on her hips and looks up at Sharky. “Ready to fuck up John’s day?”

His face lights up. “Hell yeah, chica. Lead the way.”

[the-real-anywolf]

Destiel Advent Calendar 2019

Title: My Black Cat Brings All the Boys to the Yard

Tags: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Benadryl Makes an Appearance, Curses, Movie References, Cutesy pet names, multiple POVs, You're Welcome For The Earworm, Happy Friday 13th

Summary: When a cute black cat turns up at the bunker, the Winchesters realize it isn't quite as it seems. Also, despite it triggering Dean's allergies, he can't help liking the little furball. It's a shame he can't keep him.

Written by: @eyesofatragedy67​ (Eyes_of_a_Tragedy) & @punk-is-notdead​ (tfw_cas)

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21775495

Day 13:  My Black Cat Brings All the Boys to the Yard

Dean was walking through the door of the bunker when a dark blur ran in front of him and down the stairs. What the hell?

"Sammy! Something's headed your way!"

Sam looked startled as the blur shot towards him, and brushed against his legs. He looked down at it and his features softened. “It’s a cat. What’s it doing in here?”

Eyes watering, Dean started heading toward the bathroom. "Hell if I know. Be right back. I'm gonna grab some Benadryl."

He rushed down the hall, nose already starting to run. Crap, he needed to nip this in the bud. Rifling through the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, he swallowed two of the little pink pills dry and shoved some tissue up his nose.

When he got back to the library, Sam had the furry menace on the table and was lightly petting its head. “Where’d you come from, huh?” he asked curiously.

"Dude, don't get attached. You know we can't keep it," Dean mentioned, somewhat regretfully, as he passed through on his way to grab a bottle of water from the kitchen.

“Shame,” Sam said sadly. “He’s a friendly little thing. And look at his eyes… they’re blue!”

Dean poked his head out the kitchen door. "Blue?"

“Yeah, bright blue. I’ve never seen them on a cat before.”

Water in hand, Dean stepped into the room, took a swig out of the bottle, and wandered closer. He was about ten feet away from Sam and the cat when he started sneezing, completely dislodging the tissues. "Man, I hope this stuff kicks in quick."

“Don’t worry, I’ll put him back outside soon. I just wanna give him some water first. Maybe some bacon.”

Dean moved close enough to pass Sam his water bottle. He had to wipe the tears from his eyes to do it, though. "I didn't think cats were supposed to eat bacon. I don't want you to make him sick." He paused, "Wait, how do you know the cat's male?"

Sam scrunched up his nose, and thought for a moment. “I… don’t know. I just got this feeling, you know? I could just tell.” He shrugged for emphasis.

"You could just tell," Dean repeated with a mocking quirk of his eyebrow. "Okay, Dr. Doolittle. Well, since you're so in tune, why don't you find out if the little guy has a home? I'm sure someone's missing him."

Sam rolled his eyes and shot Dean one of his best bitchfaces. “How the hell am I supposed to do that? I don’t have a microchip scanner, and I can’t exactly ask him… her.”

The cat hissed, and Dean said, "Uh, think maybe you had it right the first time, Sammy." Whereupon, the cat meowed then plopped his butt down on one of the books on the table. "Huh…"

“It’s about curses and how to remove them.” Sam peered closely at the book and some of his hair draped onto the cat. Dean could have sworn that the cat gave a look of distaste before it got up and moved away from the dangling locks.

"What if this is like The Colonel?" Dean asked. "I'm not drinking the fur, dude. It's your turn to take one for the team."

Sam didn’t look too pleased at that suggestion. “I don’t think anyone will have to drink any potions, Dean. This isn’t Hogwarts. But I do think it’s trying to communicate with us.”

Damn, Dean was kinda looking forward to seeing Sam chase bugs. "It'd be easier if you drank the potion, just sayin'."

“Not if I don’t have to,” Sam muttered, then spoke directly to the cat. “What are you trying to tell us, little buddy?”

"Yeah, little guy, did Timmy fall down the well?" He could swear he saw the cat roll its eyes.

“Very funny,” Sam said, and he definitely did roll his eyes. “Can we be serious now, and not piss him off?”

Dean looked away from the furball and over to his brother. "What? You're the one who refuses to drink the drink so I don't have to die." And he promptly started sneezing again.

Sam sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. “You sure are set on me drinking that potion, aren’t ya? Let me just try something first, okay?”

"Fine, but if it doesn't work, you suck it up and chug, 'k?" He glanced over just in time to see the cat bat the bottle of water off the table.

“Sure,” Sam huffed. “Nothing I want more than to talk ‘cat’.”

"So, what's your idea?" Dean hollered, grabbing a dish towel from the kitchen to mop up the spilled water.

“Observe and report,” Sam replied. “Before one of us goes off half-cocked, let’s see if he can communicate in his own way.”

"I don't know about you, but I always go off fully-cocked. You know, they make pills for that now, Sam." Dean draped the towel over the back of a chair and turned to see the cat twirling around Sam's legs. "Sounds like the little guy likes your idea, though."

“Your jokes aren’t getting any funnier, Dean,” Sam said, reaching down and scooping up the cat. “What do you think, cat?”

The cat purred, then gave Dean a disapproving look - at least that’s what it looked like, anyway.

“Let’s give it twenty four hours, and if we can’t figure out what he’s trying to tell us, then I’ll drink the potion. Deal?” Sam added.

"Fine. Whatever," Dean muttered. He walked past them, but couldn't resist scratching the cat behind the ears as he passed. His eyes started watering as he left the room.

***

Later that night, Dean walked into the kitchen to find Sam there with the cat. He was sitting at the table, placing random types of food in front of the feline. Dean watched with fascination as the cat repeatedly turned his nose up at the different options.

With a sniffle, Dean turned to the fridge and started pulling out ingredients to make hamburgers. He washed his hands thoroughly before unwrapping the beef and adding some seasonings. He was shaping it into patties when he heard a plaintive yowl at his feet. Looking down, he saw a pair of electric blue eyes staring up at him.

"Hey, cat," Dean started, only to be interrupted by the animal leaping onto the counter next to him. "Hey! You can't be up here, fuzzball."

The cat did what cats do: ignored him. Instead, it stared intensely at Dean's hands and the raw meat he was working into a thick ball to be squished flat.

"Mrow," the cat trilled, head tilting to the side.

"Sorry, little guy. No hamburger for you."

The cat pawed at the package of sliced cheddar and looked back up at him with wide eyes.

"Not gonna work on me, fluffy. I've been on the receiving end of puppy eyes the likes of which you'll never know."

With a tail twitch of disgust, Dean watched as the cat hopped back off the counter and moved back to Sam. His brother scooped the cat up in his arms and sat him down in his lap.

Dean continued cooking his burgers, listening as Sam had a one-sided conversation with his new friend.

“It’s no use looking longingly at Dean’s burgers. I know they look delicious - and they are - but they’re not cat food. You’re supposed to eat fish, or chicken, or… what the hell do cats eat? Not gonna tell me, huh?”

Sam sighed, and shook his head. “You must be hungry by now. Just try some of this tuna? Mmmm… tasty,” He said, unconvincingly.

Dean put a burger on the table for Sam and said, "Dammit, Sam, don't feed him that. What if he's like one of those gremlin things from the movie and you're not supposed to feed him after midnight?"

“This is real life, not a movie.” Sam rolled his eyes (one of these days he was going to get stuck like that), as he picked up the burger and took a bite. He and the cat stared at each other for a moment, and Sam wagged his finger at the feline. “Sorry, dude, this is mine.”

The cat hissed and hopped off Sam's lap, trotting over to Dean.

"Don't look at me, Gizmo. I'm not the pushover in this household."

“Yeah, sure you’re not,” Sam laughed. “A pretty bartender just has to call you handsome, and you’re like putty in her hands.”

The cat appeared to be particularly pissed at Sam’s remark; he skulked over to the corner and sat, apparently ignoring them both.

"I had an idea. I mean, it seems like he understands us, so what if we try some kind of written communication?" Dean asked, shooting the cat a questioning look.

“A pencil and a piece of paper?” Sam asked with a grin. “Yeah, I can make dumb jokes too.”

The cat raised its head and looked over at them, but stayed where it was.

“Do you mean something like laying letters out and asking him to pick the right ones?” Sam asked.

"Sure, like Scrabble tiles, or a ouija board… hell, even just drawing letters on a sheet of paper for him to point at," he shrugged and looked over at the cat. "What do you think, Gizmo?"

“That’s actually a pretty good suggestion.” Sam looked impressed. “I don’t think drawing letters on the paper would work though, unless we cut them out. They need to be spaced out so that it’s clear which ones he picks.”

"I'm going to go see if I can find the Scrabble game, maybe the ouija board. I'm pretty sure they're in a closet in the hall."

“Okay, I’ll take him outside, in case he wants to do his business,” Sam said, picking Gizmo up and carrying him in the direction of the stairs. The cat struggled in his arms, and Dean was pretty sure Sam got a couple of scratches at least, with the way he cursed at the creature.

The first closet he tried was full of boxes of Sam's books. Nerd. Digging through the second closet, Dean found the stash of board games, revealing Scrabble and the ouija board. He grabbed them both, just in case, and returned to the war room.

Sam was descending the stairs, looking pretty pissed, as Gizmo ran in front of him. “I thought we were friends, but the little fucker sure has some vicious claws. I hope he doesn’t feel the same way about word games.”

Dean pulled the ouija board out of its box. "I thought we could try this first, since it has 'yes' and 'no' options. Figured maybe we could try asking some questions first." He looked down at the cat, "How's that sound, fuzzball?"

The cat didn’t look too interested either way; for some reason he seemed to be trying to stick his tongue in Dean’s coffee. That was just weird… cats didn’t drink coffee, did they?

“What are we gonna ask him?” Sam asked, picking up Dean’s cup and taking it to the sink. “Is there anything you like eating other than burgers?”

The cat jumped up on the table and put his paw down on 'yes'. "Huh," Dean pulled his henley up over his nose and called out to Sam, "Looks like it's working!"

“Huh,” Sam remarked. “Wish I could work out what it was. Got any other ideas for yes or no questions?”

"Uh, hmm…" Dean made some serious eye contact with the cat. Quirking a brow, he continued, "Okay, so is it safe to assume you're cursed?"

Without hesitation, the cat placed his paw on ‘yes’ again.

“Good one,” Sam said. “Er… I don’t suppose you know how we can break the curse?”

The cat insistently tapped the 'yes' and looked up at them.

"Well, okay, then," Dean replied with genuine curiosity. "How complex should these questions get, Sam?"

“Hmmm, good question. He seems to understand everything we say, so I think we can go with quite complex. What do you say we try with the Scrabble tiles now, so we don’t have to stick with yes or no?”

Dean opened the box and grabbed the purple Crown Royal bag they kept the tiles in. Emptying it onto the table, he started flipping all of them face up. "Let's give it a shot."

Sam and Dean spent the next couple of minutes spreading the tiles over the table’s surface, removing the blank ones, as they worked. Dean couldn’t help spelling out a couple of naughty words, but he quickly shuffled the tiles around again, hoping Sam hadn’t noticed.

“Okay, what are we going to ask first?” Sam asked, addressing Dean, before staring inquisitively at the cat.

"What's your name?" Dean had jokingly been calling the cat Gizmo, but if he had a real name...

The cat began walking amongst the tiles, obviously looking for a particular letter. He stopped when he found it, and tapped his paw on it as he’d done with the ouija board.

“C,” said Sam, excitedly.

They watched as the cat began searching again, then indicated another letter.

"A," Dean added, then looked over. "We know you're a cat, dude. How about we just stick with Gizmo for now." He glanced at Sam and wondered out loud, "I wonder how he got cursed?"

The cat pushed an 'I' to the center of the table, then found a 'D'...

"Dude, I think he's calling us idiots," Dean scoffed.

“No, I’m sure he isn’t doing that. Especially as we’re trying to help him.”

The cat carried on, finding an ‘I’, and a ‘T’.

“I think you might be right.” Sam frowned down at the cat and its growing collection of letters.

Dean sat in one of the chairs, sneezing into his sleeve. "Bobby? Is that you?"

The cat meowed and put his paw on his head in what looked like exasperation, then touched an 'M'.

“M,” Sam said, peering at it as if he was trying to calculate pi in his head. “Mom? No? Er… my name is…? Are you Crowley and you’re calling us morons?” He turned to Dean and sighed. “This isn’t working out so well, is it? So far we’ve got a C-A-D-I-T, and an M. What the hell is that supposed to spell?”

Dean sniffled and said, "Man, I wish Cas was here. He could just interrogate you to get the answers."

The cat yowled and walked over to him. "Dude, back off a bit. I'm allergic to you."

The cat didn't listen, though, and sat back on his haunches and reached up to tap Dean on the forehead.

“He might understand what we’re saying, but he’s kinda heedless when it comes to personal space, isn’t he?” Sam chuckled. “You’re gonna make Dean sick if you keep getting in his face, buddy.” He leaned over to move the cat away from Dean, and got a scratch on his arm for his troubles.

Dean reached out and grabbed the cat, picking him up so they were on eye level. "Hey, you. No hurting Sam. He's trying to help you, you know."

He started coughing and passed the cat off to his brother. "I've gotta get out of here. Sorry. Good luck with this."

Dean left the room, trudging to the bathroom to pop some more meds before going to his bedroom to grab a change of clothes. He needed a shower asap.

***

Sam rested his elbows on the table and huffed in frustration. He felt bad for Dean - his allergies were a real pain - but at the same time, he hadn’t exactly made the situation any better. Despite his protestations that he only went off fully-cocked, his attempt at working out the cat’s message seemed to annoy it more, and now he was left alone to try to decipher what he was trying to tell them.

“Hey, cat,” he said in what he hoped was a placating tone of voice. “What did you want to tell us? I promise I won’t interrupt you any further.”

The cat paced around amongst the tiles once more, this time finding an ‘S’. It pushed the tile towards the others, then sat itself on the table and looked up at Sam.

“C-A-D-I-T-M-S… Nope, that’s not a word. Is it an anagram?” Sam wondered out loud.

Sam didn’t think it was possible for the cat to roll its eyes, but somehow it did.

“You’re gonna have to help me out here. I’m not getting it.” Sam gave the cat his best puppy dog eyes, and hoped that would work on the feline.

The cat stood up again, and began pushing the tiles around. When it had finished, Sam looked at what it had given him, hoping it was a better clue.

“A-C-S. It still didn’t mean anything.

Wait !

“C-A-S… are you telling me you’re Cas?” Sam felt like a prize idiot… of course it was Cas. All the pieces of the puzzle suddenly fell into place, and he beamed at his friend before scratching behind his ear.

“Dude, I’m so sorry for not realising sooner. No wonder you didn’t want me to take you outside for your business… awkward. But what happened to you? How can we undo the curse?”

Sam stopped talking and slapped his own forehead. “I’m gonna go tell Dean right now. He needs to know.”

He took off towards the bedrooms, with Cas hot on his heels. However, bursting into Dean’s room with the news, Sam saw that his brother was fast asleep.

This could wait until morning, and in the meantime, he and Cas could work on the cure. Maybe he would even be back to himself by then.

Unfortunately, Cas’s skills at letting Sam know how to cure him using Scrabble tiles were severely limited. After about an hour of frustrating attempts at trying, Sam felt his energy sapping and he laid his head on the table for a couple of minutes. That was all he needed… just a few minutes...

***

Dean woke up from a Benedryl-induced sleep and glanced over at his clock. It read 4:01. There was a warm weight on his chest, and he looked down to see Gizmo curled up on top of him.

He carefully reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a couple tissues. Shoving them in his nose, he gave in to temptation and stroked down the cat's back. His fur was so soft, and Dean could feel the rumble of purring with each pass of his hand.

"You sure are a cute little guy. I hope Sam had some luck figuring out how to help you."

The cat woke up at his voice, and stretched full-body before standing up and leaning over to nuzzle Dean's cheek.

Dean gripped him tight as he suddenly sneezed. "Okay, bud, I think it's time for another dose of allergy meds for me. What do you say we go grab some food, too?"

The feline headbutted him and licked his cheek. Taking that as an affirmative, Dean got up and carried Gizmo with him into the bathroom. He snagged the meds and continued on toward the kitchen.

Due to the watery eyes, he could barely make out Sam passed out at the table, Scrabble pieces scattered around his head.

In the kitchen, he set the cat down on the counter and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. He washed his hands in the sink, then grabbed a loaf of bread and the peanut butter out of the pantry. It was some organic, hippie brand that Sam insisted on buying, and Dean would never admit it to him, but it tasted better than the Peter Pan that had been his preferred choice.

He looked in the fridge for the jelly, but looked like they were out. There wasn't any in the pantry either. Dean shrugged and spread peanut butter on both slices of bread.

He was going to just slap them together and take his pills, but Gizmo knocked over Cas's bottle of honey. "Guess that could work." After drizzling a little on the slices, he put them together and took a bite. "Mmm, that's pretty tasty," Dean said with a full mouth. "Thanks for the suggestion, buddy."

Setting the sandwich down on the counter, Dean uncapped his water and swallowed down two more pills. When he reached for the pb&h, Gizmo swatted at his hand and quickly took a bite.

Dean was about to object to the sneak attack on his sandwich, when there was a sudden flash of light which prevented him from seeing anything for a few seconds. When his vision was clear again he could no longer see the cat, but Cas was standing there instead.

Where did he come from ?

"Cas?" He looked around, searching for Gizmo. Maybe… "Did you see a black cat?"

“Dean, do the letters I-D-I-O-T mean anything to you?” Cas asked. He stared into Dean’s eyes, but didn’t say anything more.

"Yeeeaaaaah," Dean drawled, looking at his friend who seemed to be covered in black hairs.

“That’s a fancy looking gizmo you’ve got there,” Cas stated drily, pointing at the waffle iron. He really seemed to be speaking in riddles today.

Dean was starting to put some pieces together when Sam burst through the door. His hair was a mess, and there was a Scrabble tile stuck to the side of his face. “Cas!! You’re back… how? How did you…?” He pulled Cas into a bro-hug and slapped him on the back.

Dean poked Sam in his tile and said, "You knew?"

“I worked it out last night,” Sam said, letting go of Cas, and pulling the tile from his face.

Cas coughed and gave him a pointed look.

“Oh, er… Cas helped me to understand last night,” Sam corrected himself. “I was gonna tell you, but you were asleep and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

"Thanks, I guess," Dean responded, half bitchiness, half honesty. "I still don't understand what broke the curse, though."

“I had to eat something after midnight. I understand the irony, as you made me watch Gremlins, and I think the witch that cursed me did too.” Cas gave a little laugh.

Dean stared, mouth hanging open. "You mean, this whole time it was a bad movie reference?"

“It would seem that way, yes. Some people love movies as much as you do, apparently,” Cas replied.

Sam slapped his hand over his mouth and chuckled. “Dude, that’s a whole new level of nerd.”

"Shut up, Sam." Dean shot him his own bitch face, then turned to Cas and sneezed. "You're covered in fur. Unless you want me to look like a walking plague victim, you'll go take a shower."

“Yes, that is a disgusting image you’ve painted for me, Dean. I’ll take a shower now.” Cas started towards the door, when Dean suddenly put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"It's good to have you back, Gizmo," Dean snarked, then pulled Cas into a hug. Whispering in the angel's ear, he asked, "Mind if I join you? Somebody slept on top of me last night and got me dirty."

“If you’re really good, I’ll let you tickle my belly,” Cas growled back into Dean’s ear.

“I know what you’re doing, by the way,” Sam complained. “You guys are gross.”

Dean looked over at his brother and grinned. "Then this won't come as a shock."

He grabbed Cas's ass and stroked a hand up his back. Cas rubbed against his cheek, and Dean couldn't help but dive in for a kiss. It was kinda gross, given his current state of sniffles, but Cas responded with enthusiasm.

"C'mon, kitten, it's bath time."

“Rawr,” Cas purred.

The End

[marzelsoto]

Blue (Da Ba Dee) {Minzel}

In which Marzel learns he’s allergic to blueberries and well he’s very confused.

@sweetheart-minnie

MARZEL

Today was a pot luck day at school. A chance for all the kids to bring their cultures all together and try something new. Marzel didn’t mind it either. He learned more about human culture without even seeming like he didn’t know anything.

No one could be suspicious when he asked about it so the child would teach their class. 

Marzel just wasn’t expecting for hives to cover his neck, or the tightness of his throat or the tingling of his tongue.

Immediately he asked someone to get Minnie as the other teachers spilt up his class to look after them and leave Marzel alone scratching at his skin. The itch was so much worse and he just wanted to get in water and pop his tail. 

Instead he just scratched at his skin until Minnie popped her head in. 

MINNIE

Minnie was doing some paperwork that needed to be filled. It wasn’t particularly her favorite part of the job but neither was charting when she was in the hospital, it simply was what it was.

Thankfully, the brunette was just distracted from her task when a teacher stepped into her office asking for her. 

Soon enough, Minnie found herself in Marzel’s classroom as she was told he was the one that needed her assistance. There Marzel was scratching and scratching that it immediately gave Minnie an inkling as to what was happening.

Moving in closer now only proved Minnie’s original thought. She gently took a hold of Marzel’s hand so that he could stop scratching and so she was able to better examine his neck.

“You have hives everywhere.”

They weren’t extremely swollen, which was a good sign, but there were a lot over his skin. “You’re having an allergic reaction. You’re going to need to come with me so that I can put some cream on those hives and give you benadryl. Is your breathing okay?”

Breathing was always the primary concern. Minnie peeled her eyes away from the hives to look at Marzel now. “What are you allergic to?”

MARZEL

Marzel didn’t know what he was allergic to. Marzel didn’t know he was allergic to anything though he had heard to be careful when it came to these things.

He was ready for it to end so he had no problem following Minnie wherever she was going. Though the lake was the best option for him. She couldn’t know that though.

“My throat feels a little tight but I can breath alright.” Marzel explained carefully. What if Minnie told him he needed to the hospital. What would he do then?

“I don’t know I’ve never had a reaction before.”

MINNIE

Minnie was concerned to hear that his throat felt somewhat tight. Any form of airway constriction was enough to alarm any type of health care provider, but he was speaking, all skin color was appropriate and Marzel confirmed that he was able to breath.

It helped to ease Minnie’s mind some.

“If you’ve never experienced an allergic reaction then you must have been around something new? Or did you eat anything new?”

It wasn’t long before they reached her office as the brunette immediately searched for all that was needed including a glass of water. She handed Marzel the glass as well as the pill in hand.

“It’s a benadryl. It’ll help a lot to relieve what you’re feeling in your throat. It brings down the swelling. I do think though that you should stay here for a bit after taking it. It works really well, but it makes one very drowsy.” 

Minnie would feel better being able to keep an eye on him. 

“And I also want to make sure that it works and that you’re breathing properly.”

MARZEL

“We had some of the kids bring in new foods to try today.” Marzel stated and yes he was freaked out. As calm as he tried to appear because he was always in control. But he was scared he was going to have to go to the hospital.

He was more than willing to down the pill she had given him and the water in general helped more than she could know.

“Sorry you had to run to the rescue for me.” Marzel stated more than embarrassed though he wasn’t sure if those were the knight’s memories shining through or his own.

MINNIE

Minnie smiled and even let out a small, soft laugh as she went to grab the cream she needed.

“No, don’t be sorry that’s what I’m here for. Besides, you rescued me once, so I think it’s about time I returned the favor.”

One the cream was in her hand, Minnie returned back to where Marzel was seated. She lifted the cream in hand to show Marzel what it was.

“Hydrocortisone cream. I’m going to put some on your hives. It’ll decrease that itchiness soon enough.”

She proceeded to wash her hands first and to then open the applicator so she can place some of the cream on her fingertips. Of course, she had to get pretty close to Marzel as his hives were on his neck and so she did.

Minnie began to very gently add the cream feeling hyper aware of how close she was to Marzel. This was nothing new, she often had to get close to her patients to do what was needed but with Marzel it made her sort of nervous. 

A she would love to be this close more often type of nervous and she knew that wouldn’t be something at all possible, so she shouldn’t be thinking about it. 

How did she get herself here?

“It must have been something you tried then if you tried any of the food?”

MARZEL

Marzel winced slightly as Minnie rubbed the cream on his skin. His sister was going to find this hilarious. Laugh at him for days.

His irritation at the whole thing distracted him from how close she was to him. That it was Minnie so close to him. That he was letting a human help him. He didn’t want this. It was embarrassing enough that some human food had put him in this state.

“There were some fruits that I tried, a few new dishes. I can’t possibly remember them all.”

MINNIE

 “Sorry.”

 Minnie was making sure to be very careful applying the cream and she felt bad that Marzel had winced. 

 “I’m almost done. I promise this will help wonders with the itchiness.”

It would probably be in her benefit to work quicker anyways. Mentally speaking, she was not doing well remaining this close to Marzel. It left her wanting something she couldn’t have and that was not fair to anyone.

Thankfully, she was done quickly pulling back and musing herself with capping the top back on the cream applicator.

“I think one of those things was probably the cause. It’s more likely that I could be one of the fruits. Allergies are more commonly found in fruits.”

MARZEL

Marzel shook his head at the apology, Minnie hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just Marzel and his stupid fear of humans. Was it really fear? Marzel had always considered himself as someone who understood his emotions but he always blamed his dislike on his anger.

But with Sir Bors kicking around in his head he was able to break it down even more. He recognized his fear.

Even if he didn’t want to.

“I think I had some blueberries and strawberries but I haven’t reacted before to strawberries.”

MINNIE

“Then I’m going to place my bets on the blueberries.” 

Minnie quickly placed the cream on a close table beside her. She wasn’t going to put it away in case Marzel needed some more of it to help soothe the itchiness. Although, truthfully, Minnie was hoping that he wouldn’t because she didn’t know if she could go through applying it again. 

Again… how had she gotten herself here?!

“You can try one blueberry again to see if you react to it, that way you will definitely know if the blueberries were the culprit, if you ever wanted to have more in the future. However, if you have no problem simply keeping away from them, then I think that would be the better option. Thankfully though, it doesn’t look like you’re anaphylactically allergic.” 

But to be better safe than sorry.

“You would know, trust me, you wouldn’t be able to breath by now. I still think that you should stay here for a little bit longer, under observation.” For some reason that statement made Minnie blush a bit. Oh, how she hoped Marzel wouldn’t be able to notice through her hair.

Just to make sure. Is someone covering your class?” 

MARZEL

Marzel nodded touching his own skin and the ointment briefly. His own healing should kick in quickly and then Marzel would be out of Minnie’s hair. It was better she didn’t think this was a bad reaction because he was sure he wouldn’t be healing as quickly if he was just a human.

Minnie couldn’t know that though.

“There are different types of allergic reactions?” Marzel questioned, why didn’t he know this, why hadn’t he looked into it.

“Yes one of the teachers had a student teacher who is looking after my class right now.”

MINNIE

Minnie found herself nodding her head in response as she took a seat beside him. 

“There are mild reactions where you would sneeze and your eyes get itchy and watery. Then there is a moderate reaction which is sort of what you are experiencing now with the itchy throat and hives. Then the real bad one is anaphylactic you aren’t breathing at that point.” 

Thankfully, that was not the case here. 

“If you keep eating blueberries, however, you can get yourself into an anaphylactic reaction, so we’ll just make sure you stay far away from them.” 

While explaining everything Minnie was making sure to keep an eye out for any worse symptoms appearing on Marzel, just in case the hospital would need to be involved. 

“Good! They weren’t scared were they?”

MARZEL

Marzel nodded at each answer. “Is it common that people who are related can have the same allergy?” If he had this, could Marisa have it worse and if so he needed to make sure she knew too. She might not be lucky enough that she was somewhere with a nurse and if she went to the hospital. Both of them would be in a lot of trouble.

“A few were but one of the boys knew exactly what was happening. They got a teacher and everything. Told me they had an epipen and everything.”

MINNIE

Minnie found it rather sweet that he seemed to be worried for his sister. She knew that if she had a sibling she would be worried as well. Hell, she didn’t have a sibling but she would always worry for Peri. 

She shook her head. 

“No. Well, they can both have allergies but it wouldn’t be the same allergy or the same reaction. Or one could have allergies and the other be completely free of it. Allergies are something that differs from body to body.” 

Minnie wished that she could have given Marzel a more clear cut answer.

“You just sort of have to find out through trial and error, but aw you have your own set of little doctors in your classroom. You didn’t need me at all.” She teased. “They really are a bunch of smart kids.” 

MARZEL

Marzel hated that it wasn’t so clear cut. It would be so easy just to tell Marisa to avoid blueberries and be done with it.

But it wasn’t that simple. It never was. All he could do was nod and say thank you for the information. That was all that he really had.

“Little doctors or not I think I will try not to have that happen again. They are really smart kids.”

MINNIE

Minnie laughed as she nodded her head. 

“I think that would be very smart. Those little doctors have uni. They’ll get all of their training there and then some more if they actually decide to work in a hospital.” 

Seeing that Marzel was actually responding well to the cream and the benadryl that she had given him earlier. She felt more at ease at letting go of needing to call the hospital as further action. She even got up real quickly so that she could place the hydrocortisone cream away.

“My mum used to teach. She taught your same age group, was actually my teacher too when I was that age.” She was sure she had told Marzel that already. “And she would always tell me how smart her kids were and that they were never given enough credit.”

MARZEL

Marzel couldn’t help still touching his neck and the top of his chest where he had disheveled his clothes trying to itch his way through his skin. 

“They aren’t. Kids are sponges when it comes to their surroundings, I find you have to treat them like individuals and they will learn a lot more. This is the age you can really make a difference.” Adults were stuck in their ways and much more dangerous.

MINNIE

Maybe she shouldn’t put the cream away just yet. Minnie saw the way Marzel was itching at his skin and instead took the hold of the cream and sat right back down. It looked like the hives weren’t willing to give up the fight. 

“Spoken like a true teacher who actually likes and values his jobs.” 

In Minnie’s opinion, there weren’t enough of them these days and so she really respected the few that were around. Most people worked to work and didn’t care so much for what they were doing and students didn’t deserve people like that. 

“My mum would have loved you and your kids are lucky to have you. I also think that your hives are very happy to have you right now as well. Do you need some more cream?” 

MARZEL

Marzel shrugged, to him it was normal part of his life. Looking after kids in the pod and taking care of everyone there. That was his job as a Prince, to look after the pod and support the queen.

“It’s what is right. Even at home it was important to look after everyone. There was no one left behind. It was a family of people working together to live the best way they could.” He couldn’t take credit for basic siren decency. “No, no I think I’m alright.” But he just kept scratching away.

MINNIE

Minnie really admired that Marzel had this strong sense of right and wrong woven inside of him. There really weren’t many who did. Even when she thought of herself, Minnie knew she was one who could turn a black and white situation, grey. 

It came with her ability to always see something five hundred different ways. 

“I know, but not everyone follows what’s right. I wish they would. Your home sounds wonderful though.” She wondered if Marzel missed being home often but it wasn’t a thought the brunette lingered long on since his scratching kept her attention. 

Without too much thought, Minnie took a gentle hold of hand for the intention of making him stop the scratching. 

“You’re going to scratch your skin right off.” She then handed him the cream that was in her other hand. “Don’t be stubborn and put some more on where you feel the itchiness. It’ll help. I promise.”  

MARZEL

Marzel smiled when he thought of his home, he worried about everyone, he missed everyone but he imagined if they hadn’t sent word to him then everything was okay there and Marzel had to trust that.

Glancing at their hands Marzel moved them away from his neck even if he wanted to keep scratching. Thankfully it wasn’t lower where his scales would have been. That would have been a nightmare. “Isn’t there a point where it’s too much?” But still he took the cream and applied it in slow circles.

MINNIE

“There is.” 

Minnie answered glad to see that Marzel, even though he questioned it, still listened to her and began applying more cream.

“But you aren’t at that point so the cream will help. If not you’re going to end up with an open scab from scratching too much and then that’ll be a story you’ll have to explain to your kids.”

Because Minnie could already imagine them being curious if they spotted something like that on their teacher’s skin. 

“You know that they will point at it the minute they see it and then there goes all plans of teaching for the day.”

MARZEL

Marzel grimaced at the very thought of that. He would be lectured by a bunch of kids and that was never in Marzel’s daily planner. Being lectured was never in any of his plans but sometimes he wasn’t that lucky.

“Yes I’m sure they will point it out the moment they see it and I will never live it down.”

MINNIE

“See this cream will save the day for you, but if you still stay itchy then you are a bit out of luck. At least up until your hives say so.”

That was the tricky thing about them, one never knew how long hives wanted to remain itchy. 

It could have been worse though, Marzel could be in the hospital right now so she was sure some itchiness was better than the alternative.

“How is your throat feeling?”

MARZEL

“Where should I buy something like this? Or should I not use it too often?” Marzel questioned twisting the tube of cream around in his hands. Was this something he should make sure to have in the apartment now?

“It doesn’t feel as tight as before so I think I’m alright.”

MINNIE

“You can find these creams in any drug store or pharmacy. Ask the clerk and they’ll guide you to where they are. Once you buy it it will come in a box, that box will have directions for how often you should be applying the cream.” 

Minnie actually had some at home too. She didn’t really suffer from allergies but one never knew when someone would be needing some hydrocortisone.

“If you go to a pharmacy pick up some benadryl too.” 

The brunette got up from her seat to grab a pen and paper from her desk. She wrote down the names of the two medications and handed the piece of paper to Marzel.

 “Here so that you don’t forget the names. Benadryl was the pill I gave you. You definitely want to have that handy whenever you’re feeling like you’re having a reaction. It helps with the throat tightness.” 

MARZEL

Marzel took the piece of paper and nodded. It was a course of action that he could take and something tangible that he could definitely figure out. That was all that he needed and all that he could ask for.

“Thanks,” With a simple nod of his head. “If i’m not still under observation I should get out of your hair and check in on the kids.”