#momma's treasure box

[veggieowlet]

being a cg to a teen regressor makes me think about the endless opportunities of taking care of an older kiddo.

instead of monitoring and scheduling "playdates," i'm slipping a bit of cash to my baby when they hang out with friends, sending them off with a curfew and an embarrassing amount of kisses before they're out the door. or, letting them control the radio on road trips, rocking out all the while to the tunes.

it's also being a gentle yet firm guardian, from monitoring social media consumption to limiting energy drinks for their mental/physical well-being. but most importantly it's letting them feel heard when (despite being in an older headspace) words and feelings can still be hard to understand and communicate. its okay to feel frustrated or angry or upset at the world, you will always have the space to feel heard here because mama will always be right there for her baby with open arms.

banner refers to 18+ content! older regressors are always welcome to interact with me here

[girlactionfigure]

THURSDAY HERO: Barney Ross

Dov-Ber Rosovsky was a world-champion boxer and injured World War II hero whose fierce Jewish pride made him an icon to American Jews.

Dov-Ber was born in New York in 1909, the son of a Talmudic scholar who fled to America after surviving a pogrom in Belarus. Dov-Ber grew up in Chicago, helping out in his father’s small grocery store in a poor neighborhood and studying to be a rabbi.

His life was changed forever when his father was shot dead resisting a robbery at his store. Dov-Ber’s mother suffered a nervous breakdown and the kids were farmed out to foster homes.

Dov-Ber became bitter and angry. He turned his back on religion, changed his name to Barney Ross, and took a job working for Al Capone. Barney’s goal was to make enough money to buy a house and reunite his family. He soon became such an effective street fighter, however, that he gave professional boxing a try. Strong, fast, and determined, “Barney” became a world champion in the three different weight classes. He was known for his exceptional stamina and his street smarts.

In the 1930’s, when Hitler was rising to power, Barney Ross became a hero to American Jews by showing pride in his heritage and taking a public stand against Nazi Germany.  He was determined to end each fight on his feet to show that Jews fight and don’t go down. In Barney’s final fight, he defended his title against fellow three-division world champion Henry Armstrong. Barney got brutally pummeled and his trainers begged him to let them stop the fight, but he was determined to stay on his feet. He’d never been knocked out in his career and wasn’t going to start now. He retired from boxing in his early 30’s with a record of 72 wins, 4 loses, 3 draws, and two no decisions, with 22 wins by knockout. He achieved his goal of having no career knockouts.

After retiring from the ring, Barney/Dov-Ber enlisted in the US Marine Corps to fight in World War II. The Marines wanted to keep him stateside as a celebrity morale-booster, but Barney insisted on fighting for his country. He was sent to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific. During his time in Guadalcanal, Barney became friends with Chaplain Frederic Gehrig. Father Gehrig found an old pump organ on the island, and Barney was the only one who could play it. On Christmas Eve, before Barney and his fellow Marines were to go to battle, Gehrig asked him to play “Silent Night” and other Christmas songs for the troops. Barney happily obliged, finishing off the concert with “My Yiddishe Momma,” the song he used to play when he entered the boxing ring. Father Gehrig would later describe Barney Ross as a “national treasure.”

One night, Barney and three other soldiers were trapped under enemy fire. All four were wounded but Barney was the only one able to continue fighting. He gathered his comrades’ weapons and fought 22 Japanese soldiers, killing them all. Two of the American soldiers died, but Barney carried the third man to safety, even though the soldier weighed 230 pounds, while the wounded Barney weighed only 140! For his courage, Barney Ross was awarded a Silver Star and a citation from President Roosevelt.

Barney was hospitalized for his battle injuries, and the pain was so bad that he became dependent on morphine. After the war, he returned to America and opened a bar lounge. However, his drug addiction intensified as he turned to heroin, which was easier to obtain than morphine. Barney became hooked on heroin, an addiction that cost him $500 a day, as well as his marriage, his business and his life savings. Finally he hit rock bottom, and checked into a veteran’s recovery facility. He kicked his habit once and for all, and became a public speaker who educated high school students about the danger of drugs.

In the 1960’s, Barney made his living as a celebrity spokesman. After a brutal struggle with throat cancer, Barney Ross died in 1967 at age 57.

For his wartime heroism and for modeling Jewish strength and pride, we honor Dov-Ber “Barney Ross” Rosovsky as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[sebsxphia]

pls pls pls make a post that showcase little lambs outfits + accessories

ptolemaea. | the verses. | the little lamb archive.

￫ warnings: heavy religious themes and preacher!rhett abbott.

￫ authors notes: i had so much fun doing this, my dear anon! i hope you enjoy it! the blue background pictures are mine and my trinkets! the missing persons picture is also mine! a HUGE thank you to my dear momma @beachbabey for the poems. they will be treasured forever <3. headcanons for the ‘ptolemaea. | the verses.’ universe.

the trip out west with preacher abbott.

left: a satchel containing colouring books and coloured pencils.

middle: a box that preacher abbott kept for little lamb. further details on items down below.

right: the duffel bag that little lamb took the night they ran away.

little lamb’s treasured items.

left: marlboro reds.

middle: a bible that little lamb has had since a child and a pistol that rhett gifted them.

right: their own little lamb and a lamb in bunny’s clothing.

the lingerie set preacher abbott purchased for little lamb.

pieces of little lamb.

left: a piece of pink elastic from their underwear, a bow hair clip and a badge.

middle: their cross necklace and two other necklaces worn by little lamb.

right: another bow hair clip, silk hair tie and clippings from their pajamas that rhett purchased for little lamb.

little lamb’s wardrobe. all items of clothing they brought with them to the west and their ranch.

little lamb’s only pair of boots.

preacher abbott’s poems to little lamb. three poems spanning over three months.

photos.

left and right: polaroids and missing photos of little lamb.

middle: postcards they collected.

underwear and nightwear.

left: their socks in the dirt on their ranch.

middle: little lamb’s nightgown back home.

right: their vests to wear underneath when it gets cold.

winter.

left and right: little lamb back home when the months get colder. they brought these items with them, but they were never worn.

home.

left and right: their comforters and blankets.

middle: little lamb’s bedroom. their daddy left it to rot when they ran away with the town preacher.

bedroom vanity’s.

right: all the trinkets little lamb left at home.

little lamb’s church clothes.

left and middle: photos taken by little lamb’s parents.

right: photo taken by preacher abbott.

little lamb’s sunday best clothes. all photos taken by preacher abbott.

little lamb’s mothers wedding dress that they tried on once. they never got to wear it.

[wroteclassicaly]

Winter is the bane of your existence, your fingertips prickling with that icy electric as they struggle to lock your door with trembling hands. You’d lost your mismatched gloves in the laundry pile you’ve yet to do, and with your dad coming for supper this weekend, you realized you had to venture out into the arctic rain to get a few things at the store. It’s only a block from your trailer, but the moment you leave the confines of a tin roof that shields you beneath safety on your porch — you wish you would have managed your finances better, to save back some cash to order a pizza instead. Holding onto the railing, your legs tighten to hold you steady, deep black sludge darkening the wood of your steps, covering your half-shoveled walkway. You clutch your Goodwill thrifted handbag, digging out your list and balancing your ink pen between your teeth.

This, of course, has you not looking as you approach your mailbox to start your journey, failing to hear snow pack itself down beneath bike tires. His big feet hit the pedals for all they’re worth, and he lets them slam into the ground to slide, cold instantly soaking through his boots, past his socks, and landing across his toes. He prevents a total collision, but his torso catches you by the shoulder and his arms release his mailbag, crashing into the ground along with your tangled limbs. Your purse goes flying across the road, list destroyed, ink pen a casualty. It takes you a few moments to realize that you’re laying back against his chest, legs wound together, his bike several feet beyond, both of you soaked in muddy rain water and discolored snow, that you pray to god Old lady Tilly’s Pomeranian didn’t piss or shit in.

Everything aches, near that numbing, throbbing process from temperatures. Baron is groaning behind you, fingerless gloves swiping his chocolate tresses from his face. Looks like he forgot his hat today, you note, drinking in his disheveled appearance beneath his patchwork coat (you’re pretty sure he got that thing from a time capsule planted in the 70’s). His green cargo pants are sopping wet, having taken the brunt of the mud, his cheeks are dusted pink, along with his damp mouth and red nose. He’s an absolute treasure, shining everytime you see him, blinding your vision and common sense.

You look down as your skin warms from your realized predicament, almost forgetting about the snow and slush soaking through your pants, and now your panties.

“You okay, doodlebug?” His accented voice is winded, his hands reaching out gently to grasp his own ankle and lift it off of yours. Once your legs are free, he pulls you up with him and that hidden strength he possesses, his coat crunching under rustling fabric.

Your snow boots smack into the watery muck below, one hand held in his massive, gloved palm, the other planting itself on his jacket clad chest. You’re nodding, lifting your chin to face him. “I’m so sorry, Baron. M’ good, I just wasn’t paying attention —“

“You know how many times I’ve done that? Knocked into your mailbox a time or two.” He reaches down beside you to knock his knuckles across several indents in your box’s post. It makes you shiver, cars driving across snowy roads in the distance, a simple backtrack to you both.

Baron clears his deep, wind—coated throat, sniffling softly, taking a few steps behind him to grab up your purse. He brings it to you with an offered hand, starting to protest as you bend to retrieve his overflowing bag. Nothing is ruined, thankfully, and you make a quick exchange, fingers lingering, grazing.

“You’re cold, sweetheart. Should be wearing somethin’ on your hands. Momma used to tell me how fast the weather works against us.”

At the mention of his mother, you note his jostled deflation. You try to lighten his spirits, thanking him for breaking your short fall. “Just grateful we didn’t seem to land on anything special. Like a clockwork present from Mrs. Tilly’s dog.”

It’s comical how his moss-shrouded eyes, kissed beneath luscious lashes — widen in fear. He whispers, just to you, with tendrils of his hair blowing over your nose, tickling, caressing, drifting from your cheekbone, and even nicking your forehead. “Did it, ya know… do its business in there, you think?”

“I considered it within the first seconds, but I think we’re safe.” You’re chuckling, and the next sentence is leaving your mouth before you can stop it. “I think your ass got the brunt of the damage, if we’re being honest.”

He marvels at your language, lips pursing and then they pop, tongue clicking at the roof of his mouth. You start to wonder if you’ve overstepped, but he smirks, the corner of his mouth, tugging in a way that makes you want to kiss him breathless, not missing a beat. “You wanna check it out for me?”

Your brows raise higher on your frozen forehead, and he’s immediately apologetic, manners kicking into overdrive. “No, oh my goodness. Doodlebug, that wasn’t very proper of me when you were just—a—kiddin’ and all.”

His flustered state gives you confidence. “Maybe if you spin real slow. As for checking it out, I’d love to, if I didn’t have to make the store before closing.” You sigh when reality pushes its way in. Here in this park it’s usually Baron that jumpstarts those reserved butterflies, giving you something to always look forward to.

“What are you needin’? I might have it at home.”

“Baron, I don’t want to take anything from you —“

“It’s not takin’ if I offered, now is it?”

He’s slipping his bag over his shoulder and yanking bike by the handlebar off the ground, one hand on his trim waistline.

“Some stuff for supper. Dad is comin’ in this weekend.” Baron’s smile melts you entirely, your energies on high alert. He knows how your lack of relationship with your father affects you. He feels a possessive need to protect. Besides, your pop doesn’t deserve you working yourself into a frenzy over a home cooked meal.

“I got a frozen pizza. I think that’ll do just fine for him.”

He raises a hand off his bike to push his hair back, and then scrambles to replace it, the heavy object almost clattering onto the ground once more.

By god, he’s too cute for his own good.

“Okay.” It’s not one word, but it’s how you say it. Pliant and secure, satiated.

“Okay.” He replies, bashful, toeing his work boot into the ground and swirling it around the slush. “You go on back in and I’ll bring it to ya after my route?”

Your response shocks his flickering gaze into finding you. “Can I walk with you, Bar?”

Because yeah, you sure can…

// Eat me paragraph //

[loquarocoeur]

THE PLAYLISTS!! here are my in-depth thoughts about yours verse playlist bc this ask would be even more horrendously long 1. "risk" by gracie abrams is first of all such a good song, second of all it fits them so well and i cannot believe i didn't see that.

2. "CHEMTRAILS OVER THE COUNTRY CLUB" by LANA. FREAKING. DEL. REY. "drag racing my little red sports car; i'm not unhinged or unhappy, i'm just wild" and "it's beautiful how this deep normality settles down over me; i'm not bored or unhappy, i'm still so strange and wild" you are SO right

3. "naked in manhattan" is my favorite chappell roan song and that's all OKAY AND. AND. here are other songs i can see being yours coded bc i have too much time on my hands 1. "bad idea!" by girl in red (i think i have the right to say this as a lesbian idk.. seeing the amount of smut in the fic itself it's fitting)

2. "disaster" by conan gray (the second half of the chorus especially reminds me of the first chapter with drunk max)

3. "bang bang" by momma (this one is um. horny)

4. "a big brown dog named bagel" by nep (THIS ONE ESPECIALLY!!!! best 4 last. it gives charles pov and also the pet fics imo :,) ) okay i am SO SO sorry for yapping sm and writing a whole essay, i feel entitled i swear im not insane, i'm just very passionate about music as u can prob tell. i gave it colors if that helps. i don't have any smut to offer here only vibes and kinda horny songs, but for the anons going wild in ask box i salute u!

Omg yes, I know I wrote a whole fic called casual, but naked in manhattan is THE best currently released chappel roan song

And omggg you're so right with your recs actually I can't even explain, just everything about them you're righttt🥺🥺 Gonna be having so much fun dissecting these lyrics now I can't even quote the good parts at you there are too many

And I'm gonna be honest I appreciate non smut asks SO much bcs like I do love the horny but we also need a teeny bit of balance and I treasure the increasingly rare PG asks🥰🥰

[chickensarentcheap]

Lost and Found- Chapter 22

Fandom: Extraction

Pairing: Tyler Rake and Esme Drummond (OFC. But you do not have to read the others in the series to understand this fic.)

Warnings: some profanity, angst

ALSO, IT'S A LONG ONE, FOLKS lol. Sorry.

*Includes Extraction 1 and 2 canon mentions

Tagging: @tragiclyhip @munstysmind @themaradwrites @youflickedtooharddamnit @secretaryunpaid @kmc1989 @thebejeweledwatercat @asirensrage @theesirenteller @residentdormouse @arrthurpendragon @ocappreciation @occommunity @karimac @alisbackalleybbq @ninjasawakenedmystar

Link to Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43179357/chapters/130239049

My tag list is OPEN. Please just let me know if you'd like to be added :D

****

He lounges in the room Millie shares with Abuela. Stretched out on his side and propped up on his elbow; watching as his daughter quietly and contently plays just mere inches away. The four-year-old clad in her choice of attire for the day; consisting of a red and black button-down shirt paired with extremely bright and bold leggings with cat faces splashed over every inch. Her hair loose and unruly; falling into her eyes and over her face as she kneels in front of a large plastic tote box. Holding a treasure trove of belongings that Yaz had managed -after he and a small team had successfully broken in- to gather from Alessio’s home. Her entire collection of GI Joe dolls and My Little Ponies, more art and craft supplies, and a handful of Barbies and accessories.

“Tyler?”

He helps himself to one of the wine gums from the open carton that sits between them. Even in the midst of all of his prepping and immersing himself further in the role of mercenary, he had taken the time out when she’d requested his attention. Unable to resist that tiny voice, that hopeful smile, and those brilliant blue eyes. “Yeah?”

“Do you think that Barbie…” Millie holds up her favourite doll; baring beautiful dark skin and shimmering black hair and wearing a sparkling gold mini dress. And a matching pair of impossibly high heels. ”...THIS Barbie…would like GI Joe?”

“Which GI Joe are we talking about?”

“This guy!” She picks up the action figure in question; tall and muscular with blond hair and green eyes, clad in his fatigues. “He’s my all-time fave! The rest are just…I dunno…too basic for my best Barbie.”

“Basic?”

“Momma says that, in a nutshell, someone who is basic is VERY boring. Unoriginal. They don’t offer anything new. They can put you to sleep with how ordinary and vanilla they are.”

“She says that a lot about people?”

“Just the guys who try and date her. And you know what? She’s right. They’re basic as hell.”

Smirking, he pops the wine gum into his mouth.

Millie lowers her voice. “Momma actually calls them a bad word. Can I tell you what it is? Without getting in trouble? Or without telling her I said it?”

“I won’t give you any grief for it. And remember what I told you? About how snitches get stitches? Your secret’s safe with me.”

“She calls them ‘basic bitches.’” She dissolves into giggles, both hands covering her mouth, her eyes narrowed and sparkling. “Isn’t that hilarious? Basic bitches. It’s mean, but it’s funny too!”

“Does your mom date a lot? Has there been a lot of guys? Before Alessio? That come around?”

“No. Not really. Not a lot. Just a few. And momma didn’t date. They TRIED and date her.”

“Gotcha. So they ask her out and…?”

“And she always said ‘no’. That she wasn’t interested. She was nice when she told them that. She said just too busy with work and taking care of me. But once they were gone? She told me the real deal.”

“She told you? Or did you hear her telling someone else?”

“You’re good. You’re REALLY good. Don’t tell her that either, okay? That I spy sometimes? I hear things. Mostly when she’s talking to Auntie Nik on the phone or Facetime. Sometimes it’s Uncle Yaz. Mom thinks I’m asleep, but I’m really sitting at the end of the hall. She can’t see me if she’s in her room, and I’m hiding there.”

“This is when you lived in your old apartment?”

Millie nods. ”I LOVED that apartment. It was nice. Better than living at Alessio’s dumb-ass house. I wasn’t allowed to do anything there. I wasn’t allowed to make crafts because they were too messy, I wasn’t allowed to listen to music and dance, and I definitely wasn’t allowed to have a pet. I had a cat. Before we moved in with him.”

“Where’s the cat now?”

“Uncle Duey took her. Her name is Beatrice, but everyone calls her Bea. Like how my name is really Amelia, but everyone calls me ‘Millie.’ She’s super cute; she’s black, but she has white under her chin and near her nose, and she has white socks. We got her from the shelter.”

“You miss her?”

“I miss Bea all the time. She used to sleep with me. Every night. Right by my head. And she was a lot of fun! She would play fetch; I’d throw her favourite toy, and she’d run and grab it and bring it back to me! And she LOVED to sit in the window and yell at the pigeons that came on the balcony. I bet she would have grabbed ‘em and beat ‘em up if mom let her outside.”

“That wouldn’t have been good. What if they beat HER up?”

“Do you know who the Bowery King is?”

“I know a bit about him.”

“Momma and Uncle John know him. I only met him once. Momma took me to where he lives. He has tons of pigeons! And mom said if Bea ever got out and caught one of his birds? We would have been in big shit!’

Tyler gives a small chuckle. “I can imagine.”

“Uncle John said we would have been fine. He would have protected us. He would have told the Bowery King to take a hike! He didn’t say it like THAT, though. He said the ‘f word’. Do you know what word I mean?”

“I do. Very well. So about these guys your mom would date…”

She stares at him pointedly. And in those narrowed eyes and furrowed brow, he immediately sees himself.

“That tried to date HER,” he quickly corrects himself. “She didn’t like any of them?”

“I mean, I guess she liked them enough. To at least give them a chance.”

“What happened? Things didn’t work out?”

“She got bored with them. They weren’t interesting enough for her. And they all had boring jobs; lawyers and doctors and guys that work on Wall Street. Yawn city! And they weren’t even good-looking to make up for it! But there was one guy, though. That was pretty cool. I liked him.”

“What was he like?”

“He was super nice. He would always bring us takeout; pizza and Chinese and fried chicken and even tacos!”

“Everything is about food with you, isn’t it.”

“It’s my love language. It makes my tummy AND my heart happy. I don’t care if I get fat when I’m older. I’m gonna eat as much as I want. Whatever I want, too!”

“So this guy…”

“He used to take us to Rangers hockey games and to see the Mets play baseball. And sometimes, he’d take me places all by himself. We’d go to the movies and bowling and to the arcade!”

“Your mum was okay with that? Just sending you off with him!”

“She trusted him. He was a policeman!”

Tyler frowns. “He was a cop.”

“Not like a regular one. He wore normal clothes. Sometimes a suit and tie. And he would go to accidents and murders and stuff and ask people lots of questions.”

“He was a detective?”

“Yeah! That’s what he was! He was an alright guy, though. He was nice to me. And I think he REALLY liked mom.”

“Did he ever stay over?”

“Hell no! That’s a big no-no! Momma NEVER let that happen. She would always say that ‘Millie isn’t ready for that kind of thing’. And she was right. I didn’t want to see some guy walking around in his gitch first thing in the morning!”

“What happened? With your mum and this guy? She wasn’t into him?”

“She seemed like she was. They spent a lot of time together. It’s kinda weird, right? That he was a cop? ‘Cause momma’s job is totally illegal, and Auntie Nik is a criminal! Did you know that? That she was in jail?”

“I did know that, yeah.”

“Totally badass, right? But the guy? He found out the truth about what mom does for a living. And everything about Auntie Nik and Uncle Yaz. After that, he couldn’t date momma anymore. If he did, he’d have to arrest her.”

“That wouldn’t have been good.”

“No. But instead of doing that, he just decided not to see her anymore. He said he would pretend he NEVER found out the truth. That’s good of him, I think. ‘Cause then momma would have gotten in trouble, and I never would have seen her again. That would have made me really sad. Not to have my momma. And you never answered my question.”

“I forgot what it was.”

“Would my favourite Barbie like my favourite GI Joe?”

“What do you think?”

“Well, he seems nice enough. He’s definitely not boring. Like Ken. Ken is definitely what mom would call a basic bitch.”

“Yeah, he’s always been a drongo.”

“What does that mean? drongo?”

“Stupid. An idiot.”

“A dumb ass?”

“Basically. That’s what we call them. In Australia. Drongos.”

“Does everyone in Australia talk like you do?”

“Maybe not exactly like it. But we all have accents. They sound a bit different; depending on what area you come from.”

“And are there tons of cool words there? That you say different than us?”

“Way too many to count. Once you get settled, I’ll teach you all kinds of cool slang.”

“Will you teach me the swears too?”

“I don’t know about THAT.”

“Please? Pretty please? I want to learn the swears! I promise I won’t repeat them. Not in front of other adults or kids. And especially not in front of momma. It can just be for us!”

“We’ll see.”

“And am I really going to get to see kangaroos and koalas?”

“I get them all the time around the house. The koalas love the trees in the backyard. They’re always hanging out in them. You’ll have to be careful, though; they’re cute, but they can be nasty. Don’t go around chasing them and trying to pick them up, alright?”

Millie nods. “Momma said there’s lots of snakes there, too. Will we get to see those?”

“Sometimes they even get in the house. Then I have to grab them and take them back outside. Are you scared of snakes?”

“Nope. Momma is, but I’m not. I think they’re cool.”

“You can help, then. We get any in the house, you can be the junior snake wrangler.”

“Is it true that the spiders are the size of dinner plates? That’s what mom said.”

“They can be≥ d. They won’t hurt you, though. They’re huge and ugly, but they’re not dangerous.”

“I wanna see one. Really bad!”

“Tell you what, first one I have to relocate ‘cause your mom is threatening to burn down the house? I’ll let you hold it. Get you used to handling them. So you’re not freaking out when you see them wandering around the place.”

“So I’m not a ‘fraidy cat like mommy! When we lived in our old apartment, we’d get spiders! Just little ones, though. And daddy long legs. She was even scared of them! I’m the one who had to get them for her. And she would always want me to kill them! ‘Millie, get him! Squish him!’ Mean mom! But you know what I did instead? I saved a spaghetti sauce jar and cleaned it all out and that’s what I’d put them in. And then I’d take them outside and let them go!”

They lapse into a comfortable silence, and Tyler watches her as his little girl neatly arranges her toys and craft supplies in the bin; not having the heart to point out that all the transporting during their relocation to Australia would no doubt leave the bin in a disorganized mess. She hums while she works; a trait she’d inherited from her mother, and he’d both discovered and fallen in love with- during their year together.

Yet despite the similarities to Esme, he sees more of himself inside Millie than anything else. The identical profile -before his nose had been broken and left him with the bump in the bridge-, the same furrows in the brow, the brilliant blue eyes, the curve of the jaw line, the slim, slender neck, and long, almost gangly limbs. And it’s almost unsettling; sitting across from his ‘mini me’ with all their likeness and her resemblance in physical appearance, personality and likes and dislikes she shares with his son. Their love for drawing and crafts. Their care and compassion for animals. Their endless curiosity and love for life and everyone in it.

Sitting back on her heels, she shoves her hair out of her face “Tyler?”

“Millie?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You’ve been on a roll so far. I don’t see a reason for you to stop now.”

“It’s kinda personal. And touchy.”

“Personal and touchy for who?”

“Me. I might get emotional.”

“That’s okay. You’re human. Nothing wrong with being emotional.”

“I don’t want to embarrass myself. In front of you.”

“There’s nothing for you to be embarrassed about. It’s normal; to get emotional and show and talk about feelings. Even guys like me do it.”

“Really?”

He nods. “I didn’t do it for a long time. I was always scared to. And then I met your mum, and she taught me that it was alright to show that side of myself. To get angry and sad. To even cry sometimes.”

“YOU cry?”

“Everyone does. Or everyone should, at least.”

“And mumma taught you that?”

“Your mum taught me a lot of things. About myself. And about others and how to treat them. What do you want to ask me?”

Millie releases a long, heavy sigh as she steels her emotions. “Do you think he’ll like me? When he meets me?”

“Who is ‘he’?”

“My dad.”

His entire body tenses; throat and jaw tightening, stomach clenching.

Millie continues, not noticing his sudden discomfort. “My daddy lives really, really, REALLY far away. We’ve never actually seen each other. And momma said that when I’m a bit older, she’s going to take me to meet him. And I wanna meet him, but I’m scared. That he won’t like me.”

“Why wouldn’t he like you? What’s not to like?”

“What if he thinks I’m annoying? ‘Cause I talk so much? Or what if he thinks I’m too noisy and too messy and too bossy and that I need to go live somewhere else? Away from mom.”

“Did someone say all those things? About you? Is that why you’re afraid he will?”

“Alessio. He didn’t like me being around. He said I was ‘too much’. That I needed to be taught how to behave ‘cause mom obviously never bothered to do it. He wanted to send me away. To a special school. Where I’d have to live. Instead of with momma.” Her lower lip and chin wobble as tears sparkle in her eyes. “I don’t want to be away from momma. I’d miss her too much. I’d cry all the time.”

“No one is going to take you away from your mum. You’re going to stay with her. Until you grow up and you meet some nice guy and…”

“Or girl. It could be a girl, too. That’s okay, you know. If girls love girls and boys love boys.”

“...and you have little ones of your own. Then you’ll want your own space. To raise your family.”

“But somewhere close to mom. Real close. Maybe next door. ‘Cause I don’t want to be far away. What if I need her? Or what if she needs me?”

“Then you live as close as you can to her. But still be under your own roof. No one is going to take you from your mum. She’d never let that happen. I’D never let that happen.”

“He was mean. Alessio. Mom and him fought all the time. Is it my fault? That they did?”

“No. It’s not. And nothing that happened the other night is your fault, either. You know that, yeah?”

She nods.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t cause them to fight. They fought because your mum was sticking up for you. Because she would do anything to protect you. And he didn’t like that.”

“And because he’s a drongo!”

“He definitely is. A big fucking drongo.”

Clamping a hand over her mouth, she giggles at his words.

“And why would your dad not like you? What’s not to like?”

“Because I can be super loud. And messy. And a bit too much.”

“You’re four. You’re supposed to be loud and messy. And a bit too much.”

“So you think he will? Like me?”

“No. I don’t think he’ll like you. I think he’ll love you. How can he not? You’re his little girl. His baby. So unless he’s a complete asshole…”

“He’s not. Momma said he’s a really nice guy. And momma wouldn’t lie about that. If he was a jerk, she’d say so. And she wouldn’t take me to meet him, that’s for sure.”

“What else has your mum said? About your dad?”

“Just that he lived really far away and that he was a good person with a really good heart. That she wished things could have been different and that she never had to leave. It made her sad, you know. That she couldn’t stay. It made her cry. Talking about it. I don’t like it when mom cries. It hurts my heart.”

“Hurts my heart, too.”

“And she said she loved him. Very much. And that she always would.”

He noisily clears his throat in a desperate attempt to wash away the lump of emotion that threatens to choke him.

“Do you think he loves her? Still?”

“Maybe. You’d have to ask him that.”

“Can I tell you something?”

Tyler nods.

“I’m also scared that he’ll want momma back. ‘Cause we’ll be living with you. And you love momma, and she loves you, and we’re gonna be a family, right?”

“That’s what I want.”

“But what if he wants momma for himself? And you have to fight over her?”

“I’m not worried about that. I already know I’d win.”

“I don’t want to be away from momma, but I don’t wanna be away from you, either. I want to meet him, but I don’t want to live with him. I want to live with YOU. You wouldn’t let him take us, would you? You’d stop him, right? If he tried to force us?”

“He wouldn’t stand a chance. I’m not giving you or your mumma up. You guys are stuck with me.”

“If he doesn’t like me, will you punch him in the face?”

“If you ask me too. But you don’t have to worry about that. He’ll like you. He’ll LOVE you.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“And you promise you won’t let him take us? To live with him? Like I said, I wanna meet him, not live with him.”

“You and your mom aren’t going anywhere.”

“What if mom goes? If she does, can I stay with you? I’m sure my dad’s a good guy, but he probably can’t protect me like you can. He’d probably be scared of the bad guys. And he’s probably not as awesome as you. With the cool hair and all the tattoos and stuff. I bet he’s not like that. At all.”

“You won’t know until you meet him. But even if he is cool, there’s no way he’s as cool as me.”

“Oh god…” Millie gives a dramatic gasp. “...what if it turns out he’s a basic bitch?”

“No one as awesome as you could ever come from someone that’s a basic bitch.”

“That’s a really good point.”

“Your dad is going to love you. Don’t ever doubt that. And don’t ever doubt how much your mum already DOES love you. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for you, Millie. You’re her baby. You always will be. No matter how old you get.”

“Momma always wanted to be a mommy. Did you know that?”

“I do. We used to talk about it. And we used to talk about having babies. Together.”

“Really?”

Tyler nods. “We wanted to get married. Have a family. And then things fell apart, and we broke up.”

“But if you didn’t break up, she never would have met my dad. And I wouldn’t be here.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Let’s just say that if something is meant to be, it’ll be. If someone is meant to be in your life, you’ll find your way back to them. No matter how long it’s been since you last saw them. And I haven’t seen your mum in a long time.”

“But you still love her?”

“I love your mumma very much. More than I ever thought I could love someone. And you know who else I love?”

The four-year-old shakes her head.

“You.”

Millie squeals when she’s scooped up and thrown high over his head; dissolving into giggles when he effortlessly catches her effortlessly and then tickles and lightly pinches her sides. He switches to pressing endless kisses over every inch of her face until she’s laughing hysterically; squirming and complaining that his beard is scratching her. And when he at last collapses onto his back, bringing her tiny body to rest on top of him, she wraps both arms around his neck. Noisily kissing each of his cheeks, and then beaming down at him.

“I love you, too.”

*****

After helping settle Millie for the night, he meets with Nik and Yaz in the former’s hotel room; slowly and meticulously going over his end of the extraction. Pouring over the blueprints of the hotel’s ‘bowels’ spread across the table as Yaz paces the floor; laptop in hand as he verbally rifles off pertinent information. Nik stands alongside Tyler; hunched over the papers, using a red marker to circle and isolate important spots on the map.

“The route will take you through a few different places,” Yaz announces, pausing his pacing in order to take a swig of coffee. “This is the order: secondary kitchen, boiler room, laundry facilities, and an underground bunker.”

Tyler uses the tip of his index finger to trace the path. “What’s the bunker? What’s the story of that?”

“It’s where Winston hides out during ‘intense situations,’” Nik explains. “It’s highly stocked; every handheld weapon you can possibly think of. And its corresponding ammo.”

Tyler smirks. “Something tells me it’s not your basic ‘shelter in place.’ I highly doubt he hangs out somewhere with concrete walls and bare lightbulbs.”

“It’s as luxurious and over the top as you’d expect from him,” Yaz pipes up. “He’s known to hold ‘executive meetings’ and talks with weapons dealers in there. It’s how we first met him. Years ago.”

“There’s no other way to the loading docks? That doesn’t take me right past his little hideout?”

Yaz shakes his head. “None. When it comes to the blueprints, what you see is what you get. Everything that is available to us is right there. There’s no secret passages, no hidden hallways, no indirect path. It’s this way, or no way.”

“And there’s no other options? When it comes to exits?”

“This is the safest route out of The Continental. There’s too much foot traffic if you go in any other direction. This is the only path that’s NOT heavily patrolled by security. And trust me, this place doesn’t just have regular, run-of-the-mill guards to keep things running smoothly and make sure people stay in line. They’re heavily armed. AND expertly trained. You take a different way and run into half a dozen or more…”

“Yaz and I have walked every possible path, documented every step,” Nik says. “None of them give you even the slightest chance of going unseen and unheard like this one does. It’s too risky any other way.”

“Can’t exactly go unseen and unheard if I have to go right past it. I’m leading her right to the wolves. If Winston is hanging out in there and he hears us…”

“It’s a secure room,” Yaz explains. “It’s essentially a vault; with walls thicker and more secure than anything you’d see at even the most high end of banks.”

“A bomb could go off right outside the door, and whoever’s inside wouldn’t even hear it,” his sister adds. “There is no way if he WAS holed up inside, that Winston would know you’re even out there.”

Tyler sighs. “Just the thought of taking her right past his doorstep…”

“This whole place is his doorstep,” Nik reminds him. “There’s no one hundred percent foolproof way to get out of here. In the end, it comes down to picking the least of the evils and just going with it. Hoping for the best.”

“That’s hardly reassuring. This isn’t exactly the job I want to resort to just ‘hoping for the best’. I can’t just cross my fingers and hold my breath and pray that everything’s going to work out. If it wasn’t so personal…”

“We wouldn’t have decided on this route if we had any other option. You know that we’d never put you at risk. That we’d…”

“I don’t care about me. This comes with the territory; putting my ass on the line. But taking her right into the lion’s den? And just hoping nothing goes wrong? That’s not good enough, Nik. That’s not NEARLY good enough.”

“If there were any other options, we would have found them. But this is it, Tyler. It HAS to be this way. There’s nothing else. It’s this way or no way.”

Heaving a sigh, he runs his hands through his hair and down his weary face. Stepping away, he pours himself a cup of coffee from the carafe on the window sill; his back to the others as he nurses his drink and stares into the night. And he finds himself marvelling at the neighbouring buildings; blazing pillars of light that climb high into the black canvas of sky. And in that moment, in a city of millions and in the midst of the hustle and bustle, he’s never felt so…done. Tired of the job and everything that comes with it; the danger and the unpredictability from one moment to the next. He finally feels ready; confident in the decision to -when the final mission is finished and the coast is truly clear- to walk away from it all. To concentrate on creating a normal life; pouring his attention and his energy into firefighting and running his own business. And being a husband and a father. Someone that Esme and Millie can rely on. Not just to protect them, but to provide for them.

Love them.

Nik joins him at the window, uncapping a bottle of water and taking a sip. “Talk to me.”

“About?”

“You’re unsettled. This isn’t like you. You’re usually focused. You have your head on straight. You never break a sweat. Now…”

“This isn’t a regular gig, Nik. You can’t expect me to act like it is.”

“I HAVE to expect it. In the same way YOU have to treat it like you would any job I give you. You can’t let your heart overrule your brain. It’s dangerous. Life threatening. If you start feeling too much…”

“How can I not? This is as personal as it gets. This isn’t just random people I’ve been hired to help. It isn’t my ex-sister-in-law and her kids. This is MY kid. And it’s Esme. MY Esme. These aren’t regular clients.”

“You have to treat them like they are. If you don’t…”

“I can’t just turn it off. Maybe six, seven years ago, I would have been able to. I would have been able to separate THAT Tyler from THIS Tyler. But now…”

“This was a bad idea. Getting you involved. And I told her that. That calling you was the worst thing we could do. That I had other people that could handle this sort of job and…”

“Calling me was the best thing you could have done. For more reasons than one.”

“We’re not going to talk about that. Now isn’t the time. Now…”

“You should have called me a long time ago. About Millie. You had every chance to tell me; that I had a kid out there. And the least you could have done was tell me Esme was alive. You have had every opportunity to put my mind at ease. To let me know that she was okay.”

“I already have explained. Why I did what I did. And I’ve already apologized. I’ve…”

“I don’t care about your apology. I don’t need you to keep saying, ‘I’m sorry.’ Remember when you gave me shit? For not telling you it was my ex-wife who hired me in Georgia? How you talked about not needing my apology but my trust? That should have went both ways. Because now? After everything you’ve done? Everything you COULD HAVE done? How am I supposed to trust YOU?”

She blinks, taken back by his honesty.

“I can’t do this anymore. Not even as a side gig. I can’t keep putting myself out there. Everything’s changed. The second Esme walked back into my life…”

“Don’t make any hasty decisions. Right now, you’re running on pure emotion. You’re…”

“She’s going to need me, Nik. And not like THIS. She doesn’t need mercenary me. She needs a partner and husband and a father to her little girl. And any kids that might come after that. She needs me home. Safe. She shouldn’t be watching me walk out the front door and then spending days…weeks…wondering if I’m going to walk back in.”

“You’re going to have all the time in the world to think about quitting. When this job is done and I’ve taken care of things here in the city, and there’s no more threat…”

“I don’t need any more time. My mind was made up the second I saw her. As soon as she walked into the room and I realized she was the one who hired me, that was it. I don’t need to think about it.”

“Is it what she wants? You walking away?”

“It’s what she deserves. This life? It’s not good for her. And it’s definitely not good for Millie. It’s time, Nik. This is it. No more. No more calling me and asking for favours. I’m done. And if that means you lose my number and forget I ever existed, then that’s the way it has to be.”

“That would never happen. Whether you work for me or not.”

“Esme and Millie have to be first. I made that mistake with Mia; putting the military before her and our boy. I’m not going to do it again. Not with Esme. Not with the love of my life. I lost her once. I’m not going to lose her again.”

“And you’ve talked about this? With her? You’ve…”

“We’re getting married. As soon as we can. Just something small. The two of us and Millie and a couple of witnesses. We have five years to make up for. We’re not going to waste any time.”

“And you’ll be happy? Giving this up? Entirely?”

“Maybe not at first. But it’s something I HAVE to do. I have a family now.”

“You’ve had a family all this time. Yaz and me and…”

“It’s not the same, and you know it. I have a daughter. I’m going to be a husband. And those are the two things I have to concentrate on. I need to give them a normal life. Away from all of this. They deserve better. From me.”

Sighing, she nods slowly as she considers his words)

“You’ll find someone else. That annoys you as much as I do.”

“Maybe that’s true. But I definitely won’t find someone that can do the job nearly as good as you.”

“Maybe it’s time for you to move on, too. Do something else with your life. Remember what you told me? In Austria? About how my entire life fit inside one little box? And how I should do something about it. Well, it’s taken me a couple of years, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“If anyone deserves a shot at a normal life…”

“And maybe you should take your own advice. You can’t tell me this is all you want. Being caught up in all of this. You can’t tell me this is the only kind of life that makes you happy? What about filling your own boxes? When are you going to start on that?”

A smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth. “I’m not taking personal life advice from you. Considering the mess you made of things by getting hooked up with Delaney…”

“I know I’m not the guy who should be talking. I don’t exactly have the best track record; when it comes to women and marriage and having kids. But this can’t be it. This can’t be all you want. And don’t even try and lie; I know when you’re full of shit.”

Managing a small laugh, she reaches out to rub his upper arm. “I hope it all works out for you. I hope you and Esme go on to get married and stay that way for a few decades. I hope you have more babies. And grandbabies. I hope you get your happily ever after.”

“So do I.”

“But for now, can we concentrate on other things? On what’s in front of us? Because none of that will happen for you if you don’t get Esme out of here. If that goes wrong…”

Tyler sips his coffee. “I’ve got…concerns.”

“About the plan? The route?”

“I’m not thrilled with having to take her that away; parade right past where Winston might be hanging out. But if there really is no other choice, I’ll make it work.”

“There Is no other option. Believe me, I would have given you one if there were.”

“It’s more than that. Something doesn’t feel right. Something ISN’T right.”

“In what way?”

“Winston’s been way too quiet. Since that sniper tried to take Millie and me out. He hasn’t come up to the suite once; to see how she’s holding up. Don’t you find that a little odd? Considering he calls her his granddaughter? You don’t find it strange that he hasn’t bothered to check if she’s okay?”

“It’s more than a little odd. Much more.”

“All he cared about was the room getting shot up. Us ‘making a mess’ of things. Bringing trouble here. Other than taking the time to try and reem you out…”

“He learned very quickly. That NO ONE speaks to me like that.”

“...he hasn’t made any attempt to contact Esme. And I know that should make me happy; considering he’s got some kind of fucked up old man crush on her…”

“It’s unsettling.”

“Very. He spent how many months keeping her safe here? After that adjudicator showed up at our place, and Esme took off? Better part of a year, yeah?”

Nik nods.

“Even after that, when she finally could go on with her life, he kept tabs on her. Made sure that no one was watching her or causing her trouble. And look how fast he came to the rescue this time. When she and Millie needed a place to hide out.”

“He isn’t just seeing her as a daughter. I’ve always said it; that the way he feels goes far beyond what a parent would feel for a child. It never sat well with me; how much he doted on her and needed to be around her.”

“It’s fucked up. Not just how he feels about her, but how far he’s willing to go to keep her here. Under his thumb. And away from me. Offering me the money to walk away, threatening me, having a sniper try and take me out…”

“We don’t know that was him. That organized that. We…”

“All of that, and now suddenly he’s disappeared? Gone silent? He doesn’t give a shit about her anymore? He hasn’t bothered to check up on her or Millie? It doesn’t make sense. Something isn’t right, Nik.”

“Is that your brain or your gut telling you that?”

“A bit of both.”

“I’ve already told you to listen to your instincts; that they’re very rarely wrong. And if something doesn’t feel right to you…”

“It feels FAR from right.”

“You think he knows what we’re up to? Do you think we might have a mole? That’s tipped him off?”

“It’s possible. He could be just lying in wait. For us to make a move. Is there anyone that you don’t trust? On the team? That sat in on the plans and might have shared the info?”

“I wouldn’t have them here if I didn’t trust them.”

“If he knows what we’re up to, we’re fucked. He’ll be on us before I even get Esme anywhere near the exit. And if he knows what day and time…”

“You’re thinking he might ambush you.”

“Not just him. If he does have a small army of these highly trained security people…”

“Should we change the date? The time? We can’t change the path. There’s no other route to take. And if we’re not out of here before the deadline he’s given us…”

“How comfortable do you feel going to him?”

“It’s pretty much the last thing I want to do, but…”

“What if I asked you to go and talk to him? Try and find out what he knows. See if you can convince him to give us some extra time?”

“Stay here even longer? Tyler…”

“Not actually stay here. But put it in his head that we’re going to, then leak a fake date and time. If he thinks we’re taking off then, that opens the door for the plan we already have. Puts him off our scent.”

“You think he’d fall for that?”

“I don’t know. But at this point, I’m willing to try anything. I HAVE to get her out of here. Without him knowing. Because if he catches on and tries to stop me…”

“If you kill him, you’re just opening up a whole new world of hurt for yourself. And for Esme and Millie.”

“If he gets in my way, I won’t have a choice. Because he’ll stop at nothing to keep her here. And I can’t let that happen. I can’t let him get his hands on her. She’s not his to have.”

“The High Table will come for you. If you kill him, they won’t let you have a moment’s rest. They will track you down. And what kind of life is that? Living with that fear?”

“I’m not scared of them.”

“You should be. Because they won’t think twice about using Esme or Millie to get to you. If you kill Winston and manage to get out of here, you will have a target on your back for the rest of your life.”

“I’ve had one on my back for years.”

“Not from THEM you haven’t. Why would you want to take that risk? Having The High Table after you? Why…?”

“He gets in my way, I will take him out.”

“Don’t do it, Tyler. You may not care about your life, but it isn’t just you anymore. Think about Esme. And Millie. They don’t deserve to live with that kind of fear. And they certainly don’t deserve to lose you. You just got Esme back. You just found out you’re a dad again. Why…?”

“If he doesn’t give me a choice, I’m doing what I have to. To get her out of here.”

“You won’t be safe anywhere. Wherever you run to, they’ll follow. They WILL find you. I’m warning you, Tyler. Don’t do it. Find another way. To deal with him. IF it happens. But don’t do THAT. Anything but that.”

“I can’t make any promises, Nik. Because if he tries to stop me or he hurts her in any way…”

“I am begging you NOT to do it. To not go that route. You can’t take it back. You can’t make things right. If you take him out, you’re signing your own death certificate. You know that, right?”

“I’ll do what I have to do. To get Esme out of here. And if they come for me…”

“Not if. When. WHEN they come for you.”

“Then I deal with it. I pay the price. But you gotta promise me one thing. If that happens.”

“I’m not putting my support behind this. I can’t. I can’t give you my blessing. Not for this. I’m sorry. I…”

“I want you to take care of them. Esme and Millie. Make sure they’re alright. If I’m not around to do it…”

“Don’t talk like that. Don’t…”

“Just promise me, yeah? You’ve done it before; made sure they were safe and taken care of. I’m sure you can do it again. Promise me, Nik. That if something happens to me and I can’t do it myself, you’ll take care of my family. For however long you have to.”

“Tyler…”

“Promise me. That Esme and Millie will be okay. That you’ll keep an eye on them.”

Nik relents. “I promise. But let’s hope it doesn’t come down to that.”

“Yeah…” Sighing, he turns back to the window. “...let’s hope.”

******

It’s after midnight when he returns to the suite; quietly letting himself into the bedroom and then navigating the space by way of the moonlight streaming through the gaps in the curtains. Slipping out of his clothes and tossing them in the open suitcase near the window, he gingerly pulls the blankets back and slips in next to her. A hand on her stomach as he presses his front to her back; eyes closing as he buries his face in her hair and inhales deeply. Taking in that familiar scent. Desperately needing the comfort. The closeness.

“You’re making a habit of this,” Esme teases, her voice quiet, laced with sleep. And she pushes her fingers through his; giving an initial squeeze and then tightly holding his hand. “Coming to bed really late.”

“I’m sorry.” He presses a kiss to the nape of her neck. “It ran longer than I thought it would.”

“Everything went okay? There’s no major changes I need to know about?”

“The plan’s staying the same. I’m not hundred percent on board with it, but considering there’s no other options…”

“Nik wouldn’t take unnecessary risks. With either of us. If she’s adamant that this is the only way it can go…”

“I think I’m just being paranoid. If it wasn’t you and Millie caught up in all this, I’d just go with whatever idea Nik drew up. But seeing as it’s so personal…”

“But do you feel better about things? Then you did last night? Because that spooked me; you questioning everything and not having a lot of confidence in how it’s going to go down. You’re not like that. Not when it comes to the job.”

“This isn’t just any job,” he reminds her.

“You’re going to have to try and focus. You’re going to put your feelings on the back burner and just go with your instincts. Pretend that this IS just like any other job. Because that’s what I need from you. When the time comes. I need THAT Tyler.”

“I’m fucking trying, believe me. But it’s a lot easier said than done.”

“I trust you. To get it together. When it comes to work, you’ve always been able to shut everything else out. Maybe not get rid of it entirely, but at least put it on the back burner. You’re going to have to treat this like it IS just another job.”

“You have a lot of faith in me. You always have.”

“Well, someone needs to.” She rolls over onto her side, eyes briefly closing as he places a kiss on her brow). “How DID it go?”

“It went. We finalized things. And got some loose ends tied up.”

“So that means you’re more confident? About how things are going to go?”

“Yeah…” Leaning in, he nuzzles her temple with the tip of her nose and then pecks her cheek. “...much more.”

“Everything’s going to go nice and smooth,” she enthuses. “According to plan. We’re not going to have any setbacks, no one is going to fuck anything up, people aren’t going to get in our way. Things are going to be perfect and uncomplicated.”

“When did the roles suddenly reverse? Aren’t I normally the one trying to convince you?”

“I can admit, I am usually a touch neurotic…”

“That’s the understatement of the century.”

“...and you are usually the one talking me down off a ledge. But I feel good about this. I feel like everything is going to be fine. That we won’t have any roadblocks. We’ll just get the hell out of here…”

“While I want to share your optimism, when do things ever go smoothly? On the job?”

“I mean, I’ve had a couple of gigs that weren’t major disasters. They weren’t flawless by any stretch of the imagination, but…”

“Remember Dhaka? How easy we thought it would be? After I got a hold of Ovi? That we’d get him to the boat, and we’d be free and clear? Do you remember that?”

“Unfortunately, very well.”

“Believe me, I WANT this to go nice and smooth. No hiccups, no one getting in my way and trying to stop us from leaving. I want that more than anything. But you’ve said it yourself; these people don’t accept defeat easily. They’re not just going to roll over if we DO get out of her.”

“WHEN we get out of here,” she gently corrects. “WHEN.”

“I just don’t want you putting all your eggs in one basket. It’s good to be confident and optimistic, but…”

“It can lead to bad decisions. Stupid mistakes. You get too cocky…”

“Just err on the side of caution, yeah? That’s all I’m asking.”

“Are you asking or telling? Because if it’s the latter, you’re starting your bossiness a little early. I technically don’t have to listen to you until it’s ‘go time’.”

“Who are you trying to kid? You’re not even going to listen to me AFTER that.”

“I promise I will be on my best behaviour.”

“I know what your best behaviour is. And while it’s a step up…”

“I will be completely unproblematic. I will listen to every word the big, bad, mercenary man has to say.”

Grinning, he presses a feathery to the corner of her mouth. “You are so full of shit.”

“You just want to be the boss of me,” she chides and wraps both arms around his neck. “You don’t get to wear the pants very often, but when you do…”

“I wear the pants all the time.”

“You keep telling yourself that. Everyone knows I’m the one in charge. That I’m the boss. I just let you take over every now and then. Stroke your ego. Feed your masculinity.”

“You’re just a regular bleeding heart.”

“And, there are times I DO like you being all aggressive and assertive and bossy. You have to admit, it’s always at the best possible times. The naked ones. Not even you can deny that’s your favourite time to be in charge.”

“I’ll admit to nothing.”

“You don’t have to. The evidence speaks for itself.”

“What evidence is that?”

“I’d say eleven inches poking me in the stomach, or the ass is usually all the proof I need.”

“Eleven? Come on now…”

“Ten and a half? Ten?”

“You are really good for my ego.”

“We’ll have to get an official number. An accurate measurement. I’m sure we’ll be able to track down a tape measure or a ruler when we get to Australia. Inquiring minds want to know.”

“You’re an odd duck, you know that?”

“I like my weirdness. All my quirks and eccentricities. You’ve missed them. Over the course of the last five years. Admit it.”

“I have, actually. I’ve missed a lot of things.” Hooking a finger under her chin, he tilts her face upwards; covering her mouth with his in a long, soft kiss. So pure and beautiful; nothing hurried or aggressive, nor teeming with unbridled lust or overwhelming want and need. A kiss at its most innocent point: adoring, tender, languid. Yet somehow enough to curl her toes and take her breath away.

She gives a sigh when it ends, her eyes remaining closed when he rolls over onto his back; settling her much smaller, lighter frame on top of his.

For five years, she’d longed for this; the smoothness of his skin and the hardness of his muscles. The way his calloused fingers tip continuously skim up and down her spine, his familiar scent and the sound of his voice and how she is able to feel its rumbling deep within his chest. Desperately missing him nearly every second of every day; wanting nothing more than to pick up the phone and beg and plead for forgiveness and end up in his life and his arms and his bed once again. But it had always seemed so far out of reach; believing she was past redemption. Even if he could accept her running away, there was no way he’d ever forgive her for keeping his daughter a secret. Not after the tremendous loss he’d already suffered; still wracked with guilt, regret, and profound grief when it came to the death of his son.

****

“Did you talk to Millie?” His fingertips drift down her spine and briefly settle at the small of her back; a lone fingertip commencing the tracing of the elaborate tattoo that stretches from one hip to the other. “About going with Alcott.”

“I was going to do it tomorrow. Well, today now. After breakfast.”

“I want to be there. When you tell her. I mean, as long as you’re okay with that.”

“Of course, I’m okay with it. You’re her father.”

“Only she doesn’t know what, does she? She has no clue.”

“We’ve talked about this. About when we’re going to tell her. I thought we agreed that…”

“She asked me about him today. Her dad.”

“What do you mean she asked about him? She brought him up out of nowhere? Why did she want to know? What…?”

“She asked me if I thought he’d like her. When she got to meet him. Can you imagine being a little kid and wondering something like that? If your old man is even going to WANT you?”

“No. I can’t even begin to imagine that.”

“She’s four years old. And she’s asking stuff like THAT? She’s worried that she’s going to meet him and he’s going to hate her? Find her a nuisance? Think she’s too loud and too messy and…”

“A bit too much,” Esme finishes for him. “She said that to me once. When she asked about him. About YOU. She said she was worried he’d find her annoying. I just chalked it up to Alessio being a total prick to her. I didn’t think she really felt that way. About herself.”

“She’s just a little girl. And she's carrying around shit like that? How could you have him around her? How could you put her through it? Him treating her like that?”

“I didn’t have a choice. I was in the middle of a job, and if I let my guard down or he found exactly who I was…”

“You should have told Nik you wanted out. The second he started treating Millie like that. As soon as he tried breaking her spirit, that should have been it. You should have got the fuck out of there. She didn’t deserve any of it. Being treated like that.”

“I thought we weren’t going to do this.” Moving away from him, she slaps and shoves his hands away when he tries to prevent her from sitting up. “Not here. Not right now. I thought we were going to wait until we were in Australia and somewhat settled before we talked about all of this. I thought…”

Sitting up, he stretches out his legs and leans back against the headboard. “I can’t do it, Esme. I can’t pretend that everything’s okay. That I’m not pissed off. That I’m not hurt. Do you know what it’s like? When everyone around you has a bigger role in your own kid’s life? All people tell me about is what Millie was like as a baby, all the things that they’ve done for her and with her.”

“They’re not telling you those things to hurt you. They’re just sharing what they know about her. So you can get to know her better.”

“All I hear from people is how they’re her family.”

“It’s because they are. Maybe not a conventional one, but…”

“I’M her family. You didn’t make that baby alone. And I didn’t see any of them making that kid with you either. So unless there’s someone you’re not telling me about…”

“Don’t do that. Say shit like that. I know you’re upset. And you have every right to be. I’ve never once tried to take that away from you. Or tried to downplay it. But you have no reason to question whether or not she belongs to you. Just look at her! She IS you! From head to toe. You’re just lashing out and trying to hurt me, and you know exactly how to do it.”

“I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m…”

“Just admit it, Tyler. Just admit that there’s a part of you that wants to punish me. Make me pay for what I did to you. I’m not going to judge you or hate you for it. I get it, alright? I did a horrible thing; keeping Millie away from you. And you have every right to want to punish me for that.”

“No. I don’t. I’m not like that. I’m not that kind of person. I would never hurt you.”

“I see it in you, sometimes. I’ll catch you looking at me a certain way. And I’ll see it; all this hurt and anger that you’ve got built inside of you. So just tell me the truth. I’m a big girl. I know my mistakes. I admit to them. I own them. So don’t…”

“I don’t want to fight, Esme. That’s not why I brought any of this up. That’s not why…”

“If you didn’t want to fight, you wouldn’t have thrown Millie in my face like that. You don’t think I know how badly I fucked up? Bringing her into that kind of life? You think I don’t feel like complete and utter shit for what happened? What she went through? What she KEEPS going through? You think I like any of this? Having to hide here? Having to hire a fucking mercenary to get us out here and…”

“So that’s how you see me. That’s all you see me as?”

“I never said. Don’t put words in my mouth. I’ve never seen you as JUST that. It’s part of you, but it’s not ALL of you. And I’ve never once thought it was. Who was the one who always talked you down? Every time you’d mention that you did nothing but kill people for a living? Who was the one person that reminded you that you did so much more? Who always tried to convince you that you weren’t the monster you saw yourself as?”

“You.”

“I stayed on that bridge because you deserved a second chance. Because you made your amends. And selfishly, I stayed because I wanted more of you. I wanted more time. I wanted all those plans that we made; I wanted to travel and see the world and fall in love. With YOU.”

“It didn’t exactly go that way, did it.”

“No. It didn’t. But you know what? What we had was good. It was so good. It wasn’t perfect. But neither are we. We had what we needed, and that was enough. We were happy. Weren’t we?”

“We were.”

“I love you. I have always loved you. I always WILL love you. So don’t you ever accuse me of anything else. And never…and I mean never…try and tell me I don’t love my daughter. OUR daughter.”

“I would never say that.” He slides down the bed and reaches for her when she begins to cry; frowning when she pushes him away and stands. Moving to the table in front of the window and leaning back against it; sniffling noisily as she wipes at her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to be honest. I need that from you, okay? I know you’re afraid of hurting me; it’s why you won’t just come right out and tell me how you’re really feeling or what’s really going on in your head. But I NEED that, Tyler. Because until you’re truthful about it, I can’t start to make amends. How can I move on and heal when you won’t even acknowledge what I did to you?

“I don’t understand why you need me to be angry. Why..?”

“Because it’s holding me accountable. For what I did. I don’t want you coddling me and holding my hand and patting me on the head and treating me like I’m some fragile little thing. Do you think I’m not going to love you? If you’re honest about everything? Is that what you’re afraid of?”

“I don’t know,” he admits, and swings his legs over the side of the bed. “I guess. Maybe? I don’t want you to think I hate you. Because I don’t. I never could.”

“I know you love me. I know it without you even having to say it. It’s in everything you do. It’s like those five years never even happened. The way you look at me and the way you touch and kiss me and make love to me. It’s like none of the bad stuff ever happened. And I don’t know what I did to deserve that. The way you feel about me. Or if I even DO deserve it. But I don’t question it. Sometimes it’s the only thing I’m sure of.”

“I just don’t see what good can come of it. Me just letting it all out. I don’t understand why you need me to be out there with it. Why can’t you just let me deal with this alone and…”

“That’s the old Tyler. The one that existed BEFORE me. He’s the one that died on that bridge. You’re not HIM. And you haven’t been him in a long time.”

“Maybe I went back to it. Being him. During the last five years.”

“There’s no way. Because you weren’t happy. Being that way. Being HIM. And you worked way too hard after Dhaka. To become better and DO better. There’s no way you’d go back to that.”

“I think you have way too much faith in me.”

“I think you don’t have enough. You would never go back to being like that. I know you. I know your heart. I know…”

“You don’t know a thing about my heart. And you know why? Because you broke it. You fucking tore it out of my chest and stomped all over it. And you expect it to be what it was before you did that?”

“If you were the old Tyler, you wouldn’t have stayed. When you found out I was the one that hired you. You would have turned around and walked out, and that would have been it.”

“I would have stayed. For Millie. I would have done it for her.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. It wouldn’t have mattered. Millie or no Millie, you would have left. The old Tyler? The one with the death wish? The one who didn’t give a fuck about anything except catching a bullet? He would have been long gone.”

“I would have never walked away from her. Even if I wanted to walk away from you, I’d never turn my back on my own kid. I did that once. I wouldn’t do it again. I learned the first time.”

“Is that why you’re here? Why you REALLY want things to work with us? Is that…?”

“I wouldn’t be sharing a bed with you and fucking you. Don’t insult me like that. I know I can be a real dick sometimes, but I’d never lower myself to that. And I would never use you. No matter how pissed off I am.”

“I was just asking. I was just…”

“I’m here because I love you. Because even though you ripped my heart out of my fucking chest and ruined my life, I still want you. In every way. And maybe that makes me a fucking idiot. Maybe I’m just pathetic. A simp. I don’t know. But I love you, and I never stopped loving you. Millie? She’s just this extra piece. This fucking amazing, beautiful, perfect piece.”

“She is pretty amazing, isn’t she.”

“I would never…EVER…accuse you of not loving her. I see you with her. Your entire face lights up when she walks in the room. And every time she hugs you or tells you she loves you or even just calls you ‘mummy’? To me, you’re beautiful all the time. But when she does those things? You’re the most beautiful I’ve ever seen you.”

“She’s my baby. I had wanted to be a mom for so long. And you gave me the chance. You gave me HER. And I could thank you enough for that. For giving me her. Because aside from you, she’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

“I know you love her. More than you love yourself. More than you love me. And that’s how it should be. You’re an amazing mum; no one could ever deny that. Or say anything different. Everything you’ve done for her; taking care of her on your own, keeping her safe, managing to bring up this awesome little human. You know how many women wouldn’t have even had her? Considering the circumstances?”

“There was no way I wasn’t going through with it. She was my connection to you. My ONLY connection.”

“Thank you, Esme. Maybe that sounds weird; considering I AM angry and I AM hurt. But thank you. For her. I know it wasn’t the most conventional of ways to find out I’m a dad. But still. Thank you.”

“Please don’t say that. Not after everything I did. Please don’t…”

“She wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. I wouldn’t have gotten a second chance at this; at being a dad. It’s just the truth.”

Sniffling, she uses the bottom of her t-shirt to wipe away her tears. “You’ve always been nothing if not honest.”

“You broke us. What we had? You destroyed that. And you’re right; it wasn’t perfect. But it WAS good. It was so fucking good.”

“And now? You don’t think it’s good NOW? You don’t think we can get back to that?”

“I don’t want to go back to that. I want to be BETTER than that. We’re not those same two people anymore. We’ve both changed. Mostly for the better, I like to think. Do you want that? For things to be even better?”

Esme nods. “That’s all I want.”

“Then just look at me and tell me why. Why did it have to get to this? Why did five years have to go by? Why…?”

“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”

“That’s not an acceptable answer for anyone over seven, and you know it.”

“I was scared. I was selfish. I was so worried about being rejected. And I couldn’t get past that feeling. That fear.”

“I never would have rejected you. Or her.”

“Logically, I knew that. But sometimes, logic isn’t an easy thing to come by.”

“How could you do that to me? Leave like that? After everything we’d been through. After nine months in that fucking hospital. Three quarters of a year, you stayed there. You fought for me. You were the only one who didn’t give up. And then you go and do something like THAT? Just leave?”

“I wanted to protect you. You’d already been through so much. You shouldn’t even have been alive. But you WERE. And I didn’t want it on my conscience; losing you because of something I did.”

“You didn’t do anything. You thought you were in the free and clear. You were told that you were. Long before you met me. It wasn’t your fault; that The High Table went against their own ruling and came for you. You know that, yeah?”

“I think I do. I think I know that.”

“Why didn’t you just give me a chance? To get you out of that fucking mess? I would have done anything to protect you. If that meant packing up and moving thousands of miles away and hiding out? I would have done it. And if they found us, we would have packed up and found somewhere else to hide. Other people could have dealt with it. The bullshit here.”

“I didn’t even think of that at the time. I was more worried that you’d try and go against them. Physically.”

“Esme, I knew my limits. I was clinically dead a year before. Do you really think I thought I stood a chance against The High Table? Alone? I know I’m not the smartest guy on the planet, but give me SOME credit.”

“You always said you’d do anything for me. To keep me safe. Why wouldn’t I think that?”

“If you had told me what happened…with The Adjudicator…we could have talked about all of this. Avoided you taking off. But you didn’t even give me a chance.”

“I just wanted to protect you.”

“And I love you for that. For thinking you had to. But you didn’t just ruin my life when you left. You ruined yours, too. That’s not protecting me. You should have known that’s the last thing I would want. Hurting yourself like that.”

“It’s just such a mess,” she tearfully laments. “A big fucking mess.”

“And if that wasn’t bad enough? You couldn’t even let me know that you were alive. That something horrible hadn’t happened to you. Do you know what’s been going through my head? For five years? The horrible, gross shit it came up with? Even if you didn’t want me back, the least you could have done was let me know you were alright.”

“I fucked up. Badly. I’m the first to admit that.”

“And then you got Nik and Yaz involved. They’ve had to lie for you. Do you really think that was fair? Getting them tied up in this shit? All you had to do was let me know you were alright. You didn’t have to drag it on. Make things even worse.”

“I didn’t know what else to do. I thought I was keeping you safe. I had the best of intentions. I did. But…”

“Even after things settled? And there was no trouble? You still thought there was a reason to keep me safe?”

She shakes her head. “That was just me being a stupid, selfish bitch.”

“You should have told me about Millie. You know everything about me. Every ugly, deep, dark secret. I’ve never hid anything from you. Especially when it comes to my son and what I did. I was always honest about that. Right from day one. In Dhaka. And you knew I wanted to be a dad again. We talked about it. Having kids. I was scared shitless, but I was willing, wasn’t I?”

Esme nods.

“And yet you kept her from me. For five years. You knew I wanted another kid. That I wanted a chance to do things right. Yet you couldn’t even tell me about her.”

“I didn’t do it to hurt you. I WAS going to tell you. I was going to bring her to Australia. Right to your doorstep. After this job was done…”

“It shouldn't have taken this long. You know there was no reason… REAL reason…to keep her from me. Were you scared? The fact you had a kid with a mercenary? One that’s burned a lot of bridges and…”

“No! That never even crossed my mind. I knew what you were. It was never a secret. I knew what you did for a living. It’s how we MET. And I never once worried about you being her dad.”

“So it was just you being scared. Of being rejected.”

“That’s all it was. I’m telling the truth, Tyler. I know I kept a lot of secrets and I’ve told a lot of lies, and I even made a living out of doing things. But I am telling you the truth. That is the ONLY reason.”

He nods slowly, considering her words. “I believe you.”

“I am so sorry. For everything I’ve done. For hurting you like I did. And I know I can’t go back in time and change it, but…”

“No. You can’t. And I wouldn’t even ask you to. Change one thing, it changes everything. I’ve always said that.”

“...but I can spend the rest of my life making up for it. Or at least trying to.”

“You don’t have to. I don’t want you holding onto this for forty, fifty years. Or more. That’s not what I want.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you. I want US. I want to get married. As soon as possible. I want us to raise Millie together. Be a real family. That has normal jobs and fairly normal lives.”

“That’s what I want, too. I want you to be my husband. I want you to be able to be Millie’s dad. Not have to hide it. I want us to have a home and a nice little backyard with chickens and goats and…”

“And more babies. I want more babies.”

“How many more? I do have to draw the line somewhere.”

“I don’t know. Three. Four.”

“You just want to wreck my vagina, don’t you. You’re determined to do it.”

“Why would I ever want to ruin my favourite part of you?”

She gives a derisive snort.

“I’m kidding.” He holds out a hand; a silent request for her to join him on the edge of the bed. And he gathers her close when she sinks down beside him; both arms wrapping around her tiny frame as he drops a kiss on the top of her head. “It’s not my most favourite. Second favourite, maybe…”

Laughing, she playfully elbows him in the stomach, then tilts her face up towards him. “Do you feel better? Getting all that out?”

“Shockingly, yeah.”

“Me too.”

He kisses her softly; the long and languid press of closed mouth upon closed mouth. “I meant what I said. Five years ago. When I told you that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

“I’ve never doubted it.”

“I will get you out of here. Away from this place. This life. And I’ll stop at nothing to make that happen.”

“I believe you.”

“You’ll never have to think about it again. It’ll just be us. And Millie. We’ll make a new life. The one we were supposed to have. Before this all happened.”

Smiling, she presses a series of feathery pecks along his jaw, then rests her head on his shoulder. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: Just a Spector (issue # 5)

Moon Knight, Issue #5: Ghost Story

Written by Doug Moench and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz

Let’s go further back. Back to early 1981 and back to the start. 

Before things were set in stone, designs were still settling and the characters were still being fleshed out. 

Back when Moon Knight was still very much a supernatural sort of comic. 

I skipped this one originally because it is just a story and there was no real development here. But don’t be fooled, I do love this one. And perhaps, with enriched eyes, we may see a little more than just a story. 

And with any good ghost story, we start with two teens goading each other on to sneak into the locally haunted house. 

We see a large house on a hill with red windows. 

"It's filled with all the ghosts from the red hunter's killin'--And I've seen the shadow of the red Hunter himself, movin' past the windows, holdin' his shotgun..." 

And of course the one kid forces the other to go inside to prove themselves. When the kid refuses, the other decides to prove himself and go in. 

Just as they are about to sneak inside, a real spector eclipses the moon, terrifying the boys into taking off at a run. 

Yeah... He did that on purpose. 

"Sorry I had to do that... But if Creach and Parkins are here, it's better if those kids keep running for miles..." 

He is indeed a Spector on a hunt. A family cemetary sits just off to the rear of the house and before mentioned Creach and Parkins are making their way up through it. 

There used to be three of them. 

"I don't like it, Parkins--It's such a creepy old place! Maybe we should just be satisfied with what we've got and --"

"Are you kiddin', Creach? No way! Not after what Redditch did to us! We ain't leavin' till we find him and get the rest of his lousy 'treasure'!" 

"But how do you know he even came here?" 

"Because he's hurt and he's crazy, that's how. And because he always used to talk about the perfect hiding place for loot-Buried under his mother's house." 

They found Redditch's car out in the woods leading up to the house so they know he's there. 

Parkins grew up with Redditch and was forced to run in his pack due to the small rural area and lack of options. 

It would seem Redditch was known to be pretty crazy. 

"There were some disappearances around here back then. They stopped after Redditch's old man was killed! And they never found the other "Hunter" who shot him. The theory was that after the guy killed him, he panicked--didn't think the cops would believe it was self defense--and never came forward with his story. Anyway, at the time I was too young to care about the gossip." 

He's pretty sure that Redditch killed his own father. He notes he was a real Momma's boy who often stayed home with her rather than going out to play.

In fact, earlier in the day we see Redditch talking to the other two as he reads the paper. 

"My Mom... She's dead... I hadda put her away nine years ago... Never got a chance to see her again cuz the stinkin' cops woulda grabbed me...And now she's dead...and they didn't even tell me..." 

The other two note that Redditch's mom had thousands of dollars hidden away in an old shoe box and a sealed lockbox missing a key. 

Having just robbed a liquor store and wanted by the cops, Redditch can't go claim his mother's inheritance. 

Pissed off, Redditch decides to go rob the bank and steal his inheritance and he demands that the other two help him. 

Apparently it didn't go well. 

Now they're looking for Redditch and his money. 

"They're trapped inside now--And if what Parkins said is true, all three of them could be in there... But it's odd that both the kids AND the crooks should be so obsessed with ghosts-- Especially after what happened this afternoon." Moon Knight watches them enter the house from the rooftop. 

EARLIER back at Grant Mansion…. 

Now, this is a few issues before Jake Lockley figures out he can wear a fake mustache. So it’s weird looking at that incredibly handsome face in his trademark clothes without his friendly ‘stache. 

Also I love Jean-Paul. “Time for zee Moon Knight’s prowl, no?” 

“Eh–? Oh…Yeah…Sure. Listen–Can I tell you something weird, Frenchie–Something that makes me sound even more crazy than I am?” 

“Oui, Marc–tell me. We are all crazy born into madness.” 

One has to admire Frenchie’s approach to life. How willing he is to go with the flow. How accepting he is for any and everything that may be thrown at him. 

"It's got nothing to do with birth, Frenchie--Maybe rebirth, but it's mostly about death. It's this statue of Khonshu--From the tomb where I 'died', And was reborn as the Moon Knight. 

He's supposed to be the Egyptian God of the Moon...And also some kind of an avenging Angel of Death, well, the weird thing is... Sometimes I believe it.

I get a chill when I pass the thing--All kinds of weird vibrations... ANd when I stare at its face, I could swear I'm in contact with something inside it... With its ghost, I guess... 

And it makes me aware of my own spirit, something restless stirring inside me... My own ghost, even though I'm not dead yet." 

Oh yeah, we’re dealing with Marc Spector here, and his constant struggle with his death, rebirth, religion, and personal spirit. 

"Now that you mention it, Marc, it has always conjured a touch of zee strange for me as well. Perhaps it is not so crazy after all." 

"Yeah, well, let's move. I'll be Lockley tonight--start out in the cab. You follow in the chopper--Fairly close in case I need you." 

Now this early on, he would always announce aloud who he was going to be. Usually when going to Jake. It also almost felt like a sheepish announcement to me, but perhaps I’m reading too much into it. This is so early in the comics that it’s before they even realized their own individuality. To them, they were all still Marc pretending to be someone else. They were almost shy about trying to strike out on their own and be their own people. 

Anyways, it's always interesting how spooked Moon Knight often got early on when it came to dealing with ghosts, considering that he himself often thought of himself as a sort of ghost. 

Back to the creepy house, Moon Knight is still feeling spooked. 

"And little did we know that the night's patrol in Manhattan would end up out here...But it has so let's hope I can really end it--before dawn." 

Knowing that the team is armed with a shotgun, Moon Knight moves silently and carefully through the house. 

The two criminals are nervous as they too explore the house. 

This is normal. Owls get caught in curtains all the time. 

Creach and Parkins are spooked. 

"We ain't givin' up that loot, not after all we went through today to get it!" 

Earlier in the day: 

The estate lawyer is going through the effects from the Redditch estate. One of the people notes that "How can they be sure she's dead? She vanished, but..." 

"After non years, Miss Belvins, she is legally dead, and legality is all that concerns us." 

Just then, the three men barge in with their shotgun and demand the money. 

Just as the two are discussing what to do with all the cash in the office, Redditch busts in. 

Miss Belvins pleads for them not to shoot, she has an old mother she cares for. This enrages Redditch and he shoots. 

Creach and Parkins are horrified and make a run for it. 

Redditch meets up with a security officer as he makes a run for it. He is shot and he shoots in return. 

They dive into their get-away-car and make a break for it, but Redditch is hurt. 

Jake has his police scanner on in the cab and picks up the call for help. He makes a quick decision to head there in his cab. 

Crashing his cab to avoid a collision with the get-awa-car, he changes to Moon Knight and takes off. 

But now the three men are desperate. They take off across the bridge and open fire on the cops in pursuit. 

They make a mess of things, causing some nasty accidents. 

The Moon Copter follows, trying to catch up. 

Back to the present! 

Back to the chase! 

They stop for gas now that they've lost the cops. 

Redditch struggles to open the lockbox and manages to jimmy it open. 

He is excited once he sees what was hidden inside. 

"Listne-You guys can have the shoebox--I'll take this!" He gives up the money without a second thought. 

The other two are confused and demand to see what's inside the lockbox, thinking it's something more valuable. 

Redditch cries out that the treasure is his and bolts from the car. He jumps into another car and takes off. 

Moon Knight catches up and follows the car up to the old spooky house. And this brings us back to the point where Moon Knight scares off the two kids from before. 

Back to the present! Creach and Parkins find a locked door marked "Eddie's Room". It's Redditch's old bedroom. 

They kick down the door and find: 

There is also fresh blood on the floor. 

"Quit actin' like you're gonna have a heart attack, Creach! Ghosts don't bleed--but Redditch does. That cop nailed him good in the side. Don't you see--? All's we gotta do is follow the blood till we find Redditch..." 

The blood trail leads them to a cracked door. 

Redditch must still be inside!

Oh, wait, no. It’s more Skeleton. 

The Skeleton fires the shotgun! 

The men are spooked. A skeleton did just take a shot at them. 

Wait a second...

They’re doing fine. 

The men head down stairs to the basement, still in search of the treasure. 

And where is Moon Knight in all this gunfire?

“Someone else IS here–I can FEEL it–And somehow I know it’s not Redditch! But since I’m not quite ready to believe it’s a ghost, I’d better make my move now–Before someone innocent gets hurt…” 

Moon Knight… Surrounded is a strong way to phrase that. The three of you (four) aren’t surrounding anyone. 

Creach and Parkins freak out, thinking it's the cops. Thinking that if the cops don't catch them with the evidence (money), they can't charge them. 

They frantically light the furnace and throw the box of money in. 

The furnace, however, hasn't been maintained in a very long time and can't handle the sudden fire or build up of smoke. In fact, it starts to shudder and shake. 

It explodes! The explosion reveals a hidden trap door in the cellar floor! 

Still thinking the police are after them, they flee down under the floor and find themselves in a narrow tunnel. 

"It could still lead to whatever Redditch ran away with. He always said he had a perfect hiding place under the house --and I feel a breeze up ahead! Maybe we can find the box AND escape the cops! Keep goin'!" 

The tunnel does take them outside, but it leads right to the cemetery. And a waiting Moon Knight. 

Spooked by his ghostly appearance, Creach makes a run for it only to take a truncheon to the back of the head. 

Now it's Moon Knight vs. Shotgun. 

A crescent dart sinks into the hand that holds the shotgun. Moon Knight is in no mood. 

"You were wrong, Parkins! The ghost of the Moon...The avenging ghost of DEATH!" 

He punches Parkins hard. 

Frankie Parkins is out before he hits the ground.

Parkins' dropped flashlight illuminates a headstone that belongs to Edward Redditch. 

"Redditch?! Redditch is dead?" Moon Knight can't believe it. "There's a tombstone and an open grave for him?!"

And yes... There in the open grave lays Redditch. His hair is pure white and not only has he lost a lot of blood from the police bullet, but he also has a fresh shotgun blast. 

"Just like his dad." An old woman comes up behind Moon Knight. "...Always out hunting for something...Only coming home when he needed something...Covered in fresh blood...Red...COuldn't ever see anything but red...Then leaving right away...Leaving me alone again..." 

Ah….A sort of Norman Bates situation.

He finds the open lockbox that Redditch had been after. Inside, the treasure: The deed to the house. 

"He was named Edward too, you know...His dad was... Got hurt in a shooting accident, he did... Never came home...Then they put me away...But I had to come back home. So I could go out and get him...Bring him home for good....Take care of him... And now the boy's come back all red...covered in fresh blood like his hunter dad... All you can see...No matter which window you look out.." 

Seems she was waiting at home for Redditch and when he got back, he wasn't expecting to find his mother, who he thought was dead. Scared to death, the gun went off and accidentally shot him. 

Yeah, what I’m getting out of this is that he used to help his mom clean his father’s kills. (all the skeletons). His father was then killed by accident or in self defense by either the son, the mother, or one of his prey. She then went and collected his body and cleaned it to skeleton perfection, dressed it up in his hunting gear, and did a little Norman Bates. 

Now, her son is dead in his father’s empty grave, she goes to fetch his body too… But the house is burning and it’s time to end it. 

This was a fun little ghost story! Action, good storytelling, and a little spooky! Kinda felt like an episode of Twilight Zone or something. 

It also really sets the stage for how a lot of Moon Knight is going to go through the rest of Moench’s run. The story is more about the people fighting past demons, traumas, and their own ghosts. And his own fear/exploration that he himself is nothing but a Ghost out for vengeance. 

[bike42]

Tuesday July 4, 2023

Happy Fourth of July!  I’m delighted, for the 3rd time in my life, to be in a National Park on July 4th (2012 Glacier, 2014 Yellowstone, 2023 Glacier)!  For me, being immersed in a National Treasure like this is better than fireworks!

We had heavy rain last night after we’d returned to the tent, and awoke to an overcast moist morning.  Breakfast was a warm dish of rice with sugar, cinnamon and probably canned apples - it was warm and someone else planned and prepared it!

Apparently, the campsite Todd and the Rawhousers’ ended up with had a river run through it and they were drenched overnight.  Due to that, we had a later start (10:30a).  Jeff and I shook out our tent the best we could, but it felt 5 pounds heavier today!  We hung out at the food prep site and chatted with other hikers while we waited for the others to get packed up.

The weather cleared up, but forecast said storms after 3:30p so that kept us moving along today.  We followed the Belly River, stopping at a beautiful waterfall (Dawn Mist).  We took several “pack off” breaks including time for delayering.  My feet were just a bit damp when we started (same socks as yesterday) but they didn’t feel bad or cause any trouble.  I actually felt great all day and hiked close to Todd who is a nonstop wealth of information - plants, animals, park history, etc.  We sure hit the jackpot again with our guide!

We forded Mokawanis River, most of us walking barefoot using poles to steady ourselves.  The water was refreshingly cold, the bottom was flat pebbles, and the current was strong.  We ate a lunch of peanut butter on pita with dried bananas and enjoying the river, flowing out of Copsey Lake (named for the first Ranger at Glacier).  He named these other lakes as well:  Elizabeth, Sue, Helen and Margaret (not after daughters according to Todd).  While we were eating lunch another Glacier Guide came by with some of his group.  Apparently, some in his group struggled yesterday so he changed his permit to stay two nights to allow R&R for the group, and several of them were out just for a short day trip.  Both he and Todd had been baseball pitchers and got into a rock skipping duel, the likes of which I’d never seen!

We saw several other couples, but we’re off the CDT and Alternate CDT routes now for a couple of days.  We arrived at our camp at the foot of Glenn’s Lake (foot) a little after 3pm.  It was nice to get to camp and get everything dried out!  Also to have time to chill out. 

There is just one other couple at this camp, a really nice couple from Boulder.  They went out into the lake, which prompted Tam and I to try to take a quick dip.  The lake had a very long shallow portion, so by the time we’d walked out to the deeper water, we were already frozen!  We dipped up to our shoulders, which took all the bravery I could muster!  We walked out quickly and toweled off, feeling like pins and needles, yet very refreshing!!

We had an early dinner @ 5:30pm.  Afterwards, Jeff and I played a game of Cribbage but mosquitoes made us stop at one game (our box of cards was destroyed from being in the bottom of my pack, but Todd had a set of cards).  Tam and Dan were down at the lake in search of a moose and came back reporting beaver sighting!  We were just about to turn in, but we went to the lake with the others and we were entertained by a busy momma beaver (obvious teats) - eating willows along the shore just a little ways from us.  She seemed to know we were there, but ignored us.  After she swam away Todd walked through there and then she slapped her tail.

As we retired, the predicted rain hadn’t happened yet, just some rumblings in the distance.  I read for a bit, and at 9:30p - the storm came with gusto: thunder, lightning and heavy rain.  I put in my ear plugs, covered my eyes with my mask and snuggled into my sleeping bag (still a little chilled from my lake dip).

6.35 miles, 542 ft elevation gain, 4 hours

[parkaiur]

OMG ITS YOSHINORI

THE RUMORS DID NOT PREDICT THIS AAAAHHH SO HAPPY FOR HIM~~ :D

[sillyrabbit81]

Hi, can you please write something about Sy finding out his girlfriend has a box of everything that reminds her of him, like pictures, the ticket of the first movie they saw together, the ticket of the coffee shop from where they first met, a picture of the first time he came back from deployment, all his letters, the first flower he gave her and all those things?

Hi Anon. Thanks for the prompt, it was fun! I did combine the prompt with another from the Prompt Fairy:

PROMPT FAIRY back again with a new challenge.

"Moving day"

Good luck!

Summary: Sy helps you to pack your stuff to move into his house. He finds your box of memories and it brings up an unexpected question.

Pairing: Captain Syverson x Female Reader

Word Count: approx 1k

Warnings: Fluff to angst to smut, sex (p in v)

Authors note: Thanks to @amberangel112 for her beta read. And thanks to @diegos-butt for our chat about this story, you were lovely to chat to 🙏

Masterlist

Moving Day

You weren’t surprised when Sy asked you to move in with him days after he came back from his second deployment. What you were surprised at was the speed at which he moved once you said yes. He cleaned out his spare room where he kept his gym equipment telling you that was your space now, a place for your books, records and other treasures while he moved his equipment to his garage. He cleaned out half his closet and draws, and some shelves in his lounge room and bathroom, all to make sure you had enough room for your things.

Within a week he was ready for you and you had barely started packing. He came over and helped you, laughing as you went through your years of acquired knickknacks and junk. He laughed at your high school year book, your old college assignments, the half-finished craft projects you had attempted over the years and given up on.

You were packing up your closet, and Sy was pulling down the old shoe boxes that littered the top shelf when one surprisingly heavy one slipped from his grasp. You watched as he got on his haunches and started putting what may have been seen as a random assortment of junk back in the box until he noticed the letters tied with ribbon.

He sat on his ass then, legs crossed in front of him, and you saw him smile as he removed an envelope from the bundle and pulled the letter out.

He started reading, grinning as he did and said, “Jesus, Darlin’, I don’t know how you put up with me in these letters. I sound like a nine-year-old girl writing to their pen pal for the first time.”

You sat beside him and pulled another one out, handing it to him. “You got better at it,” you said.

It was your favourite, written towards the end of his first deployment when he first signed off with the words, “I love you.” You leaned your head on him, reading the contents you know by heart over his shoulder.

He put his arm around you and he chuckled, “I suppose I did.” He looked at the rest of the scattered memorabilia. “What else you got here?”

You picked up a red rose, dried and pressed. “Remember giving me that?” you asked.

“From my Momma’s rose bush,” he laughed. “She was mighty pissed off with me when she saw I had cut it off.”

You picked up the loyalty card of the coffee shop you used to go to, the place you had first met. “You never used this?” he asked. “Damn, I kept going back and getting that awful coffee every day for two weeks hoping to see you again.”

He picked up the movie ticket stub from your first date, the road map you used on your trip to Austin, and flipped through the numerous loose pictures of the two of you.

“You kept all of this Darlin’?”

“Yeah, helps me feel close to you when you’re away,” you said.

Sy was quiet as he carefully packed everything away into the shoe box. It was filled to the brim, nearly overflowing and the lid didn’t sit right.

“When we get to my place, how about I give you a box from my size 13’s?”

“Yeah I may need it,” you said, your heart sinking. You’ve been with Sy through two deployments, you know there’s going to be a third and fourth and maybe more. If he even makes it home to you.

You felt Sy’s hand on your neck, and he used his thumb to lift your chin. “I shouldn’t have asked you to move in with me,” he said in a low voice. “I shoulda asked you to marry me.”

Grinning you said, “Woulda, shoulda, coulda, Sy.”

He smiled but didn’t laugh, “How ‘bout it Darlin’?”

“Wait, you’re serious,” you said, surprised.

Sy brought you onto his lap, lifting your leg over his. Cupping your cheeks, he kissed you.

“Deadly serious,” he said. “I don’t think I could leave you again without knowin’ I was coming home to you as my wife.” Tears welled in your eyes. The reality of his job hit you in the chest again, taking your breath away, just as it did every time. “I don’t have a ring or anything, but I’ll get one. I just need to know you’ll say yes.”

You didn’t even need to think about it, you knew he was the man you wanted to marry the moment you saw him came back from his first deployment.

“Of course I will, Sy.”

You saw the relief on his face as you said yes. He smiled, then his brows furrowed, then he smiled again, then he got that look, that look that made your knees weak and your heart rate increase.

“I love you,” he growled.

He didn’t give you a chance to respond as his mouth covered yours. His hand went to your neck, the other wrapped around your waist, and he drew you closer and closer. His kiss was rough and needy, dominating yet desperate, like he wanted to consume you, his hunger too strong.

You slid your hands under his shirt, your mouth catching his groans as your nails grip his back. Sy’s hands started clawing and your leggings, pulling them off one leg. You undid his belt at the same time, opening his jeans. He lifted both you and his ass off the floor and pushed his pants down his thighs. It was primal, uncomfortable, unromantic on the floor of your closet, but neither of you cared, the urge to feel each other was too much.

Without breaking your kisses, he entered you, filling you completely. It didn’t matter that it was on the floor, empty boxes all around, clothes piled up high ready to be packed. You both felt the need too intensely to even contemplate going somewhere more comfortable. The only comfort you needed was in each other’s arms.

Tag List 1

@henryobsessed @omgkatinka @legendarywizarddetective @posiemax @nostalgicb-txh @moonlacebeam @anitababi @agniavateira @blakerogue @shadesofarrogance @mansaaay @stxlemate @wheretheriversrunintothesea @amberangel112 @madbaddic7ed @eldarwen333 @wolvesandhoundshowltogether @summersong69 @littlefreya @littlebirdofrivia @luclittlepond @myloveforhenrycavill @mary-ann84 @tellingyouastory @beck07990 @zealoushound @sofiebstar @sweetlybigdragonn @bloodyinspiredfuck @marantha @diegos-butt @greensleeves888 @endofalldays01 @justaboringadult @ysmmsy @offroadinjandals @littlewrenofrivia @pussyverson @foxyjwls007 @kebabgirl67

[veggieowlet]

seeing a character you kin being called someone's mama sets off happy chemicals in my brain istg,, like yes my babies come here i know the character would love you because you're melting my heart right now with your adorable rambles /p /lh

banner refers to 18+ content! older regressors are always welcome to interact with me here

[laladellakang]

다 사랑해 (da saranghae)

enhypen 8th female member masterlist

wattpad | open requests / ask della!

(italics dialogue = english)

"That was so fun," I stretched my arms and stood up after sitting on the floor for so long.

We had just finished watching the first episode of I-Land in our new dorm. The staff that were filming us had left and relied on the small cameras placed around the premises for footage.

Halfway throughout the episode, we all decided to change our clothes and properly wash up once it finished. After a game of rock-paper-scissors, Sunghoon ended up winning first dibs.

Alice and I were the only ones in the living area. The boys had moved to either the bedroom or the kitchen.

I stayed in my position for a few moments, just staring at the floor.

From my peripheral vision, I could see Alice being deep in thought. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she kept pursing her lips.

I have an assumption on what she might be thinking about, and it's definitely not something good.

I contemplated on whether I should ask her what's wrong or simply distract her.

If my gut was correct, Alice wouldn't want to talk about this problem when the boys could hear her so easily. So I decided to go with the latter.

"Yo Unnie," I called out, sitting next to her. "Haneul told me that Treasure released a new music video today."

Alice's eyes lit up and her lips formed a large smile.

"Let's do it!" she exclaimed, getting up to take the remote from the TV stand.

During the intermission for I-Land's part two, Alice and I managed to catch up with all the comebacks we might have missed, so we've seen Boy.

We felt like proud mommas looking at Treasure's debut. We've been following them since Treasure Box and have also crossed paths several times during our trainee days. I almost died when I was offered to be featured in Wayo.

Oh my God. We can actually be friends now if Enhypen is set to debut.

Girl keep dreaming.

Alice opened YouTube and quickly typed in the group's name on the search bar.

"I love you," she read out the title with a giggle.

"Wait! I'm not prepared!" I screamed, laying down on the floor while covering my face.

"Me too," she joined me on the floor.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked. We looked up and saw Heeseung and Jungwon.

"No! We are not prepared to watch this!" I whined while rolling on to my stomach.

"Ah, it's a comeback?" Jungwon asked, leaning against the wall.

"Yess," Alice answered before sitting up. "Yah Della, we can do this. It's just a comeback," I gave out a sigh and stood up.

"I need to stand up for this, I can't stay still," Alice giggled before joining me.

"What happened?" Jay, Sunoo, Jake and Niki decided to join in as well.

"Treasure has a comeback," Heeseung explained, crossing his arms.

"Do you guys wanna watch with us? It'll be pretty annoying though," I offered, wrapping my arms around Alice.

"Sure, why not?" they all took a seat on the floor beside where Alice and I stood.

"One time for fangirling and one for actually paying attention, kay? Ready?" Alice looked at me. The grins on our faces just couldn't be wiped off.

"Let's go," and play. "Oh God, there's no ads. It's starting."

"Eh?" Alice paused at Junkyu brushing through his hair. "Isn't this Kang Della?" oh great.

"It is!" Heeseung exclaimed loudly. The whole room was suddenly in chaos again. Everyone started brushing their hair repeatedly, clowning the hair thing I did during my entrance test.

"That was really legendary!" Jungwon clapped.

They were all so quiet before. They didn't even say a single word.

"I'm okay," Riki sang while brushing through his hair. Everyone laughed while I covered the embarrassed look on my face.

"Maybe they watched I-Land," Alice smirked.

Oh no, don't get my hopes up.

That comment deserves an arm slap and a tackle.

"That's it! I officially hate Yoon Jaehyuk!" I announced, laying back on the ground.

"Is he your bias?" Sunoo asked. I looked over to the boys and saw Heeseung and Riki playing with their fingers while the rest stared at us.

"No, but he's seriously wrecking right now," Alice answered for the both of us. She got up from the floor and walked towards her bag to take out her stuff.

Sunghoon had joined in just before we replayed the video and it was now Alice's turn to wash up.

"What's the highlight for you?" I asked Alice and sat back up again.

"Mashi's pink hair and Yoon Jaehyuk, definitely. My man looked soo good," she squealed a little. "What about you?"

"Ah everything was crazy," I ran my hand through my hair.

"Yoon Jaehyuk black hair and motorcycle. Choi Hyunsuk black hair and drums. The uniforms. Super-king-cow-baby. Pretty Asahi, pretty Mashi. Yoshi's new thing going on. Kim Doyoung centre dance break. Handsome Kim Junkyu, handsome Bang Yedam, handsome Park Jihoon, and of course my two men," I don't like leaving anyone out.

"As always, Kang Della never leaves anyone out," Alice laughed and entered the bathroom.

I brushed through my hair before looking over at the boys, who were all staring at me.

Okay if I had no idea who they were, that would be pretty creepy, not gonna lie.

"What?" I cocked my head at them.

"You seem to like them a lot," Jay mumbled, adverting his gaze and drawing figures on the floor.

"I've been following them since pre-debut," I shrugged. "They're our age too so it was so easy for me to like them," I smiled to myself.

"Hm," Heeseung hummed. Okay, that's very un-Heeseung of him. "Well then what about us?"

"What about you guys? Of course I like you!" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"But less than them?" Riki mumbled. It was barely audible but I managed to catch it.

"Heyy," I made my way over to Riki, wrapping my arms around him. "You guys come first, of course!"

"Well yeah, it's 'cause we're in the same group," Sunghoon was playing with Jake's hand as he said that.

"Guys.." I pulled away from Riki. They were all avoiding eye contact. "If it's possible, can you all look at me?" their attention immediately snapped to me.

"We're going to be together for a long, long time. Forever. We're going to be together forever," I started, staring at each and every one of their eyes.

"I'm all yours," I said softly. "You guys are my men, my actual men."

Just like that, small smiles start to form on their faces.

"Come on," I stood up and opened my arms. Their smiles grew before they got up to attack me in a group hug.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way," my voice was muffled from being pressed onto Heeseung's shoulder.

"Noo, don't apologise," Jake caressed my back. "Do you think they'll put this in the show?"

"I doubt that they will," Sunghoon answered.

"Yeah why would they want to put 'what's with the tongue' in t- ack!" Sunoo's voice boomed after I kicked his calf.

"Aish, that hurts!" Jungwon complained. Sunoo must've yelled in his ear.

We had a laugh and stayed in the hug for quite a while, engaging in small talks.

"다 사랑해," I said to them in a small voice. 'I love you all.' It was part of Treasure’s song.

"널 사랑해," Jay answered with a low chuckle. 'I love you.'

We heard the bathroom lock click and immediately pulled away, now standing awkwardly.

It'll be quite hard to explain to Alice.

Jay cleared his throat and everyone started to do random things.

"Umm Della?" Jungwon called out after I grabbed the stuff I need since it’s my turn to use the bathroom.

"You.. have more than one bias?" Jungwon asked nervously. I scanned my eyes to look at all the boys who were waiting for my answer.

"I couldn't choose one, they're endearing in their own way," I gave them a warm smile.

"If it's possible, why would I only choose one?"

[sexybabystevie]

✨I LOVE the road trip idea!!! The "adults" checking to see if everyone has what they need and only having a vague journey line of where they're going; all the mixtapes that would be brought and I can just SEE the fights over what'll be played next; everyone having their own little treasure box (cause this trip will be memories they'll *treasure*). Depending on length, the chapters could be different stops, with small interludes of when the drive is across hours of farmland! Sounds really fun :D

oh. my. gosh. i LOVE all of these ideas!! totally adding them in. i made a post a few days ago about how i found out about the official character playlists on spotify, and while i definitely can come up with some songs that each character like listening to, i think it would be really cool to base their mixtape arguments over that as well!!

love the little trinket box idea - i'm thinking that you, steve, and robin all work on them together, even before you tell the kids about the trip plans. in the process of planning things, robin makes a joke about how the kids are going to try and guilt their parents into as much money as possible, and somehow that gets onto the topic of them needing something to put all of their little souvenirs in, so they all go to the craft shop and get little boxes and little things to decorate with - charms and stickers and paints - and then each adult chooses which kids they wanna make a box for, except things get out of hand and momma steve comes out and he insists that dustin would rather have orange than blue and so it becomes a joined effort between everyone :)

and the chapters each being a destination or just the drive would be so cool!! i honestly have to decide where on earth they're even gonna go, and i'll have to do some general research about it, but i'm excited!! i actually really love road trips and traveling and i make plans for the future with my friends and get so happy planning out every single detail. maybe it's a little weird but i find it so fun lol

[iliumheightnights]

Thrifty | Diego Hargreeves x Male Reader

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy Pairing: Diego Hargreeves x Male Reader Summary: Diego’s boyfriend finds something that reminds him of his boyfriend.

…

M/n walked down the street to Diego’s apartment. If he could even call it that, his boyfriend’s apartment was more like a hidey hole. It honestly fit Diego to be living in the basement of a boxing gym.

On his way, he was stopped by something that caught his eye in a store window. After looking at it for a bit, he decided to enter the store. The store seemed to be an antique store with lots of ‘vintage’ things which was really just trash with a coat of paint thrown over it. 

Looking at the object that caught his eye, M/n was disappointed seeing the price was in the triple digits. No way was he going to spend that. Looking around he saw how the store was busy enough. Not overly crowded, but enough for a distraction.

Going further into the store. He found a stack of ‘old’ books. They were stacked incredibly high and it was a simple flick of a book to weaken the stack. There’s his distraction. Now he just had to see if there were security cameras around. Looking around the immediate area he didn’t see anything but that didn’t mean there weren't any closer. Returning to the window, he made it look as if he was looking at something else, NOT the object he was interested in. Taking another quick glance, he saw how there were no cameras in this area or the area outside.

Deciding he liked the odds, he returned to the book stack and slowly pushed one of the books on the bottom. Finally he had pushed one far enough that it would only keep the stack up for a bit longer. Walking back to the front, he went up to the person behind the counter. The person was rather young, probably a family member left in charge.

“Excuse me. I just wanted to let you know some kid was messing with-”

BANG! There went the books. The person had a worried look and quickly went to the sound of the crash.

With a smirk, M/n returned to the object quickly stashing it in his jacket and leaving the store. Once he was outside he took another look and saw no cameras in any of the street lights. Of course not, Diego lived in a crappy part of town. With his treasure stashed away, M/n continued his walk to his boyfriend’s apartment.

Entering the gym M/n saw how, like all the other times, it was not busy. He didn’t bother wasting time and went to the door that led to Diego’s living arrangement. Opening the door he watched as a knife flew in front of him and hit a target directly in the head.

“Headshot!” He called out.

Diego laughed and shook his head. “You should really knock just so I don’t hit you.”

“Oh you wouldn’t do that. If you did I’d get you back.”

“Oh would you?” Diego said in a teasing manner, raising an eyebrow at him. He got closer and pulled M/n into him.

“Yes. I would. Plus you wouldn’t get the gift I got you.”

Diego’s face lit up at that and he pulled back. “You got me a gift? You didn’t have to do that.”

“No I didn’t, but I love seeing your face just now.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out the box, handing it to his boyfriend. “Here.”

Diego opened the box and gasped. “This is- wow.” Reaching his hand in, he pulled out an ornate knife that had a beautifully carved wood handle. “Where’d you find this at?”

“Oh it was just-”

“Holy shit! This thing was two hundred dollars?” Diego looked shocked that this thing was that expensive.

“Only the best for you.” M/n pulled Diego into a hug.

“You didn’t buy this did you?”

“No I did not.”

Diego chuckled and squeezed his boyfriend. “You really shouldn’t do that, but in this case I think it’s alright.”

“Hey! You know you like when you get the good stuff and the good stuff is expensive.”

“I swear...you and my brother would get along TOO well.”

“Speaking of brother...when DO I get to meet your family?”

Diego seemed to stiffen a bit and sighed. “Actually...I was going to tell you my dad died. I was going back for the funeral. Wanted to know if you’d come along with me.”

M/n smiled. “Oh you mean the dad that was a dick to you your entire life? I can’t wait to see how that goes down. Hell yeah I’m going with you...for support.” M/N chuckled. “And to see you probably kick your one brothers ass. From what you’ve told me this funeral will be crazy.”

“With my family? Yeah it will. But I want you to meet mom.”

M/n smiled looking at Diego. His boyfriend had told him how much his mom meant to him. Diego was a full blown momma’s boy.

“I’d love to meet the woman who raised you. She must have had nerves of steel.”

“Hey! I was different growing up!”

“Sure you were.”

[sylvie-writes]

“I Wanna Be Just Like Mommy!”

a/n: this is to make up for my inactivity. (which is still ongoing lol bc school drains me)

Summary: a short hc to kick off my fall writing!

“Stevie! Wake up babe!”

Your husband groaned and curled into his side, pillow clutched to the side of his face as you leaned over his body, pressing kisses to his bare shoulder to wake him.

“ehhh.”

“C’mon! You promised Sarah and I to brunch today!”

At that, Steve shot up and looked at you, a worried look glossing over his face, his frown disappearing at your sweet smile.

“Oh shit. I’m sorry, I forgot! Give me like ten minutes.”

Steve then went to throw the covers off, when you pulled them back over him, shaking your head.

“It’s okay, silly. I was just waking you up early because I knew you forgot, after all you did have a mission yesterday.”

Steve Rogers was so grateful to have such a forgiving, and supportive wife.

Leaning forward with joy, he kissed you deeply, holding you close to him as you smiled into the kiss.

“Well, you rest up some more. I’m gonna go get ready, Sarah too. I’ll come wake you.”

You pressed a pucker to his cheek and dashed off to go wake Sarah, who was surprisingly in the kitchen.

As you walked passed, out of the corner of your eye, you spotted the little girl at the kitchen counter, sitting with her plastic princess bowl and spoon in front of her, a quart of milk adjacent to the bowl.

“Mommy! I was trying to make cereal, but daddy put the box on the top shelf.”

Smiling, you walked to the little girl’s chair and kissed her messy nest of hair, patting her shoulder before venturing off to reach the box of Frosted Flakes.

Returning to Sarah, you helped her pour the milk and cereal, your daughter gladly accepting your assistance.

Finally, Sarah dug into the cereal, crunching it happily, even offering to share with you.

“Have some, mommy!”

Her little hand brought the spoon to your mouth as she fed you, just as you always did to her.

The two of you, were just as close as she was with Steve.

One of the things you shared with the little girl was your food.

Anytime you’d eat out, you’d put said food on a spoon or fork and feed it to her. Then in return Sarah would give you a chicken tender or an orange slice from her kids meal.

Not too long after, Sarah fisnihed her cereal, you finishing a cup of coffee along with her.

Dishes put away, you escorted Sarah to the bathroom where she got into the tub and proceeded to let you wash her up.

Minutes later, her knotted golden locks were dampened and you gently brushed them out as she sat on the toilet seat, telling of her adventures with Uncle Bucky at the museum where she saw some of Steve’s old pictures.

Sarah, just like you, was always interested to hear about Steve’s last. The 30’s/40’s seemed like an interesting era, and to hear about it from someone who wasn’t physically 100 years old was pretty cool too.

When her hair was dry, you did a little half up-half down, securing a pumpkin bow onto the ponytail.

The little girl still sat in her nightgown, outfit not yet picked out. Checking the time on your phone, the clock read 10:07 AM, meaning you should go get your shower, then change Sarah.

“Sweetheart, I’ve got to go shower myself, how about you watch some tv in my room while you wait?”

Like the most darling child she is, Sarah jumped off her seat and dashed into your bedroom, jumping on the bed, your side to be exact, Steve not even noticing, for he was in the deepest slumber ever.

You scrolled through the channels, stopping on nick jr. where some cartoon was playing, Sarah’s attention glued to it, allowing you to shower.

After you stepped out, you immediately picked up your outfit you had planned for today. Steve told you about the brunch last week and you just wanted an excuse to dress up.

So in honor of the fall weather, you bought a burgundy boucle knit sweater and some light denim jeans to kick off the season.

To complete the look, you wore black ankle wedge boots, paired with your wedding ring and a small necklace that was Steve’s mother’s.

Yes, your outfit was what some would call, aesthetically pleasing, for it was the epitome of fall.

As you were now dressed, you picked up Sarah from the bed, kissing Steve to wake up, which he did, and then going to change your daughter.

Once in her room, you set her down to search through the drawers when she stopped you with her little hands.

“Mommy, you look so pretty! I have a sweeter like that! Can we be twins?”

Her pronunciation and little baby eyes were so cute, as she begged to match with you.

Sooooo cute 🥺

Nodding, the girl ran around you and opened another drawer pulling out her own burgundy sweater as you fished around in your drawer for her denim jeans, which were slightly darker.

Handing her the outfit, she surprisingly dressed her self correctly, then going to sit on her bed, slipping on some socks. Which of course were mismatched.

As she did that, you went to the front door of the apartment, the mud room or drop zone so to say, and found her pair of boots. Brown leather ankle boots.

Sarah pulled on the boots and hopped off the bed, running to your bedroom. You were really hoping that Steve wouldn’t just walk out of the bathroom, naked, having forgot his clothes.

Relieved that he didn’t, you followed Sarah to your nightstand, where she handed you your phone.

“We need a picture, momma!”

Agreeing, you opened the camera and walked with her into the closet, using the floor mirror for a full outfit picture.

Duck faces, smiles, goofy grins, you must’ve taken at least fifteen pictures, ones you’d treasure for years to come.

After taking pictures, you and Sarah went to go sit on the couch, awaiting Steve who would be done any minute now...

“There are my pretty girls!”

Steve walked in, burgundy sweater of his own, jaw dropping as he was met with the two of you matching. Now apparently matching him too.

All three of you just burst into giggles.

“So are we going like this or am I gonna be the one to change.”

You walked over to Steve to hug him, Sarah joining in as Steve picked her up.

“No daddy! I think we all look pwetty like mommy.”

So before walking out, you all took one selfie, your burgundy sweaters prominent in the picture.

It definitely became your lock screen for the next few months.

And needless to say, everyone smiled at your family at the restaurant.

Captain America and family: matching trio.

Im so sad that this will never happen, but I’m so warm and fuzzy rn 🥺🥺

Sorry for any mistakes, I should be sleeping bc I have class early, so I didn’t edit this.

Tmrw I’ll add a read more button bc I wrote this on mobile 😐

[justanotherblonde23]

Ok ideas for writing...Iris and Marcus talking about her legally adopting the girls and then asking them for permission? Love your writing!

Will You Be My Daughters? - A Marcus Moreno Story 

Author’s Note: Ask and you shall receive, my sweet Autumn. Yes, Part V of ‘It’s Time to Be a Hero’ is coming. I’ve just been extraordinarily stressed this past week or so with school starting and having to balance that with taking care of my mom who is healing from some major surgery. I needed to write something fluffy and cute, so this is what happened! I really hope that you all enjoy this; it made my heart happy and I hope it makes yours happy too. As always, I don’t give physical descriptions for Iris so that you can hopefully see yourself in her xoxo

Warnings: None

Marcus and Iris had been discussing this for months. They both knew that they wanted to be together for the rest of their lives, even if they hadn’t made anything official yet. Iris didn’t want to pressure her boyfriend into moving faster than he felt comfortable. He still struggled with feelings of abandonment and insecurity since his ex had up and left not long after Jules was born. How could he not have a hard time when something like that had happened to him? 

The doctor was content to be Marcus Moreno’s partner; she had no pressing time frame. She wasn’t going anywhere. Missy and Jules called her “Mommy,” and everything in her soul screamed that she was their mother. She did everything a mother would do and spent her time going above and beyond for those children. The only thing left was to make it official. 

  They could just file the paperwork and call it a day, but that didn’t seem right. Missy remembered the woman that gave birth to her, and she remembered when that woman left without so much as a goodbye. She was old enough to know that Iris was the closest thing she had to a mother and remembered when she had first come into their lives. Jules was a year and a half old by now and only knew Iris as her mommy. Whatever they did was mainly for Missy and to remind her that she was loved, cherished, and special. 

Eventually, they settled on making a day out of it. Both parents agreed that their girls deserved something special. It was Iris’ idea to ask Missy if she would like to be formally adopted. She wanted the little girl to feel like she had a say in the matter and that she was the central figure. 

One Friday, the good doctor took her two girls out shopping in search of a dress. She told them that it was for an extraordinary occasion, some sort of surprise for them. Naturally, both girls were thrilled. Missy insisted on finding matching dresses for her and little Jules, stating that it was always the best to have sister sister matchy time. Jules wanted to be just like her big sister, so she was thrilled. 

Three children’s shops later, a pair of matching dresses were found. They were this gorgeous peachy pink, Missy’s current favorite color, with a tulle skirt full of sparkles and perfect for twirling. The sparkles were at Jules’ insistence; she could never say no to anything sparkly. The silver sparkly matching shoes were a great addition, too. As exhausting as it could be carting around an eight-year-old and a toddler, Iris was satisfied with a job well done. 

As much as the girls begged both of their parents to know what the surprise was, neither of them would cave. Missy wracked her brain, trying to figure out what it could be. There weren’t any birthdays coming up that she knew of, Christmas was over, and Valentine’s Day was next week. What could it be? 

Saturday came around, packed full of all of their favorite activities. The Moreno family had a brunch picnic at the park, played on the swings together, and even spent a few hours at the Natural History Museum. Jules was extremely obsessed with all things dinosaur at the moment. Every skeleton they saw left the little girl giggling, “A dino! It’s a dino! What it name, Momma?” 

Marcus watched as his girlfriend would carefully explain each fossil’s name to her, pronouncing it slowly so that his daughter could understand how it was said. Then she and the little one would pronounce it together, a little incorrectly, but Jules wasn’t even two yet, so who could blame the kid. He loved how gentle and caring his partner was with his kids. He could have never expected to find someone like her, not in a million years. He was thrilled to be finally taking the next big step with her and making his children officially hers too. Family was something that he treasured beyond everything else in his life. The fact that he had a family that was whole again made him thank his lucky stars. 

Their time at the museum went on like this for the next few hours. Each girl had their favorite exhibits, and the couple made sure that everyone got to see what they wanted most. Anyone looking at the four of them would see a regular happy family out for a Saturday outing full of laughs, giggles, and hugs. By the time they were done for the day, both girls each sat in a parent’s arms, cuddled close to the people that loved them the most. 

Last on the agenda for the day was dinner at their favorite restaurant. At least twice a month, the little family ended up at a local pizza joint called LJ’s Pizza, named after the founder and owner of over 40 years. The kids inhaled the pizza every single time they visited, danced around to the local music on the weekends, and their parents always enjoyed good conversation with the owner and his family. It was a win-win in every sense of the word. 

 As they walk into the restaurant, both girls gasp, taking in their surroundings in awe. The customarily packed restaurant was empty. Every single table had a photograph of the two little girls and Iris or the entire family together. The one table that didn’t have pictures was covered in all the girls’ favorite dishes. The owner, LJ, smiled at the kids, opening his arms as they barreled into him for a hug. After they had gotten their hugs from the older man and a piece of candy each that he slipped them, they turned back to their parents. 

“Mommy, what’s going on?” Missy wondered, looking around the room. 

“Well, Missy, Jules, your daddy and I have been talking recently, and we wanted to ask you something,” Iris began to explain. 

Everyone sat down at their table, the girls each crawling onto a parent’s lap. Once they were settled, Iris continued. “I’ve been your mommy for a while now, right?”

Both girls nodded simultaneously. Jules was a little confused because she had never really known any other mommy beside Iris, but she kept quiet and nodded. Her mommy was using her serious voice, and she knew better than to interrupt her. 

“Well, I want to be your mommy forever, if you’ll let me. I’m not ever going anywhere, and I wanted to make it official. What I’m asking is, would you like for me to adopt you and be your forever mommy?” 

Missy squealed, jumping off her father’s lap into Iris’. She grabbed her mommy’s face in her little hands and covered her with kisses. Even at five, she understood what Iris was asking her. “Do you mean it? You’ll stay with me forever and be my mommy?” 

“Yes, I promise that I’ll stay with you forever, Missy Mae. I love you with all my heart, and I never ever want to be without you. Thank you for letting me be your mommy, little one.” She pressed a kiss to Missy’s forehead and then rubbing the girl’s nose with her own. 

Jules was happily sharing her mommy’s lap with her big sister, not a care in the world. She leaned over and asked, “Daddy, Mommy is my mommy, right?” 

Marcus couldn’t help but break out into a grin, seeing his girls so enamored by his dear Iris. “Yes, baby, Mommy is your mommy.” 

Apparently, that was a satisfactory answer for Jules because she nodded, snuggling up in the woman’s lap, content with watching everything around her. She popped her thumb in her mouth and reveled in the palpable joy in the room. 

The family dug into dinner with enthusiasm. They had forgotten to grab lunch during the whirlwind museum adventure. Not much was said as they ate, everyone far too busy putting food in their mouths and gobbling it all down. Now and then, Missy would stop to say, “Mommy, Daddy, I love you,” and then hope right back into her food. Once dinner was finished, and the kids were cleaned up, Marcus grabbed the girls’ attention. 

“Mommy and I decided to get you both something to mark this special occasion. Would you both like your gift?” 

Jules lit up like a Christmas tree, her umber eyes sparkling. “A present? For meeeee?!” she asked, full of excitement. She reached out her chubby toddler hands, ready to open something. 

Her father handed her a box, which Iris helped her open. Nestled inside was a silver heart locket that matched the one that her mother wore around her neck. Opening it up, the little girl found a picture of both her parents. “So that Mommy and Daddy can always be with you, even when we’re apart,” he murmured. 

“Like Mommy’s! Same same!” she giggled, absolutely delighted to be matching her mommy. When Iris put it on her, she squealed, touching her own locket and then her mother’s. 

Missy was up next, curious as to what she had gotten. The box her father handed her was a different shape from her sister’s, so it wasn’t a locket. She opened her gift to see a silver bracelet. Picking it up, she realized that it had her initials in the middle of it. She looked up, grinning ear to ear. “MM, for Missy Moreno?”

“You betcha, Missy Mae,” Marcus replied. “Your mommy made this just for you. Those stones are moonstones because you are our sun, moon, and all the stars in our sky. Also, it connects to my watch and Mommy’s bracelet so that you can get in touch with us any time. All you have to do is press these two buttons on the side, and you’ll be able to call us.” 

She beamed, slipping it on her wrist and examining it proudly. It wasn’t just the fact that she had received a gift from her parents. It was that her mommy made it, all by herself, just for her. Iris was known for her inventions, and the fact that she had made something exclusively for her little girl made Missy’s heart overflow. She looked up to the woman and loved her dearly; the only thing she wanted was to have both parents loving her and taking care of her. This was Iris’ promise not to leave, and it meant everything to her daughter. 

Monday morning came, and the family of four went to the local courthouse to submit their paperwork and make everything official. The girls insisted that they wear their matching dresses once more and have Iris do their hair. Jules had her brown curls tamed in a little half ponytail on the top of her head that Marcus lovingly nicknamed “the fountain”. Missy’s hair was in an elaborate braid that fell over her shoulder. Both girls couldn’t stop grinning and giggling. Marcus was wearing a nice suit with a blue tie that matched that blue floral of his girlfriend’s dress. They were all dressed to the nines and ready to make their family of four official. 

The whole affair was brief, taking less than an hour to have everything submitted and filed away properly. Once the registrar told them they were all set, Iris burst into tears. She knelt down on the girls’ level, gathering them up in her arms, holding them tight. She kissed both of them, drying her eyes, and standing back up to embrace her boyfriend. Marcus scooped her up, twirling her around and kissing her soundly, the happiness contagious. Finally, they were a family both in name and in their hearts. 

A county clerk came up to them, offering to snap a picture of the precious moment. Iris stood, enveloped in Marcus’ arms, with her two beautiful little girls clinging onto her dress. That picture sits above the mantle in their home as a reminder of the day they became the Moreno Family of Four.  

Let me know if you’d like to be added to the tags list for the Marcus + Iris Universe series. It’s ongoing and I have SO MUCH more planned for our favorite little family <3

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