#i was the only one in my extended family who hadn't gotten it

[dangerkeith3000x]

Welp...I was bound to get it eventually. At least I'm not pregnant?

[dawndelion-winery]

For Worse or For Better

Arranged Marriages

Ft. Diluc, Itto, Childe, Kaeya, Zhongli

Diluc:

Your parents were wonderfully close to Crepus, so you knew Diluc from young

He'd always been well-mannered and lovely

That much didn't change even after his trauma

It did hurt when he started shutting you out though

And yes, you did try to call off the engagement that had been set up before Crepus died because you felt he wanted to distance himself from you

You'd only kept it to honour the man's wishes and because Diluc seemed adamant about you

Like, he actually said he would not have anyone else

Not that he pressured you into it though

More of letting you know you didn't have to end it because he most definitely did want you

"Make no mistake, you will be the only person I recite my vows to at the altar. If you long for another, then so be it, but if you want me, then it shall be so."

Itto:

How did this happen?

No, like, fr, how??? Itto doesn't seem like the type to have any thoughts for social climbing and you...well what do you gain from marrying Itto?

Apparently your mother had heard Kujou Sara speak highly of Kuki Shinobu, and since Shinobu worked for Itto, surely he must be a man of even greater talent and character

Now you were having dinner with an extremely boisterous man who ate for three

By the shogun you hoped the bill wouldn't amount to too much

When he suggested a dine and dash? Boy, you were about to just walk right into a cell yourself

It was truly some grace of God that Shinobu came by with Sara and covered your tab (only for you, they made sure to tell Itto off for putting you in such a situation)

"Real sorry about that, honey," the oni said sheepishly. You wanted to hmgive him a piece of your mind, really, when you were certain you'd never hear the end of it at home of you'd gotten a criminal record, but when he slipped his hand in yours, a sheepish grin as he looked at you hopefully, as though pleasing for forgiveness, you found it rather difficult to stay mad.

Childe:

People would kill to be you

The dashing young harbinger?? Who's great with kids??? And very much a family man????

There was only one issue: he hadn't met you yet

His family had written to him about you, eagerly telling him how they were sure they'd found him the perfect match

And he wasn't about to shoot them down when they were so hopeful he'd finally have someone when he was travelling and doing the Fatui's dirty work all the time

So when they'd warmly welcomed you into their home for a simple dinner, you hadn't expected to walk in and see a feast prepared with an empty seat beside yours

You waited for a bit with everyone, wondering who the extra seat was for

And when Childe walked in with a sack full of gifts for all his family members, you sat there awkwardly

Was it an endearing sight? Definitely. But you felt out of place as he pulled out one item after another for everyone

You were certain you wouldn't receive anything, hence the surprise when he sat beside you and handed you a small box

"A little engagement gift for you," he winked. Your mouth hung open, thoughts racing through your mind full of things you wanted to say but weren't sure how - especially not in front of such a crowd, all of whom aww'ed at his gesture. It was after dinner when you'd gotten him alone in the kitchen washing the dishes that you addressed it.

"Engaged? We've only just met Tartaglia."

He tsked at you, playfully leaning in as though he was going to kiss your cheek. When you froze, he grinned by your ear.

"My whole family likes you well enough, and from everything they've told me, I like you well enough too. But if you insist, ice a week before I have to head off. I'm sure I could sweep you off your feet by then, unless you'd like to come with."

Kaeya:

Oh you thought you got lucky when your childhood betrothed grew up to be the charming cavalry captain

Until you realised that charm would never be extended to you because he was just a goofball with you

It was cute though, him picking flower petals with you to determine how your relationship will go

He had a habit of leaving the plucked flower and its final petal with the result on your pillow

(it was always "forever in love" because if it wasn't, he'd just pluck another flower)

You sighed with a laugh at the familiar sight of the plucked flower when you felt arms around your waist as Kaeya embraced you from behind.

You wondered bitterly if there was something wrong between the two of you; you never had that flutter of butterflies in your gut when he was around. Not once did he make your heart leap out of your chest, or cause your lungs to constrict in a way you were sure would suffocate you. Was it a mistake? Yet it didn't feel wrong. There was a frost to his touch that cooled you, calmed you, and almost (most ironically) warmed you.

Zhongli:

Under no circumstances would you ever meet someone who quite commanded the respect and attention of those around him like Rex Lapis did

So when the hooded figure stood before the citizens who so worshiped him, some overly devoted follower enthusiastically proposed a raffle to offer the god a spouse to serve and dote upon him on behalf of the nation

Before he'd even had the chance to decline the offer, the crowd erupted in cheers of agreement, and the flustered god was ushered into a seat as eligible spouses presented themselves before him

You truly had not anticipated the glint that flashed across his eyes as he ever so slightly raised his hood to make eye contact with you

It had been less than a second, and yet all too long as your lungs failed you, the startling amber glow leaving you winded

"I quite like you," he drawled in a low, rumbling hum as he rose from his seat. You looked around, ascertaining that no one else had seen his face, but he didn't seem to like that, as he tilted your chin to have you look at him. Once again, you were faced with the startling gleam of his eyes, so reptilian and sharp. You screwed your eyes shut as he leaned in, the sunlight reflected off his canines. His lips were warm, surprisingly, as they pressed against your forehead.

Taglist: @myluvkeiji @aqui-soba @favonius-captain @tiredsleep @raincxtter @gensimping-for-all @irethepotato @almond-adeptus @mx-kamisato @chaosinanutshell @heizours @haliyamori @callmemeelah @sadlonelybagel @plinkuro @thevictoriousmoon @mastering-procrastinating @cxlrose @astrequa @eowinthetraveler @ajaxstar @boundedbyfate @the-lost-anime-dad @moonbyunniee @greyrain23 @heavenlyfloof

[mrsbarnesxxx]

Bill Weasley x Malfoy!reader. Met at Hogwarts, dating since graduation. Bill brings reader home and Weasleys hate her/treat her like flour until bill snaps them they get to know her. End with fluff

Warnings: slurs/general unkind words (nothing too serious), fighting, angst, Bill being an absolute sweetheart

It wasn't easy growing up a Malfoy. Everything you did was under scrutiny. Everything was about blood status. Your parents barely spoke to you anymore now that you had "betrayed" them by dating Bill Weasley. You two had met at Hogwarts, you'd had classes together every year, and eventually, the two of you bonded about being the eldest in your family. Eventually, one summer day, Bill had asked you to marry him. Of course, you said yes, however, you were regretting saying yes to spending time with his family. You had gotten to the burrow yesterday afternoon and no one had said a word to you. Maybe they thought you'd be like your family, but they clearly weren't interested in getting to know you. They would look at you and scoff before turning away. You expected a bit of apprehension from them. Bill had told you this was the first time he had brought a girl home and your family didn't exactly help, but you hadn't expected them to be this bad. Over the last day, they had escalated from ignoring you to saying blatantly rude things. They would call you a blood supremacist, a snake, and all sorts of other things.

The second night you were there you had enough at dinner.

All of his brothers had been making subtle comments since dinner started, you'd expected one of his parents to say something, but it seemed they agreed with them.

"J'aimerais y aller, s'il te plaît." I whisper leaning over to Bill after his mother's latest jab.

"What? English is beneath you, princess?" Bill's brother Ron jeers.

"Alright, that's enough," Bill says standing up from the table. "All of you have been nothing but rude to my fiancee since we got here. None of you have bothered to get to know her or even ask her anything about her. You haven't even bothered to make polite conversation that anyone could tell was fake. What is wrong with you? You used to be the most loving people. I get the world is messed up, but that's no excuse for your behavior. Come on, let's go." He says, finally turning to me and extending a hand. I take it, offering a polite smile at his family before we leave the room.

"You have to understand that we never expected you to bring someone like her home." His mother exclaims. That seems to stop Bill in his tracks. He turns around to face his family.

"Someone like what? You don't even know her. You always said that you never cared about blood, but it seems you care about her's." He says. "Let's go."

He turns back to me, taking my hand and leading me upstairs.

"I'm so sorry, darling. I can't believe they acted like that tonight." He says pulling me into a hug.

"Bill, you can't be serious?" I ask pulling away from him. "They've been acting like that since I got here. You haven't heard your brothers' comments about my 'murderous heritage'? Or your sister asking me to pull up my sleeves to check for a snake on my left arm? Or your mother calling me 'one of those people'? The only person who has been remotely kind to me is your father and he just hasn't said anything to me."

"I'm so sorry. I should have paid better attention. I have no idea why they're acting like this." He says softly, caressing my cheek. "We'll go first thing in the morning, okay?"

"We can't go, Bill. We're supposed to be having the wedding here. In the backyard with your parents and the rest of your family." I explain.

"I don't care. If they're treating you this way, then they don't get to come to our wedding."

"Bill, they're your family!"

"And you are too." he says caressing my cheek. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want you to be the mother of my children, and in 16 days, you're going to be my wife, so that makes you the most important person in the world to me, okay?"

"Okay." I smile leaning up to kiss him.

As soon as our lips meet there's a knock on the door. We pull away from each other, Bill running a hand over his face before turning to his mother in the doorway. He doesn't say anything, simply looks at her waiting to see what she has to say.

"We're so sorry, Bill. We never meant to treat her like that...we're just...we're sorry. Please come back downstairs. We can start over." His mum offers.

I smile and take Bill's hand, "Please." I whisper trying to relax him.

"Okay." He nods looking at me.

I smile, interlocking our fingers before we head downstairs.

As we reach the table, anxiety fills my chest at what his family might say or if they never like me, but I know that none of that matters because I have Bill.

[letsgetrowdy43]

quinnfluffquinnfluffquinfluff

maybe

fluffy quinn blurb where he goes all overprotective mode when the reader is pregnant?

Stop Worrying ☆—

This doesn't fit into the timeline… ignore that, I made it before I planned out the Au!!

Au Masterlist!!

"Honey? You're sure you're feeling up to it?" Quinn had been wracked with nerves ever since you'd gotten pregnant for the second time. He had always been a tad bit worrisome for your safety pre-kids, but you being the mother of his kids now added a whole layer to his anxiety that something could happen to you.

You were only around seven months pregnant, and the Devils were entering the Playoffs for the first time in Jack's career, meaning that you had to be in attendance.

"I promise you I'm okay, if I feel like I'm not safe, at any point, I will let you know" you whispered as you placed a sloppy kiss on his jaw, "besides, Taylor is on her way to watch Warren so we need to finish getting ready," you whispered as you pressed your necklace into the palm of his hand, pleading for him to help you put it on.

He let out a nervous huff as his fingers moved the hair from the back of your neck, "I just know how rowdy the Rangers fans can be, and especially with the rivalry, I'm sensing no good can come from this" he clipped the necklace together before placing a chaste kiss to your neck.

A smile worked its way onto your face as you watched his worried gaze, "I like your worrisome side," you joked as you turned around to face him. "You like when my anxiety is through the roof?" he asked with raised brows, looking down at your stomach as his hands rested on the growing bump. "I never said that, I just think your worrying face is cute" You leaned forward to place a sweet and short kiss on his lips before pulling away to fix his hair.

You'd noticed that he was letting it grow out after a comment you had made on liking the length, your fingers pulling at the strands as you played with his curls.

A knock at the door pulled the both of you away from the moment as you made your way from the hotel bathroom to the door to let in the babysitter. "He went down about an hour ago, so he should be easy" You smiled as Quinn grabbed both yours and his coats. "If anything is wrong, please call, we will have our phones on at all times" he smiled as your university best friend led the two of you out of the door and into the hall.

"We are gonna be just fine," you stated as you made it infant of the elevator, a smile on your face as you extended your hand out to him.

And you were fine, throughout the entirety of the game, up until it was time to leave.

Morale had been low for Devil's fans following the loss, and most of them were extremely drunk as an outcome of the night. So fights were bound to happen, just as they did at most playoff games. What you and your husband hadn't expected was for one very drunk man to throw another man in your direction while in a verbal fight.

You had been walking hand in hand with Quinn, conversing with Luke and Jim about your pregnancy and how excited Warren had grown about being a big brother. Then all of a sudden a grown man was hurdled into the side of you, nearly knocking you off of your feet before Luke grabbed onto you to steady your balance.

A groan left your lips as you found your footing once again, your eyesight moved over to the guy at your feet who was being pulled back upright by Quinn, annoyed mumbles leaving his mouth as he pushed the random back into the direction he originally came from.

Quinn examined you with worried eyes, examining your every minuscule move for sign of hurt before he quickly bid his family goodbye and made a bee-line to the car.

"Quinn I'm okay," you said trying to keep up with him as he basically sprinted to the priority parking lot. "I knew it was a bad idea to come here, it's too unsafe, way too many people," he huffed out as they made it to the car.

Your hands found the side of his face to make him look you in the eyes, "hey, I'm fine, no one is hurt" you whispered trying to bring him back to reality with you, you took one of your hands and grabbed one of his to put it on your stomach.

The baby gently kicked him in the hand, "see, baby girl is just fine, I'm just fine, you need to calm down" you said with a smile as he swallowed thickly, nodding his head as he looked down at your stomach.

"She's fine?" you nodded, "you're fine?" he asked looking up at you again, you gently nodded as you stood on your tip-toes to place a soft kiss on the high point of his cheek.

"We are both fine, and you are also fine," you smiled as you watched him nod and accept the comfort, "now let's get back to the hotel"

-

-

[hawthornsword]

I got to see all three LoTR movies, extended editions, in theaters this weekend.

I don't think I had ever seen the extended editions before, so that was very cool.

I still remember how absolutely out of my mind with excitement I was when I first went to see the movies when I was a kid. I had only recently discovered the books when the movies were announced.

I was maybe 11 and painfully shy at a huge family reunion. I knew half a dozen people besides my parents and there were no kids my age.

A middle aged lady who I think was a cousin of one of one of my great aunts was kind enough to talk to me and ask me about my interests. I told her I liked fantasy books and dragons and wanted to be a writer. Up until that point, I had actually mostly read historical fiction, and my hyper fixation on dragons and unicorns was relatively new. She asked me if I had read The Hobbit, and I told her I had never heard of it.

A week later, a copy of The Hobbit showed up in my mailbox, along with a very sweet letter.

And then the next few years I got to see this absolutely beautiful trilogy of movies made, right at the peak of my high fantasy hyperfixation, when people had previously said it was impossible to successfully make this story into a movie.

I am still just so grateful that someone took a few minutes out of their day to encourage the interest of a shy, weird little kid, because I had no one recommending books to me at that point. I had no sci-fi or fantasy nerd family or friends. I was too scared to talk to other people or ask what books were good. I don't think I would have picked up the Hobbit if it hadn't been recommended to me.

It wasn't until college that I finally made a friend who had actually read all of Lord of the Rings and liked the books, not just the movies. If not for one book recommendation, I might not have ever gotten as close as I am now to my best friend.

[laurel-finch]

'I Don't Bite' S1.Ch13: Family

Summary: A brief calm before the storm... Referenced Episodes: mentioned S1 E16 "Shadow" CW: Mostly filler. Some fluff! Word Count: 5922 Recommended Song: Cecelia -- Simon & Garfunkel Previous Chapter -- Masterlist -- Next Chapter

I clocked out after about eight hours of driving and finally gave up on holding a conversation with the boys. The relief of surviving yet another hunt had finally washed away, leaving a bitter feeling hanging low over us.

The brothers were not happy, for similar and yet very different reasons. Both of them were pissed to hell that they had to say goodbye to their father not even an hour after reuniting. However, Sam was frustrated with the fact that it was his brother who sent John away – I could understand his pain. If I had rekindled relations with my father, wherever he might be, and then he suddenly left I would be upset too.

The brothers hadn't spoken much, only really conversing together when I was involved in the conversation. Eventually, I got fed up and did my best to fall asleep to the sounds of loud rock music. Despite Dean's claims about not liking Bon Jovi, he played it an awful lot.

I too was irritated in my own way. I couldn't help but replay the previous night's events over and over again until my head was reeling from exhaustion. Maybe if I had stayed put, John wouldn't have been led to the boys. Perhaps he wouldn't have gotten there in time and therefore not have gotten hurt- No, if we hadn't gotten there, the brothers might have been dead, or worse.

The more I thought about it, the fewer good options there appeared to be. No matter how I spun the story, I couldn't find a happy ending. Something would have gone wrong eventually.

I sighed and fluffed my coat - there was no way Dean was ever getting it back - and rested my head back onto it. It had already been two hours since I had given up on getting a conversation going and all I really wanted was to sleep. I hadn't gotten any at the hospital, and I certainly hadn't had anything more than a few hours while in Chicago. I shut my eyes and did my best to lull myself to sleep.

"Sammy, hand me one of my AC/DC tapes, would you?" Dean asked, extending his hand. Sam had just enough time to open the glove compartment before I spoke up.

"If you play that while I'm trying to sleep, I will skin you," I grumbled out, my words partially muffled by my coat.

Dean briefly glanced over his shoulder to catch my glare. "What's wrong with AC/DC?"

"Nothing, as long as it's not played at 10pm," I growled and nuzzled into the coat. Dean scoffed.

"It's just after 9:30," he muttered, gripping the steering wheel tighter.

"Close enough," I spat. I heard Sam chuckle and close the compartment. "You have my permission to play something like Journey, though."

Sam practically howled with laughter at this. "No way does Dean have any Journey," he said with a chuckle. "You're lucky he's got any Bon Jovi."

"They're not my favorite," Dean tacked on, "but, they do have a few good albums. I just hate their love songs."

I sighed into my makeshift pillow and squeezed my eyes shut. "Yeah right, Dean. I heard you tapping your foot to 'Bed of Roses' earlier." I cracked one eye open to see Dean's ears tinge pink and again Sam laughed. I grinned and shut my eyes once more.

The car fell silent after a few grumbles from Dean and the cassette that was currently playing came to an end. I hummed and burrowed once more into the coat, letting sleep finally overtake me.

I felt oddly warm, despite being enveloped in darkness. Shouldn't the lack of anything suggest cold, rather than heat?

I blinked open my eyes, or I assume I opened them. The lack of any sort of presence made it hard to distinguish the inky blackness of my surroundings from the shadows of my closed eyelids.

I looked down, seeing my calloused hands, shadowed and blanketed by the heavy darkness. My eyes scanned over my form, recognizing all the clothes I was wearing. They were the same ones I had fallen asleep in, jeans with ripped knees and cuffed ankles to fit over my tightly done hiking boots, and a loose sage green button-down that fit well over my bandages.

I stretched, soaking the warmth into my tired muscles, and suddenly jumped, expecting pain from my torn shoulder and feeling none. I rolled my shoulder questioningly - where was the pain? There wasn't even a dull throb.

I reached towards my back and felt under my shirt, searching for shredded skin, bandages, anything, and felt none. My back felt smooth. Frantically, I unbuttoned the tops of my jeans and pulled them back as far as I could, peaking at where the top of my mangled wound should be. It was smooth. Unblemished.

I felt sick. My eyes flitted around the inky darkness and my throat closed up. I scrambled at my throat. I couldn't breathe. Why wouldn't I breathe?

A faint noise caught my attention and I swiveled the best I could in the murk. My eyes widened with horror as my ears strained to identify the sound.

It was a growl.

I whipped in the opposite direction, searching my shrouded darkness. A shape moved in front of me and I squinted my eyes at it. My hands dropped from my throat, the lack of oxygen forgotten. I struggled to make out a shape in the dark, peering and hoping to see whatever had growled.

My eyes widened as they fastened to two red ones.

I woke with a jolt, using my good arm to propel myself away from the window. I fell to the side, putting pressure on my bad leg and catching myself with my sore arm. I yelped and pushed backward, leaning against the door with wild eyes and heavy breaths.

The car skidded as I startled Dean and he quickly corrected our course. Sam whipped around to face me, worry in his hazel eyes. "Woah, woah, the hell is going on back there!?" Dean shouted, sounding panicked.

I nodded and threaded a hand through my hair the best I could. I took a deep breath in an attempt to regulate my heartbeat and then nodded again, feeling more sure of myself.

"Nightmare," I wheezed out and dropped my hands on my lap. Could it even really be considered a nightmare? If anything, it was more unsettling than terrifying. I brushed my hair out of my face as it clung to my sweaty face. "What time is it?"

"Just after eleven," Dean replied. "You've been asleep for about two and a half hours."

I nodded and swallowed dryly. "So are we close to home?"

Sam nodded and handed me a bottle of water from the glove compartment. "Another twenty minutes." I sighed in relief and relaxed, shifting so my back rested comfortably against my seat. I uncapped the water and downed a third of it.

"Wanna talk about it?" Sam inquired quietly. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.

"I was in complete darkness, just kind of... floating," I mumbled. "I wasn't in any pain either. My wounds were just... gone, and there were no scars. Like nothing had happened." I sighed out and rested my fingertips lightly on my throat. "I couldn't breathe. It was like there was no oxygen, and... I heard this growl. When I tried to see what growled at me, I saw eyes. Red. Like fire." I shrugged and leaned my head back. "And then I woke up."

My eyes flashed to Dean as he chuckled darkly. "That's it?" he asked. "You afraid of the dark or something, Scoob?"

"-Dean!" Sam chastised his older brother for his apathy."Of course not," I scoffed. "I just- it was just unsettling. There was something... not natural about it."

"We specialize in 'not natural,' sweetheart," Dean continued. "You think it had anything to do with these voices you keep hearing?"

"I don't know," I mumbled, pressing a palm to my temple. My head was throbbing, like a dull headache. "Oh! I forgot to mention it earlier but- I heard the whisper again. Right before your dad attacked me, it told me to duck."

"It told you to duck?" Sam asked, obviously confused. "Why?"

I shrugged. "Probably because your dear old dad would have hit me in the back of the head if I hadn't."

"I dunno, maybe you deserved that for following us," Dean chimed. I glared at his stern features in the rearview mirror.

"And maybe you deserved that pretty cut across your face for being an ass," I snapped back. My harsh words only drew a rumbling chuckle from him. I resettled myself in my seat and shut my eyes once more as the interior of the car fell silent.

I jolted upon feeling the car take a familiar turn off the highway, one that would lead to my front door. I cracked a grin and straightened in my seat, leaning between Dean and Sam to stare out the front window.

Nerves hit me like a truck - was now really the best time to go back? My grin slipped from my face and instead I frowned, pondering. The boys had only just found their father, who supposedly had a huge lead on killing the demon that killed their mom. Killing a demon! What if they needed me?

My heart pounded. Calliope. Had she even made it to the pack? I should have called to check- I should have called to let them know I was coming home! God, that was stupid of me. They were my family, I needed to tell them these things.

Being a part of a family again was a lot harder than I thought.

I bolted upright again when I saw the lights of my house come into view. There was no way this wasn't my favorite place on earth. I beamed, remembering all the memories I had here. Repainting the house with Dennis had been one of the best - it had been an ugly beige color, but I somehow convinced him to go with an almost pastel blue. He had been so against it at first until we started doing it. He fell in love with the color after that.

I reached for my crutches and waited for the Impala to roll to a steady stop. Before Dean had even parked, my door was thrown open and I launched myself from it, struggling to walk and get my crutches under me at the same time. The pack bond was blazing, pulling me towards the painted house as I stretched the crutches as far ahead of me as I could to propel myself forward.

The front door was tossed open and from the opening popped Andrew's red hair, a wide, relieved grin on his features. He ran out the door and toward me, Sasha close behind with a dishrag in hand.

My crutches fell to the ground as Andrew threw himself at me, enveloping me in a warm hug. Sasha soon followed him, embracing me a bit more timidly after surely having noticed my injuries. I hugged back tightly, relieved that I was finally home.

I jumped and broke the embrace, hearing a squeal from the doorway. My eyes fell on Calliope, long hair tied into a loose braid and an apron draped across her front. In just a few bounds she had crossed the lawn and tackled me, practically knocking me over.

"You're back!" she exclaimed, pulling away and inspecting me with sheer joy.

"You're here!" I squealed back. "I was worried you hadn't made it!"

"Of course I made it! Why wouldn't I?" Calliope was practically shaking with excitement, her eyes raking over my form as if she hadn't seen me in years. Finally, her eyes settled with some confusion on my leg with a tight brace on it to restrict movement to keep me from further injuring my muscles. Her eyes widened with panic as they befell my crutches and her grip tightened on my upper arms. "What happened?"

A gentle hand rested on my good shoulder and I turned my head to meet Dean's green eyes, my backpack slung over one of his shoulders. "Just a couple thousand-year-old shadow demon," he said, smirking playfully. He extended his hand to Calliope. "Hi. Dean Winchester."

Calliope looked nervously between the two of us. "Your human friend?" she asked me. I nodded. She smiled softly and shook Dean's hand. "Calliope Jones. I’m a new friend." Her chest swelled with pride.

Andrew leaned forward to pick up my crutches and handed them to me. "What do you mean 'shadow demons'?"

"Ever heard of a Daeva?" I asked. He shook his head and I chuckled. "I wouldn't expect you to. I hadn't heard of them either. Basically, they're these shadow demon things that are really hard to summon and are vicious." The younger boy blinked in confusion, drinking it all in. I rolled my eyes playfully. "I'll fill you guys in later. Where's everyone else?"

"Booth turned in a few hours ago," Sasha chirped, her sweet voice music to my ears. I missed her- all of them. She was going to be pissed when she saw the state of my clothes. "Marcus and Caeden went hunting a couple of hours ago."

I nodded and turned to the Winchesters who were both rearranging luggage in the car. "Don't tell me you boys are leaving already?"

Sam glanced up at me, a woeful expression on his face. "We have to go," he started, straightening and brushing a long lock from his face. "We've got to find dad."

I scoffed and crossed my arms in irritation, much to my shoulder's displeasure. "John can wait a few hours. You boys are getting some sleep." I glared at Dean as he bolted upright to protest, silencing him. "I'll have you boys dragged in by your napes. You can head out tomorrow, but you're sleeping here tonight." I turned to Sasha, hobbling a bit as I spun. "Can you set up the pull out couch in the living room? I doubt they'll want to share the guest room bed," I teased with a glance over my shoulder at the brothers.

The six of us padded into the house and I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat on the living room couch. It had been too long since I was home, and the familiar scents and warm lights gave me an innate sense of comfort that I was sure nothing else ever would. This was my home. And of course, it could be argued that my pack was my home as well, but everyone needed roots. It kept us grounded.

I needed to be grounded.

I wasn't particularly worried about my self-control – as long as I remained around people I trusted and cared about, I had little concern. Truthfully, I was worried about my inability to change forms. How long would it last? And what the hell did I have to do to make it stop?

I must have dozed off at some point. The boys had gotten settled and wished everyone a pleasant night. After that, I remember staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours.

—

I bolted upright having been awoken by the sounds of a door opening, squeaking on its hinges. My eyes slowly adjusted to the room as I blinked furiously, peering through the darkness. My tired eyes latched onto a shadowed form on the front porch, just visible through the small window near the top of the door.

I rubbed a hand down my face, working the sleep out of my eyes. It was still dark out and couldn't have been any later than four in the morning, perhaps even earlier. I felt like I hadn't slept at all. With a deep inhale that rocked my lungs, I stood and reached for my crutches, making my way slowly towards the front door.

The door creaked as I pushed it open, but elicited no reaction from the figure on my porch. I sighed, recognizing who it was, and padded softly toward him.

"You're supposed to be sleeping, you know. That's the whole reason I told you to stay," I mumbled sleepily to Dean, rubbing a closed fist over my eye. He didn't respond, instead staring into the tree line with a tired expression.

"Did I wake you?" he finally asked, eyes unfocused and clearly deep in thought.

I yawned and placed a hand over my mouth. "Yeah, but I probably would have woken up soon anyway. What time is it?"

"’Bout three in the morning, I think," he mumbled back. I nodded and propped my elbow on the railing, resting my chin in my open palm.

"Then I would have been up in a couple hours anyway. Pretty much as soon as the sun started coming up," I reassured with a soft chuckle, almost unnoticeable.

Dean ran his fingers through his hair which was subtly less spiked. Clearly, he had at least laid down for a little while. He always slept on his stomach, it only made sense that his hair would be mssed because of it. "I thought skinwalkers liked to sleep during the day?" he teased.

I laughed a bit louder than I had intended, placing a hand over my mouth to muffle my laughter. "Yeah, some do. My sleep schedule has been all kinds of messed up in the last few months though," I yawned again. "I used to sleep the day away then come out at night. Everything just seems so peaceful and crisp at night, you know?" I sighed and smiled softly. "Even the air is better."

Dean nodded slowly and turned his head towards mine, green eyes swimming with unspoken thoughts. "I guess we messed up a lot more than your sleep schedule, huh?"

I frowned and locked yes with him, confused by his statement. "What makes you think that?"

Dean huffed and turned to face the tree line again, a resigned look resting on his tired features. "Ever since Sammy and I waltzed into your life, nothing's been the same. I mean, you're a hunter now, you've got a pack-" he chuckled darkly, "Hell, you've almost gotten killed a couple of times."

I hummed quietly, mulling it over. True, everything had changed, but I wouldn't say my life was messed up now. "I was bored out of my mind before you boys showed up." I inhaled deeply and spun around, back to the railing and elbows propped on it. "I had been on a few cases long before meeting you boys, but it had been a long time. Months before my uncle died." I paused and thought for a few moments. "Honestly, I think hunting was what I was missing. I love it, despite how crazy that sounds. I was raised on stories of hunting, and when I got a taste of it... I didn't want to let go."

I turned my head to meet Dean's eyes, his looking rather unsure. I mustered the sweetest smile I could and grinned at him. "I'm glad you boys dragged me back in. I didn't realize how much I missed it."

Dean scoffed playfully. "Why would you miss hunting? This life sucks."

“I think I like the… saving people part. I’ve done enough bad in my life, it feels nice to do some good.” I raised an eyebrow at him and nudged him in the arm. "Don't act like you wouldn't miss it."

He exhaled deeply, picking at his nails nervously. "If I could get out and have a life, then I would. White picket fence, kids, two dogs-"

"- Two dogs? I thought you didn't like dogs?"

"Yeah, two dogs – and I do like dogs, s'long as they don't shed. The apple pie life, you know?" He propped his chin in his hands and stared wistfully into the woods. "A house like this, too. Small, but warm, cozy, and out of the way of everything else."

"Would you get a normal job?" I inquired. He looked so peaceful, daydreaming about the perfect life. I wanted to see more of it.

"Yeah, I would," he said with a small smile. "Probably a mechanic, like my dad. I'd teach my kids all about cars, just like he taught me. We'd have pie on Sunday nights for dessert and have Sam visit from time to time..." his smile suddenly fell, replaced with a grim expression. He frowned, the skin between his brows wrinkling and dragging his eyebrows down with it in a sour expression.

"I want that for Sam," he continued, sounding almost lost. "And I want that for you."

Now it was my turn to frown as my own eyes perused his crestfallen features. "But not for yourself?"

"Of course, I want that for myself," Dean grumbled. "But it's just... not something I'll ever have. Kids, a wife, that whole life – maybe in another world that could be mine." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair once more, tugging at it gently in frustration. "Sam got out of this life once. He can do it again. I want you to get out too, away from the hunting, the demons, all the conflict."

I scoffed. "I hate to break it to you, Dean, but it's not in the cards for me either." His green eyes whipped to mine, a deep-set scowl on his handsome features. "Maybe if I was human, or even if I didn't have a pack to look out for... but not now. Hell, I don't know if I'll even find a partner."

"Do you want kids?" Dean asked. The question startled me and I glanced at him with wide eyes. The last time I had even thought about the prospect of kids was my first case with the boys, with Missouri...

"Honestly, I've never really thought about it," I mumbled and scratched the back of my neck. Why was I so embarrassed? "Never really been the motherly sort, you know?"

Dean laughed and cracked a grin, one that brought a smile to my own cheeks. "You seem plenty motherly with your pack."

My grin grew into a smirk. "Yeah, but they can feed themselves and don't need their diapers changed." Dean chuckled again at this and leaned further forward over the railing.

"So I take it that's a no?" he asked. I hummed questioningly. "About having kids? I guess that means no?"

I froze. Did that mean no?

I shook my head. "Whatever happens, happens. I'll just roll with the punches. If I have a kid, or two, or three, then yeah, I'll be ecstatic. And if I don't-" I frowned. What if I didn't? Missouri said I would, and in the near future, but what if she was wrong? "- If I don't, I've still got a family." My voice cracked as I spoke, betraying how I felt.

I hoped Missouri was right. Maybe I would have some pups of my own and have that apple pie life. Get away from hunting, maybe appoint Booth as the new alpha... my stomach lurched at the sudden thought. Give it all up? Maybe that didn’t sound so bad…

"I still want all that for you," Dean mumbled, once more tearing nervously at his nails. He had a habit of chewing them when he was deep in thought and picking at them when nervous. "For you to have a happy life away from all of this, both you and Sam-"

"Sam and I are never going to be happy with a life outside of this unless you're part of it," I stated, sounding a bit harsher than I intended. "And you and I both know that if either of us had a life outside of this, you'd stay as far away from us, so you don't ruin it."

Dean glowered and glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "I do have a habit of doing that," he grumbled as his eyes lazily scanned over my injured leg and finally befell the crutches leaning against the railing by my side.

I scoffed loudly and turned my face away from his, a dismissive glare on my features. "You don't ruin things, Dean."

He hummed in response, as though he didn't believe me. "Yeah, sure I don't..." he huffed disapprovingly and turned his green eyes away from me. "I didn't exactly act the way I should have when I saw you again in Wyoming... that made things worse."

"No, it didn't," I stated firmly. "You were pissed, and you had every right to be, but the fact that we can have this conversation now tells me that nothing is ruined." He inhaled deeply, ignoring my gaze and glaring down at the ground.

"What'd you and my dad talk about?" he asked, confusing me with his question. Why'd he change the subject so quickly? "On the way back to the hotel in Chicago? You guys took a long time getting back."

I placed a hand on my aching shoulder, rubbing it a bit. I'd need to change the bandages soon. "Nothing much. He didn't believe who I was at first."

"How much did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him I'm a skinwalker if that's what you're asking," I hissed out. "I'm not that stupid. I mostly told him the truth. Told him my mom died just a little after I was born, and lived with my dad until he left. Told him my uncle took me in and taught me how to hunt. Nothing too crazy or far from the truth."

Dean nodded, looking relieved. "Good," he muttered quietly. "He had your uncle’s number, didn't he? That's what you were trying to show me at the bar?"

I nodded. "Yeah, apparently they worked a couple cases together, though it had been years since they'd seen each other. Didn't even know he died." Dean nodded again, eyes scanning the horizon as the first blue-tinged rays of light dotted the sky. It was only four in the morning, but the sky was already brightening. I sighed and fluffed my hair, trailing my fingers through it in the hopes of undoing a few knots. "I'm sorry, Dean."

He perked up at this, casting me a rather confused glance. "What for?"

"For everything," I mumbled back. "Mostly for leaving. I didn't mean to hurt you."

He chuckled softly and reached to put an affectionate hand on my good shoulder. "You didn't hurt me. I get it, you had to go. Just... next time, let me know before you disappear without a word?"

I laughed softly and fixed my eyes on him, a smirk rising on my lips. "As long as you don't ask me to stay."

"No promises," he teased and spun, his back to the railing. "Thank you."

I straightened and looked at him quizzically. "What for?"

"For everything," he teased, mimicking my previous statement and earning a soft laugh from me. "Mostly for putting up with me. Not many people can."

"What are you talking about, Dean, you're a joy to be around," I said sarcastically.

"I try," he replied jokingly. He yawned, coaxing a yawn from my own lips. "I should probably try to get a couple more hours," he stated softly. "Got a long day of driving ahead of us."

"Where are you and Sam going to go?" I asked. John hadn't given any mention of where he was going.

Dean shrugged. "Sam found a case in North Carolina. Nothing too major, I think, probably just a vengeful spirit," I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I didn't like ghosts. "From there I guess we'll just... follow dad's trail. Try to track him down."

I nodded solemnly and fixed my gaze on Dean's once more. "If I asked you to stay, would you?" I asked quietly. Dean's eyes widened an almost imperceptible amount, his jaw becoming lax from surprise. His eyes surveyed mine with a certain wariness, as though he wasn't sure what to say.

"Yeah..." he finally whispered, trailing off as though he didn't believe it. "I think I probably would."

"Then you should go," I whispered back, standing and hoisting my crutches up next to me, my face only inches from his. "Before I ask you to."

He continued to scan my face with a certain bashfulness and confusion that I had never seen on him. "Do you want me to stay?" he asked timidly, leaning forward ever so slightly.

I gulped, my cheeks dusted with pink. Did I want him to stay? After another few long moments, I turned my face away from his. "You should go to bed, Dean. You've got a long day tomorrow," I said softly, leaning back against the banister again. Dean blinked, ridding himself of the confusion and sleeplessness plaguing his features.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Yeah, I probably should." He stood to his full height and turned away, his back towards me. With one last brief glance over his shoulder, he mumbled, "I'll see you around." And just as quickly as our conversation had begun, it ended, and once more I was left alone in the dark.

I covered my face with my hands when I heard the guest room door shut. My cheeks reddened from embarrassment. "God that was stupid," I muttered to myself. My cheeks flushed darker. I'd never seen Dean act like that before – I'd never seen myself act like that before.

What was wrong with me?

—

I woke mid-afternoon to the sound of Simon and Garfunkel, their wailing tones mixing with someone else's rough vocals. I blinked hard, adjusting to the bright golden lights filtering through my large windows, casting a soft glow onto my bed. When did I make it to my bed?

I stretched and reached for the crutches that leaned against the side of my bed and hobbled down the spiral staircase that led up to my loft. My leg was feeling a lot better than it had yesterday, but I doubted my tendons were even close to being fully healed.

The kitchen was just as bright, with the huge west-facing windows casting a massive amount of light into the room. I squinted and blinked, my eyes fighting to become accustomed to the light. Finally, my eyes landed on Marcus who was sashaying around the kitchen with various pots and pans and belting out the lyrics to 'Cecilia,' the sunlight bouncing off his blonde hair.

"Well look who finally decided to wake up!" he chirped, placing a soapy pan in the sink and pausing his music. "I thought you were going to sleep the day away, honestly."

I groaned and rubbed my eyes which were sore from an excessive amount of sleep. "I feel like I did sleep the day away," I said with a yawn as I sat at one of the bar stools on the edge of the kitchen. "Heard you and Caeden went hunting. When'd you get back?"

"About the time you and your hunter friend had your 3am rendezvous," he teased, scrubbing a pot that looked to have chili residue in it. "So what was that all about?"

My face flushed. "I heard him open the front door and decided to see what was up. We just... talked for a while."

"Mhm," Marcus teased with a smirk. "Yeah, I'm sure you two did a lot of talking." I didn't think my face could get any redder, but I was quickly proven wrong. Marcus sighed playfully and rinsed the pot, placing it on the drying wrack. "By the way, your boyfriend and his brother left a few hours ago."

"They left already?" I asked, a bit surprised by their sudden exit. Marcus nodded.

"Yep," he said, popping the 'p'. "And Dean said to give him a call when you woke up."

I frowned and contemplated a bit. They left without a word - though I suppose I deserved that, after how I left last time I saw them. "Did they say anything else?"

"Just that if you're up for a hunt when your leg heals, then they'd be willing to team up again," he replied, aggressively scrubbing some tongs. "By the way, Sasha changed your bandages for you after we brought you upstairs." I jolted at this, wondering how to hell they managed to do that without waking me – hell, I was in a pair of sleeping shorts now, the new wrappings clearly exposed. Somehow, despite all that, I slept through it. Marcus shrugged, seemingly knowing what I was thinking. "She's pretty gentle, and you were really out of it. Clearly, you needed the sleep."

"Yeah," I mumbled in agreement. "Yeah, I guess I did."

My mind was racing at nine hundred miles an hour, chasing any and all random thoughts that popped into my head. Did they really have to leave so soon? They could have at least waited until I woke up so I could say goodbye.

Maybe they got a lead they wanted to follow up on. Whatever their reason for leaving without any notice to me, I'm sure it was with good intention. I glanced towards the corner of the counter where my phone was plugged in next to the outlet. I contemplated calling Dean now, despite my throat being raw and dry from sleep.

Marcus dried his hands slowly, watching my eyes flicker around the counter in thought. Finally, he put the cloth down and rested his palms on the counter, leaning toward me.

"You care about him, don't you?" he asked, a serious expression on his face. This wasn't the usual teasing- this was sincere. I jolted when I met his green eyes, the sincerity in them shocking me back to reality.

"I care about both of them," I retorted, clasping my hands in my lap. "They're family."

Marcus' eyes regarded mine with scrutiny before he stood abruptly and tossed the dishrag over his shoulder. He reached to press play on his music, but I stopped him with a chuckle.

"Simon and Garfunkel, huh?" I teased, propping my chin on my open palm and elbow on the counter.

"Damn right," he exclaimed with a grin. "Best damn musicians, past, present, and future. I don't care what anyone says. The way they sang 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'?" he blew a kiss into the air. "Absolutely delectable! Nothing better."

I laughed, a wide grin spreading across my cheeks. "And what does Caeden think about that?"

Marcus huffed and crossed his arms over his chest indignantly. "Caeden has terrible taste in music. He likes Johnny Cash," he spat with a groan. "Wouldn't know good music if it bit him in the ass."

I giggled and brought a hand to cover my mouth, suppressing the loud laughter. Suddenly, an outstretched hand was thrust towards my face. My confused eyes traced the length of the arm back to Marcus, who wore a cocky grin on his face.

"Care to dance, alpha?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I laughed once more and took his hand. He dragged me out of my seat and held me tight, tilting me slightly to the side to keep too much weight off my injured leg. He reached towards the counter and pressed play on his music, the opening notes of  'Mrs. Robinson' filling the room.

I giggled as Marcus and I swayed around the kitchen, the both of us belting out lyrics like there was no one else around.

[msviolacea]

Thoughts on a very strange week. tw for discussion of death inside, mostly just introspection and babbling here.

It's still mostly unreal. You don't expect someone in their mid-40s to just drop dead at home. She had some fairly serious health issues, but it felt more like the "here are some really sucky things you'll have to live with for the next few decades," not ... this.

I knew Janine for what is, this year, exactly half of my life. Fandom brought us together, but after I recommended her for a job at the dysfunctional old office, that turned into more than two decades of professional camaraderie on top of friendship. I hadn't been as close to her as I was after we both left the old job, even after she ended up working at my new job, but by that point she felt like extended family. Someone who's always there, who you can pick up with at any point, who remembers all your weird family bullshit and strange personal quirks.

We always had music in common - music brought us together, and music ended up being the way we interacted outside of work more often than not. The last time I spent any time out of the office with her was last year, when she called and offered me her spare Matt Nathanson ticket, so we went and spent a Saturday afternoon singing and laughing at that new-ish venue up by the Twins stadium, then hanging out on the sidewalk afterwards for an hour, just catching up on all the things you don't talk about at work. I told her that she needed to come see our new house. She said that she'd love to, if the transportation worked out. (Her retinopathy was slowly stealing her eyesight, and had gotten to the point where she didn't feel comfortable driving in anything less than good light.)

She wasn't in the best friend tier, but she was in the family tier. And losing her feels like this weird numb void right now.

They did an informal gathering at the office yesterday, and I'm glad I went, because it showed me how much of an effect she'd had, now that she was in a department that allowed her to shine at the things she was good at. There's a whole cadre of 20-something research coordinators who just lost their "work mom," and are devastated. She knew who coached their old high school sports team, who watched the same reality TV as she did, who had medical issues that needed tending and who had kids getting over the latest school virus. She fussed over everyone, laughed with everyone, and was everyone's most enthusiastic cheerleader. (Everyone except herself, that is.) She entertained everyone with tales of her nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews, gossip and drama from the community theater troupe she worked with, and stories about her trips to visit friends and see concerts across the country.

She wasn't always cheerful. She had family issues, like many of us, and she never did find someone to share her life with and have kids with the way she wanted. She was high-strung when contending with the unknown in her professional life, though it seems that improved at least a bit in her current role - we all improved once we were out of that shitty office with its mold and self-important nurses who never left high school gossip behind. She was complicated and sometimes frustrating, but she had so much love to give everyone, and the enthusiasm to share that love wherever she went.

But now she's gone. And the world is a little dimmer for it.

After yesterday's gathering, I'm taking two life lessons away, things I'm going to work hard to remind myself of and put into practice in my own life. One, do the things you want to do, the things that are important to you, now. There's never enough time, and you don't know when yours will end. And two, expressing your interest in someone else's life is never the wrong move. There are sometimes when you live too much here on the internet where people try to convince you that reaching out to others is actually an imposition, because there's a weird philosophy that the only polite thing to do in this world is to leave everyone alone until they explicitly say they're interested in you. But that's bullshit. I sat there yesterday and listened to a bunch of people who were so, so grateful that Janine had made herself a part of their lives, large or small, and will remember her kindness and attention in some way for a very, very long time to come. Hell, I'm one of them. And to honor her, I'm going to try to come out of my introvert shell just a tiny bit more and try to be that light to someone else more often, when I have an extra spoon or two to spare.

I feel very odd this week. Odd, and emotionally drained, and not quite all mentally here. Death isn't a stranger to me, but that doesn't mean it doesn't punch me in the gut every time it comes calling.

Anyway. If you read this far, do me a favor - go listen to your favorite 80s or 90s boy band, or your favorite Broadway musical (especially Wicked), or your favorite boy-with-guitar singer-songwriter, and send a thought out into the universe for a woman you probably never met, but who deserves to be remembered anyway, even if it's just for the length of a song.

[fiveraccoonsinatrenchcoat]

Vincent Van Babe-Magnet

Eddie Munson x f!reader

Description: You run into an old childhood crush, and Eddie befriends a family of very dapper rodents.

Warnings: None! Other than the fact that this is very silly.

Word Count: 1956

My Masterlist!

"Why does it feel like this is going to be way harder than we thought?" Staring at the giant canvas drop stretched across Stage B in the Hawkins Community Theater building, you sighed.

Though you never would have believed it possible, it seemed as though Eddie's deep rooted nerd nature had extended to Dustin even more so than it already had: he convinced the kid to go do tech for the theater's spring musical, a production of Sweeney Todd. 'Just check it out, see if you like it,' Eddie had said.

Turns out, Eddie had been correct in thinking Dustin would like it.

How that somehow meant you two had to get roped into it too is beyond you, but nevertheless, there you stood on this Saturday afternoon in your nicest-worst overalls, eyes scanning across the project in front of you. Eddie seemed ecstatic; he had been in the school's musicals as a freshman and sophomore, until his grades started to slip and the school stopped letting him audition. You, on the other hand, thought the idea of performing on stage in front of the entire school and everyone's grandma (so, really, half of the whole town) seemed downright horrifying.

"Guys! Hey!" you heard Dustin call from behind you. "Thanks for doing this, seriously. We are, like, majorly short-handed right now."

"No worries, dude," Eddie assured him. "It'll be fun!"

You nodded with enthusiasm,. though the very large and nearly blank canvas in front of you had you worrying. Dustin and Eddie started on one of their many semi-nonsense sounding conversations as you turned away to look for someone who seemed like they might be in charge. You quickly spotted a familiar face (or rather, familiar back-of-head), which alleviated some of your nervousness.

"Mr. Jesperson," you greeted as you walked up behind the currently crouched over a small mountain of paint buckets. "I didn't know you'd be here!"

"Oh! Hey," he responded. He pushed himself off of the ground and was about to shake your hand, before he realized he had planted it right into a puddle of mucus green paint and pulled it back to wipe it across his jeans. They looked like they could be their own art piece, with how many paint smears and splatters littered the acid washed fabric. "Haven't seen ya in ages. Wouldn't'a pegged you as the performance arts type."

"I'm not, really. Eddie, he wanted to help, but I was coerced," you clarified and gestured to your boyfriend behind you, who seemed to have gotten into some kind of very dramatic debate with Dustin and another boy you hadn't met before. "Dustin said you guys really needed it."

"Yeah, that kid can be very persuasive," Mr. Jesperson said with a laugh.

"I'd say more like 'unendingly stubborn and mildly vindictive,' but yeah, persuasive works too."

Mr. Jesperson was one of the art teachers at Hawkins High. He'd only started during your sophomore year, but he quickly became a favorite among the student population. He was one of the youngest faculty members, he wasn't evil like his predecessor had been, and he was an out-of-towner. He had moved to Hawkins from Chicago to take care of his grandmother after his mom passed away unexpectedly, which meant he hadn't fallen prey to all of the gossip that spread through this town like wildfire: I.E. he never had it out for Eddie. In fact, he quite liked having your boyfriend in class, and Eddie actually liked being in them. He was, by far, the best teacher he had ever had.

Eddie and Dustin were done with their debate, and Eddie sidled up to you. He tossed an arm around your shoulders before pointing his attention towards your former teacher.

"Jesperson!" he exclaimed. He had a tendency to forget how loud he could be. "Dustin said you might be here."

"It's good to see ya, Eddie," Mr. Jesperson said with a nod. "How's the band going? Haven't heard anything bout you guys in a while."

"Jeff moved for school." Eddie said morosely. "Tried to figure it out, but it's looking pretty dead in the water."

"Aw, man. Sorry to hear that," Mr. Jespersen said as he crouched back down onto the black stage floor. "I'm sure you'll find something else, though. You've got more musical talent in your pinky than I have in my whole body."

"Eh, we'll see," Eddie did his best to deflect the compliment, but you could practically feel the blush inching its way towards his cheeks. You leaned just a little bit closer into him as you opened your mouth to ask how the two of you could help, before a crash in the wings interrupted you. Mr. Jesperson let out a sigh and brought a hand to the bridge of his nose. It left a little pink fingerprint right between his eyebrows.

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” he murmured. “Let me go make sure no one died. Or destroyed any more of my props.”

“Any more?” you prodded.

“Yeah, you can ask your friend over there about that,” Mr. Jesperson stood back up again and shot a glance towards Dustin, who was paying zero attention to what was happening and seemed much more interested in the gadgets he was messing around with. You and Eddie shared a look and tried to stifle your giggles. “You guys get started on this. Everything’s already drawn, all you gotta do is fill in the colors.”

“What colors do you want?”

“All the sketches are over here, you can follow the ones on those if you want to, but they’re not set in stone or anything. I trust you two.” Mr. Jesperson turned away from you two in a rush, and you heard him call as he walked away, “Matthew, I swear to god, if I have to fix that chest again, I’m locking you in it overnight!”

You and Eddie weren’t able to contain your laughter much longer after that. 

“I’m finding Dustin after this and making him tell me what he broke,” you stated as you sifted through Mr. Jesperson’s sketches. “I bet it was something expensive.”

“Should I be worried about him?” Eddie asked with a smug grin. You met his gaze with confusion. 

“About Dustin?” you questioned. “What do you mean? Kid’s having the time of his life over there.”

“No, not Dustin,” he clarified. “About Mr. Dreamboat.”

“Oh, God,” you groaned with an eye roll. “I really wish I hadn’t told you about that!”

“You’re the one who's in love with him!” Eddie teased. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I get it, I really do, but I feel like I might need to be a little bit concerned!”

“I am not in love with him!” you defended yourself, the sinking weight of embarrassment settling itself in your gut.

“Tell that to 15 year old you,” he said with a laugh. “I bet you she’s in there somewhere, probably drooling over his paint stained clothes and muscley arms.”

“I’m going to actually kill you,” you said, wielding a paint brush as if it were a knife. 

“Nah, you won’t, you like me too much.” Eddie grabbed a paint tray and a few brushes, and planted himself at the bottom left corner of the canvas. He was quiet for a moment as he started spreading brown paint within the outline of a small family of rats tucked into the corner of the scene. “Not as much as you like Vincent Van Babe-Magnet, though.” 

You let out a groan, but joined him by his side with your own paint and brushes anyway. You knew he was just teasing you, that any jealousy you might pick up from him is all fabricated. Besides, you knew for a fact that he had been head over heels for his freshman English teacher in ninth grade. 

The pair of you worked on your own little sections in relative silence, eventually sharing your paint trays with each other and occasionally asking for the other’s input on the shading or details of whatever it was you were focused on. While you were making a pretty solid amount of progress, Eddie had been pouring all of his attention of the last hour into the rat family, which now all had little eighteenth century outfits, complete with tiny silk tophats and lace parasols. 

“Eddie, I don’t think the rats in seventeen-eighty-whatever London were going to the tailor,” you said to him. You had now moved a few feet down the canvas, but you still had a good view of Eddie’s rodent noblemen. 

“You don’t think they're handsome?” he asked you, feigning offense. 

“They’re a very stylish family of rats, I’m just not sure if they really fit into the story all that well.”

Eddie let out a dramatic gasp and clutched a hand to his chest. He leaned down closer to the canvas, speaking to the painted rodents as if they were real and also understood English. 

“Don’t listen to her, guys. You belong wherever you wanna be!” he less-than-quietly whispered into the still wet paint. He turned back to you with that mischievous glint in his eyes that you didn’t think you could ever stop adoring. “Apologize. Right now.”

“Eddie.” Any other day you would have absolutely played along, but it was starting to get late and your back was aching from being crouched down on the ground.

“Not to me,” Eddie said. “Apologize to Ralexander.”

“Ralexander?”

“Yeah, and his wife MargaRat, and their children Ratbitha and SebRatstian.”

“Oh, my god.”

“Ralexander is a member of Parliament.”

“Ralexander, I am truly sorry,” you said, though you could barely keep a straight face while you did. “MargaRat, may I say, you look beautiful tonight.”

Eddie brought his ear to the canvas and nodded along to the imaginary rats’ words.

“MargaRat says thank you, but Ralexander feels as though you’re trying to make a pass at his wife.”

“Eddie, I love you, but can we please go home?” you asked. Eddie stood up and stretched with a face splitting yawn. the tiniest sliver of his tummy peeked through the gap left between his waistband and ripped up t-shirt.

“Yeah, I think I’m starting to go a little bit insane,” Eddie said.

“Starting?”

“Ha, ha.”

You helped clean up and said a few goodbyes (turns out Dustin knocked over and shattered a lamp on the second day he was there), including a very awkward interaction with Mr. Jesperson in which Eddie kept hinting towards you childhood crush, though thankfully it seemed as though your former teacher remained oblivious. 

 The pair of you were just five or so minutes into the drive back to your shared apartment when you started to nod off in the passenger seat. You were trying as hard as you could to keep your attention to what Eddie was saying, but it was late and you could feel the exhaustion slowly overtaking you.

“Dustin said they’re gonna do Rocky Horror for Halloween,” Eddie told you. You were much too sleepy to respond beyond a hum. “I kinda wanna audition.”

“You should,” you mumbled.

“I bet ya if we moved to L.A. I would make a great movie star,” Eddie stated.

“We’re not moving to L.A.,” you grumbled. “We don’t have any money and L.A. is expensive.”

“Well, my mad acting skills and rugged good looks would make up for our lack of funds,” he explained, as if it would be that simple. “I’d star in some blockbuster action-horror flick and make us millions.”

You were barely awake when you mumbled out an agreement, almost drowned out by the hum of the van's engine and the quiet music playing through the speakers.

“Yeah, you would."

[morethanthedarkness]

starter for @banefulbenevolence

Upon reaching the city, everyone had somewhere they needed to go the moment they were able to enter.

Except Halsin who had chosen to set up the camp, along with Szaryn and the other drow they had added along the course of the trek. [ Tecothy and Zerith did not seem overly eager to enter into the city proper, and Thraeya could hardly blame them. Already they had gotten quite a bit more attention than they would have liked just at Wyrm's Crossing, and both were skittish even just around the camp if caught unawares. ]

Lae'zel had chosen to stay with the camp as well, in case the druid and the drow needed assistance. [ The druid is too soft-natured and she wonders if ever the drow have had to set up camp proper before now. No, Lae'zel. Camp never needed to be so complicated in the Underdark. There was never any weather with which to contend and no reason for a tent when it would do little good against what dangers did lurk. TCHK. ]

Astarion and Shadowheart had joined forces, both on missions of fact-finding to see what they might learn of their respective problems with the relative safety of numbers. Thraeya had insisted that Gale also go with them. [ Mostly because she didn't wish for him to follow her on her own quest. ]

The others had all busied themselves with something of great import to their respective missions.

Thraeya's only mission at the moment was to find this damned Tower and make certain that Rolan and his siblings had reached the city without further issue.

Over the course of this journey, she had become quite fond of the three, Rolan in particular.

How-ever the wizard-in-training had begun their acquaintance, he had come a long way since the Grove. His gratitude at being reunited with his siblings and him calling her his friend had done wonders to lift her spirit when the oppressiveness of the Shadow Curse meant to smother it. She could have hugged the three of them herself if she hadn't thought Rolan might rethink his proclamation.

The short of it, is that she thinks them family, extended, just as it had been for the no-longer petrified drow who chose to join them, the former drider who seemed never to stray far from her or Halsin, and a no-longer-Lolth-or-Absolute-sworn wizard who had been just as fussy as Astarion but far more quick to flinch if she isn't very careful.

It's an odd family, but she wouldn't change it.

That is exactly why she sets off on her own, to be certain that the three Tiefling family members she hadn't found at the refugee camp had made it…

Which would be wonderful if she could make any damn sense of this blasted labyrinth of a city. The twisting and winding deeps of the Underdark are less confusing. [ And less damn bright. ]

Tall as she is, it is a simple thing to direct her gaze over the heads of the crowds milling about…

It is perhaps less simple to do so without running right into someone on her blindside… and her in full splint armor, no less…

Gauntlet-clad hands flash out in the case that the unfortunate collision victim might need steadying and already words are spilling over, spoken by a voice brighter and more melodic than might have been assumed from one of her stature.

"I apologize. I was a bit preoccupied with trying to make my way through this crowd and…"

There's a self-deprecating smile that follows, ever so slightly lopsided for the pull of her scarring, even as she gestures to the issue—her blinded left eye.

"Ah, I was careless not to pay more heed to my range of sight. You are unhurt, I hope? If it is otherwise, I ask that you would allow me to mend whatever harm I have caused."

[sugdenlovesdingle]

A secret shared (AO3)

Written for the @tarlosweeklyprompts word of the day prompt: Secret (though if you squint you can probably make it work for all of the prompts so far)

Some TK and Andrea bonding for you on this fine Sunday.

Also Gwyn is alive because I said so.

Also also - all of the medical stuff is based on years watching Grey's Anatomy and the like so take it with a *large* grain of salt.

------

TK hadn't meant to end up here. He'd planned to just go home after his shift. Just like everyone else.

The only problem was that home was missing something, or rather someone.

And going home to an empty house was as appealing as almost dying of hypothermia again.

So instead of heading downtown to the loft, he'd gone the other way and ended up here.

He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer.

"TK, mijo, I wasn't expecting to see you today. What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

TK forced a smile.

"Hola mama." he said and let Andrea usher him inside. "Everything is fine... I just didn’t want to go back to an empty house after work... I'm not interrupting am I?"

"Of course not sweetheart. You're always welcome here, you know that."

TK sat down at his usual place at the kitchen table, surprised to see there wasn't something cooking on the stove.

He looked around and realised something else was missing.

"Is Gabriel not home?"

"No, he's working late. Why? Do you need to talk to him? I can call him, he won't mind, you know he won't."

TK shook his head, feeling stupid for showing up on his mother in law's doorstep just because he was lonely, when she was alone too, and perfectly fine by the looks of it.

"Are you hungry? Have you eaten today? You have to take care of yourself mijo."

"I know. And I am, I promise." he sat back in his chair and a smile tugged at his lips. "Carlos made enough food to feed a small army for about a year before he left."

Andrea smiled and sat down too.

"And why aren't you at home eating it?" she asked. "Not that I'm not happy to see you of course." she rushed to say and squeezed his hand across the table.

"I'm just... lonely. I miss him. The loft is too quiet, the bed is too big..." TK rubbed a hand over his face. "I feel stupid. It's not like we've never been on opposite schedules and it's not even the first time he's been away for work."

"It's not stupid to miss your husband when he's not there. I bet Carlos is feeling the exact same way." Andrea offered. "I know I still do when Gabriel is working on a big case and I barely see him for weeks. He'll come home to change his shirt and he'll be out that door again. Barely giving himself time to breathe, let alone eat or sleep."

TK smiled.

"That sounds like someone else I know."

"Oh yes, that boy is so much like his father, it's almost scary. The girls are a mix of us both, but Carlos? He's all Gabriel."

"He doesn't see it."

"Neither does Gabriel." Andrea said and gave him a conspiratory wink. "You're staying for dinner right? I ordered pizza but I can never finish a whole one by myself."

TK stared at her in shock.

"You ordered pizza? Who are you and what have you done with my mother in law?"

Andrea laughed.

"My husband is away for work and I was feeling lonely so I decided to indulge myself and order something that's bad for me." she told him. "And then my favourite son in law stopped by to keep me company."

"I'm your only son in law."

"And you're still my favourite." she said and got up when the doorbell rang. She paid for the pizza and tipped the delivery boy more than the kid had probably ever gotten. "One slice or two?"

TK took one slice out of the box and took a bite, even though he wasn't very hungry.

Andrea asked him about his day and filled him in on the latest news on Carlos' sisters and the rest of the extended Reyes family, and TK felt himself relax for the first time since Carlos had left.

"Do you want to stay over tonight sweetheart?" Andrea asked. "You know you're always welcome to stay in Carlos' old room. I keep telling Gabriel we should get a bigger bed for that room so you boys can stay over more often. I hate the thought of you driving back late at night."

TK smiled and shook his head.

"It's fine. I have a shift again tomorrow and it's a long commute from here. I'd rather spend that time getting a little extra sleep."

"Alright but if you change your mind, the offer is there."

"I know. Thanks." TK said and forced himself to have another slice of pizza. "Does it get easier? Being married to a cop?" he asked after a few minutes.

"I'll let you know when I find out." Andrea replied. "Not a day goes by where I don't worry about Gabriel. Or Carlos. Or you." she said and gave him a pointed look. "I saw you in hospital after you'd gone through the ice... I never want to see you like that again."

"I don't plan on doing that again, trust me."

"Good. Because I don't think my nerves can handle that. You're my son as much as Carlos is, I want to keep both of you in one piece."

"I'll do my best." TK promised and nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone buzzed. He quickly checked the notification.

"Is that from Carlos?"

"No." TK sighed. "It's the rookie officer I talked into sending me updates on him. He can't keep his own phone on him when he's out there. The case is coming along nicely and Carlos is doing fine and loves me." he summed up the message.

"That's good isn't it?" Andrea asked and TK nodded, eyes still glued to his phone. "TK? Everything alright sweetheart? TK?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, I uh... zoned out for a second there." he put his phone face down on the table. "I just wish I could talk to him for five minutes."

"I'm sure he will call you the second he gets his phone back." Andrea offered. "Or when he gets his hands on any working phone when it's safe for him to do so."

"Yeah..."

"And at least you don't have to wait until he can get change for a payphone or convince someone to let him make a long distance call from a landline."

"You're speaking from experience aren't you?"

Andrea smiled.

"When I was pregnant with Carlos and the girls were still little, Gabriel was away for work too. He'd just joined the rangers and he wanted to impress the other officers. He worked long hours and we barely saw him. My sister, your tia Lucy, was staying with us to help with the kids because I was huge. " she laughed. "I don't think I saw my feet at all after the fourth month. And Gabriel kept telling me I looked beautiful."

TK smiled. His in law's marriage was so different than what he remembered from his own parents. He knows they loved each other and in a way still do, but also they shouldn't be allowed near each other for more than an hour without buffer.

"I remember when I was almost 7 months pregnant with Carlos," Andrea started again. "He was a very active baby. Always moving and kicking. Sometimes it felt like he was doing somersaults in there or performing a dance routine." she smiled, allowing herself to get lost in the memories for a moment. "But then one day I barely felt him. I knew something was wrong but everyone kept telling me that he was just getting bigger and had less space to move around." she shook her head. "I could feel something was wrong. I called the doctor and they told me to relax and that my baby was just resting."

TK frowned, his medical knowledge kicking in.

"They didn't even ask you to come in for tests?" he asked, remember a call a few weeks ago where they'd rushed a heavily pregnant woman to hospital because her baby had stopped moving and she'd called 911.

"It was a different time." Andrea waved his comment away. "I convinced myself the doctors knew best but when I started having pains, I told Lucy to stay with the girls and I took a taxi to the hospital."

"Pains? Were you in labour?" TK asked, trying to remember if Carlos had ever mentioned being born premature.

"I thought I was. But Carlos still wasn't moving and I was panicking. And the worst thing was that I had no way to contact Gabriel. He was in California working a big case with the LAPD and all I had was a number for the hotel he was staying at. All I could do was leave a message for him at the front desk. "

"And did you?"

"No. I couldn't tell him our baby died through a message on a hotel notepad."

"Wait, died? I thought this was Carlos?"

"It was. But I was convinced he'd died. That my baby had died inside of me." she paused to collect herself. "I've never told anyone about this. Carlos doesn't know, Gabriel doesn't know. Even Lucy doesn't know the full story."

"I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"Thank you sweetheart." Andrea patted his hand. "When I got to hospital there was a very sweet nurse on duty who listened to me and just sprung into action right away. She ordered tests and put this gel on my stomach to listen to his heartbeat. I cried when I heard it. I was so relieved he was still alive."

TK let out a sigh of relief that he wasn't about to hear about his husband's heart stopping again.

"So what was the problem?"

"His heartbeat was too slow and the position he was in meant he wasn't getting enough oxygen. At one point there were five doctors in my room arguing about what to do. Three wanted to deliver Carlos via emergency c-section, the other two wanted to wait and see if his oxygen levels would stabilise if they gave me more oxygen."

"What did they do?"

"They gave me an oxygen mask and argued over test results. And I just kept listening to Carlos' heartbeat, praying it wouldn't stop. Until Carla, the nurse, had had enough and took action. She told me she was going to try and make Carlos change position in my belly so I wouldn't have to have my baby without his daddy present."

"And that worked?"

Andrea nodded.

"After a few tries. I never cried harder than when I felt him kick again. That's when I vowed I would always do everything and anything I could to make sure he was happy and healthy and safe." she looked down at the table. "But I know I haven't always done a very good job with that."

"He doesn't blame you." TK told her, knowing her and Gabriel's lack of reaction after his coming out was still a sore spot for Carlos, but he never blamed them for any of the issues he might have gotten from that. Whether or not that was the right or healthy thing to do, TK had decided to leave to him and doctor Ryan, his therapist.

"I know. But I blame me. I never asked him about his love life. I never asked him about boys like I did with the girls... I didn't know how to talk to him about that part of him and made him feel like he couldn't talk to us, to me. If I could go back in time..." Andrea trailed off." Parenting is a hard job, mijo, you'll see when you and Carlos have kids of your own. "

TK glanced at his phone again before taking a deep breath and looking his mother in law in the eye.

"That might be sooner than you think. We met with someone from an adoption agency before Carlos went away and we've officially been approved. I got an email from our case worker earlier but didn't see it until I got the update on Carlos." he explained. "They will have to do home visits and everything when someone chooses us... But it's a first step... To us becoming parents." he beamed. "We never thought it would happen this fast."

Andrea got up and rounded the table to hug him.

"I'm so happy for you. You boys are going to make wonderful parents."

TK happily returned the hug and let his mind drift to a moment in the hopefully not too distant future where he would wake up in the middle of the night to find Carlos feeding their son or daughter, or maybe dancing around the living room with them to get them back to sleep.

Suddenly TK's phone buzzed again and when he picked it up he saw a video call request from an unknown number.

He debated rejecting it but his curiosity got the better of him and he hit accept.

The screen went black for a second but then Carlos' tired but smiling face appeared.

"Hey babe." he said casually, like they'd seen each other that morning and he was just downtown at the precinct.

"Hey baby." TK happily greeted him. "Did you steal someone's phone?"

Carlos laughed.

"No, just borrowed. With their knowledge." he added with a wink. "We just caught the guy. It's all over."

"It is? Are you sure?"

Carlos nodded.

"Do you want me to put sergeant Grant on to fill you in on the case? I'm sure she'll be happy to. This is her phone after all."

"No, not unless she can tell me when I can expect my husband to be back where he belongs."

"Soon." Carlos promised. "As soon as I get my own phone back, I'm booking a flight and I'll let you know when I'll be home."

"Maybe I can convince Judd to give me lift in the rig and turn on the sirens so we can get onto the tarmac. His first official emergency as captain" TK said, only half joking.

"Please don't. I don't want Judd to lose his job this soon after he started it for misuse of city property."

"Says the man who flashed his badge to get past airport security and nearly knocked me to the ground because he hugged me so tight."

"You nearly died! In the air!" Carlos protested and next to TK Andrea laughed. "Wait, are you at my parents' house?"

TK moved the phone a little so Andrea would fit in the frame too.

"Hola mijo. TK and I are having a mother and son night. We ordered pizza."

"You ordered pizza? Who are you and what have you done with my mother?"

"I said the same thing!" TK laughed.

"I'm allowed to indulge myself every now and then." Andrea told him. "Be safe out there sweetheart, te amo." she blew him a kiss.

"I will mama. Te amo." Carlos promised.

TK turned the phone back to himself.

"And I love you too. And when you get home I'm going to teach you the meaning of taking some time off to spend with your husband."

"Already taken care of. I have two weeks off the second I land in Austin."

"Detective Strand-Reyes, we're ready to get out of here." someone said off screen.

"Ok, I'll be right there." he turned back to TK. "I have to go, but I promise I'm on the first flight out of here. Even if I have to fly in the cargo hold." he said and TK had no doubts he meant it.

"See you soon baby. I love you."

"I love you." Carlos replied and ended the call.

"Aren't you going to tell him about the adoption news?" Andrea asked.

"As soon as he's home. I want to see him and be able to hold him and kiss him when I tell him."

Andrea smiled.

"he won't hear it from me. But when the time comes, I want to be the first to know so I can go baby clothes shopping for my grandchild. And I get babysitting privileges."

TK laughed.

"Deal. Though you'll probably have to compete with my mother on that."

"She's in New York, I can take her."

[c4ts4ndstuff]

Chrumblr's May Whump Challenge! Day Three: Carry

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Word count: 1008

I had a hard time with this one, until it suddenly all came pouring out! This is set vaguely in the future when they're pro-heroes. Can be read as Tsu/Izuku but was written platonically. I love their friendship 🥹💕

Izuku had been patrolling, when he crossed paths with Tsu. She was in costume, helping an elderly lady who seemed to have dropped her groceries on the sidewalk. Izuku had jogged over to them, and stooped down to help out. He had been making some conversation with Tsu and the old lady, who had introduced herself as Akamatsu-san, about the meal she was planning to make for her visiting family, when a loud CRACK made the street stutter into silence.

Izuku had jerked up, tomato still in hand, and scanned his surroundings. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tsu do the same, as she held out an arm in front of Akamatsu-san.

Screams rang out as the ground began to shake.

Tsu, being closer, kept Akamatsu-san from falling and held onto her to help keep her steady.

Izuku frantically looked to find the origin of the noise, eyes widening when he finally found it.

One of the buildings on the street, a two-story building which Izuku vaguely remembered as being notable for being several decades old and not having had a single villain damage it, was falling onto the street.

Izuku flew over there before he think anything else. Eyes searching for the cause, Izuku saw no one suspicious as he got between the building and the road, and used Blackwhip to act as a net, protecting the scrambling civilians below him.

"I'll evacuate anyone inside." Tsu called out to Izuku, hopping through a broken window inside. Izuku grunted as he concentrated on holding the building up.

He could occasionally see Tsu as she helped injured people out of the building, where another hero (Izuku recognized her as Spitfire, a hero just a couple years older than him who could create sparks and fireworks which was really good for temporarily blinding villains, and making signals, and- focus Izuku) who had shown up, would help them get away from under the building.

Eventually, Tsu came out by herself.

"Deku, the building's clear, kero." She ribbited, before hopping over to a couple people who still hadn't gotten out from under the collapsing building, and ushered them away.

Izuku strained as he tried to figure out the best way to let go of the building. He didn't want it causing anymore damage, but the rubble that had slowly been raining down reminded him he didn't have much time to think it through.

When the ground was clear, Izuku floated backwards slowly, as he extended blackwhip. The building came down in short bursts, clumps of bricks falling and crashing to the ground.

Izuku felt his heart stop as a small section of the corner, broke off and bounced off the side of the building, and headed straight towards Akamatsu-san who was leaning against a storefront, to feeble to run.

"Watch out-!" Izuku yelled, desperation in his voice.

Akamatsu-san stumbled backwards against the wall, before Tsu's long pink tongue wrapped around her waist, and gently tossed her towards Spitfire, who caught her and ushered her into the crowd.

Izuku watched in horror as Tsu, from the momentum of throwing Akamatsu san, moved closer to the collapsing building. He tried to use blackwhip to reinforce that side of the building more, but he was already stretching himself thin. He could only watch as rubble fell, heading straight for Tsu.

"Tsu!" Izuku called out, wishing he could reach out to her, but couldn't spare a single tendril of blackwhip. The street around them rumbled, the sound of falling rubble drowned out all other noises, so she probably couldn't hear him anyway but-

It landed.

She wasn't moving.

How could things have gone so wrong, so fast?

Izuku forced himself to focus on lowering the building, pulling it as much as he dared, away from Tsu's prone body.

She has to be okay. Izuku thought desperately.

With a shudder, the building was finally on the ground.

Izuku forced himself to keep an eye on his surroundings, as he ran towards Tsu.

Something had to have caused this,

No villain made their appearance, no cackle, no monologue. Dust clouded the air, and Izuku coughed as he threw himself to his knees in front of Tsu -she's not waking up- and began checking her vitals.

She was alive. Her pulse faint, but there.

Blood pooled under her unconscious body. Izuku felt his stomach sink as he saw it concentrated around her head.

Izuku quickly found the wound on her hand. He was applying pressure to stop the bleeding, when he saw a pair of boots step up to them.

"An ambulance is on the way," Spitfire cut straight to the point, as she crouched down next to Tsu.

"ETA?" Izuku asked, and felt nothing but dread as Spitfire grimaced.

"There was a villain attack twenty minutes south, just before the building collapsed, and it's clogged the streets. It's going to be at least a half hour before they get here."

"That's too long." Izuku said, unable to tear his eyes away from Tsu's face. Her face was pale, and her mouth left open from her tongue sticking out, she hadn't even had enough time to pull it all the way back in before she was hit.

With shaking hands, Izuku brushed her hair off of her face.

You're not supposed to move someone with unknown injuries, Izuku numbly remembered. One wrong move with a neck or back injury, and the person will be left with even worse injuries than before. Their class at UA had been assigned a paper on that years ago.

Tsu would die before the ambulance got here.

He heard Spitfire gasp and start to speak as he gently, oh so carefully, lifted Tsu into his arms. Her head fell against his shoulder, and he shifted until he was sure she was stable in his arms.

Ignoring Spitfire, Izuku used One for All to jump high into the sky, and pushed float to its limits towards the nearest hospital.

Izuku glanced down at Tsu, craddled in his arms.

Please be okay Tsu.

[cheerfullycatholic]

Hey, apologies in advance for the ramblings but I really need someone to talk to about this anonymously 😅 so basically idk if I’m crazy or should genuinely feel ridiculous or like a loser??? But I’m currently living in Europe and one of my good friends is getting married in a few months and is out in the states. I’m supposed to be going out there for the wedding but I honestly think it’s been making me sick with stress. See, I am on the spectrum and I like to be able to do what I want and get away from people when I need to but there’s like an entire set of plans with more of her friends and of course extended family who I have never even talked to before and it’s not that I think they’ll be horrible but it’s a long time to be somewhere new and ofc she is going to be busy prepping for the wedding itself and I thought I’d be able to do things alone but I found out where she’s currently living is actually quite far from anything and I might have to rely on her other family to get me places. On one hand, I feel so dumb because it seems like such a great opportunity to also visit this place but on the other hand, it really is so much to not be guaranteed alone time and knowing she won’t be there all the time idk I’ve just been really sick to the point of passing out lately and this is the only thing I can think of that has caused such an increase in stress and I feel kind of pathetic for it? In any case, if you have any words of wisdom, advice etc I’d appreciate it and please prayers 🥺

Dude I totally get you, and it's not ridiculous or pathetic. I don't know if I'm on the spectrum but I deal with the same things all the time, and they just make my chronic illness worse. My nephew's birthday party and my step uncle's wedding are both tomorrow and I was having a rough time health wise just with the party but the wedding was hastily planned two weeks ago which was not enough time to mentally prepare for, and my nephew's party is in a place I've never been to before mostly with people I either don't like or don't know and I've been dying, man. And I can't drive so I can't just leave, ya know? Not unless someone takes me home and I can't expect anyone to do that. But at least these events are all in my general area, I couldn't imagine how it would feel to be in a different country! I will definitely keep you in my prayers

Firstly, since it's making you sick, you do not have to go or do all the things she wants you to. She's your friend, she should understand that your health just won't permit it and going could make it worse. It's okay to take care of yourself. But if you decide to go, what are some things that help you calm down and deal? For me it's listening to show tunes. I bought these open ear bluetooth earbuds (link goes to Amazon) specifically so I can listen to Hamilton at the events tomorrow without anyone knowing because I can hide them behind my hair, and since they're open ear I can both hear the music and the people around me both just fine and they don't hurt after awhile like normal earbuds do. I wouldn't be going to either events if I hadn't gotten these. You mentioned alone time, maybe tell your friend about your struggles and that you sometimes need time to relax and breathe by yourself and maybe she could figure out a place where you could rest. If you go, do what you gotta do, make gathering all of the stuff you can to help yourself a fun thing

[oakthcrn]

The Grand Palace - Os Alta - Lark's POV

There was an angelic grace in the way his footfalls fell purposely against the pristine cobblestone of the Grand Palace. His beautiful, slender fingers were loosely laced in mine as he led me through the back gardens. The alluring smell of desserts mixed with fine wine perfumed the air. It was the Tsaritsa's name day and while Grisha were present in the grand ballroom, they had been there for no other purpose than guarding the royal family. The invitations had not been extended to the Little Palace to the chagrin of her fellow Grisha.

That never stopped Caelum, though. Once he had gotten something into his mind, there was no dispelling him of the consequences if we happened to be caught. I didn't want to earn the ire of General Kirigan. My name had earned a high spot on his list of mischievous Grisha, but in my defense, it hadn't been my intention to set the curtains on fire. I was startled during training. It earned me extended visits to Baghra's hut; much to my dismay.

Caelum guided me down the path, the beautiful euphony of notes and melodies from the grand orchestra grew louder, and a brimming excitement was fluttering in my chest. The idea of sneaking into a royal ball without an invitation was dangerous, and yet, it was Caelum who devised the plan, and I suspected it was done to please me. Stubborn fool.

Sweet, honeyed-colored eyes peered over the shoulder of his crimson kefta. A mischievous smile only grew on his handsome features. I fought the urge to reach over and run my fingers through his wavy champagne-colored hair. He knew he was handsome too, and used it for evil.

" Look, the garden is abandoned for the moment, my little firebird. " Saints, it always made me weak in the way he would affectionately call me that, even if my face showed indifference to it. Slowly, I found myself canting my head to the side.

" You do realize if we're caught, we'll be in huge trouble?"

" The risk is inconsequential and part of the fun...besides you have been going on and on about wanting to dance since the last fete. Now is our chance. "

I exhaled a soft breath. My fortitude of resisting him was waning, as it often did when he batted those hazel eyes my way. Anyone else would've gotten a lecture but Caelum had the uncanny ability to get his way.

Suddenly, I was pulled forward, lurching as his free hand snaked around my waist. I couldn't keep the smile from blooming across my face as I fell in step with him, our bodies pressed gently against one another. My feet followed his lead while a hand rested in his. His chest became a home for my head. I rested it there and even over the beautiful music of the orchestra, I could hear his heartbeat. A steady drumming of beats that melted my worries away. I nuzzled my face into the soft fabric of his healer's kefta. The tantalizing scent of juniper and scandalwood tickled my nose and lulled me into a sense of safety, my shoulders slumped and I was enthralled by Caelum.

Slowly we meandered in a circle. I could barely register the autumn chill as it tried to penetrate my kefta. Caelum leaned down to whisper into my ear.

" We could do it, Lark...we could run away from this place." His voice was soft and deep and pleasing to the ear, it sent an electrifying shiver down my spine; it lit every nerve awake and alert.

" Run away? Caelum...why would we do that? "

He twirled me then, and spun me into his arms, my back meeting with his chest. His lips returned to my ear, and planted a sweet kiss there. I prayed to the saints that my knees would not buckle. How easily his touch could elicit such from me. How rare a man that Caelum Mathis was. How rare and how foolish. Still, he smiled against my ear and spoke again.

" We could go to Ketterdam...get married and buy a farm. " His arms entangled around me, holding me close to his frame. I gently pivoted to lean into him and to listen to his heartbeat once more.

" We would have a farm? " I found myself asking. I slowly glanced up to get lost in those russet hues. His lips found purchase against mine, tender and soft, his kiss sent a warmth blossoming through my chest, my face, and neck. I had to close my fists to keep the flames from nicking my fingertips in delight. I felt my heart race as if I could melt into him and be made whole. He lifted his head to plant a soft kiss to my forehead.

" We could have whatever you desired, firebird. We could make a life there. Start a family...anything your heart desires. "

My heart swelled at his words. I had no idea he dwelled on such things, she never dared to give in hope but the way it sounded from Caelum's lips, I found I wanted it more and more.

Another kiss was shared. I could spend eternity in this moment, and have no regrets. I was about to step forward to steal another kiss when suddenly out of side of my eyes I saw a shadow. Turning quickly, a brewing dread grew as we came face to face with the second prince of Ravka. No older than I it seemed. He had opened his mouth to speak but I felt myself being pulled away. Caelum and I sprinted away and disappeared into the night.

" Was that the crowned prince? " I asked through the panting as we jogged back towards the Little Palace.

" So it seems, he must have come to visit for his mother's name day. "

" Let us hope he isn't in a tattling mood. " I grumbled as we turned down the path back to their home. I slipped my arm around Caelum's.

" So this farm...Will it have tiny pigs? "

" Anything you desire, flame heart. "

I couldn't keep the smile from spreading across my face. A farm in Kerch. Who could ask for more?

[vikings-til-valhalla]

I'm sorry I haven't updated this blog on the situation with my mom in almost 2 weeks.

Long story short, it's gotten worse. In every way.

I think I said last time that mom was sent home New Year's Eve, and that was where I'd left off. Well... the next day, New Year's Day, everyone woke up and we gathered together to open presents from Christmas. As we did, mom couldn't lift anything beyond a glass of water. And even then, it was a struggle. She could barely breathe, and kept complaining about her shoulder hurting. She kept using her inhaler. Too much. 3x in a day and you're supposed to go to the hospital. And she'd used it 3x in an hour.

I tried to convince her, and my father, to go to the hospital. But my father doesn't believe in any doctors ever, and argued there was nothing anyone at the hospital could do except tell mom to set up a cardiologist appointment, and that cardiologist will take care of this. I was absolutely livid, seeing as my father always refuses to admit he's wrong or even hear he's wrong. I told him the hospital could inject painkillers, and do X-rays, and give her the IV she clearly needed. And still, father wouldn't listen. I, angry, went to my room and fell asleep for many hours.

At 9pm I was woken up to a knock at my door. Father said he was taking mom back to the hospital. Finally. I said ok, and fell back asleep.

I woke back up again at 2:30am. I checked my phone, and realized a mass text had been sent to everyone, extended family and immediate. It said everything. All of it. The cardiologist who'd done the first surgeries, he drove in immediately. He ordered painkiller injections, and X-rays. Just like I'd said the hospital would do. Minutes later, Mom had stopped breathing, and couldn't talk. She was in a panic. Doctors sedated her, and instantly airlifted her by helicopter to the original hospital where she'd gotten her first surgeries. Examining the X-rays, they learned mom had fluid all around her heart, and multiple blood clots in her lungs. Immediately, the surgeons got her into a room and began yet another surgery.

9 clots were removed from her lungs. Mesh had been placed inside her lungs to prevent any other clots from reaching them again, which would kill her if they did. The fluid was removed from around her heart. But she remained under sedation, and to be honest, from the sound and urgency of the texts, I thought I'd surely lost my mom. I don't remember if I slept anymore after that, I don't remember anything else except for the next text I received at around 9:30pm the next night. Father was on his way home. Mom was still sedated, I think, maybe she wasn't, I don't remember. But after over 24 hours waiting, I'd seen a message saying she was at least stable.

The next days were a blur. Mom woke up at some point, and had lost all recollection of being brought home for 2 days, and had no idea where she was or how she got there. Whereas I'd been doing video calls with Mom every day since her first admittance to when she got home, I hadn't heard her voice or seen her face in days. All I had was the word of my father, who kept me updated on how she was doing.

I worked 1 day that week. And when I got in and checked the schedules for the upcoming weeks, I saw I had been cut back to just Saturday work. Despite the fact that I gave full time availability, and dropped out of college to work more, I'd gotten a kick in the ass. And that exact same day, a giant bill went through, overdrafting my only bank account by $140. I was worse than broke, and with no way to pay off the debt with working one job that utterly betrayed me.

The next day, I saw my mom at the hospital. For the first time in... a while, I'd seen her face. And she was doing alright. She said she was better than she'd been feeling. She had another giant blood clot that formed in her leg, and so she couldn't walk. Additionally, she was on oxygen, and given Albuterol treatments 5-7 times a day every day. We cracked tons of jokes to the point even the nurse was laughing, and we talked a lot. Then, when she was tired, my siblings, father, and I, all drove home. I was starving. I realized I hadn't been eating much. One meal a day. Every day. For... I'm not sure how long.

Father ordered pizza, and I scarfed down two slices like my life depended on it. I was about to go for more, but everything that was ordered was eaten between the 4 of us. And I went to my room, hungry. After father went to bed, I checked the fridge for something. Anything. I found nothing beyond some molded cheeses, and a partially stale roll. No slices of bread. So, hungry and tired, I found shredded cheese in a bag, slapped it on the roll, and threw it in the microwave a few seconds. I scarfed it down. Then, I went to bed.

I woke up shaking and weary the next day. I looked for something, anything to cook, but all I had was breakfast foods, and some vegetables. None of the basics. No proteins. I think I made a grilled cheese with what remained, but that was all I ate that day. Everyone else in the house had money, and plenty of it, and they were buying meals daily, or groceries that only they were allowed to eat and wouldn't share with anyone. They went out with friends all day, or ordered in, and father spent all his time at the hospital with Mom. So, I was alone. Broker than broke. With no food. And no way to get food. If I asked anyone in my house, I'd have to pay them back. And I'll be damn lucky to pay off the $140 I owe the bank with this paycheck that's coming.

I considered going to my friend's parents for the night, and asking if they'd feed me by some miracle. But, ashamed, I didn't go. I cried myself to sleep, hungry, weak, and made an executive decision for myself: I'd, for the first time in my life, go to the food pantry, and see what I could get my hands on. Bring that to my room when nobody was looking so I wouldn't be judged or asked questions, and keep it hidden. I fell back asleep until the pantry opened, and, checking my phone as always, found that some kind stranger sent me money for food. I cried again.

That moment, desperate for anything protein to eat, I ordered chicken and cheese to be delivered to the house. I ate it all in one sitting, starving up until that moment. Then, for dinner, I got a pizza and giant cookie, which I split across two days.

Today, I got a call from my mom for the first time since I saw her in the hospital. She was on and off with health. Her legs are probably going to be bound tomorrow. She's still on oxygen, and there's a chance, when she comes home, she'll remain on it via a tank. Nobody is sure yet... And I'm scared.

She, at the latest, was supposed to come home today. But, like every day, the doctors extended her stay for another 3-4 more days at least. But in my heart, I know it'll be far more than that. 3 weeks overall since the first surgery. And things have just kept going to shit.

Today, I ate 2 bowls of pasta, which was at least 1lb of pasta. I also ate the last of my cookie. The remaining pasta will sustain me another day or two. But after that, seeing as I didn't go to the pantry, I don't know what I'm going to do. All I can do is hope that mom is back by then, and then I can ask for her money to go shopping for groceries with.

My friend returns tomorrow, after weeks away. 3 weeks I believe. I've lost track of time and how much has passed. I just know that I work again on Saturday, and that today, I'm meeting with my friend to talk after weeks apart. And, maybe, if I get the courage, I'll ask if she can buy me a bag of chips or something to help me out. If not, I understand, no big deal. But I'm scared shitless.

Things look bleak for me. When I gave everything to my job, it took everything from me without notice, at the worst possible time. I'm alone, on my own, until further notice. Until mom returns. Until I can land a new job that, maybe, just possibly, gives me more time. I'm not sure, though. I'm not sure about anything... I'm truly at my lowest. But I keep going, anyway, for the simple hope that it'll be better tomorrow than it was today. And someday that'll become reality. Like everything else, I'm not sure when that'll be. But I'll keep going, anyway. Through debt, hunger, and worse.

[ducknotinarow]

MM Splinter - Family Meme; all that apply uwu

| Talking about family

"Going from a rat on the streets thst no one wanted around? To a mutated ray in the sewers no one also wanted around. Only find my whole world suddenly centered around four baby turtles? Really made a big change in my life. Heh of course the mutating thing mostly but even if I hadn't mutated I had still come across my boys. Suddenly it was my job to look after and protect them and then teach them how to protect themselves. Going from looking for myself to them I guess made me hover a bit. Hold them to close. The world already was scary and bad and it got worse when changed. I want a better world for them so they don't have to hide anymore and can live freely...even if that means letting go."

Send 🤛 for my muse to talk about (one of) their cousin(s)/niece(s)/nephew(s)

"Our little family has expanded a lot these days now that the mutanimals are part of out family. Though I am glad they all found their own homes as well."

I will say! I do not care for the whole Splinter and scumbug thing, like least the series committed to that so I didnt have to suffer for nothing in the movie buuuut im uh yeah just not having that be a thing XDD

ANYWAY

As in the movie showed the mutants with Superfly had move in with the turtles and splinter/ joined them to become like an extended family. After it seems most of them have moved on to their own home or doing their own thing. Though their clearly still some mutant that each member seems at least close to like Raph with Beepbop and rocksteady, Donnie with Wingnut. Mikey with mondo, and well I don’t feel Leo really has one since he bonded with April the most XD anyway Splinter I wouldn’t say dislikes any of them he offered his home after all. But he clearly isn’t all to close with them. Enough to sort of take over being in charge of them from Superfly though. Splinter is very clearly the head of the family after all. I’d say the only mutant he likely friend with is scumbug since he was best friends with a cockroach before and is one of the only mutant who can speak with each other.

That would leave the rest? For sure much more like extended family and Splinters more like thier uncle?? Grandpa maybe even XD So its more like a generation sort of split between him and the others. He still sees them as family and welcomes them to thier place if their own home isn’t suited to the weather like a rain storm after all. Splinters pretty good abut feeling kinship with others seeing how he went from feeling no one wanted him around not even his own kind? Makes sense why he’s so happy to have such a big family. Why he was so protective of his sons when it was just the five of them as well. I feel part of him has felt some relief knowing his sons wont be alone if anything ever happens to him now and why he tends to push for his sons to be good role models despite many of them being older than his sons. He’s pretty big on sticking together and solving conflicts and such truly take on the role of head of a family with that in mind after all.

Send 👶 for my muse to talk about (one of) their child(ren)

“I love my boys, like I said they became my whole world and I would give them the world if I could. I want to protect them from so much but keeping them away from things isn't the same. Letting them go to have chances I never did? Is though even if I worry and fear everyday. Though some humans have least gotten on to my good side...some begrudgingly."

Obviously Splinter is very much a dad, he loves his four turtle sons more than anything in the world. Because the universal law has stated no matter what splinter will find the turtles and adopt them as his sons ;3;. Splinter a character I truly love a lot i mean clearly since I write him lol. I can be back and forth when it comes to 12 Splinter feeling he wasn't always the best dad but clearly loves his sons anyway. 03 splinter is like my biased favorite he just such a dad and teacher.

I feel MM Splinter falls more into the Dad role/ head of family over teacher. Just on what his main drive seems to be. He seems to have the usual dynamics with his sons.

Leo is the eldest and the one Splinter tends to place most responsibility on too, because he is the oldest. Splinter clearly sees Leo as the leader of his brothers. And tends to trust a lot of family issues to him like not even speak up when Leo tries to help with Raph raging out during the storm. Or tasking Leo jobs that deal with handling family issues.

Raph of course still struggles with his anger issues but Splinter seems very hands on in trying to help Raph deal with it. Raph seems more willing to try Splinters ideas out as well. Even having his own meditation pillow he pulls out when told. He doesn't seem to like it but he listens and tries which is a pretty big step up from past iterations imo.

Donnie still seems to be the son Splinter doesn't full always understand due to his interest and smarts. Personlly I feel he still tries he would be the parent that calls pokemon pokeyman XD he knows Donnie watches 'them animes' he dosen't get them but I feel like it can easily be blamed that Splinter found an old anime movie maybe a ghibli one? and likely what stated Donnie on this dark path XD it's kind of funny cause he also is clearly the parent that thinks his son can fix all tech issues. if he used a computer you know Donnie would be standing behind him the whole time explaining opening a window isn't a real window XD It's funny that he will both scold Donnie about driving but also see him as being dramtic about things. You can see he really tries but hes not above some snide hits even on the weeb son

Mikey ofc his youngest as of now i cant say they have done anything for Mikey having raw talent least being stated by Splinter atm. In truth Splinter seems to feel Mikeys the best about keeping the peace between his brothers and extend family even and seems to be the one picked as errand boy most on top of it. But I say its cause Mikey just good with people.

April is the firsty good human on Splinter list since she tried to help save his sons he seems pretty close to her later in the series as well. He treats her pretty much on par with his own sons even. Not above acting the dad way he does to his boys. But also seems to take what she has to say seriously and not brushing it off. He can even have serious talks he never dose with his own sons.

Yvoone after everything with Donnie and his bullies, yes im calling them that uwu, Splinter just so excited that this girl seems to really actually like donnie and isn't using him. She even was fine following along his conditions for Splinter allowing Donnie having an extended stay at her place. He always goes all out for her visit to the lair as well pulls out all the chris' uwu. Splinter can't help but go a bit extra there because he is just so grateful to Von. Splinter wasn't all to happy when he heard about the kids taking advantage of one of his sons. Didn't really help Splinter's stance when it comes to his mistrust of humans still. So in truth it was partly so he could see if Von was good like April. And he was happy to see she was. As mean as it may sound he hoped Donnie would make more friends as well, not for any bad reason he just feels Donnie is the one who can benefit most from connecting with others. He sees the friendship Donnie has with wingnut. Even if he don't understand what they are saying XD and he just wants Donnie to have more of that so he isn't so alone in what he likes.

Casey of course has been in a up hill battle when it comes to being on Splinters good side but well to be fair all splinter knew of the guy from first mention was the fact he beat up his son Raph. So that protective side came out full swing he just didn't understand how Raph could like someone who hurt him like that? Then again when he had a chance to really reflect on the fact. HE could see how someone Raph could fight with and not be like someone that is a threat or even one of his brothers is in fact someone Raph could befriend and get close too. First time he saw Casey though Splinter was pretty sure they were in a gang or something though XD He over heard Raph mention the purle dragons and some guy nambed Hun even so for like a month Splinter thought Casey was this Hun and in the purple dragons and would get Raph to join his gang! Seeing that Casey fainted when they first met? He felt confident he could handle them XD Splinter dose start to change how he feel and thinks about casey later on. When Raph had to explain once why he was home late was to be there for Casey hearing they had lost thier Dad. Splinter isn't sure what would happen to his own Sons if they lost him at such a young age so his heart felt for the poor kid. So when he found Casey looking through his vinyl collection. Splinter decided to use it as a chance to really speak to this kid he judge to harshly, in truth being no different from humans towards mutants. He starting to see what Casey really is. A lost kid and well how can Splinter turn away from a lost child?

[casspurrjoybell-25]

Skating on Thin Ice - Chapter 53 - Part 1

*Warning - Adult Content*

Elijah Ellis

As we walked through the yard, I noticed the GSA group standing near the rest of our friends.

Austin had already helped himself to one of Alex's drinks, leaning against his chair as he listened to Alex say something.

"Oh good," Austin exclaimed when he saw us.

"You brought more chairs."

I nodded, handing him one that he then set up next to Alex or more importantly, next to the drinks.

"There's my favorite couple," Claudia greeted, taking a chair from Fox and me for her and Holly.

"Rude," Nadia commented as we set down the rest of the chairs.

"You and Lexa won't go on double dates with us," Claudia defended, setting her chair up close to her girlfriend.

"They will."

"More like we're forced to," Fox added, sitting back down next to Wren.

I shook my head at him before going over to where Trevor and Johnny stood next to where Joshua sat.

"Hey," Trevor greeted with a wide grin, tossing an arm around me in a brief hug.

"Hey, Trevor," I said, returning the hug.

"Need a seat?"

He nodded, grabbing one for himself while I greeted Johnny.

Trevor situated himself next to Joshua as the two of them spoke.

I wasn't even going to begin to try and understand their friendship.

The two had become best friends in a few short months.

They always spent time together and Trevor had even convinced Joshua to attend a few GSA meetings with him.

As much as I thought Joshua was going to end up dating him, it never happened, yet.

By the time everyone had gotten a seat, I was left without one again.

When I turned to look at Fox, he was already staring at me with a smug expression and patting his lap for me to sit.

Before I could even make my way over to him, Dad was called out my name and waving me over to where he stood.

As soon as I turned to face him, I noticed the Hanson's were standing in front of him, along with Landon who awkwardly stood with his hands in his pockets beside Micah.

Micah and I had somewhat kept in touch over the last few months, though we hadn't seen each other much at all.

Landon had ended up moving in with the Hanson's.

I didn't know much about Landon's situation with his parents but considering he was here with Micah's family, I assumed it wasn't good.

"Hey guys," I greeted when I walked over, standing next to my father.

"Congrats on graduating, Elijah," Mr. Hanson said with a smile.

"We just wanted to drop by and extend an invitation to Micah and Landon's graduation party next weekend."

I exchanged a glance with Micah, who gave me a small smile, before looking over at Landon.

He seemed like he felt out of place, though I didn't blame him.

"Yeah, of course," I replied with a nod.

"I'll be there."

"Fox can come too," Micah added with a smirk, glancing over to where my boyfriend was watching us like a hawk.

I tried to tell him to stop with the look in my eyes but he continued staring.

As Dad and Mr. Hanson continued talking, I thought about what I had just agreed to.

If I went to Micah's party, I would have to face my old team and although Landon didn't look as if he was going to start throwing punches at me, I couldn't be so sure about the rest.

"The team's not going," Micah said, tearing me away from my thoughts.

"Well, most of them aren't. If that's what you were thinking about."

"They're not?"

Micah shook his head.

"It was really weird with all of us after the tournament. We couldn't get it together and that's why we sucked so bad and missed the playoffs this year."

"So you guys don't even talk?" I wondered.

"We're only still friends with a few of them," Micah answered, glancing over at Landon briefly.

Landon stood with a rigid posture, his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the ground.

It was almost as if he could feel my stare just before he glanced up and locked eyes with me.

Dad and Mr. Hanson had drifted away from us slightly, lost in their own conversation and leaving the three of us alone.

"I... um..." Landon started, looking down at the ground and clearing his throat before looking back at me.

"I wanted to apologize to you," his voice was softer than I had ever heard it.

Landon was always one to make his presence known.

He was a force, always seeming so sure of himself, though I knew that to be untrue.

"For the way I treated you," he continued.

"I um... I was in a dark place but thanks to the Hansons, I'm much better now."

I slowly nodded, taking in a deep breath.

"That's good to hear. Thanks for apologizing, Landon."

Landon nodded.

"I'm still, you know, figuring myself out."

I knew what he meant even if he didn't say it.

Landon was still coming to terms with his sexuality.

He had spent so much of his life being instilled with hatred for who he was.

He had suppressed his true self due to all the lies he was told about what he was.

It had taken time for me to come to terms with my own sexuality and self hatred and it would take time for him too.

"Yeah, I get that," I agreed with a light smile.

Micah smiled at the two of us before redirecting the conversation.

"So I heard you committed to BU?" he said with excitement.

"Yeah," I replied, guilt creeping on me as I realized I didn't know anything of Micah's school plans.

"Where did you guys commit?"

"I'm going to BC and Landon's going to Providence," Micah replied, looking over my shoulder as he spoke.

I was surprised to hear Landon was going to Providence College.

He was a legacy for Notre Dame, both of his parents being alumni, so he was always set on going there.

Just as I turned to see what Micah was looking at, Fox showed up beside me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Everything okay?" Fox asked, though it was like he was asking the group as he stared Landon down.

"Everything's fine," I assured him.

I gave him a stern look that hopefully told him not to make a scene.

He was understandably distrusting of Landon, so I knew he had probably had a hard time restraining himself from walking over here for as long as he did.

"I should probably apologize to you too," Landon spoke up, his voice even.

Fox gave him a questioning look as he tightened his arm around me.

"I'm sorry for fighting with you and making things hard on you and Elijah," Landon clarified.

Fox nodded but didn't say anything else.

Eventually Mr. Hanson, Micah and Landon left, saying they had other graduation parties they had to stop by at.

"So is Landon, like, out now?" Fox asked quietly as we walked back toward our friends.

"No," I denied, shaking my head.

"He's still figuring it out I guess."

Once we got back to the group, Alex insisted on all of us playing some of the yard games we had out.

He eventually dragged Austin into being his partner for cornhole against Fox and Ian while I stood off to the side with Wren to watch.

Joshua, Trevor, Claudia and Holly played on the other cornhole set and our group was split watching the two games.

"So..." I trailed, gaining Wren's attention as he loosely crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you not talking to Fox?"

Wren rolled his eyes.

"I'm not an idiot, Elijah. I know if you're asking me that, then you've already talked to him about it."

"I told him to talk to you," I said, briefly looking at Fox ross the bean bag before turning back to Wren.

"I don't need him to talk to me," Wren replied.

"We're fine."

"Okay..."

We were quiet for a few moments before Wren looked around, seemingly making sure we weren't too close to others, before speaking to me in a hushed tone.

"Did he say what it was about?"

I nodded which caused Wren to send a brief glare to his brother, who was busy high-fiving Ian.

"Remember when you came out to me and Fox?" I whispered, leaning closer to him so no one would hear.

"How did you feel when you did that?"

I wasn't asking to be rude.

I really wanted to know what he was feeling that gave him to courage to come out.

"Like I had nothing to lose," Wren admitted after a pause.

"And I knew Fox wouldn't say anything to anyone. He's not like that."

"What about me?"

"No offense but I didn't really care what you thought," Wren told me.

I let out a snort, turning back to face the game in front of us.

"You know, your parents won't judge you," I told him while still staring straight ahead.

He was silent for a moment, a look of contemplation on his face.

It always took a lot for Wren to admit any of his short-comings or insecurities and even when he did admit them, it was vague.

Wren didn't have the chance to say anything else when Fox threw the last bean bag, getting it in the hole on the board and winning the game for he and Ian.

Alex let out a disgruntled sound of disappointment while Fox and Ian harbored boastful expressions.