#magical talking baby from san diego

[sourcreammachine]

Jacob Geller said that if he were in a 24 hour time loop, he'd challenge himself. how, with what specific actions and what specific set of words said to the correct people, can he get himself into the oval office for a meeting with the president, before the day ends? with infinite trial and error, eventually he'd figure out the method.

i've thought about my own version of this challenge.

i was born in the year of rome 2754, in the early summer. say i were timelooping my life from my birth. i’d have a very small number of months at my disposal. the game begins.

how could a baby, whose eyes cannot yet see the world, whose muscles cannot yet support themself, and whose mouth lacks the dexterity to speak, communicate what they need to? could i slam my tiny fists in morse code? could i smear my baby food into makeshift writing? how can i convince everyone that i'm somehow conscious and able to communicate, so they'll aid me?

and with that figured out, how do i achieve my end goal? with the slim weeks counting down, what do i, talking baby, need to say to be taken seriously? i will never remember all the information i need, but i will be able to remember some. names, dates, codes, locations. and when i've laid it all out, how do i get it sent up the chain of command, corroborated, actioned, and done? my prophecies will always be right, but how do i get people to believe the talking baby before they come to pass?

do i go on the news and expose it to the world? do i keep it under wraps with the intelligence folk? or do i throw a complete red herring to get the goal reached by proxy?

but with a timeloop in play, i'll figure it out by pure trial and error. eventually, the people who need to believe me will believe me, and do my bidding.

it doesn't matter how it happens. the baddies could be scared off. or a few arrests could be made. the skies could close all month for all i care. but talking baby will be eating their rusks in the early afternoon local time, old CRT telly on, waiting for the news of their success. if it stays on daytime telly tripe, the game will be won and i will be victorious. but if the towers fall, gods fucking damn it, looks like we're going for another loop.

[redfurrycat]

🦸‍♂️🦃 Altom Bradner Meet-cute 🦃🦸‍♂️

Lieutenant-Commander Tom Hudner-Seresin is on shore leave in Cannes, France, with his unit. His best friend and wingman Jesse Brown has managed to secure invitations to the Cannes Film Festival.  

The unit spends all night gawking at the celebrities from the movie industry and gossiping about them. They’re just having fun before an important and dangerous mission.

Tom and Jesse are at the bar talking about Jesse’s family and Tom’s old-fashioned flirting skills. Jesse teases his friend and jokingly states his seducing techniques won’t get him some action for the night. Tom accepts the challenge.

“Bet you $20 you can’t get carnal knowledge - of anyone - on the premises, with your supposedly mad skills.”

*

Tom cannot back down from a challenge.

He surveys the room before his eyes fall upon a curly-dark-brown-haired man on his lonesome, nursing a glass of wine.

Pretty cute curls ahoy! Tom’s coming for you!

*

Jesse watches his friend approaching the stranger man with purposeful steps and a charming smile. He sees Tom talking to him, no doubt using his pitiful attempt at magic trick. The guy seems a bit stunned at first, but quickly drags his eyes over Tom’s body, a smirk slowly appearing on his face.

Curly One motions to Tom to sit down beside him.

They talk all evening.

These two men are secluded in their bubble, the outside world completely forgotten.

At some point, for reasons unknown to Jesse, Tom hand kisses the stranger’s hand…

Mission accomplished.

Tom’s just won the bet even though it must be the farthest thing on his mind right now.

Jesse smiles at his friend. And makes a waiter serve them a drink, with a note for Tom.

Mission accomplished. You’ve just had carnal knowledge of someone on the premises… The night’s still young though… 😉 I’ll see you at cockcrow tomorrow, T. Your devoted wingman, Lovingly and Forever your brother.

*

Tom and Pretty Cute Curls do spend the night together. They savour it. They treasure this one-time thing.

Except...

Is it?

*

Post-mission. Tom has just lost his best friend and wingman. He has to accept rewards and medals for a successful mission, but Tom is heartbroken and mourns for his brother in arms.

He decides to spend his long-term leave in San Diego, where his baby brother and sister live.

*

At the same time, Pretty Cute Curls decides to spend some time with his family after two exhausting years of movie producing and parading all over the world to promote his movies.

He needs a break.

Oh yeah, Al Bradshaw is coming back to the nest!

*

The Bradshaw Brood

The Brood & Herd Siblings

[returntosaturn271995]

November 17th-18th: Euro-vision (Part 1)

How does one capture the magic of a week-long, sleepless, fun-filled Euro-trip with romance, friendship, and a couple of twists and turns along the way?

I can't. Not really. I can just say I'm happy and feel small in the best way. So with that in mind: here's a high-level recap.

Friday the 17th:

1). Smoked the wrong weed the night before and had a mini panic attack about the trip. Calmed myself down by drinking copious amounts of water.

2). 9-hour plane ride to London from San Diego with a stop in Seattle. I slept as much as humanely possible and didn't read or watch movies. The time difference basically made the flight my entire day and when I opened my eyes it was Saturday morning in Heathrow.

Saturday:

1). When I landed in the airport I put on makeup and my "walking through London in a rom-com" outfit: Leather trench coat, black sweater with key-hole neck design, dark wash jeans, black boots.

2). Took the tube to Paddington Square and met up with Martyn, flirty kiss and then we dropped off our bags at the hotel he booked: The London Lodge.

3). Walking tour of London punctuated by coffee and hot chocolate I didn't have to tip for. Big Ben, the London Eye, the River Thames, Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, and a million beautiful streets. Split the G and had a baby Guiness.

4). We got back to the hotel as it grew dark and had sex that was 10/10, I lost a press-on nail so that became 9/10.

5). Grabbed a Cheeky Nandos and Martyn ate legitimately an entire chicken. He described me in the third person as a girl who likes the finer things in life. I reminded him "I am one of the finer things in life."

6). Pub crawl in Soho with an amazing live singer, we were shoulder to shoulder with everyone in the bar. I got hit on by a 6'10 trust fund kid right in front of Martyn who offered me a spot at The Queen's Club. Yes, that Queens Club. Martyn took this gamely.

7). We bounced to a gay nightclub called Heaven. Now it was Martyn's turn to get his ass pinched. All the music was about 5 years too old from America and I forgot to not tip on the drinks. Balloons fell from the ceiling at midnight and we had a dramatic superhero kiss in front of the industrial strength fan near coat check. Redbull Vodka's still in hand.

8). Took the tube, a double-decker bus, and a black cab so all transportation was covered.

9). I fell asleep on his shoulder riding the Tube. We got to the hotel (Our concierge had no idea what she was doing) from the gay club and did some decidedly straight things. Fell asleep talking.

[malleux]

PART THREE PART THREE PART THREE

spell [3]. | corpse husband

part one ; part two

-> Pairing: Corpse Husband x Fem!Reader

-> Genre: Fluff

-> Warnings: Anxiety, Self Doubt, Cursing, Hate Comments

-> A/N: here’s the long awaited part three! it’s definitely longer than the last chapters, but genuinely thank you all for 300 followers in literally 4 days lol. also, i wrote this under the small assumption that corpse’s main love language is physical touch!

corpse husband taglist is closed!

You didn’t realize that it was possible to shake so much. You were practically panicking- just from standing in front of an apartment door, ready to knock and meet the man who changed your life.

You’d woken up this morning bright and early. The Facetime call was still on with Corpse and small snores could be heard from his line. You had prayed that he’d gotten at least more than an hour, but doubted it as you hung up and sent a message about when you’d be leaving.

Corpse soon messaged back saying that he was awake as you finally finished packing- you’d stopped last night when he called- so you got in your car and drove the two hours it took to get to San Diego.

So now you stood in front of his apartment, practically trembling. Why you were so anxious, you didn’t know. You’d been talking to him for how long now? And it was never awkward.

But things could easily change when you met him in real life, couldn’t they?

You shook those thoughts out of your head and mustered up enough courage to knock on Corpse’s door, already becoming out of breath from such a simple gesture.

A crash sounded from in the apartment, followed by a small ‘fuck’ that made your heart flip. Soon after, the door opened and you looked up, finally coming eye to eye with him. You couldn’t help the grin that stretched across your face, mirroring his own as he smiled at you as well.

“Hi.” You internally smacked yourself for not saying more, but that’s truly all that could come out of your mouth at the moment.

“Hey. You’re uh- you’re so much prettier in real life.” Corpse responded, looking nearly everywhere but you.

You flushed. “And you’re super attractive, but I already suspected that.”

You could tell he was taken aback by your compliment because he suddenly became even more shy, silently moving out of the doorway and gesturing for you to enter.

“I’m going to film again with everyone in a few minutes, but first I can show you my bedroom so you can make yourself comfortable.” Corpse said after he closed the door. “You can sleep in there and I’ll stay on the couch-“

“Absolutely not.” You interjected, “I’m not kicking you out of your bed.”

“But you’re the guest and I’m not about to let you sleep on my couch.”

“And you’re the owner of this apartment and I’m not going to take over your space like that. I’m sleeping on the couch.”

Corpse groaned and reached his arm out towards you. You thought he was going to just shove your shoulder away for being stubborn, but instead he wrapped his arm completely around your shoulders, pulling you into his side as a hug. You grinned and turned, giving him a full hug and resting your cheek against his chest as his chin laid on your head.

“I’m for real glad you came to visit.” He murmured into your hair, squeezing you a bit tighter before letting go. “Do you wanna stream with me tonight or just chill and watch?”

꧁꧂

“Corpse is streaming Among Us again with Sean, Felix, Rae, Sykkuno, Dave, and Leslie!”

“Where’s Y/N? I miss #CorpseY/N !!”

Twitter was truly your go-to platform when you were bored. You’d been scrolling on it for about thirty minutes now, laying on a small couch that Corpse had in his gaming room.

The man himself was sitting across the room at his desk, talking loudly as he defended himself from being accused as Imposter.

You continued to scroll, feeling a little anxious that somehow Corpse just magically knew that you were looking through your ship tag with him. These were your only worried thoughts until you went past your first… unsavory comment of the day.

“Y/N isn’t playing with them again today. Maybe she finally got the hint that they don’t want her around.”

You rolled your eyes and ignored it, but couldn’t help the rather loud sigh that escaped your lips.

“Hey, guys, I’m going to mute the mic for a second. Everything’s good, don’t worry.” Corpse said into his mic before turning around and facing you. “Is everything okay?”

Turning the phone off and laying it on your chest, you contemplated telling Corpse the truth. He’d just worry about you and you didn’t want that. But he already was worried about you- he’d muted Among Us just to check on you.

“Why are people so mean to others?”

Corpse studied you for a minute before patting his lap. “Come here.”

You quirked an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You're excused. Now come here.”

You stood up and cautiously walked towards the man, who sat before you expectantly. He playfully rolled his eyes and grabbed your wrist, pulling you into his lap sideways. Your back rested against one arm of his gaming chair while your legs draped across the other.

Corpse had one arm reaching around your back, placing his fingers on the keyboard while the other rested on top of your knees, grabbing the computer mouse. You laid your head on Corpse’s shoulder, resting in the crook of his neck.

“It’s in that shipping hashtag, isn’t it? I swear- whoever says that shit about you is dead wrong. Tell me if it gets worse, I’ll put them back in their fucking place. Nobody gets to decide who I’m with or who’s worthy of me.”

You only nodded and closed your eyes, breathing in Corpse’s cologne as he unmuted his mic once more to defend his honor, much like he was ready to defend you.

꧁꧂

Your body ached.

As you had argued your first day with Corpse, you’d been sleeping on his couch for four days now. The first night was okay- his couch was rather comfortable, but it didn’t compare to a bed. Now, your back, shoulders, and neck were killing you.

Every day, 7am would roll around and you would wake up, the soreness preventing you from sleeping in longer.

Usually, you would go into Corpse’s room and talk to him as he messed around on his laptop while sitting in his bed, but today when you entered, he was finally sleeping. It was the first time you’d seen him rest since you’d arrived and you quietly left, not wanting to disturb his much-needed sleep.

You made your way to his small kitchen, pulling out the few groceries that he had in his refrigerator to make breakfast.

Corpse often ate fast foods and takeout, and apologized earlier in the week for not having much to eat. You reassured him that it was okay- that him just letting you visit was enough- and now, you were determined to make it up to him with the best breakfast in bed ever.

You were halfway through making breakfast when the soft thump of feet echoed in the doorway before a chin planted itself on your shoulder.

“Whatcha cookin?” You practically shuddered at Corpse’s morning voice before suddenly gasping and shoving him out of the kitchen.

“No! No!” You pushed him back to his room, “Stay! Go back to bed, now!”

Right as you turned to go back to the kitchen, Corpse caught your wrist and pulled you down onto the bed with him. You practically squealed as you fell, making him laugh.

“Why? What’s going on?” He turned to face you with a teasing smile.

“I was making you breakfast in bed! I was gonna surprise you when you woke up, but you ruined it.” You pouted.

“Aw, poor baby.” His hand reached up and brushed a stray hair out of your face before he traced down your jawline, reaching your chin and using his finger to tilt it up. “I think I’ve got a better surprise, though.”

You quirked an eyebrow, but before you could say anything his lips were on yours. Your heart stopped, but you almost immediately melted into his kiss, bringing your own hand up to cup his cheek while his moved to rest on your waist.

Corpse soon propped himself up on his elbow, never once leaving your lips- just deepening the kiss. He smiled and gave you a few more pecks before finally pulling away and looking at you in adoration.

“Those little hate comments? They’re wrong. If anything, I don’t deserve you. You’ve still got me under a little spell and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Corpse, you deserve the world and I’d be honored to be the one to give it to you.”

“God, you’re perfect for me.”

You couldn’t say anything else. You could only lay beneath him, admiring the man who was now yours. Corpse leaned down again to capture you in another kiss, but you suddenly jerked away before you could lose yourself again.

“Shit, the pancakes!”

┎┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┒

spell taglist: @tanchosanke @paoisabelll @save-the-sky @yukinesekki98 @stephn-prkr @honestlyimstilllivinginthe90s @lustypielita @bi-andready-tocry @coruscaret

corpse taglist: @namjoons-crabssss @lookingforaplacetosleep @teenloves @princess00wifi @pillowjj @nvm-idgaf @creativedogs @wildflowerwhore @chillininahottub-withaghost @whyisquill @holosexualunicorn7000 @ourheavenlyemotions @corbins-kinda-smart @harryhighkey @sokkaspaintings @saturn2000 @a-dot-dev @bean04 @helena-way07 @tooturntashbash @locallolli @simonsbluee @redperson58 @reddeserths @annshit @corpsie-bby @emperor-pizza @vacaprincess @adorably-sweet-hufflepuff @rolls-and-rolex @supernovavision @bestgirlkonan @hughugh20 @theolwebshooter @johnjacobjingleheimerschmidt @shinyyoonie @milybones @propertyofdindjarin @qatiee @sunshineandrainyflowers @dontlookatmeidk @kxsmicsmain @corpsesgirl @witchybarb

┖┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┚

[duggardata]

Holy Crap, Lawson is Married.

Data, ESOQ, and When To Expect Baby #1.

On Thursday (?!), May 12, 2022, William “Lawson” Bates, 29, and Tiffany Lian Espensen, 23, tied the knot aboard a yacht in San Diego, California.  (Duggar Data totally called that they’d get married on a boat! Lol.)  Guests included a slew of Predictor People, including most of Bateses and a healthy sprinkling of Duggars.  (Oh, and don’t forget Tiffany’s family!)

People was first to report the nuptials.  Lawson told the tabloid—

“This day has superseded all expectations I have ever had. I could have never even dreamed of marrying someone so kind, sincere and passionate about life as Tiffany! She has the absolute most beautiful heart, and I'm so blessed that God chose to bring us together.”

Read on for a full data analysis!

Relationship Recap

Lawson + Tiffany met through the magic of social media.  Per Lawson, Tiffany had written an article about “faith in the spotlight,” which he “randomly” read.  (Here’s the article.)  Intrigued, he found Tiffany on Instagram a few days later, and “slid into her DMs.”  From there, they started talking on FaceTime “every day for a month,” until they met in–person.  Duggar Data would consider that ‘talking prior to meeting’ stage to be Lawson + Tiffany’s Pre–Courtship.  And after that, up until he proposed, would be their Courtship.

Okay...  Dates.  When did this happen?  Well, it seems they became “official” back in September 2020—September 21, 2020, to be exact.  Based on that, Duggar Data is going to use that as their Courtposal Date.  Counting back 1 Month, let’s use mid–August (August 16, 2020) as an Approximate Pre–C.S. Date, since we know they talked “for a month” before they met.

Duggar Data acknowledges that Lawson + Tiffany’s relationship might not’ve been a “courtship,” or at least wasn’t called that, but it is ultimately irrelevant.  We can still categorize the stages of their relationship as Pre–C.S., Courtship, Engagement, etc.  The Bateses have been moving away from the “courtship” terminology, but the “talking,” officially dating, engaged, and married phases remain, more or less, the same.

Data gets easier after Lawson + Tiffany after they went public in Early 2021...  We known their exact Proposal Date (October 26, 2021) and, of course, the Wedding Date (May 12, 2022).

Effect on Bates Data  (Relationship Timeline)

Okay, let’s crunch some numbers!  Based on the Pre–Courtship, Courtposal, Proposal, and Weddings Dates discussed above, here’s how long Lawson + Tiffany spent at each relationship stage—

Pre–Courtship   ~36 Days

Courtship   400 Days

Engagement   198 Days

And, the total time from Courtship to Marriage was 598 Days (1.64 Years).

How does this compares to Lawson’s Siblings?  Glad you asked...  Omitting Lawson + Tiffany’s data, it is Bates–typical for the Pre–C.S. to last 311 Days, Courtship to last 263 Days, and Engagement to last 141 Days.  Factoring the Lawson + Tiffany data back in, here’s how things shift—

Average Pre–C.S.   280 Days  (–31 Days)

Average Courtship   272 Days  (+9 Days)

Average Engagement   147 Days  (+6 Days)

Average CS to Marriage   424 Days  (+20 Days)  

As for records...  Lawson + Tiffany didn’t set any.  Their Pre–Courtship wasn’t the shortest; Michaela + Brandon’s was, at 31 Days.  Nor was their Courtship the longest; Josie + Kelton’s was, at 413 Days.  And their Engagement wasn’t the longest, either; Carlin + Evan’s was, at 245 Days.

Effect on Bates Data  (Age Gap / Age at C.S.)

Lawson’s DOB is July 27, 1992 and Tiffany’s is February 10, 1999.  Doing the math, the Age Gap is 2,389 Days (6.54 Years), with Lawson being older.  On their Courtposal Date, Lawson was Ave 28.15 and Tiffany was Age 21.61.

Again, let’s compare that to the rest of the Bates Data.  Omitting Law + Tiff’s data, a Bates–typical Age Gap is 2.33 Years, with the man being older, and a typical Age at Courtship is 23.22 for Males and 20.78 for Females.  Factoring Lawson + Tiffany’s data back in, here’s their impact—

Average Age Gap   2.63 Years, Favoring The Man  (+110 Days)

Average Age at C.S. (Males)   23.63 Years  (+150 Days)   

Average Age at C.S. (Females)   20.85 Years  (+25 Days)     

Lawson set a new Bate record for Oldest at Courtship (Male), at 28.15 Years.  The record was previously held by Nathan (27.13 Years). 

Procreative Potential / ESOQ

Tiffany was adopted.  We know nothing about her biological mother.  Due to this, we’ll use the default Fertility Cut–Off for Tiffany—assuming she is fertile until Age 40.00.

Tiffany will be 40 Years Old on February 10, 2039.  She got married today, on May 12, 2022.  Doing the math, her Total Marital Fertility (TMF) (Wedding to Fertility Cut–Off) is 6,118 Days.  Here’s how that stacks up against the rest of the Bates Wives—

Lawson + Tiffany (Espensen) Bates   6,118 Days

Michaela (Bates) + Brandon Keilen   7,119 Days

Zach + Whitney (Perkins) Bates   7,221 Days

Nathan + Esther (Keyes) Bates   7,446 Days

Erin (Bates) + Chad Paine   8,314 Days

Tori (Bates) + Bobby Smith  8,502 Days

Katie (Bates) + Travis Clark   8,805 Days

Gil + Kelly Jo (Callaham) Bates   8,810 Days

Carlin (Bates) + Evan Stewart   8,820 Days  

Alyssa (Bates) + John Webster   9,398 Days

Josie (Bates) + Kelton Balka   9,532 Days

As you can see, it’s a new record.  (Some of you are probably wondering why her TMF is so low.  It’s not; everyone else’s is just high.  The Bates Daughters have a late Fertility Cut–Off [Age 45.27], due to Kelly’s Data.  Similar deal with Esther, whose Mom last gave birth at Age 44.41.  And while Whitney’s Fertility Cut–Off is also the default [40.00], she got married a lot younger than Tiffany.)

But don’t fret, Lawson + Tiffany!  It’s all fine.  Assuming a Bates–typical pace, y’all still have an ESOQ of 11 Children.   

When To Expect Bates–Espensen #1

As of their Wedding Day, here’s what the Predictor forecasts—

Baby News   October 11, 2022

Sex Reveal   November 16, 2022

Due Date   April 4, 2023

Date of Birth   March 27, 2023      

[starrynite7114]

everything is you: nine

A/N: I figured, why not update this too? LOL So, I would like to already apologize. The first half of this chapter is very angsty and has mentions of sexual abuse. I know it gets tiring for this slow burn, but I promise it will be worth it. 

Thank you for all the support! I really appreciate it! Also, I posted the everything is you short: first meeting! Enjoy! Love you all!

everything is you

one : two : three : four : five : six : seven : eight

Word count: 9952

Warnings: Angst, sexual abuse, death

Masterlist

tagged list: @justahopelessssromantic : @ifoundmyhappythought : @carlaangel86 : @woahitslucyylu : @encounterthepast : @enamoured-x : @thewarriorprincessxo : @briana-mishell24 : @bribri-82 : @chibsytelford : @agirllovespasta : @twistnet : @everyhowlmarksthedead : @trulysuccubus : @jadert15 : @sammskellington : @cind-in-real-life :  @claytoncardenasbabymama : @sadeyesgf : @thickemadame : @summertimesadnesswithadashofsass : @gemini0410 : @elcococruz : @samcrobae : @sesamepancakes : @iambabyharry : @blackmissfrizzle : @mrs-losa : @1-800-imagines : @phoenixhalliwell : @lady-pswrld : @dazzledamazon  : @getyourcrayoncas : @fvckthisbxtchup : @lukealvxz : @scuzmunkie : @lilac-tea-time : @danie1432 : @cocotheclown : @soaronmywings : @my-rosegold-soul : @buttercup812 : @itskiranbitch : @angelreyesgirl : @sheeshgivemeabreak : @vicmackeybullshxt : @bigcreatorwombatdreamer : @khyharah : @strawberrywritings : @cherry-icetea : @fuzzy-jellyfish : @losolvidad0s : @brownsugarcoffy : @courtrae89 : @prdsdjarin : @blessedboo : @marvelmaree : @enamouravecleslivresetlechocolat : @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead : @thesandbeneathmytoes : @dark-twisted-and-mechanical-mind : @maddie-georges : @pearlkitten33 : @aquamento : @incorrect-mcdanno : @that-chick212 : @imanerdychubbyqueen​

Thanks! @carlaangel86​ <3

Coco chuckled as he watched Alena take another shot. His baby sister called him over to San Diego and he decided to bring Riz over with him. Whenever Alena called he came and along with all his other brothers. They all had such a soft spot for Alena.

“Damn, so Monica is Cruz’s teacher? I mean, it’s been years, I’m sure it’s not a worry.” Riz reasoned with Alena.

“Doesn’t matter, he’ll be single soon and it’ll be just like all those romantic comedies and my Korean dramas.” Alena laughed before taking another shot. “It’s so smooth, I love drinking with you two. I hope we can still hang out once Angel and I are divorced.”

“Shut the fuck up Alena, we would disown Angel first before we would disown you.” Coco shook his head. “Why wasn’t Angel invited?”

“I don’t want to see Angel. We don’t always have to be together.”

Riz laughed. “Right, you tell him that.”

Angel has been blowing up Coco and Riz’s phone ever since they got to Alena’s. He was upset that he wasn’t invited, but he had to stay in Santo Padre and be with Cruz. Alena was in San Diego since she had a work emergency. 

“When was the longest time you didn’t see Angel? Was it the time he served?” Coco questioned. The club truly pulled through for Angel then, taking care of Alena and Cruz when he served time in jail a few years ago. 

It was a hellish 18 months and Cruz was only two years old. Alena held on strong and when he got out, Coco thought Angel would get his head out of his ass, he almost did, but this thing with the rebels popped through.

“Yeah, it was.” Alena frowned remembering that time. It was hard for her to be apart from Angel, but she tried to visit him all the time. His sentence was cut short to 18 months instead of the slated three. She was incredibly thankful for that. She documented every move Cruz made.

“Why didn’t you tell him how you felt when he got out?” Coco really hated watching this whole thing between Alena and Angel, mostly due to Alena. 

She was too good for him Angel. Not in the sense people thought, but more of the fact that, Alena was too kind to Angel. Out of her pure love for Angel, she stood by him regardless of his actions because she wanted to be there for him. He shouldn’t push her, but he wanted to. They were fucking adults, it was time to end the games.

“So when are you going to confess to Angel?” Riz questioned.

“The way I see it, you have nothing to lose Lenny.” Again, Coco was playing Devil’s Advocate, but maybe if Alena confessed, Angel would get his head out of his ass.

Alena was silent for a moment. She had nothing to lose, Coco was right. This also maybe the large amount of alcohol she consumed, but as people always said, her mother raised no bitch. “Fuck it, I’m going to call him.” Alena picked up her phone.

Riz and Coco picked up their shot glasses, encouraging her.

“Damn right, fuck social norms and tell that mother fucker you love him.” Riz encouraged. 

“You’re right!” Alena giggled, taking a swig straight from the Soju bottle. “Angel doesn’t love me, so the fuck what? I love him and he’s going to know.” 

Angel listened to Alena talking to whoever the fuck she was talking to, though he assumed it’s Coco and Riz since they told him that they would be going to Alena’s apartment. He wasn’t worried, he trusted them, but he was still antsy. His heart rate increased hearing Alena tell his brothers that she loved him, even if he didn’t love her.

He couldn’t wait to confess to this silly girl, the woman who’s had him since he could remember. 

“Cielo?” He called for her attention.

“Angel,” she dreamily greeted him. “How are you?”

“I’m good baby girl, are you doing okay?” He smirked, loving that tint of pink on her cheeks.

Alena nodded her head, biting her lip. “Do you have company?”

“Yeah baby, Cruz, but he’s asleep.” Angel moved his camera so she could see Cruz.

“My baby!” Alena squealed a little too loudly. She covered her mouth, giggling with Riz and Coco laughing in the background. 

“You having fun?”

“Always, they’re my favorite Mayans!” She blew kisses at the two who pretended to catch it. 

“What about me?” Angel pouted.

“You’re in a different league.” Alena scoffed, before she laughed. Angel loved seeing Alena so damn carefree. He just wished he was with her right now. “Angel, want to know a secret?” She moved closer to the screen, so she could whisper it to him. Drunk Alena was absolutely adorable, but she was also handsy. “I love you, not as a best friend, older brother type of love, which is disgusting, but I’m in love with you. I would give up anything for you. And I did, I gave up Paris for you because I just wanted you to have Cruz. When I first saw you hold Cruz, you should have seen the smile on your face.” 

Riz and Coco watched as Alena confessed to Angel. They slightly regretted encouraging her, but Alena needed this, so did Angel, Alena might not remember, which was fine, that’s what they’re here for, to record the whole thing. 

Angel felt his heart clenched as he watched the tears fall from Alena’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what Riz and Coco gave his wife, but he was appreciating this. It was definitely different to hear from Alena that she was going to walk away from him.

“I just want you to love me Angel. I want you to see me as more than a friend, I want you to love me, to hold me, to just be here for me.” Angel didn’t want Alena’s confession like this, but he figured this was as honest as he was going to get her without her self doubt plaguing her mind. “I remember during prom, I wanted you to take me because it would have been a magical night, but you took Emily’s friend to help EZ out. Then after that, every other woman came and you know, that’s okay, because you were happy. But I wanted you to look at me just once and tell me I was beautiful, that your eyes were only for me.” Alena wiped her eyes. “When I told you my coach was touching me inappropriately, you made no hesitation and helped me. When I told my father he accused me of not wanting to swim anymore, an ungrateful child. Then he kicked me out and you and your family took me in. I wanted to end my life, but it’s like you knew because you were always there when I was losing myself.” 

Riz and Coco’s heart broke as Alena told Angel how she felt. They always knew their relationship ran deep, but this was something else. Riz never knew about Alena’s coach, but Coco did. He also knew why Alena let the motherfucker touch him. Thinking about not having Alena in their lives, if she was successful with ending it all, their lives would be much dimmer, darker. And Angel wouldn’t be what he was, an obnoxious loved up puppy, who was honestly one of the best fathers’ they knew.

“But I know that you like being the hero, to take care of someone, which is why you tolerate me. I want to let you know that you don’t have to anymore. I love you, and because I do, I’m going to let you go. Fifteen years, I’ve been in love with you for fifteen years.” Alena smiled such a broken smile that Coco and Riz almost reached for her phone, but they were frozen. It was like she needed this, this had to happen. “You have Cruz now and when we divorce you’re free to do whatever you please, just please don’t take Cruz away from me. He’ll be all I have of you. I know he’s technically your son, but he’s my son too.”

Angel gripped the phone harder, the tears streaming down his face. Is this what he did to her? Is this how much he’s hurt her? He could never take Cruz away from her, he could never be away from her, neither of them could.

Alena took another drink of the bottle. “Want to know something pathetic?”

“Alena.” His voice was broken, running his fingers through his hair as the burden on Alena’s shoulders came out. 

“No, listen.” She placed her index finger against her lips, telling him to not speak. “I knew what I was getting into, knew what would happen if I let you in, but I didn’t care. For once, I felt like you saw me and it felt so good. We were a family, you, me and Cruz. You always made me feel wanted and loved during those brief moments that you would show how much you care for me. Dumb stupid and naive Alena.” She let out a sob, wiping the snot coming from her nose. “Every time I’m about to walk away you always reel me back in, but not this time. I’m letting you go, not to be with Victor or anything, but so you can meet the love of your life and have a family with her. I really wished we had a child, just so I can have them and Cruz.” She managed to smile into the camera. Finishing the bottle, she placed it on the table, not even registering Angel’s reaction to this whole thing. “I love you Angel Ignacio Reyes, and because of that, I wish you a lifetime of happiness and love, even without me. You don’t have to protect me anymore, remind me of my silly appointments and medication refills, you’ll be worry free, just like my father when he walked away from me. I won’t burden you with myself anymore.” She looked up at Riz and Coco. They could tell she was barely holding it together. The two looked at the broken young woman before them and immediately stood up. Riz took Alena, crushing her onto his chest while Coco took the phone. He looked at Angel who was a sobbing mess as well.

“I’m on my way.” 

EZ immediately came to take care of Cruz. He didn’t ask any questions, especially seeing how distraught Angel was and the fact he spoke to him. Angel got on his motorcycle and sped all the way to San Diego. When he arrived, Riz and Coco were on the couch, solemnly drinking. They looked up at him, ashamed of what occurred.

“Hermano, it wasn’t supposed to happen like that. She was telling us how much she loves you and we just encouraged her to confess to you since she had nothing to lose, we knew she had nothing to lose.” Coco sniffled, wiping his eyes. “I didn’t expect for her to,” Coco sighed. “You have to fix this Angel, Alena deserves better than this.”

“Where is she?” 

“Her room, she worked herself up and had an asthma attack.” Riz frowned. “She’s fine, we remembered how to use her nebulizer and gave her medications. She’s better now.”

“Thank you.” Angel’s eyes were locked on Alena’s closed door. “You two know where the futon and shit is.”

“Don’t worry about it, we got it. Just take care of your wife.” Coco’s heart broke watching Alena work herself up. They wanted to give Alena the night off, to release her inhibitions, but not like this. They both knew they wouldn’t leave till they saw Alena up and breathing later on in the day. 

Angel quickly made his way to her room, quietly opening and closing the door. He found Alena on the bed, still crying but not as worked up. She didn’t even get up to check who it was.

“Coco, can you get me more Soju, I feel like it’s leaving my body.” Alena giggled. “I can smell Angel.” 

Angel would have laughed if he wasn’t hurting so much. He did all of this shit to Alena, he hurt her so much. No amount of groveling would ever forgive his sins, but from now on, he was going to make sure he would treat her better, be better for her.

He was in such distress, he didn’t even put on his kutte. He just had sweatpants on and a hoodie. Taking off his hoodie, he placed it on Alena’s chair. Alena was facing her side of the bed. He put one knee on her bed and Alena still didn’t turn to face him. He laid on his side, placing a hand on her hip.

“Hey baby,” he whispered into her ear as he made himself comfortable.

Alena turned to face him then, her eyes were red from all the crying, eyelids puffy. She smiled and placed her hand on his cheek.

“Oh man, I must have drank so much, I’m imagining that Angel is here.” She caressed his cheek. “Hello Imaginary Angel, you feel and smell real.”

Angel had to smile at that. “You doing okay?” He brushed her hair back, making Alena close her eyes.

“Yes Imaginary Angel.” She offered him a small smile. “I hope Real Angel doesn’t hate me because of everything I put him through.”

“Alena, I could never hate you.” He felt his tears well up again. Hearing Alena say all those things, how she was going to kill herself, how he tolerated her, and how she was a burden, it shattered Angel’s heart. How could she even think that? “How can you think you’re a burden to me? That I tolerate you?”

“Because everyone does. I’m the girl that everyone walks all over and forgets. I’m the one that everyone needs till I serve my purpose. I’m the one that gives, because I want to help everyone. I’m sickly, weak, and everyone just tolerates me because they need me.” Alena took her hand off Angel’s face, placing it in between them. “All the women who befriended me wanted an in with Real Angel, EZ or my brother. Carla is the only person I genuinely have. Real Angel likes being the hero, he feels second best to his brother, which is crazy because he’s better than EZ. He has a big heart and he always saved me when I needed him. Maybe you can visit me imaginary Angel, so I won’t miss real Angel as much.” She closed her eyes, covering her mouth as she coughed. “I’m preparing for the day he walks away, but it’s really hard.” Her eyes opened, a few tears falling from her eyes, her voice breaking as she said the last word. Her voice was just above a whisper.

Fuck, Alena was killing him.

“Alena, listen to me. I love you, I really do, I’m sorry I took as long as I did, but you’re the love of my life. It’s not about tolerating you, you’re never been a burden to me. If anything, I felt you were tolerating me. That I was burdening you. You do so much for me and I’m a fucking idiot for never noticing. I’ve taken advantage of you, but never again.” And that was a promise. “You’ve done so much for me and Cruz. He loves you as much as I love you, maybe even more. You’re our life Alena. Don’t prepare for a life without me, because there is no life without you.”

Alena giggled, pinching Angel’s cheek. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Imaginary Angel is saying all the things I want real Angel to say. I hope you visit me often when Angel divorces me.” Alena snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her running his fingers through her hair.  “Imaginary Angel, I love Angel so much. Want to know a secret? The coach told me that if I didn’t let him touch me, that he would hurt Angel, cause he noticed how Angel always waited for me after practice. But don’t tell Angel because I never told him.” 

Angel froze hearing Alena’s words. 

That motherfucker did what now?

No, Alena would have told him.

No.

He pulled away from her and noticed how heavy her eyes were she was getting sleepy.

“Alena, hey, wake up.” He cupped her face, softly rubbing his thumb on her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered open, giving him a sleepy smile.

“Please tell me that isn’t true, please don’t tell me it is.”

“About the coach? It was imaginary Angel, he told me that if I told anyone, no one would believe me. That real Angel wouldn’t want me anymore cause I was tainted.” Alena intertwined their hands in between them. “He told me to think of real Angel while he was touching me, that I would enjoy it more. I didn’t, and he would get mad and hit me.” Alena frowned, looking at Angel’s chest as she spoke. “He tried to rape me the day Angel took that video of us. I never told Angel that my father let him in our home and he touched me there too. My father trusted him because he was the son of an old friend.”

Angel sat up, he couldn’t take it. Alena didn't do this, not for him. He wasn’t worth it. How could she let that happen? The rage within him was strong, beyond anything he ever felt. That motherfucker touched his precious Alena, using him for her nightmare.

He was going to find this motherfucker and he was going to kill him.

“Imaginary Angel, real Angel has been my hero and I would never want anyone to hurt him.”

“So it’s okay for you to be hurt for me?” Angel didn’t mean to be harsh, but he was angry.

“I can take it, for him I could. I’m strong to you know, for him and Cruz I am.”

“Alena,” Angel wiped his tears, running his fingers through his hair. “Why didn’t you tell me? You had every opportunity to do so, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because he said he would hurt real Angel, I couldn’t risk that. Angel is all I have. My family could turn their backs on me, but he never did.” Alena looked down at him. “Can you hold me again imaginary Angel, you feel like real Angel and I just want to cherish every moment we have left together. Please come visit me when he’s gone.”

Angel hated that she was preparing for this life without him. That she was preparing to endure for him again as long as he was happy. He always planned on being better for Alena, but he definitely was this time around. There was no way Alena was going to do this again, keep things to herself. They were a team, a unit and he was going to have her believe it.

Angel immediately held her. He couldn’t stop the tears from coming down from his eyes. He was going to fix this, Alena would never have to feel this type of pain again. Once everything settled, he was going to find that coach and fucking kill him, something he should have done ages ago.

“It’s going to kill me to see him with someone else.” Alena was running her fingers up and down his back.

“You’re never going to see that cause I love you and only you.” Angel knew this reassurance wouldn’t register, but he would prove it to her.

Alena laughed. “Imaginary Angel, you really are saying everything I want Real Angel to say. You know, I hope he dates Adelita when we divorce. She would be good for him, he needs a strong woman to hold him down. Or maybe Monica, cause she’s good with kids and she was the one that got away.”

“You don’t think you’re strong cielo? You’re the strongest person I know.” And she was. For having to deal with him, Alena was the strongest person he knew. This was killing him. How could he want anyone else when he had her? “She isn’t the one that got away Alena, I willingly let her go.”

“Real Angel really loved her. And now she’s back, it’s like a romantic movie.” He heard her voice crack at her last word. He told her not to worry about it when they dropped off Cruz a few days ago, it was silly of him to think it would register or sink in for Alena.

“Alena, I fucking told you, Monica doesn’t mean anything to me.” 

“It’s okay, Imaginary Angel, you’re really boosting my confidence.” Alena giggled. 

“You’re driving me insane Alena. I don’t need anyone else, but you. If there is anyone that would be the one that got way, it would be you and that’s never going to happen.” Angel was determined to make Alena his, at least in her eyes because for everyone else, it’s been them for a long time. 

“Victor told me that he was going to help me become stronger. He’s such a nice guy. I would date him just so it’ll make the aching for Angel less.”

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

“That’s not going to happen Alena, I told you, it’s you and me. I’m not going to divorce you.”

“Maybe not you imaginary Angel.” Alena giggled again, rubbing her face against his chest. “You’re so warm. Want to know what sucks?”

“What?”

“I let Victor kiss me to see how it felt and it was nothing compared to Real Angel.” Alena sighed. “I’m pathetic. Everyone is compared to Angel, but I’m sure all the girls Angel dated, I fail in comparison to, especially Monica.” That wasn’t true. They failed in comparison to her. “When that woman was sewing his patch on, that hurt. But Angel was moving up in the club and I was so happy. I’m really going to have to avoid him, which is why I’m moving to New York.”

Angel did not like all the revelations that were going on. 

“New York?”

“Sssh, don’t tell Real Angel. Victor has been talking to me about this art program there and I really want to try. It would help since my life revolves around Angel. I’ll still be here for Cruz and visit him whenever I can, but I’m going to leave, unlike Paris, I’m going to go and nothing is going to stop me.”

She was doing it again. She was plotting to leave him.

Jokes on her because that just wasn’t happening.

“You think I would let you go?”

Alena pulled away from him, looking up at Angel.

“Well hopefully you don’t imaginary Angel, you’re going to keep me sane.” She bopped his nose with her finger. “But real Angel won’t care, he already has Cruz, I’m not useful anymore. Remember I told you, everyone cares till I’m no longer useful and I’m not. Geez, pay attention.” She laughed. “He can be with Monica.”

Angel wanted to shake Alena. How could she even think he wouldn’t care about her leaving him? How could she think Monica was the one that got away? That was hardly the case. Most of all, how could she think that he was going to throw her away because she was no longer useful? This was ridiculous.

“I know this isn’t registering to you right now, but I’m going to prove to you that I love you and I’m worth it. You’re the love of my life Alena, I would never let you go. I’m a selfish bastard and that’s fine, as long as I have you. I would be lost without you.”

Alena remained silent. And Angel wasn’t sure if she fell asleep.

“You think he’ll miss me.”

“I always miss you.”

Alena’s breathing evened out, her body relaxing against his. Angel laid on his back, placing Alena’s head on his chest. He was done with the games. His girl needed him and he would give her the world, whatever it took.

Angel reluctantly left Alena since he didn’t want her to freak out knowing he came to San Diego. He knew Alena wouldn’t be ready to talk about it, he wouldn’t push her either. So now, he was waiting with Cruz anxiously as Alena made her way down from San Diego. Coco and Riz stayed and he requested for them not to mention anything. This was between him and Alena.

The door opened and Cruz immediately jumped down the couch.

“Mama!” He ran over to Alena and she picked him up, showering him with kisses. 

“Hey Cruzie,” she cooed, rubbing their noses together. “Mama missed you.”

“I missed you!” He wrapped his arms around her neck. He peppered her with kisses as well making Alena smile.

Angel stood up and walked over to Alena. He took Cruz and placed him on the ground, making the young boy frown.

“Daddy, it’s Cruzie and mommy time.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I know little man. Daddy deserves love too.” Angel chuckled. He couldn’t help it. He hugged her, pulled away, cupped her face and kissed her. “Hey baby.” He pecked her lips one more time before stepping away. He saw the blush on her cheeks as she smiled, looking down at Cruz, not wanting to meet Angel’s gaze. He wasn’t obtuse of the effect he had on her, but after last night, he knew to not take advantage of what he had with Alena. His heart was still hurting.

She let that despicable man touch her to protect him. 

The rage he felt was indescribable. He felt powerless because he should have ended this man’s life. Alena told him it was only for a few months, but he doubted that now.

He was certain that it was ongoing for more than six months and that hurt him again. His precious Alena endured for him and whatever he suffered through was nothing. She thought he didn’t want her. His hot and coldness towards her left a mark. This would be something he’ll try to fix for the rest of their lives, but that was fine because Alena was worth it. 

They all sat on the couch, Alena strategically placing Cruz in between them.

“I was thinking we should go to the zoo tomorrow.” Angel’s eyes were just focused on Alena. Her confession, New York, everything was plaguing his mind. 

“Um, sure, I’ll ask Letty if she wants to come.” Alena kept her eyes trained on the television, PJ Mask was a stationary in their household.

“How was your night?” Angel questioned.

“Good, it says I FaceTimed you, did I really do that?” Alena hoped she didn’t say anything crazy. She had the craziest dream that she had a full blown confession to Angel and she was talking to an imaginary Angel. God, her dreams could be so vivid at times. 

“Yeah, you, Coco and Riz were just messing around.” 

Alena nodded their head. “Yeah, I had like eight bottles of Soju last night, unwinding to the fullest.”

Angel chuckled. “I bet. You doing good baby?”

Alena finally looked over at Angel and she smiled, nodding her head. “Yes, why? Am I missing something?”

“I’m just checking on you cielo.” 

“You don’t have to, I’m okay.”

“How can I not, you’re my wife, I always have to make sure you’re okay.”

Alena nodded her head. “Well from now on, don’t even fret over me, I’m fine.” 

This was it, she was pushing him away again. But not this time. He wasn’t going to let her.

“Tough shit Alena, I worry about you so regardless if you want it or not, I’m always going to check in.”

“You don’t have to worry about me Angel, you know I would tell you if something is going on. I’m an adult, I can handle myself you know.” Alena was curious why Angel was looking at her like she would break apart any minute. She didn’t like it and made her feel something else occurred last night.

“But that’s the thing, you wouldn’t tell me if something was bothering you because you’re trying to spare me.”

Alena was confused by his statement. Though it was true, she wondered why Angel was bringing it up.

Cruz looked at his father then his mother, cuddling closer to Alena. “Do I have a sibling yet?”

Alena and Angel looked at one another, bursting out in laughter. The tension that was rising was broken by their son.

“I thought we agreed on a puppy?” Alena scooped Cruz in her arms, blowing raspberries on his tummy. The gleeful shriek he let out made Angel chuckle.

“No, baby sister.” Cruz shook his head looking over at his father. “Right daddy? Baby sister?” Angel nodded his head in agreement. He wanted a little Alena.

“Why do you want a sister Cruzie? You don’t want a little brother?” Alena questioned.

“No, little sister so she looks like you.” Cruz crawled onto Alena’s lap. He placed his hands on her cheeks. “Then I can take care of her and protect her.”

Alena smiled, thinking of how much of a great big brother Cruz would be. “Yeah Cruzie? What will we name your baby sister if you get one?”

“Mmm,” Cruz thought for a moment. “Alena.”

Alena and Angel both chuckled. 

“Little man, we can’t name your baby sister after mama.” Angel turned to face them, his hand resting on Alena’s thigh. “How about Isabella?”

“I like that!” 

Alena and Angel listened to Cruz as he talked about all the things he could do with his baby sister. Angel looked up at Alena, her confession last night was still in his mind. He was thinking of all the things he could do for his wife, to prove to her that he was as devoted to her as she was to him. Maybe he couldn’t give up opportunities outside of Santo Padre like she could because he was a fuck up and stupid compared to his brother, but he’ll show her he was worthy.

==========

Angel pushed the cart down the aisle, looking at the list Alena gave him. Every once in a while, Angel did the grocery shopping to let Alena rest. She always did the grocery runs for the club and Vicky’s, the least he could do was to do it for their family. He left Cruz and Alena asleep on their bed after a morning of family painting. Much like while they’re sitting watching television, Alena kept her distance, mostly sticking by Cruz. 

He knew what she was doing, and this was not going to go on for long, not if he could help it.

Coco dumped four bags of chips in the cart, Angel giving him an incredulous look.

“First of all, who the fuck needs these much chips. Second of all, Alena likes the kettle chips, not plain old Lays.” Angel kept the Lays Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream since he knew Alena liked that, but otherwise he took the other three bags, giving it back to Coco. “You call yourself her best friend? She doesn’t like any of the other ones.”

“They’re for me, idiot. Gilly has Alena’s picks.” Coco scoffed, placing the bags back down. Sure enough, Gilly came with a bag of the Lays a Cheddar Cheese along with the Ruffles version of the flavor. He had the kettle chips, original and the jalapeño ones as well. 

“You don’t usually go grocery shopping, you in the dog house?” Gilly questioned as he placed the bags down. 

“Surprised you haven’t told Gilly.” Angel continued to push the cart, adding the pasta sauce Alena requested. She made it easy on him, listing the exact brands and the alternatives he could get.

“He told me.” Gilly had his arms crossed, blocking Angel’s way. “So what’s the plan?”

“With what?” Angel grabbed a box of spaghetti, fettuccine and penne. 

“Alena, are you going to confess soon or are you going to continue to let her wallow on feeling unworthy of your love.”

Angel placed the list down on top of the eggs, narrowing his eyes at Gilly. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but I don’t have to explain anything to you. What’s going on between me and my wife is between us. I appreciate your concern for my wife,” he emphasized the last two words. “But I plan on telling her what is going on soon.”

“You always say that, then you get fucking cold feet and you take back what you say. It’s different this time, I know. But how much more can Alena take? This girl devoted her life to you and the best you can do is confess to her? I get it, that would mean the world to her, but you have to give her a little more Angel. She’s moved mountains for you and took care of your son.” Angel was his brother, something he recognized and held dearly, but much like everyone, he watched this dance for far too long. Last night was what broke the camel’s back for everyone. It seemed that it was a consensus that decided that if Angel took back his words this time, they would make it a point to get Alena the fuck away from him. They wouldn’t let her stand by him. Angel was their brother, but this was tough love.

“You don’t think I fucking know that? You don’t think I know that she gave up her dreams so she can help me? I don’t need you reminding of my shortcomings with Alena cause it’s always in the back of my mind.” Angel didn’t want to have this conversation in the middle of the grocery aisle, but he was thankful that it was early in the afternoon. “I’m not going to take it back. Even though you fuckers hope I do so you can make a move, you all can fuck yourselves.” Angel knew it wasn’t true, but he wanted to push this aside. This wasn’t the right place for this conversation.

“You’re a damn idiot.” Gilly shook his head, moving out of the way. 

The boys continued to get everything on Alena’s list, adding a few things they knew her and Cruz would like. As they made their way to the check out lines, Angel looked over to the side, almost bumping the cart. His eyes landed on Alena’s former coach, Coach Marvin Henderson. As soon as Marvin’s eyes landed on Angel, his eyes drifted to his kutte, Gilly and Coco before immediately turning the other way. Angel could tell how the fear just sunk in on his body, that tensed up. He kept looking back making sure Angel didn’t follow. He was with a woman who looked to be his wife, she was his girlfriend then, and she knew what he did then. Her eyes landed on Angel and she pushed him forward, to create as much distance as possible.

But no distance would be too great to Angel.

His clock was ticking and even he knew that.

Their reputation preceded them, everyone in this small town spoke of them, whether it was out of fear, disdain, or awe, everyone in the town knew what they were capable of. Marvin had left town twelve years ago, Angel made sure he wouldn’t dare return and since he had, the consequences of his disregard to Angel’s warning would be paid in full.

“You know that guy?” Gilly questioned.

“That was Alena’s coach.” Coco was already around then, he knew this guy. “Are you going to take care of that?” Coco turned to Angel. 

“Yep.”

==========

The three Mayans came home and found Alena awake. Cruz was still napping and Alena was doing the laundry. 

Angel noticed that Alena was wiping her eyes and frowned. He walked over to her, softly calling out to her. “Cielo?” Alena didn’t answer, tilting his head, he noticed that she had her headphones on.

She looked up and wiped her eyes. “Hey! I didn’t hear you guys.” She took off her headphones. “Sorry, it was the confession part in my drama and I was just listening to it.” She laughed. Moving to the side she waved hello to Gilly and Coco who were bringing stuff in. “Are you guys staying for dinner? I’m making that baked ziti you guys like.”

“Fuck yes!” Coco called out as he walked out of the door to grab the rest of the bags.

“You spoil us Lenny.” Gilly added.

“Wait, no, it’s family dinner tonight. They can go fuck off.” Angel wiped her tears, reminding him of how she looked last night. He fucking hated seeing her cry. It didn’t even matter if it was some show that made her cry, he hated seeing it.

“I’m okay,” she moved her face away, picking up the basket of clothing she brought in from the garage. 

“Why do you keep pulling away from me?” Angel also hated it when Alena wouldn’t let him comfort her. He fucking got it, she was trying to get used to living without him, but tough shit, that wasn’t happening.

“I’m not, I don’t need you to wipe my tears, I’m fine.” She walked over to her room and just as he’s about to follow her, Coco stopped him. 

“What’s up?”

“They found him, he lives two streets over.” Coco showed him the text message from Riz. “What’s the plan?”

“We fucking kill him.”

“Kill who?” 

Angel and Coco turned to Alena who was holding the empty laundry basket. She eyed them curiously, unsure of what she walked into. Alena wasn’t obtuse and Angel told her everything. 

“We’re gonna kill Creeper, he’s being such a pain in the ass.” Angel chuckled, lying smoothly. “He fucked the order up for our work shirts.”

“Oh, I ordered it for him.”

Coco had to hold back a laugh along with Gilly as Angel scrambled to come up with an excuse.

“Did I say work shirt? Sorry baby, I meant some club shirts he ordered.” Angel felt like an idiot. How could he forget that Alena was the one who ordered their work shirts?

“No it’s okay, no big deal.” Alena laughed it off, slightly enjoying how freaked out Angel appeared. She went back to the garage leaving the three stooges behind.

“You couldn’t tell me she was behind me?”

“I didn’t fucking see her either with you blocking her.” Coco chuckled. “So we doing this tonight?”

“No point in prolonging it, I want him gone. He’s never going to touch my wife ever again.” Angel was quite pleased that Marvin had decided to show his face again. From what they gathered, he’s been back for months, thinking past grievances have been buried. But they haven’t. 

“Are you going to tell her?” Coco nodded his head towards the closed garage door.

“She wouldn’t want for us to kill him.” Angel sighed. He should tell Alena, but she didn’t need to know. She didn’t need this in her conscience. 

==========

Angel walked out of the clubhouse, the night time sky finally taking over. He didn’t want to prolong this since Alena and Cruz were waiting for him. They already had dinner, and made some excuse that Bishop needed them at the clubhouse to keep Alena from questioning anything. But she hardly ever did. She always waited till Angel was ready to tell her. He walked past EZ, not sparing his brother a glance. Coco and Gilly flanked his sides. Gilly unlocked the van slipping in the driver’s seat. Coco covered the license plate.

“Make sure you do this clean, burn their bodies on the other side.” Bishop advised. 

Angel nodded his head and slid in the passenger side. God bless technology and Riz being a whiz, they figured out that the two lived at a home two streets away from Alena and Angel’s home. The fact this mad has the audacity to move so close pissed off Angel. There were no cameras and if there were, they were cutting the power. 

It was close to one in the morning and Angel was going to make sure these two wastes would never see the light of day again. 

They arrived at the street, parking a block away. Before going inside, they slipped on their ski masks, kutte tucked in the van. Angel’s signature chains were missing so they wouldn’t be able to identify them. Coco and Gilly went to the back, cutting the electricity off. 

The two were still awake, so a shriek was heard due to Marvin’s wife freaking out. Angel knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open it. The door opened, it was Marvin. Angel immediately punched him on the face, and before his wife could let out another shriek, he shot her right in the head. The silencer muffled any sound and she dropped to the ground. Marvin wanted to scream upon seeing his wife’s lifeless body, but he expected this.

He didn’t want to move back, but Sheila became cocky, thinking that whatever happened all those years ago was forgotten, he knew better.

Angel locked the door as Marvin moved away from Angel.

“If you want money, I have twenty five thousand dollars in the safe upstairs.”

“Why the fuck would you keep twenty-five grand in your safe?” Coco wasn’t even sure why he would ask, but why would a coach stash that much fucking money at home?

“Or do you want the drugs? They’re in the safe too.”

“Drugs?” Gilly looked at Angel.

Whatever this man was saying was not registering. All he could think about was Alena’s confession and how this man threatened to hurt him, how he used to hurt her, and how he made her life miserable.

‘He told me to think of real Angel while he was touching me, that I would enjoy it more. I didn’t, and he would get mad and hit me.’

Angel took off his mask and Marvin immediately backed away further.

“Angel, man, I left when you asked me to leave.” Marvin was intimidated by Angel then all those years ago. For a nineteen year old, he had an intimidating presence that even rattled Marvin. He knew sexually assaulting Alena was wrong, but she was such a sweet innocent girl, he couldn’t help it. 

“So why did you come back?” Angel made his way over to him, Marvin hitting the wall behind him, he had no more escape. 

“Because I’m a fucking idiot.”

“Do you know that her father kicked her out of their home? Cause he couldn’t believe that you would ever do something so despicable to someone you’ve known since she was a child?” Angel looked menacing. Coco and Gilly cleaned up Sheila, leaving Angel knowing this was something he needed to do on his own. “Did you know that she hasn’t swam in years because every time she did, she would panic thinking of you? Did you know that she had a hard time being intimate since the only thing she could think about were the despicable actions you did to her?” Angel crouched down in front of him, placing the muzzle of his gun resting against Marvin’s head. “You told her to think of me when you touched her, cause it would feel good since you knew she liked me.”

“She loved you Angel.” Marvin’s tears streamed down his face, mixing with the blood coming down from his nose. “I heard you were married, why does it matter what happened with Alena? You obviously got rid of her.”

Angel chuckled, leaning over so he was right beside his ear. “She’s my wife.” He growled out.

Marvin froze then. 

How could he be so stupid to think that Alena wasn’t his wife. He’s seen Alena around town, but he made sure that their paths never crossed, he knew once they did, he would be done for. Though he prayed that maybe Angel was no longer in Alena’s life since he was married. Unfortunately for him, he ran into Angel. He and Sheila were going to leave tomorrow and never look back. If he thought Angel looked menacing then, it was a whole nother level now. 

“Angel, listen, you want money? It’s yours. The drugs I have in the safe are worth at least ten grand. I’ll leave right now and never look back, just please, don’t kill me.” He couldn’t beg for Sheila’s life, but he could plead for his.

“When she pleaded for you to stop, did you stop?” Angel roughly grabbed his chin, pushing his head against the muzzle of his gun. 

Marvin sobbed harder, he knew he wouldn’t win this. Cause he didn’t stop, he would hit her or tell her to do it for Angel. 

“You didn’t right?” Angel let go of his chin, hitting him with the back of his gun. “Answer me motherfucker, did you fucking stop?”

“No, I didn’t.” He managed to sob out, sobs that increased when he heard Angel cock back his barrel. “Angel, I’m sorry, please, I can’t take back what I did, but if I could, I would.” His eyes drifted to Coco and Gilly who also had their guns out. “I apologize to her, I saw her a few years back, she was with her kid. She forgave me.” Well, maybe she didn’t and she looked frightened more than anything, but to him, he said his piece and he apologized. That counted for something. 

He remembered that, she called him frightened and was scared that Marvin would hurt Cruz. She thought she was being irrational, but he understood her fear and now, he further understood why she thought he would use Cruz against her.

She had nightmares for two weeks, screaming for Marvin to stop, she had to take some time off work. It was hell and Angel remembered how she wouldn’t tell him the extent of Marvin’s actions. He didn’t push her, he just held her.

He didn’t give a flying fuck if Marvin thought she forgave him. Angel didn’t, and even if she did that didn’t save his life.

Angel didn’t reply and stood up. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I didn’t end your life fucking sooner.” Before Marvin could even utter a reply, Angel unloaded his clip on him. He thought it would be satisfying, and it was, but it could never take back his actions towards Alena.

But at least he was preventing it from occurring again.

“You okay?” He heard Coco ask.

Coco and Gilly stood by, watching, hearing Marvin’s words. They felt for Alena and were glad that Angel took care of him.

“No, but I will be.”

==========

Alena woke up, rubbing her eyes. She fell asleep watching the Punisher. She was trying to make a mental note as to where she left off. She sat up and gasped when she saw the silhouette of a person sitting on her armchair. She quickly grabbed her glasses and found Angel sitting down. It was a deja vu moment when she found him sitting down, flipping his keys around after what occurred with EZ.

“Angel?” She called out. “How long have you been sitting there?”

“A few hours.” Angel came home and didn’t even undress. The dirt of the desert was still present on his clothing. When he entered their room, the Punisher was playing, with Alena sound asleep, her head on his pillow. He wasn’t even sure why he shed tears. It wasn’t for Marvin. It was for what occurred with Alena. He sighed. “Can you please come here?”

Alena followed his request, stopping a few feet away from him.

“Cielo, just please come closer, can I hold you?”

Alena was reluctant and her reluctance wounded Angel. But as quick as her reluctance appeared, she quickly sat on his lap, leaning back so her weight was more towards his knees.

“You know I’ll always protect you, right?” Angel placed a hand on her hip and another cupped her face.

She nodded her head. “Of course.” She placed her hand on top of the one that rested on her face. A few strands of his hair were on his forehead. She combed his hair back with her fingers, Angel’s eyes closing at the sensation.

“Do you trust me?” He opened his eyes.

“With my life.”

Angel pulled her against him, surprising Alena. He had his head buried at the crook of her neck, Alena wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you all those years ago, but that’ll never happen again.”

“What are you talking about?” Alena was confused, but she continued to hold him.

“With your coach, I should have caught on when you stopped hugging me, when you flinched whenever I came close to you. When you began to wear clothing that covered your whole body during the summer.” Angel sighed, his warm breath against her skin.

“It’s okay, Angel. No one could have known. You’ve done so much for me, please don’t fret over me. I’m good, I can take care of myself.” Alena assured him.

“Stop pulling away from me. I know what you’re trying to do, trying to practice some crazy scenario where I’m no longer around, pulling away so it’ll hurt less. Stop it.” He sat back, his hands resting on her thighs, running them up and down. “I love you Alena, there’s never going to be a life where I don’t have you beside me. I get it, you’re trying to protect your heart, but please give me a chance.”

Alena didn’t know what to say. Angel has said I love you to her before, numerous times actually. But this felt different.

‘No, don’t be stupid. This is how you always fall back in. You can keep Angel in your life without any expectations from him.’

She leaned forward, crushing their lips together and Angel immediately responded. She rested her arms around the nape of his neck, moaning against his mouth as she felt Angel’s fingers graze the skin under her breast, his hand had slipped inside her shirt. She pulled away, placing kisses on his jawline down his neck. She bit down, making Angel groan and thrust up into her. Kissing him one more time, she palmed his growing erection making Angel moan out her name. They hadn’t been intimate like this for some time and Angel needed her.

“Sorry, I’m on my period.” She stood up, Angel’s mouth dropping open when he saw the devilish smirk on his sweet, innocent Alena. He turned her into this and he was so fucking proud.

“Oh baby, just wait till you’re done with your cycle.” He smacked her ass. “Or we can fuck in the shower, is it your first day?” Angel stood up, wrapping his arms around her from behind. 

He nibbles at her ear making Alena giggle. “It is, sorry.” She went to use the bathroom, walking back to the room, Angel was waiting outside.

“I gotta take a shower, want to join?”

Alena shook her head, kissed his cheek and went back to bed. Alena was half asleep when Angel joined her in bed, pulling her against him. 

“You never have to worry about that coach ever again cielo.” She felt his lips on her forehead, and as much as she wanted to ask for clarification, sleep took over.

==========

Alena filled out the form for the eye doctor. Angel sat beside her, playing candy crush on his phone. Alena didn’t want him to come, but Angel insisted since he didn’t want for her to go alone. Currently, Alena was on a two week break from work since Mr. Johnson attended one of his nieces’ wedding. Victor invited Alena, but she declined. 

“So, your cycle usually lasts 4 days?” Angel asked in a low tone.

She looked at him and that devilish smirk was ridiculous, but honestly sexy. “Yes, it’s my 3rd day though, so, sorry.” Alena has been teasing Angel. He literally woke up to her giving him a blowjob yesterday morning. He wasn’t complaining, but as soon as he offered to do something to her, she would swat his hand away and walk away, preparing Cruz for school. Today, he woke up to her giving him a hand job and there was just so much he could take without touching her.

Alena was driving him insane.

“Cielo, you keep teasing me, you know payback is a bitch right?” 

“Ssh,” Alena shushed him as she continued to fill out the form.

Angel just chuckled, going back to his game.

Alena gave the form and did a few tests before the Ophthalmologist saw her. Alena really didn’t want Angel to go since her Ophthalmologist, Dr. Wu was kind of cute. It was definitely nice eye candy to have. 

When they called her to the back, Alena somehow convinced Angel to just stay behind. She was led to one of the examination rooms and thanked the assistant Maggie.

“Your husband is quite good looking.” Maggie commented making Alena laugh. Her eye doctor was in another town, so they weren’t exactly familiar with the Mayans.

“Thanks Maggie.” 

Alena sat down on the chair, waiting for Dr. Wu to arrive. Once he did, Alena sat up straight and smiled. He was a good looking man, who was kind and had a really nice smile. His hair was short in length, slightly spiked up on the front ends.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite patient, how are you Alena?” Dr. Wu walked in with her file.

Alena blushed. “Good, but we both know your favorite is my mother.”

“Not true, though I do tell your mother she’s my favorite so she won’t hurt me.” Dr. Wu was a family friend. Prior to her father leaving, she saw Nick often. They eventually lost touch and recently reconnected a few years back.

Alena laughed at that. “And I don’t blame you. My mother is quite intimidating.”

Angel was busy playing his game, wondering if Alena always took this long to finish with her eye appointment. It’s been thirty minutes and he was certain it didn’t take this long. The door opened and when he looked up, his brows furrowed. Alena walked out, eyes trained on the man with her. The waiting room was empty since it was lunch time and she was the last patient they took before closing for lunch. He gave her a bag and smiled down at her. Before Angel could even register what was going on, the doctor hugged Alena, a little too long for his liking and pulled away.

Now he knew why she wanted him to stay behind.

It was Nick Wu, her old childhood friend that he saw her with from time to time when he picked her up. He never introduced himself, and Nick never bothered either.

“It was nice seeing you again, you should definitely come to my parents’ wedding anniversary. Your mom and brother are going. And if it makes you feel more at ease, your father isn’t invited.” Nick wasn’t an idiot and knew what occurred with their family. 

“I’ll let you know, thanks again Dr. Wu.” Alena beamed up at him.

“Lena, you can call me Nick. It’s not like we haven’t known one another.”

“You ready to go babe?” Angel cut in, wrapping an arm around Alena’s shoulders. He looked at this doctor and smirked. “I’m Angel, Alena’s husband.” He stuck his hand out. 

“Nick, pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard great things about you.” He shook his hand. And he has, Alena’s mother always gushed about Angel and Alena has mentioned him a few times. 

“Wish I could say the same about you.” 

“I’ll see you, bye Nick.” She wrapped an arm around Angel and pulled him away from the office. 

Once they exited, Angel didn’t let her go until they got to her car. He opened the door for her and she slid in, placing her purse on the floor. Angel slid in at the driver’s side, turning the car on.

“What was that?” Angel turned to look over at Alena. 

“Hmm?” 

“Is that why you prefer to go alone? Cause it’s Nick?” Angel was jealous, he could admit that. Alena always preferred going to her eye doctor alone and now it made sense.

“Angel, he’s like an old family friend.” Alena explained.

“That I’ve never met.”

“Yes, it happens. Nick never came to Santo Padre.” Alena replied. “And you’ve met him, well sort of, when you used to pick me up from school.”

Angel narrowed his eyes. “Is he married?”

“No, he’s single I believe.” Alena wasn’t exactly sure since she never actually asked Nick. “I’m not sure, I don’t really ask him.”

“Is he one of the people your mother had lined up for you?”

“I don’t know? What’s with all the questions?” Alena smiles teasingly. “Are you jealous?”

“Alena, what kind of a fucking question is that? Of course I am. I didn’t even fucking know he was still a part of your life.” He didn’t like Nick then, he still didn’t now. Angel was unreasonable, but he always liked being number one in Alena’s life. Nick came close to replacing him and he could never forget that.

“Angel, he’s just an old family friend. Don’t worry about him.” Alena didn’t want Angel to be upset over nothing. She didn’t like Nick in that way. He was good looking, but she wouldn’t want to be with someone who had such a close connection to her father. And she also never saw him in that way. She admired him, but it just stayed there.

Angel didn’t reply and drove off. It’s not like he didn’t trust Alena, but it was crazy how he was more aware of all the men he could have lost Alena too. 

The rest of the day went off without a hitch, he just had a small run with the club and he went with Alena to her eye appointment. She got new glasses, so he was glad they went today. He was still thinking about that doctor. He didn’t think Alena was cheating on him, but it just made him uneasy. Were there other men that Alena didn’t tell him about? Alena was also oblivious to men hitting on her unless it was very straightforward.

“Angel?” He looked over at Alena who was standing at the end of the couch where his feet were. He was relaxing here since he wanted to watch television and not bother Alena. And he also might be upset at her little display at the doctor’s office.

“Cielo, you okay?” Angel grimaced seeing the tears in Alena’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Can you just hold me? If you don’t want to, it’s okay,” Alena approached him, frowning at how small she felt. She hated reliving that assault with her former coach. “Never mind, sorry.”

Angel grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. Alena laid on top of him, wrapping her arms around Angel. 

”I got you, I always do.” He never knew he would miss holding her as much as he did, but he truly missed her. He kissed her forehead, running his fingers through her hair.

“Thank you.”

“You want to go out to brunch tomorrow?”

“With Cruz?”

“No baby, just you and me.”

“Sure.” He could hear Alena fading and he felt himself fading.

This was all he wanted in his life, to have Alena in his arms. 

[forabeatofadrum]

I ain't gon' smile if I don't want to

Summary: Agatha is going home.

Notes: And here it is: the long-awaited (?) conclusion to my fics about Agatha healing. This is a bit longer than the others, since it’s the conclusion. Thanks for reading and I can’t wait for Any Way The Wind Blows. Soon!!

AO3

--

AGATHA

The drive back home is silent. 

Home.

I’m not sure whether or not I can call it that. Scratch that. I’m pretty sure it’s not home. Home is San Diego. The house where I grow up will always be there for me, and I will always remember the great memories of living there, but it hasn’t been home in a long time.

Outside, it starts to rain. I follow some raindrops that ‘race each other’ on the window. Apart from the sound of the rain, it’s silent. My dad hasn’t said anything substantial ever since I landed in England. He keeps making small talk and he’s asked how Lucy is doing, but we both know what’s left unsaid. I haven’t seen my mother yet, since we immediately went to the Coven, then to my dad’s clinic to get Simon checked out, and then to Penny and Simon’s flat.

Should I feel bad about the fact that I’m not looking forward to seeing her? I’m more excited to see Helen than to see my own mother.

I don’t hate her, or dad. I never have. I don’t think I ever can.

Yet, there’s still all this underlying anger within me, especially towards my mother. She’s been pushing me my entire life. She’s always been obsessed with magic and status and ‘oh what will Lady Salisbury say at the club?’

I think that’s why she let Simon into our lives so easily. I can hear her voice in my head.

Look at my daughter, dating the Chosen One. Oh Ruth, isn’t this extraordinary! Wouldn’t you want to be a family member to the Simon Snow?

Sure, my mother my have ended up loving Simon like her surrogate son, but everyone knows that Simon started out as a social perk. 

Simon and I were supposed to get married, have a ton of powerful children, and be the picture perfect magickal family. And in her utopia, I would also be equally powerful.

If I close my eyes, I can imagine it. Simon, wearing an expensive suit, holding his wand in one hand and the Sword of Mages in the other. Me, wearing a gorgeous dress, next to him with our baby in my arms. 

I almost puke when I think of it.

My mother loves me. She always has, but she always wanted more of me. She wanted me to become the perfect version of myself, instead of my actual self. (Oh dear mother of mine, don’t you know that perfection is horribly overrated?)

She would be ashamed of my current life. Instead of looking for magickal clubs, I look for new superfood pokebowls to try out. 

I get pulled out of my thoughts by my dad’s coughing. I look to my right. He’s staring ahead and he taps his fingers against the steering wheel. 

He’s not like my mother. My dad cares less about these things.

I also look ahead and I recognise the scenery. We’re almost there.

--

When we pull up on the driveway, I take a look at the house. I haven’t been here in one and a half year. After all, I didn’t come home for Christmas.

I step out of the car and I take it all in. I’m feeling- well, I don’t know what I’m feeling, to be honest. 

My weird moment of confusion gets interrupted by a loud scream. I immediately tense up and I start to look around. What is going on? Who is attacking me?

But then I recognise it as a scream of joy. Helen runs up to me with her arms wide open. I don’t have time to fully process what is happening, because Helen hugs me tightly.

God, I have missed her so much.

I think she might be crying.

Then, I hear a chuckle.

“Well, well, Helen, give her some space.”

My mother is standing there. 

When she sees me looking, she smiles widely.

“Welcome home, Agatha,” she says warmly.

“Mom!” I say happily. This is what I mean. Despite everything, I truly love her. She loves me back. I don’t even correct her with the ‘home’ thing. Helen lets go of me so that I can hug my mother. 

“Oh, where is your stuff?” Helen asks.

I snort. I have nothing on me. We left immediately, only with the clothes we were wearing and some fake passports and counterfeited money.

Yes, the Coven hates us now, but they’re too busy with the vampire thing.

My dad tells Helen that I have no luggage and then, the three of them basically drag me into the house. Helen immediately leaves to get tea and she even asks if she needs to bring scones, just in case Simon comes over.

Really, Simon has integrated into my family. I can never run away from Simon fucking Snow.

It’s nice to be here and it’s nice to see my parents. We speak often. I don’t even lie to them. I’ve never told my parents about leaving my wand behind, but a few months ago, my mother stopped asking about magick, so I assume they’ve figured it out.

Ironically, I’m here to take my wand back.

The conversations are shallow, but we’re all dancing around the big conversations. I drink tea and I eat some scones. I like it this way. I want to avoid the big talk if I can.

Later that night, I’m lying in bed. I suddenly have an idea. I grab my mobile and I text Minty.

--

“Where are you going?” my mother asks on my way out.

“I’m seeing Minty in the city centre,” I answer, “No worries, I didn’t tell her about the magick. I texted her, saying that I unexpectedly was in England for a family emergency that ended up being a fluke.”

I leave out the part where I am avoiding being in this house. 

“Alright dear,” my mother says and she pushes some hair out of my face, “Have fun. Be home at a reasonable time. Do you have your wand?”

I nod. My wand is in my back pocket. It’s weird that it’s just there after all this time apart. I had to wipe off a layer of dust. 

I ride the tube to our meeting place. When I finally see her, Minty lets out an excited shriek, just like Helen’s. I tense up again.

“Agatha!” Minty tackles me.

“Surprise.”

“I was about to text you, like, literally when your text arrived. Your Insta has been way too silent,” Minty says, while she’s still hugging me, “I expected way more pics of Burning Lad.”

“Ginger and I ended up not going,” I tell her, “Went to this shitty retreat instead, but I left that as well. It was a bore.”

It was anything but a bore, but you know, Normals.

“Oh my God, wanna get some coffee? Did you have breakfast yet?”

I shake my head. I woke up, put on clothes that no longer fit me, and left. Well, these clothes still fit me in size, but not in personality. I’m dressed for rainy London weather and it’s also way too posh.

“No. Should we go to Starbucks? I also need some new dresses, so I thought we could-”

“Shopping spree!” Minty squeals. I’ve missed her.

After an expensive breakfast, we go from shop to shop. It’s fun. This is what I was trying to show Penelope: just fun. 

We decided to shop at the right moment. Minty needs a suit for her sister’s wedding, since she is the maid of honour. She keeps asking for my opinion, but I think she looks gorgeous in everything. I cannot choose.

Suddenly, I have an idea.

“Pose for me,” I take out my phone, “I can send it to a friend who is obsessed with suits.”

Minty makes some silly faces while posing and I laugh. I send the photos to Baz.

AG: Yes or no on the suit?

I meant what I said to him. I am here for him. He can talk to me about all the deep vampiric troubles of his life, but he can also just talk to me as a friend. I can’t believe I am actively trying to befriend Basilton Grimm-Pitch (and Penelope Bunce), but I feel like I should at least try.

BP: Hard yes.

"My friend says yes,” I tell Minty, “A hard yes, even.”

BP: Needs more flowers, maybe

“Although he likes flowered suits more.”

“Oh, I saw one,” Minty says and she changes into a wonderful flowered suit. 

“Wow.”

“Send him a selfie!” Minty says excitedly. I supress a sigh and I change my camera to selfie mode. I make a peace sign and Minty sticks out her tongue.

AW: Flower power

BP: Lovely

BP: Snow thinks you both look lovely.

Then, he sends me a photo of him and Simon. Simon has bags under his eyes and Baz still looks incredibly pale, but they’re smiling.

“Okay, this suit it is!” Minty claps her hands, “Brb, gonna change and buy this.”

When she’s gone, I take another look at the photo. Yes, it’s still a bit weird that they’re dating. 

Then, I squint my eyes.

Wait a second...

AW: Are you in my house??

BP: Yes, Snow wanted to talk to your dad.

BP: Your parents have an impressive collection of antique vases.

BP: Snow broke one, but according to your mum, he always breaks one during visits.

Great. Amazing. I am trying to leave the house in order to avoid talking about everything that’s happened, and then Simon and Baz bring it to my house! Now, my mother will clearly ask.

Maybe there’s a way to distract her from it. Just for a little bit longer.

Minty returns from the checkout with a her suit in a fancy bag. “Alright, ready?”

“Actually,” I say as I stand up, “I have one more errand. Let’s go to the nearest hairdresser.”

--

My plan to distract my parents by cutting my hair has a high risk of failing, because when I finally get back home, Simon and Baz are still there.

I have no clue where Simon is, but I see Baz having tea with my mother in tea room. My mother takes one look at me and she lets out a gasp.

“Agatha, your hair!”

“Do you like it?” I ask innocently. 

It’s not even that big of a change. I just cut it short, so that it’s just above the shoulders. I could’ve gone full Emma Watson post-Harry Potter and rock a pixie cut, but I chickened out.

Still, I know my mother will not like it. She always marvels about my ‘gorgeous, long golden locks’.

Baz replies instead of my mother. “I love it.”

He stands up and he takes me by the arm. “Walk with me.”

I know that tone. It’s the ‘help, I am incredibly bored, but I have to be polite’ tone of voice. I’ve used it many times at the club.

“We match,” I tell him, “We now have the same length of hair.”

“I think mine is a bit longer, but yes,” Baz says. The moment we’re out of earshot, he lets out a long sigh. 

I raise an eyebrow. After all, I’ve learned it from him.

“Your mother certainly is remarkable,” he sounds tired.

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“I’m pretty certain that she dislikes me,” Baz says, “She kept making comments about how Simon ‘chose me over you’. But in the same conversation, she kept droping hints about me possibly inviting her to my family’s estate in Oxford.”

I snort. That sounds like my mother.

“And even more weird, when she’s not bitching about you and Simon, it almost feels like she’s trying to set you up with me. She needed to know if we were well acquainted.”

Ah. ‘Well acquainted’ is rich people speak for ‘falling in love’. So many people have told me that they’re so happy that Simon and I were ‘well acquainted’. It makes sense that my mother is trying to pair me with Baz. He’s a war hero. The World of Mages is in awe of him.

“What did you say?”

“Well, ‘ma’am, I am super gay’ didn’t seem to cut it.”

Wait till she hears that I am probably not going to marry. The Wellbelove line will end with me.

(I mean, I think so.) (I am still figuring it out. But at least I’m not straight.)

I walk with Baz to the gardens.

“Where is Simon?”

“He’s been scooped up in your father’s study almost all day,” Baz replies, “He wants to get rid of the wings and tail.”

I look at Baz with surprise. I was under the impression that Simon liked them. I mean, he must have. He used his wings a lot in America.

When I tell Baz my thoughts, he looks sad.

“Yeah, I thought so too. But I also never really asked.”

“How are things going between the two of you?”

Yesterday, my dad and Shepard returned to the flat before Simon and Baz did. We left immediately, so I didn’t get to see them.

“Better, I hope,” Baz answers, “We just- we never really talked about anything. I think he still has troubles believing that I want him.” He lets out a bitter laugh. “What a tosser. I’ve wanted him since I was fifteen. I’ve loved him for so long.”

“Simon never thinks,” I tell Baz. It’s not meant as something offensive. I’m not trying to imply that Simon is brainless, but I think Simon never wants to think about the things he wants. After all, wanting could end up in hurting.

Again, he’s never talked to me either. He had nothing to say, because he didn’t want to think about it. Back then, I saw it as Simon being a shitty boyfriend, but after yesterday, I understand it. It hurts to think. We both are working on it.

“So, how is it going with you two?” I ask again.

Baz lets out a tired sigh. “We’re trying. Snow still wants to break up with me, but we’re trying. He did finally let me stay over at his flat, so I see that as progress.”

I look at Baz and I only now realise that he’s still wearing the same clothes since California. He probably didn’t have anything to change back at Simon and Penny’s place.

Kind of weird that they’ve been dating for over a year, but Baz has never stayed the night. It’s probably because of Simon’s doubts. At least there’s progress.

“I cut my hair to feel rebellious,” I abruptly tell Baz.

Baz has an incredulous look on his face, but then he barks out a laugh. 

“Yeah, same, but I grew it out to feel rebellious. My father hates it.”

“My mother- Merlin, did you see her face?”

Another laugh. Really, I think Baz and I will be great friends. We’re both disappointments to our big, wealthy, power hungry families. 

It’s actually kind of nice to have someone from the old guard. Our similar upbringing connects us. Politically, the Wellbeloves and the Grimm-Pitches are different, but both our families care too much about tradition, wealth and power. If it hadn’t been for the politics, my mother probably would’ve married a Pitch in a heartbeat.

We finish our walk when we enter the foyer. It’s the perfect timing, because my dad and Simon are descending the giant staircase.

“Ah, Agatha, you’re back,” my dad says, “Nice haircut, darling.”

He’s so different from my mother.

“Took a page out of my book, eh?” Simon also says. I don’t understand, but then Baz quickly tells me that Simon had a haircut in Las Vegas.

When Simon’s at the bottom of the staircase, he immediately moves closer to Baz and he takes his hand. Baz has an euphoric look on his face. I let go of his arm, so that Baz can be fully with Simon.

I think they’re going to be okay.

“Well, Mr. Wellbelove, thanks for everything.”

“Simon, how many times-”

“Sorry, John.”

My dad laughs. 

“Atta boy,” he puts his hand on Simon’s shoulder with such force, Simon almost falls over. Baz holds him up. “We need to work out the logistics, but when everything’s ready, we can schedule a magickal operation at the clinic. Give me a call when you get back from Oxford.”

“Oxford?” I ask the boys.

Simon nods. “We’re going to see Baz’s family-”

“My stepmother misses me.”

“-and Baz also called Dev and Niall to meet up.”

I give Baz an impressed look. He’s reaching out to people as well. I’m proud of him.

“Snow’s very nervous about that.”

“Hey, Dev has always hated my guts because he was jealous of me dating Ags, and Niall, well, Niall is scary.”

“Niall is not scary,” Baz laughs, “He’s just very tall.”

“Anyway,” Simon says a bit louder, “I’m going to say goodbye to Mrs. W- uhm, Diana. Then we’ll be off.”

“Diana, Simon and Basil are leaving,” my dad calls out.

"Oh no, already!” my mother’s voice is sad. She joins us in the foyer. “Simon, darling, it was so great to see you again.”

“Same, Diana,” Simon hugs my mother, “It’s been too long.”

“I hope John has done enough check ups for a long time,” my mother holds Simon as a son. Like I said, despite my mother’s interest in Simon’s status, I do think she genuinely loves him as a son-in-law, or surrogate son. Same goes for my dad.

That’s probably why my parents feel kind of guilty about letting Simon in our lives and putting me in constant danger. Their love for Simon was at my expense.

“John is the best doctor,” Simon says and Baz hums in agreement.

“Oh that reminds me!” my dad says, “Agatha, can you come in for a check up as well?” 

“Uh, sure, if we can manage that before I go home,” I answer. My dad’s face falls when I mention San Diego. My parents love me. My parents miss me. “Why, dad?”

“Shepard told me a bit more about your confrontation with the NextBlood,” he says and he sounds upset, “He mentioned something horrifying. He had to cut open your mouth with a Swiss army knife?”

I close my eyes and I shudder at the memory. There was so much blood. It was unclear if it was my blood or Penelope’s.

When I open my eyes, my mother has a horrified look on her face and my dad breaks when he sees me. 

“That- That really happened?”

I nod. Why would my dad think it’s a lie? 

Probably because he doesn’t want it to be true.

“I’m fine,” I say automatically.

“Agatha,” my dad says.

“Well, we’ll be off,” Simon says even louder. He’s holding Baz’s hand again. I want to curse my dad for doing this in front of them. “It was nice to see you two.”

“Yes, it was lovely to meet you,” Baz also says, sounding like he’s in a hurry.

“Oh please, come back after you return from Oxford,” my mother says. She sounds too happy and she quickly glances at me. “I’d love to hear more about the estate.”

Simon and Baz leave in an awkward hurry, and I am faced with my parents. My dad still looks very upset. My mother seems to be a bit in shock.

First, I try to avoid confrontation by not being home. Then, I think I might get away with it, since Simon and Baz don’t remind my parents of everything, even though I expected otherwise.

Yet, here we are.

“My office, now,” my dad says sternly. I follow him and I avoid eye contact. 

Inside, he checks my lips for possible scars, but magic must’ve somehow healed it, because there’s no trace of the horrors that I’ve encountered. 

“No need to go to the clinic, then?”

My dad shakes his head. 

My mother is looking from the doorway. She’s on the verge of tears. 

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asks. 

I shrug. It pisses my mother off. 

“Agatha!” my mother sounds stern, and for a second I wonder if I should apologise, but another feeling suddenly takes over. It’s- 

It’s anger.

I’m angry at her. I think back at all the past conversations with Simon, Baz and Penny. They all gave me a sense of closure and peace. Will I ever achieve that with my parents? My mother’s never taken the time to actually ask me anything and my dad tries, but he’s as ineloquent as Simon.

I’m not blameless. I never reached out either, but that’s because they never gave me the idea that I could. Ix-nay on my ue-feelings-tray. That’s how it’s always felt.

I look at my mother and I can feel the anger boil in me.

That’s new.

I wonder how long I’ve been surpressing that. I told Simon, Baz and Penny to let out their feelings. I suppose my feelings have been unearthed.

She loves me. She’s probably acting this way because she’s upset and worried. I know all of that, but why is it so difficult. I watched Mitali Bunce drop all her work to comfort her crying daughter, and Mitali’s work is her life. Would my mother end a social meeting at the club if I’d come in crying?

No, she’d probably tell me to suck it up. Not in front of Lady Salisbury!

“Agatha,” my dad cuts in. He sounds quieter. Kinder.

He loves me too. Yet, he never stood a chance against my mother’s domineering aura. It’s not a bad thing, because I know the Bunces have the same thing, and it doesn’t make my dad any less happy and content, but he’s never talked to me because he doesn’t have the guts to do so.

And I knew that if I were to tell him anything, he’d tell my mother. My mother, who loves me, would see my pain as something that would affect her status. 

So I stare them down. 

Then I go off. 

I don’t know where I suddenly found the nerve to talk back to my parents, but I feel like I am about to explode. 

Simon once tried to explain to me what it’s like to go off. I didn’t understand, because I couldn’t even imagine having the amount of power that he has. He explained that it felt catastophic and haunting, but also powerful. I get that now. My power might not be magic and it will never be, but maybe it’s words. I continue to tell my parents everything that’s on my mind and for the first time I don’t shy away from the absolute anger and fury that I’ve been holding down.

I tell them that I don’t hate them. I don’t, I really don’t. But sometimes I find it hard to love them. And I tell them that it makes me feel guilty, because I know it’s unfair to them since they are loving parents, but I always felt like they loved what I could represent, not me.

“And that’s why I never took my wand with me to San Diego,” I finish. My parents are absolutely gobsmacked, and I see that as a win. I turn on my heel and I walk out of my dad’s office without another word.

I am acting immature, but I also don’t care.

--

Helen brings me tea as I book a flight back to San Diego. She has a sad look on her face, but she does tell me that she likes my new haircut.

An hour later, there’s a knock on my door.

“Can I come in?” my mother peeks in.

“Sure,” I reply. I still stare my phone and I confirm my purchase. I’m going home.

My mother opens the door and my dad is standing behind her. I look at both of them and my dad looks incredibly sad. He’s probably been crying. He’s always been the emotional one.

I still have some manners left, so I put away my phone. They have my full attention and I’m waiting for them.

“Your dad and I had a long conversation and we just want to say that we’re sorry,” my mother says. She sits down on my bed and she cautiously takes my hand. “Especially me. Your dad- he had to give me another reality check.”

I look at my dad in surprise. He shrugs.

“Because you were right, my love,” my mother says tearfully, “I love you deeply, and I am so happy to hear that you know that, but it’s true that I’ve always- I care too much about status and power.”

She does. At least she can admit it.

My dad her moves closer and he squeezes her shoulder. 

“Agatha,” he says, “I am also sorry for never- I noticed that you were under pressure, but your mother is your mother and I have always been an outsider at the clubs, so I assumed she knew better.”

My mother takes a deep breath.

“I was like you once. I know how you feel,” she says and she lets out a bitter laugh, “You know what your grandfather was like.”

I do, actually. My grandfather is the reason why the Wellbelove family is now part of all these clubs and cliques. He fought very hard to be granted access. He was a great mage, but unknown.

“As a teen, I vowed to never become like my father.” My mother lets out a bitter laugh. “Did you know I almost broke up with your father, because your grandfather was so disappointed in me marrying a, and I quote, sad excuse for a mage.”

My dad still looks hurt over that.

“I defied him. But did I really?”

She didn’t, and she knows that. 

“I’m going to break this circle,” I tell my parents. After all, I probably won’t marry. There will be no kids to fuck up. “There’s nothing wrong with appreciating estates and art and what not, but I will not be tied down to this social pressure.”

“We know, Ags,” my dad says. He sits down next to my mother and the three of us sit in silence for a while. This is far from over, but it’s a start, and if the world’s most dysfunctional couple can learn to communicate, then so can we.

(Oh Merlin, I can never tell Simon and Baz that I call them that in my head.) (At least they’re making progress.)

“I booked a flight,” I say, “San Diego. I’m going back earlier than expected.”

My parents are visibly upset by this, but my dad nods. “Yes. Okay.”

“... you should come and visit me,” I say. I am ready to show them my new world and maybe they’re also ready to see it. “Penny’s coming over for Christmas, but maybe in the spring?”

My parents look at each other and they smile.

“We’d like that.”

It’s a start.

--

When I first left for California, only my dad was there to say goodbye. My mother was too busy crying about my leave to come and I didn’t speak to my friends, magickal and Normal.

Now, there’s a whole group of people at the airport.

My mother kisses my forehead. My dad hugs me tightly. Helens tells me that she’ll miss me, again.

“Text me about our San Diego plans,” Penny tells me when she hugs me. Her grip tightens and she says. “You better text back this time.”

I guess I just got threatened, but I laugh.

“Penny, I am the one who suggested this trip.”

“Sorry, old habits never die. I will always be suspicious,” Penny says, but when she lets go of me, she has a smile on her face.

Shepard awkwardly stands behind her. I don’t know him very well and we’ve barely seen each other since our first day in England. He gives me a small nod and I give him a mock salute. This makes him laugh. I wonder if I’ll ever see him again, but I owe him. I will never forget him.

Baz looks as fabulous as ever. He even looks suave when he walks towards me to say goodbye. 

“Have a safe flight,” he says and he- well, he hugs me too. I’m a bit taken aback by it, but then I hug him back.

“We’ll talk,” I say and I mean it. He knows that. “Say hi to Dev for me.”

Baz snorts. Mission accomplished. 

“It’ll kill him. I’m certain that he still has a crush on you.”

I see Simon looking at us with a fond look on his face. I move away from Baz and I hug him too. I guess that breaking up with Simon was the best choice I’ve ever made for the two of us.

“Bye Aggie,” he says, “Love you like a sister.”

“Love you like a brother.”

Because that’s enough, isn’t it? I might not be in love with anyone, but I still love. I love my parents. I love my friends. I love my dog.

Minty is here as well. She is a bit confused by the entire entourage of people, but she’s decent enough not to ask where they all came from. I’m certain she’s oblivious to magic, but she knows I have secrets.

She’s still my friend, though.

“You should come to San Diego in the summer,” I say, “Ginger just texted me about new Burning Lad tickets. I can reserve one for you too.”

“Def!” Minty sounds excited.

Then, my parents walk me to the border control. It’s time for me to say goodbye.

“Come home for Christmas, will you?” my dad asks while he hugs me again. He doesn’t want to let go.

“Can’t. Penelope is coming over. But maybe New Year’s?”

“New Year’s it is,” my dad relucantly lets go.

My mother looks like she’s on the verge of tears. She’s always sad to see me leave, but at least she’s here this time.

“Out of the way, John, let me kiss my daughter!” she says and she seriously shoves my dad aside. She hugs me and kisses my cheek repeatedly.

Then, it’s really time for me to leave. I take my suitcase. (I decided to bring some more stuff to San Diego, so my dad quickly got me a new suitcase.) I wave one last time. Everyone watches me go.

Once I’m sat on the plane, I can finally relax. Going back to England was good. It’s given me closure and I’ve reconnected to people close to me. I’m content, but I also cannot wait to go home.

San Diego. Home. Here I come.

[jazy3]

Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 16X15

Oh boy were there a lot of twists this episode! Wowza! I really loved Meredith’s voiceover in this episode! It feels like this season they’re getting back to expressing more of what Meredith is feeling through the voiceovers. In this one she talks about her childhood in Boston and about what snow days mean to different people. How her mother hated snow days, but that she loved them and would always run outside and how everything felt magical and new. 

But that as beautiful as snow is it does eventually start to melt and then you’re standing in slush frozen and unable to feel anything at all. But that after enough time the slush disappears too as the ground begins to thaw, the days get longer, and though you could never imagine it you start to feel again and how it surprises her every time. I kind of thought they might do a voiceover like that when introducing Meredith’s new love interest and it turns out I was right!

All the scenes with Meredith and Cormac were amazing! Oh my god I love them together! They fit so well! They have so much in common! I love that they’ve become friends first before jumping into anything. I also love the set up of Meredith helping Hayes move forward. I love that Meredith has found someone she can talk to about losing Derek, moving forward, being a widow young, and raising a bunch of kids as a single parent while running a department while being a world class surgeon and doctor.

I love that her and Cormac are friends and that they both know that there’s something more there, but they’re not ready to do anything about it and that’s okay. They’re friends and they’re getting to know one another and building a relationship over time. I loved the scene in the OR when they talked about Mer almost losing her medical licence and how Cormac said that he ran away with his boys to Switzerland after his wife died. Meredith laughed and he was all confused and then she explained that she did the same thing after Derek died when she moved her kids to San Diego for a year. They have so much in common and I love that.

I also love that they established that while they share a lot of firsts Meredith’s gone through something that Cormac hasn’t yet which is dating after death. Derek’s been gone for roughly 5 years now give or take and in that time Meredith has started dating again, had flings, had relationships, kissed, slept with, had sex with, and woken up next to other men that weren’t her husband. She’s been forced to have the talk with her kids about her about dating again and dealt with everything that comes along with that.

Cormac on the other hand hasn't kissed or dated anyone since his wife died two years ago after a slow, long, and painful battle with cancer. I’m excited to see this storyline play out and I really hope that we get to see Cormac and Mer work through some of the stuff she went through with Thorpe and Riggs when she first started dating again. I also like that they’re not pushing it with this relationship. They’re building it slowly. First they butted heads. Then they started over. Then they slowly gained a mutual respect and admiration for each other. Now they’re friends and colleagues.

They’re taking it slow and I love that. We’ve never actually seen Meredith ease into something. She always jumps in head first and it always crashes and burns as a result. I’m excited to see her try something new with someone whose been through some of the things she’s been through and can understand her perspective and experience and where she’s coming from. The scene at the end in the snow was my favourite. 

I love that little smile she gave him at the end like ‘I could do something about this now, but I really shouldn’t and I don’t trust myself so I’m going to go home and deal with this later.’ Love it! I loved how Cormac slowly came to the realization about who Cristina was talking about when she referred to Dr. Evil Spawn and her Twisted Sister. Hayes is figuring it out! Not everything is as it seems. Cristina didn’t hate him or Alex and she did talk about Meredith. He just didn’t realize it at the time. I loved the scene at the end where Cormac brought it up and Mer was like ‘That’s me!’ Haha!

I loved the scene at the end with Cormac and Meredith in the snow for so many reasons. I loved how Cormac asked her what DeLuca was to her and she said that he was one of her firsts. He was the first person she said ‘I love you’ too after her husband died and she wants to help him because he’s clearly suffering. Unfortunately, she can’t because you can’t help people who won’t help themselves or that don’t want your help and she has to let Carina take it from here. He was one of her firsts on the list of things you have to deal with after the love of your life dies. But now that’s over.

I said this before and I’ll say it again DeLuca was a transition point. Thorpe was the first person Meredith slept with and woke up next to after Derek died. Nathan was her first real relationship after he passed. Nick Marsh got her to open herself up to the possibility of love again. Her relationship with DeLuca forced her to move forward. She said ‘I love you’ and the situation forced her to have conversations with her kids about her dating again. All of those things and all of those experiences brought her to where she is now.

Cormac is still at a place where he’s working on all of that and that’s okay. Because Meredith will be there as a friend to help him through it and eventually they’ll wind up together. She’s at a place now where she’s ready to move on and move forward with her life and date someone who’s in it for the long haul and who understands her experience and with whom she can build and re-build her life. She’s come a long way. I’m glad that Meredith and DeLuca are really and truly over. I’m glad that Meredith can see that now and that Carina seems to have taken the lead with trying to get him some help.

At the very least the fact that he walked out into a blizzard without gloves or mittens like an idiot means he’ll be out of commission for the foreseeable future. Which means he’ll either disappear from the show altogether and then probably show up later to say goodbye or we’ll see Jackson treating him on and off over the next several episodes and then he’ll be written off. I thought they did a really good job in this episode of portraying DeLuca’s illness and the fact that he was unwell and not thinking clearly. 

Meredith and Carina are right to be concerned and DeLuca isn’t able to see it at all. His last comment to her about Alzheimer’s was cold, cruel, inappropriate, and uncalled for. I think there’s a really great parallel there between Derek and DeLuca in that Derek used to worry all the time about Meredith getting Alzheimer’s. The difference is Derek tried to do something about it. He tried to find a cure. There’s a line from an earlier season, I don’t remember which one, where Derek is talking to one of the other characters, I think it’s Owen or maybe Richard, and he says that every time Meredith forgets her keys he panics especially when they’re in her hand or her purse.

He worries about her and actively tries to help. Derek could be a real asshole sometimes, but he loved Meredith very much and that love always underpinned everything that they did. And that’s the difference between someone who truly loves you and someone who just thinks they love you. Derek would never accuse Meredith of having Alzheimer’s or say something like that because he understood what that meant. DeLuca on the other hand is lashing out. When someone really loves you they support you and try to find ways to help. They don’t just say they love you and then use your past and your family history and your concern against you to make you leave.

The most shocking part of the episode for me was Teddy! Wow! I did not see that coming! When someone knocked on Tom’s door I expected to be Owen wanting to talk about his friendship with Teddy or an upset Amelia wanting to talk about Link and Owen. I did not expect it to be Teddy and I did not expect her to kiss him. Twist! I loved the scene when Teddy walked up to Maggie at work and said she respected her loyalty to Amelia and wasn’t asking her to betray anyone or anything or to lie but that she couldn’t shake this feeling that Amelia’s baby was Owen’s and so she asked her if she was crazy for thinking that. Maggie was very measured and said that no she wasn’t crazy.

I liked this exchange because Teddy voiced her concerns in a way Maggie could understand and then as a result Maggie was able to answer her in a way that got to the truth but didn’t involve her lying or betraying anyone’s trust. Teddy basically asked her, ‘Am I barking up the wrong tree here?’ and Maggie’s answer was, ‘No girl. You’re not. Trust your intuition. It’s right.’ In other news Bailey asked Joey to move in with them!!! Him and Tuck seem to be getting along great which is awesome! What’s not so awesome is the fact that Bailey didn’t tell Ben before she brought a whole kid home to live in their house. Kidnapping/Adopting children/babies without telling your husband seems to be this season’s theme! I liked that she showed him around the hospital and talked about all of the possibilities for his future.

The twist with the new resident actually being a patient got me! I did not see that coming! I’m glad that she did actually have some medical training though. She wasn’t going in blind. But still wow! I also did not see the thing with Richard coming. He has a tremor in his hand that may prevent him from operating. I wonder when that started. If it’s been happening for a while that might explain the way he’s been feeling, the signs of depression, the feeling of defeat, and the breakdown in his relationship with Catherine. On the other hand, all of that could have just been what it was and he’s just noticing this now which is why he’s been so depressed and defeated lately.

This poor man. He married Adele who he loved, but constantly choose his work over her. He had an affair with Ellis and had a great love in his life, but chose his career over her out of professional jealously. She eventually got Alzheimer’s and died. Then Adele got Alzheimer’s and died. Then he got together with Catherine and they got married and then she got cancer. He’s almost lost his career multiple times due to his alcoholism, being a dry drunk, and relapsing. He found out he had a daughter he never knew he had. Meredith came back into his life and he was plagued with guilt over what happened and has tried ever since to make amends. Then he gets fired by his protégé from standing up for her while his wife sat by and did nothing.

He starts over and goes to work at Pac North and works hard to turn the place around with Alex and Owen. Then he loses his niece at Maggie’s hands. Then Catherine convinces herself he’s having an affair when he’s not and then just to spite him she buys Pac North out from under him and tries forces him to go back to work under her terms. And now that he’s finally back in the OR at Grey Sloan where he belongs on his own terms he’s developed a tremor in his hand. Which means he won’t be able to operate like he used to. This man never catches a break. Richard has screwed up in a lot of ways and made a lot of mistakes, but what I like about his character most is that he’ll go to any length to fix them and he has. If Catherine can’t see that it’s her loss.

I’ll be interested to see where they go with this storyline. I mean on the one hand Richard has been threatening to retire since Season 1 y’all! On the other hand a tremor is very serious and there’s no way after operating drunk and everything he’s been through that Richard would put his patients at risk like that again. I can see this going a number of ways. They might have him do a similar thing to what Ellis or Nicole Herman did which is continue to teach and train new doctors and lecture but not operate. Or they could have him straight up retire, but I feel like if they were going to do that they would wait until the end of the series. It’s possible this might be a set up for the end of Richard’s story next season.

I hope that he tells Meredith and Maggie what’s going on as they’ll definitely want to know and support him. I think Meredith will be devastated. Bailey will be too. I’ll be interested to see if that patient/resident shows up again. Maybe next season? No wonder Levi couldn't find her the whole episode. She was impersonating a doctor! On that note I think Levi and Nico are over. Levi wants more. He wants a relationship and Nico isn’t in a place to give him that right now. Levi back tracked because he panicked and didn’t want to lose him, but I think he knows deep down that they’re over. This is the beginning of the end.

We also got some more information on Alex in this episode. At the beginning Meredith texted him asking where he was and saying that she knew he wasn’t in Iowa. Later Hayes complained to Meredith about how his supposedly great co-chief had suddenly gone MIA and couldn’t even be bothered to show up for his former patient’s family. We find out that the little girl Cormac and Meredith are operating on is the sister of one of Alex’s old patients. Then at the end of the episode Jo is at home drinking alone when she hears someone at the door. Jo and the audience are made to think it’s Alex, but it’s not it’s Link.

We find out that Jo finally called Helen, Alex’s mother. It turns out he’s not there and he never was. Which means either he lied about where he was going or he was on his way to visit his Mom and something happened. Jo because of everything she’s been through panics. She tells Link that she thinks that Alex has left her. That he felt the need to escape his life and so he lied and just took off. But as everyone else has been telling her for weeks that’s not like Alex. Alex is not the kind of person who just walks away ever. And Meredith’s not buying it either which means something is definitely wrong.

There’s a lot of ways they could go with this storyline. I’ve been wondering why they didn’t do a big send off right away and I have a theory now. I’m thinking that maybe the reason they decided to draw it out was because they had to get a bunch of other storylines in place before writing him off. You can see very clearly where Alex was supposed to fit in the current storyline and in order to write him off they’ve had to adjust all of that and then set everything up for his departure. While we’ll never know for sure what those storylines would have been if Justin Chambers had stayed for the rest of the season here’s what I think would have happened. I think they wrote Alex being in Iowa to visit his Mom initially as a plot device.

Jo stealing that baby is only shocking if Alex isn’t there. I think the original plan was for Alex to come back and for them to adopt that baby or another child together. With Pac North being shut down we would have seen Alex come back to Grey Sloan with everyone else and Co-Chief with Hayes. We would have seen him join together with the rest of the gang and rise up against Koracick and join with Meredith and Richard to help Bailey through her miscarriage. I think he also would have been there for Maggie through what happened with Sabi and Amelia with what happened with Link.

I like to think that if Justin Chambers had stayed that Alex and Cormac would have become friends. Cristina sent him and Jo and Amelia like him and see a chemistry between him and Meredith. As Co-Chiefs they would spend a lot of time together and after an initial rocky start, I think they would have become friends. I’m sad that we’ll never get to see any of this, but I respect the right of an actor to move on. As for how they’re going to write Alex off I have a few theories. Theory 1, is that he was on his way to Iowa to visit his Mom when something happened. I’m guessing they might do something similar to Derek’s death where we’ll find out that he stopped at the scene of an accident to help people and died in the process.

Typically, when that happens the authorities would contact Jo or someone would have answered her or Meredith’s calls and texts by now. They could explain this by saying he got separated from his wallet and phone i.e. it was in the car that got wrecked or they found his body a distance away from the car. Theory 2, is that he did go visit his Mom in Iowa, but stopped on the way there to visit his siblings Aaron and Amber. Last we heard Alex had to have Aaron committed presumably to a facility somewhere in Iowa and Amber was doing okay and has a least one kid.

This could explain why he didn’t pick up Richard’s phone call but sent him an emoji response, but then went radio silent. That emoji text was the last in character response any of the characters got which makes me think that whatever happened to Alex happened after that. Maybe he was on a plane or driving so he was unable to pick up the call, but was able to send a quick text back. It’s also possible that one of his siblings has or had his phone. Maybe he went to visit Amber and he was in another room so she listened to the voicemail and responded for him. He talks about what a mess Pac North is all the time so it wouldn’t be that hard to respond for him.

Or maybe he set it down and Aaron picked it up. He was really unstable the last we heard so it makes sense that if he has or had the phone that the responses would be off. Of course, none of that explains why he hasn’t called the hospital or Meredith or Jo directly using someone else’s phone which leads me to believe that someone has happened. Last episode we saw Meredith text him and the ellipses text pop up and then disappear. It was implied that Alex started to respond, but then stopped. I think they’re faking us out here. Alex would never do that.

I’m guessing that someone else has his phone. It could be that something horrible has happened to him and that Amber has his phone and is trying to find the words to tell his wife and best friend that she’s never met that he’s gone. It could be no one has his phone and that it’s sitting in a plastic bag in a hospital or morgue somewhere and that someone hit it accidentally while transporting it. There are a lot of reasons why all of this could be the case, but Alex just abandoning his life after he called Meredith every day when she did the same thing is not one of them. There’s no way.

We find out in this episode that Link has apparently been sleeping in the Attending’s Lounge and forsaking hygiene as he’s worried about Amelia. Owen is still completely in the dark. Teddy realize that Amelia’s baby might be Owen’s and that a part of him will always be in love with Amelia and Cristina for that matter so decides to go back to Tom and make out with him in his hotel room instead. Maggie’s caught in the middle, but is handling it better than she did the first time around so that’s good!

And it looks like we are finally going to find out what happened to Alex next week! Oh my god! I’m not ready! I’m not ready people. Alex Karev is one of my favourite characters of all time! Right next to Cristina Yang! I love Cristina as a character because I identify with her so much. I love Alex as a character because he’s had the best most realistic growth and character development of any character ever! One of the things I love about him is that he stopped being an ass because he realized the women in his program were lapsing him and he needed to ditch the attitude if he wanted to succeed. In real life that’s how change actually happens and I love that they showed that.

The entire promo for next week is a clip show about Alex. It shows the opening scene from the pilot with Richard and all the interns. Meredith, Alex, Cristina, Izzie, and George AKA MAGIC hanging out in the tunnels. Alex becoming Interim Chief of Surgery of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Scenes of Meredith and Alex and Cristina and Alex together. The disastrous dinner party where Penny showed up. Meredith helping Alex get ready for his trial. We see Meredith and Alex talking about being each other’s person after Cristina moved to Switzerland. Alex being there for Meredith after the attack. Alex being there for Bailey. Alex watching Jo go in for psychiatric treatment.

We hear Meredith’s phone call to Alex from Season 13, “They’re were five of us and now it’s just you and I and it can’t be just me.” The text reads ‘After 16 Seasons we’re saying goodbye to Dr. Alex Karev. See how his story ends.’ I’m not ready! The song that plays is ‘Say Something’ by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera. The lines they use for the promo are all about love and how they’re sorry they couldn’t get to someone or reach them. Oh my god. Good lord. I’m already upset. And now I have that song stuck in my head gosh darnit!

Until next time!

[bluestockingbooks]

Hello booklovers and bluestockings, friends and readers,Kris Nelson, owner of Bluestocking Books, San Diego,

writing to you I have magic and books on my mind. My usual favorite busy Thanksgiving & Shop Small Weekend is coming up while Covid is at its worst. Boooo! Surreal & ironic, during this pandemic our block is more popular than it has been in years; even the Pernicano's front on 5th Avenue got brightly painted and cleaned. Still, my darkest days in 2020 are WAY better than the rise-of-the-internet-giant years. Even though Covid rages on, we are being discovered by new shoppers, both on the street and online, folks who prefer to shop small and keep dollars local.

BsB is operating 11am-6pm daily. Most requests are phoned or emailed in - I, or Mary or Dawn, check each title and see what we have and what we can get. We pull from the shelves & set up pre-orders, ship USPS or run them up to you at our door, or to your car. We keep a 'lil table at the front door between us and the germ-filled world: we greet and grant entry to the fully masked, keeping capacity at 5-6 + us. Once we are full, no one comes in until somebody leaves. Every purchase is tailored to be as safe and convenient as possible. 

I could not do this without Mary & Dawn's hard work helping out - Thanks Again, Ladies!! We 3 are feeling incredibly appreciative to be employed doing what we love most right now - helping people find books. We know and suggest titles for all ages. Especially during the pandemic, hearing a human voice or viewing artwork on the page resonates and connects. Books are full of great examples of human nature and its amazing resilience, patience, and ability to survive. I am now witnessing how learning does not stop. That you all are asking for & purchasing books every day is a most gratifying amazement - I am bursting proud when you call me essential. 

The alternative to Amazon.com, Bookshop.org is the feel-good book news of 2020. They do a secure, easy cart & keep information as does Amazon, but they are not: this owner specifically wanted to support existing independent bookstores. When you order and choose us as "your bookstore" on the site, we are credited with the $ale as if you had called us directly. Seriously - is that not the nicest thing you've heard in a while? I am excited to be a part of it, and blown away by this kindness. The cash infusions could not have come at a better time for bookstores like this one, trying to make expenses while keeping safe during a global pandemic.  

My stability for fall: new blue twinkly lights in the windows and Baby Book Drive. As always we're collecting funds and selling / accepting appropriate books for donation to a beloved local effort: the UCSD High-Risk Infant Follow-Up Program, via Reach Out and Read. Babies are given a book from doctor at their check-ups while parents learn that the cuddling up to read stimulates brain growth, helping baby learn to interact. One doctor who works with ROAR shared with us that babies are talking more on the very next visit after receiving a book(!) Anyone can help change a life with a book costing from $4.99-$16.99. We have free IBD & other schwag for supporters - see the website for details. Seeing people contribute to our big box is a big sweetness gut-punch every time. 

See how I am surrounded by magic and hope here in the bookshop, even though it's a global quarantine?!? People shopping us even though it's Covid, Bookshop.org creating payback for indie bookstores, strangers supplying babies & parents (who really need it!) with a book and some help, and most hopeful of all - your patronage here. I care for the books in this space, but YOU are the key ingredient to a delightful bookstore. Your curious minds wanting the latest books for yourselves and friends, for the babies and kids in your lives, and making that special effort to call here instead of ordering it on Amazon or B&N - this is amazing and sustaining me in every way, every day. Your social shopping selves, happily masked and as considerate of our health as much as your own, exclaiming as you see (the weird and wonderful array of mostly used & some new) books in person - it makes keeping the space make sense again.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATRONAGE...we are all gonna get through this! 

I am reminded of the Velveteen Rabbit (c1922 by Margery Williams)... after many years of being loved as a sawdust-stuffed toy, sometimes forgotten and eventually a little threadbare, he was always a favorite. Then things did not make sense, he couldn't fit in, and then all he ever knew was gone, nothing would be the same again. Yet he found he could move - he twitched and reached out, and he was alive, his heart began beating. He hopped and darted into a new life that wasn't the same, nor did it need to be.  Okey this 2 tons o'books ain't hopping anywhere, but my heart beats inside of me today for the future bookstore. I work for BsB to have what every reader wants, a next chapter. You all are the heroes in the epic book-romance surrounding me - thanks for making Bluestocking Books a part of your story    Hope to help you all soon with your next read, gift or project. Best Holiday Wishes from me and the staff, our book-elves, helper-friends, and the benevolent bookshop ghosts. Happiness, Wellness, Chances to Notice the simple wonderful things, and Great Reading to You! -Kris

Bluestocking Books / (619) 296-1424 | info@bluestockingbooks.combluestockingbooks.comPlease add us to your email address book for best service!

[bazzybelle]

Carry On Countdown - Day Three

Notes: I wanted to try my hand at writing Agatha. I kind of see her taking care of magical creatures, especially unicorns. I liked giving her a purpose, like saving and caring for vulnerable magical creatures. I find that Agatha gets treated unfairly at times, so I wanted to give her a bit of agency and some direction. 

This was also inspired by my dear friend, @fight-surrender . She is an absolute angel, and you all need to go on her page and read her Simon-Werewolf fic because it’s brilliant! 

Thank you to @carryonsimoncarryonbaz for beta-reading. Your guidance and thought discussions give me direction and have made my stories a million times better!

TW: Mention of blood and injuries. 

Day 3 Prompt: Magical Creatures

Title: Keep Calm and Save a Unicorn.

__________________________________________________

 AGATHA

I had not expected to enjoy the type of work I was doing. It has been about a month since I started volunteering at this shelter for displaced magical creatures. This one in particular has an outstanding number of unicorns. I enjoy it very much. I already love spending time with normal horses with my Normal friends, and I consider unicorns to be horses who could talk to you. They are magnificent, and the shelter is a place for them to be free. 

Amongst the magician elite, unicorn is considered a delicacy. I would never admit it to the clientele here, but I had tried one when I was younger. It was during one of my parents’ soirees. I had been quite young when it happened and when Helen told me what I ate, I spent the next few days in tears. My mother thought I was being overdramatic, but since then, I have insisted on solely eating Normal food. 

Bugger to the magician social ladder!

Since coming back to England, I’ve had a bit of a struggle to figure out just what I wanted to be and where I wanted to place myself when it came to the world around me. I had not meant to stay back home for more than a week. But life never does turn out how you expect it to, does it? So a week turned into a month, and a month turned into six months. By Christmas, I had called Ginger back in San Diego, to tell her that I was not coming back. It was a good thing that Ginger had fallen in love with Lucy and decided to keep her.

I realized that perhaps running away from my problems was not really the best option. I am a magician. I am a strong magician (I had saved both myself and Penelope Bunce from a horde of techie-bro vampires). For once in my life, I was not the damsel in distress. And I was happy about it. It felt good to take matters into my own hands and decide my own destiny. So while back home, I’ve been trying to find something that would make me feel that way again. 

Six months later, and I had not gotten close.

My father had noticed that I was floundering, trying a different job every week. So he suggested that I spend some time at the shelter. He was friends with the owner, an older magician named Sophie; Sophie McGill. She is an odd one; She often dresses as if she took all of her style advice from Janis Joplin’s ghost. Long skirts, beaded vests and peasant shirts. But she is well off and that allows her to open up and manage the shelter without the aid of anyone else. She has a large plot of land to her name, where she keeps the creatures. Some of them are there purely for rehabilitation purposes, but others, who cannot be rehabilitated, are given a permanent place to stay. Sophie does not have much help at the shelter and, at the time, she was looking for someone to help with the creatures. She took me in immediately and put me to work right away. 

Within the month, I have seen a phoenix die and reincarnate, I have helped a baby dragon hatch from its egg, and received hair remedies from a very talkative mermaid. Every week or so, new arrivals would show up to the shelter and I have gotten quite good at triaging their needs and either setting up a plan for rehabilitation, or arranging for alternative options. I have been considering making this into a career. My father will most likely approve, being that he is a magical doctor himself. My mother is another story. I really don’t care to think about the inevitable disappointment my mother will have upon learning of her daughter’s future path. 

I begin my days visiting the unicorns. There are quite a few of them. Sophie has a soft spot for them, seeing as they are the national animal of her native Scotland and all (I have to laugh at that. Sophie’s branch of her family has not lived in Scotland for a couple of generations). Sophie is very active in collecting unicorns from breeders who intend to sell them for food. They are kept in the stables for the morning, and then they are given time to roam the grounds. They are intelligent enough to know to come back by the end of the day. 

That morning starts off just like all the others. I am refilling the troughs in each individual stable, ensuring that the unicorns have food to eat for the day. I stop at the stable of one of my more favourite charges, a young unicorn filly named Helga. I was there when Helga arrived and the little one took to me straight away. I laugh as Helga gives me a little jump, her silver hair shining. 

“Agatha! Agatha! Hello! How are you today!? I’m doing very well!”

“Good morning Helga. I am doing very well, thank you.” I hold out my hand and wait for Helga to approach me. No matter how friendly I am with the animals, I am always mindful of their personal boundaries. Helga trots towards me and nuzzles my hand. I scratch her behind her ears. I place my bag of emergency supplies on the ground beside the stable. I never carry much, just a few medical supplies, a mobile to contact Sophie in case something happened, a few snacks for myself, as well as some water. I then enter the stable. 

“Agatha! I saw a rather lovely butterfly the other day. Now, I can’t remember if it had bluish purple wings, or purplish blue wings!” The little unicorn hops in excitement. 

“I am pretty sure those are the same thing, Helga.”

“Perhaps. But it was very lovely.”

“I’m sure it was.” I pick up a brush by the stable door and proceed to brush Helga’s mane. Helga nuzzles my shoulder. I reach up and gently touch the horn on Helga’s head. I have grown to treasure the friendship we have. As much as I wish to spend the day there, I have other duties to attend to. I finish up brushing Helga’s mane and exit her stable. 

“Goodbye Agatha! 

“See you later, Helga.”

I finish up my morning routine of caring for the unicorns. I then open up the stables, in order to give them some time to run amongst the grounds. 

I grab my backpack and move onto my next task that involves caring for the merfolk. The shelter has access to a pool of water that, through a series of rivers, eventually leads to the Atlantic Ocean. The merfolk are free to come and go as they choose. My duties involve bringing supplies and food to the opening of the pool. Typically, if the merfolk need anything, they will just show up, and I will be there to offer assistance if I can. There is a small building next to the pool of water in case of emergencies which holds water tanks and supplies for charges who need to be monitored overnight.

Today, as I arrive to the pool’s entrance, I notice a large gathering of merfolk. This is a pretty good indication that something is very wrong. A mermaid that I had befriended, Rhiannon, waves me down. She is perched on one of the rocks, with a terrified look on her beautiful face. In her arms, is a severely injured merman. Rhiannon’s hands are trying to put pressure on a gaping wound in the merman’s chest. The merman himself seems to be drifting in and out of consciousness. I rip off my backpack and begin to search through it for some gauze and my mobile. 

“Rhiannon! What happened?”

“Blasted fishermen! We were just swimming! I think we got too close to the surface! Some humans saw us and I think they thought we were giant fish! Next thing I know, Dylan’s got a slash in his chest and I’m trying to swim away with him as deep as I could go.” Rhiannon begins to shake Dylan as the young merman drifts off again. “Oh! Dylan! Stay with me!” 

I quickly get to work. I take out some herbs and lotions, as well as a mortar and pestle. I proceed to mix the ingredients into a paste. Sophie had shown me how to make some basic healing concoctions during my first week. It is good enough to keep most of the creatures at bay if they are injured, so that Sophie can get to them and administer proper care. I meticulously apply the paste to Dylan’s wound. I pack the wound with some gauze and wrap it up. I pull out my mobile and call Sophie. It does not take many rings before the older woman answers the phone. Her raspy voice booms through the line:

“What’s happened, Agatha?” Sophie never says hello, preferring instead to get right to the point. While I understand her curtness, a little courtesy will not kill her. 

“Young merman got slashed up pretty bad. I’ve administered the healing paste and bandaged up the wound, but it looks pretty concerning. He may need more care.” 

“I’ll be there soon. Monitor him closely. Keep the crowd at bay.” I look towards the gathering of merfolk -- some appear concerned, but most look at me in apprehension. 

“Yeah. Thank you.” I hang up the phone and turn back to Rhiannon. “Think you can help me to get him onto the shore? Sophie will be here soon.” Rhiannon nods. She carefully grabs Dylan’s tail, while I grab his torso, being extra careful so as to not disturb the bandaged wound. A few of the other merfolk join up to help us. It isn’t an easy feat, but we eventually manage to get Dylan on land. 

Rhiannon perches herself next to Dylan and cradles his head in her arms. She softly runs her fingers through his long ashy blond hair. I tie my own long golden hair into a high messy bun. I try to disperse the merfolk crowd in the small pool. Most of them leave at my insistence, but some of the other more dubious folk decide to remain behind. As much as it irritates me, I understand their lack of trust. Merfolk and humans have a contentious relationship at best, and while they trust Sophie whole-heartedly, I am still a novice. 

I settle down next to Rhiannon, and lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. Dylan is starting to get a little colour back, but I fear that I am being too hopeful. I place two fingers on the side of his neck and time his heart beat. As far as I can tell, it sounds stable. I just wish Sophie would get here soon. 

As if Merlin above grants my wish, Sophie appears from beyond the fields. All bright smiles and unruly grey hair flowing in the wind. Her lengthy brown skirts shifting as she runs towards us. She carries a large duffle bag, filled with more medical supplies. She shifts the scarf used to push her hair back as she kneels beside the small group. 

“Alright. Is this him then? Oh my! That looks quite nasty then, doesn’t it?! Excellent work on the bandaging Agatha!” Sophie is one of those folk who can speak a dozen words a minute. It was difficult to comprehend her when I first met her, but the more I spent time with her, the easier it was for me to follow her speech. Sophie carefully undoes my wrapping and begins to inspect the wound. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that the paste has begun to work its magic. The bleeding has stopped and the edges of the wound are slowly beginning to close. 

“Oh Agatha dear! You’ve done a wonderful job! You didn’t need me here, at all. I can see that you’ve treated him very well yourself! Do I detect some aloe vera in your concoction? I wouldn’t have thought to use that myself, but it is certainly aiding the calendula! Now, I would try to keep this wound out of water, at least for the next 24 hours. I know it’s difficult for you merfolk. We can bring him inside and keep the rest of him well hydrated while he heals. But I would say he should make a full recovery!” Poor Rhiannon shakes her head as she tries to follow the torrent of words coming out of Sophie’s mouth. I grab her hand and speak to her in a calm reassuring voice. 

“Dylan is going to be fine. We need to monitor his recovery for the next 24 hours. But we have a space for him and for you. We’ll make sure he remains properly hydrated. I’ll make sure he remains properly hydrated.” 

Rhiannon nods and grabs me in a desperate embrace: “Thank you. Thank you, Agatha!” 

I smile and slowly get up. Carefully, Sophie and I carry Dylan into the small care building. We set him up on one of the beds. I move the bed close to the water tank we keep inside. We then go back for Rhiannon. We carry her inside as well and gently lift her into the tank, so that she may remain with Dylan. I am about to place a compress on Dylan’s head, when Sophie beckons me to come outside. I dutifully follow, worried that I have done something wrong. 

“Agatha. I just wanted to let you know that you did a marvelous job back there!” Sophie is beaming at me, like a proud parent watching their child graduate with honours. It isn’t a look that I was used to seeing. It feels nice. I blush awkwardly and tug the sleeves of my pink hoodie. 

“Oh. Thank you, Sophie.” Sophie grabs my shoulder and pushes me to look up at her. 

“Agatha, I think you have a natural talent with these creatures. I think you should consider the care of them as a career for yourself. Now, it isn’t posh like what you’re used to and the field is painfully underserviced and ever changing. But you could help a lot of members of the magical community. Members who often do not get a voice of their own.” 

That final line is what does it for me. Helping those who do not have a voice of their own. Yes. That’s perfect! After years of being seen as someone’s “reward” or as “the damsel in distress”, helping those more vulnerable members of the community sounds fantastic to me. I grab Sophie in a tight embrace and whisper to her: “Thank you. For a very long time, I’ve wanted to find a way to make a difference. I feel in my heart that this is my place.” Sophie smiles and pats me on the back. She slowly pulls away and nods back to the building. 

“Now, now. There will be plenty of time to talk more about this. For now, maybe you should keep an eye on your patient.” Sophie turns and walks away. I wipe the tears that have fallen from my face, as I walk back to the building. 

Agatha Wellbelove, caretaker of magical creatures. Yes, that sounds very good to me indeed. 

[artisticestheticreads]

Summertime Magic (V)

A/N: It’s N’Jadaka/Erik Killmonger day. In this chapter, it is Sheila’s birthday so the group tries to make it memorable but what happens at night will change everything forever.

TO CATCH UP AND READ IN ORDER, CLICK HERE. All bolded and italicized words are links.

WARNING: Tearjerks, love dovey stuff, fear and fluffiness of course. 

SONG RECOMMENDATION: While We’re Young by Jhene Aiko

  A couple of weeks had past and Y/N had spent all her time with N’Jadaka; they were inseparable. Since Kesha was staying that week at her place, Y/N had to hang with him outside whether it was to get food or helping her run errands. Kesha was planning on going back home until her neighbor called and told her Sandra was in the neighborhood. Y/N finished her last client with Kesha on the couch, painting her toes. “Girl, I can not wait for my wedding. Everything is gonna be amazing and all. Thank you for doing my hair that day again.”

“Love, it is no problem at all. Congratulations again. I know it is gonna be beautiful.” She showed her the style and she gasped; it was lowcut with waves on the side and bleach blond. “This is incredible. Tony is gonna love it”, she stood and hugged her. She handed her the money and envelope with a smile. “What is this for?”

“It is your invite, girl. After everything you’ve done for me, you gotta be there. The colors are burgundy, navy blue, and cream, open bar, tons of food and all. Of course, you can have a plus one and the wedding is in two months.”

“So, September then?” Her client nodded and asked, “please tell me you’ll come.” Y/N nodded with a smile and they shared another hug. “Great, I will see you in two weeks. Bye, Y/N. Bye, Kesha”, she said with a grin and wave. Kesha looked up and waved back; as soon as she left, Kesha face dropped and flicked her back off. “Ol’ happy ass. Ain’t no one that happy”, she said with an attitude in her voice. Y/N fixed her curled yarn locs in the full body mirror and rolled her eyes. “Shay. I think it’s really sweet. Megan and her man is in love and finally getting married. I’m happy for them.” Y/N fixed her matching set and smiled at her reflection.

  She started to sweep up the hair and put all her tools away as well before sitting down. “Whew, I am tired”, she said and Kesha lied her head on her thighs. “You been working nonstop.” Y/N leaned her head back on the couch looking at the ceiling. “Tryna get this money for my future shop. I’m so close I can taste it”, she told her imaging her shop with a wide grin on her face. Soon, Kesha was going on when she received a text which she looked at. “What yo cute ass doing”, Daka asked her and she looked at her friend still talking and watching TV. 

“Nothing. Talking to Shay.”

“She over there with her nosey ass?”

She giggled.

“Ofc she is.” She placed her phone but then soon received another text. “Well, what you got planned for tonight?” She thought about it as she typed “Netflix, why wassup?” She watched the three dots appeared and she blushed.

  She couldn’t help but blush and smile big. “Y/N!? Heffa, is you listening?” Y/N looked down at her and said “I is. Geez.” Kesha continued as Y/N kept texting her new friend. “What you had in mind”, she asked him and he instantly replied.“Shit, I was gonna go shopping and get a couple of gifts for Sheila Baby. Her birthday tomorrow”. As she thought about it, he sent another reading her mind. “Come with me and get away from ya crazy-ass friend.”

  Y/N hopped up causing Kesha to fall on the ground. “What the fuck”, she yelled out and got back up. She saw Y/N running into her room and slipping on her red Converse to match her outfit. “I thought we were going to have a movie night tonight.” Y/N grabbed her fanny pack putting on and said “Shay, every night was movie night. Chill, girl. Daka wants to go get a gift for his homegirl.” Kesha stood in the doorway watching her friend put on a little bit of mascara and lip gloss. “This nigga got you more sprung than a muthafucka,” she said with folded arms. “Girl, what are you talking about”, she asked with her hand in her hip. “This nigga say jump and you say how high,” she said before Y/N heard a honk. “See, this nigga is no good. He giving me Rodney vibes and I ain’t with it.”

 Y/N looked at her with a stern look and said “he is nothing like that nigga. I will be back and I might bring food fo yo old scary ass.” Y/N locked her bedroom door and made her way out the front; Erik stood in a black v-neck and jeans with sneakers. He had Y/N give him a fade and he was feeling like that man. “Hey, there go my baby girl. Looking like a cute ass cherry”, he announced loud making her laugh. “Hey, Daka.” They shared a hug before he opened the door for her and got to his side. Trey Songz was playing in the air between them as he sang off-key making her giggle. “Boy, hush. Let Trey sing. Which mall we going to anyways?”

“Fox Hills. We ain’t going to some ghetto ass, Crenshaw.”

“Can we go by there anyway? I wanna show you the shop.”

   Soon, Y/N looked into the empty space of the store. “Isn’t it amazing? This will be mine one day”, she said with him standing behind her doing the same. “It’s nice. I can see you in there. Now, let’s hit Fox Hills before niggas show up and ruin shit”. They made their way over and walked to the Footlocker, shoulder to shoulder. “So, what is Sheila doing for her birthday”, Y/N asked as they continued. “Well, her ol country bumpkin ass wants to hit the fair in San Diego tomorrow. So, a few of us muthafuckas are going up there. Of course, me having my truck, I gotta drive. Cheap muthafuckas.” She laughed as they entered. “Hey, y’all welcome to FootLocker. If you need anything, let me know”, one employee said and N’Jadaka nodded. 

  Y/N walked over to the woman side when she saw a shoe that caught her eye. The Nike Air Max 720 had a red ombre that faded into a blue shade that reminded her of an icee. She held the shoe in her hands and smiled down at it as if it was check for a million dollars. Daka came over to her side looking at the shoes for a pair for his friend. He looked down at her before reaching for a pair himself. “Try em on” is what she heard followed by “it won’t hurt to just see how they look. What size you were?”

“9 will be fine” and with that, he waved down the same employee. She sat down on the bench behind her waited for the pair as N’Jadaka continued to look at the Women’s wall. He saw a pair he knew Sheila would like and wear all the time; a pink and white pair of Nike Epic React Flyknit 2.  He sat beside her as she still waiting. She looked at the shoe and told him how cute they were. “You like these too, baby girl?” She nodded as she felt a hand on her shoulder; the young man handed her the box with a smile.

“Did you want to those in a size too, sir?”

“Yeah, let me get a 7.5 and 9.” The employee hurried off to the back and Y/N slipped the shoes on; she stood to look in the mirror. “I really like these. They remind me of slushies”, she said pacing back and forth as he watched her. “They look good on you. Get ‘em.”

“I wish I could but I’m trying to take care of needs before wants. They can wait.”

“Then, I’ll buy them”, N’Jadaka told her with a smirk. Shre turned to him looking at his face. “Daka, no. We are here for Sheila. My birthday isn’t for another few months. Really, I can wait”, she said as she slipped out of the shoes and placed them in the box. Once she was done, N’Jadaka took the box from her and walked up to the employee, handing it to him. He chose another shoe but off the men’s wall; a pomegranate Timberland 6" Premium Waterproof Boots. 

 Y/N turned before tying her shoes and saw him holding them. “Oh, those are really nice. You should get those.” He nodded and said “yeah. I ain’t got this color yet.” She turned back and mentioned how she never had a pair; he went up to the employee at the register who went off to the back. Y/N stood beside him as they waited when the man came back. “Alright, boss man. We got two Timbs in a 7.5 and 12 for men and three more in women’s 7.5 and 2 9′s”, the employee said with a smile on his face but Y/N was confused. When she read the box, she saw it was the pair she had on. “Daka, I said I could wait.”

“I know. But I can’t”, he said with side smirk. She walked away distraught until she heard the total. “Ok, sir. Your total is 946.57.” She walked beside him and looked up to him. “Daka, I don’t need the shoes. Please don’t.” N’Jadaka looked at the shoes and shrugged; pulling a clip of hundreds. “Shit, I usually spend at least 15 hunnid in one store. Here ya go, brotha”, he handed him the money, got his change and grabbed the bags. He held them all in his right hand as he wrapped his left around her neck when they walked out. “N’Jadaka, I didn’t need the shoes.”

“Baby Girl, I know. Just let me do some nice shit for you. You work hard as fuck and all. It don’t hurt for me to at least buy you some nice shit”, he said before kissing her forehead. She wrapped her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. “Well, thank you. But where would I wear the Timbs to anyways?” N’Jadaka chuckled and said “shit, well you can come to the fair with us tomorrow. Then, we can do some head ass shit and match.” Y/N shook her head at the thought but she had to admit it was cute. “Aight, we can do that. What time should I get ready tomorrow?”

“Shit, 9. It’s like a 2-hour ride and we planned to go to breakfast before.”

   They went into Forever 21 since they can easily find stuff in the men’s section to wear. N’Jadaka grabbed them two flannels that match their boots perfectly and a pair of overalls for him. As they were about to the register, a woman on her phone bumped into her. “I’m so sorry”, they said in unison until they say each other. “Leslie!” They hopped in each other’s arms and kissed cheeks. “Girl, what you doing down here? Thought you ain’t worked out here anymore.” Leslie was in a complete black pantsuit and buttondown with matching red bottoms and her hair still braided. “Girl, the DM asked me to come over here to back them up for the week. So, I am literally going back and forth from home because he let one the managers go.” Leslie placed her phone back in her purse before she saw N’Jadaka. 

  “Hello there, Mister Man. You must be N’Jadaka. I am Y/N’s friend, Leslie”, she held out her hand and he shook it. “Nice to meet ya.” She smiled then looked at Y/N. “So what do y’all have planned for today if y’all don't mind me asking,” she said as she put her hands in her pockets. “We just doing a little shopping then some dinner”, he told her with a smile and holding Y/N close to his left. “I see, I see. What y’all get me”, she asked them as they laughed. “Nah, I’m fucking with you. But your name sounds African.”

“It is. I’m from Wakanda actually.”

“Oh shit. For real? I actually had an ancestor out there. My late great grandmother from like decades before my grandma was born. I actually know a little of the language. Still learning though.” N’Jadaka nodded and said “that’s dope. You need to teach ya homegirl here just in case she wants to go one day”. He smiled at Y/N as she rolled her eyes. “You are way more fluent than me, N’Jadaka. You might as well.” He agreed and she said her goodbyes. “Watch her for me. Keep her safe. She is precious to me”, with that she was gone. They stood in line as the waited. “How long you knew her”, he asked and she responded. “High school during our spring semester. She been my ride or die since then.”

“I thought Shay was?”

“I mean, she can be but I’m usually the one protecting and shit.”

“Well, I like Leslie more than Kesha. Her vibe is coo wit me.”

    They bought the clothes and made their way to Lady Footlocker where he got Y/N’s help to get Sheila more shoes; Adidas slides, and a tracksuit to match her shoes from earlier. The whole time, he held her hand and wrapped his arms around her as they walked around. They were on their way to another store on the third level when Y/N saw Leslie helping a customer. She noticed how she looked tired and N’Jadaka did too; that’s why before they continued shopping, they for her some Starbucks for a pick me up. N’Jadaka handed her the cup and she smiled giving him a one-arm hug, sipping from it. Before they left, Leslie winked to Y/N in approval. 

    N’Jadaka and Y/N grabbed some ice cream where she fed him since he didn’t wanna let go. She wondered if she should ask what they were but she didn’t want her hopes to be up then her heart gets broken. They decided to leave and head to the Slauson Swapmeet so she can pick up her cleaned jewelry. That’s when saw the necklace; a gold chain with a dog tag hanging from it. “Oh, that’s cute.” He looked down into the case and said “oh, yea. It’s coo. You can engrave it with anything, huh?”

“Yeah, the owner makes so many of them because she always sells out. My family has been coming to her for years since before I was born”, she told him as they walked around to look more and finally went to the hamburger spot down the way. They got an order of cheeseburgers burgers and fries with large strawberry sodas. They sat in the truck watching Netflix on her phone and enjoyed the rest of the day together until night came. They pulled up to the house to see Kesha was still there. “I wish you can come in”, she said looking at him. He kissed her forehead and said “me too, baby girl. But we literally spendin’ the whole day tomorrow.” She looked at his lips as he talked but she had to fight the urge so she kissed his cheek. “I’ll be ready tomorrow. Thanks, again for my shoes and for dinner. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, wit yo cute ass.” She went into the house and saw Kesha on her couch. “Y/N, why you so late? And where is my food”, she asked making Y/N roll her eyes. “There is food in the kitchen. Goodnight”, she smiled walking into her bedroom with her shoes.

  The next day, Y/N had on her overalls, a white V-neck and flannel around her waist. She was in the middle of doing her makeup when she got a call. “Hey, girl”, Leslie’s voice said through the speakerphone. “Hey, Lez. What’s up?”

“Oh, girl nothing. I wanted to slide through before I head to work.”

“Yeah, come on. You got ya key, right”, she asked and heard her keys jingle. “Of course. I’m pulling up right now.” They hung up as Y/N was finishing up then she heard her front door open and lock; a knock was on her door. “Come in”, then Leslie came in with covered eyes. “IS you naked or nah”, she asked making Y/N laugh. “Come in, ol goofy ass and quietly or Shay gonna wake up.”

“She here?”

“Yes”, she said then was startled by a slam of the door. “Lez, you gonna wake her up”, Y/N told her and watched her walk to a wall, slamming it. “Her ass needs to wake up anyways. She don’t fuckin’ live here no ways. Why she here anyways? Wait, lemme guess. She still hiding from Sandy’s ass” she asked and Y/N nodded. “Girl, Sandy gonna be looking here next. Mark my words.”

“Sandra knows not to come over here especially since I do her grandma’s hair. You must not know about her.”

“Oh, g ma don’t play that shit. But enough about her trifling ass. What you look so cute for? Got a date with Mister Man again”, Leslie questioned her and Y/N turned to her smiling. “Not a date at all. N’Jadaka and I are just friends, so hursh”, she mentioned as she got up to clean before packing her leather backpack. “Girl, please. I see how he looks at you and how he be all over you, sis. See, he wanna be with you just as much as yo ass wanna be with him/ Whenever we talk, he is all you talk about.”

“Let me guess. I sound hella sprung?” Leslie looked at her with a confused look. “What? No, you really like him. There is nothing sprung about that. Y/N, he seems like a really good man. Way better than you know who. Like, he got that hood nigga cupid vibe to ‘em.” Y/N laughed as she packed her leather backpack and sat next to her on the bed. “I just don’t wanna be hurt again, Lez. I don’t want it to be like Rodney again.” She put her head Lez’s shoulder and she said “boo, you can’t get hurt if you aren’t willing to see. You are only hurting yourself if you don’t see what it would be like again. You can’t be single forever, love. I mean you could but we both know yo ass hate cats.” They laughed as Shay barged in wide open. “Hello, Leslie”, she said in a voice with no emotion. Leslie gave her a nod and that’s when Shay saw Y/N. “Why you look like a ghetto cowboy”, she asked as Y/N was putting her rings and bamboo earrings. “If you must know, Daka is taking me to the fair for a friend’s birthday, nosey.”

 “Want me to stay and watch the house?” Before she can answer, Lez asked “Kesha, why you still here anyway? Barging and shit like you pay bills. All because Sandy wants to kick ya ass. Stop being a punk and a face the muthafuckin music. You better put ya fuckin’ big girl draws on and stop being a scaredy-cat.” Kesha rolled her eyes and said “fine. Ima go but if I get fucked, it’s y’all hoes fault.” She walked out to the front door as Y/N and Lez looked at another with an eye roll. “Y/N, ya nigga here!”; the girls walked out with her bag in hand to see N’Jadaka standing on her side of the truck. He wore the same thing as her instead of his overalls being longer. He wore Ray-Ban shades and his gold cap fangs. 

  “There goes my cute ass twin”, he yelled out with his arms out and walking up to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed into the crook her neck making her laugh. “Hey, Leslie. How you doin’ ”, he asked with his gold in the sunshine. “I’m good. I was about to head to work but y’all have fun and get her lots of prizes.” She kissed their cheeks and waved at all the folks in the car before driving off. Shay looked behind them to the other talking then asked: “if friends are invited then why didn’t I get one?” N’Jadaka wrapped his arm around Y/N’s neck and said “it was last minute. You can come if you want.” She looked Y/N and back at him. “Nah, I’m good. Enjoy, love” and with that, she left. They got in the front seats and as Y/N buckled her seatbelt, she saw Sheila in Jerald’s lap, Marcus and Trevon; they were off.

  “Hey, y’all. Happy birthday, Sheila Love”, she handed her a birthday card. “Thank you, girl. I’m glad you came wit us and thanks for hooking me up too”, she said pointing to her ghana braids. “Don’t mention it girl. You look cute by the way.” Sheila had full-on cowgirl wear with a matching hat and boots. “Gotta rep Texas for the one time. Real Hot Girl shit.” N’Jadaka looked in the rearview mirror and said, “nah, Sheila Baby. You back there look like real lukewarm shit. Sat down somewhere”; they all laughed except for until Jerald kissed her cheek. “I’m kiddin’, sis. Where ya baby ass wanna eat at”, he asked like he didn’t know the answer. 

   They pulled up to the iHop in the shopping center and as they got out, Y/N walked over to the other side passed N’Jadaka. She stood in front of her soon to be storefront when he came up behind her. “It’ll be yours one day”, he wrapped her neck and they walked to the iHop with the others. They all sat in a huge booth and Sheila sat there with a huge smile on her face and all her gifts around her. “Are all these for little ol’ meeeeee”, she sung making everyone laugh. “Ok, first gift is from Marcus and there’s a card.” She cleared her throat before she read out loud. “Dear SheGo. I am very glad that I had a friend like you for so long. We laughed, cry and done hood rat shit together. I will always have your back, no matter what. Love, Marcus ‘19.” She smiled and kissed his cheek. When she opened the box, she saw a framed picture of them at prom together. “Awe, I remember this. When our dates both stood us up last minute and we went together.” He nodded and gave her a side hug as she held it close and placed it back in the bag. 

   “Before I cry, let’s got to Trevon.” She opened the car and began. “Dear Sheila, thanks for making my bro a happy man and making him all in love and ish. Outta all the girls, he has dated, you are the most amazing one. He is a lucky man. Happy birthday, Baby Girl. From, Trey. PS, Ima need more nieces and nephews soon.” Everyone laughed as she dug in the huge bag for a tiny box. She called him a jack ass under her breath before she opened the box. She smiled when she saw it was a lasso charm. “Awe, for my bracelet,” she said making him put it on her. “Thanks, jackass.” She saw all the bags from N’Jadaka and danced in her seat. 

  “Dear Sheila Baby, I remember when we first met at base. I wonder how can someone so small and flawless be here in a place with fucked up people but then you told us about your father and how she fought for not only his country but also his family.” She stopped to wipe a tear and kept going. “I remember how you used to talk about your pops and how he passed before you went away. He was proud and still is. No matter what. You are a great mother to your children, a great girlfriend to J and also a great baby sister to me. I love you, Sheila. You will always be a diamond in the rough to me. Love your big brother, N’Jadaka.”

  She looked at him pouting and said: “damn it, you thick neck idiot.” She leaned over Jerald and kissed her brother’s cheek. Se finally wiped her tears and opened her gifts; she loved them all. Jerald told her that she would get her gift later on and they all began to order; they finished eating and were on the rode. “Bro, play some shit that gets us pumped up”, Trevon asked and N’Jadaka delivered; YG Stop Snitchin’ Remix and he rapped YG’s part as they did background.

“I can smell a bitch nigga a mile away Type of nigga so bitch, he should put "bitch-made" on his license plate  From that real shit, you bitch niggas play hide and seek  Me and bitch niggas, we don't conversate Bitch niggas love saying real niggas tryna hate  But nah, nigga, I'm a real nigga, I had to bag up weight You got fear in your heart so you cooperate I can't stand how bitch niggas operate You's a bitch, your mama know you a bitch Your girl even know you a bitch”

  They all rapped the chorus over and over again. Trevon was getting ready for his part but stopped when he saw Y/N making hand movements to the song and everyone watched her as she started.

“Want me to rap, you gotta book a nigga  I fucked his bitch, I took that pussy from a pussy nigga  I'm bringin' real niggas back, they overlooked a nigga You like to show these niggas guns, I beat him, took your pistol I fuck her all off in the kitchen and I'm cookin' with her She made me bacon with the eggs, thought she was cookin' dinner  Two hours later, you on IG takin' pictures with her  Soon as I woke up, gave me head, that's breakfast in bed  Told on your nigga, he went fed, they found out you scared  You play with me, you gotta go, I ain't gotta say it  I pull it out, bitch, I'ma blow, so watch how you play it, you lil'... “

  Sheila shook Y/N’s shoulder as they all finished the song; N’Jadaka gave her dap. “She took my part”, Trevon said and N’Jadaka laughed at him. The next song was Cash S**t and she rapped Megan’s first part until N’Jadaka started DaBaby’s part.

“You know why these bitches love me?  'Cause Baby don't give a fuck I be fixin' the weave while she suckin' my dick Pull it out, then I titty fuck  I fuck her from the back and she nasty, killin' her Know how I give it up  I be cool on 'em, bitch, ain't no pressure  'Til I met this lil' freak, her name Megan”

  He looked at her as he continued and she did the same.

“This lil' thing here a stallion, look how she walk Look how she talk, she sexy, muah I like when they pretty and ghetto Type of bitch that don't even say hello  And whenever we fuck, she be fuckin' me back Put her in the headlock with my elbow  Now she done reversed it Got up on the dick and ride the shit like a Camaro, uh.”

  She blushed looking away when she felt her fingers intertwining with his. They finally arrived at the fair when they pulled into the lot. They all made their way to the booth and started walking around. Shelia took Y/N’s arm as they did so and talked. “So, Y/N, do you like my brother”, she asked and Y/N looked back at the guys, playing around. “Kinda.”

“Kinda? Nah, you like him. I noticed at the party how close you two were. The way y’all look at him. Besides, I never seen him like that before. I lovey and shit. He only is like that with his family especially his aunt. She’s like his mom. But it’s nice to see him like that out here. I know what I think doesn’t matter but, baby girl, you should have my approval.” Y/N whispered to her and said: “well, thank you.” As they laughed, N’Jadaka wrapped his arms around both of their necks. “Ya talkin’ shit, sis?” 

“No, nigga. Just girl talk. Ya know, PMS, periods, breasts and all”, Sheila said making Y/N snicker. “Damn, Sheila got us around a bunch of mayo eating muthafuckas, my G”, Trevon said in his cowboy hat. Sheila looked back at him and told him “hush, the fair is for everyone. There are plenty of negros here.”

“Yeah, niggas with they white bitches. I got a real question why when black women they get white muthafuckas that look like niggas and shit but when brothas get white females, they gotta be the most sloppy, trailer park bunch ever, Like what the fuck is that about”, Marcus asked making the group laugh as they thought about it. “I have noticed that. Like, my cousin is with a white man and they always look like that about to hit the runaway or somethin’”, Y/N mentioned. N’Jadaka looked over at her still with his arm around her and asked a serious question. “So, you never been with a white man before?”

“Nah, I like my men like I like my coffee. Black and strong.” Sheila looked to her and told her “sis, that was a good one.” They fist touched and Y/N asked him “have you dated other races before?” He shook his and chuckled to himself before saying “Nah, I like my women like I like my oatmeal, brown suga and thick as hell.” He looked to her and winked, making her roll her eyes with a smile. Sheila looked to her right when she saw a stuffed unicorn, pushing N’Jadaka away from here and running towards it. “It’s so fluffy. I’m gonna die”, she shrieked and Jerald wrapped his arms around her waist; “ol’ despicable me ass.”

“Blame our kids. Made me love that damn movie. I want it for Shannon...and myself”, Sheila told him and he paid the man to play the game; a ball and bottle game. When he didn’t win, he still got a small unicorn for her and kissed her. “I’m sorry, baby.” Y/N looked at the game and handed the man the money to play. She stood back and did a fastball pitch as they all watched; winning the game. She passed Sheila the stuffie and said “happy birthday, Sheila.” N’Jadaka gave her dap as they continued walking. 

   Y/N saw a cotton candy stand and walked over as N’Jadaka was still attached to her. “Can I get one, please”, she asked N’Jadaka and he handed the woman the total.  As they began walking, N’Jadaka opened his mouth with his long tongue out and she giggled. “Is that how you ask”, she said to him making him pout. “Please, baby girl. Don’t be stingy.” She smiled and tore off a small piece for him. He looked at her then bit into the huge fluff she didn’t wanna share. “Daka”, she whined and pouted; he kissed her temple and held her tighter.

  What saw her next caught her eye; a cute black jaguar stuffed animal. It was half N’Jadaka’s size and it looked so soft. She noticed that the game was a tight rope game that she had to ring a bell at the top; her fear of heights kicked in. “Baby girl, wassup”, Daka asked. “I want the jaguar but I can’t climb the rope.”

“Why not? You seem strong.”

“Yeah, but I, uh, I’m scared of heights.” He looked up to the rope and looked down at her. “Y’know, you’ll have to get over it, right?” She looked up and heard “you should be glad I did this in boot camp before the Navy.” He detached himself from her and made his way to the rope but stopped. “If I can climb this rope all the way there and win you that stuffed animal, you gotta get ya thick ass on that ride with me.” He pointed to a huge ride with many loops, turns, and jerks. She took a deep breath and nodded. He paid the woman for the game and rubbed his hands before the buzzer went off. Y/N watched as he climbed up, veins appeared against his biceps and forearms. His strong legs helped to pull him up. The sun shined against his gold jewelry and diamond studs. She slightly bit her lip as she continued to watch until.

*DING, DING, DING, DING.*

  He hit the bell extra hard and slid down, landing on the plush mat. He got the panther and handed it to her with a kiss on the forehead. “Aight, y’all. Let’s hit Screamer”, everyone started to yell in excitement except for Y/N. When they got there, Y/N looked up to the ride hugging her new toy scared out of her mind; he noticed. “Baby Girl, I’ll be right there with you. I’m not going anywhere, ok? Now, let’s go.” She still said nothing until she felt him picking her up and putting her on his shoulder. “Daka, put me down. This is funny”, she yelled until she felt a smack to her thigh. “When I tell you to do something, I mean that shit. Not turning back now”, he placed her down on the ground and looked into her face. She looked behind and tried to run but his big toned chest was in the way.

  They all got in and Y/N pouted holding her stuffie as he bucked them in. “I’m here. Okay. Don’t be a baby”, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in closer. “Ok, Ok. Welcome to the Screamer. Please keep our legs and hands inside of the ride and please make sure you have all valuables during flight. Also, make sure you are buckled in safely and enjoy the ride”, the baritone voice said on the intercom. The ride took slow ease up and Y/N can feel anxious and scared until she felt Daka getting closer. “It’s ok, baby girl. You’ll be fine. I promise”, he whispered in her ear before she kissed the shell of her ear. With the first hoop coming up, she screamed and so did everyone else. All the obstacles became easier to handle to the point her screams of terror became yells of joy and excitement. 

  When they got off, the group described how they felt as N’Jadaka looked at her with concern. “You ok?” She looked at the group with a straight face before smiling wide. “I’m going again!” She threw the animal at N’Jadaka, which he caught and ran for the ride. The group followed as they laughed. After riding again, she felt dizzy as she giggled. As they walked, she hopped on his back and he gave her a piggyback ride. After a few games, they won each other gifts that he ended give his to her. They found a canvas bag at a booth they can place all the gifts in before heading to bumper cards and finally to get some food. 

  The sky was now an indigo shade and Y/N was still on his back sliding down. Her eyes were looking up at the bright lights of the Ferris wheel. N’Jadaka noticed and took her hand as the went over; Trevon and Marcus stayed on the ground, holding the prizes and eating. They got into a couple seater and Sheila sat behind them with Jerald. “I see you ain’t scared, little one”, N’Jadaka said and she rolled her eyes. They went off into the sky and she can see the stars against it. Since they lived in a big city, they really couldn’t see the stars at night. “It’s beautiful”, she blurted out and he looked down at her. “Yeah, it is”, N’Jadaka said as he caressed her chin. They looked at one another’s eyes, leaning in closer. 

   “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, YES. I WILL MARRY YOU, JERRY”. They turned to see a huge rock on Sheila’s ring finger. “Guys, we getting married”, Sheila said before she showered Jerald with kissed. They looked at one another and turned straight again. The night came to an end when everyone packed in the car and fell asleep. N’Jadaka yawned as he looked at them as he droved and his eyes stopped on Y/N’s calm face. Her eyes were shut and she held JD the Jaguar; he smiled. 

   Soon, he dropped everyone off and he opened the door for Y/N. “Thanks for inviting me, Daka. I had fun”, she mentioned and he agreed. She looked into his face and saw something was wrong. “Is everything okay”, she asked and heh rubbed his hands on his face. “I should have told you earlier but I, uh, I gotta go back home for a while. In Wakanda. Apparently, they need me for some issues and they need me to come down.”

“Oh, how long will you be gone?”

“A month.”

  She looked around them, sad at just thinking about how far he will be for so long. “I didn’t wanna tell you until now because I didn’t wanna ruin shit. But I promise to call any chance I get. Facetime and everythin’.” She nodded still not looking at him and before she can stop herself, she said: “Daka, what are we?” He stepped back with his arms behind his back. “What you mean”, he asked with a brow raised. She took a deep breath and said “well, we spend every day together, constantly talking no matter what, been out to eating and all. We touch a lot and you make slick comments like callin’ me cute and stuff. I guess-” She stopped when she felt his thumb on her chin and him stepping closer. He leaned down with his eyes on hers as they fluttered and felt their lips hover over another.

  “C’mere”, he said and she placed her lips closer to his. They started off with a soft peck and let their tongues join in on the fun. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his wrapped tightly around her waist. When they stopped, their lips were still touching when he said: “does that answer your question” in a soft voice. She shook her head and said, “I’ll need a better answer than that.” They smirked at each other before they continued the passionate kiss.

~

Whew, I did what? THAT! Now, this is the final chapter of part one but do not worry. Every Tuesday, I will post a new chapter of this series so be on the lookout. To be added to the tag list, just ask.(:

𝒯𝒜𝒢𝒢𝐸𝒟 𝐿𝒪𝒱𝐸𝒮

@muse-of-mbaku

@im5ftbutmythroat66

@chaneajoyyy

@melanin-samii

@theunsweetenedtruth

@doux-ciel

@unicornluvin8765

@vikkidc

@wakandantings

@thadelightfulone

@mzamethystp

@simbiann

@tropicalsun10

@babydoll756

@notoriouslynay

@vminax

@quinsly

@pinkdemolition

@quietstorm-73

@chaoticcashfancroissant

@bugngiz

@chocolatedippedinhoney

@yafavcocoa

@lostgalaxies

@mbakuwife

@youreadthatright

@babygotl01292003

@acceptyourselfloveyourself

@madamslayyy

@yoyolovesbucky

@theogbadbitch

@wakanda-inspired

@bitchacho25

@toniilaney

@wakandascrystal

@girlsneedlovingfanfics

@raysunshine78

@melodyofmbaku

[renaer-is-allegedly-hot]

session 11 notes (i’ll fix them one day but i’m agro this was tea hate this)

Two minute one shot while dom pees

Adam has a floaty tube

Asyna can't turn into a hippo

Giant seahorse

Jane austen

Elizabethh and darcy my hands are shaking

Dom has 4e books

Dom was pretty out of it last session

It's afternoon

Dom is toasty

In jacob's other campaign a goat bit off his penis so the goat's name is richard byter

"at first the goat was reluctant"

"what a goat"

Last week on dragon heist

We were meandering through the city

"one of you met with an old friend, briefly"

Zoo time

Aerana knows where the zoo is in the sea ward

Raised brick gate w high walls; on top are intricate metal railing spiked stuff

Entrance is v wide, not too many people going in bc it's raining a lot

Maybe

Apparently the weather is super important and I still don't know why the weather is so important

It is currently raining

Pouring

Ticket booth in the front

Gold piece per person

Botanic repository

We walk up to the booth covering ourselves w the hoods we have

Velvet rope line but we just navigate through it like in shrek

Adam goes first

Walks in and see smiling figure, human male middle-aged, heavyset, festive outfit, "thank you for visiting - oH how's it going?!" it's volo

He's doing research for his newest obok

Hi jacob's dad

Jacob's gonna go fishing

Volo under impression he would be one of zoological experts but no

"recommendations?"

They brought monsters in from the isle of chault

Points us off to the exhibit to go

Originally zoo was not a zoo as we think of but like throwing them in a pit and being like look at them think httyd

Now it's closer to what we'd consider a modern day zoo

Lots of foliage

It's a big zoo

Like the San diego zoo

Or disneyland

Dom talks abt his brother's haircut

We can run through it

Can asyna just sprint

Aerana and asyna r gonna run

Adam cel and theo r gonna not run

Most of the zoo taken up by exhibits devoted to the island

Looking in the entryway a lot of ppl r carrying pamphlets n papers and speaking in foreign tongues like tourists or smth ig

Adam casts disguise self to make him look as fancy as everyone else

Has feathered cloak

Three major pathways

Chault exhibits for weird stuff r left

Marine stuff and some chault r forward

To the right r monsters from the interior continent

Adam cel and theo (?) go to the right

Most ppl r in pairs

A lot of biologist-type ppl; ppl who look like they're used to handling animals

First real exhibit on the right is a human woman inside the exhibit throwing down pieces of meat to lions

Is asyna a moon druid ? Yes

How did the human woman get there ? But she doesn’t notice

"does this zoo have dippin dots" - lillian 2020

Perception check, 15

There r ppl selling stuff, sees dejected gnome sitting under a pedal cart w a dingy umbrella and he's grumpy n angry

Adam walks over to him

Selling diff snacks n refreshments

He's mostly selling a fizzle pop

Strawberry flavor, blueberry, butterfly flavor

"are ur fizzle pops made w organic butterflies ? Bc I'm kinda on a diet rn"

Adam says it's disgusting

"I'll have a blueberry thank you"

Cel is gonna try the butterfly one

It's sweet; doesn't taste like blood but does taste almost nutty

So like what I would think pistachio tastes like

Fun size popsicle

Theo gets strawberry

They go to the next exhibit

A really vertical exhibit

 Oneshot

Cel is gonna try and ride seahorse asyna but rolls a nat 1 for acrobatics and then a nat 1 for dex save

Smashes head on rim of the pool, bleeding out and unconscious

Healing words from adam

Climbs out of the pool

The water is now red

Three children on the other side of the pool

One of them gets really excited and pees when adam tells them that there's a chemical that turns pool water red

Asyna left the pool when the kid peed

Asyna leads everyone over to the hospital

Adam is gonna try and healing words fix cel

Cel is back to full health

One of the kids is crying scared when she finds out the water is blood

Theo is gonna go get the kids ?

Ok back to the zoo

There's a hippo exhibit

We go check it out

On the way there run into different typical zoo stuff

Apes

Monkeys

The younger ppl r around these exhibits

A lot of closed sections bc of weather like "don't worry next winter this animal will be back"

Alligators

Ringtails that r lemurs ringtail lemurs

Birds

Carefully curated trees that r uber high

Hawks and giant eagles

Oops my phone froze

Tap on the glass to say hi to the what now

Theo wants it to come say hi to her

Animal handling check, 10

Can't attract their attention but

The hippos

Asyna has speak with animals LMAO

Basically can't talk to worms

No more tapeworm talk :/

"Theo says hi . This is theo"

"everybody gangsta until they find out jacob thinks barney is a hippo" - dom 2020

Colombian drug lord one time built private zoos and the hippos broke out but now there's a hippo problem in colombia

Pablo escovar

Speak with animals is ten minutes

We're also probably fighting later

We're gonna talk to the hippos

Theo waves

One of them paddles over and tries to sniff

"hm . Can you eat it ?"

"pleaes don't"

 I just remembered seaweed is not a plant it's an algae

This hippo does not have a name

Calls sister sister

"ask about juicy hippo gossip" - adam

"no but if I did I would share it"

Originally zoo was place for research

Anything else to ask hippos before we check out rare animals ?

The hippo floats away and we say bye

To the chault exhibits

Getting late but there r a lot more researchers

First exhibit has a lot of strange, unfamiliar trees

Monkeys w really big fluffy sideburns clustering around overhanging branches bc it's raining

Some of them r taking leaves and using them to keep the rain off

One of the monkeys hops off the branch

The sideburns actually extend into wings and it goes to another branch

"it's like the wizard of oz"

"adam what's the wizard of oz"

Flying monkeys

Adam walks over to a researcher and asks the most must-see

Woman who is probably from chault bc wearing strange woven beret w branches n stuff

Alien to anything they've seen

"I would point you in the direction of the behemoths"

"what are behemoths"

Adam rolls nature check

9, he doesn't know what a behemoth is

She is from chault

Behemoths r considered friends there

Asyna and aerana know where chault is

Everyone else just knows chault is v far away, almost like a nightmare story told to children

Described as a hellscape

"I'd sooner go to chault than-"

Asyna and aerana know chault is a massive island to the sw of the sword coast, home to v tropical, intensely humid climate w lots of rain + some invasions in the past but now things r opening up

We're gonna check out the behemoths

From a distance, this exhibit much larger than others, much more heavily excavated

Not so much walls as railing looking into a deep cavern

All manner of plant life brought in to accommodate the creatures

Huge lizard of some kind

Huge size category

Irl a horse is large

Humans and dwarves are medium

Exhibit says it's a macetail behemoth

Ground trembles w each step of the behemoth

Slow, ponderous

Gigantic armored lizard w tough plating on its back and spikes on the sides of its head w bony, protective coverings all over it

Massive swinging tail protruding bone swinging back and forth as it walks

Looks like that one dinosaur

We would call it an ankylosaurus

Things that go over my head : see description bullet points before this

Tail end of speak with animals

Asyna can turn into dinosaurs

"you look really cool do you have a name"

One of them looks up but doesn't really respond

Doesn't answer

Look for velociraptors

Gonna look at all the exhibits

Spirehorn behemoths

Faces almost look like shields

Triceratops

Alien to us tho

I can't believe that like as dom's explaining these everyone else can like ,, imagine it

Like that's crazy they see pictures inside their heads

Feathered behemoths

Occasionally jump around

Claws and walk around on two legs

Bloodspike behemoth

Stegosaurus, baby and two parents

Asyna can turn into a deinonychus

We have enough time for one more exhibit

We see a creature alone in its pen save for two researchers dropping treats in front of it, other has a pickaxe and is tapping the ground and scooping smth up trailing the creature and brushing it into a bin

Creature reflects rainbow of colors ? I think

Huge snail, has three eyestalks but they kind of droop down and have heavy spikes off each individual one

Cel reads description

Flail snail?

It's a big boi

Described not as a beast but as something that comes from a realm of earth

As it moves it excretes glass

Generally docile but if prodded r really dangerous bc the things it has r more weapons than eyes

Adam asks if it's a petting exhibit

The flail snail is just as slow as a regular snail

"that is the most disgusting magic resistance I've ever seen in my entire life" - jacob 2020

Everything starting to shut down

We realize we should probs skedaddle

Time to find loser boy

Rain has not stopped but has kinda calmed down

Heading straight to the wig shop

Lamps in the trades ward r lit

Brighter than what we've seen recently

Adam peers into the shop

Perception check

6, tries to get water off the window, looks empty

Theo's gonna pick the lock

25, it's a simple lock and theo gets it open easily

Shop is empty

Somewhat eerie for those without darkvision bc the mannequins

Cel will go and investigate the back room, door is locked

Theo tries opening again

23, opens easily

Immediately smells weird powder

A lot of the perfumes for preserving dyes n stuff kept back here

Cel makes a perception check

16

V organized, neat and tidy

Manhole cover in the back

Sewer system v advanced in waterdeep but also means there's a lot of it

A lot of ppl will build over sewer openings bc cheaper real estate

"sewer access authorized city officials only"

Adam rolls nat20 for boxes

Looking for anything necromancy related, licking things, doing all manners of investigation

Feels a small leather sack, pulls it out, kinda heavy

Opens it up, sees coins that are kind of heavier and thicker; not silver, 5 platinum pieces

Platinum is 10 gp each

Could take the platinums

Scry the money and sack

There are cupboards at the front desk

Necromancy considered suspicious, looked down upon

"ah . It's like watching anime ." - jacob 2020

"no, it's not like watching anime" - dom 2020

The art itself is not a crime but the things that occur in tandem w it r usually crimes

Discussing what to do in character

Cel insight check, 16

Earlier dom mentioned we're aware many ppl in waterdeep use the sewers to traverse unseen in the city; kinda suss the building was built on top of a sewer

Adam is borrowing aerana's warhammer

Adam hits the floor, leaves big dent and a v loud sound

Cel makes strength check w advantage w crowbar

Rolls a 12, can't get it open

Can sort of shift it up

Adam smashes a jar over the floor

Dex check, 5

Cloud of neon yellow sprays out like a cloud of dust and smoke, just the color

Covered in bright yellow dye

Theo tries lockpicking

23, lock is more difficult and takes a little longer, but eventually it opens

Once it's opened, the chains undo themselves and snake out on their own accord

It's just a dark hole

Can see a short drop that leads to a staircase

Adam holds lantern

Cel's just gonna go w adam at the front, pitch dark

Darkvision lets us see to some extent; everything is in grayscale

Lantern beam does help us see a little

Asyna closer to front as well

Leads to a room, 10' x 20'

Descending down short flight of stairs, room totally bare save for a barred door that u can see out of, also locked

Hear faintly some water

Theo rolls 23 for lockpicking

Door opens

Adam investigating room for secret door, tunnel, anything

Investigation check, 10 and 5 for investigation checks

Look around but room is barren

Nothing stashed anywhere, nothing to indicate a secret door or anything

Adam and cel step out, to immediate right extends for 10ish feet before merging into wall

Directly in front is water and like a sewer river flowing to the right

"are there any rats" "make a perception check" "nat 1"

To left, passage curves so hard to see but for at least 40 or so feet the pathway continues

Adam rolls another 5 for investigation check

We eventually get to a small stone bridge

I FORGOT I RESEARCHED THE SEWER SYSTEMS idk if I should bring it up I brought it up

A 15 intelligence check

Waterdeep's sewers are a subject of fascination for the city

You know the passageway like the one ur in often has arteries or iron doors set in them leading to different areas

Also know sometimes due to poor planning or smth some areas without walkways also have access tunnels

There's a bridge ? Nasty water under it

Over the bridge we go

Cel rolls a 22, plenty of damp areas around ,, no light in the passage, walking for a minute or so and w each step just hear a wet squelching noise; we're leaving behind wet, muddy footprints

No sign of recent mud in front of us

10 minutes go by and every once in a while pass side arteries w more sewage flowing in

This part seems relatively well planned

Can only go straight ? No other curvature in the path

Traveling south

"I'm gonna try and get that rat" - adam 2020

Adam picks up the rat for sleight of hand check

22

"you're able to grab up that rat pretty good" - dom 2020

Adam holds rat out to asyna and tells her to do her thing

"hey buddy"

"uh you have to cast your spell first"

"hey pal how's it going"

"let me go"

"uh we'll let you go if you answer some of our questions"

"don't even"

"no he's saying don't eat him"

"my friend here holding you is gonna take a big chomp of you if you don't answer our questions"

"have you seen anyone"

"don't know"

"I open my mouth"

"I kind of want to squeak" - marguerite 2020

Rat points north

Adam wants a piece of string to tie onto the rat like a leash

Adam is starting to feel short of breath after 10 minutes of walking

"that's either from the powder . Or the key"

Adam doesn't feel indigestion right now just that it's difficult to get air

Adam tries to tie a leash to the rat

Dex check

Nat1

Rat runs away

We go back the way we came, another 10 minutes, we pass three of those stone bridges

Cel investigation checks the dead end again, adam will give bardic inspiration

"Open sesame" - song

18, nothing there

It's a maze, we'll try naya

Adam takes out sack of platinum

Naya appears, looks around and shudders and bounds away

Following the deer

Naya is guiding back to where we originally where

Moving south again

Looks at passage back again passage then vanishes

Naya was standing on one of the bridges

First artery

It's a passage

We gotta wade through the sewer

Aerana readies weapon

Wading through, halflings get disgusting smth in their boots

Passage goes 20 ft before turning on a diagonal, turn onto passageway then it extends v far into distance

"adam's adding to the sewage right now probably" - jacob 2020

Adam's feeling lightheaded

Cel makes medicine check on adam

Rolls a 6, don't know what's wrong bud

Adam rolls around in the sewer water to get the powder off ??

I guess he is

Adam makes a constitution save, a 3

OH? OH NO

The yellow stuff is off but adam is smeared in shit

Did I make a good or bad decision

We keep going but adam feels better like fine like nothing's wrong

Oh no adam's gonna die it's like hypothermia where u feel super hot at first then u die

Passageway stretches on for awhile until coming across a rusty ironed door raised so that we'd have to step up to access it

Aerana makes perception check on the door, 20 not a nat

Hears people shouting and what appears to be a cat

Can't tell if the shouting is bad or not

Theo wrings out cape

Go up to the door, realize there's no lock; the entire lock has fallen out bc the door is so rusty

Adam checks door for traps, 12 investigation

Does not appear to be trapped, looks p old

Adam is in middle, cel towards back, aerana at front

About 25' ahead is a wider chamber and a door set into the wall, the areas are lit

We already walked through the rusty door

Massive screeching sound that came from the door when u opened it

Gotta b stealthy

Door to the right is unlocked

Adam opens the door open, looks like a storage room w different crates and sacks; bland

Some water barrels, adam pours it on himself; the rest of us also do it

Moving into room adjacent to passageway; triangle things in the wall has arrow stuff to make it easier to fire from but the room looks abandoned

Deeper in we go

Don't go that far but hit a wider room extending out 40'

Center of the room; at one point looks like there was a wall covering the room but has since collapsed; several ppl looking at us

Far corner opposite to us is an old halfling man in dark robes, clutching wound at chest, long gray braid down back staring at us as if he heard we were coming

In front of him are two smiling skeletons

It's the necromancer

The skeletons r also looking at us

They appear to be guarding him

In front of skeletons are three kenku looking at us

Bingbong is not one of the kenku

"I can explain" - adam

"we came down here and I was covered in shit and" adam casts pyrotechnics centered in between skeletons and kenku

Initiative

Aerana, 19

Cel, 17

Asyna, 15

Adam, 15

Theo, 9

Aerana

Holds attack, if kenku move within 5 ft of her she'll attack

Cel

Skeletons have bows and shortswords

Kenkus have shortswords

Will hold an action if attacked

Skeletons

Appear to b human skeletons, medium size

Lash out at kenku

One kenku able to parry away an attack, other skeleton slashes another kenku

Asyna

Attacks kenku closest to her, the one not hit

15, "what are you attacking with" "iiiiiiiii don't knowwwwwwwwwww"

Asyna turns into ape

Runs up to terrified kenku

Swings both times but it gets out of the way and hisses like a cat

Adam

Casts pyrotechnics on kenku

One passes, one fails

Failed one is blinded for next turn

Cutting words on the kenku by asyna

Kenku

Blind

Tries to escape, skeleton misses and kenku staggers away and starts feeling way along wall and runs into room west of where we are

Other one

Makes attack on skeleton, half of ribcage slashed but it's still standing

Other other one

Tries to attack ape, misses

Halfling

Stands up, tries to flee

Theo

Hits kenku that tried to get asyna, 5 damage

Has sneak attack, deals 12 damage

Arrow shot into neck, still alive but not for long

Aerana

13 damage to other kenku

"how do you want to do this"

Kenku drops dead

Skeleton turns smiling to aerana

Cel

15 to hit, 6 damage, dead

"how do you want to do this"

Pulls arrow back as far as she can "and I don't know if it's bingbong, but I'm gonna pretend it's bingbong and shoot it right through his eye socket"

"I want to keep bingbong as a pet" - jacob 2020

"kenku are sentient beings, that would be slavery" - dom 2020

Looking around we see the bodies of three other kenku and remains of two other skeletons

The skeletons attack aerana

One hits, 3 damage

Asyna

Goes into the room to follow the halfling and the kenku

Some kind of exit around

The blinded kenku is in here

Can reach halfling or kenku

Marguerite wants to hug the halfling

Athletics check to do it

21

Old man screams but asyna can hold him, unable to escape

Kenku still feeling around on the floor

Adam

Follows asyna

Gonna cast sleep

Kenku falls asleep

Yells over at the halfling

"can you call off your skeletons please"

Halfling

Loser boy's turn

I don't remember how to spell losser unless it's losser

Tries to escape asyna's grasp

"he does not escape your grasp"

Asyna rolls another athletics check

17, he does not escape

Theo

14 to hit, 16 damage

"how do you want to do this"

Arrow to the skull just goes really far in and the skull falls off as do misc bones

Aerana

Misses hit

Tries to thrust forward w sword but it drops and contracts, sword slipping through ribcage

Cel

19 to hit

8 damage, hits shoulder and arm falls off

Skeleton

Misses

Asyna

Waddles the halfling over to adam

Gives him a little squeeze

Adam

baned halfling

And cutting words

No cutting words nvm

Halfling

Asyna rolls a 25

Can't squirm out

"unhand me there are more of them there are more kenku"

Theo

"ok. Bye bye skeleton boy"

22 to hit

12 damage

"how do you want to do this"

Hits him in the smile; teeth knocked out and all of it collapses like a xylophone type noise as the bones hit the floor

Out of combat

Aerana ties up sleeping kenku

Adam casts charm person

Cel is gonna loot

Investigation check, 7

10 gold combined on the kenku; takes

Halfling is charmed to consider adam a dear old friend

Says he just finished work on his new purse; his fanny pack (basically)

Not sure we recognize the material

Adam says he knows who sent the kenku

"you have the stone"

"they stole it from me"

Says he randomly found a nice stone from a rat

Adam puts his hand on loser boy's shoulder and asks if he wants to work from home

Trying to convince loser boy to come with us

Declines

The purse is made out of elf skin

Bc it's supple

Adam trying to get a magical weapon out of loser boy

Has a potion that protects from necromancers

Persuasion check, 24

Goes into side closet

Damage resist potion

Aerana kills him

Wow are you ?? Desensitized ?? Are you desensitized or does it help not being able to see anything ever

Adam rummages through loser boy's desk

Investigation check, 15

False bottom to one of the desk drawers w 100 gold inside

Cel investigation checks loser boy, 13

Finds a little wand w a skull tip

Adam is gonna look at the purse

This bag is a faint gold

Adam shakes the kenku awake, wisdom 13 saving throw

Fails

Charm person

Making dog noises

"you want to take us to your friends"

"I don't know where they are"

"then let's just go back to your base"

"get back to base ? No one knows where that is"

Adam introduces himself, mentions bingbong

Gets theo and cel's names, mimics sound of a hammer hitting metal when asked his name

His name is bonk now

Asks asyna's name, asyna is still an ape

Big hairy git

Aerana says she'll trade information for her name

Adam swings warhammer into ground to threaten kinda

Adam makes 12 insight check

We don't recognize any of the voices he uses

Asks if we live in a hole

Asks if the house is nice

Copies adam's voice for the house boom

Adam asks if he knows about the puppet

"couldn't tell you if I knew"

Nat20 adam runs insight check across entire conversation

He's lying abt not knowing where his friends are

I DFJGSLGJS THAT'S WHAT I WAS SAYING ABT US STILL GIVING UP INFORMATION ASFKJAFD

Adam asks him why he was lying

Hear a voice we've never heard before

But this one in particular is bizarre and warped as if it's through some filter

"do you know what happens when you lie to me"

Adam

Anyone w passive perception over 9 hears a bottle break and a door slam in one of the rooms to the south

Cel hits his brain basically

Some of you starting to piece together that smth strange is happening

Pattering of footsteps from room to the south

Session over for the night

[greekowl87]

Fic: It’s Cold Outside

This is my fic for the X-Files Easter Fic Exchange (@xfilesfanficexchange). My prompt was for slippinmickeys over on AO3. This is cross-posted with AO3. 

The prompt was: “Mulder gets stuck at Maggie Scully's for the weekend during a Scully family holiday (any holiday). UST becomes RST and drama ensues. Seasons 1-7. No PWP, need story.” So this is set during season three and is inspired by The Blizzard of 1996 (January 6 -10) was an actual event that took place. I myself was nine and remember being miserable, sick and losing power for 3 days during the course of it while living in Virginia but took it as inspiration for this fic. 

A quick thank you for @peacenik0 and @baronessblixen talking me through some writer’s block with this fic. Mind you, it’s long. Also, there’s some smut in this: just a head’s up.  I hope you all enjoy.

P.S. @today-in-fic

Friday, January 5, 1996

“Mulder, you don’t have to do this.” Scully gathered her coat and briefcase for the weekend as Mulder donned his own trench coat and car keys. “I’m just taking the bus home and then driving to my mother’s for the weekend in the morning.”

“It would make me feel better, Scully. I don’t know if you saw the forecast for the weekend but they are calling for a big Nor’easter. Anyways, what’s so special about your mom’s this weekend?”

“A belated celebration of Christmas,” she told him with a smile. “Ever since dad and with Missy just a few months ago, mom’s had a hankering to get the family together. A belated Christmas seemed like the answer. My brothers Bill and Charlie are coming with their wives. Bill’s ship just got into Norfolk two days ago and is already up in Baltimore with Tara. Charlie is coming down from Pennsylvania.”

Mulder felt his heart drop in his chest at the mention of the recent murder of Melissa Scully. His partner had told him multiple times that she did not blame him; the dangers came with their work. But deep down, Mulder still felt guilt himself. He was only more determined to make things right for her, even if it was as simple as driving to her mother’s for a makeup Christmas holiday in early January.

“Really, Scully, it’s no big deal. I can drive you first thing tomorrow morning to Baltimore.”

“You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“You know the answer to that.”

His smile must have melted her resolve as Scully smiled. “Fine. Tomorrow morning at ten, okay?”

“Okay.” He grinned.

. . . . . . . . .

Saturday, January 6, 1996

Scully glanced at her wall clock as it read 10:08 as she heard a knock at the door. Her weekend bag sat next to the door along with her freshly dug out snow boots and winter jacket. She had been watching the local news and now The Weather Channel. Mulder’s warning the previous day about an upcoming nor’easter had sparked her interest however her attention was once again distracted by the knocking again.

“It’s open,” she called.

The brass doorknob opened and she saw her partner wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and black turtleneck. He smiled at her awkwardly. “Ready to go, Scully?”

“You know you can come in, Mulder.”

She turned off the television and cast the remote onto the wooden coffee table. She saw him sidestep the welcome mat and inch around her entryway before shutting the door. He held his gaze at the fixed point in the floor before forcing a smile. “I do. I see you got your snow boots.”

“Yep. Finally got a chance to see the forecast. Might as well be prepared.”

Scully was already pulling on her jacket and then her shoes. “You really didn’t have to do this, Mulder.”

“I want to, Scully.”

He picked up her bag, loaded her bag into his backseat, and began the journey up to Maryland. The drive was quiet between them with a little conversation with the exception of small talk about the Scully family plans. As Mulder pulled up to the familiar driveway, he threw the car into park and looked at Scully. “Here’s your stop,” he said.

Scully gave him a thankful smile and nodded towards the porch. “Why don’t you come in before you head back to Alexandria?”

“I couldn’t impose, Scully.”

The last time he had been to Mrs. Scully’s house was shortly after his partner’s abduction when he had to swallow his pride and failure and let her know that her baby daughter had disappeared into thin air. He only saw himself as an omen of ill news for the Scullys. The most recent stigma was the death of Melissa Scully and him keeping Scully away due to their crazy crusade. The prospect of visiting her again under such circumstances wasn’t very appealing to him.

“Come on, Mulder. At least take a bathroom break and get a drink of coffee?” Her teasing smile made him relax slightly.’ “Come on, Mulder. My family isn’t going to crucify you.”

“The wrong holiday,” he joked. It fell on deaf ears.  “I couldn’t impose, Scully. Really.”

“You can at least get some coffee before hitting the road,” she encouraged. “My mom wouldn’t mind.”

“You aren’t going to take no for an answer are you?”

“Sound familiar? Why don’t you just put yourself out of your misery and come in.”

“Fine,” he grumbled.

They both exited the car and Mulder went to grab her weekend bag from the trunk of his car. Together, they went up to the steps to the Scully household. His partner grabbed the brass doorknob and swung the door open wide. “Mom! I’m here!”

“Is that little Dana?” A playful voice echoed from the kitchen. “Still believing in Santa Claus?”

“Charlie!”

Mulder stood awkwardly by the doorframe, unsure if he should close the door behind him and stay or if he should run away. He saw a much taller man, about his height with dark auburn hair and blue eyes like his partner wearing a Penn State sweatshirt and jeans.  Scully ran to her brother, throwing her arms around her youngest brother as he spun her in a circle. “It’s been too long, Dana! Mom, Dana’s here!”

Mulder stood straighter as he saw the matronly Mrs. Scully come from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a yellow apron. “No traffic I hope?”

“No,” Scully answered.

“Good. The weather forecast is calling for snow tonight and I hated the thought of you driving in this weather.”

“Mulder drove me,” Scully said, turning to gesture to him.

Mulder would have preferred to have fallen into a hole in the ground on the way to China than face the Scully matriarch. “Fox,” she greeted coolly.

“Mrs. Scully.”

Charlie turned to Mulder and smiled warmly. “So your Dana’s FBI partner. What kind of name is Fox anyways?”

To Mulder’s surprise, the youngest Scully offered a welcoming handshake which he returned hesitantly. “My parents probably hated me. I prefer Mulder anyways.”

“FBI thing?”

“Something like that. I’m going to go, Scully. I’ll see you back at the office on Monday.”

Scully narrowed her eyes in annoyance and nudged her mother. “I was going to invite Mulder to some coffee before he goes back. He was nice enough to drive me.”

“Of course.” Like magic, Mrs. Scully’s face materialized into the welcoming host that used to make her the talk of all the housewives of the San Diego Naval Base.  “Take off your jacket and shoes, Fox. Stay awhile. You take your coffee black right?”

“That’d be fine.”

Mulder was already taking off his shoes and jacket as Charlie said something about finding Bill and Tara from upstairs. Soon, Mulder found himself standing in the atrium alone with Scully. She gave him a smile small. “Thank you for staying for a bit.”

“You didn’t give me much of a choice.”

“I appreciate it regardless. Come on, let’s get you that cup of coffee.”

He was powerless to say no to her and followed her like an obedient puppy. Mrs. Scully was smiling and getting coffee, trying to make small talk with the two FBI agents. Charlie soon came back with a man and a woman which Mulder could only assume was Big Brother Bill and his wife Tara. He felt himself shrink under the steely gaze as Scully greeted the rest of her family. Mulder took a deep breath and held out his hand. “Fox Mulder.”

“Mr. Mulder,” Bill said carefully.

He had the sneaking suspicion he was being appraised. The blond hair woman, Tara, rushed forward to shake his hand as well. “It is so nice to meet you, Mr. Mulder. Dana has told us so much about you.”

“You can call me Mulder.” Mulder raised his eyebrow playfully at Scully. “Is that so?”

Charlie was by the fridge grabbing a beer out. “Don’t worry, Mulder. If you stick around long enough, you’ll hear some embarrassing stories about little Dana.”

As the afternoon progressed, the snow became heavier and showed no signs of letting up. By seven that evening, Mulder still found himself in the Scully household recovering from a wonderful dinner over embarrassing stories in front of a Christmas tree and the Scully clan. How had time escaped him was beyond Mulder’s grasp; he should open an x-file on it. By ten in the evening, he decided it was time to call it a night.

“Mrs. Scully, as much as I would love to stay, I must get going. The drive back to Alexandria is bound to belong.”

“You can’t be serious, Mulder!” Charlie cried. “All that snow!”

“It’s not safe,” Bill added as his wife yawned. She leaned against his shoulder sleepily. “You ready to hit the hay, hon?”

“Yeah. Traveling must’ve taken it out of me yesterday.”

“Why don’t you get going to bed. I’ll be right up.”

“It was nice to meet you, Mr. Mulder,” Tara said getting up. “Good night, everyone.”

A chorus of good nights and good evenings followed her out of the room. Scully looked at Mulder and bit her lip in thought. Mulder sensed something from her but did not say anything. “Why doesn’t he crash on the couch tonight, mom? Hopefully, the main roads will be plowed by tomorrow?”

Mrs. Scully nodded in agreement. “I’ll go get some blankets and pillows for you, Fox.”

Mulder had not even had a chance to say anything as Scully brothers said goodnight quickly and retreated back upstairs to their respective bedrooms. Mulder and Scully were left together alone in the living room. “What just happened?”

“Sleepover,” Scully chuckled.

“You weren’t planning this, were you?”

“No.” She lowered her voice and brought her knees to her chest. “Unless I suddenly gained control of the weather.”

“Knock it off, Scully.”

“I’m just teasing. But my brothers are right. It’s not safe to drive. I’m not up to saving your butt again.” They shared a knowing smile. “Besides, I was happy to have you here tonight.”

“How come?”

“It made things more...bearable tonight.” Without another word, she rose from the couch. “Good night, Mulder.”

“Night, Scully.”

Like ships passing in the sea, he watched Scully glide upstairs for the night as Mrs. Scully let her motherly instinct take over and make Mulder’s temporary bed for the night. He suddenly remembered the spare bag of clothes he kept in his car and rushed outside to grab it real quick before the snow grew any worse.

. . . . . . . .

Sunday, January 7, 1996

The meteorologists, both locally and nationally, metrologists were already calling it The Great Blizzard of 1996. When Mulder and the Scully family had retired for the night, Mother Nature had other plans. There was already almost a foot of snow before it transitioned to sleet, icing in the layers and locking them away. The storm came back with colder temperatures and even heavier bands of snow. Snow, ice, and more snow. And with that, Mulder found himself trapped in Baltimore for the Scully’s makeup Christmas. Unwanted guest indeed.

Mulder found himself waking up in the early morning hours. He could hear the winds battering the side of the house, snow, and ice pelting the windows, and the colorful glow of the Christmas tree dancing around the living room. He did not know what he was doing.

Sleep just didn’t happen for Mulder anymore. After many years of isolation and peculiarness had molded him into a couch dozing insomniac that slept with the tv on. Maybe, deep in his own mind and subconscious, he was still trying to bring back Samantha by somehow recreating that night from November 1973. It seemed awfully true now as the Scully clan tried to recreate the memory of their lost kin.

“Can’t sleep?”

Mulder jumped and spun around. Scully stood in the door frame as the shadows clung to her. Her robe was wrapped tightly around her, her arms weaved into a knot as if trying to protect her against something. She gazed longingly at the multicolored Christmas tree and then to stockings on the old fireplace. “And the stockings were hung on the chimney with care with hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be here,” Scully recited softly. She cleared her throat. “I see Mom is keeping Missy’s up.”

Mulder turned to the stockings counting them quickly. “I count seven.”

“Mom still keeps dad’s up.” She gave a sad smile. “Christmas was a favorite holiday growing up for us. The last time we were all together was the December before I went to the academy.”

Mulder scooted over on the couch as Scully sat next to him. “What a turn of events, huh, Scully?”

“Hmm?”

Mulder gestured to the window as white snow blinded the outside. “Weather. Mother nature. The inconvenience of timing.”

“It depends on the way you look at it, Mulder.”

“I’m probably ruining your little family get-together. Don’t think I haven’t noticed your mother’s scalding gaze.” Self-deprecating humor at its finest. Another mechanism. “I don’t know if I should be alarmed or not.”

“Mulder,” she sighed. She pinched her nose and gave a weak smile. “She’s not mad at you.”

“I’m sure they’re just waiting and plotting. I would know.”

Scully tilted her head to the side and gave him a warm smile. She moved closer to him and rubbed her against his left shoulder smoothing the cotton beneath her palm. “I did it so I could save you. You were out of your mind,” she whispered softly. Even beneath that fabric, she could still feel the puckered scar. “I saved you, didn’t I?”

He chuckled. “Does your mother know what you did?”

“No. And neither do my brothers.”

She smiled in the light and moved closer to Mulder. He stilled as she reached for a stray blanket to pull it over her lap and rest her head against his shoulder. “What are you thinking,” he whispered.

“Those lights and decorations. I think my mom used the last time when we were all together. The last Christmas. It was right before I left for the academy.” She smiled at the memory. “It’s funny because Missy and I were sitting on this very couch, watching those colored lights. I had just been recruited into the FBI and I remember feeling uncertain.”

“You’re never uncertain about anything.”

There was a pause between them and Scully continued to stare off into the distance.  “She told me that…” She took a breath. “She told me don’t mistake a path for what it really represents: the people that we meet along the way. I didn’t know who I was going to meet, how my life was going to change, or whose life I would change along the way.”

Overwhelming guilt wrecked his heart (as if the guilt from Melissa Scully’s death, Scully’s abduction, and the disappearance from his own sister weren’t enough). The silence that ensued must have been enough for Scully to grasp his hand tightly, startling him out of dismal, gloomy thoughts. “Mulder, don’t think that.”

“It’s because of me,” he murmured, “that all this happened to you.”

“Didn’t you hear me? It is a two-way street. With the bad, there has also been good. These three years, I wouldn’t change. I wouldn’t want this journey with anyone else but you.”

Unable to find words he settled for the thing that had worked best for them: unspoken communication. He wrapped his arm around her in a hug. Scully settled her head back against his shoulder in silence. The moment seemed trapped in a bubble that was only meant for the two of them.  “I am incredibly grateful you are here with me now, Mulder, even if it doesn’t feel like it.” She took a deep breath and kissed his temple softly. “Thank you.”

Like a shadow in the night, she quickly retreated leaving a very confused Mulder alone on the couch to wonder exactly what had transpired at that moment.

As the early morning crawled on, the Christmas lights turned off from the automatic timer leaving Mulder in the dark. He did not remember when he dozed off but awoke a few hours later to the smell of coffee being brewed and laughter in the room next door. “Charles, I do not recall that Christmas.”

The voice of Mrs. Scully laughed as there as a masculine snorting of giggles. “Oh shut up, Bill.”

That must be Charlie, she surmised.

Mulder stretched his aching body against the stiff couch, wincing at some unknown muscle cramp. The air was chilled in the living room and he spied a smoldering fireplace in need of fresh wood. Mulder got up to stoke the fire before searching for his Oxford sweatshirt to ward off the chill. His foggy mind, already going through the things that he needed to do the first thing to get back to Alexandria. He’d need to get gas, make sure he had a shovel or something in his car for the snow.

“Mulder.”

He looked up to see Scully standing in the doorway wearing her white fluffy robe and her hair clipped back into a loose bun. She held up a steaming cup of coffee enticingly. “Morning,” he croaked. He gave her a weak smile and tried to comb his bedhead. Scully shook her head and hid her amused smile behind her hand and a fake yawn. “How did you sleep?”

“I slept.” She shrugged and dropped off the coffee onto a side table. “Come join us for breakfast when you’re ready.”

“I think I’ll just get going this morning back to Alexandria.”

Scully smirked and nodded to a window. “I doubt that, Mulder. The snow turned over to sleet and then back to snow overnight. The news is saying at least nine inches.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. Come on, let’s get breakfast.”

“Scully, I really can’t impose. I have already done enough damage here.”

“Mulder,” she said calmly. She took his hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay. My family isn’t planning to burn you at the stake or anything.” He was taken back by the openness of the invitation. She watched his emotions play across his face and arched her elegant eyebrow. “Is it what we do? Our work? My abduction? What, Mulder?”

“How do you openly invite me here? Expect that your brothers and mothers won’t flail me alive?”

She chuckled and shook her head. “My brothers know we solve unusual cases for the FBI, the cold cases that others won’t touch. They don’t know anything about government conspiracies or anything like that. As long as you don’t say about green little men.”

“They’re gray,” he whispered.

“Green. Gray. I still have yet to scientifically prove it.”

In the span of a few seconds, the platonic partners were decidedly close to one another. Electricity sparked between the air and the strange feeling shifted between them again. Mulder licked his lips as the stray thought of kissing Scully popped up in his mind. Scully was leaning towards him, as if in a trance, before Mrs. Scully’s voice called from the kitchen. “Dana! Fox! If you don’t get in here soon, all these pancakes will be gone.”

With the spell broken, both Mulder and Scully blinked. “Pancakes,” Mulder asked.

“Scully family Christmas tradition. I told you mom is going all out even though it is January. It’s been forever since we’ve had a proper Christmas.” She glanced at the two stockings meant for her passed father and murdered sister. “Even if some of us couldn’t be here.” Mulder opened his mouth to apologize but Scully cut him off. “But I’m very happy you are here with me, Mulder. I really mean it.”

He nodded unable to find anything else to say. Mulder followed her into the kitchen to find Mrs. Scully standing with Charlie by the electric griddle skillfully making pancakes like an assembly line. Bill and Tara sat at the kitchen table reading the copy of The Washington Post from the day before. On the corner of the counter, a small black and white tv had the local news on.

“Boy, oh, boy!” Cried the news anchor. “What was supposed to be a few snow flurries has turned into a full-blow blizzard. Chase, what can you tell us about this storm?”

The camera panned to another man wearing a suit in front of a local weather map colored in various shades of gray, black, and white. “You are right, Craig. I wouldn't dare go out this weather. Last night, we were only looking at a couple of inches of snow and now the forecast is calling for totals up to 20 inches plus. Also, overnight, the snow briefly changed to sleet and then back to snow. Don’t even think about going out in this weather! It’s best to stay hunkered down until this storm passes through tomorrow morning. The drive-in is going to be a mess well so plan accordingly.”

“That’s one thing I don’t miss is snow,” Bill grumbled flipping the paper.

“I forgot,” Charlie called. “Sunny San Diego.”

“And you choose to live in the great white north,” the brother shot back.

“Maine is not the great white north. You’re thinking of Minnesota.”

“I would argue differently. I grew up in Massachusetts and have some memories of nasty winters.”

Mulder stood in the middle of the kitchen, unsure where to go. Scully squeezed his hand discreetly and pulled him to a stool near the kitchen counter where she sat next to him.

“Where exactly did you grow up, Mr. Mulder?” Bill asked.

“The Vineyard,” he answered automatically. Charlie winked at him as he supplied Mulder and his sister coffee. He turned his attention to the small black and white television. “I can try and dig out later this morning, Mrs. Scully once the snow lets up and be out of your hair.”

“Nonsense, Fox. You are not driving back to Virginia in this weather. We’ve already gotten 13 inches and were forecasted to get 10 more. What’s one more mouth to feed.” She looked up and gave him a smile. Mulder did not know how to respond. “If you really want, you can help shovel my driveway.”

Scully smiled. “I tried to tell him that but I told you he is thick-headed.”

“He’s not the only one, Dana.”

“Hey, do you remember when we were in New Haven?” Charlie asked.

“As if you remember,” Bill snorted. “You were three.”

“How can anyone forget the Christmas tree being set on fire? It was clearly your fault. If I recall, I heard something about you trying to ‘light Christmas spirit.’”

“Even I remember it.” Scully grinned.

Mrs. Scully rolled her eyes. “Well, since we have a proper blizzard, why don’t we all just take it easy today. We can all take turns shoveling the driveway to make it more authentic.”

Mulder was about to say something else but Scully’s stern glare made him reconsider. “I think three men can manage that, mom,” Charlie chuckled. “So what does us leaving to do in the meantime?”

“Movies?” Tara suggested.

“Oh, AMC is doing a B-Rated Horror Film Marathon this weekend,” Charlie said excitedly. “That would be awesome.”

“Sounds right up your alley.” Scully elbowed Mulder.

He shifted stiffly and wondered just how much she had told her brothers about him and his far fetched theories. “You all can do that,” Bill shrugged. He remained focused on the paper. “There are some of dad’s things I would like to go through this afternoon.”

“Fun killer,” Charlie called as he skillfully flipped the next batch of pancakes. “Tara? What about you?”

“I would love to. That used to be a favorite thing to do with my sisters.”

“Honestly, Tara,” Bill scoffed. “We don’t have time for such childish things.”

“Shut up, Bill. We’re supposed to be celebrating Christmas, right? Staying in our PJs all day and watching tv was something we did in our family.”

“Ours was nothing but midnight masses,” Charlie added.

“Well, we can always improvise, “ Mrs. Scully answered, “but I doubt that would be any fun.”

“Then it’s settled.” Scully smiled but frowned when she saw Mulder focusing on some unknown spot in front of him. She frowned in frustration.

Breakfast continued without a hitch. Mulder withdrew into himself even further feeling alienated among the Scully clan. He felt trapped. He could take the chance and risk his car on the roads but Scully would save his ass and then kill him for his stupidity. A rouge hand took his own and squeezed it beneath the table top was all he needed to force the smile and endure this bizarre family holiday a bit longer.

The day seemed to be stuck in some sort of time zone because Mulder felt like he was experiencing deja vu. The last time he had experienced Christmas joy, any Christmas joy was the Christmas before Samantha’s abduction. The Mulder's had been a happy family then. But now, he somehow found himself swept along in marathons of horror films with Charlie, Bill’s polite decline to participate, and Tara, Scully, and her mother in the kitchen working on a makeshift dinner. The blizzard of 1996 continued on in spectacular fashion bringing more snow and ice.

At the end of the day, Mulder still found himself trapped with the Scullys with no means of escape.

That night, Mulder heard the grandfather clock in the hallway strike midnight, echoing throughout the silent house. He wished he was somewhere else.

In his makeshift bed on the living room couch, he still could not find a comfortable position. The blue light from the muted tv added to the eerie ambiance from the colored Christmas tree lights. It was nights like this he would call Scully just to hear her voice and his loneliness less palatable. But she was right upstairs and he did not think that he family (especially Big Brother Bill who had regarded him cautiously since his arrival) would take to it very kindly. Lost in his thoughts, he heard the silent scuffle of slippers against the wood floor.

“Still can’t sleep?”

He smiled, recognizing that voice from anywhere. “Could you?”

“I suppose not. Today wasn’t as awkward as you thought it would be, was it?”

“I wasn’t worried.”

“You wore you panic face throughout most of breakfast.”

Scully emerged from the shadows. Elegant no matter what, Mulder thought. His partner wore the same robe from the morning before except her hair was down. “You being here I think is helping mom too. The distraction is nice since Missy is no longer here. The first Christmas after dad passed it was a nightmare.”

“I’m glad I’m not too much of a burden.”

“You are never a burden, Mulder.”

He smiled coyly at her. “You know, it’s funny, Scully. I know the special agent but I don’t know the story behind Dana Scully.”

She chewed on her lips playfully and held out her hand. “Want to see?”  Just in the past 48 hours, this new side of Scully that was emerging that he wanted to know more of. Playing her game, he grasped her hand and she lead him down the hall and upstair case. “Watch the second step from the top. It always makes a noise.”

Following her expert direction, they navigated the maze in the dark. Scully led him to a door furthest down the hall. She opened the door to reveal a room frozen in time that belonged to some sort of punk rock teenager. Faded posters decorated the wall above the bed. A black bookcase held numerous copies of books ranging from physics to Latin to Nancy Drew. In the corner was a small desk with a bulletin board covered in various ribbons from science fairs and a University of Maryland flag above it. There was a picture on the bulletin board that looked vaguely familiar.

“Is that you?”

Mulder squinted as he picked up the photo as she shut the door behind them. “I was a bit of a punk.”

“And science wiz,” he added, nodding to the ribbons. “Little Dana Scully was a rebel.”

“Not always,” she said slowly, trying to hide back a laugh. “I did get suspended in my sophomore year for almost blowing up the chemistry lab trying to prove a senior wrong.”

“You took chemistry as a sophomore?”

“Science wiz,” she reminded him. She sat on the bed and patted the space next to her. “I know I’ve told you numerous times but I’m really glad you are here. It’s nice having someone to…” She shrugged. “I’m just glad you’re here, Mulder.”

He took the spot next to him. “I guess we should thank fate.”

She snorted in amusement. “I told you there is no such thing as fate.”

“This blizzard.”

“Convenient timing.”

He leaned closer into her personal space like he did when they were ready to verbally spare. She smiled and shook her head. Something must have shifted between them at that moment. Maybe it was the wintry atmosphere or some random static charge from the dry air, but he leaned forward, and almost teasingly, kissed her. A catalyst exploded between them. He expected her to pull away but she didn’t.

She deepened it.

Rational thought became lost and pure instinct took over. He cupped her face and held it for a moment longer. By the time they broke away to draw breath, words were pouring from his lips. “Scully, I’m sorry. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to…”

The flood of apologies was stopped by a single order.

“Stop.”

He closed his mouth obediently. Her eyes had narrowed and she looked feral.

“There is nothing you should be sorry for. You...you are a good man, a good friend, Mulder…” Scully swallowed, already losing her courage. “And nothing would change between us.”

“Maybe I want them to change.”

Scully arched an eyebrow suspiciously.

Mulder did not know the exact moment he fell in love with her but the past two years and her abduction only made it worse for him. During her absence, he did not know how close he was to pulling that trigger and blowing out his brains. He never had such thoughts during the years after Samantha’s appearance but without Scully, life seemed worthless. But this moment...oh how he wished for this moment since he had laid eyes on her again.

“Change?”

“I wanted this,” he confessed, “for a very long time.”

“Mulder.”

“I understand if I have overstepped my bounds.”

He was panicking. This was falling apart, everything was becoming a slow-motion horrific accident. Thoughts of a ruined partnership, their work, being alone. He began to pull away. He needed to run. To escape.

“Mulder. Mulder!”

Her voice called out to him like a lifeline. He looked down as Scully took his hand and pulled him back down beside her. “I don’t want to ruin what we already have.”

“You won’t.”

Her hand rubbed his thigh enticingly and Mulder closed his eyes with flushed cheeks. It had been so long since someone had touched him like that. He heard the locking of a door and he knew then, he couldn’t escape. Her hands rested on his shoulders and trailed down his arms. Her chin rested on his shoulder as she hugged him from behind. “Despite me being a bit of a rebel in high school, most boys never made it this far. You’re the first,” she teased.

“First what?” Mulder breathed.

Once again during the past 48 hours, he was surprised at this side of Scully. Or was this Dana? “Mulder, don’t make me scientifically prove the nature of the whammy.”

He burst out laughing as Scully met his lips sensually and he was gone. Gone was his resolve any fears. Her hands had a mind all their own. Mulder sighed in between kisses and let Scully take the lead. Like a dancer, she came around to the front and kneeled in front of him.  Mulder smiled and ran his hands down Scully’s hips appreciatively. “Scully,” he murmured. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. However,” she licked her lips. “Charlie's is right next door. My mother, Bill, and Tara are right down the hall. We’ll have to be quiet.”

“Quiet,” he chuckled. He turned serious. “Scully, we can still avoid this if you want.”

“Mulder, let me tell you something,” she began, “there was always something between us, wasn’t there?”

“I'd like to think so.”

“I remember,” she continued, slipping off her robe, “after my abduction, visiting with my mom and Missy. You came in with that stupid video.” She chuckled at the memory. “I know you only stayed briefly but I was glad you came.”

“I called you. Sorry, but meeting your big sister kind of unnerved me.”

“Worse than Bill?” She bit back a grin.

“I don’t know. I think Charlie likes me, but Bill…”

“Firstborn are usually stubborn.” Mulder raised his eyebrow in mock horror. “You are my evidence. After you left, Missy stayed with me until the morning. We talked a lot. About life. You. Cosmic connections. Us.”

“She came to my apartment one night before I got your call that you were back. Someone told me I was going to be killed and at that point, I had nothing to live for. You were gone. Samantha…” Mulder scoffed. “You were real. You were always real and something I could save.”

“We’ll still find your sister.”

“At the loss of yours?”

She gave a weak smile and gently wrapped an arm around his neck. “That’s why I’m glad you’re here with me now, Mulder. You were there that night.”

“But you still couldn’t say goodbye.”

She sighed and drew him closer. “Is that what’s been bothering you the entire time being here? Deep down?” Mulder looked down and felt the atmosphere become suffocating. “Look at me. It’s not your fault, Mulder. What happened to Missy is not your fault. I don’t blame you.”

“What about your mother?”

“Don’t worry about her. Or Bill. Or Charlie.”

Mulder lowered his head. How did always do this to him? Make him weak in the knees and doubt everything he has ever known. She brought him closer. “She told me once that we were, and I quote, ‘Once in a lifetime.’”

“Who? Your sister?”

She nodded. “The first time I told her about you. I was complaining about how were stubborn you were and she told me that is was no different than me.”

Mulder gave a weak smile. His mind was melted at this point. “This isn’t exactly how I pictured this, Scully,” he whispered.

“Pictured what?”

“This.”

He pulled off her robe slowly and tossed it the ground. She shivered as the cold air hit her. Mulder saw the soft blue silk pajamas reflected in the soft light from the lamp. She blushed and whispered, “Lights on or off?”

“On,” he whispered reverently. “I want to see all of you.”

The first time he had a fantasy with her, Mulder had felt that he had committed the holiest of sins and paid with a bottle of tequila, a hangover, and a shiner on his eye that made Scully raise a suspicious eyebrow on the following Monday. But as much as he tried to fight it, he was powerless to do anything but give in. He was startled out of his thoughts as she ran her hand over him appreciatively and his body responded automatically. He let out a guttural moan; God, it had been too long since someone had touched him like that. “I’m just conducting a thorough investigation, Mulder,” she responded.

“I’m sure,” he swallowed, “but if you keep doing that, this won’t last long.”

“Well, we better get busy then.”

Mulder still could not believe this was happening. Blood rushed in his ears and he could hear the wind outside howled. Scully pulled Mulder’s shirt off first and gave a soft smile. He shivered himself as the cold air hit his skin. “Let’s get under the covers,” he whispered.

Her hands were distracting as they slipped beneath the small blanket of the double bed. He rolled to his side and slowly unbuttoned her top. Milky white skin slowly appeared and he touched her reverently slowly making his way up. When her first breast appeared, he knew she was a goddess fallen to earth. “Aphrodite, Venus,” he mumbled. He kissed her soundly and squeezed her breast slowly, trying to memorize everything. “A goddess come to life.”

Mulder grew bolder in his exploration moving his mouth to one breast and then the other, heaping worship upon her altar. She sighed breathily, raking her fingers through his hair, and leaned her head back. Mulder was already on fire but hearing her sigh “Mulder…” set him aflame.

Her arms wrapped around him and he felt her nails lightly scratch down his back. The cold and snow from the Blizzard of 1996 continued to rage outside. He could faintly hear little bits of snow and ice hitting the window glass but none of that mattered. For the first time in ages, he was alive and the icy loneliness that plagued his life had finally melted in her embrace. Time vanished and Mulder became a firm believer in missing time except, for this, he wanted his photographic memory to remember everything.

Mulder broke away from his adoration of Scully to look up and share a gaze with her. Her face was flushed as she smiled.  “It’s been so long,” she whispered.

“Try to be quiet then,” he chuckled. He kissed her before disappearing the beneath the covers. His mind raced a thousand miles per hour and he didn’t know if he should take it slow or like a flash flood. He kissed her exposed abdomen, panting heavily. “What do you want?”

“I want to remember everything,” she breathed.

Mulder smiled and placed a series of kisses until he reached the waistband of her pants. She lifted her waist without command as he pulled them down. Mulder was intoxicated by both the scent of her and the thrill of the moment. Scully was already lifting her hips as he hooked his thumbs into the elastic waistband and pulled downwards. If Mulder was a religious man, he would be proclaiming a miracle. A variety of dirty thoughts came to mind but one stuck out in particular. Overcome with lust and passion, he nuzzled her lower half, almost bashfully, nuzzled her. She jerked in response. He sought and took her hand, calming her in the process. She relaxed slightly and felt something move above him: a pillow.

“Scully?”

“Fine,” came the muffled reply. Mulder strained his ears trying to discern if she was uncomfortable or not. “I’m good, Mulder.”

The tone in her voice threw him off. Was she in pain? Or was it something else. He began to hesitate but he felt her fingers run through his hair reassuringly. It was enough for him to continue. He went back to his ministrations, testing out this and that, teasing her until he felt her writhing beneath him. Scully’s hips lifted and he heard her muffled cries. That explains the pillow, he thought, smiling.

Mulder eventually broke away and slid back up to greet Mulder with a kiss. He was smiling; she was smiling. “That was amazing,” she chuckled. “Do you think anyone heard us?”

“I hope not. A pillow, Scully? Really?”

“Shut up.” A devilish grin spread across her face. “Enough with the formalities, Mulder. Let’s get down to business.”

She reached into the drawer and pulled out a condemn. He raised an eyebrow with the unasked question. “It’s good. And I know we’re good…” She caressed his cheek. “Perks of also being your doctor.”

“Remind me to have you make house calls more often.”

With expertise he suspected that was from her medical education, Scully slipped on the condemn and rubbed him possessively. She smiled and whispered, “I want all of you.”

She tore off his shirt and sweats eagerly. Mulder lifted his hips and crushed her lips. Scully lifted her neck as he trailed a row of kisses down to shoulder where he bit into her shoulder blade, marking her. She lifted her hips meeting hip and let out a loud cry. She howled into her shoulder. “You’re driving me crazy,” he murmured into her ear.

“We have to be quiet,” she whispered. “The blizzard will only hide our...enjoyment for so long.”

“Well, I’m just getting started.

Something overcame both of them. Maybe it was desperateness, maybe it was the blizzard, maybe it was the moment. They both guided Mulder into her, working together as they did in everything.together. She sighed at the initial contact and moaned at the sudden fullness. “Oh, Mulder.”

He drew a sharp breath in. “Am I hurting you?”

“No, no.” She tried to relax. “It’s just been a while.”

“Me too.” He started moving slowly and she shifted beneath him. “Scully, if I’m hurting you…”

“You’re fine, Mulder. I just didn’t expect you to be so…”

“What?”

“There’s a lot of you to go around.” She chuckled at her own joke. “Everything feels wonderful.”

Mulder focused his effort into trying to please her, no one but her. He wanted to make her forget the shadow the death of a lost sister had caused her along with her mother’s shame and the scorching glare that her big brother had been plaguing them since their arrival.

She breathed sharply and whispered, “More.”

He redoubled his efforts. He entwined their hands like vines and pushed them above her head. He attacked her with new fever, swallowing her breathy moans and sighs with his rough kisses. Gone were the thoughts of being trapped in a snowstorm but rather whatever it was they created. Mulder tried to show Scully how much he cared for her, what she meant, and that he would do anything for her. Her ankles crossed behind his back and dug into his muscles, holding him her. Then he felt it. She was coming with a quick series of contractions that pulled him over with her. Mulder howled into her shoulder as he became spent and collapsed on top of her. She ran her hands up in down his bare back as he withdrew, tied off the condemn, and threw it a small trash can.

“So classy,” she sighed.

“Well, you’re not a cheap date, Scully.” He was already shivering as he dashed back to her bed and to the warmth. She coiled around him and smiled against his chest. “You are like a little heater.”

“You’re not so bad yourself, G-man.”

Mulder rolled to the side and used his long arm to turn off the lamp. She whispered something to him and although he probably misunderstood, he slid out of the cold air to open the blinds slightly before rushing back under the covers to the warmth they had created. They watched the snowfall in the streetlights together. He rolled onto his side and pulled Scully’s bare form against him. “This is something I could get used to,” he teased gently.

As they watched memorized, the blinding winds had lessened slightly and now just gentle snow fell. They could see the pristine streets covered in an eerie glow from the orange street lights. Scully pulled his arm tighter around her. “I’m glad you are here,” she murmured loudly enough so he could just hear her. “When mom asked, I tried to think of an excuse not to come. Missy’s shadow still hanging over this house. The bad whatever left from me not being there or the fact it should have been me. It should’ve been me, Mulder.”

“I’m sorry for Missy,” he whispered, “I really am. But I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost you again. I can’t lose you again.”

“I know,” Scully whispered. “But with you being here, right now. Stuck in a snowstorm. Making love in my childhood home, despite the rebelliousness of it, I am grateful you are here. I am happy to have you here with me, Mulder. You make this bearable.”

He was quiet for a moment before he answered. His emotions spun like the snow outside before it settled one conclusion. He hugged her tightly, vowing to protect her and keep her happy no matter what. “No place where I would rather be,” he replied. He kissed the crook of her neck. “Sleep.”

With a final sigh of contentment, Scully let herself drift off finally as Mulder kept vigil and watched the falling snow.

. . . . . . . . .

Sunday, January 7, 1996

Because they were creating their own Christmas holiday in January and the snowstorm prevented Mrs. Scully from attending mass with her family, she decided the next thing: celebrate a January Christmas on a Sunday. Charlie was the first to wake up that morning at four a.m, somehow beating his mother’s habitual early rising. He had always been a light sleeper as a result of his father’s early morning revelries. He slipped downstairs to start the coffee first and noticed the rumpled blankets and absent guest on the couch. He raised an eyebrow before smirking. He and Dana had always been close growing up. Unlike their old siblings, only a year separated Dana and Charlie and the two often found themselves partners-in-crime covering for each other’s adolescent antics. He smirked as he sipped his morning coffee, already guessing what had transpired judging by Mulder’s empty couch. He supposed that he could still be a reliable accomplice to his sister.

At 4:30, with his coffee in hand, he twisted the doorknob gently and found it locked; a tell-tale sign Dana was up to something. He jiggled the handout a bit more before rasping lightly against the white wood door. “Dana,” he called out quietly. He eyed Bill’s room and his mothers. “Dae.”

There was movement on the other side. Some muffled exchange and cussing about the cold. The door opened the crack and he saw his sister’s narrowed blue eyes in the twilight light from the Christmas tree downstairs. “I thought I would give you a wake-up call before mom or Bill got up. And Mulder too.” He smelled the familiar scent of a good night spent with someone wafting off her. “And you may want to clean up?”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “I’m the first one up, promise. And I won’t tell a soul. Take my coffee.”

“Not a word,” she breathed.

“See you in a bit.”

She shut the door soundly and Charlie bit back his laughter at the entire situation. Downstairs in the kitchen with only the stove light to keep him company, Dana emerged look fresh with Mulder trailing behind her like a puppy dog. Both avoided eye contact with him. Charlie stood at the kitchen counter, fighting a grin. “Coffee’s fresh. And I won’t tell a soul, promise.”

Mulder’s eyes shot up in alarm and glanced at Scully as some unspoken conversation occurred between them. She was pouring herself a cup. “Charlie already knows,” she moaned.

“How?’ Mulder asked.

“I’m not going to castrate you,” he shrugged. “Dae and I were partners in crime. We used to cover for each other when we would do more questionable things.”

“Like that library fire?” She asked.

“Once and they never caught me.”

“Don’t forget your big sister is an FBI agent.”

“Right. What are you gonna do? Arrest me, copper?”

Mulder watched the exchanged and wondered faintly if it would have been that way with Samantha. Charlie nodded towards Mulder. “He’s the best you’ve done.”

“I appreciate you have taken an interest in my taste of men,” she muttered. “Mulder, do you want anything?”

“I’m good, Scully.”

Charlie tilted his head. “Why do you call her that?”

“What?”

Mulder shifted uncomfortably.

“Why do you call her Scully?”

“Why not? She’s Scully,” Mulder answered. He shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s cute.”

“Charlie, remember I also know how to get away with murder if I wanted to,” Scully hissed. She blew on her cup of coffee. “And no one would be the wiser.”

“What else is new. If Missy could see you now.”

“You are bad enough by yourself.”

Mulder looked away at the mention of the Melissa Scully. Charlie took a cup of the cupboard and poured some coffee. He offered it to Mulder like an olive branch. “I don’t judge, Mulder. You’re good for my sister, despite what others may think.” The brother watched his eyes dart toward his sister. “I know about her abduction and everything else. You make her happy. I see it. I can hear about it every time we talk. You’re good for Dana. And that’s good enough for me. Even if you are sleeping with her.” Their silence was insinuating. “Oh, nice one, Dana. First time in mom’s house. In your childhood bed?”

“A needle between the toes with a small enough dosage to stop your heart,” she told Charlie ominously.

Her brother watched Mulder become at ease a bit and smiled. He took the cup of coffee. “I wouldn’t cross her, Charlie. She shot me once.”

“Dana’s all fire and no bite,” he replied.

Mulder glanced at Scully and pulled at his shirt to reveal a puckered bullet wound on his left shoulder. “Wanna bet?”

“No way.” Charlie bent closer to examine the wound. “Dana actually shot you?”

“To be fair, I was out of my mind. But your sister is good enough to perform surgery with a PPK and take it out with a field surgery kit in her apartment. I wouldn’t tease her.”

Charlie chuckled. “I have a scar on my arm from one our antics that never healed. Once she mars you, she owns you. Welcome to the club.”

The love-struck gaze between the two did not go unnoticed.

By six a.m., the rest of the Scully clan had awoken. Charlie watched the morning unfurl with delight. Dana was more reserved than usual. Mulder wouldn’t leave his sister's side. Bill had started mastering their father’s glare and directed towards Mulder. His sister-in-law and mother seemed ignorant. But Charlie also knew his mother.

Unlike Bill and Dana, he had followed a path similar to Melissa where he discovered his own way. After high school, he waited tables, eventually becoming a hotshot bartender in Philadelphia before finding a full-time job in marketing where he could utilize all the sale skills he had mastered throughout the year. He also learned how to read people. Mrs. Scully wanted to keep Mulder at a distance but she would not let her feelings disappointment show for Dana’s sake. By eight, there was a buffet of bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns and biscuits and gravy. Everyone helped themselves to large portions (except Mulder and Dana who shared a plate). Dana made up an excuse about bad habits in the field. Charlie knew better.

By nine, there was the unofficial six o’clock Christmas roll call to be held fashionably late three hours later. Presents were exchanged and Bill’s glare seemed to grow. Halfway through the present exchange, Charlie excused himself to refill his coffee with Bill trailing his younger brother into the kitchen. “Are you helping me with the coffee now, Bill?”

Bill stalked behind Charlie and shut the door to the kitchen behind them. “Don’t you find it a little suspicious?”

The younger brother arched an eyebrow suspiciously as he poured a fresh coffee. “What are you talking about?’

“Dana and her partner.” Bill scrunched his face like a child at yucky food. “Mulder.”

“What about him?”

“Doesn’t this sit with as a bit odd or off?”

“What?”

“Them. What they’re doing.”

“You sound worse than dad. Dana is a grown woman. Let her do what she wants.”

“Haven’t you seen how he looks at her. There has to be more to it.”

“So what if there is, Bill? That is none of our business.”

“If dad could see Dana now, his little pride and joy, now. I knew the FBI was a bad idea. A boys club. I told you.”

“What are you trying to imply? That Dana should be at home and have a nice doctor for a husband?”

“Well, at least Melissa would be alive,” he spat.

“You don’t know that.”

Both brothers turned around to see their youngest sister’s eyes narrowed dangerously at her brothers. Charlie knew that scorching glare that she seemed to develop all her own. He looked away trying to find something that would occupy his time. “Charlie, stop hiding from me.”

“I didn’t say anything, Dana. You’re the one leaving Mulder alone with mom.”

“He’s a big boy and Tara seems to have taken quite a sign of affection to him.”

Her steely blue eyes zeroed in on Bill whose own look hardened in determination. “You know full well he doesn’t belong here, Dana. He’s already ruined this family enough. First with your abduction and then with Missy. Where does it end with him?”

“He had nothing to do with my abduction. And don't think I don’t know about who convinced mom to finally give up hope and get my headstone,” she hissed. “At least Mulder never gave up hope on me.”

“What was I supposed to do, Dana? Dad is gone and then, less than a year, you are too. How could you continue to put her through that? He was only making things worse.”

Scully slammed a coffee cup hard onto the counter with such force that she broke the handle off bashing her left hand. “Son of a bitch,” she hissed. She reached for a towel in order to stem the blood flow as Charlie looked down in alarm. “I hope you’re happy now.”

“Charlie? Bill? Dana? Is everything all right?” There mother’s voice came from the other room.

Bill watched his little sister continue to stare daggers at him. “Everything’s fine, mom,” Bill said. “Charlie and Dana were just cleaning up.”

Still aware of her smoldering gaze, he left without saying a word. Charlie looked at her impressed. “I think that’s the first time I have ever seen him shut up just be someone looking at him. FBI teach you that?”

“Sometimes we just learn that we are stronger than we give ourselves credit for,” she answered evasively. “Charlie, run to the first aid kit and grab it for me? I think it’s still under the sink.”

“Don’t you need stitches or something?”

“Probably but were we going to get that in this weather? Check the kitchen drawer. I think mom has some superglue in there.”

“You’re not serious, Dae.”

“If you can’t do it, go get Mulder then,” she snapped. She pulled back the towel to reveal a small gash going down her palm. “God forbid mom sees this.”

“I’m not the enemy.” He went to the kitchen drawer and began to search for the requested item. “Is it true that you actually shot, Mulder?”

“Yes.”

Scully was clearly distracted. She turned the sink on and ran warm water over the small gash. Charlie watched in amazement as his sister did not flinch as she cleaned the wound. She skillfully dressed the wound and thankfully did not need to glue the gash shut. He leaned against the counter as she took a deep breath to steady herself. “Dana?”

“I didn’t plan on this blizzard and I knew he wanted to leave. He’s been eyeing that exit since we came here. But I’m glad he’s here, Charlie. As fucked up it is sounds, he’s made this bearable for me.”

“Missy liked him, you know. She told me about him on the rare occasion we talked. I don’t what you all have going on and I don’t care what’s got Bill’s undies in a twist, he’s good for you, Dana.”

Scully motioned for her brother’s help and he tied off the bandage around her hand. “I’m glad to hear that,” she whispered. Scully flashed a smile. “I’m glad you get along with him.”

“He’s…” Charlie leaned against the counter, crossed his arm, and tried to find an answer. “He’s not what I expected from you, Dana.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Daniel? Marcus? What was that other guy’s name? Your FBI instructor…Jack?”

“Maybe I should have told Missy instead of you.”

“Oh, she told me everything as it was when I could get a hold of her.”

Scully grew quiet. “You miss her.”

“We all do,” she answered.

“Dana, Charlie, are you going to stay in the kitchen all morning?”

Their mother’s voice pulled them from the tension that surrounded them. Charlie motioned with his arm for Scully to reenter the living room. Big Brother Bill was discussing something with Tara. Mulder was talking to Maggie that caused her to laugh and try and hide it behind her hand. Bill glared at her partner and then directed his wrath towards Charlie.

“You certainly took your time,” the oldest brother stated. He narrowed his eyes as Mulder and then Scully. “What happened to your hand, Dana?”

“I must’ve cut it,” she said dismissively. Charlie sat next to his mother and Scully next to Mulder. “I’m okay, really.”

Mulder was staring at her the same way he did when he was on the edge of forming a theory. He gingerly lifted her bandaged hand for an inspection as her and Charlie’s gaze met. “Are you sure?” Mulder asked. Charlie could hear the pain in his voice. “Scully?”

“Fine, Mulder. I promise.”

“You need to be more careful, Dana,” their mother admonished. “Now, let’s continue where we left off.”

Charlie watched Dana smile and lean against Mulder’s shoulder. Bill cast a withering glare before picking up a wrapped present for Tara. If their mother suspected of something, she wisely kept silent and the peace.

At January 7th continued, so did the snow. Mrs. Scully continued to play hostess entertaining her children. They all tried to pass the time by watching endless movies on the television. There was a feeling of relative peace in the household. After dinner, Bill and Tara retired to bed early as did Charlie and Mrs. Scully. Something about the notion of endless snow made the household sleepy and go to bed early. Mulder and Scully were left downstairs on his makeshift living room bed watching the weather channel on television

Now that they were alone, Mulder was afraid of doing anything else that resembled what they had the night before in her bedroom. Now that they were alone, downstairs, he wondered what he was again doing here. Stuck in Baltimore. In the middle of a snowstorm. In her mother’s house. “So today was nice,” he started.

“Bill was such an ass,” she answered in a quiet voice. She lifted her bandaged hand to inspect it. “But Charlie seems to like you.”

“Does he know?” He took her bandaged hand and held in, resting it on his thigh. She arched an eyebrow as he suddenly pulled back. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, Mulder.” She played with his long fingers. “Last night wasn’t a mistake. I wanted it just as much as you.”

“But do you view it as a mistake. We can’t go back,” he said cautiously. “What happens when the snow is done and I go back to Alexandria, you go back to Georgetown, and we walk into the Hoover the next morning? What about the work?”

“The work,” she muttered. She took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully. “Mulder, there’s more to it than the work. It’s our journey now, together.” He was quiet. “Or was I wrong in assuming so?”

He shook his head. “It became about you,” he whispered. “It’s all about you. When we were on the bridge and you were being held hostage by that alien bounty hunter and I had to choose you or my sister...the only thing I saw was you. The only thing I could think of was you. I mean, here was my sister but you were the only constant thing I had in a very long time.” He gave Scully a wistful smile. “You were one heck of a little spy.”

“Still trying to debunk your work,” she teased.

“What are we doing, Scully?” he asked. His eyes stared down the hallways that led upstairs to her sleeping family. “Last night…”

“What about last night?”

“Was it a mistake,” Mulder asked. He let his insecurity show. “What we did? I’m half surprised that you haven’t thrown me out into the blizzard.”

“Why would I do that?” She played with his hair. “What?”

“This is something else I can get past. This Scully…” He played with her fingers and the gauze bandage. “You are so…”

“What?”

“Relaxed,” he replied, unable to say anything else.

“Mulder, I told you the truth. I am glad you are here. You make all this bearable. The past few months since Missy’s death, I sensed some sort of...tension between my mother and me. I feel like a part of her wishes it should have been me instead of her. I told you that she and Missy were close like me and dad right?” She shook her head. “I am glad you are here with me, Mulder. I don’t know where we are going down this journey or what the next step will be,” she said softly. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want this,” she motioned back and forth between   “to stop.”

Mulder relaxed slightly and gave her a wistful smile. “You are full of surprises, Scully.”

“You said it yourself,” she replied with a smirk, “I’m an x-file.”

Only Scully could turn something he said into something so wonderful. “I want to believe…” he teased.

She leaned closer and kissed him with a sigh. Mulder lounged back into the couch taking her with him. Unlike the night before, they were not rushed this time. He felt like a teenager and was about to get in trouble. He shifted Scully so they both were on their side facing each other. “We can’t be too loud.”

“We could go back upstairs,” he breathed.

His hands were remapping her body, cataloging each sigh and twist of her body. When he found that magic little space between her legs, she gasped. Sensing there was more coming, he increased his ministrations. There was suddenly a different sound coming from upstairs: the creaking of old stairs.

“Wait, wait. Scully!” He hissed.

She bit into his shoulder as another wave of pleasure overtook her. The footsteps were growing closer and despite Mulder’s handy work briefly pausing, the sensations Scully was causing was making him extremely uncomfortable suddenly. “Scully,” he whispered. “Someone’s coming.”

“I’m trying,” came the rushed pant in her ear, “but you’re making this very hard by being so good.”

Mulder awkwardly pulled a blanket over her and closed his eyes, trying to pretend he was asleep. Scully tried to smother a giggle that was threatening to erupt. Her hands played with him teasingly and he clinched his eyes in response. They both heard the footsteps drawing closer and Bill’s familiar voice mutter, “God damn them,” before stalking away.

Scully’s head emerged from underneath the blanket and looked at Mulder with hooded eyes. “What else do you do, Mulder?”

. . . . . . . . . .

January 8, 1996

The snow had finally stopped the next morning and it looked like an alien land as the snow reflected like crystals in the rising sun. Mulder stood by the front door, admiring the snow the stopped just below his knee through the glass storm door. He could walk through that, couldn’t he? The idea of facing Bill with the possible knowledge that he slept with his baby sister made him sick inside. Charlie was enough and did not seem keen on maiming him but Bill…

Mulder shivered.

Would he have been the same if Sam was alive? Sam...Melissa Scully. The crushing guilt came back suddenly as he was suddenly brought out of his reverie when Scully came up beside him with a cup of coffee. “He doesn’t know,” she murmured. “And even if he did, he wouldn’t say anything.” Scully eyed the snowfall. “And you wouldn’t make it down the block.”

“What makes you think I would be going alone?”

Her laughter was soft and she pulled at his hand, bringing him back into the kitchen. Mrs. Scully was making another breakfast fit for an army. Charlie was reading yesterday’s paper. Tara was watching the news while she helped her mother-in-law with the food preparation. Bill was conspicuously absent. “At least the weather has cleared up, Fox. They usually plow the roads within a day so you and Dana can get back to work. I must admit, I enjoyed your company as an added guest.”

“Thank you for not letting me freeze to death.”

Maggie chuckled. “I’m not cold-hearted, Fox.”

“Besides, the entire Scully family is not out to kill you,” Charlie added from behind the news section. Dana sat next to her brother and tossed a balled napkin at him. “I’m just stating a fact, Dana.”

Tara tore her eyes away from the television. “They are talking about shutting down the federal government for a few days because of the weather. Even if you could go back to work, you wouldn’t need to.”

“We’re classified as essential personnel,” Scully replied, “but it wouldn’t make a damn difference because of the government shutdown. We aren’t getting paid right now  .”

“Think Newt Gingrich orchestrated this blizzard, Scully?”

“It’d be a convenient excuse anyways,” she laughed.

“You wouldn’t have this problem if you were still a doctor.”

All eyes spun to Bill who looked less than pleased that morning. “Bill, I told you to stay in bed. Throwing up all night.”

“Throwing up?” Maggie Scully raised an eyebrow, going into mother mode. “Are you okay, Bill?”

“Fine,” he groaned. “I saw something very unpleasant.”

He directed his scorching gaze towards Mulder as Tara and Mrs. Scully abandoned breakfast to baby Big Brother Bill back up to bed. Scully remained silent as Charlie folder the paper causally. “Well, Dana,” he murmured, “at least you still have one Scully on your side and that knows.”

“Shut up, Charlie.”

“Don’t worry, Mulder. Bill hates everyone that Dana saw. You’re nothing special.”

Underneath the table, Mulder felt Scully squeeze his hand and give him a soft smile. Charlie set the paper aside and looked at his sister. “You were rather loud last night, Dana.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously as Mulder wisely decided to take a sip of coffee and keep his mouth shut.

“For what it’s worth, Mulder. I’m glad you are here with Dana. Certainly spices things up in more ways than one,” he laughed.

Scully blushed and squeezed her partner’s hand as Mulder chuckled, unable to come up with a reply.

. . . . . . . . .

January 10, 1996

By Tuesday, the city and state authorities had worked through the past 48 hours to clear the roads enough for Charlie, Mulder, and Scully decide it was time to depart Maggie Scully’s house and get back to their own lives. Mrs. Scully said goodbye with Tara in front of the house. Mulder caught Bill’s scorching glare from upstairs. Goodbyes were said by Mulder, Scully, Charlie as they departed to go their separate way. As the FBI partners got into the recently unearthed car to head by to Georgetown.

“Not how you thought it would turn out, huh?”

“Not bad at all, Scully.”

“Bill certain hates you.”

“Well, your mother doesn’t. Yet.”

“Give it time,” he answered.

She laughed as they began the treacherous drive back to spend an extra day off together before the snows safely melted.

[past-perfect-future-tense]

Stormy-blue

So first off I’m sorry this took me so long to post my submission in the #thorfanficwriters500challenge

Thank you @thorfanficwriter for the extension and I hope you like it! Thanks for hosting and actually this was my first time entering a writing challenge. It was about time I threw myself into the fire like you ladies do. So my character was Bucky and the lyric I chose was, “You got your hair slicked back and Wayfarers on, baby...”  This pic was the one I pictured of him...

I appreciate feedback and be gentle for when I sat down to write this is what happened.

Word count 1264 No warnings, just some fluff.

tagged @dracris33 @lokislittlewarrior @michelehansel @xmarveled @lookwhatyoumademequeue @lancsnerd

    He wasn’t a fan of the cold. After the past he had there wasn’t a soul on earth living or dead that would blame him for that. So when his friends/coworkers had suggested that he take a vacation he had no reason to say no. He’d never actually been on a vacation. Then again in his 90 plus years in this life his hadn’t been a normal one by any means. So with a suggestion from the AI, who incidentally took into consideration his past, recommended San Diego, California. 

San Diego, California was a place he’d never been. It was considered the birthplace of California. So it was new and unfamiliar in a completely different way. It wasn’t a place he’d hidden in to escape the world after he’d tried to figure out exactly who he was and what he wanted from his life, weather it was a small eastern European country or the magical nation of Wakanda. A place he’d never been, warm weather, sun, of his own accord, and not hiding from anyone sounded like perfection. 

He slowly explored all the popular places, to which lucky for him it was the off season and he didn’t have to deal with too many crowds. Enjoying the zoo, Balboa park, beaches, and a numerous strolls along the waterfront downtown were all well and good. However he had read of a festival that he was looking forward too. That festival being called Dia De Los Muertos or in english Day of the Dead. 

Being that California was once a part of Mexico, it’s only natural that many of the mother countries traditions are still honored and celebrated. Dia De Los Muertos is a celebration of life that honors our ancestors and loved ones who have gone on before us. They believe that if you remember them and honor them, they are never truly gone. Many of these celebrations are done with altars or offrendas that are decorated with candles, photos, momentos or items that remind us of your honored departed, calaveras (skulls made from a sugar dough painted with bright colors), food and flowers.

All of this attracted him and he knew this celebration would take place in the time he was there in San Diego, most specifically the oldest part of San Diego being called Old Town. On the first day of the festivities he made sure to arrive with enough time to see everything. He was alone so he took his time, watching everyone and everything unfold in front of him. He’d never witnessed anything like this before and wasn’t sure what to expect. Seemingly watching the people gather in their bright costumes and ornately skull painted faces fascinated him. He had so many questions but had no idea who to ask. So he waited and watched. 

The crowds got bigger and bigger as the day turned to evening. He knew there would be a parade that started on the one end of the main street and continued into the park where a prayer would be said offering blessings to the dead as well as the living. Eventually his eyes settled on a group of women who were dressed in brightly colored outfits, with flowers in their hair, and their face painted as skulls. Each one were skulls but they each had different details and colors that complimented their attire. One woman stood out to him and he watched her as she laughed and smiled with the other women who were waiting for the parade to start. He noticed her bright yellow dress that was off her shoulders and red shawl that wrapped around her arms. Her femininity is what caught his eye. She was beautiful and no amount of skull makeup could hide that. Oh how he wished he could approach her and talk to her like he would’ve if this was 1940. However it’s not and he’s not quite that same young man who had once charmed the ladies. 

While he watched her she was also watching him. She couldn’t help it. He was tall, shoulder-length brown hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, wearing a long sleeve blue henley, dark jeans, and a glove on his left hand. She didn’t care as to why he wore a single glove, how could she? She was dressed as a skeleton, holding a candle waiting to walk in a parade. Oh how she wished she could see his eyes. “You’ve got your hair slicked back, and Wayfarers on, baby…”  The song lyric rang out in her head as she decided it was time, time to talk to him. She’d never forgive herself if she didn’t.  

After she excused herself from her friends, she walked her way through the crowd towards him. He saw her as she stopped just inside his space and smiled at him. He smiled and took off he sunglasses and placed them upon his head. She wasn’t prepared for the stormy blue color of his eyes. In all actuality she would probably never be prepared to see them and yet loved the butterflies looking into them gave her. She reached out her hand and introduced herself. “Hola” 

“Buenos noches senorita. Como estas?” He asked as he took her right hand in his and much to her surprise he held onto it, pulling her closer to him. 

“Muy bien gracias, senor. Yo me llamo Charlotte.” She introduced herself and watched him as he looked to the ground and then back up to her.  

He started to say something but paused for a moment and then began, “Charlotte. Charlotte, such a beautiful name, it’s fitting.” A smile swept across her face and she could feel her face heat up thus being grateful that she was wearing makeup so he couldn’t his effect on her. “Charlotte, my name is James but please call me Bucky.”

“Well Bucky, it’s nice to meet you. May I ask you a question?” She smiled at him. 

“You can ask me anything.” Bucky says with boyish enthusiasm. 

“Well I wondering if you’d escort me in the parade? Which is about to start as I can hear the Mariachis beginning to play.” Charlotte asked him. 

Bucky squeezed her hand gently and then let go of it. He offered her his left arm and smiled as he began to answer her. “It would be my honor to escort you this evening, so long as you answer any and all my questions I have about everything.” 

Charlotte took his arm, “I’ll answer any questions you have, about anything.” 

“Okay, my first question is will you have a late dinner with me afterwards?” Bucky had the most beautiful smile and she couldn’t help but be happy that she was the reason for his smile. 

“There is nothing I’d rather do Bucky then have dinner with you.” Actually there were many others things she’s like to do with him but in time she thought as he was so handsome and sexy in the most unassuming way. He thought something similar as he couldn’t help but be attracted to her in a much similar fashion. They smiled at each other as an elderly lady approached them and lit Charlotte’s candle as the parade was beginning. “Muchas gracias ustedes.” She said to the elderly woman who winked at them and went over to someone else who’s candle needed to be lit. They could see the crowd ahead of them move forward as the candles lit the way and the music serenaded them as their journey in life began with death.

[endlessflame]

Family Reunion (Connor x MC, Logan x MC)

Summary: Maribel (RoD MC) and her family, including her cousin Vanessa (ILITW MC), get together in Lake Tahoe, California for a family reunion.

Rating: M

Author’s note: This is for @cora-nova‘s Choices August Challenge, bonus prompt Family Reunion.

Tags: @choices-august-challenge @cora-nova @brightpinkpeppercorn @mfackenthal @desiree-0816

Maribel closed the door to her hotel room and began walking towards the elevator. She was looking forward to seeing her mother's side of the family again. It had been too long since they were all together. They were spread out along the West Coast; she and her father were in Los Angeles, her maternal grandparents were in San Diego, Uncle Tony was in San Francisco, and Aunt Sara, Uncle Fernando, and her cousin Vanessa were in Westchester, Oregon. They had chosen Lake Tahoe as the site of their family reunion because it was a central location. As she walked down the hall of her floor, she heard a door open.

"Maribel!"

She turned around, rushed over to Vanessa, and gave her a hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too!" Vanessa motioned to the young blond man beside her. "This is Connor. Connor, this is my cousin Maribel."

Maribel smiled at him warmly. "It's nice to meet you, Connor. Vanessa's told me a lot about you."

"Oh, has she?  Connor grinned. "It's nice to meet you too."

Vanessa looked to Maribel. "Don't tell Grandma and Grandpa that Connor and I are sharing a room, OK?"

"Of course! They'd probably want to drag you off to confession immediately."

They took the elevator downstairs and headed to the hotel restaurant, where the family was meeting for dinner. Her father, grandparents, Sara, and Fernando were already seated at a large table. They sat down and began talking.

Not long afterward, Connor turned to Maribel. "You weren't kidding about confession, were you?"

"No, why?" Her question was answered as a priest approached the table. "Oh! That's our great-uncle Pedro."

Vanessa looked from Connor to Pedro. "Uncle Pedro, this is my boyfriend Connor."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Father," said Connor.

A few minutes later, Tony walked in with another man, younger than him, with blond hair that had been partially dyed green. "Hi, everyone. This is Greg."

Maribel's grandparents looked at each other, and then her grandmother turned to face Greg. "I'm Tony's mother, Silvia, and this is my husband Manuel." She then turned to Tony. "I didn't know you were bringing a friend."

"Greg moved in with me recently," said Tony.

"Oh, you brought your roommate!" Silvia glanced at Pedro, then looked at Tony pointedly.

Tony glared at his mother. Before he could say anything, the waiter arrived. After everyone had ordered, he brought a bottle of wine for the table.

"None for you," Maribel's father said to her.

"Fine, I'll have a Diet Coke." After everything she had been through with Logan, she was no innocent, but apparently a glass of wine with dinner was still too much to ask for, even though everyone else was having some.

Once they all had their drinks, Manuel raised his glass. "To our family. Salud!"

The others raised their glasses as well. "Salud!"

"Nice tattoo, Maribel!" said Tony.

Maribel smiled. "Thanks."

"Don't encourage her," her father said.

Like she couldn't make up her own mind! "I was thinking of getting another one, actually."

"You should come visit me. I'll take you to a great tattoo parlor. Rahim's work is magical." Tony grinned. "And he's easy on the eyes, too."

When their food arrived, Pedro led them in prayer. "Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen."

They began eating, and continued to catch up with each other. Maribel filled in her family on her first year at Langston.

Silvia directed her attention towards Vanessa and Connor. "You two have been together for a while now. Are you engaged yet?"

"Not officially," said Vanessa. "We want to get married eventually, but not yet. I want to go to grad school first. Then my friend Dan and I want to open up a practice together. He's going to be a counselor, and I want to do animal-assisted therapy."

"Vanessa is so good with animals," said Sara. "When we came back from Portugal a few years ago, she had adopted a kitten, tamed a crow, and was petsitting our neighbor's dog. It was like coming home to a zoo!"

"And what about you, Maribel? There must be lots of nice young men at Langston. Have you met anyone special?" Silvia asked.

Maribel reached up and touched the sparkplug that hung around her neck. She never took it off; she always wanted a piece of Logan close to her heart. She still wasn't over him, and she wondered if she ever would be. "No, I'm focusing more on my studies." Maybe she'd better change the subject. Logan was still a sore subject with her father, and she didn't want to risk him coming up. "So, what are we doing tomorrow?"

"It's going to be a nice sunny day," said Fernando. "How about we go to the lake? We could swim, or go boating."

"Good thing Uncle Pedro's here, in case we need an exorcism," said Vanessa.

Silvia's eyes widened. "What?"

"You never know what might be out there," Vanessa pointed out. "And I heard things from my friend Milla. What if the lake is haunted?"

"You have such a vivid imagination," Sara said. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"Anyone want to check out the casino tonight?" asked Greg.

"I do!" replied Tony.

Manuel shook his head. "You're throwing your money away."

"Greedy people try to get rich quick but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty. Proverbs 28:22," said Pedro.

Tony looked to Maribel, Vanessa, and Connor. "You guys want to come?"

Maribel thought about the last time that she had been in a casino. She still had nightmares about being trapped in the vault after seeing Jason stab a member of his task force to death. When the gas grenade had gone off, she thought she was going to die. "No, I had a really bad experience in a casino. I'm afraid it might bring back memories."

"You lost big, huh?" Tony asked.

"I almost lost everything." If Logan hadn't opened the vault and rescued her, she would have lost her life.

Vanessa looked at Maribel sympathetically, then turned back to Tony. "We'll pass too. Connor and I will keep Maribel company."

Later than night, Maribel went to Vanessa and Connor's room, and the three of them spent time talking. Without the older generations, they could speak more freely.

"You're an artist, right?" Maribel asked Connor.

Connor nodded. "I mostly do sculpture."

"Are you any good at drawing?"

"It's not what I usually do, but I can draw, yeah."

Maribel looked at Vanessa. "Did you tell him what I went through last summer?"

"Of course not. That's between us."

Maribel turned to Connor. "You know how I said I wanted to get another tattoo? I was hoping maybe you could design it for me."

"Sure, what did you have in mind?"

She took a deep breath. "Last summer I found out that I was pregnant. I know it wouldn't have been easy, but I wanted to keep the baby." Tears welled up in her eyes. "But...I lost it."

"Oh God, I'm so sorry." Connor leaned in and gave her a hug.

"Thanks. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to get a tattoo in memory of my baby. I was thinking of an angel with a ribbon wrapped around its robe, half blue and half pink, since I don't know if the baby was a boy or a girl. That's the miscarriage ribbon. And maybe you could make the angel look like a combination of me and Logan. The father." Maribel reached for her phone and opened up the photo app. She scrolled through her pictures and found one of Logan, then showed it to Connor. "That's him."

"I would be honored." Connor walked over to the desk and found a pad of paper. He sketched the design, then showed it to Maribel and Vanessa. "Here's a rough idea of what it would look like. You'll have to imagine how it would look with the colors."

Maribel was overwhelmed with emotions as she looked at the drawing. "It's so beautiful. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. I hope I did it justice."

"You did." Maribel touched her shoulder. "Think it would look good here? I like the idea of an angel on my shoulder."

"Definitely," Connor told her.

"That's perfect," said Vanessa.

"I bet Logan would love it too," said Maribel.

"Are you in touch with him at all?" Vanessa asked.

"Not as often as I would like. But at least I know how to reach him." Maribel picked up her phone and took a picture of the sketch, then sent a text to Logan. This is the tattoo I want to get in memory of our baby. Do you like it?

A little later, Logan replied. I love it. It's beautiful, and so are you. I miss you.

Maribel smiled as she read the text. "He loves it," she told Connor and Vanessa. "I hope you can meet him someday."

"I hope we can too. I know you miss him." Vanessa hugged Maribel tightly. "Remember, I'm always here for you. We're family."

[xcvierbell]

[ jesse williams, thirty two, cismale, he/him ] ━ did y'all see [ xavier bell ] walkin’ into [ fox & hare? ] they’ve lived in frostford for [ ten years, ] and you can catch ‘em around town working as a [ guidance counselor at frostford middle school ]. I reckon they’re pretty [ well spoken & educated ] but I hear they can also be kinda [ intimidating & condescending. ] if ya see ‘em around, be sure to say hi.  

hello its autumn again. i play men in their thirties and nothing else. let’s go.

the man, the myth, the legend. xavier. the x man. x truly marks the spot.

when he was a wee lad, he’d spend a few weeks every summer in good ol’ frostford. his grandparents are frostford natives, but his mom was all about getting out of town so she moved to baton rouge for school (lsu baby) and ended up staying there.

mom met the love of her life in college, so sweet so cute so pure.

so xavi baby is a louisiana boy. 

the weeks in the summer he spent in frostford were literal torture like. imagine being ten and your friends are living it up at water parks while you’re chasing chickens for the culture.

he was bored and his grandparents had weird rules and super strict bedtimes even when he got older. it was jank

anyway

growing up he was lowkey a nerd. he loved magic treehouse books and slept with his copy of one day at horrorland...he stanned goosebumps books hard. 

he’s still a nerd, but he’s hot now so he’s more on the down low. will he get into heated debates about the symbolism of colors in the great gatsby? of course, who doesn’t? so he’s not really trying to hide it

obviously he played brutus in a high school production of julius caesar, but no one needs to talk about that. he loves dat shakespeare though. he also played basketball and ran track so troy bolton was based on him. 

he went to lsu, duh, because that’s his parents alma matter. he was a big fan of the sports but didnt actually play them cause he was securing that academic bag instead (also he was good in high school but wasnt college athlete good big rip)

he has a masters degree in psychology, which he worked round the clock for. he took summer and winter sessions during school because he was a nutso who loved learning. like. he didn’t WANT the time off he was like give me the KNOWLEDGE. his friends were like yay! bachelors! and he was like catch up bitches i got that a year and a half ago ha ha.

he was planning on pursuing his doctorate but his grandma got sick and grandpa couldn’t take care of her by himself so he came back to frostford to help :’) what a sweetie

he also knew he could live with them without having to pay any rent or anything so...that was a big factor he ain’t all sweet

he helped around the house, helped take his grandma to appointments, made sure she took her medicine just old people stuff, but he was an ambitious little freak so after a few months he started interning to become a school counselor

he already had the degree, he just had to put in some service time. which mostly consisted of him sitting and watching another counselor have awkward conversations with students and hand them pamphlets rather than actually talk to them

so you know, xavier the king really wanted to make a DIFFERENCE 

he actually got in trouble for counseling some kids without being technically cleared to do so but....their actual counselor just didn’t listen to them :/ it wasn’t his fault :/

long story short he is now the counselor at the middle school yall dont wanna hear about this anymore

grandma got better btw, some tlc from xavi baby did the trick

time for rapid fire ridiculousness

frostford is so damn slow he feels like he’s gonna lose his mind sometimes. the routines are good to plan around, easy to organize stuff, but god sometimes he’s like i can’t believe i’m still here

he’s traveled~ as in, when he was in college he went on a backpacking trip to europe and talks about it too often, he also spent a day in paris eating nothing but bread and cheese and, again, wont shut up about it. please dont bring it up

he makes a point to travel somewhere once a year though, during the summer. sometimes it’s some place in the good ol’ usa, san diego’s beautiful. other times he’s gotta be extra and go to iceland. it happens.

he tries to be really honest and open with students that come see him. there are a lot of things going on in the world that teachers and authority figures try to shield kids from, but he’s like they’re not dumb they’re young teenagers they see this shit happening you gotta educate them!

he likes to get on their level and play games with them, basketball, catch, he has a playstation in his office. it’s easier for the kids to open up to him when it’s not in such a formal setting and they’re not forced to make deep eye contact

there’s a decent handful of students who move on from middle school into high school (obvs) but come back to talk to him if they’re having problems. he makes them feel heard :’)

he’s definitely slept with a students mom before but like...on accident? he can’t help who he matches with on tinder these things just HAPPEN

also thinks small town tinder is a form of torture because you’ll match with someone get your flirt on then run into them getting groceries like? theres not enough people here

there are like 45 people in town he rubs the wrong way because they feel like he’s talking down to them, he doesn’t mean to do it but sometimes these small town alabama folk say some real dumb shit

he’s friendly. you know, friendly.

loves a good steak, would potentially kill for it if it’s kobe

sideeyes anyone wearing a red hat. you know why. 

can’t stomach the smell of funnel cake because he threw up after riding too many rides at the fair it’s been 10+ years and he STILL can’t deal

loves atlanta and will take impromptu weekend trips there just to get away from people who think mobile’s classy

loves a good turtleneck

bruh why is this so long gn

#japril4eva