#ray you better start calling Mighty dad again-

[frostbittenbucky]

Bruce Wayne

The Batman

The Dark Knight

Worlds Greatest Detective

Had fucked up

Bruce Wayne isn’t a slob, he’s not lazy- he is the complete opposite of his persona “Brucie Wayne”, who is a lazy pampered prince. But Bruce Wayne? Never.

So after Bruce finishes a snack he washes his dishes like any civilized human would do- or else Alfred would have some very choice words and some very petty actions towards him. It’s a simple task, take off his rings, run the water, apply the soap, scrub then rinse.

Simple.

But someone tell Bruce how the hell he managed to drop his ring down the drain? And someone tell Bruce why the didn’t stop for a moment and think before shoving his hand down the drain?

He fucked up. Now he’s stuck. But Bruce Wayne is a genius, he can get himself out of this silly situation. So he tries pulling... and pulling... and pulling. Ok, next option, lubricant. Soap will do. So Bruce proceeds to pour a generous amount of soap around his hand, he moves it around to make sure it’s coated, then he pulls. And pulls. Ok so next move.

What’s the next move?

He groaned loudly, thinking how utterly ridiculous and stupid this situation is. “Ok... dammit,” he muttered to himself. He decided to reach for his phone and-

Shit. It’s on the kitchen island directly behind him, where it’s just out of his reach. Why did he do that? Oh right, because he got water in his speaker last time. Right. Perfect. Wonderful.

“Alfred?” He called out, “Alfred, Damian are you still here?” No response. Shitshitshitshitshitgodammitshitshit.

Maybe he can reach his phone? He thought. So with all his grace he leaned towards to island, swishing at the air in hopes his phone would magically come into his hand. Nah.

Leg, his leg might reach. It’s longer than his arm, and his can get some torso length in there. Lifting his leg and leaning his body out he kicks at the counter, his brows furrowed. Fuck. Bruce is very flexible, but his leg and torso are extended to the fullest human capacity, and fuck why are these countered so spaced out?!

Bruce pulls his body back and lays his forehead on the cold countertop, trying to push down the rage that’s building up in his chest. This is stupid. This is so fucking stupid. “Is anybody home? Stephanie? Jason? Ca- not you, Titus,” He lifted his head from the counter and looked to his right, and there Titus stood in front of Bruce, wanting to investigate the noise. Seeing nothing interesting Titus tilted his head and gave a “boof” before turning out and leaving him to his own demise, “no wait,” Bruce reached out for the dog who already made up his mind.

So there he stood.

Bruce Wayne

The Batman

The Dark Knight

The Worlds Greatest Detective

Dumbass

Knowing he now has to swallow his pride and go into his next move, he groans loudly. It’s not like it’s the first time he’s called when it wasn’t anything life threatening. Sure, it’s rare, but it does happen. Plus, he always understands, and by now he knows the differences between help and help. But Bruce knew there would be consequences... because he isn’t scared of Bruce, all his intimidation tactics fall short, completely on deaf ears around him.

“Clark,” his voice sounded almost like a whine, his voice was a little hoarse from literally forcing the words past his lips, “if you’re not busy I need a hand.”

Just as soon as his finished his sentence Clark was stood in front of him, flannel, glasses, and cowboy boots, “howdy.” Bruce closed his eyes at Clark’s greeting, then opened them to send him a hard glare, “what’s seems to be the problem, Bruce?” A wide and knowing grin spread across Clark’s face. X-ray vision. No explanation needed. Sure friends help friends in their times of need. But best friends? Oh yea, Bruce had to earn his help by paying the high price of humiliation.

“Just hand me my phone, Clark,” pointing at the device just out of reach.

A shocked and confused looked replaced Clark’s smile, “oh, this? This phone right here?” He also pointed, walking to grab the device, “you don’t happen to have Face ID do you?”

“No, I w-“ It was a lie. Clark know had opened his phone just by turning it to Bruce’s face. A sigh left his body, was this price worth his freedom? Probably not.

“Hold on, B, I’m not dressed properly. This is a rescue after all,” and just in a blink of an eye Superman now stood in front of a tired looking Bruce, having no choice of his front vow seat the shit show that was about to unfold. Clark lifted the phone and snapped a couple selfies with Bruce, grinning his charming smile that the world adored him for. Bruce looked like a hungover raccoon, putting it kindly.

“Are your done? Just get me out and I’ll buy you a horse or something.”

“Aw, you do care. I knew you were listening when I told you about that pony farm,” Clark didn’t bother to look up from the phone, tapping away at the screen, “oh Bruce, your groupchat is named ‘family’?”

His eyes widen, “don’t you da-“

“-Isn’t Dick a firefighter? I think that he’s better for this job,” Clark announced, taking a seat on the island that just out of reach, “I hope you understand Mr. Wayne, I’m glad to offer help but them seems like a job for our local emergency service.”

“If you call 911,” Bruce growled, gritting his teeth together, leaning towards the other man and close as possible, “I swear.”

Scoffing, Clark waves him off, “of course not, why would I waste a 911 operators time? There’s people who need real help out there. I’m calling Dick directly.” Once again, is the price of freedom worth it?

————-

“Fireman Dick Grayson reporting for duty!” Cried his oldest child with two other firman following close behind, “hey pops I h- is that Superman?” He faked a gasped, clutching his chest.

The group chat had blown up by now. A series of text and FaceTime calls followed shortly after.

Damian: “Tt. Father this is utterly disappointing”

Bruce: “Sorry to be disappointing, kiddo”

Stephanie: “lmfaoooo I’m coming over. Be there in 10 don’t escape until I get there”

Jason: *screenshot of the photo of Superman and Bruce posted on Twitter with the caption: “when your dad panics and calls Superman”

Jason: *another screenshot of a multitude of replies along the lines, “what are you doing step bro?” “What are your doing Superman?”*

Duke: “the mighty Batman has finally met his match. A kitchen sink”

Cassandra: “😆😆😂🤣😬🤔🧠🤷🏻‍♀️💕💕💗💓💖”

Bruce: “thank you, Cassandra. I think.”

Stephanie: “imma do a live when I get there 🤣”

Tim: “you know we’re not going to let you live this down right b?”

Dick: “dumbasssssss”

Dick: “don’t worry B I’ll be there to rescue you shortly”

Bruce: “I can unadopt all of you.”

Alfred: “master Bruce, please word yourself properly. “Unadopt” isn’t a real word.”

Bruce: “Sorry, Alfred.”

So now that official rescue crew has arrived he expected this to be a quick and professional release. Nah. Dick, his oldest, his light in the dark, his son, his baby boy, is an asshole.

Dick started taking his own selfies with Bruce and Superman. Dick and Clark wore bright smiles, full of perfect teeth and glimmering eyes. Bruce, again, looked like a mess. He was wearing an old shirt, old sweatpants, no makeup on, his hair an untamed, scattered, frizzy mess. He should’ve conditioned, but he wasn’t expecting to go out today or have any photos done today.

The price of freedom is high, but not worth it.



[ghostgothgeek]

Hurt.

Merry Christmas Pham! Here is some much needed Sam and Tucker friendship bonding! This is kind of meant to set the tone before Doctor’s Disorders and explain why Sam knows Tucker doesn’t like doctors or hospitals and Danny doesn’t. Hope you enjoy!

Standard disclaimers. Also posted on my AO3 and FFN accounts. Rated T for swearing. 

--

“SAM!” Danny and Tucker cried, Tucker from across the street and Danny approximately 75 feet in the air. 

“Motherfucker,” Sam muttered to herself and gently poked at her right ankle. It was already swelling up and was probably turning red underneath her tights. She rolled her ankle around a bit. It wasn’t broken, but it definitely hurt. “I’m fine!” she called back to her friends, shooting the ghost that had just attacked her, the same one Danny was battling in the sky, with her wrist ray to prove her point. 

Tucker ran over to her, trying to assess the situation. “Are you okay?” He held a hand out to help her from the ground. She grabbed it and hissed when she stood fully, quickly grabbing onto Tucker’s shoulder and letting her right foot hang above the ground. 

“Shit..the ONE TIME I wear sneakers instead of my boots…” Danny and Tucker had insisted that if she wore sneakers to fight instead of her clunky boots, her fighting would be more efficient. Why had she listened to them again? She gets almost as many ghosts as Danny and her boots at least provided ankle support...

Tucker grinned, “It seemed like a good idea at the time. But seriously, are you okay?” 

“Ugh, I don’t know. I didn’t break anything, but I can’t walk, let alone stand.” She glanced up at Danny, who was shooting an ectoblast at his opponent. “I think you should take me to the hospital to get-”

“Nope.”

“Tucker, I’m serious.”

“So am I! You’re fine! You can just lean on me or have Danny fly you home when he’s done. No big deal. No doctor, no hospital.” He shook his head frantically and wrapped Sam’s arm around his shoulder, her arm wrapping around his torso shortly thereafter. She glanced down at her swollen ankle.

“Tucker, this hurts really bad. And you know I’m not one to complain.” 

Tucker shot her a look. “What about the time you complained about dissecting real frogs in biology? Or the time you complained about those really cool monster trucks? Or when you complained about beauty pageants and then joined in anyway? Or any of the times you complained about Paulina? Oh! And what about that one time wh-” 

“Alright, alright, I get it. Well, I’m not one to complain about pain, anyway. But seriously, can you help me get to the hospital?” 

“Do I have to?” Tucker groaned. 

“Yes! What’s the big deal?” Tucker muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t quite make out. “What?” 

“I don’t like hospitals.” 

“Yeah, and I don’t like the possibility of never walking again. Tucker, please.” 

He sighed. Sam didn’t say 'please’ very often. “Alright, alright. I’m doing this because you’re my best friend and I love you, okay? But I’m leaving right after I drop you off.” Sam rolled her eyes but complied. They both glanced back up at Danny, who was still mid-battle but holding his own. “He can catch up with us later.” 

Tucker had gotten Sam into the emergency room, where she sat filling out some paperwork. He turned around to book it out of there when Sam stopped him by grabbing his wrist. “Tuck, can you please stay?” Her face was full of conflicting emotions. She hated asking for help, yet here she was sacrificing her pride and reputation of being an independent woman because she was scared.

He glanced around the room and made a face before his eyes settled on her pleading lavender ones. He had never seen her so vulnerable before. He sighed and sat down next to her. “Thanks,” there was a moment of silence before she continued, “so while we wait, how about you tell me why you don’t like hospitals.” She gently grabbed his hand closest to hers, which was gripping the arms of his chair tightly. He groaned internally; he very well knew that she would pester him until he gave her a straight answer. You could never bullshit Sam. Plus, she had already shown vulnerability to him today. He could at least return the favor.

“Well…I guess it started when I was 6. I had gotten hurt on the playground, so my mom took me to the hospital. A woodchip kinda stabbed me in the hand when some kid pushed me over. They had to remove it for me, and then they stapled the wound shut.” 

“Ah, that’s why you have that scar on your hand.” Sam nodded towards it. He flipped his hand over where the scar in the middle of his palm was clearly visible. 

“Yeah, it was terrible. Who uses staples on a kid? Anyway, they kept stabbing me with needles to take all these tests and stuff. I don’t like needles.” He visibly shuddered. “Then when I was 9, I had to go to a hospital again when my grandpa was sick. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but my dad had left me in the room with him while he called my mom, and I was all alone and long story short he just died right in front of me. That was pretty traumatizing.” 

“I’m so sorry.” She said genuinely. Perhaps it was because she was so close to her grandmother that the statement hit her hard. She squeezed his hand.

“Another time back in middle school, I went to the nurse’s office because I scraped my knee in gym class and needed a bandaid, and while I was waiting for her to grab one, Gabriel Morris puked all over my shoes.” Tucker’s face scrunched up in disgust as he recalled the bad memory. “And then it’s just everything in general. There’s the weird smell and everything is white and they just stab you with needles and there’s people in the building dying right now and it’s all so gross and terrifying. I can’t even look at a hospital when I pass by one. I avoid doctors at all costs.”

Sam squeezed his hand again. “Well, I really appreciate you being here for me right now. I know it’s going to take awhile, and I need company or I’ll go insane.” She smiled at him. She had always been close with Tucker, and though they had conflicting interests on occasion, they had their handful of moments like these.

Tucker returned a small smile and breathed out a small laugh. “Look, I’m not even the one who is in pain and you’re comforting me.” 

Sam laughed, “Hey, we all have our shit, you know.” She glanced at his phone on his lap when it lit up, signaling a text from Danny. 

Tucker unlocked his phone and read the message before shoving it in his pocket. “Danny’s putting the ghost back into the Ghost Zone right now and then he’s going to swing by Frostbite to ask a few questions. He’s going to be a while.” Sam nodded in response. 

“No problem, I have the mighty fine Tucker to help me through this crisis.”

“It’s Too Fine, actually.” He frowned.

“My mistake.” She smiled, turning her gaze from him as the nurse called her name. Tucker pushed her in a wheelchair to a small room with all sorts of wires and things that could poke somebody. He gulped. Sam could sense his wariness, and looked to the young, attractive nurse, who was questioning Sam about what happened. “Oh, I took kind of a hard fall. This here is my best friend Tucker, he’s been getting me through all this. He’s super brave and practically carried me over here. He’s my support system today.” 

Tucker blushed at the praise and stared down at his shoes. The nurse gave him a reassuring smile and held her hand out for him to shake. “I’m Claire, I’ll be taking care of your friend today. Did you see what happened?” 

He looked up at the blonde, whose smile widened when his eyes met hers. He shook her hand. “U-uh, yeah…” Tucker paused as he formulated a response. “We were just walking home from school and this ghost just blasted her out of nowhere, it was pretty freaky. Sam here kinda tripped backwards and fell in a weird way. I am always telling her she should wear boots or something with more ankle support, clumsy little thing.”

Sam tilted her head back and glared up at him. Tucker just shrugged and grinned, letting her know he was just teasing. Sam was just glad his attention seemed to be diverted from the room he was currently in. 

“Oh, you’re very brave for getting her here in the middle of a ghost attack. Let’s take a look at your ankle.” Sam cringed as the nurse took her shoe off and started touching her ankle. “Yes, this definitely needs some attention. I’ll get the doctor to see you shortly and will take you up for x-rays in a few minutes if need be. In the meantime, how about you take those tights off so we can get a better look. I’ll be back in a few.” The nurse softly closed the door behind her as Sam stood on one foot and started pulling her purple tights off. 

“Woah! Hey! I’m still here!” Tucker yelled, covering his eyes with his hands. 

Sam laughed, “Tucker, chill. I’m not naked or anything.” She wrapped her arm around him for support as she put her weight on him and tugged her tights off her good ankle. She sat on the hospital bed and looked at Tucker, who was peeking through his fingers. “I do need your help though. Help me get these off, but be gentle.” Sam pointed to her tights remaining on her other leg. Tucker nodded and carefully pulled her tights completely off.

“You know, I always dreamt of undressing a girl, but you’re not exactly who I had in mind. No offense.” Tucker’s remark earned a chuckle from Sam.

“None taken.” She sat back on the hospital bed and watched him glance around the room nervously. “You don’t have to worry, you know. I’m the patient, not you. And I don’t plan on dying any time soon.” 

“Are you nauseous?” Tucker raised an eyebrow and sat in the wheelchair.

“Tucker, if I was going to hurl all over you, I would at least have the common decency to tell you first.” She sighed when her comment didn’t make him any less anxious. “Thanks for staying with me for this. If my parents were in town, they would be driving me and the doctors insane. You’re a great friend. I know it isn’t said enough.” 

Tucker looked at her bashfully, unsure of how to respond. “I uh...thanks? Or you’re welcome?” 

Sam chuckled, “I’m not sure what the appropriate response is either. Hey, pull up the movie trailer for Trinity of Doom again! The sound is way better on your phone.” She smiled when she saw how proud he was of his technology as he pulled it up. 

Several minutes and a debate over which monster is scarier later, there was a brief knock on the door before the doctor walked in. “So, Samantha-” he started.

“Sam.” Tucker and Sam corrected him at the same time. 

“Let me check out your injury.” The doctor set his clipboard down on the counter and bent down to inspect Sam’s ankle. She winced when he started moving it and held Tucker, who looked ready to pounce on the doctor, back as he stood next to her protectively. 

The doctor paused and pursed his lips at the other miscellaneous scrapes and bruises that coated her legs, some looking more healed and some looking fresh. “Samantha, are you sure this has only been a one time occurance? We can talk in private if your boyfriend wants to wait outside.” 

Sam looked at him confused, ignoring his use of her full name. “I don’t understand.” 

“You seem to have more injuries than just a sprained ankle, and they appear to have occurred over different periods of time. Domestic violence is unfortunately pretty common, even amongst teena-”

“Excuse me?!” Sam interrupted.

“We can talk in private if that makes you more comforta-”

“First of all, Tucker is not my boyfriend. Second, minor bruises and cuts hardly count as injuries. Third, what makes you think he would be abusive towards me when he has shown absolutely ZERO signs of being my boyfriend, let alone an abuser?” 

“Well, I mean, he’s, you know, you never know and typically perpetrators are-”

“Black?” Tucker spat angrily. 

“That’s not exactly what I was...I’m just saying that-” The doctor stumbled over his words, clearly embarrassed and trying to avoid a lawsuit.

Tucker opened his mouth to speak again, but Sam beat him to it. “That is so unprofessional and honestly just plain stupid of you to say. I can’t believe someone who is supposed to be smart enough to get through med school and someone who took the hippocratic oath and has to treat a diversity of patients would be so ignorant to racially profile someone and suggest he’s abusive because of the color of his skin. You damn well know that the cuts and bruises I have are as minor as playground injuries, but no, why would a white girl come in here with a black boy if she wasn’t being somehow manipulated into staying in an abusive relationship? I’ll have you know that Tucker is one of the sweetest people I know and he is a person of incredible character, which is something you, an adult and a supposed professional, are not. Now I suggest you think before you speak next and apologize to my friend here right now or I will have a massive Manson family lawsuit hit you and this hospital so hard your ancestors will be feeling it.”

Tucker’s jaw dropped slightly and his eyes were wide, though he shouldn’t have been too surprised that she would scold an adult like that. 

The doctor looked at the girl, who was lighting panting from how much effort she had put into her rant, in shock. He was honestly a little terrified of how much anger she had in her eyes. He looked over at the boy who now held a stoic expression. “M-my deepest apologies, sir.” He didn’t think he could form any other intelligible sentences. 

“Awesome. Now go get me a new doctor to wrap my damn ankle so we can get out of here,” Sam said sternly. The doctor simply nodded, clearly still stupefied, and scrambled out of the room. “The fucking nerve of that guy,” she started again, clearly still furious. She looked back at her friend to see how he was handling the situation. 

He didn’t even need to thank her, gratitude and pride were written all over his face. She shot him a small smile and held her arms out for a hug, which he quickly accepted. “Thanks, Sam.” He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. 

“Any time.” She smiled and pulled back, taking a deep breath as the energy in the room began to settle. Tucker sat down next to her and stared at his shoes for a few moments before glancing around the room and becoming anxious again. Sam quickly whipped out her phone. “Hey did you see this video of a hedgehog taking a bath?” She gave him a comforting smile.

“No, I didn’t.” He smiled back gratefully.

After a new doctor had come in to wrap Sam’s ankle, apologizing profusely to the teens, the nurse from earlier had returned and handed Tucker Sam’s discharge papers. “I left my personal phone number on there in case you have any questions about your friend’s treatment.” Tucker swore she winked at him before helping Sam stand up on her crutches. He only nodded in response and helped Sam out of the hospital, where a cab was already waiting to take them back to Sam’s place. 

“So, Game of Thrones marathon until Danny gets back?” Sam smiled, texting Danny to let her know she was alright and they were heading home. 

“Hell yeah!” 

When they arrived back at Sam’s house, Tucker helped her up the front steps and watched her make her way into the kitchen to pull snacks out. “I’ll order some pizzas, you carry this downstairs and get comfy.” 

Tucker nodded and did as she asked after she insisted she was fine and could manage her way downstairs by herself, especially because her house had an elevator to help her grandma get around. He sat down in his favorite spot in her theater and settled in, feeling incredibly grateful for his best friend and her safety. 

Sam arrived shortly thereafter and pulled up the episode that would continue her and Tucker’s binge. Game of Thrones was dark enough for Sam’s enjoyment, action-packed enough to keep Tucker entertained without his PDA, and nerdy enough for the both of them. Danny never understood the hype. Game of Thrones was something Sam and Tucker shared, the tradition starting up one afternoon when they were waiting on Danny to get out of detention. 

Later, Danny landed in Sam’s basement, glancing at all the junk food scattered across the couch between his friends. “Are you okay Sam?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just have to wear this stupid boot for a week. Fortunately it’s not too much bigger than my combat boots, so really what’s the difference.” She smiled.

“Yeah, Sam’s okay, but the doctor isn’t.” Tucker laughed.

“What?” Danny grabbed a soda and sat in the open seat. 

“Sam threatened a doctor today,” Tucker stated proudly. 

“What?!” 

“It’s no big deal,” Sam dismissed it with a flick of her hand. 

“It was a big deal, Danny! She even dropped the Manson name and threatened a lawsuit! It was awesome!” Tucker said excitedly. 

“It was nothing,” Sam said sheepishly. “Tucker got a hot nurse’s number!” 

“Not really, she was just being nice.”

“Oh please! She was totally into you, and you were just radiating that ‘Too Fine’ charm!”

Danny drowned out their conversation and looked back and forth between his friends flabbergasted. He wasn’t even sure which out of character aspect of his two friends he should respond to first. Before he could even gather his thoughts, the two were already sucked back into their show. 

“How awesome is that dragon?!” 

“It’s incredible! The CGI they do is amazing!”

Danny frowned, feeling extremely excluded. Sam and Tucker were friends of course, but these moments where they were more than getting along were few and far between. “Hey guys, I fought a real dragon remember?” They ignored him. “A ghost dragon? A ghost dragon that Sam turned into? That was more awesome, right?!” 

“Uh huh.” 

“Sure, whatever.” 

“The same dragon I fought today?!” No response. 

Danny huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t leaving the two of them alone ever again.

[pinkbutterfly84]

Scorpion Season 2

Here we go season 2 and my personal favourite season.....

2.01 - there has been a break between episodes supposedly over the summer whilst Walter recuperate, Paige tries to improve the office, Cabe is working on a film, Sly tried to evolve, Tony was outdoors and Happy developed a paint gun

The question is have Happy and Toby been spending their time together they walk into the garage together??

No fratanisation at work...... but that doesn't mean out of work? Happy's look to Toby makes me think they see each other a lot out of work

Notice how each time they say no fratanisation 'at work' is always added

I love the way Toby's tone of voice changes when he is taling just to Happy or caring for her

Last scene they are off to Kavalskis together

Favourite quote- 'what do you see' 'a rare and delightful fungus' - this is a very Happy type compliment definitely there are still feelings there but she is still torn between wanting to move on with him and wanting to remain friends

Favourite scene- Toby taking care of Happy and her eye, his hand casually placed on her leg she once hated any form of contact now she didnt even flinch

2 02 - poor Toby obviously feeling the frustrations of being sidelined by Happy so he directs is attention onto poor Sly

The look Toby gives Happy when she said Orphanages suck a look of pure luck and he could help heal her wounds

First time Toby uses the nickname 'Hap' also the only person who calls her this

I love Dr Toby seeing him use his skills either medically or behavioral is when his character shines

Favourite quote- it's like jumping off a really high diving board going 100 miles an hour, exposure therapy

Favourite scene- not my favourite scene but definitely the cheesest was paige coming out the sea slow motion and Walter's face pure cheese

2.03 - this episode doesn't have much Quintis in it but I love Sly having an episode revolving around him he overcomes some fears and opens up to Megan

Ray is a very funny character 'the right way, the wrong way and the Ray way'

Poor Toby overhearing Happy's conversation thinking she is moving on meeting someone at a club he looks so hurt and Happy looks regretful that Toby overhead

How does Toby know Happy doesn't like to dance? Maybe suggested they go dancing together?? Happy's face when Toby actual fights back a bit at her half impressed half annoyed

Chet turning up at the end broke Toby's heart he needed to release some tension. Happy wanted him out of the garage so the team wouldn't know what they meet at the club to do

Favourite quote- Slyvester you and I are about to have a very uncomfortable conversation

Favourite scene- Toby talking g to Sly over the comms picking a fight in the jail yard

2.04 - Happy coming in with Chet either Happy is clueless on what effect this has on Toby or she is trying to make him jealous either way Happy is doing wrong this time

Starting to get some humour from Happy..... I wonder why!

I feel this is one of the first turning point episodes for Happy starting to acknowledge she doesn't need to be alone and there are people especially Toby who will stick with her and support her

Toby is so worried about Happy during this episode he even admits his love to her dad - good advice from him to let her come to him

Happy wants the list to go to Toby none of the others a subconscious decision that proves she relies on Toby

Happy acknowledges she is in denial!

The look she gives Toby over her dads shoulder what do you think she is thinking?

Favourite scene- Toby giving Happy the dolls house, he just wants to spend time with her even if friends

Favourite quote- I am surrounded by Robots!

2.05 - such a fun episode off set with the seriousness of Sly and Megan

Toby looks hot boxing 🔥🔥

Toby giving Happy a gift then saying there just friends - someone is in denial

Toby only worrying about Happy being in danger how does she not pick up on this?

Plus the minute she says she's stuck Toby is out the van to rescue her

Notice how they play dumb about knowing anything about Superfun guy yet in season 1 when Sly was in hospital they all sat and read the comics!

Toby saying no to hanging out with Happy must have been so hard for him but he obviously is feeling too much hurt not being with her but did she overhear him saying he was done with her, she wasn't far away, how would she have felt?

Question is the orange van the same as in the Cuba episode and the episode with Mya Hernandez??

Happy looks so impressed with Toby when he punches the guy, think she likes that he can be tough when needed

Favourite quote- with great responsibility comes great wedgie or dear diary it finally happened

Favourite scene- seeing the team dressed up nice to see the comedy side of the show

2.06 - part 1 of a double episode a really good episode showing Walter being taken advantage of and the guys all in danager

Toby trying the show his independence from Happy but taking it too far they work better together.

Toby looking fine in a suit!

Favourite quote- I kicked that habit cold Turkey, I need Happy like i need necrotizing fasciitis

Favourite scene- Happy creating a speaker and using it to put out a fire great mechanical engineering

2.07 Part 2 - Happy put her life in danger for the greater good in the sub but when Toby was in danger in the server room nothing else mattered but rescuing him

Toby will never know how much she fought to get him out

The look of pure fear and worry about Toby dying was excellent acting and showed such emotion and perhaps made her reevaluate her relationship with Toby

Happy was quite hostile towards Toby when he thanked her why was that? I think it was a defense mechanism he shield going up because she was scared to loose him

Favourite quote- with the clarity of one just risen from the dead, you're being a grade A tool

Except you cant unring a bell - Toby knows he cant easily get over his feekings

Favourite scene- Happy trying to get Toby out of the server room this first real sign that she really does have deep feelings for Toby

2.08 - Toby in the boxing ring he is trying to toughen up the ond thing Happy is known for iz being tough

Happy at the comedy club trying to be funny the one thing Toby is known for

I think there interests are a way to become closer to each other and understand each other

Mighty love oak - Toby finally realised if anything is going to happen he needs Happy to make the first move he has been as open as he can she needs to make the decision herself to get into a relationship with him

Favourite scene- Happy at the comedy club Slys reactions were so much funnier then the joles

favourite quote- this is nuttier then squirrel poop

Yes I know I drive crazy, just give me the keys

Suicidal genius says what now

2.09 - very sad to see the decline in Megan and what Sly is dealing with. How Walter deals with it is unfair to them both and quite selfish although I appreciate everyone handles these situations differently

Happy and Toby support Toby the only way they know bh giving him money.

Happy and Toby seem in sync in this episode just good friends with a deep connection

Toby is focusing his energy in predicting the future possibly to keep him distracted from Happy

In previous episode Toby has been seen with smart phones why all of a sudden is his phone old??

Favourite quote- dental hygiene is beautiful

Favourite scene- no real favourite scene but I do enjoy this episode the team hring scared of the unknown is hilarious

2.10 first time I watched this episode I was hooked and confused and loved the twist of Scorpion playing on Cromwell

Happy and Toby stood next to each other again mimicking each others postures

Walter finally accepting Megan's condition and her relationship with Sly is a heart warming moment and one of the few moments I like Walter

Favourite quote- are we heading to England for a spot of tea

Favourite scene- the team relaying how they duped Cromwell

2 11 - a really sad but beautiful episode with a touch of humour at the right times

Toby shines in this episode with his medical ability

Toby's face when Happy collapses and the lady is in labour his heart wants him to ho to Happy but he knows he must deliver a baby.

I would like to know what Happy thinks when she wakes and sees Toby?

Such a heart breaking scene 💔

Notice how Toby instinctively stays by Happy in the garage providing emotional support

Happy doesn't deal well with the situation so excuses herself to make the drinks

Favourite quote- i have super powers, I am bacteria man

Am I seriously the only doctor in the house

Favourite scene- the end scene with Megan's video and the team gathering to hear Walter's story a beautiful end to a touching storyline

2.12 - really liked this episode finally Happy giving into her feelings for Toby plus seeing them all dealing with their own issues from college gave some of the funniest moments of the season

Seeing cabe trying to talk wrestling was hilarious

She also admitted Toby was cute!

What Mavis said to Happy got her thinking she needs to let her shield down if she wants a Toby/ a family

Meeting Quincy Berkstead I don't think Toby's issue is him stealing Amy away it's a reminder of what a bad place he was back then and that Quincy was a better person than he seemed to be. Quincy said some things which hit close to home. Let's remember Toby is a doctor Quincy is just a psychologist!

Favourite quote- you were cute, what happened

Favourite scene- Happy and Toby dancing this showed real feelings from Happy she wanted to.do something nice for him when he obviously felt so down. I imagine that they all heard what Quincy said to Toby she she knows how it would of effected him

2.13 - quite possibly my favourite episode of the season maybe all 4 seasons

Happy seems uncharacteristically happy at the beginning embracing Christmas or looking forward to a possible future with Toby

Walter talking to himself, Megan's ashes in his car - Toby has his work cut out for him this episode

Sly talking about his love for Megan and not wasting time really gave Happy something to think about

Grandma got ran over by a reindeer! Supposedly some or all of this wasnt scripted just shows how amazing the actors are

The pure panic from Toby when Happy gets pulled under water shows his love and then change in his voice when talking to her is a beautiful moment

Favourite quote- at least we got a doctor in the house, who has 2 thumbs and rocked his GI rotation

'Quality kiss doc, good work' ' now that was a Christmas miracle

Favourite scene- the kiss! Need I say more you can even hear Happy hum during the kiss perfect chemistry

Toby waited so patiently and it paid off Happy came to him and initiated the next step

2.14 - perfect Quintis episode

Toby full of new year spirit wonder why??

Happy is also uncharacteristically Happy perhaps thet both had a good new year together.......

Happy trying to change be more positive maybe to help in a relationship with Toby, so much to surmise in this episode

The look happy gives Toby when he asks to make out is not a never gonna happen but a not now later look

Notice how when Happy is separated she repeatedly calls for Toby. Instinctively that's who she knows will rescue her

Toby is never seen as the brave one but when happy is in danger he is willing to risk his life

Near death has changed the dynamic between them. Happys dad points out she needs to find her Happy- then looks longingly at Toby

Question what everyone wants to know is what happens in the tent!

Favourite quote- who are you and what have you done with unhappy quinn

Favourite scene- Toby admitting he never thought he could die being so lucky with Happy in his arms

Such an honest and emotional scene excellent acting by #EddieKayeThomas

2.15 - poor Toby not feeling well love the thought of happy quickly scribbling down instructions for Ralph on how to look after Toby. Starting to show her feelings more openly

Paige and Walter singing was actually really good

Favourite quote- this is what I get for trying to help Walter date, influenza

Favourite scene- truth is I'm falling for the guy - finally Happy admits it then if only to Ralph - I do think Toby here her and probably calls her out on it later

2.16 - poor Walter trying to do something normal and it all goes to pot!

Toby and Happy going to Kavalskis under the pretense of taking the dish back..... sounds like a date to me that they dont want the others to know about, one of many over the course if the last few episodes I think

Favourite quote- that was a compliment knucklehead lob a little ear candy at her

You got sent to the senior section of speed dating and now your trying to Benjimen your Button

Holy ball boomerang Mericks back

I might only be a psychiatrist but they taught me at med school blowing people up is bad

Toby is on fire in this episode with his one liners - I wonder if all these jokes and sarcasm is because he is finally happy with Happy

Favourite scene- no favourite scene in this not much Quintis action but Toby was in fire in this episode great behaviourist skills and jokes

2 17 - love seeing the dynamic between Walter and Toby in this episode, seeing them in therapy is funny

Toby is definitely the more antagonist one is this episode he says its because he is happy with Happy I think he hates keeping secrets from his best friend and so he is distancing himself

Happy starting to side with Toby shows character growth

On a separate note I love Sly and Ralph's relationship in this episode they are a great duo

Favourite quote- hands at 10 and 2, check, seatbelt on, check, eyes firmly on the ramp in front of you, check, dont tell your mother, check

Favourite scene- the end scene Happy and Toby together at Toby's home confirmation the are together how long has this been going on is the question we all want to know

2.18 - Quintis is announced!

Walter being so upset is a bit strange surly he should be happy for his friends- maybe he's jealous he doesn't have what they have or maybe he is hiding something else........

Comparing to quintis to brangelina maybe not such a good comparison

Walter punishing Toby by making him stay behind is petty and not the first time he has tried

Toby is obviously very excited about his new relationship but suffocating Happy slightly

Walter giving them the ultimatum is uncalled for and Toby is not happy with him

First time we discover Happy's fear of blood, seeing Happy slightly off kilter and Toby supporting her is nice to see

Happy looks do happy when Toby says he is proud of her

Toby using his tone of voice he only uses with Happy, this is his caring soft voice

Oh Toby tracking Happys phone not a good idea I get why he did it and I think she does but not a wise move without talking it over first! I like how they experience normal bumps in the road in their relationship

Happy standing up to Walter was a big step and an important moment in showing she is all in and she looks so Happy when Walter says its ok

Favourite quote- for a million reasons the answer to that question is yes but believing in you the most incredible person I've ever know, no that does not make me crazy. You hear my voice now you hear how calm it is......

Favourite scene- Toby talking Happy through medical procedure

2.19 - Gambling addiction is a very sensitive topic which needs to be dealt with correctly

It is always alluded to Toby being addicted we are lead to believe over the past few years largely thanks to Happy it has gotten better but is obviously an issue for Happy

I dont buy that he gambles more cause he is happy but I'm no addication specialist

I think this shows real growth with Happy 1 year ago she would of just called it quits but now she raises her concerns which are genuine due to her childhood and Toby agrees to give up gambling for her - now that is true love

I feel Toby needed to hear this from Happy he had cut back a lot but the risk of losing Happy is too high and he knows he needs to stop

I think they really played into the gambling references this episode when usually it gets one or 2 mentions if that!

Favourite quote- 'that Pantera is the sexiest thing I've ever seen' 'second sexist'

Favourite scene- the end scene with Toby and Happy, Jadyn gives probably the best performance of the series so far so much emotion

2.20 - playful team is nice to see makes a pleasant change!

Toby shows his medical and behavioral knowledge off well In this episode

I really like that happy is comfortable in her relationship with Toby to show affection ftomt of the team by falling asleep and hugging her

Favourite quote- that guy doesn't respect the game

Well you make friends wherever we go

I know I'm the oh one wearing a hat, hold on to your hats I'm gonna profile the crap out of this guy

Favourite scene- the team waiting to see how Olivia gets on following her surgery

2.21 - so we meet interloper Tim, going to he controversial now but I quite like him.as a character!

Toby doing dares as a way dealing with giving up gambling - Happy should be supporting him not belittling him after all he gave it up for her

Toby compliments Happy and gets told off for doing it st work 1. He is allowed to shower her love and compliments at home 2. She turns her face and smiles secretly likes the compliment

Toby marking his territory with Happy when Tim talks to her its shows his jealous side

Happy chastise Toby for truth or dare he says he still needs to adrenaline rush so she kissee him and compares the adrenaline from the kiss to the gambling adrenaline. This shows how she must feel when she kisses him and is encouraging him to lean on her when he feels the need for the rush

I've also noticed that most kisses on screen she goes to him he also doesn't speak after the kiss until she does - shows he is learning from their first kiss

Favourite quote- 'just dance monkey', 'a 20 year old just called you monkey is life working out how you planned'

Favourite scene- happy kissing Toby on the piano

2.22 - this is a good episode considering it lacks in quintis moments - something which highlights the difficulties in gaining closure with missing military personnel

Oh no Toby lost his hat, I hope this isnt the one Happy bought him hopefully he keeps that safe at home!

Toby asking Happy if something were to happen to him would she move on, Happy saying no she wouldn't just shows her love for him.

Also theoretical marriage proposal and Toby asking Happy to think about it..... could a ring be on the cards although Happy's face is not convinced scares or hiding something

Favourite quote- dont use humour on a date because your not funny

Me and the hat are a package deal

Favourite scene- Toby asking Happy if he was missing would she move on

2.23 - not many quintis moments in this episode I start to look for the small moments in the background the looks std justices telling as the big scenes

Happy and Paige both outting Toby in his place when he makes a joke is funny

Funny how this time Happy doesn't have an issue with Toby crawling behind her in the tunnel

Toby has his arm around Happys shoulders swoon...

Happy puts her arm around Toby when they celebrate its these small things which show the couples development

Walter may diss Toby's skills but he does value and listen to them

Favourite quote- she is very much EQ for my IQ

Crazy man says what now

Favourite scene- Toby and Happy talking at the table playing cards - do I sense a proposal on it's way...... too soon surly they have only been together a few months???

2 24 - Toby Toby Toby winding up mark collins may prove to be a big mistake

Happy actually taking Toby's feelings into account doing a guessing game when Toby isn't around

Happy's jealous face when Toby said a show girl made him a man so sweet

Favourite quote- medically speaking hes nuttier then peanut brittle

I will always give you what you need whether it be emotional, spiritual or romantic so here it is sugar plum

Oh no Toby is in trouble what's going on......

Favourite scene- happy talking to Walter about Paige. This just shows the growth in her character willingly having a this conversation also picking up behavioural tips from Toby

2.25 - there is so much about this episode to write about from the kidnapping to the marriage proposal to the rejection.........

Happy comes in thinking the worst of Toby is he gambling lovd the fact she references the fact they text and meet outside of work - obviously they do but it's never referenced

The minute she hears Collins escapes she knows Toby is in danger and is worried

What is Sly hiding Happy knows he is and isn't Happy that Sly wont say anything

Seeing how worried Happy is, is a refreshing change from her normal closed off self. Her love for Toby really shows through in the episode

You can see Happy's frustrations Sly keeping a secret and Walter not giving up his researched

Happy's face when she thinks Toby is being electrocuted, she looks in pain telling Collins to stop the fear in her voice must be reassuring for Toby to know how much she loves him

Happy face when Collins outs the proposal, she blames herself for Toby getting snatched whilst picking up the phone, is there another feeling there aswell???

When Toby talks to Happy there is so much emotion in his voice saying goodbye, he uses that soft tone he saves just for Happy

Happy risking her life to save Toby shows her commitment to him

The first time I heard the proposal song I thought it was so cheesy but the more I watched the episode the more I realise it was perfectly Toby

Happy face when Toby is singing and proposing is the first sign of any guilt we have seen from her. She is obviously distraught that she has to say no and admit she is married to someone else. Utter heartbreaking scenes acted out superbly

Happy actually had tears in her eyes she must of been so devastated to have to had said no

Toby has never lost his ability to smile or joke but he looks completely heartbroken not only to have had his proposal turned down but to also find out the lovd of his life is already married. So much so he doesn't want to talk to anyone just hit the bottle.

Anyone notice how guilty Walter looks??

Favourite quote- hey is that hat wearing dipstick here

Its Toby Curtis, Doctor, Harvard trained. Were the smartest people in the world why is it so difficult to locate a 168lb wise ass

Favourite scene- there is no favourite scene I love this whole episode even Tody drowning his sorrows in tequila

Season overview - Sly has dealt with alot this season falling in love and then losing Megan he is now trying to look forward still keeping his love for Superfun Guy

Walter has had a few good moments this season mostly with Megan and he seems to deal well with kids. He is still obnoxious and struggles to communicate with people and says the wrong thing

I don't like the say Paige is going she is losing the qualities she was known for at the beginning kindness, compassion. I do like her relationship with Tim

Quintis- the start of the season started with them trying to get back to being friends and they had a few moments early on and then Happy merry Chet which made Toby jealous and he eventually realised that he needed to wait for Happy to come to him. A string of events finally broke down Happy's walls starting with her thinking Toby was going to die then Megan passed away, she met Mavis who encouraged her to lower her shield. Sly then told her to life in the moment and she finally kissed Toby from then things moved quickly secretly at first then in public before Toby gets kidnapped, proposes to Happy, gets rejected and finds out she's already married.

Questions are who is Happy married too?

Why didnt she tell Toby before? I think because she didnt want to ruin what they have and was scared to tell him and the more time passed the harder it got

How is Toby going to deal with this news?

Season 3 will certainly be interesting.......

[duckapus]

Paper Nicktoons- Prologue

Today…

I’m going to tell you the story of “Star Spirits and Good Wishes.”

Far, far away, beyond the sky, way above the clouds, it’s been said that there’s a haven where Stars live. In this sanctuary of Star Haven there rests a fabled treasure called the Star Rod, one of the Great Wands which have the power to grant all wishes. Using this wondrous Star Rod, the seven revered Star Spirits worked in tandem with other mystical councils across the realms to watch over our peaceful worlds carefully… very carefully.

And then one day…

The elderly Koopa in a purple hat and matching robes, looking ever so out of place in Star Haven, peered out nervously from her hiding place.

Satisfied, she put her magic rod up to her beak, “The coast is clear, your Nastiness. Prepare for transport.”

“Perfect. Everything’s ready on my end, Kammy. Fire away!”

At her master’s bidding, Kammy shot a geometric bolt of Koopa magic at the ground nearby. The bolt exploded into a small mass of multicolored smoke, dissipating to reveal the King of the Koopas, Lord Bowser himself.

The mighty Dragon-koopa inhaled deeply, before declaring, “Ah, I love the smell of stardust in the morning! All right Kammy, let’s go get ourselves a superweapon!”

“Mwehehe! As you command, my Lord!” the old witch cackled, and the duo of dastardly turtles strode towards the Star Temple (people in the Mushroom Kingdom’s world are really uncreative with names).

As they entered the great hall, Bowser grew suspicious, “Weird. A building this important holding such a powerful artifact, but no guards in sight.”

“That’s because we only need one,” called a familiar voice, prompting the villains to turn around.

What they saw was a small yellow star with reddish-brown eyes and a distinctive brown lock of hair drooping to the right. Kammy had no idea who this smug little sprite was, but Bowser would recognize that grim expression on any face.

“Er… hey, Geno! Long time no see, pal! Congrats on the promotion… this is a promotion right?”

“It is, thanks. So, how’s this going to play out, old friend?”

“...Can we skip the Mariachi Guy stand-off and go straight to the shootout?”

Geno responded by forming a replica of his old loaned doll body, gun arms at the ready.

“Thank you. BOOK IT, GRANNY!” the duo leaped to either side of the Star Guardian, narrowly avoiding being riddled with bullets.

The possessed puppet focused on Kammy, figuring she would be the healer of the pair, “Kamek didn’t teach Bowser much in the way of respecting his elders, did he?”

“Do you want to try telling a two ton near-immortal fire-breathing dragon fueled by teenage hormones to be polite?”

“Fair enough.”

It was a testament to Geno’s skill and Kammy’s experience that they could hold such a casual conversation in the middle of a firefight. As it was, Bowser was struggling to find an opening between the shower of bullets and geometric shapes-either through his old party member’s defenses or to his coveted prize. Just as he was about to go into his usual fiery rage, he remembered something.

With little hesitation, the large Koopa retired to his shell, spinning rapidly and obviously towards his enemy. On reflex, Geno easily caught the Koopa King and tossed him over his shoulder down the hall-in the wrong direction, he realized too late.

Now ignoring the elderly Magikoopa (who had been growing increasingly winded as the duel went on), Geno raced to the end of the hall, hoping beyond hope he wasn’t too late.

His wish had failed by a matter of milliseconds.

“GWAHAHAHA!! I’ve done it! Finally, I can take what’s rightfully mine!”

“Not if I have something to say about it!” With that, the Star-turned-toy leaped up to grasp the Star Rod, hoping his desire to save it would outweigh Bowser’s ambition.

Not even close, he realized with a start. Barely enough of his own influence shown through to make a single request for indirect aid. Still, he supposed as he was tossed across the chamber, it’s better than nothing.

Bowser, who had felt the Rod act without him, leered maliciously at his adversary, “what did you do?”

The Star, suddenly feeling much more wooden then celestial, glared defiantly, “wouldn’t you like to know?”

Bowser sneered, smoke puffing from his flared nostrils, before his face morphed into a wicked grin, “You know, I can never remember; are you a Dummy or a Puppet?”

Confused, Geno was about to reply that he was, in fact, a Doll, before noticing that he could no longer move his body. Bowser’s grin widened. “Stand at attention, soldier.”

Unbidden, the Star Guardian complied. It was then that Geno realized; Bowser had just made his first wish.

“Your Cruelness!” Kammy called as she entered the Star Rod’s chamber, “I take it from your evil laughter earlier that we’ve been successful?”

“You bet your best hat we have! Check it- the Mushroom World’s Great Wand and a new minion as a sweet bonus! He doesn’t do much right now other than follow direct orders, but I can work on that later.”

In high spirits, the Koopa King summoned his signature white and green Clown Car, “Get in Geno, we’re blowing this joint in style!”

As his weapon-turned-prison obeyed it’s new master (who was currently ravaging Star Haven and imprisoning the seven Star Spirits), Geno could only pray that Mario and whoever would be called to his aid could find some way to fix his newest mistake.

Now Star Kids may rise to Star Haven to deliver people’s wishes… 

But those wishes will not come true.

Meanwhile, in other worlds…

A man walked out to his mailbox as he did every morning, pausing only a moment to glare at his hated next-door neighbor (who cheerfully waved back).

As he looked over the mail (mostly bills, again) one envelope confused him.

“That’s odd, Timmy never gets written invitations!”

…

After a long day of school and Ghost fights, all Danny Fenton wanted to do was flop down in his bed and sleep till… probably midnight, if Skulker was in a good mood. Still, something compelled him to check his Email. The newest message was an invitation to a party in… the what kingdom? Calls to his two best friends confirmed that they’d received invites too.

Still, that begged the question why it was explicitly addressed to Danny Phantom.

…

“Good morning, Gary!” Spongebob called as he prepared for his day. Mr. Krabs had closed up shop while he went on a vacation with his daughter Pearl (as much as he hated to admit that he needed the rest) so the Aquatic fry cook’s schedule was free for the next two weeks. The poor guy must have been really out of it, because he’d agreed to pay Spongebob and Squidward while he was gone.

As the animate sea sponge prepared to head outside, he saw that the mail had arrived early today.

“Let’s see… Postcard from Sandy over in Texas, Power bill, Coupons… Oh, what’s this?”

Reading the now-familiar-to-us invitation, the sponge’s square face clearly held back a squee of delight, “I’d better call the guys and see if they can help me get to this ‘Mushroom Kingdom’ place.”

…

“Jimbo! A letter came for you! It looks kinda fancy, too.”

“Coming dad!” Jimmy called down from his room before setting down the ray gun he’d been tinkering with.

“Here ya go, son.” Hugh said as he passed the young prodigy his invitation. Soon after reading it (and checking it over to make sure he’d read it correctly) Jimmy received a call from someone he didn’t quite expect.

“Hi, Spongebob, What’s up?... Wait, You got one too?”

------

Hello everyone, and welcome to a project I’ve been trying to get off the ground for a while. This is a rewrite of Paper Mario, modified to work in written format, make some minor tweaks to keep things fresh(like including Geno), and of course having the cast of Nicktoons Unite join Mario on his journey. I’ll be trying to post a chapter at least once a week, and I’d be happy to answer any questions about it!

[princessvicky01]

Cake and Cuddles

Part 10 - The final chapter! This ends my OTP epilogue for Cullen x Annabel post trespasser and has been an emotional journey. For those who have read and left comments/likes/reblogs/kudos - thank you so much, you really don’t know what it means to have your encouragement.

Summary (SFW): It’s Cullen’s birthday, and what better way to spend it then with his family? The Dad!Cullen domestic fluff we’ve all been waiting for. Enjoy!

Click for: Whole story on AO3 or Part 1  Part 2  Part 3 Part 4  Part 5  Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

And just in time for the end of @cullenappreciationweek 2019!

Cake and Cuddles

It’s far too quiet.

Annabel frowns as she slips her jacket off. Worry and suspicion bicker for her attention as she climbs the steps, listening carefully for any telltale cries or screeches that she usually received on her return.

When Cullen hadn’t met at the gate, she wasn’t overly surprised. He must’ve had his hands full without her around, and she never could quite shake the pang of guilt that leaving her family behind brought with it. The fading sun’s rays now pave her way back to them with a welcoming orange glow, and warm eagerness begins to replace her trepidations.

Maker, but she had missed them. It had only been just over a week, but it had felt like a lifetime. No doubt her weary husband would agree. Smiling to herself, she rounds the corner of the steps to be greeted by her boys.

Prince, the great lumbering marabi, and so-called ‘guard dog’ doesn’t even raise an eyebrow at her approach. It seems the boys had thoroughly worn the old dog out, based on his heavy snoring, that continues while Arthur marches a carved pony up the great mountain of the dog’s side, oblivious that his mother was merely a few feet away. A second pony follows, or brave knight, it seemed, as the toys continued their quest along a treacherous path of a snoring mabari’s stomach. Piled either side of Arthur, one sprawled over the dog’s paw while the other lay spread over the floor with a miniature carved dragon still in hand were her little twins, Bryan and Maxwell.

Leaning on the bannister, she spends a few silent moments savouring the sight of them, the rise and fall of her toddler’s chests and the tiny snippets of playful conversation she catches from their big, but altogether still small, brother. Arthur had blossomed in Skyhold, having more attention, more care and more adventure than any young boy could ever wish for. As she watches, he suddenly exclaims something in gibberish, then reaches over to grab a report. It’s then that she spies the sprawled line of paperwork between his play area and her desk. Ah. So, the picture wasn’t quite so perfectly innocent after all.

Time and time again he’d been told to leave the desks and paperwork alone, and yet he seemed drawn to them with an endless fascination of putting chalk and ink to paper. The smile on her lips becomes slightly crooked, it seemed little Arthur was a perfect combination of her and Cullen, free-spirited but still with a love for paperwork. In fact, she had already requisitioned a bespoke miniature desk for him so he could ‘help’ by practising his letters and doodling on paper that didn’t contain important military secrets.

All but chuckling to herself, Annabel decides to intervene, it’s only then that she realises she can, in fact, hear two distinct snores. Twisting, she spies Cullen, sprawled over the small sofa, flat on his back, with a children’s book loosely held in one drooped hand while the other wraps over his latest prized possession. Baby Rose.

The young babe, just under four months old, had nestled against her father’s chest, head resting right over the beat of his heart, and it seems that Cullen has never slept more soundly. Drawn to the tiny buddle, Annabel crouches by their side, carefully taking the ‘tale of the stubborn druffalo’ out of Cullen’s hold, making fingers twitch, ever alert, even when exhausted and lost deep in the Fade.

“Mama!!!”

The overly zealous shout wakes Cullen with a jolt, the baby griping in compliant as her pillow shifts under her, thankfully he has just enough sense to stop himself bolting upright and disturbing her completely. It had taken him hours to get her to sleep, as it had every evening that Annabel had been away, the infant finding sparse comfort against the relatively hard planes of his chest. Those trials were over now though, his bleary eyes catching sight of his radiant wife as she catches Arthur’s bear hug and squeezes him so tight he erupts in a fit of giggles.

Another snuffled complaint from Rose sounds, and he can already tell that’s it, the peace has been broken, and she begins to wail, but still, he couldn’t be happier.

“Annabel… I… What time is it?” Shuffling more upright he shushes the babe against him, but it’s no use, her tiny fists have already drawn tight as she demanded nothing less than everyone’s full attention.

Scuffing up her son’s dark mop of curls, Annabel dismisses his worry, then gestures to hold the baby, something Cullen feels rather guilty of being so relieved to see. Between the four of them, he’s not sure he’s had a moment’s peace since she’d departed, if it wasn’t Arthur trying to climb the battlement walls it was the twins squabbling, or Rose crying to be nursed. She had not been impressed by the milk Annabel had left behind. She’d thrown a tantrum at the bottle and refuse to quiet for anything but her favourite lullaby. That had made for an interesting war room meeting…

Suddenly Arthur is climbing to sit beside him, legs swinging as his brother’s take their turn at getting rather more subdued affection, rubbing puffy eyes and nuzzling against their mother’s side with loose grips around her waist.

“It’s time for bed,” she rocks the whimpering baby one-handed against her chest, the other prising that damn wooden dragon from Bryan’s grip. “Come on now.”

Cullen almost sighs in blessed relief. Oh, Maker only knows he loved his children more than anything, but taking care of four alone had proven to be the greatest challenge of his life. Of course, the other advisors and staff had helped out during the day, but every morning and night had been a battle to rise and settle them.

Slowly rising, Annabel has to wriggle her son’s hold free, and as Bryan begins to snuffle a cry, Cullen wraps him and his brother up into his arms to hold one on either hip. Arthur meanwhile has already scampered off, seemingly full of boundless energy, he proudly fetches some papers that look distinctly like the reports Cullen had spent the afternoon writing.

“Look, I helped Papa, just like you said. See,” eagerly he presents the ruined document with bright blue eyes which are the very picture of Annabel’s.

“Arthur,” Cullen’s tone verges on stern. “What did we tell you about not touching the papers on the grown up’s desks?”

Annabel raises an eyebrow and refuses to come to her son’s aid as he peers up at her.

“But it wasn’t on the desk! Honest, Prince knocked them all on the floor,” he points with a stubby finger at the hound who finally decides to wake up with a mighty yawn and little wag of his tail. “And I…” the child falters under his parent’s scrutiny, eyes eventually ending up on the floor. “…I just wanted to help. Like you said.”

Much like his mother, Arthur was impossible to stay mad at, and Cullen merely gives a resigned sigh. “Alright. Next time just check before you start helping, please.”

The boy nods and is playfully shoved forward by his mother. “Bed. Now. It’s Papa’s birthday tomorrow, and I’ve got lots planned.”

“Oh, really?” Cullen raises a smirk and a questioning eyebrow, his toddlers already sleeping against him.

“Yes,” Annabel nods, hand still urging Arthur forward least he forget the task. “But all of you only get your goodies if your well behaved.” Now it’s her turn to give a playful little smirk. “Now, bed.”

The family shuffles its way downstairs, the boys bedrooms and a small play area had been built into the once wasted space beneath the Inquisitor’s chamber and had proven to make the ideal nest for the family. Provided no more surprise children came along that was.

It’s a struggle to keep his eyes open, his heavy lids blinking as he watches Annabel nurse their little girl. Just how had he ended up so blessed? When Annabel places her in the cot, the babe settles without compliant, and Cullen finds himself wearing a humble smile as he continues to study his wife. He must have dozed off because the next thing he knows Annabel is curling up against his side, and the telltale nudge of her feet sneaking to slip between his for warmth pulls him back from the edge of the Fade. “I missed you…” voice croaky and broken, he plants a kiss against the top of her head, resting there to soak in the scent of her.

“I missed you too,” her finger traces circles over his heart. “All of you.”

-

Sluggishly Cullen opens his eyes to be greeted by sunlight. He hums as he rests his lids once more, he can’t remember the last time he’d woken so late or feeling so revived. The room is peaceful with nothing but a light breeze dancing across his chest, and it takes but a moment for concern to fully wake him.

Silence? That really was a worrying novelty when you had four small children.

Sitting up, he finds only crumpled sheets and a scruffy note on Annabel’s side of the bed. Blinking away the Fade, he reads it slowly through the lingering fog of sleep.

‘Thought you’d earned a rest, Birthday Boy. I’ll be with the children in the garden. Come join us when you’re ready, but don’t take too long - birthday surprises await! Annabel x

He smiles softly to himself and lays his head back on his pillow. He’d always been an early riser, but right now, ten more minutes of peace sounded perfect. He ponders briefly on just what she meant by ‘surprises’, instantly he hopes for cake, and perhaps some time for them alone, although right now he would gladly welcome languid cuddles in front of the fire. And that is the image he takes with him back into the Fade.

-

“Papa!”

Strolling in his casual wear down to the garden the shout catches Cullen’s attention along with it’s high pitched chortling. Pausing at the bottom step, he spies Annabel sat on the grass with her back to him, the twins by her feet and a dark-haired stranger holding his daughter.

“Papa, look!”

He doesn’t know the voice, but vaguely recognises the small red-haired girl it belongs to as she rushes over with flowers in her hands. When the stranger looks up from the bundle in his arms, Cullen instantly knows it’s the ill-tempered Lord. Annabel’s brother. Is that what she’d meant by surprises? He had rather hoped for something more pleasurable. Although the scowl he remembered Bryan always wearing was gone, replaced by a soft smile that makes him decide to study the Trevelyan’s for a while.

“It’s lovely Evelyn, I’m sure auntie Annabel would love to wear it.”

“No, papa I made it for you!” With innocence and joy, the little girl holds out a scruffy daisy chain, as proud as anyone had ever been.

“Don’t fret, there are plenty for everyone,” Kelandris, his wife, holds out a bunch, already wearing one herself then placing one on little Bryan and Maxwell in turn. The toddlers instantly find their new headwear fascinating, it lasts for all of thirty seconds until they steal each other’s and ruin the delicate chains in the process. They seem happy enough with the flowers though, squashing and throwing tiny petals with glee.

“Ah, I see, in that case,” Bryan tips his head down to his daughters’ level to accept his new crown before rising like a king. “Thank you, my lady.” He nods respectfully as the girl chuckles and climbs into Annabel’s lap to crown her too.

“Plenty enough for you too Commander,” Bryan’s sideways remark catches Cullen off guard. The Lord had given no indication he’d spied him, and in fact, Cullen had expected the opposite given his rather uncharacteristic antics.

Annabel twists, greeting him with a beaming smile and the girl is soon rushing to him with her pink and white daisy chain. “Uncle!”

Crouching, he meets his niece, even still she can’t quite reach his head to place the delicate flowers there, so he boosts her up. She’s very endearing as she hurries back to her mother, and it seems Cullen fits right in as he joins the mini flower festival. Sitting crossed-legged by his wife, he greets her with a fleeting kiss, Maker he had missed those lips, and as much as he might wish to indulge in them further now was not the time. Perhaps that was one of his surprises? That certainly would be much more enjoyable than the company of nobles.

“Bran! Get down from there!”

Cullen instantly knows that voice, it seems to transport him hundreds of miles and decades into the past with its reprimand, back to Honnleath, although he can hardly believe it. Whatever childish reply is made gets lost to the wind, but Mia’s certainly isn’t. “I don’t care what Arthur is doing! If he impaled himself on his blade would you do the same!?”

“Mmm, perhaps we should’ve recruited Mia as our Commander,” Annabel’s teasing quip brings a smile to Cullen’s lips.

“Aww, come on ma’am, I can take it,” Iron Bull’s telltale tenor catches Cullen attention and draws him up to his feet. Just how many people had Annabel managed to gather for his birthday? Any hopes of a lazy day of cake and cuddles were quickly fading. Although the sight of Bull carrying four children off his horns as he charges in with Mia close behind makes up for any disappointment.

Arthur drops from the Qunari with all the boldness of youth, and lands hard but is soon back on his feet, knees grazed and shirt already mud-stained. “Papa!” His joy is bright enough to light up the world as he rushes full pelt to him. “Did you see?”

Hauling him up in both his arms, Cullen swings him around on the spot, his son’s jubilation spreading a broad smile that crinkles at the corners of his eyes. “What’s wrong, huh, run out of trees and walls to climb?” He scruffs up his son’s thick curls before setting him down.

Laughing, Arthur pats the wooden play sword he wears on the belt around his waist. “We challenged him to a duel, and since we won, we got to ride the bull!”

Annabel scoffs back a spluttered chortle at the phrasing which Cullen makes sure to quickly skim over. “You bested worthy opponent indeed, but can you best the Commander of the Inquisition?”

“Or the Inquisitor herself?” Leaning with her hand on one hip Annabel has gracefully perched against his side, where she belonged.

Arthur’s eyes light up, and he nods eagerly. “Yeah! Kids versus grown ups! Kids versus grown-ups!” He declares the chant at the top of his lungs as he pulls his miniature sword free, and his cousins promptly gather around him to join in the rallying cry. Between them all, they had produced quite the brood, and Cullen suddenly feels like his suggestion had perhaps been a bad idea.

“I’ve got cake!” Rosalie’s shout saves the day as she emerges with Branson carrying rolled up picnic blankets. Dropping their swords as one Bran, Julie, Arthur, William and Evelyn all rush over to the goodies, followed by two giddy toddlers who struggle on uncertain legs to catch up.

“Looks like she saved your ass there chief,” Bull mocks before beginning to absently wander towards the gathering. “Hmm, I wonder if she has those little fluffy ones with the pink frosting…”

Cullen shakes his head at the throng of his extended family. Mia naturally takes charge of seating the children while the other adults set out the brunch consisting of tea and cakes. For all the chaos, never had his heart felt so full. The laughter of his children, and his nieces and nephews bringing nourishing joy with it.

Still by his side, Annabel wraps her arm loosely around his waist to rest her head on his shoulder. It seems he would get cake and cuddles after all, but there would be nothing quiet about it. And turns out, that is just how he likes it.

-----

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it, if so likes, reblogs, comments and kudos really do mean alot to us writers and help us keep going!

Can’t believe it’s over... I’ll still write Cullen fanfic, I love him too much to stop, but mostly likely just more one shots. 

[letstalksymphogear]

Symphogear, EP.7 (Cont.)

“i have not now, nor ever, liked this creepy ass church elevator.”

“kanade please get out of my head, just because im hungry doesnt mean you have to tell me every time i am”

Hibiki finishes getting a full body X-ray. She’s fine.

“that anime protagonist immunity is really kicking in well!”

“by the way, your wife is here! and she’s looking mighty miffed., as opposed to me, mighty milfed.”

“you dont strike me as a mother figure but ill play along for now”

“i just hope miku’s okay...”

“oh, she’ll be fine! see, i’ve seen these kinds of plots before. big secret revealed, another lover is shown, the victim watches as they’re thoroughly cheated on, and they get to lik-”

“please stop breathing”

Genjuro’s wasting away again in Margaritaville. Looking for some daughter to adopt. SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT THERE’S A, WOOOOMAAAAAN TO BLAAAAAAAAAAME, BUT HE KNOWS

XYLOPHONE RIFF

THAT’S IT’S ALL HIS FAULT

XYLOPHONE RIFF

“i hate it when he gets like this. jimmy buffets not a good look for him.”

“for once you and i agree. seeing the commander sulk like this like a middle aged perma-tourist is genuinely miserable”

“hey homies! im back and i brought some bitches! oh, jesus, why does this place smell like mistakes in miami?”

“its me. im sorry. every time i feel like i failed as a dad, my anti-dad energies manifest. imagine every midlife crisis rolled up into a single ball, smacked into the face for eternity. thats the depth of my pain for failing this girl.”

In a moment of positivity, the friendship between Tsubasa and Hibiki is cemented.

> Tsubasa has joined the party.

“FRIENDSHIP!”

“fweindship.”

“uuuuhhhhh... dadship? yeah thats close enough.”

“WE’RE ALL GOOD FRIENDS!”

“ya tiddies are ringing again, better go get it”

Ryoko also points out that Hibiki’s relic is fusing with herself at an alarming rate. This is important to keep in mind.

Meanwhile, at night.

Miku is posing in the motherly “you done fucked up, where have you been young lady” position. A cold scolding is coming.

“.........................hey miku......”

“you can come in. are you worried im gonna bite? you suplexed a car. that shouldn’t be an issue anymore.”

“miku, i.... i wanted to tell you.... but.... the plot wouldn’t let me, miku....”

“should’ve told the plot to fuck off anyway. now you’re gonna live with that. you’re sleeping... on the bottom bunk.”

“b.... b..... b...... b.... b...... bottom bunk...?”

They slept separately that night. God, this is so stupid. All of this is so goddamned stupid. “I’m so mad at you even though you saved my life.” This is just so. AUGH. THIS IS DUMB. KANEKO WRITE BETTER ANGST THAT MAKES SENSE THAT ISN’T THIS.

Meanwhile, far away from this garbage...

Chris, having been evicted from Fine’s McMansion, wanders the streets of mumblemumble aimlessly. Don’t be fooled by her new fancy dress. Basically, she’s a combat-competent hobo.

“no food. no home. no victories. this sucks. whyd you do it, fine? we coulda been great together. but no. ya fired me. now i look like im prancing the red light district with a highly advanced superweapon around my neck.”

“no... hibiki’s to blame. ever since that genderbent little mac showed up to fight me, it’s been all downhill. fine thought me a laughstock because i couldnt take out her oversized boxing gloves, and now she beat me while i had nehushtan. god... i wish i never met that damn hamster faced chubby cheeked nerd.”

“wait, whats that crying”

Chris spies two kids talking to each other, one of them crying. Chris immediately makes an assumption, believing the big bro is bullying his sis.

“hey! stop nicking her lunch money, twerp”

Chris currently is a firm believer of corporeal punishment.

But the sister deflects the blow. Chris can’t even defeat children right now. Truly, this is a record low for her. You know you blew it when even kids are schooling you on basic morality. She then tells the little girl to stop crying, ironically mirroring her brother.

The infamous double T-Pose maneuver. Chris, you might as well get a shovel and start digging your own grave.

“i keep doing bad things badly, and now im doing good things badly... when fine said i was bad... did she just mean im not talented?”

Chris, finally, does a good thing and helps these kids find their parents.

“yeah. hibiki saved a kid when she got her gear. guess what? bam! im saving two! that’s fifty percent more kid per kid saved. take that, weirdo.”

The kids call her out on Chris singing unconsciously, and Chris gets flustered over it. Dawwwwww.

Chris manages to get them to safety to their Dad...

...while brutally lying about it, making Chris look like a predator. There’s a very crushing irony at play here, given who Chris used to serve.

“ugggggggggggggggghhhhhh hes not even gonna payyyyy meeeeeee why the fuck did i dooooo thiiiiiiissssss”

“hey, you know. you kids have a really nice relationship with one another. care to give me tips on how to be an empathetic human being capable of making friends?”

“maybe we’re born with it”

“maybe its maybeline”

“maybeline...”

Meanwhile...

A cold wind blows through Lydian Apartment 69-L. (I don’t actually know if that’s their room number, I just made it up.)

“jesus take the wheel, because i’m jumping out the passenger seat to save this current wreck of a relationship”

“miku please i saved your life, doesnt that count for anything”

“you already killed me the moment you lied. also im taking the bottom bunk so i dont have to see your face coming down the ladder.”

“miku you cant hide in this depression den forever. i know i hurt you and im sorry for it, but please understand i literally couldnt do it. you saw there were punches and violence and stuff... i didnt want you tied to that...”

“what was that? i cant hear your apologies over my incredibly loud snoring. SNOOOOOOORE. SNOOOOOOOORE. SNOOO- fuck, i just swallowed my spit, fuck”

“i hope this cocoon of displeasure you’ve made for yourself lets you erupt into a butterfly of acceptance so i can fly with you again.”

“......thats not fair. you cant say those beautiful metaphors and get away with it. let me be mad... sniff... let me be mad...”

Sadness wafts in the den of lies Hibiki has been forced into.

No music plays. There is only heartbreak, and woe.

In the midst of this pain...

Ryoko loredumps about how the Symphogears work and are immune to the noise on her blog, ‘hornyonmainforscience.org’, her hybrid science journal slash kink zone. It’s mostly a recap with some pretty good soft techno beats in it.

“i made a custom brew of red bull, five hour energy drink, coffee, and cream. i call it gamer girl piss.”

“damn. that’s some good piss.”

She muses about how Hibiki has managed to break the limitations of her Symphogear, making her a totally unique specimen. Wait, where have we heard this before...?

Hey... Ryoko... let’s just... cool it a bit with the Hibiki pictures... come on...

Ryoko touches upon the Custodians and the Curse of Babel. We ain’t touching that shit until later, because that’s another shitfuck box of crazy just ready to jump us in a dark alleyway to rob us of our wits.

Back to Lydian:

“miku whats the answer to the first three multiple choice questions”

“B. A. D.”

“oh, thanks. huh, BAD.”

“yeah. you are.”

“mmm. taste likes dissapointment. just like my life.”

“hey table for two haha get it cause there’s two chairs and miku for the love of god, please, forgive me”

“ive surgically removed my eyes and drew eyelashes over them with sharpie so i dont have to see your bird bangs.”

“thats very rude to both me and my hair. also, wig.”

Even Hibiki’s meal is judging her. Mainly for not eating it. Fucking look at this. God, that looks amazing. Fuck, why did I write this while I was hungry.

“miku you cant do this forever. i might die and youll end up crying on my tombstone going ‘oh god, why, oh god’, and really, i cant live with myself if that happens. mainly because id already be dead by then”

The Anime Janai crew show up to break some icebergs with a goddamn sledgehammer. As the self-aware Gods of this realm, they got very tired of this poor display of angst, and have decided to directly intervene.

Nevermind. They came for her kneecaps, and they most certainly got them.

PLEASE. I’M BEGGING YOU. END THIS GARBAGE PLOT THREAD.

“look. imma lay down the facts. yall are gay. yall are in love. yall are angry for the wrong reasons. its nobody’s fault here but the writer. so please kiss and make up. pretty please.”

“kaneko... you fool... we all know what the original sin is. its your hack writing making this stupidity in the first place. let the pencil go, asshole!”

They bring up the fact that Hibiki isn’t doing her work and wonder if she has a job on the side, which isn’t allowed by the school. Miku gets annoyed and bails, with Hibiki running after her. Unfortunately, Miku runs faster...

“oh god miku not the rooftop whatever you’re thinking just dont do it! please!”

“no. i came here to angst, since this is the Maximum Angst Zone.”

“i..... okay! okay, that’s fair! rooftops are the perfect place to look sad while getting proper air ventilation, thats fine”

It really would have been better played if it was played off that she felt hurt not because of the lie, but because she felt like she could have helped her better having known the truth, and it being a self-loathing sort of scenario for not being there better for her and not fully understanding the risk at play.

But no, instead, we get this.

Absolutely obliterated. A heart ripped, shredded, and sent to the Shadow Realm.

The episode ends on that note, but has a post credit scene.

Naked. On an old timey telephone. On a computer. Wearing stockings and long gloves.

The main antagonist of the series, everybody.

She’s talking the best English possible to some random-ass American when suddenly bursting through the scene is none other than:

“I WANT WORKERS COMPENSATION YOU BITCH, BEFORE I UNIONIZE YOUR NAKED ASS”

“AND I WANT A GOOD REFERNECE FOR MY FUTURE EMPLOYER, AND ALSO A SEVERANCE PACKAGE SINCE I’M FUCKING HOMELESS”

“i paint my eyelashes with mascara made from the tar of freshly carbonated corpses manufactured through noise, what on gods green earth compels you to think id give a rats ass about you?”

“so you never cared, huh! you’re just a nasty naked hedonist trying to- trying to- what the fuck are you even trying to do?!”

“i want to live the dream every spicy little fossil like me yearns for.”

“I WANNA FUCK GOD!”

“how- what? what? how do you even- what? are you- do you want to be the pope? is that it? does the pope get to fuck god? are you- is this a larping thing? you’ve really been into larping lately! i don’t like this!”

“youve never read the old testament, have you. ass out, pussy bare, hips up and barefoot. that’s how god’s always liked it.”

“now get lost, punk. you tipped off my hand to genjuro and now you being here is going to ruin everything. if you still feel any semblance of devotion, eat one of your own bullets and call it a day.”

“it’s 2012 bitch, if the mayans dont get you, I WILL”

“what god gives, He takes away, and so do i. i built you from the ground up. your relic, which was good for jack shit on you. the nehushtan, which you failed to do anything with except zap a couple hundred people. stop wars? you’re a walking war, waged by me, for me. and your cartridge has just run out of bullets.”

“uh oh! hand’s acting up again! better bail before i send you back to smacktown where all the bitter little shittalkers like you strut around spending their lives being useless as hell.”

“ah fuck, im not dealing with no manos: the hands of fate bullshit again”

“and guess what else i got on motherfucker”

“i see the union efforts have officially been busted. understandable, have a nice day ma’am”

“LEAVE.”

“I’M GOING, I’M GOING”

[hymn2000]

Chiquitita - MCU AU fanfic - C5

Story summary: Something strange is happening. Someone from space has made their way to Earth, armed with a strange weapon. Targeting teenagers, their ray gun, when fired, turns the victim into a toddler. The Avengers set out to stop this, and find a way to reverse the effects. However, they don’t all come out of the battle unscathed.

Previous chapters: 1 2 3 4

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: de-aging, family stuff, corporal punishment (early chapters only), mental health stuff, hurt/comfort

Chapter 5 - Such Sorrow

-

Peter was very grumpy indeed by the time they got home. Tony was much the same, although for different reasons. Steve, Bruce, and Wanda had left, but that still left Nat, Carol, and Clint hanging about. Clint was in the kitchen.

“Good trip?” he said.

“Expensive” Tony grumbled, shoving all the shopping bags down. “Loki, where do you want all of this?”

“Are you serious?” Loki said, trying to shush Peter. “I’m sure you can work it out yourself”

“Why can’t you help?”

“Are you serious?” Loki said again. “I need to put Peter down for a nap”

“I can take him” Clint offered.

Loki looked at him. “...What?”

“I’ve got three kids; I know how to do nap time” he said. “Back rooms set up, right? I’ll stick him in there. Futon might be a better bet: I don’t wanna be responsible for him if he falls out of bed”

“... Ok. That’s fine. Well, if you’re sure...”

“I am” Clint said, taking the whimpering boy from him. “Hey, little guy. Aw, someone’s tired”

Peter whined, rubbing his eyes and burying his face in his new rocket toy.

“Oh wait, we got him a blanket” Loki said, quickly finding it in one of the bags and discarding the cardboard sleeve. “It might help him”

“Cute” Clint said, taking the little fleecy blanket from him. “Come on then, little guy: lets get you down for your nap”

Loki gave Peter a quick kiss, and then let him go. 

“What are you panicking about?” 

Loki glared at Tony. “I’m just nervous, ok?”

“Mm. Right, give me a hand with this stuff, ok? I’ll leave the clothes, but we can put the rest of it away”

Loki narrowed his eyes at him. “What’s gotten you so grumpy all of a sudden? You were ok for a bit while we were out”

“Just tell me where to put this stuff”

Loki sighed heavily, and grabbed the first carrier bag. Tony’s ‘we can do this’ attitude seemed to have completely disappeared. 

-

They finished putting away all of the kitchen stuff, but when Loki tried to start talking about a care routine for their now-toddler, Tony completely blanked him. By the time Clint got back to the kitchen, the two were in one hell of a shouting match. 

“Uh, what the hell are you two shouting about?” 

“Tony’s being a twat” Loki said.

Carol and Nat came into the kitchen too. 

“What’s he saying?”

“He’s just being a twat” Loki snapped. “You can’t act like none of this is happening”

“I’m not acting like none of this is happening!” Tony insisted. “I just don’t know why I have to act like everything is ok. I’ve just lost my son”

“We haven’t lost our son! He’s just small now”

“I never adopted a toddler!”

“Tony, for fucks sake” Nat said. “Calm down”

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down! You don’t understand what this is like! My little boy-”

“Is still your little boy” Carol interrupted. 

“You were ok while we were out shopping” Loki said. “I thought you’d started to accept this”

“Well you thought wrong. How the hell am I supposed to accept this?! This is exactly what I feared. How am I supposed to look after a toddler?”

“We’re going to have to get on with it” Loki said. “It’s not easy for any of us, but it-”

“Don’t you dare say it is what it is. Don’t you dare!”

“But it is” Loki said, grabbing Tony by the shoulders. “We didn’t exactly know what we were doing when he first came to live with us full time, and we’d known him for a pretty long time by then. But we still did it, didn’t we? We struggled through together. We might have a younger son now, but we still know him as a person, right? We’ll just have to adapt. We can do it, you and me. Like we always do”

Tony looked at him. He didn’t want to admit that Loki might have a good point. He didn’t want everyone else telling him to just get on with it. He gave Loki a shove.

“Leave me alone. I didn’t sign up for this”

“Yes, you did. He’s still our son”

“I’m not doing this! I can’t look after a tiny kid! I’m gonna call Li Allen, maybe she can-”

“Absolutely not!” Loki shouted. “You can’t just send him away because it’s difficult, you stupid man! You can’t palm him off on someone else; I won’t let you!”

“Why do you have to act so high and mighty about all of this? I want my son back! My fifteen year old son. Why are you ok with this?!”

“I have to be!” Loki growled. “This is hard for the rest of us too; not just you. We just have to get on with it” 

“I don’t care! Why can’t you just let me be upset?! Why don’t you do something useful and put the rest of this shopping away while it’s sleeping?”

“It? It? Don’t you dare start treating him badly just because you’re upset, you absolute-”

“I don’t care, and I’m not listening! Fuck off and leave me alone, all of you!” Tony shouted, and stormed out of the room.

Loki growled angrily as Tony left.

“That bastard! I could wring his neck!”

“Maybe we shouldn’t resort to murder” Carol said. “I’ll go and talk to him”

“I’m not getting involved” Nat said.

“Loki, do you want a hand with those clothes?” Clint asked.

Loki looked at him for a moment, and then nodded. He supposed it would be easier with company.

-

“Parenting is hard” Clint said, sorting through the bags. “I know this whole situation is weird, but Tony will step up”

“He’s a stubborn man” Loki said, finding an empty drawer in Peter’s dresser and a couple of spare storage boxes. “How could you know?”

“At the end of the day, there’s a kid who needs looking after” Clint said. “Tony can’t sulk forever. He’ll need to suck it up and keep being a parent”

“What if he doesn’t? What if he sees me looking after him and thinks he can just step back and do nothing?”

“Don’t give him the option. You’re married; you’re supposed to help each other. Plus, Peter’s his son too. Listen, you’re no fool: you wouldn’t let Tony become a deadbeat”

Loki stopped for a moment, sitting down on the rug opposite Clint.

“If I’m looking after Peter, and if he’s tricky, well, how can I possibly prioritise Tony and getting him to help? Peter’s going to need me more”

“Yeah, maybe. But I’ll bitch at Tony if I need to, and so will everyone else. He’ll step up once he’s over the initial shock”

Loki didn’t respond. They were both quiet for a moment, removing hangers and folding clothes.

“You’ve got loads of things” Clint said. “There’s some cute stuff here”

“Yes. Well, we don’t know how long this is going to take. The reversal, I mean. I thought it better to have too much than not enough”

“Oh yeah, it’s the way to go” Clint said. “Little kids are real big on messy play”

“Oh yes, indeed. At least we don’t have a garden here, so I don’t have to worry about daily grass-stain removal” Loki said. He sighed. “Tony is Peter’s favourite parent; he always has been. He... He put him in his car seat, and got him out again, but that was it. He was in better spirits while we were out. But... Well, where Peter was concerned... He barely spoke to him, outside of the tantrum”

“Oh joy, kiddie tantrum in a big shop, was it?”

“Yes, he kicked off when Tony told him he couldn’t have that rocket. Tony gave in though, just to keep him quiet” Loki sighed. “He’s always been so brilliant with Peter, so in tune with him. It’s like he isn’t even trying now. I mean, he called him ‘it’, for crying out loud! And of course earlier, when I tried to get him to hold him, and he said he didn’t want him. And of course, there’s what he said about Li”

“That’s your social worker, right?” Clint nodded. “He’s just scared. Sure, you’ll probably have to tell her, but it doesn’t really make a difference, right?”

“I’m not prepared for any of this” Loki said. “But I’m not giving up on my little boy. I promised to look after him the moment I invited him into my life. I promised again when we had that custody agreement with May, and again when he came to live with us, and then again when we adopted him. Tony did too. How can he backtrack on that?”

“He can’t” Clint said. “Listen, Tony’s a good dad too. You’ll figure all this out together”

“And before that happens?”

“Like I said earlier, I know we’re not friends, but I’ll still help. I love Peter, I’ve got kids, and I’ve got your number. Or, there’s the internet. I’ll help if you need me too. Anything you want to ask now?”

Loki stopped, stroking the little ears on the teddy bear onesie in his hands. 

“Yes, but it might sound thick”

“Go for it: I’m a master at being thick”

Loki laughed slightly. “Two questions. Firstly, what time do you put a three year old to bed?”

“With mine, it was 8pm, sometimes a bit earlier if they were really tired. You start winding them down before though, if you can. Bedtime stories and things like that” Clint said. “Next question?”

“Is he too old for a buggy?”

“No. He might know his feet and be fast and energetic, but he’s still tiny. Buy a buggy. Good if he’s tired, or to keep track of him if you’re out somewhere busy. And if you take him on days out, you’ll need one. They do get tired more when they’re out and about” Clint said. “Any other questions?”

“Not right now... Thank you, by the way. It’s good having someone who understands things” 

“No problem. Are you gonna hold that onesie all day?”

“I’m distracted” Loki said, folding it carefully and adding it to one of the piles. “I’ve got a hell of a lot to think about”

“I can only imagine. It’s weird for the rest of us, so what it’s like for you? Well, that’s beyond me”

Loki took a deep breath, and nodded. He looked at all of the clothes they’d folded already. He thought about the little toothbrush and kiddie toiletries, and all the kids tableware in the kitchen. It all felt so unbelievably weird. He had no idea how this was going to work.

-

Carol nodded at Loki when him and Clint came into the living room after they’d finished sorting the clothes. Nat was beside Carol, and she smiled slightly.

“Tony’s not very happy” she said.

“Yeah, he’s very upset” Carol said. “We did talk a lot. And argue a lot. For quite a while”

“Where is he now?” Loki asked, sitting down on the big armchair.

“He’s in his room. He said he wanted to be left alone” Carol sighed. “I think he wants to sleep”

Loki rested his head in his hand. “I have no idea what to do”

“You’ve done great so far” Nat said. “Just hope Carol’s kicked Tony into shape and he’ll do better later”

“Nat” Clint said quietly. “Check your watch”

Nat did. She sighed and stood up.

“We’ve got to go” she said. “I’ll check back in some time, if that’s ok?” 

Loki nodded. “Ok. Peter will like to see you, I’m sure”

Clint went over and gave Loki’s shoulder an awkward squeeze.

“I’ll ring you. In a week or so? See how you’re getting on?” 

Loki looked at him. “Thank you. For helping with Peter. And the rest of it”

“No problem” he said. “Good luck”

The sound of the front door closing seemed to suck a lot more noise out of the air. It felt strange, just being with Carol. It was usually a comfortable thing, but now, it just felt heavy.

“How are you feeling?” Carol said, sitting down on the arm of his chair. “Worried? Scared? Lost?”

“Yes, yes, and yes” Loki said. “Oh god, how am I supposed to do this? I can’t be a single parent”

“You’ve looked after Peter alone plenty of times”

“Yeah, big Peter, and with Tony’s constant support, sometimes at long distance, of course. But still... There’s a difference. I know you mean well, but... Oh god, this is such a mess!”

“You’re thinking about the clinic, aren’t you? Just a little bit?”

“I know he’s in shock: I am too” Loki said. “But what if he did this with a baby?”

“It’s a different situation, completely” Carol said. “You’d have been planning for ages for a baby; you’d be ready. This was thrown on you without warning. Tony just needs a bit of time to mope, and then a good kick up the arse, and he’ll be fine. He’s a good dad”

“I know. But he didn’t try this afternoon. I mean, not with Peter. He was good helping choose clothes, but that’s all, really. He was better out, but...”

“They say it’s easier taking babies out, right? Maybe it was the same kinda thing. Or maybe it was the distraction” she put her arms round him, resting her head against his. “You know I love you, and I wouldn’t lie to you. He’ll come round. He just needs a little time”

Loki sighed, breathing in deeply. “Carol... You know what I’m going to say”

“That I smell nice?”

“Yes” Loki said. “But something else, too”

“Stay?”

“Yeah”

“Oh Loki” Carol held him tighter. “I love you, and I love Tony, and little Peter. But I can’t stay. I promised I’d stay until after your mission. It’s after your mission now”

“You said you wanted to hear Peter’s account of it. Can’t you wait till he’s told you?”

“He’s going to be little and without any memories of being big for a while, darling. We both know that. It could be months. You know I have things I need to do elsewhere” 

Loki found her hand and held it tight. He shut his eyes, trying hard to stay calm. Carol pressed her lips against Loki’s temple. 

“Do you need to cry?”

“Yes”

“Are you going to?”

Loki pulled her onto his lap, holding her close and tight. “Absolutely not”

-

Carol left far too soon, and Loki nearly did cry when the door closed behind her. But he heard a little voice in the distance, and went off to find Peter, who had woken from his nap.

“Hey, little boy” Loki said, sitting down on the futon. “How are you doing?”

“Where’s other daddy?”

“He’s busy” Loki said. “Right, let’s get you up”

Peter put his blanket round his shoulders, tucked his rocket under his arm, and pushed himself to his feet. Loki smiled, and took Peter’s hand. 

“What do you want to do now, darling?”

Peter thought for a moment. “Go for a wee”

“Oh right” Loki said, a little surprised at his answer. “Ok, you come with me”

He led him to the nearest bathroom, pausing outside the door.

“Do you... do you need a hand?” 

“I can go by myself” Peter said.

“Ok. Here, let me look after your rocket and blanket for you then” Loki said, taking them from him. 

He stayed outside, waiting. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was nervous. The chain went a couple of minutes later, and the bathroom door opened.

“Hi” Loki said. “Did you wash your hands?”

“I can’t reach the sink”

“Ah. Right, come here then”

Loki took him back into the bathroom and held him up so he could reach to wash his hands. 

“Good boy. I know, this sink is kind of high. We’ll get a little step for you to stand on in here” Loki said, setting the boy back on his feet and handing him a towel. “Here, dry your hands”

Once Peter had done so, Loki gave him his rocket back, and wrapped his blanket round his shoulders.

“There” he said. “Now what do you want to do?”

“I want to see daddy”

“You can’t right now, darling” Loki said, his heart near enough breaking. “Why don’t we go and watch a DVD for a bit instead. Would you like that?”

“I want daddy. Is he asleep?”

“Yes” Loki said, deciding it was the best way to respond. “You can see him later. So. DVD?”

Peter looked at him. “Which one?”

“Well” Loki thought for a moment, remembering that the people hit with Kindsprengen’s gun remembered things they liked. “What do you want to watch? One of my funny old DVDs?”

Peter went quiet, thinking, and then started singing. “Underground, overground, wombling free! The Wombles of Wimbledon, common are we”

“Making good use of the things that we find, things that the everyday folks leave behind” Loki finished for him. “The Wombles, then?”

“No. I wanna watch Mr Benn!” Peter said, and then collapsed into giggles. 

Loki couldn’t help laughing too. “Were you trying to trick me, little boy?”

Peter just laughed more, almost bent double. Loki laughed more too, scooping the boy up into his arms and cuddling him close.

“Mr Benn it is, then” Loki said. “Let’s go and get you settled” 

-

Peter lay on the floor making what Loki assumed were rocket noises while the DVD was being set up.

“Where’s mumma?” he asked, in between sound effects.

“She’s had to go. Work” Loki said. “But she’s left you some more lollies”

Loki stopped, thinking for a moment. He hadn’t seen the lollies: Carol had just said she’d put them in the cupboard. He looked at Peter, and he wasn’t sure whether or not it was a good idea. He didn’t want him choking. What if it was those lollies with the paper sticks where the sweets often came off quickly? 

“Peter, sweetheart” Loki said, pressing play on the DVD. “Stay here. I’ll just be a minute”

Peter seemed happy enough where he was, so Loki nipped to the kitchen and looked in Peter’s cupboard. He was relieved to see that Carol had brought Peter’s current favourite; Juicy Drop Pops. They were on more of a base than a stick, and definitely looked much safer. Loki thought he might be overreacting, but he wanted to be safe. But then he started to wonder if sour things were ok for little kids. Maybe it would be personal preference. These sweets weren’t really that sour, but maybe little Peter wouldn’t like them anywhere near as much as the Peter that had started the day. God, that felt weird to think about. Loki checked his watch, and it was nearly 5.30pm. Seven hours ago, they still had big Peter. Time was playing tricks on him, he was sure of it. He closed the cupboard and went back to the living room.

Little Peter was sat on the rug in front of the telly, watching the DVD. Loki watched him, wondering what was going through his head. He knew who everyone was, and he seemed to know where he was, and what he liked, and he looked comfortable, but did he have any actual memory memories? Maybe he was too absorbed in the day he was living to really think about it. Maybe he had semi-memories. He obviously remembered seeing this DVD. It was all very strange. Little Peter recognised Loki and Tony as his parents, which was a relief, but it did make Loki wonder. When Peter was originally three years old, he’d had his biological parents. May (and even Peter himself) had always said that he didn’t really remember them, but he obviously had no inkling of any other parentage as he was now. But even that thought raised another question: would he remember May? Loki looked at one of the pictures on the wall. It was strange, looking at himself, Tony, and May, and regular Peter, when he had tiny Peter in front of him. He pulled out his phone, finding an old picture of himself and May. He sat down beside Peter on the floor, and showed him his phone.

“Do you know who this is?” he asked.

Peter looked at the picture. He didn’t seem too interested, or show much emotional at all to it. “It’s you”

“Yes. And who am I with?”

“A lady”

Loki swallowed. He looked at the picture, sighed, and closed his phone. Well, it answered one question, anyway. He sighed again, and gave Peter a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Stay there, chick: I’ll just be a minute”

-

Tony didn’t want to talk to Loki. He didn’t want to leave his room, he didn’t want to see Peter, and he didn’t want to eat. Loki left his room in a huff, wondering why he’d even bothered when he already knew what the answer would be. He tried to stop being cross when he rejoined Peter.

“Darling, we need to think about getting you fed now” he said.

Peter didn’t say anything. He was still busy watching the telly. Loki sat down, remote in hand. He waited until the episode finished, and then paused the DVD. Peter frowned, and then turned round, looking at Loki.

“It’s stopped” he said.

“Yes. It’s time for us to sort dinner” Loki said. “Why don’t you come through to the kitchen with me, and we’ll see what we can find?”

“What about my rocket?”

“Your rocket can come too” Loki said, standing up. “Are you coming?”

“Yes yes, wait!” Peter jumped up, leaving his blanket behind, and trotted after Loki.

Loki hit a mental block as soon as he got into the kitchen. Breakfast and lunch ideas came easily to him, but as he tried to think of what a three year old might accept for tea, he hit a wall. He couldn’t for the life of him think of anything. Surely this shouldn’t be so hard? He looked at Peter, who was jumping between the chequerboard tiles of the kitchen floor.

“What do you want for tea, sweetheart?”

“Something yummy”

His answer wasn’t exactly helpful. Loki didn’t know what he’d expected, but he needed an idea from somewhere.

“How hungry are you?” he asked, opening one of the kitchen cupboards.

“For food”

“I think you’ve misunderstood my question” Loki said. “Are you a little bit hungry, or are you quite hungry, or are you very hungry?”

Peter just shrugged, far more interested in his little jumping game than his dads silly questions. Loki bit his lip, starting to feel sick and shaky all over again. He closed the cupboard and got out his phone. He hesitated for a moment, annoyed at himself, before giving in and googling; ‘evening meal ideas for toddlers’.

Well, even that was more complicated that he expected. Surely toddlers wouldn’t really want breaded broccoli or black bean quesadillas or courgette chips? In fact, most adults wouldn’t want to eat that, he was sure of it. And this blog was seriously suggesting houmous? For a toddler? And for a full meal? Lentil soup? What? Was this seriously what people fed toddlers? It sounded more like the menu for a vegan cafe. Besides, he didn’t have hours to prepare and cook, and he was certain most of the ingredients for these little ideas would not be found in the Stark family kitchen. 

He looked at Peter, who was mercifully still playing happily. He clicked on the next web page, and was met with more seemingly ridiculous suggestions: pea and shrimp risotto, split pea and spinach dhal, lamb tagine, salmon pesto tray bake.. Loki quickly shut his phone. That was unbelievable. He very nearly started to doubt his lunch and breakfast ideas, but quickly told himself that everyone on the internet was a pretentious prick and there was nothing wrong with jam sandwiches and porridge with brown sugar and cream. He sighed heavily, watching Peter for a few minutes.

“Give us a clue, chicken”

Peter barely glanced at him. He was far too busy to listen to Loki. Loki sighed, and got his phone out again, deciding one more website couldn’t hurt.

-

Five websites later, and Loki still had no idea what to feed Peter. He did, however, have a newfound hatred for internet parents with blogs.

“This might actually be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me” Loki said. “I now fully understand those parents who just feed their kids oven chips every night. I don’t agree, but I understand”

Peter stopped what he was doing, and looked up at Loki, puzzled by his words. He wasn’t sure what he was talking about. Loki looked down at him.

“Everything ok?”

Peter looked at him a moment longer, shrugged, and then went back to jumping on the tiles. Loki looked back at the website still open on his phone, resisting the urge to lie down on the floor and have an existential crisis about butternut squash tagines and apricot couscous. He closed the internet and opened up his contacts, scrolling until he found; ‘That Avengers Twat With The Bow And Arrow’. His thumb hovered over the contact. It was incredible, firstly, that the thought of ringing Clint Barton of all people was crossing his mind. He’d said he’d help, but then Loki wondered what he’d think if the first phone call was; ‘help I have no idea what to feed a toddler for tea even though I had a go at Tony for not knowing what to give him for lunch’. He sighed, and closed his phone, putting it down at a safe distance. He felt like a right pillock. An actual God, wonderful as he was, being utterly defeated by toddler tea time. Sure, it was probably just the stress, but justifying it didn’t exactly help.

He opened the fridge and stood staring into it, as though doing so would spark an idea. He was still blank, looking at what they had. He furrowed his brow, thinking deeply, until he felt something tugging at his trouser leg. He looked down at the little boy at his feet.

“Hello” he said.

“I’m hungry” Peter said. “I’m ready for tea now”

Loki wanted to go and grab Tony by the ear and drag him in here to help, but somehow he didn’t think doing so would have the desired effect. Instead he just closed the fridge, and lifted Peter into his arms. 

“What do you want to eat, darling?” he tried.

“Cheesy pasta”

As soon as he said it, Loki wanted to punch himself directly in the nose for being such a hopeless fool. Macaroni cheese, of course. What a stupidly simple, quick, obvious choice. He was a twat. That was it, there was no other word for it. He was a twat. But of course he didn’t say that.

“Of course, darling. Now, can you be a good boy for me while I’m cooking?”

“I think so”

Loki smiled and kissed him on the nose before putting him down. Crisis averted.

-

Luckily Loki knew a good macaroni cheese recipe off by heart and could get on quickly. He made enough for three just in case Tony changed his mind in the middle of the night. Mercifully he had the right ingredients. He set up a place for himself at the table, with Peter’s new kiddie tableware in place for him opposite. He tried to figure out what kind of bedtime routine he should try while he cooked. Peter got a little whiny and restless while he was waiting, so Loki gave him a slice of cheese to keep him going. Loki could’ve sworn time slowed down while he cooked that meal. It felt like an eternity before it was ready. Even then, he had to wait a little longer, going slow while he got himself and Peter a drink so that the food had a little time to cool. He didn’t want Peter burning his little mouth. 

He felt exhausted by the time he plonked Peter down on his usual seat at the breakfast bar. 

“Sorry it took so long, chick”

Peter just nodded, setting his rocket on the stool next to him. He looked at his plate and matching cutlery and his sippy cup of juice.

“Do you need help?” Loki asked.

Peter shook his head, picked up his fork, and started to eat. Loki almost fainted with relief. He was terrified he’d not be able to do it alone, or worse, that he’d reject it. But he was eating happily, and confidently, putting his fork down every so often so he could pick up his sippy cup for a drink. Loki realised how little he actually knew about toddlers, but he pushed down all his reservations and focused on eating his own plateful. This was all very scary, but seeing little Peter doing things for himself, and having been able to trust him alone for a couple of minutes, was a big relief. It was going to be really hard, especially at first, he knew that. He kept looking over at the kitchen doors, wishing that Tony would appear and join them. The doorways stayed depressingly empty.

-

Loki let Peter have a little runaround in the kitchen again while he washed up and tidied the kitchen. It was already nearly half seven by the time he’d finished. Clint had recommended Peter be in bed by eight, and as the man of experience, Loki trusted that recommendation. He knew kids were supposed to wind down before bed, and he was very familiar with the process. But doing it on his sabbatical was different: those children all had pre-established routines. Peter had no routine. Well, big Peter did: after tea he’d watch telly and play on his laptop and listen to music, and then he’d go to his room and shut his laptop down and pack his school bag and then he’d get settled and go to sleep. That wasn’t really going to be a viable option for a three year old.

Peter still seemed full of energy. He was still jumping about, making rocket noises and spinning around and babbling to himself. He didn’t seem tired at all. Loki was conscious of the time, and after a few minutes, he grabbed him.

“Ok, that’s enough play for now”

“Nooo, I’m still playing!” Peter whined.

“Ok, we’ve got a different game to play” Loki said. “It’s the getting-ready-for-bed game”

“That doesn’t sound like a good game” Peter said, wrinkling his nose. “I don’t want to play it”

“But if we play this game now, you get to use some of your new things”

Peter shook his head. “Nope”

He wriggled away and started running about with his rocket again. Loki bit his thumb. 

“Uh. Peter, darling, it’s bedtime”

“Well, I don’t want to go to bed”

“But I want-” Loki stopped. “But your rocket wants to go to bed”

Peter stopped, looking at his rocket. “Rockets don’t get tired”

Loki sighed, scooping the boy up into his arms. “It’s bedtime” 

Peter squawked and struggled. “No! No! I don’t want to go to bed!”

“Tough” Loki said firmly. “We’re going to bed, now”

-

Peter wouldn’t calm down. He shrieked and struggled while Loki took him to his room and into the en suite. Loki put him down, and he tried to run. Loki stopped him easily enough.

“Peter, you need to stop squeaking now”

“I DON’T WANT TO GO TO BED!”

“I know”

“WHY MAKE ME??”

“Peter, listen: we’re not going to bed yet” 

Peter stopped shrieking. “...What?”

“We’re not going to bed yet” Loki said. He took a deep breath. He knew he had to tread carefully. “We’re going to get you clean”

“Why?”

“Because that’s what we do before bed. We’re going to wash your face and brush your teeth, and then we’re going to get you into... into your nightclothes” Loki said. “Ok?”

Peter looked at him, and at his rocket. He made a little whiny sound, shifting on his feet.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Loki asked gently. “Do you need the toilet again?”

Peter shook his head. “...My rocket”

“Oh, you don’t want rocket getting all wet, is that it?”

Peter nodded.

“That’s ok, darling. Here, why don’t we put rocket up here?” he carefully took the toy and put it on the empty soap dish. “There, rocket is on its launch pad, perfectly safe” 

“What do we do now?”

“We brush your teeth” Loki said, sorting his new toothbrush and kiddie toothpaste. “Can you do it yourself?”

“I think so” 

“Ok, here you go then” Loki said, handing him the toothbrush.

Peter took it from him and put it in his mouth, holding it with both hands. Loki was happy with the little boys efforts, and thought he did a pretty good job. He helped him finish off, and let him rinse his mouth.

“Good boy”

“What now?”

“Now, I’m going to wet your new flannel and then we’ll wash your little face” Loki said, running warm water over the flannel and wringing it out. “Ok, sweetheart, hold still for me”

Peter squirmed a little, but he didn’t whine while he had his face washed. 

“What a good boy you are” Loki said, patting Peter’s face dry. “There now. Shall we go and find you something to change into?” 

Peter nodded. “Ok. Can I have my rocket back?”

“Of course” Loki took the rocket toy from the soap dish and gave it back to him.

He took him back to the bedroom and had a little look through the pyjamas they’d bought that day. He didn’t want him to overheat, but he also worried he wouldn’t be warm enough. He finally selected a little set with dark blue trousers and light blue top patterned with stars. 

“Ok, sweetheart, let’s get you changed. Put your rocket down, please” 

Peter did as he was told. He stayed quiet while Loki took his t-shirt off and said ‘skin a rabbit’, and got him out of his clothes and into his pyjamas. 

“There we are. Very cute” Loki checked his watch, sucking his breath when he saw the time. “Ok darling let’s-”

“Can I go play now?” 

“No, darling. It’s late. It’s time to go to bed”

“I don’t want to!”

“How about we read a story? Why don’t you choose a little book from your shelf, and I’ll read it to you”

Peter shook his head. Loki sighed, picking up one of the books that was still by the bed. He scooped Peter up and plonked him down on the bed.

“HEY!”

“Hey yourself” Loki said, settling down on the bed and pulling the boy close. “No, don’t get up. You just cuddle up against me, darling” 

“Why?!”

“Because how else will you get to know about The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck?”

Peter gave him a funny look, and then looked at the book in his hands. Loki opened the book, and begun to read.

“What a funny sight it is to see a brood of ducklings with a hen!—Listen to the story of Jemima Puddle-duck, who was annoyed because the farmer's wife would not let her hatch her own eggs”

Peter settled down, rubbing his nose against the soft material of his rocket, looking intently at the pictures and listening to Loki’s voice. He soon went still and quiet, perfectly relaxed and sleepy.

Little Peter was fast asleep long before the story was finished. Loki put the book down and very carefully got up, keeping the boy in his arms. He pulled the covers back and set him down in the centre of the bed, biting his lip and praying he’d stay awake. He tucked his new toy rocket under his arm. He paused, and then tucked his old Peter Rabbit toy under his other arm. Then, remember what he’d said to Tony earlier, went and fetched a clean towel, which he slipped underneath the boy. He tucked him in, smoothing the covers over him and switching the night light on. 

He stood looking at him for a minute or two. He just looked so unbelievably tiny. Loki often thought Peter looked tiny, but this toddler truly was. He swallowed hard, watching the rise and fall of the little boys chest, automatically counting his respiration rate. He felt sick. But this little boy was still his son, and he still needed to look after him. And above all, he still loved him. He kissed him gently on the forehead, stroking his temple gently with his thumb as he did so.

“Goodnight, little boy. I love you” he said quietly. “See you in the morning”

He turned the main light off, and closed the door behind him. 

-

Loki turned the television off and sat on the armchair nursing a mug of tea. He scrolled up and down his contacts on his phone. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like talking to Tony wasn’t an option, and he wasn’t sure who he wanted to talk to in his absence. He looked at his phone, pausing at ‘May’. He still couldn’t bring himself to delete her number. She was always his second choice back when she was alive. She would have been wonderfully useful now, but of course that wasn’t an option. He kept thinking of who else he wanted to talk to. Carol, definitely. But she was unavailable now. He might even consider Thor, but he was off-world now too. There was his colleagues at the hospital, many of which he considered close friends. But none of them were really the right person. They weren’t really involved in his world aside of the hospital and celebrity gossip magazines. Loki sighed, scrolling further, pressing the call button. It was answered within the first few rings.

“Hello?”

“Pepper, hi. It’s Loki. Listen, something happened today. I need to talk to you”

-

Pepper already knew. She’d seen the papers, and Tony had been in touch with the real story. Even so, talking to her about the day helped. He didn’t feel quite so wound up for a while after getting off the phone. He had another drink and locked the front door. He was exhausted, so went into lazy mode and called on FRIDAY to do the rest of shut-down before going to his room. 

He looked at all the pictures on the walls: his Snoopy prints, a collage frame of photos from the honeymoon, another collage frame of holiday photos, the big photo of all four of them; himself, Tony, May, and Peter. He looked at his snow globe collection, and his other little trinkets; holiday souvenirs and little statues and things Peter had given him. He sat on the bed, stroking the silk covers. He looked at the toy snake Peter had made him after he’d first started at St Hendricks, wound round the bedpost, staring at him with its funny button eyes.

Loki picked up the photo frame that sat on his bedside table. He had the same photo on the inside of his locker at the hospital. It was of Tony leant against a tree, with Peter hanging upside down on the the branch. Peter had popped down unexpectedly, catching Tony by surprise, and they were laughing at each other. Tony had that oh-so-familiar funny, loving look in his eyes. He loved Peter with all his heart, Loki knew that. They looked so happy. That was the way they should be.

Loki stared at it until his eyes blurred. He put it back face-down on the bedside table, unable to bear seeing it any longer. The people in that photo weren’t the ones in this house right now. His funny, silly, sweet and cute little son was maybe still all of these things, but he was a tiny toddler, not a teenager. His loving, happy, funny and paternal husband seemed to have been replaced with some sort of lookalike. He didn’t know what to do.

‘Shut up, Loki’ he told himself. ‘You’ve held it in all day, don’t fail now’.

But it wasn’t as easy as that. The more he concentrated on staying calm, the harder it seemed to be. He couldn’t hold it in any longer. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He didn’t know if he’d be able to do this, especially not alone. He didn’t know if this could work. He didn’t know anything anymore. And he felt so alone. He was so used to having a bubbly teenage son jumping about and a dependable - if a little reckless - husband he could crawl into bed with. He remembered saying they couldn’t really call Kindsprengen’s ray gun a weapon. He took that back now. He’d completely underestimated the effects this could have. He couldn’t believe this had happened. He just couldn’t.

He covered his mouth with both hands and sobbed. He felt so sick, so hopeless, so clueless. There was nothing he could do to fix this. All he could do was sit and cry, and hope that things would be different in the morning.

*

[mattzerella-sticks]

Sharing a Lullaby (a Nate/John fic, post 4x06 “Tender is the Nate”)

Ao3

One of the Legends takes Nate up on his offer to visit, except it's one member he wasn't expecting. Still, he keeps to his word. Although he ends up having a better time than he thought he would. Sometimes it's the things you never expect that have the best way of surprising you.

           Nate finished his reports a half-hour ago, only staying later to organize them alongside other files that piled up on his desk throughout the day. It wasn’t the most glamorous of tasks within the Time Bureau, but he’s still riding the high from Paris. So he goes about his work, humming James Taylor under his breath.

           “Quite a catchy song, that is,” a rough voice says from behind, “Can’t seem to get it out of my head, either.” Nate turns, finding John Constantine leaning up against his doorjamb.

           He frowns, looking past him. “I’m pretty sure everyone’s gone for the day, Gary left with Mona…”

           John rolls his eyes, advancing. “I’m not here for Gary, Nate. I’m dropping in.”

           “You’re… what now?”

           The magician smirks at him, picking up a small globe that was on Nate’s desk and playing with it. Spinning the Earth in large, clumsy strokes. “Dropping in, or have you forgotten already? The little offer you made?”

           Nate remembers. It was said in good spirits, filled with friendship and the smell of pizza. Although he never thought anyone would take him up on it – except that’s a lie. He meant it for Ray and Sara, and Zari as well. Even Mick if he didn’t cause too much of a problem. Nate never thought John was willing to step inside the Time Bureau, especially for him. Wasn’t quite sure if he wanted him to, either.

           “Oh, uh – no, I… I haven’t forgotten.” He closes the folder he was reading rather harshly, slapping it down on top of a pile of similar folders. “I… wasn’t sure anyone would be by so soon or – or late?”

           “Well I run by me own clock now don’t I?” John says, now lounging on Nate’s desk, “Besides, would you rather I stop by when this whole factory is in a flurry of bureaucracy?”

           “You… have a point.”

           “Always do, luv,” he winks, setting the globe down. “So, what d’you say you and me get a pint down at the nearest pub?” His hand is still on the knick-knack, a finger stuck somewhere in lower Asia, pushing the globe back and forth. Nate gawks at the motion, the comment affecting him strangely. He clings to the more familiar feeling of confusion, and runs with that.

           “I’m sorry,” he squeaks out, “could you repeat that?”

           John huffs out a laugh. “Why don’t I put it in words you can understand…” He clears his throat, drawing Nate’s eyes back up to his face. Putting his fists on his hips, he adopts an American accent. “Hey, pal, let’s go get a brewski at the bar! Maybe watch some American football – which is definitely not soccer!”

           His exaggerated acting brings a smile to Nate’s face, and he chuckles into his hand. “Pretty good. How long have you been working on that?”

           “I had a few-night stands with a speech pathologist,” John tells him, “not only was the bloke a good lay – but he taught me a few things. Anything to help with deception.”

           “Must be good for D and D?”

           “When I’m dungeon master,” John shrugs, “but honestly that’s few and far between. I love playing the game rather than creating a story.”

           Nate agrees. “Besides,” he says, “Ray rarely ever gives it up.”

           “I’ll say – the Boy Scout has a stranglehold on the job. Runs a good game but a mighty big nag when it comes to the rules.”

           He feels somewhat bad at the laugh he shares with John, hoping Ray can forgive him. Nate takes a sweeping glance across his desk, biting at his lip. ‘I can finish this tomorrow…’ He looks up at John, who watches him with a strange gleam in his eye. ‘Must be a magic thing…’

           “So… up for a little hair of the dog?”

           He rolls his eyes, standing. “Not that… but I can go for a beer or two.”

           John’s face brightens immensely, clapping Nate on the back as he leads them out of the office. “Trust me, Nate,” he says, “it won’t be just two.”

           Nate isn’t sure whether that’s a good or bad thing.

           They find a bar a few blocks between the Time Bureau and the apartment Nate rented out. It’s a little hole-in-the-wall, barely filled with people. And those that are there don’t look like they’ve come from a regular nine-to-five. Nate snags a booth with barely any holes in the vinyl while John brought over two bottles. They drank them and a few more, and swapped tales all the while. It’s John’s turn again, and Nate listens, rapt by the other man’s smoke-tinged voice.

           “…and I was carried away by these little buggers, like tiny paramedics, all the way back to the camp! Let’s just say I was glad someone paid attention when ol’ Camp Counselor Ray was speaking!” Nate snorts into his drink, trying not to choke on his laughter. He’s not sure whether John’s actually told a funny story or if it was the fourth beer helping, but he enjoys his time with the Waverider’s resident magician. And if he finds himself staring a bit too long at John from time to time, he doesn’t put much thought into that, either.

           “I wish I could have been there,” Nate says, “I always wanted to go to a summer camp.”

           “You’ve never been?”

           “Until I was a teenager I couldn’t even leave my house,” he tells him, “Was barely allowed to do other things like a normal boy, so of course summer camp was out of the question. It wouldn’t have been fun, either, with my folks. Mom would have probably called every other day to make sure I didn’t get a splinter and bleed out across the campgrounds.”

           “Did she think all summer camps were like that Friday the 13th crap?”

           “What? No – did… you didn’t know I was hemophiliac?”

           “You were?”

           Nate nods. “Until I started hanging out with the Legends and could, y’know, turn into steel. Good thing, too. If I still had my little problem I’d have bit it a long time ago.”

           “That’d be a shame,” John says, “Then we never would have met… this whole night would be a wash.” He casually tosses out another wink, playing with the neck of his bottle, dragging his forefinger and thumb up and down slowly.

           Nate drags his gaze away, meeting John’s raised brow and smirk. He shifts in his seat, searching for a verbal life preserver. He doesn’t much care for what he throws out. “What about you?”

           “What about me?”

           “Did you go to camp?”

           “Not in the usual sense…”

           This piques Nate’s curiosity. He tilts his drink at John. “What do you mean?”

           “My old pa never sent me off to the country side or what not,” he explained, “but some nights I did have to camp outside when he locked me out.”

           Nate winces. “Ouch. Sorry I – I didn’t mean to bring up old memories –“

           “You did nothing of the sort,” John waves him off, “Wound’s healed up. Besides, not like I didn’t get my revenge when I could. Having it now I suppose… breathing, drinking,” he glances up at Nate from between his lashes, “with a pretty lad no less.”

           He actually chokes on his drink this time. Nate coughs up the beer that slipped down the wrong pipe. When he finally rights his breathing, John looks at him with amusement. Nate knows he’s sinking, but he isn’t sure what to do about it. “He wasn’t a fan of you with…” He doesn’t say it, but the very pointed nod of his head and tap of the bottle’s neck is as good as words.

           “Wasn’t very much a fan of anything I did, really” John shrugs, sipping at his beer, “but no, that bit of news was a sore subject for that drunken lump of a man. What about your dad?”

           “What about Hank?”

           “Does he care if you…” Now he taps at his bottle’s neck, smirking.

           Nate flushes a bright red. He fumbles, “Hank doesn’t – he doesn’t think that matters. Barely bat an eye when Ava mentioned she had a girlfriend, although if he heard it was Sara he might be more concerned about favoritism. And I – I don’t know about me if I – if I were to bring… I’ve never, I mean – the only guy I hooked up with wasn’t looking for anything more…” He takes a deep breath. “He’d be okay with it… I think?”

           He scoffs. “You’re very certain on the matter.”

           “You met the man.”

           “That I did,” John nods, “And you could be right. He might be a bit of a stiff one but there are some surprises in him. Like his song; didn’t expect him to know how to play the guitar.”

           Nate smiles, the chords starting up again in his mind, easing him back from the ledge. “Yeah, back when I was younger sometimes he’d… he’d sing me to sleep. If I was having a bad day or feeling lonely…” He sighs, “Before we started butting heads.”

           John holds his bottle aloft, angled towards Nate. “Parents,” he says, “they think they always know what’s best.” Nate clinks their drinks together sadly. “For what it’s worth though, luv,” he continues, “I’m pretty glad you’re not some carbon copy of your old man. I mean… it was pretty sexy how you knew that myth about Daedalus and the lyre.”

           “Oh, that was… nothing, really,” Nate rubs at his neck, “When you came to us about magic and mythical creatures I had Gideon stock the library and just… read. Before the powers, that’s what I was good at. Spent most of my childhood behind books.”

           “Books are good, I’ll agree with you on that,” John tells him, “Especially your library’s collection. I’ve become comfortable in there, as I’m sure you’re very aware.”

           An image of a naked John springs to mind, and Nate barely clamps down on the gasp clawing in his throat. ‘Can he have a conversation without bringing it back to sex for five seconds?’

           “I… am.” He cringes, readying to pour more beer down his throat. His plan doesn’t work, foiled by the empty bottle. Nate pouts at it.

           John gestures to his finished drink. “Looks like we’re out.”

           “Seems like it.” Nate sighs, standing, “Probably for the best. I have to get up early for work.”

           “Work,” John shudders, all the disgust he could force out of his mouth with that one word surprising Nate. “Bloody awful and boring is what that is.”

           Nate’s lips twitch. “Then what do you call what you do?”

           “A hobby, sometimes. Lifestyle when I feel like it.” He stands as well, “Come on, let’s get you home.”

           “You don’t have to –“

           “Nonsense,” John winds an arm around Nate’s waist, guiding him out of the bar and into the night, “I was the one who talked you into this nightcap. Might as well make sure you get home safely.”

           “I’m not drunk, not even the littlest bit tipsy,” he tells him, letting the other man take lead, “I can’t – take a left right here – I can’t get drunk anymore after the serum.”

           “Then maybe I just want to see where you live, then – another block or do I make a right now?”

           “Another block.” He still hasn’t pulled away, and neither has John. His hand sits heavy on his waist, like a hot coal. Except it’s a soothing burn, like all his worries are melting out of him. Nate glimpses John’s profile, taking it in.

           The other man had a ruggedness he appreciated. A similar look to the war-weary soldier Nate saw in picture after picture on battlefields during his studies. The same pictures he’d study over and over that made him realize guys could make his heart stir in the same way as girls did. His eyes were the color of whiskey, and Nate could picture himself getting wasted on them. Even his perpetual five-o’clock shadow temps him, begging Nate to drag his own face across it, see what it feels like.

           “This the place?” John startles him back to the present. He eyes Nate, as if he could tell what was just on his mind. Nate finally pulls away, a rush of cold meeting the line of warmth that the British magician pressed into him.

           “Yeah,” he mumbles, digging for his keys. Nate misses the keyhole a few times, but gets it eventually, turning the lock and entering. John follows right behind him, spreading the earlier heat from one side across his entire back.

           Nate could turn him away then. Tell him he can climb the three flights alone and have them part ways now. But he can’t. They journey together towards his door, keys shaking in his hands. When they get there, he pauses, one hand on the doorknob, the other hovering by the keyhole.

           John whispers, “What seems to be the problem?”

           “If I open this door, then this is really happening,” Nate says, “I’m just… nervous, is all.”

           “You know, we don’t have to do anything. This has been good enough for me. I’ve kicked the ball onto your side of the field.”

           Nate can’t help the laugh that stutters out of him, knocking his head against his door. “Soccer metaphor, really?”

           “Call it bloody football or there definitely won’t be anything happening tonight.”

           He has to ask. “What about Gary?”

           “Gary and I had our fun,” John tells him, “we can, too. Or are you still hung up on the whole… Amaya/Charlie thing?”

           “There’s always going to be a part of me that will be,” Nate says, “So… you’re not looking for anything else?”

           John scoffs. “I could probably stay and cuddle for an extra fifteen minutes, luv but that’s all you’re getting from me. I’m not the type you want haunting your doorstep night after night. Magic and romance don’t go hand in hand.”

           “Then why ask me out tonight?”

           “You intrigued me,” he says, “In that suit, with your… confidence. Standing up for yourself to your father, asserting yourself… even with that bloody lyre… I mentioned already how sexy you were. Adulthood is a good look on you, Nate. Made me want to know more of you in… any way I could.”

           The steel rushes over him then, covering every inch of skin. John steps back, and Nate turns, chasing him. “Sorry, sorry,” he says, powering down, “I got a… a little too excited. That… that tends to happen when I… when I…”

           John closes the distance once more, faces mere inches apart. He brushes his thumb against Nate’s cheek, and he gasps at the contact. “Well, here’s hoping I can make you do that again.”

           He kisses him, and it feels like fire. Like a powerful inferno engulfing him, and not even his powers could protect him. He’d either melt or burn, and neither option worried him. He gladly stayed in the heart of the fire, clutching at the lapels of John’s trench coat, dragging him closer.

           “Eager, aren’t ya?” John pants, nipping at Nate’s lip.

           He pulls back, staring at the wide and blown-out pupils in the other man’s eyes; probably as large as his own. “Bed. We should… not out here.”

           John chuckles. “I’d be happy to, luv, you only need open the door first.”

           Nate glances down at his hand, where his keys lay bent. “I – uh… my spare set is inside. Do you think you could?” John sighs, but kneels down with his palms out. He waves them around his lock, whispering Latin, the tips of his fingers crackling a bright orange. It’s over as soon as it starts. He stands, opening the door with ease.

           “You’re better than any locksmith.”

           “And easier to please,” he nods inside, “Should we get back to it, then?”

           Nate’s kiss is answer enough. He drives them through the threshold, their hands tangling into each other’s clothes, trying to latch onto something. Nate grabs fistfuls of John’s coat once more before tugging at it, trying to tear it away. “Cheeky, aren’t ya?” John says, smiling into another kiss. He flips them around, ripping Nate’s shirt open while he kicks the door shut.

           They step apart once more, gasping for breath. John asks, “Bed, luv?”

           “This way.” They’re stripping the entire way there, flinging clothes like breadcrumbs from the living room over to the door to the right of the kitchen. Nate thanks his morning self for the intrusive thought to make his bed that morning, usually uncaring as to how it looks most of the time. John’s slipping his belt off of him as he turns down the covers. Once he steps out of his pants, he turns to look at the other man in a similar state of undress.

           “What are you feeling like doing, Nate?”

           “Nothing too big,” he tells him, “haven’t… haven’t done anything like that in years. Keep it slow like…”

           “Like two cocks sliding up against each other?”

           Nate laughs. “Yeah, that I can work with.”

           John hops into bed, rolling over, glancing at the empty space. “Well, are you going to get in?”

           He does, but not before bringing out his lube from its place in his nightstand. Tossing it on the bed before jumping in as well, drawing the covers up and over them both. Nate giggles, the amazement of the night bubbling forth now that he’s safely cocooned with the other man.

           “I haven’t done anything yet, luv.” John looks at him tenderly, rubbing calloused hands up and down Nate’s chest.

           “I know I know I’m just… this feels good.”

           “I’d hope so,” John says, leaning in close, brushing his lips up against Nate’s, “make it good for both of us.” They continue kissing, John jerking Nate’s hips closer to his, rubbing their crotches together. Nate slips his hands up into the other man’s blond locks, threading his fingers through them as he gasps and pants into his mouth. “Just like that, luv. God, is your cock made of steel, too?”

           “I – I can make it,” Nate tells him, stuttering as John trails open-mouthed kisses down his neck, “It won’t – won’t feel as good as this. No friction. No heat.”

           “Good to know.” John gropes behind him for the lube, a successful mission if his keening is anything to go by. “Knickers off.” Nate shimmies out of his boxers, then helps John with his own. Their cocks brush up against each other, and it makes Nate’s even harder, a little precome leaking out. He moves back up, where they can easily gaze into each other’s eyes. Nate’s face hurts from smiling, and John’s might as well. “Hey.”

           He snorts. “Hey yourself.”

           “You ready?”

           “As I’ll ever be.”

           John brushes his knuckles down Nate’s chest, all the while whispering soft encouragements. His fingers take their cocks together, and the cold lotion hits against his flushed cock, and Nate hisses at the wondrous feeling. “Haven’t even got to the best part,” John tells him, his other hand playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

           Nate nods, leaning in closer to John, head bowed. John kisses the crown of his head before he starts pumping, their cocks bobbing together in passionate synchronicity. Like pistons in a steam engine they move up and down simultaneously, rubbing against one another. The heat spreads all the way up Nate’s body, from a bit of sweat on his brow to the curl of his toes.

           He feels the pitch of his stomach, his cock slick with lube and come, both his and John’s. The other man whines low in the back of his throat, a deep rumble that rolls over Nate like a crushing wave. He finally uses his own hands, instead of leaving them to twitch at his sides. Nate reaches for John’s neck and yanks him in for a kiss. He happily succumbs to his pulling, and their lips meet in searing joy. It’s the final push that helps Nate blow his load all over he and John. He moans into John’s mouth, biting down on the other man’s lower lip.

           “Bloody hell,” John breathes, coming right alongside Nate. They lie like that, on their sides, blinking at each other while a pool of their come dries quickly between them on their bodies and Nate’s sheets. The thought has him laughing, and John pouts. “I thought I did a great job…”

           “No it’s – you were great,” Nate says, “I just realized I’m going to need to change my sheets and – and I don’t have any extra sheets. Some adult I am…”

           John smirks, laying a sticky hand against Nate’s stomach. His eyes glow amber, muttering in Latin again. He feels their come disappear, almost as if nothing happened, as John’s hand burns hot against his skin. “Whoa…”

           “Really great trick,” John tells him, “Like my own Unseen Servant.”

           “D and D in the bedroom? Really?”

           “Nerd like you, I figured that might be a turn on.”

           “I think it’s a little late for that.”

           “I don’t know. I’m always ready for a second round.”

           Nate shoves at John jokingly, both men laughing at each other. They kiss again, with less intensity than all the other times but still brimming with passion. John reaches around and brings their chests together, Nate smiling into the embrace. He pulls back. “Thank you.”

           John raises a brow. “Not sure what you’re thanking me for? Kinda a two person job, innit?”

           “Yeah but I… I never would have thought –“

           “Give yourself more credit luv,” John tells him, “you managed to get a girl like Amaya to fancy you. Now I’m prettier, of course, but with lower standards. This was bound to happen at some point.”

           Nate scoffs, knocking his head against John’s. “Some point…” He lets himself succumb to the post-orgasm haze; his body pliant under the other man’s wandering hands, kneading at his back. ‘Maybe he’s wrong… magic and romance can go together.’

           “What’s going on in that head of yours, luv?”

           “Just thinking…”

           “I thought I took care of that? Or have I lost my touch already…”

           Nate cracks open an eye, a sex-ruffled and giddy John staring back at him. “You’re touch is amazing… I really like it.” At that, the other man stills, the smile slipping from his face.

           “Trust me,” he says, expression darkening, “you wouldn’t.”

           “I think that’s for me to decide.”

           “Spend enough time around me, and you’d be singing a different tune.”

           Nate yawns, too tired to deal with John’s cryptic nature. “Just stop talking and hold me. You said fifteen minutes… and I’m holding you to it.” He burrows in closer to John, wrapping his arms around John’s waist.

           John tightens his grip. “Alright luv… fifteen minutes, then.”

           Nate slips into sleep not soon after, John’s face burrowed into his hair. The magician hums a familiar tune, one that makes his passage into unconsciousness even faster. ‘James Taylor…’

           The morning rush of the Time Bureau only worsens Nate’s mood. He woke up late to an empty bed and a dirty sink. John stuck to his word, not being there in the morning. But he didn’t have to leave such a mess. The dishes he cleaned and the clothes he picked up off the floor threw off his pre-work routine. It wasn’t all that bad, however. In the other man’s rush to leave, he forgot his tie. The red silk was hidden by Nate’s suit jacket, and still smelled of John’s smoke and cologne.

           Wearing it to work might have been risky, but it was the only good part of his day so far. Especially since Ava greets him with a stern frown. “You’re late.”

           “Sorry,” he tells her, trailing his boss as she walks further into the Bureau, “I had a few things I needed to take care of before…”

           “I can clearly see that,” she says, glancing at his neck, “If you want I have some foundation you can – uh… use?”

           Nate brushes his knuckles up against his skin, remembering how closely John showered him in affection, especially one particular area. “Well – uh, that wasn’t what – I – I…”

           “I don’t need to know, Nate,” she says, stopping in front of his office, “Not while we’re on the clock. We can talk about her later, if you want.”

           He blanches, looking away as Ava’s impish grin unfurls. “Maybe…” she pats him on the shoulder as a goodbye, leaving just as Gary starts to pass.

           Gary stops, scanning the room, his nose twitching. “Something wrong Gary?” Nate asks.

           “It’s weird,” he tells Nate, “I thought I smelt something familiar, like… no, it can’t be.” Gary glances at his tie. “Great color, it looks nice with the blue suit.”

           “Thanks…” Finally alone, Nate shuffles back over to his desk, tackling the work he left for himself. But not before taking one last whiff of John’s tie. Smiling, he gets back to it.

[defective--detectives--chaotix]

AU Chaotix Back Story for this Blog

Alright, so it’s no secret that I hate most pre-SGW arcs. Soooo -- I’ve spent ---- years on writing this [no joke] and want it canon to the blog-

KNUCKLES, MIGHTY, AND RAY WERE NEVER A PART OF THIS. ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT MOBIANS MATURE FASTER THAN HUMANS, AND ARE FORCED TO IN SOME SITUATIONS [I.E - ESPIO IN THIS STORY]

Vector moved from Tralius [that much is canon is that he’s from Tralius/Downunda]. As a kid, Vector has always wanted to do good work and help people. Like most kids, he wanted to be a cop, but that slowly started turning to detective after finding a bunch of old detective films on tapes and was instantly obsessed with detective work. 

He had a group of 4 other friends with him and he got them on the idea of ‘playing detective’ and all were on board with it. They made a play group and did all these fake cases [i.e - one of the parents hiding something and planting clues for the kids to find]. One day, all the parents put in some money to build them a little club house outside of the city a bit into the woods so they could have their own little place to play [and stop making a mess of the houses]. 

One day, they found one of the mom’s missing rings. And then a cat on one of those ‘missing’ posters. So they all thought they were doing good and wanted to start taking sliiiightly bigger cases. They do this from when Vector was 7-13 years old. Over the years, one of the friend moves and two just lost interest, and it was just Vector and one friend doing it. The one friend who stuck around had the last name of ‘Chaotix’. Was Vectors best friend at the time. [IMPORTANT].

Espio was still part of the shinobi clan was evil and there was a huge war going on between all of the clans. Espio [age 9 while Vector was 13] was sent on a field test into the city when he stumbled upon the ‘fake’ detective building. Going invisible, he sneaked [because apparently ‘snuck in’ isn’t a word] in to see what was going on in there. They were trying to figure out a case of a missing person [as they were actually getting pretty good] when Espio became visible by accident[as Espio wasn’t fully in control of his powers (also randomly changes colors at times)]. Quickly spotted, Vector and his friend tackled down Espio. After a fight between all of them, they ended up getting Espio tied down and interrogated him. Of course, the small ninja had a hard time breaking out, but the second the two turned their backs, he broke free and left. 

But now. His pride was on the line. So, a week later, Espio comes back to try and take on the two kids again. But it ends the same. So. he keeps trying. And trying. And trying. For months until it no longer turns into a pride thing, but turns into a game for the three. There was some days Espio won, and some days Vector and his friend won. One time, after capturing him, Vector just let him go and asked him his name and they all started talking and becoming friends. Of course, the shinobi clan wouldn’t be a fan of their youngest ninja-in-training just fooling around and sneaking here for fun and games, so he had to hide it. He helped them on their little ‘jobs’ while becoming friends with them.

Eventually though, one of the others noticed Espio sneaking off so much and follow him, eventually find out he’s keeping secrets from the clan and reports it. The kid who ratted him out had a lot of rivalry with Espio and was more than happy to tell. Espio came back and got in large amounts of trouble from hiding things from the clan, and was under strict watch. Of course, for his pride of being a ninja, he tried to sneak out a while after and was caught in the act. 

Vector, Espio, and Vector’s friend have been friends for almost a year by this point when a large battle broke out in Northamer, and all the clans were at heads, along with several villains also taking the chaos to their advantage and a large war broke out. Espio was in the detective base with them to warn them how to avoid the ninja clan so they were safe, but several had followed Espio at this point and then tried him for treason on the spot and attacked due to him defacing their honor of their clan. There was a huge fight in the small building, and in the end, Vector’s friend suffered a horrid face of death. 

When seeing his friends lifeless body on the floor [Vector and friend- age 15, Espio - 10], Vector was clearly devastated as he ran to his friend. Espio ended up yelling at the others with ‘look at what you did!’ and they replied with ‘it looks like our work here is done’ and then told him to never return to the clan. 

As a shut out from his clan, Espio had nowhere to go and had no honor left to him. After the police were involved and the whole place was cleaned up, the two took a long while to come down from the shock. Espio was able to stay with Vector’s family and they took some time to get everything together. 

Eventually, they slowly over time started staying more and more at the base than at home because of a lot of home problems with Vector’s parents. They spent the time and energy to upgrade the building and actually start bringing in things like a desk and what not. Things Vector has seen in the old movies. They work on this project for a year and become really close doing jobs and what not to pay for it. They were getting really good at detective work, and ended up calling themselves the ‘Chaotix Detectives’ out of memory of their lost friend.

After that year, the base wasn’t really complete when there was a murder case brought up on the news. The king and queen of the golden hive colony were murdered, along with a lot of the hive in general. They went to check out the scene before they were told that their only job would be to take the kid of the king and queen and find him a safe home. They were NOT to get involved with the murder case. 

The kid’s name was Charmy. He was one when he lost his family [Vector 16, Espio 11] as the two now were to find a home for the kid. It took 2 months before they found someone, and in the mean time, they were both staying at their base and taking a break on renovations to take care of the kid and use the little money they had on Charmy. Once they did find someone, they both grew too attached to him and didn’t want to get rid of him, though it was stressful.

So they decided to keep him. They spent the next 3 years taking jobs, becoming some of the best detectives to try and better pay to get the base at least livable, and taking care of a child. Eventually, they get it pretty good [as well as putting a room up top as a room for Charmy [shown in Sonic X] while the two sleep in the main section of the base. This was their home now. They raised Charmy to age six, and he still doesn’t know about his family or what happened. Doesn’t question it, and Espio and Vector discourage him from calling them ‘dad’. They trained him to be a fighter and detective. It was hard to raise a child but, they are now age 20, 16, and 6, and yeah -- they’re still figuring it out -- but they’ve got it together for the most part.

They’ve all known each other for a long time, and are all each other really have (outside of Sonic and co.) and are a dysfunctional family. They all love each other and this is why Espio and Vector are so protective of each other and Charmy. Along with not wanting to make Charmy live with what they had to while also training him to kick butt.))

[petergender]

finally rested up from the nonstop con run, so here’s my pictures!!!

con highlights:

-guy on the street serenaded me with the spiderman theme on his ukulele in Chinatown (a real tobey maguire throwback)

-tiny captain phasma (girl was INTO IT, she was like 4 but Mighty and Terrifying)

-SO many little kids just staring up into my face like :0 and then whispering (or yelling) “hi spiderman” 

-one dad of those little boys asked me where I got my costume (he actually approached me while I was sitting down and I was rlly happy abt it bc ppl don’t usually do that!!!), and true to peter parker I got to say “I made it myself!!!” so ty random dad for validating me, and I hope ur little guy gets his costume made for next yr!!!

-one kid looked me in the eye, deadly serious, and flipped me the spidey sign and I honestly dont know if it was a threat or a gesture of solidarity. Kudos, kid, I’m very scared of you.

-I saw a kid dressed up as miles morales and I gotta be honest I was rlly hoping he or his dad would ask to take a pic w me bc his costume was Spot On, but I didn’t wanna ask kids for pictures in case they were shy

-one little boy had the plastic mask and silly string webshooters and his dad lifted him up so he could see me and he waved v slowly cause he was lookin at a Full Size Spidey and it was rlly wholesome that dad was So Pumped to see me.

-one kid just fuckin LOST IT when he saw me, like straight up staring at me In Awe, and I’m ngl, that really made my Whole Life, I felt like I rlly was spiderman

-EVERY Deadpool I ran into was nothing but cool and respectful, and I was honestly a little nervous going in, so thanks to all of you who managed to stay in character and not cross the line cause u did a Stellar Job 

-there was this one Thor and he was there all three days I was and I stg he always had a little plastic beer cup in his hand and I saw him drinking it but it was always full???? 

-I yelled “mr. stark!!!!” Every Time I saw an iron man cosplay to get their attention for a picture (I hope they were amused, I rlly tried)

-spEAKING OF IRON MAN that first guys costume was the Coolest Shit I Have Ever Seen In My Life, his mask flipped up like on command??? mr stark??? hook me up blease??!!

-I had the Actual Backpack and no one commented on it but it made my whole experience 2000 times better

-got to ride public transit in a full spiderman costume???? wow 11/10 experience 

-saw a J Jonah Jamesson and when he saw me he just yelled “MENACE!!!!”

-a guy dressed as green goblin saw me and said (in the low scary voice and eveyrthing) ““really??? you know no one like spiderman!” and I was cackling

-got to see the lotr panel???? so wild

-also the last quarter of the justice league panel, Ezra miller and ray fisher are both Delights

-flipped off some protestors from the west boro Baptist church (only after they verbally attacked my family personally, which was super gross and I hope they fall off the Ben Franklin bridge!!!) but it was rlly a freeing experience flipping them off in full spidey costume 

-A LIVE BAND PLAYING THE GOTG SOUNDTRACK WHEN WE WALKED IN ON FRIDAY????

-and oh my god the parade-like line on Saturday, that was amazing

-a dumbish thing, but no one looked at me and said “:0 spidergirl!!!” Like everyone called me spider m a n, they rlly knew I was tryna b peter parker and it felt good ngl

-this one girl filming on the balcony above the escalator (I genuinely didn’t notice she was waving at me for a long time but it made my Entire Day when I realized she was???? @mystery girl where r u hmu w that vid) was So Happy to see me??? wow. 

-oh and every now and then??? ppl just Snappin Pics. Not even asking to take a picture w me, just takin em, I Love It I hope I get to see some of them online sometime 

-oh and I Love when I was an absolute moron and ppl had to ask me like 4 separate times for a picture bc I had No peripheral vision and two layers of fabric over my ears (every time I told my family to wait up they just said “lol use ur spidey senses” and Id be more mad if it wasn’t so funny)

-wildly, i was actually one of the Only girls I saw dressed up as spiderman, and it kinda made me feel good for no reason??? Especially since no one treated me differently than the boys dressed up as spidey idk. (that being said, every girl I saw dressed up as spidey added 10 yrs to my lifespan)

-saw a star Lord carrying a sign that just said “sorry guys”, and the other side said “justice for Gamora” and I’m fuckin dhdndns

-every friend group dressed as the guardians really made my Whole Day

-group of four guys dressed up as the anchormen, all walking in formation. I tried to get a picture w them but I stg they just fucking disappeared after passing behind a pillar and I never saw them again

-I probably actually seemed a lot like peter parker to everyone because I just started jumping up and down and gasping every time I saw a Single Avenger, I was really just losing my fucking mind

-dressing up as your favorite superhero really does improve ur quality of life

-not a highlight but For Real If u dress up as spiderman I’m begging you to drink water and take off the damn mask when you can bc holy shit I went home after each day and just Died Immediately, please take care of urself lol

-if you recognize me and have pic PLEASE tag me in them, I’m a hoe and love seeing myself lmao (and if you see yourself, hmu and I’ll tag you in the post if you want!!!)

[gabriellapatterson-blog]

Help me Obi-Ben-Lukeobi, you’re my only hope.

A/N: Thanks for the RP @benjaminschreave

I paced back and forth in my room after dance classes in panic. Crap I still suck so much at this. I’m gonna seem like a moron when it’s the actual ball. Suddenly I got an idea. I grabbed a note paper and scribbled out a message and had my maid Ruby deliver it.

Suddenly there was a knock on my door, “Obi-Ben-Lukeobi?” I heard Ben ask. It seemed he had gotten my SOS ‘Help me Obi-Ben-Lukeobi, you’re my only hope.’

“Oh! My only hope is here!” I walked over to my door with a smirk, “Your name has both Ben and Luke in it. It was asking for a star wars joke.”

“Very unfortunate choice on my parent’s part.” He said with a small smile and leaned against my door frame, “So what do you need my help with?” He asked.

“Oh right.” I looked back into my room for a moment to be sure that I had put away his birthday present which was still a work in progress. Hopefully he wouldn’t be able to smell it. I then opened the door fully, “You can come in. I need help dancing. I'm not sure if you've noticed but I'm not the most graceful person.” I explained.

He raised an eyebrow, “Seriously? I always thought you were the epitome of poise and grace.” He asked as he followed me inside.

I gave some quick finger guns and did a click of my tongue for a sound effect, “You'd be wrong. Meet Mr cuddles.” I said then gestured to my teddy bear who sat on my bed.

“and photos.” I added and motioned to my desk which was temporarily cluttered with photos from home that I hadn’t found a better place for.

He seemed to be holding back a grin as he walked over to Mr Cuddles. “I'm surprised Mr. Cuddles made the trip out here.”

“Be careful with him he's old. And Emma tried to stop him from coming but I persisted. I named him when I was three. It's very original, right?” I joked.

He set down Mr cuddles carefully, “Not quite as original as Mr. Rock, but I'll give you points for trying.” He replied with a half smirk.

I gave a quick laugh, “Mr Rock?” I asked with a smirk.

“Is it safe to assume that was a pet rock?”

“From a very fine collection. None compares.” He answered seeming a bit proud of his rocks.

I chuckled, “Do you still have this 'mighty fine collection'?”

He pressed his lips together as he seemed to think back to remember where his rocks were, “Stowed away somewhere.” He chuckled to himself, “My dad promised he’d take care of them.” Oh no. That normally means they were thrown away.

“I'm sure it's a difficult task, him taking care of your pet rocks. Y'know, since they're such demanding creatures.” I joked and rolled my eyes.

“They need to be placed very precisely and make sure to get enough sunlight. Important creatures.” He went along with it.

“Oh, I had no idea. Aren't you worried about damage from the UV rays?” I asked deciding to keep going along with this.

“They’re rocks.” He answered bluntly. Wow. Just gonna make a fool of me like that, Schreave? Cruel.

I chuckled, “Well now I feel silly thinking that rocks could get skin cancer.” I rolled my eyes for a moment before deciding to get us back on task.

“So, dancing?”

He gave a small laugh and nodded, “Dancing.” He then opened his phone and started to play some old classical music, “So what do you know?” He asked. A lot less than I should.

“So I'm pretty sure falling is not advised. You also should not twerk as the cool kids call it.” I answered.

“Both of these things would be frowned upon at a ball. I guess the first thing I can teach you will be a basic waltz.” He said and stepped closer to me and took one of my hands.

“We’ll be holding these out while your other goes on my shoulder, alright?”

“Alright. Good thing I can reach your shoulder, giant.” I said and placed my other hand on his shoulder.

He scoffed a bit at my comment, “I’ll choose to ignore the giant comment in light of me being your only hope.”

“Thank you oh great, obi-ben luke-canobi. Alright, what do I do now?” I asked.

“The basic count to the music is 1-2-3. I’ll lead and we just time our steps to that.” Great. This is where I mess up, they have to throw math into moving.

“Okay that's confusing.” I mumbled but tried to go along with him and clearly struggled as I focused all of my attention on my feet looking down at them. Ben stopped us after a moment, “Alright, so follow my steps and I’ll count out loud.” He said and tried to go again.

“Alright, alright okay. I think I'm doing okay. I haven't fallen or stepped on you.” I said allowed mostly to calm myself down since I was doing fine. It’s not like not being great at dancing was the worst thing on the planet. There are other things I’m bad at and that’s fine, dancing is just a new addition to the list.     

“I won’t let you fall. And my feet can handle being stepped on.” He said with a chuckle.

“Are you sure about that, Schreave. Are you really really sure? I'm in heels.” I said with full seriousness.

He looked down at me with the same level of serious, “The most important decision I'll ever make in my life.” Wow I’m sure. Out of his whole life this is the most important decision.

“Alright, Schreave. But I warned you. So even now they still play these songs at balls, I would think they would have gotten to like rap music by now.” Like shouldn’t time have made those old rap songs the classics by now?

“They do play cool young people music every so often. Waltzes are mostly to appease the older generation.” He answered.

I rolled my eyes, “Soon the older generation will need some dubstep to settle their nerves.” Give it time. I bet you.

“And you'd be the lucky Selected to introduce that to them?”

“Sure. Then they would force you to get rid of me so they'd never have to sit through the horrors of intense drops again.” I laughed at the idea of the outrage over dubstep.

“They'd adjust.” He said and suddenly twirled me which caused me to giggle. “Intense. Do people ever twirl you?” I asked when we were back together. It was fun to be twirled so I couldn’t help but wonder if Ben got that thrill.

“Not particularly.” He answered quickly with an amused and curious look. Hmmm, well given our heights I can not currently twirl him. My arm wouldn’t be able to reach. I looked around and got an idea. “hmmm....well. It's difficult to twirl a giant. makes sense.” I said before going to my desk and pulling a chair over. I stood up on the chair and took his hands again and gave him a twirl.

He laughed and looked up at me once the twirl finished, “Is this how I'm supposed to dance with you from now on?”

“Yup. I just stand on a stool. Twirl you the whole time.” I replied sarcastically with an amused look myself.

“We'd definitely make a statement.” He said before putting his hands on my waist and helping me get back down to a normal height.

“It'd be like a performance benny boy and gabby girl, the giant and the amazing, do the twirl.”

“We could go on tour.”

“Make millions so you can buy more rocks. Or better get a rock sitter to help your dad.”

“He really could use the help.” He said soberly.

I chuckled a bit, “Yeah must be tough being both a king and a carer of the rocks. Clearly the rock are the heavier load though.” That was the best pun I have ever made and it just gets glossed over.

“They're much prettier though.” Prettier than being king. I’m not sure how you compare the aesthetics of those.

“Are they cool rocks? I was picturing just a bunch of black sones.”

“I had a very diverse collection. Obsidian, igneous, sedimentary.” He ticked off the classes on his fingers with a wide smile. Gosh darn why does he have to be so cute. It was cute to see him so excited about his collection.

“Okay, so we went over those in seventh grade so I don't really remember what those mean. Can you explain them?” I asked. I recognized the name and even knew that sedimentary was the one with layers but that was as far as my memory went.

“Obsidian is a type of igneous rock, volcanic glass formed from lava. Sedimentary can be different types, mostly rock formed from the earth like the typical grey ones or sandstone maybe.”

“The volcano rocks sound cool! They're like hardcore badasses of the rocks.” I replied pretty astounded myself. Those cheap cool things always got me, like fools gold. I am the fool it was meant for. I assume Obsidian rocks are fairly common but they sound so cool.

He gave a short laugh, “I thought similarly as a kid.”

“Do you still not think the same way? I mean they seem pretty cool. Cooler than the rest.” I asked.

“No, I still like them. Just a different imagination from when I was younger.” He answered. Emma had said before I could be a bit kiddish on certain fronts. I suppose rocks was one of them. I just thought cool things were cool.  

“I suppose that makes sense. Have you ever gone back and re watched a movie that you used to like praise as cinema gold?” I asked suddenly remembering one way I had grown up.

“Do the Power Rangers count?” He asked.

“I never actually saw those. But I wanted to say that I did recently rewatch one of my favorites, it was teenage mutant ninja turtles it really bummed me out to see that it wasn't as good as I remembered. Adulting takes the fun out of things sometimes.”

“Even now it feels like the in between of adulting.”

I chuckled and looked up at him, “I get what you mean.” I mean I was living at home and still being cared for all the while I was stressing about my future occupation and trying to figure that out. Even now I can still find the kid in me to make twirling jokes and find rocks cool but we’re here as a trial run to marriage and to see who can be a capable queen. Even as legit kids we still dealt with adult things Emma was dealing with Anorexia, I was trying to be a strong older sister for my siblings while things at home fell apart with Riley and mom. Nina was...just a mess. It’s odd that we can still have times where we act like such kids even though the outside pressures are ones only adults should really deal with.

I looked up at Ben after the thought, “Should we try dancing again, Obi-ben-luke-canobi?” I asked to move along. I offered a hand and smirked a bit at the name.

“Probably. Need to make you into a dancing jedi, young padawan.” He replied. I chuckled a bit as we resumed dance practice.

[duketheman]

“The Newport Story”

Shreveport Louisiana

GOOD SAMARITAN FUNERAL HOME

December 15, 2009

~Tragedy Strikes~

Standing over the only woman I've ever loved, looking down at her seemingly asleep & lying in a Casket; I can't help but to be angry at God! My Son, John Ross (JR) is without his mother & I my wife. I'm doing all I can to hold it together for him!

It happened suddenly! She had headaches, but never once complained. She would take a couple Tylenol, smile & say: There, that's better! Until one day, she was giving JR a bath & passed out on the Bathroom floor. I took her to the Emergency room, they called Dr Rivera; her personal Physician. X Rays revealed the unimaginable. He entered the room & gave us the bad news: The diagnoses showed she had a Tumor! I almost died when I heard that word, to make it worse; it was inoperable by that time! She had just weeks to live..... She went to sleep one night & just didn't wake up! My Julia was gone! I took her home to Madison County for burial in our Family plot. Her parents made the trip with me... Julia's Father, The Rev James Ray Marcantel officiated. He had great strength, I don't know how he managed. My parents, Sister & Brothers were there & did all they could to comfort me! My parents offered to take JR for a while, but I explained: I needed him with me!

Key Largo

Christmas Day, 2011

~Mary~

I wake up to my son jumping on me yelling in excitement: JR's calling me:~Daddy, come on Daddy, Santa came! Wake up Daddy, hurry up!~ I think to myself: Seven years of joy! I reply: ~Okay Buddy, I'm coming!~ I get up, go in the Living room & pull his gifts from under the tree. It's been two years since I buried his Mother & I still mourn her. Christmas was always her favorite time of year & she loved decorating the tree. Our ornament hangs on this one, two Christmas Dolphin with the words (Harry Loves Julia); bringing back so many memories! Suddenly, the Doorbell rings & JR says: ~Daddy, Daddy, it's Miss Covington~

(Mary Covington, JR's Teacher) He's quite taken with her! I open the door, she Greets me: ~Hello Mr Newport & Merry Christmas, I've brought my favorite student a present, If that's alright?~

I answer: ~Merry Christmas to you too & of course it's alright, Thank you! Come in please~ She gives JR an Easel, a packet of art paper & Chalk! She Notes: ~He's very talented!~ ~I say Thank you!~ She explains: ~I enjoy working with John Ross very much. He's quite a child, you're doing a fine job with him!~ I remark: Thanks! She seemed a little shy...

She asks: ~Mr Newport, I hope you don't think me too forward but; I'd like to invite you & John Ross to Christmas Dinner at my home tonight, please accept?~ She catches me off guard: I reply: ~We'd be delighted Miss Covington, thank you!~ She smiles at me: & replies ~Okay, I'll expect you at 6:00pm, here's my address!~ She turns, walks towards the door & pauses, turns & says: And please, call me Mary? I respond: ~6:00pm, we'll be there; Thank you Mary!~ As she walks to her car, I stand at the door thinking what an amazing woman! I watch her get into her car & leave. I close the door. For the first time in a couple years, I'm looking forward to going out!

I tell JR: We're going to eat dinner with Miss Covington tonight JR reacts: ~Yeaaaa! Daddy, you know what Daddy? I love Miss Covington, she's my favorite Teacher; Daddy, I'm hungry!~ I think to myself: Me too & I can use a cup of coffee! I cook scrambled eggs with Cheese & Bacon bits, Toast & pour my Son a glass of milk! Julia use to cook it all the time & besides; it's JR's favorite! We eat, dress & spend some quality Daddy Son time together! It's Christmas Day & there's a Carousel in the park. I take him to the to ride it. We get home by 1:00pm! I put him down for a nap. I haven't been able to get Miss Covington out of my mind! She's quite a looker. I think to myself: It's been a while, Damn it's been a good while! I've been hesitant to date, I guess I've felt guilty. I miss Julia, I miss holding her in my arms; she was my heart & soul! But maybe it's time! She always said: ~Harry, if something was to happen to me; I want you to find someone! I know you love me! Please Harry?, I don't want you to be alone!~ Julia was the best thing that ever happened to me! I get my Son dressed in his Sunday's best. I dress & we head for Miss Covington's house. She lives about 20 minutes from us near the Overseas Hwy. We arrive at 6:00pm sharp & knock on the door. She opens the door & says: ~Right on time, & how handsome you are today!~ I respond: ~Thank you! She corrects me: ~I was talking to John Ross! She winks & smiles at me: JR says: ~Yes Mam, just like my Daddy.~ She smiles at me again & says: ~I see, very handsome indeed.~

JR asks: ~Miss Covington, I sure hope you have pie, I love pie!~ -She answers: ~Just for you~ JR reacts: ~Yeaaaa!~ He runs into the house. She smiles at me: & says: ~I hope you're hungry!~ I answer: ~I'm starving!~ Her smile reminds me ofJulia. She has dark green eyes & long black hair. Slender & quite beautiful. We go into the Living room & she offers me a mixed drink. I accept & we toast a Merry Christmas to all! We go into the Dining room & sit down at the table: I observe: ~Wow, this is quite a spread!~ She Notes: ~It's Christmas & my favorite time of year!~ Again I'm reminded of Julia: She adds: Mr Newport, would you say Grace?~ I do, we eat & have a wonderful time. After dinner, I help her clear the table & do dishes. When finished, we notice JR falls asleep on the couch & she covers him. We sit & talk, for hours: She asks: Mr (I interrupt) & asks: ~Please, call me Harry?~ She continues: ~Harry, what happened to your wife? I've never talked to anyone about her but this time I do: I explain- ~Julia passed two years ago. She had a Brain Tumor! She just went to sleep one day & never woke up! I haven't been happy, really happy except for my Son; since she passed!~

She asks: ~Let's have a drink?~ We crack a bottle, sit & talk for hours: I mention: ~It's late, I should get JR home.~ she says: ~Harry, thank you for coming. I had a good time. Be careful?~ She kisses me on the cheek:. I respond: ~We will, & thank you for dinner! It's been some time since I've had a meal like that.~ She smiles & closes the door slowly. I see her watching us through the window & I think to myself: I'm going to ask her out! We get home & I put JR to bed. I lay in mine, not able to sleep. I can't get her out of my mind!

It's Monday morning & JR's sitter arrives. I have a tour around the Islands today! A week left of Vacation for JR! I kiss my Son Goodbye, leave instructions with the sitter & off to the Boat! I arrive at the Dock where the "Willow's" tied. The Cunningham party is already waiting. We board my boat & push off. We get back to shore at 6:30pm. Mr Cunningham pays me & thanks me for a great day. I give him my card & say ~My pleasure Sir!~ They leave & I secure the "Willow"! I call Mary & say: ~Mary, this is Harry; I'd like to ask you out for tomorrow evening?~ -She replies: ~I' d really like to go out with you Harry, so Yes!~ I'm thinking Dinner & Dancing afterwards?~ She answers: ~That sounds wonderful Harry!~ I Note: ~I'll pick you up at 8:00pm if that's okay?~ She replies ~Of course Harry, I'll be ready!~ We hang up & I go home. JR is playing on the kitchen floor & the sitter is doing dishes. After she finishes I pay her & say: ~Thank you Nancy!~ She says: ~My pleasure Mr Newport, he's such a good kid!~ She leaves, I bathe JR & put him to bed. I shower, have a glass of wine & I go to bed. I sleep like a Baby..... I wake in the morning to the doorbell. It's the sitter, She says: Good morning Mr Newport~ I say: ~Good morning Nancy! I overslept but luckily my tour doesn't start until 9:30am.~ I wash up, shave & brush my teeth. I kiss my Son goodbye & head for the Boat! An older couple by the name of Jacobs had hired the "Willow" to tour the Reefs. We get back to shore by 5:00pm.They pay me twice what I asked & mention they know my parents: I say Really?~ He says: ~Yes, & you're a spitting image of Charlie. I use to work with him at the Firm in 72. You have a great day now, you hear & say Hi to your Dad for me?~ I reply~ Yes sir, I will. Thank you Sir!~ I get home at 6:30pm, pay Nancy & let her go home! Joshua's Mother called & asked if JR could spend the night with her Son. I said yes! I shower & dress. By the time I drop JR off at Joshua's, pick up an Orchid (multi colored) for her; it's time to head to Mary's! I arrive at 7:55pm, knock & she opens the door. I'm looking at an Angel,! She's quite lovely. Wearing a Golden gown w/silver designs, her long silky black hair is hanging naturally. It sets her beautiful green eyes off as if to glow! All I can do is stair: She says: ~Hi, Earth to Harry, hello!~ I say ~Oh I'm sorry, you're just so Beautiful.~ She smiles at me! -Mary- ~You're looking pretty good yourself She says: Mighty handsome if I say so!~ I say: (I Stutter...) ~Oh, oh, thanks; I, I've made reservations at the "Sundowners" Great food! This is for you!~ I pull out a box holding the Orchid: She remarks~ Oh Harry, it's so Beautiful, thank you!~ I pin the Orchid to her gown! I've not felt this nervous in years. I think maybe I'm falling for her. We get in my Beamer & drive to the restaurant! 8:25pm We arrive at the restaurant. I hand the Valet my keys & I tip him! We go inside & are seated directly. We have drinks & order from the menu & she says: ~This is a nice place Harry, I don't know where to begin, what do you suggest?~ I say: ~I like the Shrimp & Mahi w/Lemongrass sauce!~ She says~Sounds delicious Harry, that's just what I'll have! We sit & talk a while enjoying Caribbean music in the background. After eating, I take her to "The Brass Monkey & we have a great time. We dance to almost every Set. I don't want it to end.. We close the place down & on the way back to her house we stop at Denny's to get some Breakfast & she says: Denny's has the best breakfast! I say: I Agree, I'm partial to the Grand Slam. Me too Harry! Harry, thanks for being such a good guy, not many of them out there.~ When she looks at me, my heart flutters. I feel nervous but a good nervous. We sit & talk until sunrise! I take her home & open the door. She looks at me with those dark green eyes & as if in a Hypnotic state, I take her in my arms & kiss her. She kisses me back, drunkening me with pleasure from within her lips! She takes my hand & leeds me through the door, kicking it shut; & into her room! She smiles at me & says: ~Harry, I never want this night to end!~ My heart is beating like a drum. I undress her as if a Doctor examining his patient & lay her down gently. I Kiss her then disrobe! I brush her hair back from her face & ask: ~Are you sure?~ She answers: ~I'm sure Harry, I want you!~ We embrace & kiss passionately, working ourselves into a frenzy. I break & begin to fondle her breast as I kiss her ear & whisper sweet words of endearment! She becomes more excited! I move down her neck gently nibbling. She begins to breathe heavily as I taste her breast.They're firm, perky & pear shaped with nipples that drive me crazy! I squeeze her breast & place the nipple in my mouth & suck as if a baby drinking milk. I simultaneously slip my other hand between her legs & playfully caress what lies within. She's moaning & breathing as if she's been running a marathon... I move from one breast to the other, kissing her areolas; further exciting her! I begin to explore her length, tonguing & nibbling as I taste her every essence, marking every curve, evey zone, & every jerk she makes.The closer I get to what's hiding between those beautiful thighs, the harder & more shallow her breathing becomes... I reach the nest hiding the fruit of passion & waste no time tasting it. I slip my tongue inside & out of her as she arches & recovers several times over. It's sweet & I crave the nectar flowing within. I take the fruit between my lips, massage & tease it with my tongue. I suck on it with vigour. She's quivering, almost uncontrollably. Finally, as if a volcano erupting, she spews her nectar of ecstasy.... She's jumping out of her skin, yet her body begs for more. I lap up every drop as if an animal drinking from a pond. She screams with pleasure & I'm aroused beyond possibility. I begin to slowly climb back up her beauty, kissing & checking every erogenous zone, assuring her pleasure doesn't expire. I reach the point of my journey's beginning, I kiss her & look into her beautiful green eyes & say: ~I'm in love with you.~ She answers: ~I know Harry, now lay back!!!~ She runs her fingers up & down my Body's skin, tingling & giving me goosebumps, arousing me more than I can barely sustain. She begins kissing me from my head to my toes & everywhere between. I feel her grab my throbbing, hungry Rod & stroke it, caressing it with her lips. Like a lollipop, she licks it up & down, I can hardly hold it back! She squeezes the sack, slowing the inevitable & I'm going crazy. She slips it into her mouth & strokes it at the same time. Just before climax, she stops; again squeezing the sack & stopping the flow. She straddles me, slips me inside & rides me to climax as she reaches hers again! She bends forward, kisses me: & says: ~Now there Harry, I love you too!~ We make love throughout the night until exhausted, kiss & fall asleep. When I wake I'm aroused by her presence! I think to myself, Damn, I'm sure glad I'm taking the day off! We make love one more time, get up, shower together & dress. She's fixing me waffles, bacon & eggs with Blueberry syrup. Orange juice & coffee. It's delicious, this girl can cook: I mention: ~I have to work Tomorrow! Also; I'm taking JR to Madison County to see his Grandparents. I'd like you to accompany us? We'll fly down tomorrow night, you can meet my parents & we'll make a Weekend out of it!~ She asks: ~Harry, you want me to meet your parents?, I'd love to Harry!~ I say: ~Great!~ I help her with dishes, after & say: ~I have to go. I've got to pick JR up from his friend's house~ She answers: ~Okay Harry, I understand. Go get John Ross~ I sayr: ~I love you & I'll see you tomorrow, kiss her goodbye & say: ~I'll pick you up at 6:00pm!~ She replies: ~Okay Harry, I'll be ready. I love you Harry. Call Me tonight?~ I answer: Sure thing Love!~ I leave, pick JR. up & we stop at Baskin Robbins for ice cream on the way home! We get home at 4:00pm & watch TV for a while. I fix us something to eat, pack a couple bags. By the time I finish, it's time for J.R.'s bath. I bathe him, put him down for bed. He says his prayers: ~Now I lay me down to sleep & says: Nite Nite Daddy, I love you.~ I say: ~Goodnight Son, I love you too!~

7:00am

Nancy's here & I have a Boat Tour at 8:00am!

I get to the Boat & my clients are waiting for me. They board, I push off & they have a great tour! We get back to shore at 2:45pm. They hand me a check & I hand them my card. I secure the "Willow" & head home to clean up & retrieve my Son: He asks: Daddy, where we going?~ I reply: ~Well Son, Miss Covington & I are getting Married!~ He asks: ~You love Miss Covington Daddy? Is she going to be my Mommy?~ I reply: ~Yes, I love Miss Covington. Is that Okay with you?~ He says: ~Sure Daddy, I love her a whole lot, but Daddy, where we going?~ -I reply: ~We're going to see Miss Covington's Mommy & Daddy!~ He reacts: Yea! I load our bags in the Beamer & we're off!

6:00pm.

We arrive. at Mary's, knock & she opens the door. She's wearing a beige skirt & black blouse. She's Gorgeous: She remarks: ~Hey handsome!~ I reply: ~Hey!~ She corrects me: ~I was talking to John Ross!~ She smiles & winks at me: He says: ~Hi Miss Covington, you going with us?~ She replies: Sure am John Ross!~ He reacts: Yea! ~She says ~I love you too John Ross!~ I load her bags & off to the airport. We board the plane for Valdosta Regional at 7:30pm & arrive at 10:00pm. My Father's waiting for us. JR sees him right off. He loves Grandpa & happy to see him. My Father opens his arms & JR runs right to him, Hugs Grandpa, pulls on his beard & giggles! He looks to Mary: ~Young lady, my name is Charles, Harold's Father!~ She replies: ~Happy to meet you Sir, I'm Mary!~ He says: ~Delightful & turns to me & says: ~Son, good to see you, Mother's waiting!~ We get to the Mansion at 11:00pm & Mary remarks: ~How Beautiful a home Harry~ I say: ~It is, isn't it? Much to large for me though!~ We enter the Mansion & JR spots Grandma & reacts: Grandmaaa! He runs & gives her a hug & says: ~I love you Grandma!~ She says: ~I love you John Ross!~

She turns her attention to us, kisses me: & says: ~This must be Mary, She's lovely Harold! How do you do Mary? I’m Harold's Mother!~

She replies: ~Happy to meet you Mam! & curtsies: Mother turns to me & remarks: ~Harold, I miss you Son! Your rooms are

ready!~ She instructs Huntington (The Butler), to take our bags upstairs & remarks: ~I know you're tired, so let us all sleep on it & have a fresh start in the morning? Goodnight John Ross!, it's off to bed with you!~ We walk upstairs to our room, step inside: & I say: Mary, I love you & I'm so happy you joined me!~

She replies: ~I love you more!~ We're tired from the trip, we go to bed; kiss & fall asleep in each other's arms.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

John Ross's 8th Birthday

We awake to a knock on the door. It's:

Huntington announcing: ~Breakfast is served Sir!~ We get ready & go downstairs for breakfast. Mother & Father are seated at each end of the table: Mother greets us: ~Good morning you two, Sleep well?~ We reply: ~Yes, Good morning: ~ Father's busy with JR but gets a Good morning in: We say: ~Good morning Father! he replies: Good morning you two!~ I add: Father, Mr Jacobs sends his regards!~

He remarks: ~Paul Jacobs? I haven't seen Paul in years, we worked at the Firm together!~

We're seated at the center of the table.The menu's: Waffles w/ flax & almond butter, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, Cheese, Orange juice & Fruit salad: Mary remarks: ~This is all so elegant! Thank you so much for having me Mam!~ Mother remarks: ~We're quite glad to have you Dear~ Father adds: ~Yes, quite glad indeed.~ Mother asks: ~How is my little man doing in School Son?~ I remark: ~Very well Mother, infact; Mary's his Teacher!~

She remarks: ~Really, a Teacher?~ I reply: ~Yes Mother~ She asks ~Mary, How are you getting along Dear?~ She replies: ~Fine Mam, thank you~ Mother says: ~We hope to see a lot of you Dear! ~ She replies: ~Yes, Thank you Mam!~ Mother remarks: ~No need to be so formal Dear, just call me Mom if you please? After all, you're part of the family now!~ She says: ~Thank you so much Mom!~ We finish eating & retire to the Drawing room. We're served Coffee. We talk a bit longer. Mother takes me aside & says ~What's your Plans Son, how've you been?~ I reply: ~Good Mother, since Mary came into my life!~ She replies~ Are you going to Marry her?~ I reply: ~I haven't asked yet, but it's on my mind~ She says ~Wonderful, I like her, & John Ross seems to adore her~ I reply: ~Yes Mother, he loves her very much, we both do!~ She replies: ~Excellent! Now let us make ready for a Celebration of my Little Man's Birthday!~ My Sister Jaime, her husband & my two brothers fly in to celebrate JR.'s Birthday & the New Year. My Mother has planned quite a party for JR. We're expecting at least 30 children & their parents. We set up a tent on the grounds to shelter refreshments.The entertainers & Circus animals are arriving & my Father is directing. Mother's ordered a Band to play through the day! Their finishing up the stage & the Band's setting up! It's 11:00am & the guests are beginning to arrive. Monther, my Siblings, Mary, & I are greeting them. My Father's decided that he'll Supervise! The festivities begin at exactly 12:30pm & the Birthday Boy's riding a Pony: I tell: ~Hey JR! &wave. He looks my way & yells: ~Look Daddy, I'm riding a Horsey, Yahoooo, Yeaaaa!~ He's having a such a good time. 

2:00pm, a bell rings! Huntington announces: ~Refreshments are served~ Everyone heads for the Tent where a very large Birthday Cake, with JR's image on it & very large candles. JR stands in front as the candles are lit. My Father signals the Band to play Happy Birthday & we sing. He makes a wish & blows out the candles & Mary asks: ~Whatcha wish for John Ross?~ He replies: ~It's a secret!~ Mother asks: ~Mary, would you cut a piece of cake & give the first piece to John Ross? She cuts a corner piece off and gives it to him & winks! Mother remarks: ~God, that boy's growing fast.~ -I remark: ~It seems just like yesterday, I was holding him in my arms~ Huntington serves the children cake, then the rest of the guests. The cake's gone in a flash! JR begins to open his more than one hundred gifts. He's as happy as I've ever seen & that makes me happy! It's 5:30pm & the party ends! The guests depart & the extra help Mother hired are cleaning the grounds as we go in the house.

7:00pm

Huntington announces: ~Dinner is served~ We eat & afterwards retire to the   Drawing room. Huntington serves us each a Glass of Louis XIII Cognac & Father proposes a toast: ~To John Ross, Happy Birthday!~ Mother adds: ~Here Here, Who's staying up with me to see the New Year in?~ We raise our glasses & reply all at once: I am!... Mother remarks: ~Fabulous, I've got Fireworks for tonight!~ She's hired a crew to set off Fireworks for the arrival of the New Year..... My Father calls me aside & says: ~Son, I have something for you!~ He pulls out a box & hands it to me: ~It was your Grandmother's.~ I open the box & it's her Wedding rings: I reply react: ~Father, I'm so Honored!~

He explains: ~You've been through alot Son & she'd want you to have them. Now, Marry that girl & live a happy life. I'm proud of & love you very much!~ I reply: ~Father, I love you!~ We embrace, hugging each other: He says: ~Now, let's join the the rest of the family~ I slip the rings into my pocket for safe keeping & we join the family! We congregate & talk old times & about my Grandparents. At 11:40pm, we go outside to the Court yard & be seated. At 11:59pm we begin a countdown to Ignition! 12:00am exactly, a display of Firewood worthy of Royalty paints the skies..... JR.'s eyes lights up with excitement as does Mary's. She has the prettiest smile & her green eyes melt my soul. Yes, I so want to spend the rest of my life with her! I find myself in prayer, asking God to forgive my anger towards Him. I ask Him to give me strength to raise my Son. As we retire for the night!: I announce: ~We'll be attending Church with you in the morning Mother!~ She smiles & replies: ~I am so happy to hear that Harold, we'll be departing at 8:00am sharp!~ I respond: ~Yes Mother, we'll be ready~

Sunday, January 1, 2012

8:00am

We all load up in the Limo & George (The Chofer) drives us to "The Madison First Baptist Church".

My Mother proudly in lead, we enter the Church. The Pastor (Rev. Johnson) greets us by shaking our hands. We're seated by the Ushers & Church begins. It's a fine service & I feel right about being here. Church is over & George drives us back to the Mansion. Tomorrow's a School day & both Mary & myself have to work! We pack our bags, for the trip home.

12:00pm

We thank my parents for everything. My Mother kisses me on the cheek & pleaded: ~Take care of yourself Harold, I love you very much Son!~

I react: ~I love you too Mother!~ She turns to Mary, opens her arms & motions her for a hug Goodbye.They hug: & says: ~I expect to see you again soon my Dear.~ Mary replies: ~Yes Mom, for sure you will!~ Father loads our bags into the car & drives us to the Airport! I hug my Father goodbye say: ~See you Father!~ He replies: ~I love you Son, remember what we talked about?~ I reply: ~I will Father! ~ He picks JR up & hugs him goodbye says: ~I love you Little Man!~ -JR replies: ~I love you too Grandpa!~ We board the plane at 1:45pm for our 2 1/2 hour flight home....

We arrive at Miami International at 4:00pm. I pick up my Beamer, load our bags & arrive in Key Largo by 5:15pm. We stop at Mary's first. I take her bags inside, hold her in my arms & say: ~Darling I love you.~ She responds: ~I love you more.~ I say: ~I'll see you tomorrow, I have to get JR home & ready for School!~ she replies: ~I know Harry, I have to get ready too. Harry, thank you for being you! I enjoyed my Weekend. Be safe going home?~ We kiss again & I leave. I get JR. home by 6:30pm. I prepare some Macaroni & Cheese. He likes that. I bathe & put him to bed for the night. I have a drink & I too bed down for the night. I have a dream of Julia & she's standing at my bedside smiling. She gives me her blessings to be with Mary & vanishes...... I wake Monday morning with such a calm feeling! I've made up my mind, Friday; I am going to ask her to Marry me.....

I call Mary & make a date for 6:00pm, Friday: She she says: ~Sounds good, I can't wait

Harry!~ I add: ~Neither can I Darling, see you tomorrow!~

Friday, January 6

The Proposal

I arrive at her house at 6:00pm sharp. Knock & she opens the door. She's wearing a Red dress, Black Heels & hair hanging naturally down her back. I've always loved long black hair. Her ears are graced with green topaz earrings. She's looking beautiful.

She greets me & says: ~Hello Harry!~ I react: ~Hello Darling, you're quite beautiful tonight!~

She replies: ~Thank you Harry, & you're very handsome!~ I take her in my arms & say: ~You know how much I love you Mary?~ She replies: ~Yes Harry, I really do!~ I kiss her & we get in the Beamer. I've made reservations at the "Sol By The Sea". It's romantic & the food is excellent!

7:00pm

We arrive at the restaurant. I hand my keys to the Valet & tip him. We enter the restaurant & are seated directly & I order the best Champagne in the house (Don Perignon). The waiter pours the a glass each & I drop to one knee & propose: ~My Darling, never did I think I would love again. You changed that! You gave me your heart & I relinquished mine to you. Now I ask your hand in Marriage?~ I pull my Grandmother's rings out & slip the engagement ring on her finger. She stands up & just stares at me. I begin to doubt myself. But all of a sudden, she takes a deep breath & takes my face in her palms & accepts: ~Yes, 'O yes! I love you Harry & I want to be your Wife! Harry, these rings look like Heirlooms.~ I explain: ~Yes my Darling, they were my Grandmother's.~

She promised: ~'O Harry, they're so Beautiful, I swear I'll keep them safe on my finger.~ I reply: ~I know my Darling, I love you!~ We order dinner, (Mahi-Mahi, House jerk, Napa slaw, White wine & Vanilla-Coconut Crema w/Charred pineapple relish) It was a meal fit for the occasion! After dinner we want to be alone & go straight home to Mary's to be by ourselves. I stay the night! The next morning I call my parents & give them the news! They were happy for us. My Mother insists we have our wedding at the Mansion. After all; it's become a tradition. I call Mary & explain my Mother's wish. She replies: ~Yes Harry, I agree with them wholeheartedly. I think it would be beautiful. Besides, I love your Parents. My parents could fly down to attend & meet yours, & asks: ~Harry, can we take a trip to Raleigh, so you can meet my parents?~ I observe: ~Yes, of course we can my Darling! Besides, I want to officially ask your Father for your hand.~ She breaks out in a huge smile: -Mary- ~'O Harry, how did I ever find such a fine Man? I love you Harry, I love you so much!~ We make plans to visit her parents next week. I make reservations for Friday afternoon, for a flight to Raleigh.

Continues:

Duke Sherman

[vintage-story-time]

Family Games by Ray Todd

Chapter 5

Lorena had been busy playing bartender all night, and had watched her brother

keep a conversational ball rolling as he stayed between their mother and father,

a buffer so that their fight wouldn't really get started.

They had been surprised at so much attention from their kids, Lorena saw, and

before the evening was over, everybody was more or less enjoying themselves.

There had been only a few sly cuts, and even those lessened as the night wore

on, helped considerably by the double strength drinks Lorena mixed.

Maybe her mom and dad felt a little guilty, she thought, especially with their

kids so obviously trying to make a family type party of the occasion. They'd

talked about rock music and how things were shaping up for the Fall school term,

and about other kids, but the conversation steered away from what was on all

their minds -- the impending divorce.

If mom had said anything about who was taking over, about which one was going to

get what kid, Lorena thought that the whole bit would have blown up right then

and there. Neither she nor Glynn wanted to hear any of that splitting up crap.

They couldn't allow it to happen, even if the plan failed.

But she was getting scared as the night wore on, and had to keep telling herself

that it was going to work out, that her father had to feel the same way about

her. She watched him and knew a thrill of anticipation as she saw him getting

smashed.

If she hadn't made it with Glynn, if she hadn't swung with her own brother and

gotten into that wild tangle with him and Jean, maybe she wouldn't have the

nerve to try what was coming up. But she had to go through with it now; if she

didn't, her mother and father would keep moving toward that damned divorce.

"Well," her mom said, "it's been a nice night, but I'm pooped, and drank too

much of that juice. I'm going to bed. Night, kids."

Lorena noticed that her mom didn't tell her dad good night, and glanced quickly

at Glynn. He looked away, his face down, and she threatened him in her head,

because they had the plan already set. She was going into her dad's room, after

he was asleep, and Glynn was supposed to do the same, only he was to sneak into

their mom's bedroom. The way they had figured it out, dad would think it was mom

snuggling to him, and mom would think it was dad.

If they didn't truly hate each other, then they would get it on, and just

because they screwed didn't mean they had to call off all the legal machinery.

Lorena took a deep breath. "I'll clean up," she said. "You can go to bed, too,

dad."

Mom was already halfway up the stairs, her sleek butt swinging from side to

side, those long legs flashing, when dad climbed out of his chair. "Might as

well," he said. "Nowhere else to go."

He was so good looking, she thought, and moved like a kid half his age. Her

father looked impossibly Nordic, with pale blonde hair and green eyes; he was

six feet tall, and a well muscled 200 pounds, with no paunch. It was a wonder

that women didn't fight over him.

Lorena didn't think that was the trouble between her parents, other women. It

was just something that had grown sharp and ugly over the years, like a

sickness. But if they wouldn't do anything about it, the kids would. Sneaking a

drink behind the bar, Lorena felt the stuff burn all the way down. She needed a

little extra courage, but before she could pour herself another shot, she looked

up and saw her father watching.

"You're a good kid, Lorena," he said. "Some guy is going to be mighty lucky."

"Thanks, dad."

Into an awkward silence, Glynn said: "I'm hungry. I'll grab a bite to eat and be

up later."

They saw their father climb the stairs heavily, swaying a bit, and when he was

out of sight Lorena hissed: "Later, hell! Don't you dare cop out now. Here, take

a drink with me, and I'll go upstairs in a few minutes, after he's had time to

fall asleep."

She and her brother downed some whiskey, both making faces and shuddering at the

taste. Lorena felt the warmth spreading in her tummy and moving down her legs,

but she didn't need any more alcohol. She was keyed up and alert now, fighting

down the hot trembles that raced over her taut flesh from time to time.

Glynn said, "You're really going to do it."

And she answered, "Right on -- and you'd better do it, too -- or you'll be back

to jacking off. I'll never screw you again, and that's a promise."

"Okay," he said, surrendering. "I guess I'm just scared shitless."

"Me, too," she admitted, and patted his arm. "But this is our big chance, Glynn,

maybe the only one we'll ever have, to stop that damned divorce. Help me clean

up here, and concentrate on how it will be, sneaking into bed and feeling up

mom's great body."

She thought about her father's body, big and hard, and wondered if the hair in

his crotch was as pale as the light blonde of his head. She wondered if his

penis would be big in comparison to Glynn's, and to the two other boys she had

screwed. A pulse in her throat beat wildly as she tried to picture a really

large cock and what it would do inside her eager pussy.

Her throat was tight as she said, "It's time. I -- I'll go up first and take a

quick shower, then sneak into his room. You do the same in mom's room."

Her brother said, "Yeah, sis. Funny thing -- I have a hard on, but it's as much

from thinking of you and dad fucking, as for me and mom."

Lorena kissed him, pressed the pulsing length of her body to his, and felt the

erect staff of his prick against her belly. She rolled her hips and ground her

pelvis into it, but laughed and pulled swiftly away. "Save it for mom. Okay,

here I go."

Bathing quickly in her shower, Lorena scented her body with her favorite

perfume, a sexy, clinging odor. She dabbed it on the hard nipples of her tits

and in her freshly shaven armpits, then drew a line down her trembling belly to

the deeply curling hairs of her pussy. Would he like her? Would he think she was

a fine, hot piece of ass? Oh, she hoped so. She had wanted him to fondle her for

years, to feel his hands on every part of her aching body.

Lorena put on her only sexy robe, then pulled it off and simply wrapped a bath

towel around her body. She could always scoot out in a hurry, if things didn't

work out, but she closed off her mind to that possibility. It was going to be

all right, she just knew that.

But her knees were shaking when she softly turned the knob of his door and let

herself into the totally dark room. Standing still, trying to adjust to the deep

blackness inside, Lorena's nostrils flared at the subtle odors of man -- shaving

lotion, leather, tweed, man-sweat.

She heard him turn on the bed, heard his heavy breathing and knew he was asleep.

Forcing her legs to obey, she moved step by faltering step across the room to

the big bed and sank down upon the edge of the mattress, her heart threatening

to explode.

He was under the sheet, and she carefully lifted it to slide her legs beneath

the covering. When her weight was on the bed, when the bath towel was dropped

upon the floor and she was head to foot naked in the same bed with her daddy,

Lorena's mind gave an exultant leap. She was halfway home, moving into a

lifelong dream that wasn't a dream now, but something very real.

Turning onto her left side, Lorena eased out a hand, felt toward the warmth and

bulk of her father's body. He didn't move when she touched his chest, and she

let her fingers rest lightly upon the hairy expanse of it, moving up and down

with the rhythm of his breath. Daringly, she allowed her hand to drift downward

as he lay upon his back, and felt very gently into the curving of his belly.

She shivered then, for a fingertip had brushed against something else, a

softness lying limply against his pelvis. The head of her daddy's cock! Would he

feel that and awaken? Breathlessly, she waited, but he didn't move. Lorena grew

braver and took the flaccid thing in her hand.

It was very big, she discovered; even in this comatose state, her father's prick

was long and thick and for a moment she knew a thrill of fright. What if it was

too big, and she couldn't take it into her small pussy? Would it hurt, ripping

and tearing her delicate vagina? Or would she be able to stretch herself around

it?

Caressing the dormant meat, she felt it growing slowly, almost imperceptibly

heavier beneath her touch. The head of it began to swell, expanding continually

until she thought that it might never stop. The shaft thickened and veins

writhed along its impossible length as blood gorged there. It filled her hand

and she thought dizzily that no man's prick could actually be so big.

But there it was, a mighty engine of sex moving under her fingers, lifting to

its full and majestic size. She was afraid, and her hand dipped to the hairy

sack below, to probe the balls that were filling with fluids. They were huge,

too, and she wondered how much semen they could pump, wondered if his

ejaculation would be something like the release of a fire hose.

"Uhh," her father muttered, and she jerked her hand away as if his cock was a

burning pole. He rolled over, turned on his side facing her, and one big arm

came out and down across her body.

Heart racing, she lay quietly as his warm breath fanned her face, but he was

still sound asleep. Only now, his gigantic glans was shoved against her tummy,

and she could feel the velvet texture of the head on her skin. There was

something else -- a vague stickiness that she recognized as the same kind of

pre-seminal fluid that oozed from her brother's prick before they fucked.

Her own pussy was damp, throbbing with a deep-seated need that only this man's

cock could ease, and her fears departed. The nipples of her tits were so swollen

that they pained, and it seemed as if the breasts themselves had grown with her

desire. Lorena lifted her left knee high and placed it carefully down upon her

daddy's sleeping form.

Inching forward, she pushed the sizzling mound of her snatch against the base of

his cock and luxuriated there for long, rapturous moments. But the urgency to be

fucked was raging within her excited cunt, and she adjusted her position,

sliding upward until she could feel the mammoth head of the prick nestling

against her pubic hair.

Lorena's right hand probed down and gripped the shaft, just below the flanges of

the cockhead. Shaking all over, she urged her cunt lips to it, while her hand

guided the blunt glans tip into the steaming labia. Wet and slippery, her pussy

lips received the big knob, and Lorena pushed down with her crotch. So big, so

big -- but her cunt was avid, and when she wiggled a little, the head began to

slowly but surely penetrate.

She moved her hand to the cheek of her father's firm ass, holding there as her

pussy struggled to take in the huge bulb of his prick.

Drawing him closer, slipping her right hand under his neck, she pulled her

crotch tighter to him and bore down heavier, forcing the head of his cock deeper

and deeper into the hot and hungry stretching of her pussy. It went on, bored

inside the elastic barrier of her giving labia. Lorena felt the inner lips

spreading wide, and with one more hard shove, she suddenly had the knob inside

her vagina.

Oh, it was good! It was marvelous, terrific, and she rolled her ass to drive the

thing ever deeper. The thick shaft followed easily, and then it was home, then

it was buried inside her expanded cunt. Up to the roots, up to the hilt it went,

thrilling and lovely. She knew the hairy caress of his full balls as the crack

of her ass snugged them close, and gasping, she drew her daddy's face down to

press his mouth to a nipple.

Lorena wiggled slowly, in ecstasy, upon the huge prick now jammed in her pussy.

She was packed tightly with the beautiful meat, filled to capacity by the

gorgeous shaft that prodded against the entrance to her cervix. Her entire belly

seemed to be crammed with cock and that was just how she wanted it, because it

was her own daddy's cock -- thick and hard, long and powerful.

It slipped back and forth as her love oils greased it more, and every short

stroke caressed her clit, sending blazing excitement throughout her body. Then

Lorena flinched as her father's mouth opened to suck in her nipple, as his

tongue licked hotly over the sensitive nub. His arms came around her and his

crotch surged strongly against her own, thrusting his prick solidly home.

"Ooohh!" Lorena gasped as the force of the thrust shook her entire body.

Her daddy said around her tit, "So you couldn't hold off any longer. You needed

this big prick, didn't you? Here -- and here -- take it, Arlene!"

He was awake, she realized in shock. Her father was awake, but thought he was

fucking her mother. Lorena was her own mom at that crazy moment, writhing and

bucking to take the mighty hammering of her husband's cock. But she was Lorena,

too -- and fucking on her own, giving savage twists and heaves when the gigantic

cock bored deep, chasing after it when it backed off for another stroke.

Her left heel dug into the hairy valley of his ass to give her a better grip and

more leverage. She dug sharp nails into his muscled back, too, and to keep him

from recognizing who she was, burrowed her face into the matting of his chest.

Lorena bit gently into the hairy flesh, tasting the flavors of his skin, tasting

the spices of her father's body.

Head spinning, sucking for air, she fucked him with a maddened and furious

abandon, gyrating her belly and banging her pelvis into his. "Ooohh!" she

moaned. "Oh -- ahh! Oh yes, yes -- I -- I'm going to come! I can't hold off any

longer -- ahh -- oh -- OH! Coming -- I'm COMING!"

He fed the glorious meat into her shuddering cunt with quick, hard thrusts,

grunting as he did so: "You bitch! You hot assed, horny bitch! You love to fuck

-- love to fuck me. AHH! I'm letting it go into you -- letting it all go!"

Her orgasm crested sweetly over her squirming body, fluttering deeply within her

filled cunt, spasming out from the complete stimulation of her clitoris.

Lorena's asshole snapped tight as a released rubber band, and it was at that

climactic moment that she felt the roaring discharge of her father's embedded

prick.

Hot and jetting, the semen pounded wetly against her womb and spurted strongly

over the walls of her flexing vagina. Her daddy's come was a geyser that bathed

her pussy from one end to the other, that drowned her undulating pussy in the

boiling cream forced up from his leaping balls.

She must have fainted, because the next she knew, she was trying to swim up from

a deep pool of warmth, from a lovely depth of ecstasy. Eyes blurred, she

protested weakly when the wonderful prick was withdrawn slowly from the jealous

gripping of her inflamed pussy. She felt the hot and sticky wetness along her

thigh as an overflow of semen followed the head.

Somehow then, she was on her back, sucking for air, her entire body throbbing

with joy, her cunt twitching inside as the come soaked into its tissues. Dimly,

she heard his voice, and wanted to tell him she loved him, loved him. But he was

saying something, shaking her -- and then there was a burst of light that hurt

her eyeballs.

"What? Damnit -- I thought -- no, I knew you weren't Arlene. But -- but I never

had any idea -- oh hell. What are you doing here, baby? What made me rape my own

little girl?"

[maxihealth]

Making Health Care Better, from the N of 1 to the Public’s Health – Trend-Weaving Medecision Liberation 2019

Health and our health information are deeply personal. Changing health care and inspiring positive health behaviors is hard to do.

But we must and we will, a group of inspiring and inspired people who work across the health/care ecosystem affirmed this week in Dallas at the conference of Medecision Liberation 2019.

I was engaged at this conference to wear several hats — as a keynote speaker, a sort of “emcee,” and, finally, to trend-weave the many talks and discussions happening throughout the meeting. This post is my synthesis of the summary I delivered live at the end of the conference, which one of the attendees described as “poetry slam-meets-healthcare.”

I quite like that new-and-improved Cliff’s Notes metaphor.

Deb Gage, Medecision CEO, kicked off the meeting. The inspiration started within minutes as Deb shared several personal stories involving the health care system and its flaws. Think of Deb as the proverbial shoe-maker’s child with no shoes: she leads a company helping drive digital transformation in health care, but two people she loved, and she herself, had all been failed by some aspect of fragmented health care delivery in America.

Deb shared the experiences of Sam, her friend of 25 years, who had the quite-typical co-morbidity of multiple chronic physical conditions baked with mental health issues. Deb’s Dad, Ray, having lost his wife (Deb’s mom), was living alone, aging with some common conditions that come with living long and well, and wanting to stay independent in a health-and-social environment that doesn’t make this so easy to do. And Deb herself, surviving a tough condition, found that her own medical records were located in four disparate health systems based on the fragmented nature of her care delivered through different provider organizations.

Her learning, and ours: “We don’t need new tech….we need a single person view.”

Furthermore, Deb pointed to this quote from Dr. Atul Gawande — that our job is not to ensure health and survival…it’s to enable well-being.

This ethos echoed throughout the 36 hours of Liberation 2019, culminating with the mantra of Nick Adkins, Co-Founder of the #PinkSocks Life community, who challenged us to look each other in the eye in close personal space to a new acquaintance and say (and mean), “I see you.”

Another riff on “I see you,” that N of 1 person-patient-consumer, was Dr. Eric Topol’s explicit mission for Deep Medicine: that is, to personalize treatment based on evidence, not on the long-accepted “sclerotic” medical thinking and prescriptions (as in “athero-sclerosis” blocked arteries) that aren’t based on the latest sound science. Dr. T’s “omes” slide, included in his book Deep Medicine, illustrates the many layers of a human being on multiple levels. I found this to be an apt metaphor once again for thinking about the individual human with many layers and lenses…the complexity of the individual with whom we must “go deep”

My own talk on the acronym I coined for this event, “TiSH,” spoke to each of our challenges with Trust, Stress, and Health Literacy. Taken together, these can be a toxic cocktail when not aligned for positive health behavior. Stress in America today crosses socioeconomic strata when it comes to health care costs several research studies have found that I cited, including surveys from the American Psychological Association and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The call-to-action Rx for this is to get to know a patient’s values in terms of the life-flows and personal goals, as well as their “value” for health care — the ability and willingness to pay, their personal definition of affordability, and how that plays into their potential or actual self-rationing behavior due to cost. As many as 1 in 2 Americans has avoided some aspect of health care due to cost in the past year, such as postponing a needed visit to a doctor or not filling a prescription drug.

So we’ve spoken to the N of 1 patient-person and the N of 1 physician-clinician. But if we want to change health care for the better, we must look into the eyes, Nick Adkins-style, of workers in health care. Chris Mahai, who runs Aveus, Medecision’s consulting division, wrote the book BOLD on leadership. The acronym stands for, “Believe, be Open, Learn, and Do.” Bold leadership, Chris and her panel who represented three different roles and health industry segments all believe that leadership can and should be fostered, embraced and rewarded at all levels of an organization. I was particularly struck and resonant with one of the panelists’ personal approach to change-agency at work: she said she tries to disrupt her work and workflows every day. That takes bravery, risk-management, and vision. And her organization’s top leadership supports her bold approach.

During Liberation 2019, there were many moments of inspiration, but none more visceral or personal than the family history shared by Gary Mendell, founder of Shatterproof. Gary’s son was addicted to opioids and ultimately, after many months of being clean, took his own life. Gary’s mission with Shatterproof has four pillars, none more important than de-stigmatizing mental health and especially addiction by recognizing that it’s a legitimate healthcare condition worthy of parity of treatment priority and payment just like physical conditions such as cancer or heart disease.

Gary talked of a vision, “that our society would look this straight in the eye, prevent, treat with love and empathy and with programs based on science.” This vision weaves together elements shared in the conference by all of the speakers, with Gary’s family’s learning this in the most personal, devastating way.

From Gary and the challenge of addiction, we moved and were moved by Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider’s leadership of Endwell, an organization devoted to expanding the concept of a good death. The U.S. fails in this end-of-life patient and family experience, and so many of us in the room where Shoshana shared her mission-driven message nodded, teased up, shook our heads, and stared this truth in its face. In Shoshana’s introductory video, a doctor from Stanford said, “Coming here (to the Endwell meet-up) and dealing with end of life makes me proud to be part of health care.”

There’s nothing more personal than one’s own death, and Shoshana challenges the siloed health care system to break down the siloed of home care, hospice, inpatient care, physician care, faith-based organizations, and disease advocacy groups to come together for the benefit of streamlining and humanizing death to make it just as enlightened a patient experience as other aspects of health care on life’s continuum.

Patients and families who have felt betrayed by the health care system, as Gary and many of Shoshana’s communities, may have reacted, must feel trust again with those segments of the health/care ecosystem from whom they are alienated. Trust is a precursor for health engagement, and Lynn Hanessian and Cydney Roach of Edelman did a deep dive into the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer. This year’s study, released as usual at the World Economic Forum in January, found that while overall trust in health care grew over the past year, there was a significant decline in trust in the hospital sector. Hospitals have traditionally been valued members in patients’ communities, with hospital beds notoriously difficult to close due to these institutions being so prominent in their towns and among the largest employers — economic engines — in their local geographies. But how the mighty have fallen in trust — even these pillars of local Chambers of Commerce and economies.

Julie Murchinson, CEO of Health Evolution, concluded the meeting with her insights into “tribes.” She noted that each of us, within and outside of health care, but each of us people is a member of a tribe that’s unique to us, riffing on the work of Dave Logan. Some of us are in tribes where we feel we’re great (and “you’re not”). Some of us are in tribes where we feel marginalized by society and hang with other people in our tribes who feel the same way. Some of us feel communal in our tribe in that our operating system is inclusive for the whole versus the individual in and of ourselves. Recognizing that we are all in tribes, sometimes quite different than the ones with which we identify.

Julie’s call-to-action asked each and all of us: “How do we drive change in health care as a tribe to make a movement?”

She pointed to Greta Thunberg, who at 16 has indeed inspired a movement to popularize climate change across borders, age groups, social strata, and political persuasions.

Greta is as good an inspirational role model as any we can channel in these cynical days.

That’s liberating. That’s Liberation 2019.

Thank you, Medecision team, for convening this exciting, inspiring, informative meeting. This isn’t my job at moments like this; it’s a mission.

The post Making Health Care Better, from the N of 1 to the Public’s Health – Trend-Weaving Medecision Liberation 2019 appeared first on HealthPopuli.com.

Making Health Care Better, from the N of 1 to the Public’s Health – Trend-Weaving Medecision Liberation 2019 posted first on https://carilloncitydental.blogspot.com

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 37 - ANA - Still Kicking

Two teams come into this game with two straight regulation losses: only one will come out with a W! I did some digging into past blogs and I discovered something weirdly encouraging: the Sabres came into this game after losing two games in a row in regulation. That’s not the encouraging part. The encouraging part is that this is only the second time this season the Sabres have lost two in a row in regulation and the last time was the 6th and 7th games back in October! Yea, there was that five game losing streak right after the big olde ten dubs but the Sabres played good in four of those and collected points in three. Kind of like Friday night in Washington when Buffalo played well but was just not rewarded for it. Last night in a tilt against the Anaheim Ducks the Sabres looked good again, this time in they looked good the kind of way that makes you excited for the postseason: the consistent way. Maintaining a narrow lead for most of the game the Mighty Sabres of Buffalo pounded out a hard fought win in front of a very merry sellout home crowd. Last game I just asked for a nice sendoff before the Christmas break and evidently my letter reached the North Pole because I got what I wished for! I must be a good boy. Of course it’s fair to say it’s the Anaheim Ducks and in spite of where they sit in the Pacific Division their just not that great a team. Yea, that’s fair. But within that shaky framework are a few pieces that won a Stanley Cup more than a decade ago the year the Sabres should’ve been there to meet them. And it’s also Christmastime so maybe just let yourself be happy about a win for goodness sake!

Having gone home for some Yuletide prep with the Fam I watched the first period on MSG TV next to my dad like it was 2011 all over again. Jolly. The Sabres came out immediately throwing the pressure on the Ducks, shots after shots after shots, and the visitors just kind of held on through it. John Gibson was clearly a big part of it. Jack Eichel got a chance, Tage Thompson got a good chance, friggin everyone hopped on the sleigh and got a chance. The Ducks did get to testing Linus Ullmark a little bit as the period went on. Then the Buffalo Sabres gave us their Christmas present to us: a rare gift that, barring another wicked win streak, is a truly meaningful gift to those of us who watch this team a lot: a powerplay goal. Set up in the offensive zone Jack Eichel got the puck to Rasmus Ristolainen who continues to be on a line with the other big Rasmus: Rasmus Dahlin to make Rasmus Squared. Risto got it to Dahlin who you could tell sized up a quick pass back to Eichel but instead skated toward Gibson and just rockets it in five hole. The noise of the home crowd was very audible. Funny thing, I think Dahlin happened to also go five hole on Reinhart who was doing an excellent job screening Gibson. That goal came a tad over three minutes left in the first period and nothing terrible noteworthy happened before the first horn sounded except an almost fight. Jeff Skinner must have been doing some trash talking with Ryan Getzlaf (which makes a ton of sense btw) because Zach Bogosian came rushing over like Getzlaf was about to punch a puppy. No puppies were punched and the second period began similarly with volley after volley of Sabres chances.

Ondrej Kase had a scary breakaway early in the second but didn’t get past Ullmark. There was an almost goal for Jack and Jeff that you could see how pissed the two were that they didn’t finish it. I don’t know about you but as the last minutes of the second period ticked by and the Sabres took a 1-0 lead into the third period there was a nervous energy. Now I’m listening to the radio broadcast en route back to Buffalo and I can’t help but get that feeling something is going to go south. The Sabres were on the penalty kill to start the period and once again the kill was strong under the guidance of Chief Killer Bogo and his newly returned co-conspirator Jake McCabe. Adam Henrique almost sneaked in a wraparound as the PP died but no line was crossed. The Ducks started to pour it on now. Three straight regulation losses is rough and they didn’t want it either. Linus Ullmark really got into the zone facing shots from just about every angle. And then, like getting the gift you’ve been asking for on Christmas morning, Jeff Skinner got the puck and skated in around the outside of the net and roofed it close quarters short side on John Gibson. 2-0 Sabres with 8:48 left in the third period. Insurance if I’ve ever seen an insurance goal. Small but massive note: that’s Jeff Skinner’s 26th goal this season. With that he beats the most goals a single Sabre scored last season at 25 whom Jack Eichel scored in an injury shortened season. Pretty unreal, eh? Seven or so minutes later as the Sabres increasingly push back against the Ducks the visitors pull their goalie and Conor Sheary finds the empty netter. The time ticked down to zero and Linus Ullmark’s second NHL career shutout and eighth win of his first season working part-time in Buffalo. The Buffalo Sabres win 3-0 over the Anaheim Ducks sweeping the season series with quacks for the first time since 2010-2011.

Now as the Sabres navigated that perilous 1-0 lead as the Ducks came at them hard early in the third period there was something far more worrisome afoot in Key Bank Center. The play-by-play call by Rick Jeanneret went more or less silent with a confused sounding Rob Ray trying to do color commentary and play-by-play for a time. Eventually, well known Sabres social media guidepost and pre/postgame host Brian Duff took over the color commentary somewhat awkwardly, but RJ did not return for the duration of the game. While officials for the team said an update on him would be given once more was known a few folks at the game said they saw RJ carried out on a stretcher. WGR 550 reported shortness of breath and heart problems. It was a difficult night trying to think about writing this while worrying about someone who embodies this franchise perhaps more than Gilbert Perrault or Alexander Mogilny. RJ is literally the longest serving NHL play-caller in league history having been with the Sabres since 1971. Think about that, if you’re under 20 then one or both of your parents were probably not born yet when RJ first took the microphone as their guy. He may deserve a banner in the rafters more than Danny Gare. Well, the update the Sabres delivered this morning was very encouraging saying he is resting, doing well and looking forward to being back after the Christmas break; but what he apparently texted to the Athletic’s John Vogl this morning is perhaps the most heartwarming message and weirdly accurate of where the team is at on the ice right now as well:  simply “Still Kicking.” Incredible.

Now we go into a Christmas NHL break and a roster freeze to go with it. The Sabres play again on Thursday in St. Louis where they will meet Ryan O’Reilly in the better situation he was looking for… oh wait. All kidding aside, I want the best for O’Reilly. I have tickets to his return to Buffalo on St. Patrick’s Day because I know fun games when I see them. I will post a Amerks Angle for December after Christmas but before that game so if you just cannot wait for more content then you got something to look forward to: but if you are that person, well why haven’t you commented your words of yuletide encouragement!? Yes: comment, like and do share this blog on social media and amongst family and friends with holly jolly spirit! And just think about where you were with this team at Christmas last year: probably just about tapped out considering the season was pretty well dead already. What if I told you then the Sabres would be third in the Atlantic division nine points up on a playoff spot in spitting distance of the Maple Leafs? You probably wouldn’t believe me but if you did you would sign up for it in a heartbeat. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and very glad tidings to you and your kinfolk! Let’s go Buffalo!

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Conor Sheary joked about his empty netter not counting after the game. If he starts scoring again after Christmas maybe it will count a lot in retrospect.