#her adoption name is isla…….. it’s so close | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

countessofravenclaw · 3 months ago

Text

Puede la ondulación cambiar una marea? part twelve

Have you ever imagined what would happen if instead of of making Ambar Sol, Sharon would have aproached her problem with more level-headedness? What if, instead of throwing her daughter's life into a curve she just fires the Valentes, in hopes that they go back to Mexico and never find out the truth? Well, it was never going to be that easy, "everything you want you can achieve" being the family motto and all the for the Valentes after all. Monica and Miguel, could easily find another job, and so they do, with another family. A family that ends up being a bit of a surprise for Luna and all her friends.

“WHAT?!?!?!?!” Nina stared at Luna straight ahead.

“I knew you’d think I am crazy,” Luna lowered her head.

“No…or actually kind of right now…” Nina staggered, “but, where have you come to that conclusion?”

“Look, I have just had this weird feeling.” Luna looked at Nina with a pleading expression. “This all can’t be a coincidence.”

“What all?”

“My dreams told me to look for the sun right?” Luna continued, “Right after we got back from Cancun, there has been just suns everywhere. The sunflowers. Isla has this ring that was apparently passed down in her family, plus then there's that tattoo—”

“Luna, Isla doesn’t have tattoos,” Nina shook her head, “At least ones that are visible, and I think it might be against their personal beliefs.”

“She did. I know she doesn’t have it anymore.” Luna insisted. “There is this photo in their bedroom, where there was a clear image of a sun on her wrist. I think they must have been maybe 20 in the picture.”

“I don’t know what picture you're talking about,” Nina tried to keep up, “But what does that have to do with you being their child?”

“I just feel like…” Luna looked at Nina again, “There has to be like a bigger reason for all of this. Why we came to Buenos Aires, and why we ended up in their house… Even Mom and Dad’s situation. What if this is it? What if the universe is trying to show me who my biological parents are, and going about it in extremely convoluted ways.”

“You are serious about this?” Nina looked at Luna in her eyes. “You actually think you could be Isla and Marco’s child, my boyfriend's sister. Luna, you've known Gastón for a year before you moved into their house.”

“I know, but it was not like we were ever close before you started dating.” Luna shrugged. “So it's not like I would have been able to tell something off the vibes.”

“Luna.” Nina shook her head slowly, and reached to take her hand. “I am the one person who understands why you would want to think that. I will marry into this family in a few years, and my last name will be Perida. But I have to be honest with you, as your best friend… You do know it's impossible right?”

“Well, you don’t know that for sure.” Luna responded back.

“I do.” Nina continued, “Luna, Isla has had a hysterectomy. She can’t physically have children, since Gastón was one. You’re 15 months younger than he is.”

“Yeah, I guess so…” Luna’s face fell for a moment…but then it brightened up again, “but like… You don’t know the exact date, right? Or why she actually had it.”

“I guess not.” Nina shook her head, “What are you getting at here?”

“And I don’t know when I was actually born right?” Luna started speaking faster. “Who says that I couldn’t have been born first and then something happened?”

“Common sense…” Nina mumbled to herself, but Luna was not to be stopped when she had an idea. “Luna, okay, maybe that doesn’t 100 % disprove it, but think about it… It would mean that Isla and Marco would have given up a child for adoption. They would have never ever done that. And how did you end up in Mexico from Cordoba and Isla didn’t recognize your necklace.”

“I don't know where that necklace has come from,” Luna argued, “Maybe I got it later, and I don’t know how adoption systems work. Maybe they sent kids to Mexico. Nina, you’ve told me like a hundred times how they were poor during the time Gastón was a kid, maybe they couldn’t have another child, and thought I could have a better life elsewhere?”

“Never.” Nina shook her head. “They would have not done that. If they would have been in a position where they couldn’t have been able to provide for their own child, they would have never had a child. You know what they think about the system.”

“Well, accidents happen right?” Luna pointed out, “That’s what they tell us in health class. They always tell us to be careful, although I don’t really understand…”

“Yes, I know that,” Nina interjected, “But I also know for a fact that they believe in abortion. I think they have even spoken publicly on the cause.”

“I guess so, but that still doesn’t mean for sure…”

“Luna,” Nina said again, “Let me humor you for a second… There is no chance they would have ever given up a child for adoption willingly—If they truly had been in such a position that they had had a child that they would have been forced to give up … Think about them now, they are millionaires with all the resources in the world at their fingertips, you don’t think they would have tried to find you, her, it? Do you think they would have lied to Gastón all these years. He has always wanted siblings.”

“Well…” Luna’s face turned pensive.

“And also, if it was true, that you are their long-lost daughter…” Nina finally said, “They would know.”

“What do you mean?” Luna’s gaze shot up.

“Isla and Marco are extremely intelligent, you know that.” Nina stated, “Don't you think they would have gotten kind of suspicious of you, since you’re about the same age as the daughter they supposedly gave up, when you started getting closer?”

“I mean, what if they do know?” Luna looked at Nina again.

“If they did, you think they would just keep their mouths shut, while being scrutinized by the media?” Nina sighed, “You think they’d be just happy to sit idly by all ready to sign your custody over to you parents when they’re released—not saying they wouldn’t do that, but… They aren’t ones to hide their feelings. They would have probably talked to your parents already or tried to get definitive proof like a DNA test. They don’t sit around waiting for the answers to find them, they will always try to get them themselves. They don’t know.”

“Okay… Maybe they don’t, but that doesn’t mean—” Luna looked at Nina, “Do you not want it to be the case?”

“No.” Nina shook her head, “Because it can’t—

“Ready to go girls?” Both Luna and Nina’s heads whipped around, to see the three Peridas walk toward them.

“Yes, of course.” Luna jumped up at once.

“You took the thicker coat, right?” Isla asked her, “It’s going to be quite cold in Helsinki.”

“How long is the flight?” Luna kept asking while folding her jacket under her arm.

“90 minutes or so.” Marco answered. “Depends on the route, but Finnair is quite efficient. They have always been.”

“Do you like know all the people running that?”

“Not everyone, but we have had a long-standing collaboration with Finnair specifically.” Marco responded, “So I know them.”

Nina couldn’t get her eyes off of Luna's expression. The way she was looking at Isla and Marco…

This was going to end in heartbreak, and it was a grave possibility that Luna’s wasn’t going to be the only one broken.

“Everything okay?” Nina jumped as a hand landed on her shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah.” She nodded as she turned toward Gastón.

“You sure?” He was looking at her suspiciously. “You look kind of off. Don’t tell me you read more of those hideous articles.”

“No, no.” Nina continued, lacing her fingers with his. “I’m okay.”

“What were you talking about with Luna anyway?” He kept asking, “You looked kind of intense.”

“Oh, nothing like that.” Nina responded, a knot forming on her throat. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she also couldn’t possibly tell him that Luna had gotten into her head that she was his sister and that she thought that his parents had given up a child when he had been a toddler and never told him. “You know Luna. When she gets an idea, it is hard to swerve her from it.”

Gastón nodded.

“What did your parents want to talk to you about?” Nina changed the subject, remembering why Gastón had been called away in the first place.

“Nothing much, just some logistics.” He shrugged.

“Okay.” Nina nodded.

***

“Honestly you should have seen it.” Matteo laughed, while lounging on the couch in his house's living room.

“I can kind of imagine...” Gastón responded, and his face appeared on the screen of Matteo’s phone. “...sorry, we just need to cross the street right now.”

“Take your time.” Matteo remarked, “Is it cold?”

“Manageable.” Gastón responded and the sight of the street called Pohjois-Esplanadi came into the view behind his head.

“Okay, back onto the topic,” Matteo continued, “Imagine the scene, where I am just trying to eat my omelet, and Dad just spits his coffee out while reading that newspaper. Then Sofia runs in and grabs it from him, for a moment they were literally fighting over the paper.”

“Sounds amusing.” Gastón remarked.

“But seriously, what has gotten into your family?” Matteo asked, his tone getting a small amount more serious. “First, you pull rank at an airport and now your parents are the hot topic of every news site in Argentina.”

“When are they not?” Gastón shrugged, “It’s not like it’s their fault the Luna thing got out.”

“I know.” Matteo nodded, “But it has been a while since any actual speculation has been happening.”

“Yeah, when Mom crossed the 40 the press, I guess stopped glamouring over if they’re ever having kids or not.” Gastón responded again. Behind him opened a view of an ocean and a gust of wind blew past him. “I guess this is kind of a big thing, because of that.”

“As if Luna was their “secret child” Matteo shook his head, “They got the wrong person. The secret kid is you.”

“I know, and this basically proves why it needs to be that way.” Gastón nodded. “The press would spin something else if they knew about me. Luna would be made to be my girlfriend at least.”

“Uuf,” Matteo made a few horrified faces, “Yeah, that would have been terrible.”

“I appreciate the concern.” Gastón continued. “You love Mom and Dad more than I do, so of course you’re worried.”

“I am.” Matteo nodded. “But the timing was perfect for you.”

“That’s what Alexei said,” Gastón remarked. “Someone clearly hasn’t thought it through. Now we just camp in Northern Europe while it dies down.”

“I am also jealous.” Matteo huffed, with a little more lighthearted note.

“Gastón!!” Someone yelled his name.

“Coming!” Gastón seemed to quicken his step as he passed what looked like a Ferris wheel.

“Why did you lag back?” Voice that sounded like Isla asked.

“I got Matteo on the phone.” He responded.

“Matteo?”

“Hey!” Matteo smiled as Isla and Marco appeared on the screen as well. “I just wanted to see if you guys were okay.”

“We are.” Isla nodded. “Just gonna try to stay under the radar for the time being.”

“Next time, take me with you.” Matteo leaned back on the couch.

“We promise.” Marco laughed, “Next time we take vacation.”

“I’m holding you to that.” Matteo smiled, “Okay, I’ll let you check into the hotel. Pier 4 sounds pretty fun. Yes, I looked it up. Oh, and Marco, Dad has been fuming with jealousy that you managed an audience with the Danish Prince, when he, the fabulous diplomat, can't do that. So, keep that up please, because I love seeing him getting knocked down a few pegs.”

“Great to see that even Alexander can be humbled.” Isla smiled while looking at her husband.

“I did not achieve it single handedly.” Marco shook his head. “We did exchange some business contacts, and talked about future beneficiary work.”

“I’ll tell Dad that you are not allowed to share those contacts or you’ll be on the hit list of the royal secret service.” Matteo joked. “But hey. Enjoy, please.”

“Bye!”

***

“Be careful. It could be really slippery here.”

“Yeah, we know.” Gastón responded to his mother's comment.

“I didn’t exactly mean you.” Isla remarked as she looked at Luna. “Look where you step.”

“I will.” Luna nodded before dashing ahead on the coastal trail of Suomenlinna.

“Someone should probably keep an eye on her.” Nina remarked while taking Gastón’s hand. “Before she tries to skate on the ice.”

“You two can go ahead.” Marco glanced at his watch. “We’ll come behind you. Tomas is supposed to call me as soon as he gets to the house today.”

“You really do pick the worst timing for everything,” Gastón rolled his eyes, “He can’t call you when we’re back at the hotel?”

“He is busy,” Marco pointed out, “He’s gonna go check the things when he can. So, we are operating on his schedule.”

“It shouldn’t take long.” Isla shook her head. “We just want to see that everything is okay at home.”

“You don’t think someone is actually breaking in, do you?” Gastón’s tone got more serious.

“They shouldn’t know where we live, but who can know with some journalists.” Marco shook his head. “They are into the story now—”

His phone started ringing, almost on cue. “There he is.”

“Go ahead.” Isla gestured to Gastón and Nina. “We’ll follow you from behind.”

“Okay,” Gastón nodded and he and Nina started walking toward where Luna had gone.

Isla took their handsfrees out of her bag and handed the other to Marco. They both had earpieces that automatically connected to each other's phones for these sorts of situations.

“Tomas?” Marco said after answering the call.

“Hey.” Tomas Perida, Marco’s younger brother, showed up on the screen. “Are you outside?”

“Coming to you live from a Finnish war fortress.” Marco responded.

“You should have told me. We could have done this later.” Tomas remarked, while seemingly getting out of his car. “You didn’t need to interrupt your sightseeing.”

“Your schedule is more important than ours right now,” Isla responded.

“Well, I am already here.” Tomas noted.

“Did anyone see you go in?” Marco asked.

“No, absolutely no one on the streets.” Tomas shook his head. “Your block is full of millionaires, this was the first place the journalist searched, and then poignantly gave up when they didn’t find you. It doesn’t matter anyway, if someone sees me. They’ll just think I live here.”

“I guess so.” Marco sighed. “So, how does it look?”

“It doesn’t seem like anyone has found this place out.” Tomas shook his head while walking across the yard. “Or the gates have done a super good job at keeping them at bay. Good thing you got that thing, by the way. It wasn’t overkill after all.”

“Just go inside.”

“Okay.” Tomas laughed slightly. “The door is very securely shut. No signs that someone has tried to break in.”

“Good.” Isla nodded.

“Honestly, the whole media frenzy…” Tomas kept talking as he entered the house. “You are so lucky, that it happened when it did.”

“Has anyone tried to talk to you?” Marco asked.

“A few.” Tomas admitted, but cracked a smile, “But you know how the press views me… They don’t take me seriously as it is, so not many care what I have to say. So, my scheme has worked perfectly.”

“You are not enjoying this?” Marco sighed.

“No, no, I am not…” Tomas laughed, “Okay, don’t get mad at me, but you’ve always been the one of us who has had his life in order. Wife, children, booming career, I can never live up to that. So, it’s kind of funny that you’ve gotten yourself in trouble, finally.”

“We’re not in trouble,” Marco rolled his eyes. “And nothing is stopping you from having a spouse and kids as well. If you’re getting lonely, Jakinda has a long line of divorcees desperate for you to take them to the altar. Take your pick−.”

“Yikes!” Tomas made a horrified face, “Thanks for the warning. Isla, what is wrong with your mother?”

“I ask that of myself often.” Isla shook her head.

“Okay…” Tomas kept moving, “I don’t see any alarms on the camera systems, but you were probably able to check that yourself as well. They’re all also on.”

“Turn all the fingerprint scanners offline.” Marco instructed, “Just in case. You know the override code.”

“Yes, sir.” Tomas joked. “I mean, if you want… I can make myself look like I’m out on a date, so the paparazzi can get something else to talk about.”

“You do that every other weekend as it is,” Marco shook his head, “It’s not really news.”

“Auch. You are really hitting on all cylinders today.” Tomas joked. “Anyway, you can stay sound. There is nothing too alarming here.”

“Good.” Marco nodded.

“Thank you Tomas.” Isla added.

“Anytime.” He nodded, “Now you need to do something that you’re really bad at, relax and enjoy the forcefully extended vacation.”

“We’ll try.” Marco laughed.

“If something happens, I’ll let you know.” Tomas added. “If we are done here, I actually do need to get going, so say hi to the kids for me. I’ll invite myself up for dinner when you’re back so I can hear it all, plus I’d like to meet this Luna… She must be quite a girl to make your life into such a whirlwind.”

“You are welcome to do that.” Marco laughed. “Bye.”

“That went well.” Isla wrapped her arms around Marco’s as they put the earpieces away.

“Nothing is compromised, so that's good.” Marco nodded. They started walking down the trail.

After a few turns, they came across a wall of an old fortress ruin. Luna had climbed on top of it and was balancing along it, while Gastón and Nina were watching her from the ground.

They stopped to look at them for a moment, eyes fixating on Luna.

“How bad is it that I really like the sound when people talk about the kids as in our kids, in a plural?” Isla asked suddenly. “She’s not ours.”

“Right now, she is good as.” Marco responded. “We can’t fully lose the focus on what’s going on and we need to get her parents out, but…” He turned to her and looked her deeply in the eyes. “...I love her too.”

***

“Luna, come down from there.” Nina crossed her arms, while Luna was still balancing on top of the wall, “You’re going to fall.”

“No, I won’t!!” She hopped forward.

“Luna.” Nina continued disapprovingly.

Gastón glanced at his girlfriend. Okay, it wasn’t his business, but…he had been sensing some sort of tension between her and Luna. He absolutely couldn’t put his finger on what it could possibly be, but there was something.

“What?” Luna questioned again from the wall. “I won’t fall…”

At that moment Luna ‘s foot slipped, and she tumbled down, landing on her back into a bank of snow.

“Luna? Are you alright?” Both Gastón and Nina took a step forward, looking into the outline that Luna had made into the snow she was buried in now.

“That was…” Luna’s head, buried in her hot pink woolen hat and covered in snow, popped up from the snowbank. “...so much fun!”

“You’re completely covered in snow.” Nina pointed out.

“I know!” Luna laughed, “This is awesome. Take a pic of me.”

“Okay.” Gastón knew his face probably looked quite questioning, but he took his phone out and grabbed a few pictures. “I’m gonna send these to the Roller Group Chat.”

“You’re going to freeze up now.” Nina brushed some snow out of Luna’s shoulder. Even her eyelashes had snowflakes on them.

“Nah,” Luna shook her head, her pigtails flying in the air. “I’ll be fine. What fun would it be that we are here at the north pole if I can’t dive into some snow.”

“If you say so…” Nina made a face and wrapped her hand back around Gastón’s arm.

“What happened here?” They turned around to see Isla and Marco having caught up with them.

“Luna walked the blank.” Gastón remarked humorously.

“You fell?” Marco asked, while looking at Luna concerned.

“Yeah, maybe a little bit,” Luna looked down at her pants, that were completely covered in snow. “But I fell into a pile of snow, there’s a difference. No one got hurt.”

“Well, that’s a good thing.” Isla picked off a few pieces of snow out of Luna’s braid. “Try not to do anything too rash.”

“Yeah, for sure.” Luna nodded.

Gastón glanced at Nina again, who was looking at Luna and his parents…with this expression she often had when she was thinking something really hard.

***

“You gave them all the necessary instructions?” Isla asked as Marco grabbed his laptop.

“I did.” He nodded, chuckling lightly. “It does feel extremely silly to use a high security VPN for this but…”

The time was nearing 4 PM. They had finally been able to manage the schedules enough to find some time to talk to the Alvarezes…or they had planned that and then promptly forgotten about it. Almost forgotten, because of certain reasons… Good thing digital reminders existed.

“It’s not like we can use the hotel wifi.” Isla shook her head as she joined him on the bed. “Who knows what’s lurking there, hoping to find something interesting.

“When I met you, I didn't think we’d be running away from hackers someday.” He smiled at her.

“When we met, the internet was this huge scientific discovery.” Isla pointed out, “What did Alexei say about the backup plan, if we get found out here.”

“That we need to fly out to Florida and lay low at Disney Word.”

“You are sure he came up with that, and not Emmica?”

“Maybe he got the idea from her.”

“Our lawyer is coming up with plans with his 15-year-old daughter?” Isla laughed, “As if this situation is not complicated enough. Oh well, that girl will be a menace in law-school one day.”

“Absurdity was probably the point.” Marco remarked, “But that’s the backup, hopefully we won’t need it.”

“Yes.” Isla nodded, before turning to him, eyeing his shirt. “Would you stop buttoning those up all the way? This isn’t a business meeting, so no need to look so uptight.” She reached to undo a few of the buttons on his collar. “If I’d have my way, you’d never button this all the way. There.”

“Okay, now we are just waiting.” Marco tapped on the laptop, before looking at Isla. “It’ll probably take them a little time before they’re online. Come here.”

He reached, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer on the bed. Isla didn’t say anything, just gave him a playfully questionable look.

“What?” He gave her a look back. “Might as well be comfortable. Like you said, it’s not a business meeting. This is a casual friendly chat…with the parents of our ward’s friend, about her parents who are unjustly incarcerated…while we are hiding away from paparazzi due to a media leak about the said daughter… That is a sentence that I never thought I’d say.”

“There is nothing casual about this.” Isla laughed, while running her fingers over Marco’s wrist, around his smart watch. “We also should probably not tell them why we almost forgot about this.”

“Probably for the best.” He reached to smooth an unruly strand of hair on her head.

“Are they online now?” Isla asked as she leaned her head on Marco’s shoulder.

“I think so. Looks like it, I’ll just need to connect it.” He looked at her. “Ready for battle?”

“For this one?” She laughed, “Yes. We’ve faced worse.”

“Okay.” He pressed a button on the laptop.

“Hello?” A couple, maybe in their mid-50s appeared on the screen.

“Hello.” Marco responded back. “I’m glad to see that you managed through all the security systems. We apologize about those, but right now they can’t be avoided.”

“It was interesting, but I think we managed it just fine.” The man, who had brown hair, with graying strands sprinkled in, spoke. “Well, I think we probably should introduce ourselves. My name is Diego Alvarez, and this is my wife, Carla.”

“Nice to meet you.” Isla nodded. “We’re–”

“We know who you are.” Carla interrupted, which made Isla and Marco glance at each other discreetly. Of course they knew. Probably had run into google right after Luna had told them about the situation when she had been at Cancun. At least they had probably done that before the media frenzy had taken place. “This is a huge honor. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, you must be busy.”

“Not as busy as you would think.” Marco responded, “I’m not sure if you have heard, maybe from Luna, but we are actually at Helsinki right now.”

“We are notoriously bad at taking vacations, but circumstances allowed us to travel for ourselves for a little while.” Isla explained, “So we took the kids to Northern Europe.”

“Finland?” Diego responded, “Is Luna with you too?”

“She is.” Marco nodded, “We’re with our son and his girlfriend, but enough about that. You’re the ones who wanted to talk to us, so what do you want to know?”

“We just wish to understand what is happening?” Carla started. “Luna and Simon’s, he’s our son…”

“We’ve met him briefly a few times.”

“...their explanation left a lot to be desired. Monica and Miguel have been dear friends of ours ever since they moved to Cancun, when Luna was little.”

“The issue is very complicated,” Marco nodded. “You’re probably familiar with the circumstances when they left Mexico.”

“Yes,” Diego agreed, “The Crarian Mansion was bought by Sharon Benson, who wanted to employ them in Buenos Aires. According to Luna they got fired after a year.”

“They did.” Isla laced her left hand’s fingers with Marco’s. “Sharon Benson is a conniving and vile woman. She doesn’t value anything or anyone, and disregards everything that isn’t useful for her. We employed them straight from her.”

“How did they end up in jail?”

“Sharon is falsely accusing them of fraud against her. What her motives are, we can’t say.” Marco explained. “The case is so severe that…”

It took at least 20 minutes to explain the whole picture of the situation.

“...only thing we can truly hope for is that the case gets dismissed, or they get proven innocent. Our lawyer is seriously doubting that the case is legitimate. We have all faith in him and his team, but it will take time.”

“Monica and Miguel are really lucky to have formidable people like yourselves on their side.” Carla spoke. “Your reputation truly is impressive.”

“We’ve made our way.” Marco glanced at Isla.

“Can I ask, how old are you?”

“Carla!” Diego scolded his wife.

“No, no,” Isla shook her head, laughing slightly. “We are not offended or anything. This is not the first time we've been asked that. We’re 41, both of us.”

“The average age in our field is dangerously close to 60.” Marco added, “Our careers took off quite quickly after we moved to Buenos Aires when we were 27. We have been mistaken as our own secretaries more than once.”

“Not as much anymore,” Isla laughed, “I guess after passing 40, age has actually caught up with us, looks wise anyway.”

“I would like to disagree on that…” Marco glanced at Isla again.

“Anyway, it has been quite a journey since we were young.” Isla continued. Her finger drew circles on Marco’s palm. “We’ve known each other since we were 20, so we've been together for 21 years and married for 19. Probably the funniest thing about this is that we are actually only nine days apart in age. He’s older. We don’t know how that is possible.”

“But you can’t really argue with fate, can you?” Marco smiled at her.

“We understand that,” Diego nodded. “How has Luna been doing?”

“She’s a brave girl.” Isla noted, “I think she had been trying to make the best of a bad situation. Obviously, no child should be separated from her parents like this.”

“She is extremely resilient.”

“We’ve noticed. She doesn’t stay put…” Marco nodded, smiling.

“It was very generous of you to take care of her. Luna spoke of you so highly.”

“We can assure that we are committed to seriously looking after her, and our son just turned 18, so we have raised a teenager before. We didn’t take this on without knowing what we got ourselves into.” Marco responded.

“We’ve been extremely fond of Luna ever since Monica and Miguel came into our employment.” Isla added, “It also was the best solution. They didn’t want her to go back to Mexico, and we thought it would be best for her that she could stay in the environment most familiar to her. Who would know where foster care would have sent her. So, we tried to get ahead of that, and our lawyer made sure everything went through the courts and official filing without a hitch.”

“This way she won’t get separated from the life she has known here nor her friends,” Marco explained, “We did not know this at the time of hiring her parents, but Luna has been in the same skating team as our son Gastón. So, they already knew each other.”

“We heard. That is quite a coincidence.” Diego remarked.

“We know.” Isla nodded. “It was a good thing that they were friends, and Nina, who Luna is really close with, she’s…” She glanced at Marco again, “At least we hope that in a few years she’ll be our daughter-in-law. So, she has support all around her.”

“That is good to hear—”

“Mom, Dad!!!” Diego and Carla were interrupted by some yells, coming from another room.

“How are they already back?” Diego glanced behind the couch. “Wasn’t that dance class supposed to last over two hours?”

“We got let out early!!” Two young girls, who were clearly identical, burst into the room. “Do we have food?”

“Girls.” Carla scolded them. “We are in the middle of something.”

“Oh, who are these people?” The girls looked straight at the camera.

“Friends of Monica and Miguel. If you remember, Luna’s parents.” Diego explained. “We are talking about?”

“Boring… So, about that food.”

“Maria Isabella and Racheal Renata Alvarez.” Carla said sternly, “You are old enough to look at the fridge yourselves. We’ll be with you in a bit.”

“Sorry about that,” Diego said to Isla and Marco, “Four out of our six children still live at home, so we don’t get much peace. Maria and Rika were supposed to be at class, but plans change as we make them apparently.”

“We can imagine.” Isla nodded, smiling slightly.

“If you have other things to get to, we can wrap this up.” Marco suggested.

“That would probably be for the best,” Carla nodded, “Before the girls go feral. Thank you so much for talking to us.”

“Think nothing about it. We understand that his situation is distressing for a lot of people close to the Valentes.”

“Oh, before I forget, is there any way we can send Monica and Miguel a letter or anything like that?”

“Letters, but we’re not sure if their holding facility allows international post,” Marco shook his head, before typing to the text field on the video call. “but we can get them passed along if you send them to us. Here. This is the address of one of my offices. We apologize, but there is no way we are able to share our personal address at this time.”

“We understand. Thank you so much. And like we said, Simon, our second oldest is there in Buenos Aires now and he is really close with Luna. You can always trust him.”

***

“It’s so beautiful out here.” Luna spoke to the phone while looking out to the snowy sea scenery.

The PIER 4 hotel was located right next to the harbor of Helsinki and she could see cruise ships docking and leaving as she was sitting on the balcony of her hotel room.

And yeah, it was cold, but she had bundled herself into a woolen blanket. She was fine.

“That sounds amazing.” Monica's voice came through the phone.

“It is amazing.” Luna nodded, while holding the older phone that she used to talk with her parents in jail, to her ear. “We went to this old war fortress, it was so cool. I fell off a wall to some snow. It was so cold, but so much fun … I wish you could see it.”

“Maybe someday we will.” Miguel remarked.

“Yeah, someday.” Luna nodded. “Are you okay there? I miss you.”

“We miss you too. Don’t worry about us. the important thing is that you are having fun.”

“Yeah, I’m having fun.” Luna smiled.

“You’ll need to live for all of us, right now.” Miguel added, “And we know you’ll do an amazing job at that.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“We received the letter Isla and Marco sent to us, about the press.” Monica added. “How are you doing with that?”

“I mean it’s okay.” Luna noted, “We’re not there. Don’t be mad at them. It’s not their fault.”

“We’re not blaming them. They know how to navigate these things better than we ever could. We are also in a debt of gratitude for them forever, with how much they are doing for you. It is a lot to ask that they truly are treating you as their own.”

“I know…” Luna looked out to sea again.

I am theirs.

Should she tell Mom and Dad?

Luna started to think. Nina would probably tell her no, but… Luna did not understand why she was so against this. What other explanation was there? Science wasn't always the answer to everything. Sometimes you needed to listen to your heart to know the truth. Wasn’t that what she always said?

Mom and Dad would be happy for her, that she had found the answers. They had never stopped her from seeking out her origins. If Isla and Marco were the answer, they would be even happier. It was not like she would love her parents any less, or course not. Mom and Dad had raised her, that would never change.

“Luna? You’re there?”

“Oh, yeah.” Luna realized that she had been quiet for quite a long time. “I’m here. I was just thinking…”

“Thinking of what?”

“That—” I think I found my biological parents. That was what she had been about to say, but she had been cut off by a beeping sound coming from the line. It meant that time was up. The last of her two hours for this week was up.

“We love you.” Her parents said quickly.

“I love you too.” Luna said right before the call disconnected automatically.

Luna sat still for a moment after the call was over, just looking at the screen of the phone.

A gush of cold wind blew past her and she shivered. She probably should go inside.

Luna placed the blanket on an armchair as she got back into the room from the balcony. Then her phone, her actual phone, not the one she did the jail calls with, dinged.

It was Isla, reminding her that they were waiting for her for dinner…right now. Luna thought for a second, before checking the time. Oh yeah, she was really hungry.

Luna grabbed a hoodie from her suitcase, pulled it on and walked out of her room.

“There you are.” Luna found Isla and Marco waiting for her at the lobby.

“Sorry. I almost forgot. As I do.” Luna responded, “Where are Nina and Gastón?”

“They’re not joining us.” Marco responded. He and Isla exchanged a few looks. “They went out. He didn’t tell us where, and we are not allowed to ask anymore, so, we trust they’ll be back by the morning.”

“You can’t blame them for wanting to get rid of us.” Isla remarked, “We just have to let them be alone, when they want. So, you are stuck with only two of us. Hopefully that’s fine.”

Luna felt her heart jump. This was perfect. She had been wishing they could have some time alone, but this far, Gastón and Nina were always there.

And every time she tried to engage in any way with Isla and Marco, Nina gave her looks. Luna loved her and she was her best friend, but she did not understand. Nina had her own parents, and usually acted like she couldn’t wait to get away from them. She didn't understand.

“Oh, yeah. That’s cool.” She responded while trying not to sound too excited. Maybe they didn’t know, but she did. “Totally fine.”

“Let's go then. I think everyone is starving.” Marco moved his hand on Islas waist as they started walking toward the Harbore Restaurant that was located at the hotel.

“So…” Luna started to start some talk. “I don’t think you said it before, have you been here before?”

“We have visited Helsinki a few times.” Isla answered, “For work and have never really had the time to look around.”

“It has been quite nice to take time to do that now.” Marco nodded. He moved his hand to Isla’s arm, as they entered the elevator, his finger very briefly lingering on the brooch she was wearing. It was silver and looked like a fan, with a clear blue stone. Her earrings and necklace were also matching.

For readers' information, she was wearing the Woman’s Voice (Vote) set from Kalevala Jewelry, but this author isn't that certain that Luna is up to date with Finnish luxury jewelry brands to know that.

“Yeah, it has been super fun.” Luna responded.

“It’s great that you think that way.” Isla smiled, “The press outbreak hasn’t spooked you.”

“I mean it is kind of crazy, but it’s fine.” Luna nodded, “It doesn’t bother you right?”

“We are used to dealing with the paparazzi.” Marco responded. “This isn’t the first time.”

“I can’t imagine.”

“Neither could have we.” Isla laughed, while glancing at Marco. “We couldn’t have imagined reaching any of this when we were younger.”

“We would think ourselves crazy.” He shook his head while pulling a door open to a hallway.

“How do you deal with it then?” Luna asked. Honestly, she wanted to know probably everything about how they had gotten here.

“We…” They glanced each other again, with a look that Luna was not able to decipher. “...have our ways…when it comes to stress relief.”

“There’s a lot that we have learned over the years.” Isla continued, “It hasn't been easy to get where we are, and we sacrificed a lot in the process.”

Like what? What did you sacrifice? Luna’s heart jumped again.

“It was such a different life,” Marco agreed, “We got through it the best we were able.”

Was it so different that you needed to give more up than you ever wanted? Was that me?

“Luna?” She snapped out of her thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, I am.” She nodded, quickly. “Just thinking.”

“Didn’t you have a scheduled call with your parents today.” Marco asked. “Did it work okay? The operator is international, so it should have been fine.”

“Yeah, it was fine.” Luna nodded and looked at her feet.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Luna started, “just that… I miss them.”

Isla and Marco looked at her sympathetically.

“Of course you do.” Isla brushed some hair out of her face. “We understand that. Really well, actually. We lost our parents when we were younger, so we know how it feels when you miss them.”

“You are really strong to go through this.” Marco added.

“Yeah, I know.” Luna smiled smally, “I think—”

Her sentence got cut by a series of sneezes.

“Are you sure you are okay?” Isla asked again, while Luna wiped her nose.

“Yeah, it’s just a sneeze.” Luna shook her head.

“You don’t feel warm.” Isla placed her hand on her forehead. She glanced at Marco. “You’re better at deducing this than me.”

“She’s not warm.” He tried Luna’s forehead as well. “But it could still come on. You were completely covered in snow two days ago. You’ve been dressing appropriately?”

“Of course.” Luna shrugged. “Except…I did just sit on the balcony…”

“Outside?” Isla looked at her. “Without a coat?”

“I had a blanket.” Luna countered.

“It’s –5 ℃ outside.” Marco pointed out. “Blanket doesn’t really cut it, especially if you aren’t really used to this sort of climate.”

“Okay,” Luna nodded, “I mean it was really cold.”

“Well, try to make sure you have enough on. You don’t want to get sick.”

“I’m not sick.” Luna insisted.

“Lets hope so,” Isla shook her head, “Remember tell us if you start feeling bad and try to eat some extra fruits so you’ll get some extra vitamins. We should also probably pick some supplements from the pharmacy, just in case.” She said that more to Marco than Luna.

Luna kept looking at them. She could be annoyed by all the fussing, but honestly it just warmed her heart.

If only they could know. Luna wasn’t sure how they could get to that point, it had to happen at some point, some way.

This had to be it.

Why don’t you recognize me? Why didn’t you look for me?

***

“I didn’t know something could truly look like that.” Nina said to Gastón as they approached the Senaatintori.

The Helsinki Cathedral was a striking and serene sight. The white neoclassical structure stood tall against the wintry sky. The cathedral’s grand staircase was covered by snow blankets contrasting beautifully with the cathedral’s pristine white walls and green domes. The cold air blowing past them gave a peaceful stillness to the atmosphere.

The sun had gone down ages ago, but the cathedral was still lit beautifully.

“That is so beautiful.”

“Apparently it was built in 1852 and took over 20 years to build,” Gastón read off his phone. “It was originally designed by the German architect Carl Ludvig Engel, who envisioned it as part of a grand city plan for Helsinki after the city became the capital of Finland in 1812. The building was intended to be a symbol of Russian authority, as Finland was under Russian rule at the time. It was first named St. Nicholas' Church, in honor of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.”

“The symbolism probably changed after they gained the independence.” Nina wondered. “When was it?”

“December 6th, 1917. 100 years ago.” He answered.

“That’s so fascinating.”

“Apparently this is the main Lutheran church of the Diocese of Helsinki, or even the country.” Gastón continued, “I heard Mom and Dad talk about it, maybe attending a service at some point. I’m not sure how it would work though, they don’t speak Finnish, and we are catholic.”

“They probably just want it as an experience.” Nina noted, “And I’m sure Churches allow people from different communions to attend and how would they know. There are probably some rules, but I’m sure it’s allowed.”

“And Mom and Dad don’t really care for the “rules” as it is.” Gastón nodded, “It’s always been about the personal faith for them, not so much about the institution and all the rules. They’re religious, not crazy.”

“People would need to be crazy to think your parents are crazy.” Nina laughed as they started climbing up the stairs toward the cathedral. “I’d like to see it inside, but it’s probably not open anymore.”

“Yeah, it’s not.” Gastón shook his head as he stepped the last steps and held his hand for Nina. “But…about the craziness of it all… It has been pretty crazy lately.”

“It has.” Nina took his hand, as she climbed the last steps. “No one could have seen all of it coming.”

“Thank you.” Gastón moved his hand on her waist, moving her to face him.

“For what?” Nina tilted her head.

“For sticking through all of this. We are literally hiding from paparazzi at the North Pole,” He responded, his finger caressing her cheek. “None of this has anything to do with you. You could have bailed a long time ago as it all got too much.”

“This has nothing to do with you either.”

“It does,” Gastón sighed, “It’s my family. I can’t escape it, nor do I want to.”

“I don’t want to either.” Nina shook her head, “I’m in it for the long haul, for you. I love you.”

“I love you.” He responded, pulling her closer. Some soft snow had started to fall from the sky.

“You shouldn’t worry,” Nina noted, “I talked with Mom and she thinks that press is gonna drop the issue soon, or she’ll make them.”

“I’m not worried exactly,” Gastón continued, “Mom and Dad can handle it…at least I hope so.”

“What makes you say that?”

“They’re strong.” He added, “but I know that this, all that's happened, has taken its toll on them. Dad got medication added to his roster after the fire. But they have each other, they get through almost everything when they do. They won't quit.”

“It is quite miraculous how they can draw strength from each other,” Nina noted while wrapping her arm around his as they started walking down, “I—I didn’t know something like that actually existed, before… For obvious reasons.”

“I mean, it could get annoying if you like live with them 24/7.” Gastón joked while looking at Nina, “But I get it now, ‘cause I have you.”

As they reached back to the ground, he made a shift motion, pulling her closer by the waist and kissing her. “Seriously, I’m so glad you were able to come.”

“Of course I came with you here.” She responded, “I would have not missed it for the world.”

“Yeah, you make this craziness better, and I know it’s probably easier for Luna as well.”

“Yeah,” Nina’s face fell slightly as she responded half-heartedly.

“Is everything seriously okay with you and Luna?” Gastón asked again, “You’ve been acting so weirdly.”

“It’s nothing,” Nina shook her head, “You don’t need to worry about it.”

“I love you, and she’s basically my sister, so of course I worry.”

“We’ll make it up someday,” Nina shook her head again, “Just a silly disagreement. There is nothing you can do.”

“Okay,” Gastón nodded, “Faster you solve it, the better it'll be for both of you.”

“I know,” Nina said, wrapping her arms around his neck, “But, I don’t want to talk about Luna right now.”

***

Nina yawned slightly as she walked into the hotel’s lobby. Last night had stretched a little long…

Gastón had left earlier, because Marco had apparently been contacted by his former colleague who now worked in the Finnish Parliament, who had offered them a tour of the parliament building. So, they had gone there.

“Hey!” Nina was startled by Luna’s voice. She turned around to see her basically glide across the lobby.

They had agreed to go see some places with Isla, while Gastón and Marco were on their own adventures. But she wasn’t here yet, so Nina was left alone with Luna right now.

Nina gave Luna a smile. She truly didn’t want to be at odds with her. She didn’t like the tension between them at all, so if there was any chance to diffuse that, she’d tackle it, but when Luna based her ideas on fantasies, her head wasn’t just turned.

“Hi.” Nina responded.

“So,” Luna opened her mouth. Nina prayed that she wasn’t about to talk about what she thought she might. Let’s not escalate this conflict any more than it already has… “Hasn’t this been fun?”

“Yeah, it has.” Nina responded relieved. She knew that she and Luna would need to have a serious talk about all of this, but maybe they could leave it for a little while longer.

“Ready to go girls?” Isla walked into the lobby while buttoning her woolen coat up. “Make sure to bundle up. It’s really cold there.”

“Of course.” Nina nodded while glancing at Luna, who had already started to pull on what looked like an elf hat. That was what you got when you let Luna pick her own winter gear.

She chuckled amused for a moment, before starting to pull her hair aside to wrap her scarf on properly.

“What is that?” Nina turned around jumping, as she realized that Luna was right next to her.

“What’s what?” She asked.

“That.” Luna pointed to the right side of her face, or no actually, her neck. “It looks like a mosquito bite.”

No. Nina realized what Luna was talking about. Why, why didn’t she check in the mirror before leaving the room? Yeah, it was a bite alright, but not the kind Luna was thinking.

“How do you get a mosquito bite in this weather?” Luna kept yapping on. “It’s too cold for bugs to live.”

Nina did not know what to respond, especially since to her horror she realized that Isla had turned around and was looking at them now. She very obviously had heard what Luna had said and was seeing the same thing. And she of course knew what a hickey was and how you came about getting those—she had been married for over almost 20 years.

Right now, she was just begging wordlessly for Luna to stop.

“Oh, I totally forgot my mittens.” Luna suddenly said, “I’ll be right back.”

If this couldn’t get any worse. Nina tried not to panic. Luna had just totally outed her with a hickey to the mother of the guy who had given her the mark in the first place, and now left her alone with her.

Nina didn’t dare to look at Isla, but tried to focus on wrapping the scarf around her neck.

“There’s no reason to look that alarmed.” Her gaze shot up from Isla’s voice. “How conservative do you think we are?”

“No, no, that's not…” Nina staggered. This was not the impression she wanted to give to her future mother-in-law, even if Isla was looking at her with an expression mixed with amusement and sympathy.

“You and Gastón are both adults, so it is not our business what you do.” Isla responded, “Marco and I have made sure he knows how to be responsible when it comes to this topic, and we have faith that you know what you’re doing. Only thing we care about is that you two are happy.”

Nina just nodded.

“I do understand you.” Isla looked at Nina again. “We weren’t that much older with Marco… I guess we were 20, so a little bit older, but not that much in the grand scheme of things. I was caught in a few very similar situations, with my friends, my mother…” She shook her head, “...that was not pretty. That woman is the biggest hypocrite in the world.”

Nina watched Isla for a moment. She had always had the impression that Gastón had a good relationship with his grandmother, but that didn’t obviously mean that same translated to Isla having a good relationship with her mother. Something that Nina could sympathize with.

“One of my goals has always been to not be like her.” Isla continued. “I never had a mother-in-law myself, but Katherine…the little time I was privileged to know her, she was one of the kindest people in the whole world. Everything she was, lives on in her son, the man I got to have. I try to take away as much as I am able. She would have been a wonderful grandmother.”

Nina nodded. She had heard of Katherine Perida before, even if Gastón had never got to know her.

“Okay, I’m back!” Luna suddenly ran back into the lobby.

***

“Yeah, our flight leaves tomorrow morning.” Gastón said to Matteo on the phone. “So, we're off to Sweden next.”

“I am still jealous.” Matteo laughed, “So, why I called you was because Dad got himself some negotiations in Reykjavik, like a day before you arrive there.”

“Okay,” Gastón nodded, “And you’re telling me this to me because…?”

“Because, Dad has been like fuming to get something important to do after your dad just casually went on to meet with the Crown Prince of Denmark.” Matteo continued, the amusement growing in his voice.

“I don’t get how Mom is besties with Sofia, but my parents and your dad are like the best frenemies on the planet.” Gastón laughed.

“You know how he always goes on about them getting all the high profile attention because they’re young and good looking. Poor guy just can’t accept that he’s over 50 and old. I don’t know how Sofia stands him.” Matteo remarked, “You parents have my dad’s begrudging respect, which is an honor rare people get. Anyways, he's going to Iceland, so I thought I’ll annoy him by sticking along. He has to be there for like three days tops, so I thought I’d just stay and fly back with you.”

“So, you’re actually just wanting to stick yourself into our vacation?”

“The end of it, yes.” Matteo responded, “Hey come on. I miss you guys. So, you’d be okay with it, or do you not want me to interrupt your time with Nina?”

“We already have a third wheel in Luna, more the merrier I guess,” Gastón joked. “But seriously, I’d love it if you’d join us.”

“Good. I’ll talk to your parents so I can get the same hotel and the flight back.”

“Mom and Dad will absolutely love it if you come. Dad can get you on the return flight no problem.” Gastón responded, “Only danger here is that if you talk to them, they are gonna insist on paying for you.”

“I’ll take that risk.” Matteo laughed, “Well, I’ll update you on the details. See you!”

“See you too!” Gastón disconnected the call and laughed, shaking his head.

He put his phone away and walked up the last of the steps to the floor when his and Nina’s room was located and heard faint talking, in Spanish.

As he entered the hallway, he saw Nina sitting in an armchair, at the little lounge that was located at the crossroad off the hall. It looked like Luna was sitting across from her.

That was a good thing. Gastón still didn’t know what was going on between the girls, but it was good that they were working it out. He didn’t want Nina to be miserable, because she was fighting with her best friend.

“Think I’ve figured out what I’m gonna do.” Luna’s voice said.

“What? What could you possibly do?” Nina’s voice was filled with skepticism.

“I think I should just come out with it.” Luna continued. “Talk to them. Nina, I can’t wait any longer.”

“Luna…” Nina’s voice got desperate. “You can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Luna’s voice was also filled with emotion. “I know this is it. If they are my parents, don’t I have the right to know them as such. I want to know them.”

“What are you actually even planning on doing?” Nina continued, “Walz up to them, the people who are helping your parents and looking after you from the pure goodness of their hearts, and say: Hey, I think I am your actual daughter. Did you ever perhaps abandon a child? To a couple who have faced devastating fertility challenges. Do you understand how tone deaf that is?”

What? Gastón stared at the girls— He could just stay here and eavesdrop, but…this was way too weird for him to do that.

“What's going on here?” He started walking toward the girls.

“Gastón?” Both Nina and Luna turned around. Nina's face was really alarmed. “How—How much did you hear?”

“Pretty much all of it.” Gastón said slowly. “About Luna thinking she needs to talk to people who dangerously sounded like Mom and Dad, about being their daughter… So, what is happening?”

Luna and Nina glanced at each other, multiple times.

“Luna.” Nina turned again, looking at her, while her hand reached to take Gastón’s hand. “You need to tell him.”

“I am very much looking forward to hearing this.” Gastón stared at Luna.

“Uhm… Okay…” Luna took a few shaky breaths. “I’ve been trying to figure out who my biological parents are for a year now and gotten nowhere. All of a sudden, I started having dreams that can’t mean anything else except that it is your parents. So, in summary I think I could be the daughter of Isla and Marco Perida, because what other explanation is there.” The spiel came fast out of her mouth.

“What?” Gastón stared at Luna.

“I've been trying to tell her that it is impossible.” Nina squeezed Gastón’s hand, “And I need your help with that. It is impossible…right?”

Gastón blinked for a moment to just wrap his head around that this was an actual conversation he was having. “Yeah, of course it is impossible.”

Luna’s face fell. “But… What if they just couldn’t help the circumstances?”

“They could have never lived with themselves if they would have given up a child.” Gastón sighed. “There is no way. Something they always say to me is that…that I am their miracle. Miracle that was blessed for them before everything went down. They always say that they would give up everything they have now, for me, if it came to that.”

“Luna, if you don’t believe me, believe him.” Nina looked at Luna again with a pleading expression. “He knows them.”

Luna stayed silent.

“So, I am guessing this is what you’ve been fighting about the past week.” Gastón asked.

“We haven’t been fighting.” Luna suddenly shook her head, while still looking down.

“Haven’t we?” Nina asked, “Look, I love you. If this could actually be the case, I would be so happy. I would be thrilled for you, but it is not. It is not possible Luna. Longer you keep entertaining this, the more you are gonna get hurt… You are also gonna hurt Isla and Marco by this.

Tears started glistening in Luna's eyes. “But else can it be?”

“We don’t know,” Nina reached for her hand, “But we can figure it out… But this is not it. Let it go.”

Luna stayed silent again, before silently nodding. Nina let out a relieved breath.

“Look, this is still super weird,” Gastón decided to cut the tension, “How did you even ever get to that conclusion, because I am confused. Your dreams told you something?”

“My dreams are often right,” Luna brushed a tear out of her eye, “They told me that I need to look for a sun, and Isla…”

“What do you know about that ring your mother has?” Nina asked.

“Uh, Mom has jewelry to rival some of the Royal houses of Europe.” Gastón responded, “You’ll need to be more specific than that.”

“Oh, yeah. The golden signet ring with the sun.” Luna responded. “Where has that come from? She said that it’s passed down.”

“That? Yeah, I mean it kind of is.” Gastón wondered. “It was granny’s. I don’t know where it came from originally, but Dad took it from her things after she died. He gave it to Mom on their first Christmas. It’s not expensive or anything, just something sentimental.”

“Okay, then what about the tattoo?” Luna kept being persistent.

“What tattoo?” Gastón stared at her again. “Mom and Dad don’t have tattoos.”

“Luna’s convinced she saw your mom have a tattoo of a sun on her wrist in a picture in your parents’ bedroom.” Nina clarified.

“Oh, that.” Gastón nodded, “I know the photo, but that’s not a tattoo.”

“I saw it.” Luna insisted.

“I know.” Gastón nodded, “But that's just like permanent marker. Apparently, it was something Dad used to do, draw a sun on her.”’

“Why?” Luna asked.

“He used to say that her eyes were like a ray of sunlight that shone at the end of a tunnel,” He answered, “You know, because the whole eye thing in this family. But honestly, I think the wrist wasn’t the only place but…” Gastón’s voice trailed off, “…that goes into the territory I really don’t want to talk about.”

“What territory?” Luna asked.

“It’s better if we don’t have that conversation,” Gastón glanced at Nina for a moment, “Like, I know how I exist and I know they most certainly haven’t stopped, but…yeah, I am not talking about this.”

“So, it’s not a tattoo?” Luna asked.

“No,” Gastón shook his head.

“But I just still don’t understand.” Luna shook her head, “There has to be a reason for all of this…” She started looking really pensive.

“Luna?” Nina asked cautiously, “What are you thinking?”

“But like…” Luna opened her mouth again. “...okay, I’m not their child, but what if we are related in another way?” She looked at Gaston again. “What if I’m your cousin or something?”

“Uh, I am not sure.” Gastón shook his head.

“Luna, the odds that your parents got hired by your biological relatives are astronomically low,” Nina sighed, “It’s impossible.”

“I’m not giving up, Okay?” Luna persisted, while looking at Gastón. “Could that be?”

“I don’t know,” He shook his head, “Look, Mía and Elise are maybe a little too young and I mean, both Jonathan and Liliana were born before they were married… Grandma was scandalized, but even she would never insist on anyone giving up a child.”

“Isla would also know, right?” Nina pointed out, “If that had happened. Luna, someone would have recognized you.”

“Unless…” Now it was Gastón’s turn to look like he was thinking about something super hard. “You don’t think you are a Sulandre, do you?”

“The what now?” Luna stared.

“Do you remember how you once asked if Mom was adopted?” Gastón responded.

“I am not sure, but go on.” Luna nodded.

“Anyways, the thing is that, she is and isn’t, actually.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Luna kept staring.

“It means that Grandma is her biological mother, yes, but Grandpa is not. Joakim Vasquez is not her biological father.” Gastón explained. “Grandma, Jakinda Romero met him when Mom was three and they got married when she was four. He adopted her, and that is why she went by Isla Vasquez before marrying Dad.”

“Who’s her biological father then?” Luna asked.

“His name is Jorge Sulandre.” Gastón responded, “That’s all I know about him. He left them when Mom was maybe a few months old.”

“That is awful,” Luna opened her mouth, “but…that could be it!”

“It would fit the picture that his descendant or something abandoned more kids.” Gastón shrugged.

“That could actually be possible.” Nina pondered things too, “and actually make sense.”

“It could explain everything!” Luna started, her previous emotions changed into her usual enthusiasm. “How do I prove this?”

“DNA test?” Nina stated, glancing at Gastón.

“Yeah, but…” Gastón looked skeptical, “I would totally be up for it, but we can’t just walk into a lab and ask for a DNA test.”

“Why not?” Luna asked.

“Well, I guess, it’s more like… You can’t. I can.” Gastón responded, “You’re a minor, so you need parental approval for something like that.”

“And you think we can’t tell your parents?” Nina filled in what Gastón hadn’t said.

“You think that?” Luna asked too.

“Well, I mean, I don’t know.” Gastón shook his head, sighing, “We don’t talk about this. I am not fully even sure how I know about this. So I have no idea how Mom feels about it.”

“Oh.” Luna hung her head. “If I can’t talk to her…”

“I guess you could talk to Dad, if you want a feel about how Mom might react. He’s the one who would know.” Gastón pondered, “but…that will basically make Mom aware of this. They’ve been together for over 20 years, the only secrets they keep from each other are Christmas and birthday gifts.”

Luna looked down again. The momentarily hope in her started to dissolve. If this was it, Isla might not want anything to do with her.

So, she might have found her biological family, but that family could hate her.

{}

Okay… (I feel like I start every A/N with those words) Anyway, I know everybody was glamoring what happened next after Luna othered those words. Well, we tackled that head on…or Nina did…with zero success. This is Luna I will dig for bottle at the yard of my parents place work, because I saw it in a dream Valente, she's not gonna listen to reason or logical arguments. Honestly if this was the actual show, there would be a five episode arc where Luna tries to get Gastón's DNA, because his DNA consists of Isla and Marco's DNA, so that way she only needs one sample. She would rope Simon into it and shenanicans ensue… Since Nina is against it, because, the best solution would be her, since she can invade Gastón's personba space the way Luna can't. (now I kind of want to write this version. Maybe a oneshot. Tell me if you wanna see it) That would have happened if Luna's head wasn't turned like it was at the end, because I couldn't let Luna think this for very long. It would have not been healthy for her, because it was so obvious that she could not be Isla and Marco's daughter, she was just refusing to see it. That would have been so unhealty for her. S,o we shifted it to something that's not so bad for her. Remember how I think I once said (it was maybe part 4) that the Sulandre thing was not gonna be brough up again, because it was supposed to just be a reference to a upcoming other fic… Well, screw that, we are talking about it. Obviously, Luna is not a decendant of Jorge Sulandre, but thet don't know that, so right now it seems like the most plausible outcome here. The sun connections are not actual connections, but again, no one is connecting Sol and the Bensons, because Sharon never brough it up. We moved form Denamark to Finland, because it's my country so I know how to write about it, and we needed a extra country for them to hide at. I also was able to squeeze in some time for Nina and Isla to interreact, because I feel like it's important for NIna to have these positive interractions with her in-laws, especially her MIL. This fic isn't exactly focusing on Nina, but she gets to have scenes too. Also, the few intances that Isla mentioned, anout being in a similat situation than Nina; I have actually wrtten those so I linked them at the end for fun as: SFS#1 and SFS#2 is someone is interested ion reading.

#Soy Luna #soy luna fanfiction #Gastina #Lutteo #Soy Luna Season 2 #Gastteo #Au #Twist #This was just a stupid idea #But I am rolling with it #And having fun #and it's getting unhinged #because it has a plot now

1 note · View note

khorren · 10 months ago

Text

Updated the character page again, sort of bringing things up to modern day / quick summary of such. Need to get a pic for Caoimhe, but should probably level her first :) https://khorren.tumblr.com/characters

Text below:

Aoife

7th child of the family

Guild Leader

Commander’s bodyguard + 2nd in command

Took the Commander job in Icebrood Saga

Writes stories, poems, and sings

Siobhan

Twinned with Roisin

Vigil Crusader

Smashy

Roisin

Twinned with Siobhan

Totally normal Priory member

Yep. Just a gal in the Priory

Nothing to be concerned about

Likes animals

Fia

Has different mother than the others

Has kinship with the Spirit of Darkness

Likes exploring caves

Vigil Crusader when it suits her

Isla

Fia’s daughter, grew up with dad

Doesn’t say much

Contract killer / sniper for the Whispers

Aisling

Adopted into the family

Sister to Saorise

Raven Shaman

Keeps Wolf close

Saoirse

Adopted into the family

Sister to Aisling

Research into Jormag went wrong

Slightly corrupted physically

Misses her dad :(

Astrid

Canthan heritage

Sister to Aesa

Knowledge nerd

Librarian

Aesa

Canthan heritage

Sister to Astrid

Jade Tech Engineer

Likes things that go boom

Saga

Former Wolf Shaman

Exiled from her village

Pretty bummed out about it

Trying to make things right

Kristin

Mountain life not her thing

Lives in the Heart of Maguuma

Frog dudes are besties

Orathali

Un-norny norn

Lives in Lion’s Arch

Joined the guild as administrator / book keeper

Decent healer. Crap fighter.

Serenity

“The Commander”. Now retired

Complicated family history

Lost her memories age six

Doesn’t know her name, so goes by many

Doesn’t like Ruby

Ridley

Found in the Mists. Spooky

Vigil Warmaster

Champion of Aurene since Serenity couldn’t bond with her

Ruby

Ooooooold

Like seriously. Made a deal with Grenth

Been manipulating the family lineage for decades

Still not a fan of Charr, with a few exceptions

Calixae

Ruby’s kid. Could come in handy

Whoops, has very little magic ability

Lives with dad in Ebonhawke

Involved with the Ebonhawke Peace Treaty

Prefers to fish rather than attend diplomatic meetings

Kensi

Old. Kind of been living in the Mists for a long time

Also made a deal with Grenth

Used to be a Warrior, used to be a Ritualist, now a Revenant.

Was a Reaper of Grenth for a while

Looks after dead family

Natalia

Sister to Sienna

Oops, killed a minister

Hidden in Priory for a while.

Sneaky sneaky

Learned more about shadow magic while hidden away

Fae

Natalia in disguise

Rainbows and unicorns!

Still serves queen and country despite everything

Sienna

Sister to Natalia

Got hidden away in the Whispers after Nat killed a dude

Paired with the Commander and follows her everywhere like an annoying shadow

Bit of a hardened badass which is a bit concerning considering she’s pretty young

Ordered to kill Commander if she works against the Whispers

Alexis

Twin sister to Maidson

Bandit/Thief living in Ebonhawke

Turns to Dwayna and reforms herself

Priory nerd, Friend to Zephyrites + Crystal Bloom

Has a totally normal nothing to worry about Priory girlfriend

Madison

Twin sister to Alexis

Bandit/Thief living in Ebonhawke

Turns to Balthazar and reforms herself

Loses her magic after the events of Path of Fire

Re-trains with fire within with Alexis’ help

General mercenary + helper in Elona

Kyra

Befriended the Ebonhawke girlies for bad times

Died in the Battle for Lion’s Arch (noob)

Got crazy dead people powers

Came back when the Commander snuck out of the Domain of the Lost

Made it everyone’s problem

Allianora

Kurzick family been living in Divinity’s Reach for a long-ass time

Likes Beetle Racing

Whispers gal

Cantha opened. Yay. Living there now

Xunlai

Is she real? Is she a weird Mists creature? Who knows

Gets stuff for the guild

Aloreca

Former pirate

Sister to Blixxie

Formed a krewe with Yhalea after abandoned in a mission

Yhalea

Former Inquest

Formed krewe with Aloreca after Inquest abandoned her

Whispers agent, but kind of forgot about it

Blixxie

Sister to Aloreca

Barely made it out of college

Kinda ditzy but good at running errands

Likes minipets

Viianna

Krewe member

Spends more time doing stuff for the guild

Liaison for Pact stuff since the others have the social graces of a shoe

Nokomai

Krewe member

Likes magitech, holo-tech, and jade tech

Magic gremlin. Could be part-chak

Makes minipets

Oxia

Leader of Ember Warband

Trying really really hard to keep the team functional

Got the team out of the Fire legion and into Blood

Oops, Blood leader went crazy. Allied with the guild.

Reyna

Member of Ember warband

Going a bit crazy learning her magic potential

Not a fan of authority. Will listen to Oxia though.

Prima

Member of Ember warband

Show off

Guns and Ghosts are cool

Amarilis

Mama Pale Tree wanted her to be Special

Amarilis didn’t want to be special

Has rocky relationship with Mama Tree and the Dream

Got rid of her Wyld Hunt

Had to kill her boyfriend. Big sad.

Lil grumpy goose for a while

Doing okay now

Khorren

Surprise! Mama tree tried to make another Special sylvari

Amarilis didn’t like this

Now mostly tends to Mama Tree and is a liaison to the Guild and the Pact in sylvari matters

Camdinn

Sneaky plant man

Kaidalis

Likes animals

Likes hitting things

Pact Commander who tends to animals used in warfare and keeps them happy

Teaghaann

Left the dream with Khorren

Looking for someone she met in the dream

Fights dragons to look for her

Listens to Mordremoth. Whoops.

Is saved by dream-friend! Yay! Happy gay adventures.

Brynndera

Helped Teaghaann and Khorren in the dream

Sleepy pod child, didn’t wake up til after Mordy’s defeat

Went looking for dream friends

Found Teaghaann, took her home and fed her soup til she was better

Nierithi

One of the first Sylvari to appear after Mama Tree got a bit better after Shadow of the Dragon attacked her

Dreamed of being a healer, wanted to do nothing but heal.

Came out wrong. Woops. Necromancer

Very sad about it. Never really went adventuring, stuck to the Grove and Caledon Forest

Barrier healing exists! She’s happy. Yay! Goes on Tyria adventures with her little minion friends and heals people with sand

Cosima

When Serenity died to Balthazar, so did Cosima. Serenity escaped the Domain of the Lost but Cosima lingered there a long time

Didn’t go back to her Tyria, but Serenity’s. Very confused.

Takes over role of Commander after helping save the world not get consumed by Void.

Caoimhe

One of Cosima’s allies in the other Tyria

Escaped to the Mists when Kralk started eating the world

Landed in a quaint little pirate town called Lion’s Arch. Uh…. That’s not good.

Aoife

Commander of a completely different non-connected Tyria.

Only has one elder sibling (brother) and no younger siblings

Studying under Havroun Wiebe to be the next Raven Havroun

Had a small corrupted by Jormag arc. Is kind of okay about it now. Kind of.

Sebastian

Brat

Keeps getting to places before Aoife much to her annoyance

Become besties during season 3 stuff

Absolutely no romantic connection to her, but the pair love each other like super platonic best friend soulmates.

#character babbles #gw2 #guild wars 2

1 note · View note

islaricci · 10 months ago

Text

Full Name: Isla Leonora Ricci

Nickname(s): Isla. She hates being called Leonora, only the people close to her even knows it is her middle name.

Date of Birth: 12th of April

Hometown: Kismet Harbor, Oregon

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Orientation: Bisexual

Relationship Status: Engaged to @elianxbrowne

Occupation: Store Owner of Della Moda

Living Arrangements: Studio flat Downtown

Language(s) Spoken: English, some Italian

Label: The Vixen

Positive Traits: Confident - Loyal - Honest

Negative Traits: Insecure - Sensitive - Jealous

Isla was born and raised in Kismet Harbor. She is the middle child with one younger and one older sibling.

In high school she was in with the popular crowd and got on well with the older kids within it as well. Always having been a social butterfly, she loved to attend parties, be social and in general just hang out more than she enjoyed studying. She was on the cheerleader team and made captain her senior year.

Isla has always had big dreams for the future, and one of them was to leave the small town of Kismet Harbor and move to the big city. Despite her average grades, the brunette managed to get into college in non other than New York where she ended up enrolling to study business management.

However, school has never been the woman's strong suit and she was easily influenced by her older room mate who was not the most focused on college themselves, so she soon after adopted a party life style, spending the majority of her time enjoying the night life in the big apple and whatever it had to offer. This naturally impacted her grades, and she ended up failing her course. As a result, Isla was asked to leave due to her poor attendance.

As she was too embarrassed about the outcome of her collage to return home, when her room mate told her about the side business she was doing to get herself through college, she was intrigued and not hard to persuade to join. Isla then signed up with an escorting agency and ended up living in the big city until long after graduation, telling her family she had managed to land a big corporate job and had no plans to return home any time soon.

Working as an escort allowed Isla to live a comfortable life in luxury, treating herself to luxury items from the payments she made as well as fancy dinners. It wasn’t until she experienced a very uncomfortable situation with one of her regular clients, she packed up her bags and moved back home to Kismet Harbor.

After moving back, she excused herself to her parents that she wasn't planning on sticking around forever, so she took a receptionist job at the local therapy clinic, even though she knew she was lucky to even be able to land that job with her grades from high school.

Although she didn’t plan on sticking around town for longer than necessary, her plans soon changed after she ran into her childhood friend and long term unrequited crush, Elian Browne. Despite leaving things on a sour note when she revealed she was leaving town originally, the two slowly reconnected, and eventually it felt as if no time had passed between them at all.

It also came as no surprise that the feelings for her friend that she had long buried, or at least tried to, resurfaced with the time the two started to spend together. However, Isla had always been too scared to say anything to him in fears that she would end up loosing him completely. It wasn’t until Elian caught Isla on a date and admitted his feelings for her, that she eventually managed to get up her courage and reveal her long standing affection for him in return.

The two have been dating ever since, and in all honesty Isla hasn't as much as looked at another man in the same way ever since. Her heart truly belongs to Elian only, and she is his for as long as he would like to have her. At one point in their relationship, right before Valentines day in 2024, Elian started behaving suspiciously, which obviously led Isla to believe the man was having an affair. After confronting him about it, he revealed that he had secretly been working on a location the two had visited prior when she aired the idea that she was looking to open up a shop in town, seeing she was now sticking around.

That was how her long standing dream, alongside the kind investment from the Hawthorn brothers, became a reality and how Della Moda came to be. With a focus on sustainable fashion in addition to wanting to assist any local artists in terms of their own business with items that she can sell in her shop, Isla has taken a leap of faith and is ready to take on a new challenge as a business woman.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

Childhood Friend (Potential love interest) - The two would have been as thick as thieves when they were younger, all the way throughout high school. Even though they were never romantically involved, people always joked that the two of them would end up getting married one day. The two would have just laughed it off, even though maybe low key they had a crush on one another, or maybe it was even just one sided? Regardless, they never acted on their potential feelings towards one another. When Isla left town (or them depending if they are older or not) they lost contact.

Former clients 2/2

Best friend(s)

High School Rival

Friends

Older brother 0/1 (One is a NPC)

1 note · View note

casspha · 2 years ago

Photo

PRESENTING CASSIDY PHA!

have you seen cassidy pha? word on the street is that they’re back in soleida bay after all of these years. downtown must not be so bad, huh? I guess they’re an isla bonita resort receptionist now… but the slasher doesn’t seem to mind! People are saying they’re ambitious and independent, but the perfectionism and cynicism kind of cancels that out, doesn’t it? Either way, we hope they live to see another day.

THE BASICS

full name: cassidy amber pha

nickname(s): cass, cassie

birthday/age: august 25th/30 years old

gender/pronouns: cisfemale/she/her

sexuality: heterosexual

ABOUT

cassidy was originally born and raised in soleida bay with two uber-successful big-shot businesspeople for parents. her parents being who they were, it was no surprise to anyone that cassidy adopted their ambitious attitudes towards life. living in sunset heights, cassidy never knew too much struggle growing up, but one lesson her parents always drilled into her head was that if she ever wanted to get anywhere in the world, she had to be ready to put forth every effort and strive to be perfect. that they hadn’t gotten where they’d gotten and hadn’t been able to give cassidy the life she had without many years of long, hard work.

cassidy went through her school years holding those lessons close to her heart. she was a star student, the senior class president, and the valedictorian of her graduating class. by all means, cassidy found herself meeting every expectation her parents had of her. but, though she never would admit it to them, those same expectations made her want to run away. so, after getting accepted to nyu for college, cassidy left soleida bay and didn’t dare look back.

it was strange having the freedom she’d always wanted. so much so that it took quite a long time before cassidy was able to settle into the career she actually wanted to pursue. it was frustrating having the drive to succeed but not knowing exactly in what way. but nevertheless, she’d finally hit her groove. at least she had until the day she’d received a phone call from her parents informing her of the recent string of murders that had been occurring in her hometown.

as much as cassidy felt much too pressured by her parents in her youth, she still loved her parents and knew they’d only ever just wanted the best for her. so, with a growing worry for the bizarre murders happening in what had been such a peaceful place for her growing up, she went back to soleida bay just after finishing her second year of law school. that way, she could watch over her parents and make sure all was well. it took practically no time for her to find an apartment downtown as well as a receptionist job at the isla bonita resort for the meantime, her past connections with the senior managers who knew her from childhood coming in handy. she’s not sure how long she’ll be in soleida bay, but would prefer to see the person responsible for the murders that dragged her back here in cuffs and locked up before she catches the next flight out.

#soleida.intro #//not gonna go too far into connections bc im awful at thinking of em BUTTTT #off the top of my head past flames from her high school days!!#co-workers!!#friends she lost touch with after leaving that stayed in soleida bay!!

7 notes · View notes

whereisten · 4 years ago

Text

Stupid Cupid

A Taeyong fic that’s a part of our Halloween Series!

Summary: Cupid, also known as Taeyong, has never experienced real love. But when he meets you, he may finally have a chance.

Pairing: Cupid! Taeyong x female reader

Genre: romance, angst, fluff, smut, fantasy

Word Count: 13k

Warnings: oral (male receiving), penetration, breast fondling, cursing, alcohol use

(A/N: thank you guys so much for being so sweet and understanding and patient. I’ve always believed Halloween should be a celebration for multiple months out of the year and since the Halloween series is ongoing, it works 💀. Anyways, I’m so excited to share this with y’all. ❤️ One of my favorite songs is “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran. And the music video features Cupid so I was inspired. 👍🏼 I hope you guys enjoy it! I also was inspired by “The Consequences of Cursing Cupid” by @by-moonflower). I loved it!)

...

Cupid was one of God’s most prized pupils. He was also one of His most beautiful creations. His hair had the shades of pink you’d see at sunset and warm brown eyes that could claim the heart of almost anyone. His tan skin glowed, bringing a piece of heaven’s glow down to earth with him. His body was slender, elegant, and muscular. His true appearance was known to few mortals but overtime, historians were able to conclude that Cupid was as beautiful as any of the archangels.

God entrusted his son to bring love and hope to the world one couple at a time. With his bow and arrow, he was able to give people love every day. As the years have passed, though, the population of the world expanded and Cupid only had so much time in the day to bring couples together. God and Cupid carefully handpicked Cupid fledglings throughout the years. Cupid wasn’t alone in his work anymore and he could afford some downtime every few centuries. It was 2020 and it was time for Cupid, or, as he was known by his earthly name, Lee Taeyong, to take a vacation.

Taeyong arrived in the sunny coastal town of Isla one Sunday morning. He would stay here for a few months. Taeyong would’ve kept working if he hadn't been forced by his coworkers to take a leave of absence. He’d always been a huge workaholic and quite the perfectionist. He was the type of guy who liked to get things done by himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his team. He just had a fixation with doing things his own way, which caused many clashes over the years.

This time, God had to intervene and force Taeyong to step down so that newly realized Cupids like Haechan and Yangyang could step up in his absence. Taeyong moved into a beach house right by the beach. A whole mansion to himself, he grimaced. What the hell was he supposed to do in such an expansive and luxurious place all by himself? Well, he had some ideas.

As much of a workaholic Taeyong was....when he let loose, he really let loose. It was like there was an on/off switch in his brain when it came to his rebellion and since he was out of work for the foreseeable future, it was time to turn the switch on. All work and no play for so many years made him act out in rebellion, which was why God sent Cupids Sicheng and Kun to watch out for Taeyong this time around.

Taeyong heard a knock on the door of his beach house. He frowned in confusion.

“Knock knock,” Kun said as he brought in suitcases and carried a backpack over his shoulder. Sicheng followed him in with his own bags as well.

Taeyong frowned. “What are you guys doing here?”

Sicheng beamed. “We’re here to make sure you don’t start up another orgy and anger many significant others…”

Kun nodded. “You’ll barely know we’re here.”

Taeyong brought out his angelic smile. “Is that so?”

…

Even with Kun and Sicheng on his tail, Taeyong was able to throw a massive party at the beach house the next night. A pretty face like Taeyong’s and a few likes on Instagram could attract many followers. And with followers, there was a great party. Celebrities even caught wind of the festivities. Taeyong was able to hire caterers and event planners to make the beach house a Hawaiian paradise. Tiki torches were lit all around the house. People lounged in the lagoon-shaped pool. There were party games in every room in the mansion.

Your friends convinced you to come with them to the hot new bachelor’s party. You could use a night out after working another six day work week at the local Isla Humane Animal Shelter. You wanted to let loose and dance with your friends. If only for a little while. Hopefully, you didn’t think about him now that you were able to relax.

Taeyong was having the time of his immortal life, dancing with one girl...one boy...after another. He was already hooking up with people on the dance floor in the backyard that overlooked the beach. He would grind behind one girl while another boy grinded against him from behind. Taeyong was in nothing but red swim trunks. His abs glistened with sweat and-

Your friend Jisoo said, “y/n, ask him to dance.”

You’d spent the last few minutes staring at the dancefloor. You couldn’t help but watch the pretty boy who stood at the center. You quickly gulped down your drink and shook your head. “Pass.”

Jisoo sucked her teeth. “Y/n, you’ve been staring at him for five minutes now.”

You rolled your eyes. “I like to observe my surroundings...It’s nothing.”

“You should ask the pretty boy to dance. It won’t hurt.”

“Nope. I’m fine right here, drinking my free pina colada...Not a care in the world.”

Jisoo replied, “Y/n, it’s been five months...”

You met Jisoo’s eyes. “Yeah, and I’m doing a lot better. You know this. My family knows it. All of the people who should be sorry to follow me on any social media know this.”

Jaehyun joined you two. “She's talking about how she’s over...him?”

Jisoo nodded. “And she clearly wants to dance with The Bachelor over there.”

Jaehyun watched him, also. “Well, for starters, he’s way cuter than that bastard but she should stay away from him. He’s trouble.”

Jisoo scoffed. “Who are you? Her father?”

Relieved that Jaehyun was on your side, you said, “Thank you, Jay! Now don’t worry about me, Jisoo...I’m great! I’m out of the house. I’m cutting a rug.”

Jisoo eyed you. “Okay…”

Now you had to admit that you thought about throwing caution to the wind and dancing close to the man, making ‘come hither’ eyes at him, kissing him in a closet, and calling it a night. The idea made you wet just thinking about it. But you knew yourself. You were the type to fall hard. And you fell hard once and it left you broken to this day.

Anyway, Pretty Boy seemed kind of busy so you turned the other way to join a game of poker in the living room.

Every human that spent an intimate moment with dear old Cupid was guaranteed the best orgasm of their lives. In Taeyong’s hands, his lover would feel treasured and adored and spoiled. Taeyong, a bringer of love, could bring paradise to anyone.

Now in his human form, Taeyong still had some of those divine powers. However, in a human body, he had limitations.

Like his alcohol tolerance, which, unfortunately for him, had never been good.

Before he could take anyone to paradise like he’d longed to do since he came to the Earthly plane, he was outside in his front lawn, vomiting all of the alcohol he downed in the past two hours.

Taeyong felt woozy. He wasn’t all there the moment when you first approached him. He looked awful. Pale and sweaty from puking so much.

Your concern outweighed your fear of talking to him so you approached him. You handed him a bottle of room temperature water and a wet towel from his kitchen so he could clean himself up.

Taeyong uncapped the water bottle and drank. He managed to say, “Thank you.”

You sighed, relieved to see that he was responsive. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am...Thanks…What’s your-”

“Y/n! Time to go,” Jaehyun started. Jaehyun promised to take you home. You were supposed to go into the shelter tomorrow to finalize an adoption.

You shouted back, “Coming!” You turned to your friend. Taeyong couldn’t see your face now. You did smell heavenly, though. Like fresh berries and daisies.

You turned back to Taeyong and smiled. Even if he was a wreck, he was still the most gorgeous male you’d ever seen. “Great party. Take care of yourself.”

Taeyong was still trying to sober up but he was able to meet your eyes, the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen on this planet. In any realm, actually. “You, too…”

You left him there, curious about you. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to ponder further as he threw up again. Maybe these parties were getting old. He always found himself like this whenever he visited good ol’ planet Earth...

…

[One Month Later]

Taeyong continued to indulge in his debauchery, throwing parties every night. Part of him hoped you would return so he could properly thank you for your kindness.

Your eyes were sultry and your scent was intoxicating. He wished he could remember you.

Every night that he spent time with a different partner, he thought of you.

Without any hidden agenda to get in bed with him, you absolutely fascinated him. His clouded judgment that night only made him remember your eyes. That was all he had to go on. He couldn’t explain the need to see you again.

The need grew stronger and stronger.

He certainly couldn’t ask his coworkers or the big man upstairs for help. Surely, they’d misinterpret his actions. He simply wanted to see you again.

In the process, Taeyong slowly began to reevaluate his time on Earth. Like Gatsby before him, he threw even more parties in hopes of you showing up. But he had no idea about your hectic work schedule. The parties continued and Taeyong quickly grew bored. Maybe he needed to get out and explore the city if he ever hoped to see you again.

In the daytime, Taeyong found himself waking up earlier and sending his partners on their merry way. He took up a couple of hobbies at home, as well. Baking and playing games on his Nintendo Switch. For his outings, he’d go to the mall, the grocery store, the amusement park, and more. Everywhere he could think of. But you weren’t there. He had the ability to feel your presence but you were never within his radar and it frustrated him.

Taeyong finished swimming a couple of laps in the pool and went into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Kun was making dinner and Sicheng was setting the table.

“Penny for your thoughts, boss?” Sicheng inquired.

Taeyong sighed. “I’m just wondering when you two will finally leave me be.”

Kun turned off the stove and let the stir fry cool. “When your sexual appetite ceases.”

Taeyong frowned. “Have you no shame to comment on my activities?”

Sicheng and Kun looked at each other and looked back at Taeyong. “No.”

Taeyong sighed. “If you must know, the parties will cease tonight. I have given up.”

“Given up on what?” Sicheng asked.

They couldn’t know about Taeyong’s true motive with his parties. “Parties, of course.”

“Really?” Kun asked as he washed his hands.

Taeyong sighed. “Yes. Now let’s eat.”

A few hours later, Taeyong went to the beach to get some sun. A few girls asked for his number and he simply pretended not to know English. He spoke Japanese and spoke broken English to throw them off. He was in no mood to frolick. He was frustrated.

It was because of you. He couldn’t explain it but he desperately wanted to see you. Wanted to know you. Wanted to feel you come alive under him as he pleased you. And he had no leads.

Maybe he should just throw in the towel. It was dangerous for him to entertain the idea of seeing someone as more than just a fling. Knowing his one night stand’s name was more information than he needed.

Perhaps you weren’t real. Oh, heavens. He knew you were real but maybe he should convince himself of the contrary so he could give up on you.

Meanwhile, you’d been busy non-stop. You couldn’t go out and unwind because of your extremely-packed schedule, which was just how you liked it. Whatever free time you had was spent at home curled up in bed before bedtime. It was how you preferred it, though. It helped you get over your ex much more quickly. Or so you thought, anyway.

One of your co-workers at the shelter was an adoption counselor who had a family event she needed to attend. So she asked you for a favor. You came in for the afternoon shift to help pair up families with pets.

You loved working at the shelter, helping animals find their forever homes. It broke your heart to see so many of them, neglected and homeless. You always knew you wanted to work with animals, though. In high school, you started at the shelter as a volunteer. Now, you were one of the managers. You helped with fundraisers and outreach events to get the shelter animals’ faces out there.

You went to check on the dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, and other residents of the shelter, like you always did. Then, you finished adopting out an Australian Shepherd. His new family already adored him. The shelter’s adoption process was strict so if a family really wanted to commit to a pet, they had to commit to the process to prove it. So you had high hopes that this adoption would be permanent.

On the off chance it wouldn’t, these animals always had a home here. You wouldn’t cease until you did everything you could to get a home for each animal that walked through the shelter’s front doors.

You took a picture of the happy family to post on the shelter’s social media. You sent them off. You felt like you were being watched so you turned to the front window where you recognized Jaehyun and the pink-haired man from the Hawaiian paradise party. They were talking like they knew each other.

You frowned and walked outside to greet them. “Jaehyun?”

The men faced you. Jaehyun beamed, “Y/n! I was passing through and I ran into Taeyong here who is looking to volunteer at the shelter.” Taeyong was about to cut in when Jaehyun continued. “Is there a volunteer orientation today?”

You shook your head. “It’s tomorrow, Jay.”

Taeyong just looked at you, not saying a word.

You tilted your head in confusion. “But...If you’re free, Taeyong, we’d love to have you.”

Jaehyun answered for him. “Of course he is. There’s no other place he’d rather be!”

Taeyong shot Jaehyun a look but his face softened as he looked at you. “Yeah...He’s right about that.”

Still confused, you smiled. “Okay, tomorrow it is.”

Taeyong headed home after his confrontation with the meddlesome Jaehyun. Just who was he to you, he wondered. How dare he cross a god?

Sure, Jaehyun was a beautiful specimen but he was not at his level, Taeyong thought to himself.

[A Few Hours Ago]

After his time at the beach, Taeyong took another stroll through the town, exploring small businesses and stumbling upon an animal shelter.

Through the front window, he saw a family with their Australian Shepherd. And that’s when his radar switched on. His heart squeezed and his breathing faltered. You were here. You greeted the family inside. They posed for a family photo together with their dog. They held a sign that read “Furrever Home” on it. The family thanked you and you sent them off.

You were exquisite. Your smile. The glimmer of hope in your eyes. Your laugh. You were out of breath from running around so much and from the excitement, he could tell. Even though you were stressed and tired, you were happy at that moment. You turned toward his direction and he read your name on your name tag: y/n.

Taeyong wanted to rush in and call for your name but his feet were planted to the ground.

“Hey, I remember you,” someone called out to him.

Taeyong snapped out of his daze and turned to find a handsome young man with black hair frowning at him. Taeyong started. “I’m sorry. I don’t-“

“You’re Taeyong. You throw parties at that beach house and you’re the city’s most eligible bachelor. It’s all over social media.”

“Yes, and?”

The stranger glared as he nodded at you through the window. “You’ve been watching her, haven't you?”

Taeyong smirked. “And what about it?”

The man looked down at Taeyong’s pants where his member betrayed him. Jaehyun lifted his eyebrows.

Taeyong shrugged. “It’s rude to stare at a stranger’s crotch.”

He laughed. “You’re pretty easy to read, Taeyong. But I gotta warn you: don’t waste her time if you’re not fully committed.”

Taeyong laughed. “And who are you to tell me this?”

“Someone who refuses to see his friend’s heart broken again.”

Again, Taeyong wondered. “Well, I have no plans to let it get that far.”

He rolled his eyes. “Right.”

“Jaehyun?” You started.

Then, the conniving Jaehyun set Taeyong up to be a volunteer at the animal shelter without his consent. Well, Taeyong could’ve said no at any time but he didn’t want to disappoint you. Besides, this would be an opportunity to get to know you. Jaehyun may not be so bad, after all, Taeyong mused.

Jaehyun left Taeyong with these parting words. He grinned, showing his dimples. “If you hurt her, I will run you out of this town.”

Taeyong smiled. “I’d like to see you try.”

To anyone else, it would’ve seemed like two friends were parting ways but in reality, it was more like a declaration of war.

Your friend Jaehyun was very protective of you, Taeyong realized. He wondered if Jaehyun was enamored with you. And your nickname of “Jay” for him made Taeyong’s stomach turn.

Who was he to you? And why was he butting in on Taeyong’s pursuit of you? And what did Jaehyun mean by you getting your heart broken again? Who broke your heart? And why was he still breathing, unless Jaehyun failed to mention your ex’s funeral?

Taeyong wasn’t going to break your heart. He wasn’t that stupid. He spent enough time on this planet to set boundaries and never fall in too deep with a human.

It didn’t matter if you made him feel different than any other human has after twenty seconds of an interaction.

…

[The Next Day]

Taeyong wasn’t sure how he would feel about working with animals because he’s never interacted with them before. He envied any family who had a pet, though.

It was a kind of love he didn’t get to see frequently. His job was primarily focused on romantic love so it always fascinated him to see familial love, love between friends, and now love between man and man’s best friend.

You led the volunteer orientation. It was a relatively full house. You gave the new recruits the rundown on maintenance, walking the dogs, socializing with the animals, feeding, laundry, and safety. Taeyong was so impressed by how skilled and informative you were at work. You were a no-nonsense girl when you needed to be.

When the orientation ended, Taeyong lingered behind in the staff meeting room. You had to admit that seeing Taeyong again made your heart do weird things. You’d dreamed of him for a few nights and part of you wished you could’ve gone to another one of his parties. Your friends told you he’d thrown so many this past month that they lost count. So you were shocked to see this wealthy party boy at an animal shelter of all places. You did notice as you gave your talk that his eyes never strayed from yours.

After the orientation, you began, “Hey, Taeyong. How did you like the orientation?”

He smiled. “You were brilliant.”

Your face heated up. “Thanks.”

He asked, “I was wondering if you were free tonight to-“

A volunteer popped in. “Y/n, code leash with Ruby!” Code leash meant a dog was loose in the shelter without a leash on.

You started. “Oh, God. Sorry, Taeyong, I have to help catch one of our dogs.”

You looked distressed so Taeyong decided to help. He didn’t know where this altruism came from but it was there. “I can help.”

“Thank you. I have to warn you, though. She’s not friendly with most people. So be careful.”

You and Taeyong teamed up to catch Ruby while some of the other volunteers also teamed up elsewhere. Ruby had hidden under one of the benches near the cat corner of the shelter.

Ruby was a Papillon, also known as a Continental Toy Spaniel. She was a reserved dog. She was adopted as a puppy but when she was a year old, her owners gave her up for adoption when they were expecting a baby. With the betrayal she’d experienced, she closed herself off from most people and most animals. It took a few weeks for her to warm up to you.

Ruby had cute ears that resembled a butterfly’s, which explained the name of her breed, the Papillon.

With her leash in your hands, you crouched down to greet her. “Hi, Ruby…”

She surprised you by running over to Taeyong, who froze in his tracks. Ruby jumped against his legs and cried. She wanted his attention.

You looked at them in shock. Ruby had never taken so quickly to someone before. You were impressed.

Taeyong’s eyes doubled in size as he slowly backed up. Ruby continued to jump against his legs, regardless. “What’s happening? Is she trying to kill me?”

You fought back a laugh. “No...She wants you to hold her.”

He looked mystified. “Uh...I’ve never…”

“You’ve never…?”

For the first time, he looked shy. “I’ve never held a dog before…”

You approached them and called Ruby again. “Ruby, I’ll help you.”

You picked Ruby up and guided Taeyong. “Just raise your arms and cradle her. It’s okay.”

You handed Ruby to Taeyong and he was shocked at this new feeling he felt in his chest. It was this overwhelming joy and worry and affection he’d never felt. He would die for this dog.

Well, if he could die, he would.

So this is what familial love must be like.

Ruby licked him all over his face and he giggled like a little boy.

You were overjoyed to see Ruby with another person. This was promising. “She really likes you. It took me weeks to get her to warm up to me.”

Taeyong stared at you. “Really? I can’t imagine that…”

“You saved the day, Taeyong. Not bad for your first day as a volunteer.” You laughed.

You led him and Ruby back into her room. You stepped into her small room where she resided alone. She had a big fluffy bed and toys to play with. Even so, it could definitely get cramped in there after a few hours. You would take her for a walk later.

Taeyong asked, concerned. “She lives by herself? She must be so lonely.”

You told Taeyong her story and he understood her circumstances. He was furious at Ruby’s previous owners and he finally understood why places like this shelter existed.

You said, “She needs someone who will remain faithful to her all of their life. I hope she finds them soon.”

Taeyong rubbed Ruby’s belly. “So do I.”

“I have to get back to work. You’re not on the schedule until tomorrow but you are more than welcome to spend some time with the dogs…”

Taeyong was in his own bubble with Ruby.

You giggled. “Or maybe just Ruby.”

You left them be and got back to work.

Taeyong spent the next hour playing with Ruby, taking her for a walk, taking pictures of her, and cradling her to sleep. He hoped to catch up with you later but he couldn’t let go of his attachment to this dog now.

There was something about this town that made him attached to others. First, it was you. Then, it was Ruby.

It was unusual.

Ruby fell asleep and Taeyong checked his phone. He received a text over half an hour ago.

Where are you? Kun says you’re not home :( -Yooa

Crap, he’d forgotten all about Yooa. His “date”.

Taeyong realized he’d be getting earful from Kun later. He texted Yooa he was on his way.

…

[2 Weeks Later]

The first few days were rough for Taeyong because he’d never done manual labor in his life. He was willing to try and with your and other volunteers’ guidance, he was able to pick up on everything quickly. Everyone thought Taeyong was as strange as he was beautiful. They thought he was a sheltered rich boy who was learning how to care for someone else for the first time. Well, they weren’t far off from the truth.

Taeyong volunteered almost everyday at the shelter. He did everything he could possibly do as a volunteer and still had the energy to take the dogs on more walks than required. He was a god, after all. His energy on Earth was higher than that of any normal human’s. He hoped to impress you, too. He tried to ask you out or even for your phone number but you were always busy with shelter tasks. It was very hard to tell if there was a connection between you two.

At the end of each shift, Taeyong always left Ruby for last because she was his favorite shelter animal. “Alright Ruby, today is the day I finally ask y/n out.”

Ruby snoozed in response. Taeyong sighed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

You were the last person to leave the shelter and lock up. Everyone had already left an hour ago but you were finishing up some emails. You found Taeyong waiting outside the door. “Taeyong!”

He waved and smiled, not looking disheveled at all after a full-day shift.

You, on the other hand, could use a shower. “Everything okay?”

Taeyong asked, “Are you free?”

“Uh...”

“I was wondering if you…”

Your eyes as you watched him left Taeyong in nearly almost a trance. The way your hair fell over your eyes when you adjusted your work bag. The breeze caused your perfume to creep into his nose and he had to catch his breath. Even your little yawn after a long day was cute. Damn it.

You started, “Taeyong?”

Taeyong tried to say something but his throat went dry. Why wasn’t he able to say words? He was prepared to say. Come away with me tonight. I’ll take us to dinner and then...Well, it’s your call, y/n.

And here he was, his palms sweaty. His cheeks were red. He was so close to trembling from the new anxiety that crept up on him.

You asked, “Are you okay?”

Taeyong shook his head to shove his fears away. “Are you free?”

He invited you over to his house for dinner as a thank you for showing him the ropes around the shelter. You felt bad for assuming that he was asking you out. It appeared that he wanted to keep this platonic and you were relieved.

You’re a chicken, Taeyong thought to himself. The ball was in his court and he missed his shot to take things further with you. Even so, you’d said yes so all in all, you two were headed somewhere.

You followed Taeyong in your car over to his place. You entered the extravagant beach house, which was surprisingly neat and homey. The furniture looked comfortable, like you could easily fall asleep on it. The lighting was at a low, almost romantic setting. The house was tranquil and all you could hear was the crash of waves in the distance.

Taeyong said, “Please take a seat. Make yourself comfortable. Can I offer you some wine?”

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

Taeyong smiled warmly at you before he departed for the kitchen.

Another young man appeared as he came down the stairs, calling out. “Sicheng and I will be back in a few days. Our Lord needs us in Beijing for an emergency match-up.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and merely stared at you. “Seriously, another ‘appointment’?”

Taeyong darted out of the kitchen. “Kun.”

You got up and waved. “Uh, hi. I’m Taeyong’s friend, y/n. From the animal shelter?”

Sicheng joined the group. “Friend?”

Kun’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re just friends with him?”

You looked at everyone around the living room. “Yes…”

Although you had to wonder what Kun meant by “appointment”. If you had to guess, you weren’t the first girl Taeyong brought home. This week.

You knew Taeyong was a player from the first night you met him. But you were attracted to him so the possibility of a one night stand with him didn’t repel you. You weren’t about to ask for it, though. You were already going out of your comfort zone, coming over to his house for dinner.

And then...Taeyong’s personality surprised you these past few weeks. He was warm and hard-working and kind. You had to admit you had a little crush on him. You wouldn’t let that truth see the light of day, though. A player was a player, no matter what.

Sicheng smiled as he greeted you, “Y/n, welcome to our home. I’m Sicheng. Our rude friend right here is Kun. We are Taeyong’s coworkers and roommates.”

“It’s nice to meet you. What is it that you guys do? You mentioned a match-up?”

Taeyong eyed his friends. “They...”

Kun continued, “We...are dating gurus!”

You replied, “I see. So you’re headed to Beijing? That’s exciting!”

The boys told you they worked for a dating website for high-profile people and traveled to countries like China and South Korea to counsel them on dating. It was unheard of and unusual. At least for you, anyway. But it was kind of fascinating. Kun and Sicheng told you that Taeyong had been working nonstop for years now as a dating guru so now he was taking some time off. They excused themselves and headed off to the airport.

You accompanied Taeyong to the kitchen as he cooked some New York strips for the two of you. He refused your help and wanted you to sit down and relax. “I didn’t know you were a dating guru.”

He chuckled nervously. “I don’t really like to talk about it.”

“Oh, well, we don’t have to…We could always talk about something else. Like where you’re from?”

Taeyong chopped some vegetables as he mulled over his answer, avoiding your eyes. How was he going to say he came from Heaven? First of all, it would be ludicrous to you. And second, it sounded like a pickup line that would only stroke his ego. There was no way to win by telling the truth. “Abroad.”

You sipped your glass of wine. He was so vague. “Abroad? Where?”

“My Lor-...father traveled all the time when I was growing up so we always moved. And once I got to work with the dating website, the traveling continued.” Nice save, he thought to himself.

“Oh? Wow, that’s sad, isn’t it?”

Taeyong looked at you. “Sad?”

“I mean, maybe it wasn’t...What I meant was that it must have been difficult getting uprooted all the time. Having to get accustomed to a new place...Only to have to start over somewhere else.”

You had no idea, Taeyong thought. You read him like a book so he had to ask. “How did you know?”

You understood his situation very well. “My dad is a lieutenant general. We’ve moved around a lot until I was eighteen. Come to think of it...Are your parents in the military?”

Taeyong knew he had to come up with something. Quick, he told himself, think of something believable. The first thought that came into his mind was Jurassic Park after he watched it last night. “No...He’s a...paleontologist.”

That was an uncommon job but you were impressed. After all, Jurassic Park was one of your favorite movies. You asked him about the places his dad took him, what dinosaur bones his dad uncovered, and more. Taeyong had to get creative and being dumb about the subject didn’t hinder his case. He claimed that remembering the names of species was impossible for him. You were riveted, regardless. You spent most of the time talking about Jurassic Park, anyway. You told him about Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure and a Jurassic Park feature located at the park. You suggested you two could go together sometime and Taeyong’s eyes lit up, then. His doe eyes caught you off-guard.

You continued talking about your interests and your pasts. Well, you did. Taeyong had to get a little creative when topics such as his “childhood” and “family” came into conversation. But other than that, he enjoyed having you in his home. You were full of warmth and generosity. You laughed at his jokes and asked him about how he was doing. It left him speechless. He wasn’t sure what you were really thinking or if you were even interested. You were equally unsure and found yourself considering what you’d been fighting since the moment you first laid eyes on him.

Taeyong served dinner. His cooking was incredible. The steak and baked potato were paradise on your taste buds. “Taeyong, oh my God, this is incredible. You should be a five-star chef and open a restaurant.”

Taeyong chuckled. “Thank you, y/n but I’m more of a pastry chef than anything else.”

“What’s your price for a batch of chocolate cupcakes?” You teased.

He smiled. “Free of charge.”

“But?”

“Well, if you were free to watch Jurassic Park 2 with me this week, then I would consider it.”

“I’ll take it.”

Taeyong was excited that you two would see each other outside of work again. Taeyong served you cookie dough ice cream with fudge.

You ate your ice cream. “Thank you so much for inviting me over. I haven’t been able to hang out with friends in a while so this means a lot.”

Friends. Taeyong was a little hurt at your label of him. He thought there was something between you. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to make a move so he forced a smile. “I’m glad we’re friends, too.”

…

[2 months later]

Taeyong continued to volunteer at the shelter. His ego took a nice, deserving blow after you told him you were just friends. He was still happy that he got to spend time with you. You became so close that you spent most of your time with him outside of work. You played video games and watched movies. You also fostered some animals together on the weekends.

Taeyong hadn’t thrown a party or gone to one since he started spending time with you. His phone started lighting up a lot less as the weeks passed. The truth was Taeyong had stopped hooking up with anyone else. He was focused on you. Getting to know you.

You even told him about your ex Jaemin. You and Jaemin were going strong for 11 months. The biggest player at your university, Jaemin worked hard to get you to say yes to dating him. The romance started off beautifully and ended abruptly when Jaemin said he didn’t want to be unfair to you. The day after the breakup you saw him out with another girl like it was nothing. And a month later, they were engaged to be married. Now, they were married and expecting a child together. It seemed that he genuinely loved his wife. The way he looked at her with such affection the day after he broke up with you. It broke you because that was how you used to look at him. You thought he was the one and up to a certain point, he told you you were the one for him. You wondered how he moved on so quickly to this day.

Since then, you didn’t want to date anyone, much less a playboy. Hook-ups were something you would’ve considered but you were still hurting. Taeyong had been the first boy you looked at in five months but you still weren’t ready. However, now that you two were getting to know each other...Maybe, just maybe…

Taeyong wanted to track down Jaemin and destroy him, break up his family, and kill him. Well, maybe not to that extreme. But he wanted to avenge you for how Jaemin could’ve been so swift in hurting you and moving on like nothing. He had to wonder…

If maybe one of his coworkers had something to do with it. He’d never had a hand in pairing up a Na Jaemin with anyone. If that were the case, he would’ve never forgiven himself for pursuing you.

He finally understood that you were guarding your heart and he didn’t want to push you. He would wait for as long as it takes to…Well, he wasn’t sure...Kiss you? Take you out on a date? He wasn’t sure how romance or courting worked.

It took some convincing but Taeyong finally decided to foster Ruby for the week. He didn’t refuse before because he didn’t want Ruby. He was scared of being ill-prepared for taking care of her or that his house had some hazards for the little dog.

You drove Taeyong and Ruby back to his house. The three of you stood outside his front door. He had Ruby on a leash.

Taeyong started. “Are you sure, y/n? What if Ruby falls in the pool when I go take a shower? What if she chews at my phone charger and gets electrocuted?”

You laughed. “Taeyong, how is she going to get in the backyard? Are her paws going to magically turn into hands so that she can turn the doorknob to the back door?”

“No…”

“So long as you keep her active and give her toys and activities, she will have no reason to chew at your charger or go on an online shopping spree while you’re asleep.”

Taeyong frowned, knowing that you were mocking him now. “Fine. But if anything happens, I’m taking you down with me.”

Your eyes danced. “Fine with me.”

You three went to the beach and Ruby was having fun playing on the shoreline. Taeyong giggled like a little boy as he played fetch with her. You watched them and smiled. It was beyond you why Taeyong wouldn’t adopt Ruby. They clearly loved each other very much. Maybe today you could finally convince him.

You returned to the beach house as you ate ice cream cones from the boardwalk ice cream shop. Ruby ran back inside to drink from her water bowl. You and Taeyong lingered on the outside deck by the pool and watched the sunset. Taeyong’s chocolate ice cream cone was melting at the sides and you regretted not buying chocolate so without thinking, you licked his melting ice cream. Taeyong was caught by surprise and you looked up at him before getting back to your ice cream cone.

The innocent but teasing glint in your eye made him shocked and aroused. He paid a little too much attention to your tongue. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. And he longed for it to worship his body.

You winked. “Sorry. You’re a slow eater and it was melting…” You handed him your vanilla ice cream cone. “You can have some of mine.”

He snapped out of it and licked the cone as suggestively as he could to try and get a reaction out of you. And that he did. His big brown eyes had a mischievous glint to them. He smirked. You avoided his eyes completely. “Y/n.”

You bent down and pretended to tie your shoe and realized you weren’t wearing sneakers but sandals. You got back up, embarrassed and still looking away from him. “Yeah?”

“I like you.”

You looked back up at him. “Taeyong-”

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I just wanted to say it. At least once.” He liked you for a long time now. The more time he spent with you and went out of his way to be with you every moment he could made him realize that maybe what he longed for with you wasn’t simply one night of pleasure.

He wanted more. He didn’t know exactly what that meant. But he just liked to be with you. Your kindness, your wit, your sense of humor, everything about you made Taeyong feel that heaven could be found in another person.

He didn’t want to push you, not at all. He did wonder about what things would be like if you gave into each other. But he would still wait for as long as it took for you to consider him.

You admitted, “Taeyong, I like you, too.”

He sighed in relief. “Oh, thank heavens. Let’s go out on Friday.” Hundreds of plans were running through his mind of how he wanted to spoil you for your first date. He’d been doing research on where he could take you in the city and debated whether or not a road trip to Universal Studios would be too much.

You smiled in spite of yourself. “That’s so sweet…”

“But?”

“I don’t know if I’m ready...Or if I can trust you...You’re very…experienced.”

Taeyong looked at you in confusion as he finished his ice cream cone. “What do you mean? I’ve never dated.”

“I mean...Sexually…” You muttered the last word. Your face was hot and Taeyong only looked at you like you’d said the sky was blue.

“Taeyong, before we met, you were partying every night and sleeping with multiple people. Are you going to tell me that you’re not that person anymore? Because you know what happened with Jaemin...I don’t want that again. If we are going to take this any further, you have to be honest with me. When you want to end it, show me your heart. Don’t leave me wondering what I did wrong...” He could see your eyes get bigger and redder. They were welling up. Your voice broke and it broke him to hear it.

He hated seeing you unhappy. You didn’t deserve to be burned the way you had. He wrapped his arms around you, then. For the first time. “I would never do that to you. I would never-”

You hugged him back. “Please don’t make promises you can’t keep. Let’s just take this slow...Okay?”

He never felt as close and vulnerable with someone. Then you came along and he was ready to do what he could to be with you. To at least try. “Okay.”

He caressed your face and pulled you in for a kiss. He lifted you off the ground and sat you on a ledge as he leaned down to kiss you deeper. His tongue intertwined with yours. You both tasted like ice cream and it made you both crazy with longing. You were the first to stop the kiss and reminded him, “Slow.”

He kissed your forehead. “Slow.”

…

[4 Months Later]

You and Taeyong took your new relationship slow. It drove you both crazy that you put off sleeping together for so long. You wanted to get to know Taeyong better. So did he. Even if this was the longest dry spell Taeyong had undergone, it was worth it.

“What’s got you so happy, boss?” Sicheng asked, visiting from New York. Sicheng and Kun moved out months ago when they saw that Taeyong wasn’t causing any trouble. Sicheng held Ruby in his lap. Taeyong adopted Ruby not too long after you two agreed to date.

Taeyong was worried, though. Just how far could he take things with you before he was summoned back by God? It could be five years or fifty years before He called him back to Heaven. Taeyong had to tell someone what was eating at him and Sicheng was one of his closest friends. “I need to tell you something.”

After Taeyong told Sicheng about you and what transpired all this time, Sicheng sighed, “Taeyong, this is trouble. We are not supposed to get involved with humans.”

“Sex is okay but dating and marriage are out of the question? How does that make sense?”

Sicheng frowned, reminding Taeyong of Kun at that moment. “Sex was never okay. In moderation and with zero strings attached? Sure...But you’ve crossed several lines...You’re playing with fire by pursuing y/n.”

Taeyong sighed in frustration. “I know but Sicheng, I’m falling…”

Sicheng watched Taeyong that night and witnessed how he changed after he met you. He put a hand on Taeyong’s shoulder. “I know. You’ve fallen since that first night. Five seconds.”

It took Taeyong five seconds to fall in love with you.

Taeyong continued, “I want to make this work. Let our Lord find out from me.”

“But-” Sicheng started.

“I appreciate you for not ratting me out to our Father, Sicheng. You’re a good friend.”

Later that night, Taeyong picked you up from your apartment and wanted to surprise you. He blindfolded you as you sat in the passenger seat of his car. Taeyong whispered into your ear. “Can you hear me?”

You laughed and bit your lip. “Taeyong, it’s a blindfold. Not ear plugs. Why are you whispering?”

He whispered even lower and the warmth of his breath made you fidget and press your thighs harder together. “It’s fun. That’s all.”

He could tell you were aroused. He could see your nipples through your black dress and he had to control his cock from making an early appearance. It was a good thing he blindfolded you.

Taeyong drove you two in silence and his giggles made you laugh. You held hands. It didn’t take too long to reach your destination. He escorted you out of the car and removed your blindfold.

“Surprise!”

You were at the Isla Central Marina and you stood before the entrance of a yacht named Cupid’s Bow. The boat was decorated with white Christmas lights.

“Taeyong, what is all this…”

He smiled as he led you onto the boat. “It’s where we’re having dinner tonight.”

You sat down at the table set at the center of the yacht. It was decorated with white daisies. Taeyong chose white daisies because their scent reminded him of you. And for their significance.

He sat you down at your seat and squeezed your shoulders.

You looked around in wonder. The night sky was clear as the full moon shone down on you both. “This is amazing. I can’t believe you did this for me.”

Taeyong sat across from you and smiled brightly. “I want to give you the world, y/n. If you let me, I will.”

Your face felt flushed and you stared down at your lap. “You’re so corny.”

He asked for your hand and you gave it to him. He kissed it and looked at you with what could be described as bedroom eyes. He tried to seduce you a couple of times now because he loved to tease you. You’d tease him back and pretend to consider sleeping with him. Fair’s fair.

But tonight? The teasing would stop.

Someone else cleared their throat. “Welcome to Cupid’s Bow. Thank you for dining with us tonight. I will be your server, Kun.”

You gasped and laughed. “Kun, what are you doing here?”

Dressed as a waiter, Kun said, “Taeyong needed a hand for tonight. And our friend Sicheng will be maneuvering this vessel.”

You turned to Sicheng as he waved from the steering wheel. He was wearing a captain’s outfit. You fought back a laugh. They were a cheesy group of guys.

Kun started you guys off with drinks as the boat departed the marina. You sailed around the bay that connected to the ocean. The bay led into downtown Isla where the city lights shone brightly. It was a beautiful modern-day fairytale.

Taeyong started up a playlist from his Bluetooth speakers and asked you to dance. “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran played.

Taeyong was a great dancer. He must have been classically trained for years. He spun you in circles and dipped you, pretending he was about to drop you to tease you. He pulled you close and hummed along to the lyrics. You laughed and held him tightly.

The songs continued as you and Taeyong watched the view. He held you from behind. The night was perfect.

“Y/n,” he said into your ear softly.

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

You turned back to him and smiled. “I love you, too.” You kissed him.

You liked Taeyong ever since that night you met. But you started falling in love after you saw how he was with Ruby. He carried a lot of love and loyalty in his heart that it left you in awe every time you were with him. There was more to him than the wealthy bachelor persona he emitted. That wasn’t who he was. He was a man who loved fiercely. He was your best friend. And now you wanted him to be your lover.

You sat down together and ate Italian cuisine. Kun was an incredible chef. You and Taeyong share lasagna and chicken Alfredo. It was delicious. For dessert, you two fed each other gelato.

When Cupid’s Bow returned to the dock, you and Taeyong sat in the car, awkward.

Taeyong waited for you to tell him to take you home but it never came. You wanted him to suffer for a few more seconds.

You started. “Thank you for tonight.”

He cleared his throat. “I had the best time.”

“Can I stay the night?” You asked softly.

Taeyong was hearing things. “I’m sorry?”

“Let’s spend the night together.”

Taeyong was about to jump out of the driver’s seat and scream. He played it cool and his face was unreadable as he said, “Okay.”

You giggled. Taeyong was an enigma but you could see the blush creeping onto his cheeks.

You returned to the beach house and darted to the pool. Taeyong ran after you. You removed your dress and turned to him, biting your lip because you knew he loved it.

You were down to your black and red lingerie and Taeyong was so close to salivating. He longed to worship your body. He stood there, unable to move. He watched you slowly descend the steps into the pool and wait for him.

He walked slowly over to you, like a tiger about to pounce on his prey. He wanted you. You could see the desire in his gaze. He unbuttoned his shirt and you could see his abs glisten against the reflection of the pool. He smirked again, knowing it drove you crazy when he did that. He slowly unbuckled his belt and you could see his bulge better as he pulled down his pants.

“Wow,” you said.

“Hmm?”

Taeyong was down to his briefs. He pulled them down and chucked them away. His physique was like that of a statue of a Greek god. He was rock solid. You swam into the deep end, waiting for him to follow you in.

Taeyong got into the pool and dove down. You couldn’t see him now.

You were waiting for him to surprise you but time passed and you wondered if something was wrong.

“Yong?” You started. “Yong!”

He crept up behind you then, pulling your panties down in the process. “Boo.”

You smacked him. “Jerk. I thought you were dying.”

Taeyong chuckled. “I wasn’t down there for that long.”

“You’re kidding, right? I counted. It was at least a minute.”

Maybe he crossed the line with his immortal abilities, then. He sighed. “What can I say? I have incredible lung capacity.”

You rolled your eyes. “Why don’t we put that to the test?” You put your arms around him and kissed him deeply.

Taeyong’s heart skipped a beat. Your soaked body got him harder. You got onto his lap and he kissed your cleavage. His kisses were everything. You had been thinking about your first night with him for a long time now.

Taeyong lowered the strap of your bra and kissed your shoulder, silently asking if he could unclasp your bra. You nodded. He adored your breasts, biting and sucking at them.

You lowered your hand to his pelvic region and felt his large cock. He grunted as you clasped it. You kissed his neck and nipped at his ears.

You both loved teasing each other so now that you were spending the night together, neither of you was going down without a fight.

After a few minutes, Taeyong carried you out of the pool. You looked up at him, admiring his flawless profile. He dried you off and he took your hand and led you upstairs to his shower.

He started up the shower and you looked up at him. He took your face into his hands and gave you a peck on the lips. He smiled.

He started washing you with his body wash. It was Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin. It smelled just like Taeyong and you wished you could smell like this all the time. He carefully navigated your body like you were a fragile vase and kissed you all over. He saved your chest for the end and could feel your heartbeat against his palm. He looked up at you through hooded eyes and you kissed his nose.

You washed him and teased him as you washed around his crotch, lightly tracing it with your fingers. His skin was soft while his body was muscular. He was the most beautiful contradiction in the world.

Taeyong pulled you in for another kiss and you wrapped your arms around each other. He turned the shower off. You both dried off.

He scooped you up, making you giggle. He laid you down gently. You stretched your body against the mattress and Taeyong admired all of your angles.

“I’m going to fuck you until the sunrise, y/n,” Taeyong said as he looked down at your body. Your eyes lock on him. They were no longer doe-like.

“I bet you are,” you said, feeling a little nervous now.

He straddled you and kissed you. His cock teased its entrance into your folds. “My stars, you are the most gorgeous creature,” he said as his face was mere centimeters from yours.

You pulled him closer and you kissed again, running your hands over his back. He traced his fingers around your folds, teasing your entrance. You whimpered as you held him tightly.

You pushed him off of you and laid him back as you gripped his cock and pumped. “You think you’re the only who’s been dying for this moment?”

Taeyong gaped at you. You were the first partner to take charge. His other lovers usually let him take the lead. He didn’t mind it much but to see you cater to his needs made him dizzy.

You took his cock into your mouth and your throat burned from the contact. You couldn’t take all of him in so you had to love the rest of him with your hand. You started bobbing your head back and forth, licking the veins of his throbbing member. Taeyong grunted. “Fuck, y/n.”

You looked up at him and his heart nearly stopped again. He gripped your hair. He came into your mouth and you swallowed his seed.

“You taste better than I imagined,” you said as you wiped your mouth.

You were generous in all aspects of life but in the bedroom? Taeyong was floored. “Allow me to pamper you.”

He laid you against his bed frame and brought out handcuffs.

“Well, you came prepared. Are those new?” You hoped they were.

“Yes. They came in yesterday…Good timing, wouldn’t you say?”

You nodded as he unlocked the cuffs. “Lift your arms up, y/n.”

You obeyed and he cuffed you. Your breasts were raised beautifully and Taeyong sighed. “Breathtaking.”

You averted your gaze and Taeyong shook his head. He took your chin and turned your face to him. “No, no...Don’t get shy on me now...Not when you fucked me with that pretty little mouth of yours.”

You loved how low his voice became and you felt your pussy tremble underneath him. He fondled your breasts, squeezing your nipples and biting them. He kissed around your folds. He traced his tongue at your entrance and breathed against it, making you whimper. He started whispering sweet nothings in multiple languages. He spoke in almost ten languages and you wondered who this man really was. You came once he spoke dirty French into your ear.

You were already soaked and Taeyong wanted to indulge in torturing you for a few minutes before he entered you. He started by slipping one finger into your entrance and carefully avoided your G-spot to rile you up.

“Taeyong, please,” you cried.

He stopped and kissed your forehead. “We have all night, y/n.”

You pouted. “You’re too good at torturing me.”

He smiled. “Am I torturing you? I didn’t think so.”

You wrapped your legs harder around his abdomen. “Get inside me. Now.”

He sighed. “You seem to forget that I’m calling the shots, y/n.”

You licked your lips. “Are you?”

He frowned and slipped his fingers out of your folds. “Do you not like it?”

You shook your head. “I do. I do. I do.”

He smirked. “Then, let me work.”

He continued to fingerfuck you until you cried. “Yong, please…”

“I love when you call me Yong. It destroys me,” he said as he finally entered you.

You cried out loud as his cock entered and hit you in the right places. You could feel him go deeper and could feel his cock twitching in your belly. You climaxed quickly and Taeyong quickly pulled out and came right after.

Taeyong cleaned you both up, not removing you from the cuffs just yet.

“Uh, Taeyong?”

“Yes, darling?”

“You forgot something?” You looked up at the cuffs.

“Oh, you’re right. I did forget something.” He kissed your forehead. “I love you.”

He walked out of the room.

Your arms started to hurt from having been raised for so long. “You are so funny!”

He returned with a tray that had two glasses of water and a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream.

“Are you hungry?�� Taeyong asked, acting oblivious.

“Taeyong, I think it’s your turn to try on the cuffs…”

He beamed. “Exactly what I was thinking, y/n.”

“Okay, great. Now if you can get these off of me, the chances of me choking you to death will be lower.”

He laughed. “You’re so funny.”

He sat next to you in bed. And fed you a strawberry with whipped cream on top, popping it into your mouth. He carefully slipped his finger out and licked his finger. “Mmm.”

He took the whipped cream and drew out shapes onto your body, tracing his tongue over the shapes and eating the whipped cream. It drove you crazy.

“Now that I’ve had my dessert. It’s only fair that you enjoy yours.” He uncuffed you.

You cuffed him and had your way with him. You even took it a step further and pulled out another set of handcuffs from the drawer. “I see you got an extra pair.”

He smiled. “Can never be too prepared.”

You returned his smile. “Let’s kick it up a notch. Shall we?”

You cuffed his ankles, as well. He laid in bed and waited for you to get to work on him but you decided to get the bowl of strawberries and whipped cream and eat a couple slowly. You even fed a couple to Taeyong.

You started, “This is nice.”

Taeyong grumbled in Korean.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. I’m just waiting here. Patient.”

“Like the good boy that you are,” you cooed.

Your voice made him harder. You took the whipped cream and traced it over your collar bone. “Lick,” you commanded.

He licked across your collarbone. Then, you drew shapes onto his body, drawing a heart around his pelvic region. You saved it for last and slowly licked around it. You kissed his tip. He groaned. You straddled him and kissed him passionately.

You teased each other like that all night and made love for hours. You fell asleep in each other’s arms, holding each other tightly. The sun had risen a few hours ago. You woke up first and found Taeyong holding you tightly to his chest. He felt your movement in his sleep and he held you tighter. The sun lit up his features. He looked like an angel.

You kissed his cheek and his eyes opened slowly. “Good morning.”

You smiled. “Hi.”

He stretched and held you again. “I need to check on Ruby.”

You shook your head. “I’ll take care of her. You sleep.”

He whined. “It’s okay. You rest.”

You giggled. “It’s okay.”

You and Taeyong got cleaned up. You borrowed some of Taeyong’s clothes. You took Ruby for a walk around the neighborhood. You spent a quiet day together, living in utter bliss.

…

[1 Week Later]

Taeyong was on cloud nine. Having you in his life made him complete. He can’t imagine it getting better than this. You were at work and Taeyong was preparing dinner for you as you were sleeping over later. He was going to ask you to move in.

He finished his homemade pepperoni pizza and put it in the oven. He heard the doorbell ring. Ruby barked and he joined her to see who was at the door. It couldn’t be you. It was too early. He opened the door to find Mark at the door.

“Mark!” Taeyong smiled and hugged him. Mark was another one of his coworkers and close friends. Taeyong regarded him as a little brother.

“Taeyong, it’s great to see you…Wow, you are glowing.” Mark eyed him carefully.

He smiled, thinking about you. “Yeah...I guess I am. Come in!”

After they sat down and caught up with each other, Mark said, “I’ll cut to the chase...I’m here in Isla for my next pairing session.”

“Is that so?”

He nodded. The usually lighthearted boy looked serious. “I know about y/n.”

Taeyong’s smile faded. Ruby snuggled tighter to Taeyong as she rested on his lap. “Who-“

He shook his head. “I found out myself. Y/n is my next assignment.”

Taeyong felt his world crashing down onto him. “No…”

Mark sighed. “I expected one of the fledglings to get into this mess but you? Our mentor? It’s absurd.”

“Mark-“

“Father doesn’t know…Imagine his disappointment when he finds out. He doesn’t have to. If you end it now.”

Taeyong’s chest was on fire. Tears were threatening to fall. “No.”

Mark frowned. “What?”

“You heard me, Mark. I’m not leaving her.”

Mark sighed. “Once I strike the arrows at her and her partner, it’ll be over.”

Taeyong shook his head. “Mark, please.”

Mark hurt for his friend but his duty as a Cupid came first. “I’m sorry, Taeyong. This is how our world works. You’re the one who told me so.”

Taeyong hated this. He hated the world he knew before you. How could he go back to a world of bringing love to others and have no love himself? He couldn’t. Not after meeting you. You’d been burned before. No doubt by one of the Cupids interfering. He wasn’t about to let that happen again.

“Taeyong, if you interfere with y/n’s pairing...There’s no telling what the consequences will be.”

“I’ll be the one to deal with that, Mark. But I won’t let you come between us.”

After their exchange, Mark left. Taeyong retired to the kitchen to check on the pizza. It was ready.

“What is he saying, Taeyong?” You started.

“Y/n?!” Taeyong jumped as he found you waiting for him at the kitchen island.

You’d snuck in earlier to surprise him with sweet potatoes you bought from the farmer’s market. You wanted to scare him because it was a bit of yours. You snuck through the back door with your own set of keys he gave you.

You were about to duck your head into the living room when you heard Taeyong say he wouldn’t leave you. Your heart sank.

He wanted to hold you. “Y/n…”

You crossed your arms. “What is going on? Who is Mark? And who exactly is your father? What exactly is your job, Taeyong? Because I’m beginning to suspect you’re not a dating guru.”

Taeyong sighed. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“Try me.”

Taeyong checked the schedules of the fledglings at work in Isla. The best way for him to prove his identity to you was to show you how Cupids worked. “Come with me.”

He drove you to an amusement park. You turned to him. “You are not taking me on a date right now.”

He shook his head. “I’m not. Just follow me.”

He led you into the park and you sat down on a bench by the haunted house.

Taeyong started. “See that guy in the leather jacket? That’s my coworker Shotaro.”

“I don’t see him…” There was no one by that description where Taeyong was pointing.

“Y/n, hold my hand.”

“Taeyong, now’s not the time.”

“Please. Just do it.”

You gave in and held his hand and suddenly, a young man in a leather jacket appeared. Shotaro was carrying a bow and a bag of arrows. He prepared his arrow to shoot at someone leaving the haunted house.

“Taeyong, what is he doing?!” You yelled.

Taeyong shushed. “Y/n, just watch.”

You put a hand over your mouth and you were about to run over and stop this madness. Taeyong held you back.

Shotaro released the arrow and hit the young woman first. She looked at her best friend and kissed her cheek. Shotaro then shot another arrow at the best friend. She kissed the first young woman on the lips, then. The arrows vanished just as quickly as they pierced both women. It was as if they were never struck. Shotaro noticed Taeyong and waved before he faded away.

You rubbed your eyes. “Taeyong?”

“Yeah?”

“What the hell was that?”

“More like what the heaven was that…”

“Explain.”

Taeyong explained everything to you. How he was Cupid. How there were Cupids all over the world bringing people together. Taeyong was the original Cupid and he was on vacation. You took it all in and a lot of things started to make sense. Why he never spoke about his family or his job. How a lot of things were so new to him. It wasn’t because he was a sheltered rich boy. He wasn’t even human. He was a god.

This also meant that your concept of love was completely wrong. Cupids had their hand in romance all over the world. Which made you realize...

“So…When Jaemin broke up with me, it was because of you guys?”

Frustrated that you brought up Jaemin, Taeyong managed to say, “Yes…”

Tears fell from your eyes. “And you were never going to tell me?”

“It wasn’t my place to-“

“Oh, hell, if it’s not...How long were you going to play me like this? You were going to leave, anyway. What was the plan? Lead me on and then dump me like Jaemin did?”

Stabbed by your words, he begged, “Stop saying his name.”

“Well? How long were you planning to lead me on for? I’m sure you have a carefully crafted schedule for your next victim ready.”

Taeyong shook his head. “You don’t mean that.”

Tears fell onto your lap. “Taeyong, I loved you. Did you ever love me?”

The past tense killed him to hear. “Y/n, I love you. I’ve never loved anyone in all my years. You’re the only one for me.”

“Taeyong, you’re going to leave me.” You sobbed.

He shook his head. “I won’t leave you. I’ll fight for us.”

You hugged him tightly and he shushed you. He bought you a funnel cake with a large cup of lemonade to share. You both ate in silence for a few minutes.

You broke the silence.“When Mark said I had a pairing session, that means that I’m being matched with someone. Someone that isn’t you…”

“Yes…”

“Taeyong, I don’t want to be matched with someone else. What are we going to do?”

“I have a plan.”

You sighed. “I’m being selfish.” “What? No...Why would you think that?”

You took a sip of the lemonade. “The consequences of you disobeying...God, I still can’t believe it....I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Taeyong replied, “Let me deal with that, y/n. I will fight for us. It’ll take some convincing but after all of my years with Father, he has to listen to me.”

…

[The Next Day]

Tonight was the animal shelter’s fundraising gala in downtown Isla. It was held at the lavish Sun and Moon Hotel’s ballroom. Your potential partner would be in attendance tonight but you didn’t care. All you cared about was Taeyong and what he had up his sleeve. Mark was mingling with the other guests. He didn’t know that you were in on his plans with you. He met your eyes and smiled, playing the part of the oblivious but charming young man.

As far as Mark knew, you and Taeyong broke up last night so you had to look miserable. And frankly, you felt miserable not knowing what was about to happen with Taeyong. There was a chance you could lose him forever tonight. But you held onto the chance of remaining with him.

You forced a smile and continued to mingle with the guests. Meanwhile, Taeyong disguised himself and kept an eye on Mark. Mark may have been a well-established Cupid by now but he was not at Taeyong’s level. He was off by a few centuries.

The shelter had received a lot of donations from many local businesses and celebrities. You gave a thank you speech to all the attendees for their generosity and raised your glass to them. The uncertainty was killing you underneath it all.

Taeyong watched Mark prepare his arrow, then. Mark was no longer seen by humans. You realized Mark and Taeyong were missing, which meant it was time. Taeyong prepared his arrows. He stabbed himself with his own arrow as he watched you. Right before Mark shot his arrow, Taeyong shot at you. You turned to him, then, finally able to see him. Mark realized too late what he had done.

Mark yelled. “What have you-”

Taeyong and Mark vanished.

…

[5 Years Later]

The year you spent with Taeyong had vanished from your memory. The night of the gala after Taeyong and Mark disappeared, you continued on with your life. Living with an inexplicable hole in your heart. You thought it was because you were being dramatic. Seeing a lot of your friends get married and have kids didn’t help your case either. Meanwhile, you were alone. Working hard and thriving, sure. But emotionally, you weren’t all there.

None of your friends or family remembered Taeyong either. It was as if he never existed to any of you. One day, Jisoo introduced you to one of her friends from her gym. You two hooked up not too long afterwards. The night was fun. It was a one-time thing.

However, that one-time thing ended up in your pregnancy. The father wanted nothing to do with your child so he skipped town. You didn’t hold it against him. The child was unplanned and you decided to carry on with the pregnancy on your own. Your friends and family were very supportive. You gave birth to a baby girl named Daisy.

The emptiness in your heart was filled by your love for Daisy. She was your world. She was your partner in crime. You wanted to give her everything good the world had to offer. Maybe someday you could give her a father.

After dropping her off at pre-school, you stopped by the post office to send out a letter to your pen pal. Isla recently started up a pen pal program for its citizens to send each other letters and gifts. You were paired up with someone who shared a lot of the same interests as you: favorite movies, foods, and animals.

You were paired up with a man named Lee Taeyong.

Dear Taeyong,

I’m sending you a copy of my favorite movie of all time, Jurassic Park. Please let me know if you like it. If you do, there’s a bunch of stickers in it for you. I hope you have safe travels to Munich and Budapest.

Warmly,

y/n

Taeyong had faced serious consequences for interfering with your pairing session. The work that had to be put in to pair up y/n’s original partner, Nakamoto Yuta, with someone else put everyone into a frenzy. Thankfully, the damage was repaired.

However, the Lord was pissed. Taeyong disobeyed him. Even though God adored him, he knew he had to be punished. For every second it took for Taeyong to fall in love with you, it would take a year for you two to reunite.

God relieved Taeyong of his Cupid duties and wished him a wonderful life as a human. He looked forward to Taeyong returning to him again one day.

Taeyong returned to Isla with an established job as a pilot. Ruby remained with him. His friends Sicheng and Kun would look after her while Taeyong was away now and then. He loved traveling the world but he loved coming home to Ruby most of all. He tried dating a couple of times but it never clicked with anyone. And hook-ups were a thing of the past. He wanted something serious. He hoped to find someone to call his person someday.

He recently sent his pen pal a letter before departing for his flight to Paris.

Dear y/n,

I loved Jurassic Park. I can’t believe I wasted so many years of my life not knowing this movie. Don’t hold back on the stickers. I’m sending you a copy of one of my favorite movies. It’s called Train to Busan. Try not to swoon too hard over Gong Yoo or I might get a little jealous.

Warmly,

Taeyong

You two exchanged letters frequently and after a few more months, you decided to meet up at the cafe right next to the shelter. Taeyong walked past the shelter, arriving early for your meet-up. He was thrilled to meet you and finally put a face to your name. He looked at the windows where adoptions were currently underway.

That was when he saw you.

And just like that everything flooded back to him. How you two already knew each other once. How you became friends and grew together. How you fell in love.

He ran into the shelter and called your name. “Y/n!”

You were answering a volunteer’s question when you heard someone call your name. When you turned to the person who called you, it all came rushing back to you. All of the memories. All of the love for him that you carried in your heart.

“Taeyong…” Your eyes welled up.

You ran towards each other. You jumped into his arms, then. You laughed and cried together. You took a ten minute break to sit outside with Taeyong.

“I can’t believe it’s you…” He cried.

“Me neither...It’s been five years…”

“Five years...A year for every second it took for me to fall in love with you…” Geez, he thought, God was so unfair and so corny at the same time.

Five years without each other was too much for either of you to bear. You caught up on each other’s lives. Taeyong was shocked to find out you have a daughter. You were shocked that Taeyong was a human now.

But now this meant that you two could grow old together. Daisy could finally have a father. And you couldn’t wait to hold Ruby again.

…

[1 Year Later]

After a year of dating and getting to know each other again, you and Taeyong got married. Daisy and Taeyong adored each other. Ruby was happy to see you again and more than happy to welcome Daisy into her life. It was a beautiful union.

All of your friends were in attendance. Jisoo was weeping so hard. Jaehyun and his boyfriend Johnny were in attendance. Taeyong was shocked that it hadn’t been Jaehyun who claimed your heart after all this time. It turned out that Jaehyun was just a concerned friend. They became good friends.

You got married at the beach. You wore a stunning mermaid white gown. You walked down the aisle with a train decorated with white daisies. The white daisies translated to: “I love you truly.” Sicheng, a violinist, played his rendition of “All My Life” by K-Ci & JoJo. It was yours and Taeyong’s song.

Taeyong donned a black tuxedo. A daisy decorated his lapel. He nearly broke down in tears at how lovely you looked. You couldn’t help the huge smile on your face.

You recite your vows to each other. You started, “Taeyong, from the moment we first met...My life became tinted in shades of pinks and oranges again. I could see that the world could be beautiful. You helped me find happiness again. A happiness I didn’t know I needed until I met you. I adore you and will adore you even into the afterlife. Whatever happens, I will always be here for you. You have my heart. My everything. I cannot wait to spend our lives together with Daisy, Ruby, and our future children. I love you.”

Taeyong replied, “Y/n, you are my world. I found love in you. You are the light of my life. You made me a better person and you made me want to live and enjoy life. The world is beautiful because of you. I love you with all of my heart. I promise you that we will always be together. No matter what life...and the after life...will throw at us. I am yours. I will always be with you. My love. My darling y/n...I love our family. Daisy and Ruby, we love you so much. I cannot wait to raise our family together, y/n. I love you.”

Officiant Kun continued, “By the power vested in me by the State of Sweetwater, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Taeyong scooped you up and kissed you, earning applause from your friends and family.

A magical day of many. You two lived happily ever after.

Fin.

902 notes · View notes

imjustheretoseetheprivateblogs · 4 years ago

Text

The Lost World Rewrite

So, I recently watched the Lost World: Jurassic Park for the first time and all I gotta say is...

Yeah. So, in spite of the fact I feel that it would be Superfluous and self-aggrandizing, and a maturely written well thought out review would be a better use of my time, I decided to do a rewrite of the Lost World to make it a half-decent movie. I apologize to any fans of the film in advance. This is a rough Idea based on what could be done without completely throwing out the script. Here we go...

The film starts the same; little girl gets mauled by Compies on Isla Sorna

Cut to not Ian Malcolm; there is no Ian Malcolm in this film. There will never be Ian Malcolm in this film. Instead, we cut to Dr. Sarah Harding (played by Julianne Moore) who’s photographing a crocodile nesting. We learn a little bit about her from her assistant, Nick Van Owen (played by Vince Vaughn), namely that while her theories on Dinosaur young rearing are as on point as Alan Grant’s raptor research, she’s not so hot at rearing young herself. Case in point, she’s late for her daughter’s gymnastics performance.

Her daughter is of course Kelly Curtis played by Vanessa Lee Chester, who in this version will have a larger role and more developed personality. Kelly is Sarah’s adopted daughter and the two have been at a loss at what to do with one another since meeting. Kelly is the daughter of one of Sarah’s oldest friends who died while traveling and Sarah took her in. While their relationship isn’t horrible, it’s definitely awkward. Like when Sarah bursts through the gymnasium doors to see Kelly has completely finished her routine and the seat reserved for her has been given to someone else (maybe Michael Crichton or Steven Spielberg in a cameo?)

Later that night, Sarah is called by a mysterious voice on the phone, telling her to pack a suitcase and go outside. She does so and a black SUV pulls up. “Get in.” a man’s voice tells her.

“OK,” Sarah says, annoyed, “who are you people and what’s with the G-man routine?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a G-man routine.” says a familiar voice.

We pan over to reveal John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) sitting across from Sarah.

“Can I offer you a drink?” he asks.

The conversation is much the same as the movie with Ian Malcolm (Hammond explains Site B, tells Sarah about the JP incident, etc.). Only this time, there’s a big difference: InGen wants to cut ties with the Jurassic Park debacle and intends to let the Costa Rican Government fire bomb it. Hammond wants to get people onto the island and document the animals to drum up environmentalist support for turning it into a preserve and at least stave off the destruction until a humane solution can be found.

“How can I say no!?” Sarah says. A chance to photograph real Dinosaurs. Never in 65 million years did she think she’d get this chance.

The team she’ll be going to the island with includes herself, Hammond, Van Owen (“Nick’s the best person for the job” Sarah insists), equipment manager Eddie Carr (Richard Schiff), Dr. Robert Burke (Thomas F. Duffy) (“are we sure he’s not a country singer?” Sarah asked, eyeing the supposed paleontologist’s ten gallon hat and beard), celebrity big game hunter Roland Tembo (Pete Postlethwaite), and InGen executive Peter Ludlow, Hammond’s own nephew (“I made the mistake of trusting too many people last time,” Hammond said, “this time, I’m playing it close to the vest.”)

The team arrives on the Island, where Peter suggests setting up camp in a low clearing, much to Tembo’s chagrin (“that,” Tembo said, rolling his eyes, “is a game trail, Mr. Ludlow. Carnivores hunt on game trails. do you want to find dinosaurs or serve them lunch?”)

The group wanders through deep Jungle, Hammond and Ludlow being the slowest, one due to their age the other due to being a little on the wimpy side. As the journey goes on, it becomes apparent that there’s some friction between Peter and John, with Peter second guessing John every chance he gets and trying to act like the leader of the group.

They finally come across a family of stegosaur and we get that adorable pet the baby scene from the movie. Eddie is flabbergasted, Nick is taking pictures like crazy, Burke’s having a conniption, Hammond swells with pride, and we don’t really know what’s going through Peter and Tembo’s heads.

Something startles the Stegs (Tembo reached for his gun. “No!” Nick grabbed the barrel of Tembo’s gun.)

Nick fumed “An animal that hasn’t been seen in over a million years turns up and the only way you can express yourself is to kill it?” Tembo smiled. “Remember that chap about twenty years ago? I forget his name. Climbed Everest without any oxygen, came down nearly dead. When they asked him, they said why did you go up there to die? He said I didn't, I went up there to live.” (cryptic, no?)

“What could have set them off like that?” Wondered Burke. Roland, however, scented the air. “Smoke,” he said simply, pointing “coming from that way. They must have thought it was from a forest fire.”

The group rushes back to their camp, discovering the campfire burning. Eddie and Burke make to smother it. However, the camper door opens to reveal—

“I was gonna have dinner ready when you got back.” Kelly said.

Sarah and Kelly have an argument inside the camper, about how Sarah’s never there for her and how she just washed out of her gymnastics team (“I got bronze,” she said, “not that you’d know. You didn’t even stick around long enough for that part.”)

Kelly convinces Sarah she can stay. We cut to a scene of the group in jeeps, riding through grasslands in a heard of various Dinosaurs. Nick’s in the jeep with Tembo, Peter, and Hammond, while Sarah is with Kelly, Eddie, and Burke. (Tembo turned to Nick. “get in the outrigger. You're closing in on a parasaur.” “Parasaurolophus,” Nick corrected smugly.” “Whatever,” said Tembo, “The one with the big red horn! The pompadour! *Elvis!*”)

Nick climbs into the outrigger and begins to film the dinosaurs. In the other jeep, the group is trying to coax Eddie into their own outrigger.

“No way I’m getting into that thing,” Eddie said “not surrounded by dinosaurs.” “We’re gonna need better shots if we want to save these dinosaurs,” Sarah said, “and you’re the only one who knows how to work the equipment.” “So do you,” Eddie said, “Why not pull over and let me drive? I used to drive cabs for a living.” “I know how the use the camera.” Kelly said. Sarah stared at her. “You do?” “I was in AV club before gymnastics.”

The group snaps Kelly in and they begin their own filming process. For the first time in a long time, Kelly and Sarah seem to be having fun together.

After that moment of chipperness, we cut back to camp. (Roland nodded to Nick. “Tree hugger got a great shot of a Pachy... a pachy... oh, hell. One of those fatheads with the bald spot, Friar Tuck!”) Peter and Hammond are looking over a map. Peter insists that they should go to the abandoned worker village on the other side of the island, where they can find easy shelter and supplies (“IT runs on geothermal power, so it’ll still have power”). Hammond disagrees. (“Absolutely not,” Hammond said, “that part of the island has been overrun by Velociraptors.” Peter frowned “What’s that, veloc-o-?” “Velociraptor,” Burke said, “Carnivore, pack hunter. About two meters tall, long snout, binocular vision, strong, dextrous forearms, and killing claws on both feet.” “That doesn’t sound promising.” said Peter. “You should read Alan Grant’s latest paper on them,” said Burke, “It’s like he met one in real life!”)

Meanwhile, Roland Tembo is now kneeling, looking at a track.

“Come take a look at this.” he says. Everyone gathers around. “do you know what this is?” he asks. Sarah’s eyes grew wide. “We have to leave.” she said. “Why?” asked Kelly. “That’s a T-Rex track!” Burke said. “A T-Rex!” Eddie looked as if he was about to break for the beach and try to swim home. “That’s impossible!” said Hammond “the satellite photos showed that the Rex territory is nowhere near here.”

The group decides to risk staying in the area. Later that night, Kelly hears a noise. Curious, she goes outside to investigate. In the moonlight, she sees a team of unknown men in night vision goggles capturing the dinosaurs that they had been filming earlier that day. As the drive off, Kelly grabs onto the back of one of the trailers to follow them.

We cut back to Sarah’s tent. She’s asleep, not having been roused by her daughter’s departure. But she is roused by what sounds like deep breathing outside. She surreptitiously looks around and sees a massive snout sticking into her tent. It’s the Tyrannosaur!

Just then, Peter Ludlow comes out of his tent with a roll of toilet paper, but upon seeing the dinosaur lets out a scream that wakes the whole camp. The rex turns and bellows at him, trashing their camp all the while in a show of dominance. Soon, the whole group is running through the forest. Hammond is almost eaten by the thing if not for Tembo’s intervention.

Soon, however, the groups are separated from one another. Hammond slips down a river bank into a ravine, Peter just up and vanishes, and Sarah, Van Owen, Tembo, Burk, and Eddie run behind a waterfall with the rex in pursuit. The dinosaur, unable to follow, gives one last roar of anger and leaves. Out of all the people, however, Tembo looks the least scared. He looks…thrilled, actually.

Meanwhile, we cut away to Hammond. He rises (roughly) shaking away the delirium. He looks around, wondering where his party got off to. The T-Rex’s roar is heard in the distance. Better find the others, he thinks. He begins to follow the river; if the group has any sense, they’ll make a new camp on the water. But then he hears a noise and looks down. It’s a Compy.

We get a very similar scene to Dieter Stark’s (Peter Stormare’s) death in the movie (which was based off of John Hammond’s in the first book) with one or two caveats. First, we don’t cut away in the middle. We maintain the scene and the suspense as long as possible (with Compys popping out of the woodwork the more Hammond tries to get away from them). The second…

There was a sound of rifle fire. The Compys scattered and Hammond felt himself pulled up from the shallow water, finally able to breathe. “Tembo,” he coughed.

“If you have any more suicidal ideas,” said Tembo, “keep em to yourself.”

Cut back to Sarah’s group as Hammond and Tembo rejoin them.

“Has anyone seen Kelly?” Sarah asked, worried.

“I think I saw her run in the same direction as Ludlow,” said Tembo.

“Hopefully, they’ll be safe once they leave the Rex’s territory.” said Burke.

“Don’t bet on it,” said Sarah, “Tyrannosaurs have the second largest proportional olfactory cavity of any creature in the fossil record.” “What’s the first?” asked Eddie. “Turkey vulture,” said Burke, as casually as someone would talk about the weather.

“Any idea where we are?” asked Eddie, desperately trying the change the subject. “Somewhere west of the worker village, I think,” said Nick, examining a map of the island (one of the few they managed to salvage from the camp) “It’d be an easy hike there.” “Maybe that’s where Kelly and Peter are,” said Sarah, turning to Hammond. “Yes, but if they did go there, they’re in grave danger.” said Hammond. “Velociraptors,” said Burke, trying to be helpful.

“Danger or not, we need a radio,” said Tembo, “that buck tore the hell out of our camp and I don’t think we can contact the mainland with smoke signals.” “How do you know the T-Rex was male?” asked Sarah.

Before Tembo can answer, a different roar is heard. A helicopter passed overhead.

“I thought you said we had a few weeks before they started razing the island?” Sarah said. “We do,” Hammond replied, “I don’t know what that helicopter’s doing her.” “It was headed towards the worker village,” said Tembo, “so, if we want to see what’s what, I think that’s where we’re headed.”

Cut to a scene of the group walking through the forest at night. Finally, they reach a vantage point overlooking the worker village…and it’s anything but abandoned.

More than three dozen people, some of them armed, are walking over the compound. Chain link fence ran the perimeter of the camp, newer than the rest of the camp. Tents, vehicles, mobile generators, the works.

Dozens of dinosaurs sit in cages, all bearing the same logo

“It says InGen on the side of that truck!” Eddie said. Everyone turned to look at Hammond. “I had no idea about this,” said Hammond, “why would I ask anyone to come here?” “I think I know who we should ask,” said Nick, pointing down at the camp.

It’s Peter, down in the camp, talking with the armed guards.

“What’s he doing down there?” asked Sarah. “I think,” Hammond said, sadness in his voice, “I’ve made the same mistake twice.” “Anybody seen Tembo?” asked Eddie.

Indeed, Tembo has disappeared.

Cut to Kelly, hiding in one of the trailers. She’d managed to evade her captors, but for how long she can continue to do so is up to debate. Stealthily, she creeps out of the trailer and around the camp over to one of the cages. She undoes the latch. She moves on to the next cage. Rinse and repeat.

Cut to inside one of the tents, Peter and several other people, all InGen personnel, stand around a card table where plans labeled ‘Jurassic Park San Diego’ are lain out.

“San Diego?” One man (a high ranking InGen worker) asked. “it’s already famous for its animal attractions,” said Peter, gesturing to plans on the table, “San Diego zoo... Sea World... The San Diego Chargers.”

“I don’t think John Hammond would have approved of having these animals on the mainland.” An InGen executive said.

Peter frowned. “Well, Hammond’s not in charge anymore. I am.” He turned to another man, this one a hunter by the look of him. “How’s the hunting going?”

“We’ve got plenty of plant eaters,” the hunter said, “some eggs. no raptors though. And our man hasn’t brought in the T-Rex like he said he would.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “What makes you think people want to see a bunch of veggiesaurs and eggs! They’re gonna want a T-Rex!”

“We’re trying, sir!” the hunter says, “but we haven’t seen any raptors since we got here!”

Suddenly, a worker bursts into the tent “The baby’s gone!” he said.

Almost as suddenly, a Triceratops bursts into the tent, smashing into the table and scattering the group. The camp is in chaos! Dinosaurs are running amuck. Vehicles overturned, people tossed into the air. But this is the chance Hammond’s group has been waiting for. They make their way down to the village in the bedlam, and make it into the main building of the worker’s village. Eddie manages to contact the mainland, and things are looking up. But then, we hear an ungodly moan from behind a nearby door. Slowly, Burke heads towards the door, picking up a nearby screwdriver to use as a weapon. He jerks the door open to reveal…

“Kelly!” Sarah cried. Kelly sat inside a broom closet, in her arms a baby T-Rex.

“They just left him tied to a stick out there,” said Kelly, “and I think his leg is broken.”

Despite the limited materials, the group sets to work splinting the baby’s leg. It’s pretty much the same as in the movie. Until the sound of a rifle cocking is heard behind them.

“I’ll be taking that rex now, Dr. Harding,” Roland Tembo said. Tembo has been on Ludlow’s payroll since the beginning. He was never here to protect the group. He’s here to hunt the T-Rex. He was the one who staked the baby out, to attract it’s parents.

Outside, the cacophony has died down. The Dinosaurs have mainly been recaptured. Hammond’s group has been brought before Ludlow, who looks at them condescendingly. “You really thought you were still CEO when you got here, Uncle John? I bought you out the day you asked for my help. We’ll still use the footage you took for our attractions, don’t worry.” “So, you’re going to reopen Jurassic Park then, is that it? Despite my warnings?” “No, not reopen. We’re moving these animals to the mainland so we don’t have to fly out here every time there’s a problem. You put us six million dollars in debt every day since you started making dinosaurs. It’s time to see good on that investment you promised. And the board agrees with me.”

InGen Exec: it’s nothing personal John. Why have a dinosaur and not use it?

“These are animals,” Sarah said, “they deserve respect”

“They’ll have the best of care.”

“And what if they break out! What then?”

Cut to part of Hammond’s team (Hammond, Sarah, and Kelly) being shoved into a trailer with the door locked behind them. Sarah tries to force the door open, to no avail. Kelly runs around, trying to open the windows. Hammond just sits down, despondent at the betrayal of his own family.

Sarah (trying to yank the door open): come on! You stupid…

A familiar roar is heard. A car flips past the window.

“What is it?” Hammond asked, “What’s going on?”

Sarah: I think things just got complicated.

The buck T-Rex from earlier has tracked the them to the Worker village and crashes through the fence. Suddenly, another roar is heard from the other side of the camp. It’s the female Rex, and she’s even more pissed than the male.

“There’s two of them!?” Sarah asked, incredulous. “We spared no expense,” Hammond said.

The rexes wreck the trailer the rest of Hammond’s team is in. Nick, Eddie, and Burke make a break for it. The female Rex sees them and gives chase. She and her mate bare down on them and soon capture Eddie, each taking one end in their jaws and pulling him apart for a snack.

Afterward we get a faceoff between Roland Tembo and the male rex (one that would have been really cool in the movie but we didn’t get it).

Tembo wastes two shot gun blasts on the rex. Out of ammo, he switches to tranquilizers, which finally manage to bring the beast down. The other rex is soon felled after. Subdued in special harnasses, the rexes are air lifted by helicopters to a boat waiting of the coast of Isla Sorna. All in all, the bad guys’ mission is a success. Well, Tembo wouldn’t say so. If you’d told him a year ago he’d get to hunt not one but two T-Rexes he would have kissed whoever told him that square on the mouth. But in the end, it had been so stupidly simple to catch them he just feels crapped on. Didn’t even get a trophy.

“You know, I remember the people who've helped me, Roland. There's a job for you at the park in San Diego if you want it.” Roland turns him down.

Cut to a group of hunters patrolling the tall grass outside the worker village. Suddenly, one of them is pulled under. A hunter a few feet away looks in his direction. “Manolo?” he asks. Another nearby hunter is pulled out of view. The hunters are starting to get scared. “Look alive, people.” one of them says. We hear a familiar coughing sound.

A velociraptor jumps out of the grass and mangles one of the hunters. Soon, pandemonium ensues. The crafty raptors had been evading the InGen hunters, watching them, waiting for the right moment. And with two dinosaur attacks in a row and both rexes out of the picture, now was the time to strike! (And there are no tails sticking up out of the grass cartoonishly! Raptors are supposed to be dangerous, not goofy).

Back at the camp, Roland runs towards the danger while Peter climbs aboard one of the waiting helicopters. “Get me out of here!” he cries.

The raptors swarm the camp. Roland manages to kill a few, but not before they massacre most of the InGen workers there. Tembo even has to watch Burke die in front of him. We get a scene where Hammond’s group escapes their trailer, Kelly defeats a velociraptor with gymnastics and the group plus Tembo manages to get onboard a helicopter.

The rest of the movie follows the actual TLW movie pretty closely with a few differences. Namely, there’s more than one dinosaur rampaging through San Diego, Tembo is helping the remaining team route the dinos back to the ship, we acknowledge the fact that the car they picked in the movie was due to reasons of masculinity, and Peter suffers a nervous breakdown when the dinosaurs break out of the ship’s hold and allows himself to be eaten by the baby rex out of guilt.

Roland fires a tranquilizer shot at the buck rex before it can clear the door. When that’s done, Sarah asks him what he’s going to hunt next.

“I believe I've spent enough time in the company of death.” he said.

We cut to Kelly and Sarah asleep on the couch while a TV plays news coverage of the boat being returned to Isla Sorna with a statement from John Hammond (once again CEO of InGen).

His speech is pretty much the same, ending with “as someone once told me, life finds a way.”

The final shot of the film is the rex family, the stegosaurs, all the dinosaurs back on Isla Sorna. Content as the Jurassic Park credits theme plays in the background.

So, what did you think? Like it, hate it? As always, I welcome feedback and comments!

#Jurassic Park #The Lost World #the lost world: jurassic park #Jurassic Park 2 #Jurassic Park II #Steven Spielberg #Rewrite #Re-Write #Dinosaurs #My Writing #Well Sort of #Fix It Fic #Sarah Harding #Roland Tembo #John Hammond #Kelly Curtis #Nick Van Owen

21 notes · View notes