#i was so lucky to have gotten that glass mace drop

[landgraabbed]

malin doing his best to channel his inner botw link

[thisisawonderfulusername]

let's save the world

season one, episode three

five hargreeves x reader

trigger warnings: cursing, a bit of angst if you squint, violence

summary: five gets his apocalypse lover back and the two of you have a small argument. then, when you’re back at the academy, looking around for clues, you have some visitors.

word count: 2.2k

a/n: bro all this support that i’m getting for this series means so much to me ;-; i don’t want to be all sappy but i used to write on wattpad and like it’s hard to get anyone on there to read your stories, but coming on here really just brought my motivation way up because of how nice you all are :) so thank you, and i hope you like the third part of this series *3*

"you're a fucking idiot." you grumble as you sit at five's side, the medical kit beside you open with it's contents disarranged from the panic you went through as five woke you up, a huge gash in his arm. now, you were helping him clean it up, and you weren't very happy with what he had done with his night.

sighing softly, five glanced at you. "it's not like i died." he defends himself, as if it would help your worrying. "it's just a scratch. it'll heal quick."

glaring at him as you finished stitching him up, you cleaned up all the blood. "’just a scratch’ my ass." throwing the bloodied rag to the side, you grab one of the bandaids, which happened to be designed with 'billy the choo-choo' which would have made you laugh if you weren't angry with him. "all this for a mannequin? seriously?"

that comment irked him, and he stood from the bed, putting his old uniform back on over the tank top he wore. "she's not just a mannequin." he mutters, going to grab the big duffel bag, which you knew 'delores' and various other things were inside.

"i'm glad i didn't go as mad as you." you throw everything back into the box, shutting it and just leaving it on the bed. you knew you'd need it again anyways.

five rolls his eyes as he pushes the window open, and you look at him in confusion. "you above doors now?" you question as he hops out onto the fire escape, quickly following behind.

he looked up at you as he started climbing down the ladder. “we don’t have much time, and this is the quickest way.”

sighing softly, you follow him down, and are met with klaus who was digging through the dumpster. stopping for a moment to look at him, you raise an eyebrow. “having fun?”

he looks to the two of you, a flask in hand as he leans against the edge of the trash. “oh! hey, hey.” he takes a swig, a goofy smile on his face, “you guys need any more company today? i could, uh, clear my schedule.”

five stops just a few feet away, holding onto the straps of the duffel hanging over his shoulders. “looks like you got your hands full.” he nods to the bin he had been digging around in, and klaus pushes himself away from the rim, practically slapping the metal.

“no, no, i can do this whenever. i just-” he suddenly falls down into the dumpster, and you jump slightly, eyebrows furrowing. “i’ve misplaced something.” he calls out as you could hear him rifling around all the trash, and your nose scrunched up at the thought. suddenly he pops back up again, holding up a bagel, taking a bite out of it, “found it!”

you swear you could have thrown up right there. he really was an interesting character. “i’m done funding your drug habit.” the young looking boy says simply, turning on his heel to leave, which you quickly follow.

-

“why are we here again?” you question, leaning back in the seat of the stolen plumbing truck. for some reason, five brought the two of you back to meritech, and you found it useless. “this is a dead end. we don’t know when the eye will be made and we can’t just wait here until the apocalypse comes.”

pursing his lips, five doesn’t take his gaze away from the building as people walk up and down the street, sometimes going inside or leaving. “this eye is our only clue to what makes the world end. we will wait here if it takes the whole week to find out when it’s made and who gets it.”

you groan, letting your head fall back against the cushioned head rest. there was no way in hell that you would wait in this stuffy van for more than a few hours.

slapping your hand against the arm rest, you sit up, “alright, then. you do that.” opening the door, you hop out, looking to five as he finally looks away from meritech.

“where are you going?” he hisses, eyes narrowed in the way that told you he was definitely mad. you just didn’t care at this moment.

brushing your skirt off, you glance around, “i’m not sitting around waiting for something that may not even have anything to do with what happens. so i’m going to look for clues.”

he just looked at you for a moment, obviously in disbelief by what you were saying. “you’re just going to leave me? you don’t trust me?”

at the accusation, you groan. “you’re kidding, right?” you lean against the side of the seat, the door still open next to you. “of course i trust you. i’ve trusted you for over forty years, and sometimes, five, you’re wrong!” you laugh bitterly, motioning to the building across the street. “i’m not going to wait around in hopes that your hunch about this eye is right!”

five just stares at you, eyes slightly widened from your outburst. after a moment, he turns away and looks back to the building. “fine. do what you want.” he mutters, and you almost feel bad about blowing up on him. almost.

“have fun with your mannequin lover.” you grumble, letting the door slam shut behind you as you walk away from the van, determined to figure this out by actually doing something.

-

your day was spent rooting around the academy, looking in every nook and cranny of every single room. the rest of the siblings showed up around noon, and they stood around in the main room, arguing about something that you didn’t care about. it was all useless to you, unless it lead to the end of the world.

now, night had fallen, and you didn’t find a single thing. you thought reginald might have known something. maybe left a clue for the kids to find. but no.

absolutely nothing.

you laid on five’s bed, fingers laced together on your stomach as you stared up at the ceiling. while you were trying to figure out somewhere you might find a hint to what ended the world, you were also worrying about five and how you blew up on him. sure, you two would get over it, but you weren’t sure how angry he was. he could hold grudges, and you knew that very well.

your train of thought was interrupted by gun shots, and your body shot up as your eyes widened. jumping up from the bed, you grabbed the pistol that you had carried around with you from your days at the commission, which you brought with you when you went through that portal. you just hadn’t gotten the chance to use it yet, and you assumed this was it’s shining moment.

running downstairs, the shots got louder, and you cursed under your breath. looking down off the balcony into the main room, where you could see diego curled behind the couch with two people shooting mercilessly at the furniture. before they could notice you, you ran towards the stairs, thinking up a plan for how to deal with this.

they were definitely from the commission. you were absolutely sure of that. the suits they wore, paired with the metallic and colorful animal helmets gave it away. so they were here for you and five. you just didn’t know if they knew of the reverse-aging you guys went through. here’s to hoping.

as you got to the archway, one of the assassins was thrown through it, you barely dodging it as luther followed them out, probably prepared to fight. looking back into the room, you saw allison being choked by the other, and quickly jumped into action.

not wanting to risk shooting the woman, you stick the gun in your skirt’s pocket before jumping onto his back, your hands igniting with flames.

there goes another perfectly good shirt

the burning was enough to get him to let go of allison, but he quickly threw you off of himself, not getting the chance to turn on you as luther came back in and chucked him out the door as well.

all three of the siblings looked at you, breathing heavily and shocked, “what the hell was that?” diego questions, and you groan, pushing your now burnt sleeves up.

“we don’t have time for this right now. let’s deal with these assholes and maybe we can have a nice little pow-wow after.”

the discussion was cut off when the assassins got back up and started firing again, all of you dropping to the floor to avoid the shots and you quickly crawled away, managing to get cover behind the bar. grabbing your pistol, you hear luther and diego shouting at each other and the fire ceases. you assume they scrambled to safety and neither of the assassins wanted to waste bullets.

you heard them converse before they separated, and you noticed one of their shadows approaching from behind the bar. calming your breath, you pull the hammer of the pistol down, hearing the soft click that told you it was ready to fire. as the man rounded the corner, turned away and towards a glass case, you jumped up from your spot, quickly shooting at him and effectively landing a hit on his arm.

with a shout of pain, he turns on you, and though you can’t see his face, you know he’s angry. he holds a mace that he took from the glass case, and you quickly cock the gun again as he makes a move towards you.

“it’s you.” he snarls, and you smirk.

taking a step back, you don’t lower the gun as you grab an empty bottle, “so she did send you.” you state, lunging towards him and smashing the bottle over his head. he stumbled back, the mace swinging around on it’s chain.

a voice calling out from the hall caught your attention, and while he was dazed, you take a glance towards where the arch was, seeing vanya. you curse, taking a shot at the man before sliding over the bar and running to her.

“you can’t be here!” you yell at her, and you’re lucky that luther comes in just in time to stop the man from attacking you once again.

she looked confused, and you didn’t blame her, but you didn’t have time right now. you just had to get her out. you glanced back into the room as the man with the blue helmet lifted luther and threw him to the ground, wincing at the sight.

when he turns to leave the room, you grab vanya and pull her against the wall, steadying your breathing as you somehow managed to go unnoticed when he looked down the halls and turning the other way.

once he disappeared down the hall, you run back into the room to see if luther was okay, not even caring if another attack would happen. as you got to him, the other two came barreling in, allison calling out to him and both of them swinging one of his arms around their shoulders to help him up.

as he stood up, he noticed the woman atop the balcony, a bloodied knife in her hand as she went to cut the rope that held the chandelier up. you didn’t have time to move out of the way and unfortunately luther didn’t have three arms to push all of you away, so it crashed down on both of you, though you got more lucky as it landed on your thigh.

still hurt like a bitch, though.

hissing from the pain, when luther lifts himself up it gives you the wiggle room to pull your leg out from under the chandelier, cursing as you see the blood that surrounds a shard of glass that managed to wedge into the side of your leg.

the room went silent when everyone saw luther’s hairy body, something you never expected to see, and honestly, you wish you didn’t. he runs up the stairs, and you sigh as you fall back, hand wrapped around the glass as you hyped yourself up to pull it out.

a few minutes later, you managed to get the glass out and wrap an old rag around it to hopefully slow the bleeding, and you were ready to pass out from the exhaustion coursing through your veins. you didn’t even care about the fact that your wound may get infected.

you stood from the ground, watching the others as allison and vanya sit down, diego pacing back and forth. when allison asked him if he was okay, he burst, yelling at the two of them before he turned on you. “and what the hell was it that you did?” he hisses, pointing his finger at your singed sleeves, “i don’t remember you having any kind of power like us. so what was that?”

you glare at him, pushing his hand away. “i was lying about the pow-wow.” you state simply before turning away and making your way up the stairs.

-

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[unholyhelbig]

Bellmare | Chapter One

Ship: Beca Mitchell/ Aubrey Posen 

Read on Ao3 here 

Summery:  Aubrey Posen is used to the brutal cold of the city- so after an attempt is made on her life and she has to forcibly relocate to a small southern town seemingly stuck in the 1950s, she's surprised to stumble upon a new case, and an annoying clingy FBI agent who she can't seem to shake.

Aubrey Posen hated the crown molding in her apartment. It clashed abrasively with the dull gray that slathered the walls and descended in four even steps. She thought it was ugly when she found the place but the hardwood floors made up for the inconsistency in eras. So she ignored it and signed the yearlong lease. She never tended to look up anyway, so what was the harm?

The crown molding was the only thing that she could focus her stare on now. She had read through the paperwork and she couldn’t take a sledgehammer to it even if she wanted to. It made her angry, and she thought she was frowning but couldn’t be sure, because that hideous crown molding wouldn’t be the last thing she saw before everything went dark.

She could smell the greasy odor of the sesame chicken she had ordered from the restaurant down the street as it wafted from the counter. It mixed nicely with a new metallic kind of scent- and Aubrey didn’t’ realize what it was at first.

Getting shot didn’t hurt.

Not the pure action of a lead bullet entering the soft area of her stomach, or the one that hit her knee. It felt like the time right before Christmas when her family took photos on the beach, before dusk. There were horseflies that had no mercy for them- and their bites stung, but they weren’t debilitating. Not in the slightest.

But now her stomach burned and her mouth filled with blood, and she was staring at that stupid crown molding. So it wasn’t an insect with a vengeance, not in the dead winter in New York City. It couldn’t be; so the logical connection was that she had been shot. Twice.

There was broken glass from her balcony and a draft. She felt cold and tired and the front door was left open to the hallway because that was the way that the man had exited. He had missed her the first time, but she was an easy target, standing still in nothing but shock.

She flexed her fingers and wiggled her toes and realized that she wasn’t paralyzed. She could feel every breath move through her lungs and the discomfort of her spine pressing against the wood floor. Aubrey was in and out of consciousness and she couldn’t’ tell for how long. Not initially.

Aubrey had memorized her neighbor’s habits; what times she came and went from classes at the local community college. It wouldn’t be long before she padded up the stairs, refusing to take the elevator, no matter how secure, and found her door open. But she wondered half-heartedly if she would make it that long.

Had she done everything she hoped for in life? She had gotten good grades, had gone backpacking around Europe a year after she graduated college with a bachelor's, traveling was always good. And she had powered through all three years of law school. She hadn’t gotten married, but that was fine. Not many people do, and nowadays something like that didn’t last.

Aubrey had graduated to a prosecuting attorney and had convicted so many people; including the Ripper of Manhattan- that was her golden case, the one that put her in the running to become a DA. One more case and she had it in the bag, one high profile case.

She supposed, as she lay on the hard wooden floor staring at the spotty architecture, that this was a possibility. Something that wasn’t quite a robbery, something that was intentional. Aubrey Posen wasn’t dense, she knew that she had made enemies, that this last court case was a rough one, the whole city was watching.  

Her consciousness wavered again and she felt a cold puddle of blood soak into her shirt. She had hung her blazer against the back of the chair. But she was oddly content- tired if anything. But she was sure that had to do with the 60 hour work weeks.

There was a jingle of keys and the muffled sound of music. Jessica was home and she had removed a headphone. The girl was probably staring tentatively at the open door and Aubrey hoped desperately in her solitude that her fingers were visible. That any part of her was.  

“Bree?” She called out, her words strung together. “I have mace!”

Mace. Aubrey would have scoffed if she could, but everything was becoming harder to do and that acid burn in her abdomen hissed with every breath. She listened as her neighbor walked cautiously into the apartment. It wasn’t long before she spotted her.

“Holy shit, Aubrey!” She felt Jessica drop to her knees, felt her hands, cold from the winter night, on the side of her face, and then on her neck as she pressed for a pulse. She didn’t mind the blood or the fluttering of Aubrey’s eyes “Help! We need help in here!”

She scrambled for her phone, dialing 911 fast. There were more footsteps and the scent of chicken still lingered like a bad hangover. Jessica stayed by her side, and a male voice countered her own. She swore she felt someone pushing down on her chest but latched onto the familiar voice instead.

“…719 East Ord Street- yes, we’re on the second floor. My neighbor has been shot I don’t know how long she’s been here I just found her. Yes, she has a pulse, it’s weak. Please- you have to hurry.” There was a hand on her shoulder, squeezing “You’ve got to keep your eyes open for me, okay? Someone will be here soon.”

When was this place built? The molding shouldn’t be this out of style. It doesn’t match the stainless steel of the appliances or the nice wooden floor. It clashed with her throw pillows, and she’s bought at least seven different ones just to make it acceptable. But nothing was.

           She doesn’t remember waking up. It’s not something Aubrey put too much thought into until it came into question whether she would or not. There was an uncomfortably bright light that buzzed like a trapped fly above her head and a television in the corner of the puke-colored room that played soap operas.

Aubrey could tell from the bad acting and the grainy quality of the scene in front of her. She knew she was in a hospital room; the beeping of the monitors and the IV that was taped roughly to the top of her hand gave that away. They could never find a vein in her arm because it was right on top of a nerve. She hated getting blood drawn, and hated ones lodged into her tendons even more.

She blinked a few times, focusing on the dotted ceiling tiles as she moaned. Not so much from the pain, which was ever-present, but from the stiffness of her body. The heart monitor picked up, and whoever had turned on the television in the first place flicked it off.

“Easy,” Jessica’s voice came from the side of the bed, and an instant wave of calm washed over her body. “You’ve been through a lot.”

Her bed was somewhat propped, facing the busy hallway. It must be evening, she assumed. From the lack of nurses at the station directly across from them. There was a guard sitting in a metal chair in front of the glass windows, skimming through a magazine that she couldn’t’ quite read.

A cynical part of Aubrey expected more people to be here. There was a vase of purple flowers on a side table that had begun to welt and a card that had her practices logo on the side of it. Jessica had her laptop open to a school assignment- and she didn’t’ know what else to expect. She didn’t’ have very many friends in the city unless the wardens at the prison counted. She became well acquainted with them each time she walked through the doors to speak to a client.  

“Where am I?” She asked, regardless.

“A Hospital in Baltimore, you had an accident.”

An accident? She supposed that was the simple way of putting it. It had been no accident, though. Someone was sitting on her couch when she walked through her front door. They knew where she lived when she would get home. Who she was, and they easily raised a 9mm and fired off three rounds.

“How long have I been here?”

“Three weeks.” Jessica frowned, trying to remember the exact time “You’ve had twelve surgeries. It’s a miracle that you’re even here right now.”

Aubrey didn’t’ think it was quite a miracle, but she still held her life in her hands. What a life it was, so focused on trial after trial. She lifted her chin weakly at the guard “Who’s that guy?”

Her neighbor hesitated and then let out a small breath “He’s here for your protection. They still don’t know who shot you.”

There was a thick form of tension in the room and Aubrey felt her fingers curl around the fabric of the bed. The needle in her hand tugged so she unwound them. “What are you not telling me, Jess?”

Her neighbor stepped away from the bed and flicked on the television again. This time she changed the channel to the news; a generic reporter stood in front of their apartment building. His eyes were dark and tired, a hat pulled down over his hair, and his nose red and raw. She struggled to focus her eyes on the moving text at the bottom of the screen. It used to be so easy to listen to the monotone words and the flashing subtitles.

MANHATTAN PROSECUTOR FOUND SLAIN. KILLER STILL AT LARGE.

She didn’t’ understand; the television continued to drone on but she wasn’t listening. Had this been a serial attack? Was she a lucky one out of all of the lawyers in the city? She wasn’t aware of anyone else in their building having a background in law.

Her heart monitor must have picked up its pace because Jessica’s hand was wrapped around hers, calming and warm and grounding. “Hey, hey, relax. You’re here, okay?”

“They’re talking about me?”

She nodded “Aubrey, you were the last on a long list of people. The case you’re working on, all of the witnesses… they weren’t as lucky as you.”

She swallowed the cotton taste in her mouth and made a small noise. There was always a danger to her job, angry people with access to firearms. She didn’t flinch at the profanities shouted at her as she walked down the halls of the state facility, or the horrible articles spread about the people she put away being innocent. But she never expected this, never wanted this.

“I don’t understand” She whispered, frowning.

“They needed to make it look like you died, Aubrey.” Jessica explained, her voice was soft and sad “for your protection, you can’t stay in Manhattan. Not anymore.”

[mapleleafstrash]

Mason - Morgan Rielly

Anonymous said: Morgan Reilly one where you have a son together from your teen years but you aren't together and he didn't know.

A/N: Thinking this might become a multi-part imagine, so I purposely left it open. Let me know if you think I should continue :)

Requested: Yes/No

Characters: Morgan Rielly

Words: 3,422

Warnings: None

"Mommy I really want to go to the game with Uncle Simon! Please!"

You sighed, and closed your eyes tight as all possible scenarios swirled through your head. They were all negative by the way.

Your five-year-old, well almost six-year-old son Mason pouted as he watched you contemplate your decision.

Your best friend, Simon, or well, Uncle Simon to Mason, stared at you as well. You were angry, livid more like it. You had done everything in your power to keep Mason away from the game of hockey, yet Simon had knowingly gone against your wishes. The worst part about this was the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs were in town tonight.

You lived in Vancouver, and had for your entire life. That's where you had met your first love, Morgan Rielly. Yes, that Morgan Rielly.

It was a typical teenage relationship. Full of passion with zero thinking in regards to any repercussions that may come about due to your reckless ways. The repercussion that had occurred was you getting pregnant at the age of seventeen.

And you never told Morgan.

When you found out you were pregnant, Morgan had already departed to Moosejaw to play for his junior team. You had both previously agreed to end your relationship purely due to the distance and the pressures Morgan would be undoubtedly facing. So, by the time you found out you were carrying Mason, you knew it was too late to say anything. You didn't want to ruin his upcoming professional career. You didn't want to take away his pride and happiness. Most of all, you didn't want to be the one to crush his childhood dream.

You still watched Morgan however. You had watched him play world juniors, you had watched him get drafted, and you regularly kept up with the Leafs during their seasons. You silently always rooted for Morgan Rielly, the now assistant-captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In another life, maybe things might have worked out, but in this one, you knew it was impossible.

Some who knew of the situation claimed you were selfish, while others argued you were selfless. Either way you didn't care. The only person’s opinion that mattered to you now was that of your son.

Your adorably cute, blonde-haired, blue-eyed little boy.

The same one who was currently starring you down and giving you his puppy-dog look.

You felt your heart waiver at the sight, and you groaned, causing Mason to jump up in victory. He knew he got you.

"Fine," you grumbled, "but you are to listen to Uncle Simon. No matter what. Understand?" You questioned, and Mason nodded enthusiastically.

"Good, go get ready bud," Simon then finally spoke, causing Mason to squeal with joy as he bolted around the corner and bounded up your staircase.

Pursing your lips towards your so-called friend, Simon sighed, "c'mon Y/N, please don't be mad,”

"Oh I'm not mad," you spoke, crossing your arms, "I'm livid Simon,"

"I'm sorry I wanted to do something nice for the kid," Simon groaned, putting his arms up in defeat.

"You went behind my back and then put me on the spot in front of Mace, and I honestly don't appreciate it at all," you explained, giving him a harsh look.

"You know he loves the Canucks babe," Simon argued, which caused you to roll your eyes.

"Fine. Fine okay, yes he loves the Canucks, and it's fine to take him to a game I suppose. By why of all nights would you choose this game?! You could've gone another night Simon!" You seethed, starting to feel anxious at the thought of your little boy witnessing his father in the flesh.

Simon looked towards you, "of all things, he's what you're worried about?"

"Yes!" you painfully admitted.

"Mason isn't going to find out Y/N," Simon told you blandly.

"And Morgan?" you asked, gritting your teeth.

Simon growled, "who cares?! How in the world is Morgan going to figure everything out when he's busy playing a god damn hockey game?!"

"I don't know Simon! Which is why I'm freaking out! What if Mason finds out?!" you bit back, your nerves getting the better of you.

"Like he's going to put two and two together Y/N, he's five!" Simon cried out, "and Morgan Reilly is totally going to see him up in the nose bleeds and think, oh my god, that's my kid! You're being ridiculous,"

You sighed, feeling tears linger close to falling down your cheeks. Taking a deep breath, you dropped down onto the arm of your couch and rubbed your temples, trying to relax. Simon was right. You were overreacting. There was no way Morgan and Mason would figure anything out. However, a small part of you felt guilty.

You wanted so badly to take your little boy to the game and point out number forty-four from the Leafs. It was killing you to keep this from Mason. He was getting older, and the topic of Mason's father had come up once or twice, but you had played coy and could so far deflect any questions your five-year old had asked. 

"Have you ever considered like, reaching out?" Simon's voice asked, breaking you from your thoughts.

"Every day," you muttered back bitterly.

But you couldn't, and you knew that better than anyone.

"Mommy!"

Looking over, you smiled brightly towards Mason, who had re-appeared into the room, wearing his little Canucks jersey. He had gotten it as a present this past Christmas.

"You look so handsome Mace," you gushed to your son, as he bounded towards you and jumped into your outstretched arms. Snuggling him in close, you placed a kiss onto the crown of his head and rubbed his back. 

"Why don't you come with us? You haven't been to a game in years Y/N," Simon suggested, causing Mason to sit up and look at you with bright eyes. 

"Yeah Mommy! You can come too!" Mason squealed, grinning his pearly white baby teeth towards you.

You pursed your lips. Simon had mentioned the seats were in the nosebleeds, which did comfort you slightly. But the thought of being in the same building as Morgan made you feel uneasy. You still carried feelings for him, and hadn't once strayed from them, even after all these years. I mean, how could you? You had given birth to his doppelganger. You were never going to be able to escape from Morgan Rielly.

An hour later, you found yourself tightly gripping Mason's small hand in yours. Walking in the downtown area had always made you nervous, especially when you had Mason with you. Simon was walking in front of you two, leading the way.

As you entered the arena, Mason became very excited. His blue eyes wandered the arena hallways in astonishment. Every time you passed a player's poster or a merchandise kart Mason was quick to point it out to you. You just nodded and smiled towards your son, playing along.

When you were about to hop onto the escalator to take you up to towards the upper deck, Simon's hand caught you on the shoulder. Looking back at him questionably, Simon gave you a sheepish grin.

"Aren't we going up?" You asked, feeling confused.

"Well, not exactly," Simon admitted, "we're actually down in the lower bowl."

"Excuse me?" you gritted out, not wanting Mason to catch on to the situation.

"Well I had to switch the tickets around so I could get three. These were the only one's I could get," Simon explained, handing you the three tickets. "They're row seven, but they're off to the side. Mason can sit on the end because they back onto the player's tunnel and he can watch them skate out," 

You firmed your lips together and tried to compose yourself. "They're on the Canucks side, right?"

Simon sent you a clearly forced smile and chuckled awkwardly, "and if they're not?"

Your eyes widened. You were going to kill Simon. Just as you were about to open your mouth, Mason tugged on the bottom of your jacket, "Mommy, can we go soon? I want to watch warm-ups,"

"Yeah let's go Mace!" Simon chirped, pushing past you and grabbing Mason's hand before heading towards your section, escaping your fury and causing you to have no choice but to follow along.

Once you were at the summit of the section, your eyes widened suddenly as Mason charged his way down to the bottom of the rink. "Mason slow down!" You yelled down towards him, using your quote on quote, 'mom voice.'

"Babe he's fine, he's just excited," Simon called up to you, as he was a few rows down from you, casually following your rambunctious son.

Watching Mace with a careful eye, you let out a breath once he reached the glass unharmed. He stood watching the players in awe. He placed his little hands up against the glass and stood up on his tippy toes as he observed the Leafs participating in their warm-up.

Step by step, you watched the multiple white jersey's skate circles around their side of the rink. Stopping at the seventh row, you walked down the lane and sat down in your designated seat while Simon went to stand with Mason. Your Y/E/C coloured eyes slowly scanned the ice and came to a halt when they landed on the number forty-four. 

You watched Morgan skate around and perform his routine. Skating in and out around the hash-marks, stretching near the player's bench, and practicing his wrist shot on goal. Nothing had changed. He even skated past Mason, and a bunch of the other children who were observing his warm-up, and made sure to toss several pucks over the glass.

You couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through your body when Mason had been lucky enough to catch one of the pucks. He jumped up and down and held the puck in his hand up high, as if he'd just won the greatest prize in the world. 

"Mommy look!" Mason squealed, holding out the puck towards you as he began his small journey up the concrete stairs to you.

"That's great baby," You told your son, sending him a smile.

"Yeah! Number forty-four gave it to me, did you see him?" Mason asked you, running down your aisle, and sounding incredibly proud of his new prize.

You nodded as he finally made it towards you, "I saw him baby,"

"I'm going to cheer for him, he seems really cool" Mason said, as he plopped down onto the seat next to you, and examined the puck in his tiny hands, looking towards the object in bewilderment.

Looking back down and watching Simon make his way up to the both of you, you couldn't help the feeling you were being watched. Shifting your gaze past your friend and back towards the ice, your heart stopped.

A shaky breath escaped past your lips when you suddenly met icy-blue eyes. It felt as if everything had come to a halt, and there was nobody else in the entire arena. Even though he was over one hundred feet away, his eyes had somehow still found yours, and your heart fluttered in a way you hadn't felt in years. 

Looking away quickly, you prayed Morgan hadn't recognized you. Maybe he had just been watching Mason celebrate being given a puck, or maybe it had just been a fluke and he was just looking around the crowd. 

You sent a side eye back towards Morgan moments later and he had begun skating again, allowing you to let out a sigh of relief. There was no way he could tell it was you, not after all these years.

"I'm going to go grab a drink, did you two want anything?" Simon asked, drawing you out of your thoughts.

"Can I have a slushie?" Mason asked, looking towards you rather than Simon.

"How about we just have water for now, and then after the game we can get ice cream?" You bargained, raising an eyebrow towards your little boy. He pursed his lips in thought causing you to chuckle.

"Deal," Mason decided, holding out his hand to shake on it, something the both of you did frequently.

"Two waters, got it," Simon smiled, before promising to be back before the game started.

You sat in silence with Mason, who continued to watch the Leafs skate around the ice. He was absolutely entranced. It was only a matter of time before you expected him to ask you if he could play himself. This game was definitely going to fuel his growing passion for the game of hockey.

You sighed when you felt your phone going off in your coat pocket, and pulled it out hastily. Looking at the screen, it was your boss, and due to the type of work you were employed in, you knew you had to answer.

"Hello?" you questioned, slightly turning your body away from Mason, trying not to disturb him.

"Y/N! How are you?" your manager Cindy questioned.

"I'm good Cindy, just out with Mason," you explained, hoping to hint to her that your call needed to be short.

"Ah that's nice," she spoke, "are you able to work this Saturday? I know it's not in your availability due to your son, but Ashley called in and said she wouldn't be able to come in over the next few days, strep throat apparently," Cindy sighed.

You closed your eyes and thought. You really didn't want to be away from Mason longer than you already normally had to be, but money was tight for you at the moment, and even an extra four or five hours would make a difference. "How long is the shift? If it's only for a few hours my Mom might be able to take Mason for a bit," you told her, causing her to squeal in delight.

"I just need at least four hours. Just eight to twelve," she explained.

You gritted your teeth before sighing, "I'll be there at eight, but I can't stay any longer,"

"Perfect! I'll see you then Y/N! Thanks again!"

*Beep Beep*

Rolling your eyes, you ended the call and leaned your head back. God, you needed to find a new job.

"Oops,” you heard Mason utter.

You turned back to your left, but Mason wasn't sitting in his seat. Turing back the other way your eyes widened.

Mason had jumped down over the seat and into the row below of you, following after his rolling puck. He must've dropped it while he was playing around with it. As the puck spiraled over the edge of the row and into the player's hall, Mason immediately ducked down under the safety barrier, causing your heart to stop.

"Mason don't!" You cried out, as you yourself jumped down into the next row, reaching out to grab your son. 

As Mason's body tumbled down after his beloved puck, a flash of white caused your breath to hitch, as your son's small frame landed into the arms of one of the Leafs players who had just happened to be heading down towards their dressing room. Placing your hand over your heart, you shook your head as tears threatened to spill from your eyes. 

"You need to be more careful bud, you could've hurt yourself," you heard a familiar voice say, the same voice you had heard in your dreams almost every night for the past six years. 

You held your figure up against the guard rail and stared down in shock as Morgan placed your son safely onto the ground. Not realizing the severity of the situation, Mason just nodded towards Morgan before he ran down the hallway to retrieve his lost puck. 

"I am so sorry," you suddenly spoke, causing Morgan's eyes to dart up towards you.

He blinked twice as he stared at you. "Y/N?" he suddenly questioned, looking at you in disbelief.

"Mommy! I got it! I got my puck!" Mason exclaimed as he ran back to stand directly below you.

You sent him a soft smile, "that's great baby,"

Morgan looked back down towards Mason and then back to you. You could tell his thoughts were swirling, and he was quickly putting two and two together. Your worst thought had come true. You hadn't wanted to tell Morgan like this, if ever. 

"Mr. Number forty-four sir?"

Morgan looked down at Mason, and your son grinned at him, "I know I'm wearing the wrong jersey, but I'm cheering for you tonight,"

Morgan smiled suddenly, breaking his dazed facial expression. "Well why don't we fix that?"

You were taken a back. That wasn't the reaction you were expecting at all. Morgan lifted his eyes towards you, "if it's okay with your mom, I can take you into the dressing room and get you a jersey,"

Mason's eyes lit up and he looked towards you in hope. You opened your mouth to speak but no words could come out. You were full of emotions and your brain was screaming at you to run, but you couldn't. You were frozen.

"That's fine, we'll be right here when you get back," Simon's voice spoke, as you felt him place a reassuring hand on your shoulder. 

Mason jumped up in glee, pumping his fist in the air. You caught Morgan's eyes shift towards Simon, or rather his hand, but he just nodded and led your son down the corridor and out of your sight.

Returning to your proper row, you took a seat and sat absolutely astonished. What had just happened?

"Y/N? Y/N are you okay?" Simon asked you, looking at you in concern.

"I don't know," you muttered, "I honestly don't know,"

If you could scream and cry you probably would. How could this happen? Did the world just hate you this much? You feared the worst and look at what had happened? Morgan had not only met Mason, but he also knew that he was your son. Did he suspect he was his son too? You placed your head in your hands, and you felt Simon rub your back in support.

"Mommy! Uncle Simon! Look what Mr. Morgan got me!"

You looked up and wiped away the few stray tears that had gotten away from you. Morgan had lifted Mason back over the barrier and was watching as your son ran up the stairs to both you and Simon, a brand-new Leafs jersey, which was also signed by multiple players, now being worn on his back. 

You sent him a soft smile as he proudly showed off his new jersey, and giggled as Simon acted shocked as he pointed out all the amazing players that had signed his jersey. "You got Auston Matthews to sign your jersey?! That's worth lots of money Mace," Simon said, causing Mason to smirk, "I met him too,"

"You met Auston Matthews?!" Simon asked playfully, widening his eyes towards the giggling Mason.

Looking away from the two, you caught Morgan staring back. His eyes met yours as he walked back down the tunnel slightly, and stopping directly below you. 

"I considered burning it, but I thought you'd want it back," Morgan said, as he lifted Mason's little Canucks jersey up to you.

You smiled slightly, "Thank you,"

"It was no problem Y/N." Morgan shrugged, before looking back towards Mason, a look of longing mounting his features. You suddenly felt intensely guilty. Maybe keeping Mason away from Morgan was a mistake. 

"Look I really want, well need to talk to you but I have a game in ten. Is there anyway I can meet up with you after?" Morgan asked, staring towards you pleadingly. 

"Morgan," you sighed, firming your lips.

"He doesn't have to come, if that's what you're worried about. But I just, I just really want to talk Y/N," Morgan admitted, sending you a sad smile.

You sighed, and were about to answer when you felt Mason's hands land on your lap. Looking down at your son, he beamed over the railing towards Morgan, "Mommy promised me ice cream after the game, so you can come too!"

You blinked in shock. Your heart was melting as you looked at your little boy, who stared back at you, his face hopeful, "Can't he Mommy? Please?"

Your lips curved upwards towards Mason, how could you say no to him? 

"If that's what he wants, then you're more than welcome to invite him Mason," you replied, looking back down towards Morgan, who wore a soft smile.

"I'd love to,"

[fallen029]

Parenthood. Beach Retreat.1

"You're a baby, Pike. That's how come you have to sit in Mommy's lap."

"Nate," Mira sighed. "Leave your brother alone."

It was true enough. Pike, at all of three years old, was being a baby. Nate was sure even he would have to admit that. The thing was though that Pike just didn't like change. Or being new places. And, as it was, he was going to a very new place.

They were riding a train which, usually wasn't that big of deal. They'd just go to another town to have lunch or shopping or something and be back home before nightfall. That wasn't the case that day as they'd taken not only luggage with them, but also all his aunts and uncles. Ever and Elfman and Lisanna and Bickslow. Even Freed was somewhere on the train.

Not sitting with them though. They were off in other parts of the train. He could see Elfman and Evergreen, only a few rows over, but Bickslow and Lisanna were nowhere to be found. He saw them and Freed board though.

Oh. And his cousin Mace was with them. He was sitting with them. Across from him, in fact, with his brother Nate. Pike was sitting in his mother's lap, snuggled up to her. Another huge cause of his anxiety was probably his father, who was next to him, white knuckled and looking queasy. He was never good at riding on the train, but the one they were on that day seemed to be rather long and watching the man was not putting Pike at ease.

At all.

Then, of course, there was the fact that he didn't know where his poor doggy was. They'd taken him with them, but when they got there, they had to put him in a cage which, for the record, the dog had not liked. Pike and Nate hadn't liked it much either. Or Mace. It wasn't fair. Their doggy was just as much a part as the family as any of them. How could they shove him in a crate and just forget about him?

Huh?

Pretty easily for Nate.

Err, rather, Laxus had explained to the boy that there was nothing they could do, it was protocol, and yes, fine, Natsu's stupid cat got to ride on the train, but what could Laxus do? Their dog didn't talk. He was just an animal.

Which Pike didn't like. Though Nate seemed to find a difference between Carla, Happy, and Lily from their doggy, he did not see one at all. So what? They had wings and possessed human characteristics. What difference did it make? Their doggy was their best friend! How could they ditch him?

"It's true," Nathan argued with Mira. "He's being a baby. And it's not-"

"Nathan," Laxus growled though he didn't open his eyes or move from his slouched position. "Leave your brother alone. And don't argue with your- Oh jeez."

Nathan and Mace both snickered as the slayer shifted, moaning loudly. Mirajane though just reached over with the hand that wasn't snuggling Pike to rub the man's arm.

"You okay, dragon?"

Grunt.

"I know you wanted to use your Lightning Body, but it was just too long a distance. I didn't want you to get stuck somewhere or use up all your magic or-"

"Demon," he groaned. "Just shut up."

"You're not nice," Nathan complained from his seat across from them. "Don't be mean."

"Nate, just let him be," Mira hummed as Pike nuzzled his head against her chest. "We'll only be on this train for a bit longer. Then you boys will get to see just how great this vacation will be."

Pike wasn't so sure. They'd never gone on such a big trip before with everyone. And though Mira kept insisting it was a vacation, he was concerned that they'd packed so much. Not to mention the last straggler that had come along.

"You don't look too well, boy," Makarov remarked as he happened to pass the aisle then, coming from the bathroom no doubt. "Don't tell me you need me to sit here and hold your hand?"

"Screw off, Gramps," Laxus growled though Nate, Mace, and Pike all wanted the man to come sit with them. He could probably fit between the older two boys, on their side of things, but with a snicker and a look from Mirajane, the elderly man went on.

He was just lucky that he was allowed to come with them on the vacation, really. Laxus had been stark against it at first, but somehow, he'd weaseled his way in. It wasn't every day that the old man got a free trip down to a beach house to spend some great time with his great-grandsons.

Not to mention all those bikini-clad women…

Hehehe.

After the man walked off, Pike whine some more before closing his eyes and praying for sleep. That's all he wanted then. To go to sleep. And he did.

The next time he awoke it was to Mirajane setting him down.

"Can you walk?" he heard her ask as his eyes, still heavy with sleep, struggled to open. "Mommy's gotta carry something else."

When he forced his eyelids opened finally he found that they were no longer on the train. Instead, they were at the station everyone gathered around then. He could hear Bickslow snickering loudly and teasing Aunt Ever as she hissed in return though most of her words were directed at Elfman as she complained about having to carry one of her bags.

There was a far more important noise though that took the three-year-old's attention.

"Hi!" He was animated then as he ran the short distance from Mirajane (she had her arms full of luggage and wasn't able to grab him) and over to where his father was, their prized dog with him. On a leash though which he knew the doggy hated, but what could be done? "Hi!"

"Pike," Laxus grumbled. "You don't run from your mother."

Nate was there with him too, petting the dog. He had his little backpack of some of his stuff on his back. Mace did as well. At the sight of his brother, Nate moved to hand off a much smaller backpack that was on the ground next to him.

"Here, Pike," he said. "You gotta carry your own stuff. Else you get a spankin'."

"What?" Mira was over there then and glared at Laxus. "Did you tell them that?"

"I… Demon, shush. We gotta go. Is everyone- Damn it, Bickslow. Leave Ever alone and get your shit. We're leaving."

"Watch your mouth, dragon," Mira said, giving him a look before looking down at the boys. To Pike, she said, "Mommy has to help carry stuff. Can you carry your little bag, baby? And hold onto Master's hand?"

Huh! Gramps! How had he forgot about the man? When he took to looking around he found him standing with Lisanna and rushed over to him to do just that. Daddy seemed like he was taking care of the doggy, after all.

"Hello, boy," Makarov greeted as the little boy slipped a hand into his. "You have a good rest?"

Meh. He'd had better. Not to mention, though he'd gotten a boost from seeing his doggy, he was starting wind back down. He was sleepy.

After explaining this to Gramps in his broken English, the old man let him ride up on his shoulders to save him from walking so much. Laxus scolded him when he saw it, said that Gramps was too old to carry him around, but Makarov only waved the younger man off.

Pike really liked his grandfather. He was very funny. And it made Nate so jealous to see him on the man's shoulders. It was great.

"Wow," Bickslow remarked when, after walking for what felt like ever, they arrived at the place. "This is great. How do you know this guy again, Ever?"

"Yes," Freed remarked as they all came to a stop in front of the beach home. "What sort of person just offers up such a place like this for free?"

"Someone who owed me a favor," she remarked as she sat what was in her arms down before bounding up the stairs, digging her key out of her pocket to let them in. "That's all."

"Favor, huh?" Lisanna, who was standing with her boyfriend, elbowed him. "What sorta favor would spark something like this? Hmm?"

"That is what I'm wondering."

Elfman frowned at them. "What are you implying?"

"Not that this isn't fun," Laxus grumbled, "but I gotta take a leak."

That was the only thing that the little boys understood and it made them all giggle. Mirajane only frowned at her husband though.

"Behave," she said as, after dropping what she was carrying, she moved to go take Pike off his grandfather's shoulders. "All of you. We have another week and a half together. Don't start fighting now."

Pike was most interested in all the sand that was everywhere. He'd played in sandboxes before, but this was his first time at a beach. On the walk there he'd seen the ocean and, man, it looked so big. And scary. Nerve-wracking.

Not for Nate though. He and Mace were far more concerned with the house as, just from the front of it, it was impressive. It had a huge front deck and looked bigger than either of the boys'. Considering Nate lived in a tiny apartment with his parents, brother, and dog while Mace lived in a tiny home with his father and mother (an old one at that which was previously owned by Mirajane, that had been practically ancient even then), the house was a mansion as far as they were concerned. It even had a second floor!

"Come on then," Ever sighed as she got the door open. "Let's- Hey! Don't you all run me over!"

Laxus was though, gonna run over all of them if he had to. He needed to get to a bathroom and fast.

"He's silly, huh?" Mirajane giggled to Pike who just watched in shock.

In his rush Laxus had dropped the dog's leash and, overjoyed by this, the doggy took to running in right behind all the others.

"Wow!" When he got in there, Nathan ran right through the front room to an open, connecting one. The entire back wall was glass, giving them the perfect view of the ocean beyond. "Look! Mommy!"

"I see," she giggled as he left his face pressed against the glass, Mace rushing to do the same. Ever had to grin too as Elfman got left lugging all the baggage the others had dropped outside into the house.

"So," Bickslow asked as he took to looking around, his wooden babies following Lisanna as she went to look around the place. "What's the room situation?"

"Elf and I get the biggest one," Ever said. "We already talked about that. You all remember that."

Her saying that stemmed mainly from the fact that they all knew if Laxus claimed pre-eminence, they would all give it to him and Mirajane. No matter how old they got, he'd always be the top in the Thunder Legion's hearts.

"Yeah," they heard a grumble from the slayer down the hall where he no doubt was coming out of the bathroom. Mirajane was the one that was forcing him to go along with that. "We know."

"Then you guys get to fight over the other bedrooms," she said. "Remember? Just make sure you leave one for Master."

"What?" Makarov glanced over at her with a frown. "You think that I can't fight for my own place?"

"There's a bedroom next to that bathroom I just got outta, Gramps," Laxus said as he came back into the room, looking much more relieved. Then again, he kind was. "You can have that bedroom. You said there were four bedrooms right, Ever? Then a den with a pullout couch Bickslow and Lisanna can share-"

"I do not understand," Bickslow growled, "how come me and Lissy automatically get-"

"Because you two are low on to the totem pole," Laxus grumbled. "You think you'd be used to it."

"Yeah, but Freed's only by himself," he argued. "So how come he don't-"

"Because I am me," Freed told him simply with a glare. "And you are you. Surely you have grasped that by now."

"And the boys can sleep in the living room. We bought them sleeping bags," Mirajane finished with a sigh. "Or in bed with their parents."

"I wanna sleep with Bickslow!" Mace was running back to them then, holding his arms above his head as he jumped at the seith.

"Me? You choose me? Huh?" Bickslow caught the five year old easily, lifting the giggling boy into his arms. Lisanna was finished inspecting the downstairs then and came back with the man's dolls who took to circling around him in excitement.

"Can we go to the beach now?" Nate was still in the other room, face muffled as he pressed it against the glass. "Mommy?"

"Not yet, Nate," Laxus answered. "We gotta get settled. Then I'll take you down to the water, huh?"

"And we have to go to the store," Ever said as, when Elfman finally got all the stuff in the house, she just pointed upwards, as if gesturing to the second floor.

"What?" the muscular man asked.

"What do you mean what? Take everyone's stuff upstairs," she said. "Other than Master's. He's down here."

Growling, Elfman said, "I ain't no lackey, woman! I-"

"We can help," his son, Mace, offered as Bickslow dropped him gently on the ground. Helping sounded great. To Nathan too, though that was more because he thought if they hurried things along, he could get to doing what he wanted.

"Store?" Bickslow complained with a frown. "Why do we gotta go to a store?"

"To get groceries, Bicks," Lisanna sighed. "And hey, the den's this way, so let's take our stuff in there, huh?"

"Maybe I don't wanna."

"Bickslow."

"Make me go to the store," he grumbled. "What do I look like? Huh?"

As they headed off down a hall, Mira only looked to Laxus. "Help Elf."

"Help him what?" He'd taken to glaring at the dog who was sniffing around the room, as if daring him to lift a leg. If he did, he'd be kicked right out and have to fend for himself out on the beach.

"Take the bags to the rooms, Lax. I mean it. Go."

"What are you going to do then?"

"Mmmm." She was still holding Pike and only snuggled the boy a bit. "Go pick out a bed for us."

It took a bit to get things all settled. It was decided that the women and Freed would head out to the store with the children to get snacks and food for the next few days. Nate didn't wanna go, but when he heard that Mira and his cousin were, well, it wasn't like he was going to get stuck with stinky Laxus.

Pike wasn't nearly as happy about it. He wanted to take a nap! A real one. And he was so whiny that Mirajane ended up just leaving him behind with the guys so he could get one.

"When we get back," she sighed as she laid him down in the room she and Laxus had picked out, "we're gonna go to the beach though. So rest up, huh?"

After that frightful journey on the train, the dog needed a nap too and easily snuggled up with him in the bed, which, with the other boy gone off with his mother, left Laxus with a free few hours there.

"Too bad," he grumbled to Bickslow as they settled out in the living room, Elfman milling around and the Master locked away in his room, "we don't have any beer yet."

"You can have a smoke if you want," the seith offered as he pulled his pack from his back pocket.

"Don't smoke that in here, nimrod," Laxus grumbled.

"Why not?"

"This ain't our place, yeah? Ever's friend is being nice enough to let us stay here. Don't-"

"You sure have turned into an adult, boss."

"It's called being matured."

"Whatever you want to call being no fun is up to you." Bickslow still lit up. "Besides, look at the coffee table. Cigarette tray right there. Shocked you can't smell it, boss, with your super nose."

"It is dragon senses, you moron."

"Same," he remarked, "thing.

"Is," came the remark, "not."

Blowing his smoke up, Bickslow only asked, "You want one?"

Snort. "I don't smoke girly little cigarettes, dipshit. I smoke like a man."

"You on about those disgusting cigars again?"

"I ain't on about nothin'."

"You sure sound like-"

"Hey!" And Elfman was in there. "Men smoke cigars. Laxus is right!"

"Hell yeah I am," the slayer grumbled. "Not that I needed your help in winnin'."

"Winning?" Bickslow laughed. "We wasn't arguing, boss. See? You turn everything into something. Something that you can go on about."

"I don't go on about things!"

The couch had an L-shape to it and, with Bickslow and Laxus sitting on the horizontal side of it, Elfman sat the other, knowing that they wouldn't want him too near them.

"Anyone checked on Master?" he asked Laxus who only shook his head.

"Says that he has to use the lacrima to get in touch with the guild," Laxus said with a shrug. "He left Erza in charge, you know."

"Yeah," Bickslow mumble. "Was a big driving force behind me wanting to go ahead and come with you guys."

"Then I'm sure he'll lay down for a bit," the man's grandson said with a shrug. "Gramps won't admit it, but he's probably too old to have come all this way. I didn't wanna bring him, but with both me and Mira gone to begin with, well… He just needs to be close to us."

"I," they heard someone say then from another room, "do not. And I resent the accusation."

"Great," Laxus grumbled as he heard his grandfather come into the room. "Today he chooses to put his hearing aid in. Just dandy."

"Dandy?" Bickslow mulled it over. "That's my new go to word."

"It don't sound too manly," Elfman grumbled.

"Sure it does. It's dandy!"

"Stop," Laxus groaned as Makarov, upon entering the living room, just went to take a seat in one of the recliners. "Seriously, don't even start."

"Dandy."

"Bickslow-"

"Dandy," his babies cried as they took to flying around the world. "Dandy."

Ugh. And Laxus thought he'd gotten rid of his annoyances.

They returned, of course, all of them. His sisters-in-law, wife, nephew, and, of course, Nathan.

"Where's Pike?"

"He's nappin'," Laxus said as the boy came to him the second he got back to the house, climbing right up onto the couch to stare at his father. "So you let him sleep until it's time to go down to the beach."

"I wanna go now," Nathan insisted, staring at him. "Please?"

"Soon." He only patted him on the head. "Go help your mother and aunts put stuff away, huh? And have them bring me a beer. Mira! You hear that? Did you buy beer? Have someone bring me one!"

Lisanna, never one for putting groceries away (or laundry for that matter; her and Bickslow's place was just a mess), came into the living room before he'd even finished his sentence, one in hand.

She only went to plop down in Bickslow's lap, handing it off to him. Laxus looked on enviously.

He and Mira had never gotten that. That precious time without brats. Clearly, Bickslow and Lisanna were benefiting from it.

"You don't have to yell, Lax," Mira called back. "Freed's bringing you one."

He'd need more than one, but…it was a start.

"Mommy!" Nate still ran back into the kitchen, nearly running into Freed on the way. "If I wake up Pike, can we go to the beach now?"

"Let us put this stuff up, Nate," she sighed, not even glancing at him. "Then we can. I promise, by the time we go back home, you'll be sick of the beach."

"Not me," he insisted as Mace, who was trying diligently to help put stuff away though he was getting more in the way than anything, giggled. "I wanna stay forever."

Yeah, well, Pike, who'd woken up in the bedroom upstairs to find only the dog and unfamiliar surroundings, sure didn't. His cries were heard easily.

"I got him, demon," Laxus grumbled at the sound. Then he added, "Come on, boys. You guys come and I can get you into your trunks, huh?"

"Okay," Mace giggled, rushing to head up the stairs. Nate though wasn't having it.

"I'm not a baby! I can do it myself!"

"Just come on," Laxus grumbled as he bounded after them.

Sheesh. The first day was only halfway over and already he was counting down the ones until he could go home.

That's what he got for going on that stupid family vacation with the others though. If by vacation they meant hell and family they meant people he couldn't stand other than the demon and his boys (sometimes), then yes. It was turning out to be a splendid one.

"Don't be grumpy, dragon," Mira called after him. "Just because you got motion sick and all embarrassed over it."

"I was not either of those things!"

"Sure."

"I wasn't."

He wasn't. So there.

Oh, and the demon was officially off the list. Just him and his boys.

"Were too," Nate snickered as they met at the top of the stairs.

Pike. Laxus liked Pike. The others were just all detriments anyways.

Next Chapter

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[fallen029]

Parenthood: Beach Retreat.5

"Hi, Mommy."

Evergreen only groaned, hardly peeking open an eye as she stared sleepily at the brown haired boy before her. His blue eyes were big and his face was done up in a real huge grin. Not to mention the overwhelming smell of sausage that was coming off him.

Mace, somehow, was a morning person. His mother? Not in the slightest.

"What," she grumbled, "are you doing in here? I told you not to come in here."

"I came to wake you up."

"I didn't ask for that."

"I want you to go play at the beach with us," he said before holding out to her a crumpled sheet of paper. "Look. Freed was in the room with all the books-"

"The study?"

Nodding, Mace told her, "He found this there."

"What is it?"

"A whole nother map!"

Rolling her eyes, Ever moved to grab her glasses off the bedside table before telling him, "The maps are fake. Freed's making them up. And you're stupid to not realize that."

For a moment, Mace just stared at his mother, eyes wide. Then the grin took over once more.

"You're funny, Mommy," he giggled. "If they weren't real, then how come I'm holdin' one right now?"

"Mmm." With a shake of her head, the woman moved to get out of bed then, stretching as well. The curtains to the huge window she had, overlooking the beach beyond, had never been closed and she got a nice view of it then, with the morning sun dazzling on the waves. Ever stared out at it with a yawn before reaching out to pat her son on the head.

"What," she grumbled softly, "happened to you hair?"

"Bickslow did it," he giggled at the way she poked at his overly gelled hair. "You like it?"

"No."

"Mommy."

Wiping her hand on his shirt then, she stared into his blue eyes for a moment before saying, "I want to be alone for a bit more."

"But I wanna play," he whined in response to which she only gave him a look.

"We will," she assured him. "Just not now. So go."

Ever could tell that she'd hurt his feelings, if only a bit, but she only waited for him to leave the room before heading into the adjoining bathroom. She was on vacation. He was lucky she even took him.

It took her another hour or so to get ready (going down to sit on the beach and pretend to care about what a kid is saying is rough business) and head downstairs. She knew, of course, that the boys were already down at the ocean, playing, but she found Lisanna still hanging around in the house with Bickslow babies and figured the man himself was actually in the shower. As the two women never had (or would) the closest of relationships, neither spoke to one another and Ever just grabbed a piece of fruit out of the kitchen once more before heading out to the back deck.

Freed and Laxus were out there, the latter smoking one of his thick cigars, grumbling around it about something as the letter mage nodded in agreement.

"-hot tub with us. What does he think this is, huh? Because it's not. Whatever he thinks, it's not. This is demon and dragon romance week here and he's ruining it."

"Romance week, huh?" Ever remarked, the slayer and her teammate looking up at her words. The former only glared, his scarred eye glinting.

"Yes, Ever," Laxus grumbled. "I mean, fine, I took a few days off from the romance part, but I'm back on. In full."

"Then why is Mira down there, at the beach, and you're up here?"

"Because," he said as he sat up and looked off. "My demon enjoys raising my boys. I gave them to her to raise. See? Romantic?"

Freed, though he knew that logic was extremely flawed, still nodded.

"That's a very intelligent thought, Laxus," he congratulated as Ever only shook her head. About then, a loud cry could be heard down from the beach, all three of the adults glancing down there. It was one of the boys. And, as the one in question became clear, Ever only grinned at Laxus.

"There goes the romance," she said to which he just moved to thrust his cigar off on Freed who, really, had no idea what to do with it, before getting to his feet.

"What happened?" he asked as Mirajane came up to the steps to the deck, her youngest crying loudly the whole while. "Pike? Huh? Tell Daddy."

Ever, never one for crying (unless it was her own) only headed down the steps passed Mirajane. The older boys were still out on the beach, as well as Elfman and Master Makarov, so she figured she could find something interesting to do. Then again, anything was better than listening to Pike cry.

Anything.

"The water, Daddy," Mirajane told him as she passed the whining toddler off onto him. "It was too much for him."

"Pike, buddy, baby dragon." Laxus nuzzled his head against the boy's. "You gotta get over this."

He couldn't. He wasn't the one that kept bringing him down to the beach. Or made him go on that stupid vacation. They did. In all accounts. So it was all their fault. All of it.

"We tried to," Mira said as she reached out to stroke her son's similar white locks. "And we were making so much progress. We were building sandcastles-"

"You mean dumping sand out?"

Nodding at her husband's words, she went on. "We were doing that right by the where the tide was coming in and, well, he was fine for a bit, but then the bucket rolled away and he got up to get it and the water came in and…well…"

"Poor buddy." Laxus gave Pike some kisses as the child only sniffled. "It's okay. It's only water. You love water. I thought you did, anyways."

Meh. Kinda neutral, honestly.

"It's just so scary," Mira said softly as, with a sniffle, Pike settled out in the slayer's arms. "It- Laxus, were you smoking up here?"

Well, if the scent didn't give it away, the fact that Freed was holding the cigar out, as if it were trash, away from him did.

"What? Me?" Snort. "Demon, come on."

Mira just stared. Then Laxus sighed.

"Yeah," he grumbled. "I'm smokin'. So? It wasn't around the boys. Till you brought this one up here."

Pike wiggled in Laxus' arms before moving to press his head into the man's shoulder. He just wanted to go home. When would that be happening?

"Besides," Laxus went on as he shot Freed a look, the man reading it as figure out how to get rid of the cigar and fast. "Let's not focus on that right now, huh? Poor little buddy here, my baby boy, he's dyin', yeah? My tiny little dragon. Baby demon. Are you okay, Pike? Huh?"

Mira wasn't buying all the love he was throwing down on their son at that moment, but still decided not to fight that point. Instead she only went back to stroking her son's hair and whispering softly to him.

"I just don't get," Laxus grumbled as Freed disappeared off, giving them some time to themselves, "what he's so afraid of."

"Mmm." His wife glanced away from the boy then and up at him. "He just doesn't like change, Daddy. It's not his fault."

"I know. I ain't blaming him." Laxus gave him another kiss because, well, Pike deserved it. "I just wish he'd get over it." When Mira didn't say anything, Laxus went on. "I ain't trying to be insensitive to him or anything. I mean-"

"You're a lot better, Lax," she whispered as, when Pike reached out for her, she took him back into her arms. "It's only been, what? Three years? Four? And you're already so much better with dealing with the boys."

Still, he leaned down to nuzzle Pike's head some more though the boy was trying to snuggle with his mother.

"I love them," he told her softy. They were alone, after all. "I love you too. But he can't keep acting like this."

With a hum, Mirajane said, "I kinda like it."

"What?"

"He's getting so old," she said, eyes gleaming as she stared at him. "And Nate's already old. He doesn't even like to snuggle with me that much anymore."

That got her a look from the slayer.

"I said that much," Mira defended his silent opposition. "It's true. I mean, sure, he and Pike still love and need me, but not like babies."

"Mira-"

"I just think," she began, "that a third baby would complete everything. Another little boy for Pike to play with. Or a little girl for me to put in dresses and do her hair and-"

"Not the time, demon."

Pike didn't think so either. In fact, he thought it was the time to whine some more. So he got back to that. Then though, it was because he could hear Bickslow and Lisanna from in the house and wanted to go play with them. When he took to wiggling, Mirajane moved to drop him gently onto the deck, the boy quickly crossing it and going to press his face against the glass backdoor, staring in.

"I just," the woman insisted, "was thinking about it. That's all."

Snort. Then, with a slight grin, Laxus reached out to cup her cheek in his hand.

"Go back down to the beach, demon," he said before glancing over at their youngest. "Me and Pike wanna spend some time alone, yeah? You're crampin' our style over here."

Mirajane knew that he was only trying to get rid of her, but as it was, she had been having fun with Nathan and Mace before Pike started his fit and knew he was fine with his father. He and Laxus thrived on getting as much alone time as they could. Frequently, Pike got overshadowed by his much more vocal and needy brother. Especially where their father was concerned.

Back down at the beach she found that the boys, in her absence, had found a much better use of their time than searching for that dang treasure.

Namely bothering Evergreen.

They were both purposely digging holes around the chair she was sitting in, tossing sand on the woman constantly, ignoring her demands that they both stop. And her husband, who was still mad that, once more, he'd been forced to sleep on the couch the night before, only stood by with instructions to them about how real men feared no woman. Especially not an evil one that kicked her manly husband out of the room only because she was a monster who didn't understand just what sleeping on a couch did to his back. Makarov was there too, but he only watched with disinterest and, honestly, Mira still hadn't gotten the full story about what happened between him and Freed the day before, but was counting on Laxus to swindle it out of Freed sooner or later, just for her.

After watching the scene for a moment with a grin, Mirajane figured Ever and Elfman had the two boys under control for the time being (or at least her brother did) before deciding that if everyone else got their break from the kids, it was her turn. So she headed down the beach to do some thinking.

Though only a few days had passed on the trip, already Mirajane was wishing that she was back at home. Not that it hadn't been fun. Because it had. A lot of fun. She always worried that they were all so caught up in themselves and the guild that they forgot to give the boys any real enjoyment in their lives. She could remember being a child and working with her parents until their deaths and then by herself for the rest of forever. She didn't want that for Nate and Pike. Mace either. She wanted them to have fantastical memories that they would hold with them forever.

Well, she did the older two. Since he'd been miserable the entire time, she wasn't so big on Pike recalling any of the trip when he got bigger. If things didn't improve soon, she figured that the entire thing would be more scarring than anything else.

Not that she wanted to spend that time reflecting on her sons. She loved them, of course, but the majority of her time was done doing that. It was her time to enjoy the beach. And herself.

Also think a bit about what exactly Laxus could be planning for their romantic date and on what night it would be occurring.

Laxus was thinking of the same thing. Or, rather, he, Pike, and Freed had set off to find a spot for him and the demon.

"I want somewhere nice," Laxus said as they left the beach house in search of just the place. "Reservations nice. Buy her some wine, get her tipsy, and hookup at some point nice."

Freed only blinked as Pike, who was riding on his father's shoulders, took to patting the man on the head. He didn't understand yet that his parents would be having a night away from him, leaving his aunts and uncles to watch over him. Not to mention his Gramps. No, he didn't quite grasp that yet.

But he would. And when he did, there'd be tears. Many, many tears.

Was it wrong that he loved his mother and father? Huh? And never wanted to be without at least one of them? That he had separation anxiety so bad that sometimes he couldn't even spend the night over at Gramps' or Mace's? Was that just some sort of terrible offence?

Was it?

"I hope," Freed said slowly, "that you are not planning on having this…hookup at the house that we're all living in."

"And why not?" Laxus shook his head. "We're making a baby here, Freed."

He choked. "You're what?"

"Well, we're talking about it, anyways. A lot. Recently." Shrugging slightly while keeping his hands on Pike's little feet so he didn't fall, the man said, "I dunno. My demon likes babies, I like my demon, and these ones turned out alright. Why not go for the trifecta?"

"Uh, because Mirajane might decide to not stop there," his follower said slowly. "And go for broke. Then you'll end up with ten children before she's done."

"And?" Laxus snorted. "My woman deserves ten kids. And if they're coming out of me, which they will be, then they'll be awesome. All of them. I deserve to have an army of children to adore and admire me. To mentor and mold. Not to mention keep my woman happy and content. Entertained. I'll have a thousand kids if that's what she wants. You got a problem with it?"

Again, the letter mage could only blink before slowly shaking his head. "N-No, Laxus. Of course not. I just-"

"Hey, guys! Wait up!"

"Wait up, wait up, wait up!"

Neither did, of course, as they could easily pick out exactly who it was chasing them down. Bickslow and his dolls. Lisanna too, Laxus was sure, but he refused to glance behind him to find out.

"Did you not hear us?" the woman in question complained when, after sprinting, she and her boyfriend were able to catch them. "I mean, seriously?"

"Of course he didn't," Bickslow said as his babies took to floating around Pike's (and by default Laxus') head. "No way they would have kept going if they had. Right? Right guys? Huh? I mean, right? Why would you ever try and avoid me? Huh? Why?"

Laxus didn't say anything. Only passed Pike off to his aunt when he cried out for her with a shake of his head.

Lisanna. Over him. Unbelievable.

"Hi," she greeted her nephew, the little boy only giggling in response as he cuddled up against the woman.

"So," Bickslow said as Freed and Laxus only exchanged sighs. "Where are we headed? Guys? Huh?"

"We," Laxus began, stressing the word, "were going to scope out a place for me to take the demon. What the two of you are doing here is beyond me."

"We wanna hang with you, boss," the seith snickered. "Ain't it obvious?"

"For you?" Freed asked. "Maybe. Lisanna? I find it unlikely."

"She goes where I go," Bickslow said with a shrug. "Ain't the right, Lissy?"

"I didn't feel like searching for treasure," she said with a shrug. Laxus felt that. He really did. "Or listening to Ever and Elfman argue." And Freed felt that one.

"However you want to put it," Bickslow complained, "she's with me."

"Yeah because that's totally what she said." Laxus even rolled his eyes. Then he said, "Anyhow, you bozos weren't invited. So scram. Freed and I have serious business to attend to. Don't want you dingbats tippin' the demon off on where she's gettin' to have dinner some time this week."

"Yeah, Laxus," his sister-in-law remarked dryly. "That's what we dream of. Ruining you and Mira's dates."

"Yeah, I know. I have known for a long time." Letting out a long breath, he said, "You try and take my woman from me and my boys. Trust me. I've noticed."

"I was being sarcastic."

"I'm not."

Bickslow just scratched at his head. He did that a lot when he wasn't wearing his usual getup. Lisanna figured it was because his head got cold without it.

"Say," the seith said slowly. "You think that we could do a double date thing, boss? Me, you, Lissy, and Mira, having a grand ol' time and-"

"Never."

"Boss-"

"Never. And I mean that. Sincerely."

Freed shook his head, looking off. "The fact that you both have this conversation nearly weekly, Bickslow, is not only disheartening, but shockingly not discouraging to you."

"Never lose faith," the other man said. "Something to live by. One day, the boss'll be sittin' around with his woman-"

"Could we stop talking about my sister being his woman?" Lisanna frowned at all of them. "I mean really? That's totally sexiest and disgusting."

"Why?" Laxus wasn't so willing to put an end to something he liked saying so much. "She is my woman."

"Shut up."

"She is." Indignation had its place in nearly all their conversations. Especially when Laxus was involved. "She's my woman. I'm her man too. It goes both ways. So get off your high horse, girly, 'fore I knock you down."

Bickslow just stuck out his tongue. "I was kinda talking, you know. About how you're gonna decide one day, boss, that me and Lissy are the prefect pairing to you and, err, your very equal and not at all objectified by our male views, although, I would like to point out, she very well could be because, well, boss, you really hit it out of the park when you scored-"

"Before you alienate me as well," Freed intervened, both Laxus and Lisanna already too far gone as they took to just glaring at the seith, "perhaps you should wrap this up, Bickslow? Hmmm?"

"Just that, I dunno, that I totally wasn't hitting on Mirajane," he said slowly, "and we shouldn't even be talking about this anymore. Let's stop talking about it. Freed, how could you bring this up?"

"Me?"

Pike whined from Lisanna's arms as even he felt the shift in moods. Bickslow's babies stopped bothering him and took to hanging around their Papa's head, mourning the loss of fun along with him.

The rest of the walk into town was silent.

When they got there, Bickslow almost immediately drug Lisanna (and by proxy Pike) off into a pastry shop, leaving Laxus and Freed alone once more.

"Now," Laxus began, rubbing his hands together as he took in the somewhat busy street they were on. "Look around. I see a little café, but that is not up to my demon's standards."

"Considering Mirajane is just as happy eating at the bar as she is going out-"

"By standards," the lightning mage grumbled, "I meant what she deserves. She deserves the world. Contained into a little restaurant. Where I don't have to spend too much because, let's be honest, the demon eats a lot when she wants and she probably wants. Just a feeling."

"Right," Freed said slowly. "So you want me find a restaurant, not that Mira wants, but deserves. One that is worthy of the world, but is cheap."

"Not cheap. Just… No, yeah, cheap. On the pocket. But not on the quality. I mean, what, Freed? Huh? You implying that my demon don't deserve high quality?"

"N-No. I never said-"

"That's what it sounds like to me."

"Laxus, I would never-"

"She deserves the utmost quality! She is, after all, mine. And do I have things that don't deserve higher quality things in life?"

"I honestly have no idea what you're asking other than I should probably say-"

"Yes! They do! And she does! So there."

Rubbing a hand against his forehead, Freed said, "I do not remember you being this way before the Strauss siblings got involved."

"Yeah, well, the years tack on. Now get to searchin', huh?" Laxus let out a short breath. The other man was right, of course. The old him would not have wasted his time in a beach town with a bunch of randoms that would never have to know his real name or even anything serious about him on finding a nice place to take a date. A wife. But as it was, that was exactly what he was doing. Considering who he was doing it for, he figured that anyone could understand why. "Nice and cheap. Cheap and nice."

It took no time at all (or a lot of time, Freed could never tell when he was with Laxus, it just all blurred) to locate a place and hook back up with Bickslow and Lisanna who, unshockingly, were stuffing their faces with some pastries and getting Pike to do the same. He was pretty willing, actually.

"You've ruined your lunch," Laxus grumbled to the boy who, with face covered in sugar, only giggled. "Just so you know."

Pike didn't mind. It was worth it.

On the walk back home, the little boy insisted on hold both his father and aunt's hands. Not that either of them were thrilled with this, but it at least left the two male members of the Thunder Legion to themselves.

"So hey," Bickslow found himself asking after a moment or two of silence. "We never talked about you and the Master's little sightseeing trip. Go well?"

Freed looked off, his skin heating up slightly. "It was…an adventure."

"Guessin' you didn't get invited back to, uh, any beach houses."

Not even turning to glance at the other man, Freed said simply, "Master is much more of a looker, as it were, while I am more the man that smoothes things over when he gets caught looking."

"Makes sense."

"Much."

"A lot of angry women?"

"No. Mostly their…boyfriends. Women find Master cute."

"Mmm." Bickslow whistled. "At least you got something out of it, right?"

"What was that then?"

"You said that you got to talk to the women's boyfriends, right?"

"Yes," Freed reaffirmed. "And?"

"Well, they were at the beach. And all wet and tanned and in swim wear and…"

"And?"

"Well."

"Well what?"

"Just well, Freed. Sheesh. Do I have to come out and say it?"

"Come out," the seith's dolls sang. "Come out, come out."

There was a growl then, from in front of them, as Laxus glared back at the pair.

"Would you losers knock it off?" He huffed. "Jeez. I'm havin' a moment here with my sister and son and you're-"

"Awe, Laxus." Lisanna gave him a look that did not match her tone or words at all. "You called me your-"

"In-law," he corrected. "I meant in-law."

"Uh-huh."

"I did! I meant in-law and- Shut up! I don't have to explain myself to you. To any of you. Just shut up." Then, because he felt it was needed, Laxus added, "Except you, Pike. Go back to singing, buddy. Where were you?"

Uh, try in the middle of his ABCs and, no, he couldn't just pick right back up when he was interrupted. It ruined the whole song! No, he just had to go back to the beginning. There was no other way.

They were regaled with the wonders of the song the whole way back as Pike, for some reason, felt the need to sing it ad nauseam. Laxus didn't make him stop either. Just let him keep singing and singing and it was horrible and…and…and…

Finally they got home. Or at least the beach house. Pike found it to be a stark difference, but still alright. After all, his mother was there and not down on the beach, meaning that he got to go sing her his ABCs and have her compliment him on it.

She was really good at compliments.

"Where," Freed asked upon entering to find Mirajane in the living room with the dog, "is Evergreen? I feel as if we should discuss a training regimen while we're here."

"I think she's outside playing with Mace and Nathan," Mirajane said as Pike glared at the letter mage, annoyed that his great rendition of the ABCs was being ruined. Again.

"Ha, no," Bickslow snickered as he and Lisanna quickly left the room (training? No thanks). "Seriously, where is she? I wanna go bug her for no good reason."

"I'm being serious," Mirajane said as Laxus came to join her on the couch. She had to pause to giggle when he nuzzled at her neck. Shoving him away, she added, "Mace is her son, you know. She does spend time with him."

"Sometimes," Freed remarked as Laxus, after being rejected, only went back for more.

"Daddy," Pike complained from Mira's lap as the man continued to kiss at her neck. "No. I singin'!"

"Sorry, buddy," the man said as, though he removed his head from her neck, he still kept an arm around Mira's shoulders. "Mommy distracts me."

"I distract you?" she complained as Pike only glared. They weren't being cute to him. They were being annoying. Very annoying. "You're the one-"

"G'amps!" Suddenly, he saw the man pass by in the hall and jumped from Mira's lap, rushing right over to him. "I sing!"

"And that," Laxus sighed as Mirajane, finally, was the one to snuggle into him, "takes care of that."

It really did, as the others cleared out too, leaving them all alone. Giggling once more, Mirajane stared up at him with a grin.

"Where'd you run off to, dragon?" she asked. "Hmmm?"

"Pickin' up chicks. Wheelin' and dealin'. You know, the usual."

"Sounds spectacular."

"Well, anything with me is, so-"

"You actual seal this deal? Or did you come up dry?"

"Demon," he complained, staring down at her with a frown. "It's me. Dragon. Laxus Dreyar. Of course I sealed them."

"Mmmm. With my sister and our son there?"

"I like a challenge."

Humming against him, she whispered, "You know, dragon, what you do, I get to do twice over."

"How do you figure?"

"Because I'm me. And I get what's mine and yours. That's how it works."

"Is it?"

"It is."

"I think you're lyin'."

"You know what's funny?"

"Hmmm?"

Leaning up to give him a peck on the cheek, she said, "I think you are too."

"Wha'?"

"Yeah."

"No way."

"Yes way."

Growling playfully for once, he leaned down to nuzzle their foreheads together.

"My demon. My little baby detective demon. You understand me, don't you? See right through my lies?" When she nodded, he smirked, showing off his canines. "Detective Demon. That's gonna be a thing now, you know that?"

"Only if you're my Deceitful Dragon."

"I'll never be that," he told her harshly. "Never."

"That's good." She grinned. "I'd much rather be Matchmaker Mira than Detective Demon. And you can be my Loving Laxus. Okay?"

"Only when we're alone."

"Or whenever."

"No."

"Yes."

"Mirajane-"

"Ooh, Loveable Laxus, you're just so-"

"A second ago it was Loving Laxus."

"Oh, so you do like it?"

"What? I didn't say-"

"Mmm." It was her turn to nuzzle against his head, having to lean up to do so. "Can we spend every day doing this?"

Considering he could hear Pike crying in the other room and knew that soon, Evergreen would tire of both the older boys and probably leave them in tears, no. They wouldn't even be able to have that moment for much longer.

But she was his demon. And he'd tell her whatever she wanted. And, even as he said yes, breathing it against her neck as he buried his head there once more, she knew it was a lie. As loving as he was, he was also quiet the fibber.

That was okay though. Mira preferred him that way.

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