#my siblings and I would be like ‘hey can we get ice cream’ and he’d say ‘BUT YOURE RELATED!!! THATS DISGUSTING!!!’ like it’s not ICE CREAM.

[poppyseed799]

Spent today getting caught up on miraculous, remembered how much I hate the ice cream guy

[thecapricunt1616]

Balessan - (c.b. oneshot)

𝓢𝓷𝓲𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓽 (𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓑𝓣𝓒):“The Cub takes down The Bear at the 20 yard lineee!!” Mikey shouts ferociously, jumping up and pouncing on Carmys chest in a bodyslam. Carm groans, “Ohhh you little cheater- when did we start wrestling?! They don’t do bodyslams in football, kid” he wraps his arms around Mikey, caging him in and tickling his sides, causing him to squeal and laugh wildly.

♡ O.S Inspo: Balessan ; Also known as: Poplar Buds, Balsam Poplar, Balm of Gilead, Mecca, Mecca Balsam, & Bechan - This Magickal herb can be used to bring forth; Love, manifestations, protection, healing, de-stressing, and assisting in healing from the loss of a loved one. Use in love sachets; carry for healing, protection, and mending a broken heart. ♡ Summary: This amazing, big brained, fabulous & wonderful request is inspired from this ask from my beautiful flower @daysofyellowroses - Thank you my love. -- In this O/S You & Carmy spend a day with his nephew at the park!

♡ W/C: 4,200

♡ Posted Date: 03/19/2024

♡ A/N: Aaaa! look at me pumpin' these one shots out like hot cakes!!! Get your requests in folks I have a long weekend ahead hahaha!! This was BEYOND fun to write, thank you so much again Rose for such an amazing request. I hope it's everything you imagined!! I lovee love love writing mushy happy Carmy, he deserves all the love in his life!! I totally see him being the pushover uncle just like this, Happy Meals & Ice Cream for daysss!!! <3

♡ Warnings for BTC: NONE!!! Well... carmy smokes a cigarette at the end? That's all hahah - ***NO USE OF Y/N - AS LITTLE PHYSICAL DESCRIP. AS POSSIBLE - READER IS CALLED 'BLOSSOM' IN THIS O/S :)***

➵ 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 ♡

Carmen had never felt true love before. He didn’t think he’d ever know what that felt like. He’d heard stories of parents meeting their newborn babies for the first time, saying that ‘it was an indescribable feeling of holding the entire world in the palm of your hands.’ And that to him, sounded like bullshit. 

It was sweet and all, but considering the way his mother and father treated he and his siblings growing up- that moment was fleeting at the very least. 

That was what he’d thought, until that is- he got the call that would change his life, forever. 

Sugar and Pete had kept the gender of their baby a secret, Carmy was very excited for them, and though Pete wasn’t his favorite person- he knew in his heart he’d be a great dad. Better then he could ever do at least, so that had eased his mind for the new blood of his family. 

Pete had called to inform him that Sugar had given birth, finally, he thought to himself. He didn’t realize that the labor process could take days. Sugar had went into the hospital on Tuesday, in the early afternoon when her water had broken- it was now 4 pm Thursday evening. It was about time for the kid to make an appearance. 

He’d made his way down to the hospital right away, no questions asked. It was Sugar after all, and after Pete had told him she wasn’t having any visitors, but had requested that he specifically come see her- he wasn’t gonna let her down. 

He’d even stopped at the 24-hour deli convenience store on the way, getting her a club sandwich that she’d been moaning about not being able to have for months - something about pregnant people not being allowed to have lunch meat? He wasn’t sure what that was about. 

When he got in the room, it was so quiet, he could hear his heart thumping in his ears. He wasn’t sure why he was nervous- it’s not like the kid was gonna have an opinion on him…yet. But still, he knew first impressions were important. He also didn’t want to fuck anything up, he wasn’t very sure how to hold a baby- he’d never held Eva when she was young, and he heard babies necks were super floppy, so he was really nervous he’d hurt them by mistake.

“Hey..” he said softly, and Sugar sits up. She looked utterly exhausted, she was pale, her hair was knotted and sweaty all stuck to her forehead, and her eyes were bloodshot from either pain or being so tired, he wasn’t sure which. 

“Bear! You came!” She said quietly, opening her arms for a hug. He walks over to her, carefully wrapping his arms around her as he wasn’t sure if her stomach would be hurting or not, and kissing her cheek lovingly. 

“Y’re amazing Sugar, you did so good, thats fuckin’ crazy- you had a baby, Sug” he tells her, rubbing her arm gently. Carmen didn’t know much about pregnancy and birth, other than what he’d learned from Sugar over the past year or so. The only thing he really knew about the birthing process was what he’d seen on TV, and the fact that birth hurt like an absolute bitch, and that there was no way around it. 

“Thank you…is that-“ she asked, picking up the bag he’d placed next to her on the bed. He smiled a bit, pulling the sandwich out. 

“Club sandwich. Don’t say I never listen to you” he teased and she pouted, tears filling her eyes and she pulled him into another hug. 

“Y’re the best Bear.” She said. “Sorry…I’m gonna be hormonal for like..another year” she laughed a bit. 

He chuckled softly, rubbing her back. “I’m used to it by now.” He teased. 

The door opened, and a nurse wheeled in a bundle of white striped blankets in to the room, lying in a bassinet. 

“Oh! Uncle is here! Okay so baby did great, they’re all set. We got all the bloodwork we needed, took their k shot, everything is looking wonderful. I’ll let you get acquainted” she said, being sure not to give away the baby’s name or gender before they were ready, leaving the little bundle next to Sugars bedside before heading out and closing the door quietly behind her. 

The baby coos, making sweet adorable little noises. Carmen took the bag of food for Sugar, placing it on her bedside table as she carefully picked up her baby, cradling them in her arms. 

Carmen was in awe. Everything about them was so…tiny. So pure, so untouched by the world. He carefully nudged the blanket down so he could get a better view of their face, the babies teeny little hand peeking out. He couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped his lips as the babe curled their whole hand around his forefinger. 

“Sug” he whispered, tears pooling in his eyes and falling to his cheeks before he could try and hold them back. “Oh god…” he said softly, stroking the baby's tiny fingers with his thumb. 

“Michael Anthony Lombardi” she said softly. He looks up at her, jaw dropped. 

It was totally something sugar would do, so sentimental. Naming her first son after her 2 brothers. But now, Carmen felt even more attached to the little guy. He was carrying his name- he had to take care of him, protect him, the same way Michael had done for him. 

Carmen sniffles, kissing her head and resting his cheek on top of it as he looks down at the beautiful little baby. Well- maybe not beautiful physically- yet. Carmen always thought brand new babies looked fairly weird, of course he’d never tell Sugar that, though. 

But, beautiful in the sense that he knew what this baby meant for them, for their family. It was a brand new beginning, and maybe- just maybe…this would be enough to get his mother to clean up her act enough to be the grandmother for this baby how she couldn’t be a mother to he and his siblings.  “Nice to meet you, Mikey” he said with the kind of smile that made his eyes crinkle, vision blurry with tears.

It had been about 6 months since you and Carm had met, and one of the things you loved about him was what an active, engaged uncle he was with his little nephew, Michael. 

He’d grown plenty now since the first time he and the little cub met, being ‘a whole hand and a thumb’ as Mikey proudly told you the time you’d met the little firecracker at the first family dinner you’d attended. 

That little boy was Carmy’s sun, moon, and all of his stars. He was constantly spoiling him with new toys, clothes, taking him out for “Mikey and Bear” days, the kid was the lockscreen on his phone for crying out loud. If you weren’t dating him, with the way he talks about that boy- you’d think he was a single dad. 

Sugar very much appreciated it though, she never wanted to stop working when she’d gotten pregnant, so being able to balance four different days off with 3 adults, rather than just split the duties between her and Pete- it helped their lives as a couple run a lot smoother overall. 

It took a while for Carmy to even introduce you to Mikey. He’d been nervous, reverting to his old ways of ‘waiting for the other shoe to drop’ and nothing would crush him more, then introducing his favorite little guy to someone, getting him used to them, and then them leaving him.

He could handle that rejection- but he damn sure wasn’t gonna subject Mikey to that same pain. If there was one thing Carmen swore, it was to protect the child with everything he had. 

This was the third time you’d be meeting Mikey. Carmy had asked if you wanted to take him to the park together for a picnic after he’d picked him up from school, and of course you agreed. There was no better way to spend the afternoon than sharing snacks with your Bear under the shade of oak trees from the late spring sun, and chasing around Sugars mini-me until he clonked out on the blanket for a nap. 

When you’d arrived to the park to meet them, you spotted Carm’s large black blanket with his backpack and 2 matching big and small Nalgene water bottles, adorned with stickers from different water parks and amusement parks they’d been to together, but he nor Mikey were nowhere to be seen. But you couldn’t miss them with how loud Mikey was being. 

“No! No! I call foul!!” Carm laughed boisterously. You continue on, seeing them come in to view past the blockade of a large tree- to find Carmy rolling in the grass as Mikey tackled him for the football he was holding. 

“The Cub takes down The Bear at the 20 yard lineee!!” Mikey shouts ferociously, jumping up and pouncing on Carmys chest in a bodyslam. 

Carm groans, “Ohhh you little cheater- when did we start wrestling?! They don’t do bodyslams in football, kid” he wraps his arms around Mikey, caging him in and tickling his sides, causing him to squeal and laugh wildly.

“Wow! Uncle Bear has been lacking at the gym, thanks for takin’ care of my light stuff Mikey” you said teasingly with a big smile. 

Mikey quickly got up, running over to you “Blossom!!!” he squealed, crashing into your waist, nearly knocking you over in the process. Blossom had become your nickname in the family, since the first time they’d met you, Carm insisted you’d smelt like cherry blossoms, to which Sugar and Richie agreed, so from then on- you were Blossom. 

“Woah! Kid you’re getting strong huh? Peewee football training been gettin intense?” You give him a big hug. 

Carm chuckled, getting up and dusting the grass and leaves from his hair and shirt, coming over and greeting you with a peck on the lips. “Tell me ‘bout it- Thanks for meeting me, kids got crazy energy today.” He said, ruffling the boys curly soft brown hair lovingly. 

“Nowww can we eat our lunch?” Mikey looked up at him, his pretty blue eyes sparkling in the afternoon light. He really did look like Mikey, and Carmy mixed together in the best way. The Berzatto family genes were mighty strong, at least on the men’s side. 

“Yes Cub. Y’know…you scammed me into a happy meal before we got here, how can you be so starved?” He teased, causing you to giggle. 

“Again? Wow Carm, you’re going softer and softer as the days go by” you teased, sitting down with he and Mikey on the comfortable blanket under the shade of the trees.

“Well it’s hard to tell him no. Did you know he got a 100% on his spelling test t’day? Mikey, tell Blossom how to spell ‘water’ ” he told him with a grin. 

Mikey looks over proudly “w-a-t…” he stops for a moment, looking at Carmy nervously. 

“You got it bud, keep goin’- sound it out, what’s next?” Carmy encourages gently. 

“E! It's E! w-a-t-e-r!” Mikey finishes proudly and you both clap for him excitedly. 

“Oh my goodness! You are such a smart boy. Good job Mikey!” You gush, giving him a high five. 

“That’s right the smartest. First spelling test of the year, and you nailed it bud!!” Carmy praised, hugging him and kissing his head sweetly. 

“Mommy’s gonna be so excited!” He said, sitting crisscross as he opened up his pb&j Carm packed for him. 

“She’s gonna be stoked, Cub. Absolutely stoked” you told him, taking the sandwich Carm had offered you. 

“Oh! Blossom I learned a new joke- listen, so you say who’s there when I say ‘knock knock’ got it?” Mikey asks and you nod with a smile. 

“Alright, thank you for my lines ahead of time, Cub” you joked, earning a chuckle out of Carmen who had surely heard this joke one million times since he’d learned it, considering he saw the kid no less then 5 days a week. 

“Knock knock!” Mikey said, looking at you expectantly. 

“I’m doing the dishes” you said, causing Mikey to burst into adorable giggles and Carm to follow suit since he couldn’t help himself when Mikey got started. 

“Nooo! Blossom!” He giggled “you say ‘who’s there’ this time, ok?” He said and you nod. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll make sure to be not so busy this time.” You teased with a giggle. 

“Knock knooock!” He said again. 

“Hold on just a second! I need to feed mister mittens- my cat!” You said and he laughs again, shaking his head. 

“You promised! Blossom! It’s ‘who’s there!’ “ he giggled. 

“Okayyy! Okay! Whoooos there?” You oblige. 

“Harry!!!” He said happily, popping a grape in his mouth. 

“I don’t know a Harry- so scram!” You teased and he laughed so hard he snorted, causing you and Carmy to crack up in a fit of laughs together. 

“You’re bad at jokes Blossom, here watch, Bear will do it right f’me. Bear, knock knock” he looks over at Carm. 

“Who’s there, Cub?” He said, taking a bite of his own sandwich. 

“Harry” he smiled big, “listen blossom” Mikey urges, causing you to giggle. 

“Harry who” Carm said with a large grin.  “Harry up and open the door it’s raining out here!!!” Mikey said, bursting in to a fit of giggles which of course caused you and Carm to join.

“Ready or not here I come!” You hear Carmy say. You hold your finger to your lips, holding Mikey tightly in your lap in the tube slide so you both won’t fall and give up your ingenious hiding spot the two of you had come up with.

“Shhh! We gotta be quiet Cub or he’s gonna find us- the bear will eat you!” you joked and he covered his mouth quickly to contain his giggles.

“Where are youuuu!” Carmy called from the other side of the playground, you giggled quietly to yourself. 

“We picked a good spot bud!” you whisper proudly and he nods, hugging your arm sweetly. Leg suddenly cramps up from being in such an awkward position in a tube meant for children much shorter then you, and you gasp quietly, moving your foot to relieve it but in the struggle- your flip-flop slips off, sliding down the tube slide and you hear it thump on the ground below, blowing up your hiding spot. 

You and Mikey look at eachother as you hear Carm laugh, “Ohhhh! Dead!! You’re both dead!” he said and you quickly lift Mikey behind you. 

“Go Mikey! Save yourself he’s gonna eat you!!!” you laugh and he scrambles out of the tube as Carm climbs up from the bottom, grabbing your bare foot.

You squeal in laughter as he pulls you down the slide by your feet, catching you at the bottom and kissing all over your face and neck, nibbling as he goes. “You’ve been caught” he growls playfully, pinning your arms above your head and kissing where your shirt rode up over your stomach leaving playful lovebites on your hips.

“Hey!” Mikey yells, running up and hugging Carms leg, hanging on it like a little monkey. “Thats my best friend! Leave her alone you big grizzly bear!” he yells through his giggles, playfully hitting Carmys leg.

“Ohhhh you’re dead Cub, dead meat buddy” he pulled away from you, scooping Mikey up and swinging him around. “Y’think y’can just beat up y’re best uncle mm little man?” he holds him upside down by his legs holding him carefully and dangling him in front of your face causing him to laugh wildly. “I present your savior Blossom, he’s been defeated” he sways him teasingly causing him to laugh more.

  “Oh noooo! Cub! The Bear got you! I forgot to tell you….he and I were working together in secret- mwahaha!!” you laugh evilly, tickling his exposed belly and he wiggles screeching in laughter.

“Not fair- Not fair!!!” he said between giggles. Carm carefully laid him on your lap so he wouldn’t get sick from being upside down and checks his watch for the time.

“Alright- we got 15 minutes, do we want swings, slide, or playing a game?” Carmy asked, causing Mikey to whine. 

“Noooo! Bear! It’s not time yet!!! It’s not even dark” he pouted, pointing at the sun, causing Carm to smile. 

“Y’re right, its not dark, but bein’ a big man in kindergarten means you got big man responsibilities now, like goin’ home and doin’ homework w’Dad yeah? He’s gonna be waitin’ on you, Dad’s not a man I can reason with m’friend, Higher rank on the totem” he ruffled his hair. 

“Fiiiine” Mikey grumbled. “I wanna do swings, race me-” he jumps up from your lap, sprinting towards the swingset.

“Wha- hey! You’re supposed to say 1,2,3, go! Those are the rules cheater!” Carmy laughs as he jogs after him. You slipped on your flipflop, going after the two boys.

“I beat you! See Blossom my new shoes make me so fast!” Mikey called to you proudly, hopping up and sitting in the swing as Carmy finally caught up.

“I did! Super fast Mikey!” you agreed with a giggle making your way up to the swingset. 

“Oh! Oh! Blossom, let’s see who can get higher!” Mikey said happily and you oblige, sitting on the swing next to him.

“Alright, Bear- you’re the judge I guess” you smiled, starting to pump your legs.

“I’m a tough critic, I expect perfect form outta you” he teased, sitting down on the picnic table in front of the swingset as he watched. 

“I’m gonna win” Mikey said confidently, already getting a few feet higher then you had. 

You giggled, “Yeah- cause you had a head start” you counter, pumping your legs harder trying to gain more momentum.

“It’s lookin’ good for Mikey babe, keep it up kid y’re doin’ great” Carm encouraged, resting his hands behind his head and stretching his legs out as he watched. 

“Bear can I jump off and you catch me?” Mikey asked hopefully to which Carmen laughs.

“Noooo way kiddo, I’m not takin’ a trip to the ER t’night, I got work in the morning and either i’ll end up hurt, or y’mother will kill me” he said, causing you to laugh as well.

“You’re gonna break your neck kid, don’t do that at school, did that once as a kid and I broke my ankle” you giggled, gasping as your flipflop flew off once again and hit Carmen right over the top of the head, causing you and Mikey to burst out in a fit of giggles.

“Hey!” Carm said, rubbing his head jokingly with a chuckle.”Those things are proving to be a horrible choice of park footwear, baby” he snorts, setting the shoe next to him on the bench for when you got off.

“I’m sorry! My work shoes were a worse choice and these are all I had in my locker” you giggled, the wind whipping your hair as you get higher and higher in the air.

“Bear! Bear! Look how high I am!!!” Mikey said proudly to which Carm nods with a big grin.

“That’s right bud! Y’re so high right now, bet you could touch an airplane if it was flyin’ over huh?” he said, digging his phone out of his pocket to take a video. “Say hi to Mommy!” he said and Mikey laughed happily, waving at Carm.

“Hiiii Mommy! I love you!” he said sweetly with a giggle. “Am I beating Blossom? Huh Bear? Am I higher?” he said and Carm chuckled.

“Mhmm- sorry baby, I think Mikey has ya beat this time around,” he said, ending the video and slipping his phone back in his pocket.

“Well how could I beat the best huh?” you mused, stopping pumping your legs so your swing would slow. 

“I told you!” Mikey giggled, digging his heels into the woodchips to come to a hard stop and running up to Carmy, giving him a big hug. “Can we get ice cream bear?” he asked and Carm laughed, shaking his head.

“You don’t stop, huh kiddo? No ice cream, It’ll spoil y’r dinner. How ‘bout, if y’really good at school this week- When I get you on Friday, we’ll go you ‘n me yeah?” he pats his back and Mikey nods with a pout.

“Pinky promise” He holds up his pinky and Carmy hooks his own around it, kissing Mikeys hand, and Mikey kisses his. 

“See? Deal” he ruffled his brunette curls and got up, grabbing the flip flop and coming up to you, crouching down grabbing your leg and kissing down your calf causing you to giggle before he carefully put the flip flop on your foot.

“I want a piggyback!” Mikey said, jumping on Carmys back to which he caught his balance with his forearm.

“Woah! Okay! Alright piggyback it is bud but y’gotta tell me yeah? We don’t want anyone gettin’ hurt” he told him, hiking him up on his waist as he stood up, Mikey wrapping his arms around his neck securely.

“Ok I’ll tell you next time” he replied. You hopped off the swing, taking Carmy’s hand and interlacing your fingers as you walked, swinging your hands together happily. The weather was absolutely perfect today. Not a cloud in the sky, perfect humidity, 72 degrees, you were surprised there weren’t more people here at the park other than the fact it was a Wednesday afternoon.

The three of you made your way back over to the blanket, and Carmy gently sets Mikey down to fold it up and pack up his backpack with the remainder of the food we couldn’t finish. “Blossom look! Look! I can jump so high in my new shoes!” Mikey said, tugging your pants to look at him and you obliged, keeping him busy as Carm tried to get everything situated to pack into the car. 

“Alright little jumping bean, time to go home d’you wanna race to the car, or I’ll carry you?” He asked, putting on his backpack and carrying Mikeys for him.

“Race- 123go!” Mikey said quickly before taking off and you laughed. Carm shakes his head with a smile, holding your hand as you both walked after him to the car. 

The ride back was full of laughter and singing Bluey songs, of course. That was Mikey’s favorite show at the moment, and you couldn’t help but smile at the way Carmy sang with Mikey along to every word. Carmy had even gotten a little Bluey air freshener that hung on his rearview mirror, just another little piece of Mikey that hung around, alongside his carseat that permanently lived in the back, the polaroid of him, sugar, and Mikey on his dash, the many toys scattered along the backseat. It was more than clear that the little guy held his entire heart in the palms of his hands. 

“Alright buckaroo” Carmy said as he pulls into sugars driveway. Mikey unbuckles himself, flinging forward and wrapping you into a hug. 

“Bye awesome blossom, thanks for playing with me” he said sweetly. You smiled, ruffling his hair and wrapping your arms around him.

“We’ll do it again soon, bud. Be good yeah? Listen t’your momma” You told him, patting his back. Carmy got out, grabbing his bluey backpack for him, helping him out of the car and carrying him up the steps, opening up the door and heading in to drop him off.

You opened up the center console, digging out Carm’s cigarettes and a lighter, knowing he was gonna be craving one bad when he got back in the car. Sugar didn’t even have to ask, as soon as the baby was born- if he was gonna be around the baby he wasn’t smoking until after he’d left, so there was absolutely no chance of any secondhand smoke being passed on to him.

Cracking the window, you lit it, taking a drag as he shuts the door behind him and comes back to the car. You offered the cigarette between your fingers and he smiled, taking it after he buckled his seatbelt. “Have I reminded you today, how much I love you my perfect angel” He leaned in, giving you a sweet lingering kiss on the lips. 

You smiled, humming softly at the sweet gesture. “Yes- well- not in person today, but, you did text me - good morning, I love you when you went to work, so that counts” he smiled as he took a drag, backing out of the driveway carefully. 

“Well, I love you baby, What are we doin’ f’r dinner? Am I cookin’ er we goin out?” he cracks his window, ashing his cigarette before having another drag, resting his tattooed hand on your thigh, stroking gently as he drove.

“I’m in the mood for some Berzatto Family Pasta” you hum, resting your hand out the window to feel the cool kiss of the spring evening breeze.  “Family pasta it is, Blossom”

[mariaofdoranelle]

Look at Us Now - Easter Outtake

Fic masterlist

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO LAUN!!

SURPRISE!! I’m late to my own party, and I 100% apologize for that

But!

I can’t believe LAUN is a year old already 🥹🥹 they grow up so fast!! I don’t think an Easter celebration is canon compliant at all, but I couldn’t let the opportunity slip away when LAUN’s 1st anniversary came right on Easter 🥹🥹🥹 I’m so emotional 🥹

I’m also aware that not everyone here celebrates Easter, but honestly this was just an excuse to write fluff and chocolate gift-giving. I hope everyone finds a way to enjoy it!

And I feel like we all deserve a post-epilogue glimpse after an entire year of these two idiots heheheh

Warnings: cranky teenager Maisie, sibling fights (lots)

Words: 3k

Every time Aelin mocked Rowan for spoiling their kids too much, it completely lacked the awareness that she was the one he spoiled the most.

Or at least that was on Maisie’s mind as she strolled down the supermarket’s aisles with her little brother, because Mom wrote in the family group chat that she wanted pasta for dinner, so Dad asked Maisie to buy the ingredients after school.

“Finn,” she called her unrequited companion, “do you remember which olive oil Dad likes?”

“Uh…” The boy hesitated without taking his eyes off his Nintendo Switch. “I dunno, that green one?”

Maisie slapped her brother’s forearm with the back of her hand. “Are you being for real right now?”

Startled, the boy raised his head to see row after row of different green bottles of olive oil. They all looked exactly the same, but she knew better than to grab the first one they saw, knowing how fussy her dad could be sometimes.

“Gods! Just call him—that’s why you have a fucking phone,” Finn said while rubbing off the sting on his forearm.

Maisie rolled her eyes. “I’ll tell him you dropped a F-bomb.”

“And I’ll tell him you slapped me.”

“He’d be on your side,” she said while texting Rowan about the olive oil. “You’re so much shorter than me—he’d say it’s not a fair fight.”

“Take it back!” He ran towards Maisie for a second, since she was on her way to get tomatoes now. “When I get taller than Uncle Lorcan, you’ll wish you were less mean to me.”

Well, that would be a problem for future Maisie. At ten years old, Finn was so short, taunting him about it was almost too easy.

“Yeah, whatever.” She tapped her brother’s shoulder and pointed at another direction. “Go get the parmesan cheese.”

Finn turned to leave, but swung back to her. “Can we have ice cream later?”

Ice cream that she would have to pay, because she couldn’t report to the parental unit about illicit ice cream before dinner, let alone request a refund.

“Fine, just—“

“Alright! I’m there!”

Ever since Maisie got her first job, her brother started acting as if she was a millionaire. Sometimes, she wondered if he believed that her salary was the same as their parents’, which would be highly inaccurate. Despite the age gap, her parents never asked Maisie to act in any way that resembled a parental role—still, she liked to treat her siblings once in a while, give their jobless selves a taste of freedom, let them see what it’s like to have ice cream before dinner just because you can.

Before she knew it, he was back with the cheese.

“Can you buy me that Kinder Easter egg?” He pointed at a cardboard display filled with them. “The one with the dinosaur.”

Maisie narrowed her eyes on Finn. “You told Mom you wanted another one.”

“Yeah, because she only let me pick one.”

Her eyebrows shot when she came closer and saw the price tag. “Hell, no. I’d rather pay for a new haircut.”

“Hey!” Finn protested, running a hand through his newly cut hair. “Mom said she likes it!”

“You look ridiculous.”

“I’m so gonna tell her you said that.”

“Do it. Deep down, she agrees with me.”

˜˜

When she arrived, the house was calmer than usual.

“You aren’t magic!” Eamon shouted to his smirking, completely unfazed sister. “You’re not!”

Maisie walked past them towards the kitchen, where her dad prepped dinner as if the twins weren’t about to rip each other’s heads off in the living room.

“Hey, Maisy Daisy,” he called without looking away from the onion he was chopping. “Did you get everything?”

She put the bags on the counter as an answer, then her dad kissed the crown of her head in thanks and promised to repay her later.

Things didn’t seem to progress at all in the living room—actually, they did, if one could count Eamon getting angrier as progress.

“You don’t fly! You don’t control fire! You don’t teleport!”

Enid giggled. “I know how, I just don’t want to.”

“NO! YOU CAN’T!”

Maisie cut in, “I mean, she could.”

That made the boy stop and narrow his eyes on her, begrudgingly hanging on to whatever she was about to say. Since she was more than twice the twins’ age and the wisest of them all, sometimes her siblings actually listened to something Maisie said.

“I mean…” she shrugged. “We don’t know where you two came from, so maybe she really does have magic.”

Enid crossed her arms. “What do you mean?”

“FINN!” Maisie shouted and waited a moment for her brother to come out of his room. “Do you remember when we found Enid and Eamon in the trash?”

“That’s a lie!” Her ever-so-cool little sister yelled, her green eyes welling up.

“Oh, yeah.” Finn said after taking a moment to process the information, acting nonchalant—if he laughed, it was game over. “That day was wild.”

Eamon stood frozen in shock, while Enid bellowed an ear-shattering cry.

“Maisie! Finn!” Rowan yelled from the kitchen. “Stop telling your siblings we found them in the trash!”

“But they need to know the truth!” Maisie shouted back, wondering if her dad heard her over Enid’s cries.

“What on Earth is going on here?” Her Mom showed up, wrapped in a towel with her hair wet.

Eamon ran to hug Aelin’s middle, his eyes teary. “Are you not my mommy?”

Maisie rolled her eyes. Mama’s boy.

“Of course I am, honey.” She frowned. “What’s going on?”

With a sigh, Dad was finally able to join the rest in the living room. “Finn and Maisie told the twins they’re adopted.”

Aelin sent them her classic Are you kidding me? mom look, as if Maisie was to blame, then proceeded to soothe the seven-year-olds.

If they fell for it, it was their fault for being stupid. There’s a picture of Dad as a kid on Grandma Rory’s hallway from when he was Eamon’s age, and they look like the same person in there.

“The only one adopted here was Fleetfoot,” Dad said.

“No, she’s not. I gave birth to her.” Mom sent him a mischievous look. “I went into labor for her.”

“Um—“ Maisie cleared her throat. “Fleetfoot’s mine.”

Dad sent Mom an apologetic smile. “She really is Maisie’s.”

“I want a dog too!” Enid cut in.

“Yeah, me too!” Finn joined.

Maisie hummed. “We could give them a country name…”

“Like Eyllwe,” Eamon said.

Rowan’s eyes widened. “No! Fleetfoot’s everyone’s,” he said, completely contradicting himself after the threat of more poop for him to clean.

˜˜

From the looks of it, dinner would be ready on time for breakfast.

To be fair, her dad was never late to finish dinner, but his desire to make this a special one and the boiling tomatoes in order to make the sauce from scratch led to this.

It was kinda cute, how Dad conjured something special out of thin air just because his wife hinted that she was feeling like it over text while they were at work.

Maisie saw a glimpse of her parents canoodling in the kitchen on her way to her bedroom, but almost ran to the toilet instead. They were so adorably disgusting, all that love made her want to throw up.

Her parents were no better than any PDA-addicted straight couple she saw at school, except that while the average high schooler couple lasted about three months, her parents have been at it for a little over a decade.

At least, a light peck was the furthest they got in front of their kids—or ever. For all Maisie knew, she and her three siblings came from artificial insemination.

A savior from her thoughts, Finn knocked on the door.

“We need to talk,” he said, looking crestfallen.

“C’mere.”

Maisie sat on the side of her bed, and tapped the free space beside her for him to sit. Instead, he sat on her lap. Weird.

She was about to ask him what was going on when a low, rumbling sound coming from him filled the air.

The little bitch had just farted on her.

Finn ran away, giggling, while Maisie screamed the most irate shriek ever known to man.

He locked himself in his bedroom, but her quickened pulse only energized her, aiding tense upper arms to pound against his door.

“I’M GONNA KILL YOU,” Maisie shouted at her hiding brother.

He’d get out sometime, and when he did, she’d be there.

On the kitchen’s threshold, Aelin peeked her head into the hallway. “What’s going on here?”

The teenager slowly turned to her mom, jaw tight, and seethed, “Why. Was. He. Born?”

With a sigh that came deep from her soul, Aelin fully stepped into the hallway. “What did your brother do now?”

Maisie pointed at her closed bedroom door. “Smell it!”

Her mom stepped in and out of the bedroom, coughing. “Gods, Finn!”

In a feeble attempt to fix the situation, Aelin opened Maisie’s bedroom’s window and sprayed some air freshener inside—one hand on the bottle, another clamping her nose. Still, the girl didn’t trust to go back into her room for the next hour or so.

Aelin knocked on Finn’s door twice to get his attention. “That was way too stinky, honey, I’m cutting off some of your junk food!”

“Come on!” he complained from the other side of the door.

Too bad Finn couldn’t see her triumphant smirk. It’d rile him up beautifully.

Two taps to her shoulder. “Dinner’s almost ready. Come help me set the table.”

“What was that?” Dad asked when Mom got back to the kitchen, focused on the stove.

“Finn farted in Maisie's room and she threatened his life.”

“Oh,” was all he said, mixing something on the tomato sauce.

She desperately needed to meet whoever taught her parents how to live this peacefully amidst chaos.

“On my room? He farted on me.” She flailed her arms, trying to explain her brother’s audacity. “He sat on my lap, his butt to my thigh, and farted.”

Aelin snorted. “I told you the kids shouldn’t spend that much time with Aedion.”

Rowan’s eyes lit up. “You did tell me some awfully similar stories from when you were younger.”

After the table was set, Mom was back to her occasional glass of wine, and all was left to do was her dad’s finishing touches to dinner.

Maisie cleared her throat. “I was thinking…”

Her dad immediately turned around and pointed a spoon at her. “If it’s about that party, don’t bother.”

“Not a party!”

“Money, then.” Aelin smirked behind her glass of wine.

The girl crossed her arms. Her mom’s grin turned smug.

Maisie groaned. “Fine! But it’s good, I promise.”

“Go on,” Rowan said.

“I want to buy Easter eggs for Finn and the twins, but I can’t afford the cool ones.”

“Aw, honey, that’s so sweet.” Her mom melted right on spot. “I’m sorry we can’t help you with that.”

Maisie’s face fell. “What.”

Even her dad seemed a little confused, though he tried to hide it.

Aelin sat straighter to explain, “You see, if we help you with this, your siblings will ask to do the same, and it wouldn’t be fair to say no to them after…”

Maisie rolled her eyes. Her parents and their “equal treatment”—

“Do not roll your eyes at your mother,” Rowan warned.

Aelin continued, “Next thing we know, we spent our entire paychecks on chocolate, Finn is farting on our faces all day, the twins will never fall asleep again from the sugar rush, and your dad will be shoving food down your throat because of some crazy diet you saw online to get rid of the Easter weight.” She raised her brow in that infuriating mom way of hers. “Did I miss something?”

“Fine!” Maisie held both arms up in surrender. “You want me to buy your kids lame chocolate, is that it?”

“If they can’t appreciate whatever you can afford, I’m not raising them right.”

“Ugh!” Maisie groaned, and sat facing away from her mother.

A moment later, Dad sent her off to tell her siblings dinner was ready, and soon everyone was at the table, ready to attack the food that took ages to be ready.

Except that, when she asked for the parmesan cheese, Enid took it and kept waving it in front of her instead of just passing it over.

After seven years of Enid, Maisie was unimpressed. “Are you trying to tease me?”

The little girl giggled. “No, you can have it, but I want to see your eyes light up first!”

With a sigh, Rowan took it from Enid’s hand and passed it over to Maisie. “Can we just try to be rational for once?”

“I was rational once,” Eamon said, frowning.

With his mouth full, Finn said, “I want the next special dinner to be at one of those fancy pasta places with two forks.”

“Manners,” Aelin warned the wild beast she called a son.

“Mom and Dad never take us to fancy restaurants for a reason,” Maisie said while giving a pointed look to Finn, who was by her side.

The boy rolled his eyes and mimicked in a high-pitched voice, “MoM aND dAD nEVer tAkE uS tO fANcY rEStAuRaNts FoR a rEasOn.”

Maisie slapped her brother’s forearm, and that’s when her parents lost patience.

Rowan lifted his pointed finger, “Do not—“

“Maisie, Finn, for Mala’s sake…” Aelin started, pinching the bridge of her nose.

˜˜

Later that night, Maisie was scrolling on TikTok before sleep, but two knocks on her bedroom door stopped her short.

It was Finn, holding his blanket. More often than not, he slept in Maisie’s room—she wasn’t sure why, but it’d been this way since he was little. Already knowing what was about to happen, Fleetfoot moved to the foot of the bed to give him space. Her bed might look big, but it didn’t have nearly enough space for two people and a person-sized dog.

When she was taking off her many pillows to find some space for her brother, a bulky-looking folded paper caught her eye.

Maisie hid it back with the pillow and said, “Go get me some water.”

Finn complained, but complied.

Quickly unfolding the paper in the little time she had, Maisie recognized her dad���s writing and a fuckton of cash—not too much for an Air Force major, but enough to make a teenager who had a minimum-wage part-time job feel like a billionaire.

Groceries refund + your delivery fee

Don’t mention it—ever

Maisie’s grin grew wicked. She fucking loved her dad.

˜˜

Finding a reason to get out of the house on Easter was tough, but she managed it.

Maisie had already picked her dad’s sushi-filled Easter egg at the restaurant, since he hated chocolate, and the other ones had been retrieved from its hiding place at Uncle Aedion’s.

Inside her house, Finn was the first one to greet her.

He eyed her bags suspiciously. “What’s all that?”

Without a word, she took one Kinder egg that fit in her palm, and handed it to him. Finn took it in his hand, contemplated it for a second with a silly half-smile, then hugged Maisie tight, squeezing her waist.

“Gods!” She lightly slapped his head. “You’re so dumb.”

Before he processed what happened, Maisie got his actual Easter egg, the Kinder with the dinosaur he wanted.

His eyes lit up and his mouth hung open, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Then, her brother crushed her into a hug that knocked her breath out of her lungs.

“Thanks, Mais.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She took a second to take it in, than wiggled out of his hug to hand the twins’ ones.

They looked so happy, it didn’t even look like Mom and Dad gave each of them giant Easter eggs three hours ago.

Her parents were watching them from afar, wearing one of those weird, sentimental parent smiles.

When she took out her dad’s from the bag, Rowan finally looked surprised—which was easily detected by his wife.

The “shell” part of his Easter egg was just nori and rice, but it was filled with seafood. Dad twirled his sushi egg in his hands, mouth ajar. “Honey, I didn’t think you’d get me something too. You didn’t have to.”

“Too?” Mom asked, lips quirked up. Her eyes sparkled, darted between Maisie and Rowan, then landed on her daughter. “Good to know you found a way to afford it.”

“I’m my father’s daughter.” Maisie shrugged. “Of course I know how to save money.”

She also knew how to spend it like her mother, but it wouldn’t be smart to mention right now.

At that point, Maisie knew Aelin figured out that Rowan gave her the money, and Mom knew Maisie knew she knew. Neither of them would say a word, though, and it was best this way.

She handed her mom’s next, a chocolate hazelnut Easter egg the size of Aelin’s head.

“I didn’t know Dad bought you the same one,” Maisie said with a sheepish smile.

“You won’t hear me complaining, honey.” Her mom kept intense eye contact with her Easter egg, likely unwrapping it in her mind as if she didn’t have a half-eaten identical one in her bedroom.

Aelin put her gift on the coffee table near them and hugged Maisie. “I love you, honey,” she said before kissing her daughter’s head. “Thank you for the gift. You’re such a great big sister.”

“I know, right?”

However, their hug was abruptly broken by shouting coming from the other side of the living room.

“Stop. Being. An idiot!” Enid shouted at Eamon for whatever reason they decided to bicker over this afternoon.

“We’re both idiots, but you’re the bigger idiot!” he fought back.

Maisie tapped her mom’s shoulders. “Go tame your evil twins.”

“Don’t call your siblings that!”

She sighed, not surprised by how quickly their moment of peace—a rarity in her home—was broken.

Weirdly enough, her parents seemed to enjoy it.

A/N: In the plans of this outtake I have deep into my notes app, Aelin mentions that since her husband doesn’t like chocolate, her Easter gift to him would be given “later tonight”. I thought you’d like to know *wink*

2nd A/N: Yes I left Maisie’s exact age in the dark on purpose heheheh this one spoiler I’m not handing out like this.

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[fallingforel]

Spencer reid imagine- broken

i have just watched the episode where maeve just died and watched the next part where reid is on the floor and is not okay. so I had inspiration to write so here it goes. 

summary: Your super close to reid and maeve has just died, you go over to his to give your undeniable support and some words between the two of you are exchanged. Oh and your dereks sister

words: 1,305

“Come on Y/n, you know maeve has just died. He’s not going to be okay” Derek says through the phone 

“I know, but I feel helpless. Can you just come over, bring ice cream. You know the one mama used to buy us, when we were good and deserved a treat. The one she bought us lots of us when dad passed” 

“yes. yes. I’ll bring it over. But we have a case first, get your ass over to the bullpen now.” 

“but...” 

“pretty boy will be just fine, we’ll go after we’ve finished this case” 

“okay okay. Love you bro.” 

“love you too sis.”

⋆｡°✩

“there’s my favourite morgan sibling” Penelope says as I’m walking into the roundtable and sit down next to Derek. 

“ERR, Hey babygirl. What about me?” 

“yes, yes. well, she’s You know-” Penelope, quickly gets cut off by Hotch walking into the room. 

“Garcia, we’re all here on with the case please” 

“of course sir,  Meet who was formerly Gary Porter. He was found d*ad outside a San Francisco night club last night. And Pamela Hurd-- she was found near a cable car stop in San Francisco's Mission District.” 

“They were both found wrapped in clear plastic.” Jj says looking over the case file on her tablet “It says here they were d*ad only a few hours before they were found.That's not long enough for the elements to have made them that pale” I say from where I’m sitting next to my brother pointing it out. 

“Cause that's where we enter the town of weirdville on the corner of eew and icky-icky, girl morgan. Both victims were almost completely drained of their blood. Less than a pint left.” 

“He's exsanguinating them.” I say with question, trying to get all the details on the unsub we can from the MO 

“While they were still alive.” hotch finishes for me. 

“It might be utilitarian” derek says from besides me. 

“He needs them alive so they can pump out the blood themselves. Draining a body like that is extremely hard to do. Once the heart stops pumping, it's difficult to continue to extract the blood.” 

“So the question is, how is he doing it?” I ask.

 “Oh, I wish you wouldn't have asked that, lovely 'cause now I gotta show this picture.” Garcia says from the right of me. 

“There are large bore holes in the femoral artery of each victim.” Hotch says from the back of the room. 

“Our unsub could have medical knowledge.” JJ says from where she’s sat 

“It's possible. We'll know more when we get there. Wheels up in 30.” Hotch says before leaving the room. 

⋆｡°✩

it didnt take no more than a few days to catch the unsub, it was pretty easy. he was obsessed with painting with blood though, taking the blood out of the victims. but with all of our intelligence as a team we managed to put another unsub away. 

“der, I’m worried about reid. he hasn’t shown up at all I would’ve at least thought he’d have shown and help us catch the victim” 

“Y/n, you can’t blame him. someone he loves, just died. right infront of him, thats unfair of you to say that. We’re all worried about him. Come on, let’s go and get that icecream and bring it to pretty boy” 

⋆｡°✩

“Reid, your favourite morgans are here. We bought Ice cream too. the good kind” I said after knocking on his apartment door. 

“pretty boy, we’re both here for you open up reid. don’t make me kick your door down.” derek talks through the door, after a few minutes of silence. 

that soon makes Reid open the door. 

“I knew that would make you open the door.” 

“hmm, well if you had kicked my door down. You’d be paying for the replacement” 

“Yeah, well. I would’ve done it myself. Now let us in, we’ve come over here to cheer you up” 

⋆｡°✩

“why’d you even come anyway. It’s not like I need any company anyway, can’t be the best person to hang around at the moment.” Reid says to me putting the empty Ice cream tub down along with both our spoons. Derek had soon passed out, he always does within the first 15 minutes of a romantic movie. 

“You’re always the best person to hang out with Spence. You just get me you know. Was weird not having you on this weeks case I won’t lie to you” 

“mmh, yeah well. My girlfriend just died. And infront of me too.” 

“I know I know. Trust me I know more than you think.” 

“I highly doubt that” 

“yeah well, not many people know this. Not even my brother. My boyfriend of 6 years died, right infront of my eyes. shot at and killed by a known serial killer In the area, we we’re trying to catch him for months, then when I got the call. I couldn’t bare to face the town anymore, the very same town that I was chief of police of, the very same town, my fiance was shot and killed in. I Quit my job I wouldn’t go out for weeks. Stuck in my apartment for days on end, wouldn’t talk to anyone, I just sat in silence most days, slept on the sofa. Then Der, he told me he was coming down. I had to pull myself together, If not for my own sake. Then for dereks, cindi had just gone missing I couldn’t let him see me like that because I just knew it would break him. So I pulled myself together, there was an opening at the Bureau and I just had to take it, little did I know it was for the very same department that would help me catch my boyfriends killer my very first case at the bau, give me a chance to get some closure, Garcia asked me if that one of the victims was my boyfriend, I said no that we had broken up before then, that he had moved out. It was a complete lie, but it kept my heart safe.” 

“Y/N I had no idea.” reid says

“Look reid, all I’m trying to say is that take the time you need, but living like this is not going to fix the pain thats going on in here” I say pointing to my heart. 

“but we’ll be here every step of the way with you, whether that be donating our holidays so that we can help you get the closure you need. Because in the end the pain of losing a loved one wont go, but you learn to move on and whether that takes one week, one day, one month, one year. she’ll be with you always.” 

“thank you Y/n, I think I needed that.” 

“Don’t worry about it reid, I love you always pretty boy” and he goes into kiss me but I duck back 

“shit! I’m sorry. I’ve read all this wrong haven’t I.” 

“No, No. You haven’t read it all wrong. I just don’t think it’s the right time reid, your girlfriends just died. I’ll wait though. I can wait. I’ve waited 8 years, I can wait 8 more. I’ll wait for all the time in the world for you” 

“thank you Y/n” 

“No worries. I’m gonna go now, it’s not to do with you. I have to get back to sergio. I promised em, I would take care of him when she left for england. Keep me company. defo should not have told her about what happened with michael.” 

“so who knows then, You, emily and my therapist” 

“Y/n!” 

“what?” 

“nothing, you should take derek with you” 

“yeah, yeah okay. I’ll wake him up” 

“der, der” I say shaking him

“yeah yeah. I’m up, coming, Bye reid.”

“bye” 

⋆｡°✩

the end 

[extremelyblackandwhite]

Hey Bea can you please write for Steve Kemp when he is on a hot holiday and he won't relax and Mrs. Kemp tries to tell him to relax when they're both away from their kids and parents. I would love to see Mrs. Kemp and Steve on a hot holiday.

Love Everly ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

12 days of christmas- day 7

pairing: steve kemp x darker!reader

warnings: smut (18+)

      - AARON DEAN KEMP! - Steve ran after the slippery two year old through the beach.

Steve had been trying to put sunscreen on the two year old, a t-shirt, and a hat, but William, being William going through his terrible twos, had decided that following the seagull would be a much better use of his time. Therefore, Steve was now running after him in the sad, managing to catch him by his t-shirt before bringing him back to where the towels and his mother were. Y/N lowered her sunglasses, giving Aaron a disapproving look before he ran into her arms like a sheepish little boy as if he hadn’t run away from his father. 

       - Don’t hide next to mum. - Steve opened the sunscreen bottle handling to his wife who finished what he had started. - Maybe we should put you in track if you like running so much. 

      - Not as bad as Cornelia running into traffic. - she smiled at Aaron who was looking at her with puppy eyes. - Don’t run from daddy and mummy, okay? We want to make sure you’re ok and we can’t do that if we can’t see you. 

       - Where’s Daisy and what’s-his-name? - Steve perked up. - Darling, where are they?

       - Maybe having sex in the ocean. - she attempted her best serious face which only had Steve panicking more. - Relax, they took William to get ice cream. 

       - DAISY ANNE! - he yelled out loud enough for the whole beach to hear, making his wife roll his eyes at him. 

His overprotectiveness only died down once he saw Daisy and Billy come down with William between them holding a SpongeBob ice cream in his hands. He rushed towards his mother, waving his ice cream around. 

      - Look, mum! Look what Billy got me! - he smiled at his mum.

      - That’s lovely, Will. Did you thank Billy? - she held onto Aaron before he could escape again, while keeping eye contact with William. 

      - Thank you Billy! - he ran off again this time to show his other sisters the treat he’d gotten. 

      - You two better be in my sight. - Steve pointed at the couple. - I don’t wanna see anything else than a peck. 

      - Dad, we live together. - the 20 year old crossed her arms. 

      - Then do it in your flat so I can keep my delusions. Good?

      - Daisy, can you watch your siblings for a bit? - Y/N got up, holding onto Steve’s arm. - Me and your dad need to have a chat. 

Before Steve could protest any longer, Y/N was pulling him away from the beach and towards one of the small little wooden cabins on the beach. She guessed she couldn’t blame him for his overprotectiveness - it had been one of the things she’d liked about him when they got married, so it only made sense it got slightly worse once he got children, most of them being girls. He kept mumbling until she closed the wooden door behind her. 

       - Darling, they can be traumatising our remaining children as we speak. 

       - You need to relax. - she sat on his lap, each leg on the side. - Remember our honeymoon? 

       - Hm ... - he smirked. - Which part? 

       - You know what part. 

[annaphoenix1994]

Ch.130 - Negative

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

Simon and Johnny take Baler hunting; Kiera is saddened by a negative pregnancy test.

“Rise and shine, lad,” Simon chimed from Baler’s doorway, smirking at how Baler groaned when the light to the room was flipped on. “Time to get up.”

“Dad, it’s Saturday!” He groaned, his eyes still squeezed shut as he rolled onto his back. “What time is it?”

“4 o’clock. I guess while you were busy getting wasted on cheap whiskey and being run over by a bull, you forgot about our hunting trip today, huh?”

“Can we go next weekend? I worked late and my head still hurts from last night—”

“That’s exactly why you’re still going today,” Simon chuckled. “You still have a lot to learn about your responsibilities, especially keeping your word. We’ve rescheduled this hunting trip once already and if we reschedule it again, there’s a chance we won’t get a deer and get a bloody squirrel instead. Now get up. I won’t tell you again.”

The teen groaned in disagreement, huffing before he forced himself to sit up in bed, exposing himself to the cool air outside of his comforter.

“Keep your huffing and puffing to a minimum when you leave your room. You don’t need to wake your mum and siblings with that noise,” He arched his brow. “Johnny will be meeting us shortly. Get dressed while I make you something to eat.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hey,” Simon nearly barked in offense. “Even though I’m still pissed for that little stunt you did last night, you still don’t have to call me sir, alright?”

“O-Okay, dad.” Baler nodded, swinging the comforter off of him while Simon left the doorway, making his way to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast while he waited for Johnny to arrive, knowing he’d eventually have to call him to wake him up as he was always one to sleep through a hangover. “Looks like I’ll have two kids to babysit today.” He huffed to himself, shaking his head while he reached into the fridge to get the carton of eggs and pack of bacon and cheese to make a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich for him and Baler.

“Never thought I’d see the day where you’re up early making breakfast.” Kiera giggled from behind him, shocked to see that Simon was unaware of her presence until she spoke.

“You should go back to bed, love. You’ve had a long night.” He chuckled.

“It was kind of hard to when my main source of warmth left from my side this morning,” She shrugged. “Besides, I smelled something cooking and was worried that you let Baler cook.”

“If he was cooking, this house would be burnt to the ground,” He huffed. “Besides, I think you’re mistaking yourself: you’re like a furnace when you sleep nestled against me. I’ll never understand how you can bundle yourself up with a blanket while you’re body is hot to the touch. I was ready to sleep outside.” He breathed a laugh.

“I can’t explain it either,” Kiera shrugged. “Is Baler up?”

“He is. And he’s not happy,” He chuckled. “He’ll wake up once he gets out in the cold.”

Kiera giggled at the thought, knowing that having to be awake and move after being primarily hungover was a better punishment than just grounding him. She sat down at the kitchen table, surprised at the glass of iced coffee Simon had made for her – topped with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar. “You must’ve known I was going to wake up if you had this waiting on me, babe.”

“I always know you wake up when I get out of bed, love.”

“Always proud of your husband of the year title,” She giggled before taking a sip of the coffee he had made for her. Perfect. “You always make the best coffee for someone who hates iced coffee.”

“You’d be surprised the things I’ve grown to like since you and I,” He smirked, adjusting the belt around his waist that held up his camouflage pants. “Just like I’ve come to force myself to enjoy that rubbish your mum calls sweet tea just because it makes her happy to see me drink it.”

Kiera’s heart swelled at his admission, knowing he was genuine.

“Morning, momma,” Baler spoke softly, yawning as he drug his feet against the floor to meet them in the kitchen, taking a seat at the dining table.

“Good morning, baby,” She smiled. “Sleep good?”

“I know you’re being sarcastic, mom,” Baler arched his brows with a huff. “My head fu- hurts.”

“That tends to happen when you drink cheap whiskey and get ran over by a bull.”

Baler scoffed, “Dad already told me that. I think I’ve learned my lesson—”

“You’re nowhere close to learning your lesson,” Kiera arched her brow. “But this is a start.”

“If you say so,” He nodded, his eyes glancing to her glass of iced coffee. “Can I have some?”

“No, it’ll stun your growth,” Simon chimed in, setting his plate down in front of him. “Eat fast. Johnny will be here in a few minutes.”

Simon watched as Baler began eating his sandwich before looking to his wife, “Hungry?”

“It’s too early for me to eat, babe. I’ll eat when Kristen comes over.”

“Okay, love.” He smiled, turning back towards the kitchen counter to retrieve his plate he had made for himself before joining Kiera and Baler at the table.

A few minutes later, Kimber had begun barking once she had heard a knock at the door, indicating that someone was at the front door. “I’ll get it.” Kiera announced, standing up from the table only for Kimber to follow close behind, opening the front door to greet Johnny, who also was dressed in camouflage with a bright orange beanie and a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder, leaving it leaning against the banister to avoid bringing it into the house. “Where’s my sandwich?” Johnny teased, nearly laughing at the glare Simon shot at him while he and Baler were finishing up their breakfast sandwiches.

“If you would’ve been on time, I would’ve made you one.”

“Lies, L.T.,” Johnny shook his head. “But I still love ya.”

“That’s unfortunate,” He grumbled, eating only half of his sandwich before standing up from the table and walking towards the gun safe to retrieve two hunting rifles – one for him and Baler. “Ready, kid?”

“Sure.” Baler shrugged, taking the last bite of his sandwich and taking his empty plate to the sink, swallowing what he had chewed before he wrapped his torso with an orange vest.

“Don’t forget your gloves and hat—”

“They’re in the truck.”

Simon nodded, looking down at the rifle he had picked out for Baler to use, ensuring that the chamber was empty and the safety switch was on. “Sling it over your shoulder,” He advised, watching the teen nod before doing as he was told. “Just like that. Hands away from the trigger unless you’re directed.”

“O-Okay.”

Simon could tell Baler was nervous, sensing that he had never used a firearm before in his life. “You remember what I told you about gun safety, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a big deal… taking a life. Just know we’re not doing this for sport.”

“Then why do you do it? The military—”

“That’s a discussion for another time, lad. This is about hunting for food, not killing just because.” He sighed, fiddling with the camouflage balaclava that was pressed between his thumb and index finger.

“Where’re we going, L.T.?”

“A place Kiera’s dad told me to go for the best game.” He answered, glancing at Kiera to present a warm smile to her, reassuring her that she would know where to find them if she needed to.

“Alright. Well, I’m ready when you are.” Johnny nodded, reaching on the counter to take one of the blueberry muffins Kiera had made a couple of days ago, the muffin nearly bigger than his own hand.

“Go ahead and go to the truck. I’ll be out in a second.”

Johnny and Baler nodded before making their way to the front door, Baler slipping on his boots before he grabbed the keys to the truck, knowing that Simon would expect the truck to be started and warming up while waiting for its driver. “Do you need any help before I leave, love?” He asked, pressing a kiss to Kiera’s cheek as her arms wrapped around his neck.

“I’ll be fine, babe. I’ll hold the fort down while you’re gone.”

“Knowing you’re going to be with Kristen, I wouldn’t be surprised if the fort was in shambles by the time I came back,” He chuckled. “The pair of you are nothing but trouble.”

“We are not!” She laughed. “Okay, maybe a little…”

“That’s what I thought. We’ll be back around noon if we don’t get anything. Probably in the afternoon if we do get something.”

“You know I’ll be here waiting for you,” She hummed, placing a kiss to his jaw. “I’m going to take that test when you leave. I want you to have something to look forward to and maybe you’ll come home quicker.”

“I always look forward to coming home, even if it’s a day you decide to hate my being,” He chuckled against her neck. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you too. Take care of our boy.”

“You know I will, but I won’t let him know that.”

*

“You know the drill: where’s my niece and nephew?” Kristen laughed, hanging her purse on the coat hook before gingerly hugging her best friend.

“They’re in the living room. Evie has been sitting up on her own and Jacob isn’t far behind her!”

“Have they said their first word yet??”

“Dada,” Kiera huffed playfully. “I went through hours of labor and pain just for them to say dada first!” She laughed.

“Isn’t that just some shit?” Kristen chuckled, making her way into the living room to be greeted by Evie’s toothless smile. “There’s my beautiful niece! Oh, Kiera, she looks more and more like you every day! Jacob is a perfect mix between you and Simon.”

“Thank you. You know, it’s funny because Evie looks like me, but has Simon’s eyes, whereas Jacob looks like Simon, but has my eyes.”

“And let me guess: Jacob prefers you over Simon and Evie prefers Simon over you?”

“That’s exactly right. Although they both prefer us just the same it feels like.”

“I know. So, what’re your plans today?”

“Well, I figured we could order some food – more than what we both eat and watch a couple of movies all while talking about our favorite books.”

“Hmm…” Kristen hummed playfully. “Maybe we should get some iced coffee to go along with?”

“You should know that’s the case! I can make us some. I have your favorite creamer.”

“Cold foam?”

“Definitely!”

“I’m in. You’ve always been better at making coffee than I have ,” Kristen giggled. “Have you taken the test yet? How’d that perfume work out for you?”

“Girl, I didn’t have time to take the test last night if that’s what you mean!” Kiera laughed. “I ended up taking it this morning.”

“And?”

“I haven’t checked it, yet. I got sidetracked with things to do while I was waiting on you.”

“I’m so excited for you! You go check it while I order our food!” Kristen smiled, clapping her hands together as her heart swelled for her best friend’s happiness, seeing just how eager she was to become a mother again.

“Okay. My card is in my purse—”

“I’ve got it covered! Don’t you dare!” Kristen laughed. “Go check your test so we can plan on getting more baby stuff!”

“I’ll be right back! I told Simon I’d tell him the result when he got back.”

“Quit talking and go!” Kristen laughed, knowing that Kiera would babble when she got excited about things.

With excitement, Kiera waltzed into the bathroom with her fingers twined with the other in hope of positive news, hesitating to walk closer to the counter, eager, yet nervous to view the two pregnancy tests she had purchased the day before.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to step closer to the counter, slowly opening them to focus on the two tests on the counter.

Negative.

Nearly in shock, she slowly sat on the edge of the bathtub as the tears welled up in her eyes, slowly trickling down her cheeks while her hands nearly trembled. “No…” She whispered. “I was so sure.”

She cried as she looked at the bold negative lines, her heartbreak turning to anger before she threw the tests into the trash can, storming out of the bathroom and back into the living room, immediately grasping the first baby to greet her with a toothless smile. Thank God I was able to birth you two, she cried to herself. You two have completed my entire life.

“Kiera? What’s wrong?” Kristen frowned, setting her phone on the counter before rushing to sit on the couch next to her.

“It… was negative.” She sniffled.

“Are you sure? I mean, were they just faint lines?”

Kiera shook her head, “N-No. They were bold. I-I was so sure I was pregnant! I was having cravings and everything!”

“Oh, Kiera. I’m so sorry—”

“It’s not your fault, Kiera. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”

“I’m just going to have to go see Rachel and see what she finds.”

“Do you think the miscarriage had something to do with it?...”

“Probably,” She cried, wiping her tears with her free hand while the other kept Evie close. “What if I can’t be pregnant again? What if that time for me is up?”

“It’s not your fault, though. Just know that you were still able to bring Jacob and Evie to us.”

“I couldn’t even birth them on my fucking own,” She whimpered. “I had to have an emergency C-Section. I just feel like all of that shit I’ve been through has punished me by not giving me the natural ability to have kids on my own.”

“Honey, you can’t think about it like that. So many women have had a C-Section. Just don’t punish yourself about this. Maybe it just wasn’t your time to get pregnant again. The only thing you can do is keep trying.”

“I-I know,” She cried. “I just want to be pregnant again so bad. I miss that feeling. The pain was worth it.”

“I know, Kiera. It’ll happen again, I’m sure about it,” Kristen assured her. “Want me to get you anything?”

“No, let’s just do what we planned. I need to keep my mind off of this.”

“Okay. Well, I ordered our food and it should be here in twenty minutes. What movie were you wanting to watch?”

“Ever seen O Brother Where Art Thou?”

“No?”

“You’re about to watch one of the funniest movies ever made.”

[caniruineverything]

for you, there's nothing in this world i wouldn't do

bonus: a karen, brotherly banter, and ice cream

Summary: While on a walk, Ben forgets he's alive, and makes a rude comment. He gets himself into a bit of a situation, but Klaus is able to sort it out in the end.

Someone save Ben from himself. Please. He was aware that he clearly needed it. It wasn’t fair for Klaus to have to do it every time. This was the some-numberth time (Ben hadn’t exactly been counting) Klaus had to clean up the mess Ben had caused by forgetting how to be alive again. Well, in this case, it was forgetting he was alive.

Here was the premise: Ben and Klaus were on a walk. Seems harmless, right? Wrong. He’d thought it couldn't possibly go wrong, and figured Klaus thought the same. Well, then they were both wrong.

So, Ben and Klaus were on a walk. They had always been able to do that, of course, though this time, people could both see and hear Ben. Forgetting this was his biggest mistake.

See, back when Klaus was the only one who knew Ben even existed (apart from his siblings, but they weren’t ever around), they would talk to each other on walks like this. Sort of. Ben would comment on people, not always saying the nicest things, and Klaus would find the best way to laugh without seeming crazy. You might be able to see where this is going.

Well, anyway, Ben and Klaus were on a walk. On this (very nice, if you asked Ben before shit went down) walk, Ben got so caught up in their normal routine that he, and Klaus, he suspected, forgot other people could hear him now.

“So, Viktor called the other day, and he said he’ll be in the area soon. He’ll try to stop by, if he can.” Ben was eternally grateful that he could talk to any of his siblings when he wanted to, and he and Vany- Viktor, he reminded himself, had always been close. Naturally, they talked the most often, which wasn’t that often, seeing as their schedules didn’t line up all that much.

“Yay! It’s been too long since I’ve seen my favorite higher-numbered sibling.”

“It has. Wait, hey! He’s not your favorite, is he?” Ben faux-pouted, and Kluas laughed.

“You caught me, Benerino. No one could beat Five.” Ben shifted his face to one of outrage.

“You’re a piece of work, you know that?” Klaus laughed harder than before, and shot Ben one of his dazzling smiles.

“That I am. That. I. Am. You say that as if it isn’t a compliment.”

“That’s because it’s not, dumbass.”

“Who are you calling dumbass, dumbass?” Ben leaned over and softly shoved Klaus’ shoulder back.

“Oh, so I’m the dumbass now, huh?” Klaus grinned and shoved him back.

“After yesterday? Of course!” Oh right, yesterday.

“Hey, anyone could have made that mistake! You can’t blame me for that!”

“Yes, I can. And I will. Dumbass.” Ben gave up. There really was no winning with his brother, was there?

“Bitch,” was his comeback.

“Name calling. Really? How old are you?”

“You started it!” Klaus shook his head, shooting back,

“No, actually, you did.” Ben was just digging himself a deeper hole now.

“Fine.” Now, how to change the subject? “Do you remember the time you ‘borrowed’ Diego’s favorite knife?” If Klaus noticed the quick change of the topic (he did), he mercifully didn't say anything about it.

“Oh yeah! He was totally freaked!” Ben laughed as the memory of Diego’s panicked face resurfaced.

“Mmhmm. You kept it for at least a day, and when he got it back, I half thought he’d slit your throat with it right then and there.”

“Our sweet brother wouldn’t dare. He loves me too much.” Ben scoffed jokingly.

“Yeah, right. More like he loves that knife too much to soil it.” Klaus pressed a hand to his chest as dramatically as he could. He stopped walking, committed to the role.

“You take that back!”

“You know Diego as well as I do. Now, come on. We have to get home at some point.”

“We just left!” Klaus pointed out, indignant.

“Still,” was Ben’s only reply. Even though he grumbled, Klaus began to walk again, slightly faster than before. It really wasn’t much faster, but hey, any improvement was good. They walked in companionable silence for a while, taking in the sights and sounds of the buisier part of town. Ben was genuinely shocked at how much richer everything seemed now that he was alive again.

He looked around, in awe of the smells, the feel of the wind hitting his skin, and the vibrations that shot through him every time he took a step. (He wasn’t looking next to him, but Klaus had a soft smile on his face as he watched his entranced brother.) It had been maybe a month, and he was still amazed by these small things. I wondered idly if he would always be.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he heard from somewhere to his left. “You expect me to be fine with this? I demand to see your manager!” The woman speaking was wearing a garish floral dress, and her face was completely red. Several other people were staring at her with expressions of what the hell are you doing?, as Ben felt justified in doing the same.

“Hey,” He nudged Klaus with his shoulder, “do you see that lady?” He didn’t notice the volume of his voice. Mistake #1. “How is someone so petty they have to bother people at the smallest inconvenience?” Mistake #2. Klaus covered his mouth to laugh as Ben smiled triumphantly, too caught up in their familiar routine to notice the lady face them, evidently angrier than before. Mistake #3.

They continued, blissfully unaware of the furious woman headed their way. That is, until Ben felt a hand grab his shoulder and forcefully turn him around. He opened his mouth to ask why she had done that, when she grabbed him by the neckline and moved his face way too close to hers before yelling, rather loudly considering their proximity, “How dare you say such a thing‽”

Ben froze, suddenly feeling bad for what he had said. No one deserved to have that said so they could hear it, and plus, Ben didn't even know the entirety of what had happened. Maybe the lady was justified in action the way she had. He began to attempt a response, desperate to repent.

“I-I’m so s-sorry. That was wr-wrong of me to s-say. I’m sure yo-you had a good reason t-to say that.” Although Ben meant what he said, the lady didn’t seem the slightest bit mollified. She sneered at him as if she thought less of him than of the dirt on her shoes.

“You can’t even apologize or take responsibility for your actions properly. I shouldn’t have even bothered with this.” The last part seemed to be muttered to herself. Ben just felt even worse.

“You’re right.” He just stood there, trying his damndest to formulate any semblance of a proper response despite the rising panic. He was unable to utter even a single sound, he just stood there, frozen with a paralyzing fear.

“No, you’re not.”

Klaus practically spat the words out. How dare this woman talk to Ben that way. He understood her initial anger, to a degree, but Ben had apologized, clearly sincerely. Nos, said man was standing there, pale, and Klaus could see the panic rising in his eyes. He had to do something.

“Look, ma’am. My brother didn’t mean to offend you. He apologized, as do I, and neither of us will bother you again.” Klaus had always been shit at de-escalating situations like this- he was the one who caused the situations that needed to be de-escalated- but for Ben, he would try. At Klaus’ words, the lady harrumphed, clearly recognizing she wasn’t going to get anything else out of the interaction. She didn’t even react to Klaus stating he and Ben were siblings, as many people often did, due to their vastly different appearances, too invested in how wronged she believed herself to be.

“Alright. But I hope you’re sorry, young man,” Here she rounded on Ben again, and the Asian man shrank back reflexively, “as you clearly have no manners.” Was this what people meant when they talked about seeing red? Klaus wasn’t sure he’d ever felt this angry before in his life. His anger only grew as he saw her words register to Ben, and watched as hurt entered his eyes, mingling with the lingering panic. Nope, now he was the angriest he’d ever been. No one deserved this, especially not his sweetest sibling. (Aside from Viktor, maybe, though he was much more familiar with Ben, of course.)

“Ma’am, you’ve made your opinion clear. It’s time for you to leave now.” Klaus was almost never this serious, but he knew how to be firm when the situation called for it, which right now definitely did. The lady glared up at him, her face redder than he’d thought was even possible. He glared right back. If it was a battle of wills, there was no way for Klaus to lose.

Sure enough, she glanced away, sooner than Klaus had thought she would. All bark, no bite, huh? She looked anywhere but at Klaus or Ben, a nice juxtaposition from how Ben had maintained eye contact when he had apologized earlier.

“Fine. I’ll be on my way.” She scurried away, evidently not wanting to stick around them any longer. Well, that was fine with Klaus. He stood there triumphantly for a bit, before realizing that Ben just. . . hadn’t moved from his frozen position. Klaus gently placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder to try and bring him into more awareness. He tried not to react awkwardly when Ben flinched at the touch.

“Ben, hey,” he began softly, “it’s okay. She’s gone.” When Ben didn’t move, Klaus gently maneuvered Ben’s face to meet his own eyes, filling them with as much reassurance as he could. He swore his heart audibly cracked when his brother began to speak.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s my fault.” No. No. It was not Ben’s fault. Klaus had to make sure he knew that.

“This is not your fault. Okay, yeah, you probably shouldn’t have said that, but she deserved every bit of that. She seriously needed that vibe check.” He wasn’t entirely sure he’d used that phrase right, but it was worth it to see Ben crack a smile, hesitant, but there nonetheless.

“Thanks,” he responded shakily. Then, to Klaus’ disappointment, his face fell, and he continued. “Sorry for ruining the day.”

“Hey, Benny, you didn’t ruin anything.” Nope, that award belonged to that woman, and Klaus internally cursed her for messing with his brother. “Now, what do you say we get ice cream? That makes everything better, right?” This time, Ben’s smile was fully genuine, and not hesitant at all.

“Yeah, let's do it.” As they headed to their favorite ice cream place, Klaus reached over and playfully tousled Ben’s hair.

“Hey!” Ben cried out, indignant. He reached out to do the same to Klaus, but ultimately failed. Klaus was just too much taller than Ben, and the way he weaved out of Ben's reach didn’t help.

“Not these beautiful curls, Ben-Ben!” Klaus joked, and the way he acted fake-hurt reminded him of their earlier conversation. He instantly grew more serious. “Hey,” he began, locking eyes with Ben to make sure the other knew he meant every word, “you’re my favorite sibling, you know that?”

Ben ducked his head, embarrassed, but also, Klaus knew, secretly pleased.

“You’re my favorite sibling as well. Now, ice cream?” Klaus felt warm inside, and he knew: this would always be better than any drug.

“Ice cream.”

[moregaythanyourealized]

Lunch Break

Alphonso Hargreaves x GN!Reader

Warnings: none

For the hottest day of the year he still wore a long sleeve shirt and pants. His insecurities made you sad. He would never say it but he envied his siblings. They all were normal, or at least normal-er. Alphonso was many things, funny, charming and hell, even confident. But secure in his looks was not one of them. He got used to the way he looked but he never had those moments where he looked in the mirror and really admired himself.

You two had met on accident when he came to the antique shop where you worked. He needed space from his siblings, Fei, Ben, and Jayme were all so pessimistic and cold. Marcus and Christopher only ever wanted to work. And Sloane was doing whatever she did every day. He was alone and could finally breathe. The smell of old furniture and books was something he didn’t think he’d grow to love, but there you were. Cleaning antique lamps and trying to get the cigarette smell out of old carpets.

“You should try white vinegar and lavender oil-for the smell.” The shop was so quiet, his voice came out as a shout. Spooking you and knocking over your cleaning spray,

“Aw shit, I’m sorry. Let me help.”

Kneeling down by your side he reached for the ruined merchandise, now bleached with…bleach,

“Hey, you’re um, a sparrow right? I’m Y/n. Why are you here and not like saving the world?” He made eye contact, you didn’t look away from his features, you smiled softly and stood up. Alphonso followed you to the register and put the stuff on the counter, trying to play it cool,

“I’m on a break, just chillin’ ”

Oh god why did I say it like that

His eyes followed you around. You glanced at the clock and then back at him,

“Well I’m about to go on break, wanna break together?” Alphonso couldn’t believe it,

“Yes! But speaking of breaking, what about the stuff I ruined? Doesn’t that cost money?” His new friend just smiled and shrugged,

“I’ll figure it out when I get back, as of ten seconds ago I am no longer working.” You took off your name tag and walked past him through the shaded glass and into the sun.

The heat was nearly unbearable. It would’ve been worse if Alphonso hadn’t offered to buy you both ice cream to make up for the accident. While he payed the man you saw a giant ad across the street. 6 siblings.

No Alphonso.

“Why aren’t you up on the billboard with them?” He just laughed,

“Are you kidding? If they put my face on a bill board it would scare everyone away. Its bad for business.” You used your hand to block out the sun and glare at the gigantic advertisement for his brothers and sisters,

“Business or not, you’re their family and a part of the team. You deserve recognition for that, Alphie.” He seemed stunned by your words and stood quietly holding both your ice cream cones. He only stopped daydreaming when the dessert began to drip on his hand,

“Oh shit.” He laughed and licked the bit of ice cream off his wrist before handing you your cone.

The excursion ended when you walked the park length and made it back to the antique store. You both stood still not wanting to depart but not wanting to stay too long in fear of making it awkward,

“How’s you know about that trick with the cigarette smell?”

“My sister Fei used to smoke as a teen and would have me help her get rid of the smell.” You opened the door and kept your back to him,

“Come back again sometime, this was nice.”

——————————————————

“You’re late, where the hell were you?” Marcus ushered him inside,

“He was with someone.” Fei sneered. The siblings began asking questions and interrogating him about his afternoon off,

“Are they hot?” “Can we trust them?” “You didn’t talk to them did you?” “What makes you think they’re actually interested?”

“It’s not a big deal! I took a walk and lost track of time okay? Get off my back.” Number four let his siblings sit with their discomfort about this newcomer in their brothers life. It didn’t matter what they thought. Alphonso had plans already.

He logged into his computer and typed in a search: How to fix antique furniture

[messers-moony]

Soft | F.H

Paring: Five Hargreeves X Fem!Reader

Summary: A new member joins the Umbrella Academy.

Five didn’t like kids. He never wanted kids and despised the idea of them. Thankfully his loving girlfriend, Y/n, was okay with that. They had lived together for the past two years in an apartment near the Academy. While sometimes Five’s siblings would stop by, the apartment was always relatively lonely and quiet. With Y/n in college and Five working constantly, it got lonesome. 

Most of the time, Five woke first. He’d make coffee for both him and Y/n. Then they’d drink it in bed together before their days were to begin. Every morning during these times, they’d talk about topics that needed to be spoken about. Maybe how they were feeling or about a disagreement, they had in the past week. But this time, Y/n had a proposition. 

�� Five. “ Y/n called, and he turned to her, setting his book on his lap, “ Yes? “ 

They both sat with their backs to the headrest of their bed, “ Can we get a puppy? “ 

“ A puppy? “ Five repeated, and Y/n nodded, “ A puppy. “ She confirmed. 

“ Is there a particular breed you’re thinking of? “ Five questioned as he took a sip of coffee, “ A jack Russell maybe? “ Y/n answered.

He pondered; he never thought of a dog before, “ We’ll see. “ 

That was the most she was going to get that morning. However, on her way from her class, Y/n may have possibly walked by a shelter. There was a multitude of cute dogs there, but there was one specific dog she saw that caught her eye. He was a three-month-old Jack Russell terroir. He was mostly white with brown accents. The puppy melted her heart, and she couldn’t say no. 

Technically Five never said no. So she came home with a new puppy, who she named Mr.Pennycrumb. Y/n arrived home to see Five in his office, so she unleashed the puppy and let him wander around. Mr.Pennycrumb immediately saw the office door ajar and ran inside to the male working at the desk. Y/n chuckled when she saw him hop onto Fives lap, and to her surprise, Five didn’t care. 

Y/n approached the office slowly, “ Hey there, little guy. What’s your name? “ Five questioned softly, looking at the collar, “ Mr.Pennycrumb, huh? “ 

“ You’re very cute. “ Five complimented, and the dog licked his cheek, “ I’m gonna guess and say that my girlfriend brought you home. “ 

“ That’s what happens when I don’t tell her no. “ Five chuckled as he continued to pet the puppy, “ I can’t say no to her anyway. “ 

Y/n knocked on the door and saw over the monitors to see Mr.Pennycrumb on Five’s lap. Her boyfriend was petting the dog's soft fur, and his cheek glistened with dog saliva from the kisses. 

“ So, can we keep him? “ Y/n asked hesitantly, and Five laughed, “ It’s a bit too late for that, dear. You already took him home. “ 

It was settled. Mr.Pennycrumb was to stay in their household. It was also safe to say he became Five’s, little sidekick. The puppy absolutely adored Five. Every morning while the coffee brewed, Five would feed him and give him water. In the afternoons, Y/n would feed him dinner, and during the day, they’d alternate taking him out. The rest of the Hargreeves siblings adored him as well. 

“ Oh, my, goodness! Is that a puppy!? “ Klaus exclaimed, “ Yes, Klaus. “ Five replied jokingly. 

Klaus ran over to Mr.Pennycrumb and held him in his arms, “ When did you get this little guy?! And why didn’t you tell anyone? “ 

“ Y/n brought him home after class one day. His name is Mr.Pennycrumb. “ Five answered, smiling at his brother, “ Oh, he is adorable! “ Klaus cooed. 

“ He’s Five’s, little sidekick. “ Y/n called as she walked into the kitchen, “ He is not. “ Five informed. 

She quirked an eyebrow, “ So he doesn’t sit in your lap the entire time you work? “

“ He chooses to do that! “ Five stated playfully, “ And you totally don’t have a dog bed beneath your desk for him? “ Y/n added, smirking. 

“ Oh, this guy has you wrapped around his finger. “ Klaus interjected, looking towards his smiling brother, “ Yeah yeah. Whatever. Give me back my dog. “ Five said, grabbing the dog from Klaus’ arms. 

Oh, Five was so soft for his little puppy. Y/n would find him giving Mr.Pennycrumb all sorts of human food. Apparently, according to Five, Mr. Pennycrumb's favorite food was ice cream. So every time Five would eat ice cream, he’d let the dog lick the bowl. He’d also dress the dog up during Halloween. During Christmas, Five dressed Mr.Pennycrumb up like Rudolph, and it melted his sibling's hearts. 

One day Y/n was coming into the bedroom after a long day of studying. It was rather late, around one in the morning. She saw Five and Mr.Pennycrumb cuddled up on the bed together, sleeping soundly. Five never slept soundly when she wasn’t around. Nightmares haunted him, but Mr.Pennycrumb seemed to give him a sense of comfort. She had never seen him look so soft. 

Five was finally content and happy. He had officially gone soft for his dog and his girlfriend. 

[idkthisisjustforfanfic]

that makes four.

story page | talk to me + join the tag list

PART 2

The first days of Harry staying at your house were overshadowed by Maeve’s 5th grade spelling bee victory. The fake gold medal was a mainstay around her neck for a new nights at the dinner table until she eventually forgot about it.

Luckily enough, neither of your daughters seemed to be thrown too off kilter by his presence. Maeve was just young enough to not know much about who Harry was or the band he’d been in--though she was ready and willing to brag about having a celebrity around.

CeCe--in true sibling rivalry fashion--decided to draw her own medal with crayons and ask you to cut it out so she could wear it around the house. If Maeve gets one, so do I.

With potholders on and the oven door open, you apologized. “I can’t right now, honey--give mommy a few minutes and I’ll help you.”

Harry materialized at the bottom of the stairs, eyebrows raised when he said: “What do you need, CeCe?”

“I have to cut this out!” She said excitedly, running over to the drawer where the scissors were kept. She whipped them out and turned around quickly, Harry’s eyes bulging out of his head when he hurried over to grab them from her.

“I’ll cut, you watch,” he laughed, exchanging a look with you when CeCe climbed up to sit at the island. She hummed in agreement, handed over the paper and watched as he lined it up to start snipping.

“CeCe,” he said her name inquisitively. “Is CeCe short for anything?”

“Cecilia Rose L/N,” she smiled. “Pretty, right?”

“Very pretty,” he smiled. “Same last name as your mum.”

The last part of his sentence was a statement, a quick glance in your direction when you turned off the oven and shouted towards the stairs. “Maeve! Dinner’s ready!”

Your call went unanswered into the big house--you had no clue where she was or if she’d heard you. When Harry finished cutting out the paper medal, he handed it to CeCe who beamed with pride and put it around her neck.

Hands on your hips, “CeCe, will you please find your sister and tell her dinner is ready?”

She took one big breath and then screamed, “MAEVE!”

Both you and Harry flinched at the noise but laughed. She held onto Harry’s arm when she hopped down from the stool, shaking her head in disappointment. “Good god that girl,” she huffed, heading to climb the stairs when she yelled again: Maeve!!!! Dinner!!!!

“She’s a handful tonight,” you said, almost feeling guilty as her footsteps stomped on the floor overhead. “Thank you for that, though,” you said, motioning to the scissors in his hand. “Want a glass of wine?”

“S’not against the rules?” He teased.

When you shot him a look, he smirked and let out a laugh. “I’ll gladly take one. It’s fine, though. She was ready to stab someone flinging the scissors around like that.”

“They just had scissor safety in art class not too long ago.” You told him, pulling the cork from an already open bottle of red. “Sometimes I think she barely listens to anyone--she just does her own thing.”

“Not the worst way to be,” he smiled, picked up the glass when you slid it over on the granite. An awkward beat when he took a sip, smiled in your direction when you did the same. You could hear Maeve and CeCe fighting upstairs, offered him another guilty smile, but then he asked: “do you plan on changing your name?”

“My last name?”

“Yeah--L/N is your married name, right?”

It felt a bit nosy, a bit intrusive for the fourth night he was sleeping under your roof. You shrugged your shoulders casually, unsure how to answer. “Just haven’t gotten to it.”

He’d been quiet so far, out most of the day once the girls were gone for school and he’d return before dinner. Kept to himself--or at least out of the way--and was always helpful when he could be. Bringing groceries in? He carried a few. Needed a hand with clearing plates after dinner? He would gladly help.

Maeve and CeCe came rushing downstairs and were more willing to do the gratitude thing than they usually were, forks in hand when Maeve turned to you. “Oh, by the way, Auntie Shelli is taking us out for dinner tomorrow night.”

“She is?” You smiled at Maeve. “I haven’t heard about that.”

“She promised last week, she said Friday.”

“Okay, well I can check with her.”

“Are you doing anything tomorrow night?” Maeve asked.

“Not a thing,” you said, shaking your head. You’d been looking forward to it all week--maybe a bath and a glass of wine, maybe even a movie if you were feeling adventurous. Zoey was typically after you to do something: dinner, come hold Benny for an hour while she took a shower. You were totally up for helping a friend, but it’d been a minute since you had some me-time and if Jeff’s mom had already offered to babysit, you weren’t going to say no.

CeCe turned to Harry excitedly. “What are you doing tomorrow night? Are you coming to dinner?”

He smiled in her direction but shook his head. “I’m actually going over to a friend’s house.”

“What friend?”

“CeCe,” you laughed, embarrassed by her prying. “He doesn’t have to run everything by you, you know.”

“I know,” she said simply as she shrugged her shoulders innocently. “Just thought maybe it was one of my friends. I don’t know if we have the same friends.”

Harry laughed at this and smiled when you rolled your eyes. “I don’t think you know her.”

You watched Harry for a second, wondered if it was a girlfriend or something of the sort--Jeff hadn’t mentioned anything like that. Why couldn’t he stay there, with that friend?

“Well you should come with us and Auntie Shelli one day,” Maeve said. “We usually get ice cream and she lets us get a bunch of toppings and she doesn’t even care if we’ve had dinner yet.”

You let out a short laugh, the details of their time with family members always slipped out when you least expected it. “He’s busy, girls, remember?”

Harry shrugged, “we could get ice cream soon.”

You looked up at him, forked into a bite of dinner and said quietly: you don’t have to.

He didn’t--Harry didn’t owe you or your daughters anything except common decency and kindness. Helping you clean up after dinner or bring in the groceries was enough of a repayment for a guest room and his own bathroom.

“Maybe next week?” He ignored your comment and smiled at the girls.

“Next week!” CeCe chirped back, brushing her hair out of her face with a grin.

You figured they’d forget--swept up by the excitement of something else by the time next week rolled around and Harry would be off the hook. You smiled in his direction, apologetically and pleading, but it wasn’t until the next night that you realized he was serious.

Jeff’s mom had picked Maeve and CeCe up, you had just poured a glass of wine and went to sit in your office to go over any unread emails when he knocked on the door.

“Hey,” he offered a smile, leaned against the wall and put his hands in his pockets.

“Hi,” you turned to see him, unsure what he wanted or why he was popping in. “What’s up?”

“Uh, just wanted to let you know that my plans fell through--so, I’m just gonna be home--here I mean.”

His correction was quick, a subtle misstep through words.

You pressed your lips into a thin line, nodded slowly as you took in the information. He’d be here--in your house and just hanging out. While you had planned for a quiet night, having one other person somewhere in the house wouldn’t kill you, right? Maybe he’d lock himself away in his room and leave you to your emails, then you’d slip upstairs and end the night with a bath before your children returned with a sugar high and stories for days.

“Okay,” you said. A pause when he nodded, looked at you and then down to the floor.

“Do you want to have a drink?”

“I’ve got one,” you lifted your glass and then faltered. “Oh, together--sure, yeah.”

He held back a laugh, motioned for you to lead the way once you stood up from your desk. He trailed you back through the living room and into the kitchen, got himself a wine glass when you found the bottle you’d already started on the counter.

Was this weird? You couldn’t tell. The house was quiet and for a moment it felt like neither of you knew what to say when the only sound was the cork coming out of the bottle.

“I can venmo you for groceries, too, since m’drinking your wine.” He lifted it and poured, you watched the liquid rise in the glass until he looked up at you, waiting for a reply.

“No, it’s fine.”

“M’eating your food, drinking your wine, sleeping in your house,” he let out a laugh but put the stopper back in. “I feel like I could at least pay you back for some--” he looked down at the bottle and studied the label, “cabernet.”

You pulled out a barstool and sat, a sigh when you waved him off. “S’fine--I’m still making my way through the sorry your dad died and sorry your husband left you bottles.”

His lips pulled up at the side when yours did too. “Where do they make those grapes?”

“Somewhere far away from here,” you nodded, a long sip from your own glass when he moved to sit beside you.

“So how much did Jeff have to beg you to let me stay here?”

You looked over at him, hesitant to admit your own reluctance. You knew he and Jeff were close--you’d long been hearing stories about their nights out or big wins as a team. You’d even been invited to the release party for Harry’s first solo album, but you couldn’t find a babysitter and back then your ex couldn’t be bothered.

“I got a few pleading text messages after he first brought it up,” you smiled.

He laughed and nodded. “Well, it’s a big help. My house is over in Malibu but s’not ready yet--the only guestroom in Jeff’s house shares a wall with the master and something about that felt...weird.”

You narrowed your eyes at him playfully. “You didn’t want to hear Jeff and random women hooking up?”

“Not in the slightest,” he shook his head and bit back a smile. “Figured I’d stay with his parents for a bit but then Irv and Shelli told me they loved me but their rules are strict: their children, grandchildren, and your children. Those are their only guests.”

You nodded, it wasn’t news to you. “One time my dad stayed over after a party and Irv almost hit him with a golf club in the morning because he’d forgotten who was on the couch.”

“Yeah, so, sounds like a good idea that I’m here.” Quiet again when he moved the glass around, then he said: “you know, I would be happy to take them to ice cream or something one night--give you a minute to yourself.”

You smiled, the offer was sweet and apparently he had no idea that he’d just ruined your one chance this week to have that. “You really don’t have to--I’m sorry that they’re so...fascinated by you.”

“No, they’re great, very sweet. Maybe I can tag along when Jeff watches them next and learn the ropes.”

You nodded, reassured by his understanding that watching them would take skill. “There’s a lot to learn, they can be quite the handful sometimes.”

“Yeah?” he tilted his head. “Tell me more about them.”

The way he looked at you stirred a feeling in your chest that you couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was just the fact that he seemed interested enough to ask about them, he already seemed more invested than their father had been over the last year. You also would never turn down an opportunity to humble-brag about the tiny humans you'd created.

“Well, Maeve is pretty straight-edge. She’s always cared a lot about school and she likes it--which is weird, cause she didn’t get that from me and she definitely didn’t get it from my ex-husband. Like, she actually gets excited to come home and do her homework.”

He laughed, sipped from his glass and said: “Right, I’m sure she didn’t get her drive and determination from her mother who started her own successful business.”

You brushed off the compliment with a roll of your eyes and a laugh. “The weird preteen-angst thing is new, though. I have no idea if that’s because of losing my dad or losing hers,” you picked at a thread on your sleeve.

He was quiet for a moment, like he didn’t know what to say to that.

“And CeCe,” you saved him the trouble, “she’s a fireball. She is so strong-willed it actually makes me nervous about when she’s a teenager. She might actually drive to Vegas and get married or something. It’s just her world and we’re living in it.”

His dimples appeared on his cheeks when you shrugged. “Well, you’ve clearly done something right with them. Jeff's always loved being an uncle."

“I appreciate that,” you said honestly, a pause before you admitted: “My ex was never that hands on.”

“Right,” he nodded. “Is that why things ended?”

You let out a short laugh, again unsure if you were sharing too much. Would you wake up and regret the fact that you'd poured a glass of wine, and apparently your deepest secrets, all out on display?

“That, along with the fact that he was cheating on me for a good 18 months, I think.”

“Wow,” he nodded slowly, his lips pushed out in thought when he dropped your gaze. “What a dick.”

“Yeah, better I found out now than later on, I guess.”

“So that and losing your dad this year--”

“Yeah it’s been shitty,” you cut him off, another sip of your wine to avoid having to say more. He looked at your glass, now nearing empty, and reached for the bottle.

“Then you definitely deserve another one of these,” he laughed, fingers pulling the cork out again. “No wonder you got so many sympathy wine bottles.”

He poured himself another too, eventually he followed you into your dad’s old office when he asked what hid behind the mystery door on the first floor.

It was the only room you hadn’t redone yet, something about keeping his records on the book shelves and his papers on the desk felt like it kept him here. He’d chosen the green for the walls and you apologized when Harry’s eyebrows shot up at the sight.

“Great man,” you nodded, turning on a light switch, “terrible decorating taste.”

Harry nodded slowly, wine glass still in hand and a smirk fighting it’s way onto his face. “S’a bright color, yeah.”

He let out a laugh when he made eye contact with you, a disapproving look on your face when you walked over to the desk. “All these strewn about--probably some important information about you over here somewhere.”

He came over and lifted a paper. “Harry Styles is one of the most thoughtful, caring, and funny people I know.”

“Really?” You tugged at his arm to get a better view of the paper. Your dad’s handwriting was almost illegible, a date scribbled on top and another few words halfway down the small notebook page, nothing about Harry and nothing that seemed all that important.

“I hope that’s what he thought of me,” Harry smiled, his eyes flickered to where you still had a grip around his wrist. “Your nails are digging into me.”

“Sorry,” you pulled back immediately. “Sometimes I have to grab CeCe like that in the store or she runs off.”

He kept your gaze for a second, but it felt uncomfortable and made you nervous, so you cleared your throat. “Feel free to come in here and use this stuff,” you motioned over to the piano and the guitars he had in stands. “No one uses it, so--it’d be good for it to get played.”

“You don’t play anything?”

You shook your head. “No--he’d started to teach me guitar when I was young but then my mom died, just never picked it up again.”

You were thirteen when it happened, a car accident on the 405 and you didn’t go to school for weeks. Your dad had always been your main support--they divorced when you were ten--but after that you grew even closer, which is why losing him was so hard. He’d been a friend and a parent and the best grandfather who helped pick up the pieces when things with Luke started to crumble.

Harry was quiet, a simple nod when he went over to the piano and sat. You felt the need to shift the topic of conversation to something less depressing than the unfortunate events of your life.

“Are you writing a lot for the album still?”

“Yeah--we’ve got a few things written that might end up on it, but, mostly just experimenting with some new sounds.”

He pressed a chord down on the piano and looked up at you. “How do Maeve and CeCe seem to be handling it all?”

“Which part?”

“Both.”

You shrugged. “They’ve asked a lot about where their father is and why he hasn’t visited. And they understand that their grandpa is gone, but they’re sad, I think. CeCe’s had more nightmares than usual.”

He smiled a little. “And how are you doing with all of it?”

You let out a tiny laugh, mostly out of discomfort with the sudden seriousness in his voice and the way he already pulled more out of you than you’d planned. “I’m fine.”

He lifted his brows but played another progression of chords. “Wouldn’t blame you if you’re not.”

You took a sip of the cabernet and watched as he hummed along to whatever he played. When he looked up at you and waited for a reply, you smiled. “Some days I want to pull my hair out and others I need a good glass of wine. I kind of oscillate between those two lately.”

“Well, I’m always happy to split a bottle with you.”

You nodded, tried to fight the smile on your face when he laughed but then gave in. “Good.”

**

You woke up the next morning with a bit of a headache from the third and unexpected glass of wine. The girls were home by 9pm and unfortunately for you, the weekend was busy with play dates and birthday parties and grocery shopping.

Monday had you back in the office and recounting the first week to Tristan over an iced latte and a breakfast sandwich you’d grabbed after school drop off. Now it was cold and you were approaching the mid-day slump you were all too familiar with.

“I just can’t believe you’re alive still, to be honest. You know--seeing as you thought he’d be a serial killer or something.”

You looked over at him with narrowed eyes. “I didn’t think he was a serial killer.”

“Just a pedophile?”

“Alright,” you waved him off. “I can admit that it’s been fine--good, even. It’s only been a week, though.”

“Right,” he shrugged. “Halfway there. Maybe week two is when he goes crazy.”

You ignored the teasing from your friend and looked back to your computer. “Do you know if Kailee ordered the new bottles for the matcha face mask?”

“Yesterday afternoon,” he nodded. “And we also got the labels in for them as well. They ship off to the packaging plant on Tuesday.”

“Good, and numbers are up from last quarter which is really good. The meeting with the investors should go well.”

“Yeah, I mean, our entire profit has doubled since this time last year,” he smiled in your direction, a subtle reminder that the late night emails on top of the worst year ever had already proven to be worth it. “You should be very proud.”

“I am,” you admitted. “Of us. All of us.”

“Yes, what kind of boss would you be if you took all of the credit?” He teased.

“A bad one, but I’m also the type of boss that leaves at lunch time to go home and change since I have a meeting this afternoon that I forgot all about.”

He looked you up and down when you stood.

“It’s with people from Anthropologie about carrying some of our products in store--so I don’t think I can wear athleisure.”

He laughed and kept typing. “Fair enough. See you at 2pm, though, for the website meeting?”

“Yes,” you promised as you grabbed your keys. “Please don’t let the place burn down while I’m gone.”

“Might throw the match myself,” he waved you off, a laugh at his own joke when you headed for the elevator.

You were proud of the company you’d built and the office you’d been able to purchase two years back, but you were more proud of the energy that buzzed through the halls and the people who made work feel less like work and more like the adventure of a lifetime. You tried to be the cool boss who brought enough coffee for everyone, gave good time off but still expected hard work and drive to be the core of the business.

It took a while to settle into the role, though. At first you were sure you’d be seen as a spoiled rich kid who got a loan from her father to start a company--but it only took one year to repay him when you started getting placements in health food markets across LA. When Kourtney Kardashian posted something about your raspberry toner, the rest was history.

You’d always been passionate about making people feel good about themselves and focused your entire brand on building people up, not tearing them down. The world had enough of that as a mother of two daughters, you hoped it’d be something that would change that narrative, at least for them.

The drive home was quick and the sun was shining, which put a pep in your step as you hopped out of the car in the driveway and headed for the side door.

Harry’s car was still here--you’d left earlier than usual but didn’t expect him to be home. If anything, you figured he’d left shortly after you and planned on staying late in the studio. Jeff had mentioned something about laying down new tracks.

“Hello?” You called into the kitchen and looked around, he wasn’t in the living room or out by the pool. You found a laundry basket at the top of the second floor and figured that maybe someone had picked him up, but the sound of muffled singing pulled you down the hall and closer to his guest room.

The door was cracked only a bit, the sun streamed in from the windows and you could hear the running water of the shower. It was wrong, maybe, but you pushed the door open and stepped inside, smiled to yourself at the fact that he was singing a Carole King song that your dad used to play on repeat when you were a kid.

The room was clean--you hadn’t been in it since you’d pointed out the linen closet in the bathroom and showed him how to use the TV remote. His bed was made--maybe not the way you would have made it but the throw pillows were arranged in a way that showed he tried.

A buzzing on the dresser pulled your attention away from the bed. His phone, a message from someone named Bria Whitmore. Another message, then a third. You took a step closer--who on earth was texting him this much without a reply? A girlfriend? Someone he probably slept with or something of the sort.

“Hi,” his voice pulled your head around quickly and sent your heartbeat through the roof.

“Jesus, hi--sorry--I was just--”

He was in a towel, the fabric wrapped loosely around his waist and hair was slicked back from the water. You looked away from the tattoos that littered his skin and looked down at the laundry basket.

“I was just seeing if you had any laundry you needed me to do?”

It was clean, but he didn’t need to know that.

“M’good,” he smiled like he didn’t believe you. “Why are you home?”

“Had to change--forgot about a meeting,” you let out a laugh and tried to slow your pulse. “Figured the pilates mom look wasn’t the right vibe.”

He nodded, moved around you in the center of the room to pull out a t-shirt from a drawer. You saw him look down at the cell phone you’d been eyeing.

“Your phone went off,” you admitted, the laundry basket still pressed up against your hip.

“Yeah?” He smirked over his shoulder.

“I was just making sure it wasn’t an emergency--I wasn’t, like, snooping.”

A dimple appeared on his left cheek again, he tugged the fabric over his head and then shook out his hair.

“S’not an emergency,” he said. “Just a friend.”

You didn’t know if that was code. Were twenty-somethings calling their booty-calls friends now? You figured you’d ask Tristan later.

“Why are you home?” You tossed the question back at him.

“Schedule changed--went for a run after breakfast and now just, showering, y’know,” he looked down at the towel that separated you from an even more awkward moment.

“Right, sorry, I...am leaving,” you pointed to the door. “Changing, back to the office, home tonight.”

“Sounds good,” he smiled. “Figured I could make dinner, if you wanted. I make a mean chicken taco.”

You took a few steps backwards to the door. “You cook?”

“I do,” he smiled. “Hard to believe?”

“No,” you shook your head. “That would be great--if you want, but you don’t have to.”

“I’d love to,” he nodded. “I’ll see you tonight, Y/N.”

“With more clothes,” you smiled, immediately regretting the bad joke and the attention it drew to the stuffy air and the butterflies in your stomach.

“Definitely more clothes.”

You made a face at yourself once the door was shut, idiot. At least you hadn’t accidentally seen a picture of someone’s boobs. You were sure he got plenty of those.

You pushed the thought out of your head and thankfully Harry didn’t smirk at you too much when Jeff came to pick up the girls for ice cream the next afternoon. They hadn’t forgotten, but luckily Jeff had offered to take them out one night and it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Harry to tag along. That way he could stay true to his word and the girls would stop pestering him every time he popped down to the kitchen.

Zoey had been begging to bring the baby over to get out of the house, and now she was sitting in the other room with Benny on a play mat on the floor. Maeve, CeCe, Jeff and Harry stood in a line, eagerly awaiting the green light to pile into Jeff’s car.

“Okay, so Uncle Jeff can text me if you need anything, see you around 7pm?”

“Yes ma’am,” Jeff said, a salute in your direction that pulled a giggle from both of your daughters.

They’d been fighting more lately, CeCe tried to take the medal from Maeve’s room one night over the weekend and suddenly it was like world war three. You were shocked that they’d gotten it together enough to spend some time in each other's presence, even with Uncle Jeff chaperoning, but you were eager for the quiet and hopeful the screaming matches wouldn’t return once the ice cream and dinner date was finished.

“Love you, be nice to each other, okay?” You leaned down and used both hands to hold CeCe’s head in place when you planted a kiss on her forehead, then Maeve. A hug for Jeff, “only one ice cream cone this time.”

He laughed but obliged, you moved down the line to Harry, an awkward nod in his direction when you realized that whatever type of acquaintanceship had slowly started to bloom between the two of you was hardly grounds for a kiss on the forehead or even a hug.

He apparently sensed this too, a playful smile on his face when he lifted his brows. “No farewell for me?”

Jeff let out a quick laugh but Maeve and CeCe took off for the car, racing to see who could get out the front door fastest. “Alright, don’t kill each other,” you reminded again, waved them all off with an embarrassed smirk and then watched as Harry helped CeCe buckle into her booster seat.

“So,” Zoey appeared beside you, Benny in her arms as she looked out the window. “Seems like things are going well.”

“Yeah,” you shrugged casually. “He’s been nice.”

“He seems friendly,” she wiggled her brows when she met your gaze. “Flirty friendly.”

“Just friendly,” you laughed and headed for the kitchen to pour yourself a drink. It might have only been Tuesday, but the week promised to be a busy one. You wiped up a runaway drip of wine on the rim, fully aware the words about to leave your mouth would push Zoey into gear. “But I did see him shirtless yesterday.”

“That sounds amazing,” she shifted Benny in her arms, eagerness in her voice. “How was it?”

“I mean--he also caught me snooping in his room, sort of.”

“Sort of?”

You tried to downplay it. “I came home from work in the middle of the day to change and I heard him in the shower--which is weird cause I didn’t think he’d be home.”

“So you went in there?”

“Not the bathroom--I just peeked into his room and noticed it was really clean. Which is weird, right? He’s a kid!”

“He’s not a kid,” she rolled her eyes at you. “Your kids are kids. He’s twenty-four. I looked it up.”

Your eyes were wide when you turned to head for the couch. “You looked it up?”

“I was curious! He’s a celebrity living in your house and he’s very attractive and you have been harping on his age.”

“Because it felt weird at first.”

“And it doesn’t now?” Her tone was hopeful when she laid Benny back on his play mat and kneeled beside him.

You took a gulp from your wine glass. “Less weird, but only because he’s mature. He’s helpful around the house--he cooked dinner the other night--and he’s good with the girls.”

The corner of her mouth pulled towards the ceiling, arched eyebrows when she clarified. “He’s good with the girls?”

“He’s just nice to them--I was worried that they’d annoy him. I mean, I doubt that he was excited to hear that two of his roommates were six and ten.”

“Okay--but why did you see him shirtless?”

Right--she’d gotten you off track. “Because...I went in his room and then saw his phone buzzing and then he came out and caught me looking at his phone.”

“You were looking through his phone?!”

“No! Not the actual texts, just to see who was blowing it up. I only looked at the lock screen.”

“Was he annoyed?”

“No,” you shrugged, shame laced through your voice. “He was casual. But then he put his shirt on and I left him alone and went back to work.”

“So there’s sexual tension,” she shimmied her shoulders and pulled a laugh from you, she nuzzled down into Benny’s face but then gave him a pacifier.

“No.”

This brought her gaze back to you, more serious now. “Y/N, you are not a creep if you admit that you find him attractive.”

“I can admit that he’s handsome,” you chose a new word that felt more detached. “But who cares? He’s literally just a house guest. A friend of a friend.”

“Right, but he was just flirting with you like there’s no tomorrow.”

“No he wasn’t,” you denied her accusation. When she stared at you expectantly, you took a loud sip and let the obnoxious noise ring through the now empty house as if it would preclude you from saying any more.

“You truly, seriously, one-hundred percent haven’t noticed any type of flirting?”

You averted your eyes for a second, ready to dismiss her question and tell her she was crazy. There was nothing going on between the two of you.

But then you thought on it, thought about the way he asked about Maeve and CeCe and remembered the way your stomach seemed to twist itself in knots when he smirked at you and when the dimples appeared on his cheeks.

“The look on your face is enough of an answer,” Zoey teased, bouncing side to side when Benny made a noise. “Isn’t that right, Benny Boo? Someone has a crush.”

“There’s no crush here--he’s just,” a shrug of your shoulders when you didn’t know what words to use. You didn’t want to add fuel to her fire and you certainly didn’t want to give her any more of a reason to keep bringing this topic up.

“Dreamy? Beautiful? The perfect rebound post-divorce?”

A flutter of your eyelids in annoyance when you stood to head for the kitchen. “No,” you said, making a face in her direction. “He’s just cute.”

“So cute!” She followed behind and egged you on. “A crush is perfectly harmless, a little bedtime rendezvous is totally not a big deal.”

“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves, here, okay?”

“Oh come on,” she laughed. “You mean to tell me you haven’t already thought about if he’s good in bed?”

She came to sit next to you at the island, folding her legs beneath her. When you sipped at your wine and tried to hide a smirk, her face lit up. “I knew it, I knew it! I don’t blame you, at all, by the way. He’s gorgeous.”

“I’m just horny, number one,” you admitted, leaning forward to rest your elbow on the granite counter. “And seeing a man actually be good with kids is a breath of fresh air.”

“Yeah, Luke didn’t set the bar high with that one.”

“Absolutely not.”

A pause of silence when evening air blew through the open doors to the patio. There was music audible through the trees, wafting in from the backyard of your neighbors.

“I think you should fuck him.”

“What?!” You turned towards her quickly, your voice quieter when she smirked and looked over at you. “Are you out of your mind?”

“You have a ridiculously attractive man living in your house and he hangs out with your kids and now he’s starting to cook? It’s like a lifetime movie waiting to happen.”

“That doesn’t mean I should have sex with him!”

“Do you want to have sex with him?”

You were quiet for a second, kept her gaze but then rolled your eyes and shook your head. “I’ve had a bad year,” you made an excuse for the pulsing in your veins whenever you were alone with him. Nothing more, nothing less.

“When does he leave again?”

“I don’t know--at the end of the week, I guess. It’s not happening, so don’t get any ideas.”

“Alright,” she seemed to relent, “You do you. I just think you deserve a little feel good time.”

“That sounds gross,” you wrinkled your nose, pulling a laugh out of her.

She was able to change the topic, told you all about the way Benny was getting better at lifting his own head and he was screaming a lot less when she put him down for some tummy time. Your phone dinged, though, signalling a new text just when you were about to pull out leftovers and heat them up.

She watched when you opened it, got excited when you smirked at the screen.

“Who is it?”

You almost didn’t want to show her, but you knew she’d pry it out of your hands with force if you didn’t share. You flipped it around, watched as a smile spread across her face.

A picture of Harry and CeCe, both with sunglasses on as they ate their ice cream. Maeve and Jeff were in the background, the line at the ice cream shop down the street wasn’t too long. You were kind of surprised he was willing to go with them, wouldn't it create a buzz in the headlines?

Zoey gave you a knowing look.

“It’s just sweet.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t know,” you smiled a little at first, but the happiness faded from your face when you pulled yourself back to reality. “I feel stupid thinking that he’s flirting with me. He could be with a supermodel if he wanted to. One with perky boobs and who’s, like, twenty. Not someone who’s old enough to be his mom.”

“You are seven years older than him,” she made a disgusted face. “You could have been, like, his babysitter, not his mom.”

“Oh, that makes me feel so much better.”

“You’re being stupid about this!”

You paused with tupperware in your hands, turned around slowly. “I am not being dumb about not having casual sex with the popstar boyband kid living under my roof. I think not having sex with him is objectively the responsible thing to do here.”

“Why do you always have to be so responsible, though? You have been doing that forever, okay? You’re the business owner mom who’s always been incredibly family-oriented.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, not in the slightest! But you’re more than just a mom.”

You bit at your cheek and dropped her gaze, put the tupperware down from exhaustion. “I just want my children to have a normal life. I only had one parent and I thought they were going to have two and now that ship has sailed.”

She nodded sympathetically. “But that doesn’t mean you did anything wrong! You never relaxing and having a good time will only teach them bad work-life balance.”

You rolled your eyes at her comment, tried to fight the smile when she waited for you to fold. “I love you,” she said. “I want you to get laid or have a drink or let your hair down once in a while.”

You held up the wine in her face. “Already halfway there.”

She reached for the bottle of wine and shoved it towards you with skeptical eyes. “Try harder.”

You let out a laugh and took another sip once it was refilled, pushed plates into the microwave and sat there with her until Jeff’s car pulled back into the driveway and the girls came tumbling back into the house.

“Mom, Harry said he could teach me how to play guitar,” Maeve grinned up at you, an affectionate hug caught you by surprise, but so did her words.

“He did, did he?” You eyed Harry as he walked in with Jeff by his side, sunglasses still on his face despite the sun lingering just above the horizon.

“We’ll start a band,” Harry nodded in her direction, kept his eyes shielded as CeCe ran into the backyard with a noise of excitement.

“And Uncle Jeff said he’ll sing.”

“You’ll definitely get far, then,” you teased, pulling an offended look from your childhood friend. “He’s obviously the best singer in the house.”

Harry nodded in playful agreement. “Could put me out of a job any day.”

“Maeve!” CeCe called suddenly, pulling everyone’s attention to the backyard. “Come play squishball!”

Harry looked down at Maeve and she looked up at him, you were unaware of whatever unspoken communication was transpiring between them. “Should we?” He asked.

“Definitely,” she giggled, hands on her hips.

Zoey was also confused, but she watched as Maeve and Harry headed for the patio. Harry finally took his sunglasses off, handed them to your older daughter before he spoke. “CeCe, we need to have a meeting.”

“A meeting?” She asked, she groaned in disappointment but walked back towards the house, bat dragging on the grass behind her. Jeff laughed and folded his arms over his chest, unaware of whatever deal had already been struck between them.

“You two are both really great at squishball,” Harry admitted, his voice suddenly more serious than before. “But I think we need to up the stakes.”

“Up the stakes?” You could tell by the look on CeCe’s face that she had no clue what that meant.

“Winner of this game gets the medal I won from the spelling bee,” Maeve explained.

You were about to protest, head outside and discourage any type of betting or gambling or whatever the backyard made up game was leading towards, but Harry went on to explain the rules. “CeCe gets a head start running bases, just because of her tiny legs.”

Maeve nodded, “and she gets a free home run to start off.”

CeCe smiled wide and put her hands on her hips, pulling a laugh from Harry as she copied her older sister. “I like the sound of that,” she said. A sure-fire way to make her win, you realized. But what was in that for Maeve? How had your previously grumpy pre-teen become a team player in a matter of hours?

It wasn’t long before Zoey gathered up her things and put Benny in the backseat, giggling and excited yells floated in from the backyard when you hugged her goodbye. Jeff stayed past sunset and offered an excited high five when CeCe won, completely unaware at how easy they’d made it for her.

But he soon left, too, you climbed the stairs behind your two little athletes, got them washed up and in bed before it was 9pm--not bad for a weeknight. You were sure Harry would have retreated to his room, too, but he was sat by the fire pit on the patio, a near empty glass of wine in his hand when you came back out.

“Care to explain?” you leaned against the doorframe and smiled. He adjusted in his seat but shrugged his shoulders when you admitted: “I never thought I would hear the end of it with that stupid medal.”

There was a confident look on his face when he met your eyes in the glow of the fire pit. “Figured I can teach her a few chords on guitar and that would take her mind off of taunting CeCe.”

It was smart, you nodded slowly and watched him. Give Maeve something that would get her really excited, but only if she’d give up something else. Bargaining--a classic parenting trick. You eyed Harry with a level of skepticism.

“How are you so good with them?”

He smiled at that, apparently flattered by the compliment. “They’re good kids,” he said simply.

“I’m aware,” you laughed, “but you don’t have to spend so much time with them.”

“I like it,” he shrugged. “It’s kind of nice to be around a family, you know?”

The words pulled emotion to your chest. Did you really look like a family to him? No husband, no grandfather, two irreplaceable roles and now you were trying to fill all of them just to keep your kids afloat.

“And besides,” he stood from his chair and grabbed the now empty glass before he came closer to you. “Something about being here just feels right.”

You looked up at him, felt the same rush of heat to your cheeks but hoped you were safe in the cover of night. He smirked, like he knew what he was doing to you but was too much of a gentleman to call you out. Hesitation when you felt some type of magnetic force between you, the distance simultaneously felt like inches and miles.

You smiled softly, embarrassed by the way your pulse picked up and the thoughts that flew through your head. What would happen if I, does he ever think about, am I crazy if I want to?

He brushed past you and walked to the sink, placing the wine glass down quietly before he turned to face you once more. “Is it as bad as you thought?”

Confusion, you wiped your sweaty palms on your pants. “Sorry?”

“Having me here,” he motioned around, the dimple on his left cheek was visible even in the dim light. You rolled your eyes, dropped his gaze for a second when he let out a quiet laugh. “I hope that it’s only as miserable as you thought--m’just aiming for not worse than expected at this point.”

You turned to face him and put your hands on the granite, thankful for the fact that the island was now between you, the ticking of a clock on the wall kept time when you tried to piece your words together carefully.

Was he flirting with you? A similar to question to that he'd asked only a few nights earlier, this time with more of a smirk on his face and a lilt in his voice that made sent a shiver down your spine.

“It’s better,” you admitted with a nod and a teasing smile. “But don’t tell Jeff that.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, held your gaze and then nodded. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

There was silence for a second, you almost offered to pour him another glass of wine but then he said: “Only a few more days, though.”

“Yeah,” you nodded, the fantasy shattered on the floor between you. “How’s the house coming?”

He winced, a quiet laugh when he shook his head. “Everything’s been pushed out a few weeks, actually. But--it’s fine, I’m probably just going to stay with a friend or something, you know, don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

You brought your lips into a thin line, unsure if what you were about to offer was appropriate or weird or just plain awkward.

“Oh...well, I mean, if you want to stay here longer, you can.”

His mouth pulled up on the side, he brought his gaze back to you and shifted his weight on his feet. “Yeah? You don’t mind?”

You shrugged, again hoping to play it cool or not come off too eager. “If that would be helpful,” you trailed off.

“Yeah, very helpful.”

“Cool.”

“Cool,” he nodded, pulling another smirk from you.

A few more weeks, tops.

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[fruitcoops]

ok so firstly I love any loops and jules fic but secondly could we have one where jules is having a really tough time (either missing loops/ picked on etc. ) and then we see loops (not coops) surprise him and is just so protective - just sibling fluff that’s it

Oh Jules, I’m sorry I did this to you. What a wonderful prompt, though! I’m always down to write sibling fluff! SW credit goes to @lumosinlove <3

TW for bullying (older kids picking on younger kids)

Contrary to popular belief, Jules didn’t brag about his brother every minute of every day. There was no point, and he wanted to be known for his own talents rather than living in Remus’ shadow for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, some people didn’t seem to understand that.

A balled of lined paper smacked into the back of his head. “Heads up, Loopy!”

Jules threw the ball back; it bounced off the end of the table and hit the ground pathetically. “Nice shot,” Aidan snorted as he passed, bumping his shoulder against Jules’ and making him stumble. Several people laughed. His face burned with embarrassment.

“Yeah, I bet your brother’s really proud of that,” Luke sneered. He was a big kid, far bigger than Jules both in height and muscle even though he was only a couple years older.

“Don’t talk about my brother,” Jules said, much quieter than intended.

Luke raised his eyebrows. “What’re you going do about it, Loopy?”

“Just shut up.”

“Who’s gonna stop me?” He leaned across the cafeteria table and Jules fought the urge to back away. “Huh? Your brother? He’s never around.”

“He’s busy.”

“He doesn’t want to be here.”

“He does,” Jules insisted, feeling his throat tighten. “He does, he just doesn’t have time—”

“He’s a celebrity, dude, no wonder he doesn’t want his tagalong brother around.”

It’s not true, Jules told himself. It’s not true. Time and time again, Remus had told him that hockey came second to family, but after months of not seeing him it was starting to feel false. “Shut up.”

Luke shifted in his seat and folded his hands. “Face it, Loopy: your brother’s not around because he’d rather spend time with his cool friends than an annoying little kid.”

“Leave me alone.” Jules’ voice cracked and Luke grinned.

“You’re gonna cry?” he asked, full of false sympathy. “Aw, poor baby.”

“It’s not true.” It was getting harder to believe the words. “He visits whenever he can.”

The lunch bell rang before Luke could retaliate; he ruffled Jules’ hair too hard to be comfortable and left, already laughing with his group of friends. What a dick, Jules thought as he swallowed down the tears.

He made it through the rest of his classes in a daze and walked home on muscle memory. It was a cold day for April, but maybe he could blame his red-rimmed eyes on the wind. Maybe Luke is right, part of him argued. There wasn’t a lot of evidence, but it was enough to make him want to throw up.

“Hey, baby, how was your day?” his mother called when he opened the door.

That was the tipping point, the tiny pebble that shattered the cracked glass dam holding back his tears. Jules sobbed once, dropped his backpack on the floor, and ran for the safety of his bedroom. “Jules—” The slam of his door cut his father’s concern short.

He grabbed the family picture off his wall and threw it across the room—there was no glass or frame, only tape, so seeing it flutter to the ground was far less satisfying than he had hoped. Remus had him on his shoulders for the picture; they all looked so happy. Jules sat down on the other side of his bed and buried his face in his arms, letting the emotions he had been holding in for three full hours flood out.

Deep down, he knew Luke was a liar and a bully with nothing better to do than pick on younger kids. That didn’t mean his words hurt any less.

A few minutes later, there was a gentle knock on the door. “Go away!”

There was a brief pause, then another knock.

“Just—just please give me a minute, mom!”

“I’m not mom.” Jules’ heart skipped a beat. “Can I come in?”

You’ve never been around to help me before. Anger reared up in his chest. “No!”

Remus hesitated for a moment. Jules hoped he was shocked, stunned, hurt. “Okay.”

There was a rustling noise; he looked around the foot of the bed to see a shadow in the crack beneath the door. “Are you—what are you doing?”

“Sitting down.”

“Go away.”

“No.”

“Mom, make him go away!”

“What did I do, Jules?” Remus sounded sad. There was none of his usual teasing in his tone. The anger twisted around in Jules and he scrubbed at the tears and snot on his face.

“When did you get here?” He knew he was being rude; his mother would have given him a pursed-lips look if he talked like that to anyone normally.

“A couple hours ago. It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“It’s a terrible surprise. Go away.”

“Not until you tell me what I did.”

Jules took a few shallow breaths before answering. “You’re never here. Never.”

“I know. I’m s—”

“I hate you,” he sobbed, bringing his knees tighter to his chest. “I hate you so much.”

There was a long stretch of silence on the other side of the door, but the shadow remained. “That’s fair,” Remus said quietly.

“No, it’s not!” Jules clambered to his feet and stomped over to the door, wrenching it open. “It’s not fair! I shouldn’t hate you, this is your job! You should—you should—”

Remus looked up at him from his crosslegged seat on the carpet. “I should what?”

“You should yell at me. Or make me open the door, or do anything that makes me angry at you.” He sniffled and hugged himself.

“When have I ever yelled at you?”

“The rat. And the water balloons. And when I stole your sticks. And when I froze your underwear.”

Remus winced slightly. “Fair point. I don’t keep yelling once you’re in the room, though, right?”

Jules deflated. “No.”

“So I’m not going to yell at you. Also, your bedroom smells weird, so I don’t want to go in there unless I have to.”

A smile tried forcing its way out and Jules covered it with his best scowl. “My room doesn’t smell weird.”

Remus sniffed the air, then shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

“Why are you here?”

“Mom said she was getting ice cream.”

Jules perked up. “Did she?”

“No.” Remus held up the car keys. “We can fix that problem, though. Go get your shoes.”

“Can I drive?’

“If you can convince dad, sure.” Remus stood up and mussed his hair; his hand was gentle, though, unlike Luke’s. It was a welcome change.

He grabbed his sneakers from under his bed and hopped down the hall as he pulled them on. “Dad, can I drive?”

His father didn’t even look up from the paper. “When Hell freezes over, buddy.”

“Lyall,” his mother scolded from the kitchen, though her eyes crinkled at the edges. “Remus, remember not to swear around your brother!”

“I won’t, I won’t,” he said, holding the door open for Jules as he shrugged his coat on.

They drove in relative silence, save for the Top Rock Hits of the Eighties cassette that they had each heard half a billion times. Remus pulled into the Dairy Queen drive-thru and rattled off Jules’ favorite without even having to ask. Somehow, that both soothed him and upset him even more. He handed the cone over carefully, stuck his blizzard in the cupholder, and started driving in the opposite direction of the house.

“Are you kidnapping me?” Jules asked, licking a stray drip of vanilla off the cone.

“I don’t think I can, seeing as we’re related.”

“You can. You don’t have custody.”

“Why do you know that?”

“Why don’t you, Mr. Fancy Degree?”

“This might surprise you, but they don’t exactly cover the intricacies of kidnapping in PT school.”

“Shame.”

Remus made a noise of agreement around the straw of his Blizzard as they rolled to a stop at the red light. “So, are we going to talk?”

“We already are.”

“Dude.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Yeah, I figured.” He made a face when a chunk of Oreo got stuck the straw. “If you get that out before the next light, you can have a sip.”

Jules took it and squeezed the thin plastic. “Luke Sanders is an asshole.”

“Language.” The car stopped again and Jules showed off the unblocked straw. “Do continue, though.”

“You’ve hit every red light since we left the house. That’s got to be a curse.” He took a long sip, then handed it across the console. “You like hanging out with me, right?”

“Obviously. You’re, like, my favorite person.” Remus gave him a confused look.

“Okay, cool.” Jules felt his hands start to shake again, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t from his ice cream. Just hearing him say that made a tsunami of relief run through him. “Cool.”

“Did Luke Sanders tell you I didn’t?”

“He said a lot of stuff.”

Remus pulled into a parking lot, then took the key out and turned in his seat. “Like what?”

Jules shrugged one shoulder. “That you don’t want to be here.”

“And?” His voice had softened.

“And that it’s my fault, since I’m an annoying little tagalong.” Jules picked at the paper wrapper around his cone and didn’t look up. “He’s got a p—”

“If you say he’s got a point, all your underwear is going in the freezer.” All traces of gentleness were gone from his tone, leaving tightly-controlled fury in its place.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t—” Remus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please don’t apologize, Jules.”

“You’re upset.”

“Yeah, because some little shit was picking on my brother and I wasn’t there to kick his ass.”

“I can handle it.”

If anything, that seemed to upset him even more. “Does this happen a lot?”

“Sometimes.”

“Have you told anyone?”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to be a tattletale.”

“Jules, there’s a difference between being a tattletale and reporting a bully.” Remus tipped his chin up. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Jules’ lower lip wobbled. “I missed you. I always miss you, but he’s been really awful recently and he keeps saying the same stupid stuff over and over.”

Remus’ nose and cheeks reddened. “I missed you, too. If I could be here all the time, I would.”

“I know it’s not your fault, and I know you’re busy.” He wiped away another tear and tried to pull himself together. “But it’s not fair.”

“It’s not,” Remus agreed. “It’s not fair that I’m gone nine months out of the year, and it’s not right that people are making fun of you for it. Hang on for a second, okay?”

Jules nodded, still drying his cheeks. Remus got out of the car and jogged to the other side, then opened the passenger door and gestured for him to get out; as soon as his sneakers touched the ground, he was lifted almost a foot into the air. “I’m sorry for yelling,” he managed, burying his face in his brother’s neck.

Remus kissed the side of his head and held him close. “I’m sorry I’m not around more.”

He hooked his chin over Remus’ shoulder. “Can you promise me something?”

“Anything.”

“Will you be here whenever you can? I know that might not be often, but just…when you can.”

He felt Remus’ chest hitch against him. “Always,” he whispered. “Always.”

[writingssummit]

𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐬 !

haikyuu as dads!

find the mha version here - bnha as dads !

content: fluff, the boys with children. mentions pregnancy. aged up!

characters: bokuto, daichi, sugawara, lev, and kuroo.

a/n: i’ve been feeling very soft and even though i don’t even really like kids lol, this prompt make me so warm and happy :’) keep in mind that I’m not super far into haikyuu, so i don’t know a lot about the timeskip- sorry !! also a bit messy and unorganized.

so without further ado, here are some soft scenarios and headcanons for each :D

bokuto !

Pleaseeee, we all know he’d be such a good dad!!

You’re tired? Don’t worry, he can watch them while you rest!

Can and WILL play with them for hours.

And of course, he has the energy to keep them preoccupied. This man has more energy than I ever will on 2 cups of coffee with 3 shots of espresso in each.

Mans probably would want a bigger family, but of course as long as you were fine with it.

Thinking maybe 3+. He just wants to have that big family to share with you :’) aww

When you’re pregnant, he’s all over you. Protective to the point of it being a little overwhelming, but he means well.

Pokes your belly a little. Not harshly, but in a loving, gentle way.

“That’s my baby. Right in there.”

Probably cries a little when your baby bump shows.

More so during your first pregnancy, but he still holds that same emotion with the others.

He does NOT know what to do the first time.

“THEY’RE CRYING, Y/N WHAT DO WE DO??”

When the kid/s start getting older, oh lord. He’s such a sucker for them.

Probably gives them ice cream or sneaks candy when you aren’t in the room, even though IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR BED.

I’m sorry, but he cannot and will not be able to help with homework. I’m sorry but it’s true.

If your kid/s have a passion, he’s 100% for it.

Dance? He’ll go to all of the recitals he can make. Volleyball? Even better. Writing? He’ll sit in front of them and have them read it out to him like it’s a bedtime story.

I don’t think he’d be a good cook, so whenever he takes over for dinner, everyone is like “Oh no. Dad’s cooking again.”

Overall, 100/10 dad. Supportive, and does his best. Good boyo <3

daichi !

I think he’d be a good dad too :D

He was kind of just a natural father, so it’s expected.

I think that he originally wanted to bring up the topic of kids to you at some point, but he was hesitant since he didn’t know if you were ready.

So of course, you beat him to the conversation.

He’s very happy that you want to start a family too. :)

I think he’d want a smaller family, maybe 1-2 kids.

When you test positive, he’s kind of in shock for a moment.

“We’re going to have a kid-”

Like duh lmao he put it in you

Definitely calls Suga up to tell him the news.

Is actually very interested in shopping for a baby. He needs a few pointers but he’s got the enthusiasm, so A for effort bby

He’s decently used to having a small child running around him screaming, he had little siblings so yeah

Has a bit more structure than bokuto, but he’s still able to break.

He’d do damn near anything for his kid/s.

He has his moments where he wants to spend alone time with just you.

Decent homework helper, but I feel like he’d be that one parent who goes “This wasn’t how I was taught to do this”, or “Why did they change that??”

Again again, supportive dad.

But also supportive of you <3

sugawara !

Being a teacher, he’s surrounded by kids all the time.

Basically, he is also used to having screaming children within his vicinity

I could never omg how do you do that Suga

At first he didn’t put much thought into a family, he and you were content just the two of you. Also. CHILDREN HE TEACHES.

But something just switches in his brain, probably after he had a really wholesome moment with a student, or maybe even just witnessing a parent + student interaction.

He’s like, “I kind of want that..”

Another small fam kinda guy <3

Suga brings it up, and you’re all for it, you’ve been wanting to start a family with him.

He’s so excited and happy!! oml :’)

Like, he finally gets to start a whole new chapter of your lives together he hadn’t really thought about until now.

When you get a baby bump, he plants soft kisses to your tummy and talks gently to it.

My heart ksjshd

This will be a nightly occurrence now.

He is reading all those articles for raising kids. He’s also at your beck and call, even the baby’s.

He just wants everything for the baby, they end up being a huge daddy’s kid.

Late nights after the kid/s go to bed is prime time for you both.

You enjoy being together after a long day, you snuggle up together in your bed, maybe drink some wine later.

PLEASE. Breakfasts in bed. He and the kid/s will TOTALLY MAKE YOU B in B.

So proud of your kid/s. Has pictures in frames on his desk at school, and when his students ask, he has plenty of stories to tell.

Knows when something is off. Like, he can just tell-

Kid is sad? He’s there. Tissues, ice cream, take them out somewhere.

Probably a teaser.

You already know he gets himself and that kid/those kids into mischief.

“Shhh, don’t tell mom!”

He has deep conversations with them. He cares a lot.

He just loves them <3

10/10

kuroo !

it’ssss kuroo time babyyy

He definitely wanted kids. Strikes me as the guy who just knew, as soon as you got married.

When that test came up positive, he had a dorky smirk on his face.

He’s very proud to know you will have his kid.

This dude is always checking up on you. Morning sickness? He’s there to hold your hair back. 

Feeling clingy or upset? Wraps his arms around you.

Lazy pats on your stomach when it’s late.

Why does he seem like he’d play mozart around you because he read somewhere that fetsuses liked that

Sir please we don’t need to listen to Alla Turca (Allegretto) for 12 hours straight

He’s 100000/10 homework helper. Mans is smart af, it’s not even surprising.

“I forgot how smart you were” 

“Shut up”

You both are probably so mushy with each other that your kid/s are like “Ew gross”

He encourages and pushes them to do their best. 

Helps them find what they’re passionate about. <3

Dad jokes. I’m serious.

“Please stop, dad!”

“One more, one more-”

Enjoys making them suffer with terrible jokes.

In a nice way of course.

lev !

saved the funny one for last!

Okay maybe not super funny, but I had fun writing this

He and you did NOT plan to get pregnant. At ALL.

“Lev the test is positive”

“Wh-WHAT?”

Promptly falls off of chair.

Like this dude was not ready for that information

Tbh he would make even me anxious about it

“..do I have to give them the talk?”

Lev please it hurts me

As soon as he gets used to it though, he’s excited like he usually is. 

But this is different. This is a whole HUMAN. 

“Do you think I’ll be a good dad, Y/N?”

“Do you want me to be honest?”

Jkjk that was a joke.

I think Lev has the potential to be a good dad. He’s energetic, passionate and dumb, but in a good way <3

Sorry again, no homework help with him LMAO

Your kid will probably be tall. Or at least average height.

After the original surprise pregnancy, he wants to try again but when you both are actually ready.

He would totally take these kids out everywhere. A show off dad for sure

“Hey, did you know my kid did xyz?” 

“Look, here’s a picture!”

Lev we get it you love your kids 

He would love to have a volleyball loving kid I feel like, but he wouldn’t be too disappointed if they didn’t like it. Would probably propose other sports though, he always loved playing himself, even if it was only volleyball so he wants them to have the same good experiences

If he’s watching the kids while you’re shopping, he doesn’t really know how the first few times- even though you left him A LIST.

Probably then calls his friends up for advice

If it comes down to it...consults WikiHow

and that’s it!! hope you enjoyed, some were harder to write but yk what- i had fun :D as much as i am suga brainrot i literally had a hard time writing his section :’( 

but anyways yuh B)

asks/requests are open ! check yay’s and nay’s in basics for this blog !

[ellana-ravenwood]

Sick Day - Batfam x Fem!Reader

Synopsis : It’s never fun to be sick. Duh. But when  you have loving parents there to take care of you, maybe it isn’t so bad ? Just short little snippets of the first time each Batkids fell ill in Wayne Manor, and how Bruce and his wife (you :D) dealt with it. 

Another “burst of the moment inspiration” story, just a little drabble. Promise I’ll post something more elaborate soon :), hope you’ll like it : 

My master list blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

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(Thanks to that anon who mentioned the kids getting shots, that gave me with this an idea on how to start this fic :D. The original beginning was different, I think I like that one better hehe.)

"Mister Wayne, if you keep doing this, I'm not going to be able to give your son-Bruce for god's sake !"

Leslie Thompkins, for the first time in her long career, was about to lose her patience and give up on...giving a simple shot to a baby. 

She has seen worried parents before, of course. The one that clung to their child’s hand, or those who would cry because their little one was in pain…

Babies that young, who had to get vaccinated for the first time, never really experienced this sort of quick pain before. 

A lot of them would cry more out of surprise than because it really hurt. Oh and when the parents were extra worried, you could be sure the baby was even more likely to burst into tears, sensing his parents' distress.

Yes. doctor Thompkins gave shots to a LOT of babies, and saw a LOT of worried parents before…But never had she met someone quite like Bruce Wayne.

He always came to her when his kids were sick. He could go to a fancier office, or to one of those pricy fancy private hospitals. But no. 

No because, when it came to his kids’ health, there was no one he trusted more than Doctor Leslie Thompkins. 

So it was no surprise when he brought his youngest son, Thomas, to get his first shot ever. What was a surprise though, was his reaction.

"And now you know why I'm always the only one in the room when this happens."

You say, smiling apologetically to the doctor. But ah, at least your husband's reaction eased a little the tension in your body brought by the mere idea of your baby being hurt. 

Every single time Leslie got the syringe close to your little one, Bruce would reflexively grab her wrist and stop her from giving the shot to his son.

Ridiculous, really. 

But it seemed it was something he couldn't fight. 

He apologized the first time he did it, as Dr Thompskins smiled and said it was ok, rather amused. But then the second time, it was getting clear he didn't seem to quite control himself. At the third time Bruce was visibly sweating. Dr Thompkins finally snapped as she tried for a fourth and fifth time to give a shot to little Thomas (who, at barely 2 months old, was much too young to even understand what was happening, but by his little smiles it was clear he was happy every time his father would come into his vision).

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just…I thought I could do it, but I can't."

And oh. Oh it's adorable the way he turns to you, his eyes saying "I'm sorry" as he takes his son back in his arms and holds him against his chest. You weren’t sure if it was to comfort little Tommy, or if he was comforting himself. 

"I think I should just let you two handle this ?" He asks, unsure. He doesn’t want you to be mad or to think he’s abandoning you. 

"I think this is a good idea Bruce, yes."

You smile at him reassuringly. It’s fine. It was always fine. 

"I'm sorry, sorry I'm letting you do this alone once again. I just can't…"

"Oh it's ok my Broosh, I know you hate shots. I can handle it, and little buddy here sure can too."

Thomas coos happily as you pick him up delicately from his father's arms. Bruce resists a bit, before finally giving in and letting you take hold of the little one. 

He lays a hand on his son's head, looking fondly at him (of this look he only gives his children, of this pure look full of unconditional love, and a hint of “what did I do to deserve this sort of happiness ?”) and then sighs, press a soft kiss to your forehead, murmuring a last “I’m sorry, my love” and leaves the room. 

He feels a little ashamed to let you do this once again, but you've always been the strongest one out of the two. After all, you willingly decided to marry a man like him…

"Alright Mrs Wayne, ready ? And here we-oh not you too (Y/N) !"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry, I don't know what took over me, it was just a reflex too !"

You apologize, as you let go of the doctor's wrist…

Yeah, it was just a gut reaction to seeing a scary needle approaching your baby's thigh. In your line of um, nightly work, you came to be very wary, of syringes. You still remember vividly that time Tim got hit with one of Scarecrows’ needle, and how terrible this night had been...

"Ok ok, now is fine. Go. I'm ready. Go fast though, now. Now I’m not looking. Go. Go. Go."

Tears welling up in your eyes at the mere thought of this happening, you look away as you hold your son still (something he doesn't like as clearly shown by his little sound of protest, and as he starts to fuss about), and in one, two seconds…it's done. 

And not a peep from your son. 

He just stopped making any sound (he've always been rather vocal), his eyes went wide, and he made a face that looked like he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to cry or not. Then there’s one more second, and Leslie had a soothing bandaid on his little leg, and you were holding him against your heart, and the pain was so fleeting and already gone, that he just gets over it quickly, feeling your love.

Calming down instantly, not noticing the tears in your eyes (thank god, or it’d be a sure way to make him weep too).

And so he doesn't cry. And everything is ok again.

“Well, that wasn’t so hard, was it ?”

“Actually, it was.”

You say, barely holding your tears in, your son cooing in your arms 

“Um...I was talking to Thomas.” 

Leslie answers, amused. And just like that, you both burst into laughter.

After a few minutes of this uncontrollable fit of giggles, you thank Leslie for her help, and leave the room, joining your husband who had been walking back and forth in the waiting room, nervous. 

He comes immediately to you and Thomas, and as soon as the boy sees his dad he smiles widely and giggles. Bruce gives him a soft smile, before turning to you : 

“How was it ?” 

“For me ? Not great. For Tommy ? He didn’t even utter a sound. Our little guy is brave !” 

You kiss your son on his forehead, and he giggles and coos even more. There’s a short silence, before Bruce says : 

“I’m sorry...”

And then he takes you in his arms, sandwiching little Thomas who’s protesting a bit. Damn, his parents could be so clingy ! 

“It’s ok my Broosh, I already told you. It’s ok.” 

You sort of knew since you stepped into the doctor’s room that you’d end up being the one having to hold your boy anyway.

You knew oh too well how squeamish he was whenever HE had to get a shot done (and oh who would’ve thought the big bad bat hated getting shots so much uh ? You were pretty sure he would rather getting actually shot than take a tiny needle in his arm any day of the week...Alfred always had to fight with him to inject anesthesia when treating him for wounds). It was actually sort of a requirement, that you’d be next to him to give him your hand when he absolutely had to get a shot.

So understandably so, he always skipped on his children’s vaccins. He just couldn’t bear to see anyone he cared for to get that very things he hated so much, it just made him feel ill.

And you’ve always been fine with this. Since that very first day when you took Dick there...But Bruce always felt bad.

Because whenever you’d get out of the doctor’s office, you’d have fresh tears in your eyes, because you were just too pure for this world (is what Damian would say).

Dick always took advantage of this. He was never really scared of shots, and thought they didn’t really hurt...But oh, oh he would always cry a river of crocodile tears just so he’d get extra cuddles and ice cream.

And then, that cheeky little bugger passed that knowledge of “when we get shots, or we get sick, the parents literally let us do WHATEVER we want !” to his little siblings (you were actually pretty sure your kids would pass secret ways to manipulate you and Bruce along to their younger siblings and..you were oddly fine with it. You loved those kids too much to care, really).

This thought reminded you of that very first time Dick fell sick, shortly after you and Bruce officially adopted him. 

And how much you guys freaked out. 

It was both a pleasant, and terrible memory. 

And oh. Oh you already dreaded the day Thomas would have his first real fever...You still remembered how it happened, with all your other children. 

“What is it ?” Bruce asks, always knowing when something was on your mind. And so you say : “Nothing bad, this just reminds me of when Dick got sick for the first time while with us...”

A light of recognition ignited in Bruce’s eyes, he knew exactly what you were talking about. 

Bruce only had fond memories of when he was sick and his mom and dad would take care of him.

He thought they were the best, wether they’d hold a “barf-bucket” for him, or stay up all night because he was too feverish...

What he never realized though, is that having a sick child was actually absolutely terrifying ! Bruce often felt sick himself, when the kids were ill.....ah, but nothing ever beats those first time each of them got sick.

DICK 

Dick wasn't as young as Thomas, when he first came into your life. None of them were. But he was still a cute little bean, your baby. 

Eight years old, and oh so sweet and nice and cute and you could just squish his little cheeks all day (albeit from the few outburst of anger at times, but hey, he was but a child, every kid throw tantrum from times to times).

He had been living with you and Bruce in the Manor for the past six months, when you had your first fright, and realized that being a parent meant being worried about your kid's well being for the rest of your days

Dick was definitely a tiny kid when he came in your life. He was rather short, only having a growth spurt when he was around 14/15. Barbara Gordon used to tease him to no end about this, up until he finally caught up with her and ended up being taller.  

But yes, his small stature for his age, maybe made you baby him even more than the others, sometimes. 

Ah. That first time little Dick Grayson was sick at Wayne Manor. 

You. Freaked. The. Fuck. OUT. 

You and Bruce, both. 

Coincidentally, Dick became ill ON THE ONLY FEW DAYS OFF ALFRED WOULD TAKE A YEAR !! 

Every year, for a theater festival, Alfred would take off to his homeland, to England, in London to be exact, for but a few days. 

The three of you were in the batcave. Bruce was getting ready to go out, while you were on the bat computer and Dick was training on the side, doing some acrobatics on the trampoline Bruce installed. 

And then he came to you, pulling on your sleeve, and he was so pale...

“I don’t feel too well.” 

He said, right before throwing up for a few way too long seconds, as tears welled up in his eyes...it was never nice to throw up, and once again, no matter how mature he acted, you were reminded that Dick was but an eight year old child. 

But he wasn’t only crying because throwing up fucking sucked. He was also crying because he thought you were going to be mad at him. 

You reassured him, as you cleaned his little face up, and Bruce (who looked quite green himself...later on, you’d discover than when his kids or you were sick, he felt sick too...quite a strong reaction, really) carried him upstairs. 

You were frantically googling how to take care of a sick child, as Bruce stayed with Dick, holding a bark bucket to his face, and drawing soothing circles on his back with his hand. 

The panic dumbed the both of you down. It seemed like you couldn’t think, as you tried to make Dick as comfortable as he could. 

You could feel your anxiety blowing through the roof, and knew that Bruce was close to have a panic attack himself (he was prone to them, although you and Alfred were the only one who knew).

You didn’t know what was worst, the fact he was sick and had no idea what you were supposed to do, or how much Dick was sobbing and apologizing. 

“Should we call Dr. Thompkins ?”

“I don’t know her number, Alfred is the one that calls usually...” 

“Should we take him there then ?” 

“I don’t know, Alfred is-” 

This went on for a little bit, as Dick was throwing up and crying. Saying “sorry !” every two seconds. But...Instinctively, Bruce was trying to soothe him with those warm pats on his back. And you were caressing his hair, empathetic. And...

You decided to not go to the doctor today, Dick was sick, but not sick enough to take him to an emergency. And in Gotham ? Leslie was needed for a lot, especially in evenings like this. 

“Alfred um, gives me flat soda when I have a stomach ache ?”

“On it !” 

You say, bolting on your feet and running to the kitchen, taking a cola and opening it up. Meanwhile, Dick’s fit calmed down, and he seemed to instantly feel better as he probably threw everything he needed to up... 

He seemed content, cuddling against Bruce as the man was softly patting his back in small circles, and using his other hand to hold his head delicately. 

You and Bruce were definitely not experienced parents yet, and it showed. 

It showed by those first few minutes of utter panic, as your child got suddenly sick. And it showed as how you instantly just thought of calling Alfred...

That day, you both realized though, that you couldn’t always rely on the butler when it came to raising your son. For situations exactly like that one.

Both you and Bruce were still young, and scared to make mistakes but..You had to try. And you had to keep a cool head. Your motherly instinct kicked in.

It was so odd, seeing the big bad bat, wearing his costume without the cowl on (he didn’t have time to take it off as he rushed upstairs with the boy in his arms), looking so worried... 

Bruce was so pale, and you could see that in a way, he felt his son’s pain too...Which just made your head click, and take action. 

“Ok, ok we can do this. Keep the barf bucket close, let’s wait for the soda to get flat, and um...let’s try to distract him. A movie, perhaps ?”

Dick nodded, and although he wasn’t throwing up anymore, he seemed too weak to stand up (or maybe he was faking, could be, honestly, with that one...doesn’t matter) so Bruce carried him again. 

And it was a sight. Bruce was a tall man. And Dick was a very small kid. 

It was cute. and in that moment...In that moment it felt like you both suddenly realized what it meant, to be a parent.  

Bruce, holding his son in his arms, feeling the little one’s heartbeat and slowed breath as he was kinda nodding off...was this how his own father felt, when holding him ? It was nice. It was a surge of pure love, and knowing that he would die for that kid if he had to. Hell, he would burn the whole world, for that kid. 

It was so odd. The situation wasn’t that crazy, Dick probably just ate something bad, and with the trampoline and all the jumping around...he got sick. 

As a child, you had those rapid sick moments of having a bad stomach ache, which would turn into throwing up, to then feel better. Those sudden moments when your own parents would take care of you...

Ah. You hadn’t realized how much worry being a parent would bring. Bruce didn’t either. You guys adopting Dick felt like an obvious thing to do. Felt like it was meant to be...

But it wasn’t just yet, that you felt like a mom. Or a dad. 

It took some time to build. Just like it took time for Dick to call you “mom” and “dad”. And in that moment, as your kid (yes, your kid) was sick, that was it...

Finally. Yes. That was it. 

You were a mom. 

Bruce was a dad. 

Dick was your son. 

Of course you panicked as he suddenly got sick. But now, it was in your hand to properly take care of him. And thus started the first ritual you’d ever make with one of your children. 

Dick, when sick, liked chicken noodle soups. Made by you. He liked cuddles, up until he turned 12 or 13, then he acted as if he was too grown up for them. This eventually stopped when he turned 19, not long after Jason’s death...He regressed back to a little boy in some ways, and needed you. And Bruce. 

You’d often drive to Bludhaven just to give him chicken noodle soup and sprite, when he got sick. Even as he grew older and older...He loved it. No one could ever beat his mom babying him, when he felt under the weather. 

JASON 

"Hey buddy, are you ok ?” 

“Yes, yes I’m ok mom.” 

He smiles at you sweetly, his eyes half-closed, and clearly still relishing in the fact that he can finally call someone “mom”. But this happiness he felt whenever he realized he was finally safe, and had a home, was oddly dimmed, this morning. 

“Are you su-OH MY GOD !” 

Your hand is burning, as you lay it on his forehead. 

He’s burning up !

“Hey wow hey, kiddo, come here, you’re not feeling well are you ?” 

But Jason shakes his head, and says : 

“No I’m good. Just tired, but I’ll wake up soon.” 

He smiled again, but it felt all wrong. 

Of course, you didn’t take his words for it, even if you knew Jason wasn’t a liar. But the fact spoke for themselves, your kid was NOT alright. No matter what he was saying. 

Turned out, you were definitely right. He really wasn’t alright. 

In fact, Jason had...pneumonia. A bad case of it. That he probably caught when he was playing earlier that day, in the snow, with Bruce, staying out up until his lips were blue and he was soaking wet !! Bruce could just never resist him, and didn’t have the heart to say “no” when the kid kept asking on playing more...

He dearly regretted it. But you reassured him, this wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t. 

You rushed to the hospital, Bruce holding a tiny little Jason wrapped tight in a few warm blankets. And the doctor confirmed you made the right call, taking him to the ER. 

It wasn’t like with Dick, where it was obvious the boy had a mild sickness. No. Jason really looked bad, and ready to drop. 

You and Bruce let once again your parental instincts kick in and...It was the right call. 

When Jason woke up, he let out a string of apologies and you realized...You realized the kid was terrified you wouldn’t want him anymore if he bothered you too much. Was scared to death that you’d want to take him back where you found him, that you’d give up on him. 

His real life father bolted at the first signs of troubles. His mother was a drug addict for whom he was never good enough to try and get cleaned up. 

He was abandoned, over and over again along his short life and...he was absolutely terrified that if he was too much of a nuisance to you two, you and Bruce would leave him as well. That you wouldn’t bother. 

And it broke your hearts. 

Softly, when Jason finally got better, after a few days of utter nightmare for you and Bruce, you took him home. He still needed some rest, as he was a little sick, so you tucked him comfortably in his bed and finally, you told him : 

“From now on, you promise me to tell us when you don’t feel ok ? Wether you think it’ll bother us or not. You will never bother us, little buddy, ok ?”

“Ok”, Jason said, unsure. 

“What do I have to say or do, to convince you you’ll never be a nuisance to us ?” 

The question took Jason by surprise, and he wasn’t quite sure of what to say. In his feverish state anyway, he had a hard time thinking. He heard himself say : 

“Stay with me ?” 

“Of course. Always little one, always.” 

And as he softly drifted to sleep, feeling the cold and soothing towel you would wet over and over again to put on his forehead, he heard you hum a song from your childhood, that would become a song always sure to put him to sleep. 

He was out, when Bruce said : “I’ll stay home tonight.” A shame, really. Because maybe, maybe if he heard that the Batman was going to skip patrol just to keep an eye on him...Then he’d know he would never bother him. Ever. 

That he would forever hold a dear, prime place in his heart.

Jason woke up the next morning, and found you and Bruce asleep on the floor, right next to his bed. You were still holding a towel that had long since dried up, and one of Bruce’s hand was clutched tightly on your shirt. 

The basin full of cold water laying on his bed side table was almost empty. Jason smiled. 

He felt better after a few hours of good sleep, and slowly got out of the blankets, pulling them with him, to then lay down next to you two, throwing the thick quilt over all of you. 

Later that day, Alfred found the three of you all cuddled up. He snatched a picture. Picture that was framed, amongst some of your favorite of your children, in your office. And in Bruce’s. 

The way you sung him to sleep when he was sick...When he died, it was the last thing he thought about. When he saw the bomb would explose before Bruce could save him. 

He thought of how soothing it was, to be taken care of by you. And your humming voice rung in his ears, as he realized he was going to die. Right there. 

Oh. Oh he wished he could be a little sick eight years old again, forget all his worries, and just fall asleep with the sound of your voice in his ears, while his dad would hold the both of you in his arms...

TIM 

“Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne, go back to bed this instant !”

Tim was the most difficult one, when he had a fever. He was a bit of a workaholic (like father like son ?), and always wanted to help. He hated being too sick because then he felt useless.

Your boy just wanted so much to be there for everyone, that he often forgot himself in the process and...yes. 

His first real fever/sickness was punctuated by you constantly trying to get him back into bed.

You almost never even knew Tim was sick !

The boy was so used to taking care of himself, that he tried to handle everything on his own. He even took an appointment to the doctor himself ! But then, before having the chance to go there, he passed out in school, which resulted in a call from his principal that ended in Bruce almost having a heart attack. 

You understood him of course. It wasn’t really a nice feeling to be called out during a business meeting to have someone tell you your son passed out in school ! 

It was just a little flu, but the fever and lack of sleep got the best of him. 

Bruce didn’t even tell anyone where he was going, as he rushed to the school. You met him there, as he was walking out of the building, with a little sleepy Tim in his arms. 

“I can walk, I swear I can walk.” 

The boy was saying, yet his head was on his dad’s shoulder, and the up and down bobble of Bruce’s walk was clearly putting him to sleep. 

Your husband settled your son in the car, and drove home. 

“He was trying to convince me he could finish his school day, and that he had a group work today and didn’t want to let his friends down...”

“Sounds like Tim alright...”

You said, looking back at his sleeping form in the back seat. 

Bruce nods, but you could see something was on his mind. You always knew, when something was on his mind. Brushing a few fingers on his cheeks, you ask : 

“What is it, my Bruce ?” 

His eyes are on the road, of course. But he flicks them quickly to you, and he knows. He knows he can’t lie to you, or get away with telling you half-truth. 

You’ll know, if he’s not really telling you what has been worrying him. He takes a deep breath and, with a small voice says : 

“Is this...my fault ?” 

At first, you don’t understand, and you say : 

“I’m pretty sure it’s because that boy never wears a damn sweater, and we’re in Gotham in the middle of Winter haha.” 

But then...Then you realize what he means. 

He’s talking about the fact that Tim always seem to overcompensate for something. Always seem to want to be there for everyone, forgetting sometimes he’s just a ten years old boy. 

Tim was the only one out of his siblings that became Robin for no personal reason, but just because he loved Batman and wanted to help him. Just because he wanted to help people. 

He didn’t have a tragic backstory (although he unfortunately got one later on...), he didn’t have a reason to become Robin, other than his good nature and really wanting to help...

And Bruce let him. Allowed him to do this. Even after what happened to Jason, he let Tim sneak in your life and become Robin. 

You’d argue that Tim didn’t leave you guys much of a choice, and sort of had a “well I’m gonna help you no matter what, deal with it” sort of attitude. But you understood your husband’s worries. 

He was afraid that he was the one that made him that way. That it was because of him, that Tim worked his health off. 

“Oh, Bruce, my Heart...No. No it’s not your fault. It’s just how this amazing little boy is wired. I actually think that thanks to you, he’s more focused and taken care of. The gods can only imagine what Tim Drake would’ve done if he hadn’t been trained by Batman himself...If you said “no” to him pestering you about becoming your Robin, he would’ve taken it upon himself to go out there anyway. And then...I can only imagine what would’ve happened. So no. No it’s not your fault. It’s just...how he is. He reminds me of you a lot, actually. And I’m so, so glad he managed to convince you...Couldn’t imagine my life without that little one in it. Even if he does give me grief often, overworking like that. But it’s not your fault. It’s not. On the contrary.” 

It took you a while, to convince Bruce he didn’t create Tim the way he sort-of created Dick and Jason. But you managed to, as you always did. You could be very convincing. Plus, the boy helped. It was clear his dedication came from himself mainly, that he was just born this way. 

Too clever and smart for his own good, destined to be a Robin...and maybe a Batman, one day ?

Yes. Tim was the only one that wasn’t in it for himself. For personal reasons. He just wanted to help...

But after that first time he got sick, he understood that sometimes, it was ok to rely on you or his die. That in fact, he would gladly do so ! 

That day, Bruce carried him to his bed, even as the boy protested he was alright. Finally, you’ve had enough and ended up sort of lecturing him...gently. 

“You need to rest, sometimes, ok ? If it’s too much, if you’re too tired, physically AND mentally, you need to take a few steps back...and let others take care of things, and of you. Ok ?” 

“But-”

“No buts Timmy. It’s important. If something bad happens to you because you’ve been ignoring your own body, your own self...What will happen to those you want to help ? In order to continue what you’re doing, you need to take some pauses. Like right now. You are sick. You passed out in school. So...It’s gatorade and crackers time.” 

Gatorade and crackers. 

Tim’s favorite drinks and food. 

Gatorade and crackers. 

Two things that were rarely found in Wayne Manor. You always tried to give healthy balanced meals to your kids. Especially to Tim, who had the opposite of a balanced diet when he came into your lives (the fact he often had to take care of himself as his parents were too busy meant he often chose his own food...and of course he’d rather have ice cream than broccolis). 

But the fact that you were now giving him Gatorade and crackers meant...Meant that Dick was right. When they were sick, you would do anything to make them comfortable. 

Coincidentally though, Gatorade and saltines helped out, when one was sick. 

On that first time he became sick after starting to live with you, Tim found that it was ok, to relax sometimes. That he didn’t have to waste his life away 24/7 for others, and that he could enjoy some down time. 

It only happened when he was sick, to your great dismal. You constantly tried to convince him to take a break (just like you did with Bruce...but although it worked with your husband, especially as he got older, Tim was just very stubborn, and wanted to help too damn much). You even had to trick him into it often. 

So although you hated seeing your kids in any kind of pain, you were almost glad when Tim got sick. Because it meant he would really take care of himself. Or rather, letting you take care of him. 

That first time he got sick, he ended up leaving his bed...only to go cuddle up in yours and Bruce’s, and enjoy some down time. And learn that, it was ok, to take care of himself. 

Hell. You’d hammer this fact in his head if you had to. 

Gatorade and crackers, while watching movies in yours and Bruce’s big bed, was why Tim thought that in the end, being sick wasn’t too bad. 

Extra points if you two were in the bed with him, snuggled up all nice, safe and warm. 

CASSANDRA

Cassandra didn’t like TV, when she was sick. Instead, she liked you reading her stories better. And you’d read to her all day, if need be. Switching from time to time with your husband. 

She had trouble sleeping, even when sick and weak. Listening to your voices telling her all those wonderful stories was soothing beyond measure. 

The first time she fell sick while at Wayne Manor though, her first reflex was to go hide. Because when she used to be sick with the man who called himself her “father”, with David Cain (that scum), he used to get so mad at her. 

As if it was her fault, she became sick. 

So she’d run away. Curl into a ball. Wait for it to pass. And then face him, healthy again. It was easier to confront him when she was ok...So she’d rather run away and face the consequences, rather than stay around him while sick. 

And so, her first instinct was to go hide. 

She went to the attic, and did what she used to do. 

Curled up in a ball, in front of the round window. And wait. Alone. 

It’s Bruce, who found her. He was casually checking the GPS he put on his children. They still thought they got rid of it, the sweet kids...but as if he’d only implant one. He knew it wasn’t really ethical, but after what happened to Jason, he wasn’t willing to take any chances. 

During the day, he would check a few times, and usually during boring office meeting, to see where they were. That day, he saw Cass in the Manor’s attic, and didn’t think much of it. Cass was a curious one, who took it upon herself to explore everything in the house. 

But when he came home, and she was still there, his guts told him something was wrong...He rushed to the attic, and found her. 

And his heart stopped, when he saw her laid on the floor, curled up into a ball, and softly moaning because she had a bad fever. 

She wasn’t asleep, even in this state she fought sleep, afraid to have nightmares (and while having a fever, she couldn’t just wake up to escape them...). 

Bruce carried her out of the attic, holding her tight in his arms, his heart bleeding as he realized why she isolated herself while she needed help. 

People often misjudged Bruce on that matter. Saw him as a cold harsh man. But oh; oh if it was touching his children or you...He would feel so much. Too much, even. He just loved you all to death. 

When he brought her downstairs, and you saw her, you immediately entered “mom mode” and fussed over her, getting everything you needed to make her comfortable...but as it turned out, all she wanted was to feel yours and Bruce’s presence. 

To hear your voice, and feel you were there. 

And so without thinking, you picked up a book and started to read it to her. And you could feel her relax, let her guard down. A rare occasion she would truly let herself be chill. 

The first time Cass got sick while living under your roof, her first instinct was to hide and lick her wounds all by herself. It was to lie on the floor and hope it would pass fast. It was-

The second time she felt under the weather, she immediately went to you. It was early in the morning. And it’s only thanks to Bruce’s amazing reflexes that Cass didn’t throw up all over you two, as he pulled you away from her just in time...To then take care of changing the sheets, while you held your daughter’s hair as she threw up in the master’s bathroom’s toilet. 

And then Bruce went downstairs to take a “barf-bowl”, the one actually, that her mom used to take for him...ah. He always used that one for all the kids. Call it nostalgia. 

The second time Cass got sick while under your care, she didn’t hide. She wasn’t dreading it, even as she got even sicker than the first time. No. 

No because now, she knew she’d always find you so you could take care of her. Ah, and Dick, Jason and Tim gave her many tricks to fake being sick and have you all for herself...

DUKE

Duke was older than any of your kids were when he started to live at the Manor. He was already in his teens. He wasn't a tiny bean like the rest of them, when he came in your family...

And yet. Yet the first time he fell sick, you babied the hell out of him. 

So what if he was sixteen ? Doesn’t mean he couldn’t have all the care a child should have when he wasn’t feeling well. 

And so you were ready to take care of him, when Alfred came to you this morning to tell you “Master Duke” wasn’t feeling well. 

However, when you got to his room and indeed saw he was feverish, he refused to talk to you and just wanted to be alone. 

And then it hits you. 

Duke was sixteen. 

He wasn’t a lost little eight years old boy who had just lost his parents, or never even had parents. He wasn’t a child in dear need of love and cuddles.  

He was sixteen. 

And he wanted HIS mom. 

What happened to his parents was too fresh. 

And they weren’t dead...In a way, seeing them lose their mind with no chance of ever getting better was worst. 

Duke was sixteen. 

And there, sick, all he wanted was to have his mom’s care again.

Yes. Duke’s case was different than all your other children. Because his parents were still there. Because he was older. Because everything was so fresh, at the moment. 

In time, in the coming years, he would come to feel just like his siblings did. But right there, just mere few weeks after he moved to the manor, and mere few days after Bruce helped him find his parents...

Duke was homesick. 

He missed his dad. But he missed his mom even more. Probably for the same reason that your kids loved to have you around so much, when they were sick...

There was no doubt in your mind that Duke’s mom was amazing at taking care of him when he felt ill. She probably had her own tricks, to make him feel better. Tricks that you did not know...And so you asked. 

You simply asked. 

Because you wanted to make him feel better. You wanted to be there for him, even if right now, he didn’t want you around. 

If he truly wanted to be left alone, you’d leave some medicine and leave him be. But your guts were telling you he was just sad, and the sad was translated into him pretending he wanted to be alone. 

Your guts were right. 

Duke wanted his mom. Yes. But he also didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts, right now...He just didn’t want to hurt your feelings. He knew how motherly you could be.  He didn’t want to project his mother on you. He-

“What do you need ?”

You asked, and the answer came to his mind instantly. He spoke before even realizing he was doing it : 

“My mom used to make a perfect drink of warm water, honey, ginger and lemon.”  

And as you tried to recreate his mom’s drink, never quite getting the measurements right (you could see on his face it wasn’t like his mother’s), Duke slowly felt better. 

Because...Because yes. He missed his mom. And the way she took care of him. Especially on sick days. But...It wasn't everywhere that one could find someone who cared so much, that they were willing to spend their entire day trying to get a drink right, right ? 

And when Bruce came home, and asked him if he was “alright champ ?”, Duke realized one thing... 

Yes. He wanted his parents. Yes, he missed them like hell. Yes, his sick days would never be the same...

But he wasn’t alone. As Bruce joined in trying to make the perfect drink of “warm water, honey, ginger and lemon”, Duke came to the realization that his situation wasn’t as desperate as he thought, this morning, when he woke up feeling under the weather, and without his mom to take care of him. 

Because you were still there. And were planning on staying there for a very long time. Of course, you could never replace his mom. Just like you never replaced Dick’s, or Damian’s...You just, became another mom to them. 

And Duke...That first day of being sick in Wayne Manor ? He felt like he was finally willing to let you become his second mom. To let Bruce become a father figure. To have this found family, in this tough times...

Sick days were never the same than when he was a little kid and still had his parents around. 

Duke was sixteen. Growing up wasn’t easy, especially after what he went through. And sick days would never be the same...But it didn’t mean they wouldn’t be nice, as he slowly let you and Bruce, and his newfound siblings, take care of him. 

Yes. To have this found family in this tough times was quite a joy. 

DAMIAN

To the surprise of many, Damian actually didn’t resist too much being taken care of when he first got sick under your roof. 

Damian actually loved being sick, because it meant snuggles time with you, safe and warm under a blanket on the couch, watching his favorite movies. It meant your soothing fingers running in his hair, making him feel peaceful and relaxed. 

It also meant that he’d have you all for himself. 

With five siblings (with a sixth one on the way), it wasn’t always the easiest thing ever, to get his mom only for himself. Yes. He loved to be sick, and babied by you. 

The first time he got a bad fever, a few months after he arrived at the Manor, he dreaded falling ill because...

Well. Because he was raised in the League of Assassins. And being sick, no matter how much, was not considered reason enough to not train. To not do what his grandfather told him to do. 

He used to work through the sickness. Even if he felt like passing out (and he did, a few times, which earned him hours from his sleeping time taken away...). 

So Damian hated being sick. 

Until. Until he became ill for the first time when living with you. 

By that time, you and Bruce had learned how to manage a sick child. And although Bruce still felt physically ill too whenever his children were, he managed nowadays to be somewhat ok and take care of them without wincing. 

It happened not long after Damian started to call you “mom”. He fell asleep while you guys were watching a movie and...it’s what instantly told you something was wrong. 

No matter how bad a movie would be, Damian would NEVER fall asleep in the middle of it. 

Ah, and sure enough, as you checked his temperature you realized he had a bad fever. And so you carried him to his room, tucking him into bed. 

He woke up as you were doing that, and looked at you, utterly surprised. What was going on ? 

“Get some rest buddy, you’ll feel better soon.” 

You said, smiling. And at first, Damian didn’t understand. He had been so conditioned in ignoring his own well being, that he didn't realize something was wrong with him. But then, you laid a hand on his forehead, and said : 

“Ah it doesn’t seem like it’s such a big sickness, I’ll go get you some medicinal tea and...What do you want to eat ? If you’re hungry ? Maybe you’re not, sometimes when I’m sick I just don’t wanna eat anything.”

Sick ? Was he...Sick ? Yes. He was. But it was so mild, that he didn’t even think he needed to rest. Or...Didn’t he ? He was just so used to still work even when sick. 

“What-What about school ?” 

He asked, and he was surprised his voice sounded so weak and tired. Was he always feeling like that when sick ? Yes. But...Something was different. 

And then it hit him. 

“I think it’s ok if you skip a few days’ buddy.”

The difference was that, when he was sick while amongst the League of Assassins, he was always terrified that his grandfather got tired of him and send him hitmen (it happened a lot before, while he was sleeping for example, and it always happened to test him, test if he was ready, and willing to kill and ask questions after). That he didn’t find him useful enough. 

While here, with you, he felt safe. He felt loved. He felt warm. 

And so his body wasn’t in a “fight or flight” state. He was just...sick. As any normal kid would be. 

When with the Al’Ghul, he somehow managed to convince himself to keep going, to work through the pain. And oh, it’s wonders, what the brain can do when you really want to. 

But here. Here he didn’t have to act tough. To keep walking or he’d end up dead. Here. Here he was safe. And loved. 

So he felt the sickness, the fever. He felt it’s true effect. 

“What do sick people eat ?” 

He asked, and at first you didn’t think much of it. You started to tell him Dick loved chicken noodle soup while Tim preferred saltines. Cass would never eat much, neither would Jason, but they’d always say yes to some flat sodas. 

He seemed unsure of what he wanted, so you asked him a simple question : 

“What do you usually eat, when you’re sick ?” 

It was such an innocent question. But it made him almost cry. 

Usually ? 

Usually...

“Well...”

He hesitates, and you sense there’s more to things than you originally thought. Finally, after looking at your encouraging smile, he says : 

“When I was sick before, I still had to train. And then they’d tell me I’m weak.” 

In one sentence, you understand everything. And you could punch yourself for ever thinking that he got taken care of when sick. And then the next second, you hold him tight in your arms, and once again, Damian is surprised. 

But pleased. He had been touched starve most of his life, this was nice. 

“My poor baby...”

He didn’t even complain you called him a baby, and let you hug him. And then...Then you spend time with him, trying to find the perfect ritual to make him feel better while he was sick. 

You had such rituals with everyone. Formed on the day they first got sick. Damian needed his own thing too...

Thus was created the “couch nest”. 

It involved covering the living room’s couch with at LEAST one quilt, then Damian would bring the pillows (and maybe some stuffs animals, or even real ones...Titus often sneaked in) from his bed, and you would tuck him in with one or two more quilts. 

He would then spend the rest of the time watching TV and movies with you. Or with his siblings. Or his dad. 

And it was so comforting, to be wrapped up like that. Almost like laying in a hug. It made him feel like he was perpetually held by you. 

Damian used to hate being sick. Because he hated being weak. 

But this changed. Just like he changed. Thanks to his family. Thanks to you. 

Now, just like Tim, he almost loved, being sick...

************

“This sort of reminds me of that time Dick got his first fever...”

You were thinking about all those terrible, yet sweet days, of your children being sick, as you walked up the stairs to your house, a hand tightly weaved around your husband’s. 

Bruce was holding a sleeping Thomas in one of his arm (the boy was so small he could even fit in one of his hand, really), and felt relaxed. Here. With his son, and his wife, the love of his life. And with the knowledge than when you’d push the door to your house open you’d-

“Father ! Mom ! How is he !?” 

Both you and Bruce quickly put a finger on your lips, and Damian throws his hands on his mouth, regretting his scream. But he was just so worried. 

He couldn’t come with you to the doctor’s office as he had school (plus you were pretty sure he would’ve been 100 times worst than Bruce, trying to stop Leslie by any means necessary), and had been thinking about his little brother’s first shot all day. 

Damian, just like his dad, wasn’t very fond of shots. He hated that his brother (wether the youngest one, or one of the older one, really) had to go through this. 

It was always silly to you, how both Bruce and Damian, who’ve been through much worst than small little shots, hated those so much...Silly, and very cute. 

Damian was looking critically at his brother, checking him silently for any signs of distress, for any “mistakes” Doctor Thompkins would’ve done, and seemed satisfied that the boy was fast asleep in his dad’s arm.

And Bruce...Bruce was smiling. 

He felt so relaxed. And happy.

When you pushed that door, it opened on Damian rushing to the two of you, worried about his little brother. But it also opened on Alfred, who baked some comforting food, and brewed some tea for you, knowing how hard on you this sort of things could be (and yet how you insisted to take your kids to the doctor yourself, and not let Alfred do it, because you wanted to be there for them). 

It opened on Cass smiling, and ruffling Damian’s hair as to reassure him. 

It opened on Tim, who took a small break from his college study to come down and spend some times with his siblings, ready to relax in front of a movie (it was family movie night !). 

It opened on Duke, who’s hands were full of DVDs, and who was excited to try to convince y’all to watch “Ninja and Pirates 6″, or something of the like. 

It opened on Jason, who was smiling in such a way that no one would ever know all the things he went through. And it made Bruce feel all nice and warm inside...even as the little shit mimicked him having to take a shot. Squirming and looking as if he was about to faint. And ah, he hated to admit it, but his boy was impersonating him really well. 

And it opened on Dick. His first kid. The one that, one day when getting sick, was who made Bruce realize what it truly meant to be a dad. The one who knew the best how much he hated  seeing any of his children sick, or getting shots. 

On Dick, who was laughing really hard at Jason’s impersonation, and giving him feedbacks about what to improve to make it even better. 

The door opened on his family. 

And as the ruckus surrounding him woke Thomas, as Damian yelled at Jason and Dick for being so loud, and as Bruce’s eyes fell on you, while you looked at your little tribe with love in your eyes...

Bruce felt relaxed. And so, so, oh so happy. 

________________________________________________

This is yet another one of those stories I’ve been posting a lot lately, that do not take me very long to write and in which I don’t put that much effort, but that I really enjoy writing nonetheless ^^. And I hope you enjoyed reading it :), I’m nervous actually this isn’t up to your standards hahaha...Yes, hope you still liked it. Don’t hesitate to leave a little feedback etc etc ^^. Thanks in advance ! 

See you soon with something much longer and on which I spend a lot of time working ;). 

[alkalinefrog]

(Not a suggestion, just curious) do you have any headcanons abt the yagami sibling dynamic?

Ooooo I have a lot!! Sayu’s an agent of chaos and Light observes her shenanigans in a bemused but supportive way.

I think that Sayu’s one of the few people who Light feels safe enough with to drop all the pleasantries and be his true sardonic, egotistical self. And she loves it because she can tell that he’s comfortable around her and is all the more excited for it!

EDIT: It’s long again, going under the cut! (so sorry to everyone on mobile)

Since Sayu’s genuinely surprised that Light locked his door in the first few chapters, I headcanon that she’s used to barging in, plopping down next to him, and just start talking about her day and whatever’s on her mind. It’d be a one-sided gossip fest, with Sayu giving Light the scoop on her friends with specific nicknames to help him keep track (”no, not baseball-Haku, the other one, skater-boy-Haku”) and Light judging them all LOL. This includes the teachers since she would go to the same high school he did, and he’d help her with her homework (canon) and prepare for tests being like “oh watch out for this guy, he doesn’t know shit.”

And even though Light likes to tease Sayu a lot, he feels extremely protective of her and is always ready to jump to her defense. Like if a couple of boys start bullying her, Light would go verbally annihilate them into shutting up.

Sayu obviously looks up to Light a lot. Light would always reassure her that just because she couldn’t reach his near inhuman levels of excellence that she’s already amazing just being the best version of herself. I think that when Sayu’s really down in the dumps, she reminds herself that her amazing big brother thinks she’s special and it would never fail to make her smile and get back on her feet.

I also feel like, even though they’re so different as people, they share a similar sense of humour so their personalities vibe well. We don’t ever see any of Light’s hobbies in canon (aside from helping solve cases with the NPA if that counts EDIT: AND TENNIS) so I’d like to believe they have one specific common interest that they can always fall back on whenever they hang out. Like they both enjoy the same garbage guilty pleasure movies and often spontaneously suggest putting one on when together. They watch them in Light’s room and their parents can hear them giggling from the first floor. In fact that’s how most of their hang outs go--- one of them will suggest something out of no where like “hey wanna get ice cream” and the other one just goes “sure” no questions asked and off they go, no scheduling needed (usually it’s Sayu asking and Light’s cool with it).

At the end of the day, they both love each other deeply, and it’s an unspoken “ride or die” protectiveness they have for one another.

I’m definitely projecting a lot of my own sibling experiences on them, but I just love the idea of them having a really healthy relationship! They’re not only brother and sister, but also each other’s best friends.

AND I ALREADY HAVE A DUMB DRAWING OF THEM COMING UP, DON’T YOU WORRY.

[bonjour-rainycity]

Imagine: Being friends with Alice and asking Carlisle for help on your chemistry homework

Characters: Cullen family, female reader

Rating: G

Word count: 2120

Warnings: None

Request by anon: Wait, omg I’m so happy I found a blog that’s updated recently and I’m definitely gonna ✨stalk✨ your blog and read all your writing after hw but if you’re still doing requests, I thought of something that I would just love to see written. And this could be short or something, y’know? It can be whatever you want it to be, but what if the reader is somewhat friends with the Cullens? Reader (maybe like 20 years old?) is invited to their house one weekend after bumping into Alice and becoming friends and from passing conversation, reader knows that Carlisle is a doctor so she asks him if he could help her with her organic chemistry hw cause she’s studying to be a med student? 

A/n Wow I’m so sorry this took me so long! It’s such a cute request and I loved writing it! Thanks for sending it in and for being patient with me :)

Shoot.

Mentally, I groan, stopping my progress towards my car.

I still have chem homework.

I fiddle with the keys in my hand, contemplating. You could go home…lay in bed…maybe with a pint of ice cream…and pass out in a stress and sugar-induced coma.

Oh, how tempting.

But then I remind myself of why I’m putting myself through the hell that is a STEM degree, and turn on my heel, heading back to campus. I know I won’t get any work done if I go home, so the library it is! Thank goodness it’s open twenty-four hours, because it’s creeping up to eleven and I don’t have the heart to return to one of the academic buildings.

Seeing as it’s Friday night, the library isn’t crowded. Still, I push past all the tables on the first floor and head up to my favorite spot on the second. Settling in at my favorite partially secluded table, I pull out my organic chemistry textbook, pop in my earbuds, and get to work.

{***}

A small, pale hand skims over the table near my book, and I look up with a start.

Alice Cullen stands by my desk, clutching a set of books that look too heavy for her thin arms, but she seems to be managing fine. She and I met during the first week of classes, and have been tentative friends ever since. We don’t see much of each other, given our varying degree programs, but she always greets me with a friendly smile and an offer to join her to study. I pull out my headphones, and give her a tired smile. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Good!” She smiles excitedly, somehow keeping her energy levels at—I check the time on my phone—1:12 am! “Have you been here for long?”

I shrug, feeling the weight of the late hour on my shoulders. “Since around eleven. I was going home but then I forgot I have o-chem homework. I don’t think it should be taking me this long, but I’m struggling. Thankfully only half of it is due in the morning. The rest isn’t due until after the weekend.”

Alice peers over to look at my book and the problems I work through in my notebook. “Oh, those do look hard. But you know, my dad is a doctor, and he probably knows this stuff like the back of his hand. He’d be more than happy to help you.”

I blanch. An invitation to the Cullen’s house? And free help on o-chem homework?

But then I remember my manners. “Oh, thank you, but I couldn’t—”

“Please,” she squeaks, balancing her books in one arm and using the other to retrieve her phone. “We’d be happy to have you over! I’ll let my family know. Does tomorrow around lunchtime work?”

“Uh,” I swallow, not sure I’m believing my ears. “That works great, thank you! I can bring the food?”

She shakes her head, waving off the offer. “Don’t worry about it—Mom loves to cook and will be excited to really use the kitchen. Oh! And there’s this new series my sisters and I have been dying to watch. It’s called Broadchurch. Have you heard of it? Maybe we can start it and see if it’s any good!”

I nod dumbly, too tired and relieved for the help to refuse again. “That sounds fun! Thank you.”

“Of course,” she smiles, shrugging like it’s nothing. “What are friends for?”

My smile softens. She considers us friends. “Do you want to walk out together? It’s pretty late.”

She beams and waits while I collect my stuff.

{***}

I pull up to the front of the massive house.

Alice is waiting for me on the porch. She waves excitedly, and I notice her fiancé standing near the door, looking uncomfortable. I stifle a chuckle. It’s well-known that Jasper, introvert in every sense of the word, fell hard for Alice who is the embodiment of an extravert. I wave, grabbing my backpack and stepping out of the car.

“Welcome,” Alice practically shouts. Jasper gives me a polite nod.

I smile at the two of them, calling out my hello’s and climbing the stairs to the porch. The second Jasper opens the door, I’m greeted by the warm smile of Esme Cullen.

“Hello, Y/n, welcome to our home! We are so happy to have you here.” She extends a warm smile, one I can’t help but return immediately.

Alice leads us straight to the living room, where two of her adoptive siblings, Emmett and Rosalie, lounge. Rosalie sketches something I can’t see, and Emmett yells loudly at the TV, losing at a video game.

“Beat it, Emmett,” Alice chirps, dancing over and taking the controller from his hands. “We’re going to watch Broadchurch.”

Putting his frustration at the game aside, Emmett grins, standing and ruffling Alice’s hair. “Alright, I was getting my ass kicked anyway. Hey, Y/n, good to see you again.”

I return his greeting, familiar with Emmett from an intro to theatre class we had together last semester. The image of his interpretation of Juliet for our final project comes to mind, and I have to stifle a laugh. Emmett goes to leave the room, pulling Jasper with him.

“Send Bella down, would you,” Alice calls after them, already settling on the couch. “Rose, you know Y/n, right?”

Rosalie looks up from her sketching. She smiles briefly at me, then returns to her task. I sit awkwardly next to Alice, waiting for Bella so we can start the show.

“There aren’t many women in STEM.”

My head shoots up, wide eyes turning in Rosalie’s direction. She doesn’t look up from her work, but I know she’s addressing me—Alice is studying fashion merchandising and design.

“Y-yeah,” I stammer. Alice’s older sister is just so intimidating. Well-spoken, obviously intelligent, tall, prettier than anyone I’ve ever met, and top of her law class. She’s not exactly warm either, like her mother or sister—even now, there’s a cold bite to her tone. But the edges of her lips quirk up, and I can tell she’s being nice.

“Don’t let the guys push you around. What you’re doing is important, and you’re probably smarter than them. What do you want to do with your degree?”

The answer, always on my heart and mind, is automatic. “I want to be a doctor. So, med school is next.”

She nods once. “Good.”

And apparently that’s the end of our conversation.

I try to hide my smile by rummaging around in my backpack for my water bottle. It’s nice to feel supported.

Bella comes gliding down the stairs and twists into the living room, folding herself easily onto the love seat. She greets me, and then tosses me the throw over the back of her couch. Alice nods as if forgetting something, then reaches into a basket hidden between our couch and Rosalie’s chair and produces three more blankets, throwing two to her sisters and keeping one for herself. She shoots me a grin as each of us, even the serious Rosalie, snuggles up.

Alice stands, turning off the lights and then wraps back in her blanket and scoots near me on the couch. “I hope this is good!” With a grin, she opens Netflix and plays the first episode.

{***}

Broadchurch does not disappoint. Before I know it, we’re halfway through the second episode, eyes glued to the screen. Bella, who was definitely reading a book under her blanket at the start, has put it to the side, leaning forward and watching the show intently.

The front door creaks, then clicks closed, and Alice smiles, pressing pause on the remote. “Dad’s home.”

Before long, the famed local doctor comes in to say hi to the girls and to greet me. He’s just as welcoming as his wife!

“Alice told me you are having trouble with some organic chemistry homework?”

I nod, hoping it’s not too much to ask for his help. “I got a good start on some of the problems last night, but I keep messing up. I’m not really sure where I’m going wrong—there’s no answer key so I can’t work backwards through the problems.”

He nods, casually resting his hands in the pocket of his slacks. “I remember o-chem homework quite well.” He grins conspiratorially. “It is the bane of many a med student’s existence. Why don’t you girls finish up your episode and then join Esme and me in the kitchen for lunch? I can take a look at your homework if you like.”

Relief washes over me. “That would be great, thank you so much.”

He smiles warmly. “Of course. Now, if you all will excuse me….” With a twinkle in his eye, he leaves us to rejoin his wife.

This family is so nice! I wonder why they get so much flack at school?

Alice resumes the episode, and soon my musings are washed away as I try to piece together the mystery of the murder before the detectives can.

{***}

Esme is a wonderful cook. Carlisle sings her praises but doesn’t fix a plate for himself, saying he ate plenty as she was cooking. We all sit down at the table, though I’m the only one who eats in earnest — Bella claims to be filled up on snacks, Rose says she’s on a diet, and Alice takes a small helping for herself, every now and then poking the chicken in mild disgust. I don’t see what the problem is, the food is fantastic!

Carlisle sits down next to me, and I slide my textbook and notebook in his direction. He smiles, looking almost nostalgic. “I remember these. The good news is, as a doctor, you won’t be doing much of this in day-to-day life, if at all. But it is important for some courses you will take in medical school, so it’s best to master the concepts now. See, on number nineteen, you start the problem correctly, but get lost once you have to balance the equation to continue. Instead of waiting until the middle to balance, I would do that first, that way, you have a solid base before moving on to solve the rest of the problem.”

I nod, peering over at the paper intently. I hadn’t tried that strategy before.

Carlisle takes out a pen, and begins scratching out an equation. Then, he grins, shaking his head, and crosses it out, starting again in much neater handwriting. “Forgive my penmanship. Though, if you decide to continue and become a practicing doctor, your handwriting will soon be indecipherable, too.”

From across the table, Rosalie snorts, and I can’t help but laugh along. It seems almost a rite of passage for a doctor to have horrendous handwriting.

In clearer script, Carlisle continues working out the problem, then slides the paper over for me to see. He explains what he did at each step, and I nod along, trying to commit as much of it to memory as possible. He works out another problem in the same way, then asks me to try on my own. I smile tentatively as I go, hesitant to accept that I actually know how to do the problem now.

But I do.

It takes concentration to work through the steps, but I can, which is a far cry from where I was last night. Carlisle waves off my thanks, saying I just needed to try a different approach, but I had it within me all along. I bring up another section I had issues with—structures of the elements—and Carlisle teaches me a better strategy for memorizing a few and then figuring out the rest. By the time Esme and Bella have put the food away, my homework is done—in a fourth of the time it would have taken me struggling through it on my own.

“Seriously, Dr. Cullen, thank you so much.”

He smiles pleasantly, handing me back my textbook. “Of course. If you need help again, just come on over. I know the girls love having the company, and my wife and I enjoyed the opportunity to meet you as well.”

Esme appears behind her husband, laying her hands affectionately on his shoulders. “Absolutely, Y/n. Please come over any time.”

I pack up my homework and thank them once again for lunch and for the help. Alice darts to my side, grinning. “Ready to finish the episode?”

I feel so much lighter now that my homework is done, and I don’t feel guilty at all for spending time with my new friends. In fact, I may even indulge in that ice cream when I get home.

“Absolutely.”

A/n Thanks for reading! If you have a moment, here’s the link to my masterlist :)

[skadventuretime]

XX

Here’s my piece for the Noragami @millenniumzine ! There are still bundles available at the time of this posting, so have at it.

This covers themes/details from chapter 90 of the manga (and a little before and after), so if you’re still reading through I recommend holding off on this until you’re caught up!

/

Steam drifts from subway vents outside of a downtown arcade. Children laugh as they go inside, fingers curled around an older sibling or parent’s hand, an air of anticipation humming around them. 

Hagusa ghosts in after them, more on a whim than anything. He has a fascination with humans now that he didn't before, a dizzying pull that makes him want to hold something small in his hands, or crush it.

Lights flash in neon patterns, and the smell of popcorn and sweat fills the room. Hagusa watches a girl shoot zombies on one screen for a while before the glitter of the claw machine catches his eye. A boy almost grabs a stuffed Capypa but the claw isn't strong enough or the game is rigged enough that it tumbles, face up, against the glass. A strange emotion tries to worm its way out of Hagusa’s stomach—loss? betrayal?—but disappears when a small child rushes by him on the way to a skee ball machine. Cheeks splotched red with exertion, body tilted forward in the kind of run that only ends in collision; this kid’s on a mission. 

“Slow down, Kai, it’s not a race!” cries a harried looking teen following in his wake. Their facial features are similar and Hagusa has to tamp down the thoughts of his sister. What would it have been like, to have a family who cared?

"C'mon, we gotta play at least one more before Mom makes us go home!"

His sister rolls her eyes. "No way squirt, I'm meeting friends later and I need to get ready. We're going. Now."

Humans. So strange to think that at one point he, too, was flesh and blood, that his future stretched before him as blinding and bittersweet as this small boy’s. He doesn't look any different than Hagusa would have at that age, so why does he get a family? Why does he get to live?

Hagusa’s fists are clenched at his side as the rage bubbles up, searing his not-veins and pooling in his not-stomach. With his fractured memory, this is all he’s ever been; a facsimile, stitched together with the blessing of an immortal being that was supposed to have protected him in life.

[Read the rest below the cut or on AO3.]

When does the shift occur, between being served by the gods and being named by them? Are wishes tied to memory and that's why shinki don't get to make them anymore, stripped as they are of everything that had made them human but their souls?

Hagusa summons the energy to draw a boundary and holds it in his hand. He'd deserved to have his wishes listened to with the same care the gods grant some; he'd deserved a life where his wishes were about comic books or ice cream flavors; and now, he deserves to make sure no one else suffers like he did. 

Energy builds in the room. Kai starts to cry, and his sister rushes over.

“Hey, you okay? Come on, let’s go play a few more rounds. I’ll even get you ice cream on the way home!” Her eyes have a slight glassy sheen.

Kai stops crying. “Even if you're late to meet your friends?”

His sister smiles, and it looks genuine. “Even so.”

They walk away together hand in hand, and some of Hagusa’s anger slips away. That’s right. This is his power now. He might have been cheated by the gods during his life, but he will not allow them to cheat anyone else.

He inhales slowly — funny how he doesn’t need to breathe and yet the motion focuses him, the way eating soothes a part of him that no longer hungers — and casts himself like a net across the city.

Humans fall like snow in his mind’s eye, their souls soft and pulsing with a gentle light. Within each one are tangled threads of anger, love, sadness, and hope, threads he starts to weave. Deep down all humans have the strength to do what’s right; they simply talk themselves out of it. So Hagusa becomes the voice that reminds them of their power, reminds them to protect the young and the vulnerable and to care, just a little, about those other than themselves. 

With each thread he tweaks, he thinks about the true limits of his power. If he can influence people to do the right thing, what use is there for gods? Perhaps the humans will wish the gods away themselves after learning how to pass judgment on their own. They just need to be shown that there’s a better way.

Something glimmers in his mind’s eye. A human man yelling at his wife and small child around a dinner table. The wife’s eyes are dull and the child is crying, but the man keeps yelling. He takes a step forward like he’s going to hit the child and — no, not again, not ever again, there is no more dark dark dark fingers clawing choking—

There is a metallic clang. A steak knife has fallen to the floor and the wife is looking between her shaking hand and the blood blooming from her husband’s chest. Hagusa snaps his net back to himself, and the world becomes small and quiet and whole again.

“Ah, spend a little too much energy?” Footsteps noiseless as always, Father strolls out of a nearby store and comes to stand beside him. “Interesting what your power can do when you put your mind to it.”

“I didn’t do that,” Hagusa says, more sharply than he’d intended. 

“Oh?” Father looks surprised and then thoughtful. “I could have sworn I felt Yuuki’s power being used...but perhaps you were doing something else at the same time.”

“Only people can judge each other,” Hagusa says with as much firmness as he can muster. “I didn’t make her do anything she wasn’t thinking about already. If she thinks it’s a fair judgment, then it must be.”

Father nods along. “Heaven thinks the same of their judgments. Tell me, why do you trust the humans more than your power to make them do what you know is right?"

"Because--" Because if people had looked out for him, maybe he'd still be alive. If people had taken care to notice the bruises on his arms and the dullness in his eyes, maybe he would have been loved instead of abandoned.

"It doesn't matter. I'm a hafuri, right? I just know these things. As long as humans look out for each other, no one will slip through the cracks like they do when the gods look the other way."

Father makes a noncommittal noise. "Well, come along now. I'm sure you're very tired after encouraging people to be their best selves all day."

Hagusa begins to follow Father. In a perfect world, all the wishes humans waste on gods would be spent using their own power to protect and care for one another. But the world isn’t perfect, not at all, so Hagusa will help them find their strength.

After all, humans still need to be judged.