#i stirred that milk for like an hour though i would appreciate it not disappearing in one sitting...

[heebsjeebs-deactivated20210312]

made manjar when i got home. my mother is eating it by the spoonful

[serene-victory-77]

Sweets Soothe The Heart

Hey, this is my piece for the Grishaverse Reverse Mini Bang 2021, organized of course by @grishaversebigbang! 

I worked with @ciph3rrr, who came up with the idea of exploring a sweet-loving Kaz, and you can see her artwork here on Tumblr or here on Instagram!

Summary: A new hideout entails finding a little comfort and learning more about each other. But it can also highlight how certain parts of other people's lives are still a mystery. Inej goes on a perhaps silly, but genuine, quest to find out what Kaz likes to eat.

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32941690

Fic Under Cut:

When they’d first taken on the new hideout, they’d quickly rolled up their sleeves to make it more habitable, something to enjoy rather than just tolerate. It had been a joint effort (well, Kaz said his contribution was finding the place) to make the series of underground tunnels and rooms nice, but they made it work.

Even freelance robbers needed those little homely touches.

Nina specifically had made it her business to find everyone’s comfort food and fill their “cabinets” (it was crates stacked on each other with the open side facing forward, like large cubbies), going out to find candies, pastries, quick meals, anything to make it feel more like well-off college students rather than a den of thieves lying low.

That made Inej think, because all of them had some comfort food, right? The obvious was waffles, but they all had their individual favorites.

Nearly, that is. They all scratched their heads when it came to Kaz. 

Before the new hideout, Kaz hardly even ate in front of them, never mind indulged in sweets. Whenever they ordered food, he’d ask to get whatever Inej or Jesper ordered, and he never complained. Inej was sure her blueberry waffles weren’t his thing though.

He only drank coffee, hard alcohol, or water. He never seemed to savor or favor any food.

Nina had given up on bothering Kaz, but it stuck with Inej.

She was with him all the time. If anyone would know what Kaz’s favorite food was, it was her, right? But she was just as lost as everyone.

What did Kaz like to eat?

She started watching him whenever food was involved, trying to pick up on his tells. The first time it worked was when Nina said he couldn’t order water from a diner and decided to get him whatever Inej ordered. She picked a chocolate milkshake, and she swore he perked up just a bit.

Inej tried other cold sweets, but nothing caught his attention until Nina said she was getting them all ice cream. Inej was going to ask for a scoop of chocolate, noticed Kaz’s interest pique again because he’d once again chosen to get whatever she was, and got Kerch chocolate and chocolate with brownies.

Later, before anyone had finished their cup, she noticed Kaz had already set his aside, the ice cream gone.

Nina asked her to phone in the waffles that night because she had to help Mathias. Inej considered what she was about to do and figured that they were all eating separately, so it should be fine. 

Kaz opened the box and raised a brow. “This isn’t your usual order?”

“You don’t mind, do you?”

Kaz shrugged, but when Inej looked up 10 minutes later, the chocolate chip waffles she’d gotten him were nearly gone. It was surprising, because Kaz usually only ate half his food or forgot it for hours. She smiled.

There were a lot more chocolate treats in the house now, but they kept disappearing. Everyone but Kaz, who never participated in food talk, swore up and down it wasn’t them, but Inej knew. 

Kaz’s favorite thing to eat was chocolate, sweet as can be.

Jesper noticed Inej’s efforts and talked to her about it when the weather turned chilly. He was amused by Kaz’s leanings, but struck gold when he paused and said, “Inej, do you think he’d like hot chocolate?”

Jesper was a genius.

When protection against the cold was put in place and they had wood stoves aplenty, everyone enjoyed the newfound coziness.

“Kaz,” Inej called out near a stove in the kitchen area. “Come here!”

A few seconds later he was in the room, wearing one of the large gray pullovers she and Nina had bought. His limp had been better since they fixed the heating.

“What?” he asked, coming to stand next to her.

“Help me make hot chocolate. Keep an eye on the pot so it doesn’t bubble over,”

He blinked in a manner she could only describe as vaguely doe-eyed and she mentally thanked Jesper. “We have hot chocolate?”

She nodded, smiling up at him, and he turned his face away a bit, a smile playing on his lips.

The relocation had done a lot for her and Kaz, simply because he was a lot more relaxed. Guarded still, but with a new sense of domesticity. It helped that he basically let her do whatever she wanted, even in his space.

Plus he had definitely noticed her trying to make eating actually enjoyable and was trying to be helpful about it. He asked her how she was every morning, and if there was anything she requested or mildly implied was wrong, he’d acquire it or fix whatever she needed. It was nice.

Inej set out the ingredients and toppings as the milk heated, which he kept an eye on. She handed him the chocolate to add as he saw fit, and immediately half the bar was in the pot.

He noticed the whipped cream and his expression lit up. “We have whip cream?”

“You like it?” she asked.

There was a small pause before he nodded. “It was always my favorite, hot chocolate with whip cream.

Finally, an admission.

“That sounds nice,” Inej said. “So you’ll have yours with whip cream. We have large mugs, you’ll be able to put a lot on top,”

Kaz hummed. “How do you take your hot chocolate?”

“I like adding cinnamon,”

He chuckled. “You love cinnamon,”

“What do you mean?”

“You get cinnamon in everything. Cinnamon rolls, churros, in your coffee, you add it to the batter when you make pancakes,” Kaz said, stirring as she added sugar to the pot. “Like how you add extra pepper to everything,”

She didn’t hide her smile. “Paying attention?”

“It’s only fair,”

“I suppose,” she said, softly knocking against his arm. He didn’t move away, just glanced at her, mildly amused.

Later, to check the taste, she brought a small spoonful to Kaz’s mouth. He obliged her, albeit surprised. His eyes lit up in a way he couldn’t hide at the taste. It was officially Kaz Brekker Approved.

When the toppings were set in the den for everyone to pick from, the giant mountain of whip cream already on Kaz’s mug didn’t go unnoticed. Matthias raised a confused brow but slowly pushed the whip cream bottle closer to Kaz, to everyone’s amusement.

Wylan mostly just appreciated that Kaz managed to get the mountain so tall.

Kaz seemed to be paying Inej back in his own way, like buying her two new knives and making an effort to get the food he liked himself so she was no longer organizing it as much. In addition, if she asked him to accompany her out, he’d nod, fix them up with warm drinks to take with them, and head out alongside her. She appreciated it.

She’d read once that sweets soothe the heart. Apparently, sweets soothed Kaz’s prickly temper and made him more amicable to suggestions. 

They were walking around the town after finishing casing an art gallery when she spotted a notice on a newly opened cafe. Kaz paused when he realized she wasn’t matching his step because she’d taken out her phone to take a picture of the information that had caught her eye.

“What was that about?” he asked as she caught up.

“Oh, I just saw something Nina might know about. I go to her with questions about food usually,” Inej explained.

Kaz seemed fine with that and they went on their way.

The owners of this establishment, Harrie and Mert Stokker, are certified winners in the National Kerch Baking Competition. Particularly renowned are their pies, their brownies, and their Triple Chocolate Threat cake.

At first, she didn't know what to do with the information. It would have been simple to just buy some pastries and take them to the bunker, but she wanted to do more.

But what?

Then Kaz said that a nice Suli restaurant had opened a town over, which was a shock, and asked if she wanted to eat there with him. She’d agreed, overjoyed at the rare opportunity, and he’d reserved them a table.

Then it clicked. But how could she reserve a cafe? Especially at a newly opened one with famous owners when they were supposed to be laying low?

The next morning she was at the cake asking Mr. and Mr.s Stokker for a favor.

“I tend not to complain about early starts,” Kaz started, blinking up at the still gray skies. “But it’s freezing, and you don’t usually head out this early. Is something wrong?”

She shook her head, and her scarf slipped. Kaz paused to adjust it over her mouth and nose again, and she smiled although he couldn’t see it. “Nothing’s wrong, I promise,”

He raised a brow but trusted her as she led them down the quaint street.

When they reached the cafe, Inej knocked on the door.

A few seconds later it opened, and they were ushered in by Mrs. Stokker.

“Hello!” She greeted cheerfully. “You must be Asha’s companion. Mikka, was it? I’m Harrie Stokker, and this is my husband, Mert,”

Kaz glanced at Inej, noting the fake names she’d given. 

He smiled all the same and shook their hands, his gloved. “Yes, it’s Mikka. It’s a pleasure to meet you, but I don’t know why I’m here,”

The Stokkers smiled and nodded at Inej to explain.

“Nearly two months ago I noticed this place was opening and when I saw the information, it said they had really good chocolate cake,” Inej explained. “We’re busy and you don’t like crowds, and there was no way this place wasn’t going to be full every day. I wanted you to be able to eat here though, so I stopped by and did a few favors for them, and they agreed to let us come in extra early this morning, and even push back their opening hours today,”

Kaz turned from the Stokkers to her, incredulous. “Two months? I should have noticed,”

“It was always early, so you’d have just headed to bed. And it was only a few days overall,” she explained.

Kaz shook his head slowly. “In—Asha. You didn’t have to,”

Inej sighed. “You’ve only recently started eating things that are actually good, and your favorite is chocolate. They Stokkers are incredible bakers, and this seemed like a great opportunity,”

“Asha said that you’ve hardly eaten anything sweet in years,” Mr. Stokker shook his head. “And that you’ve never had much of a chance to eat good baking before. It was a shame, so we agreed to this. We’re hoping we can rekindle your love for eating. Chocolate is the best for mood and temper, and any baker with a heart will tell you that cake is a way of life. We had to help,”

Kaz was clearly trying to keep a straight face, and Inej could relate. The Stokkers talked about baking like it was their religion, passionate and oddly deep.

They’re given a table by a window that caught the first few rays of pale sunlight, and they shed their extra layers in the comfort of the warm cafe.

“You somehow managed to get an empty cafe,” Kaz noted, impressed. “Have I ever told you that you’re a wonder?”

“A few times, but it’s nice to hear,” Inej smiled. “They have drinks too. I’ve heard their hot chocolate is amazing,”

Kaz smiled, then leaned back in his chair. “Tell me, why are you so determined? It’s kind, but you truly didn’t have to.

Inej fidgeted but her sleeve. “At first I just wanted you to participate in the comfort food thing. Then I was confused, because I’ve known you for years, and somehow I didn’t know what you liked to eat? I had hunches, but nothing concrete. Then I noticed you liked chocolate and sweets, and I thought, alright, this works. I was happy that you actually seemed to enjoy eating, rather than just doing it because you have to,” she admitted. “Plus, you light up when you have chocolate,”

“I do not,”

“You do,”

Kaz crossed his arms, but there was no bite in the action. He tried to stay straight-faced, but Inej had always been good at making him smile.

After a moment, she added, “And you’re a lot less snappy after you’ve had chocolate,”

Kaz rolled his eyes but knew she was right.

“I didn’t think it needed to change,” he said. “But you were right when you said it wasn’t going to make me less prepared in the future to relax and participate. And…”

“Hm?”

He shrugged, a tad defensive. “You’re happier, whenever I participate. So it’s worth it for that,”

She’s saved from having to react with anything more than a blush by Mrs. Stokker setting down their drinks, which Inej had specified the day before. Of course, Kaz got a large mug of hot chocolate with whip cream.

Inej’s own mug had cinnamon and she enjoyed the smell as she watched Kaz use a spoon to drink his because he didn’t want to ruin the whipped cream too quickly.

A few minutes later they had actual breakfast food to Kaz’s confusion.

“Before sweets, normal food,” Inej said, relieved that Kaz easily ate the bagel with cream cheese and chopped up melon with ease as she’d expected.

The sunrise had truly begun then, and he was bathed in warm light by the time they got to the cake.

It really was chocolate on more chocolate, and Kaz looked startled by it. Still, he took off the pointed edge of the large slice and tried it.

A few seconds later he put the fork down.

“I think I’m kicking out Matthias and replacing him with this cake,” he said mildly. “You asked if I had a god. This is it. I believe in this cake,”

Of course, Kaz would turn his shock into snark.

Still, she was happy.

“Have you tried it?” Kaz asked.

“No,” Inej admitted. “I wanted to wait until you did,”

Kaz urged her to eat her slice.

She tried a bite.

It was perfect. Not heavy, nor too light, strong but not overbearing. It left her wanting to take another bite immediately, and she did, marveling at Kaz’s restraint

“It’s so good,” Inej said, swallowing. “Saints. Nina’s going to kill us for not sharing,”

“At least we ate it before dying,” Kaz said, finally continuing to eat. “You two wanted to know my favorite food? This. Everything should just be this,”

He seemed proud when Inej laughed.

The rest of the time was relatively calm.

Maybe it had been silly for her to fixate on finding food Kaz liked, but finding herself on what was essentially a breakfast date with Kaz made it hard to regret. Plus, she’d learned that Kaz paid attention to her likes as well. And she wouldn’t give back the hours they’d spent eating dinner in his room alone, either.

He had a small, happy smile as he ate. When he looked up at her, the warmth in his coffee eyes startled her.

She sat back and basked in it.

[carmenlire]

Plum

read on ao3

He thinks he scared himself. Just a little. Just enough for it to have an impact.

Maybe. The jury’s still out on that, he supposes.

Falling asleep last night had taken longer than he’d thought. He thinks they’d been hunger pains and he knows it’s ridiculous but a part of him still hadn’t understood.

At that point, he hadn’t eaten in forty eight hours, give or take a few minutes. He’d gotten home from work and he’d been exhausted. He’s always tired these days and even if it had been a couple of days since his last meal, the last time he’d chewed and swallowed, he’d been fine.

Until he’d gone to bed at least. It wasn’t even a struggle to collapse in bed after work. He’s a little tired of his job, of the way he feels like his superiors are always breathing down his neck, at the way the people he’s trying to help just seem to get a little meaner and a little ruder with every passing day.

He’s a little tired in general but that can’t really be helped, either. He’s usually tired. He hasn’t worked out in longer than he cares to admit-- he’s been brushing Jace off every time his brother tries to get him to go on an early morning run or join a boxing class at their gym. There are some absolutes that Alec follows and one of them is that to work out in the morning, he needs to have eaten the day before.

Perhaps it should be a warning that he hasn’t been working out lately-- the past few weeks, really the past several months-- because he just can’t make himself eat with any consistency. He usually eats once a day but it never feels quite right. So he wakes up the next morning and tells himself tomorrow as he hits snooze on his alarm for another hour of sleep that doesn’t leave him any more well rested than before.

Yesterday, all he’d been able to think about during his shift was coming home and taking off his damn tie. Dinner was a far off thing, easily avoided. He’d just wanted to slide between his sheets where nothing matters and where he doesn’t have to be a person.

Where he’s not Alec Lightwood, aiming to make senior associate within the year. He’s just a guy who’s a little sad and maybe a little hungry and so, so empty that he feels like his insides are cracking most minutes of most days.

Well, that’s not entirely true, Alec thinks and it’s not even with a wry little smile because even so small an action feels beyond him right now. He hadn’t just felt exhausted during his late evening shift-- there was a noticeable part of him that had been a little smug, a lot relieved, not inconsiderably proud. Because at that point, it’d been almost two entire days since he’d last eaten and he was happy about that-- felt the stirring of pride at his wherewithal to not give in to what his body demanded, felt good because he felt light.

Usually he feels like he carries the weight of an army behind him and so that feeling-- of being a little smaller, a little less in the way that matters, in the way he wishes for-- it’s.

Well, it’s intoxicating. A little addicting, if he’s being honest.

It’s been a rough year, Alec thinks now. So much is going on and he hasn’t felt this way in years, the way the fog rolls in, the way he sometimes thinks he doesn’t have a body. Still, some of it’s been good. There’s that weekend last month that he spent with Izzy and Jace, the three of them on the camping trip from hell. He hadn’t laughed so hard in ages as he had watching Jace try to put together a tent, as he did watching Iz take her turn during a particularly drunken round of charades.

Then there’s Magnus. Things are so good with him. Too good, a voice whispers in the back of his mind but he tries so hard to knock it back to where it came from, to make it disappear. He has a boyfriend now and just seeing Magnus makes him happy. Or if not happy, then content. Alec can be himself with Magnus and it means more than he can say to have a boyfriend and find such easy comfort within him. He takes great pride in being that person for Magnus, as well.

There’s guilt too, though. Because the longer Alec’s like this, the more he thinks that he might have an actual problem. And it terrifies him because he doesn’t see a way out. He doesn’t think there is one.

Because here Alec sits and he’s staring at nothing in a bookstore a few blocks from his apartment and he wants to die, just a little bit. Because that would be easier for anyone involved in his shit take at taking care of himself.

He feels Magnus staring at him from where he sits within arms reach in his own chair. He feels his boyfriend rubbing a hand over his back in soothing circles but it does nothing to stop Alec from feeling like he shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be anywhere.

This morning, Alec ate a plum.

This morning was day three of Alec’s little challenge to himself. He had idle plans to make it a full seventy two hours without eating. Don’t get him wrong, he’s had a few iced coffees every day and it worries him, a little maybe, because he was starting to fixate on how the coffees felt like cheating, too.

There’s oat milk in the lattes, you know.

But he’d had this date day planned with Magnus for days now. His boyfriend, his wonderful boyfriend, has planned a whole day of things for Alec, for them to enjoy together. Alec was excited for today and he’d been feeling good when he woke up.

A day off from work, a day spent with a man who he’s increasingly sure that he loves. It sounded like a recipe for a lovely day.

Plus, he’d woken feeling lighter. In the past two days, he’d lost seven pounds. He knows most, if not all of it, is water weight. But seeing the number drop so severely on the scale felt so good. It gave him confidence. It made him happy.

It filled him in a way that a meal hasn’t been able to in months.

It sounds so dire now but Alec’s never been underweight. From the outside, he looks exceedingly healthy. It does nothing but make him feel worse a lot of the time.

So, Alec knew that the plan for the day was a bookstore in the morning, followed by lunch at this place Magnus had been dying to try for weeks now, with the afternoon spent wandering the halls of an art museum further uptown.

Alec’s not stupid and he never wants Magnus to worry. So, he’d decided to break his fast and eat some fruit. That way he’d have energy for the day and when Magnus asked him what he’d had for breakfast-- his boyfriend is definitely in the camp that believes it’s the most important meal of the day-- Alec wouldn’t have to lie. It's a bonus that fruit falls squarely into a safe category of food in his brain.

Alone in his kitchen, it’d been equal parts shameful and irritating that taking that first bite of stone fruit had taken several attempts. He washed the fruit and patted it dry with a paper towel and stared at it for a long minute, most of him loathing the thought of biting into it. He felt like a failure not being able to last another minute, another hour.

But Magnus would be here within the hour and he needed to get ready.

Four tries later, and his teeth pierced the plum. Immediately, he’d thought that this had to be the best plum that he’d ever eaten. Perfectly ripe, juicy, the flavor positively bursting from the flesh.

Idly, he’d thought that maybe he’d make these lengthy fasts a more regular thing, if he could truly appreciate food like this at the end.

The plum was small and he’d finished it in a handful of bites. Almost immediately after throwing away the seed, he’d started to feel a tiny bit of shame and a whole lot of regret for eating.

He was so weak that he couldn’t wait until he had a true reason to eat-- lunch at the Korean restaurant Magnus had been raving about. If he’d waited until then, then maybe he wouldn’t have made the full three days but Magnus is worth eating for. It would have been okay, then.

Nothing for it now, he’d finally decided and had been ready when his boyfriend picked him up.

The bookstore was a little busy. Not crowded, but a fair few more people than he’d anticipated. Truthfully, though, Alec hadn’t really noticed because he’d been enjoying his time with Magnus so much.

Magnus, who has such an array of knowledge. He’s interested in so many subjects and strolling through the shelves of books and floating between genres, idly picking up paperbacks with interesting covers and hardbacks by beloved authors he wants to share with Magnus had been fun. He hadn’t noticed the time that slipped by.

They’re climbing the stairs to the second floor of the store and Alec feels a little winded. More than he’d usually ever feel walking up a single flight. His head feels a little weird, too. Light but not in a good way.

It doesn’t make sense. He ate a plum this morning.

Magnus looks over with a smile. “What do you say to a coffee while we look up here? My treat,” he adds with a wink that has Alec laughing.

Alec easily accepts and they get in the short line.

“What’d you have for breakfast, darling?”

It’s an idle question as Magnus looks over the selection of bakery treats on display. Alec looks, too, and thinks that if it was another time, if he was a different person, he might like to try a piece of the oreo cheesecake.

“A plum,” he answers simply as he turns his head to people watch the few occupied tables.

“And?”

Alec shakes his head, bemused. “And that’s it,” he replies. “I ate a plum for breakfast.”

It’s now that Magnus looks over, askance. "I told you to eat something that would give you energy until lunch, darling. A plum is nothing,” he chastises and the tone is light and teasing. “You should eat more.”

Alec keeps the easy smile on his face, though he can’t help a small part of himself from growing a little worried, a little guilty-- but there’s a kernel of anger there too that he can’t really define.

He shouldn’t be upset over his boyfriend’s light teasing. It’s not that deep. Magnus doesn’t know the sharks circling just under the edge of this conversation and Alec’s grateful for that, even more now.

“I guess you’re just the breakfast person, babe. You know I don’t really like to eat before noon.”

Magnus just harrumphs and turns toward the cashier. They’re next in line.

But Alec doesn’t feel so well. His head feels even lighter. He thinks his vision starts to waver but he thinks he’s also being dramatic. He has a tendency to do that, he knows. Sometimes he even thinks he might have some type of-- some type of disorder but he’s usually quick to tell himself that everyone feels this way about food and eating and weight and calories and he shouldn’t add more to his plate of stress.

Magnus takes the final step up to the barista but Alec stands stock still. The edges of his vision are gray and that’s weird because he thought that only happened in books. He thought it was just a clever description but oh God the tables by the window are in grayscale and now he can’t really see them at all and the volume of the bustling cafe area is muted, did everyone stop talking and--

He doesn’t think he’s breathing. He can’t feel his chest. He can’t feel his legs. He needs to sit down.

He thinks Magnus is turning back to ask him what he wants to drink but he can’t answer. His sight is set on an unoccupied table a few meters away and it’s with single minded focus that he puts one foot in front of the other and very roughly sits down as soon as he’s within reach.

More like collapses, Magnus would say.

He stares down at the ground. He counts his breaths. Everything is still quiet and Alec’s still preoccupied enough making sure that he stays conscious that he can’t immediately rationalize everything away to himself. Magnus comes over and brings the other chair around the table until they’re side by side.

“Alexander? You okay?”

Alec can’t answer. He just needs a moment. He hopes Magnus doesn’t get mad that he can’t bring his head up, that he just can’t quite manage to string together a response right now.

Magnus doesn’t seem mad, at least. He isn’t irritated. He also isn’t hovering, thank God, because Alec doesn’t think he could take that right now. His presence is quiet and calms Alec down a little and maybe it’s mixed with relief, too, that there’s someone with him right now-- that it’s Magnus who he knows he can trust.

It’s quiet for a few moments before Alec looks up and makes eye contact with Magnus. His boyfriend smiles a little but his eyes are deadly serious. “What can I do?”

Alec takes a deep breath in and slowly lets it out. He looks down and watches his hands flex, feels his fingers curl. “Can I have a lemonade?”

Normally, Alec doesn’t drink anything with sugar in it. He has a sweet tooth but prefers to stick strictly to water and his iced lattes. He knows he needs something more now.

Magnus merely nods and stands without another word. He’s back a moment later and hands over a bottle of lemonade he’d bought from the cooler. “Here you go, darling,” he says softly.

Alec drinks and Magnus goes back to sweeping a hand over his back in an aimless pattern. “It was rather warm in here, wasn’t it?”

Alec makes some noise of agreement and Magnus adds on quietly, much more subdued, “Maybe you should’ve eaten something more for breakfast.”

There’s that little flick of annoyance that Alec can’t quite squash down but he’s not stupid. And Magnus doesn’t even know the half of it. And so Alec nods a little more weakly than he’d like and says, “Yeah, maybe, babe,” unable to control the tendril of indifference in the words.

Magnus is quiet for a minute and Alec works on the lemonade and thinks through what just happened.

He’s never fainted before. He’s never come so close to blacking out. He thought he was stronger than that and he’s a little mad at his body for showing that it can have a mind of its own, too. It happened so fast that it leaves him with whiplash.

Over it all, though, is confusion because he did eat. He thought the fruit would be enough to last until lunch and it doesn’t make sense to him that he ate an hour ago and almost passed out just now.

Magnus’s voice breaks through the self recrimination. “Why don’t we take a little break, get a treat, and find a table by the windows,” he suggests. Alec knows him well enough by now to know that while it was phrased as a question, it’s anything but.

Seeing as he doesn’t really have a choice, Alec nods and they stand and make their way back over to the counter. Alec takes a look around but no one's staring at them. Everyone’s focused on their own computers and books and Alec doesn’t feel like a bug under a microscope in the way that he thought he might. He doesn’t really want any more witnesses to this.

Magnus orders a cranberry almond croissant and turns to him. Alec decides on a slice of that cheesecake, after all.

They sit down and Alec stares at the dessert. The truth is, he enjoys food. More than he should, he thinks. He likes trying new things and he has a sweet tooth and he enjoys a truly good, filling meal. The problem is that it’s been so long since it’s been worth it. He has a lot of food rules and this cheesecake breaks at least three that he can think of off the bat. It’s a little terrifying actually and he’s mad at himself that a piece of cake can make him feel genuine fear.

When did it get to this point, is all he can wonder. How do I go back.

Magnus doesn’t make him feel like a child. He doesn’t make a scene of things, doesn’t make Alec feel like he embarrassed him. In his quiet, competent way, Magnus simply takes care of him.

The day isn’t ruined, which Alec feared as he took the first bite of food. They spend awhile at that table and they both eat their treats and enjoy their coffee and talk about anything and everything that pops into their minds. Magnus doesn’t rush them from the table, seems content enough to enjoy Alec’s company at a table in the bookstore cafe rather than walking around the store like originally planned.

Eventually, they do throw their trash away and Magnus takes Alec’s hand as they start wandering the second floor. Magnus doesn’t mention what happened for the rest of the day but it lingers in the back of Alec’s mind.

The day ends up being a smash success of a date. Alec buys a few books for Magnus. They enjoy the Korean restaurant-- Magnus was right, it’s phenomenal-- and the art museum is eye catching.

It’s later that night and Magnus is spending the night at Alec’s. They’re in bed and Magnus is fast asleep.

Sleep eludes Alec for awhile, though. He can’t stop thinking about this morning at the bookstore cafe. He thinks that things might be escalating. He thinks that he doesn’t want a repeat of what happened.

He can’t help but think that maybe that episode was a sign that he was doing things right, after all.

He’s so tired and he doesn’t have any answers. He feels rather helpless, really. Maybe he knows that this isn’t normal but he can’t help the way he feels. He doesn’t know who he can tell these things to-- things like how he feels an almost compulsion to weigh himself every day even if he knows the results will devastate him, the way he has a very narrow list of safe foods and feels totally removed from what normal people eat, the way he sometimes asks himself what he’d like for his next meal but the voice in his head immediately retorts but you don’t deserve to eat.

Alec’s an adult. He knows what the signs point to. But he can’t quite make himself believe that he has a problem because it seems only logical that he hold these misgivings, given his body. It’s just the way things are for him. It feels increasingly like it's always been this way.

But maybe today scared him a little. Maybe, Alec thinks as he looks down at his boyfriend sleeping peacefully on his chest, maybe he does have someone he can talk to.

And maybe Magnus will tell him he has nothing to worry about, that these overwhelming thoughts and feelings are normal. Or, Alec thinks with a sliver of dread but an even greater sense of hope, Magnus will look him in the eye and take his hand and say that it’s okay to have a problem and that they can find a solution.

Together.

[johannstutt413]

(requested by calligomiles)

“Hmm...I suppose I’ll have a little of everything.” Rosa, browsing the tea aisle and unable to make a final decision, grabbed a box of each flavor on offer and walked to the counter. “Good afternoon, Closure.”

“Good afternoon! Are you sure this is all you need today?” The Sarkaz’ eyes sparkled.

The Ursus smiled diplomatically. “This should be everything, yes.”

“Alrighty!” Despite the continued cheer, the sparkle disappeared. “That’ll be-”

“Graaaaah!” The sound echoed into the shop from outside.

Rosa handed Closure the appropriate amount of money, as indicated by the machine beside - and took her purchase. “Have a good day.”

“You can’t go out there right now!” The merchant sounded quite concerned. “You might bring her in here!”

“I assure you, she won’t set foot in your establishment. Good day.” With that, the Ursus burst through the door and tackled Specter to the ground, leaving her tea by the door.

What ensued was a real wrestling match worthy of a pay-per-view event, no kayfabe required. A few bystanders began recording as the Abyss Hunter and Ursus noble duked it out, neither relying on excessive shows of force but both attempting to simply wear the other down through repeated assaults. It was a testament to her heritage that Rosa could even attempt to stall Specter for any notable length of time, but eventually it succeeded as she fell out of her frenzy, and soon afterward fell unconscious.

Her work done, the noble dusted herself off as best she could, went back for her tea, and then walked back over to the sleeping shark-nun and lifted her in a fireman’s carry. “Alright...Let’s see about receiving some medical attention.”

“That was...incredible,” a Lupo Operator muttered from the sidelines. “Were you watching that, Rodney?”

“She’s still a noble. No matter how good a fighter she is, she’s on the wrong side of the golden ticket.”

Said Operator punched Rodney, an Ursus himself, square in the nose hard enough to draw blood, and a second brawl began.

Meanwhile, in a far less bloodthirsty gathering in Medical, Specter began to stir. “What...Oh, I see. Another episode this week, then...unfortunate. Were you the one who detained me?”

“I helped you calm down.” A trickle of blood rolled from a cut on her forehead and over her lips. “Were you going to the shop when it happened?”

“I was hoping to restock on tea, but I suppose the frenzy occurred before I could.”

Rosa smiled. “What a coincidence. I had just finished purchasing tea for myself when you began to yell.”

“Oh?” The Abyss Hunter’s eyes followed the blood droplet with great interest. “That is rather...coincidental...For fending me off alone, you seem surprisingly intact.”

“I’m afraid I’m more seriously injured than visible at the moment. Even without your sawblade, you’re a terrifying opponent to face.”

Specter flashed a toothy grin. “And yet you prevailed.”

“Rosa? Ah, and Specter as well. That would explain things.” The Doctor emerged with several aides. “I heard she’d had another incident, but the footage was-”

“I would appreciate it if we continued discussion after we’ve been treated, Doctor,” Rosa interjected.

She nodded. “Fair, fair. Gavial, if you could help me with Specter; Myrrh, I’m counting on you to care for Rosa.”

The next few hours for the Ursus were spent in a bed recuperating as a cocktail of regenerative serums and painkillers coursed through her system. When Rhodes Island’s medicines had done their work, Rosa unhooked herself from the various machines around her and grabbed her tea from a table by the door. “Myrrh, you wouldn’t happen to know where I could find a kettle and tea set nearby, would you?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, there’s one in my office. Would you like to borrow it?”

“I would, yes.” She opened the door. “Could you bring it to Specter’s room for me?”

A visible shiver ran along her spine. “Um...Are you sure?”

“Quite.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.” Myrrh followed her through the door. “Miss Rosa, you’ll...She won’t break the cups, will she?”

Rosa shook her head. “I promise she won’t.”

“Okay...I’ll bring it to you shortly. Room 7B.”

“Thank you.”

Meanwhile, Specter was humming to herself, fighting off the madness, when the door opened to reveal her Ursus pacifier with her bag of tea on her shoulder. “I have someone bringing a tea set, but before I settle in, do you take your tea with anything? Milk, sugar, lemon?”

“No, I prefer to drink it straight.” She sat up, both sets of eyelids blinking twice. “You brought me tea?”

“Tea is a social drink, and you expressed a need for some company, so I decided it would be better for both of us if I shared my recent purchases with you. Besides, I haven’t tried most of these flavors - they had every kind of tea in the world, it seemed, except my favorite...”

The shark-nun watched as Myrrh scurried into the room, set a tea set on the bedside table, and high-tailed it out of there before a word could be said to the contrary. “That’s incredibly kind of you.”

“Hmm...I haven’t heard that word applied to me in some time.” Rosa filled the electric kettle in the sink (normally used for hand-washing), turned it on, and began looking through the teas. “Do you have a flavor preference? I should have it somewhere among these boxes.”

“Do you have Black Oolong?”

The Ursus stopped looking through the boxes, holding her composure by the neck with both hands. “That...would be the one I couldn't find.”

“Oh.” Specter smiled. “Then any black tea will suffice.”

“This one looks interesting. Notes of cocoa - certainly an unusual combination.”

The shark-nun shrugged. “I’m sure whatever you decide on will be wonderful.”

“You’d place that much confidence in my tastes after just meeting me?” Rosa shook her head. “That seems rather hasty of you.”

“Perhaps...but I already feel as though I know you quite well. You did dislocate my hip, after all.”

Her hand flew to her face, settling on her lower lip. “I did?”

“It surprised me as well. Much like the idea that others don’t see you as kind.” Specter cocked her head. “Tell me, Rosa...When did you lose your self-awareness?”

“...A kind person does not allow the atrocities I allowed my subordinates to commit.”

Another sharp-toothed smile. “No wonder you were strong enough to shake me to my core; you carry a heavy burden of guilt. Have you ever sought absolution?”

“Absolution is a lie others tell themselves,” the Ursus sighed, collapsing into a chair at the table she’d arranged the tea on while they waited for the kettle. “I do not wish to forget my mistakes, to ensure I don’t repeat them.”

“Well, if you wish to shoulder the weight of your sins, I cannot force you not to do so. However, I would like to repay your kindness...” She shifted so she was lying on her side, drumming the space beside her with her fingers.

Rosa watched her for a moment before locking eyes with her...Her eyes which swirled with the depths of the Abyss...She smiled as she felt herself falling forward without moving a millimeter. “Do you often mesmerize those you spend the evening with, Specter?”

“Most do not last long enough to be mesmerized.” The smile widened substantially. “You, my Darjeeling dear, are an exception to the rule...He hears your cries for aid, Natalya.”

“Of course...an Aesir nun...whom else would she serve, but a god of the depths...” The Ursus’ mind churned with thoughts and visions of an alien aquatic landscape.

Specter held out a hand to her. “The kettle can wait, darling...Allow me to soothe your soul another way.”

“Hmm...I have a better idea.” She shook the spell off with a simple crack of her neck and stood up as the kettle whistled. “Let’s enjoy a cup or two of tea, and when you feel less inclined to root around in my mind, perhaps we can talk about your offer on more equal footing?”

“As you wish.” The Abyss Hunter seemed unperturbed by her resistance.

Rosa poured each of them a cup, set them on plates, and settled onto the bed beside Specter without spilling a drop. “Careful, it’s piping hot still...much like a certain someone beside me...”

[javocjovian]

Two Veils To Hide My Face, SPN Bingo

Title: Two Veils To Hide My Face  Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17444402/chapters/41993786 Square Filled: Scent Marking Ship: Wincest (Top Sam/Bottom Dean) Rating: Explicit AF Warnings: ABO, Sex during Heat/Rut (slight Dubcon), Mpreg scare, Coming Out Trauma/Omega-shame (with acceptance fluff at the end, I promise!) Tags: Protective Sam, Damaged/Ashamed Dean, Scenting, Scent Marking, Heat/Rut, First Times, painful first rut, comfort/healing sex, mild emotional abuse, John is forgiven, Dubcon at first, Sleep Sex/Reverse Somnophilia/Cockwarming, actual Somnophilia, Knotting, Prostate Play, Teasing, lots of Cum & Slick, Cock Milking, Multiple Orgasms, Anal Gaping, Angst, Hurt, Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending! No really, this is a happy story T_T

Summary: Sam’s first rut takes everyone by surprise, and Dean goes to drastic measures to help him cope. Years later they’re back on the road looking for their dad, but being so close again has its consequences.

Word Count: 4302

Created for @spnkinkbingo Beta-ed by @just-another-busyfangirl 

Quote: Sam ravaged Dean like it was his first rut all over again. Only this time, Sam wasn’t inexperienced. His blind, greedy thrusts now had an edge of intent to them. He stroked up and down Dean’s seeping walls, stirring each and every little niche that had Dean unraveling into a horny, writhing mess on the floor. Dean had never moaned so hard in his life.

(gif credit)

Two Veils To Hide My Face

 John Winchester was so proud that his first born son was an Alpha. Even as a child, Dean was so headstrong and fearless, just like his old man. He even presented early, a sign that Dean was a fast maturing, extraordinary Alpha, just like their mother. But there was a problem with this. Dean wasn’t an Alpha.

Dean was an Omega.

The pressure from John caused a lot of stress for Dean growing up, and the overcompensation was admittedly what drove Dean into early presentation. John was out on a hunt when it happened, so once Dean was back in his right mind, he grabbed his dad’s old books on witchcraft and managed to fake his status as an Alpha via a spell. For years, Sam was the only one who knew, having been there when Dean’s first heat came.

Sam was a different story. From a young age Sam was resigned to being a Beta, based on his father’s frequent comments and backhanded insinuations. When Dean presented as an Omega instead of an Alpha as expected, the brothers made a deal. Once Sam hit puberty and didn’t present, he would help Dean keep up the charade. Except, Sam wasn’t a Beta.

Sam was an Alpha.

Sam’s first rut was catastrophic. Their father had left Dean to take care of Sammy for the week when it happened. Dean was showing signs of his upcoming heat and it triggered Sam’s first rut. Dean knew from the moment it started that Sam had taken after their mother.

Sam was a heaving, gasping, sobbing mess as the pain of Alpha puberty devastated him on the bathroom floor. Dean tried everything he could think of, but he just couldn’t handle it. There was nothing he could do for Sam and, worse, his own repressed Omega instincts were eating away at his rational mind. Dean tried looking up different spells in their dad’s old book, as he had done for himself, but found nothing that could help Sam.

A few hours of his little brother’s begging and pleading, and his failure to help him, finally broke Dean. He succumbed to his own instincts at last, and let Sam fuck him on the motel carpet.

Sam outright refused at first, but Dean knew it was out of fear: he didn’t want to hurt Dean, or get caught and unravel Dean’s charade. But this was the only way. Dean tore off Sam’s underwear, forced his wrists apart, and sank down on him, already dripping slick down his own thigh.

The shock and pleasure of it struck them both dumb for a moment before everything clicked. It was like an instant drug high. Dean was suddenly fucking himself on Sam’s cock, and Sam was groaning in satisfaction. The act fulfilled a need both internal and external to them both, and before either one of them realized what was happening Sam was pinning Dean to the floor. He ravaged Dean for hours, panting hungrily while Dean shouted in unbridled relief. Sam was soaked in feverish sweat and his older brother’s slick while his knot grew. Soon, he was filling Dean with load after load of his fertile cum.

 Afterward, Sam slept like he was dead. He’d passed out still knotted inside Dean, who jerked off a few more times, getting pleasure from being claimed by Sammy even while he slept. Dean just prayed their dad wouldn’t chose that moment to come home.

Sam’s knot deflated at some point during the night and Dean wiggled out from under him at last. He deposited Sam in his bed and continued his research, this time on how to magic yourself not pregnant before your father found out you let your Alpha younger brother breed you. He couldn’t let anyone, especially their dad, find out about what happened, yet the act filled Dean with a pleasure so potent it was almost shameful.

There were a few times throughout the night that Dean realized Sam was hard again and groaning in his sleep. Those moments Dean put his books aside and slid his lips all the way down over Sam’s pulsing cock. Sam whimpered and whined while Dean let Sam knot his throat, unwaking. The sounds Sam made as he came were almost sweet. Dean did this two more times before Sam’s rut finally seemed to subside for the night.

By morning, Dean was exhausted, in pain, and noticeably bruised, but at least he wasn’t pregnant.

 It took years for Sam to forgive himself for that night. Dean never blamed him, but he understood Sam’s pain and shame and tried to avoid the topic whenever he could. Things went back to normal. John was surprised, in fact he was thrilled, to have his little Sammy become an Alpha, not to mention proud that he’d sired not one, but two of them.

 Years passed, and it seemed the close quarters and even closer bond synced Sam and Dean’s cycles. Every couple months they spent a week frantically avoiding each other, even while they hunted together with their dad. John blamed the boys’ constant bickering on having two young Alphas cooped up on the road together, but Sam and Dean knew the truth.

It was hard enough on the day-to-day basis, but when they went into heat and rut, Dean’s scent drew Sam in unlike anything he’d ever smelled, and Dean could smell that first night on Sam’s breath whenever he spoke. Sam would catch glimpses of Dean showering or changing and Dean would see Sam’s eyes change. Meanwhile, Dean would pleasure himself while remembering how Sam pinned and fucked him all night long. How he bred him.

But after each heat and rut, things would go back to normal. Dean managed to get away from their dad every time, and the spellwork took care of the rest. Sam would help by finding ingredients and slipping them in with Dean’s things. He even scent marked him so Dean smelled more like an Alpha around their dad. Dean wasn’t sure it helped, but he appreciated the gesture too much to stop Sam. Dean found something comforting about Sam casually rubbing on him whenever they had a moment alone.

Dean kept a box under his bed with one of his shirts that Sam had scented. He hid it even from Sam. When his heat was particularly bad, he’d bury his face in the shirt. Dean didn’t know that Sam had stolen a pair of Dean’s shorts he’d promised to clean after Dean ruined it with slick. The smell wouldn’t wash out, so Sam lied and said he’d burned it.

 After a while, the boys suspected that John knew his sons weren’t both Alphas, but he never brought it up. He played along with Dean, who refused to talk about it even with Sam, and it was the first time Sam remembered feeling lucky to have John as their dad. Dean wouldn’t talk about it until after their dad died.

 Things got better after Sam went away to school. Granted, it began with a fight that would haunt the three of them for the rest of their lives, but Dean’s heats calmed down for while. He dated a few Betas and even had a fling with an Alpha girl that John never found out about. Sam even found a nice Omega girl in college.

Then their father went missing.

After four years apart, the brothers were finally back together, with impossibly more baggage than ever before.

It turned out that their cycles never fell out of sync while they were apart, even though they seemingly shared nothing in common anymore. Dean was still masking his Omega scent, but he’d stopped outwardly presenting as an Alpha to cover his Omega nature. It seemed he had enough freedom now to just disappear from their dad when his pre-heat symptoms started. Sam was managing his rut with relative ease as well, although he admitted he still struggled with control and rarely let himself indulge. But even with the improvements the brothers had made while they were separated, the next cycle they shared together after all those years proved to be just as challenging as their first.

 They had just finished hunting a vengeful spirit and were too tired to do anything but sit on the couch in their motel room at three am and watch whatever was on TV. They’d been so unusually busy that they’d abandoned their normal routines. Dean knew there was something he was forgetting, but he hadn’t had a second to himself to figure out what it was, until Sam rested his head against Dean’s.

Sam had got even taller in those four years and at first Dean thought Sam was just resting his chin on Dean’s head which was odd enough. Sam moved away after a moment, so Dean just ignored it. Then Sam put his chin back on Dean and rubbed his jaw over his short, soft hair. Dean glanced over at him and realized at once what was going on.

Sam was scenting him, just like when they were kids. Except now Sam wasn’t doing it because Dean needed to hide his own scent. Sam was flat out marking him.

Dean could see Sam’s collarbone rising and falling, just barely exposed beneath his shirt and coat. Sam wasn’t a kid anymore. He was toned and tanned, and had the body of a god - Dean had noticed it during their first hunt. Now as he sat on the couch with Sam marking him, Dean couldn’t bring himself to stop him. He liked the feeling of his brother rubbing himself on his head and shoulders, without so much as an attempt at explanation. It seemed Dean was starting his heat and Sam had given into the urge without thinking, spurred on the smell, unable to help himself. It was almost like he was grooming Dean. Dean’s breath quickened. He spotted the bulge in Sam’s pants, and Dean made his decision in an instant. He grabbed Sam’s hands and pinned him to the couch.

Sam seemed to snap out of it, but instead of clarity filling his expression, it was lust. He stared heatedly as Dean climbed onto his lap. Dean had never looked more like an Alpha, and yet he bowed his head onto Sam’s shoulder and rubbed himself against his jaw, presenting the back of his neck to him. He was succumbing to a sudden, indisputable desire to be dominated by the Alpha that claimed him all those years ago. At that, Sam just about lost his mind. The feral groan he emitted sent chills of shameless, submissive pleasure down Dean’s spine.

Sam broke out of Dean’s grip, grabbed his older brother, and pinned him to the floor just like he’d done all those years ago. Dean groaned. Sam was always the calm, rational one, which was probably why it was so damn sexy when he went into rut. He lost most of his control, going purely on instinct - it was Dean’s guiltiest pleasure.

For a minute, Sam just rubbed himself on Dean, spreading his scent all over his hair and clothes, before he started humping him through the layers and groaning into the back of Dean’s neck. Dean couldn’t take it. He was already painfully erect and there was slick dripping down his leg. In four years, no one had made Dean as wet as Sam had in that short time.

A powerful need suddenly rose in Dean and he started to fight back. He wanted Sam to consent to this, not just be driven by his Alpha brain. He needed Sam’s consent. Dean remembered what it was like when they were kids. When Sam went into his ruts, he locked himself away in his room because he was so afraid of hurting someone. Dean couldn’t let Sam feel like that again.

Dean’s struggling confused Sam giving Dean the upper hand. He wrestled Sam to the floor, slapping his face just enough to ground him. Sam sputtered and gasped, staring at Dean incredulously.

“Dean!”

“Do you really want this?”

Sam groaned. “Yes.”

“Tell me you want this, Sammy. Tell me you want my ass. Come on!”

Sam growled at him, writhing on the floor. “I want your ass… I want you filled with my seed...” It looked like his every muscle was working to not overtake Dean’s grip. “I want your slick all over me, Dean. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Their conversation was brief, but it was enough consent for Dean. Dean broke. His grip on Sam loosened and Sam took that as his cue.

They were naked on the floor in seconds. Sam was surprisingly tender with Dean, like he’d gained some modicum of control over his Alpha nature in the last few years, or he at least truly meant what he said: he wanted Dean, and he always had.

Still, Sam’s cock was even bigger than Dean remembered. If he hadn’t been starting his heat, he wasn’t sure if his body would have been able to take all of it. Dean was wet and perfectly pliable for Sam’s cock, and every inch of pain was drowned out by miles of overwhelming pleasure.

Sam ravaged Dean like it was his first rut all over again. Only this time, Sam wasn’t inexperienced. His blind, greedy thrusts now had an edge of intent to them. He stroked up and down Dean’s seeping walls, stirring each and every little niche that had Dean unraveling into a horny, writhing mess on the floor. Dean had never moaned so hard in his life. At one point, he whimpered like Sam had in his sleep when Dean first sucked him. Dean would have been mortified if anyone but Sam heard it. Dean slammed his fist on the floor, bucking back into Sam and making him curse.

Sam urged him on, groping and kissing him all over, until Dean finally felt Sam’s growing knot press between his cheeks. They groaned in unison as it pressed against Dean’s opening.

 They fucked for hours. Dean came first when Sam found his prostate and unleashed his lust on it. Dean had never cum so hard or so fast, even by his own doing. Dean’s heat kept him wet and ready after every assault, aching for everything Sam could give him. After his second orgasm, he was so stretched that, after the perfect thrust, Sam’s growing knot slipped right into him with a wet pop. They both groaned, and Sam fucked his knot into Dean’s quivering hole, trembling.

Sam was beside himself. That extra inch of his cock seemed to have the combined sensitivity of his head and shaft. It finally swelled to its full extent inside of Dean and Sam came, hard, hips pressed against Dean’s stretched hole. Dean dropped his forehead and palms onto the carpet and just moaned. Sam lost track of how many times he pulsed inside of Dean, planting his knot deep and letting it pin Dean’s ass to the floor every time. His thighs and knees were covered in Dean’s slick and his own sweat.

Dean could tell Sam was getting tired. He wanted him to pass out so that Dean could experience that rush again – the rush he now understood had been submissive pleasure. Dean never submitted to anyone. Call it years of repression or just Dean’s stubborn nature, but he was a shitty Omega.... Except with Sam. Sam was the only one he’d let treat him like an Omega and it felt so good.

Sam slowed in exhaustion and leaned down over Dean’s back, spooning him while he fucked him. He was barely pulling out at all, just pushing against Dean’s abused ass while his knot pulsed in Dean’s body. Dean felt Sam come once more, then finally still.

There was nothing but the sound of panting and gasping for a few moments. Then Dean finally spoke.

“Sleep, Sammy.”

Sam was scenting him again, lazily rubbing his jaw over Dean head and sweaty shoulders. Sam made to pull out, feeling Dean’s body resist the slowly receding knot like a plug, but Dean stopped him.

“It’s okay… just sleep,” Dean said shakily.

Sam understood. He kissed Dean’s temple and began to doze off, still inside of Dean from behind on their soaked motel carpet. Dean swallowed. He was spent. For a while he dozed too, waking with each of Sam’s little snores and stirs. His every movement roused Dean so intimately that he couldn’t help but wake. Finally, something woke Dean that was a little more rousing. Sam’s knot was swelling back up and he was humping Dean in his sleep. Dean groaned, remembering just how dead to the world Sam had been while he slept that first time. There’d be no waking him.

Urged on by what was most likely a dream of some kind, Sam thrust slowly in Dean’s ass, leaking precum and wetting his insides again. Dean’s breathing went shallow. He was erect in seconds. Call it Omega heat or whatever, but Dean could feel his channel tingling and urging Sam on, blissed out in satisfaction at being used. Sam nuzzled Dean’s neck, scenting him more. Dean groaned. Sam was claiming him in his sleep. His hand flew to his cock and he began stroking himself between his belly and the floor. Sam’s knot was full again, and Dean could feel the weight of it pressing him into the floor. He yanked his arm out of the way, and just humped the floor while Sam sleep fucked him at a teasingly uncoordinated pace. The motions of Dean’s hips aided Sam’s cock in sliding back and forth, and Sam soon orgasmed with a pleasured whine, spilling his seed deep in Dean’s plugged hole. The effort woke him and Sam slowly realized what was going on. He felt Dean rolling his hips, pinned beneath him but awake.

“’s that why you wanted to sleep like this?” Sam murmured in Dean’s ear.

Dean grinned sheepishly.

Sam planted his lips down on the back of Dean’s exposed neck and sucked, making Dean groan and buck into the carpet. Dean knew Sam wouldn’t mate him, not yet at least, but the gesture sent chills down Dean’s back. Sam angled himself so that his cock slid against Dean’s prostate, pushing down on it. Dean’s breath hitched. Sam grazed his teeth against Dean’s skin as he left hickeys on his neck, sensing that Dean liked it. Sure enough, Dean clenched around Sam’s cock, driving it unrelentingly into his pleasure spot, and Dean came right there, moaning hotly.

Once Dean had stopped trembling and cursing from his orgasm, Sam helped pick him up by the shoulders. Dean let him change positions, so that Dean was on his knees with his chest and forehead on the couch seat. Dean gave a murmur of thanks. Sam was clearly still in fuck or fight mode, but Dean was impressed by just how much he was able to control it now. Still… Dean clenched around Sam’s knot and got a surprised moan out of him.

He heard Sam’s breathless smile behind him. “Jerk.”

“Bitch.” Dean grinned, looking sideways at him.

Sam dragged his hands up Dean’s thighs and hips, earning a shiver from Dean. Then he cupped his hands over Dean’s taut stomach and dragged his nails down to his groin.

Dean bucked and bit his lips, groaning softly.

“Dean… why didn’t you tell me how much you wanted this?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dean grit his teeth and Sam did it again, almost tickling down his treasure trail. Dean could feel himself full of Sam’s cum, warming him just above Sam’s hands.

“Touche,” Sam said, cupping Dean’s cock and balls with his large hands.

Dean moaned, widening his stance and sinking back on Sam’s cock. He could feel himself dripping from his cock and his hole in unison.

“Dean...” Sam started.

Something about the way he said it made Dean look back at him. “Hey… Look, I am loving this,” he prefaced. “For the love of God, you can tease me all night. Fuck.” He breathed, shuddering slightly as Sam idly fingered his slit. “But… no chick flick moments, okay? I don’t blame you for anything, and if this is something you want to do then… I’m here whenever you need me,” Dean said tersely.

Sam’s smile warmed, rubbing spurts of precum out of Dean’s cock. “Deal.”

Dean shivered. “Oh, thank God.” He flopped his head down on the couch.

Sam grinned. “You’re going to eat your words, you know,” Sam said, rubbing his fingers up and down Dean’s cock and making his whole body arch and shake.

“I’ve eaten worse.” Dean flashed him a cocky grin and stifled a whimper.

Sam almost laughed. Instead, he began to jack Dean off. Dean groaned gratefully. Within seconds, Sam was fucking him hard again. He groped and fondled him, holding Dean’s cock and stomach as if he were trying to fill him to the brim. Sam couldn’t pull out very far with his knot, but that meant his hips kept rubbing Dean’s stretched entrance with every thrust, filling Dean with eratic pleasure. Dean was a mess on the couch, arched up against Sam with his cock dribbling all over Sam’s long, stroking fingers, fisting the couch pillows on either side of his head.

They only lasted a few rounds that time. Dean came twice in Sam’s hands while he milked him before Sam’s thrusts became desperate and fast again. Sam was an animal, fucking and groaning like Dean wasn’t even there. Sam knotted him once more, then collapsed atop him, hands splayed on the couch beside Dean’s as he came. Dean gripped his wet fingers, just breathing with his brother.

 Sam’s knot shrunk a little faster that time, and Sam finally seemed to have returned to his senses. When Sam slipped out of him, Dean could feel himself gaping, Sam’s cum flowing between his knees. Sam stroked Dean’s entrance soothingly, making Dean want to just sink into the couch and sleep. He was flaccid at last, and it had never felt so good. Sam seemed to have similar ideas as Dean, because he scooped an arm around Dean’s waist to pulled him onto the only clean part of the floor left. They passed out together, holding each other close until morning.

 The next day was spent cleaning the motel room. Sam couldn’t believe he’d had a rut like that, but Dean was grinning with pride. After a greasy meal and several coffees each, they hit the road. On the way to their next case, they found it surprisingly easy to talk to one another. They laughed about dad, about their worst hunts, they even talked a bit about mom. Every conversation seemed to come back to what would surely happen if anyone took a black light to that motel room. Very little seemed to change between them, except that once every couple of months they’d take a few days off to take care of each other. That - and Dean was now on birth-control.

As they readjusted to living side by side again, they noticed little changes. Dean became a pretty good cook and didn’t use magic anymore, and Sam had somehow read the entire Stanford library. They both learned to handle their cycles differently when they were apart: Sam liked to research and prepare for each one, while Dean did absolutely nothing. In the end it was always the same: Sam was a hot mess while Dean somehow maintained a decent amount of self-control.

 Overall, not much had changed, except now Sam and Dean weren’t ashamed of needing each other. Dean told Sam about the shirt he used to keep, and Sam replied with the story of Dean’s pants. Sam knew they’d be okay when, at last, Dean let it slip over the phone with their dad that his Omega cycle was starting soon and he couldn’t start another hunt right away. Sam heard the receiver go silent before a calm voice replied “Okay, son.”

Sam hid his smile from Dean when he got back to the table and they never talked about it again.

[deathbyvalentine]

Magic For Wolves

The first thing I did was bury the bones. Bones could be more effective than a fence, if you knew where to put them. So I took my ruler and measured six inches into the soil and dug there, small graves perfectly suited to the bones that would rest there. They encircled the house, only the overturned soil hinting where they lay. It was only afterwards it occurred to me that the circle looked like a target, the house sitting at the bullseye. I doubt it would have stopped me if I’d realised during. We were always targets, visible or not.

*

He was washing the dishes when I came back inside, tutting when I thrust my hands under the tap to get the thick dirt off my palms, splattering the dishes. He tutted but didn’t complain which was my brother’s personality in a nutshell. He quite enjoyed being long suffering, I suspected, and I gave him plenty of opportunities to be so. Or so he said. I was never aware of my being difficult until long after, usually when I had overheard some whispers from the in between the landing banisters. There had been less of that recently, due to him having nobody to complain to. I preferred it just the two of us personally. There was less chatter, less noise, less pointless static filling up the air and cluttering up my head. Sometimes we could go long days without talking, just sighing and tutting instead. It was like his own language. Mine was made up of chirps and clicks, copied from the birds in the thorny brush outside. He understood it anyway, I think.

The reason we were alone now is because I didn’t bury the bones last month and Saffy got got. Even though I liked it better now, I had liked her fine. She was tall and wore dresses that had been bleached paler by the sun. She laughed constantly which made my brother smile which made me okay. The morning after she hadn’t come home, I had found a pale yellow scrap down by the river, caught in the breeze. I knew it was from her favourite Sunday dress so knew she was gone. I gave it to Robert and he’s using it as a bookmark nowadays. 

I told him I was going to bury the bones today and he had nodded with those great brown eyes of his. His eyes reminded me of mud and the woods and the dark fur I only managed to see in flashes. Robert wasn’t a wild thing but I sometimes wondered if he was one when he was my age. I couldn’t imagine him as anything but what he was now, but he must have been smaller once. I wonder if he knew what I knew - about the bones and about the tree carvings, about the words you should say for luck and the rivers you should never cross at night. These weren’t the sort of things you learnt. They came to you, little flashes like silver fish. The kids from the village called me a witch but it was just common sense. The world around you talked and you had to listen and at the very least talk back. 

I had been smaller than I was when I realised how important it was. I had fallen asleep with the window open, even though it was winter. I had woken up shivering, the cold moonlight that had fallen through the window chilled me to the bone. I had gotten up, bare feet on the wooden floorboards. I padded over to the window. Things were different at night. All the grass and hills and trees were not the same ones anymore. They were dark or silver, some of them had faces and some of them weren’t there at all. The village was only just visible, nestled at the end of the long road. And the wind whispered, coming from far away. I almost fell asleep on my feet looking out because it wasn’t all scary. It was beautiful too. I could hear the river and the leaves moving and something underneath it all, something like the earth humming.

My eyes were just closing and I was swaying a bit on my feet when I saw it. Standing below, it’s eyes empty and silver. It didn’t move and neither did I. I think I held my breath. I knew it could hear everything. It could hear my heart and my eyes when they blinked and if I breathed it could hear that too. We looked at each other. We looked and we looked. Then there was a noise from deep in the valley and off it sprinted, quicker than quick.

In the morning, mother said I must have dreamed it, that the moon was hidden behind clouds last night to begin with and besides, who would be wandering around at that hour?

Well she died three weeks later, so what did she know?

*

The fence did its job admirably but I was running out of bones. You couldn’t use the same ones twice and though sticks with runes did an okay job, they weren’t nearly as powerful. So I asked Robert for money and went into the village. 

Usually we looked after ourselves. We had chickens and vegetable beds, but Robert said we weren’t to kill anymore chickens until next year and anyway, we needed things we couldn’t make. Things like soap and candles and matches. He said I could spend whatever was left after the list was bought, as long as I didn’t tell him what I bought. This worked for me. Things being secret made the magic more potent. 

I didn’t step on a single crack on main street but that meant I was looking at my feet which meant I walked straight into someone. They were putting up posters on the telephone poles that dotted the street. Nearly every single one was covered, not just by this newest poster, but by ten or so similar ones that had gone before. All with faces rendered in black and white, all missing. I knew were they were but Robert had told me that if I said so, it would just upset the people of the village.

The people of the village loved Robert. They said his red hair was lucky and with his temperament and our house any girl would be lucky to have him. Everyone thought he was going to marry Saffy so now she was gone, they were jostling for attention again. Sometimes we woke up to baskets on our doorstep, filled with jam or bread or flowers or love notes. I hated that - it meant I had to go and check all the way around the circle to make sure they hadn’t kicked up any dirt or disturbed the bones. It was stuff like this that made the village people go missing. No respect, no common sense. They didn’t even notice the world around them if it wasn’t written on a newspaper or banker’s letter. I didn’t mind the jam though, that could stay.

When I got home, I gave Robert his bag of boring things then took my bag of exciting things to my room. I had bought; one steak, a deck of playing cards, a new pen and a whistle. I had also found on the walk home a handful of blackberries, a dead cricket and several interestingly shaped stones. The stones went onto my collection shelf and the blackberries went into a bowl to be crushed later. Blackberry juice could be used to dye fabric or wood, staining it a deep rich purple. You could always tell when someone had been eating blackberries. It stained skin too, fingertips and lips especially. It wouldn’t wash away, not for a while, not even with soap.

When that was done, I went outside and tucked the steak underneath the elderberry bush. The sun was starting to be drawn out the sky, like poison from a wound, leaving only stars behind. I appreciated it for a moment, the lazy buzzing of sun drunk insects, then headed back inside. I barred every door and latched every window. That was the sort of thing you forgot to do precisely once.

*

I didn’t sleep well. Dreams plagued me and made me walk while still asleep in my bed, my arms and legs aching when I woke up. I inspected myself in the bathroom mirror after stirring myself. An anxiety overtook me whenever I could not sleep, caused by remembering how much she tossed and turned before she simply disappeared completely, as quick as a spell. I looked at my reflection for signs of her illness. But there was no feverish flush high on my cheeks, no white spots on my tongue. When I sneezed, no blood painted the handkerchief. Cheered by this, I rescued Hazel from under my bed and carried her downstairs.

There was a stranger in the kitchen with Robert. My eyes flickered to the back kitchen door, but it had been rebolted with no sign of forced entry or scratches. Robert was smiling, which both reassured and scared me all at the same time. The stranger was a man with blonde hair and grey eyes and grass stains on the knees of his pale suit. His fingers were resting against Robert’s wrist when I entered, like he was taking a pulse but he moved as soon as he saw me. I stood in the doorway, Hazel squirming in my arms until I dropped her. She padded across to her empty food bowl and looked at me balefully but she would have to wait.

The silence lasted longer than anything ever had, but it was Robert who spoke first. Apparently this man was a police man, checking up on the village and us, to see if we knew anything more about the missing people or if anyone had threatened us. Nobody had, not in a long time, so I wasn’t sure what he was still doing here and I said so. He laughed, though it sounded like a laugh on the radio and picked up his hat, sliding over a card to Robert and telling him to call if he needed anyone to talk to. Which was a stupid thing to say because Robert had me. I watched him leave, still standing in the doorway. Robert got up and began fussing over breakfast plates and bowls and not looking at me. A great and terrible passion rose in my chest (that’s what my father called it, a passion) and I got so angry I pushed the milk jug off the table so it shattered on the stone floor into a thousand shards, maybe more. Robert stared at me. 

“Ellen, what was that for? You know we don’t have another.”

“That was for Saffy.” It wasn’t but I wanted to see him flinch, and he did, his eyes going big and hurt. “Since you’ve forgot.”

“No I haven’t. I’m... I’m allowed to have friends.”

“I’m your friend!” I bared my teeth. “You know what happens to our other friends.”

“I...” He trailed off because he knew I was right. Triumphant, I snatched a piece of toast from the pile and went back upstairs.

*

I stayed awake until it was pitch black and the moon rose over the horizon. I wasn’t meant to, but sometimes it was okay to look. Sometimes. I peeked over the window ledge and they were standing there, like I knew they would be. More of them than the first time, the wind catching their hair and fur, even though I couldn’t see the grass moving with it. 

I felt a tug in my chest that I thought maybe was sadness when I saw the state of Saffy’s dress. She used to like to stay so neat, ironing it until it had no creases and brushing it free of Hazel’s fur. Now it was torn and ragged and dirty and even if it hadn’t of been, it would have looked all wrong on her because she looked all wrong. She looked like her skeleton was wrong for the body it was in and her eyes didn’t see me anymore. They all faced the house, their shadows being cast across the hills.

I wonder if Robert looked too sometimes, or if he felt too guilty about it all. Or maybe he thought I was the cursed one. Either way, he would fret. I came away from the window and crept into bed, falling into a sound sleep. Tomorrow, I would go to the pond and collect frogs. I would sleep well.

[crowned-ladybug]

Veins to a Heart

(Title plucked very loosely from a Hungarian song, “Az otthon itt van” by Roy és Ádám. Alternative title was “Once More, With Feeling” but that’s like. really not serious)

Whoops, some OCs! And one of those tropes I just looove poking constantly, except I keep wanting to write angst with it and failing every time

OC blog is @menagerie-of-morons​

Characters: Marvin, Stephen, Chase, Theodore, Jackie, Anraí

Setting: Rivals AU

Ship: some Marvin/Jackie, not super in focus

Word count: 3.1k

Warnings: injuries (not detailed much), a bit of sad nights

These are OCs, please keep that in mind and respect it.

It starts with an argument, a yelling contest between Marvin and Stephen, over something small and stupid. They’re both hot-headed and hot-blooded and don’t know when to back down. And somewhere in there Stephen yells “Can you even feel emotions at all?”

And then it’s over, as quick as it came, and they slink away into separate rooms to cool down. And within an hour Stephen is seeking out Marvin again, apologising in the most sincere voice, because while they both know that these fights never last, Marvin is his friend and he doesn’t want him hurt. In response Marvin tells him that it’s all right, that he’s sorry too, and he kisses him on the forehead before they both go about their business.

And it is fine, Marvin didn’t lie and there’s no hard feelings he harbours towards Stephen, and he tells him that again the next day when Stephen pokes him gently like he can feel that something is still off. Marvin is not mad, but those words, those words stick around in his head and just – float there.

Can you even feel emotions at all?

---

Can you feel?

At all?

---

Marvin feels.

He feels a sort of confused, amused pride and bubbling joy as he watches Chase throw his hands up and screech in delight, dropping the controller on his lap. Marvin doesn’t know what he’s playing or why he’s so happy now, but he returns his grin when he whips around to look at him.

“Are you winning, son?” he laughs, and Chase waves his arms around enthusiastically.

“Fuck yes I am!”

Marvin, still grinning, reaches into the packet of chocolates on his lap and fishes out one in pink wrapping. It’s very obviously strawberry flavoured, and Chase loves strawberries, and he deserves a big reward for...whatever he just won. He tosses the chocolate at Chase, and it hits him right in the chest as he flails clumsily to catch it and misses.

“Care to explain the game to me, though?” Marvin smiles still as he watches Chase eagerly lick the wrapper clean, because fine, maybe Marvin shouldn’t be keeping milk chocolate on his lap. “If you feel up to it.”

Chase does. And so the game is left on a “pause” screen as he scoots closer to the couch and jumps into a long, slightly confusing explanation about game mechanics and objectives and player characters. Marvin gets lost at some point, but he keeps listening, watching his friend’s face alight with excitement as he gets to ramble on and on about something he loves and enjoys so much.

It’s something, Marvin realises with a slight start that he doesn’t let show on his face, that he could never grow tired of watching.

---

Marvin feels.

He feels some sort of overwhelming fondness as he hands Stephen the pile of office supplies he asked the next people to go out shopping fetch for him. He feels fondness and this cheeky, dorky sense of accomplishment as he watches his friend sift through the notebooks and little boxes to make sure everything is in order, until he finds something he didn’t have on his list.

And he laughs at the faces Stephen makes at the small box of push pins in various, unnecessary shapes like sunglasses and umbrellas and VW beetles.

Stephen gives him a silent look that painfully and obviously reads a single word – Why?

“Your office is boring!” Marvin shrugs, still grinning. “You could really use some fun and colour in here.”

“So you got me ridiculous pins?” he watches as Marvin nods like it’s the most obvious choice in the world, though his still present grin reduces his credibility somewhat. “Fine, fine, now scram. You’re the worst, I hope you know that.”

Marvin turns on his heel with all too much flair and does a stupid little wave that Stephen can’t even see now, because he’s too busy organising his once again horribly messy desk. He trots over to the door with a proud grin. “Love you too!”

Stephen just rolls his eyes fondly as his office door finally slips shut.

---

Marvin feels.

He feels a sickening mixture of fear and anger, both blinding and overwhelming in their own right, all rising in his throat like bile. He doesn’t like it, he hates it in fact, and it makes his magic twist beneath his skin in all sorts of unpleasant ways, like a beast straining against its chains, wanting, needing to be released. It squeezes his chest like it’s trying to take the space away from his lungs and sends a horrid, itching-burning feeling running down his arms.

And he watches, frozen in place, as Anraí writhes and screeches, all flailing limbs and gnashing teeth, and yet he cannot claw himself free from where he’s pinned to the ground under some strange, infernal beast.

He took a while to warm up to the new member of their little group, sure. But even if he didn’t care for him yet (which he does), he knows Jackie trusts and values him greatly. And that alone would already be enough to make Marvin fight tooth and nail before he even considers abandoning him on the battlefield.

He steadies his footing, takes a breath, and – the chains inside snap. He lets his magic go, go and run and destroy purely on instinct. Right now, that’s all he’s got.

And when he opens his eyes again, just realising he’d even closed them at all, he finds Anraí curled into a ball on the ground, ash drifting down and settling slowly around him. He must be alive, because even from this distance Marvin sees him trembling, and he breathes a sigh of relief at that. The air tastes like ozone.

Anraí pushes himself to sit as he watches Marvin approach, the gaze of his almost unearthly green eyes flitting about every now and again. He doesn’t move to put more distance between them as Marvin kneels next to him.

Anraí looks like hell – scratched and bruised and terrified, and there’s a nasty gash on one of his shoulders that he probably really shouldn’t be getting all this ash into, but he’s in one piece, and that’s the most important thing right now. Marvin smiles at him, and for a moment Anraí’s shaken mind is distracted by the fact that his teeth are just a little too sharp for a human, and he takes some weird kind of comfort in that.

“Let’s go home now, okay?” Marvin speaks, and Anraí can hear him even when his ears are pinned back against his head with fear. He speaks like he’s talking to a scared child, soft and slow and keeping his every word clear. Anraí is not used to such a tone from him, but he appreciates it right now.

He just nods, and Marvin hums in understanding, and puts his hand on Anraí’s intact shoulder to teleport them both home.

---

Marvin feels.

He feels tired, with the fear and adrenaline ebbing away, finally. And he feels something else, a warm, now familiar stirring in his chest. It’s loving and being loved and knowing he doesn’t need to worry anymore, and it’s gratefulness for it all.

He blinks slowly as he watches, leaning on the wall behind him, Stephen wrapping one roll of clean, stark white bandage after the other around Jackie’s torso. The wounds are all closed now, mostly healed too, but the bloody scraps scattered around them on the floor and the dirtied medical kit on the desk won’t let him forget them. His mind won’t, either. He sees them every time he closes his eyes.

It was another close call, for both of them. Not as close as it could have been, but close enough to have them reconsidering their approach and their methods for next time. Marvin didn’t get away unscathed either – his left arm is in a sling now, a numb pain settling all throughout his bones, and he can feel the pull of the freshly closed cuts on his cheek every time he blinks.

He doesn’t let himself think about that now. Not now, not yet. They got away, they’re safe now. Stephen and the others will take care of them now, and Marvin doesn’t know what he’d do anymore without their support to fall back on. He himself, he’d be fine, he’d pull through somehow or fall along the way, but he doesn’t want to know what could happen to Jackie if it was just the two of them, both of them too hurt to help the other stand.

But they’re not alone. They have Stephen and Chase and Teddy. They have Anraí now, too. They’re not alone.

He shuffles over to Stephen as he watches him tie off the last of the bandages and tell Jackie to be careful. Jackie gives him a small, tired smile.

“Thank you,” Marvin sighs, as he moves to stand next to them. He doesn’t specify for what. For the healing. For helping Jackie when he couldn’t. For being here and loving them. For home.

And Stephen gives him a knowing, gentle smile, as he reaches out and rubs a hand up and down Marvin’s uninjured arm. He glances at Jackie, his smile still there, and then back to Marvin. Finally, he responds, his accent thick from tiredness. “Always.”

---

Marvin feels.

He feels numb and sad and kind of all alone, to be honest. He feels like he wants to disappear, and there’s something in his chest that feels like it’s choking him, and the beginning of a headache nestling in the back of his head. All in all, he feels like shit.

He spends a while just wallowing in his misery, because it’s past midnight and no one else is in the living room at this hour, and so he can. At least he’s not afraid of ghosts, and that’s something, otherwise he would have probably speedwalked back to his room the moment he realised the living room looks strange in the dark and he can’t be bothered to turn on the lights.

There’s footsteps creeping down the stairs and then through the hall, clearly cautious so as to not wake anyone who’s still sleeping lightly. Even before he sees the figure enter his line of sight, Marvin already guesses it’s either Chase or Teddy, based on the footsteps alone.

It turns out to be Teddy.

He stops the moment he steps into the room and sees Marvin sitting there.

Marvin knows it could very well be simply because he’s a distinct, out-of-place lump of darkness in an obvious spot, but he could swear there’s something about Teddy that isn’t entirely human. He never talks about it, and Marvin hasn’t exactly poked it much yet, but the way the light catches just a little bit too strangely on his friend’s eyes in the darkness brings those thoughts back to him. He wouldn’t be surprised if Teddy saw him much easier right now than Marvin could ever see him.

Despite the thoughts racing through Marvin’s head, the moment is calm and casual. Teddy makes his way over to the couch Marvin is curled on, and he stops next to the standing lamp in the corner next to it. He waits for a moment next to it so that Marvin will get the hint and close his eyes if he’d like, before he switches it on.

The light is dim and golden-orange, not bright enough to hurt after the almost complete darkness. It’s like a domesticated campfire, the tired, goofy thought flashes through Marvin’s mind, and he stashes it away for later. He’s sure Jackie and Chase would delight in it.

He doesn’t mind the light. It lets him properly talk with Teddy, at the very least.

“Do you want to talk?” Teddy signs, and Marvin is so proud of himself for a moment for understanding that. He barely knows any sign yet, but he’s trying. He’s always been horrible at self-discipline, but he’s been doing his best lately, studying sign and magic and also French. Every time he understands what Teddy is saying, he feels like he’s finally making some progress.

“I,” he starts, and then realises he doesn’t know what he was going to say. He stops, considers the question again like something he has an actual choice in, and finally speaks. “I’d rather not, if that’s okay.”

Teddy just smiles, and Marvin feels warmer.

“You can stay though, if you want,” he adds, just in case, because he doesn’t want Teddy to feel like he’s not appreciated anyway. “I don’t mind.”

And so Teddy stays. Whatever he came downstairs to do seemingly forgotten, he pulls out a book from under the coffee table and gets to reading. Marvin nestles himself more into the corner of the couch and goes back to his thoughts, his thoughts that...don’t seem to be as grim now. He’s still not feeling wonderful, but seems as if the quiet companionship of a good friend simply existing in the same space as him, no pressure and no judgement, has helped his bad mood.

And at that, he allows himself a small smile.

---

Marvin feels.

Above all, Marvin feels tired, but the weird, dumb kind of tired when he logically knows he’s tired, but his body is refusing to admit it and let him sleep. Closing his eyes and lying still has done fuck all so far, and he hates unnecessarily dealing with numbers, so counting to five hundred is also out the window. He can’t even get on his phone now or play some handheld game, not like that would actually put him to sleep, because he’s worried the sudden light so close to him would wake Jackie.

So he’s left trying to match his breathing to Jackie’s and trying to arrange his lanky limbs in a way that allows him not to touch him too much, because eventually he’ll inevitably end up moving and possibly waking him up. But the bed is small, made for one person, and usually they make it work, but also usually they use the bed to sleep in.

He can’t even sneak back into his own room to pull an all-nighter or something, because this is his room, and it currently has his entire, very asleep boyfriend in it.

He doesn’t know how long he lies still like that, his thought process constantly jumping between topics, until Jackie stirs. Marvin watches, eyes straining against the darkness, as he shifts and then rolls over to face him. One of Jackie’s hands reaches out, and for a moment Marvin wonders if he’s awake, but his eyes are still shut and the way his fingers stumble over every crease in the sheets tells him he’s still fast asleep. He mumbles, unintelligible for the most part, but Marvin could swear somewhere in there he hears something that sounds like his name.

Marvin shifts closer, worming his way into Jackie’s searching grasp, and he feels as his hand weakly twists into the fabric of his shirt. He only hesitates a moment before he lets his magic trace from Jackie’s hand and wind around him and hold him, fill Marvin’s head with the rhythm of his heartbeat, knowing it comforts both of them. He thinks Jackie wakes for a second, judging from his delighted hum and the deliberate way he rearranges his limbs to slot against his. Marvin holds him close, even after he feels him go limp with sleep again.

It gives him thoughts and feelings he’d blame his sleepy mind for but knows still hold true in the daylight. Thoughts of wanting to protect Jackie no matter what, keep him out of harm’s way despite how many dangerous things they do on the daily. Thoughts of putting himself in his place if he can’t protect him anymore. But also thoughts of wanting to keep making him smile and laugh, of going on small adventures, of listening to him talk endlessly about things that make him happy. Thoughts of wanting to always be the one he instinctively reaches out for during the night.

He knows it’s sappy, it’s sappy and...it’s not stupid, he tells himself, it’s not. It’s called loving and caring about another person, it’s good and warm and pure and it makes him feel so fucking alive, and god damn it, he’s going to indulge in it. And it’s not stupid.

---

Marvin feels.

He feels warm and alive, with the sun bouncing off his skin, and he feels absolutely delighted as he sits on the beach and watches his friends playing in the water. He’ll join them in a bit, even the odds a little, because they started out with Chase and Jackie ganging up on poor Anraí during his first time at the beach and with Teddy as their sympathetic audience, but now with Jackie on Anraí’s side it feels like they’re the ones ganging up on Chase and Teddy, despite it being two versus two.

He’ll join them in just a moment, but for now he watches the chaos play out a little longer.

He glances up when he hears the sand crunching next to him and sees Stephen standing above him, also staring at their friends wrestling in the water. Swimming trunks and flip-flops are a weird look on him when Marvin is used to turtlenecks and business casual, but it’s not a bad thing necessarily. If anyone needs to relax more, it’s definitely Stephen.

Their eyes meet for a second and they laugh, not needing any words to share their fondness and amusement over whatever’s going down in the water.

Marvin speaks anyway, as he moves to look forward once again and leans back on his hands. “These idiots,” he laughs again, and he hears Stephen shift above him. “I love these fucking idiots so much.”

He doesn’t even think about it, it just slips out, and what’s even more surprising...he doesn’t want to take it back. He feels no regret or embarrassment over saying something like that. He feels okay. He feels content.

He watches as Jackie finally shoves Chase underwater, and decides it’s time he stepped in. He gathers his legs, and as he does, Stephen speaks, and he doesn’t have to look to know that he’s smiling. “Yeah. A good little family of all idiots.”

Family.

Marvin, he finds, couldn’t agree more. And as he runs into the water and tackles Jackie, because he deserves it, swallowing water and getting splashed in retaliation the moment he comes up for air, he feels at home.

[fightmewiatch]

Neighbors

Character: Harry (Spread) x OFC (Jenna)

Word Count: 6,724 (I couldn’t stop!)

Warnings: Um...none? Fluffy, blink-and-you-miss-it angst, I guess?

A/N: Look, Harry deserves more love than he gets, come on now. He was cute...and seriously better than Nikki, if you ask me (no one asked me but I don’t care, I’m telling you anyways, haha). 

The sound of her phone startled her off the bed, squawking as she hit the floor, elbow jamming against the table. With a hard groan, Jenna rolled onto her stomach, curling into herself, and forcing herself to her feet, swatting her phone to shut it off, not caring who she was hanging up on. Sighing, and rubbing her arm, Jenna started for the small kitchen, pausing at the sound of loud voices outside. With a groan, she slid open the door to the balcony, and stepped out, glancing over to see a lanky man on the sidewalk, talking to the man on the balcony across the hall. Still half-asleep, she wasn’t sure what they were saying, but the tone was clear, the argument, and she lingered, enjoying the rare, comfortable breeze, before the man on the sidewalk left, and the man across the hall glanced over at her, hesitating at the sight of her.

“Sorry to wake you up,” he called, waving, before disappearing back inside. Jenna chuckled, and shook her head, padding back in to turn on her coffee pot.

Los Angeles was not the top of the list of places Jenna had ever planned to live, but now that she was here, despite the noise, and the rude people she encountered, and the weird smells on some of the side streets, she was pretty sure she didn’t ever want to leave. Her apartment was tiny compared to anything else she’d ever lived in - it was a bedroom, a bathroom, a closet, and half a kitchen, with a balcony to make it worth the cost. Honestly, living by herself, Jenna didn’t care - all her friends were hundreds of miles away, and she was sure as shit not about to invite her coworkers to that place (not because she was embarrassed, but because most of them sucked).

But the best part, she had to admit, was the brunette across the hall.

She’d only been living there a few months, though a quick look around her apartment would argue that considering she hadn’t finished unpacking yet, so she didn’t really know any of her neighbors. She’d seen several of them, in passing, or from her balcony as they left or arrived, but she hadn’t actually met them, she didn’t know anyone’s names. The guy waved at her, if they saw each other on the balcony, apologized if he was loud and she stumbled out in the early hours, or the late hours. But she still didn’t know his name.

(It didn’t stop her, that morning, from leaving early enough to grab a gift card from the donut shop around the corner, and coming back to tie it to his doorknob, before she knocked, and bolted, to make it to work on time.)

Friday night.

Jenna had been looking forward to Friday night, she was going to get off work, come home and change, and go out for the night to drink, to dance, to have fun. But then she didn’t get out of work until well after seven, grumbling and swearing the entire way out of the office building, as she maneuvered through weekend traffic (fuck, every day was weekend traffic, as far as she could tell), and pulled into her spot under her apartment. The mood to go out was gone as soon as she realized she’d be stuck late at work, so she was grateful for delivery as she slid off her shoes and headed upstairs, already tapping at her phone to put in an order for dinner.

By the time she was out of the shower, her food was there, and she settled in on her bed to watch something dumb, and mindless.

The sound of giggles and thumps on her door woke her a few hours later, and she sat up, brow furrowed. When they sounded again, she groaned, grabbing up her things and dumping them in the trash as she moved to the door. Through the peephole, she could see the guy from across the hall, grinning and blushing, as he wobbled in front of her door. Frowning, Jenna tugged it open, pushing her red hair off her face.

“Hey...what’s going on, you okay?” she asked, confused, as he giggled, and grinned at her so wide, his whole face scrunched up.

“Hey! Pretty lady! What’re you doin’ in my apartment?” he asked, as Jenna laughed softly, confused.

“I’m...in my apartment, you live across the hall.”

“What?” he asked, smile gone, brow knitted together. “Nooo. No, this is my apartment, I just can’t find my keeeys.”

Jenna knew it the second he grinned at her, he was so drunk. She considered, for a second, digging his keys out of his pockets for him, but, not wanting to make things weird, she instead just smiled, and reached for his hand.

“Come on in, let me get you some water.”

“Pretty lady nice,” he whispered, as Jenna blushed brightly, and shut the door behind him, leading him to sit on her bed. “This isn’t my bed...where’re my frogs?” he asked, swatting the end of her bed as she moved to the fridge.

“Probably in your apartment. This is my apartment, and I don’t have frogs,” Jenna replied. He tilted his head back, blue eyes surrounded by red as he blinked at her. “Drink this.”

“Pretty lady so nice.”

“You can call me Jenna...strange man who lives across the hall.” He took a swig of the cool water, moaning as it ran down his throat, before letting her take the bottle, and set it on the nightstand. For a moment, they were quiet, before she could see him blinking slowly. With a sheepish smile, Jenna took his hand, helping him stand up again.

“‘m tired, Pr-...Jenna...Pretty Jenna.” She blushed more, shaking her head.

“That’s why I’m gonna get you to lie down, but, I wanna ask you to take off your jacket and your shoes,” she replied, moving her blanket back, as he shimmied and bounced, giggling, until his jacket came off. The shoes were harder for him, fingers fumbling, until she caught his hands, and smiled. “I got it.

“Nice Jenna.”

“You are so drunk, I cannot wait until tomorrow,” she mumbled, shaking her head as she pulled his boots off, and maneuvered him until his head was on the pillow, feet tucked under her blanket. “I have a fan, do you want the fan on?” He scrunched up his face, before nodding a little, as she smiled, turning to click the small fan on her nightstand on. The second the cool air hit his face, he hummed, and wriggled down against her bed.

“So nice.”

“Get some sleep, handsome fella. I’ll put the trash can here if you need it.”

“Nice Jenna,” he mumbled as he shut his eyes. Jenna smiled at him, biting her lip, before she sighed, and stood upright.

After tucking his boots at the end of the bed, and setting the garbage can by the bed like she promised, Jenna put a bottle of aspirin by the water, and clicked off all the lights except for the nightlight in her bathroom, in case he got up in the night and didn’t know where he was or what was going on. With a shrug, she dug her sleeping back out of the closet, quietly unfurling it and snagging a spare pillow off the shelf in her closet, before she laid on the floor, and drifted off.

                          The balcony door was open a crack, Jenna standing outside to sip her coffee. The guy from across the hall was still asleep in her bed, but the bottles had been moved, and the bathroom door was partly shut, so she knew he’d gotten up and some point and gone right back to bed. It made her smile, that he wasn’t so freaked out that he bolted. She still didn’t want to wake him up, so she lingered outside, enjoying the knowledge that she didn’t have to work, as she sipped her steaming drink. Movement inside caught her eye, watching him shift and sit up, curling forward to rub his face. With a small smile, she stepped inside, holding up her hand and giggling as he jumped. 

“It’s just me, don’t worry,” she chuckled, as he groaned, waving.

“...I am so fuckin’ sorry about last night, I hope I didn’t do anything stupid, I was so trashed.”

“Oh, yeah, no, I got that when you insisted this was your apartment, and kept calling me Pretty Lady.” His groan made her laugh again. “It was cute.” Lifting his head, he smiled a little, and rubbed his neck.

“You are pretty. You’re my neighbor, right?”

“Jenna.” He clicked his tongue, nodding, before patting his chest.

“I’m Harry, and I’m so sorry I threw myself at you last night.” Jenna laughed, putting her cup down, and pouring a second cup.

“Cream? Sugar?”

“Uh...splash of milk?” he said, twisting to face her. Jenna nodded, stirring it in, before she grabbed her cup, and moved to sit by him on the bed.

“You didn’t really throw yourself at me. I was gonna just let you into your place, but I didn’t want to cross a line by digging for your keys, so, I just brought you in here. Figured you’d feel better if you slept some.” Harry chuckled into his cup before sipping the dark liquid, groaning as it rushed across his tongue.

“Still.”

“Look, my night was going to be binge eating and marathoning something shitty on TV to make up for working two hours later than I wanted and pretty much wrecking my night...and sleeping, which I was doing but not intentionally when you showed up. You actually made my night a little more enjoyable.” Harry chuckled, taking another drink, before he sighed, and rubbed the back of his head.

“Still...I really appreciate you takin’ care of me last night, you didn’t have to. Not like we know each other.” Jenna hummed and shrugged, holding her cup between her hands, swirling the liquid along the bottom.

“No, but, we are neighbors. And I have been meaning to come introduce myself. Not like this, but,” she laughed, as Harry’s shoulders shook with his own laugh.

“Yeah, me too, same here,” he replied, shaking his head. “Still, Jenna, really.” She smiled over at him, and shrugged again. “You gave me water, meds, put me to bed? And coffee?”

“I’ve got stuff to make breakfast too, I just gotta find my skillet,” she laughed quietly, as Harry snickered, and shook his head.

“I’m not letting you cook breakfast,” Harry insisted, smiling. Jenna hesitated, swallowing the last drops in her cup, before she stood up to get a refill, hiding her blush from him. “But if you’ll let me, I’d like to treat.” The cup slipped in her fingers a bit as she put it on the small counter space, and she turned, curious.

“You wanna buy me breakfast?”

“It’s literally the least I could do. Is...can I do that?” Jenna blushed, but nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You don’t have any other plans this morning?”

“Just unpacking,” she admitted, shaking her head. “I’ve still got a bunch of boxes in the closet, and in the corner, and hidden under the bed, I just...keep stopping to make room.”

                            Harry’s lips quirked up in a small smile as he nodded, and looked around. The place was similar to his own across the hall, but hers looks a bit more put together, cleaner, organized than his own. That was something he blamed on sharing his place with Nikki now and then, constantly having a roommate in and out of the small space, taking some of his stuff, bringing it back, over and over.

“It looks nice, though. My place looks like shit,” he admitted, grinning over at her at the startled laugh off her lips. “Look, lemme go clean up and change and feed my frogs-”

“Yeah, you mentioned your frogs last night...how many do you have?” she asked, curious, as Harry looked up at her.

“Three...two tree frogs and a bullfrog,” Harry replied, slowly smiling as she bit her lip. “...do you wanna see them?”

“...I...really?” Laughing quietly, Harry climbed to his feet, letting her take his empty cup as he looked around, and picked up his shoes, as Jenna picked up his jacket. “Where are your keys, by the way? You couldn’t find them last night.”

“Right here,” he told her sheepishly, pulling a small key ring from his jean pockets. Jenna’s laugh was sweet in his ear as he led her across the hall, pausing to unlock his door, before he pushed it open and led her inside. “Sorry about the state of the place.”

Jenna shuffled in behind him, glancing around quickly, and shrugged. Yeah, it looked a little messier, but not in a bad way. Just more lived in, like this was his home. Jenna smiled at him, and shook her head.

“It looks fine,” she insisted, leaning down next to the end of his bed to peer in the terrarium at the frogs. “Well, hey there.”

“My friend Nikki mocks ‘em. Does a good Kermit impression, but it’s exhausting.” Jenna chuckled, looking up.

“Is Nikki the one I keep seeing around? Tall, lanky, face I could slap?” Harry’s laugh was so full it made her blush, as he nodded his head.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s him. Honestly, he’s my best friend, but he’s a huge asshole sometimes.” Jenna snorted, shaking her head a bit as she looked back in at the frogs.

“Well, to mock your frogs, he’s gotta be. Frogs are cute. Pretty much if it’s not an arachnid and it’s not about to hurt me, it’s cute,” she admitted, shrugging, looking up at him again as she stood up.

“Don’t like spiders?” he asked, moving towards his closet to put his shoes and jacket away.

“Uh, pretty sure it’s not so much that I don’t like them, more like, I hate them with the white hot fire of a thousand suns and I’m petrified of them.” Harry’s laugh was perfect, head shaking as the sound bubbled from his chest, as he dug out a change of clothes.

“Well, don’t worry, I don’t have any spiders...and if I do, not for long,” he replied, as she glanced down at the frogs looking up at her. Smiling, Jenna pushed her hair off her face, and motioned to the door.

“I’ll...I’m gonna let you clean up and change, I’m gonna go change, too…” she told him, starting back to the door.

“Okay. I shouldn’t be long, I’ll come knock,” he promised, glancing over with a grin, as she waved, and closed the door behind her, heading back across the hall to her place.

             When she answered the door, Jenna didn’t think twice about what it meant, really. She was just going to help Harry. But he was so nice, and he had the best smile, and he just made her feel comfortable. They went out for breakfast a few blocks away, a little hole in the wall with good bacon. Jenna really didn’t feel alone in the city anymore, after they headed back to their building, the way he grinned at her, and hugged her tight before letting her go.

“Thanks again, for last night…”

“Anytime,” Jenna promised, biting her lip. “I’d rather you drunkenly mistake my apartment for yours than fall down the steps or get hurt.” Harry smiled brightly, and nodded, chuckling.

“Still. Look, uh...I don’t have any plans tonight. You wanna catch a movie or something?” Jenna parted her lips, surprised, before he quickly held up his hand. “You don’t have to, it’s not, I mean, I just, you know, I figured it’d be fun to do something without me being trashed.”

“No, it’s, Harry, it’s okay,” she laughed, shaking her head, catching his hand. “You just surprised me, no, I...I don’t know what’s playing or anything, but a movie sounds good. But I have a shit ton of movies in my closet, we can always...I mean, I have a TV.” Harry laughed quietly, rubbing his neck as he nodded.

“Let’s do that. There’s a pizza place downtown, best pie, seriously. So...I’ll bring dinner?” Jenna grinned, nodding.

“Sounds good. Seven?”

“Sounds good!” he laughed, squeezing her hand before they headed into their apartments.

             It was easy, after that. Jenna was happy to have a friend that was across the hall, not across the country, and Harry always seemed to have fun when they got together. It was usually for breakfast, or a beer over a shitty movie, at least once a week, but it was still friendship, and it still made her feel good about living in Los Angeles.

              Several months after his first time knocking on her door, as Jenna was setting up for movie night, she heard a laugh outside before a knock, and, smiling, she padded over, pulling open the door. Harry grinned at her, before he looked over his shoulder.

“Hey, I know it’s movie night, but...hey, Nik, c’mere.” Jenna looked up, smile fading a little, at the sight of the friend that Harry had talked about, that she’d seen but never met. “Hey, Nikki, this is Jenna, Jenna, Nikki.” Biting her lip, she waved at him, looking back at Harry with an uncertain look. “Nikki’s plans fell through, so I was just gonna go with him to the bar...is...is that okay?” Jenna stared at him for a minute, brow furrowed, trying to figure out what he was telling her, before she cleared her throat to hide the way that weighed in her stomach.

“Oh...oh, yeah, no, that’s fine,” she finally said, forcing a small chuckle. “Uh...yeah. We’ll just...we’ll have movie night another time, no big deal,” Jenna told him, shrugging, hoping he couldn’t hear dinner cooking behind her. “You two have fun.”

“Thanks, Jen. You’re the best,” Harry chuckled, ducking in to hug her quickly, before turning to pat Nikki on the arm, jogging down the steps. Nikki glanced at her, but she ducked her head back into her apartment and shut the door, turning to look over at the stove. Chewing at her bottom lip, Jenna let her shoulders fall, and moved to the kitchen to shut everything off.

                The laughs in the hallway were loud as she drifted in and out that night, but Jenna didn’t really register any of the noise until she heard one particularly loud cackle. Jerking upright, she held her breath, looking around, before she heard the noise outside. WIth a heavy sigh, rubbing her hands over her face, Jenna threw her blanket back, and padded towards the door, peering through the peephole to see Harry and Nikki by his door. He seemed to be patting his pockets, as though he couldn’t find his keys, and despite her urge to go back to bed, Jenna felt bad about leaving him in this state.

               Forcing a breath through her nose, Jenna clicked on her light, and unlocked the door, peering out as Harry turned, cringing at the sight of her.

“Hey! Pretty lady!” She couldn’t help chuckling, and shaking her head, hoping she didn’t look as tired as she felt.

“Harry, did you lose your keys again?” she asked gently, as Harry shrugged, sheepish.

“Maaybe.” Nikki snorted beside him, as Jenna sighed, and stepped back, waving them in.

“Come on. You guys can share the bed.” Harry scrunched up his face, and stuck out his tongue, blowing a raspberry as they shuffled in.

“I don’t wanna share with him, he smells.”

“I don’t smell,” Nikki whined, pushing Harry as Jenna shut the door, rubbing her eyes. God, she was going to regret opening the door.

“Your breath smells, an’ you sleep with your mouth open,” Harry grumbled, the two stumbling towards the bed. Jenna sighed, caught him, and shook her head, sitting Harry down, before she dug her sleeping bag out of the closet.

“Okay, both of you stink right now, so shut up,” she told them, as Harry giggled, and scrunched up his face.

“I do not.”

“You smell like beer and smoke. It’s bad on him, but fine, you smell fine,” Jenna conceded, blushing a bit as she rolled out the sleeping back, and nudged Nikki, pointing. “You get the bag.”

“Camping!” Nikki laughed, toppling awkwardly down on the bag as Jenna rolled her eyes, and tossed him a pillow. With a shake of her head, she turned to Harry, helping him out of his shoes and his jacket, before flipping on the fan, and tucking him in.

“Nice Jenna.”

“I know, I’m nice,” she told him, disappearing from his sight and returning a moment later with medicine and water, both of which she set on the nightstand. “Now go to sleep. Both of you.”

“Nice Jenna.” She smiled, glancing down at Harry, before turning and stepping over Nikki to click the light off. As soon as the room went dark, her smile was gone, and Jenna quietly moved to the chair in the corner, curling up in it, hoping she could fall back to sleep in the silence of the room.

                       Softly whimpering, Jenna shifted, twisting around, as she curled up more, feeling herself slip between sleep and waking, before snuggling back into her pillow. For a few minutes, Jenna clung to sleep, fingers clenching at her blanket.

                      Until she realized she was in her bed.

                      Eyes opening, she furrowed her brow, and rolled carefully onto her back, glancing around her apartment. She could hear snoring from the floor, but after a moment, and blinking repeatedly, Jenna caught sight of Harry slipping back in from the balcony, pausing to flick the cigarette butt off the balcony, and wiping his hand on his shirt.

“...did you put me in my bed?” she asked softly, as he looked up, surprised.

“Oh...yeah...you seemed uncomfortable, and...he’s still sleeping on your other bed,” Harry replied, apologetically, as you glanced over, seeing Nikki snoring against your spare pillow. “Sorry about last night, Jen.”

“It’s okay,” Jenna replied, waving her hand, and sighing, glancing over at her clock. “Ugh. It’s still early, come back to bed.” Harry blinked at her, startled, as Jenna flopped back on the bed.

“...I can just...I can go home…”

“Nope,” she replied quickly. “He’s your friend, you can’t leave him here...but the bed’s big enough,” she insisted, adjusting her body closer to the side. “Come back to bed, too early to be up and about.”

“...you want me to share the bed with you?” he asked, and Jenna hesitated, brow furrowed at the uncertainty in his voice.

“...I...Harry, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t okay,” Jenna replied quietly, shrugging, without looking over at him. “But I won’t make you, or anything. I just...didn’t think it was a big deal, considering we share the bed during movie night.”

                      Harry chuckled, knowing he had to give her that one, before he moved across the floor, and climbed onto the bed behind her, nestling down on top of the blanket. Jenna scrunched up her face, and shifted, pressing her face into her pillow to muffle her sigh as she let her eyes shut. Any chance she thought she had of falling back to sleep was gone, worried she’d been seeing more in their friendship than was actually there.

                      Even after being there almost a year, now, he was the only real friend she had in the city. Her coworkers were okay, they carried conversation well enough, but she wouldn’t call them friends, not really. It wasn’t like they hung out together, or invited her to join them after work or anything, and she was relatively okay with that. But she’d been so sure that there was more to the friendship she’d made with Harry, that he liked her - hell, the first time they met, he called her pretty lady, he didn’t stop flirting with her. But aside from him saying it the night before, he hadn’t brought it up since that first night.

                      Jenna wasn’t a stranger to being mistaken. She just didn’t like the way it felt.

                      When Nikki finally woke up, Harry nearly shoved him across the hall to his place, mainly so his friend didn’t get sick all over Jenna’s apartment. He flashed a grateful smile back at Jenna before closing her door, but as soon as it clicked in place, Jenna got up, digging out her laundry basket, and dumped her sleeping bag, pillow cases, and other bedding into it. After tucking her jar of laundry change into the corner of the basket, she tucked her feet into her shoes, grabbed her bag, and left, locking up behind her as she hurried to her car, desperate to get out of her apartment.

                      After doing the laundry, Jenna was reluctant to go home, and instead, she drove out to the beach, spending the rest of her day with her toes in the sand, taking a break to grab an ice cream and a water. She didn’t go in the water, but she tried to relax as best she could otherwise, watching the clouds roll across the sun. The breeze cooled down, small spats of rain landing on her skin, but Jenna didn’t mind, staying firm in the sand as she watched other people bolt like they’d been struck. It was a couple more hours before finally giving in to the rumbling of her stomach. With a sigh, Jenna got into her car, glancing out the windshield as the rain started to come down a little stronger. She paused to order pizza, before she headed back home, barely getting her door shut and her basket put down before she heard the knock on the door.

                      The box was half empty, Jenna curled up amongst her clean bedding as she watched the movie on her TV, chewing absentmindedly. The sudden plunge into darkness made her shriek, flailing a bit as she blinked rapidly. It took her a few seconds to realize it wasn’t her, it was the power, as she carefully climbed off the bed, patting around her night table for her small flashlight.

“Jenna?” Harry called through the door, as she blushed. “I heard you shout, you okay?” Carefully making her way across her room, Jenna tugged the door open, peering out at him as he moved his flashlight off her face. “Hey! You okay?”

“Yeah, I just...I was watching TV, it...it startled me,” she admitted, shaking her head. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay...do you have a flashlight?”

“Yeah, it’s on my nightstand,” she replied, leaving him at the door, and moving to dig it out of the drawer. As she clicked it on, she turned around to see him, squinting at his flashlight. “You know, it’s not all that late, I’m surprised your home.”

“It’s Saturday, I thought we could do movie night tonight,” Harry admitted, shrugging, as Jenna snorted, and shook her head.

“Yeah, uh...good luck?” Chuckling a bit, Harry shook his flashlight, and pointed behind him.

“We can take a drive, see if the theaters are still on?” he offered, smiling. “I owe you movie night.” Jenna turned away from his light, shining her flashlight on the bed as she picked up the pizza, and shrugged a bit as she moved to put it on the stove.

“I mean...you don’t have to.” Harry furrowed his brow, chuckling a bit.

“Is that you saying you don’t want to go? Or…?” Jenna considered it, before looking down at herself, and sighing.

“Let me change my clothes,” she finally agreed, smiling, and moving to grab something to change into before shutting herself in the bathroom.

                      The theater was running, but after seeing the thick line down the block, Jenna and Harry shared a look before driving on, moving aimlessly until he finally headed up to the cliffs overlooking the water. The rain grew heavier as he parked the car, chuckling a bit as he shut off the car, back windows cracked just enough for air.

“What were you watching before the power went out?” he asked, curious, as she snickered, and shook her head.

“Scream. It’s my favorite scary movie,” Jenna replied with a slight shrug. “Actually, it was just at the part where the principal sees the killer in his office when the power went out, which is part of why I shrieked,” she admitted, as he tossed his head with a laugh. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“I can’t help it, that’s awesome,” Harry replied, bumping his arm with hers. Jenna blushed, snickering, as she rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, about last night,” he told her. Jenna glanced over, curious. “You know...bailing on you, and then waking you up.”

“Oh...yeah, don’t worry about it, it’s fine,” she answered, shaking her head. “I just ate some junk and fell asleep.”

                      Jenna didn’t want to add she’d only fallen asleep about an hour before he woke her up, because she couldn’t relax - she’d gotten so used to their movie nights helping her relax, that when he cancelled the night before, she had trouble readjusting.

                      Harry peered over at her, lips ticking up a bit.

“Still. Look, I’m actually gonna make it up to you, so we’re gonna do two movie nights this week, okay? You get to pick the movies.” Jenna laughed, shaking her head.

“You seriously don’t need to do that, Harry, it’s fine. This is nice,” she insisted, leaning back in her seat and looking out through the windshield.

“I know I don’t need to,” Harry chuckled, shaking his head. “I want to. It was kind of dick last night, dropping plans at the last minute. And I would’ve invited you,” he started, as Jenna scoffed.

“Harry…”

“But we went to a strip joint - not sure if you would’ve wanted to go? - and I’ve got a feeling you don’t like Nikki.” Jenna blushed then, rubbing her neck, before she laughed softly.

“I don’t...hate him? But he makes a lot of noise when he comes and goes, and when I hear him yammering on the balcony in the morning, he sounds like a jackass.” Harry snorted so hard, Jenna had to turn and look to make sure he was okay.

“He’s just really cocky. Like, absurdly confident. Spent a long time getting any girl he wanted.” Jenna grumbled, making Harry snicker as he leaned on the console towards her. “He, uh...yeah, he learned his lesson, at least as far as that goes. It was kind of like a sweet karma,” Harry promised, smirking, “so he’s actually better now than he used to be. Still kind of a jackass, though.” That made her laugh, the sound actually making Harry blush as he looked at her, not realizing until she leaned forward that the rain was easing up.

“Hey...I think it’s stopped...you wanna get out for a few?” she asked, turning her head to look at him, fingers catching her hair to tuck it behind her ear. With a soft smile, Harry nodded, climbing out with her, and pausing to grab one of his jackets out of the backseat to rest on the hood as he pulled her in, and sat with her.

                      For a few minutes, they were quiet, the rain barely even spitting now, nothing that bothered either of them, watching the waves crash on the shore. He felt her shift a few times before glancing over, biting his lip as she rubbed her arm. The temperature had dropped with the sudden storm, but Harry, sheepishly, hadn’t noticed she’d come out without her coat. Shrugging his shoulders, he pulled off his hoodie, looping it over her shoulders as she jumped, and glanced over.

“Oh...are you sure?”

“Yeah, I got this,” he smiled, tugging at the long sleeved plaid shirt he had underneath. Blushing, Jenna quietly thanked him, sliding her arms into the sleeves as she hugged the soft fabric to her body.

                      Their knees knocked together, the two sharing small smiles, and soft chuckles. Jenna felt nervous for the first time in a long time, not used to spending this kind of time with Harry. The time they were together was usually with terrible food, ridiculous movies, or beer (or all three), not leaning into each other on the hood of the car watching the water after a storm. It felt romantic, as she chewed at her bottom lip.

“...hey, Harry?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as anxious as she felt, as he bumped his arm against hers, and turned his head.

“Yeah?”

“I was...I wanted to talk to you...about something.” When he nodded, something she caught in her periphery, Jenna furrowed her brow, and cleared her throat. “...look, I...I really like you, Harry, and I don’t...I don’t mean as just a friend, kinda...kinda more than that?” she said, almost like she wasn’t sure, tilting her head in his direction. “I mean...I’m not...I’m not asking, I do...like you as more than a friend. I mean, you’ve been a great friend, I just...I really...I have a crush on you,” Jenna admitted, biting her lip, “and I was...I was wondering if maybe we could go out...on a...on an actual date...if you want?”

                      Harry didn’t say anything, or move, so at first, Jenna just figured he was trying to filter through her rapid fire speech, but after a moment, she lifted her head to look at him, heart thumping violently against her ribs as he just...stared at her. She wanted to press him, ask him to just say something, but whatever was hiding behind that surprised look was most likely something she didn’t want to hear.

                      The words were on her tongue, nevermind, and I’m sorry, just forget it, but before she could take a breath to get the strength to say them, the skies opened up again, the water not even starting easily, pouring down on them hard enough make her squeal, startled, the two darting back into the car. Harry bit his tongue, twisting the key in the ignition to start the car, glancing over at her as she curled up, almost as though she were hiding in his jacket. Sighing, Harry buckled his seatbelt, flipping on the wipers as he drove them back through the city to their building.

                      Harry had barely parked before Jenna unhooked her seatbelt, and opened the door, grabbing her bag from between her feet as she got out of the car, and started inside, tucking her bag under the jacket to keep it somewhat dry as the rest of her got soaked as she jogged up the steps. It had been such an uncomfortable ride, both of them silent as Jenna tried to figure out how to unsay what she’d told Harry. She just wanted to go inside.

                      Jingling her keys, Jenna huffed, trying to quickly find the one for her door, when she fumbled them, flinching as they clattered at her feet. Before she could pick them up, she felt a hand curl around her elbow, pulling at her.

“Harry,” she started, sighing, turning towards the pressure.

                      His other hand cupped her jaw, lips smashing against hers, before she could finish her thought, his cold, wet lips sealing over hers. For a second, Jenna stood still, eyes wide, before she let them fall shut, and curled her free hand around the back of his head, kissing him back almost carefully. The feeling of him pulling away made her whimper, panting softly as his forehead bumped hers.

“...what….” she started, at a loss for words, as he sighed, thumb rubbing across her cheek.

“Of course I wanna go on a real date with you, pretty lady,” he murmured, making her laugh, surprised.

“...really?” she asked, opening her eyes to see him, as he nodded, sliding his hand up her arm to cup her jaw in both hands. Jenna blushed, face warming against the chill of the storm, as she leaned in, brushing her lips against Harry’s again.

                      The door slammed against the frame as they stumbled into his apartment, her jacket and bag and his overshirt shrugged off and dropped to the floor, before she rucked up his t-shirt, moaning at the feeling of his warm abdomen twitching beneath her cold fingers. The giggle was soft in her throat as they stumbled onto his bed, one arm curling around her waist to haul her up far enough to keep her from kicking the end of the bed, and he leaned away from her, just long enough to drag his shirt over his head, arms falling to catch himself on the bed only to see she’d tossed her shirt too.

“Pretty lady,” he mumbled, making her blush, her hands curling around his head to pull him down as she kissed him softly, bumping her nose against his.

“Handsome fella,” she replied faintly against his lips.

                      As their lips slid together, the chill from the storm quickly disappearing under the warmth of their breath, Jenna dragged her fingers down his chest and abdomen until she plucked at his belt, the studs on the leather digging into her palms as she yanked it open, before plucking the button of his jeans, her hands slipping inside the dark, damp denim to warm his hips, and along the small of his back as she pulled him closer. Harry shifted his weight to one hand, dragging his other hand across her shoulder to pull down the strap on her bra, fingers trailing down her chest to cup her breast in his palm.

“Hey, man, you weren’t answerin’ your phone, so I was think-oh, come on dude!” Jenna scrambled for the blanket, yanking it over her as Harry pulled back and twisted around sharply, to see Nikki in the doorway, shaking his head but not leaving.

“Damnit, Nikki, I didn’t give you the key so you could walk in without fucking knocking, man,” Harry snapped, moving to cover Jenna, as he climbed to his feet. She groaned, rolling up into a ball away from the door, and swearing softly at herself, as Harry moved towards Nikki.

“Dude, I tried to reach you, you weren’t answering your phone, man.”

“Clearly, I was doing something better than entertaining you. Get out, go find someone else to take you wherever,” Harry ordered him, pushing him towards the door.

“Finally gettin’ the girl, eh, Harry? Nice, nice, okay, let me know how it goes, I’m gonna go to the bar.”

“Out!” Harry laughed, shoving Nikki into the hall as he shut the door and flipped the locks. With a sigh, he turned, blushing, to see Jenna fixing her bra, pushing the blanket off her as she moved for her shirt. “...Jen.”

“I should...I should go,” she said quietly, humming as Harry caught her around the waist, bumping his nose against hers as she looked up at him.

“Please stay...We don’t have to do anything, but...just ignore Nikki. He’s better than he used to be, but he still thinks the Main Mission is to have sex with whoever we want. That’s not how I think,” Harry promised. Jenna bit her lip as she looked up at him, before leaning up, lips brushing his.

“I really like you, Harry,” she admitted, voice low, as he reached up to brush her hair off her face.

“I really like you too, pretty lady.” Her laugh was sweet as she wrapped her arms around his waist, head resting on his shoulder as he hugged her back. “Stay?”

“...okay,” she agreed, laughing as he pulled her back onto the bed, and fumbled them around until their feet were tangled together, her head nestled in against his chest. “Harry?” she whispered, fingers playing lightly with the big silver ring on his pinky, as he tilted his head a bit against hers.

“Hm?”

“...you owe me breakfast in the morning.” The warm rush of his breath as he laughed into her hair made her blush, and grin, as he kissed the top of her head.

“Anywhere you wanna go, baby. Anywhere you wanna go.”

[cheollies]

Soulmate!Joshua

there was a story about the first pairs of soulmates

the pair’s souls longed for each other so much that the pair’s heart would hurt. It would hurt so much that sometimes they doubled over in pain and cried out, the longer the distance the more the pain

as a child, Joshua was always crying, always in pain, always hurting

He spent many days at the hospital being sedated as a child

the hospital had a little specialist who worked with kids dealing with the same soulmate connection as Joshua

and he hated it, he hated sitting in the hospital bed staring out the window because his heart hurt so much

as he grew older, the pain became more tolerable. Tolerable in the sense that he got used to the pain

He got used to his heart feeling crushed and compressed, throbbing and screaming in his chest

He got a special pass by the school to sit out in gym class or to leave class and go to the nurses office if he ever felt worse

the more Joshua matured, the more he worried about his soulmate, he wondered if they were hurting just as much as him, he wondered if they were alright with the pain in their chest

Joshua appreciated his connection though

As much as he hated it sometimes, he always thought ‘it’ll be worth the pain in the end’

some days, his heart felt lighter, and he’d smile, he’d laugh with his whole heart, and he’d feel this warmth, a warmness that signaled that he was closer to his soulmate

Whenever that happened, he’d unconsciously fix his hair, his clothes, he’d smile more, and try to get ready to meet his true love

But then the pain would return and he’d have to keep his optimism up

Joshua’s gotten to the point where he uses his connection to his advantage

‘Seungcheol are you really going to send me out to the convenience store. Me? Who has the worst soulmate connection out of all of us? Me? Who could hurt?’

‘WE GET IT JOSHUA.’

‘Me? Who spent their childhood in a hospital’

‘SHUT THE FUCK UP JOSHUA.’

But everyone knows how much of a trooper he is

and they all have this protectiveness over him, especially Jeonghan, Jeonghan sees Joshua cry the most, and so Jeonghan developed this motherly type of connection with Joshua

He felt so bad for his friend that he used his own soulmate connection to try and find Joshua’s soulmate, since Jeongan can see red strings of fate, he tried to follow Joshua’s red string but it had gotten so late that he had to stop

Joshua passed out in pain once, he didn’t know what was happening, all he knew was that he could no longer breath, his heart felt as though it was bleeding as if he was actually dying

Joshua broke down with his friends, all of whom panicked as joshua fell to the ground holding his chest, tears falling like pouring rain as he screamed

he held onto the boys, screaming his lungs out for them to stop the pain, to rip his heart out until he blacked out from the pain

When Joshua woke up, he was sore, his throat hurt, his head was dizzy, but his heart felt okay, actually his heart felt incredibly great

He was so stiff, that when he moved to stretch, he accidentally hit someone in the head

and when he properly looks, he finds you who begins to stir

‘I’m sorry.’ is the first thing he says

when you look at him, your eyes that looked tired and restless, he felt this spark, this flame go off, his heart let out an entirely different feeling, it was pain free, it was filled with what he can only recall Soonyoung saying ‘like butterflies’

‘I’m sorry’ you say in the most beautiful voice he’s ever heard, ‘i put you in so much pain.’

‘how did you find me?’

you let out a giggle that absolutely sets his heart on fire, ‘your friend, Jeonghan? He’s the one who found me. I guess it’s fate that we ended up at the same hospital’

Joshua was so captivated by you, he was so star stuck, over the moon, feeling as though his face would crack by the way he smiled so much with you

his heart was so tingly, his heart was happy for once, he was happy for once

you two left the hospital together, hand in hand, with the shyest of smiles, with foolish grins on your faces, and your fingers practically refusing to let go

Everything was so new to you two, the feeling, the happiness, the excitement, the everything! It was like discovering an entirely different world

they say the purest love was the soulmates with this connection

because the moment they meet, everything sets, all the pain, all the crying, everything disappears

Within the month of meeting, you two were married, moved in together, and switched universities to be near each other

legit sneaks into your class and is all chill like ‘hey we need more milk at home’

‘JOSHUA THIS ISN’T YOUR CLASS’

‘but i brought snacks’

‘JOSHUA’

ends up watching anime in your class on his phone while you take your notes and you’re so tempted to kick him out but he’s just so cute ya know, staring at his phone, so concentrated and you just know if you told him to leave he’d be all dramatic like

‘BUT MY HEART HURTS! I’LL MISS YOU TOO MUCH!’

He got you and him kicked out once because he was being too clingy and you ended up hitting him on the way out like ‘do you see what you did!’

and he’s just giggling into his hand because you’re reaction is just too cute

you and joshua had developed a little code to use whenever you two felt that the distance was unbearable

and the code was word for word ‘JOSHUA WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING.’

Joshua’s pain tolerance was just a little bit higher than yours and him and the gang loved to go eat at a place outside of the city

and by outside of the city, they meant maybe a few hours away for a little road trip fun that they all forgot to tell their soulmates about which led to much dismay

soulmates with this particular connection are given special treatments if you want to call that

if one of them were to travel for work, the other would be allowed special permission to take work off to go with them

this is one of the reasons why companies usually don’t let soulmates with this connection travel

sometimes you try to surprise Joshua at work but really how can you surprise him when he can literally feel his whole body starting to relax and warmth shooting through his heart

It’s not fair is what you always say

He loves using you as an excuse to get out of events and stuff

‘ah sorry, y/n isn’t feeling well. I’d love to come myself but if we’re too far apart, it hurts.’

You: ‘Stop lying to people Joshua’

‘BUT IT’S TRUE’

your parents absolutely adore Joshua (who doesn’t tbh)

They’re always inviting him to everything

‘You were invited! I’m their own child and they didn’t even ask me.’

later in the relationship, Joshua says he wants to do everything right

and you’re like ‘lolol what do you mean.’

‘I want to do things like the other guys do things. I want to take you on dates, and make you smile, and laugh, and get all nervous before I kiss you’

‘Joshua we did all those things.’

Joshua’s all pouty like ‘but we did all those things after we got married. We were so awkward and we didn’t get fully comfortable until we married and lived together.’

It occurred to you that he was actually right. Although you two felt the initial attraction, everything with the wedding and moving had happened to so quick that all the new lovey dovey honeymoon phase never really occurred

so Joshua’s grand romantic gesture lasted a week in which he acted as though you were just starting out

But the grand surprise: he proposed.

He deems it his ‘official’ proposal.

he gathered your friends and family, he rented a whole restaurant out, decorated the place with your favorite flowers with candles lit everywhere, soft music playing in the background, and when you walked in

Joshua was on one knee, your friends and family all smiling with such giddiness

‘y/n, i’ve only known you for a week. But i already know i want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me.’

He’s quite the charmer isn’t he.

When you ask Joshua if he’s planning a wedding, he’s like ‘boy i spent so much money on all of this. Let’s just call this our wedding.’

Yeah he broke now.

you never told Joshua why you had ended up in the hospital that day

but the first time he asked, he could see just how uncomfortable you looked

so he never really brought it up again, he respects your privacy like that.

but on some nights, when you’re fast asleep next to him, his mind throws around different scenarios, some good, some bad

and he always ends up just embracing you, pulling you in his arms as he breathes in the scent of your shampoo

and when he hears you mumble the words ‘i love you’ he whispers it back to you

[porkchop-ao3]

Doofus Rick x Reader

I wasn’t sure whether I should post this, but I decided to go ahead and do it. This is a pretty personal fic that I basically wrote just to make myself feel better lol. It’s a SFW Doofus Rick x reader comfort fic where reader is dealing with an alcoholic parent. I hope someone gets something out of this, even those who don’t fully relate with reader. Thank you for reading x

-

I was never a deep sleeper. The slightest thing could wake me, whether it be a conversation in the next room, a light breeze… the smell of burning. I shot up in bed, taking a few deep breaths through my nose, trying to figure out whether I was imagining it. No. Something was definitely burning. I threw the covers off and ran out of the room, checking every room I passed before making my way down stairs. The lights were on downstairs, despite it being past three in the morning. I got to the kitchen, being greeted by chaos. There was a broken egg on the floor, discarded ingredients and cutlery littering the work surfaces, eggs and baked beans bubbling away on the stove, and the source of the smell; toast under the grill. I pulled it out, burning my hand on the grill pan handle, sighing as I saw the blackened bread; practically charcoal at this point. With the fire hazard taken care of, I ran my burn under the cold tap, watching a blister form on the heel of my hand. It was too damn late for this crap. Well, early might be a better analysis, given the ungodly hour my mother was still up at.  

“Oh, you’re up. Want some eggs?” She asked as she entered the kitchen. Her words were slow and merged into each other. She’d started drinking at six on the dot, and it was evident she hadn’t stopped since.

“No thank you.” I told her, not turning to look at the swaying, squinty-eyed mess I knew I’d find. “Your toast’s burnt. I’ll make you some more.”

“Oh no, I only nipped to the bathroom. Thought I’d taken it out from under the grill.” She said, frowning at the smoking toast.

“No. Go and sit down, I’ll finish it.” I said, drying my hand off with a paper towel when the burning subsided.

“No, it’s okay, honey. I’ll do it.” She said, binning the burnt toast.

“Go on, sit down. I can’t sleep anyway, it’ll give me something to do.” I lied, finally turning to her and guiding her out of the room. Eventually, she accepted the offer. I took a deep breath once she was gone, then got to work on cooking some fresh toast. I gave the beans a stir, flipped the eggs, and cleaned up the mess she’d made.

This wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence. My mother tended to only eat at ridiculous hours of the morning, her medication messing with her appetite; only issue is, her drinking problem meant she was drunk most of the times she tried to cook for herself. This wouldn’t be the first, or last, time I’d have to step in to help. It didn’t bother me. Sure, I’d rather be sleeping, but at least I knew she had something in her belly to soak up all the beer. She wasn’t a bad mum. Not at all, she was my best friend. That’s why it hurt so much. I was completely powerless, I’d asked time and time again for her to try and cut down on the drink. Never once had she listened; only turned it all around and made out that I was ‘picking’ on her. She couldn’t seem to see that it was destroying me just as much as it was destroying her.

Once the food had finished cooking, I dished it up for her, bringing it into the living room where she was sat having a cigarette, watching some late night TV roulette show. Thank God she wasn’t a gambler to top it off, she just liked to guess the numbers before they came up. She was never right, of course. I handed her the food, she thanked me and tucked in, patting the seat next to her to ask me to join.

“I should be getting back to bed.” I told her, rubbing my tired eyes. I looked down at my hand, which was starting to hurt again. Sighing heavily, I leaned down to kiss my mother on the cheek. “Goodnight, mum. You going to bed soon?”

“After I’ve finished this.” She nodded.

“Okay. Love you.” I said, turning to leave.

“Love you too.” She called back. I climbed the stairs with a lump in my throat. I’d had a few weeks away from uni, and every time I was home long enough to see how bad things were, it made me feel worse and worse. I climbed back into bed and shed a few tears before going to sleep.

The next day entailed a regular trip to the supermarket. Mum dragged me with her at least three times a week, and every time I didn’t need to ask what we were going for. Occasionally we’d pick up bread, milk, something for lunch. But outside of the large shops we did to buy food for the next week or two, our frequent visits had one purpose. Two large crates of beer; twenty cans in each. Forty in total. It’d last a couple days. Sometimes we’d buy them two days on the trot, 'just in case we can’t come again for a few days’. It became rather embarrassing at times. The checkout people knew us, knew what we always bought, sometimes they’d joke.

“Having a party?” they’d say, amusement on their faces. My mum would just laugh. I’d cringe.

It got to the point where I could tell she was self conscious about it. I’d ask her what we needed to get. She’d stay silent for a while, then list off something I knew we didn’t need. Or we’d be in the supermarket, she’d have a cart full of beer and would pause to think of something else we could get. She acted like we needed extra bits and bobs, but I knew it was because she didn’t want to go through the check out with just beer for the second time that week.

And the sheer amount of money that went into it… I didn’t want to calculate it.

I needed a break from it. I needed to have a night off watching her poison herself, I needed to spend the day with her sober, and remember her that way when I went to bed. So when six o'clock rolled around, I left the house. I texted Rick, asking him if he was busy. If he was, I’d book out a cheap hotel or something for the night, but I couldn’t deny that I craved to see him. He was a little bright light that made everything around him disappear, and Lord knew that’s what I needed. To my relief, he texted back quickly, letting me know that he was just finishing cooking dinner and he’d like for me to join him, if I wanted to. I picked up the pace, walking the short ten minute journey to his house.

He gave me his usual beaming smile when I arrived, holding the door wide open to welcome me into his home. I wiped my feet on his doormat before stepping inside, shrugging my coat off and hanging it on it’s usual peg by the door.

“It’s lovely to see you, (y/n). Th-thank you so much for joining me for dinner, i-it’s nice to have company.” He said, closing the door behind me and straightening out the blue checkered apron he was wearing over his sweater. My mood lifted instantly, and I mirrored his huge smile.

“Thank you for having me. I… I fancied getting out of the house, and I can never say no to a meal cooked by you.” I told him, rubbing my hands together to warm them up. We’d had a chilly few days, even a few flurries of snow, but Rick’s home was toasty warm.

“C-come through, it’s almost done!” He said, leading me through to his kitchen, urging me to take a seat at the little round dining table in the corner. He had a vase full of flowers in the middle of it, as usual, this week it was a combination of lilies and these little yellow flowers that I didn’t know the name of. “We have homemade sweet potato and carrot soup, with some tasty salad on the side and fresh baked bread. I hope that’s okay for you.” He told me as he served up the food.

“That sounds perfect. Thank you.” I smiled, even though he couldn’t see with his back to me. “I love that you make your own soup, I usually only have it out of a tin.” I giggled.

“Well, the potatoes and carrots came out of my garden. I-I-I sometimes have so many, I don’t know what to do with them. Soup’s a good way o-of making use of them.” He explained, bringing over two bowls of soup and placing one down in front of me, before placing the other one on the spot next to me. Next, he carried over a bowl full of dressed salad, and a wooden chopping board with sliced bread on it. It all smelled so delicious. “S-same goes for the salad. It’s all home grown and fresh from the ground!”

“Can’t beat it.” I grinned. “So everything here has had your heart and soul put into it. It’s going to be delicious.”

“Well,” he blushed deep red as he took his seat next to me. “I should admit, th-the bread was bought from the bakery this morning.” He told me sheepishly, and I chuckled.

“I just watched you slice it. That’s good enough for me.” I teased with a wink, and he smiled in amusement. The first mouthful of soup had me humming in appreciation. Rick was the best cook in the world, I was sure of it. Every meal he made was to die for.

“Th-there’s plenty left, feel free to have seconds when you’re done. A-nd I’ll even give you some to take home.” He said. I shook my head and held a hand up to him.

“Oh, don’t let me steal it all. I know you like to save your leftovers for your lunch!”

“Please. Um, I wasn’t kidding when I said I have so much veg I don’t know what to do with it. Y-y-you’d be doing me a favor by taking it off my hands!” He admitted. I laughed, patting the back of his hand.

“Well, in that case I’ll take as much as you can give me.” I grinned. He smiled back, nodding his head eagerly. We fell quiet after that, and in the silence I noticed that he had the radio on. He was playing some Bob Marley quietly in the background, and the entire atmosphere served to drain me of any tension.

I ended up having two bowls full of soup, and Rick seemed impressed by my appetite, pleased that I enjoyed his food so much. I insisted on doing the dishes while he sat down and relaxed. I divided the leftover soup into two airtight tubs, and popped them in the fridge with the leftover salad. The bread was wrapped back up in the paper bag it came in, and placed in the wooden bread bin. Once the kitchen was nice and tidy, I joined Rick in the living room where he was working on a jigsaw puzzle. He was sat cross-legged on the floor, all the pieces spread out around him. I grinned ear to ear at the sight.

“Would you like to join me?” He asked. “Don’t feel obliged. I-I know some people find them a little tedious…”

“I’d love to join you.” I said, taking a seat opposite him. He handed me a cushion to sit on, since the antique Persian rug underneath us offered little padding from the hardwood floor. Rick’s house was full of interesting antiques. Most of which were collected from markets and car boot sales across the country. The rug we were sat on had been in terrible condition when he’d bought it, but he’d spent hours meticulously cleaning and repairing it, reweaving damaged areas by himself. He was extremely resourceful, and his talents seemed to have no end. The rug looked beautiful now.

“This is a ten thousand piece puzzle. I just recently spotted it in a thrift store, s-so let’s hope all the pieces are there!” He said, handing me the box with the picture on. It was a group of wild horses galloping through a dusty, isolated landscape. It was a very beautiful image, and like Rick, I hoped that there weren’t any missing pieces, so we could see it in its entirety. “I like to st-start at the edges and work my way in.” He explained with a smile, sifting through the pile of pieces. He’d already made a start, having joined a few pieces together, revealing what seemed to be the blue sky.

“I might be slower than you. I haven’t done a jigsaw in years.” I warned, and he shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter how long it takes us, it will be nice to work together.”

Rick hummed along with the music still playing quietly. He always paused to give an excited little gasp every time he found the right puzzle piece, and to my surprise I found myself doing the same. I didn’t think I’d have so much fun doing something as simple as a jigsaw puzzle, but I realised that anything with Rick was going to be enjoyable. He had a way of making me enjoy the little things. I had a handful of puzzle pieces, inspecting each one carefully, when I heard Rick give a different kind of gasp. I looked up at him in question, noticing that he was looking at my hand.

“H-how did you do that?” He asked me. I realised he was referring to the nasty burn on my palm. I dropped the puzzle pieces and he reached forward, taking my hand in his.

“The grill pan handle got really hot, and I stupidly grabbed it.” I told him with a sigh.

“Does it hurt?” He asked. I shrugged.

“A little.” I admitted. He rose to his feet, leaving the room for a moment. When he came back, he had a little woven basket in his hands. He set it down, and I peered inside; it was full of first-aid items.

“Y-you should really dress it. Otherwise it could- you could hurt yourself even more.” He told me, and I nodded.

“I was really tired when I did it, it didn’t even occur to me. I’d only just woken up, it was the middle of the night.” I explained, and he gave me a puzzled look.

“I-if it’s alright for me to ask… what were you doing cooking in the middle of the night?” He asked me. I stared at him for a while, unsure of how to answer. He sensed my discomfort, shaking his head as he pulled a bandage out of the basket. “Not to worry. Let’s get this covered up for you.”

“No, it’s okay. It was food for my mum. She… she burned toast and I had to step in.” I said, and a look of understanding passed over his features. He nodded and took my hand in his again, inspecting the wound.

“H-how, um, how is she?” He asked hesitantly. I took a shaky breath.

“Same as usual. I just… I notice it more when I’m not at uni.” I explained. He watched me carefully, his eyes were sad and I had to look away. I felt myself becoming emotional, but I didn’t want to put him in the uncomfortable position of seeing me cry.

“Um, I know it’s not quite my place to say… but I’d like to share something with you, if you don’t mind.” He said, beginning to wrap my hand up in a bandage. He worked so carefully, I barely felt his fingers moving over my hand; he was being overly gentle, trying not to hurt me.

“I don’t mind.” I said, looking back up at his face. He had a look of concentration on his face, a slight frown curving his brow.

“I… I’ve told you about the alternate versions of myself, do you remember?” He asked, and I nodded. Pretty hard to forget that one, I thought. “Well, I didn’t really tell you that, um, I-I-I’m quite different from them. They- ah, it’s difficult for me to explain. They don’t like the things I do and they act very differently, but that’s not what’s important. The thing is, they- a lot of them suffer with, uh, they drink very heavily.” He said, clearing his throat. “Alcoholism is very common among Ricks, and so I have a predisposition to struggle with it myself.”

“Is that why you don’t really drink?” I asked, and he nodded his head, giving me a little smile as he finished dressing my hand. He brought my hand to his face, giving my palm a light kiss. Butterflies erupted in my tummy at this, and I flipped my hand over so I could entwine my fingers with his.

“I used to drink. And f-for a while I was quite- I had a difficult time. Th-that’s when I decided to stop. Since then, I’ve been okay. Y-you know I have the occasional glass of wine with dinner, but that’s all.” He said, and I nodded in understanding. “But, if you noticed; I said I decided to stop.”

I stared at him for a while, trying to figure out the underlying meaning to his words. After a moment, he stood up, urging me to do the same. He guided me over to the sofa and we sat together, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“I don’t want to make you feel hopeless, that’s not my intention. B-but I understand that you put a lot of pressure on yourself, don’t you?” He asked. I thought about this for a while and I had to agree. I nodded and looked up at him. “I want to help you to stop doing that, b-because it’s not worth it. I decided to stop. And that’s the only reason; nobody convinced me.”

“Oh. I see what you’re trying to say.” I sighed, looking down at the ground.

“I’m sorry, beautiful. I-I-I don’t want you to spend your life worrying about something that you can’t change. The truth is, your mother will make her own decisions, and I know that it’s difficult to accept, but… but nothing you do is going to effect that decision.” He said. It was quite blunt, but deep down I knew that he was right. I’d always known. All the hours I’d spent crying with her, begging her to get help, it wasn’t going to do anything. She was a grown woman, she made her own choices. If she wanted to stop, she would. If not, well…

“I see. You’re right, Rick. It’s just very difficult to sit back and watch it happen, you know?” I said, and he nodded, his expression sympathetic.

“I know. I-if it helps, you’re very welcome here. Any time you feel the need to get away.”

“Thank you.” I whispered, turning and leaning into his side. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, his arm tightening around me.

“Th-there’s nothing wrong with you being there for your mother, or loving her, or even worrying about her. But it isn’t your job to babysit her. Y-you’re her little girl, sh-she should be the one looking out for you. Don’t give yourself a job you didn’t apply for, you see?” He spoke quietly, stroking his hand up and down my arm and resting his cheek against the top of my head. I nodded. “If you want to come over here whenever she starts… um, j-just know I’ll always open my door to you. W- uh, would you like to stay the night?”

“Yes please.” I breathed, relief allowing my shoulder to sag, my muscles to unfurl.

“I lo-” he started, then paused and cleared his throat. “You mean an awful lot to me, (y/n). S-seeing you sad makes me sad, a-a-and I want to do anything I can to help you.”

“Were you about to say-” I looked up at him, a flutter of excitement in my stomach. I paused and shook my head, not wanting to put him under any pressure. “Nevermind.”

“N-no, I uh, I mean… I was.” He said timidly, chewing on his bottom lip with those adorable crooked teeth of his. “I’m sorry.”

“You can say it. I’d like to hear you say it.” I whispered, stroking my hand over his chest. He caught my hand in his, drawing patterns on my palm with his thumb. He looked at me for a long while, his eyes moving back and forth between my own, searching them for something. I didn’t know what. He seemed satisfied with what he saw, it seemed, because his confidence grew.

“I love you.” He told me, and a smile broke out across my face.

“I love you too.” I replied. I craned my neck and kissed his cheek, and he laughed shyly, glancing down at our hands as he flushed.

“D-do you r-really mean that?” He asked me.

“Of course I do. I’ve never been more sure of anything.” I assured him, and he seemed to believe me. He grinned wider than he had all night, then leaned down to press a single kiss to my lips. Rick’s kisses were more often than not very timid. They were brief and soft, and they always left me craving more. I rarely pushed for more, though, preferring to move at his pace. On occasion, I was rewarded for my patience, and Rick would find the confidence to give me more than I could ever hope for. Times like that were what my dreams were made of, and I treasured them, their rarity increasing their value like a precious gem. They were always worth waiting for.

[thestraggletag]

The Safest Place, a RSS Fic

Prompt: Time Traveller and an Immortal AU

Summary: There’s no safest place for a child as loved as Gideon than with his parents. Even if it’s decades before he’s born and they were still master and maid.

Recipient: Surprise, @sharinamay, I’m your Secret Santa! I hope you like your gift, I had quite a hard time making it happen! I was worried that the idea I had come up with might not entirely be what you wanted but it stuck to my head so I was inspired to write it. 

I’ll post this later to AO3 and FF.Net and will edit this post to include the links, just in case that’s more convenient for you.

Happy Holidays!

It wasn't altogether a surprising sight. She'd stumbled across the odd baby in her time at the Dark Castle, always nestled in a particular wicker basket her master seemed fond of. Though at first the babes appeared rather unannounced- and Belle was sure Rumplestiltskin had done it to keep her in her toes, to try and rattle her- over time her master had started telling her when to expect them. She'd prepare for it, airing out the room next to hers, putting fresh sheets on the cot there, getting fresh milk and making sure to have cloth diapers and pins at hand, as well as an assortment of clothes, just in case. The mountain air was cold and unforgiving, and babies needed a lot of bundling up.

Belle liked children very much, for the same reason she loved animals: unlike adult people they didn't judge or question. She didn't need to put on a facade with them, didn't have to pretend to be somebody she was not. Someone proper and dutiful and pure. It was the same with her master. Rumple seemed to encourage behaviour in her others had sought to curtail or limit: he let her read as much as she desired, indulged her strange sense of humour, even her thirst for adventure on occasion. He pretended to be annoyed at her every time she tried to learn something new but would encourage her in small ways he likely thought she didn't notice. With him she could be herself, sarcastic and irreverent and able to speak her mind always.

So, having children in the castle every once in a while wasn't exactly a chore for Belle, specially once she realised her master did not mean them harm. He seemed equally fond of children, likely for the same reason she was. But Rumplestiltskin had said nothing of a baby for months, so the appearance of the child was very surprising. He was wrapped in a lovely homemade wool blanket so yellow it almost seemed gold, and looked young, perhaps a few weeks old. The tiniest baby she'd seen by far, but also the one dressed the best, his garments finely-made and foreign-looking. He looked fragile and vulnerable and it stirred something so powerful inside her she immediately grew angry at Rumplestiltskin for dumping the child in the middle of the foyer without even letting her know it was there.

Though the baby was fussy he calmed down immediately when she picked him up and held him close to her breast for warmth. He nuzzled close, prompting her to take him to the kitchen, where she made him a bottle of milk, which the little piglet drank down greedily, making the most adorable little noises. She kept reminding herself not to grow attached even as she cuddled the babe close to her. Whenever she'd try to lower the little tyke down he protested, letting out tiny mewls that broke her heart, so she found herself coming up with all manner of pretences and excuses to pick the baby up.

It was when she changed his diapers for the third time in an hour that she saw the letters stitched into the lining of his clothes. Gideon, a name she was familiar with. A favourite of hers, from her favourite story. And something else about it sparked recognition in her, though it was fleeting.

"Gideon. Little Gid. Your mamma has good taste in names."

She usually tried to avoid thinking about where the babies Rumple took came from. She'd learned early on none were stolen, all freely given in deals. She tried to remind herself that she had been born surrounded by privilege, that most other people struggled for survival and that sometimes that led to desperate decisions. But she had seen enough babies come from comfortable families, from economically stable households, and had found out the terms of some of the deals. People asking for youth, talent, fame, beauty. Those people were better off not being parents, so she had learned to be glad in those instances and try not to think about deals made for survival.

Gideon's clothes, however, indicated a wealthy household. Perhaps, then, something traumatic had happened. For some reason, she refused to think that Gid could be one of those unwanted, bartered babies Rumple brought some time. The idea of him coming from parents who didn't love him was too difficult to bear. Who wouldn't love him, with his little pixie ears and the utter serenity that stole over him when he was held? Such a good baby had to have come from good, loving parents. It was silly, of course, and more than a bit unfair. All babies deserved to be born into a family that cherished them, yet she'd never wished more fervently for a child to be wanted than she did with little Gideon.

She began to worry about what sort of family would be chosen for him, what sort of desperate soul would be selected to receive him. Belle didn't usually fret about the children when they left the castle. She'd learned they all were bound to homes where they'd be cherished, doted upon. To parents who'd desired them above all else, and who'd paid a dire price to have them in their arms and in their lives. But Gideon deserved more than just parents who would appreciate him, he deserved to be loved unconditionally and fiercely, deserved devotion. She got used to carrying the baby around in his basket as she did her chores. Sometimes in the afternoons she read to him and though he was a new-born she swore he listened avidly at her, as if he recognised her voice, found it soothing.

By the time Rumplestiltskin returned from his latest trip she was afraid to bring up the child at first. Perhaps if she didn't mention him her master would forget and she'd get to keep him a bit longer. But Gideon seemed to have a different opinion, as he started wailing the moment he woke up in the nursery while she served dinner. Though the castle was vast the nursery was enchanted to amplify infant cries- a way to "keep an eye on the merchandise", as Rumplestiltskin had taunted her back when she didn't know better- so Gideon's unhappy screeching reached them loud and clear. Rumplestiltskin startled and looked at her, eyes narrowing.

"Whatever have you been up to, little maid?"

Before she could answer with something flippant he disappeared in a haze of smoke, leaving Belle to make her way to the nursery on foot. By the time she arrived Gideon was eyeing Rumplestiltskin as the imp held the baby as one would a piglet being inspected.

"Who the devil is this?"

"Have you forgotten the baby you dumped into my care weeks ago while on a trip? How careless."

She plucked the baby out of his hands and nestled him close to her chest. Little Gideon turned his head to nuzzle her skin and quieted down immediately, turning into the adorable little seraph he'd been since he'd gotten to the Dark Castle. She waited for a quip that didn't come, and began to worry when Rumplestiltskin looked more confused than outraged. Usually by then he'd said something about her cheek, or threatened to turn her into something nasty and slimy. All bark, no bite, which made the silence strangely disturbing.

"I have no idea who that baby is, dearie. I certainly didn't acquire it."

For a moment, she thought he might be joking, but he looked unsettled enough to rule that out. He sat her down and instructed her to tell him how she'd come across the baby over and over, much to her annoyance. And after he told her to bring everything that she'd found with the child. It was then that things got truly strange, for when she produced the wicker basket Gideon had been nestled in, and that she'd used to carry him around, Rumplestiltskin produced an identical one.

"This is my basket, dearie, not that one."

They were virtually identical, only Gideon's seemed to have a bit more wear and tear, though nothing too obvious. He inspected the child's clothes next, showing as much surprise as she had when he noticed the strangeness of them, how finely-spun they were, and how oddly-decorated. When he saw the blanket, however, he looked downright terrified. It was clear that he recognised it, somehow, but it didn't bring him any comfort.

"This baby... we need to know where it came from. Now."

"It's not an it, it's a he. His name is Gideon."

He seemed taken aback by her fervent reprimand, but recovered quickly and gestured for her to follow him. They went upstairs to his workroom, where she seldom was allowed, and while Belle rocked little Gid, trying to keep him distracted- the smell of potions seemed to be getting him fussy- her master ransacked the room, emitting a triumphant little giggle when he found it: a small, round crystal ball.

"This little thing needs replacing, but it's still good for one more scry. Let's find the poppet's parents, shall we?"

He looked intently at the babe and whispered into the crystal ball. Belle leaned close to try and see but was disappointed when nothing but their reflection showed up on the glassy surface.

"Magic must have ran out. This might be more complicated than I thought. Might need to procure something else to solve this little mystery."

Though Rumplestiltskin was flippant Belle knew, somehow, that he was shaken. And now that she thought about it she understood. The Dark Castle was heavily guarded yet someone had managed to sneak in and leave the baby. A baby her master couldn't find the parents of through simple magic, a baby with strange clothes and a basket identical yet somehow older than the one he owed.

"Take the little babe to the nursery. Might as well have him comfortable till we figure out where he comes from."

The second magical go at finding out Gideon's parents backfired too, a globe, topped by a needle, where Rumple had little Gideon prick his finger, holding him steady over the glowing orb. The resulting magic drew a map of the Enchanted forest, with Gideon's tiny droplet of blood landing squarely were the Dark Castle was.

"Well, that's a bust too. Damn thing's tracking the lad, for all the good it does us, and not his parents."

Belle glanced sideways at him, noticing how comfortable and natural he looked holding little Gid. Usually Rumple was very stand-offish with the babies, almost always refusing to hold them, dumping them on her as soon as he was able and otherwise keeping them at a distance. But somehow, he seemed to have forgotten all about his aversion to babies, since he was holding Gideon close, the baby sniffing at the sorcerer, finding something comforting in his smell. Rumplestiltskin was absentmindedly petting the baby's hair, of which he had plenty. When he finally noticed he all but tossed the baby over to her and told her to go clean something, which was code for 'I'm feeling vulnerable and need a moment'. Belle graciously went to pretend to dust the library.

There were other attempts after that. Though Rumplestiltskin seemed to be waiting for the acquisition of a certain specific magical instrument to make another serious try at discovering Gideon's identity, he fiddled with a few things in the meantime, with no positive results. The child, far from recoiling from magic, seemed to seek it out. He had determined Rumplestiltskin was a good person, because he was calm as one please every time the imp held him close, or when he talked in a low, more human tone. He kept on being his well-behaved, hungry little self, eating, sleeping and being curious when awake and sated. Though he tended to favour her he sometimes seemed more in the mood to listen to Rumplestiltskin's nonsense and fussed until he changed hands. Her master pretended he needed the wee one for something whenever he picked him up, some hair of an imprint of his tiny hand. He was careful with the babe, knew exactly how to cradle him, how to hold him so that his head and limbs were perfectly secure. She had caught him more than once absentmindedly burping the baby or even feeding him.

As the days passed without Rumplestiltskin having any success Belle dared hope they could keep little Gideon with them. The child seemed already frightfully attached to them, after all. But as soon as she began to entertain the possibility her master announced he had acquired the necessary ingredients for a full-proof spell to lead them to Gideon's parents. He let her into the workshop to show her the cauldron where a bright golden potion simmered.

"I'll just need two droplets of blood from the little poppet. The potion with find his parents and mark them and I'll just track the magical signature. Easy as pie."

The limp state of his hair and his wrinkled clothes belied his words, but she wisely made no comment. She allowed him to prick Gideon's foot and squeeze two droplets of blood out, after which the potion began to react violently, swirling around until it shot out two bright orbs, one that hit her on the side of the neck and the other that got Rumplestiltskin on his nape, sending them both to the floor. Gideon cried, unhappy about being jostled about.

"Another failure?"

It seemed strange to her. Rumplestiltskin was, as far as she could glean, centuries old, and incredibly powerful. That he would fail so many times at something as simple as tracking down two people seemed strange, if not downright impossible.

"... I don't think so."

His voice trembled, and when she looked at him his eyes and moth were wide open and he was staring at the baby in a way he never had before. Half-scared and half in awe.

"I don't understand. The potion was supposed to find his parents and mark them."

"I... I think it did. It marked you and me. Just like the crystal ball showed our reflection and the globe marked the child's parents as being inside the Dark Castle." He giggled, a wet and choking sound, and peered intently into Gideon's small, thin face. "He has your cheekbones... and my eyes."

Belle looked down at the child, recognising her delicate bone-structure in him, as well as Rumple's brown eyes and his slightly-pointy ears.

"It's... it's not possible. I've never been pregnant. I've never even... and Gideon's weeks old. I've been here for months, and you've seen me being distinctively not pregnant the whole time."

"And yet the child was wrapped in a baby blanket identical to my own, only mine is safely locked away were I left it. And the basket is identical to my own, only it's not." His voice was soft, deep and incredibly human, and it somehow scared Belle, how undone by it all Rumplestiltskin was. She remembered Gideon's name embroidered into his clothes, remembered how strangely familiar the stitches had looked, and it made sense then. They were her own.

When she focused on Rumple again he was tearing the older basket apart, until two rolls of paper fell out from the very entrails of it. He picked one, inspecting it closely. It seemed blank at first, until Rumple pricked his finger and let his blood run down the paper. It settled oddly, slowly forming letters and then words.

"Blood magic. How clever I am."

Belle leaned in, reading over Rumplestiltskin's shoulder a letter written by, apparently, himself. She recognised the handwriting easily. The letter told a strange story, of a terrible threat and untold destruction. Of two parents, desperate to protect their new-born babe, destined one day to bring peace, but unable to survive while the evil rose. Of a vision of the child living, safe and sound, in a time past. A safe place, where he'd be happy. Where he could be with his parents and be part of a family.

"Time-travel is not possible."

Belle knew Rumple enough to notice the hesitation in his tone, the acknowledgement that something he'd believed to be true might not be after all. She knew time-travel was one of magic's few limitations, had read enough books on magical theory to know that, but the mounting evidence seemed to indicate someone had found a way around that old rule. Which meant she was hold her son. Perfect little Gideon, named after her favourite character in her favourite book. Her own, her blood.

And Rumplestiltskin's.

She had not known what to expect after finding out Gideon's identity, but she hadn't thought Rumplestiltskin would become a veritable ghost in his own castle, an unseen and yet present entity that skulked around corners and hid out of sight just as she thought she might catch a glimpse of him. It wasn't that he was out of the castle much more than before, the opposite. Though she couldn't see him much she always knew he was around. He just seemed to always must be wherever she was not. At first, she hadn't minded, being too enraptured by Gid to pay him much attention. She had finally stopped fighting her instincts with the baby, knowing he was hers and she wouldn't have to give him up, and showered him with affection and care. Though he slept, as always, in her bedroom, she set about redecorating the rather generic nursery next to her room specially for him. And though she did everything herself, at first, soon she started to see Rumplestiltskin's invisible hand working its magic in the room. Toys would appear out of nowhere, as would linens and clothing and once a beautifully-crafted rocking chair.

Sometimes she'd leave Gideon alone to cook, change the sheets or something else and though the child was always alone when she returned to the nursery she could feel the faint static of magic in the air, and sometimes even catch the last of Rumple's characteristic smoke dissipating. But no matter what she did she could not get him to talk to her more than a few sentences, or be in her presence for more than five minutes. It was like living with a wild deer, skittish and wary of her.

In the beginning, she'd thought that it was Gideon who frightened him. After all he must have had a child at some point, to be so knowledgeable of their care, only to have lost him. She had found a room, a little boy's room, which seemed to support her theory. Babies were fragile creatures, and Belle herself got scared every time Gideon sneezed or had a bad colic. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to be a parent again after experiencing the loss of a son. But after a while it became clear that Rumple spent time with Gideon, as much as he could whenever she was not looking after him. Sometimes, if she stood outside the nursery and made no sound, she could hear her master poof into the room and talk with the baby, even sing to him. He had a lovely voice when it was pitched low and his accent was thick, and she was unsurprised to feel butterflies in her stomach.

If she was being fair she had to admit her attraction to Rumplestiltskin was old, older than she would care to admit even. It had started with small things, with shared jokes, the discovery of a similar interest or two, the sharing of small intimacies. Their mutual otherness had called out to each other and before she knew it Belle was catching herself admiring the way the light hit his skin, in particular that spot made visible by his open collar, and the way his pants hugged every bit of him. She had never liked the sort of tall, bulky knights that were the norm back home, so it was not surprising to find that short, thin sorcerers were more her preference.

By the time she realised what had happened she had grown wholly comfortable with Rumplestiltskin, the way she had seldom felt with anyone, and the matter of her deeper feelings seemed unimportant, something best left unexplored. Why ruin something good by pursuing what could not be? Surely her master didn't feel for her what she did for him. And yet now the proof of how wrong she'd been lived and breathed right next to her, in all his adorable glory. Somehow, in some future, she and Rumplestiltskin had managed to create a person together. That changed things completely.

Except, of course, that Rumplestiltskin was being too much of a coward to face her. And she might have let him evade her indefinitely, too weighed down by her own doubts and fears, if she hadn't caught him by surprise one night in the nursery. He'd been away for several days tending to a deal that, as far as she understood, asked a lot of him. It wasn't often that such a thing happened, but though immortal, Rumplestiltskin was not without limitations, nor was his strength infinite. She caught him slumped against the cot, watching the rise and fall of their child's chest as if it was some sort of magical phenomenon. He looked tired, his clothing torn in places and dirty in others and the fact that he hadn't magicked the wear and tear away told her a lot about how drained he was. He'd been reinforcing the castle's wards and running himself ragged acquiring all sorts of protective spells and defensive artefacts, determined to make the Dark Castle into a veritable fortress.

"He's getting better at sleeping through the night, but I still get up to check on him."

He startled visibly, turning his head to look at her and then swiftly looking down, a very faint blush dusting the top of his cheeks. Belle looked down at her simple nightgown and robe, made of serviceable cotton instead of the silk sleepwear she'd grown up wearing, and noticed they were a bit too thin, perhaps, certainly more revealing than her corseted, layered gowns.

"Yes, well, I was just checking on the wee bairn, didn't mean to disturb you, I'll just go—"

"No!"

Though her voice never rose over a whisper it froze Rumplestiltskin all the same. Perhaps it was because it was the middle of the night, and it was such an informal, casual encounter, or because Rumplestiltskin looked so raw and open, but Belle felt like it might be the best opportunity she had had in weeks to clear the air, to confront the elephant in the castle, so to speak.

"We need to talk about this."

Though she half-expected him to bold Rumplestiltskin remain where he was, looking wary but resigned. She looked around for inspiration as to how to approach the subject, feeling like she needed to do this correctly or her master would shut down completely and she'd lose her chance. Her eyes landed on Gid, snuffling in his sleep and she finally found the words.

"I spent a lot of time since we found out about Gideon's origin trying to figure out why our future selves chose to bend the fabric of magic to such a degree to send Gideon to us. And at first it seemed we were just... the safest place. Gideon would be with two people ready to do everything for him, as they knew we would. He'd be in the Dark Castle, away from any possible danger, guarded by the Dark One himself, and by the time the threat materialised he'd likely be old enough to deal with it, and we'd be prepared. But... I don't think that's it. I know myself, and I know you. And if I had to give up my child, to send him away, I would want him to be in a place of love. To grow up with a loving family. And I think they knew that just as they loved each other... so do we. They sent him here, to this point in time, because they knew we already loved each other back then. And if this is going to work, if we're going to do this right, you have to acknowledge this. I love you."

The deafening silence that followed her confession was unbearable, but Belle refused to look away or back down. The incredulity in Rumplestiltskin's eyes hurt but she reminded herself of how little his master thought of himself, how prone to self-loathing he was.

"You lie."

"I don't. I love you. Accept that."

"You don't. Stop lying."

He sounded almost angry, as if he resented being had. Belle squared her shoulders, knowing she needed to push him or he'd never believe her.

"I'm not. I love you. Now you say it."

He growled, taking a menacing step towards her. Belle resisted the urge to roll her eyes and stood firm. A minute passed, then another. Only when Belle felt herself close to tears did she relent, turning away so he could not see her cry. She didn't want to guilt him into any confession, didn't want it to be that way.

"Alright, be that way. I'll see you in the morning... I hope. I never know nowadays."

She hadn't taken more than two steps towards her room when she felt him right behind her, vibrating with something that wasn't quite anger. She stopped, willing herself not to tense, and waited for him to make a move.

"You wretched girl", he rasped out, his mouth so near her she could feel the words burning the back of her neck. His forehead came to rest between her shoulder blades, and Belle worried for a second that she pushed too much, too hard. That he might not be ready for it, that it would have been better to continue as they were, even if just for the sake of Gideon. A moment later he let out a hoarse, derisive laugh, that felt capitulating and joyful at the same time.

"I love you."

The words broke the tension in the room, making Belle sag forward, letting her rest weight on a chest of drawers in front of her, Rumplestiltskin pressing his body against her back. His head moved to rest atop her right shoulder, pushing her hair out of the way so he could nuzzle against her neck, tentative and determined at the same time. His breathing was ragged and the arms resting beside hers were shaking, but it didn't stop him from skimming his lips against the spot where her shoulder met her neck. She gasped, tilting her head to the side for no reason other than it felt right, felt like the thing to do. There was nothing but instinct to guide her forward, though her inexperience didn't make her feel at a disadvantage at all. Her master might be powerful and more versed in romantic matters than her but there was no doubt in her mind that she held most of the power in the room.

"I love you.”

His voice was little more than a growl, but somehow it did things to her no voice should have been able to. His right hand ghosted over her upper arm, shy at first, a feather-light touch, and took her hand to make her twirl around. They were close enough for Belle to feel the heat radiating from Rumplestiltskin's body and smell the scent of magic and sweat coming from him. His eyes were soft, almost liquid, open and vulnerable in a way that made her feel protective of him. Hesitantly he leaned forward, nose brushing her own a few times before dipping his head lower, his lips stopping just shy of hers. She could feel the tension radiating off him and she understood immediately the reason. The Dark One, scourge of the Enchanted Forest and supposed source of all evil, was asking for permission. If she hadn't been in love with him then, that would have certainly done it.

"Yes…"

It came out embarrassingly breathless but far from objecting Rumplestiltskin let out a needy little whimper before covering the scant distance between them, pressing their lips together. It was a short, tentative first kiss, a new meeting of sorts between them. The one that followed was much different, more languid and daring, unfurling slowly. Feeling like she might lose her footing Belle wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding tightly onto the stiff fabric of his vest. Even through the layers of clothing Rumple's characteristic warmth seeped into her skin, adding to the wonderfully-heady feeling of the kiss. Though she could tell he held himself back at first as the kiss continues Rumple melted against her, clawed fingers sinking into the fabric of her robe around the waist, scraping slightly against her skin.

Just as it felt like it might be too much too soon Gideon let out a loud wail, followed by pitiful little cries, fussing in a clear attempt to be picked up. It made the separation a little less awkward, Belle picking little Gid up and Rumple hovering at her back, looking over her shoulder at the fussy baby with the softest expression Belle had ever seen. Clearly, she was going to be the one to make rules and be sure Gid followed them when he grew up. Rumple was likely to do as the baby pleased.

They didn't say much else the rest of the night, though as the hours passed and Gideon continue to refuse to be put down on his cot they naturally made their way to her bedroom, Belle carefully placing Gideon in the middle before removing her robe and making her way under the covers. When Rumplestiltskin hesitated, she stretched out her hand towards him, glad when he had the presence of mind to change his clothes into something looser, and far less grimy. He hovered a few moments more, looking like he might bolt from the room before he slid into bed on Gideon's other side, smiling when the babe calmed down immediately and closed his eyes, apparently ready to sleep. A wonderful sort of intimacy stole over them, with little words needing to be spoken. Belle thought briefly about her future self, and how much she had likely fought for her child's happiness, and bowed to honour such sacrifice. She'd build a home for Gideon, both of them would. She would be a loving, nurturing mother and would raise Gideon up the best way she could.

"You know, we must not let him get used to this. He needs to know he can't just cry and get whatever he wants."

Rumple's sleepy little noise of ascent let her know he was, like her, on the verge of sleep. She yawned and burrowed into the sheets, happy in a way she hadn't felt before.

"Besides, I want him to have lots of siblings, and this way we will never get around to it."

"What?"

[peacefulheartfarm]

What You Can Do With Milk

What you can do with milk is my topic for today. There are lots of ways to use milk. It is a very versatile food. There is so much more than just drinking milk out of a glass. I know you didn’t drink it out of the jug, right? 

As always, I want to take a minute and welcome all the new listeners and to say welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving. I appreciate you all so much. I’m so excited to share with you what’s going on at the farm this week.

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

New Farm Sign

Scott just came in and showed me a picture of the new mailbox and farm sign set up. It looks great. I ordered a sign online from an Etsy shop. I found a guy who makes really great signs for a very reasonable price. He had lots of samples to choose from and an interactive website. Choose a design, type in your farm name and voila, you could see how the sign would look when completed. I was really pleased with the work and the quickness of shipment. I’m doubly pleased with Scott’s work and how beautiful it looks in real life. Now people can tell when they have reached the farm. The GPS brings you right to it, but we are 1,000 feet off the road behind a bunch of trees. It can be a little spooky driving off into the wilderness without a sign indicating you are on the right track.

Garden

I took a stroll out into the garden this morning just to see how everything was going. I don’t go every day anymore. There just isn’t that much out there. And with the ground cloth, the weeds are almost non-existent. There are five beds that are completely empty now. All the beans are in except for the baby limas. I’ll wait until the first frost is forecast before pulling out all of those. I want to give them as much time as possible to mature.

Crowder Peas

Today I picked a few more crowder peas from the garden. I really love these. I’m already looking forward to growing even more of these next year. I’ve talked about these beauties before. They are so, so, so easy to grow. I’ve never had disease, knock on wood. The only pests I have are aphids and they don’t affect the development of the peas. Next year I’m going to try putting the plants on a trellis. In the past, I’ve just let them grow all over the place. However, I want to try a trellis because I think it will make picking them so much easier. They get so tangled up. The branches are like half runners. I have been letting them grow into a jungle. We shall see how it goes with the trellis next year.

Peppers, Potatoes, Tomatoes

The peppers just keep on going as well. I mentioned last week that I am working on creating pepper jam with the idea of selling it as Christmas gifts. They are going to be gorgeous. Red, green and yellow varieties. Hot, mild, and medium respectively.

More potatoes are sprouting out of the ground each day. But how long before the frost kills the plants? That’s an experiment in progress. I’ll get a really good idea of how late is too late for a fall planting of potatoes.

The tomatoes are blooming again. I’m just going to go out there and cut those down and put them on the compost pile. There is no way those tomatoes are going to make it to maturity.

Culinary Herbs

The culinary herbs are going to need to be transplanted into pots. Eventually, they are going to go into a permanent herb garden. Don’t know if that will happen next year. Having them in pots for the winter will be fine though. Well, the basil and parsley are annuals. I’ll probably plant those in the garden again next year. For the rest, I really need to get cracking on designing exactly how I want that perennial herb garden planted.

Cows

The cows got to try out their new loafing area. I talked about that in the last podcast when I was talking about the creamery. Scott completed the area with fencing and a very ingenious gate system. The girls spent some time in there getting to know the area. Cows are creatures of habit. They are very calm and peaceful animals – until you put something in front of them that they have never seen before. Scott is getting them used to being in this area. At some point we will even walk them through the milking stanchion area several times before using it regularly for milking. They need to be comfortable with it and that takes some time and training effort to accomplish.

The calves are getting fat with all the milk they are getting. At the end of this month I will begin to wean them off the milk. By that time, Virginia will have developed her rumen enough to be fully self-sufficient on grass. Wendell is already at that point but I can’t really wean him without weaning her. He would just push up under her neck and dislodge her mouth from the bottle. He already does that if he finishes his before she finishes hers. She does the same. They are quite greedy for that milk. 

Creamery

Not much has been happening here. There is another wall that has been completed, but most of Scott’s time went into completing the loafing area and tweaking it a bit here and there. He did get the attic wall up. There was some acrobatics involved in that job. He was working in and around other sections and obstacles like the stairway. But it’s done and he is injury-free. That is always a worry for me. I’m a worrier. I admit it. Prayer helps a lot.

Quail

Those quail in the penthouse are doing really, really well. They only escape occasionally now. It’s like they have learned to run to the back of the cage when I open the door. Previously they seemed to only run toward the door and ended up falling out. Literally, they would fall out. Now they will sometimes fly out, but before they would run and their little legs were still churning as they unexpectedly fell to the ground. In two more weeks we will sort them out and decide which ones to keep and which ones go to freezer camp. We will be keeping quite a few extra through the winter this year.

Fruit

I noticed the Muscatine grapes are disappearing. We have two grape vines, one gold and one kind of bronze. They both produced grapes this year. Last year only the gold one produced. Anyway, this morning most of the grapes were gone. Probably a raccoon.

What You Can Do With Milk

I want to talk a little bit about what you can do with milk. You’ve heard me talk about making cheese but there is so much more.

Nature’s Perfect Food

Milk is one of nature’s most perfect foods. Like all high-quality perishable foods, milk is best when it’s fresh. Homestead milk from your own cow varies in flavor due to the seasons and grasses being consumed by your animals but you can count on it being sweet, light, delicious and wholesome with a fresh taste. Commercial milk has a cooked flavor. Every once in a while I end up taking a sip of regular milk from the store and it never ceases to amaze me the difference in taste. It tastes cooked. I never noticed it until I started drinking milk straight from the cow. Now it stands out like a sore thumb. I love my fresh milk.

Knowing what you can do with milk is important when you have a lot of it coming in every day. It also gives some insight into how you can use your creativity to learn to make lots of great tasting milk treats. You don’t have to have your own cow to make most of this stuff. You can use milk you purchase in the grocery store. Except for ultra-pasteurized milk, all will work just fine. Ultra-pasteurized milk will not make cheese or yogurt or any other fermented milk product.

Cream

Let’s start with cream. You get cream by skimming milk after it has been left standing for at least 24-hours. A caveat on what I just said about making things with store-bought products, cream these days generally has alginate added to artificially thicken it. It is quite harmless but adds to the demise of the flavor. Of course it is pasteurized as well so has that cooked flavor. Real sweet cream drizzled over apple pie is a delicacy everyone should try at least once in their life.

Personally, I like it with fruit. Think peaches and cream, strawberries and cream, blueberries and cream and so on. Yum, yum. Pour the cream over the fruit, stir it well, let it sit for an hour or so and you have a treat like no other.

Other cream treats include whipped cream and ice cream which usually has some milk but is mostly cream. Another treat you will want to try is clotted cream. That is a cream dish that is cooked in the oven. I have plans to do a podcast on just that topic in the near future. I also use some cream to make ½ and ½ for Scott’s coffee. I fill a quart jar with two cups of cream and then top it off with whole milk. That equates to a little more than ½ and ½ but I have found it to be a great blend.

Cream can be processed in other ways such as with making crème fraiche which is a type of cream cheese. I have a recipe for crème fraiche on the website. There will be a link in the show notes. You can make sour cream as well, I’ve just never been really successful with that so I’ll stick with crème fraiche.

The last thing I will mention about cream is making butter and ghee or clarified butter. The skimmed cream is placed in a butter churn and processed until the butter fat separates from the milk. Now you have butter and buttermilk. I’ve talked about this butter milk before. It is unlike the cultured buttermilk purchased in the store. This is the traditional buttermilk.

If you are making this traditional buttermilk, generally you set out whole milk overnight and let is sour slightly before churning the butter out of it. The resulting buttermilk was a treat my dad loved with all his heart. He talked of buttermilk poured over cornbread all the time. It was probably his favorite treat of all time.

The butter can now be packaged and frozen for a long time or used as needed. I keep mine out on the counter so it is always soft. If you do this, you will need to use it quickly (as I do) or it will go rancid. You can add Vitamin E to help keep it from going rancid, but ours never lasts that long. There are also tools called butter bells that help keep butter fresh on the counter. The butter is put in the bell and then set upside down on a dish of cold water. That keeps the air from reaching the butter and oxidizing the fat causing it to go rancid.

Ghee is made by further processing the butter. I have a recipe for ghee on the website as well. Basically the butter is melted and cooked on the stovetop until the little bit of milk proteins still left in the butter is separated from the fat. Clarified butter is reached as soon as the separation occurs and ghee is made by continuing to cook the butter until the protein bits are browned. Ghee is very shelf stable without refrigeration. I have some in jars on my canned food shelves right now.

Fermented Milk Products

Let’s move on from cream to other milk products. All of these require some type of fermentation. The buttermilk and crème fraiche I talked about are also fermented products. However, cheese and yogurt are probably the most common fermented milk products.

Yogurt

I love making yogurt with our milk. It is so easy and so yummy. I get so many compliments on it. “It’s so creamy”, they say. That’s because it is not made from powdered milk like the stuff you buy in the store. Not only is that product made from powdered milk, but they also add stuff to thicken it.

I make mine by heating the milk to a just below boiling, around 180 to 190 degrees, then quickly cooling it. This destabilizes the proteins. Once a temp of 117 or so is reached, I add in yogurt with active cultures at a rate of one tablespoon per ½ gallon of whole milk. I use my Cosori multi-function pressure cooker to complete the process. In eight hours I have delicious and nutritious yogurt. I have that yogurt recipe on the website as well.

Kefir

The last idea for what you can do with milk I am going to talk about today is kefir.

Kefir is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture. The drink originated in the Caucasus, Eastern Europe and Russia, where it is prepared by inoculating cow, goat, or sheep milk with kefir grains. My kefir recipe can be found on our website. All of these recipes will have links in the show notes.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for today’s podcast. We always have something going on at the homestead and I love sharing with all of you. Things will be winding down for the winter soon. Topics for winter conversation will be varied. I look forward to it.

I hope you enjoyed the information on various ideas for what you can do with milk. I didn’t talk about cheese because the previous podcast was about types of cheese. Refer to that one for ideas on using milk for cheese making. Check out all of my recipes on our website. All of my recipes are printable. Let me know how they work for you.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts or whatever podcasting service you use, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. If you like this content and want to help out the show, the absolute best way you can do that is to share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content. Let them know about the Peaceful Heart Farmcast.

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

Recipes:

Crème Fraiche

Ghee

Home Made Yogurt

Traditional Kefir

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Check out this episode!

[itbeajen]

Mistakes Were Made | Kirishima Eijirou

i. enraptured The first time he noticed you was when you had laughed over the mistake in your order. It was only his first couple of weeks on the job, and it was his first time serving a group of customers instead of a single customer. But he hadn't expected to have completely mistaken your order and give you something entirely different from what you had asked for. He can still recall how he had apologized over and over again of his mistake. The narrowed scalding gaze from their sleepy black haired manager and the heated yet icy cold stare from his senpai in the job made him want to shrink away from the entire world. He just wanted a hole to open up and make him disappear. But before either his senpai or his manager could ease the situation, you solved it yourself with a wave of your hand and a small laugh. "After all, you made it yourself right? I can't let your effort go to waste." And even when he had attempted to at least make it on the house, he could do nothing but lose his breath at the sound of your bright laughter. He never did charge you and your friends for that mistake in your order, but the additional tip you had slipped into his apron pocket before you left had left him completely stunned. Because you had paid for it anyways, and also thanked him for the delicious coffee. ii. regular After your first visit with your friends, you haven't been back since. Kirishima's basically forgotten the incident, but when he hears the door chime ring its familiar melody and your warm hues make eye contact with his, he can't help but let out a beaming smile. "Welcome! You can take any table, and we'll be right with you shortly!" You had nodded, a returning soft smile on your lips as you made your way towards the table you sat at the first time you were here. You had your laptop with you, and it wasn't until you felt a presence approaching you that you looked up and away from your work. "What can I get you today, miss?" Kirishima Eijirou. Your gaze flickered from his face to his name tag, and then it clicked that he was the same waiter from your first visit here. Kirishima's gaze on you was bright, and practically radiating positivity. "I'll get whatever it is you got me last time." His eyes twinkled with confusion before he finally put a face to the girl from his first mistake. A smile spreads over his face, as well as a tinge of pink flush, and he nods, "Sure thing! An ice almond macademia milk latte coming right up!" He still remembers watching anxiously from the cold bar after delivering it to you. But his insecurities are relieved upon seeing the bright and content smile blossom on your face. Perhaps that was the visit that cemented your presence. iii. study The first time he talked to you wasn't actually initiated by him, but rather you. It was one of the rare times he had came in on a day off to study. The small coffee shop was normally quiet and filled with idle chatter only during the busy hours which were around lunch and post dinner. But in between, it was always quiet and filled with the gentle tunes of music playing softly in the background. "You're not working today?" He had never shot his head up that fast any time compared to that day. He was deep into studying, although he didn't really know what he was studying. But he didn't realize he was that oblivious to the world around him that he didn't recognize you hovering over his shoulder. When he made eye contact with your face, you pulled back slightly, a sheepish smile on your face and you laughed, "My apologies, I didn't realize I interrupted you while studying." He stared at you intently, and you just flash him a small polite smile until it dawns on him and he exclaimed, "The tip girl!" "Eh, 'tip girl'?" a teasing smile played at your lips and your hands went from holding your purse's strap to resting on your hips, "The name's [L/N][F/N], can't you at least try to remember that, Kirishima-san?" He's basically a spluttering mess as soon as he hears his names on your lips. The question of how you knew barely leaves his lips and the laughter that escapes you makes him stop his internal flailing. You gently tapped his breast pocket where his name tag was pinned on, and then you shook your head, "Are you that out of it?" He lowers his head momentarily in an attempt to calm himself down, but the embarrassed smile that takes over his features makes you smile at how endearing he was. "It's the studying." It was the only excuse he had, and he didn't expect the conversation to continue. He had expected you to just break away and excuse yourself, but he was stunned once again out of his thoughts by your continual surprise when you offered, "I can help, if you don't mind me doing so." He's never been more grateful for that day in being the start of his friendship with you. iv. pick me up's Studying and just chatting has been a normal routine for you and Kirishima as you continued to visit. But you can't help the twinge of jealousy that slowly takes root in your heart as you noticed the new girl that gradually became his regular as well. It really didn't help when you saw him mess up your order, only for a situation similar to your own replay in front of your eyes as though you were the audience and they were the actors. You don't notice the pout that forms on your lips, but you immediately sighed and shook your head. You had no right to be acting this way. After all, everyone on this side of the cafe was his customer, not just you. But just as soon as your jealousy had sprouted and was almost ready to blossom, you feel your heart pang for the girl when you see the longing and wistfulness in her eyes at Kirishima's senpai. Ah. You idly stirred the spoon in your latte and you mumbled, "I feel you, girl." "Feel what?" You were startled out of your stupor and immediately rested a hand on your heart. A pout forms on your face and you grumbled, "Don't do that Kirishima." "Sorry, sorry," he laughed and then gently set down a plate of dessert before you. He waited for your reaction, and you looked at him with confusion and you asked, "Did I order this?" "No, but it's a pick me up. You were looking kind of down today, so I thought.." his voice trailed off and he holds the now empty tray before him, folded against his torso. He watched you expectantly, and you slowly pushed the spoon onto the dessert, and the chocolate lava that flowed out surprised you. He watched as your eyes lit up with the childish glee as you tasted the sweetness of the dessert and the reason as to why it was there. "Like it?" His voice was slightly nervous, but it was blown away by your immediate reassurance. "Thank you, Kirishima-kun." Your heartfelt gratitude and the soft and gentle way you had met his eyes when you said your thanks made his heart swell. Perhaps this is the first time he could say that he saw you as more than a friend. v. mistake The surprise on your face mirrored his when he placed the wrong order on your table. Your brows furrow and you asked, "You okay there Kirishima-kun?" He just stares blankly at the order, and then looks from your table to a different table where an older looking man was sitting. His head drops in a sigh and he claps his hands together, "Sorry [L/N]! I'll get you your order, just give me-" "It's fine," you laughed it off. And he feels a wave of nostalgia and then joins in on your laughter. He shakes his head fondly, "Just like how we first met, huh?" You nodded, and then gently pushed the cup towards him and nodded at the other table, "Go do your job, Kiri. I'll be here til you get off work, so don't fuss over me too much." "Who says I fuss!" he retorted in play. You rolled your eyes and shooed him off with your hand before resuming to your work. But it was though he was unable to not bother you as he continually came by, dropping off snacks, refilling your drink, or even chatting with you. The cafe was almost about to close, yet you were still here; your work still unfinished, but nearing completion. He refills your cup once more, and as he walks away, you find your gaze lingering on his retreating figure as he leaves. His shoulders are so broad. But the thought was fleeting as you shook your head to dispel the thought away. I need to get back to work. Just as you were about to dive back into working, the scribble at the edge of a napkin caught your eye. "The first time I noticed you was because of your laughter." Your eyes widened and then you quickly grabbed the next closet napkin. "It's filled with happiness and joy, I can't get enough of it." You read the line again, and then looked up at your filled table. The napkins were scattered all across the table, but each one held a sweet descriptive line that described you. You felt the warmth in your heart grow and you couldn't contain the small smile that grew on your lips. You almost didn't even realize Kirishima had arrived again until a plain white napkin is shoved in your face. "It was a mistake that brought us together, but this is no mistake. [L/N][F/N], would you give me the honor of being your boyfriend?" You looked up at him, and he's surprised by the unshed tears that enhanced the beauty of your irises. The hues were filled with appreciation and love, and he doesn't realize that he's holding in his breath until he finds it hard to breathe. He lets it out, and softly he hears 'yes'. His eyes shone brightly, and then he repeated, "Yes?" You almost wanted to laugh, and you responded, "Yes. Make no mistake in my answer, Kirishima-kun." vi. morning Every time he manages to wake up before you, he's reminded of the first time you guys met, and a wide but sleepy smile blossoms on his face as he pulls you closer against him. His arm draped around your waist with you laying slightly atop of him, and you were tucked under his chin. He lets out a content sigh as he rubs mindless circles on your waist and murmured, "How did I get so lucky?" "You made mistakes," you whispered in response. He tenses and you peek up at him, eyes twinkling with mischief, "Right, Eiji?" "I did not!" "Mhm, but if it wasn't for that mistake in your order, I wouldn't have come back," you responded, snuggling against him, "And if I didn't come back, we wouldn't be together." He pouted, but you can't see because your eyes are closed again, and your breathing evening out, again. He sighed in defeat and places a quick kiss on the top of your crown, "You're right." But you're probably the only mistake I'd gladly make again and again.

[daisy-chain-gardens]

Exchange Romance - Chapter 12

A/N: Just a warning, this chapter is completely different to what I planned on writing but I still like it. Also, this chapter isn’t exactly focused on Bughead. I was talking to the always lovely @rubyventure​ about how we wanted to see them build up the friendships on the show so I think my brain has kind of decided to take on that responsibility. I do still really like this chapter and it’s a bit different so please please please let me know what you think :)

Word Count: 4,534

Read it on AO3

“What are you guys up to next weekend?” Jughead asked Veronica and Archie as he slid into the seat next to Betty, lunch tray in hand.

“Hi Jug, I’m doing fine, how are you? Good, I’m glad,” Veronica snapped, pushing a lettuce leaf around her plate. Archie’s hand came up to rub her back softly and Betty could practically see her melting into him.

“Sorry Jug, it’s been a long day,” she mumbled, looking down at her plate. Archie sent a sympathetic look at his girlfriend, kissing her forehead and pulling her closer so she could lean against him.

“I don’t think we’ve got anything planned. Did you have something in mind?” Archie asked, still rubbing circles on Ronnie’s back.

“Betty and I were gonna go to this fair in Greendale and we were wondering if you guys wanted to come,” Jughead suggested.

“Yeah, sure, that sounds like fun,” Archie said enthusiastically. “What do you think Ron?” His voice changed when he talked to Veronica. His tone was soft and soothing, all hints of the playfulness they were used to had disappeared.

“Yeah that sounds like a good idea,” she mumbled to no one in particular. “I think I’m going to get Smithers to pick me up, I can’t deal with another three hours in this hellhole.” Veronica pulled out her phone and sent off a message, the telltale buzz of a reply coming only seconds later.

“V, I can come with you if you want some company,” Betty proposed gently, grabbing her host sister’s hand across the table. Veronica nodded as stood up from the table, kissing Archie quickly before heading for the door.

“I’ll text you later Jug,” Betty said as she packed up her bag, kissing him on the cheek before following Ronnie out of the cafeteria.

“What’s going on with Veronica?” Jughead asked as he took a bite of his burger.

“Just some stuff going on with her dad that she’s stressing about. She’ll be ok in a bit she just needs some time,” Archie said as he picked at his fries, worry written all over his face.

“Arch, if you ever need to talk you know I’m here for you.”

“Thanks Jug, I’ll let you know.” Archie sent him a reassuring smile and they finished their lunches in silence, biding time until the bell rang.

--------------------

“V, what’s going on?” Betty asked once she’d caught up to Veronica out the front of the school. She had mascara running trails down her cheeks as the two girls sat out in the bitter spring air, waiting for Smithers to come and pick them up.

“I just, everything’s just a lot right now. I’m behind on my homework, Cheryl has turned into a slave driver with the Vixens, and then now all this stuff with my dad I just … I just need a break,” Veronica sobbed, her eyes avoiding Betty’s gaze. Betty pulled Veronica into a tight hug, not worrying about the tear stains that were pooling on the shoulder of her sweater.

“It’s ok, it’s ok, I’m here to help with whatever you need V. I’m right here,” Betty whispered into her hair as she held Veronica tight, trying not to fall apart as Ronnie crumbled in her arms. They heard Smithers pull up beside them and wordlessly pulled apart, climbing into the car in silence. Betty moved over into the middle seat and Veronica leant her head onto her shoulder, closing her eyes and trying to take herself to another place, a better place.

“V, we’re home.” Veronica opened her eyes and found herself in front of the Pembrook. She silently slid out of the car and made her way to the elevator, Betty’s hand gently placed on her elbow. She could feel the concern radiating off Betty but didn’t have to energy to fight her or try and convince her everything was alright.

A lifetime later they reached their floor. Betty lead Veronica out of the elevator and into her room. She helped Veronica sit down on her bed and unbuttoned her winter coat. Veronica felt like a child, small and helpless against the big scary world. Betty disappeared for a few moments and came back with makeup wipes, carefully rubbing Veronica’s face clean. All that Ronnie could do was stare at the blank wall in front of her, her eyes cold and empty. She felt Betty pull of her shoes before she felt herself being pushed back onto the pillows, a blanket coming up around her shoulders.

“Do you want anything V?” Betty asked quietly, not sure how much Ronnie was actually hearing. Veronica felt herself shake her head but wasn’t sure if she actually heard the question. Betty turned out the light and closed the door, plunging the large room into blackness as Veronica felt her eyes drooping shut, eyelids becoming too heavy to resist.

--------------------

“Do you think you and Archie could come over after school? I’m really worried about V and I think Archie needs to be here,” Betty said into her phone, casting a cautious glance at Veronica’s bedroom door as though she was going to come bursting through it at any moment.

“We’re supposed to be helping out Fred but I think Archie was gonna talk to him and try to sort something out. He’s really worried about her Betts.” Betty could hear the crowded chatter of the hallways in the background, his sentence punctuated by the warning bell.

“See what you can do, please. You need to go to class but I’ll text you if anything changes.”

“Thanks Betts, I love you.”

“I love you Juggie, see you later.” Betty ended the call and went back into the living room, turning on the TV and settling down in front of a nondescript sitcom. She felt herself glancing at Veronica’s door every few seconds and after an episode she decided that she need to do something else.

She walked into the kitchen and started gathering up ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies, figuring comfort food would be much appreciated. She was stirring the mixture in a large bowl when she heard her phone ring from the other side of the kitchen. Betty scrambled around trying to get her fingers clean enough to answer the call, finally giving up and getting her screen dirty.

“Hey Jug, what’s up?”

“Hey Betts. Our teacher is out for last period and apparently they can’t get a substitute so Arch and I are heading over now. How’s Ronnie doing?”

“I’m not sure. She’s still in her room so I think she’s sleeping.”

“Ok, we’ll be there in 10.” Betty could hear the telltale sound of an engine flaring up before the call went dead. She went back over to her mixing bowl and continued making her cookies. She was scooping the first second batch onto a tray when she heard the front door open and shut. Sure enough, Jughead appeared around the corner seconds later, Archie appearing for an instant as he walked straight to Veronica’s room. Jughead came and enveloped Betty in a tight hug, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead and he held her close.

“Are you ok?” He asked so quietly that Betty felt his words rather than heard them.

“I don’t know. I feel fine but I’m really worried about V. I’ve never seen her like this and it scares me,” Betty confessed into his shoulder. She held him for a moment longer, pulling away to kiss him softly before returning to her cookies.

“Betts, talk to me.” He hugged her from behind, placing a kiss on the top of her shoulder before resting his head on top hers. She put down her ball of dough but kept looking down at the bench, not sure why she was so reluctant to share after everything they’d been through.

“I know, I mean, I thought I knew what it’s like for other people to see me have an attack but I never really thought about it that much. Am I that weak and helpless? Do people really think of me as that much of a burden?” She couldn’t help herself, she turned around so they were face to face, longing for the comfort and security she knew was waiting for her in his eyes.

“I never want you to feel helpless, ok Betts? I will always be there for you, always. Don’t you dare feel like you’re ever a burden. You are the most amazing person I have ever known. I love you Betty.” Betty practically melted into Jughead but he held her tight to his chest.

“How do you always know just what to say?” Betty asked, looking up at him with a lazy smile.

“You just make it so easy.” He smiled back and kissed her forehead before dropping lower and capturing her lips with his. The timer went off behind them and Betty quickly made her way to the oven and took out her first batch of cookies, placing them on the bench before putting the second batch in the oven in their place, resetting the timer.

--------------------

Archie and Ronnie emerged an hour later, Veronica leaning against him as if he was the only thing keeping her upright. She looked like a shell of herself, nothing like the sophisticated, put together Veronica Lodge that Betty had come to know. Archie led her over to the table and helped her sit down, pulling up a chair next to her and keeping his hand on her knee.

Betty and Jughead stopped their conversation when the couple entered the kitchen, watching the pair carefully, concern written all over both of their faces.

“Are you feeling better V?” Betty asked as she made her way over to her, her voice soft so she didn’t scare Veronica.

“A bit, I guess. My life’s still screwed up I’m just slightly better rested,” she said dryly. Betty grabbed a plate of cookies off the bench and some milk out of the fridge, placing them both on the table before sitting down opposite her friends. Jughead followed and sat down next to her, helping himself to a cookie even though he’d already eaten half a batch.

“So, what did we miss at school?” Betty questioned, hoping that they could strike up a conversation. Jughead got the hint and started on a very detailed description of how their classmates had kept themselves occupied while the teacher was droning on about quadratic equations. They all knew that he was exaggerating for the sake of the story but they laughed anyway, managing to get something which resembled a smile out of Ronnie.

Hermione came home later that evening, all prepared to ask Betty and Ronnie why they had missed the last two classes but instead found the four friends sitting in the kitchen, an empty plate sitting on the table between them.

“Hi there, what’s going on?” Hermione asked, looking down at the absent look on her daughter’s face and the protective way Archie was sitting beside her.

“Ron’s just having a bit of a rough day,” Archie said, giving Hermione a look which told her not to ask any more questions. Veronica leaned into Archie at the sound of his voice, closing her eyes as his fingers ran through her hair.

“Ok. I’ll be in my room if anyone needs anything. Do I need to call Fred and tell him where you boys are?” Hermione asked as she moved around the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge.

“No he knows we’re here. We won’t stay much longer, I think Ron’s a bit tired,” Archie replied again, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“It’s no problem just get to be at a reasonable hour. Hiram is out for the night for I don’t think you’ll be disturbed. Have a good night,” Hermione finished as she floated out of the kitchen.

“Good night Hermione,” they all chorused.

“I think I’ll help Ron back to her room and then we should probably head off Jug. I don’t want to keep Dad waiting,” Archie said as he lifted Veronica into his arms, and slowly walking out of the kitchen, careful not to disturb her.

“I should probably head to bed soon too Jug, I’m exhausted,” Betty complained, leaning forward and falling into his chest. Jughead chuckled to himself, pushing her off him slowly.

“I’m no Archie but I could carry you to your room if you’d like,” Jughead suggested, waggling his eyebrows playfully as her laughter filled the spacious kitchen.

“My very own knight in shining armor,” she joked, standing up and pulling Jughead up to stand beside her. “It’s a very kind offer Juggie, but I think I’ll manage all on my lonesome,” she said as she dragged him down the hall and into her room, jumping down on her bed. He sat down beside her, his eyes glued on the wall with a strange look on his face.

“What’s the matter?” Betty asked, running her hand up his arm.

“You kept my note.” His voice was soft with wonder and Betty followed his gaze to look above her bed. Sure enough, there on the wall was the note that Betty had stuck up there two weeks prior after their camping trip.

I love you and I will always be there for you. - Juggie

“Of course I kept your note Jug,” Betty said softly, reaching up to cup his face.

“But, why?” He sounded so confused that Betty couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped her lips.

“Because it’s important to me. I never want to forget our camping trip and I never will, especially not with a part of it hanging over my bed every night.” Betty almost cringed at her own words but held off when she saw the pure, unmasked love swimming in the depths of Jughead’s eyes, drawing her in and trapping her. “I love you Juggie, and that note just helps remind me that you really do love me and it’s not just my mind playing tricks on me,” Betty finished quietly, her hands moving around to the back of Jughead’s neck.

“Betts, you know I love you, and I won’t ever let you forget it.” He leant forward so their foreheads were touching. They were so close but not close enough. Neither of them wanted to make the first move, aware that they would have to stop soon but knowing they wouldn’t be able to stop once they started. Sure enough, Archie knocked on the door before opening it slowly, giving both of them enough time to move apart.

“Jug, we’ve got to go. Dad just called and said he wants us home for dinner.”

“Is V ok?” Betty asked.

“I don’t know. She’s kind of scaring me and I don’t know how to help her or what she needs and I just want to be there for her. She’s kind of my whole world and if something happened to her …” His sobs broke his rambling as he broke to pieces, the events of the day finally catching up to him. Betty stood up from the bed and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly and rubbing his back in what she hoped was a soothing manner.

“It’s gonna be ok Arch, we’ll figure it out,” Betty told him as he tried to pull himself together, taking a few minutes to succeed.

“I’m really glad you’re here Betty. Keep an eye on her for me. I don’t think she’ll be coming to school tomorrow but let me know if she needs anything and I’ll be over as soon as I can.” Archie’s breathing had started to even out but his eyes were still watering faster than her could dry them, the tear stains down his cheeks shimmering in the soft lighting.

“I promise Arch. Go see your dad, he’s probably still waiting for you.” Betty hugged him one more time, kissing his cheek before he walked out of the door.

“Thanks Betts, you’re amazing,” Jughead told her as he walked towards the door, kissing her sweetly.

“See you tomorrow, I love you.”

“I love you Betts,” he said quietly before joining Archie in the hall. Betty heard the familiar sound of Archie’s car as it drove down the street minutes later.

--------------------

Betty got home from school the next day and immediately flopped down on the couch next to Veronica. She was wrapped up in a blanket and pyjamas whilst nibbling on an apple, reruns of some old 90’s sitcom playing in the background.

“How are you feeling V?” Betty asked cautiously, not sure if Veronica was up to talking. They hadn’t seen each other that morning since Ronnie had slept in until mid morning, waking up long after Betty had left for school.

“A bit better,” she said quietly, her voice croaky from disuse.

“I’m glad because school was a total bore without you. Reggie and some other guys from the football team came and sat with us at lunch. Jughead was able to fake his way through the conversation but it all went completely over my head. I missed you.” A soft smile crossed Veronica’s face and Betty took that as a small victory.

“I feel sort of numb,” Ronnie confessed once the episode’s credits filled the screen. “It’s like I was feeling everything and then once I found out about my dad it all became a bit too much and now it’s just … nothing.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened with your dad?” Betty was curious but she didn’t want to push Ronnie further than she was comfortable. Veronica nodded slightly and looked down at her apple core.

“He’s being investigated for embezzlement and fraud. If they find anything he’ll be going to jail for a long time. Mum says that the house should be safe but she’s not sure how much they’ll take away. She didn’t sound very confident in his innocence. I know that he’s never around anyway but at least he could be, at least I could pretend that he cared even a little bit. If he goes to jail then he won’t be there anymore. I don’t think I can deal with that.”

Both girls stayed silent for a long time, neither of them quite sure what to say. Betty watched Veronica and could see a glimmer of the girl she’d come to know so well. Only a glimmer could be seen behind the broken corpse that was sitting next to her on the couch. Betty moved over so she could pull Veronica into her, letting her rest her head on her lap.

“I feel like watching ‘The Notebook’, how does that sound?” Betty asked gently, remembering Veronica’s enthusiasm the last time they’d watched the movie together. Veronica nodded once more, her eyes fluttering closed at the soothing feeling of Betty’s fingers running through her hair. Betty grabbed the remote and loaded the movie, noticing a hint of a smile of Veronica’s lips as Ryan Gosling appeared on the screen for the first time.

Betty’s phone buzzed halfway through the movie, pulling Betty out of the story as she reached for it. Instead of the message from Jughead she was half expecting, the screen revealed a message from Archie; a rare event but not unexpected given the circumstances.

Arch: How is she? Betty looked down at Ronnie, her head still resting in her lap and her eyes trained on the screen, soaking up every detail.

Betts: We’ve crashed on the couch and we’re watching ‘The Notebook’. She’s doing a bit better but she’s still not great. How are you?

Arch: Worried. If I call you can you put her on the phone?

“V?” Betty said softly. Veronica shifted slightly and looked up at her. “Do you want to talk to Archie?”

“Is he here?” She croaked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“No but he wants to call. Are you ok to talk to him?”

“Can you ask him to come over?” Veronica asked timidly, her eyes large and pleading.

Betts: She wants you to come over

Arch: Tell her I’ll be there in 10. Betty moved to tell Ronnie what he’d said but she’d already turned her attention back to the screen. They heard a knock on the door eight minutes late before Archie walked into the apartment, kneeling down in front of Veronica and kissing her hand, holding it loosely in his.

“How are you?” Archie asked gently, finally managing to get rid of the glazed look that seemed plastered on her face.

“Can you help me get to bed? My legs feel like jelly,” Ronnie said with a wheeze which sounded like a feeble attempt at a laugh. Betty paused the film as Archie helped Ronnie walk out of the room, leaving the couple alone for a few minutes before retreating to her bedroom with the intention of getting ahead on some homework. She sat at her desk for ten minutes, tapping her pencil and staring off into space, before she gave up and pulled out her phone. She checked the time in New Zealand before sending off a message to Kevin asking if he was free. In true Kevin fashion, he called her less than five minutes later. Betty let out a breath of relief when she saw his face fill up the small screen.

“Kia ora Betty, how’s it going?”

“Oh my god, Kev, you have no idea how happy I am to see you. I’ve missed you so much.”

“Aww, thanks B, I miss you too. What’s going on?”

“I’ve just had an exhausting couple of days. There’s some stuff going on with my host family and Veronica isn’t taking it very well. She’s kind of … imploded and it’s really scary. I just needed to talk to you.”

“B, you know I’m always here for you. What do you need me to do?” Kevin asked enthusiastically.

“Distract me. Gossip, clothes, boys, anything.”

“Your wish is my command,” Kevin replied with a small bow. Betty laughed and listened to him as he rambled on about various thing she’d missed out on. She interrupted occasionally, usually in disbelief, but let Kevin talk for the most part. Archie knocked on her door half an hour later.

“Hey Betty, I’m heading off. Ron’s asleep but I don’t know how long she’ll stay that way since she told me she’d been napping on and off all day. Do you mind checking on her?” Archie asked from the doorway.

“Yeah, sure Arch, it’s no problem,” Betty said to Archie before momentarily turning her attention back to her phone. “Hey Kev, there’s someone here I want you to meet.” She motioned for Archie to come over and join her and he reluctantly sat down next to Betty. “Kev this is Archie. Archie this my best friend Kevin.”

“Nice to meet you Archie. Any chance you have a boyfriend?” Betty laughed at the blush that came across Archie’s face as he struggled to understand what had just happened and mumble a comprehensible response at the same time.

“He’s dating V, Kev, so back off,” Betty managed to get out between laughs, her eyes watering. “Sorry about that Arch, Kev isn’t exactly known for being discreet.

“Hey, there’s no harm in trying,” Kevin tried to defend himself.

“It was an experience meeting you Kevin but sadly I have to go, my dad is waiting downstairs. See you Betty, bye Kevin,” Archie said with a wave before walking out the door, leaving Kevin to continue his gossiping.

They talked for another hour, both of them convinced that they’d had an ab workout from the amount of laughing they did. They hung up with the promise to call again soon and Betty went to check on Veronica.

“Hey V,” Betty said as she walked into Veronica’s room, finding her curled up under the covers reading.

“Good timing B, I just woke up.” Veronica closed her book and set it down on the table behind her. Betty lay down on the bed facing Ronnie.

“Lucky me,” Betty said with a smile. “You look better.”

“I feel a bit better. Archie and I talked for a bit and sorted some stuff out. I’m definitely not back to normal but I feel better,” Ronnie mumbled, a soft smile playing on her lips at the mention of Archie.

“He really cares about you V.” Betty said softly, the smile of Ronnie’s face growing.

“I know. He’s been pretty incredible the last couple of days. I don’t really know what I’d do without him.” Ronnie fiddled with the edge of the duvet, pulling it tighter around herself. “As much as I love talking about Archie, and trust me when I say we will be continuing this conversation at a later date, I’m already falling asleep again.”

“No problem V. Sleep well.” Betty climbed off the bed and turned off the light, shutting the door quietly behind her.

--------------------

Betty walked into the kitchen and found Hermione already sitting at the table, sipping on a cup of tea.

“Hi Betty, I thought you girls had already gone to bed,” Hermione said politely.

“That was the plan but I’m starving. I haven’t eaten much today.” Betty opened the fridge, not sure if she’d ever get used to the amount of food which was always there.

“I think there’s some leftover chinese if you want to heat that up.” Betty found it in the back of the fridge and transferred it into a bowl, putting it in the microwave before joining Hermione at the table.

“How is Veronica after yesterday? Is she any better?”

“She’s getting there but she’s still having a bit of a rough time. Archie managed to snap her out of it a bit but she’s still exhausted.”

“There’s a lot going on at the moment.” The microwave beeped and Betty stood up to grab her food before rejoining Hermione.

“I don’t know if I’m overstepping but is everything ok? Ronnie told me a little bit of what’s going on and it sounds quite serious,” Betty queried, blowing on her food to cool it down.

“It’s nothing for the two of you to worry about, everything’s under control. This investigation should all be cleared up in a month or so and until then there’s not much we can do.” Hermione answered diplomatically, taking a sip of her tea to indicate that the conversation was over.

“I did have something that I wanted to ask you. Is it ok if Ronnie and I go to the Greendale fair next weekend with Archie and Jughead?” Betty asked hopefully as Hermione stood up to put her half empty mug in the sink.

“Yes, I suppose so. As long as it’s ok with Fred. I think Hiram and I have an event to attend in New York that weekend but I’ll have to check.”

“Ok, thank you Hermione,” Betty said gratefully, taking another bite of her noodles.

“No problem Betty, have a good night,” Hermione said over her shoulder as she left the room, leaving Betty all alone with her noodles until her phone buzzed.

Juggie: Sleep well beautiful xx

[flyleaf-girl]

Chapter 3: Nothing’s Sacred

Athena Masterlist

Word count: approx 1.6k

Warnings: Language, mention of canon-typical injuries

. . .

Chapter 3: Nothing’s Sacred

Sam and Dean sat at the bar, sleepily sipping at their coffee whilst Ellen and Jo busied themselves around the kitchen. The boys had offered to help make breakfast, but the roadhouse matron shooed them out, saying, “House rules, boys. Can’t have you Winchesters messin’ up my prized iron-cast griddle.”

In no time, Ellen and Jo emerged with four steaming plates heaped with food and tall glasses filled with freshly-squeezed orange juice.

Dean groaned in appreciation. “You’ve really outdone yourself, Ellen. This smells amazing.”

Sam nodded in agreement as he reached for his utensils. “This is great, thank you!”

“Our pleasure. Dig in,” Ellen encouraged.

The room lapsed into a comfortable silence as they all dove into their food. The Harvelle’s were famed for their hospitality, and this meal was no exception.

After they finished eating, Jo collected their plates and trotted off to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Sam volunteered to help, which she accepted with a small smile.

“You boys thinking of heading over to Bobby’s today?” Ellen asked Dean as she refilled both of their mugs with coffee.

“Mmhm,” Dean replied. “We’ve stayed a bit longer than we expected... but it’s good to see you and Jo.

“Well, you know y’all are welcome anytime. You might wanna wait til high noon to get on your way. Heard it’s supposed to get mighty cold out an-”

Ellen’s voice trailed off as quiet, shuffling steps sounded from the darkened hallway. They both turned to watch as Athena limped gingerly towards the bar, squinting against the bright morning sunlight.

“Mornin, Thena,” Ellen said. “How’re you feelin?”

“Peachy,” she muttered in a scratchy voice. “Ya got any leftover coffee lyin’ around?”

“I think Jo started a new pot in the kitchen. I’ll go grab some along with a plate of food for ya.”

“Thanks, I owe you one.”

The Roadhouse owner shook her head as she stood up. “You’ve saved our sorry asses at least 10 times in this lifetime, and you know it.”

Athena waved her hand carelessly. “Nothing’s sacred, Ellen. Not in this business. You don’t owe me a damn thing.”

“Not true. Now sit your ass down and I’ll be out in a jiff,” she called over her shoulder.

“Well if we’re counting, it’s thirteen!” Athena rasped out after Ellen with a wry grin.

Dean watched this exchange with curiosity. Athena was an enigma. Usually, he could read people easily, but it was definitely going to take him awhile to figure her out.

The woman in question closed her eyes and massaged her temples slowly. Dean took in her appearance. Dried blood covered a small scab on the side of her head, which had probably reopened overnight. Her pallor had improved considerably from last night, but dark splotches of blue and purple covered the underside of her jaw and arms. His eyes narrowed in sympathy as he took in the bruising pattern on her neck, recognizing the faint outline of a handprint.

“The hell you starin’ at?” Athena’s hoarse voice broke his concentration.

Dean flinched. “Um, I- uh...”

“What you never had a hunt go bad before?” she asked bitterly, all while keeping her eyes closed.

“No, no... I just- ”

She sighed impatiently. “Just stop staring. It’s rude.”

The doors to the kitchen swung open. Ellen came out with a plate of food and a glass of orange juice while Sam and Jo followed with mugs and a fresh pot of coffee. Ellen’s eyes softened with sympathy as she saw Dean’s awkward posture.

“Is Athena being snappish? She’s not a morning person.”

Jo laughed. “She needs her coffee like the grumpy people need their chocolate in those Snickers commercials.”

Athena glowered at them over her steaming mug as she viciously ripped open a packet of sugar and stirred it into her coffee.

Ellen offered her the milk and creamer teasingly. Jo laughed as Athena glared and shook her finger.

“You keep that shit away from me. You both know I’m lactose intolerant. I don’t need more stuff fucking up my chi after I got stabbed in the gut.”

Sam cleared his throat. “Speaking of,” he said as he poured him and Dean a fresh cup of coffee, “How are you feeling?”

Athena snorted as she stabbed her fork into some eggs. “Fan-freakin-tastic. Thanks for the assist last night, Winchester.”

Sam and Dean blinked.

“We... never introduced ourselves,” Dean said warily.

“Half-dead don’t mean half-deaf,” Athena said as she ate another bite of food pointedly. “I heard every word y’all said last night. You’re Sam,” she jabbed her fork at the tall hunter. “You’re Dean,” she waved the utensil at the elder brother. “You’re hunters. Easy enough to pair two and two, Sam and Dean Winchester,” she said matter-of-factly before taking a long pull from her mug.

Jo grinned at the boys. “So... does the renowned Athena live up to her reputation?”

Athena threw a balled up napkin at Jo. “Oh, fuck off.”

“Girls,” reprimanded Ellen as she refilled Athena’s mug.

“Sorry,” she said, shoveling another forkful of food in her mouth. “Anyways,” she turned her gaze back towards Sam. “Not too shabby of a patch-up job last night. I appreciate it.”

He nodded in acknowledgement.

“And you.” She pointed at Dean with her knife. “Call me sweetheart one more time, and I’ll castrate you.”

Dean swallowed. “Got it.”

Athena smirked. “Smart boy.” She continued eating slowly, wincing a bit as she swallowed.

Sam’s eyes drifted over the fingerprints on her throat, pressing his lips into a thin line.

She glanced at him before abruptly saying, “Say Ellen, I don’t supposed you’ve got any spare bike parts lyin’ around in the storeroom...”

Ellen frowned. “I’m not sure... we’ll have to check.”

“S no rush,” Athena said as she waved her hand lazily. “I need a day or two to rest up before I do anythin’ else. I’m a little worried about the Indy, though. Gunnin’ 9 hours without maintenance prolly burnt his guts to a crisp, like mine,” she laughed.

Sam shook his head admiringly. “Seriously, though. You’ve gotta be one hell of a rider to pull that off while injured.”

She tipped her head. “Been ridin’ awhile. You pick up a few tricks here an’ there.”

Dean frowned. “You don’t look a day older than... Are- are you even legal?”

Jo laughed. “Athena’s got really good genes. She’s- ”

Athena slapped her hand over Jo’s mouth, smile full of false sweetness as she answered Dean. “You either get good fast, or you get dead faster, sweetheart.”

Jo ripped Athena’s hand from her face. “Which means she’s good. Real good.”

“Alright, alright. Shaddup, Double 0.”

“Oh, come on! You’re basically the James Bond of hunting!”

“I am not an old white dude that runs around, waving a gun, jumping from planes and having sex with women.”

Ellen laughed heartily while Sam and Dean ducked their heads to hide their smiles.

Athena blinked, as though suddenly remembering that the boys were there. A jaded look slipped back over face as she sipped her coffee. “Sides, I gotta leave the theatrics to Foxy.”

“Foxy?” Sam asked. “As in, Asa Fox?”

“Yeah.”

Dean’s eyes widened. “You know him? He’s an absolute legend! The dude killed five wendigos- ”

“Oh, he’s sayin’ it’s five now?” Athena laughed incredulously. “Of course he is. Jackass.”

Sam and Dean’s faces furrowed in confusion.

“It was three when he showed up on my doorstep, bleeding all over my new welcome mat. But he can say it’s five if he wants to. It’s cute. Like I said, I’m leavin’ the theatrics to Foxy. He’s a fuckin’ drama queen.” She tipped her mug back, draining the last dregs and wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

Ellen reached for the pot. “Want a refill?”

Athena shook her head “Nah, I’m all coffeed out. Prolly shouldn’t’ve had any in the first place considering...”

Sam nodded. “I didn’t even think of that.”

She shrugged. “If coffee’s what kills me, I win.” She folded her napkin and placed it neatly on top of her empty plate, before standing up carefully. “I’m gonna hit the hay. You boys travel safe out there, yeah?”

Sam shook the hand she offered to him.

“Take care of that ‘pala out there,” Athena rasped as she punched Dean lightly in the shoulder. “She’s a beauty.”

He grinned proudly. “She sure is.”

They watched as she disappeared down the hallway and closed the door.

Jo sent her mom a worried look before leaning in. “So, not that I don’t like bantering with Athena, but...”

She nodded. “She’s either loopy from the pain meds, or it’s gonna be a long while before she’s out hunting again.”

“You think she’s hurt a lot more than she’s letting on?” Dean asked in a lowered voice.

“Dean,” Sam said. “You saw how messed up she was last night. No way she’s recovered that fast.”

Ellen nodded again. “Athena’s usually not this talkative or friendly... especially around strangers. We’ll have to keep a close eye on her.”

Dean stood up. “I can- ”

“No,” Ellen said firmly. “You boys have helped plenty enough. ‘Sides, I told Bobby to expect you to show up later today.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want to worry the old man, now would we?” Dean smirked.

The brothers helped clean up shop, giving Ellen and Jo hugs before throwing their bags into the trunk of the Impala, heading towards Sioux Falls.

[underopenskies]

In This Moment

((So enjoy a very late Mothers day special from @fontsandsins and myself :D It’s got cute, a little emotional, and all sorts of adorable. Also hamish gets a new truck :D

Hamish woke with a groan like he usually would he tried to roll over to wrap his arms around Skylar, but this time something solid but soft stopped him. He pressed his palm into his face and rubbed his eyes. He sat up slightly and a smile instantly spread across his face.

Skylar must have move Bella into the bed with them when she woke up through the night, which would explain the odd firm but soft thing. It was a simple device to protect Bella when she was in bed with them. He leant on his elbow and looked at their sleeping daughter. Having her here felt like a dream, like he would wake up and Skylar would still be pregnant.

His phone buzzed on his side table, he rolled over and looked. It was an alert that simply said ‘mothers day’. Up until this point mothers day had been an odd day for Hamish; he never really knew how to feel. He wanted to feel happy… but at the same time, mothers day was a reminder that his mother wasn't with him anymore.

However, today the tightness in his chest lifted when he turned to look down at Skylar. Now the day had a new meaning. Sure he missed his mother and like every year he would make the trip to her grave to see her... but now Skylar was a mother; this was her first mothers day too.

He slipped out of bed and snuck out of the room into the kitchen, rubbing his hands together as he went for the fridge, pulling it open and plucking out two eggs and the packet of bacon. He placed a pan on the stove, poured some oil in the pan, put the heat on and began frying up the bacon.

Skylar woke up not long after Hamish left the room, Bella still sleeping soundly in bed in the little device that kept either of them from rolling on her. She yawned and stretched in place, a tired sound leaving her. Bella had gotten up a couple times in the night to eat and to soil herself- and the last one had been a two for one. During which she hadn’t bothered to wake Hamish, but it had been a doozy of a diaper change, and Bella had needed a new set of clothes. So she’d stolen away to the living room to change her, so Bella’s usual fussing over the wipes hadn’t woken Hamish. Her tired husband did a lot to help, on top of the farm work- so she tried to make sure he got as much sleep as he could.

Either way, their baby was clean, and smelled of milk and new-baby smell, and though it had taken Bella a while to fall back asleep, it hadn’t been all bad. Skylar had made use of her time awake and made sure to call while she’d been up in the wee hours, and leave a voicemail for her mother to hear first thing when she got up later that day. It was mothers day after all- and this would be the first year in thirty three years that Skylar wouldn’t be there to celebrate it with her. Either way, she made sure to express her well wishes to her mother, and to let her know just how much she appreciated her.

The smell of bacon tingled over her nose, and Skylar edged herself into getting up. She managed not to disturb their daughter, and carefully got her pad changed, knowing if she didn’t, she’d spring a leak. That done, she shimmied back into bed, and pulled Bella out of the little contraption, before draping her gently across her chest.

Bella burbled sleepily, but didn’t stir, sprawling sleepily on her mother’s chest and the soft squishy swell of her belly. Skylar pressed her lips gently against her skull, fluttering them softly in tiny butterfly kisses against her little horns, and rubbed her fingers gently over her daughter’s soft little hands as she inhaled her sweet little scent. Her fingers closed over them by reflex, and Skylar hummed to her gently, and shifted her grip so Bella clung onto Skylar’s night shirt.

It was mothers day- Skylar was a mother now. It was… Wow… A surreal feeling, she mused lightly. She knew she should probably get up and go help Hamish in the kitchen, but… She just wanted a few more minutes with their daughter.

Hamish cracked the eggs into the pan along side the bacon, biting his lip as he watched them, he wanted to get them just perfect, so they would be runny but not undercooked. He bit his tongue between his teeth and carefully flipped the eggs over so as to not break the yolk. He left that to sizzle away and pulled the toast that had popped out of the toaster, he smeared butter over it then brought it over to the pan, carefully lifting the eggs onto the toast then adding the bacon to the side, he had cooked a little extra for himself and set that aside.

He was serving his wife first today.

He turned the heat off the stove then grabbed a glass, filling it with water. He grabbed a knife and fork, the glass, then Skylar's plate and carried it into their room. "Happy Mothers day, Momma." He grinned proudly, putting the glass of water and the plate of food down on Skylar's side table. He lent down and pressed a kiss to Skylar's forehead then rested his head against her horns, pushing very gently against them.

She hadn’t expected for the smell of food to wander into their room- or for Hamish to have brought her food in bed. Her eyes opened as his skull pressed to her horns, and she gently rocks her head up into his, tired blue eye lights glimmering warmly as she peers up into his. A loving smile stretches her face. “You didn’t have t’ do this for me,” She lifts a hand up to the back of his head, and cradles his skull as she nuzzles him tenderly. “Thank ya though, Haz. N’ good mornin’ t’ ya too.”

Bella yawns on her chest, sleepily burbling at Skylar moving under her. Reddish brown eye lights peek open blearily for a moment, before squinting back closed again as she nestles her face against Skylar and tries to resume sleeping while her mother smoothes a hand over her back.

Hamish's eyes turned down to their daughter and he smiled at her. "It's too bright out here isn't it little girl." He chuckled. He moved around to his side of the bed and crawled in. "Can I cuddle her, while you eat?" He asked, putting their bed sheets over his lap.

“O’ course.” She smiles. “I’m never gonna tell ya no.” She gently shifts Bella as she sits up, their daughter letting out a tiny fussy sound, and then moves to pass her over to her daddy. “Here you go- Daddy wants snuggles too, sweetheart. There you are.”

Bella’s little face scrunches some, not enjoying being passed over at all. But she simply curls herself into Hamish and sighs, soft mouth parting slightly with a sleepy breath as she settles again.

Hamish pressed his lips against her skull. He chuckled when she squirmed away from the feeling of his beard. He spared her from his beard, by letting her lay on his chest. He rubbed his thumb over her little horns, smiling down at her. He looked up at Sky and smiled. "How're you feeling, beautiful?"

While he got Bella settled, Skylar leaned over to collect her plate, and got herself situated. She took care not to make a mess in bed, and quietly began to eat her meal, watching her husband and their sleeping newborn. At his question, she smiled. “I’m okay. Pretty tired n’ sore, but better than I was yesterday.” ‘Better than yesterday’ seemed to be a motto about post-baby pains. She hummed slightly, and rubbed her fingers gently over her belly, idly itching the squishy stretch marks that were still prevalent. She only had a couple, thankfully- and surprisingly, despite her size, her belly was fairly firm. Yeah, she still looked pregnant, but at least it wasn’t sagging. “This is real good by the way.” She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Ya learnin’ a lot about cookin,” She beams to him, “N’ ‘s perfect, Haz.”

He smiled at her answer then looked back down at Bella. "For the last twenty or so years… I used to spend mothers day… reminded of the loss of my mother. Today I'm happy today is something happy now." He rubbed Bella's back. "I take flowers to my mom every year… and this is the first that I have you… and now Bella. I want my mom to meet you both." He said. His voice sounded a little choked up, but he hid it well.

Hid it well, from all but his wife who was learning to read his tells. She nuzzled her face to his temple, and pressed soft kisses along the top of his skull for a moment. Eventually, she simply let her horns rest against his skull, offering him a gentle comfort as she cuddled her shoulder to his. “Your Mama would be proud o’ you.” She tells him firmly. “I can only hope she’d like me, but… I know she’d be proud o’ you, sweetheart.” She rubs her horns gently against him. “Why don’t we go meet ya Ma’ t’day? It’s mothers day, after all- she deserves some flowers for raisin’ th’ amazin’ man that I married, and she deserves t’ meet her grandbaby.”

Hamish's mouth curled up into a smile. "Thank you Sky." He said, taking the hand that was rubbing Bella's back to wipe his eye's. He returned Skylar's nuzzles and looked down at Bella as she started to stir, bringing her little fist to her mouth to suck on her fingers loudly. She scrunched her face up and made small sniffing and grunting sounds, seeming to be confused about weather she wanted to cry or not.

Skylar gave him a soft smile and returned to her breakfast, eating through it at a decent pace. When Hamish cooked, he was a really good cook, and she certainly enjoyed the eggs, bacon, and toast. It was all very, very tasty. It was also likely in her best interests in eating quickly in case Bella started to fuss. "You're okay, baby girl." She cooed gently to her daughter. "Were ya expecting milk and didn’t get what ya wanted?"

Bella let out a small cry, and then decided she liked her hand more, suckling on her knuckles. Hamish smiled through a sigh, feeling her now drool covered hand soaking his shirt with said drool. "I can't get over the fact that she's really here." He said, watching her as if, if he looked away she would disappear.

“It’s kinda surreal, ain’t it?” When she finished her breakfast, she set the plate on the side table and took a drink of water to clear her mouth, and then shifted to cuddle against his side. She watched Bella with him, her eye lights soft and tender. “It still feels like I’m gonna wake up, n’ this ‘s all a dream, n’ we’ll be back at Ma’s house getting ready for th’ weddin’.” She presses a kiss to his cheek, and then rubs a hand gently down their daughter’s back. “But she’s real- she’s so soft n’ warm, n’ she’s here.” She sighs happily.

"I'll definitely take a look at her.” He nods. “James took over the lab for the next few days as the projects we were working on are now wrapped up. It'll give me a chance to catch up to my duties." Tenne replied with a light smile, before he looked at Toki. "If you would, my lady." He rumbled lightly, walking to the door and pulling it open to hold it for her.

She gave him a faint smile, and moved to the door. It was cold as the air blew in, and she shivered roughly, wings trembling. She tucked the boys closer to her as her fur ruffled in response, and puffed her magic into the air, heating the air around her and creating a buffer against the chill. The boys might be made mostly of bone, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still be bothered. They were children, after all. Toki rubbed their backs as she stepped out into the snow, her bare feet crunching lightly on the ice. Her paws were perpetually cold- but it was a cold she was growing used to. “Thank you, Tenne.”

Grillby took the door for Tenne, and waved the taller monster out. The lankier beast and the smaller bee based one made an odd pair, stepping out of his bar. Either way, Grillby waited until they were both out, before shutting the door and locking it behind them.

Toki glanced up to Tenne, and adjusted her grip on Kai and Quinn as she shuffles her toes to keep them from getting too cold. “I don’t know where you live here.” She admits quietly. “So… Lead the way…?”

Bella's little head rolled to the side slightly as she tried to turn it towards Skylar. Hearing her mothers voice so close made her breath pick up to rapid little sniffs. She let out a wail, her arms waving out. "Uh oh." He cooed to her, patting her bum.

Skylar laughed gently, and nestled her head on Hamish’s chest. She lowered her head down to gently rub her head to Bella’s, rubbing the baby’s horns gently against her forehead. One of them rubbed a little bit on the scar on Skylar’s skull- but nothing uncomfortable. Skylar slid her finger into Bella’s grasp, and kissed her soft little fingers.  “Aww, baby girl, are ya hungry? Or are ya jus’ fussin’ t’ fuss? Momma’s right here, sweetheart. S’ alright,” she cooed gently. She didn’t want to take her from Hamish unless she had to- he had every right to cuddle his little girl too, even if she got fussy.

Hamish chuckled cupping the back of her head and lifting her so he could place his forehead against hers. She continued to wail, her legs kicking out. He shifted her again cradling her and pressed one of his fingers gently against her bottom lip. Her mouth opened instinctively and her little tongue poked out. "I think she needs you."

Skylar sighed with a soft and happy smile. "I think you're right." She shifted to sit up, and undid the buttons of her nightshirt. She eased one of the shoulders down, freeing one of her breasts, and then carefully took Bella, cradling her to her chest. She was getting better at angling her breast so their daughter could latch on easier, and now was no different. She angled her nipple, teasing it gently against Bella's lips, and then chuckled as she latched on eagerly. "Someone was hungry," she coos. "She'll probably need a change after, just t' make sure she isn't wet." Skylar shifts and cuddles into Hamish while Bella feeds, and nestles her head as close to him as she can with her horns.

Hamish grunts and moved Bella's mini bed thing out from between them so he can cuddle right up to Skylar, putting his arm around her to help cradle Bella. Watching her little face relax, his smiled at the hungry gulping sounds she made as she swallowed each mouthful, the tiny sounds made him chuckle. "She's so cute."

“She’s definitely the cutest lil’ thing I’ve ever seen.” She smiled gently, and nuzzled her head into him. She relaxed her arm some as he helped pick up the slack, and sighed contently, letting out a pleased but tired sound. “She sure likes t’ wake us up; though ‘s definitely worth it, yeah?” She rubbed Bella’s little fingers in hers, and smiled as she held them tightly. “Y’know… She might have my horns, but she looks a lot like you, I think. She’s got your eyes. She’s beautiful.”

Bella snuffled slightly against her breast, face nuzzling into her as she continued to nurse, tiny fingers working against her mother’s hand.

Hamish watched their daughters sweet little face then kissed Skylar. He sighed. "Time to get to work." He said. He didn't want to leave their bed, but it was cruel to make the animals wait. He got himself out of bed and got dressed. He opened their curtains and looked outside; the window had frosted over, which made him cringe slightly and grab his warmest jumper.

Skylar eyed him lightly and tilted her head softly as she rubbed Bella’s back. Their little girl was feeding like a champ. “We’ll go see ya Mama when ya get back in, alright?” She smiles slightly and gently adjusts Bella. “We need t’ stop in at th’ flower shop n’ get some flowers too, I think.”

He nodded and found his socks, pulling them on and then walking out to put his boots on.

He spent around an hour outside tending to the animals. He tacked up Charlie and herded the cattle into the second paddock. Despite her attitude, he got Mel on a lead rope and rode Charlie with Mel trotting along side him.

In the hour that he was gone, Skylar finished getting Bella fed, got her changed when she filled her diaper, gave Bella a bath in the sink when she made a mess of herself, and managed to get a shower for herself done as well. She got herself into her usual button up shirt and into the maternity jeans that she now once more fit into, and dressed Bella in one of her usual onesies and a tiny soft hat, before carefully belting her now sleeping infant to her chest with the baby sling her mother had gotten her. With Bella secured and snoozing away against her chest, Skylar headed out into the living room and prepared a diaper bag, knowing they’d need to change her before they got home, and then made sure everything was good to go before carefully donning her hat for the first time in an age and hefting her diaper bag up into her arms.

She stepped outside with Bella secure and warm against her chest, tucked out of the chill morning air, and gave Hamish a smile as he watched him ride around with Charlie and Mel. Her boots clicked as she made her way down the stairs, bringing the bag over to the truck. She set it in the back and secured it, before pausing and peering inside.

Yep. Still stained. They really needed to replace the truck- or at least get the inside detailed. They had been too rushed to get her inside, and hadn’t been out to the truck since- and her water had… well, pretty much ruined the seat. She made a face. It was dry now, but she still didn’t want to sit on it, or strap a car seat into it.

Hamish rode the horses over and eased them to a halt. "I was thinking we should go to the car wash... and maybe take a look at the car dealers after we visit my mom... I really need a new truck." He said, watching Mel out of the corner of his eye when she moved closer to Skylar and Bella.

Skylar heard her hooves before she saw her, and turned to meet her mare half way. She lifted her hands, one cradling Bella lightly and creating a barrier between the newborn and the animal that was much, much larger than her, while the other came to rub on Mel’s nose. Mel could still see and smell Bella, but Skylar could act if the mare did anything mischievous with the sleeping infant. “Hey there, big girl.” She smiled gently. “It’s good t’ see you. M’ sorry I haven’t been out t’ see you- lots o’ stuff has happened though. Look at this- I made this. Ain’t she cute?” She beamed to her mount. To her husband, she nodded lightly. “I think tha’ sounds like a good idea, sweetheart. M’ gonna put a towel down on th’ seat for now though, so m’ not sittin’ on th’ stain. It looks dry, but I dunno how dry it is.” She gives him a sheepish look. “We’ll check out th’ dealerships while we’re in town, see ‘f ya can find somethin’ ya like. Need somethin’ that ya can work in, but tha’ we can haul kids around in.”

Hamish watched Mel as she checked out their new baby. He smiled when Bella shifted and made a noises in her sleep, which in turn had Mel flicking her ears forward curiously. Charlie responded too, reaching his nose out to lip at Bella's little covered feet that hung down from the baby sling, Hamish pulled back on Charlie’s reins slightly.

“Easy, Charlie.” Skylar shifted her hand, and gently patted his nose. “You can look, but no lippin’ at lil’ Bella.”

Mel initially pinned her ears at Charlie and showed him teeth, instinctively warding the stallion away from the baby in her rider’s arms. Once he was sufficiently out of reach, she turned, bad mood gone in an instant, and sniffed lightly at the baby’s head, and ruffled her lip lightly against her hat, until Skylar gently tugged it off. Mel brushed her nose against Bella’s horns, whuffed lightly, and then drew her head back with a satisfied snort while Skylar fixed Bella’s hat. She butted her nose against her rider’s hand again, pleased with the small horned loaf against her chest.

Skylar grinned at Hamish. “I think Mel approves.”

Hamish smiled widely and lent over patting Mel. "I'll go put these two away and then we will go.’ He said, turning Charlie and leading Mel after him.

He walked them back to the barn and slipped of Charlie, leaving him to stand while he walked Mel back the field and took her halter off, letting her back out with the other mares. He took off Charlie’s gear and let him out, then closed the gate off, walking back out to the truck.

"I'll grab the towel." He said then jogged back inside, finding an older towel that he didn't care about getting dirty. He brought it out to the truck and laid it on the seat.

Skylar gave him a thankful smile when he brought the towel out, and resumed attempting to get the car seat to buckle into the truck. She had no idea how it was supposed to clip in- and couldn’t get it to hook like the instructions said it was supposed to. She made a small huffing sound, and leaned back, scrubbing a hand up between her horns. “I hate t’ heckle ya into doin’ so much, but can ya give me a hand? This thing don’t wanna work with th’ seatbelts.” And she could only bend and move so far before Bella got squished against her chest.

He took the instructions from Skylar and looked over them, before leaning across into the back of the truck and adjusting the seat slightly. He pulled the seatbelt around the seat, threading it through a slot in the seat and clicking it in. He gave a tug on the seat but it stayed in place. "There we go."

“Awesome.” She gave him a thankful smile, and then carefully unwrapped Bella. She eased her gently into the padded seat, and buckled her in, before pulling a small blanket from the diaper bag and carefully tucking it around Bella. Once Bella was secure and in no danger of getting cold, Skylar climbed in and settled into her seat. She buckled herself in, and gave Hamish a smile. “Alright. M’ ready when ya are, sweetheart.” She looked about as decent as someone a day out from delivering a baby could be. “Try not t’ hit any potholes, yeah?”

He nodded and put the key's into the ignition, he started the truck with a loud rumble. He cringed and froze for a moment, waiting for Bella to stir. He sighed when she made small whining sounds and put the truck into gear. If the truck had woken her up there wasn't really much they could do but hope she fell back asleep on the drive.

Skylar slid her arm back behind the seat when Bella began to fuss, and gently rubbed her little horns through her hat until she settled back into sleep. Once she was settled, Skylar smiled and gave Hamish a lopsided grin. “When in doubt, use th’ horns.” She winks. The rumble of the engine up through the seats is vaguely uncomfortable through her backside, and she shifts faintly, but otherwise makes no fuss over it.

Hamish shifted into drive and pulled out and off down the road. He thumbed his fingers on the steering wheel, looking out the front window and looking happier than he's ever been, for a day that usually had him pretty down. He had his baby and his beautiful wife now; how could he be sad when they were here?

Skylar could see the happiness in his face, and shifted in her seat. Leaving her hand where Bella could touch her, she leaned across the way and nuzzled her head onto Hamish’s shoulder, closing her eyes with a loving but tired sound. Her free hand found his thigh, and she settled against him, intending to nap a little bit as they drove. Fatigue was still something that hit her often, given the number of times she had to wake up to feed Bella.

Hamish placed his hand over hers and kissed her head, and then looked back to the road.

It didn’t take long to get into town. He stopped outside a florist and pulled up, leaving the car running so it wouldn't wake Bella. "Sky, babe?” He stirred her just enough that she wouldn’t be dropped when he slipped out of the car. “I'm going to get the flowers, you can just sit in here okay?" He said, taking off his seatbelt and getting out of the car, before jogging lightly into the florist.

He came back with a beautiful bunch of flowers for his mother and a second bunch for Skylar. He placed the bunch for his mother in the back seat next to Bella then laid the second bunch on Skylar's lap. He put his seatbelt back on and pulled out again, heading for the cemetery now.

Skylar stirred when the flowers were set in her lap, and blinks slowly. “Mmn?” It’s a beautiful bouquet, with half a dozen flowers that she doesn’t know the names of- but she lifts them up and sniffs them lightly. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spots the second bunch in the back seat, and a slow smile crawls up her face. “Are these for me?” She questions lightly, cradling the flowers gently, and inhaling their smells contently.

Hamish flashed her a cheeky smile. "It was Bella's idea." He said simply, turning back to watch the road as he drove.

“Oh-hoh, was it now?” Skylar smiled slightly, and then leaned over. She pressed a soft kiss to Bella’s head, and smiled at the sleepy sound she got in response. “Well then, thank ya, lil’ miss Bella,” she cooed gently. “What a wonderful mother’s day gift~” She winks over at Hamish.

His grin widened, as he pulled into the cemetery. He drove along a gravel road, watching the graves pass by the truck. He turned down and small side road and pulled to the side, stopping the truck and putting it into park before turning it off. He grabbed the flowers and opened his door, walking around to help Skylar if she needed it.

Skylar didn’t actually need help getting out this time. She was working on getting out as he was coming around, and got the baby sling onto her chest. Once it was secure, she unclipped Bella, and slid their daughter into the sling. She tucked her in good, and kept the baby blanket under her arm just in case she got chilled while they were here, before turning to smile at Hamish. “Alright, sweetheart. Lead th’ way.”

He wrapped his arm around Skylar and walked along the gravel road. He looked around, spotting a few other families probably doing the exact same thing he was today. He stepped up a small step that lead into a garden. Large rocks bordered the garden, each with a name plaque set into it. Hamish walked over to a longer rock with two name plaques set into the stone. He crouched down in front of it and set the flowers on the ground in front of the rock.

He kissed his fingertips and pressed it against the first name, 'Mariline Parker'. "Hi mom." He said softly. He swallowed thickly. It never got any easier, no matter how many years he had come to do this. He placed his other hand over the second name. 'Brian Parker'. "Hi dad." He turned back to his mother’s name. "Happy Mother's day. I brought you flowers. I'm sorry I haven't visited recently; I've been… busy,” he said with a laugh. He stood up and wrapped his arms around Skylar. "This is my wife, Skylar." He said proudly. "And this is our daughter, Bella."

Skylar could feel her eyes welling up a little bit with hormone induced tears as she watched Hamish, and listened to how his voice tightened with emotions as he spoke to his mother and his father. “Hi Mariline, Brian.” She offered the gravestone a gentle smile, and then cuddled into his side for a moment, before crouching down. It wasn’t a comfortable position by any means. “I’m Skylar- this is little Bella. She was born yesterday- the morning after Haz and I were married, actually. She n’ I are why Haz hasn’t been out t’ visit as often as he should have. I’ll make sure n’ come out t’ visit with him more often, though.”

She shifts Bella a little bit, so their daughter can see the stone. She blearily glances at it, burbles a soft sound, and then turns to try and sleep some more. Skylar smiles quietly. “You both raised an amazin’ man; n’ I’m glad t’ call him mine. He and I have made th’ most beautiful baby… Happy Mothers day, Mariline.”

Hamish sniffed and wiped his sleeve across his face. "Thank you, Sky." He said quietly.

He waited for Skylar to finish talking to his mother before helping her up to stand, wrapping his arms around her, squishing Bella gently between them. He felt her little arms punch out and it made him smile slightly but he didn't move yet, he just needed a moment to hold his wife and child.

Skylar laughed a bit at Bella fussing, but she ultimately didn’t start to cry, so she must not have minded it too much. Skylar was sniffling in her own right, blue tears beading at the corners of her eyes. She dabbed them off on his shoulder as she cuddled into him, and simply held her husband and comforted him as best she could.

He stood silently just holding onto Skylar until Bella made a noise to let them know that if the hugging didn't end soon there would be a problem. He stepped back and kissed her little hat-covered head. "Alright. I'm okay now. Lets go wash the smelly truck huh?"

Skylar laughed gently and nodded. She took a moment to finish dabbling her eyes dry, and then double checked his for him. She then tugged him down and kissed him gently, before heading back to the truck with him. “Smelly truck is an understatement. Amniotic fluids don’ smell good when they’ve been sittin’ for a couple o’ days.”

Hamish snorted and walked back over to his truck, opening Skylar's door. "Come on beautiful."

“I’m comin’, handsome.” She smiled. She got Bella situated first, before climbing in her door and getting buckled. “Think th’ car wash can even get th’ stain out?”

He shrugged. "I'll try." He laughed, starting the car again. He turned the truck around and then headed off towards the car wash.

Skylar didn’t quite settle down to rest, but she did relax a little bit and enjoy her flowers some. She smiles, and wiggles a brow at him. “Y’know, th’ only time I can usually enjoy flowers without havin’ t’ fear th’ bees is when they’re in bouquets? Or indoor house plants.”

“Does that mean you really like them then?" He asked with a proud smile. Breakfast in bed, and then flowers, he was doing pretty good.

“I do.” She smiles warmly, and inhales softly again. “They’re beautiful. Always wanted a flower garden o’ my own, but, y’know… Can’t have flowers without th’ bees, n’ one sting…” She waves a hand lightly. “Ain’t worth th’ risk. But, I can enjoy these t’ my soul’s content.” Skylar beamed to him happily.

He smiled and hummed. "I'll have to remember that." He mused, turning his indicator on and turning into the car wash. "There is a little cafe inside if you wanted to take Bella in there." He suggested.

“I’d feel bad makin’ ya do all th’ work though.” She frowns a little bit, turning blue eyes onto him. “Ya sure ya don’t want me t’ help ya get it clean? I did make th’ mess, after all.” She could handle helping clean with Bella strapped to her chest. Her body might not be up for it, but Skylar was sure she could manage. She was tough.

Hamish shook his head. He gave her a $10 note. “You can change these into dollar coins for the wash,” Then he gave her his card. "And I'd really love a coffee?"

Skylar laughed softly and sighed. She simply slipped his card back into his pocket however. “A’right, a’right. However, ya coffee is on me, sweetheart, jus’ cause I love ya.” She shifted as he got parked, and then carefully got out. Bella was once more settled into her sling, with the blanket tucked under her arm. The diaper bag was plucked out as well. She hefted it up over the shoulder that Bella wasn’t cradled to. “I’ll be back.” She smiles.

Skylar makes short work of getting the coins for the wash, and stuffs them in her pocket. The coffee however takes a little bit, as it has to be brewed- but soon she’s returning to the truck with a large coffee for him, and the coins he needs to wash the truck. She offers him a lopsided smile. “Here, sweetheart.”

He took the coffee and took a sip followed by a happy sigh. "They do a good coffee." He said. He had parked the truck inside one of the wash stations, and walked over to the coin slot and slipped two in and then pushed a button for the soap brush. A soft bristled broom hung on the wall started foaming. He picked it up and began scrubbing the outside of the truck getting all the dust and dirt off it. "You won't believe it… but my truck is actually white." He joked.

Skylar laughed lightly, and adjusted Bella some as she made a noise at the sound of the bristles on the metal. Skylar rocked her torso gently and hummed to soothe her. “I don’t think we even washed th’ truck for th’ wedding.” She chuckled. “I had honestly figured it was ‘n off cream or somethin’. Heh.” She gives him a cheeky grin.

He scrubbed the car until it was coated in the foam then walked back over to the coin slot, putting another coin in and pushing the button for the pressure hose. He plushed the nozzle of the hose off its mount on the wall and aimed it at the truck, pulling the trigger. A strong jet of water shooting out, he rinsed the truck of the foamy soap revealing the white paint job the had been hidden by layers and layers of dust and mud.

Skylar laughed lightly. “Wow- that’s a nice lookin’ truck under all o’ that dust n’ mud. Wouldn’t have thought that eh, Haz? Oh!”

Bella stirred at the sound of the water hitting the truck, making a fussy whimpering sound. She whuffed softly, eyes peeking open as she squirmed and seemed to contemplate if crying was going to be needed.

Skylar gently tugs her little hat down some, and covers her ears some. “I’m gonna take her inside. She ain’t likin’ th’ noise o’ th’ water on th’ truck.” She chuckles gently. Skylar had wanted to stay out with Hamish- but she would cater to her daughter’s needs first and foremost above her own wants. The loud sound was distressing.

Hamish smiled at Skylar and nodded. "That's okay. She's been a good girl so far, she's allowed to get upset by the scary noise." He said, turning back to the car before the timer on the water ran out.

Skylar allowed herself enough time to give him a smile, before making a hasty retreat to the café. She slid into the little shop, and found herself a little corner seat, before carefully settling down into it. She set the diaper bag at her feet, and curled the blanket gently over Bella, patting her back softly. “There’s my good girl,” She crooned softly, as her whimpers slowly ceased. “Good girl… The scary noise is gone.” Skylar replaced it with quiet humming, so she didn’t disturb the other patrons.

Bella snuffled against Skylar, opening her mouth while her eyes stayed squeezed shut, her little fists grabbing at Skylar's shirt.

Hamish worked on the car. He had fetched a bucket of warm soaped water and dampened a cloth in it and began scrubbing at the stains on the seat. It didn't remove the stain completely, but it was enough to get the smell out. He did the same where there was some on the floor. That came off a lot easier though.

He got back in the truck and drove it forward slightly to where they had a little vacuum station. He took another sip from his coffee then began to vacuumed out the car getting all the dirt and dust he had tracked in there out. He inserted a coin into a mini vending machine and it popped out a car air freshener, and he hooked the little tree shaped air freshener over his rear view mirror.

“It’s been a little over ‘n hour and a half since ya last fed…” Skylar murmured softly to herself. She was probably starting to get hungry again. Her little mouth usually opened like that if she got hungry. She would probably eat, poop, and then sleep again. Skylar glanced around, a little prickle of unease rolling across her neck at breast feeding in public. But, she steeled herself, draped the blanket from her shoulder to her hip to give herself some privacy, and then freed one of her breasts for Bella. She offered it to her quietly, to see if she would latch on and eat. “Lets see if ya hungry, baby girl…”

True to what Skylar thought, Bella was indeed hungry, and the eager baby latched on to her nipple, beginning to nurse noisily against Skylar’s breast. In the mean time, Skylar alternated between watching Bella, and watching Hamish, feeling herself get a little sleepy from the sensation of Bella nursing. It was relaxing, in it’s own way, and she was very tired still. But, she wasn’t in a place she was comfortable sleeping, so being tired was simply what she would be.

Hamish finished up and pulled the car around and parked, grabbing his coffee and carrying it inside, spotting Skylar and sitting down with her. "Is Bella awake?" He asked, eyeing the blanket covering the baby.

Skylar flushes a little bit as he eyes the blanket, and nods. “Mhm. She got hungry.” She says by way of explanation, and then flicks her eyes to the other folks in the café. Baring her breast at home was one thing- she walked around in the nude often enough that it didn’t matter. These were strangers though. She tilted her head, and rubbed Bella’s backside through the blanket. “Did ya manage t’ get th’ car clean?”

"It's as clean as I can get it." He said, sitting down next to Skylar, sipping his coffee.

She nods lightly and grimaces. “I was afraid o’ that. Well… ‘f ya don’t want t’ get a new truck soon, we can probably pay t’ get it detailed, ‘f th’ stains bother ya?” He did take fairly good care of his interior for the most part, after all.

He shook his head. "We're going to need a new truck with more space for when the kids get bigger." He said, resting his elbows on the table.

“Ain’t that th’ truth.” She nods. “An’ for when we have more than jus’ lil’ Bella here.” She rubs her back gently. Skylar smiles slightly at Bella’s little sounds. “We can stop at th’ dealership though, ‘f ya’d like t’ look. Choosin’ th’ car ‘s up t’ you. But we’re definitely gonna want… what, at least front n’ back seats?”

Hamish nodded. "The one with the most seats that has the tray on the back still." He said, closing his eyes in thought as he tried to picture the truck. He sat back and pulled the blanket out slightly so he could look down at Bella.

Bella was contently suckling at Skylar, though her pace seemed to be slowing down. She instead was making a face between sucks, and making tiny grunts as well. Likely, she was loading her diaper again for her mother to change.

Skylar didn’t mind him shifting the blanket to look- she just didn’t want other people looking quite yet. She was still new at this and wanted to get used to it and comfortable with it first before she started doing it openly. “I’m not even sure what kind of truck that has a bed in the back with the sort of seats we need. I know they make them- extended cabins and long bed ones.” She snorts suddenly. “We’re definitely not gonna be able t’ park close at th’ grocery store, or we’re never gonna be able t’ get in and out o’ th’ space if we get one o’ those, though.”

He laughed and kissed Skylar's cheek. "We'll work it out, I'm sure we'll find something." He said, finishing his coffee.

He finished his coffee about the time that Bella decided she was done. Skylar took a moment to tuck herself away, before Bella made a lovely gurgling sound from her backside. Skylar sighed, and gently hefted her up burping her carefully, before shifting in her chair. “She’s gotta be changed- pretty sure she jus’ loaded up ‘nother one. I’ll be right back.” She gave him a smile and stood, stooping to collect the diaper bag. “If ya need another coffee, I can give ya my card?”

Hamish shook his head. "You don't want me to change her, do you?" He offered, standing up after her.

Skylar tilts her head and smiles at him. “If you want t’ change her, Haz, n’ get more practice in, ya welcome to. But I don’ mind doin’ it, since ya were just out cleanin’ th’ car.”

He followed after Skylar, eager to at least watch and learn even if Skylar ended up changing her just to do it quicker than he would if he was the one changing her.

Skylar headed for the family restroom, since Hamish was accompanying her. Thankfully, this one seemed to have a functioning changing table. Skylar cradled Bella with one arm, and then fished around in the bag for a mat to lay out over top the cold plastic table, doing so swiftly, and then gently settling Bella down.

Their little girl’s face scrunched up, like she knew exactly what was coming. Skylar glanced to Hamish, gave him a smile, and then worked at unbuttoning Bella’s onesie. She got it undone, and slid it up, before undoing the tabs on her diaper. She got the wipes ready before she cracked the diaper open, along with scooting the disposal bin closer for her to access it.

Once she was set up, Skylar got to work, opening her diaper and lifting her legs and bottom. She got the worst of it scooped into the diaper with a wet wipe as Bella started to whimper, and then slid the dirty diaper out from under her. She held her up gently with one hand, and disposed of the diaper, before cleaning her up with careful and efficient motions with the wipes, making sure to get her fully cleaned and powdered so she didn’t get a rash.

A new diaper was shook open with one hand as Bella started to kick into a bigger fuss, and Skylar slid it under her, got it closed, and swiftly buttoned her, before scooping her little girl up once more. She gave Hamish a cheeky grin, and patted her back while her wail cut off into fussy whimpers. “I still got it.” She beams. “You got th’ next diaper though.” She chirped, and then worked on cleaning up the change table for the next person, using one arm, and trying to pack stuff back into the diaper bag.

Hamish bit his lip and held his hands out offering to take Bella while Sky packed the diaper bag away. "Can I have he?" He asked hopefully.

"O' course!" She chirped. Skylar did not have an issue passing Bella over to Hamish, and did so easily so she could continue to pack up their things.

Bella cuddled into his chest with a soft sniffle, her fingers grabbing at his shirt as she latched onto him. Her eyes blearily attempted to focus on him, her soft little mouth opening and closing as her tongue flicked against her lips.

Hamish smiled down at her. "Hi beautiful girl, are you trying to look at your daddy?" He asked supporting her head so he could lift her up level with his face, he brought her close enough so that he could press playful noises smooches, just like when she was inside Skylar her body jumped and her limbs flailed, she sucked in a smal breath her eyes going wide. He couldn't help laughing be brought her back to his chest to comfort her.

Skylar laughed softly. "So that's what she looked like when she was doin' that inside o' me." She finished packing the bag, and gave him a warm look, before opening the door for him to step out. "C'mon, mister dad. Ya can cuddle her outside o' th' bathroom."

Hamish turned and took the door instead, holding it for Skylar while Bella lay against his chest. He loved how small and light she felt in his arms, she definitely had some weight on her. But she seemed to weigh nothing compared to how heavy she seemed to be in Skylar.

There had been more than just Bella inside of Skylar- there might have been ten pounds of baby, but there was also the weight of the fluid in her belly, her placenta… lots of things. Skylar slipped out when Hamish took the door from her, and gave him a lopsided smile. She held the door from the outside until he was out, and then glanced to him. “Ya wanna cuddle with her a lil’ bit before we head out t’ the dealerships?”

He nodded and nuzzled his head against her horns. He smiled, watching her trying to open her eyes. She squinted a lot through the light. "Hi, bubba." He cooed, her eyes still weren't focused, glancing around without really seeing anything. He watched her, fascinated by the way she just was. She knew so little of the world, so what did she think about?

Skylar smiled, and guided him over to one of the chairs so he wasn’t gumming up the walk way to the bathroom. She helped ease him down, and then went to go get something to drink for herself. She chose something with low caffeine, got it in a medium, and then went to go sit in the seat next to him. She took some time to fill out her receipts in her checkbook, before stuffing it all away into the diaper bag, and then simply watching him with their baby girl as she sipped her drink and tried not to bite through the straw.

Hamish snuggled his daughter, smiling at her while he watched her little face scrunch up then relax again, her legs tucking up then pushing back out. "She's still getting use to not having to be all squashed up." He said, at that moment Bella yawned and stretched all her limbs out. "Big stretch~" he cooed to her.

Skylar smiled and chuckled around her straw. “That she is.” She smiles. “She’s probably enjoyin’ havin’ much more space than she had in m’ belly. She was runnin’ out o’ space like… I dunno, four weeks ago, when she started playin’ th’ ‘lets scare Momma and Daddy with false alarms’ game.” She reaches out and gently brushes her fingers over Bella’s little horns, and smiles warmly. “It’s hard t’ believe she was still inside o’ me only a couple days ago.”

"It's hard to believe she was inside you at all, she's so big." He laughed. He pressed his finger into her palm, her tiny fingers wrapping around it.

“She is.” She laughs. “But that’s all from my side o’ th’ family. Her big lil’ feet’s on your end though.” She touches her little feet, and then chuckles gently, drawing her hands back. “M’ hopin’ our next one ‘s a little smaller though. Lemme tell ya, havin’ a ten pounder ain’t easy.” She gives him a lopsided smile. “Let alone a ten pounder with horns.”

Hamish gave Skylar a sympathetic smile. He rubbed a thumb over one of Bella's little horn nubs. While they had felt a lot softer and even rounder the night she was born, the bone of her horn was solid now and a small point at already formed.

Skylar smiled slightly. “Horns are kinda like calf hooves,” she explains softly, having noticed him thumbing over the hardened point of their daughter’s horns. “I remember this from with my lil’ brothers. S’ real soft for th’ first while- n’ then it hardens up when exposed t' air.” Doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt like a son of a gun coming out though. Her insides still felt raw. She leaned out and rubbed her horns against his arm. “They’re gonna grow real slow though. They’ll reach full size probably by th’ time she’s ten or so.”

"I hope they look like yours. Yours are beautiful." He pressed Bella back against his chest and felt her curl into his body heat, ready to fall back asleep.

“We’ll have to see.” She smiles. “They might end up my size, or they might end up smaller, ‘cause she’s got a more diluted bloodline from my Da’s side o’ th’ family.” Skylar watches her with a fond smile. “We’ll know what they’re gonna look like by th’ time she’s about two. They’ll take their shape, n’ then jus’ get larger from there.”

He smiled, gently patting Bella's bum. "How're you doing? I'm ready to head off again when you're finished with the drink of you want." He said, nodding towards Skylar’s cup.

Skylar gave him a lopsided grin, and was quick to finish her drink. She paused, and pinched her eyes closed a bit. “Mmm… Cold drink too fast. Brain freeze. ‘S an unpleasant feelin’. Makes m’ horns tingle. Ah, m’ ready t’ go when you are, sweetheart. Just need t’ throw this away now.” She rattles the now empty cup.

Hamish stood up with Bella and headed towards the door. He stopped and turned to wait for Sky

Skylar gathered her bag and headed out with him, opening the door for him with a smile. "Ya wanna get her in the seat?"

Hamish nodded and walked out to the truck, opening it and leaning in, gently laying Bella in her seat, he pulled the straps over her shoulders making sure the little shoulder pads where in the right spot, then he clicked the seat belts together. He moved back to his seat and put on his own seatbelt.

Skylar climbed into her seat while he got her secure, and smiled as he climbed in as well. She was already buckled and settled, ready to go. "Ready?"

He nodded and started the car, this time the noise startled Bella and she let out a cry. Hamish pouted and pulled out of the car wash.

Skylar sighed gently, and reached back to rub her fingers gently over Bella's cheek. She began to hum softly. "Its okay, baby girl. That's just daddy's noisy truck. You heard it lots when you were in my belly." She soothed softly, her tone warm and reassuring.

Bella settled quickly, too tired to fuss too much.

Hamish turned back onto the road and headed down to the dealership, the town was small so getting around didn't take too long, he found a parking spot, they would need to walk a little distance but that was fine.

"So if we find a car today, are ya gonna trade in th' truck? Or keep it just in case th' new one ever breaks down or something?" Skylar hummed gently. She got out of the car as they parked, and then went around to get Bella. She'd have let Hamish carry her, but he needed to fiddle around with the trucks, hop in the back, pop the hood, look under it... Not things one does with an infant in their arms. She tucks her into the sling and settles her so she can listen to the pulse of her soul. Bella doesn't even stir, sleeping contently.

Hamish walked with Skylar, holding her hand. They were greeted by a sales person as they walked in and Hamish chatted with him, explaining what they needed. The sales person nodded and led them over to a group of trucks and left Hamish to have a look for a moment.

Once they were alone again, Skylar smiled and nudged Hamish lightly. "You never answered m' question, sugar." She commented lightly as she looked over the cars. She tilted her head, peering at the interiors as she cradled Bella. She wondered if her horns would fit, or if they would brush the roof like they do in Hamish's truck.

"Oh uh... I don't know… it's my first truck.. The thing is almost as old as I am…" he frowned slightly. Peering into the new trucks

"Dunno if ya gonna get much trade in value on it." She hums softly, looking at them lightly. "Might not be bad just t' keep it. Let the kids have it for their first car, if we can keep it runnin' for another sixteen years." She laughs softly.

He laughed and looked down at Bella. "Even if it's not able to be road worthy anymore I got a lot of land that they can just drive on for fun."

"Yup. I learned t' drive out in the cow pastures." She grinned. "Nearly hit a cow in the dark once when I forgot t' turn on my head lights. That was... Interestin'. But yeah. It sounds like a good idea." She glances at him. "See anything ya like?"

He peered through the windows of one of the trucks, the bed was shorter than his current truck but there was much more cabin space.  "This one is nice. We could probably get three car seats in here.

"Three car seats aint bad." She peers into the front and hums softlty. "Can probably fit one up here too if we needed to. It looks like its got a lot o' head space too. I'd feel bad for shredding the top with m' horns."

Hamish smiled and called the sales man back over asking him to open the hood, they leant over the engine for a few minuets talking over everything, Hamish glanced up at Skylar. "What does Bella think?" He asked.

Skylar glanced down at their daughter and shifted her slightly. Their little girl let out a soft snore against her chest. Skylar laughs. "I think she likes whatever makes her daddy happy."

Hamish smiled that was good enough for him. "I think we like this one, can we negotiate on the price at all?" He asked, the sales man hummed and than began to rattle off the different kinds of deals he could offer to make the price seem better, Hamish listen and considered all the options. Thinking about which option could benefit them best now and in the future as well.

Skylar listened as well, and tilted her head as she listened to the deals. She chimed in from time to time, gently adjusting Bella, but for the most part was content to listen. She did chime in with a few of the deals though, mainly pertaining to the dealership covering a warrantee on the car for several years, and guaranteeing what things would get replaced for free, or what it would cost them on their part to get it fixed through the dealership. She shook her head discretely at a couple of the ones that were utter rubbish for deals, but let Hamish make the final call.

He had been keeping an eye on Skylar's reactions to each offer and found it easier to come to a conclusion based on the options she had silently disagreed with and had made a vocal opinion on, He accepted the offer and shook the sales man hand, following him inside a small office to sign some paperwork.

Skylar followed him in, having no intention of waiting outside while he signed paperwork. She paused thoughtfully, and realized she was going to have to drive the old truck home while he took the new one. A small bit of tension rolled up her neck, but she mused that she could do it.

He finished signing and waved the paper happily at Skylar, leaning in to kiss her. "Most couples celebrate their first time buying a car together I believe." He said, "I think it's a hot chocolate and fireplace night, tonight." He mused.

She met his kiss warmly and smiled at him brightly. "That they do. Hot chocolate 'nd the fireplace bein' lit sounds like a fantastic idea. I'd love t' cuddle with ya on th' couch for a bit." She smiles at him. "Lets go get th' car seat moved, n' ya can drive ya new truck home. I'll take th' keys for th' old one, sugar."

Realization hit suddenly. "Ah… shit, are you going to be okay on your own?" He asked, following Skylar back towards the old truck to help her get the car seat out while the salesman drove the new truck out for them.

"I'll manage. I might just need an extra couple o' cuddles when we get home." She gives him a wry smile. "No risk o' overstressing me now, sweetheart. Bella's already here. I'll be less stressed knowing she's with you, though." Hamish was a better, safer driver than she was. Much better. Skylar stressed far too much to be a safe driver, and she'd be worse with her newborn with her.

He gave her another kiss then leaned in to pull the car seat out of the back of his truck. He held it against his chest while their new truck rolled up next to the old one. Hamish smiled and thanked the sales man taking the keys from him, the new truck had back doors which would make getting Bella in and out of her car seat a lot easier now, he opened the back door and put the car seat in the back and wrapped the seatbelt around it. "There we go, perfect fit."

Skylar smiled as she watched him get the car seat into place. "A perfect fit indeed." She adjusts Bella, and then lifts her out of the sling. She's careful not to wake her as she presses a gentle kiss to her brow, and then gets her tucked into the seat. Once she's clipped in and tucked in, she smiles up at Hamish, and the. Wiggles her fingers at him. "Keys please. N' don't worry if ya leave me behind. I know th' way home. M' gonna take my time though." For her sanity's sake.

Hamish passed her the key's. "I'm not leaving you behind." He said, his brows pressing together. "I'm going to make sure I can see you the whole time." He said, and then pressed a kiss against Skylar's lips again. He pulled open the tuck door and climbed in, putting the keys in and starting the truck. The truck started with a smooth deep rumble, Hamish bit his lip and made a playful moaning sound. "God that’s a nice sound." He said then smirked at Skylar.

She smirked back. "I bet I can make ya make even better sounds tonight, sugar." She winks playfully at him, and then makes her way back over to the old truck. She eases into the seat, and gives it a fond pat, before glancing over at Hamish. The old truck does not make nearly as nice of a sound as she starts it up, but her fingers fit into the grooves in the steering wheel that she had left several months back. "You lead th' way, n' i'll follow ya home, yeah?"

Hamish nodded and pulled out humming happily at how smooth the truck felt. he pulled onto the road and headed off towards home, turning the radio on quietly as he drove. He constantly glanced up at the rear view mirror to check on Skylar.

Skylar kept a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel of the truck, and kept fairly close to Hamish. She got separated a couple times when she got cut off, or stopped at a light, but otherwise managed to keep up. She still didn't look all that relaxed driving, but she probably never would. She'd been driving for seventeen years now, and it still stressed the hell out of her.

Hamish watcher her through the mirror with a smile, she was doing a good job, he could tell the drive was stressing her out both him and Bella would give her extra snuggles when they got home to make sure she was okay.

Once they were out of town, Skylar relaxed a little bit, but still didn’t particularly enjoy the drive. But that was fine. She didn’t need to enjoy it. She just had to get the truck home.

Bella, in the back seat of the new car, whimpered a little bit as she stirred. Her little mouth opened a bit as she realized she didn’t hear her mother nearby, and could only hear her father, and her face scrunched up into a grumpy fuss. It didn't take long before her whimpers graduated towards soft cries.

"Hey, hey.. it's okay little girl." He said leaving one hand on the steering wheel while he reached back to place his hand on the top of her head. "shhhhh"

Bella's cries stalled only long enough for her to smell the scent of the hand touching her. When it wasn't her missing momma, and simply her daddy, her cries picked up into louder wails. Her little fists thrashed and curled up towards her face, toothless mouth open as she fussed.

"Bella," He cooed, rubbing her little horns. "Bella, it's okay baby." He said, trying to reassure her, apparently she wasn't having it and he just wasn't good enough for her, her wails turning into full blown crying now. Hamish placed his free hand back on the steering wheel and sighed.

The drive for poor Hamish was a loud one, with Bella carrying on with surprising stamina for one so tiny.

When the house came into sight, it was a welcome relief for Skylar. While Hamish got the new truck parked, she got the old one parked somewhere out of the way, and then made her way out of the car while scrubbing her face. She didnt have to drive again for a while, no sir. Before she left. She remembered to grab her bouquet, and settled it lightly in her arms before heading over to meet Hamish at the new rig.

Hamish turned the car off and opened the door which let the sound of Bella's cries fill the silence on the farm, He opened the back door for Bella, reaching in and unclipping her seat belt, lifting her out of the seat and into his arms. "You're okay look baby, Mommy is here now."

Bella's little face was scrunched up, tiny tear tracks making their way down her smooth and pudgy cheeks as she belted out distressed wails for her mother. Her furrowed brows were drawn tight, arms and legs kicking and thrashing.

Her daughters cries put a pep into her step, the anxieties from her car ride sparking up for an entirely different and hormone driven reason, and Skylar's long legs carried her straight for Hamish. Bella didn’t look hurt, but that didn't stop the flash of new-mothers anxiety that tugged through her. Bella's wails seemed to bother her, and hormones likely didn’t help that. Her fingers flexed, but she managed not to just scoop her up and snag her from Hamish like some mothers might have. She took a breath to steady herself, and gave him a faint but shaky smile. "Can I? Please?" She inquired, motioning to their wailing baby with her hands.

Hamish smiled and passed Bella over to Skylar. "She wasn't happy that you weren’t in the car with her." He said, rubbing Skylar’s back. "She’s okay, babe."

Skylar tucked her against her shoulder, and nuzzled her cheek gently to the top of Bella's head. Their daughter wailed a bit more for good measure, but settled shortly into huffy sniffles as she realized who held her.

Skylar simply pressed soft kisses against Bella's skull, kissing her little horns and rocking her gently. She rumbled soothingly deep in her chest, and glanced up at Hamish. It didn't take but a moment to cuddle into his chest. "I know she is. There's jus' somethin' about tha' cry she was doin'. Just... Set m' teeth on edge. Didn’t help after th' car ride." She brushes her horn gently to Hamish's jaw, tickling it through his beard. "M' sorry ya had t' deal with so much crying." she murmurs softly. All because she was too nervous on the road to drive with her infant in the car with her. Though there's no telling if she wouldn’t have burst into tears without Hamish there either.

Hamish kissed Skylar's head cuddling his wife and daughter against him. "Come on, lets get inside." He said, wrapping his arm around Skylar, leading her inside. He gave Skylar another kiss then flicked the kettle on so the water would boil while he began to load the fireplace with the kindle he had stored next to the fireplace.

Skylar didn't fight being led inside. She moved and settled onto the couch, her body thanking her quietly as she settled down with their baby. She rocked her gently, as she settled back down, and sighed softly as her little fingers clung tightly to her shirt. Skylar watched Hamish work at the fire in the fire place, idly ogling his backside, before smooching Bella one more time, and then carefully shifting her so she could sprawl out across her chest. "If ya give her a lil' bit, She should be ready for daddy cuddles again." Skylar hums quietly to her husband. "I could use some o' those myself, now tha' I think on it."

Hamish smiled over his shoulder and tucked a few fire starters under the kindle, he used a match and lit the fire he gave it a moment to catch walking back to the kitchen and getting out two cups, putting the chocolate powder into the cups her added a small bit of sugar and then the water, he stirred the chocolate powder into the hot water until it turned into a chocolaty liquid.

She had a dozing baby on her chest by the time she was listening to him clinking around in the kitchen. She sighed softly, rubbed Bella's back tenderly, and then stretched her legs out. Her lower parts were sore from all the action of the day. One never knew how much things rubbed until you were raw inside and every motion was painful. Skylar managed to get herself situated so she was half reclined, half sitting against the arm of the couch, with her legs stretched out in the opposite direction. Skylar brushed her lips to Bella's head, kissing her gently and just gently inhaling the soft scent of her baby.(edited)

Hamish walked over and placed both cups down on the coffee table, he smiled in awe at Skylar and Bella then moved to check on the fire. "You feeling okay?" He asked.

The smell of chocolate invaded the smell of Bella, but Skylar sure didn't mind. She glanced up to him and gave him a tired smile. "Tired, sore." Their daughters horns had worked her over inside. But she was able to walk still, so she was fine enough. "But Bella is calmer so I'm calmer." Their sleeping baby was drooling on her shirt, and Skylar couldn't care less. She'd had grosser things on her shirt than baby drool. "I'll do better when I can get m' husband cuddled up t' me too."

He smiled and moved back over, leaning over Skylar to kiss her. "Where do you want me?" He asked, making sure he didn't make Skylar uncomfortable by just sitting down wherever.

She kissed him back tenderly, and smiled up to him, before scooting down on the couch and motioning behind her. "Behind me? I wanna snuggle a bit 'n be held a bit. This way, ya can cuddle Bella to." It would be like when they did the breastfeeding, but more... Reclined and laying down, rather than sitting up. She had felt safe and relaxed like that. He made a good pillow.

Hamish swung his leg over Skylar being careful not to put any of his weight on her, he rolled over behind he and wrapped his arms around her, and Bella. He looked down at the tiny baby and smiled. "Are you happy now, Bella?" He asked.

Bella's little brows were smooth, and her eyes closed as she slept.

Skylar reclined against Hamish, and tucked her head to the side so her horns were out of the way. She smiled softly, and lifted her fingers to lace them with his over Bella's back. "I think so." She murmured softly, sockets drooping contently. She turned her head a little, and nuzzled her face gently against his neck, a content sound leaving her.

He hummed happily and allowed Skylar to nuzzle herself against him, the heat from the fire had begun to warm the house already.

The warmth of the fire felt good against her bones, and her breathing unintentionally began to slow. The smell of chocolate was soothing, and the feel of their baby on her chest with her husband wrapped around her was a very soothing and relaxing sensation. Skylar couldn’t help dozing against him, with her face nuzzled to his neck, his scent and arms surrounding her.

Hamish could have easily fallen asleep in that moment had Bella not stretch out and let rip a pretty awesome sounding fart, Hamish snorted and turned his face into Skylar's shoulder, his face turning red as he tried to keep his laughter quiet as Bella was still sleeping happily, looking rather satisfied with herself actually.

Skylar cracked her sockets open at the fart, and felt Hamish's suppressed laughs against her back. She chuckled softly through her nose. "Oh look. Another thing besides her feet tha' she got from you," she teases sleepily against his neck, sounding equal parts amused and content despite the not so pleasant stink that wafted over them from Bella's fart.

Hamish grinned. "That was bigger than daddy's farts Bella, oh my goodness… How did you do that?" Bella shifted slightly and grunted, squeezing her hands into fists.

The tiny grunt made Skylar open her eyes further, and she peered at her daughter with a thoughtful sound. “Mm… That might not be just a fart,” she murmurs softly, wondering if their sweet little girl was going to load up another one for them to change.

Hamish sat himself up and reached for his cup. "Well if, I'm changing her than I'm drinking this quickly, I don't want her butt to ruin this for me." He said with a laugh, tipping the cup up to his lip and gulping back the warm liquid.

Skylar grunted as she was forced upright with the motion of him sitting up, since she was tucked against his chest. She chuckled, and leaned over as well to get her cup. She tilted her head away from Bella, and sipped at the warm cocoa, enjoying the savory taste. “That’s a good idea. It’s pretty much jus’ like puddin’ in there.” And cocoa looked like watered down pudding, most days.

Bella's eyebrows pushed together and she grunted again, tucking her legs up. "Good girl." Hamish praised, amused by his daughters expression.

Skylar chuckled gently, and rubbed Bella’s back. “She’s going t’ load a good one up for ya. Ya gonna have a good one t’ change.” Skylar enjoys her cocoa quietly, up until the smell of dirty diaper starts to waft up to them. “Yep. Loaded.” She chortles, and puts her cocoa down. No way to drink that with her daughter’s stinky butt perfuming the air.

Hamish put his cup down and slid out from behind Skylar before scooping up Bella. "Alright baby!" He declared. Bella's eyes opened and looked up at him. She looked slightly distressed. Hamish would have been too if he was in a stinky diaper.

He cuddled her against him and took her to her changing table laying her down, he popped the buttons open on her jump suit and gently took her out of it, he opened the tabs on her diaper and opened it slowly. "Oh my goodness stinky girl." He exclaimed. He grabbed at the wipes and lifted her butt into the air so he could wipe her. As always, the moment she was touched by the wet wipes she burst into tears.

Skylar had gotten up to follow after him, and leaned on the door, quietly watching as he dealt with their fussy daughter. This time, her cry wasn’t one of distress- this was her usual ‘I don’t like this, Daddy, make it stop’ cry, and it was one Skylar was quite used to. The cry from the car had been different. All the same, she still wasn’t eager to have her baby too far away. Mama bear instincts, maybe. She watched him with a smile on her face, and chuckled gently. “Stinky girl, jus’ like her daddy.” She grins, wiggling a brow at him. There was a reason that there was an air freshener in the bathroom. Not that her bathroom trips smelled like roses either- but damn. Stinky butts and big feet were something she got from her daddy. She’d be sure to impress all the boys when she got older.

Hamish laughed as he wiped her clean, he folded the wet wipes up inside the diaper and disposed of the whole thing, he bit his lip and grabbed a fresh diaper. "Sky can you check I cleaned her right… I don't want her to get sick because I didn't do it right."

“Sure, sweetheart.” She came closer as he got a fresh diaper, and took a peek at her bottom. She gave her a thorough inspection, and then nodded. “Ya did, yeah. Got her real clean. So long as ya remember t’ wipe towards her lil’ bum, and not her lady bits, you’ll be fine.”

He nodded and laid out the fresh diaper, lifting her butt to slide it under. He powdered her, and then folded the diaper over and taped it closed. "There we go! All clean, beautiful girl." He cooed grabbing her jumpsuit to carefully put it back on her.

Skylar rubbed her little horns in soothing circles to help her calm down, and soon Bella’s whimpering turned to a teary eyed pout as she blearily attempted to stare up at her father while he got her dressed. Skylar laughed. “She really don’ like th’ wipes. Tha’s adorable.”

He chuckled and scoops her up, snuggling her against his chest. "Is she too little to lay her down on the mat thing with the toys that I got her?" He asked.

"We can try? I don't think She's gonna do much playing, but she might find the toys fascinating until she falls asleep." Skylar smiles. She goes to go get it for them and set it up for them in the living room, so they could keep an eye on her and cuddle while they did so.

Hamish followed Skylar, when the mat was brought out he knelt down and laid Bella onto it. She looked a little shocked that she had been put down, her arms curling up to her chest.

Skylar leaned down to gently nudge one of the toys so it would distract her from possibly getting upset about being put down. The toy swung, bright colors gleaming brilliantly.

Her eyes watched the swinging toys, trying to focus on them. Her arms punched up at the swinging toys, knocking a few of them around. She didn't have enough control over her limbs to grab the toys like she wanted too.

Skylar left her to flail at the toys, and returned to the couch. She settled down where she could see Bella, and where Bella could see her if she turned her head. Skylar picked up her cocoa and resumed drinking it.

Hamish added a log to the fire then cuddled up next to Skylar wrapping his arms around her while they watched their daughter.

Skylar tucked her head to his chest, nestling close. She watched Bella with a content look of motherly love as she relaxed.

Hamish yawned and slumped slightly letting his eyes close. "Mmn she's so clever.”

Skylar yawned as well, and kissed his cheek. "She is. She's gonna be a handful... Mmm... She's perfect."

Bella kicked her legs out, enjoying being able to stretch out.

While their daughter stretched out and played, Skylar took the time to finish her cocoa and then catch a small catnap, sleeping lightly and listening for any sounds of distress from her.

Hamish couldn't remover falling asleep but apparently he must have, because he woke up to the sound of...tapping? He groaned and rubbed his face opening his eyes, Bella was asleep. Good. Wait- he didn't remember himself or Skylar putting a blanket on her; a moving blanket, a moving blanket with a wagging tail that was tapping against the floor. "hey!" Hamish said sitting up, both of his dogs lifted their heads off his daughters lap, their tails wagging getting even faster.

Skylar startled awake at Hamish's 'Hey!', and very nearly head butted him as she sat up. She blinked owlishly for a moment, eyes flicking around. They landed on the dogs with the sleeping baby. Bella had her little hands fisted in their fur. A soft smile tilts at her mouth, before she yawns. "She's got a hold on them."

Hamish's panic settled slightly, his dogs where behaved, they had most likely just let themselves in to investigate the little skeleton. He rub his hands over his face and sighed.

Skylar nuzzled her horn to his shoulder and gave him a faint smile. "Its okay, Haz. Bein' nervous with animals around Bella 's perfectly natural. Molly 'n Leroy are good dogs though."

He smiled. "She's probably nice and warm." He laughed, pushing himself up to add more to the fire before it went out.

"Yep." She laughs softly. "And when she's hungry, she'll let us know." Skylar shifts to get up, and yawns, before glancing down. She blinks, and then sighs, before carefully getting up. "I'll be back, sweetheart. Gotta go change m' pad n' pants." Skylar had bled through again. She wasn’t used to using pads- she hadn’t since she'd learned what a tampon was. But pads were her only option right now, and she had bled through it. Ugh. Post pregnancy bleeding was like a period from hell, minus the cramps.

Skylar padded off down the hall to go change, while Hamish kept an eye on Bella.

Hamish moved off the couch and onto his hands and knees crawling over to where Bella was, the dogs got up and padded out of the room, Bella's little grip on Leroy fur tugged her arms slightly when he had gotten up and she whimpered slightly, his fists flailing around her. Hamish pressed his thumb against her palm and forced her fingers open to pick the dog hair out from between her fingers then laid on his belly, just watching her.

Her little eyes opened after some time, fists flexing open as she cooed sleepily. Her head lolled on her neck as she glanced around, and she managed to find the familiar blob of her father. She waved her fists at him, kicking her legs and squirming in place as she let out a soft sound.

"Hi beautiful. What're you doing, huh?" He gently rolled her onto her belly to see what she would think of tummy time.

Her eyes went wide, little mouth popping open as she was set onto her stomach. She wasn't old enough to lift her head yet, so was stuck looking at him, but she didn't seem upset by it. Bella made a soft squeaking sound, kicking her legs lightly as she tried to scoot on the mat. She went no where, of course, but the effort was adorable.

He rubbed her back and laid next to her. "That's my strong girl." He just laid and watched her, fascinated at the way she slowly learnt how to live in the big world outside the safe womb she had lived in for 10 months.

Bella seemed to quite like the idea of her daddy laying with her. It wasn't really directed at him, as she couldn't focus on him all that well yet, but her soft little mouth stretched into a tiny, gummy smile to express how happy she was.

Skylar made it back about then, now clad in a pair of shorts, and smiled at the sight. She leaned on the couch and watched him for a time.

Hamish grinned. "Look at that beautiful smile!" He cooed, brushing his fingers over Bella's little horns.

Her little tongue flicked out slightly, but her smile stayed. Her eyes half lidded at the touch to her horns, and Bella cooed to her daddy, flailing tiny fingers at him as she did so.

Skylar simply beamed. She might not have got the first smile, but seeing Hamish light up at the first one just helped make her day.

Hamish laughed. "What's your little tongue doing? Are you being a silly girl?" He beamed, giving her hand one of his fingers to hold.

Her little fingers closed around his finger, tightening in a strong grip. Bella held her Daddy contently, and gurgled at him happily, her little reddish eye lights gleaming brightly. Bella let rip another fart as her little legs flexed- and her eyes went wide as the loud sound startled her.

Hamish rolled into the rug on the floor laughing again. "Oh no, did that scare you Bella." He rubbed her back, patting her butt gently.

Her little mouth settled into a pout for half a second, before she made a tiny grunt at the pat. Her fingers let go of his, and she reached instead for his beard, the hair reminding her of the strange hairy things that had laid on her and cuddled her.

Hamish Chuckled and lifted her gently, supporting her head and sitting her in a sitting position on his check while he held her there, he spotted Skylar in the doorway and grinned at her.

Skylar grinned back at her husband and watched their daughter with a warm look.

Bella found the new position enthralling, as up this close she could focus enough to see him, but found his beard even more so. Her fingers sunk into it, latching onto the hairs with all of the strength her little baby fingers possessed. She held on with one hand, and patted his face with the other. Her little fingers went right into his nasal cavity, curious about the hole in his face.

Hamish laughed and gently pushed her grabby little fingers away from his nasal cavity. "Look at you." He beamed. "Such a big girl."

Skylar smiled and made her way into the living room. "She's enjoying seeing Daddy for th' first time." She smiles slightly. "Well, as much as she can see ya. Her eyes are probably still pretty blurry. Up close is easier though." She doesn’t lay on her stomach- she still has too much of a pouch for that to be comfortable- but she does sit on the floor next to him, and lean over to knead her hands into his back while he plays with their daughter.

Bella's face scrunches up for a second, her breath puffing inwards for a couple of breaths, and then she proceeds to sneeze right in his face. Her hand twitches and tugs on his beard as she startled herself again with the strange new explosion from her nasal cavity.

"Bless you," Hamish said. Everything she did was a perfect mixture of adorable and hilarious. He loved watching her and the way her face scrunched up when she can't get her limbs to go where she wants them to. She was already so full of personality.

Skylar couldn’t help the soft laugh that left her at her sneeze, and she simply quietly adored their little girl as she loved on her husband.

Bella sniffled a little bit and then stuffed her fist in her mouth to suck on her knuckles. The one hand in his beard remained there for a moment, before wandering to his mouth, soft fingers bopping uncoordinatedly at his lips.

Hamish kissed her little fingers and smiled. watching her trying to hold herself up but relying on his hands holding her to keep her sitting.

Their little girl was absolutely adorable, Skylar decided, as she shifted to sprawl lightly against Hamish and just simply bask. What better way to spend mother’s day, she mused to herself.

Hamish looked at Skylar and beamed. "I love you so much." He said softly then flinched when Bella pulled on his beard.

Skylar smiled lovingly. "I love ya too, Haz." She reached up to gently disentangle Bella's fingers from ripping handfulls of Hamish's beard, instead smoothing her little fingers between her own and distracting her from yanking on his hairs.

Hamish sat himself up and cuddled Bella against his chest. He lent over and pressed his mouth against Skylar's

Skylar met his kiss tenderly, and gave him a loving smile. Her mouth fluttered against his, and she brushed her fingers gently along Bella's back.

Bella turned her head towards Skylar and began punching her little fists out, making snuffling noises, she could hear and see the shape of her mommy and she could smell the way her mommy smelt, and that was enough for her to decide she wanted boobs. She squirmed and scrunched her face up letting out a cry. Hamish pulled out of their kiss and looked down at Bella carefully bouncing her on his lap to try and calm her down, but nope. She wanted mommy now.

The horned cowgirl laughed, and gently leaned in to scoop her up. "It’s been a while since she ate. She's probably hungry." She gives Hamish a lopsided smile. "My boobs can sure tell when its time t' feed." She shifts, and cradles Bella for a moment with one arm, carefully unbuttoning her shirt with the other. Once she's free, she wiggles into Hamish's lap for cuddles, and lifts Bella up to her breast so she can feed. She angles her breast carefully so the baby can latch on.

Hamish's cheeks turned red when Skylar plopped herself down in his lap, his mouth turned up into a smile. He looked over Skylar's shoulder to watch Bella feed.

She stretched out in his lap, her hips shifting against his as she snuggled into him. She hummed a soft tune as Bella nursed, and felt her body relaxing. Much better nursing at home than out where she felt like others could stare at her. She knew the feeling would pass with practice, but she still didn't like it. This though… This, she liked. She liked relaxing in his lap with Bella and just feeling secure and happy.

The warmth of the fire and the comfort of his family had Hamish in bliss. He was loving every moment of Skylar, and now their Bella… If he could live life stuck in this moment, he would.