#just the green is using HALF OF MY NEW BOBBINS

[bucky-boychik-barnes]

so the cataloguing of my aunt's thread is taking longer than expected for what should be obvious reasons

[roboticchibitan]

I'm going to go on a rampage like Godzilla.

So back in December I spent $163 to get Tabitha (my sewing machine) serviced because the one step buttonhole broke.

Guess :) what's :) still :) broken :)

And I'm outside the repair warranty window so I have to just use alternate buttonhole making methods until I can scrape another $163 together. It's on me for not thoroughly testing it after I brought it home.

I fiddled with it for half an hour and used an entire Bobbin's worth of thread trying to get it fixed and I finally did! Wrote down all the settings it was at. Made my two buttonholes. And kept sewing! Except. My buttonholes were placed wrong so I went back to those exact settings 4 hours of sewing later to make two new buttonholes and it wouldn't work.

Unwilling to spend another half an hour tweaking it until it worked, I did what my grandma told me to do when I told her my machine was broken and looked up how to make bound buttonholes. I was pissed and tired and it was my first time trying this method so they look pretty bad...

They look like assholes but I don't really care at this point. Better than doing it by hand. Quicker too. Tho it takes about ten times longer than doing it on my machine when it's working.

I got 75% of the way done with a pair of pants before realizing the buttonhole placement mistake, btw. Tomorrow I have a waistband to sew and then the green linen pants that I spent eternity embroidering will be done! And! I have enough fabric leftover to make a matching crop top! Gonna have a wardrobe like a box of crayons after decades of 60% of my wardrobe being black!

[fuckingthefictional]

All I want- (part one)

Michael Gray x reader

Written version of this gifset that I made, bonus points for anyone who can find the lyrics to a certain song that inspired this.

Next Chapter is found —> here

For @finallyforgotten who wanted more of this :)

Henry used to be Y/N’s knight in shining armour. He was always there, he was perfect and filled her up with all the love that she could possibly want or need.

He used to tell Y/N that she was a star in his eyes, he’d hold the door open for her and hold her hand in the dark.

He was just always there.

And Y/N felt as if she was never alone. Until one day she was.

When Henry suddenly left, it caused a brewing storm to swirl inside of the pit of the young woman’s stomach.

But when Y/N brought it up with her mother, the only claim was that “men like Henry were perfect on paper, but they lie to the face.”

It frustrated her- did Henry think she was the kind of girl who needed to be saved. Is that why he took such interest in her? Because she was an easy target?

All of these questions just created more stress and sadness to strike Y/N’s body. She didn’t know who to trust or believe anymore.

It didn’t matter what she conjured up in her mind- All that stood was that Henry had left and with him he took Y/N’s heart.

But he’d left something with her, something that he didn’t know about. And that was his child- the same child that grew within Y/N.

“Ticket ma’am?”

Y/N looked up from her book to see a portly looking train conductor stood in front of her.

“Yes, sorry.” She reached down to her pocket and pulled out the slip of paper, handing it to the gentleman.

He inspected it for a moment, before puncturing a hole into the side, “Are you sure you’re meant to be taking a single to London miss?”

Y/N’s heart leapt up into her throat, “Yes, my mother purchased the ticket for me, I’m to meet my cousin at the station.” She rambled on.

The train conductor passed the slip of paper back, “if you say so.” He mumbled before walking away.

It was only half true, Y/N mused, she was meeting her cousin at the station and her mother did purchase the ticket for her. But she was going to London indefinitely, to have her baby out of the prying eyes of her neighbours.

As her father said before she left, ‘she and her cousin could be the family disgraces together’.

Y/N watched as the world went past, flashes of green melted into a drab mix of greys.

Her new life was moments away, as the train pulled into King’s cross station.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N heaved down her luggage (careful to avoid her stomach region) and began to disembark off the steam engine.

She scanned around frantically, praying that she hadn’t been stood up by her cousin.

“Y/N!”

Whipping around at the sound of her name, she came face to face with her older cousin.

James, wasn’t much older than she was. He was a few years older than she (but he took great pride in bragging about it and holding it over her head).

In fact it had been a good few years since Y/N had even seen James, as he was banned from the family when he was 17.

After he was caught in bed with another male- it meant nothing to Y/N then and nothing to her now.

He was happy, if he found love in the arms of a man then who was she to judge? - she was 17, pregnant and unmarried.

“James!” The pair embraced, swaying as the did so.

“Come on,” the man exclaimed, “we can talk more when we get home.” And with that he picked up the luggage and guided her through the station.

~

“So how come you’ve suddenly decided to come and live with me hmm?”

Y/N paused, debating on what to say but ultimately deciding that there was no point in hiding it at this point.

“I’m pregnant.” She spoke, “and father is ready to disown me so, they sent me to you.”

“Jesus Y/N/N you’re 17,” he rubbed his face with his hands, “You’re practically a child yourself.”

Y/N felt her body shake, “you know if I had a bobbin for every time someone has said that to me, I’d be a fucking millionaire,” she laughed without humour, “I’m going to be a mother james, and every single time someone says what you said, I become more determined to be a good mum.”

“Y/N sit down for a second and stop ranting.” James pointed opposite to the chair she’d previously been occupying, “What I was going to say was that you’re young, so you’re going to need all the support you can get. Which is why I’m going to be here for you every step of the way.”

-

Months later, Y/N was nearing the last month of her pregnancy.

It wasn’t an overreaction to say that she was big. She felt like a bloated whale.

But the young mother found herself getting support from both James and Ada.

God, Y/N was so thankful for Ada. She was the most genuine, caring and hardworking woman that Y/N had ever met.

They’d become great friends ever since they had first met.

The older woman was understanding, but not disconcerting. Loving, but not in a smothering sort of way. Supportive and just damn genuine.

Ada became like the older sister she never had growing up, and the latter was but all happy to take on that role.

She was the one that Y/N could confide in- even about Henry.

“What about the father?”

Y/N looked down, tears already pooling in her eyes, “He’s a boy from my past.” She sniffled,”We fell in love but it didn’t last.”

Ada looked sympathetic, “What happened?”

Y/N found herself shrugging, “It was just like- the second I figured it out he pushed me away,” she steadied her voice, “And I won’t fight for love if he won’t meet me half way- I won’t do it Ada. And I say that I’m through with him, but here I am talking and crying over him.”

Y/N looked at her friend who seemed to be waiting for her to carry on, “All I want it a good guy,” she stated, “Are my expectations far to high? Is there something wrong with me for wanting that?”

Ada just leant forwards, placing her hands on top of Y/N’s shaking ones, “Look- I’ve been through all of these questions. There’s nothing wrong with you okay- I mean look at you Y/N,” she pointed at the other girl’s body, “You’re trying your best at the end of the day, you’re not alone, you have me, Karl, James and Your own child and that is enough for me. You should be proud.”

It was through Ada that Y/N met Thomas Shelby for the first time- which at the time she hadn’t known but would become her future employer.

What was there to say about Thomas Shelby. He was intimidating, he demanded the power of the room. And his eyes- God his eyes. They were piercing blue and just made you cold by looking at them.

The first time Y/N had met the man, she swore she could feel her child squirm inside her, almost as if they were turning away in comfort.

But Ada soon set the record straight, reassuring her brother that Y/N was trusted by her and that the younger girl was a close friend.

The second time that Tommy and Y/N ran into each other was quite literally so. Y/N had been going out for walks (something recommended by her doctor), she was due any day at that point.

She’d been walking in her own little world, fantasising about what her child would look like. Whether they would have Henry’s unruly curls or her eyes.

And then she walked into a wall. A rather tall, slim wall. That spoke with a Brummie accent...and wore a pocket watch.

It was by then that Y/N had realised that it wasn’t actually a brick wall she’d stumbled into. But in fact Thomas Shelby.

Immediately you had stuttered an apology, explaining why you had been so out of it.

He took one look at you. A quick up and down. Before he spoke, “When’re you due?”

The answer caught Y/N completely off guard, she had been expecting a threat for scuffing up his shoes.

“Um, actually I’m due any day now.” She stammered, rubbing her belly lovingly. It was strange really- just how quick she’d grown to love the life inside of her.

The Brummie hummed in understanding, “I remember when Ada was that far along with Karl- a right bloody firecracker she was.”

Y/N smiled slightly, it sure sounded like Ada.

“Listen- Ada would ‘ave my bollocks on a silver platter if I didn’t walk you back to the ‘ouse,” Tommy licked his lips, “So.” He gestured to the arm he was holding out.

“Thank you Mr Shelby.” Y/N said, holding on his arm as they walked the last few streets.

“Tommy- call me Tommy.”

-

Matthew James Johnson was born kicking and screaming on the 14th of February at exactly 2 o’clock in the morning.

He weighed in at 6 pounds and 4 ounces and was everything Y/N could’ve ever imagined or hoped for.

As predicted Matthew held a head full of soft, blonde curls (just like his father) and his eyes were her own Y/E/C. He was just the perfect little mix of her and Henry.

And even though it broke her heart at first, she eventually began to see it as a blessing. Her baby was someone who she would love forever, who she would never let down.

-

A months later Y/N strolled into the apartment angrily. She was turned out of a job, yet again. It felt like it was becoming an impossible feat.

She was simply just unemployable, which angered her hugely.

Y/N was a mother for Christ’s sake, she had a baby who depended on her. How on earth was she supposed to do that for someone if she couldn’t even get a steady stream of income coming through the door.

Matthew was around 8 months old now, he was a troublemaker- but still managed to capture his mother’s heart at every glance. He made Y/N’s life worth it, he really did.

Slamming the large door behind her, she shrugged off her coat and hung it up on the coat rack. There was another that had been added to the normal pile.

Ada’s family must’ve been visiting again. She quietly crept through the hallway, attempting to stay out of the eyes of the Shelby family.

It would’ve worked mind you- if Matthew hadn’t spotted you through the crack in the doorway.

“Ma-ma-ma.” He babbled happily from the floor.

Y/N walked in almost guiltily, scooping up her baby boy from the carpet and planting a soft kiss on his rosy red cheeks.

Ada stopped mid conversation and looked up at Y/N hopefully, “So?”

“Turned away.” The young mother answered frustratedly, “It getting tiring now Ada, I-“

“Ada love, are you going to introduce me to your friend?” The voice came from a stern looking woman.

“Pol,” Ada turned the woman, “This is Y/N- James’ cousin and a close friend of mine.” She turned to the girl who was still holding the wriggling baby, “And this is Matthew, Y/N’s baby boy and my godson.”

Polly was stared intently at the boy in Y/N’s arms. The stare itself was calculating and judgemental but Y/N felt...oddly safe around the woman.

“He’s a beautiful boy,” She spoke softly, “reminds me of my Michael when he was this size.”

Y/N just smiled awkwardly, she had no clue who Michael was, she cleared her throat, asking timidly “Would you like to hold him?”

The older woman opened her arms for the child, and when Matthew was safe in them he gurgled happily.

The door creaked open again, this time Tommy walked through the frame.

The pair had actually become quite good friends of the past months. There was nothing romantic, or remotely sexual about their relationship. It was just a friendship.

Tommy was an the older brother, he kept and eye out and looked out for the girl and her son.

“Y/N.” He nodded to the girl, “When did you get in?”

“Just now,” she replied, “Job interview ran over.”

“And?” He prompted, hand digging in his blazer pocket for a cigarette.

“No smoking around the children Tommy- you know the rules,” Y/N reminded him, “And it didn’t go well- they turned me away.”

Tommy appeared to be deep in thought, “My fiancé is due to have a baby in May.” He paused again, “If you’d accept- I’d be happy to hire you as the baby’s nanny.”

“But Matthew-“

“Can stay with you while you work, it’s only a matter of balancing your family life and work life.”

“Has your fiancé agreed with this arrangement?” Y/N folded her arms.

“She will, she trusts me- and I trust you.” Tommy looked deeply at you, “So?”

“Okay.” The young woman looked at Ada, “I’ll do it.”

[annerbhp]

Lucky

- part one - part two - part three - part four -

Part Five

Ginny hasn’t heard a word from Harry since the day he asked her to the party. They’ve bumped into each other occasionally in the halls, but usually going opposite directions and in a rush to get to class.

She would wonder if he’s changed his mind, but he always smiles at her before disappearing off with her brother or Hermione—depending which shift he’s on at the time. So he doesn’t seem to be rethinking it, as far as she can tell.

She’s pushed forward with it all, sending an owl to her mum asking for a set of dress robes. Which Molly had definitely come through on, sending a gorgeous set of dark blue, slightly sparkly robes that are clearly meant to make up for the new broom Ginny wouldn’t let her parents buy for her.

They are easily the most extravagant robes she’s ever owned, and she would wonder if Molly somehow figured out just who her date is somehow, but shoves the thought aside.

“There,” Antonia says, leaning back from her face with a final flick of her wand. “I suppose you’ll do.”

Ginny turns to look at herself in the mirror. Her hair has been pulled half back, the rest hanging long in soft curls around her shoulders. Surely even Fleur would approve. Eyeliner and a golden dust of eye shadow make her eyes seem bigger than normal, a soft blush on her cheeks matching the light pink of her lips.

“Okay?” Antonia says.

“Amazing,” Ginny says. “I hardly look like me.”

Antonia rolls her eyes. “You just mean not wearing a ponytail and covered in sweat and dirt from practice.”

Ginny laughs. “Well, let’s hope my date can actually recognize me, or I might have to go alone.”

“I’m sure Harry will have no problem recognizing you.”

“Ah, but will I survive the scrutiny of being The Chosen One’s date?”

Antonia laughs. “I have faith in your ability to persevere. Now, should we go before our dates give up on us?”

She nods, nerves erupting in her stomach. “I guess so.”

They leave the seventh-year girl’s dorms, climbing up to the common room. There’s quite a few people milling about, some dressed and ready for the party like Hestia and Flora, others just watching the spectacle unfold. Zabini is impeccably dressed with Pansy on his arm, both looking slightly bored, like they are well above all of this, despite how aware they must be of the jealousy of other students without invitations. Pansy will no doubt lord it over anyone she can for the next month at least.

Antonia doesn’t even pause, the two of them going straight for the exit after giving Hestia and Flora waves. Lucas and Harry should be waiting for them there.

Feeling silly for doing it, Ginny still pauses at the door, taking a deep breath before stepping out.

The first person she sees is Lucas, wearing a rather daring shade of aubergine with what looks like copper trim. Her gaze doesn’t linger long enough to find out, because a few steps farther away stands Harry.

He’s is actually here. She tells herself this swell of relief is mostly to have to avoid the humiliation of being stood up so publicly. Yet another awkward aspect of going with Harry is knowing that everyone is watching. She’s been the recipient of more than one snide remark the last week as word finally leaked out about Ginny and Harry going together.

He’s wearing a smart set of dark green robes, his tie slightly askew as if he’s been tugging at it. The smile that spread across her face at first seeing him fades as he continues to stare at her, without speaking, his eyes wide.

“Ladies,” Lucas says, giving them a slightly absurd courtly bow. “You are looking exceptionally beautiful tonight.”

Antonia laughs. “Not as beautiful as you.”

“Yes, well, that would be impossible.”

Harry still hasn’t said anything, eyes sliding over to Lucas and Antonia as if he’s only just noticed them.

Lifting the hem of her robes, Ginny crosses over to Harry. “Hey,” she says, hoping her voice won’t betray her nerves.

“Hey,” he breathes out, smiling at her. “You’re, I mean, that’s a nice—” His eyes dart down to her dress only to immediately lift back to her face as if caught doing something wrong. He tugs at his collar, setting it even more askew.

Lucas looks between them, leaning into Ginny. “I think he’s trying to tell you how beautiful you look.”

Antonia gives him a repressive glance, sliding her hand into the crook of his arm and steering him down the hall.

“What?” Lucas says. “We’d be standing here all night, rate he was going.”

Harry looks comically annoyed and Ginny can’t help but laugh, probably just her nerves looking for any way out, and she finds herself folding her arms in front of her and leaning over in her mirth. “Merlin,” she says, feeling tears prick her eyes. “I’ll ruin my makeup.”

Straightening up, she looks at Harry, who is looking rather sheepish.

“You do look really…” he tries again.

“Nice?” she asks, grinning up at him.

He blows out a breath, seeming happy to laugh at himself. “Yeah.” He flaps a hand. “Floaty.”

She rolls her eyes. “Should we?” She gestures after Antonia and Lucas.

He gives her a faux bow, holding his arm out with exaggerated pretentiousness. She’s still laughing as she slips her hand into the crook of his elbow and follows after Antonia and Lucas.

“So,” Ginny says. “Time to place bets on the most salacious things to happen this evening.”

Harry slides her a look. “You mean like will the vampire forget himself and eat someone at the dinner table?”

She nods. “Or just how ridiculous on a scale of Lockhart-to-Trelawny Slughorn’s outfit will be?”

It turns out the rooms themselves are ostentatious enough to win the award on its own. The whole place has been draped with rich fabrics and hanging fairy lights with house elves wandering through with platters of food. It’s overwhelming and almost a little hard to look at.

“Subtle,” Ginny says, Harry snorting in response.

They no more than step through the door when Slughorn falls upon Harry, fawning over him and his excellent choice of companionship. And then he’s seizing him, pulling him off to introduce him to all of the guests, which seems to include a few members of the Weird Sisters and, yes, an actual vampire.

Harry gives Ginny a panicked look back over his shoulder as Slughorn drags him off, his hand groping for hers, pulling her along. He seems very intent on not losing her, so Ginny does her best to stay by his side through the series of introductions, most of which seem to be specifically aimed at being as unbearable for Harry as possible. She stands with him, her hand still firmly in his until it seems like Harry’s patience has been completely depleted.

She looks over the vampire’s head, ignoring the way he’s been staring at her neck, and waves her hand animatedly.

“Oh, Harry,” she says in a breathless voice, hanging on his arm like she’s completely helpless, “I just have to go see Flora!” She smiles up at the wizards. “You don’t mind, right?”

“Oh, no, no! Of course not!” they say, smiling at her like she’s a vacant child. “Take your escort, my dear.”

“Ah, young love,” Slughorn belts loudly as they make their escape.

“You are a life saver,” Harry mutters, his ears burning red.

“Well, I did promise to save you from Slughorn.”

They bump into Hermione as they make their escape, grabbing a few tasty looking treats on their way. 

Hermione nearly yelps as they bump into her, her hair and robes disheveled. “Oh, it’s you!” she says with real relief. Then she looks between them. “You look well together.”

Harry darts Ginny a look before turning back to Hermione. “What’s wrong?”

“Wrong?” Hermione says, pulling her sleeve back into place. “Oh, just Cormac. He’s a bit…persistent.”

“Need me to take care of him for you?” Ginny offers.

Both Harry and Hermione look at her, seeming a bit alarmed.

“No need for that,” Hermione says. “I just need to—oh, no. Here he comes. Have a nice time!” And then she’s gone.

“I don’t know what she was thinking,” Ginny says. Having been on a handful of handsy dates herself, she knows how awful they can be.

“Mostly about getting back at Ron,” Harry says with a sigh.

Ginny shakes her head. “Lovely.”

They start moving through the crowd again, Ginny angling them away from Slughorn as best she can. She only realizes her hand is still firmly held in Harry’s when she’s able to tug him in a new direction when she sees them heading straight for Melinda Bobbin.

“Trust me,” Ginny says in an undertone when he looks at her in question. “That’s the last thing we need tonight.”

They end up tucked away in a corner, almost obscured by thick folds of fabric, happily dissecting the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match from the weekend before as they finish off their stash of snacks. Ginny’s team will have to face Ravenclaw right after the holidays.

“Their Keeper is the weak spot, I think,” Harry observes.

Ginny nods. It’ll really be a matter of slowing the game down enough to get their hands on the Quaffle. Her Beaters are going to have step up.

“We’re well matched at Seeker at least,” Ginny says.

“Dunno,” Harry says, sounding unconvinced.

She peers up at him. “You think Cho is that strong?” she asks, only partly wondering if this is some lingering loyalty to the girl.

Harry gives her a strange look, shaking his head. “No. The opposite. After all, I’ve learned not to underestimate Reiko.”

Ginny smiles. “Has she tracked you down and forced you into a Quidditch talk since the last match?”

Harry laughs, not seeming all that put out. “Once or twice.”

Ginny isn’t all that surprised. Once Harry proved that he wasn’t just messing with her, Reiko would no doubt throw off all hesitation at bugging Harry endlessly. “You brought that on yourself, Mr. Altruistic,” she says, pushing at his arm.

He catches his fingers in an attempt to defend himself. “I suppose I did.”

He doesn’t let go of her hand, and she finds she doesn’t mind.

“Thanks for coming with me,” he blurts.

“You were right. This is fun.” More fun than she would have expected.

He smiles, his thumb brushing along the back of her hand and sending an avalanche of goosebumps up her arm. “Good,” he says, voice quiet. “Probably would have been pretty unbearable without you.”

“Oh,” she says, trying to ignore the warmth in her chest. “I have no doubt of your ability to defend yourself.”

“Maybe,” he says, head tilted down towards her.

Their eyes catch and hold, the two of them just looking at each other, and she is suddenly very aware of how close they’re standing, the warmth of his body next to hers.

A peal of laughter nearby has them both jumping apart.

Harry clears his throat, tugging at his poor abused collar. “Uh, why don’t I get you a drink?”

She nods. “Yeah. That’d be nice,” she says, thinking she wouldn’t mind a minute to pull herself together. “But first…” She reaches up, tugging his tie straight, running a hand down to make his lapel lie flat.

“Oh, uh, thanks,” he says, and Ginny feels a little foolish, pulling her hands back. What had possessed her to touch him like that?

She watches him walk off, or escape more likely. But then he sends a smile back her direction as he makes his way to the drinks table, almost running into a miffed-looking Pansy as he does.

Ginny looks away, biting back a laugh. Maybe coming with Harry wasn’t the worst idea after all.

A few moments later, there’s a bit of a to do near the entrance, Ginny craning her neck in time to see Filch dragging Draco in by the scruff. “Caught him trying to sneak into the party,” he says, loud enough for most people to hear.

Draco looks so mortified and pissed off that Ginny almost feels sorry for him, everyone clearly gawking and reveling in his humiliation. Slughorn, for all he clearly finds the Malfoy’s ‘uncollectible’, seems open to showing mercy, but then Snape is there, leading Draco away.

The room is loud with whispers as everyone processes what just happened. Ginny looks around for Harry, but he’s not by the drink table anymore. She frowns, scanning the room, and there he is, heading straight for the exit.

Leaving Ginny on her own.

[cilldaracailin]

A Kind Of Magic

So sorry for not updating this. I have been back to work and writing the next stories in the series. I will post the last two updates to this one tonight. Thank so much for all the love. Hope you enjoyed it :)

24

“In some rare cases, a friendship between two people benefits both of them, and what’s more, in some rarer cases, it benefits both of them equally.”

“So, are we dressing up tonight?” Asked Robyn as she sat with Taron at lunch at the island on Friday.

“Yes of course.”

“Ok, let me re-phrase ‘cos I have a feeling that our definitions of dressing up are very different. So are we going like suit and tie and fancy fancy dress or smart casual and fancy dress?”

Taron chuckled. “Robyn do you own a fancy fancy dress?” He asked.

“Erm no. I am sure my dress from my secondary school dance is in the attic somewhere but it more than likely doesn’t fit.”

“Ok let’s start again. The restaurant. How fancy?”

“Not very. Just a normal restaurant.”

“Ok so smart casual? Shirt and jacket?” He asked.

“Sounds fine to me. I shall find a normal dress.”

“Not a fancy fancy dress? You could wear your pants suit.” Suggested Taron.

“Yeah it’s not that kind of restaurant. I have a little black dress somewhere I can pull out.” Taron whistled. “Shut up you.” She put her plate in the sink. “I going back to work.” She said as she walked past him. “See you later?”

“Yep for our date.”

“Our friendship date.” She corrected as she picked up her keys, phone and purse, walking out of the house to the sound of laughter.

She arrived home to see Taron at the piano. “Whatcha doing?” She asked as she took a seat beside him.

“Nothing. Just messing around.”

“Want to learn a quick song?” She asked. “You already know it.”

“I do.”

“And you have played it on guitar already.”

“And we are back to Johnny Gorilla.” He grinned. “But yeah I’d love to.”

“So same as the chords on the guitar. A minor, F and C.” Robyn played the chords for him at the lower bass notes, letting him have the middle of the piano keys.

“Go again?” He asked.

She played the first chord, Taron copying her and then the next two. “Same three chords over and over.”

“Until the ‘darlin’ in the chorus. That’s different right?”

“So you do listen to me.” She said.

“Of course I listen to you. I always listen to you. What’s the chord?”

“A G.” She said and played it for him, listening as he played the first three chords over and over. “You got it. Now you just have to sing and as you get used to it, you can add your left hand in with a single note or two or three from the same chord as you go.”

“Will you left hand for me for the time being?”

“Of course. I will play right down here and you can take the middle and once comfortable just add the left hand in.”

It took Taron a few minutes to get happy with his rhythm but once he got there, he started to sing but Robyn stopped him. “Wait.” She got up from the stool and walked to pick up her phone. She placed it on top of the piano just as Taron had, making sure it was set to video with the two of them in the frame. “Ok. All yours.” She said as she sat back down. “Wave at the camera Taron.” She grinned as he did so. “Taron and I, playing piano take two.”

“And probably not in one take.” He added as he played the first chord.

It took them three takes to get the song from start to finish and Taron smiled with accomplishment when he was done, giving Robyn a sideways hug. She reached up and stopped the video. “You are good teacher.”

“Nah, I gave you a song you knew and you already have the basics and it had four chords.”

“So, you gave me the easiest song you could so I wouldn’t feel bad if I failed.”

“No, I gave you the chords I knew you could play and a song you could learn from start to finish and sing perfectly. I would never set you up to fail.”

Taron smiled her way. “I know Robyn. Thank you for teaching me something I can play.”

“You are very welcome. Now do you mind if I take the shower first?” She asked as she stood up.

“Not at all.”

“Let’s aim to leave at seventy-forty?” She suggested as she kicked off her converse. “That will give us time to drive in and park.”

“Sounds good to me.”

She walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her, hearing Taron playing the piano again. Making her way into the closet, she pulled out her favourite black dress, her one of two black dresses that she owned and dropped it on her bed. It mightn’t have been a conventional date, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t going to make an effort for their last night together. She was going to send Taron home with a bang, celebrating what had been a wonderful two weeks together. Even though she was dreading tomorrow and deep inside was laden with sadness, tonight she knew they were going to eat, laugh and get as many hugs as possible in.

Once showered, she threw a dressing gown on and dried her hair straight, her normal go to style. Grabbing an empty make up bag from one of her shelves, she walked to the make-up table and threw in what she needed. It wasn’t something she wore a lot but with the special occasion planned for the evening, she wanted to add at least a bit of shade to her eyes and a colour to her lips. She grabbed what make up brushes she would need and an eye shadow palate and opened the door to the bathroom, Taron still sitting at the piano.

“All yours.” She called to him as she took a seat at the breakfast bar.

“This your chosen outfit for dinner?” He asked as he stood beside her.

“Did you know that blue dressing gowns with a dolphin on the back are all the rage in Paris?” She replied as she walked past him and back into the bedroom. Taron following her, noticing her choice of outfit laid out on the bed. She left him the bedroom to walk into the closet to pick up her plug in mirror so she could do her make up by lighted mirror in the kitchen, leaving Taron the bedroom for himself. All she would have to do then would get dressed and it wouldn’t take her long. Before she left the closet, she also grabbed a small bag of hair pins and clear plastic bobbins, deciding she would do something else with her hair. She walked into the bedroom and Taron had pulled his duffle up onto the bag and was routing through it for something to wear. “I will leave you to it then.”

“Can I borrow your fancy French dressing gown if I can’t find something to wear?” He asked as he pulled a white shirt from his bag.

“Sure, why not. I can go to dinner in my nudey nudes.” She laughed as she walked out and closed the door behind her, making her way back to the stool at the breakfast bar. She plugged in the mirror and upended the make-up bag onto the counter.

She quickly plaited two braids either side of her head and pulled them out so they were big, loose and a bit messy and pinned them at the back of her head, tucking the ends in and pulling some strands out so they framed her face. Plaits were her trademark style when she wasn’t keeping guests entertained and had the time in the morning to do them and was happy with the change of hairstyle for her evening out.

Make up was just not her go to thing, Robyn never really bothering unless it was for a reason and even for that reason, her looks were natural. She turned her mirror on and rubbed in some make up primer before picking up a foundation brush and bottle.

After Robyn had closed the bedroom door, Taron held up his shirt and frowned. “That is going to need an iron.” He said. He had yet to wear the white shirt and he hadn’t hung it up either and after being left in his bag for two weeks it was completely creased. He really hadn’t thought he would be needing clothes for dinner but thankfully had also thrown in a dark blue suit jacket just in case he would need it and turned out he would. He dragged it from the bag, deciding it was going to need an iron too. He had been happy to wear his shorts and t-shirts for his first week with Robyn, the weather beautiful and the second week that typical Irish weather he had been expecting appeared and he lounged around Robyn’s in his jeans and t-shirts throwing on the one hoodie he had or a button down shirt when it got too cold. With nearly all of his clothes out of his duffle now, he could see the one other pair of shoes he had. A pair of black boots. Another just in case he had thrown into his duffle at the last minute before he left for the airport in New York. He was going to pull a decent outfit together with his boots, white shirt, dark blue jacket and his black jeans.

Pull his green t-shirt over his head, he dropped it into his bag and sauntered into the bathroom. He was going to miss her rainfall shower and as he stood under the fall of the water he relished in the beat of the droplets on his back. Washing his hair with Robyn’s shampoo for the last time, happy to see the glitter ruined body wash had been long binned, he took one more minute before stepping out and wrapping himself up in another towel Robyn had left for him on the towel warmer. He decided he was going to shave and found it easier this time as the right side of his face healed quicker than his ribs and once he was done he smiled sadly in the large mirror. He made his happy and sad faces like when he was in Rocketman and shook his head. “Get a grip Taron. Not the time for this.”

He strolled back into the bedroom, Robyn’s dress still on the bed beside his wrinkled shirt and jacket. He quickly dried off and dressed his lower half and picking up his creased clothes, walked out into the kitchen.

“Hey do you have an iron and ironing board?” He asked and when she looked up from the mirror, he couldn’t help the smile he gave, as he took in her light smokey eyes, making their blue colour pop more and barely there lip colour.

“Yes I do and what is that smile for.”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” She asked as she stood up and walked into closet at the door, lifting out her ironing board, Taron helping her set it up. She went back in and brought out the iron and set it up on the breakfast bar, plugging out her mirror and the iron in. “What’s the smile for?” She asked again.

“Just ‘cos. I like your hair.” He said.

“Changing it up.” She answered as she stood beside him. “You shaved again.” She said.

“Might as well. On a break, I can get lazy and not bother but tonight is a special occasion so I made an effort.”

“Efforts being made all round then.” She agreed. “Your side still looks so sore Taron.” She commented as her eyes wandered down to his ribs.

“Still is.” He answered honestly. “It will take more than two weeks for these bruises to disappear.”

“I never gave you that arnica gel, did I?” She asked him. She strolled away from him and into the bathroom, opening the cabinet and routing for her tube of arnica gel. Finally finding it, she brought it out to him. “Better late than never right?” She said handing it to him. “You can take it with you and…” Robyn walked into the kitchen and opened the press to the left of the fridge and took out another tube. “Doctor Keane gave this to me for my shoulders in the hospital to help take the sting off the pain from the sunburn.” She handed him the other tube. “Mix the two together and it will give you a little more relief.”

“You sure I can take these?”

“I don’t need them.” She answered. “It will help.”

“Might as well start now then.” He placed the medicated pain relief rub onto to the breakfast bar and opened the arnica gel and squeezed some onto this right hand. He awkwardly unscrewed the other tube and added some of the clear gel to the other and went straight for his ribs, rubbing the ointment into his skin, the cooling sensation from the pain relief sending wonderful shivers down his spine. “Would you mind getting my back. Can’t reach there.” Without an answer Robyn walked behind him and spread the gel from his side around to his back, being very gentle with her movements, enjoying the happy sigh he gave. “This stuff is good.” He said as Robyn walked into the kitchen to wash her hands.

“Not a miracle cure but definitely takes the edge off.” She heard the iron beep. “And that is ready for you.”

“Great thank you.” He walked into the kitchen to wash his hands at the sink while Robyn took her seat again, picking up her bronzer and brush. “I might just take a bath in it.” He laughed as he walked back to the ironing board.

“It’s a medicated rub Taron. You can only use it three times a day.”

“Spoil my fun.”

“No trying to keep you alive.” She answered back smiling.

“Already done that Robyn.” Taron set his white shirt out on the ironing board and picking up the iron started to iron all the creases out on the front and sleeves before moving to the back. “Stop staring at me Robyn.” He said as he took a look to her.

“You are good at that ironing thing.”

“I know I have a stylist for my events but my mam made sure I knew how to iron a shirt. The suit jacket however, I am not too sure of.”

“Exactly the same as a shirt but…” Robyn stood up and walked around him to the laundry room. She came back with a white square cloth handkerchief. “Just place this on the material before you iron it so it doesn’t cause any heat damage.”

“Thank you very much.”

“No worries. I am going to go and get dressed.”

She walked into the bedroom and closed the door. The time was coming close to seven twenty and they had twenty minutes left before they had to leave. She stripped off the dressing gown and after spraying some body spray and perfume, pulled on her dress. It was one of her favourites and had her go to skater style as she knew it flattered her figure. The scalloped round neck wasn’t too low and the three-quarter length sleeves took away the need for a cardigan and the length was just above her knee. She heard a knock on the door. “Come on in Taron.” She called and he walked in with a grin.

“All crease free.” He had already put his shirt on and buttoned it up, leaving the top three buttons open and tucked it into his jeans. “I plugged the iron out and put the board away.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“But I did and have done. You look fabulous.” He smiled. “Little black dress right?”

“Of course. Just need some shoes.” She walked away from him and into her closet and picked her high heeled ankle boots, slipping her feet into them and zipping them up. She walked a little higher with her heels and into the bedroom where Taron had put his jacket on. “Hello handsome.” She grinned at him.

“And we match heights again. Heels? Thought you hated them.”

“Well I don’t think I can wear converse with this dress.” She stopped and thought again. “Actually, no that’s a lie. I have worn converse with this dress but for dinner, no. Going all out.”

“You look beautiful.” Taron stepped over and kissed her cheek. “I am excited for our dinner.”

“Thank you and you don’t scrub up too bad yourself.” She repaid the compliment. “And I very much looking forward to it too. Let me grab a bag and we’re good to go?”

“Sure.” While Robyn sorted her bag out, he walked into the bathroom and opening his washbag, pulled out some hair gel. He quickly gelled his hair back a little. He was still very conscious of the yellowing bruises on his forehead and the thin red gash with the single steri-strip but he was wasn’t as bothered about being noticed as he had been when he first arrived. He washed his hands before taking out his aftershave and patting some on. It had been a long time since he had been on a date, whether it was a friendship date or not and he could feel little nerves running around his stomach but it made him smile. He knew that his heart did a dance when he saw Robyn in another gorgeous outfit but he still agreed with her on the fact that they were friends and always would be. As much as Robyn wasn’t willing to risk their friendship, he had absolutely no intention of letting her go and would do nothing to destroy their bond. He took his feelings and didn’t bury them but accepted that the love between two friends could be just as strong as the love found between a couple.

“You checking out your appearance? Let me tell you, it’s a nice one.” She walked up behind him with a smile on her face.

“You sure you don’t want to walk a red carpet with me Robyn? We could work this look together.”

She chuckled. “Never going to happen. You ready to go?”

“Yeah all done.” He quickly tidied away his washbag and followed her out to the kitchen.

Robyn grabbed a leather jacket from her closed and pulled it on, Taron helping with the right sleeve. “It feels strange going out for dinner.” He said as they got into the car and Robyn drove them out of her drive. “I mean we have spent the last two weeks taking turns cooking.”

“This place does really good food Taron. You will enjoy it.”

“Don’t you know me well enough by now that I will eat anything and everything. I am sure I can find something I like.”

Music filled the car along with singing as they made their way to dinner and once Robyn had parked the car, Taron was enjoying his visit to a new town, looking around as she guided him towards the restaurant.

“Mayburn is much bigger than Kilcreen.” He said as they walked with their arms linked.

“It’s a college town. There’s a big university here so it needs to cater for all the students. Before that supermarket that you love so much was built in Kilcreen, I would come here to shop and this is the town I got the pizza from the other night.” She walked him down a small side street and then took a right down some steps into the entrance of the restaurant.

“This is a nice little place.” Commented Taron as he opened the door for her.

“Thanks. It’s big inside and its popular. You did good to get a table on a Friday night.”

“I didn’t do anything special or name drop before you ask.” He said as he walked up the reception desk. “I just asked to book a table for two and they had one.” He looked to the lady at the desk. “Hello. I have a table booked for two please.”

“And the name?”

“Taron Egerton.” He answered.

“Ok have you here.” The hostess took two menus from beside her book. “If would follow me please.”

Taron motioned for Robyn to go first and followed her, enjoying how the restaurant was designed with tables set along walls but also in cubbies and little booths, using all the space they had, most tables already full with customers. The hostess stopped at a table tucked away in a little alcove in the middle of the restaurant.

“And here we are.” The hostess placed their menus down in-between the cutlery.

“That’s great, thanks so much.” Said Robyn.

“You waiter will be over soon.”

The hostess left and Robyn turned to Taron. “You want the inside or outside seat?” She asked him.

“I will take the outside.” He said but he walked over to Robyn’s chair and pulled it out for her.

“Seriously?” She asked.

“Yes. First impressions are the best.” Smiled Taron as he pushed her chair in as she sat down, taking his own seat opposite her.

“I don’t think we should really use our first impressions of each other.” Robyn slid her jacket off and picked up the menu.

“I have the best first impression of you.” Taron picked up his menu. “This woman who was doing her finest to get herself killed.”

Robyn smiled. “Well I can’t argue with you on that.”

“You just went straight up to Frankie and lowered his arm with the gun and then you back chatted him.”

Robyn chuckled. “Aww the memories.”

“What was your first impression of me?” He asked his stomach rumbling as he read through the menu, wondering what on earth he was going to choose when everything looked good.

“Honestly?” She asked. “In my mind I was going ‘Jesus that’s Taron fucking Egerton in front of me’ and then ‘Fuck I have just touched his hand!’”

“Did you fan girl on me?” He asked looking up at her, a huge smirk on his face.

“A little. I was completely taken by surprise and by Richard too. Not who I was expecting.”

Their waiter walked over to their table. “Can I get you both something to drink?”

“I am driving so I will just take a diet coke.” Said Robyn.

“I’ll have the same.” Taron was still taking his pain killers and knew better than to mix medication and alcohol.

“No worries at all. I will be right back with those.”

Taron grinned as his eyes scanned the menu. “You totally fan girled on me. I don’t think I know you any more Robyn.”

She laughed. “Only for the one moment though. After that you were just Taron to me, who desperately needed some help.”

“You were just Robyn to me, Robyn who did nothing but keep me alive.” He reached over and took her hand. “I still love you even with the fangirling.” He winked and went back to his menu. “So, what are you going to have.”

Robyn scanned the menu. “Probably the soup and salad.”

“Soup and salad? Soup and salad?” He said again. “Seriously?”

“What’s wrong with that?” She asked. “What are you going to have then?”

“This steak on the stone sounds very interesting and a bit more filling then soup and salad.”

“But you need to make room for dessert.” She countered.

“I always have room for dessert.” He replied back to her.

The waiter arrived back with their drinks and once he had placed them on the table along with a jug of water, asked if they were ready to order.

“I will have the soup of the day and your caeser salad with chicken for the main please.” Asked Robyn raising an eyebrow Taron’s way.

“And I am going to have your brie for starters and the steak on the stone.”

“Ok great. Thank you very much.” The waiter took their menus and walked away from them with their orders.

“Well Robyn without getting too emotional and being an entire sentimental wuss but, I am very glad you happened to be in that 7/11 at the same time of me and were willing to let a complete stranger share your home with you for the last two weeks and even tolerate glitter in your body wash. Once again, I will say it but I will never be able to repay you for what you did for me. So, cheers.” He held his glass up to Robyn.

“Thank you for trusting me and being a wonderful house guest and helping me along the way, naming cwtch and giving the best squishy hugs ever. Sláinte.” She said.

“Sláinte,” He repeated and clicked her glass. “Iechyd da.” He then said in Welsh.

“Iechyd da.” Robyn said, giving him a wink and the clicked again.

Even though they were out for dinner, their jokes, laughter and making fun of each other continued as normal and as Taron’s main course arrived his eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning.

“Please be careful with the plate, it is extremely hot.”

“Of course, thank you.”

“And your salad.”

“Thank you.”

As the waiter walked away, Taron squished his nose up towards Robyn’s chicken salad. “So, are you feeling jealous right now?” He asked her as placed a slice of his steak onto the hot plate, the sizzle making his grin grow.

“Not in the slightest.” She said. “You probably have noticed that I am not a huge red meat eater.”

“Something I did see in our dinner choices.” Taron flipped his piece of steak over.

“Just not a fan at all.”

“Me like meat.” He replied as he put two more pieces of steak on the plate. “Meat good.”

“You’re so weird.” She said taking a bit of her dinner.

“But yet you let me stay with you.” He said taking a bite of his dinner, making yummy noises as he chewed.

“Well I wasn’t going to leave you out on the street.”

Taron enjoyed every piece of his dinner and Robyn watched with great interest as he used one her pieces of bread that came with her salad to wipe up the remainder of his dinner with his fork. “This was delicious. The food here is amazing.”

“I knew you would enjoy it.”

“Stuffed though.”

“I knew that too.” Grinned Robyn as she took a sip of water. Having dinner with him had been a most enjoyable experience and it warmed her heart to see him so comfortable in his surroundings and not worry about any of the other diners around him.

Their waiter walked back over to them. “Can I take your plates? Are you finished?”

“All done thank you.” Said Robyn.

“It was beautiful.” Agreed Taron.

“Can I get you a dessert menu?”

“Yes please.” Said Robyn immediately. “Always room for dessert.” She looked to Taron.

“And you sir?”

He hesitated but agreed to take one. “You are wise Miss Quinn. Leaving room for dessert. Salad and soup. It makes so much more sense now. I shouldn’t have eaten half a cow.”

Robyn chuckled and the waiter came back with the menus for them. “I will give you a few minutes to pick something but I can recommend the warm apple crumble.”

“Thanks very much.” Said Robyn as she picked up the menu.

“We don’t need no apple crumble.” Taron picked up his menu. “We can make our own. From scratch.” He added.

“That we can.”

“And rainbow surprise cake. Don’t see that on the menu here.”

“No but the chocolate cake looks very tempting.”

“Ugh Robyn I am so full. You should have mentioned the desserts.”

“It’s a pretty typical restaurant thing Taron, desserts.”

“I know but that main was so delicious.”

The waiter came back over. “So, have we picked anything?”

“I will take a slice of the chocolate cake but don’t heat it up, if that’s ok.”

“No problem at all and would you like ice cream with it?”

“Yes please.”

“And you sir?”

“I will skip the dessert but could I have a cappuccino please?”

“Sure.” The waiter took their menus.

“Can I get two spoons with the cake please?” Asked Robyn.

“Yeah of course.” The waiter walked away from them.

“You know me so well.”

“As soon as that cake arrives, I know you will want some so I will share.”

“You are too good to me.”

“And don’t you forget it.” Robyn smiled at him as he grinned back and this time she reached for his hand. “I know tomorrow is going to be shit hard for us and I am more than likely not going to be able to say a lot but I just want to…”

“Robyn…”

“No, I seriously won’t be able to say a lot tomorrow so just let me say it now. I do not regret one thing that I did for you in the 7/11 and I know that it will be hard for us to have to go our separate ways tomorrow but I am so glad that you have stumbled into my life and these last two weeks have been the best and I have enjoyed every minute of our time together and getting to know you, singing with you, watching you sleep, have a random tea party in my sitting room and even the fucking glitter. You are without a doubt one my best friends and I will always be here for you whenever you need a chat, pep talk, sing along or just to say hello. You think that I have done a lot for you, well you have been just as important for me. I really don’t think I would have survived the nightmares without you. I have learnt from you how important it is to talk and open up and not to be afraid to do so and worry about sharing your emotions and feelings and at the end of the day your friends are there to support you. As much as I have been a rock for you, you have been just as strong for me and the emotional support from you as well as the laughter, jokes and everything else has been amazing. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard every day and the singing? Etched in memories for ever.”

Without a reply, Taron stood up from his chair and walked around to Robyn and hunching down, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly against him, so glad that she squeezed him just as tightly back. He didn’t care that they were in the middle of dinner. It was a hug both needed and he was happy to oblige, deepening the hug with a further squeeze.

“Oh, I can come back with these.” The waiter walked over to their table with her cake and Taron’s coffee.

Robyn looked up from Taron’s shoulder. “You can leave them on the table if that’s ok.”

“Yeah sure.” He said giving her a small smile. “Cake and two spoons.”

“Thank you.” As the waiter walked away, she gave Taron’s back a soothing rub up and down. “Want some cake?”

“Two more minutes.”

“I am going to miss the two more minutes thing as well.”

“I am dreading tomorrow Robyn.” He whispered. “I know how much I have leaned on you and yes I know I have my family and friends but you just know what I have been through and it’s easy to talk to you. I love laughing with you and your stories, your baking and so glad we haven’t had our sing off. Thank you so much for looking after me in every way possible and making me smile till my cheeks hurt and letting me snoop so much. Leaving will be hard but I have told myself, I would rather have had all this time with you rather than not having any at all and you owe my mam and me a visit and I will definitely be taking you up on your offer of your couch when I need it and who knows, maybe I can convince you to come with me to a movie premier.”

“I don’t own a fancy fancy dress.” She said into his neck, breathing the scent of his aftershave, enjoying how he chuckled.

“Easy to get a fancy fancy dress Robyn.”

“I do own some chocolate cake though. Want some?”

Taron hugged her tight again and left her go. “Please and I think that waiter thinks we got engaged.” He said to her, enjoying how Robyn laughed at his words.

“Why?”

“Well he came back and we were hugging each other and I am one knee.”

“Should we ring Lyndsey?” She asked as Taron went back to his chair. “Maybe prepare her?”

“I think we might be safe.”

“You sure?” She asked as she handed him a spoon and pushed the cake into the middle of the table.

“Yeah I am sure. Let’s take it one step at a time. We will keep with you saving my life before we get onto the big stuff.”

She smiled at him. “Let’s save it for our next announcement.” She said taking some cake with her spoon as Taron stirred some sugar into his coffee.

“Agreed.”

They shared the slice of cake between them, Taron letting her take the last piece but she ate half and handed him her spoon so he could have the very last bite, a cheeky little grin on his face as he ate it.

“Thanks for knowing I would want dessert.” He said as he put the spoon on the plate.

“Any time. Thank you for asking me to dinner.”

“Thank you for coming.”

The waiter walked back over with a large grin on his face. “So, do I get to say congratulations?” He asked.

Taron grinned at Robyn. “Not for the reasons you might think. Just two friends having a nice dinner together.” Taron watched a slight red fill the waiter’s cheeks. “I will take your congratulations though. She deserves every bit of it.”

The waiter smiled Robyn’s way while she blushed and gently kicked Taron under the table. “I will take your plates if you are finished with them.”

“Yes thank you.” Replied Taron. “The whole meal was delicious.”

“I shall pass on your compliments. Have a lovely evening.”

Robyn stared at Taron as he watched the waiter walk away. “Irish people don’t take compliments well Taron.”

“I have noticed that. You definitely don’t take a compliment at all.”

“Like I said, it’s an Irish thing.”

“Or maybe it’s just a Robyn thing. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it.”

“Did the waiter just tell us to have a lovely evening?” She asked after she drank the last of her water.

“And you are also very good at avoiding subjects and yes I do believe he did.”

“But we need to ask for the bill.” She titled her head as Taron’s eyes looked to the table. “You have already paid for dinner, haven’t you?” She asked.

Taron looked up her slowly. “Might have.”

“I have been with you the whole time we have been sitting here.”

“I can’t give away all my secrets Robyn.” He said winking at her.

“Taron you can’t pay for dinner. Let me split it with you.” She went to pick up her bag but he stopped her.

“No Robyn. I asked you out for dinner. I know you are an extremely independent woman but let me do the chivalrous thing and pay for our meal.”

Dropping her bag, Robyn agreed. “Thank you so much Taron.”

“Any time.”

They thanked the waiter and hostess on the way out of the restaurant, Taron opening the door for Robyn again and they walked back to the car. They had decided over dinner that before they went back to Robyn’s home, they would call into her parents so Taron could say goodbye.

“Will you have some tea?” Asked Lizzie as they stood in the kitchen.

“Next time I come back to visit.” Said Taron. “We have just had been out for dinner.”

“That explains the fancy outfits.”

Taron looked at Robyn and smiled. “Now I know where you get it from. Fancy outfits?”

“Mam we just came over for Taron to say goodbye. He is going home tomorrow morning.”

Lizzie stopped in the middle of lifting a cup down from the press. “Tomorrow?” She asked her hand still frozen in the air.

“Yeah. If I stay with Robyn any longer, I will have to pay rent.” He laughed. “And my own mother might come and get me if I don’t return home.”

“Oh right.”

“I will be coming back to see her and my mam has invited Robyn to come and visit us and my little sisters are counting on some Elsa plaits and if I can convince her, maybe a future movie premier.” He said.

“Well Taron, it has been wonderful getting to know you.” Lizzie stepped over and gave him a hug. “You have been a breath of fresh air around here and I know I have enjoyed your company when we had it.” She then whispered. “Thank you for making my daughter smile and laugh. I have seen my happy go lucky daughter come back to me.”

“What are you whispering to him?” Asked Robyn as she watched the hug last a bit longer than normal.

“Just inviting him back. I never got to show him your baby photos.”

“What it is about mothers and baby photos.” Sighed Robyn as her mam let Taron go, giving his hands a squeeze.

“I actually don’t have any more words for you Lizzie. Robyn will always have a very special place in my heart.” He blinked a few times, not realising how emotional it was going to be saying goodbye to her family. Reality was catching up to him quickly and he felt Robyn place her hand over his.

“Thank you for your kind words Taron and next time you come for a visit, please come over. I have albums and albums of photos for you to look through.”

Light laughter filled the air. “I will look forward to it.”

With another hug, the two left the house and walked back to Robyn’s. She had parked in her drive and they had strolled over to her childhood home and slowly walked back to her apartment, Robyn with her right arm wrapped tight around his waist. They didn’t speak as she opened the door and turned off the alarm, Taron going straight to the corner of the couch to sit down, Robyn sitting right beside him, her head falling to his shoulder, still with her jacket on.

Taron rested his cheek on her head and both took a long sad sigh. Robyn reached down to take his left hand in her right and linked their fingers, his hand as warm as always. Taron lifted their linked hands and placed the back of her hand against the material of his shirt over his heart.

“Still beating Robyn.” He said into her hair. He felt her unhook their fingers and place her hand flat against his chest.

“Just double checking.” She replied.

Taron placed a kiss on her hair and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Neither had anything to say, not that words were needed between them but both were fully aware that if they tried to speak, it wouldn’t be words between them, but tears.

[squalmagisym1974-blog]

The thing about a dancer is that their true potential is limited by the max potential of whatever unit they happen to dance at the time. So if they dance a Karla, you will see lots of effect of that dance because Karla will wreck faces. If you dance a Virion, though, you won see a lot of effect outside of killing flyers or very niche situations. You can pick and choose what you think is valuable and important, but your opinion will never constitute a fact. Though assuming it will is another common flaw of your supposedly dominant species, so I guess I can hardly blame you. For all you value self awareness, you display it so very rarely.. Separating great dental tools from the rest can be difficult. Some companies market dental tools as preventative devices that can improve people's oral health. In reality, not every product benefits the average healthy person. That the same thing that happened with Twitter and Patreon as well, where the founders started off loving free speech, until their management was filled with people who care about ideology more than freedom of opinion. 부천출장안마 For instance, the banning of Sargon of Akkad from Patreon and removal of his blue checkmark on Twitter (is he not Sargon of Akkad anymore?). I am not bringing him up because I his fan but on principle I don support discrimination based on viewpoints like that.. Differing would be a good OTC to start with if you can't get to a doctor. Since starting Curology in mid March I have seen drastic improvement in 부천출장안마 my skin from these two ingredients. My skin is plumper, more evenly textured, my hyperpigmentation is fading faster, and I overall less oily and acne prone. On the other hand, your requests to CS were excessive. The accusation of one new member (that you demanded more action because you paid for your verification is not . Such a great thing actually. Cargo Cosmetics Nude, C+. Once upon a time for the holidays, Cargo released a trio of satin liquid lipsticks. The berry one was ridiculously smudgy, and the red one was very blue based, and neither suited me. I make my own bobbins from cardboard boxes, so I made some smaller ones, about half the size of my regular bobbins. I pre separated all the threads I was going to use for wrapping around my bobbins. I brought two different projects, either one I would been able to mainly use one color for the part I was working on for awhile, but brought some other colors just in case.. I know looks aren't everything, and I understand that there is no ideal woman even some people would say 'no thanks' to a date with Angelia Jolie or Beyonce. But I want to be the kind of heart stopping, traffic accident causing woman that everyone envies. An interaction with a gorgeous woman can crush my self esteem for the day and leave me feeling like shit. Career guide with expertise in Forest/Jungle environments. He wears leather armor (or a breastplate) with a dark green almost black cloak. His primary weapon is a longbow and his go to spells are Goodberry, Hunter Mark and Zephyr Strike. But if there truly breaking news, like when a significant figure in the fashion industry dies, or if there a really major announcement regarding a brand, like if J. Crew announced tomorrow they filing for bankruptcy, we would stick with our current policy, which is that the first thread up, stays up, and all discussion takes place in that thread. Or, if you read an essay and have a thoughtful or thorough response to it, feel free to type it up and post! basically, our policy for weekly threads vs top level user submitted threads, is that top level user submitted threads should be focused on eliciting discussion from the community.

[thedappleddragon]

ugh im big stupid and haven't been posting my shit here for a while. I've still been typing it out in my notes, I just havent transferred them onto here lol. im putting it all under the cut, don't worry

Today was pretty dang nice! I spent a little time outside because it was nice and warm out, I drew a little in my sketchbook and digitally rendered a picture of Anna’s new princess outfit, ran an errand with my mom to pick up a graphing calculator and a pack of soda, ate some Wendy’s, and did a lot of sewing for my dress! I joined the bodice lining and exterior, and did a little over half of the sewing for the skirt. I’m doing French seams so there’s no raw edges on the inside, so I still have to iron it and go over the second round of stitches. My machine malfunctioned for a moment with the thread tangling up in the lower bobbin thingy, so I left it alone for like an hour and it fixed itself lol. I’m very happy with how the bodice came out after clipping all the extra fabric in the corners and test fitting it. I think it’ll be great when it’s done!! Although I may or may not need to seam rip a little bit of the skirt to extend the zipper down so I can get it over my fuckin DUMPTRUCK when putting it on. Right now there’s enough stretch to put it on, but Idk how well that’ll stay after attaching the 2 pieces. Also it might end up making me look fat/preggo in the end with how the skirt lays lmao. I also did a really quick test fit with the sleeves, and I might actually like it better sleeveless? I’ll put one on anyway and go from there to see which I like better. HOORAY this dress has pockets!! But I may have put them a little low lol. I wanted to do a big dress debut at prom, but turns out graduates aren’t allowed due to covid restrictions :( so that really sucks. But we’re still gonna hang out a little bit beforehand, and I can still do a debut. I made a little bow out of some scrap dress fabric, which I want to put in my hair for pre-prom. I think I’ll braid my hair, maybe get some fake flowers from dollar tree and ribbon to add somehow, and put the ribbon either at the bottom or the top, wherever the hair tie eventually goes. I’m so exited to work on it more. I’m kinda running out of white thread tho so I’ll have to get more. Later in the evening i got hungry and made ramen while my dad and I watched a documentary on some of the horrible shit that went on all around the world during 2020, some of which I had forgotten about, some that was really surreal and out of a dystopian movie, and some stuff that was just upsetting to watch. It was still pretty good tho. I got work tomorrow and I’m really sleepy even tho it’s only 12:30 so I think I’m gonna grab a snack and go to sleep soon. Gnight mwah

Yesterday I worked and sewed until I ran out of thread and drew a little bit. Spent most of my shift watering flowers, then I went home and ate for a moment, then watered more and picked dead flowers and talked about avatar and other animated shows with the highschool girl I work with. Came home and hung out for a while, that evening made some good pasta. 

Today I justly hung out, then went with mom to pick up a bookshelf and went through strawtown which I thought was a very funny name for a town. There was a cute antique shop in there tho. On the way back we stopped in a sewing shop called Always in stitches. I expected it to be a very small shop, but it was SO much bigger than I thought it would be. They had tons of fabric and quilting supplies, and lots of old ladies working and talking. I picked up a cone of white thread and a fabric sample pack. Then I sewed my dress a little bit. I still have lots to do, and only like 2.5 days to do it. I’ll get there tho. All I have to do is add the skirt hem, add the pockets back in (I took them out so I could see them in normally), add sleeves and hem them, and add the zipper. And attach the skirt to the bodice. I think I’ll be able to do it. I had yogurt for the first time in forever today. Tbh I used just enough to hold together the strawberry and granola bits kgelgskgs. It was pretty good tho. I drew ELEVEN pages in my sketchbook, about 8 of them being a comic about the pony au of our royalty au. I could have done the comic with human characters but ponies are so much easier to draw aggsssdh. I spent 40 minutes typing out the dialogue and editing it on top of the rest of the comic so my friend could read it, but she still hasn’t read my text :( oh well that’s fine lol. The original plot was supposed to be Sam talking to an accidental illusion of me being mean about her blight, but then I accidentally made it something different. I might just draw the alternate ending instead. Update I just did

Yesterday I sewed and went to Menards to buy tile for moms bathroom.

Today was VERY productive, I feel like. I woke up and immediately took a shower and did laundry. I spent some one just sitting on my bed scrolling and researching while listening to medieval remixes of songs lol. At some point I went out to buy subway for everyone and stopped at dollar tree for nail polish and satin ribbon. I made the ribbon into a little choker and wanted to use it for the hem of the skirt, but I was too short. In total I spent HOURS hemming and pinning and seam ripping and ironing and sewing today, but it’s still not done. I gotta kick my ass into high gear if it’s gone be done by Sunday afternoon. I started sewing the bottom hem, but my machine has been doing this weird thing where the fabric scrunches up right past the sewing foot and leaves wrinkles and gathers so loose I can move it around with my hands easily. I think it’s just my tension being too tight or something, I adjusted it a bit and I’ll test it in the morning. I’m too tired and it’s too late at night to be doing that much sewing. I seam ripped the entire back skirt seam so I could extend the zipper a little further down, and I’ll sew it back up once the hem is done. After that all I need to donis connect the skirt to the bocice, fix the zipper, and hem the arm holes. I don’t want to use the sleeves I made because the edges don’t line up at all and I don’t think I would be able to lift my arms, the way it’s built. The nail polish I picked up works way better than I thought it would, leaving a pretty good metallic sheen after just one coat. Way better than I thought for a dollar. I helped mom lay down tile a little bit, ripping up one old tile and helping a bit at a time throughout the day. I kept asking if she wanted help with the actual tiling part but she said no. We also couldn’t get the fuckin box cutter I bought to work. It’s supposed to be easy to replace the blade, but we couldn’t figure it out lol. I’m falling asleep fun. Washed my face twice, trying to take good care of myself before prom so I look good in photos. Gotta wash hair tomorrow. Made hamburger meat

Spent all day sewing and listening to bardcore remixes. Dress is as done as I bother to make it rn

Tbh I was hoping for a little more for today. I’ve spent the last like week or longer working towards this, and going especially in depth the past 3 days. I got all silky smooth, worked for hours on my dress, thought about pretty much nothing except prom day. I was late because my dad had my neighbor come over to take pictures of me in my dress. I thought it was just going to be her holding my dad’s phone to get a picture of us together, but she brought her whole ass professional camera and spent several minutes taking pictures. Then I took the weirdest way possible to get to my friend’s house on accident because google maps said it was the fastest way to get there. But HEY when I did get there I enjoyed hanging out with my friends. We ate some dinner AND??? Sammie I’m sorry if you’re reading this but THE MASHED POTATOES?? WERE S O BLAND????? AFAJSTSTHJST ily but girl. Just a little salt could have gone a long way <3 the steak and especially the green bean casserole were good tho :) dinner was good with the sparkling juice and little desert. Overall everything was just very loud, but that’s to be expected when this is everyone’s first time seeing each other in a goddamn while: actually I think they’ve all seen each other at school without me but hey whatever. I think I fucked up my phone screen on accident by sitting on it while it was in my pocket with my keys, leaving a spiderweb crack in it. I checked and yeah it’s not just the screen protector :( eh I don’t care that much, It didn’t fuck up the lcd screen or anything. We went up to Sam’s room and hung out and talked while she did Liz’s makeup and took pictures, and I borrowed a little of her concealer before photos. There was a little photo shoot in their front yard, and looking at the photos I look a little fat in them but I LOVE all the photos taken in Sam’s room where we were all just hanging out. Idk why but whenever you have to do photos and they say to do a silly one, it never turns out good, but the fun ones you casually take always turn out way better. They’re more genuine :) but then it was time for everyone to go to prom and for me to go home 😔 we only hung out for like an hour and a half. I didn’t want to take off my dress, seeing as I put in so much effort to sew the whole dress and shave and look pretty, so I wore it around the house for a bit until I got tired and went to lay in bed. I watched the mitchels vs the machines, which is a fuckin DELIGHTFUL movie!! Everybody go watch it it’s so cute <3 I also played some Pokémon and watched a little YouTube in bed, but feeling unfulfilled and wanting to do something different, I just didn’t know what. So instead I started typing this up as my sister brought me a cupcake from prom :) I had a bite and put the rest in the fridge, since it was so big and in a plastic container. I texted a friend over Snapchat asking if they had fun at prom, and they said it was kinda ass. I tried relating and saying yeah all school dances are a little ass, and my friend group once had anti prom and played dnd instead, but they just said ‘that’s nice’ back and idk if that means they’re annoyed at me or they’re just tired and didn’t wanna text or what but :( idk. Either way it’s fine, right now all I care about is going to bed. Gnight I guess. Also I keep thinking about that textpost that’s like “diary of icarly” and she talks in these simple-ass sentences and now I feel self conscious about how I write these snafnfs. I already know I write like a child in these, but that’s just because I don’t wanna go through the effort of making this sound nice and professional every day lmao. So child writing it is. Also painted my nails really horribly and it took forever to clean up which made me late

Woke up, went to work, spent a little time stocking, watered indoor plants, then attempting to work the register, and organized plants the rest of the time. I stood behind one of my coworkers as she checked people out, kind of understanding what she was doing but not that much, and read the manual in down periods. She had me check out a couple people, and it was NERVE WRACKING AS HELL. Thankfully everyone was very nice, and my coworker stood by and helped, and right as I was getting my foothold, my boss called for me to work outside and bring in the new shipment of plants. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT WAS REALLY NICE?? I was actually able to help some people today!! :D I’m slowly getting better at my job which is nice :) originally I was only gonna work 4 hours, but there were more plants to get and I felt like I could keep going, so I ended up working 6 instead. Every time I come home from the end of my shift I feel bad for not working more and like I should have stayed longer. Tbh I think I could do it if I had a proper break! I’ve been doing 4 hour shifts with maybe a water break in the middle because i don’t know how to ask to go on break ;-; Ike my secondary boss in the garden center is super nice and approachable and friendly but the main boss is like. Terrifying. I never know when he’s joking or being serious and I don’t understand him and assffsfamms it SUCKS. But whatever, I went home and ate some Mac n cheese and laid in bed because my back hurt and played on my ds for the rest of the night. I tried a couple new games, none of which I spent very long on. I tried okami den where you’re the wolf puppy child of the precious games protagonist I think, and idk maybe I’ll give it a better try in the future, but I wasn’t feelin it. I spent like 30 minutes on a pro bass fishing simulator and couldn’t clear the first level because the fish wouldn’t get close enough to my boat lmao. Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games was fun until I lost at table tennis to Mario. I’d play it again. But I have work again tomorrow so I gotta go to bed good night. Having to blast my fan and play drawfee on my phone to drown out moms tv again >:(

Ate a pbj for breakfast? Went to work, moved plants around, took my lunch break, went to subway with an expired coupon, ate at home and times it perfectly so I could watch one section of the new drawfee episode, went back to work, made myself sad thinking about the god girl homunculus from fullmetal alchemist, picked dead flowers off the petunias, left a little early, hung out at home, left to go get mom’s medicine, found my dad at the store, followed him around and shopped for a bit, can home to unload everything, talked with him about buying one of the cars from him so it would be under mom’s insurance after the divorce, talked about being able to hang out at dads apparent after we help him move, ate some of the stuff we bought, and now I’m hanging out in bed again. I picked up my Pokémon black save and played a while today which was nice. I think I’m gonna work more in the next few days, be really busy with shit for like a week, and finally have a breather after the 15th. I really need to switch brain gears back into college stuff soon so I can sign up for orientation and figure out finances and shit, but for now it’s midnight and I don’t have to think about it lol

Today was pretty good, but also pretty boring. I played Pokémon all day since I didn’t have work, cooked some hamburger meat, and went on an errand for mom but got the wrong thing so I went out later to buy the right thing. I got spicy chicharrones instead of regular ones oops. On my drive back from getting the right thing, I rolled all my windows down and loved the feeling of driving around right after sunset when the weather was nice but cool, especially after standing in mom’s loud-ass room trying to ask about her bank card. I thought about going back out to aimlessly drive around the park and back, but instead hung out in my kitchen as my cat fell asleep on my lap. I think I’m gonna get paid tomorrow, so that’s exciting :D I probably made a solid couple hundred dollars if I had to guess. Idk what I’m getting paid per hour, but it’s probably ~$10 and I COULD go through my texts again to see how much I’ve worked, but I don’t really wanna lmao. I should just start putting that in my notes app instead...

Just had probably the most involved, longest dream ever?? It was a mix of infinity train and dangenrompa, we were mostly stuck inside my house, one boy left for years to search for supplies, I tried biking along a tail that disappeared into tree roots and a ditch with grass, cried because we had been in the same car for so long I was afraid they were gonna make us kill someone to get past, and at the end we escaped or something and had to fuck up security cameras and get past loopholes and lots of cereal boxes were involved? Idk there’s just so much I don’t remember. I wasn't sure if I had to go to work today, so I sent my boss a text and just kinda hung out. was making  hamburger meat for my mom when my boss called asking me to come in, so I took a shower and worked from 1-5. spent some time at the register, and got way better at checking stuff out :) I learned a couple things, and there was one old lady in particular who was very patient and nice to me while my coworker went to go find a smaller bag of birdseed. when it stopped being busy inside, I went ut to the garden center to help price plants and spent the rest of my shift out there. I got paid too! $9 an hour, 22 hours, $200 in total. hell yeah. not bad, although I literally have no frame of reference on if this Is good or not. after work I went home for a second, then got Hardee’s (or carls jr in the western states). I used a coupon for chicken tenders for me and my sister :) and while I was driving around today, I found myself wishing that everything in life could be as smooth and easy as driving my car through my neighborhood. and then I kinda laughed thinking about how I cried my first time driving on a major road asdjfasjdhf. but seriously I love driving my dad’s silver Volvo!! its so comfy with 4 wheel drive and good petal control, its like always driving on freshly paved roads <3 unfortunately that's the car my dad is taking when he moves into his apartment to use as his full time car instead of his shit-ass blue Volvo, and we’re gonna be stuck with the red Volvo with a really touchy gas pedal and slow break pedal. (idk if you've noticed but we really love old Volvos in this family. they’re all old and boxy as hell and I love em <3 ) then I played Pokemon black and beat the elite 4 and champion in one try with a lot of revives lmao. I was kinda underleveled, right at 48-50 range, same as them. I was angry about stuff and in pain earlier in the shower as I washed my hair, but I dont remember exactly what it was. now I have my soft Spotify playlist going so I can maybe go to sleep soon. oh wait I remember being angry that all I could thin about all day was work, even tho it only takes up a few hours of my day, and then I do nothing all day afterwards. idk it’s just weird.

[timelordthirteen]

Handprints - Part 7

Mr. Gold/Belle,  G

Summary: Gold and Belle establish they are in fact totally dating and make plans for an official Date, but Gold is still a woobie.

Notes: Sorry this chapter is so long after the last one was so short. I really am trying to keep these to ficlet length and failing badly. We are in the home stretch though. I don't have too much more planned for these nerds except what should comprise the final chapter or two. We'll see if I have to split it. I plan to finish this next week if all goes according to plan.

[AO3]

Belle’s back hit the bookshelves, rattling the contents and knocking a teacup, that had been perched on a stack of books, to the floor. She pulled on Gold’s shirt, keeping their lips pressed together a few seconds more. One of his hands cradled the back of her head, protecting it from the blunt edge of the wood shelf, the other bunched her sweater at her waist.

He’d come up because she said something about an old spinning wheel needing repair, something the museum was just going to get rid of because it was broken and no one seemed to want it. Spinning was something he actually knew how to do, and as soon as he’d said so, her eyes had lit up. It had been impossible to say no to her after that.

Belle was grinning when she finally let him pull away. “Oops.”

Gold brought one hand to his lips, rubbing them as he look down. “Oh no.” He bent awkwardly and picked up the cup, turning it to show her the small chip in the rim.

Belle took the cup from his hand, shrugging, and then twisted to set it on the shelf behind her. “It’s just a cup,” she said, resting her palm against his cheek. “I don’t even have the rest of the set anymore.”

He seemed uncertain, but when she pulled him back, still smiling, and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to his lips, he didn’t give the cup another thought. It was so easy to get lost in these moments with Belle and forget that outside of her apartment he was just a lowly window washer who had nothing but a cold walk home to look forward to. He sighed, and moved away, wondering for at least the tenth time that day how he should approach the subject of well, whatever this was. David’s advice replayed in his head, but he was a terrible coward when it came to these things. It was one of many reasons why his wife had left him.

“What’s wrong?” Belle asked, following him to the large window that overlooked the bay. She stopped next to him and took his hand, giving it a soft squeeze. “And please don’t say ‘nothing,’ I know it’s something.”

Gold looked at her and gave her a half smile. “I just -,” he paused and sighed, and fixed his eyes out the window on the top of one of the buildings in the distance. “I don’t know what this is.”

He cringed inwardly, not realizing how pathetic and stupid it sounded to ask such a thing until he'd done it. His face felt hot with shame, and he wished he'd waited to say something until it was time to leave. Running out the door seemed like a fine idea right now.

Belle frowned and pulled on his arm, until he shift and looked at her. His face looked almost pained, and she raised his hand to her lips, quickly kissing his knuckles. “By this do you mean us? Or something on the bank building over there?”

Her lips twitched and he let out a gentle laugh. “Us, I guess.” Then he shrugged and looked away, muttering, “Whatever that means.”

“Hey,” she said, letting go of his hand to insinuate herself between him and the glass. “I, uh, I guess I kinda thought we were, maybe going to be - dating?”

Gold blinked. “Dating? Like -”

He motioned between the two of them and she grabbed his finger with her hand, laughing. “Yes like -” she repeated him, moving their joined hands between them.

“Okay,” he said, smiling. “I get it, I’m an idiot.”

“No,” Belle said firmly, moving to take both of his hands in hers. “You’re not at all. I should have -” She shrugged. “I guess I thought you knew how I felt, and I’m sorry. I should have been clear.”

“No,” he replied, exhaling and raising one hand to run through his shaggy hair. “No, it’s - it’s fine.”

She bit at her bottom lip for a moment, studying him. “If - if you don’t want to be -”

Belle let out a high little noise as Gold pressed her against the window. His kiss was gentle but insistent, and he felt her fingers curl tight against his, their hands still trapped between them. He braced his free hand on the glass beside her head, his palm sweaty with nerves and squeaking against it. She made another sound as he broke the kiss, and he grinned.

“So, I, uh, think we’re on the same page now, yes?” She gave him a cheeky tilt of her head, still holding his hand to her chest.

He licked his lips and nodded, feeling a bit dazed that everything was exactly as he’d hoped. “Aye, that we are.”

After that, Belle finally took him to the spare bedroom, which was cluttered with unpacked boxes, knick knacks, and some furniture that looked antique but in need of refinishing. She declared it her ‘project room’ and he laughed, immediately endeared. She liked saving old things.

The wheel she had was in rough shape. The footman that connected the treadle, or foot pedal, to the large flywheel was cracked, but that was just a glorified wooden rod. He was confident they could get that part working again, but the bobbin assembly and tension knob were missing completely. They’d need full replacements for that. Belle seemed to think that if she scoured the flea market over the weekend she could come up with something.

Time passed quickly and before Gold knew it, he was going to be late getting Bae from school. She stopped him at the door for another kiss, one which felt very different from the others now that their budding feelings were out in the open.

“You should come with me,” she said, smiling and swaying back and forth. “You’ll know what to look for at the flea market better than I would. We could even get dinner or go to a movie afterwards.”

Gold’s lips twisted. “You mean on a date?”

Belle rolled her eyes and pulled on his hands, moving them around her waist as she shifted closer. “Yes. A date.”

He smiled, and then sighed. It was a lovely idea but he couldn’t afford a babysitter for Bae, and he had yet to broach the subject of his son with Belle at all and what that might mean for this new dating thing they were doing. He wanted Belle to like Bae, and he wanted Bae to like Belle. He wanted - well, he wanted a future that was still a very far off fantasy./p>

“I can’t,” he said finally and turned to leave.

“What? Why not” Belle questioned, stopping him again with a hand on his arm. “Roland, talk to me.”

Gold swallowed. This was the part where she found out that he was too poor to afford care for his son, not even to spend a day with her. At some point she might even find out where he lived, and the thought made his neck feel hot with shame.

“My son,” he said quietly, shrugging one shoulder. “I can’t leave him, and I’m afraid I can’t -” He sighed. “S-sometimes the lady across the hall, Ms. Potts watches him, but -”

“Bring him along.”

Gold’s mouth opened and closed, and then he frowned. “With us?”

Belle gave him a look. “Of course with us. I have to meet him sometime, don’t I?”

He blinked and pressed his lips together. She was looking at him with that same sweet, bemused smile she had earlier when she asked if they were on the same page. It was teasing, but not in a way that made him feel stupid or embarrassed. Everything about Belle was too genuine for that.

“I mean if - if that’s okay?” she added after a long moment. “We don’t -”

“No,” Gold interrupted. “No that’s - that would be fine.” He stopped and licked his lips, feeling a warmth settle in his chest at the thought of Belle finally meeting Bae. “That would be great, actually.”

Belle turned from side to side, causing the skirt of her green dress to flare out to the sides. She looked up at him, eyebrows raised hopefully. “Yeah?”

“Yes.” He nodded and smiled, and then she pushed up on her toes to kiss him one last time. His arms came around her waist, holding her close. “I can’t imagine anything better than a date with my two favorite people.”

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

NOTE:  These next chapters will be rather short but the story is winding down. Can't believe it's finally going to be all online! Took me far longer than I ever expected, but I'm glad I began this journey. Thanks to everyone who took it with me despite delays.

Glinda, Elphaba and Nessarose had been gathered around the lunch table for nearly twenty minutes before Jellia arrived to execute a short bow, announce "Princesses Ozma and Dorothy will arrive shortly," and then bow back out of the room. They all shared looks of mild surprise and interest.

"Announcing them together," Elphaba mused, tapping at her chin. "That's… conspicuous."

"Don't jump to conclusions, sister. You and Glinda are always arriving together, yet I never make a fuss."

"But you do know why we're arriving together. And I suspect it's for the same reason those two are today."

"Could be, but it could just as easily not be. That's what I mean!"

Doing her best not to get between squabbling siblings, Glinda sipped at her water and made no remark. Really, she was as hopeful as they were that things were going well between the two young royals, but she felt unreasonably as if she might jinx it if she spoke her hopes aloud. But despite this, she still sat bolt upright when the door opened again.

There was definitely no longer any denying it. Even though they were both dressed much as they were at breakfast, there was a rumpled aspect to their clothing now. And their hair! Ozma's was unruly and stuck out at odd angles, and Dorothy's braids were definitely more lopsided now. To their credit, they were mostly calm and walking quite casually, despite a little additional pinkness in their cheeks.

"Why, hello," Elphaba said in a prim and proper voice.

"Good afternoon," Ozma said with a slight dip of her head as she took her seat.

"You two have a nice chat?" Glinda asked.

"We did, I believe. Did we, Dorothy?"

A little startled, Dorothy smiled up at them from where she was sitting down. "Oh! Well, yes, o'course; I think we can put that business about Tip behind us now."

"Good, good! See? Told you that all you had to do was talk. Work through things."

But Elphaba wasn't finished. Glinda found herself wishing she knew a spell to zip her lips closed as she listened to her saying, "I wonder how much talking you did…"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," Ozma laughed as she motioned for one of the royal servers to bring whatever had been prepared for lunch. Especially since everyone else had already eaten theirs.

"I mean the highly conspicuous purple mark on Miss Dorothy's neck."

The room went silent, and Dorothy's napkin fell from her hand where she had been about to spread it across her lap. A heartbeat too late to cover it before it was seen, she slapped her hand over the little bruise, cheeks flushing almost to the hue of Ozma's tangled hair.

"O-oh, that? No, y-you don't- I must've bumped into- well, I can't imagine where-"

"Don't tease her," Nessa hissed from across the table, and Glinda nodded.

"It's alright," Ozma sighed, reaching up for her water. Her hand was shaking, and Glinda felt her heart going out to the young queen. "But I… would appreciate it if you didn't tease her further."

"Protective paramour," Elphaba observed. But when the queen's eyes went wide, she raised a hand to forestall her. "Alright, alright. I think it's marvellous, and am of the opinion that there's no sense pussyfooting around the topic, but if you want to pretend nothing happened up there, I guess that's your choice."

Tutting at her own girlfriend, Glinda muttered, "You make it impossible, Elphie. Just let them go at their own speed!"

"We can't congratulate them properly if they're putting on airs."

"But it's their decision," she said with a pained smile in Ozma's direction. For her part, Ozma was just burying her face in her hands to hide the burning of her freckled cheeks. "Just as our announcement is our decision."

"What announcement?" Nessa said, seizing on the subject.

"You little minx," Elphaba growled at her, but she was smiling a little. "Using this to distract us from Dorothy and Ozma's indiscretions. Very clever." Still, she didn't fight it any more than that, turning to the rest of the table.

"Glinda has blackmailed me into marrying her." A swat at her arm made her change the announcement. "Alright! There was no blackmailing! You always accuse me of being 'no fun', and then when I joke you attack me! Can't win with you!"

Laughing, Dorothy clapped her hands together. "That's wonderful! Oh my goodness, a wedding — never been to one before!"

"You sure you want to go to this one? It's two women." A pinch to Elphaba's arm made her yelp.

"No, no, she's right," the girl told Glinda, who lowered her arm instead of pinching her partner again. "I've been… well, I guess a little silly about that. Seemed right and proper to me at the time, but seeing you two, how close you are? Can't imagine it bein' against God's will or anything like that now. So… so I'm awful sorry for how I behaved back then."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Glinda told her immediately. "Things are different in Kansas, I'm sure."

"They sure are," Elphaba conceded in a weary voice. When Glinda patted her thigh, she flinched as was usual, but it was only slight and she followed the action by putting her hand on top of Glinda's to keep it there. Progress.

"Hopefully, you won't mind if I help plan your wedding," Ozma said with a slight smile. "Celebrating the two of you would make me very happy; you've done so much for me, and for Oz; I think it's our turn to return the sentiment."

"Listen to the little queen." Ozma waved her away, and Elphaba chuckled. "You're really growing into this role."

Dorothy turned to Nessa and grasped her arm, hissing excitedly, "Won't this be fun? Oh, we can have hayrides, and bobbin' for apples, and everything! Where should we have it? Right here in the palace, I expect — oh, but I don't know if you do church weddings in Oz…"

"I suspect we do many things very differently in Oz," Nessa laughed. Then pointed to her own neck. "Um…"

Picking up on what she meant, Dorothy moved her hand back up to cover the blemish given to her by the princess formerly known as Tip. Glinda's eyes twinkled merrily to see how almost protective she was of the mark signifying that she and Ozma had come to an understanding, and that it was a positive one. As far as she was concerned, all was right with the world.

                              ~ o ~

Not that it could last.

Roughly a week later, the five women were still gushing excitedly about wedding preparations. Autumn was a goodly pair of weeks away, and the season wouldn't truly begin to turn for some time following that, so they had plenty of time. Still, somehow the entire palace had whipped itself into a frenzy. Given that the Councilwomen had come to be nearly synonymous with the queen herself, and held near-equal power despite not demanding the same quality of reverence, the news that two of them would be marrying each other had slowly begun to spread, until the point that Glinda even got congratulated when she ventured into the town to poke through shops at her leisure.

"And this stranger asks me if I'm going to wear a Robe Of Leaves or not!" she was blustering as they paged through a book of illustrations the chefs had come up with, featuring many varied designs of rich and decadent wedding cakes. "As if it's any of his business!"

"I'm also hearing a lot of questions about what it's going to look like with two women," Nessa sighed from where she was flipping through some paperwork nearby. "How you'll start the Dance, since traditionally the man bows first, then the woman curtsies, and so forth."

Rolling her eyes, Elphaba said, "I'm taller, so I don't mind assuming the 'male' role. Just makes a lot of decisions easier as far as I'm concerned."

"What about this one?" Dorothy cooed, pointing at the chocolatey confection on the page. It was quite endearing how she was snuggled up so close to Ozma, but also seated next to Elphaba. Before they had brought her back from Kansas, she had been far more comfortable around Glinda and Nessa, but being rescued by the other Witch had put her at ease around the gruff green grouch.

"Hmm. I wanted something simpler." She leafed through another page.

"It shouldn't be 'simple'," Ozma countered, her arm looped around Dorothy's back. They were a little more affectionate in public than Elphaba and Glinda were, but the type of affection was far more innocent and chaste; holding hands and petting backs. On very rare occasion when it was just the five of them, perhaps a peck on the cheek, but no more. "The people want a chance to see a spectacle."

Exasperated, she pushed the book away and folded her arms over her chest. "Doesn't matter what I want from this event, does it?"

"Elphie," Glinda sighed, putting her hand in the small of her back. "Of course it does. Besides, they aren't invited to the after-reception reception. There we can go crazy however we want!"

"Oh, now we have to plan an after-reception reception, too?!" An instant later, she caught the meaning and the gleam in Glinda's eye, and she cleared her throat. "Ah."

"Ah," she giggled back as she bumped her gently with her shoulder, and Elphaba sighed, trying to let some of the tension out of her body.

"Just don't get too noisy," Nessa said. "The other night, I heard a staff member trying to describe the noises they heard coming from your room, and it was… more than I ever needed to know about my half-sister."

That did actually make Elphaba blanch and duck her head. "Ugh. I'll see if I can whip up a spell to make our door a little more… soundproof. Sorry about that."

"What did they hear?" Ozma mused with a slight smile. But Dorothy looked affronted at her for asking, so she whispered, "Only joking, only joking."

"Do you want some firsthand pointers?"

That definitely silenced the embarrassed queen. But they never had a chance to find out if she would recover and issue some retort, for the doors burst open, a young pageboy scampering up to the table and wheezing with the effort of having run quite some way.

"Majesty! Councilwomen!"

Ozma rose to her feet, Dorothy drawing back so that she could. "What's the matter?" But he only panted for breath. "Speak!"

"The Wizard…!"

No other word was required.

Immediately, the group was racing through the hallways of the palace toward the chamber in which the Wizard had been slumbering for many months. No change had ever been reported. They fed him broth and a healer would bathe him with a sponge once per week, and otherwise he had been no better than a vegetable. By that point, Elphaba had most certainly written off ever speaking with him again, and Glinda couldn't say she blamed her. After all, what was the use in making oneself sick over an event which may never come to pass?

Except now, it seemed that it might.

When they entered, it was to the sight of the frail old man propped up very slightly on a pile of pillows. A healer was at his side and holding his arm gently, feeling his forehead with the back of her hand. They kept his beard trimmed neatly, but it still looked unkempt from rolling around in his sleep, as he would once in awhile.

"Go on," Glinda hissed into Elphaba's ear. So she went. The healer moved aside to allow her to approach, and she crouched down beside him.

"Hello, Father."

His eyes slit open a little further, and he let out a weak chuckle. "Oh… there you are. It's… good to see you again."

"It's good to see you awake." This may have been a slight stretch of the truth, but now was not the time to shout at the sickly man. "I've had a lot of questions for you."

"Oh? Well, why… didn't you ask them, then?"

"You couldn't have responded before now," she told him gently. A lot moreso than she probably wished to.

"Then go on, m'dear." Even if his voice was reedy and weak, he seemed to be trying to speak as genially as he always had — once they found out he was the man behind the enormous head, of course.

"Alright. Where are you from?"

Glinda nodded to herself. That was a question the two of them had debated many a time; he did seem to be from Gillikin, perhaps, but also behaved a bit unlike any man from her country that she had ever known. Maybe it was a little blunt, but she couldn't fault Elphaba for wanting to cut to the heart of the matter, especially if they had limited time to speak.

"From Kansas, of course," he chuckled. As that chuckle turned into a cough, Dorothy gasped and held a hand in front of her mouth. "Well, really, from Nebraska, which is… close enough to Kansas that it might as well… be the same thing."

He gestured for a drink of water, which the healer offered. That was indeed a shock. Never in all her life would Glinda have guessed that their former Ruler, Oz the Great and Terrible, was from the same strange and twisted land which Dorothy had once called home. Then again, she did have to concede that Dorothy looked as much like a Gillikin as he did. Maybe, many hundreds of years ago, all of the people in both Oz and Kansas — or Nebraska, whatever that land was like — had all been one and the same, and some great event had created a schism between their peoples. None may ever know.

"This Nebraska," Elphaba asked in a curiously pained tone once he had calmed himself. "You were born there? How in Oz could you have come to Oz?"

Wheezing, he pushed to sit up a little more, but his muscles couldn't manage the task anymore. "I… was a circus performer, y'see. Had a great balloon with my initials on it, 'OZ'; the rest of my name is… quite long, and unimportant. I would manoeuvre my balloon all over to… draw crowds to our travelling show, calling out to them so they would see… the beautiful banner beneath. 'Bailum and Barney's Great Consolidated Shows,' it said! Ah, but the banner was lost when I… when the ropes came loose and I got blown all the way to Oz. Naturally, the good people here saw my initials and… assumed I was their next Ruler. A great magician to have flown here."

"What's a balloon?" Ozma asked, but Dorothy patted her arm and shushed her. Glinda assumed she could explain such strange Kansas-related phenomenon another time.

"And then… Morrible approached me. She saw how the people naturally seemed to offer… their respect to the 'Wizard from the Sky'. So, with the King and Queen dead under… mysterious circumstances, and… no one left to rule, she suggested I step in. And I thought, 'Why not? Seems like a better job than the one I had'. And that… was that."

Glinda couldn't help snapping in exasperation, "And you never tried to find the rightful heir to the throne?"

"Didn't know of her until… some time afterward. And by then, I had no idea where I might… find such a girl, if indeed she… still lived. Besides, I had Emeralds to mine, and laws to establish, and… so many things…"

"Like the enslavement of Animals," Elphaba said in a cold but even tone.

"Yes," he sighed, sagging visibly into the bed with his eyes downcast. "Well… it seemed a better alternative than… letting everyone revolt from the food shortages."

"We've made great strides in fixing the food shortages. Through hard work, and fair taxation instead of bilking the citizens of Oz for all they were worth, and Morrible hoarding the richest foods for herself. Things you could have done instead of- of cheating them. But you're really quite the cheat all around, aren't you?"

The smile wasn't kind, wasn't ingratiating. Merely bemused with the absurdity of life. "It's the only talent I've ever had, Miss Elphaba. Being a… humbug. That's what I did for the circus, too."

"Fine." It took another couple of breaths for her to calm down. "Fine, you're a humbug. How did you meet my mother? Did you swindle her into your bed the way you swindled yourself into the Palace?"

"Well… after a fashion. I had just come to this land, and was… seeing all that it had to offer. Including sampling some of the local flavour." The way he said this, and the precise type of cough afterward, made Elphaba close her eyes in mortification. Ozma curled her lip slightly. "The Munchkinland women are… well, not very welcoming, but… some of them that frequented bars were. You said your… name was Thropp, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Must have been… the previous Eminent's wife. Or sister. Haven't the faintest idea."

"Our mother," Nessarose offered, stepping forward. Only then did he seem to recognise her, and his eyebrows twitched upward very slightly. "Melena."

That word did bring a smile to his face as nothing else had since they entered the room. "Ahhh, yes. Melena. She was… adventurous, to be sure. Wild in bed. Did this thing with her tongue that-"

"FATHER!"

"Quite right, quite right. Isn't decent to go into those kinds of details around your daughter, is it? But I've never been a… father to anyone before, though I always longed to be. So I… don't know the first thing… about how to behave like one." Coughing again, he rolled one hand in the air, which looked frail and wasted as the rest of him. "We were both drunk. She had a… strong like for the green Emerald City liquor I had with me, and downed… almost the entire bottle. Powerful stuff; Morrible brewed it herself. Thought I was the only… one who had a taste for it, until she came along. Then, well, things progressed, and the next morning… I moved on. Never saw her again."

Elphaba couldn't restrain her malice. "That's because she's dead. Dead from eating milk flowers to prevent her second child from being a green monstrosity, like the first was because of your bottle of… of disgustingness!"

"Elphie," Nessa breathed, catching her elbow. Though the elder sister remained ramrod straight, she didn't push her away, and let her comfort her to some degree.

"Regret is a funny thing," Oz was saying weakly, voice even more faint than it had been before. "If I'd known, I… well, there's nothing to know. You've seen what kind of… man I am. Not much of one. Sentimental, but a humbug and a fraud. I let… that Morrible woman push me around, with her spells and-"

Another cough, and the healer had to give him another drink of water. Once he was through, she had him settled back against the pillow. Elphaba approached again, having mastered herself enough to be near the man she blamed for so much misfortune in her life.

"Father… do you promise you had nothing to do with the disappearance of Ozma?"

"Ozma? Oh, the girl?"

Ozma stepped forward, squaring her shoulders. The circlet was perfectly balanced on the center of her head. "I am Queen Ozma. Your press secretary gave me to a witch to be hidden away for years, and treated badly, and… it was not a nice thing to do to a baby."

"Suppose it wasn't." His sigh was weary. "No, I didn't. But… I suspected she knew. Things she mentioned. Could have asked. But it was… easier not to know. Safer."

"Ah."

"You're a lovely queen," he remarked with a warmth to his smile. "Probably… would have offered you that green bottle in my younger days. Not now, though. I'm… too old to go chasing young ladies."

The last bit saved him from a slap from Elphaba that probably would have meant the end of him. Reining in her open palm, she instead squared her shoulders and looked down at him, voice firm and authoritative. "Morrible is finished. Your reign is finished. Now, Queen Ozma sits rightfully on the throne, with we 'wicked witches' as her Councilwomen. Or Coven, if you prefer. Young Dorothy, who you sent to kill me, is a Councilwoman, too."

"I am?" Dorothy asked, shocked as anyone.

"She will be, in time. And… Glinda and I are getting married, Father."

As the man blinked stupidly upward, Glinda approached, only for Elphaba to catch her hand and yank it forward to wrap it around her own elbow, closing her hand over it once in place. "Oh," was her only remark, though she tried for a demure smile.

"Really?" he said, eyebrows much higher now. "Fancy that! The women of Oz are… truly peculiar, aren't they?"

"I love her. It's not peculiar to love someone, but then again, I expect you don't know the first thing about love."

"Expect I… don't. Never had… any from my father, and never… had the chance to show… any to you. Since I didn't know you were…"

His words petered out. For a moment, they were horrified and thought he had passed on, but the healer checked his vitals, then shooed them toward the door. Another stepped in to take her place right away, adjusting his sheets and making him comfortable.

"What happened?" Glinda hissed.

"He's fallen asleep. You'll have to come back another time. It's… not looking good, but he may live a few months yet. We're doing all we can for him; frankly, it's a miracle he woke up again at all by this point."

And that was that. Elphaba shook her head idly as she stared at the closed door, green eyes beginning to mist over. "Ridiculous. This man has caused me nothing but pain and strife from the moment we met. Why should I care that he's…"

Glinda's arms slid around Elphaba's waist, rustling the fabric of her black dress. "He's your father. And even if he's no prize, he's still an enormitude better than old Frex was."

"Hey!" Nessa snapped.

"To her. To you, he was a peach."

"Fair," she sighed, petting along Elphaba's back as well. "I mean, I am sorry, Fabala. I've already been through this, so… I know there isn't anything I could say that will help. Just to let you know I'm here for you."

Nodding her understanding, Elphaba turned and kissed Nessa's cheek, petted her shoulder. They shared a tight smile of recognition; grief was a great equaliser. Then she turned back to push her nose into Glinda's, taking as much comfort from their closeness as she could. Glinda was grateful she could do that one small thing, if nothing else. After a moment, the frustrated daughter spoke again.

"This really doesn't matter in the long run. We just… we plan the wedding, go on with our lives. If he recovers… we'll figure out what to do about him then."

As they all nodded and began to move off, Dorothy said, "Well… you might do one li'l thing."

                               To Be Continued…

[doublecupteas]

Wanting to Punch AutoPunch

DECEMBER 30, 2016

Some will remember an earlier teamail where I got stupidly excited, having finally acquired a copy of the SINGER embroidery software AutoPunch. For those who missed it, I'm designing reusable tea sachets showcasing bold ladies & teas. Machine embroidery seemed the best option- at MICA we used software to transform sketches to stitches with great success. So I tried it at home...

(Warning, this exciting tale of sewing sabotage is not for all readers, especially if you're just here for the tea)

Behold. The SINGER Futura XL400 (stickers not included). Before even fiddling with the embroidery functions the package boasts of, I ran into a major design flaw in the machine itself. Whenever thread gets caught in the mechanics below deck, the entire bobbin case comes loose and bounces around under the needle. In most machines the bobbin case stays in place, the needle breaks, and you replace it for 10 cents. SINGER made the needle work for them: fashioning a bobbin case out of malleable plastic so that the needle can scratch and stab it every. time. there's. a hiccup. Then they charge $14 to replace the bobbin case when it breaks. Which will be very often, what with the thread catching on every snag in the plastic. Pro tip: to make your bobbin case last a little longer you can smooth out some of these sharp edges with a nail file.

My biggest problem with the machine is the software. The SINGER Futura XL400 (in all it's intentionally vague packaging) comes with embroidery software included: what they actually mean is, a library of cute flowers & letters that you can resize. They really put the basic in "basic editing of all designs". Luckily, SINGER offers a variety of add-ons... for a price. So I drop $200 on AutoPunch: a tool that lets you take any image and translate it into stitches. Well, not any. That's what PhotoStitch is for. And well, if for some reason AutoPunch chokes on your picture you'll also need to buy Advanced Editing to fix it. Text is also not included unless you buy their pre-made designs, or you can dump more money into this barely functioning software to get HyperFont! :D

So I try out my first design, a simple black and white .jpg - drop it into AutoPunch, and ...scrambled eggs happen. Ok, that's fair, it was a scan after all. I clean it up, turn up the contrast, bring it back and ...nope. Try again! Maybe it's my drawing? I test out the lovely logo sketch master Illustrator Evyn Fong sent over. REJECTED. So I take the file into illustrator, put hours in making bolder lines, solid shapes, black on white, there's no way AutoPunch can get confused now. And...

AutoPunch, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? While this could be called an improvement to the scrambled egg the program made of my first designs, it simply wont do. First off, how are you getting green from a black and white image?

Back to the drawing board in illustrator, I dump a few more hours and trouble shoot every possible problem I can think of. BOLDER lines, no gaps, high rez, low rez, color blocks, anything to make AutoPunch understand. To my great relief, we had a breakthrough.

Still not sure why this worked exactly, but I've prepared digital files to take between programs before - so I have some guesses. From what I can tell, increasing the resolution to the highest possible degree is your best bet. It's in the color reduction phase that the program struggles. If you can provide more pixels AutoPunch will make more accurate distinctions between color blocks and you'll get more detail.

All in all, this machine is great for people who don't mind paying for pre-made designs. Not so great for artists and professionals who want to make their own. You'll end up spending $1,000 on half-baked software, and while the DIY community for this machine is awesome, Singer's solution to tech support is to send you a new copy of their already broken program. My copy of AutoPunch didn't even come with an instruction manual. For $1,000 you can get a much better value. In fact, there are many free programs I've seen perform better than AutoPunch.

As for the machines performance- the needle ruined one piece of fabric, punched two new holes in my bobbin case, but finally managed to stitch the 3"x3" design operating at it's lowest speed setting (which took an hour). With the design FINALLY stitched, and my rant complete, I think I'll settle down to a nice cup of tea, thank you.