#i am back to watching people play hello neighbor and granny.

[aluminia]

My middle school interests are coming back in full swing. Somehow

[let-it-raines]

I Hope We Never See October (6/?)

When his personal life and football career go up in flames, Killian Jones escapes England for America, finding seclusion in Martha’s Vineyard in order to hide from his demons. It’s a fresh start, or at the very least a paused moment in his life, and all he needs is a few months alone to allow his heart to heal. He doesn’t count on meeting Emma Swan.

Emma’s life depends on tourists who come to the island every summer. It’s how she makes her money working in restaurants and clubs across the vineyard, but every year, she cannot wait until autumn comes and her life returns to normal. She especially cannot wait for Killian Jones to leave.

Rating: Mature

ao3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

August

“I come bearing food.”

No one responds, and Emma knows there has to be at least five people in this house. And while David and Mary Margaret live in a really nice place thanks to Mary Margaret’s dad, it’s not so big that no one can hear her when she walks in the front door.

“Hello?” she repeats, shifting the bags of food in her arms. She’s got approximately eight hundred pounds of appetizers in her car, and she needs help carrying them in. “Hello, it’s me, the lowly caterer. Should I have used a separate entrance than the front, or is someone as lowly as me allowed to use that one? What if the neighbors see?”

Still, no answer, and Emma walks down the hallway until she’s in the kitchen. Every inch of the countertop is covered with food, drinks, cutlery, and the works. It’s an organized mess, much like Mary Margaret herself, and Emma puts the bags she’s carrying on the kitchen table before looking out the window to the pool.

“Oh my God,” she whispers to herself. “Like, oh my God.”

Killian Jones is standing on the pool house roof with what looks like garland or bubble lights or some kind of string object, and David is standing below him to...catch him. It looks like David is there to catch Killian.

Emma pushes open the French double doors and steps outside. “What the hell is happening here?”

Killian drops one of the strings he’s holding, causing David to move to catch it, and Emma swears she sees Killian’s life flash before her eyes before he catches himself on the flattest part of the roof.

“Bloody hell, Swan,” he gasps, out of breath, “warn a man.”

“Consider yourself warned.” She closes the door behind her and crosses her arms over her chest. It’s ridiculously hot out today, and she can already feel the sweat gathering down her back and underneath her bikini top. “What are you doing here so early?”

“Ah, well,” Killian starts as he picks up the dropped string of lights and starts adjusting them again, “I ran into Dave here at the market, we got to talking, and since I had nothing else to do, I’ve agreed to risk my life to hang his lights.”

“He’s more nimble than I am,” David says, like that explains all of this.

“Trust me, mate, Emma knows that.”

“Oh my God,” Emma whispers to herself as Killian and David keep talking, not paying her any attention.

Emma opens the door back and steps inside, away from the madness. She doesn’t know what’s happening out there, and she doesn’t want to know. Some things are better left not talked about or questioned, and this is definitely one of those things. She knows her friends all know Killian. The night at the bar where he met Mary Margaret and Ruby really snowballed things, and it’s fine. It is. She swears it’s fine. Except.

Except, well, they usually never meet the people she’s sleeping with. They’ve met her boyfriends, if only because it was nearly impossible to keep them away after so long, and they liked...Graham. They really liked Graham, not so much the others, and Emma feels the exact same way. But her casual flings, like with Killian, her friends don’t meet them. They don’t meet them, and they really don’t invite them to their big almost end of summer parties. They don’t ask them to help hang they string lights and get ice. She bets they asked him to get ice.

What is happening?

This is…this is a lot, and Emma doesn’t know how to feel about it.

She doesn’t know how to feel about a lot of things, mostly Killian Jones, but there are other things included in there. Those things just aren’t quite so in her face.

Shit.

When Mary Margaret invited him to the party a few weeks ago, Emma was fine with it. It’s just a party. There are going to be a lot of people here, and what was the harm in inviting one more? Besides, it’s not like she could have said no when Mary Margaret asked. That would have been rude, and despite what a few select people say, Emma is not rude.

Emma picks at a grape on the counter, popping it in her mouth, and then gets another one as she watches David and Killian outside. Killian takes another string of lights from David and hooks them over a nail on the roof.

He’s different from her past few flings. They’re usually as big of a mess as she is, and while she assumes Killian is as well, she doesn’t know enough about him to truly know. They’ve got a pretty good deal with their one personal question of the day thing. She knows it’s usually more than that, little things coming out in bed or when he stops by the Blue Dog, but she has comfort in being able to veto any question that gets a little too personal.

If Emma could have a veto in most things in life, it’d be a hell of a lot easier.

Emma grabs another grape and then starts unpacking the food she brought. Mary Margaret must have run to the store to get something else, but Emma knows how she’ll want to arrange things. She’s been to enough Nolan parties to know what happens. If she focuses on this, she’ll be able to ignore the man outside and all the pesky little thoughts in her head.

“Swan,” Killian says from behind her, and Emma lets out a little curse. “What are you doing, love?”

“Helping out in the air conditioning instead of outside.”

He hums and steps up behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist as his scruff scratches her neck. It’s a contrast to the softness of his lips that are running down the side of her throat. Arousal rises in her veins, quick like lightning, and it continues when one of his hands glides down her body and cups her ass as he presses against her.

“Killian,” she whispers, biting her bottom lip, “this is not the place for this.”

“What? Your friends’ kitchen isn’t the place for us to have a little fun?”

“No,” she laughs as she tilts her neck to give him more space, “it’s not. They may know we’re sleeping together, but I don’t think they want to witness it.”

He laughs and twists her around. His fingers skim her collarbone, lifting up the strap of her bikini. “I like this.”

“You’re such a man.” She pushes against his chest and moves away, going back to arranging the charcuterie boards. Multiple. “I’m sorry David roped you into helping. You could have said no.”

“It’s fine. Can I help you in here?”

She wants to say no, to send him back outside, but it might be nice to have company that’s okay sitting in silence with her. The rest of the day is going to be filled with people celebrating the near end of summer, even if it tends to linger for another month midway into September, and Emma could use a little quiet time before the chaos.

“If you could slice those apples for me, that would be great.”

“Aye, love, no problem.”

They work in silence setting up the boards. Killian catches on quickly, copying her arrangements, and eventually Mary Margaret comes home with more fruit and cheese and a car full of hamburger buns. She takes one look at the mess in her kitchen, has a bit of a meltdown, but then Ruby shows up with Mulan and it all starts coming together enough for everything to calm down.

For about five minutes before the neighbors start showing up with their own food and alcohol, and suddenly all the quiet, familiar voices are drowned out by loud new ones. Emma pours herself a glass of lemonade and sinks into a corner of the kitchen before moving outside. It’s miserably hot, the sun warming her skin immediately, but she knows it’ll cool soon. Until then, she finds her spot in a rattan chair in the shade, curling her legs up with her, and she watches as more and more people begin to filter in.

Emma doesn’t know how any two people have this many friends. She keeps a small circle, and they’ve been around for years. She’s slow to trust after spending her entire childhood in foster care, and while she likes to think her past doesn’t define her, she knows sometimes it does. Right now, when she’s cornering herself off while everyone else is having fun, she knows it’s a time where some old demons are knocking at the unlocked door waiting to get in.

She twists the lock and tells them to go away. She doesn’t need this today.

Ruby jumps into the pool, splashing everyone around her, and Emma laughs to herself. Ruby is one of the people that’s allowed in her head, and sometimes when Emma thinks her life is falling apart, she remembers being eighteen years old, desperate for food and a place to stay, and Ruby and Granny taking her in. they gave her a job and a place to stay because Ruby told Granny she would throw a fit if she didn’t take Emma in. So, it was a threat, sure, but it worked.

It’s good. Emma’s life is good. It’s messy and confusing, but it’s good.

Mostly.

Killian walks toward her, tilting his head in question, and she nods, scooting over on the cushion to give him room. Killian takes it, his thigh warm against hers, and then offers her a beer.

“No thanks. Not quite late enough in the day for me to want something to drink. I’ve got to save it all for when David starts telling the bad jokes once he’s finished cooking and can get plastered.” Killian chuckles then puts the bottle down on the grass. “What? You don’t want it either?”

“No.” He wraps his arm around her, letting it lightly fall on her shoulder. His fingertips pull on the ends of her hair, and a shiver runs down her spine. She’s always loved when people play with her hair. “It’s too early for me to be drinking as well. I try to stay away from the stuff when I can.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“Have you now?”

Emma nods and leans a little further into him. She shouldn’t. This all feels a little too couple-like, but she does anyway. “You tend not to drink and when you do, you’re very calculated. You don’t just drink a bunch of wine like I will. It’s almost like you measure it out, literally.”

Killian clicks his tongue and yanks on her hair a little more before he draws his nail over the bare skin of her arm. He doesn’t answer, though. He stays silent, so Emma pulls her legs up and curls into herself while staying next to Killian. Ruby is jumping in the pool again, and Mary Margaret is walking around the pool with a platter of appetizers Emma brought from the Blue Dog.

When Killian still doesn’t answer, Emma decides to change the subject.

“So, tell me, how did you end up being some kind of soccer superstar?”

Killian chuckles and scratches at his chin. “Ah, that’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time. I don’t plan on giving up this chair any time soon. And it’s my one legitimate personal question of the day, so answer or veto.”

His brow raises, like it’s tempting her to take back her statement. She doesn’t. She must be really good at asking the worst questions possible today. They never really talk about what he used to do for a living, mostly because she doesn’t care, but she never thought it would be a sensitive subject. Then again, she should know better. She’s got enough sensitive subjects herself.

She waits for the veto, but it never comes.

“My mum got me into it as something to do after school to keep me active, and I loved it, mostly because Liam, my brother, did it too.” Killian smiles, one of his more genuine ones, and Emma leans back to get a better look at him. She likes the little lines around his eyes much better than the ones around hers. “Long story short, I was bloody good, my father learned there was a way to bet on children’s matches, and he kept me in it to make money. I nearly quit when I found out about it, but then I was too invested in the camps and in training. I loved it, and by some miracle, I ended up being able to do it for a living. I got the dream.”

“So why’d you stop?”

He laughs, but she can tell he finds nothing about this funny, especially when his fingers tighten around her arm. “Well, my brother died, I fell apart, and by professional standards, I was too old to have any kind of time to redeem myself. I nearly drank myself to death, which answers your earlier question, so I’m careful about how much I consume now. That’s actually why I came here...to get away from it all.”

That was...that was much more than Emma was expecting, and she doesn’t know what to say. That’s a common theme in her life. She knows what she feels, but she doesn’t have a damn clue how to express it. So she leans over and wraps her arm around Killian, matching him, and presses up until she can slowly glide her lips over his. It’s soft and sweet, just a taste of how they usually kiss, and she knows it goes against every rule she has for herself.

He’s leaving soon.

This is okay because he’s leaving soon, and when they leave, Emma rarely has to worry about the consequences.

“I wanted to be a ballerina when I was a kid,” she says against his lips, foreheads pressed together. “I never took a class or owned a tutu, but all I wanted was to be able to do the Nutcracker dance because that’s what they did at the community theater. I didn’t have any money as a kid, and I just thought it was the most luxurious thing in the world.”

Emma pulls back. She can’t believe she said any of that, but she did. It’s out there, one tiny piece of the gigantic, five-thousand-piece puzzle that is her life.

“You would have made a hell of a ballerina with those legs of yours, Swan. What an apt last name as well. It could have been a match made in heaven.”

“Ha,” she scoffs, getting up from the chair. “You haven’t seen me dance. Unless it’s, like, in a club where all I really have to do is grind my body on a man, I can’t do it.”

“It’s easy. All you need is a partner who knows what he's doing.”

“And what if I want to be a soloist?”

His brows go up at that. “Well, then you need a teacher because apparently you make a poor excuse for a dancer.”

Killian stands from the chair, and in two quick steps, he’s next to her with his hands on her ass lifting her up. She doesn’t register what’s happening quickly enough for her legs to go dead, and by the time she’s in the air over his shoulder, she doesn’t care enough to fight what’s coming.

It’s a party, she reminds herself, might as well have a good time.

“Get my phone out of my back pocket before you throw me in, would ya?” she asks, and Killian slips his hand in and gets her phone. “Thank you. I’m totally getting back at you for this later.”

Killian stops as Ruby wolf whistles, Mary Margaret gasps, David chuckles, and everyone else starts whispering about whether or not Killian is actually going to throw her in.

He does.

The water is cold at first, like a shock to the system, but by the time she rises to the surface, it’s just the burst of energy that she needed. Killian is sitting at the edge of the water smirking, and yeah, she’s definitely got to get him back for this later.

-/-

-/-

@qualitycoffeethings @marrtinski @klynn-stormz @scarletslippers @elizabeethan @jrob64 @therealstartraveller776 @thejollyroger-writer @galadriel26 @galaxyzxstark @idristardis @karenfrommisthaven @teamhook @searchingwardrobes @jamif @shireness-says @ultimiflos @onepunintendid @bluewildcatfanatic @superchocovian @killianswannn @carpedzem @captainkillianswanjones @mayquita @mariakov81 @jennjenn615 @onceuponaprincessworld @a-faekindagirl @scientificapricot @xellewoods @ultraluckycatnd @stahlop @kmomof4 @tiganasummertree @singersdd @tornadoamy @cluttermind @andiirivera @itsfabianadocarmo @captain-emmajones @ilovemesomekillianjones @taylrsversion @dramioneswan @jonesfandomfanatic @wefoundloveunderthelight @gloriousfemaleworrier @spartanguard @snowbellewells

[nothingeverlost]

Coming Home (Baby Steps verse)

Happy Rumbelle anniversary my darling co-shippers!  in honor of the day have a mostly fluffy fic with these two dorks who can’t deal with their emotions, and a few peppered Skin Deep references.  Shippy in a ‘omg get a clue’ kind of way.

Also Swanthief shippiness.

Bae Gold comes home from Italy, completely unaware that his dad doesn’t live in the pink house anymore.  

II

“Dad’s going to be so surprised.”  Bae picked up one normal rock before finding the fake one with the key inside.

“You know it’s not too late for me to head to a hotel and let you guys have some time before introducing me.”  Emma hung back a little with their bags, just unloaded from their Lyft ride.  They were both in desperate need of a washing machine.

“There’s no hotel in Storybrooke, we’re too small for that.  Besides there’s no reason to pay to stay somewhere when we have a house.”  It was his home, and the only place he’d lived until he’d gone away to school, but it had been three years since he’d been back.  Long enough that it felt a little weird.  Some of his memories here were not the happiest, but the fights between his parents were long over as were his mom’s glacial freezes and fiery tantrums.  She was off on an adventure that made her happier and home now meant his dad.  “I want to show you where I grew up.”

“Okay but I draw the line at filling any of your teenage fantasies about climbing through the window while everyone is sleeping.”  Emma slung her duffle over one shoulder.

“You didn’t seem to mind that one I had about the backseat of a car.”  Neal laughed as he turned the key in the lock, pushing open the front door.

“I still swear they put something in the wine at that dinner.  It was really strong.”  Emma tossed her duffle on the ground, in a corner that meant it was out of the way.  “I really need to pee.  Bathroom?”

“Right over there.”  He pointed her in the direction of the downstairs bathroom next to the library.  The door to the library itself was open and empty.  It was one of his dad’s favorite rooms, which confirmed the fact that he probably wasn’t home.  If he didn’t pop up soon he’d call, but for now he and Emma could use a shower - together if he had any say about it.  His first priority was something to drink; air travel always dehydrated him.

There was a sippy cup in the sink.  Also a plate with Sesame Street characters on it.  Weird, because his dad wasn’t the babysitting-the-neighbor’s-kids type.  

“Hey, does your dad have a girlfriend?  There are bras drying in the bathroom.  If they’re his I’m not judging or anything, it just doesn’t fit in with anything you’ve said about him.”  Emma found him in the kitchen, standing in front of the fridge.  There were applesauce pouches on the top shelf and flavored creamer on the inside door shelf.  His dad hated flavored creamer.

“I’m feeling very twilight zone, Emms.”  His dad had never said a thing about dating, not ever, and it might not be odd to go on a few dates but having someone move in with him was different.  And someone who had a kid was really weird.

“What are you doing in my home?”  Bae was startled from his exploration of the fridge when someone spoke from behind him.  A woman shaped someone, holding a plastic croquet mallet, or maybe it was an oversized hammer.  Either way it wasn’t that threatening.  It was her words that twisted his gut.

“Your home?”  It had never occurred to him that his home wasn’t his anymore, that his dad might have sold it.  But the furnishings were the same, and many of the knick nacks as well.  

“The sheriff’s station is only a mile and a half from here.  I could have someone here in two minutes.”  The woman spoke with an Australian accent that might have been sweet to hear if she didn’t sound so nervous.  Bae wasn’t used to making people feel nervous.

“I’m not a threat, I promise.”  He held his hands up just to make himself look as unassuming as possible.

“He’s probably the least threatening guy you’ll meet.  Rather run from danger than face it.”  Emma still stood behind him.

“Thanks, Emma.”  He rolled his eyes.  “Unless things have changed this time of day Graham’s probably at Granny’s diner.  I’m sure he could be here in a couple of minutes but you don’t need him and his lunch would just get cold.  I can explain.”

“Strawberry?”  From behind the stranger a little girl suddenly appeared, toddling into the kitchen with a bowl of fruit that had a pattern matching the pieces in the sink.  “Ruby share.”

“Not right now, sweetheart.”  The brunette abandoned her plastic toy to pick up the girl, holding her on one hip and half turning so she was as far away from them as possible.  Bae had to admire the protective instinct even as he stared in confusion at the kid.  Her hair was almost the same color as his own.  He had no clue how old she was but she had to be younger than three.  Did his dad have a kid?  Did he have a sister?  “I really need you to tell me why you’re here, please.”

“I live here, or at least I thought I did.  I mean I’ve been away at school, and this semester I was in…”

“You’re Bae.”  Her shoulders sagged as the tension drained away.  “I’m sorry, it never occurred to me that Trevelyn wouldn’t tell you.  I’m Belle, and this is Ruby.  Your dad said you were flying back soon but he was planning to see you in New York in a few weeks.”

“Surprise?  I’m Emma, by the way, since Bae seems to have lost his tongue.  We decided to come back a little early.  I got a summer job that pays really well but it starts in a week.”  Emma opened the cabinet closest to the sink and then the one next to it, pulling out a cup for water.

Bae couldn’t stop staring at the little girl Belle still held.  “Are you and my dad…”  

“Are we?”  Belle looked at him, her expression blank for a moment before she blinked and her cheeks turned pink.  “No.  Oh, it’s nothing like that.  Trev rented this place to me.  He’s my landlord and my friend, and he watches Ruby for me sometimes.  She’s my ward.”

“I didn’t think anyone used that word anymore.”  Bae wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or disappointed.  He didn’t like to think that his dad would keep such a huge secret from him, but he also didn’t like that his dad had been alone for such a long time.  Knowing he might have someone had been nice.  Weird, but nice.

“I guess it comes from reading too much Jane Austen.  When my foster mom died she left custody of her granddaughter to me.  Maybe it would be easier to say she’s sort of my niece.”  Maybe it was knowing she was being talked about, or maybe she didn’t like being still for so long, but Ruby wiggled to be let down.  When Belle complied she ran over to Bae and Emma.  

“Lion say?”  Ruby asked, looking up at them.  Bae looked over to Belle.

“She wants you to play the animal sound game.  Ask her what a lion says and she’ll tell you.”

“What does a lion say?”  Bae squatted down so he was eye to eye with the little girl.

“Rawr!”  Ruby wrinkled up her nose and showed off her tiny teeth when she made her noise.  Bae asked her another five or six noises, getting a moo, quack, baa, tweet, and a confused look in return.

“That’s enough, Gold.  We still have to figure out where we’re showering and sleeping.”  Emma nudged him gently on his shoulder.  “Though it’s nice to see you carrying on a conversation with someone at the same maturity level as you.”

“Good?  Hello Good.”  Bae was about to tease Emma back when Ruby suddenly ran over to Belle, holding her hands up.  “Hello?”

“Yes, sweetheart.”  She picked Ruby up, setting her down on the counter.

“Does that mean something?” he asked curiously.  He’d never spent much time around younger kids.

“She wants to call your dad, actually.  Hello is what she calls the phone and the ‘L’ sound used to give her some trouble so he’s ‘Good’ when she talks about him,” Belle explained.  “We should call Trev and let him know you’re here, but you’re both welcome to use the shower and your room is still untouched if you wanted to stay.  I’m afraid the B&B is full this week, or I’d put you up there instead so you could be closer to your dad.”

“Closer to dad?”  He was going to crack a joke about his dad being called good but now he was just confused.  “He doesn’t live here?”

“He’s been renting a room at the B&B for almost three years.  That’s how I know him, from when Granny died and I took over running things.”  Belle froze with her cell phone in her hand.  “You didn’t know?”

“He always came to see me.”  He hadn’t been home for three years, his dad was always so eager to see the city.  It had seemed like an adventure, just the two of them, new memories to make in a new place.  And he’d loved being the one that knew more, getting to show off for his dad.  Crap, he didn’t know what to think now.

“Hey.”  Emma’s arms slipped around him from behind, and she rested her chin on his shoulder, holding him close.  Somehow she knew what he needed better than anyone else could have known.  He covered one of her hands, linking their fingers together.

“Suddenly walking in on your parent having sex isn’t the weirdest homecoming this week.”  They’d shown up at Emma’s parents' house just as unexpectedly, and apparently hadn’t learned their lesson yet.

“They were not having sex, they were taking a nap.  In the middle of the day.  Naked.  And you promised we would never talk about it again, Bae Gold.”  She didn’t really sound irritated, though.  How he’d managed to go to Italy and find the perfect someone who just happened to live only a couple of hours away he didn’t know, but he was beyond grateful.

Belle looked amused.  “There’s bread if you want sandwiches, and I am serious about the showers and the bed if you’re interested.  You dad can let you know I’m not a serial killer or anything.”

“Would you mind if we used the washing machine too?  The shower doesn’t do much good without clean clothes,” Emma asked.  

“Of course.  Bae knows where things are probably better than I do.  I need to get this little lion up to bed for her nap but then one of us should call Trev.”  

“No sleep.”  Ruby tried to crawl across the counter but Belle grabbed her around the waist and picked her up.  

“After sleep you can help cook, okay?  We can invite Gold for dinner.”  Belle looked at Bae, though she was speaking to Ruby.  He nodded.

“Good eat cheese?  Please?” Ruby rubbed her eye with one fist, belying any argument about not needing a nap.

“You can have cheese for dinner, Rubes.  We’ll probably serve everyone else something a little more well rounded than cheese cubes and watermelon.”

“I don’t know, sounds good to me,” Bae teased.

II

Gold was about to take a break from work for lunch when the phone rang.  For just a moment he was annoyed until he saw Belle’s name flash.  “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.”  

“Ruby down for her nap?”  The diner was slow enough on Mondays she took the day off.  It felt silly to admit that he missed them both when he had seen them the day before, but even after almost five months it was strange not to be living down the hall from them.  Even when he had his door shut he was used to hearing the familiar noises of the girl playing and Belle talking.

“She is, after much protest.  She was much more interested in our new houseguests than her bed.”

“You have visitors?”  She hadn’t mentioned anything about company.  So far as he knew she hadn’t had anyone stay overnight, and he couldn’t help but wonder who it was.  An old friend from Chicago? An old boyfriend?

“Actually you have visitors.  Just off the plane from Italy and currently taking a shower.”

“Bae?  He’s home?”  Oh crap.  Bae had made no mention of coming to Storybrooke.  None at all for three years.  It had made it easy to avoid telling him that the house had been too big, too full of bad memories without Bae’s presence to balance it out.  That the weight of it all had been so suffocating he’d run and rented a room at the B&B.  Just a few nights, he’d told himself.  A few had turned into a week, a week into a month, and a month into almost three years.

“He wanted to surprise you.  Surprised me instead.  And himself, when I found him in the kitchen.”

“I’m so sorry.”  Of course Bae would have let himself in, he didn’t know better.  He hated to think how Belle felt, finding a strange man in her home.  He hated almost as much how Bae must have felt, finding someone else living in his home.  “It’s my fault.  I should have told him.”

“We’ll laugh about this one day, Trev.”  She was laughing now, a warm sound that touched him almost as much as her words about the future did.  It always made the butterflies fill his stomach when she talked about ‘one day’ or ‘next year.’  Like she saw their lives as entwined in a way he wouldn’t dare assume.  “He’s a delight, your Bae.  A very friendly boy.”

“I don’t know where he got that from.  Sometimes the apple is flung rather far from the tree.”  She called him a boy but Bae was only seven years younger than Belle.  Certainly closer to her in age than he was.

“No one has been a better friend to me than you, Trevelyn.  I see a lot of you in him already, and we’ve only had one conversation.”  Gold almost dropped the phone.  She couldn’t actually mean that, could she?  Belle had many friends.  It sometimes seemed half of Storybrooke was her friend from the easy way they all smiled and talked to her when she was at the diner or when they walked through the park with Ruby.  “I know you’re working but Bae did come to surprise you.  Can you come over soon?  I hope you don’t mind but I already promised Ruby that you’d stay for dinner.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can wrap things up.  Half an hour?”  There wasn’t anything work related that needed to be done before tomorrow, but he needed a minute to himself to breathe and steel himself to see his boy.  He had a lot of explaining to do.  

“We’re having sandwiches.  Should I make one for you or have you eaten already?  Real food, I mean.  Tea doesn’t count as a food group.”

“Tea is one of the most important food groups.”  It was the same joke he’d used a hundred times when she’d fussed over him not eating breakfast.  It was comforting.

“I’ll make you a sandwich.  One more won’t make a difference.  Bae looks like he could eat a couple, and Emma’s probably starving too.  You know how airplane food is.”

“Emma’s there?”  His son had spoken of her, but he didn’t know they were traveling together.  A fling in Italy was one thing.  Bringing her home to meet him seemed to speak of something else entirely.

“They’re good together.  It’s sweet to see them, so clearly in love.”

“Yeah.”  He remembered being young, and thinking love was clear and obvious.  Now he knew it was never simple and far from easy.  There was nothing clear about it, especially when you held it close to your chest and didn’t dare tell anyone else about it.  Certainly not the person you were in love with.  “I’ll see you all soon.”

II

Trevelyn knocked on the door just a little over twenty minutes later.  Belle had told him a hundred times he could just come in - it was his house after all.  He always knocked, even if he was coming to make some small repair or to watch Ruby for an hour.  While she always wanted him to feel welcome there was also something old fashioned and sweet about him waiting for her to let him in.  After all it had taken a year for him to call her by name and share his in return.

“Hey.”  She opened the door to find him doing his best to hide his nerves.  “They’re in the dining room.  Ruby’s still sleeping.  I offered to let them sleep here; I hope that’s okay with you.”

“That’s too much of an imposition.  I can…”  Gold stopped, and remembered that the other rooms in the B&B were full.  There wasn’t an alternative he could suggest.  “I’m sorry.  That’s kind of you, and I appreciate it.  Thank you.”

“Ruby will think he’s staying to be a playmate for her.  He’s good with kids.”  Once she’d gotten over her shock and had been able to relax she’d been amused to see him squatting down to play with Ruby.  He did so with more ease than his dad, but other than that the resemblance was strong.  They even made some of the same hand gestures.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen him with kids before.”  He would have been happy to have siblings for his boy, but Milah had been adamant after her pregnancy that she wasn’t going through all that again.  His delight at seeing her stomach swell had been the opposite of her feelings.  Her focus after Bae was born had been on getting her body back into shape.  Bae had been fed by bottle, and Trev had been in charge of most of his meals, especially the ones in the middle of the night.

“My experience with kids is pretty limited but I have a lot of practice with stubborn old men who keep very big secrets from their exceptionally awesome child.”  Bae had apparently abandoned lunch to join them in the hall.  “Hey dad.  I think you might have forgotten to mention a thing or two.”

“Bae.” Belle took a step back when Bae and Trev hugged, delighted to see how affectionate they were with each other.  Even after the hug ended they still touched, Trev’s hand on his son’s shoulder.  “You look good, son.”

“Italy was amazing.  Emma is even more amazing.  I couldn’t wait for you to meet her, dad.”

“I’m going to go check on Ruby.”  If the toddler was awake, of course, everyone would know.  She had a tendency of sitting on her bed and howling like a wolf to announce that nap time had ended, or just getting up and playing with her toys in a way that wasn’t at all silent.  Bae wouldn’t know that, and Trev was probably too distracted to realize she was using it as an excuse to leave father and son alone.  Ruby, of course, was still sleeping.  Belle took a moment to get sheets out of the linen closet to give them a wash after Bae and Emma were done with their laundry.  After a moment she got out a second set; she shouldn’t assume that they would want to share a bed, though instinct told her they would.  She lingered a minute longer looking at the photos hanging in the hall of a younger Bae; now that she’d seen him as an adult she could recognize him.  If she hadn’t met him so unexpectedly and been focused on if she and Ruby needed to run she might have seen the family resemblance.  After a few minutes she headed back to the stairs.

“She needed a home, and this place is better for them.  After you left this house was suddenly too much.”  

“I’m sorry, dad.  I should have…

“You should have done exactly what you did, Bae.  I would never want to hold you back.  You need to explore and learn and find new things, find your things.  Every day I miss you but I am so proud to watch you become the man you have become.  I want your happiness more than anything, and staying here wouldn’t let you become who you’re supposed to be.”  Belle held the slightly musty sheets to her chest and felt guilty that she was watching such a personal scene.  She couldn’t look away, though.  Trev was so good at keeping things inside that she often had to guess what his small gestures and expressions meant.  She appreciated his biting wit and knew from his actions that he cared about her, but rarely did he discuss his feelings so clearly.  Bae was lucky to have a father that loved him and wasn’t afraid to say it.  She struggled to think when her father had made his love and pride known to her.  

“I love you, dad.  Your happiness matters just as much.”  Bae frowned a little.

“I’m not unhappy,” Trev teased, looking up as Belle came down the stairs, no longer comfortable without them knowing she was there.  She smiled at him, pleased to see him happy.  Perhaps she was too focused on that smile or perhaps it literally made her knees weak because she was a couple of steps from the bottom when she missed the edge of the step.  She barely registered the fact that she was falling and that she was going to hit the floor when suddenly she was wrapped in warmth instead.  She blinked and looked up to find Trev staring at her, eyes wide and breathing heavy.  He held her in his arms, his cane fallen to the ground.

“Thank you.”  They’d hugged a couple of times, but she’d never been close enough or lingered long enough to feel his heart beating against her skin.  She was tempted to lean her head against him, wanting the feeling to last a little longer, but that wasn’t fair to him or good for his leg.

“It’s no matter,” he said as he carefully helped her to stand.  “Are you certain you’re alright?”

“I should be the one asking you.  I only fell, you’re the one that had to catch me.”  She bit her lip before asking if his leg was alright, knowing how reluctant he was to mention his cane or injury.

“That was so quick reflexes, dad.  Color me impressed.”  Bae held his dad’s cane in his hand and offered it.  “I’m glad you’re alright, Belle.”

“I told Ruby you were our guardian angel when you offered us this place, Trev.  I guess I was more right than I knew.”  After straightening her dress a little she bent down to pick up the dropped sheets.  “I’m going to put these in the laundry room and go make some iced tea.”

The washing machine was running, a comfortably bland and repetitive sound.  Belle leaned against it and took a handful of deep breaths, willing her heart to slow down and mimic the rhythm of the washer.  She wasn’t certain if her racing heart was because of the near disaster or if it was entirely down to being held in Trevelyn Gold’s arms.  It didn’t matter; even if Bae and Emma weren’t around she wasn’t brave enough to find out.  She had Trev’s friendship and it meant the world to her.  She might want more, but not at the cost of what she had.  There was no reason to think that he’d be interested in a relationship with anyone, let alone her. 

“Hey, sorry.  Just seeing if it was time to switch things to the drier.”  Emma leaned in the doorway.  “You okay?”

“Yeah, just bringing down sheets to wash so we can make beds up later.  Or bed?”  It was easier to think about someone else’s relationship rather than her own non-existent one.  “We have two extra rooms.”

“We just need the one, unless that’s weird for you.  I know some people wouldn’t feel comfortable with that.  We stayed at this one place in a little village where they wouldn’t rent us a single room because we weren’t wearing wedding rings.”  Emma rolled her eyes.  Belle laughed.

“It doesn’t bother me in the least, and I’m pretty sure Trev would be a lot more bothered by you two coming back married than you two sharing a room.”

“You know him pretty well, don’t you?”  Emma asked.  Belle looked down at her hands and wondered how to answer the question.

“I don’t know if anyone knows him very well, other than Bae.  He’s a man with a lot of layers, and everything I learn about him is like a gift.  He’s a good friend, and I don’t know where I’d be without him.  I went from working in Chicago one day to coming home for a funeral to find that I suddenly had a baby and two businesses to run.  I didn’t even know how to hold a Ruby without her crying until Trev taught me.”  It was just over a year and a half now, and already it was impossible to imagine her life without him in it.  “Speaking of Ruby I think I hear her.”

“Is that what that noise is?”  Emma laughed as they heard a second little howl.

“She likes to pretend she’s a wolf cub.  It’s her favorite animal.”  Belle put down the sheets and headed back to the stairs, only to find Trev and Ruby walking down them hand in hand.  Trev patiently waited on each step for Ruby to find her footing; she was working on walking down rather than scooching down on her butt.  Belle looked up at how completely focused Trev was on the little girl and felt her heart, so recently calmed, starting to race again.  She couldn’t deny it anymore, she was in love with him.  Maybe, just maybe, she could work up the courage to tell him.

But not today.

“Anyone ready for dessert?  We have cake,” she offered once Ruby was done with the stairs and running to find her new friend.

“I believe I should have my sandwich first, or I might get scolded.  Apparently neither tea nor cake count as a properly balanced meal.”  Trev followed her to the kitchen, teasing gently.  Belle smiled back, and tried her best to tuck her bigger emotions away.  

“The cake will still be here when you’re ready for it,” she promised, handing him the sandwich.  “Do you think Bae wants a slice of cake?”

“His sweet tooth is even worse than mine.  I have known him to polish off half a cake all on his own, and saying no to dessert is generally a sign of illness.”  He waited while she cut the cake, and helped her carry it into the dining room where Bae and Emma broke apart quickly from a kiss.  Ruby was already waiting in her booster seat, and they all settled down to share their meal together.

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 27

Last time: Awful ‘finale’ moments happened, the EEC count finally updated, and iTunes decided to be a jerk and leave me with an incomplete show in my videos tab for eternity. Onwards!

And we’re back, with Season Two/the next cour/however this crazy show is split up! We left off with some very annoying threads dangling (Ed/Ling/Envy crossing realities, Al and Greed about to meet The Big Bad, ect.), so let’s get to it! ...this is not the unresolved issues being resolved, this is a happy-go-lucky peasant bonfire. What does this have to do wit- BEARD! The Beard has been sighted, lurking on the fringes of the festivities. Is this where Papa Elric’s been hanging out after walking out (again) on his son all those episodes ago? What does he even do to pay the bills? (Besides being the ‘secret’ bad guy, I mean). GOOD, be sad and lonely as you sit over there, instead of being an actual father and oh my Leto who is this lady? Are you actually hooking up with someone else instead of taking care of… your… Pinako? I know that name… NO. PLEASE NO. AAAARGH IT’S BAD ENOUGH THAT WE’RE STUCK IN A FLASHBACK EPISODE BUT NOW BEARD IS GETTING PROPOSITIONED FOR DRINKS BY GRANNY ROCKBELL WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG AND HE’S SMILING NO NO NO DO NOT DO THIS TO MY SHIP LETO SAVE ME

*ahem* I apologize for that. Let’s move on. New intro! A metallic arm reaching up from a field of white flowers, funky guitar music as the title comes up and we see it’s Ed lying on his back looking sad before Angry!Ed comes back and he beats up a poor flower and gets back up. Now he’s facing Titan!Envy, Gluttony, big dude who I guess is Sloth, Wrath… wait, what? Why is… *gets up, pulls off and throws down headphones, rushes to Tephi’s room* “Tephi?! Why is Ling wearing black? Why is Ling standing next to the goths?!” “*shrug* You should keep watching and find out.” AAAAAAAHHHHH. Ed looks about as pissed as I am right now, rushes forward before getting the crap beaten out of him. Roy in a white coat? Another flashback to the Ishvalan Civil War? Now FIRE EVERYWHERE as someone stands above the ashes oh hey Mister Smiley, I remember you from when you murdered the family of the guy who’s Determinedly Frowning onscreen now, I sure hope he comes across you someday! Roy looks into a fire then camera pans to stand next to Hughes (whyyyy), having a staring contest with Bradley. Back to Titan!Envy as he gets a visit from Dentist!Al, a TC making a Philosopher’s Stone that’s eaten by some smug dude in a white suit and fedora (It’s after Labor Day, dude. Get with the program.) More flashes of the now-defunct-Conspiracy in their white Civil War outfits looking sad INCLUDING MUSTACHELESS THE MIGHTY ARMSTRONG CRYING HOW DARE YOU SIR and a flash of yup I got a glimpse of Father not being in shadow at this point, that is clearly Beard without his glasses. Joy. And then they drive the point home with an eye zoom that turns to Glasses!Beard looking at a picture (hmmm, I wonder what picture it is? /[sarcasm]) at a campfire. Now dude with gun arm, sunglasses guy, giant tank and HELLO who is this lady? She just waved her sword and lo, there was an explosion thanks to her tank. New Badass Lady character? Ok, she’s standing at the head of the two guys who just showed up and a bunch of other dudes in fur-collared coats. Oh, hold up! Way back when Ed was talking about the neighbors of Amestris, how up north across the mountains there was a place with a shaky non-aggression treaty with them. Please tell me our boys get their own army.

Now lots of screaming people and a poor horse getting eaten by Gluttony, Ed staring down the Gate of Truth, that terrible scene of him getting pulled away from his brother in the in-between place, Al fighting and getting grabbed by white hands, Ed snapping out of his daydream back in the field and again going to smash the ground… but pausing at the last second to spare the little white flower. Alright, a good intro! Plenty of interesting moments, I’ve got high hopes for this next stretch of episodes. Episode 27 - “Interlude Party” We’ve got the happy-go-lucky plucky string music playing as peasant couples dance around the bonfire and Pinako drinks with Beard in the shadows, making me cry at the terrible terrible implications for my poor ship and saying it’s nice to let loose every now and then. Beard just drinks in silence like the socially-awkward absentee father he is, so Pinako rambles about finding happiness whenever you can, especially in a war-hungry country like Amestris. Just take Ishval, for example... [Lust(?)]: “And no matter how many times it happens they never learn. The human race is made up of violent, miserable fools.” RIOT TIME! Hold on, isn’t this the town that the Goth’s drove crazy after Father Cornello turned out to be a false priest? Ok, now it’s Ishval with the cannons going off and the Blue Eyes marching in. Some dude’s remarking Ishval and Liore have been crazy lately oh hi Hughes! Hmm, looks like flashbacks to all the mentions of Amestris’ conflicts, Ed talking about skirmishes with “Aerugo to the south and Creta to the west” and there it is, the northern country of Drachma! Come on, hurry up and get moving north you kids, I wanna see more of our new Intro characters! Back to the bonfire, a little girl has run up and asked Beard to dance with her. Aw! But he says he’ll just sit there, Pinako needles him about being old until the little girl gives up on the lost cause. [Pinako]: “That girl, so bossy. Weren’t your two boys around her age? When they started planning to bring back their mom?” Wait, what? But- Hold up, I remember this scene of the boys sitting at the grave, didn’t they follow Little!Winry back home for supper right after that? I definitely remember the argument between Ed and Granny Rockbell over supper, and she was just a little bit older then. What’s going on here? Wow. You’re just gonna go “Nah, no point in trying to talk to the boys about committing the Ultimate Taboo to try and bring back their dead mom and my dead wife. More booze, please!”. Father of the Year, everyone! Yup, we are definitely in a recap episode now, presumably this came after a good gap between this and the last cour to remind everyone of all the happy, cheerful times this show has given us! Like Dismembered!Ed crying out over the loss of his younger brother, witnessing the brief existence of the Thing in the TC, and sacrificing his arm to make Al into Soul Armor. Scenes of the Elric Brothers seeking the Stone, discovering the damning secret ingredient for the Stone… the bonfire collapses and the music gets melancholy as Beard looks on. Uh, something’s up with the shadows… “It’s remarkable how weak they are.” Aha, fabricated memory or somesuch! I knew the timing was off with Pinako’s age, this is all some sort of internal dialogue in Beard’s head! My ship is still safe! Huzzah! Ok, so there’s a split between Beard and Father, is what I’m getting here. Beard is still sitting in his rumpled brown coat nursing some booze, while Father is standing with face partially out of camera in nicer clothes, chiding humanity for their weakness and talking about their “one good use as a natural resource”. Aaaand Beard’s glasses are opaque again, he’s back to being Evil. Mid-show cards of Van Hohenheim (still gonna call him Beard) and Pinako Rockbell. Back to flashbacks! Ed’s found the secret Stone-making TC under the Fifth Laboratory, that great fight scene between Ed and the Brother Armor (one of the funniest scenes, too), Ed swearing that he sees Soul Armors as being human too and swearing he will never take the life of another person, #48 about to spoil the plot before Lust shuts him up, Ed encountering Goths for the first time, sudden jump at mention of “important sacrifice” to Gluttony cheerfully taking Al to see Father, Bradley mentioning that Teacher might be a worthy candidate as well (boo!), Lust “killing” potential sacrifice Roy, and Marcoh himself in his cell. Now it’s Hughes… with his last discovery before the Goths silenced him. Marcoh saying his (and my) theory of turning the entire country into a TC like Mr. Freeze did back in Episode 1. [Pinako]: “You’ve always known about their plans, haven’t you? Well, Hohenheim?” Beard finally admits to- wait, what? [Beard]: “Even if I’d spoken up, warned them, it wouldn’t have changed anything.” What do you mean, “warned them”? Of course you wouldn’t warn them about your own scheme, what is Figment!Pinako talking about?

Beard is saying he’s watched humanity for a long time now (How long? And just how is Beard so long-lived? I get he created the Goths, or at least I thought so before Pinako’s line just now…), and he just sees them make the same mistakes again and again- uh, some of the dancers just bumped into each other and exploded, scattering blood on some very confused girls. [Beard]: “They’re so fragile… how could they not break?” Flashes of the Homunculii healing/hulking out, Gluttony going Gate, Bradley revealing his status to Greed as Wrath and kicking his butt, Roy getting tricked by Raven (jerk) to Bradley’s “so let’s discuss potential human sacrifices, my military officials” meeting, the first flashes of Father as Beard talks about how humans lack the strengths of the Goths, they can’t defend themselves. [Pinako]: “But that won’t make us give up. We will never give up!” You go, Mental Pinako! Kick his arguments to the curb! Ha! It’s working, Beard is admitting that it’s a human characteristic (flashes of Badass Roy killing Lust, Ed defying Greed and working out his weakness, Al arguing with Scar in defense of Alchemy, Scar’s brother protecting him from Mister Smiley’s attack and giving his own arm to save his life, Lan Fan giving up her own arm just to distract Wrath after Ling saved her life…) [Pinako]: “They can put us through hell, but it doesn’t matter! Nothing they can do will make us give up! And some day we will win!” Damnit, now Father’s in on the debate, Beard’s vanished for this argument. Father’s saying Pinako can’t change anything, everyone will die and she’ll be left with nothing. He says the only smart thing to do is grab what’s important and run away, suddenly he’s seized her and [Father]: “You act like you have a conscience, but you’re just being sentimental. Isn’t that right, Hohenheim?” Pinako!Mask removed to show Beard, not very happy with this new development. [Father]: “You think you can change things? You honestly believe one act of caring will make you human?!” Beard is gasping for breath as Father rants about how humans are just a resource, left unchecked they will spread like weeds, their basic nature can’t be changed. Beard… Beard slowly leans forward, glasses going opaque. His hands still- Someone’s grabbed his hands, a young woman with short brown hair. [?]: “We will change. Because we can change! I know it. We may be weak, but we just have to be. If not, then we wouldn’t have any reason to go out, to get strong. I know that it may seem futile to you, but it’s not. Because we are getting stronger with every step we take.”

*credits music has started up* [Roy]: “And in turn they’ll protect the ones they love. It seems like the least we tiny humans can do for eachother.” [Ling]: “I-I wasn’t ready for this. Lan Fan was, though. She made the decision that I was too weak to make.” [Al]: “I’m sick of watching people die! And I can’t just sit back and take it anymore! I won’t let anyone else get killed! Not when I can protect them!” [Ed]: “I won’t run away from this.” [Ed]: “We’ll knock that jerk Truth on his butt!” [Ed]: “Al! Al, come on! Please! Hurry, Al!...” [Ed]: “Alphonse! Look at me! I’ll come back! Just you wait!” [?]: “You see? I’m sure we can change! Because we’re weak. And because we die. We have to fight in order to live! And that’s what will make us strong. And if that’s not enough? If you’re still not convinced that we can change?” Yes, yes, I know this can’t last because we have so much show left but Leto damn it if it isn’t awesome to see Beard’s glasses clear again [!!!]: “Then think about us.” It’s Mama Elric! [Mama Elric!!!]: “All of the days we spent with our family in Resembool.” And now Beard is sitting on a moss-covered log in daylight, green grass around and petals slowly falling. He has a blank look on his face, seeing Pinako and Mama Elric and his boys and so many other people standing in front of him. Little Al’s shirt hardly fits him as he clutches Mama Elric’s skirt, Little Ed stands arms crossed trying to look tough- Then geese fly by, and Beard wakes up. He looks over the pristine lake and mountains he made a campfire at, gives a slight smile at the realization he was dreaming, and moves on- after he pauses, looks back at an empty bottle of booze, and says “Thanks for all the help.” ...so, good recap episode, but what the Leto is going on with Beard? Isn’t he supposed to be lurking under Central? Ooh, new credits! We’re at Rush Valley, zoom in to Atelier Garfiel where Winry’s hard at work, looks up and smiles to a lens flare for ok sure, totally necessary for her unzipped uniform while she moves boxes, moving on. Or I guess that’s just staying tied down as she tinkers with tech and banters with customers, now she’s happily talking on the phone with her friend Ed (NOT Al- edited for an earlier typo, thanks TonyC) based on how she’s suddenly screaming into the receiver before she grumpily subsides and then blushes(!). New girl! Lan Fan, rocking the empty sleeve look. May Chang happily walking along with Shao May. Back to the closed automail shop where Winry is still working (get some sleep for Leto’s sake!), now opening the shutter the next day and greeting the sun. Man, I wish I was that happy to work in retail.

[allthereclists]

matt/foggy rec list

this polyphonic love by pepperfield 

--------

AU

Loving You's A Bloodsport by Waynesgrayson (1849 words)

In the history books, when people are afraid, they use fire. Foggy wishes that they figured out you can't burn that of which was born in flames.

A Wizard Did It by ctimene  (7884 words)

“You want to name yourself after weather?” “I have been a sentient statue on top of various churches for six centuries, I am all in for weather.”

put away your labor // and your leisure, too by themikeymonster (6098 words)

The thing says, "You're absolutely refusing to go quietly into the night, you know. Could make my job a little easier, here."  

Matt's ribs creak, crackle and splinter, and there is blood bubbling at the back of his throat and yet, dizzy, what comes out is half-groan, half huffing laugh. "Why should I?"

Bite Me by ChuckleVoodoos (13596 words)

“I am constantly amazed by how much you suck at being a vampire slayer.”

The Good Little Wolf by ChuckleVoodoos 13,801

Foggy's been training for this day his whole life. As long as he follows the Rules and finishes the Story, everything will be perfect.

Tempt Little Red Riding Hood. Eat Granny. Dress in Drag. Eat Little Red Riding Hood. Eat Little Red Riding Hood’s Basket of Goodies. Live Happily Ever After.

Stupid Cupid by ChuckleVoodoos 14,305

Foggy plays karma bingo and wins a cupid.

His cupid is possibly the worst matchmaker in the world.

Private Property by poisonivory (14382 words)

Technically speaking, Foggy doesn't own Matt; it's more like indentured servitude. Still, the rules of the Program mean that Foggy can have whatever he wants from Matt. So why isn't he taking it?

Dead Man Walking by ChuckleVoodoos 15,064

Matt Murdock is alone when he chokes on a peanut and dies.

Three minutes later, he wakes up.

Invisible Ink by ctimene (16315 words)

“Hello, welcome to Josie’s, I’m Foggy, what are you looking for?” “Uh, nothing,” the guy replies, and Foggy is nonplussed for the nanosecond it takes to put together glasses, cane, and the way Hottie McHotFace is gazing absently over his shoulder. “Oh, oh, you’re blind, dude, sorry. But, uh, this is a tattoo parlour?” “I know.” The guy sighs. “I lost a bet?” Or: The One Where Foggy Is A Tattoo Artist And Matt Is The Worst

Knock Three Times (On the Ceiling If You Want Me)  by poisonivory (16884 words)

Matt's downstairs neighbor sings showtunes (badly) at all hours, eats weird-smelling food, and never stops talking. Matt falls in love long before they actually meet.

Ramona's Records by goldstandard 18,070

Matt Murdock doesn't go on to law school. Instead, he opens up a record store.

We Just Lost the Beat  by knight_tracer (19334 words)

Matt hears a lot in the city at night, sirens and crime--and the late-night radio show Foggy With a Chance, which sometimes runs a Daredevil Watch if he's been particularly active, but which mostly plays music. He probably shouldn't call in and request a song, but he does it anyway.

Any Good That Could Come After This by lady_ragnell 20,104

When his ex-boyfriend is accused of murder, Foggy Nelson decides to take on his defense. He doesn't know that it will wrap him up in a city-wide corruption case or make him rethink how he feels about Matt Murdock.

Nobody Said It Was Easy  by Amaria_Anna_D  (22169 words)

Foggy Nelson isn't exactly thrilled when his mother volunteers him to watch Jack Murdock's son, Matt, but after meeting the kid, he knows that he's made a friend for life. As the boys grow up, feelings and bonds change. Foggy begins to wonder if maybe he has a chance for more. Based on Iraya's amazing comic Baby Crush.

Stay In My Arms (If You Dare) by poisonivory (33765 words)

The Defenders are the most elite bodyguard agency in the world. When Wilson Fisk's personal attorney Foggy Nelson walks in looking for protection from a mysterious man in black, Matt Murdock is more than happy to take Mr. Nelson's safety in hand. But Nelson's guilt is hard to prove, and Matt may have gotten himself in too deep - especially once someone besides the man in black starts gunning for his client.

I'll Most Likely Kill You in the Morning by inkfingers_mcgee (49459 words) 

Foggy and Matt never met at school. They cross paths for the first time while working opposite sides of a case, and Matt doesn't leave an impression beyond the superficial: a blind, pro-bono crusader who Foggy will feel really guilty about having to oppose in court one of these days. Seemed like a nice guy, but no one Foggy will worry about a week later. He has more important things on his mind, like the masked vigilante who keeps cornering him in dark alleys to threaten him for information.

CANON ERA

My Boyfriend's A Superhero And All I Got Was This Lousy ER Trip by paperclipbitch  (2013 words)

“I walked into a file cabinet,” Murdock says loudly, when Claire reaches for his face, tilts it toward the light so she can check that nasty-looking cut on his cheekbone a little better. “Oh my God,” Karen murmurs; in her peripheral vision, Claire sees her press her face into her hands. “I thought we were going to come up with a better-” Nelson begins, visibly stops himself, and continues: “-explanation of that thing that definitely happened.”

a house you grew up in by LadyMerlin (3839 words)

It starts when Foggy loses control of his life. It starts when Foggy wakes up in a hospital bed after the fourth kidnapping.

Rosemary and Mint by themikeymonster (5545 words)

Matt's going to Hell in a handbasket and he doesn't particularly need a checkered blanket, he's not going to have a picnic, Foggy, but thanks for the thought, anyway.

this polyphonic love by pepperfield chapter 5

CANON AU

Illumination by keilson (1715 words)

When Foggy meets his very adorable, geeky new roommate, nothing changes. That's not true. When Foggy meets Matt, everything changes. It just doesn't include an understanding of red, or blue, or yellow. He still can't see a rainbow, he can't paint by numbers, and he'll never appreciate the supposed almost-red of his hair. (a reflection on life without color, bringing a new meaning to the phrase love is blind.)

Gonna Make Love To The Dark by Waynesgrayson (2707 words)

He knows that if anyone found out about this, that they would punish him, but kill Foggy. Destroy the source of his disobedience.

Down to the Bone by SpiritsFlame (4572 words) 

Everyone always wants to know why his daemon isn't a bat. As though being blind is all that there is to him, the center point of his character.

Dream Catcher by ChuckleVoodoos 10,944

When Matt has nightmares, so does Foggy. Unfortunately, Matt has a lot of nightmares. Even when he's not asleep.

Or: Matt visits Foggy after the bombings, and it doesn't go well.

A Secret Chord by joidianne4eva (11467 words) 

Foggy could vaguely remember a time when he’d dreamed of the things any of their kind should. He dreamt of the trucks his dad would make for him, dragging their essence out of thin air only to laugh when Foggy gaped at him, like he always did. But that would only happen if Foggy didn’t steal cookies and get in trouble at school. Foggy dreamt of the melodies that wove their way through his very being. The soft, husky timbre of his mother’s voice coaxing his own into something that felt almost right even if it wasn’t as powerful as the tune that his mom carried with her. Then one day Foggy’s dreams caught fire and the world burned with it.

[ka-za-ri]

Galene (Prompto x FemOC)

Genre: Slice of Life Rating: SFW Pairing: Prompto x Female OC????  Wordcount: 2,113 Suggested Listening: 月に照らされ、風に揺れる華 -- Hanafugetsu Tags: @roses-and-oceans @r-e-g-a-l-i-a @sweetchocobae @rubyphilomela @thirsty-angst-lord @hypaalicious (???? Is this ok??? IDK if ppl wanted to be tagged bc lmao it’s not Ignis) Notes: Yeah, that’s right. You CAN believe your eyes. It’s not Ignis. My muse is out of control and wanted me to do a character study on Prompto. Because of that one post floating around that said he was neglected as a child. Hooo buddy, I had feels. No beta in sight, more experimental stuff. 

GALE′NE (Galênê), a personification of the calm sea, and perhaps identical with Galateia, one of the Nereides, is called by Hesiod (Theog. 244) a daughter of Nereus and Doris.

--

Prompto Argentum lived on a borrowed name and made up time. What he wished to belong to him was created for a purpose not his own. He hid this fact through a smile that was brighter than the sun and wider than the skies along with a laugh and louder than the storms. Prompto Argentum was made up of fragments and of broken promises.

As beautiful as the city was, the world beyond it seemed so dreamlike to him. What photos he could take of the jagged horizon were always too blurry, imperfect, idyllic, manufactured. He wanted many things in life, trust, friendship, acceptance, but more than anything, he wanted sleep. Tucked into the corner of the city, a commoner dressed as a Crownsguard in training, he wished for space, a place to think to hear what thoughts could be his and his alone.

Loneliness was something he was familiar with. In a gated community filled with older folks who kept more to themselves than their neighbors, he found solace in capturing moments in time through his camera when his heart skipped a beat at the beauty that surrounded him. Through the click of a shutter and a shy glance up to make sure no one was watching, he hoarded images, hoping, praying that they would live for him. Life for him was perfectly serene, and he had warm memories of trying to take pictures of the void of stars at night above the water.

Prompto found himself walking a lot. Most of the time, it was in the dead of the night when it was quietest and his thoughts almost seemed to collect correctly. Strolling the streets, he learned the corners and the quaintness of his neighborhood as the critters of the night scampered off, eventually leading him to the beach. He never needed music to listen to when his feet lead him to the water. The sound of gently lapping waves accompanied the beating of his heart and provided the booming baseline to his footsteps being the only sounds that he needed to think, to breath, to believe that he was real.

He often counted stars during those long walks, thinking them as a reflection of the freckles on his face. Each constellation he matched fell from the heavens to kiss gently at his cheeks and take a little bit of the stress he felt away from him. As the waves caressed at the corners of his consciousness, he could almost believe he was once born, and not made to be human. As the tide fell when the moon retreated, so did the tension of being and all that was left was his ability to believe.

Fondly, most fondly of all, he remembered the first night to the beach. He sat on a rock that was still holding onto the last vestiges of warmth from the sun, staring out into the darkened waters as moonlight rippled and played across the surface. It was the first night he didn't need his camera to capture the magic of the world around him. As tempting as the water seemed to be, the first nip of autumn air prevented him from dipping his toes into its inky depths. As brightly as he shone during the day, he could not let anyone know how weak he was to illness. That night, he recalls most fondly of throwing the windows to his room wide open so that he could continue to listen to the restless ocean just past his reach.

--

Six weeks of regularly walking at the beach and Prompto Argentum began to hallucinate.

There's no way she's real.

Thursday night, just past 3 AM on a routine walk, the peaceful lull of waves was interrupted by the unfamiliar sound of splashing and a voice that shone brighter in the dark night than his smile in the sun. Someone, laughed and sang during his hours of the dead when he was sure no one was awake.

Down by the pier she danced in the dark, glassy waters of the night, laughing and squealing at the fish that darted and danced by her legs. She sang loudly, off key and off tune to songs from at least three decades ago. The way she moved smelled strongly of chrysanthemums and orange blossoms in the summer. Despite the chill of autumn setting in, she flailed and swam in the darkened water as if it was the middle of summer.

Under a waxing moon which nestled between Castor and Pollux, Prompto Argentum met a goddess who was drenched in the light of the stars while moonbeams dripped heavily from her eyelids.

She didn't notice him until he was only about thirty paces from the end of the pier.

"Oh, hello! I didn't think people were up this late! What's up? Couldn't sleep?" Her first interaction reminded him of a wide-eyed curious child, naive to the world.

"I usually take a walk down by here to help me go to sleep" He replied, skeptical, and sure he was still strongly imagining everything.

"No, no. There has got to be a better reason why someone like you would be up this late, walking around here like you've never seen water before." She disappeared underneath the dark surface of the water and Prompto felt himself sigh in relief, realizing the moment was over. When she appeared again, at the edge of the pier, arms crossed on the wooden planks, hair swirling around her face in a tangled mess, he felt his heart stop. "Come on now, there's got to be a story behind all of this."

"There really isn't a story to any of this. It's just... nice and quiet here." He shrugged before coming to his senses that yes, there was someone there and yes, they were speaking to him. He couldn't help but wish that his camera was with him to catch the way the moonlight made her hair looked curled and wild.

"Quiet is the only good thing about this place, really." She scoffed.

"Well, I mean, it's better than during the day when it's all noisy."

"I guess you have a point there." She sighed and shifted her weight a bit, making the planks of wood groan slightly. "There's literally nothing to do here though. All the people are old and no one ever swims in the water during the day. I mean have you seen how much trash there is?"

"Wait, then why are you in the water now?"

"Because I want to be. But that's beside the point. You never really answered my question. Why are you here? There's no way a pretty thing like you grew up here. All the old grannies would be spoiling you rotten to the core. Did you move here recently?"

"I... I grew up here. I just, don't really go out much. But I just started coming to the beach recently. How did you figure?"

Maybe it was just the way the water lapped at her waist as she clung to the edge of the pier that made her seem like a sprite straight out of a fairy tale. Or perhaps it was the moonlight casting a glowing halo around that made her seem absolutely surreal and ethereal to him. Still, a deeply skeptical part of him truly wanted to believe he was imagining this whole scenario.

"Well, first, there are no younger people here. I'm just visiting my folks for a little bit. Been away for a while. I'm an ornithologist y'know. Most of my studies are on chocobos, but I really like to run around finding the big ones, like ruhks! So, my reasearch takes me all over the place." She let out a dreamy sigh and settled her head back down on her arms. "It's nice though, coming back for a bit and taking a dip every now and then. Secondly, if you need to take a walk around here to lull you to sleep from the city sounds, you must be one hell of a light sleeper, kid."

"I'm not a kid! I have a name. It's Prompto. And you'd best remember it. I'm training to be a Crownsguard." Prompto huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Look, it's just, nice to walk around here at night. It's like you, coming back to your parents' place."

As much as he tried not to show it, he felt a twinge of envy that she even had a place with parents to come back to. What with how often he saw his own folks, it was difficult to swallow the bitter feeling that was rising from the back of his throat. She, as carefree as the world, had the one thing that he wanted.

"No, no." She countered, shaking him out of the foul mood that was sinking through his skin. "You see, those are two different things. I'm coming back here because I have a familial obligation and it's a free room for a few days before I have to head out again. You, on the other hand willingly bring yourself to walk around in the dead of the night so you could experience 'peace and quiet.' Prompto. You may be a Crownsguard in training, but man, you're weird. Have you ever heard of earplugs? They work miracles on loud noises, and you'll get a lot more sleep that way 'cause y'know, you're not up and about in the dead of the night."

Any chance Prompto had to reply was cut short as she floated off to play with more invisible fish in the impossibly dark water. Prompto didn't really have much of an answer to her question. He could have easily found the quiet he wanted in other ways, but he chose to seek the water as if it was the only place that mattered to him. Perhaps it was that magnetic draw to it that eventually brought him to her.

How sorely he wished he had his camera to catch the stars as they flickered in the night sky while she laughed and sang songs he had only briefly heard in snippets while browsing radio stations.

The rest of the night, he sat at the edge of the pier, feet numb and dipped into the water, watching as she swam around, laughing and talking to her fishy friends. The part of him which thought it was all an illusion at first became the part of him that yearned for her to talk to him and not her silent, swimming friends.

By the time the night waned and Prompto got himself to bed, he refused to open his windows. The sound of waves that night were too loud with the sound of free will and singing fish.

~~

In the morning, at his front doorstep. His shoes and a bright pink sticky note with a message scrawled on it:

Goofball, you left your shoes at the end of the pier. At least the grannies here were nice enough to point me in the direction of your place. You're lucky I'm not your shoe size because I would have made these mine if I could.

The place her name should have been was smudged and illegible. His shoes had been spitefully filled with sand and he couldn't help but laugh at her petty nature. Six, I should have asked for her name...

The rest of his day, the whole scenario of their conversation haunted him. The scrap of paper with her written note burned in his pocket and he found himself constantly fidgeting with it. He found himself forgetting most of what he was supposed to be training for and ending up with more bruises that day than he cared to talk about. Not that there were a lot of people he could talk to about them in the first place.

By the end of his scheduled day, out of sheer frustration and impulse, the weightless note became an unbearable burden to him and he threw it in the garbage.

He destroyed the one and only memento he had from a conversation with a water goddess. Though the object itself was temporal, the memory of her moon drenched figure lived forever in Prompto's mind. And he would chase that image forever move with his camera in hand.

Prompto Argentum lived on borrowed time and makeshift memories. However, he'd now count the pictures he's taken and they would more than make up for the lost time that wasn't his.