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twilightdruig · 4 years ago

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help?

pairing : george weasley x fem!reader

summary : “hi i’m your neighbor and while i know we’ve never spoken but you’re a single parent of two and my sister recently died leaving me to raise her infant and i have no idea what i’m doing, help?” au

warnings : swearing , mentions of character deaths , fluff , au where george lives alone with his two children in a cottage near the burrow , au where fred and cedric live.

words : 2.6k

a/n : this is my first fic so it’s probably gonna be shit (as you can probably tell i’m not good with titles either) but yeah hope you enjoy :> and i might do a little part 2 on this soon

holly l/n was loved by multiple. a sweet hufflepuff student who was favored by all the teachers and students. her sister, y/n was a scary and intimidating gryffindor who hung out in the library.

ever since the battle of hogwarts death eaters have been imprisoned in azkaban. but, that didn’t mean all harm was gone.

now here y/n l/n was, standing in the heat of the summer, her nephew connor l/n mourning the death of a family member.

the service was beautiful. a few hogwarts students came including luna lovegood and neville longbottom and professor sprout and professor flitwick decided to pay their respects. headmistress mcgonagall sent her condolences through a letter as well.

conner wasn’t old enough to go to hogwarts yet. there was no one else for holly to leave connor with. her husband, ronan died during the war, all connor’s grandparents died and the only appointed godparents were holly’s best friend cedric diggory and her sister y/n.

cedric diggory was now teaching first year flying at hogwarts and is married to cho chang.

y/n was currently doing nothing with her life. she wanted to live alone in a cottage, reading, stitching, picking apples and getting drunk on fruity cocktails. but now? she had to take care of her sister’s spoiled son.

y/n hated children more than she hated the people in her own hogwarts house. more so, she didn’t know how to take care of them.

she had to enroll her nephew in hogwarts, teach him basic life skills and other stuff like that. there goes her life goal on being that cool stoner aunt that hates love and children.

—

“shit, connor!” y/n exclaimed as her 3 year old nephew accidentally ate a ton tongue toffee made by the joke shop in diagon alley owned by the weasleys.

“sorry aunty y/n”

she was never close to the weasleys. all of them, stereotypical gryffindors, loud and chaotic and always the main characters.

the only thing she knew about them is that one of the twins live next to her. y/n didn’t know how to shrink his tongue and thought it was quite the convenience that he lives next door. he was a single dad with two daughters, maybe he could help her control her nephew and technically her adopted son, now.

she sighed. “put on your coat, we’re visiting our neighbors, ok con?” the little boy nodded in response

—

went the small cottage came into view, there were two little girls picking flowers on the front yard and a tall red-headed man on the porch watching them.

“hey! weasley!” she yelled with a small smile as she approached the small gate.

“l/n? what are you doing here?” george asked

y/n gestured to her nephew who was holding his now 3 foot long tongue. “he accidentally ate one of your products and i’m not entirely sure how to fix it”

“right, right” he laughed “come on, connor right? i’ll reverse that”

y/n felt a tug at her oversized cardigan. she looked down to see two identical ginger twins.

“hi there!” one smiled.

“hello!” y/n tried to sound as nice as possible. looking back at her teenage years she remembered laughing at kids who fell of their brooms their brooms when she’d watch first year flying. she remembered laughing at seamus finnigan when something blew up in his face. or when she’d laugh at any kid accidentally getting hurt.

“these are for you! they’re pretty just like you” the other twin exclaimed.

“i’m charlotte and she’s billie” charlotte giggled.

“how do u know our daddy?” billie asked

“oh! um, we went to school together and i live just next door” y/n replied

“do you know our uncle freddie?”

“i know all your uncles and your aunt ginny, aunt hermione and uncle harry. they were all famous when we were in school”

“wow!” they both exclaimed

george and connor came back out. “look aunty y/n! my tongue’s normal again!”

“aunty?” george questioned. “holly. she died quite recently.”

“oh! i’m so sorry. i heard about her. yeah. i believe mum sent some flowers for the service”

“yeah we received them”

“i’ll see you around?” george inquired

“yeah, yeah. and i might need some parenting advice? you knew how i was back at hogwarts”

“i am flattered, dear l/n”

“oh hush. and they get along.” she pointed to the three children running around.

“they do. and yes, i would love to help you tame that little rascal” george laughed.

“thank you, george. really.”

“i’m just next door, yeah?”

“yeah” y/n smiled “come on, connor. we’re going home. but we’ll definitely be seeing these lovely ladies soon.”

“bye pretty lady!” y/n heard two young voices call after her

“daddy, who was she?”

“is she gonna be our new mommy?”

—

george and y/n had been hanging out for the past weeks. he had given her advice on taking care of connor and how to deal with children. they also spent time talking about family and their time back at hogwarts. she was told about the attack of death eaters at one of his brothers’ wedding and how his daughters were named after his brothers bill and charlie.

a knock at y/n’s door interrupted her reading.

“oi, l/n!” she heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door.

“weasley” she muttered.

connor recognized george’s voice and the twins’ giggles, he decided he would take matters into his own little hands. connor knew how stubborn his aunt was at the young age of seven.

“hi billie! hi charlotte! hi uncle george!” the little boy squealed.

“hey there, con!” george ruffled his hair while billie and charlotte ran over to y/n.

connor and the twins were two years apart. connor was going to hogwarts the next year. no doubt would he be trouble to professor mcgonagall but everyone knew they were always her favorites.

“aunty y/n! uncle george brought cookies!” connor yelled excitedly. y/n was never the type to bake or cook. she did try to but it always ended in almost burning the house down. she usually fed connor fruits or store bought food.

“you didn’t have to” y/n responded while taking the plastic box.

“oh yes i did” he teased “i heard you’ve been starving this poor little fellow”

“daddy didn’t bake those cookies” charlotte stated “grandma did” billie continued

“oh” she smirked at george then turned to the twins “tell your grandma i say thanks!”

“uncle george! i wanna show you something outside! the twins can come too!”

“connor, what are you gonna show them?” y/n grumbled.

“your paintings! they’re amazing” her nephew jumped.

“paintings, eh?” george smiled “okay, let’s go, champ. see those paintings of your aunt.” the two scurried outside, two redheaded girls following after.

y/n groaned and fell back into the couch, finishing her book.

—

it’s been a few days since george and the twins came with cooking to y/n and connor’s cottage. she wanted to throw connor a little surprise birthday party.

connor has loved the twins and george so much, he thinks of them as blood relatives. y/n decided to call up cedric and cho to look after connor while she’d do some errands.

the two arrived exactly on time as y/n was preparing to go out. she had on a simple cardigan and loose denim pants.

“ced! cho! hi, how are you guys?” y/n greeted as she saw her old friends apparate into the cottage.

“hi y/n!” cho greeted “hey nerd” cedric snickered.

she sent cedric a small glare before connor jumped at the two.

“uncle ceddy! aunty cho! you’re here” he shouted.

“yeah buddy! your aunt’s gonna run some errands and visit your uncle georgie?” cedric winked at y/n. she had been owling cedric about george and how he’s been helping her with connor.

“are you going out with uncle george?” connor asked, eyes twinkling.

“i don’t know, actually. i might check him out next door.”

“george weasley?” cho teased.

“yes, cho,” y/n rolled her eyes “but on that note, i have to go”

“bye, connor! behave okay?” she crouched down and squished his cheeks.

“bye, ced! cho!” her voice faded when she dashed out the door.

—

y/n passed george’s cottage to see if he actually might want to come with her and do errands.

she was standing outside the small gate, hesitating. ‘maybe he was busy’ ‘he wouldn’t want to do errands with me’ ‘maybe he would if i told him it was for connor’s birthday’ she thought. y/n didn’t know why she was overthinking her choices. the first time she was standing right outside the gate she bursted in and demanded george to fix whatever happened to her nephew. now, she was nervous. her palms were sweaty and clammy.

she pushed herself in and walked to the front porch. she knocked a few times and was met with a head of messy brown hair.

“hermione?!” she squealed

“y/n!” hermione jumped to hug her old friend.

there were overlapping voices in the background and when they pulled away she was met with multiple mops of ginger hair, a head of blonde hair and another with black hair behind hermione.

“l/n?” ginny weasley asked, quite shocked what she would be doing outside george’s door.

“oh! did i interrupt something? i am so sorry!” she said feeling a bit nervous.

“oh! you must be the dearest y/n george keeps talking about!” an old woman she thought was mrs. weasley approached her from behind her children.

“hi there!” y/n said feeling a little embarrassed she might’ve barged in on a family reunion.

“ah! l/n? i have heard of your family! muggle-borns right?” arthur weasley joined his wife.

“uh, yeah!” she pursed her lips “i am so so sorry i interrupted! i should go. tell george i’ll swing by next time”

“oh it’s absolutely alright, dear” molly reassured her.

“george! there’s a really pretty girl! get your arse out here!” fred yelled to george who was probably inside the house.

“is she here?” charlotte and billie ran to the door.

“hi girls! tell you dad i was here yeah? say i’ll come by next time” most of the weasleys came back in. she took it as her time to go on with her day.

“oi! y/n! wait up” the voice she recognized as george’s called after her.

“george, hey”

“where’r you off to?” george pointed to the small bag that was swung over her shoulder.

“errands. connor’s birthday is coming up so i thought i’d prepare something for him. first birthday without his mum, you know”

“his birthday’s coming up?” george looked as excited as a child on christmas morning.

“yeah. why?” she smiled

“you’re talking to one of the best party planners there is. you also did talk to another one of them… i think”

“fred?”

“oh yeah”

“i wanted to ask if you wanted to come but seeing as to your family is in your house… i’m gonna take a wild guess and say you aren’t available right now” she giggled.

“maybe if you went another day” he said sympathetically. george really wanted to go and prepare connor’s party with her. he treated him like his own and boy did he remind him of how fun it was to be a kid. he loved his aunt so much it was adorable.

“george. seriously, it’s okay. spend time with your family” she laughed.

“yeah, yeah. i’ll see you when you get back” he waved.

—

connor’s small birthday gathering was in full swing. y/n became acquainted with george’s siblings. bill, charlie, percy (whom she was actually friends with back in hogwarts), fred, ron and ginny. hermione was a very good friend of hers and so was harry. she recognized fleur from that day in the cottage as beauxbatons triwizard champion.

connor had quite a bunch of guests for his birthday. cedric, cho, luna, neville, fred, percy, ron, harry, hermione, bill and fleur and their little victorie. of course, billie and charlotte helped george and y/n fix up the party. mr. and mrs. weasley sent a small cake for connor when they heard about y/n not knowing asingle thing about cooking.

fred offered to take care of the twins and connor while george and y/n ran off somewhere. the two found themselves near a small creek. y/n explained how the cottage was where she’d go off exploring and the only person who knew was holly. she was overjoyed when her sister got the cottage she used as a hideaway.

george was surprised when there were lights and blankets and everything. the soft sounds of running water was calming.

the two were pretty intoxicated when they sat down; stumbled onto the picnic blanket. y/n was sober enough to not spill her deepest darkest secrets. george on the other hand��

“have i ever told you how pretty you are?” george mumbled next to her. y/n only snickered and blushed.

“um, can i hold your hand?” he continued, taking a look at the girl next to him.

“sure” she winked.

“you know” he started again “i actually fancied you a bit back in school”

“yeah?” she rolled over to her side “i wonder… what did you like about me?”

“i don’t even know. my heart just felt so full with you. still does, right now, holding your hand, under the stars by a stream.” he had this glint in his eye when he looks at her.

“hey,” she brushed some hair out of his face “these past few months have been great. and you’re a huge help with connor. you know i’ll always be there for you, right?”

“yeah darling,” he yawned “yeah”

“wait, george!” she sat up “no. don’t fall asleep!”

“fuck” she groaned before falling back down on the blanket.

“i think i love you” she whispered.

—

morning rolled around and they were still lying somewhere in the forest behind the cottage. some childish chatter and laughs were heard from where they were still sleeping soundly.

until, a red ant bit y/n and george’s intertwined hands. “ah shit!” y/n woke up from the bite. her yell also woke up the sleeping man next to her “what?! what happened?” he jumped.

“oh. did i wake you up?” she asked.

“no. it’s honestly no worries” he said “but i do have a killer headache”

“an ant bit me” she muttered, wanting to scratch it.

“hey, no don’t scratch! i’ve had a lot if experience with insect bites” he explained “want me to kiss it better?” he teased.

“oh, ha-ha” she rolled her eyes but blushed.

“we should probably head back” he checked his watch while standing up.

—

“ah! there the lovebirds are!” fred exclaimed.

everyone was cleaning up from last night. there were children running around while chasing balloons and each other.

“yeah,” george started “we, um, fell asleep”

“sure ya did” this time ron teased the two.

“i’m gonna clean up here,” y/n offered “you guys should go home. you know, get some rest”

cedric gasped “y/n l/n! are you kicking us out?” he said in mock offense.

“technically, yeah. i doubt connor got any sleep”

“maybe we should,” fleur said with her accent “victorie was very excited for the party she is very worn out”

george snuck behind y/n “i think i love you too” he muttered under his breath. he wasn’t sure if she heard it. she did.

“i’ll see you later, y/n!” he yelled “come on, princesses, we’re going home. we’ll see connor and y/n later”

connor and the twins hugged while y/n said thank you’s to all the guests.

maybe it wasn’t such a bad decision to ask for help.

#george weasley #george weasley x reader #harry potter #hogwarts #george weasley imagine #george weasley x fem #george weasley x fem!reader #george weasley x y/n #george weasley x you

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okay-victoria · 3 years ago

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Random Personal Rant

For anyone somehow here not from the original thread, this started off me getting asked what finishing school is and me getting shit off my chest that is only mildly relevant about how I could both be of the social class that gets sent to finishing school and grows up on welfare.

With an understanding that in many parts of the world it wouldn't qualify as so, as far as the US goes, my dad is from what counts as a very old money family from Baltimore & Philadelphia. Both his siblings went to college and one now owns a major hedge fund, and his sister is married to a C-level executive at a huge conglomerate. His parents went to college. His grandparents went to college. All eight of his great grandparents went to college. My dad...did not go to college. He was not about that life, and while I don't mean it as an insult, when I say his primary occupation until I was ~5 was a drummer in a mediocre band I mean that he opened for a lot of great acts, and if you lived in the Boston to Atlanta area in the 80s you may have heard him play, but he was never a huge national name. But he wasn't an amateur band playing for free at some random local gig either.

My mom grew up on a chicken farm in a Mennonite family in Pennsylvania but also completely rejected her heritage and became a model, sort of like my father, of mediocre status. Not Giselle Bundchen, but had national contracts and if you have a Graco ad/box from 1990-1993 you might see both me and her on it. They met because my mom's friends placed bets, one each, on who could sleep with a member of their favorite local band first and my mom picked my dad and...my mom was actually supposed to go be a model in Tokyo and found out she was pregnant with me and couldn't go 😂

So, after my parents had two kids back to back with a third on the way and determined they needed lifestyles more in line with having three children, they became much poorer than they originally were because my mom stopped working and my dad, with a barely-passed-high-school education but needing a true "day job" worked day labor in construction. My dad's father was too proud to give us money/help if my dad didn't beg for it; despite having eventually four young children my dad never did so we ended up on all the state assistance programs one could imagine. My grandma jokes that dinners at my parents house were BYOC - bring your own chair, because we didn't own any.

My mother and paternal grandmother had no such pride issues and I live in eternal gratitude that my welfare childhood was not as crappy as it should have been because my grandmother would have my mom accompany her on grocery runs and buy us food without my father or grandfather knowing, and every Christmas and birthday my grandparents/godparents could give us the one big ticket gift all the kids wanted that year. But, on the other side, I once got stung by a bee inside my mouth because my brother threw a hairbrush through a cracked window at me and broke it and we couldn't afford to fix it for about two years and a hornet got in one day and rested himself in my coke can (my parents were the very American type that fed me coca-cola in baby bottles at age 8 when I was jealous of my younger siblings lol).

It is hard not to believe in "toxic masculinity" when two men warring over dumbass pride issues would rather their children/grandchildren go without food than suck it up and decide 'help' isn't the worst word in the English language, and you know you've only been saved by two women who came from totally different backgrounds and entirely disapproved of each other but reached out the hand to shake when it came down to toddlers getting the short end of the don't-bend-the-knee stick. It wasn't that either of the men were bad people, I loved them both and got along great with both, but on a societal level I feel they were socialized in a very fucked up way if that was the end result, as both claimed "male pride" in these instances [my dad took multiple thousands of dollars I'd saved from working during college from me during the 2008-2010 financial crisis and didn't tell me and that was the reason I was given for why I hadn't been informed/asked, because it would be too emotionally difficult for an adult man to ask a young woman. My graduation present was them repaying me 1/3 of the money they'd taken from me without asking because I'd like, trusted them when it had been in a joint account that was a holdover from when I was <18 and couldn't have my own bank account].

While in some ways my parents on the surface achieved the American dream of going from nothing to a bunch of money, the real factor in play was that my dad's father was the bank. My parents had no credit and couldn't get real loans. My dad worked construction and during the two major periods that flipping houses was very lucrative, he never had to get an actual loan or pay actual interest, he just had to ask his father to pay out cash and then repay him at a flat 2% interest rate that didn't even accrue over time, just...whenever you are ready, repay the value of the loan + 2%. Because my father was doing something productive, in these instances, my grandfather was happy to pay, because it wasn't giving away money, it was loaning it. I had a very weird situation of mostly being poor but like also getting taken to the "big donors" events at the Kennedy Center and my grandparents regularly buying me a dress as a child worth more than my mom's wedding dress and also needing to pretend I fit in with these people.

And look. When I say "these people"...honestly, by and large, most wealthy people, whether inherited or not, are not the assholes you want to imagine. Most of them are extremely nice. Most of them are generous when it comes to the less fortunate who are in their personal sphere of being. Most of them are just really out of touch. The 100% kindest of all of them that I know once relayed to me that she thought people would be happier if once a year they did what she did...go to the airport with a purse packed full of absolute necessities, buy a one way ticket to the most appealing destination on the flight board, buy your clothes and book your accommodations after you'd arrived, and come back after you felt you'd 'centered' yourself. She didn't understand why there were so many unhappy people who weren't taking this very obvious route to being happier. I didn't quite know how to explain that saying "most" people couldn't afford to do that either financially or from a job/career angle didn't even cover it, as "most" sounds like 70% instead of 99.7%.

I was both my parents eldest son and eldest daughter in the worst combination possible. I was the eldest son because I was the most stereotypically male of all my siblings, in everything from desire to physically fight the battles I was given to dislike of shopping/fashion to lack of emotional connection to my relationships, so I can now fix your average household plumbing/drywall/electrical issue better than most "city" guys I interact with and remain less clingy to them in the process. I was also very much the oldest daughter from a responsibility perspective, I managed our household and from age 10 - 24 managed the finances of our family business, my mom almost died giving birth to my youngest brother after a ruptured uterus that should never have happened in the first place if we had adequate insurance to get her a non-emergency C-section (I was just past 9 years old at the time) and I was informally withdrawn from school for two years to take care of the family when she couldn't because there is no paid parental leave in the US and we got double-fucked by the medical industry because she got a bad "mesh" put in and then had to have a further surgery to repair that which we also had to pay for and didn't have the money to win a lawsuit over.

I don't know quite how to put this, but in the deepest fuck you of the universe, my rich-immigrant-ggggg grandfather's money led to him owning banks, insurance companies, etc, and the family cashed out in a big way when their ownership was bought by and merged with what is now Cigna, one of the biggest US healthcare insurers, and my nuclear family specifically got screwed by the American health insurance industry, but anyway, we were the people selected for that karmic comeuppance so if you want to feel schadenfreude at my expense, I'll allow it without begrudging the sentiment, my family might have fucked up your family’s life too, not just their own.

I got up twice a night to feed my brother because my dad had to sleep unmolested in my room to get to work and my mom was too weak to carry my brother or even hold him against her while she nursed so I had to hold him up to her. Adjusting to living in a city and hearing lots of random noises all the time was not easy when I'd had mom sound instincts from age 9.

I learned to drive the fall my youngest bro was born because my mom couldn't and I had to get my middle brother to preschool and go the grocery store on my own. While I hold absolutely no ill will towards my father or grandfather for this and given that about 1/3 of my paternal family either has an autism diagnosis or should, I fully feel the struggles they both went through to be communicated with, my father wouldn't ask for help, and my grandmother that lived 20 minutes away couldn't give enough help because my grandfather refused to do a single dish on his own as that was outside their "marriage contract" type agreement and she couldn't ever stay with us overnight when there wasn't a clearly-communicated need, so they let the burden fall on a 9 - 11 year old child and that really shaped a lot of my life in both good and bad ways. My youngest brother is 22, and we have only just climbed out of the medical debt his birth left us with between my dad's life insurance and my oldest brother and I paying for the extra cost of out-of-state college tuition.

The irony of all of this is that because my father died before his father, when my grandmother dies, my siblings and I will all inherit enough money (as a non-blood relative my mom, despite keeping her vows to part at death and not having remarried in eight years, is cut out entirely) to make this a non-issue, but my grandfather couldn't conscience spotting his unluckiest child some money in the end of days to pay for my youngest two brothers' education and take that worry off my father as he was dying. The day before he died I had to hold him down in bed to keep him from trying to climb in his truck to go to work because he was so anxious about trying to provide for us in spite of his father having fuck you money, because his father didn't think it was fair to the other siblings (who, at the time, still owned a major hedge fund and were married to a C-level executive of a huge conglomerate). A day and a half later I went back to my job because at the time I was then the sole provider for the family and didn't want to risk asking for the standard week's bereavement leave when I knew I was capable of showing up at work the next day and was fresh out of college so hadn't built up a reputation yet.

My father worked the day each of us was born, so I suppose it is only fair and he smiled at the choice. In spite of what it may seem, I gave a baller and very heartfelt speech at his funeral to all his rich friends that over and above everything, he'd taught us how to be happy with our own lives no matter what, and multiple of them emailed my mom in the aftermath to say they'd reassessed their relationship with their children in light of it, although...tbh I kind of doubt that lasted and they probably changed nothing 😅. The last good talk I had with him, two weeks before he died [his liver was going and it sent toxins to his brain that de-personed him after that and he no longer recognized me as his daughter, but as his sister], I reassured him that though we would all be sad he'd gone, we'd live on just fine without him because that's how he'd raised us, and according to my mom that was what gave him the final bit of peace he needed. Although honestly, I don't think I will ever see the strength in another human again that it took my grandmother to sit next to him and stroke his hand and tell him to close his eyes and imagine he was happy on a beach and die, for God's sake, because he was unaware and in pain and just prolonging it for our sake by then.

That type of obsession my grandfather had with assessing his children and grandchildren on the basis of economic productivity and a very black and white idea of "fair" is one you don't easily forget, I promise you. My hedge fund uncle is currently positioning himself to screw us out of our inheritance because of janky writing in the will and I'm doing my fuck all best to gain the wherewithal to go toe-to-toe with this cold motherfucker in court as the oldest and representative member of my happily much nicer and softer younger brothers who I want to remain that way not because I even care that much about the money, I know what bills affect your credit first and what you can put off paying and all of us have good enough career prospects to do our own thing, but just because I want to give the middle finger to a man that was a multi-millionaire and drew lines on his milk and orange juice bottles when I came over so he knew if I drank what my parents couldn't afford when I was approximately six. Anyway, ask me why I support major reforms in wealth taxation. I don't care who it goes to, just not that guy, you feel?

Having expendable income was very exciting for a bit after I started working but once I got to the hateable point of assessing my annual bonus and internally complaining that I'd spent the money I should have spent on a Sauternes cellar to drop five digits on bedset materials (to be fair they are drop dead gorgeous, very comfy and the factory pays a living wage for people to handmake the sheets/duvets/pillows to people in San Francisco, which is not cheap, so maybe I did more good than harm with that), I two seconds later nodded to myself and went "the government needs to confiscate more money from me". The narrative is always that the "undeserving" will use it for dumb things they don't need like iPhones or refrigerators...?...but like...I could also have gone to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought a very nice sheet/comforter set for at most a tenth of what I paid so am I really spending it responsibly either....?....who is going to get more joy out of this misspent money....?....not me, that is for sure, I probably would have had more fun going to BBB and laying on all the demo beds and buying something there.

My lifelong dream, which may become possible if/when I do have something of an inheritance, is to provide food security for one of the many towns in the US were most residents don't have it. It's the thing I remember the most distinctly over the years. I never could quite believe it when I got to the point that I could just...pay to eat at a restaurant. One of the most disappointed my mother has ever been in me is when I was twenty five and confessed I actually had no idea how much a gallon of milk cost in a city grocery store besides that it was probably between $1 and $5, because I didn't have to know. For now I make a weekly drop off of my excess produce to a mom group I met under somewhat weird circumstances but I was walking through the cut-through that went through the low-income housing back to my apartment at like 2 AM on a Saturday and these moms were out there partying and smoking weed with their kids all strapped in strollers around or the older ones watched by a rotating member of the group and I felt very safe and like these moms had a very good vibe of both living their own lives [seriously for mental health parents but in most cases specifically mothers need to be able to keep up relationships with people their age] but keeping their children safe and accounted for while doing so and trying their fuckin' best against all the odds to figure out how to make that happen when life had dealt them a shit hand.

...anyway, looping way back to the original question of what finishing school is, when I was almost done with middle school my dad had built a legit construction business that then very quickly took off because we lived in a commutable zip code to the now-rich-in-their-own-right people he went to high school with who trusted him to redo their homes. We eventually moved to that zip code but I stayed and commuted back to my old high school. But, i was a pretty wild kid which my father appreciated for a long while because I would follow him around on jobs and enjoy doing physical labor, but once I was mid-puberty and also he had to maybe show me to his high school friends that did not fly.

I snapped - not broke, snapped - my left thumb and my parents had to trap me like a wild animal to get me to go the hospital. Then I got a deep cut that partially injured a tendon in my leg and at eleven I tried to beat the shit out of my dad to prevent him from picking me up to strap me in the car and go to the hopsital. Next I got a deep splinter due to my eternal-barefoot tendencies and it wouldn't come out so got infected and I refused to go to the doctor [another weird back story but I was minorly sexually assaulted [[to be clear, not raped or anything big traumatic]] when I was eight and had to stay in hospital for a week and my parents couldn't be with me all the time so I have a permanent heebie-jeebie about going to the hospital, not true anxiety, I will go if I know I need to and I don't breathe heavy or anything, and I'm actually not permanently weirded out by sex or anything, just doctors in hospitals specifically I kind of unconsciously try to justify not needing to the extent I can rationalize it] and my dad was tired of my antics so he was like "fine if you don't go I will slice your foot in half with a Swiss Army knife to get it out" and I called his bluff and laid down on the floor, stuck my foot on his lap, and he didn't really know what to do when a barely fourteen year old girl called his bluff so my brothers watched in fascinated but horrified awe as I got my foot sliced open spectacularly so that the infection/splinter could come out and I didn't even make a sound out of spite despite it being quite painful to my recollection almost twenty years later.

They saw me cry from pain exactly one time when while trying to break up a fight between all three of them (it was over ice cream) I got pushed and my ankle got dislocated and what actually made me cry was snapping it back in place and they realized it was not a joke. These dumb assholes that I love have ragged on me for "skipping" chores the day after I was in the hospital because the day before that I had to spend 18 hours running Thanksgiving as a good sub-hostess like I didn't have a serious infection that needed treating and couldn't rest because none of them were up to any task beyond peeling potatoes.

After the Swiss Army knife incident, my dad's discussion of sending me to finishing school became real, which I knew when my mom made me take a walk with her and talked about it. Finishing school is like...etiquette school....? In ye olden day when finishing high school was not the norm for anyone, wealthy men finished high school and wealthy women often went to "finishing" school to have a combined education on being a proper lady but also being able to hold a decent conversation with your presumably-educated husband, so it wasn't entirely etiquette non-academic. It was more just like "what a rich man wants in a wife" school, which was sort of household management and knowing enough about cleaning/cooking to correct the staff if they fucked up, how to be a polite hostess, and how to not entirely bore him when you were alone together and had done your five minutes of sex or whatever so actually had to have a conversation. In modern times it has obviously expanded to be less bleak.

I said miss me with that, I can be a girl on my own, so I went full throttle into the girliest sport they offer in high school and ever since have gained the inestimable advantage of knowing how to also use femininity to my advantage, which I am very grateful to my parents for making me learn. It would be great if we lived in a world where that didn't count, but it did/still does, and they really set me up to operate in all the worlds.

It is weird for me to tell the story to Internet strangers because it's one of those things that makes your parents sound terrible and abusive in the general tone of the Internet nowadays, and while I support gender nonconforming children I don't remember my childhood or parents that way. But, I feel like the bits and pieces of my life I've given don't always make a ton of sense together without the context, so here it is, and in the end, I think a number of parts of it are areas where you can probably understand where it makes me have the opinions I do when I write.

Anyhoo, this makes my life sound far worse than it is, I actually have a great life and I am not unhappy with it at all and feel I was on the whole blessed with many more turns of luck than unluck, so, please, do not take this as a depressed artist rant, it is more like a rant of a very energetic person who rants about a lot of things all the time and didn’t need to come out but just did because the question was asked and the time was right with my life being in a bit of flux to think about how I got where I am and where I want to go and why.

Always remember no matter what problems it seems like I have, if I didn’t solve them on my 2 year round the world traveling hiatus I took from working, it’s my own fault, I definitely had the time and money to solve them and just chose not to.

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randomly-a-fan · 4 years ago

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Father’s Day Prep

WARNING: Small act of violence

At Camp Crystal Lake, it was nighttime and Malon was already put into bed. So MJ and Jason have a little time by themselves in their room; Jason wanted to go out on a perimeter check, but it’s been awhile since they finally have some time for themselves, so he decided to let that past... for now. “Now Jason, you do remember that me and Malon are going out with Eric to get a few things, right?” MJ reminded. Jason nodded slowly and he remembered; a while ago, MJ needed to get some things for Father’s Day, and Eric offered to take her and Malon to the mall. Jason didn’t like the idea on trusting Eric with his special girls, especially from the time Eric have brainwashed her into making her want to runaway since he told her that she has Stockholm Syndrome. It took awhile to persuade Jason... Strangely enough, Malon talked her dad into letting her and mom go out with Eric; how can Jason say ‘no’ to a cute little face?

Jason is still a little worried at first, until MJ crawled onto Jason’s lap and kissed him passionately; Jason was suppose to go out on a perimeter check, but then he thought to himself before he passes out in lust, ‘just one night... sorry mom...’ Jason praised before removing her shorts...

***

When morning came, Malon woke up excitedly and rushed into her parent’s room and climbed onto their bed with excitement. “Mommy mommy mommy, it’s morning, wake up!” Malon jumped excitedly. MJ and Jason woke up slowly and smiled a little. “Malon, I know you’re excited to go out to the city with me and Eric, but it’s still early, we still have a few hours before Eric gets here.” MJ explained. Malon relaxes and crawls up between her parents. “Sorry about the wake up call, I’m just so excited; it’ll be my first time EVER to go out to the mall... The last time I went out shopping is when Archie and I went out to buy you that drawing book... Then I got grounded...” Malon said before she turned her head towards her dad. Jason nodded as he remembered that day; it really scared him to see Malon disappeared. Of course it’s long over now and Malon knows better than to run off without permission. “Well... apparently I feel wide awake, so I guess I’ll make us a big breakfast.” MJ said as she got out of bed and put on her robe.

MJ couldn’t make a hearty breakfast by herself so Jason offered to make the half portions by making the bacon while MJ does the scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast. “Thanks for the help Jason, what can I ever do without you?” MJ thanked. Jason rubbed her back as a response before he finished cooking the bacon. “Just in time, the eggs and hash browns are ready.” Then the toaster popped. MJ and Jason high-fived each other before Jason dished them out while MJ fetches her daughter, who is still working on a picture for her dad for Father’s day. “Alright sweetie, it’s time for breakfast, now please go wash up.” MJ instructed calmly.

***

After breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen, MJ was getting herself dressed and washed up and then helped Malon get ready. Jason was waiting for Eric to get here, until he heard the car horn. Jason knocked on Malon’s door to let his wife know that Eric’s here. “We’ll be right out, give us about two minutes.” MJ called out to the other side.

Eric was waiting patiently and no one came out, so he honked his horn again. A second later, Jason knocked on Eric’s window... a little roughly and caused a crack on the window. “Oh dear God!” That’s all Eric can say. He was too petrified of Jason, after they have encountered a confusing fight between them while MJ was gone. Jason wanted to give Eric a sheet of paper; telling him what not to do or say, and what will happen if something tragic happens to his special girls. He also made a diagram of MJ’s silhouette body with the red slashes; telling him where he’s not aloud to touch MJ.

Eric looked at the red slashes, he can simply understand about the body parts that was covered by a bathing suit, and the upper legs and stomach. Eric may have an idea on why the neck area was slashed; probably because it��s her most sensitive area, but he was confused about the left wrist and head though. “Why not the wrist and head--” Eric jolted when Jason lifted his machete with the sound of his fist and knuckles crack. “Okay okay… ixnay on the head and wrist-nay.” Eric said quickly.

Jason then looked over Eric’s car and saw MJ and Malon coming out with their purses. He walked over to them before gave them a loving hug and a kiss. MJ noticed Jason gripping her hand, as he was nervous. “Malon, you go on ahead and get into the car, Eric will help you with the seatbelt.” MJ said to Malon, “okay... *to Jason* See you later daddy!” Malon said excitedly before she lets Eric help her into his car. While MJ tries to comfort Jason, then she came up with an idea. “Jason, I understand that you’re worried about me and Malon, especially after what happened a few weeks ago...” MJ said awkwardly while twirling her hair. “...So I thought of an idea...” MJ took off her special ring that her grandmother gave her for her birthday a long time ago.

It had two stars with little diamonds in it and two little gold stars on each end. “As you may remember back when you and I started dating that I’m so attached to my Enchanted Disney Ring that my grandma bought for me for my birthday a long time ago...” MJ placed her ring in Jason’s hand and closed it. “I do not want to leave without my special ring, so I’m putting you in charge in guarding my ring with your life... That just proves to you that me and Malon will return home safely... Would you take care of my ring for me?” MJ asked with a smile. Jason looked at the ring; he knew how much MJ loves the ring and never want anything to happen to her precious ring; he was surprised that MJ wanted to give him the ring to protect it. Jason crossed his heart with his hand before kissing his wife passionately as he knew that she would never leave him for good.

***

When they made it to the mall, Malon was amazed, this was her first time being at the mall, it was huge. Of course, she has been told multiple times everyday ‘til this day that she has to be on her best behavior and not get the ‘gimmies’ and not wander off alone since she can easily get lost.

MJ was window shopping as she was trying to look from a distance on what would be right for her husband, until something caught Malon’s eye. “Mommy look!” MJ looked over at where she was pointing. She noticed that Malon was looking at the Grizzly Bear slippers for men. As a matter of fact, they’re at a store for big men, since Jason is big and built, she realized that the store called ‘Big’n Built’ would be the best place to look for Jason’s gift. “Hmm... I think your dad would love these, especially when his feet are usually cold, and you know what will go good with these slippers?” MJ walked over to the aisle where they have housecoats and PJs, she noticed a forest-green housecoat; it was so soft and warm and it will fit Jason perfectly. “How about I pay for this housecoat, and you can pay for the slippers? it’s half-price which is good.” MJ suggested. Malon grew excited and agreed on the idea.

After MJ and Malon paid for the gifts for Malon’s dad. MJ thought it was time for a snack, so they went over to the food court where they meet Eric. “I see you’ve found something for your dad.” Eric assumed to Malon. “I got daddy Bear Slippers, they’re so cool, they look like real bears!” Malon said excitedly. MJ chuckled, “lower your voices Malon, there’s people here who are trying to eat.” MJ said. Malon sat quietly as she eats her doughnut that she picked out while her mom eats her warm cinnamon roll.

***

Just before they were going to leave for home, Malon needed to make a pit stop, so they waited for Malon near the bathroom. Which gives Eric a chance to talk to MJ in private without Malon hearing it. “You know... MJ... I feel really bad for making you feel stressed and confused...” Eric confessed. “I rather that we don’t discuss about this critical mess...” MJ snapped in a calm way.

While Eric explains about what Jason did to Eric about a week ago, and how he threatened him today, the shadow demon slowly submerges into Eric’s soul to manipulate him to do and say whatever it wants him to. “Eric, I know Jason can be pushy, he was like that with my daughter’s friend’s dad as well--” “You need to leave him! Look what he did to my FACE” Eric exclaimed, as he was being possess, but MJ didn’t know that. “Eric, what’s happened to you? you’re not The Eric I remembered--” “THEN YOUR ON YOUR OWN” Eric exclaimed all demon like before he slapped her in the face. Remember, Eric would never do or say such a thing to MJ, the shadow demon was manipulating poor Eric and could not control himself.

After Malon came out, MJ grabbed Malon and her things and carried her away from Eric, as she thought that Eric was being mentally ill and acted violently onto her. Malon looked over her mom’s shoulder and noticed the dark shadow escaping Eric’s body, Malon could not believe her eyes, she wanted to tell her mom, but she wasn’t paying attention as she was trying to run as fast as she could.

Eric finally snapped out from whatever has been controlling him. “MJ?” before he had the chance to look for MJ and Malon, he was being stopped by the mall cop. “Sir, you’re coming with me until the authorities arrive to take you away.” the mall cop said. Eric was shocked, “what did I do?” Eric asked in confusion.

***

Meanwhile, after a few minutes from running away from the mall, she exhaustively puts Malon down and decided to walk towards the nearest store. They were at the ‘Bass Pro Shoppe’ which was connected to ‘Star Bucks’. MJ and Malon were about to enter the shop until they bumped into Aquarius who just came out from shopping for camping gears. “MJ, is that you?” Aquarius asked with a smile and excitement. “Aquarius, I didn’t expect to see you here! What are you doing here?” MJ asked as they both share a hug. “I was just buying some important camping gear for my husband and son, they were going on a camping trip on a Father’s Day weekend. What about you?” Aquarius asked. Malon answered Aquarius’s question, “we went and bought my dad a new pair of Bear Slippers and a Housecoat!” Malon exclaimed excitedly.

Aquarius smiled until she noticed MJ tearing up with her lips quivering. “MJ... Are you okay, what’s wrong?” Aquarius asked in concern. “It’s kind of a long depressing story...” MJ said trying to hold back the tears. “How about we talk it over with some hot chocolate, my treat.” Aquarius offered.

***

After MJ explained to Aquarius about what happened, Aquarius nodded as she has been through the same situation. “I can imagine how stressful that could be, dealing with sick-minded people. I’ve been through dreadful times like this... What surprises me is that he told you that you have Stockholm Syndrome... Maybe one of these days you should make an appointment with my cousin and talk to her about your problem; Cassandra is the person to trust, I should know, she received a high diploma on her PhD.” Aquarius offered. MJ thought about what Aquarius said. She would like someone to talk to, but only to the ones she can trust, she considered Aquarius as a friend and Cassandra was a Graduate Physician so maybe a nice conversation is what MJ needs, so she accepts the offer. “When my cousin is free, I’ll be sure to ask her for you and then I can set you up with her in private.” Aquarius offered. “Thanks Aquarius, you’re a sweetheart.” MJ complimented.

Aquarius noticed Malon is getting sleepy, it was almost time for her nap too, so Aquarius made another offer. “If you want, MJ, I’d be more than obliged to drive you and Malon back to Crystal Lake, after all I am heading that way anyway.” Aquarius offered. “Oh my God Aquarius, you’re a life saver.” MJ teared up.

***

As Aquarius drove MJ and Malon home, Malon fell asleep through the rest of the ride. When they got back, MJ grabbed her things over her shoulder and carried Malon out of the car feeling exhausted. Jason was watching from inside the cabin and sighed in relief, he’s happy to see that MJ and Malon were back home. However, he didn’t understand why Aquarius drove the girls home; what happen to Eric?

Jason went out and immediately helped MJ by taking Malon into his grasp and put her to bed. MJ didn’t seem to notice that Jason noticed a blackeye, he wanted an explanation, but now wasn’t the time, so he waved to Aquarius before she drives away.

MJ walked into her and Jason’s room and plopped onto the bed feeling exhausted and went to sleep. After Jason puts Malon to bed for her nap, he was going to see MJ and get some explanations; about the blackeye that she wasn’t aware of and about why Aquarius drove her and Malon home instead of Eric. Until he sees that MJ was very tired and doze off, so he carefully tucked her in and kissed her hand that was hanging off the bed before putting her ring on her finger.

Jason will have to ask her later when she wakes up. Right now he’s just happy that his family is back home safely.

#Friday the 13th #Jason Voorhees #Shadow Man #Shadow Demon #MJ #Malon #Eric #Aquarius #fan fiction #fandom

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heyyyharry · 6 years ago

Text

My Girl Series: Chapter 7 - Birthday Blues

…in which Harry tries to make it up to Y/N for all the birthdays he has missed.

Series description: Y/N falls in love with the older boy next door who doesn’t feel the same, years later they meet again at a funeral.

AU: actor!harry, older!harry, younger!y/n; (4-year age gap)

Chapter 6: This Time - Y/N needs a wedding date, and this time Harry’s not giving up.

wattpad link

After Harry had left Holmes Chapel, every spark of joy in Y/N's life slowly died out with the part of him inside of her. The day she turned fifteen was also the first time she'd spent a birthday alone. Celine was abroad for a three-month exchange program. Her grandma, who lived in Brighton had just passed away, so both of her parents had to go there for the funeral. Since she refused to come along, they left her home with her mother's younger sister, aunt Lynn, who was only twenty-two at the time and didn't even bother to remember her name.

"Sweet baby, do not tell your parents that I invite some friends over, okay? Your mum is gonna be so mad," the young woman said, holding Y/N by the shoulders and the teenage girl could only pay attention to the sound of her aunt chewing bubble gum. For some reasons, Lynn always had something in her mouth. If she wasn't chewing gum, she had to make sure her mouth was kept busy by eating something, or someone. Y/N had met her three times before but each time she was snogging a different guy. Sadly she was the only option for a 'babysitter', just because Y/N's parents didn't believe their fifteen-year-old daughter was capable of staying home alone.

"But today is—"

"Shit!" The woman exclaimed, holding her head. "You're right! It's Friday night, I should throw a party. Play with your dolls, baby. Your aunt has adult stuff to take care of."

"My dolls?" Y/N muttered under her breath as the bedroom door was slammed shut in front of her eyes. Putting on her favorite song and turning off all the lights, she lied down, staring at the spinning fan above her head.

All the kids her age probably spent their fifteenth getting drunk and making out with their crushes, or losing their virginity without their parents knowing. But there she was, locked in her room while her aunt was having all the fun she was supposed to have. For the first time in her life, she found herself alone. She'd always been a loner, yet she had never actually felt it until that night. She stayed utter still in silence, holding Thumper close to her chest. The stuffed animal could probably hear every sound of her heart cracking open. Her mother wasn't there to tell her what a woman she'd become, nor was Harry to sing her the birthday song. It was just her, alone in the dark, with a purple bunny that still smelt just like him.

Celine always said that working in the library was the worst decision Y/N had ever made, because there was no job more boring than organizing dusty old books. But the thing was, Y/N loved her boring job. She mainly got paid for sorting and shelving books according to their categorization, which wasn't really hard work, not to mention that Ms. Florence, the librarian, was really easy-going. Y/N got to spend most of her time in the fiction section, avoiding her responsibilities to read and write as much as she wanted. Besides, she really liked her co-worker, whose name was Alice.

Alice was a year younger than Y/N. She liked to talk and Y/N liked to listen, so they were pretty compatible. Finding a drinking buddy in university was easy, Y/N had plenty of them; the hard part was finding a buddy you could trust. So even though Alice wasn't what Y/N would consider a close friend, she could be someone to count on.

"Why is it that every time I see you, you're reading something?"

Alice's voice pulled Y/N's attention away from the novel on her lap, as she looked up and found the tiny brunette smiling at her. Y/N leaned back against the bookshelf, crossing her legs so there was room on the floor for Alice to sit down as well.

"I have a surprise for you, big sis!" Alice said, making Y/N roll her eyes and chuckle.

"You've found another porn book, haven't ya?"

"No! An actual surprise!" The younger girl giggled, then finally showed Y/N what she'd been hiding behind her back. "Ta-da! Two tickets to see Heathers!"

"Heathers The Musical?" Y/N dropped her jaw when the other girl nodded. "I love Heathers!"

"I bet you do! You seem like someone who enjoys dark comedy with tragic endings."

Alice's comment made her laugh, but she couldn't say it wasn't true. Her life itself was already a dark comedy.

"Are you giving me these for free?" She asked, pointing to the tickets and Alice's lips curved into a smile as she nodded fast in response.

"I bought these to go with a friend next week, but we're both gonna be busy that night. So just consider this as my temporary birthday gift to you. I'll buy you something else tomorrow."

"How do you know today's my birthday?" Y/N's eyes went round as her mouth fell open, yet the grin on the other girl's face only expanded.

"I was cleaning Ms. Florence's desk this morning when I found your CV. I didn't have time to actually get you something so—"

"Alice..."

"I know you hate birthdays, but please accept these tickets or else I'll die!"

Y/N rolled her eyes, chuckling a bit at how dramatic that sounded, but eventually, she accepted the birthday gift from her co-worker, and thanked the girl for being so thoughtful. "By the way, there's really no need to get me something else," she said, making Alice snort.

"Don't be silly! You're getting a proper birthday gift from me." Alice barely stood up when she flopped onto the floor again. "Oh, and one more thing! Do you wanna go out tonight? I know this pub that's—"

"No, thanks. I've got a lot of work to do tonight."

"But it's your birthday!"

Y/N gave the girl a shrug, lifting a corner of her mouth as she replied, "I never celebrate it."

"Boo, you suck!" Like a child, Alice blew up her cheeks, eyebrows knitted together. "But if you change your mind, ring me up, big sis!"

Y/N tried to contain her laughter as she watched Alice hop away and almost fall head first when she tripped over a stool. It was only when her clumsy co-worker had gone out of sight that Y/N finally checked her watch and realized her shift was just over. She rose from the floor to place the book back on the shelf, then put the tickets into her bag before heading out. Usually, she would always be the last person to leave, but since it was her birthday, she still wanted to do something special for herself, even if it was something as simple as going home before Ms. Florence.

Instead of taking the bus, that day Y/N decided to walk home. For the first time in two years living in that city, the girl finally paid attention to what was going on around her; it was also the first time she had realized how boring London had always been. The grey color of concrete dominated the entire city; it was hard to spot a hint of green anywhere, unlike Holmes Chapel, her home.

Y/N missed that place so much, now more than ever.

She missed the meadows behind her house at springtime, when all the wildflowers added vibrant colors to the fading green. She missed the tall pine trees surrounding a field full of white poppies. She used to run across that field, imagining herself in the opening scene of The Sound of Music, and she could still hear Harry's voice calling out "Bambi, wait for me!" as he tried to catch up with her.

He was the green that she missed the most.

The sound of her ringtone cut right through that thought, causing the vivid images before her eyes to fade back to monochrome. His name showed up on the screen, as if he knew she had been thinking about him.

"Hello?" She answered, standing close to the wall on her right so she wouldn't get in the way of the other pedestrians.

"Are you on the way home?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a few blocks away. Why?"

"I'm coming over."

She snorted, pursing her dry lips. "I'm busy tonight, remember? Birthday dinner with Isaac?" That lie was as smooth as melting butter coming from her mouth, yet her insides were heating up and her hands started to shake. She was glad he couldn't see the way she shut her eyes and pressed her lips into a firm line after lying to him.

"I'll see you in five."

"Wait, I said—" Y/N began, yet couldn't finish. Harry had already hung up on her.

The sun was sinking fast now, turning the sky to grey tinged with purple and pink. Harry was already waiting by his car outside the building when Y/N returned, standing with his back facing the ruby-red skyline. With golden-rays casting down upon him, Y/N thought Harry glowed even brighter than the sun itself. But of course, he didn't have to know.

"Happy birthday." His voice was husky and deep as he handed her a white poppy. "Just like the ones back home," he said, and the reluctance from her expression made him feel the need to add, "I didn't buy it. I stole it from a flower shop on the way here."

Y/N didn't know if that was true, but his slop-sided grin made her doubt every single one of his words.

"Headline: Harry Styles stole a flower for a mystery girl!" She said, swiping her hand across the air like she was presenting the idea to him, which only made the beam on his face grow twice as big as he pointed to his car. "Get in, kid," he told her. "Before what you said become reality."

"Where are we going?" She asked in hesitation.

"To your birthday party."

"My birthday party?! But I'm—"

"I'm sure we've got a lot of time before Isaac returns from Italy to take you to dinner."

That one sentence got Y/N tongue-tied. The girl couldn't make a single sound, instead, she was gawking at him like a fool. What did she expect though? He would find out sooner or later because he was still friends with Isaac. So all she could do at that moment was try to come up with an explanation, in case he asked her to tell him why she'd lied. However, he didn't ask her anything. Harry flashed a smile as he walked back to his car and told her to come along. But Y/N refused. She couldn't just follow him blindly without knowing exactly where they were going.

"You're not taking me to a fancy restaurant, are you?"

"Bambi, the last thing I want is for the paps to eat you alive." Harry chuckled and opened the car door for the girl. "Don't worry, kid. It's just gonna be the two of us."

The loud music and laughter from downstairs made it almost impossible for Y/N to even hear the voice inside her head. The birthday blues made it hard for her to stay awake, yet she couldn't sleep either, and there was no way she could talk her aunt into ending the party. Lynn was probably drunk off her ass right now, so Y/N knew the only place for her to be alone with her depressing thoughts was the treehouse. She hadn't gone back there since the night she last saw Harry, but she guessed it had become such a big part of her that she couldn't stay away no matter how much she'd tried.

Still in her pajamas, the fifteen-year-old climbed the rope ladder to get to her childhood spot. The floor was still wet from the rain yesterday, so she leaned against the doorway and stood there to ponder on her own. However, it didn't take her more than three minutes to burst into tears.

Y/N hated crying, it was physically and emotionally painful to cry, and when it was over, what was left was just...nothing. Emptiness. Nevertheless, crying was how Y/N understood herself best. When she cried, she knew who she was. And she had always thought, just like a heartbreak, though crying left her feeling empty when it was over, she would still sigh in relief, because, at least, she knew it was the end.

"Y/N!"

When she heard that voice, the girl stepped closer to the edge of the treehouse and looked down at her neighbor's garden, where she found Harry's big sister with one hand behind her back and the other waving in the air. Y/N quickly wiped away the remaining tears on her cheeks, feeling thankful because if Gemma had come earlier, she might have already seen Y/N bawling her eyes out.

"Gemma! When did you get back?"

"Just a couple days ago. I'm home for two weeks to work on my thesis." The other Styles chuckled. "Glad I found you out here, I was just about to come over."

"To see me?" Y/N lifted both eyebrows, pointing to herself and receiving a nod from her neighbor.

"Yeah, come down here. I have something for you."

The teenage girl hesitated a bit because she couldn't figure out why Gemma wanted to see her and had something for her. Even though she used to hang out with Harry, she was never that close to his older sister. But she climbed down anyway, curious to know what Gemma had behind her back.

"Happy birthday," said the 23-year-old as she handed Y/N the birthday gift she'd been hiding that whole time.

A snow globe.

It didn't have a snowman and a Christmas tree like the ones you normally found in souvenir shops. The one Gemma gave her had colorful glitter inside instead of fake snow; and it was a miniature London, with tiny versions of Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Tower Bridge.

But all Y/N could see, was a person.

"You remember my birthday?" The younger girl asked quietly as she received the gift from her lovely neighbor, who was smiling from ear to ear.

"Of course," Gemma said. "I came to your birthday party every year. But I guess you don't like them anymore, huh?"

"Yeah..." Y/N faked a laugh, hoping her awkward eye-roll didn't give away the fact that she was just lonely.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I must get back to work now."

"Sure. Thanks for the nice gift," said Y/N. "Where did you get it by the way?"

"Bought it when I was in London last week."

Y/N didn't say anything else and just watched the older girl walk back to her house. Of course, she wanted to ask Gemma about Harry, but it was so sad to even think about him right now. His sister remembered her birthday and even got her a present, yet she hadn't heard a single word from him since the day he left. He was supposed to be her friend, or was it just another thing she had fooled herself into believing?

Holding the little London between her palms, she thought that maybe it was time to let go of the London inside her heart.

"Don't peek!"

"I'm not peeking!"

Y/N giggled, holding the hand that was covering her eyes as Harry carefully led her up the stairs, giving her directions so she wouldn't trip and cause them both to fall over. She extended her arms once they had reached the top, feeling the cold metal surface in front of them. The creaking sound caused her to flinch, so Harry quickly reassured the girl that it was just him opening the door. She could feel his other hand reaching around her waist to pull the handle, and a cold breeze blew right through her thin shirt. Y/N immediately took a step backward and bumped into Harry's firm chest. She felt the pressure of his fingertips on her hip as he gently pushed her forward, for the third time that night, telling her to trust him.

"If I didn't trust you I wouldn't have walked up all these floors with my eyes closed." She giggled, and his soft laughter sent shivers down her spine.

"Sit," he ordered, holding the girl by the arms to guide her into a chair; and when she was finally seated, Harry leaned in so his lips were close to her ear as he whispered, "open your eyes."

Y/N did what she was told.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

The girl had begun to envision her surroundings ever since the cool air hit her skin for the first time as she stepped out, yet what she saw was far from her imagination.

They were sitting on a rooftop of a tall building somewhere in London. From her spot, Y/N could see the entire city spread below, tiny vehicles rushing along tangled roads. The city lights looked like stars dropping to the Earth, making her feel as if they were being squeezed between two galaxies. There were no words magical enough to describe what she was seeing, so Y/N didn't say anything, and just took in a deep breath to let it go with the biggest smile on her face.

It was windy on the roof, so Harry took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. They sat side by side on two wooden chairs, staring at the city and the sky above, completely mesmerized by such beauty, which had completely changed Y/N's opinion about London. Maybe from a different and higher view, it wasn't plain and dull after all.

"Almost like Holmes Chapel, huh?" She heard him speak and turned to look at him. Harry was gazing up with a beam on his face as he pointed to the sky, and told her the names of the stars he knew, not aware that she wasn't really listening. She was too busy looking at him, and thinking, maybe somewhere underneath that man was still the little boy she used to know.

"Oh, I forgot!" He suddenly flinched and turned to pick up the box at his feet. "I made this for you. But...the rest of the batch...already ended up in the trash bin."

He opened the box and revealed one single cupcake with a candle on top. It didn't look terrible, still, it wasn't a very pretty cupcake either. But if that was the best out of the whole batch, Y/N couldn't help but snort as she tried to imagine what the other ones looked like.

"Hey, don't laugh at me! At least I tried!"

"Okay, okay." Y/N bit her lip to hold back a smile. She didn't know why it was so endearing that he'd exerted himself to make her one cupcake. Even if he'd got it from a store instead, she would still be overjoyed.

"Can I eat it now?" She asked, but he quickly shook his head no.

"You have to make a wish first."

Y/N giggled, eyes bored into Harry as he looked around to find something else. "Shit!" His jaw went slack. "The lighter! I forgot the lighter."

"Relax, lemme check," Y/N mumbled, reaching inside the inner pocket of his coat to search for the object, and she felt something like a little triangle box, assuming it was the lighter. But when she took it out, both of them froze as they saw what it really was.

A pack of cigarettes.

Y/N's mouth fell open, she was speechless, and so was he. "Harry..." Her voice was quiet when she looked at him. "Do you smoke?"

"No." He shook his head fast. "N-Not anymore."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie?" A blush crept up his face as he made eye-contact with her. "If I still smoked, I would have a lighter with me, right?"

That sounded like a good enough reason for her to believe him. Moreover, he didn't smell like someone who smoked, and she'd never seen him with a cigarette between his fingers before. So apparently he was telling the truth. Y/N inhaled deeply as she nodded, squeezing his hand for more assurance.

"Smoking could kill you. So don't...don't go back to it..." The way she could barely maintain eye contact while saying that to him made his heart flutter somehow. He took her other hand, linking their fingers together as he asked, "are you worried about me?"

"Of course I am," she said without pause. "I can't bear the thought of losing you."

The corners of her mouth turned down and her whole face contorted so he knew she was serious when she said those words. After all this time, he still mattered to her; and knowing that was like getting a heavy weight lifted off his chest.

Harry sank into his chair, holding the mini calendar above his face. "It's already April," he mumbled to himself, but his roommate Isaac assumed Harry was talking to him, so he replied, "yeah, almost time for finals."

It wasn't finals that came to Harry's mind when he thought about April, it was a birthday actually. He rarely remembered birthdays, and sometimes he forgot his own; but for some reasons, he always remembered hers. He hadn't spoken to Y/N since the night he left, and he could never forget the way she looked at him when she asked him to kiss her. It was awkward, yet it was sad. She truly cared about him, and he could never repay the same kind of feelings because she was too young. So he didn't know how to talk to her again after everything she'd confessed. The last thing he wanted was to lead her on and lull her into believing that one day he might feel the same. He knew he could never like her back the way she wanted him to.

However, it would be a lie to say he didn't miss her. He missed her a lot. How could he forget about his little Bambi? She was the only girl he'd spent the best years of his childhood protecting and looking after. She was something more than just the girl next door, and he kept the image on her face on the treehouse that night in his memory as he left Holmes Chapel with no intention of coming back. Every time he thought about her, a part of him wanted to pay her a visit, but he was glad he didn't change his mind. But now her birthday was coming close, and he knew she wanted him to be there with her. He wanted to be there with her. But he couldn't.

"Isaac," Harry broke the silence in the dorm room, turning his head to look at his best friend who was lying on the bed. "What should I give a fifteen-year-old girl for her birthday?"

The sudden question made Isaac lift an eyebrow. "I thought you only had a big sister?"

"Uhm...it's actually for my...my...cousin."

"Well, I'm bad at this stuff. Why don't you ask Niall?"

Harry rolled his eyes and scoffed. "He would just give me crazy ideas."

"Then ask the birthday girl herself." Isaac shrugged, sticking out his bottom lip. "I mean, try to be subtle and find out what she likes without giving away the fact that you don't know what to get her."

If only it was that easy. Harry shook his head and put the calendar back down. He used to be the one who knew about her more than anyone else, probably only second to her mother, he should be able to know what she liked, but right now he didn't. He knew nothing about her anymore. It was only then that he started to feel bad for all the time he didn't spend with her. But had he not kept his distance, their goodbye would've been much harder.

So he tried to think, swirling the pencil in his hand for a couple seconds. And finally, an idea came to his mind. Maybe there could be a way for him to come back to her after all.

For the rest of the night, Harry and Y/N sat in their chairs, eating pizza for dinner while discussing irrelevant topics like the existence of aliens, strange kinds of flowers, as well as their favorite movies, songs, and books. Soon both grew tired so they fell back to silence. He was staring at the city, and she was taking in the sight of him.

"Are you mad that I lied to you?" Her sudden question made him turn around with an eyebrow raised. "You know, about Isaac."

"I'm not mad at you, kid. But I'd like to know what happened..." Harry couldn't say he had heard most of the story from Niall because he wanted Y/N to tell him herself, if she trusted him enough, and of course, he didn't expect her to. But somehow she did. She ended up telling him everything.

"I didn't want Isaac to turn down the job offer for a relationship that would probably never work." She sighed with her chin on her knuckles, hooded eyes staring blankly ahead. "I liked him a lot. And I thought to myself that if he asked me to be his girlfriend, I would say yes immediately. But when it happened, I got scared. I couldn't let him in because I was afraid that if he knew too much about me, he wouldn't like me anymore. I guess I'm just not ready to fall in love again, and I don't want him to wait for me to be ready. My first and only relationship didn't end very well. So I didn't have the heart to let the same thing happen to us." Holding her breath, she said, "He's too good for me anyway. I'm better off alone."

"Nobody is better off alone," Harry spoke at last, a line appeared between his brows. "Everyone needs someone."

"Not me." She shrugged, and the look in her eyes broke his heart in a million pieces. "I'm sorry I had to lie to you...I didn't want you to do anything for my birthday. I've troubled you enough already."

"But you're not troubling me, love. I did all of this because I wanted to. I...I care about you."

She couldn't remember the last time she heard him say those words, or if he'd ever said them at all. So to hear them now made her feel happy and sad at the same time. If there was one thing that she'd learned from their 'relationship' it would be, Harry's words weren't always credible.

"How did you find this place though?" She changed the subject, putting on a smile to lighten up the mood, which had gotten a bit blue since Isaac was mentioned. She could see it from the look on his face that he was also glad she'd brought up something else.

"Niall's uncle owns this building. They're doing some reconstructing so it's closed for a couple months. It might be the only place we could be together without people bothering us."

"Thank you." Y/N took in a long breath as she smiled. "I've never seen London so beautiful."

"Agreed." Harry nodded fast. In this bad lighting, his dimples seemed even deeper than they actually were. "But my favorite is the winter time. The city looks best when it's covered in snow."

Those last words made Y/N's head turn as her eyes went round.

"It was you, wasn't it?" she cried out, causing the man to jump in shock. He was meant to ask, but she didn't even let him have his chance. "The snow globe! You asked Gemma to give it to me, did you?!"

"Ouch!" He yelped when she smacked him hard on the arm. The girl didn't look very sorry when he rubbed the sore spot and his brows drew together in utter perplexity.

"Why did you ask her to lie for you?! I was so sad, I thought you didn't remember my birthday!"

"I thought it was for the best if you forgot about me, after..."

There was a pause, a gap for her to fill in.

"Our first kiss...I know," she mumbled at last.

It was weird to talk about it now, since both of them had been pretending like the kiss she'd stolen from him when she was fourteen had never happened. After all, she was fourteen at the time, he couldn't blame her for acting so impulsive. But recently he'd been thinking about it and wondering if her feelings back then had been all true.

Her eyes darted as she whispered under her breath, but still loud enough for him to hear, "why didn't you send me anything on my birthday next year or the ones after that?"

"I...I wanted to...I almost did." He swallowed hard while fidgeting in his seat. "But Gemma said you were seeing this boy, so I thought I should stay away from your life and let you forget about me for good. Then time passed and I actually didn't think a lot about you, until..."

She nodded without waiting for him to finish, her lashes fluttered as sadness overtook her face. After a moment of thinking, she asked, "if you could turn back time, would you come back to see me?"

"Yes," he answered. "Without a second thought."

Y/N had seen Harry in a lot of different situations, yet she'd never seen him like that, all flustered and ill at ease. She loved the way the rings on his fingers sparkled as he was nervously toying with the hem of his shirt. She loved it when even under the dim lights surrounding them, she could see a blush creep up his face. She knew better, that it was never good when she felt so drawn to him, yet she couldn't stop, so she released a slight laugh, which got his attention.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked.

Shaking her head with the grin still remained, she said, "nothing."

As he walked with her five floors up to her flat, Harry struggled to find something to say so the silence carried on until they reached her front door. He couldn't explain why he was at a loss for words every time he stood in front of her. He knew her well, he'd grown up with this girl. But deep down inside he knew it wasn't like that, not anymore. He knew his heart had more to say about her than it should, and the way it began to race whenever she was around had him frustrated most of the times.

He watched her unlock her front door and turn to say goodbye. But just when she was about to leave, he stopped her by taking her hand. It wasn't the first time they'd held hands, still, he let hers go after about two seconds like it was hot coal burning his skin. Maybe it was, maybe she was, yet he couldn't stay away because he enjoyed the burn. With round Bambi eyes, she stared at him, slightly puzzled by his strange behaviors. Harry asked her to wait. He searched in his pants pocket, finally pulling out a silver locket necklace.

"Your birthday present."

"Harry—"

He shushed her right away, telling her to turn around as he took a step closer to put the chain around her neck. His fingers brushed against her collarbone only once, but it was enough for both of them to flinch at the contact. Y/N gently touched the heart-shaped locket now lying on her chest, then opened it to find a tiny photo of her mother.

"So you could always keep her by your heart," he whispered, his voice was low and hot against her ear.

Slowly, Y/N turned around, but Harry didn't pull away so they were just one step away from pressing against each other. She meant to just thank him and go inside her flat, but as she parted her lip, not a single sound managed to escape. Her cheeks turned pink, her bottom lip was quivering as she batted her lashes. She had never looked into his eyes for that long, and the look he was giving her made her pupils dilated. It was the same look she'd seen him give that blonde haired girl on the treehouse when he was seventeen. He had never looked at Y/N that way before, and now he did. If only she could read his mind, she would know he was also trying to do the same.

Harry knew it was wrong, but he couldn't resist. The last time he had the same feeling, he wasn't thinking straight so he went for it by instinct. Now he knew exactly what was happening, and still, he didn't stop it. He leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touching. He expected her to pull away or even slap him for making that bold move, yet she stayed exactly where she was, chest heaving with anticipation. Her scent was flooding his senses, and the second he finally found the courage to place his hands on her hips, it was she who decided the next move.

Her lips brushed against his. Not innocently, but hot and passionately, he wanted to pull away before he lost control, but like a magnet, she drew him in more and now he was stuck. "Harry," she whispered slowly, making his heart flutter as he clasped his hands on either side of her face.

That kiss wasn't like the first or the second, this time it was an open-mouthed, almost sexual kiss. He pushed her against the door, loving the way her body melted into his as their lips fitted perfectly like they were made for each other. She held his hair and he held her so tight as if he was afraid it wasn't real, and she would disappear the moment he loosened his grip. They broke away after what seemed like ages, and from the look in her eyes, he could tell she expected him to run, just like he had before.

But he didn't. Even if he wanted to, he knew his trembling feet wouldn't let him. She stood with her back against the door, him with one hand on her hip, the other fisted to rest beside her head. He inhaled sharply and she was still trying to steady her breathing. It took almost five seconds for either to open their eyes and look at the other person.

"Goodnight," she mumbled, reaching behind for the doorknob and the next thing he knew, she had fled inside and shut the door right in front of his face. Harry was left standing in the hallway like an idiot, not knowing what to do next. He lifted a fist, about to knock because there were still many things that he wanted to say to her, an apology was one of which. But he thought again and decided that he should probably go.

Harry left the building, stepping out on the street with his head still on the cloud as he kept touching his lips, trying not to smile so big or else people would think he was insane. But maybe he was, because he was too happy to act differently. He got into his car and sat there with both hands on the steering wheel, head tossed back, smiling contently. His whole face was red, but he didn't really mind. He was soaked in the scent of her perfume, and all he could think about was how he could possibly fall asleep with every trace of her lingering on his body.

His phone lit up in the dark, notifying a new text from Bambi which got him to sit up straight at once. His heart could've exploded when he read the first line, if the next one hadn't come on in less than a second.

⌲ Bambi: That kiss was a mistake.

⌲ Bambi: You're gonna have to earn it next time.

⌲ Next time? :)

⌲ Bambi: Don't be smug about it!

⌲ I'm not! But wait, on the scale from 1-10, how great was tonight? (minus the kiss)

⌲ Bambi: 7/10 (including the kiss)

⌲ Heeeeeey!

Sitting at her working desk, chin resting on her palm, Y/N cracked a smile. The birthday surprise, as well as the kiss they'd shared in the hallway, were definitely 11/10. But she couldn't give it to him that easily. She placed her phone down, leaving his latest message on read as she touched the chain around her neck once again.

The London snow globe was still sitting on her desk, and she hadn't touched it in so long that it was a bit dusty now. She kept it there so it could remind her of the terrible birthday she should already forget, but she didn't want to. It was a way of telling herself that sometimes the people you loved would leave you behind, and that was just a cruel fact of life that one should just accept and carry on. But now that she knew it wasn't all true, the way she felt about the snow globe had also changed.

Quickly, she typed down 'Thank you for the locket' and sent it to him, then while waiting for him to reply, she sent another text right after.

⌲ I have two tickets to see Heathers The Musical

⌲ H: Yes.

⌲ I haven't even asked?

⌲ H: Whatever you're gonna ask, it's a yes.

⌲ Have you even watched Heathers?

⌲ H: There's always Google! Send me the date and time, my assistant will get back to you shortly.

⌲ Haha funny.

Y/N rolled her eyes and giggled as she snapped a quick shot of the tickets Alice had given her and sent it to him.

⌲ H: Wednesday night! I'm free!

⌲ You sure there's not another award show that night? I'm gonna kill you if you skip another one for me.

⌲ H: Nah I'm not supposed to attend any event next week. If you don't believe me, google it!

⌲ Oh God.

⌲ H: Say that instead of my name 'next time'.

Y/N's face turned scarlet when she read that line. She sucked in her bottom lip, face-palming herself with her eyes shut and wishing she hadn't moaned his name into the kiss. That couldn't have been more embarrassing. She typed down a few words, trying to come up with a reply that would save herself from the humiliation, yet she kept typing and deleting for three times or so. Then came two new messages from him.

⌲ H: It's late. Go to sleep Bambi. Good night.

⌲ H: Once again, happy birthday! :)

The twenty-year-old smiled to herself as she sent him back a goodnight text. Y/N knew she should get to bed now if she wanted to wake up early for a class in the morning. But she also knew it would take forever for her to fall asleep. This time, fortunately, it wasn't gonna be the birthday blues that kept her up all night.

#my girls series #harry styles #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles imagine #harry styles angst #harry styles imagines #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfictions #harry styles fanfics #harry styles writing #harry styles fanfiction #bestfriend!harry #older!harry #actor!harry

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uas-fics · 5 years ago

Text

Title: Bonnets and Adoption Forms

Rating:T

Summary: While looking for a charging cord, Tweek comes across adoption forms in Criag's desk--adoption forms with only Craig's information filled out on them.

Ships: Creek

Other: For @creekcrew‘s creek week.

When I read, I skip over words and I totally just read the prompt as "parents" and not "single parents" but I doubt y'all care about the mistake that much.

—-

Tweek finished the final stitch on the pale blue bonnet. Grinning, he turned in his seat to set the bonnet carefully on Stripe's head. With nimble fingers, he tied the little silver ribbon under Stripe's furry chin. He carefully adjusted the Pioneer dress he'd bought offline early that week.

"Stripe, you look perfect," Tweek told the guinea pig.

Stripe replied by attempting to chew on the ribbon. Tweek tucked the ribbon farther under his chin.

He pursed his lips. Craig would be home in twenty minutes or so from work, but Tweek wasn't sure Stripe could wait that long before taking the bonnet Tweek worked so hard on off his little head.

"Maybe I should take a picture," Tweek muttered under his breath. He reached back for his long-forgotten phone. His whole day off from work he'd spent adjusting the dress since it came a bit too big.

Tweek loved to dress Stripe up in all sorts of costumes: A dinosaur, a cowboy, a princess, an astronaut — seeing his little man dressed-up made Tweek smile every time.

It made Craig smile, too. Which was why he had to see Stripe dressed up as a guinea pig about to embark on a journey along the Oregon Trail to a new land of gold and carrot-treats.

Tweek even dug out his old cowboy hat to wear when he showed Craig. Unfortunately, the hat didn't fit anymore, but he could easily carry Stripe in it. It would be adorable!

Tweek pressed the power button on his phone. It didn't light up. With a frown, he held the button down. The screen flashed once then went dark. Out of power.

Swearing, Tweek stood from the table. Stripe scratched at the bonnet. Picking up the cowboy hat, Tweek deposited Stripe into it. He carried him across the kitchen to the living room. Careful of the precious pet, Tweek groped the ground near the side of the couch for a phone charging cord. With an 'Ah!', he pulled the cord up, only to find it had been chewed in half.

"Stripe, what did we talk about?" Tweek scolded, showing Stripe the frayed wires. "You could have been electrocuted!"

Stripe sniffed the cord then went back to nibbling on the bonnet ribbon. Tweek untied the bonnet and set it down in the hat. He would put it on when he went to take the picture.

"Maybe Craig has one in his office I can use."

Tweek gathered Stripe up. He headed down the hall, past the photos of their life — high school and college graduation, holding each other outside the restaurant the night Tweek proposed, looking dashing and so in love on their wedding, moving boxes into their own house.

Snapshots of the American Dream, as Craig's dad would say before Tweek's own started waxing philosophically about it.

Tweek pushed open the door to Craig's office.

Their house was a bit bigger than just the two of them would ever need, but the deal on it was too good to pass up at the time, thus each of them had their own private rooms to do whatever with. Tweek's held his architecture and modeling tools, along with his sewing supplies; in his, Craig kept a computer and star charts and Red Racer memorabilia.

Tweek paused to admire an animation cell from the second Red Racer movie proudly displayed on the wall. Craig had hugged him so tightly, Tweek was sure his spine would snap when he gave it to him for his birthday two years ago.

Still in the hat, Tweek set Stripe down on the floor before bending to his knees to search through the computer desk drawers. He pulled open the top and found an organized drawer full of office supplies, some of which Tweek was positive Craig didn't use for work. No phone charging cord though.

The next drawer held files in hanging folders. Knowing that the cord couldn't possibly in that drawer, Tweek started to shut it when he noticed some papers peeking through a gap in the files.

Craig liked things organized, Tweek knew, so he pushed the folders aside and reached down. All of the files were labeled, so it would be easy to find where these papers lived in Craig's organizational system.

week held the paper to his face to read it. His heart skipped a beat.

Adoption forms. They were adoption forms. Why would Craig have those?

Tweek fell back to his bottom, flipping through the papers. Half of the blank lines had been filled. All of Craig's information printed with his neat, clear handwriting in black ink doned the paper, but one of Tweek's information. Not even his name.

A cold sweat broke across his skin. The question wasn't only 'why did Craig have these' but also 'why didn't he full out Tweek's information as well?'

They'd talked once or twice about children: if they wanted them, and if they did want them, how would they have them, surrogate or adoption, but those conversations never went much further than 'maybe' and 'a surrogate would be awkward, don't you think?' then Tweek would quickly change the topic.

He knew Craig wanted kids someday, but Tweek wasn't sure himself. The idea of being a father was appealing enough — dropping the youngster off on the first day of kindergarten, soccer games, scouts, making fun of other PTA parents with Craig and showing them all up with his baking skills. As a thought experiment, he liked the idea of parenting but put into practice, there was too much that could go wrong.

What if their child was embarrassed having two dads? What if they threw temper tantrums that Tweek couldn't deal with without breaking down himself? What if he spoiled the child? And when the kid got older and more defiant? How would he handle that? He would ruin a kid for life!

That thought made Tweek's stomach twist.

"Tweek?"

Tweek jumped, swinging his head around. In the doorway, Craig frowned at him.

"I got off early," He explained, stepping and flicking on the light. Tweek blinked the stars from his vision as his husband crouched next to him. "Honey? What's wrong. You look sick."

Wordless, Tweek held up the forms and pointed. Craig winced.

"Oh. Um, those." Craig whistled nervously. "Those..."

"Craig," Tweek finally found his voice again, "why do you have these? Do you...you're not leaving me are you?"

Craig stared at him, eyes wide, as he processed the question. "Leaving you? Why would I leave you?"

"You only filled out your information! You're going to leave me and find a man who wants to adopt with you, right? Or are you going to raise a kid by yourself?" Tweek shook despite himself. Visions of waking up alone, cooking dinner for one, and being left in this big house with no one else clouded his mind's eye.

Craig pulled him into a hug. "I'm not leaving you." He tapped Tweek's wedding ring. "We had a whole big ceremony about that promise. Remember? Jimmy got drunk and tried to do his off-color stand-up to my grandma, and she smacked him with her purse?"

Tweek forced a smile. "She threw her punch on him as a warning first."

Craig nodded. "And he still kept talking."

The two shared a laugh. As they puttered out into silence. Tweek gripped the papers.

"Um," he started, "so..."

Craig looked away. He breathed a swear and said, "I wasn't going to show you those, but, uh, yeah. I filled those out a month or two ago. It was on a whim." He shrugged in a way Tweek knew he was lying. "I thought it would be good practice in case we ever did — "

"Craig do you really want to have a baby — err, a child — right now in our lives?" Tweek cut in.

Craig took a breath and met his eyes. "Yeah. I would." He put his hands on Tweek's shoulders and squeezed with a smile. "We would make the best dads in the world. We'd raise a smart and practical kid, babe."

"Or an impulsive and aloof one," Tweek muttered. Louder, he continued, "I don't think I would make a good dad. You would, but would they even let someone like me have a child?" He tapped his temple.

"Having an anxiety disorder doesn't make you a bad parent." Craig rolled his eyes. "If anything, it would make you a better one. Our child would never get hurt since you would have them in a life vest and pool floaties all the time."

Tweek snorted. "And you'd have to go to school every other day since they flipped off their teacher."

"I flipped off the teacher all the time, and I turned out just fine."

"Yeah, right!"

The two laughed again. Tweek pressed against his side, holding the papers up.

"Do you really think I'd be a good dad? If I knew that I would be, I don't think I'd mind having a kid with you."

Craig wrapped an arm around him and kissed the top of his head.

Before he could speak, Tweek heard a chewing sound. With a gasp, he twisted around to find Stripe had crawled out of the cowboy hat and found a computer wire to nibble on.

He snatched Stripe up, scolding him, before setting him in Craig's lap. Craig 'aaah'-ed at Stripe's dress.

"He has a bonnet too," Tweek told him, but made no move to retrieve the bonnet from the hat.

Craig chuckled, shaking his head.

"And you really think you wouldn't be a good dad?" He held up Stripe to tap his nose against Tweek's. "You're amazing with our fur son."

Tweek shrugged. "He's a pet. It's different with a human kid. I could really mess up. They could end up hating me."

"No one could hate you," Craig muttered into his hair. Tweek hummed, unsure.

As they sat there, he thought again about the idea of being a parent. He thought about helping with homework and braiding hair before school. He imagined camping trips in the back yard and hot cocoa with star-shaped marshmallows after making mid-winter snow angles. Even the temper tantrums and fights over the car he envisioned suddenly didn't seem so bad.

It wasn't like he would be alone. He wasn't going to be a single parent. He'd have Craig and Craig would have him. They'd fill out what the other lacked like they always did.

Tweek looped his arm around Craig's waist and kissed under his ear.

With a smile, Tweek offered, "If you give me a pen, I'll help you fill out my half of the form."

---

#south park #creek week #sp creek #craig tucker #tweek tweak #one-shot #fanfiction

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oneofiv · 5 years ago

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Such a dirty, filthy word...GRIEF!

I am no expert but by life's infinite graces I am quite familiar with grief and the variety of coping mechanisms that come along with it. Welcome to my Ted Talk. Ok, serious face. I have been on this planet for a little over 33 years and in that time frame I have lost not one, but both parents and most recently and easily most gut wrenching my little sister Devin. If you are uncomfortable with dark humor and the concept of complete black hole sadness, I'd say turn around right now but really you should stay. Because these two things are eventually unavoidable. So buckle up babies!

Dad: 15 years old, stubborn, insecure, massive chip on the shoulder

Losing my dad was tough, for many reasons. He was the first. Uncharted territory. How does one go about living in a world where one minute you had two parents and the next you're down to one? Well more like half of one. Mom wasn't doing so swell back in 2001. She had a lot of demons (too many to go into in the post but trust me we'll get there one day). So now, I am the oldest sibling of a one parent household. Dad was the navigator, he was the one who knew the next step. I think this was the first time I felt completely and utterly helpless. I remember I was having a good day on September 27, 2001. My friend Brett and I went to the mall, I'm pretty sure I bought a purse from American Eagle. Back at home, sprawled out on my bed attempting to start some homework, the phone rang. It was my Dad's mom. You ever know something is wrong before given any actual reasoning? That's happened to me twice in my life. Once, 3 years earlier and this day. I knew he was gone. My grandma Alice asked to speak to my other grandma Carol (whom we lived with). She said nothing other than "Hi sweetie, can I talk to grandma Carol?" Thinking back on it there was no real shift in her tone of voice, maybe subtly but not enough to send red flags waving around in my mind. When it was finally said out loud that he was gone, I embraced the laminate flooring beneath me. An ungodly wail escaped my mouth. I became one with my siblings as a ball of overwhelming grief. A son without his idol, two daughters who wondered who would walk them down the aisle now? With that quick call the life that we had known was gone. He was gone.

Mom: 25 years old, still stubborn, still insecure, working on that chip, in a super unhealthy relationship

We use to joke about how it would come down to the apocalypse and all that would remain would be the cockroaches, Twinkies and my mama. She had done so much damage to herself in her short lifetime that it was baffling how she made it as long as she did. But despite all of that it was still absolutely shocking when she really died. I was living 900 miles away from my family in Myrtle Beach when I got the call from my sister. My knees gave out, my ears starting to ring. I now have no parents. How does that happen? How do some people have both and I get none? Selfish, irrational thoughts like that one would soon consume my mind. In chaos we booked a flight back to New York but it wasn't for 24 hours. We can drive there quicker than that. We ended up using the credit for the flight back for the official goodbye a few weeks later. Guilt. Crippling, soul crushing, guilt. Could I have changed the outcome by being kinder to her? Were my siblings right? My tough love approach was falling on deaf ears? I didn't tell her I loved her the last time I saw her. In fact, I'm pretty sure I just scoffed at her. A month earlier we celebrated Christmas. In the week I was back home she never emerged from her room. Or if she did, I wasn't around to see it. I hugged my siblings, cracked some jokes and packed up the car to escape back down to the warmth. Halfway down the block, "SUSIE", my most prized possession was back in my childhood room, we turned around. And there she was, making her way down the stairs like the living dead. Ghostly pale, disheveled, with the saddest eyes I've ever known. A common site, unfortunately. No words were exchanged. A sarcastic breathe of air was my greeting. I will have to live with this. Realistically, I think my mom knew how much I loved her. She had to. I spent the better part of 15 years begging her to come back to us. If that didn't scream love, what did? Maybe actually telling her "I love you"? I do Mom. More than words were ever able to express in your lifetime. I hope I am like you when I have kids of my own. Seriously! Minus the obvious issues, I would be disgustingly lucky to be a fraction of the mother you were. I wish you knew.

Devin: 29 years old, not so stubborn, still insecure, chip is long gone, freshly laid off

...I don't want to write about this. I've never had a problem sharing my grief about my parents but Devin is different. Its still so new. Its never been believable to me. Plus to be actually honest about this one I would have to divulged some things that I would rather keep close to the chest. Because Devin doesn't deserve to be remember any other way than as the wildly funny, intimidatingly gorgeous, absolute lunatic that she was. All you need to know is that my little sister died 5 days after her 28th birthday. I was the last one to see her. She was wearing a "Finding Gerald" shirt (i.e. Finding Dory) and the last thing I said to her, as I touched her back, was "I love you Dev". This grief. This is the monster you hear about. The one that takes down others. The one that is so easy to get lost in. The one that makes you wonder if you should follow and leave too. When I think about her not being here my initial reaction is sadness, obviously. But that is shortly followed by a cocktail of guilt, anger, resentment, self loathing, loathing in general, bafflement, you name it. And its that cocktail that gets stuck as a lump in my throat. I can't swallow it. I can't allow myself to move past those feelings. I can shake off the sadness but not these. I am conditioned to sadness. These were new. I would, and I mean this with every single inch of me, trade places with her if I could. The world deserves Devin but more importantly Devin deserved the world.

When my Dad died I coped like most teenagers would. I hated my mom, my littlest brother was the bane of my existence, I discovered self harm (eventually to be replace with the more socially acceptable tattoos and piercings) and I fell in love with a boy. With Mom, as I was older and "wiser" I coped with booze and drugs and sex. The holy trinity! After Devin, I ate. A lot. I went from a squishy size 12 to a robust size 20. My interest in guys was minimal, I assume a side effect of my new padding. I like to think that I have covered the spread on ways to cope after losing a loved one. But the reality is I could have done so much more damage if wanted to. I could have become #4 on the Sheppard Family Tree of Death. Which, I have dibs on by the way. I refuse to outlive anyone else! Call me selfish but I am done losing people. I am feverishly knocking on all wood surfaces right now. I think another one would break me. And for good. I often wonder how it hasn't already. Am I stronger than I think I am? Or in a weird way does my inability to follow through with things also effect this aspect of my life? ← If you are curious what dark humor looks like, this would be a prime example. In other words, I am not suicidal, just super fucked up!

People have asked me how I do it, I assume they mean live with so many people absent. The only thing I have to say to that is, Quinn. The littlest of the Sheppard's, a full grown adult man now, but forever my chicken nugget. You think its been rough for me? Quinn was 5 when Dad died, 15 when Mom left and 19 when he lost his best friend. All of that before he could remove the "teen" from his age. If he can keep his head up and walk this earth without a massive grudge then fuck it so can I! This is a constant theme in our lives, perspective. No matter how bad its been, it could always be worse. The hardest day of our lives could be a cakewalk for someone else. This doesn't mean we're not entitled to grieve the way that we do but it also doesn't excuse us for being bad people. I refuse to let the loss of my family members allow me to treat others in a negative fashion.

I will probably come back to this topic time and time again but for now this is it.

#grief #loss of loved ones #mom died #dad die #sister died #loss of parents #loss of a sibling #coping mechanisms #coping #survivors guilt #subsance abuse #alcholism #cancer

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anogete · 6 years ago

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The Most Amazing Woman I Know

I live four hours away from almost all of my family. I drove home right before I closed on my house because my grandmother was having some health issues and was waiting on a plan of action for a cancer diagnosis. I spent a weekend with her before returning to my life up north (work, house closing, moving, etc). I had to move but as soon as that was done, I jumped back in the car to return on Friday evening. Her prognosis was decided to be not good and the doctor said two weeks a week ago.

When I got here, I found my grandmother in a fugue and my mother exhausted. She’d been staying with my grandmother, trying to keep her comfortable. Things got worse on Saturday and we made a late-night call to her Hospice nurse to ask for advice. This morning my mother and I decided that what we said we’d never do was inevitable. My grandmother needed to go Hospice House to be cared for by professionals during her final day or two in this life. She was restless and in pain and unresponsive. We were having to drug her with crushed up pills dissolved in water and injected into her mouth when she was unaware. I told my mom that all of my grandmother’s personality was gone and this body was there in her place. We left her with my uncle for the night. My mom went to her house. I came back to my grandmother’s house. I sat in her kitchen chair (the only chair she ever sat in at this table) to write this.

My heart is broken and I’m so upset with the unfairness of everything. My grandmother raised me like she was my second mother. I lived with her for weeks at a time when I was a kid and teenager. I lived with her when my life fell apart in 2009 and I ran back to my hometown to lick my wounds. I cannot imagine a world in which I can’t pick up my phone and call her. The idea is scary and physically hurts.

All I’ve been thinking about lately is the past and all the little things about my grandmother that made me who I am. So, let me count the ways.

- Her name is Sue. Actually, that is her middle name, but she never went by her first name. She is 76 years old and married my grandfather when she was 15 years old. He was 16 and they went strong until he passed away 8 years ago.

- She lived in Florida and New York, but never called any place but West Virginia home. She was born and raised here and loved it more than any other place in the world.

- Whey they first married, she and my grandfather worked at a canning/jarring factory and would steal cans of peaches and stewed tomatoes so they couldn’t go hungry. They lived in a chicken coop that was converted into a one-room apartment.

- She had my mom when she was 16 and used the top drawer of a dresser as a crib because they didn’t have any money to buy one.

- Despite not having a high school diploma, she became a business owner. She and my grandfather opened a convenience store in their neighborhood, and she ran it and kept the books. Later in life, she started a mini-storage business and ran it from her home.

- When I was a kid, we’d “go to town” on Wednesday afternoons in the summer. I’d help her shop and she’d buy me McDonalds for lunch.

- When I was a teenager, I’d do her dishes and laundry every Saturday morning for $25. I’d promptly use this to buy a CD or two. I know she thought that was crazy, but she never said a word or questioned me about it.

- She loves John Deere everything and painted all the metal windmills and flowers in her yard “John Deere green and yellow.” Oh, she had metal lawn ornaments. Like, eight foot metal sunflowers that she paid way too much money for, but loves.

- She loves Christmas and always went crazy with decorations until the past few years. When I was a kid, she bought an animatronic Santa Klaus from a department store and put it in her second-floor picture window with a display worthy of a department store window. She also loved the movie Ernest Saves Christmas and would watch it every year to get in the Chistmas spirit.

- She and my grandfather had a camp in the mountains and they loved spending time there. I sent a restoring two weeks there when my relationship ended back in 2009. She invited me to come with them and I spent two weeks helping her around the camp and reading books and she never once made me talk about my heartbreak because she knew I didn’t want to.

- She loves yard sales and garage sales. We’d go on Saturday mornings when I was younger and she’d buy me anything I wanted.

- She also bought me a Prince CD and let me listen to it on the way home when I was a teenager. She was absolutely scandalized, but pretended not to hate it because she knew I loved it.

- She’d flip people off in traffic, but there wasn’t a mean bone in her body.

- I always told her she was too nice. She’d give anyone anything if she had it to give. I thought some people took advantage of that kindness, but they never once fooled her. She knew, but she still gave.

- She has a motherfucking red magnetic sheet on her fridge because she loves red and wanted a red fridge. When she couldn’t find one, she slapped a magnet on the damn thing.

- Before she got sick, she spent her winters making dollhouses. There is a house, a Christmas cabin, a church, and a barn. She bought an action figure of a professional wrestler and made a white robe for him. She decided that he would be Jesus and she put him in the yard of the barn scene with some superhero action figures as his disciples.

- Right after my grandfather passed away, she created a Facebook account and would tell everyone good morning almost every day.

- I’d randomly get shit in the mail from HSN or QVC because she’d be watching and decide I needed whatever they are selling. One of the recent random gifts was a fancy umbrella.

- She has “wall tattoos” all over her walls. They are large nature scenes that you rub into the way like a temporary tattoo, except they are permanent. The guest bathroom as a doe and her fawn with birds and butterflies. That’s the scene you get to look at while she pee.

- Anytime I ever needed money or help, she’d offer before I even thought to ask. It wasn’t even a question. If I needed it, then it was mine.

- She was always deathly afraid of dogs all my life. When I moved back to my hometown with my dog, she insisted I stay with her. She immediately adopted my dog as her “granddog” and loved him like her own. When my grandfather passed away, she and I went back into their bedroom and lied down on the bed with my dog and cried. It broke my heart, but that was nothing compared to this heartbreak of losing her.

- Speaking of my dog. She bought a red bench to put under her kitchen window so he could see outside when he came over to visit with her. And he absolutely adored her for it.

- She is less than five feet tall, but with a personality much bigger. She loves fringe and red and bejeweled purses and things I lovingly refer to as “gaudy.”

- Her final wishes that she wrote down for my mom include: her wish to wear a red fringe shirt but NO red lipstick, lots of balloons instead of flowers because she hates the smell of flowers since they make it difficult to breathe, and a birthday cake with one candle on it.

- When my grandfather died, she asked me to photoshop a picture of him holding up some trout he had caught while fishing into a stock photo of a stream. Not knowing her intention, I did what she asked. The next thing I knew, she had taken the photoshopped pic to a custom graphics shop in town and asked them to put it on the hood of her vehicle. So, the hood of her car is my grandfather looking proud of his catch. She parks it right outside her kitchen window so when she has her morning coffee, he’s right beside her.

- Speaking of her morning coffee. She used to tell me she needed to get up so early because she needed to drink a pot of coffee and smoke half a pack of cigarettes before she could deal with people.

- She loves the Hallmark Movie Channel and almost exclusively watched it at night. She’d settle in on the same end of her bright red couch and chain smoke Winston Lights while she watched cheesy romance movies. When I got back here this evening, I sat down in that spot. The cushion dips down and is worn in on that cushion. I stayed there and felt the dip under my ass and cried so fucking hard because she’s never going to sit there again.

- When I told her that I caught people having sex in the alley by my office a year ago, she told me, “Well, you know what they say. Friday is for paychecks and peckers.”

I wanted to be alone after this exhausting weekend filled with people. But now that I’m alone in this space surrounded by her, I wish someone was here with me. I wish I had someone to call, but I can’t think of anyone at this time of night that I wouldn’t be bugging.

There are so many other things I could say about her and how amazing and fun and quirky and kind and loving and strong she is. And how much it hurts to know I’m losing one of the most important people in my life. I guess I should go wash the tears off my face and try to sleep. I’m running on fumes. I’ve had about five hours of sleep in the last two days. I want this to get easier, but I also don’t want to forget her.

I’m not going to proof this shit, so I hope if you’ve made it this far that you’ll forgive my errors and typos. And I hope you think about my grandma and how awesome she is.

#personal #anogete in real life #heartbreak

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justanoutlawfic · 6 years ago

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The Earrings: A Light Queen Fic

Lucy disobeys her abuela and loses something very special to her. It's that day, she learns a lesson in forgiveness and unconditional love.

Prompted by @queen-of-the-merry-men, based on the flashbacks on Chapter Twelve from JTV.

Tagging @queenofglassbeliever & @ellamills2003 as well.

Also on AO3

Ella had never been overly girly. Sure, she had worn dresses growing up, but that was more expected of her given the circle she grew up in. She felt far more comfortable in riding pants and a tunic. That was even more true after she had been cursed as Jacinda.

The same could not be said for her daughter. Lucy was very girly and it was one thing that she couldn’t connect with her mother over. Luckily for them, they had Regina. She had helped Zelena raise Robin and she always allowed Lucy to come over to place dress up and have fun. As Lucy got older, she stopped wanting to play dress up and instead, borrow things. Regina allowed her to wear some of her more inexpensive jewelry, but there was one thing in her jewelry box that was off limits.

They were a beautiful pair of gold earrings that Henry Sr. had gifted Regina when she was 10 years old. She had seen them in a trip to town, but Cora had said she was too irresponsible to own a pair. Regina had done all she could to prove otherwise, but Cora had been insistent. It wasn’t often that Henry felt bold enough to stand up to his wife, but he had in his own way that time. On Regina’s birthday, her first gift was from her father…the earrings she had seen. Cora had sneered as Regina hugged her father, thanking him over and over. She promised she would take good care of them and she had.

To Regina, the earrings were a sign of trust. As she got older, they meant more to her than anyone could realize. It was why she had named her son after her father. At one point, he had been the only one in all the realms that truly believed in her. Even back when she was a little girl, free of sin.

She loved Lucy, but she couldn’t risk them being misplaced. So, while she let her try them on, she never let her take them out of the house. Heck, they never even left Regina’s vanity in her room. Lucy grew up knowing this. She respected her grandmother’s wishes. After all, there were plenty of other pretty things she could borrow.

When she was 12 years old, however, there was a big dance at her school. While most of the dances were themed around typical modern ones, this one was special. Everyone was dressing as they would in the other parts of the United Realms. Drizella, who had taken over her father’s old tailoring business, was making Lucy a beautiful gown. It was pink with flecks of gold. When she went over for a fitting, Drizella made a good point.

“As pretty as this dress is, the accessories will be just as important.”

Lucy had an idea of what she wanted to wear. She had a locket that her parents’ had given her for her 8th birthday, along with a bangle she had bought on their last trip to Agrabah. No matter how many pairs of earrings she tried on, however, none seemed right.

Until she remembered the ones that sat in her abuela’s jewelry box. She knew there was no way Regina would allow her to take them, but she rarely wore them herself. She wouldn’t notice if they were missing for one night, would she?

The next time Lucy was over her abuela’s house, she snuck into her bedroom and slipped the earrings into the pocket of her jean jacket. It was so easy; Lucy didn’t even feel any guilt. She’d have them back before her abuela could even notice they were missing.

When Lucy got home, she went to take the earrings out and stash them away. Not only did her pocket come up empty, but she realized it had a hole in it. Panicking, she raced down to her father’s car and tore through it. They weren’t there. They had left right after she taken them to go to Granny’s for dinner. She had felt them in there when she ordered, so there was no way they were still at Regina’s.

She spent the next couple of days checking every square inch of Storybrooke. Granny helped her look and promised to call if she found them, but it wasn’t looking very likely.

Lucy didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t like she could replace the earrings. Even if she found the money to buy another pair, they wouldn’t be the same. These were so important to her abuela. They had been a gift from her own father. Lucy’s hand went over her locket, unsure of how she would feel if she lost something her dad had given her. She was sure that Regina would hate her, she would never speak to her again. She couldn’t face such a shame.

She packed her bags, unsure of where she was really going. When she was younger and got bad at her parents, she’d run away to Abuela’s It wasn’t as if that was an option. Aunt Tiana would probably call her parents, as would any member of her family really. Maybe she could go to her Grandma’s? Emma had told her about her adventures as a runaway (much to Ella’s dismay), surely she’d understand. No, she was the town sheriff. She could potentially arrest her. The only solution was to be like her great-grandmother and become a bandit.

Before Lucy could make it out the window, however, she heard her mother’s voice. “Luce?”

Lucy paused, suitcase still in hand. She turned to face her mother. “Hi Mom.”

Ella put her hand on her hips. “Just where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m running away.”

“Wasn’t that a phase you should’ve grown out of when you were little?”

“It’s serious this time. I can’t be seen ever again,” Lucy said, urgency in her voice. “I have to become a bandit.”

“A bandit, huh?” Ella sat on her daughter’s bed. “You want to tell me what you did that is that is so bad, that you’d rather live in the woods than a house with heat?”

Lucy gnawed on her lip. “I can’t tell you.”

“You can tell me anything, baby. You know that.”

Looking into her mother’s kind eyes, Lucy broke. She collapsed next to her mom and told her everything. Ella looked mighty disappointed and Lucy didn’t blame her one bit.

“Running away won’t solve this, Lucia,” Ella said. “You have to face your abuela.”

“But she’s going to be so angry with me.”

“She has every right to. Not only did you steal-which I know your father and I have taught you not to do-but you took something that was very special to someone that loves you very much.”

“I didn’t mean to lose them.”

“I know you didn’t, but it happened. Now, come on. We’ll drive over there now.”

Lucy nodded, knowing there was no way to avoid this. She went to grab her purse and paused. “Mamí…can we make a stop first?”

Lucy felt the lump growing further in her throat as her mother knocked on the door of the house on Mifflin Street. Since they all moved from Washington to Maine, she had been there a million times. This was the first time she wanted to be anywhere but there.

The door opened and Regina stood there with a smile, which just made things even worse. “Hey guys, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“We need to talk to you about something.” Ella placed her hands on Lucy’s shoulders. “Don’t we, Luce?”

Lucy slowly nodded and Regina tilted her head, but stepped to the side to allow them in. Ella had calmed down a lot in the car and though she didn’t say it, Lucy could tell she was sympathetic. She was going to need a lot of it.

“Abuela…you know those earrings that Bisabuelo Henry gave you? The ones you told me I couldn’t take outside of your bedroom?”

Regina nodded. “Yes.”

“Well…I…I wanted to wear them to the dance. I thought they were so beautiful and that I could put them back before you noticed they were missing but then I…I….” She felt like she was going to cry all over again. “I lost them.”

Regina’s face turned to one that Lucy had rarely seen and whenever she did see it, it was never directed at her. It caused the tears to instantly start running down her face. It wasn’t even anger, it was disappointment and that made all of it so much worse.

“Those were very special to me, Lucy,” Regina said. Her voice was very quiet, making it clear that she was really upset. “I don’t have much left from my life before the curse, especially things from my father. It’s why I asked you never to touch them. I have so much jewelry that you could’ve borrowed instead.”

The tears fell faster down Lucy’s face. “I am so sorry, Abuela,” she said, her voice cracking. “I know what I did is unforgivable.”

Regina’s face softened and she bent down, so she was at eye level with Lucy. She tipped her chin up, so she was looking at her. “Hey now, you are my granddaughter, mi nieta. There is nothing that you could do that is unforgivable to me.”

Lucy sniffled. “But I disobeyed you.”

“Yes, you did. I am disappointed in you, Lucia, but that doesn’t change that I love you more than anything in the world.” She kissed the center of her forehead. “It will take time for me to trust you with my things again, but I am going to give you something that my father always gave me: the belief that you will do better next time.”

Lucy couldn’t believe it. She felt as though she was getting off too easily, Regina and Ella knew she might have been as well. However, they also knew how truly guilty she felt. This was one misdeed worthy of forgiveness, Regina knew that.

“Gracias, Abuela,” Lucy whispered.

“De nada, mi amor.”

Lucy reached into her purse and pulled out the tiny white box she had purchased at the store on their way over.

“I couldn’t afford to replace the earrings, and even if I could, I know they’re still not the same. Still, I wanted to give you these.”

Regina opened the box to reveal a pair of earrings. They were faux amethyst studs; Lucy knew that was her grandmother’s birthstone. Regina softy smiled.

“They’re beautiful, sweetheart. Thank you.”

Regina would wear those earrings more than any other pair over the years. In the beginning, Lucy couldn’t look at them without feeling guilt, but soon her abuela’s graciousness replayed in her brain. She had taught her so much about forgiveness and love in that moment. Even though she wasn’t allowed to touch her grandmother’s jewelry box for another year, it didn’t change how her abuela treated her. This didn’t define their relationship. She still showed her so much love.

Cora may have built their family on lies and zero second chances, but Regina redesigned it with trust and forgiveness.

#light queen #regal light #glass light #light glass #lucy x regina #regina x lucy #ella x lucy #lucy x ella #ouat #once upon a time #regina mills #lucy mills #ella mills #mills family

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astainedteamug · 6 years ago

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Getting Rid of that Holiday Stress Ahead of Time

If you are finding yourself worried about the holidays, then you and I are in the same boat. And so is everybody else. Legitimately, everybody. Even the lady at work who always has a perfect party and she never has a hair out of place, she’s worried if her quiche will burn or if she will have enough decorations. Everybody has some kind of stress going on right now.

Some people are triple checking their travel plans to make sure everybody has a ticket and if they have a big enough budget. Some people are checking their list of people to give a gift to and realizing that they STILL don’t know what to get their mom for Christmas.

But whatever it is you are going through right now, you should take a minute off of your feet to read through this and see if one of these could help you.

1. The Clutter

It is amazingly easy to hold on to things in the modern world. And you don’t even know why. Especially after Halloween, there are candy wrappers, fairy wings, tiny toys, and just all around mess. The birthdays of the year have left you with gifts that you never wanted and you couldn’t return, so they wound up shoved in a corner to never be used or seen again.

But for some reason, you find yourself stressed out about it. That thing Jim gave you at your office party that was so ugly you didn’t even want it in your car. It’s bothering you that it’s still here, yet it has to take the back burner. And pretty soon, you start to feel like your house looks something like this:

Yeah, I know!

But between work and school and getting everything ready, you just don’t feel like you have the time to go through all of it.

Behold, my friends, the beauty of November. This is a beautiful grace period that most people will skip over to start putting up decorations for Christmas, thinking it will help them not be stressed about the decorations. But they are wasting perfectly good cleaning time. It’s time for a detox, and your house is begging you to do it, just this once.

Now wait just a minute, this isn’t an excuse to throw out your wife’s figurines that you hate but she loves, in fact I don’t recommend throwing much away at all. Go through your things first and donate what you can.

Old clothing, shoes, toys, books, purses or bags, and even movies. This is a great time of year to donate those things and let somebody else enjoy them. Old dishes can be sold or donated, dog and cat toys can get washed and de-stinkified. Candles that have been sitting around for years can get burned and help get any unpleasant smells out of your house while freeing up cabinet space for candles to come. Old mail and documents can get shredded and recycled, or even stocked up as fire starters for your fireplace. And those decorations that “complete the room” can be stowed away until they are needed again. Don’t let them jumble you up and stand in the way.

And this is an excellent way to see what you need around the house. Maybe you didn’t know the drill was broken, but now you know what to get your husband for Christmas. Or maybe the kids need new pjs. And that new coat would look great in place of your old one.

And once you’re done with the clutter aspect of all of this, then it’s time to move into phase two.

2. The Mess

It is entirely possible that the corner of your living room behind your television hasn’t been dusted in months, correct? It’s an easy thing to forget. It’s an easy thing to push aside, or to say to yourself “would anybody really notice?” Aunt Barbara might when she visits on thanksgiving with her specialty cranberry stuffing. And you would never hear the end of it. Okay, now punch your anxiety in the face and pick up a duster.

It really isn’t that big of a deal which corner is dusted and which one isn’t, but November is a wonderful time of peace before the holiday guests arrive, so why not make sure the house is nice so you aren’t worried about it. They’ll make a mess when they get there anyways, you may as well conquer what you can now. Get those expired bath products and cleaning concoctions out of your house before area 51 gets involved. Soap is NOT good forever!

Move around your furniture to sweep under it, dig out all of those coins and wrappers in the couch, dust off your movie and CD collection so you can pick out the holiday films for when everyone is over. You may as well put one on while you vacuum your floors, those corners and your ceiling fans and vents. Heck, you can even wash your carpets if your feeling REALLY festive!

There really isn’t any point to making the holidays harder on yourself than they already can be, so why not get a head start on all of that mess and just get rid of it? It can be a good excuse to have your kids wash the windows or clean their bathrooms, or even go through their clothes and toys and put everything they don’t use into one bag to donate. And with your mess all taken care of, you can take a breath and relax before you begin part three of this holiday mission.

3. The Food

This is the biggest time of year for food sales for home baking. Which also means the fire department is busy too. Please be careful whenever you are in the kitchen with loved ones and keep the heat down, your sockets dust free, and make sure all handles are out of reach of little ones. And remember, a falling knife has no handle.

All of those vegetables that are going into your casseroles and soups, or getting turned into a side, you know you can use your freezer, right? Chopping them up now and freezing them in the measurements that you need is an excellent time and mess saver for your holiday baking. Those fruits that you bought too early, go ahead and chop those up too and freeze them until the day you need them for your pies and fruit salads. And honestly, why did you buy SO MANY cranberries? Nobody eats them! Stop doing this to your wallet and to yourself.

Over spending on food and wasting it is another stupidly easy thing to do. Half of it rots away before it even sees the cutting board. You can stop yourself from doing this with a few easy tools, like shopping lists, dates, and coordination with the other cooks in your family.

Everybody should bring a dish to thanksgiving. Whether it’s a pie, some creamed corn, or even something to drink. You won’t be the only cook during the week leading up to thanksgiving. So coordinating with your relatives about who is bringing what will save everybody from making the same thing and will make sure nobody is confused about what they’re doing and keeps you from making too much of one thing if not everybody is able to come. Especially if Kenny is the only person who is vegan and gluten intolerant, then his special dish doesn’t need to be fussed over this year. And everyone can bring something, even if uncle Dave just brings the disposable cups so grandma doesn’t have to do a million dishes with the grandkids later. And yes, everybody needs to do their share of work after dinner. A good rule of thumb is to clean up dishes before dessert.

But before the baking even begins, you need to figure out what ingredients you will need to buy to make that food. And some ingredients can be nearly impossible to get your hands on. You would not believe how difficult it was for me to find rhubarb for my pie this year. I had to google where I could get it, and it took me a few hours to get ahold of it. So making that shopping list can save you lots of time and hassle when it gets down to the wire. And having the dates of parties and holidays next to you makes it easy to know when you’ll need to shop for that food and save space in your fridge.

Ah yes, the fridge. Your old pal, full of old take out containers, a few odds and ends when it comes to ingredients, expired dairy products, and an endless assortment of condiments. Why do we do this? The fridge looks full, yet there’s nothing to eat.

Clean it! That smell can be taken care of with a box of baking soda. Just leave it open in he back corner and it will absorb it for you. Take your trash can and have it ready for the avalanche of forgotten meals it will need to hold. The old products and empty cartons need to get thrown out now so you can have space for leftovers during the holidays, but you’re much less likely to forget about those. Once you’ve emptied out all of the rotten veggies and old yogurts, now is the time to wash the shelves and clean it up in there to get a head start on the dishes.

Bravo. You have earned another break. But you are so far from being done.

4. The Yard

This is an ongoing task, and I’m afraid not much can be done that will stay done. Especially if you live somewhere the leaves turn red and then fall every time the wind blows. Honestly, it can’t really all be done at once. But after it snows, it has to stay there. That stick could trip you if your boot snags it and you forgot it was there. Those leaves will kill your lawn if they stand as a frozen barrier between the grass and the snow. And the weeds will only populate while they can.

Head to a hardware store and grab some tools if you need them. And get some gloves too, those thorns can be vicious. Taking care of lawn maintenance before you decorate should be high on your list of to-do’s, yet many people skip it all together. Clean out your gutters and send your hubby on the roof with a broom before you send him up with lights and a fake santa. It’s safer and it can actually save your roof from too much damage all at once.

Mow the grass while you can, trim your bushes before they get lined with lights, and rake those leaves up before they have to stay put for the next four months.

And if you have a dog, this is your last chance to double check nothing was left behind when your kids last took them outside.

5. The Car

If you’re traveling with your family, you have to clean out your car now! The tissues, old receipts that need to be organized, wrappers, straws, socks, and crumbs all need to go.

Suitcases and crock pots will soon take their place as well as bored kiddos and grumpy adults just trying to drive through the traffic. Pack those CDs into the car, download some podcasts, or get some audio books to help pass the time. But make sure the smell is gone too. Get a new air freshener and some febreeze. It’s amazing how much smell can come from one toddlers sock.

6. Finances and Documents

That giant pile of papers in your room, on your desk, or in your coffee table? Yeah, it won’t take care of itself. And during the holidays. The last thing you want to worry about is knocking it over so it isn’t 'organized’ anymore. Go through it now.

This will give you the chance to get your finances in order before you spend three hundred dollars on lights for the tree when really you can only spend thirty. I found a paper I wrote in fifth grade the other day, and tossed it right out. Honestly, why do we cling to these things? It has been in my life for ten years, and it has served its purpose. Now it’s time to go. This frees up space not only in your desk, but in your mind as well. It was one of those little things that you had been worried about for far too long. And now it’s finally gone.

7. The Decorations

Now is the time, folks, to get your final affairs in order. We are now approaching the holidays so please prepare for landing.

Decorations are the easiest thing in the world to freak out over when you get down to the wire. You count the lights, you measure for garland, you buy the plates and the napkins and even special straws that are made of paper. Candy canes are beautiful on a tree, but the tree isn’t up yet. Not to worry though. Your shopping list is that much smaller because you already took care of it.

Buying what you can ahead of time is something I’ve been doing since April. Buying candles, drinks, and even some gifts before they’re at their holiday prices is something I do to avoid the crowds and the chaos. Yes, I’m on a budget and I know how to work the system to my favor. Buying discount wrapping paper and tinsel the year before is nothing to hide, and props to you if you make your own decorations.

That’s what I did. Wreaths can be up to $70 when they come pre decorated. I bought one for ten and put my own decorations and lights on it for less than forty dollars. And I’ll use it over and over again. Making decorations can also help tame that beast inside of you that is screaming at you to put up the lights now! It’s not even thanksgiving, calm down you little elf.

Once you’ve ticked all of these things off of your list, you’ll find it much easier to breathe while you wrap gifts or wade through the sea of people at the mall. Having your lists organized, your budget in mind, and the peace of mind that your house is organized and ready, you’ll be unstoppable this holiday season!

Happy holidays everybody!

#food #holidays #happy holidays #christmas #cleaning #detox #stress relief #stressed #stress #tidy #tidyup #decoration #christmas lights #prepare for the holidays #oh boy #head start

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opheliagardinier · 6 years ago

Text

jamboree

I’m sorry for having disappeared recently. I think some of you know that I’m in the process of moving back to the US so things are hectic right now and writing hasn’t been my priority. I also couldn’t post it because of what happened with the last fic.

Speaking of the US happy 4th of July! I forgot it was today, haha but I hope everyone that celebrates it is having a good and SAFE day!

Anywho- I’ll probably be posting the ball fics with Wyatt and Vivienne tomorrow if I can get them written. But like I said haha packing.

Thank you Brianna @benjaminschreave for the RP!

I’ll post a dress edit later! Basically it looks similar to the dress in the cover.

word count:2847

I was positioned in front of the floor length mirror in my room, with all three of my maids fussing over me.

“How about this way?” Louisa asked, pulling my hair up to show me what it would look like in a bun. “Or we can leave it down?”

I nodded. Keeping my hairstyle simple seemed like the best idea. Putting it up would have distracted I thought,

I don’t know what exactly I’d been expecting when I’d told Astrid I wanted to make a statement with my ball outfit but she had gone above and beyond and had more than delivered. The dress was bolder than I could have imagined.

“Suck in,” Astrid instructed.

I did as I was told as I felt her pull at the small zipper on the back of my dress. At first, it felt tight, but when I exhaled I was able to settle into the gown a bit more.

My fingertips brushed against the corset of the dress as I did my best to not focus too much on the upper portion of the gown. I was used to the desire to be bold but tonight was different. Tonight I felt almost naked wearing something that normally would have given me confidence.

Before leaving Astrid pulled a little bit of my hair to the side and fastened it in place with some pins. She told me she just couldn’t let me leave looking like nothing had been done to my hair.

When I entered the ball I wasn’t sure what to do first. Not all of the girls had arrived yet, and anyone else who I knew was otherwise occupied.

After grabbing a glass of water from the bar I made my way around the room and talked to various other guests, none of whom really held my attention that well. But all the same, I still tried to be sociable.

At some point, I caught sight of Ben who was speaking with an older couple. When they had finished their conversation I politely said goodbye to who I’d been speaking with and then snuck up behind him.

“Hey there, birthday boy,” I said, covering his eyes.

I felt his cheeks scrunch up beneath my hands as he smiled.

“Trying to do the job the mask couldn’t?” He asked.

I pulled my hands back and grinned at him.

“I think I'm a bit better than a mask, don't you?”

He turned to face me. For a split second, I wanted to laugh at his mask because it was strange to see him that way but I didn’t. And I wasn’t one to laugh anyway considering that I had a mask on as well and it was definitely over the top.

“It’s possible.” He gave me a smile after giving me a quick once-over. “You look very nice tonight, Lia.”

Why thank you, Jam.” I chuckled, feeling my cheeks heat up just a little as I blushed. “You don't look so bad yourself considering you're an old man now.”

“You’re older than me,” Ben told me, with a flat expression.

I tilted my head in amusement. At least he isn’t focusing on this darn dress… But I almost wanted him to.

“You know, I think the first rule of being a gentleman is that you don't bring up a lady's age.”

“Simply clarifying that I am in no way old.” He stated. “And neither are you.”

I laughed, rolling my eyes at his comment. After a little look around I leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Old or not I believe congratulations and- gifts are in order.” I smiled up at him as I rubbed the lipstick off of his cheek with one of my thumbs.

“I hope it’s not dentures as a sign of my old age.” His brows raised with expectancy.

I shook my head. Dentures would have been a funny gift and I almost wished I’d thought of it. But I had to say I did like what I’d picked out for him.

“Unfortunately it's harder than you think to get those on such short notice. So I got you the next best thing.”

“And where would this next best gift be?” He asked.

“It's waiting for you outside,” I told him. “But first I'd like to ask if I can steal you for a dance.”

His lips pursed as he pretended to think about it.

“But am I really in the mood to be stolen? That’s the real question.”

I’d always wondered if the Ben I’d been getting to know would be the same person around others that he was when we were alone. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but I was glad that he seemed to not change too much.

“I guess I'll just have to go ask someone else to dance- maybe Prince Aran perhaps?” I sighed.

“And deny the birthday prince his dance? Outrageous.” Ben took my hand as he flashed me a smile and whisked me away onto the dance floor.

“Drama queen.” I rolled my eyes.

I place one of my hands on his shoulders while the other went the gently hold the back of his neck.

“King.” Ben corrected, as he put his hands on my waist.

“Prince.” I countered, raising my eyebrows at him.

You aren’t the king yet, Jammy Jam… and hopefully you won’t be for a long time. It wasn’t that I didn’t think he would make a good king- I just didn’t think he was ready. Ben deserved to spend the next few years getting to finish growing up and starting his life without all the pressures that came with the crown his father wore.

“Touché.” He laughed.

“Just keeping you in line.” I teased, giving him a wink.

“An excellent Selected in my book.”

“Excellent?” I smirked at him. “That's a big upgrade from ‘meh’.”

As we swayed to the music I commented about how he seemed like he was in a good mood and he filled me in about his day. It seemed like he’d had a good time with his family- off-key singing in all.

We continued dancing, discussing birthday wishes, and joking. I was hoping he would let me in and tell me what he’d been hoping for, but no such luck. But things seemed like they were always that way with Ben.

Ben, of course, asked me if my birthday wishes had come true, but I returned the vague answers he’d given me. Eventually, he broke me and I told him that I had gotten my wishes, which had been a little bit of peace… and a chance.

“Chance for what?” He asked me, with his brows knitting together.

“That's for me to know.” I gave him a sweet smile as reached up to tap his nose.

His nose wrinkled in response.

“And for me to find out?”

“If you're good I might just tell you.”

“Aren't I good already? He asked.

I told him that I thought being a little too good could make you bad. He asked how with that chuckle of his I loved hearing.

“It adds some mystery. And makes me wonder what you're hiding.” I smirked. “I already told you mine- but have you told me yours?”

“I don't have very many secrets.” Ben shook his head. “Nothing as bad as you're probably imagining.”

“If it isn't so bad then tell me?”

I gave him a soft smile. The more time went on the more I felt like he was holding back, and I could just never understand it. Ben knew almost every dangerous or risky detail of my life… and yet… I couldn’t name one bad thing he’d ever done.

You’re overreacting. He’s probably right… No… stand your ground… sharing is a two-way street.

“I... don't really know what you want to hear.”

He stopped dancing, causing me to look up at him in surprise.

“Hey, it's okay. I can stop.” I told him in a soft tone, rubbing his arm. “ know we said no secrets but if you aren't comfortable you don't owe me anything.”

I cringed at my own words. I was right… he didn’t owe me anything and I foolishly kept forgetting that. There were nearly a dozen girls here. I wasn’t any more special to him than the rest of them.

“No, it's not that I'm uncomfortable. I just…” He glanced away for a moment then looked back at me as he tried to force a smile. “Why don't we go get that gift you mentioned?”

“Jam.” I murmured, looking at him in confusion as I quietly nodded.

I let out a sigh as I pulled my hand off of his shoulder and instinctually went to rub my arm. I said a hushed apology as I followed his gaze to the balcony doors.

“Don't be sorry. You don't have to be.”

Ben put one of his hands on the small of my back as he guided me towards the doors. I went without saying anything, glancing back towards the room as we went out onto the terrace. He tugged his mask off and rubbed his eyes for a moment as we got outside. I decided to leave mine on, not feeling like letting him clearly see the less than joyful look on my face.

I reached into one of the many potted plants that lined the balcony and pulled out the small box that I’d wrapped earlier in the day.

“I'm sorry if... that was weird. I didn't mean for it to be.” Ben tucked his mask into his pocket, before looking at the box with a little smile that wasn’t quite all there.

I began to say something back, but instead of finishing I just shook my head and held out the box. He eyed me for a moment before taking it with a much more genuine look of happiness.

“Are you sure there's no dentures inside this?”

I let out an unexpected laugh but told him I was sure. Dentures wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. I almost wished I had thought of it.

He began by taking off the bow then tore off the paper and lifted the lid. After pushing aside the tissue paper he reached in and pulled out the chains inside, dangling them before me.

“Are these... necklaces?” He gave me a confused look.

To be fair the pearls on the chain could give anyone the wrong impression.

“Actually it's a chain for your glasses, so you don't lose them, grandma.” I gave him an amused look, having eased up a bit.

“You bought me chains for my glasses?” He laughed, giving the gift a once over. “That's amazing”

“You like them?” I nodded.

Astrid had just about told me off when I’d revealed what my birthday gift was for Ben. She didn’t find it as funny as I- or Ben- had.

“I love them. They'll probably never leave my room, but they're great.” He let out another laugh, then leaned down to give me a quick kiss. “Thank you.”

I reached up behind my head and pulled at the bow that held my mask in place.

“I'm glad, I wasn't sure you would.” I tugged my mask off.

“A grandma needs her tools.” Ben put the chains back into the box.

“And grandchildren.” I laughed.

“I'd need children first.” He joked.

“Slow down there, at least buy me a drink first.” I chuckled.

Thinking about it he sort of already had. That first night after we’d met and he’d caught me in the wine cellar he’d shared a bottle with me.

“Don't worry, that's many years coming.” Ben rolled his eyes, giving me a smile. “No matter who this ends with.”

I let out an overdramatic sigh- choosing to ignore his last comment.

“Thank goodness, I was so worried.” I winked at him.

“Good to know where we stand,” He said in a dry tone, making sure to add a chuckle.

I curiously asked if he wanted children before I could think about it. But to my surprise, he nodded and said he did, and that it was expected of him. I told him that I mattered what he wanted, which he agreed with, but assured me that his only reasoning wasn’t the expectation that came along with being the heir.

“Do you want kids?” He asked, after watching me for a moment.

“I think so,” I answered, looking up at him in surprise but still managing to nod. Unfortunately, a frown also crept in. “I just never really thought it was an option for me. But if I could I'd be happy.”

“Why did you never think it was an option?” Ben inquired.

“It would be risky for them I always thought…” I shifted my gaze from Ben towards the garden sprawled out beneath the balcony. “And Alex never wanted them, so I haven't really thought about it too much the past few years.” “Regardless of Alex, did you want them?”

“I did,” I answered, surprised by how confident I sounded.

I was pretty sure I’d had the world’s best mother and that I could never live up to that. Part of me thought it would be unfair to any children I might have.

“Then I think that’s settled. Mostly, at least.”

Ben gave me a small smile and told me he hadn’t been expecting to talk about children that evening. It was fair to say the feeling was mutual. The night was young and it already seemed like it had been a roller coaster.

“Really.” I scrunched up my nose as I gave him a smile. “Because that was the whole reason I dragged you out here.”

“A very coercive woman.” He gave a pointed look as he tugged my hand to lead me back towards the doors.

“I didn't threaten you though.” I laughed, relaxing more as I held his hand back. “You came out here to spend time with your favourite bird.”

“Did I? Thanks for refreshing my memory.” Ben looked down at me in amusement.

“Anytime.” I smiled up at him. “I've got to make sure my favourite grandma doesn't forget things- which can be hard in your old age.”

We joked more about his future dentures and I told him that if he asked nicely I might even put them in the glass for him. He seemed horrified at the thought, telling me it was gross and that he’d never ask anyone to do that for him.

“When someone cares about you then you shouldn't have to ask.” I snorted.

“My point is, I wouldn't even expect it.” He smiled.

“Well I'm pretty sure I've told you before- expect the unexpected.”

He told me he’d make it a priority as we stopped just short of the ballroom doors, still out of sight from everyone. Ben leaned forward and kissed my forehead, which sent a small shock down along my spine.

“Thank you again, for the gift”

“You're welcome, grandma.” I smiled up at him, looking back towards the ballroom for a moment. “Even if you missed the mark.”

I leaned up and kissed his cheek then took a step back.

“Next time I won't.” Ben chuckled, as he went to take his mask out of his pocket.

“Let's hope not.” I watched him slip his mask back on, then remembered my own and lifted it up to my face. “Help me?”

I turned around and Ben tied the ribbons for me, perfectly securing my mask back in place.

“That shouldn't fall off for the rest of the night.” He told me.

“Good.” I turned back to him. “Can't have anyone knowing who I am.”

I ran my fingertips over my mask as I made sure it was where it should be, then I thanked him.

“Enjoy some cake for me?”

Ben took a step in the direction of the doors, as I gave him a curious look.

“You're not having any?” I asked, also moving towards the doors.

That feeling of not getting the full story began to creep in again…

Stop it.

With a sigh, he told me that he wouldn’t be having any just yet. I must have looked dumbfounded because he laughed at me and promised that he’d get a piece at the end of the night.

“I'm going to be really upset if I find out you didn't get any cake.” I threw him a pointed look. “Especially when I'm expecting that it's chocolate.”

“It shouldn't disappoint there.” He grinned. “I heard it's delicious.”

“I'll just have to go find out, won't I?”

I gave him one last smile- that hopefully didn’t look as forced as it felt- as I reached forward and pulled the door open for him. He flashed me a smile and told me to enjoy it as he went through. “I'll do my best.” I nodded, rubbing my arm.

“See you later, Lia.”

“Bye, Jam,” I mumbled as I watched him walk away.

#ophelia gardinier #challenge five #selectionoc #benjamin schreave #ben #jam

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blossom862 · 7 years ago

Text

Disney World Part l

Word Count: 1,260

Warning: A little bit of smut? If you want to call it that :))

Is been a couple of weeks since Jojo asked us to take her to Disneyworld. We decided to take her this coming up weekend but for now, I wanted to take her to the mall so I can get her some clothing to wear for the trip.

“Daddy, are you coming with us to the mall?” asked Joelle while playing with her Barbie’s and Bratz’s dolls we bought her for her upcoming birthday. You can say it was an early birthday present.

I love Joelle so much, in this 3 years that I had been with Joe, she had been the most amazing and adorable stepdaughter one can have. At the beginning of the relationship, I thought that maybe she wasn’t ready to see her father with someone else other than her mother, but when her dad introduced me to her, she opened her small arms and gave me a hug. Since that day we became inseparable.

Joe was scrolling through his Twitter account due to the amount of support and love his fans were sending him. I’m so proud of him, he had worked hard every single day just to get his hands in the Continental championship and now he can call it his. Even though some of the WWE fans believe that he is not “good” enough for it or that the WWE “is trying to make him like Cena” he has proved them wrong. Is not fair how rude and disrespectful some people treat him, especially that time when the crowd chanted “ F**K YOU ROMAN”.

“Yes, but I’m going to grandma’s and grandpa’s house first and then I will meet you guys there. I have to discuss some grown-up stuff with them.” He explained to her his upcoming plans while giving her a sweet kiss on her forehead.

“Ok, but please give Nana and Papa a big kiss and hug for me. And also, tell Nana that I will not be able to go with her to the park because I have a tea party to go this Sunday. Love Ya.” Joelle got up from the floor and gave her father a big “hulk” kinda hug before going upstairs to her room.

I turned my head to look at Joe due to the information we just hear from his 8 years old daughter.

“JOJO, WE ARE LEAVING IN 5 MINUTES,” I shouted in order for her to understand.

“OK, MAMA. I’M JUST GOING TO CHANGE MY SHIRT. I’LL BE DOWN IN 5!!!” She replied the same way not too long after me.

Did she just call me mama? OMG, I think I’m going to have a heart attack!. I cannot believe this. I think I’m going to cry.

“ Did you just heard that? She called me mama. Her mama Leati, I think I’m having a heart attack. Joe, I’m going to cry.” I told him while sheering a couple of tears.

I felt a pair of muscular arms around me and a pair of lips against my head. He took my chin between his thumb and index finger while drying my tears with the other hand.

“Hey, shh, it’s okay baby girl. She said it because she knows how an amazing and caring you are with her. She loves you. We love you.” He looked at me with lovable eyes and soon enough I felt his lips collided with mine. I grab his face with both hands and kiss him back with so much love and passion. After kissing him for a couple of minutes I felt how he put his tattooed hand on my waist.

“Mmmm, baby, Joelle is going to be here at any moment. We can finish this later.”

He bit my lower lip before stepping away from me. He pressed his thumb against his lips and gave me a smirk.

“You are right, we can finish this later. But be aware that I won’t be gentle with you. You’ve been warned.”

“Whatever you say, big dog.”

Not long before he said that we heard small steps coming toward us.

“Daddy, Y/N, I am ready. How do I look?” Asked her while showing us her Moana shirt.

“Woah, you look beautiful Jojo.” Replied her father

“Thank you, dad. Auntie Vanessa bought it for me. Isn’t it pretty mama?”

When I heard that, my heart skipped a bit. I can get used to this.

“Absolutely, I love it.”

Joelle went to pick her backpack that she had in the kitchen not before giving her father a kiss and a hug.

“Bye daddy, please make sure to be on time. Do not stay too long at papa’s and nana’s.” She glazed at him while pointing a finger

He started to laugh at her reaction and not soon after, I joined him.

“Do not worry about it love, I’ll be there.”

He gave her a kiss and then he proceeded to do the same to me. He peeks my on my lips and then opened the door for us to exit the house.

Time Skip

We had been searching and looking for an outfit. Jojo wanted to get a Minnie Mouse dress as well as the ears.

“Ughhhh!!!! Why is soooo hard to find a Minnie Mouse dress??? Y/N, do you think they are out of Minnie dresses?” She wimped and looked at me with worried eyes.

I took her hand and guide her to the following store.

“ Do not worry about it, you’ll see we are going to find it. Just relax and enjoy this wonderful atmosphere.”

She smiled and followed me to one of the many kid’s stores.

Bzz…..bzzzz…..bzzzzzzz

I felt my phone ringing in my purse. I took my purse and was looking for my phone when I felt a pair of arms around me.

I turned around to find Joe with his cell phone in hand and a pair of bags in his other one. He looked at me and gave me a peek.

“Hey gorgeous, I was calling you but then when I looked around I saw you guys talking. Did you two found what you were looking for?”

Joelle rolled her brown eyes at her father and shook her head side to side.

“Really daddy? Do you see us with bags in our hands?”

“Hey, hey, hey, low your voice young lady. Just because you are eight years old doesn’t mean you can talk to me like that. “ He warned her with a stern look on his face

She lowers her head down and murmured a “Sorry daddy”

“Ok, anyway, while I was searching for my girls, I found this dress for Jojo. Here, take a look sweet cheeks.”

Jojo took the bag from his hands and walked to the near bench.

“OMG, look Y/N!!! Daddy founded the dress. He bought me a Minnie Mouse dress. Thanks, dad!! You are the best.” she shouted with excitement.

I smiled at Leati and murmured a “ thank you”

He nodded his head and took both of our hands in his big ones. We followed him to the exit of the mall in order to get to the cars.

The sun was almost setting down and it was time to go home and make our bags for this upcoming weekend. We asked Joelle if she wanted to ride with her dad or me and she told us “ With daddy, I need to tell him something serious.” Today was fun and great, now is time to prepare for this interesting and wonderful mini vacation.

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Hope you guys like it!! I decided to make a second part for this. I will post it next Monday or sometime next week!! Again I apologize for any mistakes or errors. This is my second time writing imagines. Please let me know in the comments if you guys liked it!!

*This story is mine, I don’t give permission to post it on another social media. I spend a lot of time into it.

~Joy🌸

Tag list: @ilovedean112

#roman reigns #roman reigns imagine #roman reigns x reader #leati joseph anoa'i #joe anoa'i #joelle #imagines #wwe x reader #wwe raw #wwe series #seth rollins x reader #seth rollins imagine #dean ambrose x reader #one shot #fandom #smackdown #wwe

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