#so erm. yeah girl is going to witness some horrors.

[meowstix]

actually i never got to making much progress on that one emily fic but did i ever mention. atleast for that fic i finally figured out a possibility of the ppb was cooking kinda

[faunusrights]

WIP TITLES ASK GAME

Rules: Share the titles of each of your current WIPs, and, if your followers ask, share a preview of the one that sounds the most interesting. Send this on to mutuals who you are curious what they’re working on.

tagged by @texanredrose who probably dislikes me personally for this HGDFSGHJSDF. tbh i often don't title like ANYYYYY of my WIPs until i have to input them onto AO3, so uh. i am going to have to bullshit some names. also i'm gonna do tex's thing and add a little synopsis if i TRULY cannot think of a title lmao.

note: i am NOT counting WIPs that have at least one chapter posted because otherwise we will be here FOREVER AND EVER so uh yeah. this is just stuff trapped in my gdocs. also it's just RWBY for the sake of keeping it simple, stupid,

anyway uh am tagging @edarzhar (bitch) and @flawedvictori too!!! perish,

(this got long so here's a cut)

Bunfeed Bunsolved: The Valley Walk -- YES this is still happening just very slowly. this is the first cinder/velvet fic of the series and i am SO excited because it gets Weird out there. also it's mostly all about how much cinder likes hiking until she's actually doing it. inspired by the horror movie The Ritual (2017) if you MUST have context,

Ode to Stray Dogs -- it's that guard dog!Weiss/Cinder AU i posted the entire plot for a week or so ago! i love love love this AU and it WILL happen and it IS happening i'm just very slow about it sdhjfghjsgdfk anyway weiss becomes cinder's guard dog. that's the fic. also it's very kinky.

Untitled Velvet/Cinder Fic I -- it's untitled and it's a fic! this one is about, erm... a high-class restaurant/bar/whatever that also doubles as a kinky hook-up joint because you can pay for the servers to let you get freaky with them??? im SO sorry this au legit was so spur-of-the-moment but anyway velvet is there being very hot and cinder, emerald and neo are there like 👀s about it sfdhjsgdfgk

Untitled Velvet/Cinder Fic II -- HAH THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!!! this one is also just a stupid dumb kinky idea but anyway it's about... um... well... it's... [makes vague gestures] i feel like if i try and explain this one people are going to be like 'really' at me BUT IT'S REALLY HOT OKAY I'M JUST!!!!!!!!!!! look if i say it has excessive cum and involves like all the girls of rwby can we just agree to leave it there,

Pâte à Choux -- velvet/every girl. they have sex. every girl. and velvet. i TRULY need to say no more,

Untitled Cinder/Neo Fic -- okay this one is good. cinder and neo gatecrash a mistrali wedding in which cinder talks to everyone to gather just enough knowledge to pretend to be a very distant relative whilst neo demolishes the buffet. they are both dressed terribly and get really drunk and whilst the groom is very suspicious of these two two nonbinary lesbians cinder gives the wife a really expensive gift and so she's like 'do not fucking kick them out MICHAEL' and it's very stupid and dumb. anyway they do this once a week,

Untitled Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, Neo, Roman Fic -- chatlog! been poking at this one for a bit... it's just the CRME + Neo groupchat and it's a disaster also it's cinder/velvet again I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW SHUT UP I KNOW

Untitled GWS!Weiss/canon!Weiss fic -- you know the one. very horny. also very sad???

The Grimmification of Ruby Rose -- here's the bitch!!! this is happening albeit very slowly. in this AU, grimm are actually infected people (THIS WAS BEFORE CANON MADE IT COOL) who turn into grimm over a period of weeks/months! ruby gets infected when she's 15 and decides to kill salem before salem can kill her. currently tinkering with the idea of making it ruby/velvet but don't quote me,

Untitled Faunus AU (aka The Academy of Menagerie) -- a modified version of my Everyone Is A Faunus AU, in which all the cast are faunus and attend the academy of menagerie, which has been invited to participate in the vytal Festival for the first time in its 25 year history. naturally, teams RWBYJNPRCFVY etc show up and wreck shop.

The Misadventures of Blake Belladonna's Silicone Dick -- THIS IS HAPPENING I SWEAR TO CHRIST it's SO funny i have to finish this eventually!!! anyway this is about a non-binary transmasc blake (aka my regular blake) who uses a packer!!! people find out and things get ridiculous. namely it somehow ends up on the roof at some point,

Untitled Snowboarding AU -- this one is one of those horny ones that isn't horny on the surface but is getting there. anyway ruby wins tickets for an all-expenses-paid trip to one of the schnee resorts up in solitas and gives them to blake and velvet who end up there in her stead. they meet weiss schnee, professional snowboarder, and it turns out that when weiss is amped on adrenaline sahe is absolutely 100% down 2 clown... so yeah it's weiss/blake/velvet fhgjsfdj

Untitled Dishonored AU Spinoff -- for Tex!!! the person who inflicted this upon me. it's a little story set in the dishonored au in which we focus on velvet--in charge of the vale rebellion--and cinder, who is a Crime Lady looking to help the rebellion out if only so she can get back to doing crimes all the damn time. its also about velvet strategically avoiding all of rubys text messages as she runs around like a clown. people die!

My Summer Car/RWBY Crossover -- this is another one i'm gonna get to EVENTUALLY. in which taiyang and summer leave for vacation in mistral and yang goes and hangs out in vale for the summer, leaving ruby in the house alone with nothing but a shitty old car for company. probably ruby/velvet. shenanigans ensue.

Sims Medieval/RWBY Crossover -- i've been working on this one FOREVERRRRRRRRRR and it Will happen. it will. ruby is the bardic hero of the kingdom of vale in service to her majesty glynda goodwitch! along with nine other heroes, ruby has to help save vale from an untimely end... but the old queen salem still lingers in the shadows, and threatens to consume all the kingdoms in her great maw. can ruby, armed with little more than a lute and her wits, help save vale? probably not but she CAN play a banging ballad,

Untitled Taffeta/Sienna/Sherveen Fic -- dicks out for milfs that is all

Untitled Ash/Ghira/Taffeta/Kali Fic -- dicks out for dilfs that is all

not as many as tex but then again if we counted all the motherfuckers still in progress................. yikes. anyway here's that. i've probably forgotten a few/ignored ones that are similar concepts to these just in their own little branches (the aufeis fic has like a BILLION snippets in my files i just count em all as the same thing sdhjgf) but whatever. anyway. pass the curse along.

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Destiny

Co-Created with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Chapter 1- Breaking Point

Chapter Summary: Struggling to cope following the birth of their youngest, Katie has been hiding her feelings from Steve until an incident at home causes her to blow. Later, she takes a drive to clear her head and ends up in a familiar place, where she encounters and even more familiar face…

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words. Deals with the subject of Post-Partum Depression so please avoid if this triggers.

Chapter Pairings:  Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: So this little Mini-Series is coined from an idea @icanfeelastormbrewing​ sent to me a while ago. It deals with some gritty subjects and is going to be quite angsty in places. I really hope I’ve done this sensitively. Huge thanks to Storm and @southerngracela​ for being my unofficial betas here.

Please let me know what you think- comments and re-blogs muchly appreciated.

Chaos. That was the only word to describe the Rogers household at that point in time. Flossie was teething and screaming as a consequence whilst Katie was trying her best to sooth her, but to no avail. Emmy was supposed to have taken Jamie and Rori out for the day, but she’d been invited out with friend and because Katie didn’t want her to have to spend her spare time helping her out instead of doing something fun, she’d told her not to worry about it and that she’d manage. And for the most part of the morning she had.

But not now.

Katie sighed as the screaming from the Den grew louder and rolled her eyes. She turned to the only one of her kids that was quiet at that time, Harry, who was sat at the kitchen table colouring, his little tongue poking out in concentration.

“You ok for a minute baby?” Katie looked at Harry.

He nodded “Yes momma.” She looked at him, before she headed to the den to see what carnage awaited. When she walked in the door she saw Jamie stood there, the body to Rori’s Barbie doll in one hand, head in the other. Rori was screaming and stamping her feet.

“What the hell is going on?”

“HE BROKE MY ARMY BARBIE!” Rori screamed.

“Not on purpose!” Jamie said.

“YES YOU DID!” Rori continued “You PULLED it and said that…”

“Ok, ok…” Katie sighed, cutting her off. “Jamie, why did you even take it from her in the first place?” “She was hitting me with it.” “Rori is that true?” Rori looked down at the carpet, dragging her toe slightly across the light blue rug “Maybe…”

“You know, I don’t need this today.” Katie sighed “Flossie’s mouth hurts, your dad is busy with stuff at work…” “It’s a Saturday.” Rori pouted “He should be with us.” “Yes, and he said he was sorry.” Katie looked at her “But he explained to you this morning he had to help some of his students as they have exams next week. He’ll be home soon and said he would make it up to you both tomorrow…” “But I want him here now…” Rori stamped her foot and Katie felt her temper starting to snap.

“Well, too bad!” she said loudly and Rori looked at her “Sorry, but he isn’t so you’ll just have to put up with me, and I know I’m a huge disappointment compared to your father but…” she shifted Flossie in her arms who had finally stopped crying. “Now, Jamie, go put the doll on the side in the kitchen.” Jamie walked out of the room as she turned to Rori. “Daddy will probably be able to fix it when he gets home, ok?” “Ok.” She nodded.

“And In future, don’t hit your bother with it.” Katie looked at her “Because then stuff like this happens.”

Rori opened her mouth to argue but one look from Katie made her shut it again. “Now, why don’t you bring the Scrapbook and do it at the table whilst Harry colours? Let Jamie play his computer in here alone.” “Ok Momma.” Rori nodded.

Satisfied that splitting them up would at least, for the time being, solve the issue Katie waited for her to gather the various bits of craft stuff she wanted to use and she pottered into the kitchen. Jamie was stood next to Harry who was enthusiastically pointing at something on the page and talking to him animatedly. She had to give it to her eldest son, when it came to Harry and Flossie, he had the patience of a saint but Rori…well, she pissed him off and to be honest Katie could understand why. She could be a damned nightmare and when she was in one of those moods, the only person that seemed to be able to quell her bad behaviour was Steve. One annoyed look from her Daddy and she would stop dead, it normally took Katie a little longer and as for anyone else…well, they might as well just all go to hell.

Taking a look at Flossie who was now mouthing at her collar bone, she moved to the freezer, grabbed a teething ring and settled her in the little bounce chair, the 5 month old seemingly calmed for the time being.

“Mom, can I see if Seb can come over?” Jamie asked.

“No chance.” Katie shook her head “You just broke Rori’s doll, absolutely no way is your friend coming over.” “What?” Jamie blinked.

“Actions have consequences Jamie.” She shrugged.

“But it was an accident.”

“Yeah, the doll’s head just fell off in your hands did it?” she looked at him.

“No, it was…” “Did you pull it?” “Yes, but…” “So what exactly where you trying to do if not break it?”

Jamie fell silent.

“Exactly” Katie shrugged “So no, he’s not coming over. If you behave then maybe tomorrow he can come stay, you can play in the pool.” “Dad said he was taking us to Coney Island tomorrow!” Jamie whined “So Seb can’t come then!” “Oh, how hard it must be to be you.” Katie said sarcastically “Choosing the Fair or your friend…” Jamie glared at her, folding his arms. “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.” “My dad always said it was a metric for potential.” She shot back, shrugging as she turned to the dishwasher which she had been halfway through unloading when Flossie had started screaming. “Guess I’ll be a great woman one day.”

With her back to Jamie she smiled gently at the memory of the words her father had once said, and Tony’s reaction. And had she been any deeper in her memories she wouldn’t have heard the little jab that Jamie made.

“God living here sucks…” “Well feel free to pack a bag and leave.” Katie said simply as she turned round to look at her son. “In fact, tell me where you wanna go and I’ll drop you off myself.”

“Maybe I will.” He shot back.

“Like I said, go ahead, I’m not stopping you.”

“Whatever Mom.” He rolled his eyes “You can’t kick me out. I’m only 10!” “I’m not kicking you out. You said you wanted to go, I’m simply not stopping you.” He arched an eyebrow, his action making him look even more ridiculously like Steve and his hands dropped to his hips. “Fine, then I’ll just go to Uncle Bucky’s.” “Ok” Katie said, closing the dishwasher. “Go pack a bag, Uncle Buck can deal with your attitude because I don’t want to anymore.” She held Jamie’s gaze, refusing to look away. Eventually her son’s eyes flickered away from her and he turned around with a groan. “God, sometimes you’re the worse mom in the world.”

It shouldn’t have annoyed her as much as it did, because God knows she’d said far worse to Tony when she was younger, and it was a stupid flippant comment, she knew that. But, coupled with everything that had gone on that morning and how much she’d been struggling in general with the kids recently, her patience which had been hanging by a thread, finally snapped. She could quite happily have slapped him right across the face but instead she took a deep breath and shook her head, glaring at him.

“You know what? I’ve really had my fill of you today James, get up to your room.”

“What?” “You heard me!” Katie’s voice rose as she pointed to the door. “Get out of my sight and up those fucking stairs now!”

Jamie blinked at her, she had never sworn at him like that before and his mouth dropped open and he swallowed.

“I’m telling dad you used bad language.” He stuttered in response and Katie gave a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, are you? Well guess what? I don’t give a shit. You can tell him about that one too!” she blazed “Now I won’t tell you again. Go to your room.” “I hate you.” Jamie seethed, and with a final glare at his mom, he wheeled round and stomped from the room. Katie heard his door slam before she leaned on the kitchen counter hanging her head, her eyes filling with tears. And then Flossie started to cry again.

“Momma?” Harry asked tentatively and she wiped her eyes and looked up, smiling.

“Yes honey?” “I no hate you.” He said softly and she gave him a little smile.

“Me neither.” Rori said softly. “Jamie was mean.” Katie shook her head as she crossed the room to pick Flossie up. “He’s just angry because I told him off, don’t worry about it. Now can you two just behave in here for a second whilst I take Flossie into the living room and try calm her down?”

“Promise Momma.” Rori said. Katie smiled softly, this was the other side to her daughter. The sweet, gentle, sassy but well behaved one that 9 times out of 10 the little girl displayed. She took Flossie with her, gently rocking her and soothing her again until her cries became little sniffles. And then she pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Steve.

***** Steve had just finished with the last small group of Students when Katie’s call came through.

“Hey honey, that was good timing.” He said gently, smiling “I’ve just this minute finished.” “Ok.” She said softly “I just wanted to check what time you’d be home.” “Oh, erm…” Steve hesitated, “Look, about that. Bucky called before and asked if I fancied meeting him and Sam for a drink before I come back for pizza like we promised the kids. Just I’ve not seen them in a few weeks really and…” “Oh.”

Steve frowned, that wasn’t like her. Normally she didn’t give a shit about stuff like that, in fact half the time she encouraged him to go out and socialise “Sweetheart if it’s a problem I can come home straight away?” “Please.” She said softly, and then to Steve’s horror she began to cry.

“Baby, what is it?” he said, grabbing his car keys and his jacket before he picked up his briefcase and strode from his office, locking the door behind him.

“I just…” she took a deep shuddering breath “The kids have been driving me crazy. Well, ok not all of them, but Flossie is teething and won’t settle, Jamie and Rori have been fighting and Jamie pulled the head off her doll…” “Hang on…” Steve frowned as he walked out of the main door to the Art Faculty and took a right towards the parking lot. “I thought Emmy was taking those two out to give you a chance to keep an eye on Floss.”

“She cancelled earlier, said she’d been invited out. I didn’t want to spoil her plans, I mean like she said, they’re not her kids to babysit…” “Woah, she said that?” Steve reached his car and unlocked it, his frown growing deeper. “She actually said those words?” “Pretty much.” Katie sighed “But she’s right, Steve. They’re our kids, my issue to look after them. Emmy has been working all week and…” “Katie, you asked her for one favour. One favour because Flossie hasn’t been well. It’s not like you ask her all the time. She shouldn’t have said that.” Steve tossed his jacket into the back of the car, shaking his head in frustration at his eldest. “Well that’s two of us saying things we shouldn’t…” Katie sniffed

“What do you mean?” he asked. “I really lost it at Jamie. I wouldn’t let him invite Seb over because of the doll and then when he threatened to leave I said I’d pack his back and drive him wherever he wanted to go and then he called me the worse mom in the world and…” Steve paused, leaning against the open door of his car taking a deep breath “He said what?”

“He hates me too, apparently.” Katie sniffed “And I know he’s lashing out and saying stupid crap because he’s angry but I lost it at him, told him to get up the fucking stairs and…Steve I really wanted to hit him.” She started to cry again and Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. He hated hearing her like this. She had been up and down since Flossie had been born but had insisted it was merely hormones and tiredness. As he stood there, the guilt washing over him at the fact he’d left her alone today in the first place, he was starting to wish he’d forced her to go to the Doctors months ago instead of accepting her insistence that she would be fine.

“Did you hit him?” he asked softly, already knowing the answer

“No, of course no!” she said back, angrily “What do you take me for?”

“I don’t take you for anything Sweetheart” he replied not rising to her anger, despite the fact he felt equally as pissed at his son’s attitude “I’m merely making the point that it doesn’t matter what you felt. The fact is you didn’t.” “But…” “Honey, stop.” He said gently “Look, I’ll be home in about half hour. I’ll deal with him then and I’ll take them all out for a walk with Stark before dinner ok? Give you a little peace.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to ruin your plans or…” “You haven’t. They’re my kids too. We’re a team, we always will be.”

She sniffed again “Ok, see you soon.” “Yeah, hey. I love you.” “Love you too.” He cut the call and got in the car, starting the engine and as soon as his Bluetooth had synched up, he instructed the voice control to call Emmy.

“Hey Pops…” “Don’t hey pops me, I have a bone to pick with you Emily Jayne Rogers.” He said sternly “Did you actually say to your ma that you weren’t helping out with Jay and Rori today because, and I quote, they’re not yours to babysit?” There was a pause “No, that’s…those weren’t my exact words.” “Well what were?” he asked, pulling the car out of the parking lot and onto the road.

Emmy sighed “I just said that I’d been invited out and seeing as I’d been working all week and they’re not actually my kids, I didn’t want-“

Steve let out a growl “For fucks sake Em…”

“Woah, hang on…” “We asked you to help us out today because Flossie’s been bad with her teeth and your mom needed a bit of time to just concentrate on her.”

There was a pause “Well why didn’t she just say that before?” “Because she’s your mom, and she won’t ever ask you to do something like that when you don’t want to, you know this.” Steve replied. “And now I’ve just had her on the phone, crying her eyes out as Jamie’s told her he hates her…” he sighed

“Sorry Dad.” Emmy said quietly “I didn’t….if I’d have realised it was that big of an issue…” “We know they’re not your kids but if we ask you to help out it’s a last resort.” Steve continued, “I’m well aware you and Queens have your own life to lead too and we don’t want to take it for-granted that you can drop everything to help out, but sometimes…well, especially with everything that happened with Flossie, your mom just needs a hand ok? She’s done enough for you over the years. She still does.”

“I know.” Emmy said. “I’m really sorry.”

“Ok. Let’s leave it there then.” He said, his tone softer “Are you home tonight or…” “Yeah, I’ll be home around 10. I’ll apologise to mom then too“ “Fine, I’ll see you later.”

After another apology from Emmy, Steve cut the call and took a deep, calming breath as he slowed to a stop at a set of lights. He was dreading what he was going to walk into when he got home. He hated being ‘Bad Cop’ but there was no way Jamie was getting away with what he said, regardless of whether or not Katie had snapped at him.

True to his word he arrived home just under 30 minutes after speaking to Katie. He let himself in, giving Stark a quick pat hello before he was accosted by a flurry of a pink t-shirt and brown hair.

“Hi daddy!” Rori grinned at him as he swept her up into a hug.

“Hey Princess.” He smiled, giving her a kiss to her cheek. He then smiled at Harry who was toddling towards him, and with his other arm he easily picked him up too. “Hey buddy.”

With a kid held by each arm, he followed Flossie’s soft cries to the living room.

“Hi sweetheart.” He said, smiling at Katie who looked at him as she gently rocked their daughter to and fro in the little rocking crib that stood by the sofa. He took a deep breath as he looked at her face. She was exhausted, he could see that. Her eyes were red from crying, she was pale but she still managed a soft smile at him.

“Listen, can you 2 go play and let me speak to momma for a few minutes? I promise I’ll come through in a little while ok?” he looked from Harry to Rori who gave a dramatic pout but one look from Steve stopped her in her tracks and she sighed.

“Ok Daddy.” “Thank you.” He smiled as he placed them both down and they headed out of the room.

“C’mere.” He said to Katie as he dropped down next to her and she leaned straight into his open arms as he pressed a soft kiss to her head. “You wanna tell me properly what happened?” So she did. She explained all about the fight between Jamie and Rori, the broken doll, her argument with Jamie afterwards. She was sobbing by the time she finished, and Steve simply sat still, his arms round her as she pressed her face into his chest.

“So you cursed at him.” Steve said, and Katie nodded “Ok, well, I’m sure he’s heard far worse from TV and Bucky and Sam for that matter.” “That’s not the point Steve.” Katie shook her head, pulling back “I lost my temper, big time. I shouldn’t have done. I could have quite happily smacked him straight across the face.” She sniffed “What kind of mother feels that?”

“Katie, what he said was downright nasty. I’m not surprised you flipped.”

“I know he was pushing the boundaries and what he had said was out of order but still, he’s a kid.” she swallowed “I should know better than to argue back with him or scream at him the way I did.” “Honey, you’ve had a really, really stressful year one way or another.” He took a deep breath and wiped her tears with his thumb “I do think though that you should see a doctor, just to talk about things.” Katie shook her head “I’m just tired Steve.” “Katie, you said this the other month when I suggested it and you’re clearly not.”

“Steve I don’t need to see anyone.”

“You trying to convince me or yourself?” he rolled his eyes.

“I just need a nap. I’m exhausted.”

“Katie…” “Just leave it Steve.” She said a little louder. “Please.” Steve took a deep breath “Fine, I’ll leave it for tonight. But this conversation is not over.”

She looked at him, her green eyes flashing angrily before she shook her head and stood up “Whatever, I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

“Do you want me to order you any dinner?”

She shook her head “Just get what they want, I’ll eat something later.”

He watched her go before he glanced down at Flossie who was sleeping and headed through to the kitchen.

“Daddy we get eeza?” Harry looked up at him and Steve smiled, dropping his hand to the back of his head.

“Sure are.” He smiled “What kind d’ya want?”

“Ham and ineapple.” He nodded.

Steve pulled a face “Pineapple does not belong on pizza.” “Does.” Harry insisted giggling “You silly.”

“Oh am I?” Steve asked, his hands shooting down to his son’s side as he tickled him slightly, Harry giving a squeal as he squirmed away from his touch. Steve chuckled and dropped a kiss to his head as Rori watched him.

“I agree with Harry.” She said “Ham and pineapple is the best.”

“Well I’ll get you a large one and you can both share it, that ok?” Rori nodded and he smiled “Ok, Rori I need you to do me a huge favour. I need to go and speak to Jamie. Flossie is sleeping but if you hear her wake up I need you to come get me ok?”

“He broke my doll.” Rori said, frowning, “Look.” She pointed to the side and Steve looked up, taking a deep breath as his eyes fell on the beheaded toy.

“I know, and that’s what I’m going to speak to him about.” He looked back at his daughter “Now, Rori, I want you to tell me honestly, what were you doing to him to make him break it.” She looked at him, her green eyes round as she blinked and then looked down at the table “I hit him with it.”

“Why?”

“He was being annoying, he wouldn’t let me watch my programme on TV.”

“Ok, well, you shouldn’t do that.” Steve looked at her sternly. “That was naughty.”

“I know. Sorry.” She looked down again before she glanced back up. “Momma said you might be able to fix her.” “I’ll have a look.” He nodded

“If not then Jamie can buy me a new one with his allowance.” Rori shrugged.

“Erm, no he can’t.” Steve shook his head “It serves you right for hitting him with it in the first place.” “But…Daddy!” Rori exclaimed, utterly horrified.

“Aurora…” Steve looked at her, shaking his head “Don’t argue with me.” She pouted and then let out a dramatic sigh “Fine.” “Now, can you do what I asked whilst I go speak to your brother? And then once I’m done we can go to the park for bit before we order dinner.”

“Yay! Park!” Harry cheered as Rori nodded. Steve ruffled her hair before he headed up the stairs.

He knocked on Jamie’s door and then walked in, closing it behind him. Jamie glanced up at him from where he was sat on his bean bag playing on his Xbox, and one look at Steve’s face made the 10 year old avert his eyes.

“Yeah, you might as well look like that.” Steve said sternly “James, I’m so disappointed in you. Do you have any idea about how upset your mom is after you told her you hated her?”

“I didn’t mean it.” Jamie said, his voice quiet.

“I should hope not.” Steve said, sitting down on the edge of the bed “Why did you say it?”

“Because she was shouting at me and she made me angry.”

“You make us angry too sometimes.” Steve looked at him “How would you feel if we told you we hated you?”

Jamie looked down, swallowing as she shrugged a little “Sad.”

“Exactly.” Steve watched him. “Now, you know why was your mom was shouting don’t you?” “Because I was fighting with Rori and broke her doll.” Jamie said, before he took a deep breath “But she was hitting me with…”

Steve cut him off, holding his hand up “Yes, I know she was being a pain in the ass but she’s younger than you and sometimes you just need to rise above it. We’ve told you before, if she’s annoying you, you come find one of us to deal with her.” “But Flossie was crying so I didn’t want to give mom more to deal with.” Jamie sniffed and Steve saw him reach up to wipe his eyes. “I’m sorry.” “It’s not me you should be apologising to.” Steve said gently.

“I know.” Jamie looked down “I’ll go find mom.” “She’s gone for a nap so you can apologise later when we get dinner.” 

“Ok.” Jamie nodded “Do you think she will forgive me?” “Of course she will, she’s your mom. She loves you.” Steve shrugged “But that doesn’t mean what you said is ok or that it won’t hurt anymore. And if I ever hear you saying that to your mom, or anyone of us for that matter I’m gonna be really mad, you got that?” Jamie looked down, his tears falling onto his carpet. “Yes dad.”

Steve took a deep breath and then spoke again, this time his voice was a lot gentler. “You know Rori wants me to make you buy her another Doll out of your allowance.”

“I will if I need to.” Jamie shrugged and Steve smiled, reaching out to gently lay his hand on his son’s head.

“Well, I’ve told her if I can’t fix her doll then its tough luck because she shouldn’t have hit you with it” Steve said. Jamie looked up at him and gave a soft smile. “But that doesn’t mean you breaking it was acceptable.” Jamie nodded to show he understood.

“Ok, well, I’m gonna go check on your momma then we can take Stark for a walk. Get some fresh air at the park. But when we get back, you’re having dinner and going straight to bed ok? Actions…”

“…have consequences, yeah I know.” Jamie nodded.

“Ok, get your stuff and grab Stark’s leash and I’ll meet you downstairs in a minute.” “Ok Dad.”

Steve stood up and headed out of Jamie’s room, over to the landing. He quietly opened the door and as suspected Katie was curled up on the bed, the TV playing gently in the background, her eyes closed as she slept. He walked over to her, dropped a kiss to her head before he turned off the TV and headed back out of the room, closing the door behind him.

*****

When Katie woke the house was quiet and empty. It wasn’t quite 6pm yet, so she assumed Steve had taken the kids out as he had suggested before. But the quiet was as suffocating as the noise had been and she needed to escape. She headed into the hallway, grabbed the keys to her Range Rover before she hesitated, and with a smile took the ones to her Camero instead.

She drove and drove, not paying any attention to where she was going. Just letting the feel of her beloved car sooth her as she turned the steering wheel, the leather smooth in her hand, the noise of the engine reminding her of the day Tony had given it to her.

She drove and drove, and when she finally focused on her surroundings she realised she had driven herself to the old compound perimeter fence. She kept going a little further round, finding the parking lot for the Memorial Gardens before she parked and climbed out. She hadn't set foot on the Garden grounds since that day, 5 years ago almost, when the President has opened them. Once the rubble had been cleared from the grounds, the remaining area of the facility had been refurbished and she had agreed with Pepper to donate it to a Military Charity, although Katie had her suspicions that Ross had gotten his claws into it, even if she couldn't prove it. That area stood behind a huge fence but the rest of the grounds has been converted into public gardens. The lawns were well kept. Shrubs pruned, flower beds well-tended. You would hardly know that a brutal battle had taken place here. But Katie knew, she remembered it like yesterday, and her eyes could pick out that spot from here. The spot she had watched her brother succumb to the injuries he sustained from wearing the gauntlet. She didn't need the little plaque that told her where it was. She could find it in her sleep. Her eyes strayed to the right, to the path that led to the woods round the side which contained the clearing where she had spent so much time with Steve and Nat, and suddenly she craved for it. She craved the peace and sanctuary that little clearing has given her. She strode over the lawns, ignoring the curious looks she was getting from some people who were out in the gardens and slipped through the gaps in the oak trees and headed along the now overgrown track until she came to the little clearing. Smiling, she saw the initials still carved into the tree. SR KS in a heart, Steve's joke one afternoon as they'd snatched half an hour at lunch between his training drills.

“Seriously?” she snorted as Steve turned to her, grinning as he folded his pocket knife up and slipped it into his utility belt.

“This is what we did in my day doll, no graffiti…” he grinned and she shook her head, snorting.

“No, just vandalism on a poor, defenceless tree.” she laughed as his arms circled her waist, his chin dropping to her shoulder.

“Not like the tree can feel it...” He said, kissing her neck.

She gave a little snort at that memory, wondering what exactly Thor’s friend Groot would do if Steve tried to carve their initials into him... The ground was dry thanks to the summer weather so she happily dropped to the grass, her back to the trunk of the aforementioned vandalised tree and pulled her knees to her chest. She took a deep breath, allowing the silence to wash over her, to calm her. She thought about all the times she had spent here and on the compound. The good times had far outweighed the bad, in fact one of the happiest days of her life had been on the lawns out there- her wedding. What a beautiful day that had been some 15 years ago. A time before The Accords, a time before Thanos, a time before the death of her best friend and her brother had ripped a huge hole in her life. Laying her head back against the rough bark she took a deep breath and her mind flicked to the events of the day and how bad she felt about her outburst at Jamie. No one had told her motherhood would be easy. In fact, quite the opposite. But she had coped. And to be honest she thought that her and Steve had done a pretty good job so far. But Flossie had been hard work from the start. She had struggled to feed, struggled to settle at night, the only one out of her and Steve's 4 biological kids to ever fall sick for longer than a day at a time and all this coupled with the fact it had taken Katie almost 2 months to recover from her operation had left her feeling helpless.

She hadn't been able to drive to any of the paediatrician appointments, any of her follow up hospital appointments, hadn't been able to take the kids to school, sports clubs or take Flossie out anywhere to escape the house without help. Steve had stepped up, because he was that kind of man, a good one doing right by his wife and kids, but still the fact she was limited to leaving the house when Steve or someone else was there to lend a hand had been hard on her mentally. This hopeless, dark despair had festered in her chest and she felt useless because she hadn't been able to look after any of her kids alone. And then, as if by magic, the cloud had lifted. She had still been a little down on some days, but on the whole just better. She was given the all clear to exercise so threw herself back into that, losing not only the baby weight from Flossie but taking it a little further and finally ridding herself of the extra 15lb Harry had given her. She felt good, she looked good all things considered, and it showed. She felt happier at work, happier at home and far happier in the bedroom, Steve seemingly couldn't keep his hands off her...but she knew that he would have been like that regardless of what she looked like. That was one thing in her life she was confident in- that her soldier loved her no matter what.

All this meant the noise in her head had quietened to a point where she could shut it out completely, she could get on with life, concentrate on her husband and children, control her emotions...until her outburst today.

Fuck, maybe Steve was right. Maybe she did need to speak to someone. They had warned her at the hospital that she’d feel some mood swings- all part and parcel of recovery as her body went through the damned menopause, thanks to her hysterectomy, and they’d told her that support was available…but the thought needing it made her feel even worse. After everything she had faced, through her SHIELD and Avenging days, her suffering at the hands of HYDRA...she’d never once had PTSD or depression beyond a few nightmares and panic attacks. The thought that she now might need counselling of some description because she was struggling to cope with her baby and her damned emotions made her feel weak.

“What kind of mother can’t cope with her own children?” she mumbled out loud to herself. “I mean, what on Earth is the point of me even being in their lives if that’s the case?”

She fell silent again, as she wiped a tear from her cheek before she closed her eyes, remaining quiet simply listening to the birds and noises of the stream which ran through the woods to the lake…and then a voice spoke. A voice she hadn't heard for 7 years bar in her dreams. A voice she had known all her life. A voice that had comforted her, disciplined her, argued with her, encouraged her...

"I like what they did with the place. A little smaller memorial than I would have liked, but, suppose it’s the thought that counts." Her breathing grew erratic and her eyes flew open, the tears now steadily pouring from them. With a shuddering breath, Katie scrambled to her feet and looked straight into the deep brown eyes of her bother.

Her dead brother.

Her dead brother who was standing in front of her, dressed in one of his usual 3 piece Tom Fords, that typical Tony Stark smirk on his face as he glanced at her, his smile growing even wider.

“Hey Kiddo.”

[has-gilgamesh-doneanythingwrong]

Just Another Day in Fuyuki

Follows the events of Fuyuki’s 5th Holy Grail war from the perspective of an ordinary student.* (also lmao i put it on ao3 too)

*(This idea was based off a hilarious YouTube comment I read)

The first time she realized that something was rotten within the town of Fuyuki was on a cool, midnight blue night. It was a night like no other, ivory rays of moonlight dancing atop her skin as she took a casual jog past the all-too familiar gates of Homurahara Academy.

It should’ve been a normal night, yet the streets were much more silent than usual. Before she could spin to the side to cross over to the next junction; a powerful array of red lights assaulted her eyes, darting around like spirits.

‘WHAT?’ As she looked back, she saw that the red lights were emanating from none other than Homurahara Academy itself! That was strange, she had never witnessed such an event before.

‘Looks like we’ve got a case of delinquents at our place as well, huh?’ All it took was a split second for her to turn her back against the bizarre sight, regarding it as no more than a minor prank. Well of course she did. It’s not as if anything exciting happened within Fuyuki, anyway!

Little did she know that such an action may have saved her very life...

‘Good morning. Recently we’ve been sighting reports of multiple gas leaks and bloodless murders. In addition to this, there’s recently been an online trend of blurry pictures of people wearing suspicious cosplay being shared online. Many sources suggest that...’

As the local Fuyuki news blared yet more macabre news surrounding recent incidents, the young girl slipped on her wood brown loafers, as she patted down her coffee brown school jumper.

The young girl’s name was none other than Sakaki Ayane; a student of Homuhara Academy. As she jammed her plain, homemade bento filled to the brim with Strawberry Cream Sandwiches and Fried Chicken Cutlets into her extremely ordinary school bag, and switched off the plain television with a bland remote, a singular thought passed her mind.

‘It really is just another normal day in Fuyuki today!’ Sure, the news was terrifying- but hey, as long as her daily peace wasn’t disturbed, she was fine! Slamming the door to her basic house closed, she skipped through the mundane streets of her hometown, warm sunlight beaming down on her face, as she bowed politely to  fellow shop-owners and neighbors.

See, her life was totally fine! There was no need to worry about the news, or that time she witnessed giant fireworks at her school, after all! Everything was definitely all-ok!

As she prowled past numerous mounds of identically-emblazoned students, and sat herself right in the middle of Fujimura Taiga’s homeroom class- students guffawing at their sensei’s top-notch sense of humor- she breathed a sigh of relief.

However once lunchtime passed, Ayane was shocked speechless by a minor change to her daily lifestyle. Just as usual, her orange-haired classmate- Emiya Shirou- had caught the entire hall’s attention, due to his lively interactions with a twin-tailed genius named Tohsaka Rin. Ayane was pretty used to their interactions by now- Emiya would bust out into an awkward show, whilst students would gasp, their faces marred with awe and jealousy. As for Rin, she knew next to nothing about the beautiful girl, except for the fact that she’d sometimes catch her mid-conversation with Emiya, using rather surreal vocabulary such as ‘holy grail’ and ‘mages’.

Thinking it was nothing much, Ayane was convinced that Emiya and Tohsaka were a bunch of Roleplayers or something. She didn’t know much about the genre, but found it to be quite fun to imagine scenarios such as being a mage fighting over holy grails, and fighting dangerous beasts- such as skeleton armies. ‘I mean, why else would they talk as if they’re in the middle of a quest?’ Taking another humongous munch out of her sandwich, shock finally settled into her pores once she noticed that something was a little off about their interactions this time.

‘Where’s Shinji?’ That greasy-seaweed-haired, smug little man’s features were very prominent in Ayane’s mind. Based on her assumptions, he was the kind of idiot who kept on trying to interrupt Emiya and Tohsaka’s Roleplay sessions- much to both their chagrins.

However, this time- he wasn’t here at all?! Where had he gone off to? ‘I guess they finally kicked him off their Roleplay club, once and for all.’ Ayane heaved a sigh at that. She had no idea why they’d accommodate such a selfish guy in the first place; seeing as he always kept on trying to centre their Roleplaying on topics concerning himself instead! ‘If I was a Roleplayer, I definitely wouldn’t want him on my squad!’ Incredulously tapping her feet against the linoleum flooring; she tried to think of various reasons as to why Shinji was kicked out of the gang.

But it was to no avail. Slamming her head against the tea brown shade of her desk, she groaned.

That was it! There was no choice but to catch the latest gossip! Packing up her lunchbox, she rushed out of the classroom like a blur of wind; leaving bemused classmates in her wake. Running as if her life depended on it, she leapt onto the school roof; caught sight of the local gossips- and pulled out a spare sandwich.

“I’ll offer you this sandwich! So, spare me the news, what’s going on with Shinji?!”

A bunch of confused girls, smack bang in the middle of a game of cards- looked up at Ayane, their faces confused.

“Shinji? Who’s Shinji again?” A girl with blonde hair and piercings shrugged her shoulders.

“You know, that rich guy? That one that has cash leaking outta his pockets.”

“Oh, that guy? Have no clue.”

“A friend of a friend of a friend dated him. Said he’s a pain in the butt to be around.”

“Yes, that’s the one!” Ayane pointed excitedly, as she plonked herself in between the girls, her body heaving with laboured breaths. “So, what happened? When did he disappear?”

“If you want details like that, you’re gonna have to offer more than a sandwich,” The blonde-haired girl whined. “You’re always asking us for gossip these days, Ayane.”

“A-ah, is that so?” Anxiously wiping sweat off her forehead, Ayane rummaged through her bag: oodles of paper; pretty rocks; textbooks and other strange materials clattering onto the stone ground. Eventually, she uncovered a small talisman from her bag, eyes gleaming with excitement. “How about this then? I’m sure this is worth quite a bit of yen!”

“Dude, my sister bought that for 500 yen the other day. No dice from me.”

“It’s pretty cute, though...I’ll take it!” As one girl happily exchanged it with Ayane, the others spun their heads in horror.

“Kikuo! You damn betrayer!”

“You can’t be human, accepting such a cheapskate offer!”

“Damn, though...I can relate. Who can resist cute things, amirite?”

As they began to squabble, Ayane laughed. Nothing beat a good gossip session!

The school day had finally ended, with only the loud cheering and yells of various school clubs filling the now empty halls of Homurahara Academy. As she pulled out her loafers from her metallic gray shoe locker; a conflicted expression crossed her face, as she recalled the events of her gossip session.

“Ah, that Shinji? Well, it was really odd, but he pissed off right after a major incident hit our school!”

“W-what happened?” Ayane was more or less right in the other girl’s face, her eyes bulging with curiosity.

“E-erm, well...” Blushing awkwardly, the girl scratches her face. “I mean, weren’t you there? It was kinda unforgettable.”

“Actually, I decided to take a day off school that day.” Ayane’s directness was like a major slap in the face for the others. “School can be really boring sometimes...”

“I had a feeling you’d say that...” Another sighed. “Well anyway, some HUGE shit happened. Like we were all sitting in class one second-”

“- and then there was this weird- ass red light-”

‘What is it with our school and red lights?’ Ayane’s gut instinct could tell that something was strange about this story. It felt unreal.

“-Yeah, and then like everything just blacked out. Like the only memory I have is of me waking up the next day or something.” The other girls nodded in assent. “It’s like some freaky curse possessed the shit out of Homurahara Academy or something!”  None of them were able to fill in the missing blanks about what happened; eventually blaming it all on poison gas.

“Well, anyway; Shinji disappeared from that day onwards. Not like that’s a bad thing, mind you.” And that was it.

As Ayane exited the gates, a heavy cloud permeated her mind. Time was certainly out of joint, for them to not even be able to recall what happened! ‘Maybe Shinji was possessed by a ghost...’ Strolling by the courtyard, she caught sight of a familiar purple-haired student.

It was Matou Sakura. Because Ayane was such a nosy student, she recognised her as that one shy girl who’d label her classmate-Emiya, as her senpai. As she passed the girl, she bowed ever-so-slightly in respect, as Sakura embarrassedly bowed back. Watching after her back, yet another terrifying wash of surprise crawled across her back.

Didn’t Sakura usually meet up with that one super-glamorous, plum-haired model-like lady on her way home? It was strange to see Sakura walking home alone.

‘Shit’s really hitting the fan now...’ Ayane mused, as she turned in the opposite direction. She needed an emotional escape to purge herself of the encroaching force of dread threatening to engulf her body. ‘Ah, that’s it! Let’s go to the harbour!’ Regaining her previous sense of joy, Ayane more or less sprinted to Fuyuki Harbour. Aside from a few guests, people going fishing- and the odd seagull- it was often quiet, making it the perfect place for silent contemplation!

She more or less flew towards the harbour, breathing in a deep gulp of the fresh sea air once she arrived. The harbour was like heaven, drifting clouds trundling overhead. Pointing exuberantly at that one special lighthouse perched far away, she grinned. ‘This is the best- OH?!’

Before she could release a scream of joy, she caught sight of something.

It seemed as if she wasn’t alone at the harbour, after all. Shielding her eyes from the billowing wind, she caught sight of a rather fit man in skin-tight black pants; and a figure-hugging white shirt. But what really caught her off-guard was his bold blue locks of hair.

‘Hey, wait a minute!! Why does he remind me of those blurry pictures of people wearing suspicious cosplay?!’ Clamping a hand over her mouth, she prayed to all of the gods and deities in the world to disguise her presence. Seeing as the man was looking so intently at the sea, she didn’t want to disturb his peace time. ‘What a shame...’ One of Ayane’s favourite hobbies was to scream at the harbour, where nobody else could hear her. However, she would be cordial to this visitor today. ‘You better watch out, blue hair!’ She declared in her mind; fists clenched. ‘I’ll be considerate today, but won’t be next time! If I see you again, you’ll definitely have to put up with me screaming at the sea!!’

As she moonwalked as silently as possible away from the sparkly man, a major thought hit her mind. ‘There sure have been a lot of beautiful people with stunning hair colours hanging out in Fuyuki lately...’ It made her somewhat excited yet terrified at the same time to see just how much her daily life was changing.

Oh well, there was no choice but for her to release her pent-up emotions somewhere else instead. As a rather detailed map of Fuyuki appeared within her mind, a lightbulb popped in her brain. ‘The Fuyuki City Centre!’ Nothing was better than throwing one’s emotions at a cup of ice cream. ‘I’m a genius,’ Ayane twirled down the road, pattering rays of sun following behind. After screaming at the sky in the park (startling a few children); and buying the biggest matcha sundae that she could afford, she was all set for the day and ready to go home.

Although today had been quite suspicious, things were finally settling back to normal. Or so she thought. All peace instantly came to a halt, as she bumped into something quite long. ‘Oh crap!’ Raising her head, she came face-to-face with none other than a human wearing a... strange combination between a... biker outfit and school uniform? ‘Never seen an outfit like that before.’ As she bowed in apology, a piercing gaze reminiscent of death itself froze her body to its very core.

“The humans of this era are such pathetic mongrels...” The voice trailed off, as the harsh man’s presence all but disappeared.

‘Err...What?’ Once he was out of sight, her legs buckled; as she fell to the ground- passer-by's sparing her disgruntled glances. ‘I’ve never felt a presence that scary before...’ Clutching her heart anxiously, the shadow of death curled itself around her chest; suffocating her breath. It would take until the pitch black of night for her to regain her composure again. As she trawled back home within the dark, Ayane exhaled painfully, clutching her head.

What a weird day this had been! ‘I’m so glad I’m home now.’ Relieved, she withdrew her jangling keys from her bag; overjoyed to be right in front of her basic house again!

“Yay, I’m home-?!!!!” The ground beneath her rattled ominously, as she toppled to the ground- her eyes rattling wildly. Powerful tremors rippled around her, warping Fuyuki into the most demonic rollercoaster ride she had ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!!!’ Idealistic images of the bland, mundane Fuyuki that she loved were shattering, right before her eyes. As a mere human she was blissfully unaware of the blood-curdling terrors lurking right beside her, in this cursed town...This was the fate of those unaware of the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War.

THE END

(lmao Ayane is the weirdest original character EVER. However, I do wonder what random passers-by think about all of the strange crap occurring in Fuyuki!)

[not-so-freshman]

A Moment of Madness.

Becca x MC (Becca’s POV)

What was meant to be a chill night out helping Kaitlyn, turns into a night of frustration for Becca.

Parings: Becca x MC and a little Kaitlyn x Annisa. 

Rating: Mature (because i use specifically 1 swear word.)

Word Count: 3300+ (i was going to put it in parts but it flows better this way)

Note: Requested by me, This is dedicated to all the Becca Stans who head-cannon her as The Jealous Girlfriend ™ (I.e All of us 😅)

Friday night, and that meant only one thing, roommate bonding night. Well it was meant to be but Chris was off out with the football team and well Abbie was being lame and was not up for it. Instead Alison, Zack and I was going to be back up while Kaitlyn went out with Annisa for the first time.

“Oh, so I’m basically going to be the 5th wheel on a double date.” Zack sounded deflated, it’s not like we were forcing him to go.

“It’s not really a double date?” Alison spoke up while sitting on her bed, trying to reassure Zack, except for that it basically was a double date.

“Okay then I’m the only GUY on a LADIES night.”

Peeking my head out from Alison’s closet, I notice Zack's glum expression. “Fine then stay here by yourself.”

“No, no, I want to go!” Zack had suddenly changed his tune and seemed all up for it. He swiftly left the room, and I continued to comb through Alison’s wardrobe.

I’m trying to pick her out something to wear, obviously wanting my girl to look her best. Though admittedly she didn’t have to try hard, she is stunningly beautiful, but I wasn’t going to tell her that in front of Zack. Though, maybe I should tell her?

I turned around to see Alison still sitting slouched on her bed. “Erm, you know I’ve come to realise you can pretty much pull off anything so…wear what you like.” Alison’s eyes widen and she gets up to approach me. “no, no its okay, you clearly like picking my outfit.”

She snakes her arms around my waist and It feels like someone has switched on a magnet as I feel a pull, an irresistible urge to place my lips on hers.

“Hey Alison! can you pop this zit on my ba...” We both freeze in place as the door swings open revealing a rushed Kaitlyn. “I’m interrupting stuff, aren’t I?”

“Err no its fine Kaitlyn!”

I mean it wasn’t fine but whatever, I returned to flicking through Alison’s closet. Two girls should not be close enough to be popping each other zits, that is just disgusting. “Oh, Kaitlyn you should put some toothpaste on it.” I look over at her and she raises her eyebrow looking confused, I was only trying to help a girl in need. “Dries it out, no messy drama that comes with popping the thing.”

“That kinda just sounds like your trying to make me look silly.” I came to really like Kaitlyn over the months but heck she did not need help looking silly, I folded my arms and throw a look to Alison, knowing only she was going to convince her friend of anything.

“Honestly, it could be either way at this point.”

We get to the bar, its reasonably busy but we manage to claim an empty four-person table in the centre. Kaitlyn and Annisa go and take seats left of the table, while Alison and I take claim of the right side of the table.

“Oh, look the fifth wheeling has already started.” Zack jests while getting an extra chair from another table so he can join us. but before he can sit on it, Alison abandons her seat to the right of me and claims the fifth seat for herself, leaving Zack little choice but to sit next to me.

Zack looks at me as he slowly and reluctantly sits. I muster a smile and nod at Zack, he seems to relax, a little too much though as he throws his arm around my shoulders catching me off guard.

“I’m lucky Alison seems to of tamed this tiger, I’d have my head bitten off by now.” I considered removing his arm for a moment but I didn’t want to ruin his fun, he was already a bit unsure of himself having to hang out with us four.

Kaitlyn’s band mate stood up and wrestled with her seat. “Hey as a thank you for having me around, let me get the first round of drinks.” We were hesitant at first but she insisted, everyone gave Annisa a warm smile as a thank you, and she sauntered off to the bar.

As Zack finally decided to remove his arm from around me, Kaitlyn took the opportunity to lean forward and whisper to us. “Help! I have no idea what I am doing.”

“Have you told her she looks cute this evening or anything like that?” Alison added a little too quickly for my liking, looking over to her I found myself curious, did she think Annisa was cute or was that just advice?  Worry fell over me as I looked over to Kaitlyn, she needs a little encouragement. “Alison, Kaitlyn doesn’t want to lie to the girl.”

“Hey she does look cute!” Kaitlyn scowls at me.

I can’t help smile confidently having successfully goaded her. “I was kidding, why don’t you tell her that?”  Kaitlyn’s scowl fades and she seems to stare into space thoughtfully.

Annisa returns with 5 drinks on a circular tray, they wobble and clink together as she sets them down. I can see Kaitlyn watching her, waiting for a good opportunity to dazzle her with a compliment, at least I hope that’s why she was staring at her so intently. 

Instead of hearing Kaitlyn’s voice, Annisa begins to speak and it catches me and Kaitlyn by surprise.

“Alison, hope you don’t mind me saying, but you are owning that dress.”

A twinge hits my stomach, I can’t remember the last time I felt so uncomfortable.

“Oh, thank you Annisa, Becca actually picked it out for me, she did great as usual.” Alison smiles at me and my cheeks fill with a warmth, I’d like nothing more than to reach and grab her hand, if it wasn’t for Zack being in the way.

My attention is then drawn by the silence at our table, glancing at Kaitlyn, she looks slightly dumbfounded. I nudge her foot under the table with mine in an attempt to jump start her mouth into actually saying something.

“Erm, Annisa I think if anyone is owning anything, it’s you in that outfit.” smooth Liao! I see a blush take over Anissa’s cheeks as she shies away.

Then, a loud screech rips through the room, sending a shooting sensation up my spine and we all look over to the corner to see that one of the staff is setting up the karaoke machine. We take turns looking at each other, almost like we are talking telepathically. NO, I am not singing tonight or any night for that matter.

We resume to speaking aloud, but it isn’t long before we are interrupted again, by a different member of the bar staff. He carefully places a full to the brim drink on to the table next to Alison.

“Excuse me, the guy over there brought you this drink.” We all quickly glanced to where the bartender pointed over to before returning our eyes to each other. Alison politely thanked the bartender and looked over to me, looking completely puzzled, any one would have thought she didn’t get that kind of attention often.

Kaitlyn and Annisa turn their seats so they can fully appreciate the first idiot to go up and sing some cheesy pop song, just then Alison’s hand approaches the newly placed drink, causing another blow to my stomach. “Alison you’re not going to drink that are you?”

“Why not? It be a waste not to.”

My gut churns and realising my teeth are clinched once more I draw in a long calming breath. I can’t believe she is that naïve, that she thinks accepting the drink is harmless. “The drink is a question, ‘can I come over and talk to you’ that sort of thing.” I explained, Alison said nothing in return, she just raises her eye brow at me puzzled, or maybe she thinks I’m crazy. Am I going crazy?

Zack eyes widen and he interrupts himself from sipping his drink. “Yeah and like drinking it is saying ‘sure come on over.’”

“See! He gets it.” I smile to him, thankful for him backing me up and I nudge his arm playfully, causing his drink to spill.

Alison whimsically rolls her eyes at us and pushes the drink to the centre of the table, conceding this point to me.

Kaitlyn then turns around to face us, and speaks quietly trying to take advantage of Annisa’s lack of attention to the group.

“Okay, I think this is going well, I dunno if she is like, enjoying herself?”

“I’m sure she is! Don’t worry about it.” Alison being her usual supportive self, but I disagreed and booed at her disapprovingly.

“Listen Kaitlyn, she is here with 4 other people, at the end of the night she needs to remember having the most fun with you.” She seems to be considering what I said as she looks to Annisa who is slowly swaying along to an out of tune drunk.

“You should go up and duet together…”  Alison looks over smiling at me goofily, I fear I planted an idea in her head. “…or some cheesy crap like that.” I added, hoping it would throw her off.

The Karaoke drunk stumbles off stage to an over enthusiastic applause, Kaitlyn whispers something into Annisa’s ear and she reluctantly nods, both of them get up and volunteer themselves next to sing. Well this should be interesting. 

The music barely begins to blast out before Annisa’s seat is taken by some familiar looking stranger. “Hey I couldn’t help but notice you never had the drink I sent you.” Alison’s face draws a complete blank and she becomes a stuttering mess, no doubt trying to think of a nice way out. 

“Erm, it’s not really my sort of drink?” a blatant lie as she failed to observe that he had ordered her the exact same thing she had already been drinking. I think I’d be madder if she didn’t look so darn cute when she was flustered. 

“What she means is, she’s with me, she’s not interested.” I folded my arms, in attempt to keep them locked in place so I could resist throwing something, anything in his smug face. All the while I watched his thoughtful gaze bounce between me and Alison. 

“Wait, you and her?” he then tilted his head with a squint looking very dim-witted, I saw no need for him to be surprised, but then his gaze shifts from me to Zack. “I saw you and that guy earlier looking kinda…so I assumed- “ 

“ERR NOO!” Zack and I protested in absolute horror, almost perfectly in sync. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or vomit or some combination of all 3. The stranger made a swift escape having realised how much of an idiot he was to think that me and Zack, eww, were dating, never mind Alison being completely out of his league.

I turned to my right and tilted Zack’s chair so he slid off onto the floor landing with a thud. He looks up at me, eyebrows raised and mouth agape. “You two are swapping seats, NOW.” I demanded, Alison leans back in her seat and folds her arms, and a knowing smile creeps across her face, “please.” I added. 

Kaitlyn and Annisa return from the stage, just as Zack gets up off the floor and rearranges his clothes before taking the end seat, and Alison then takes her rightful place next me. she places her hand on my knee and gently caresses it with her thumb. “Hey, I’m sorry about…you know. I didn’t want Zack to feel awkward so I took the end seat.” 

Oh, but she didn’t mind me feeling awkward. I know that isn’t what she meant, I just couldn’t help feel annoyed, a toxic wave had been bubbling away inside me since we got here, it begins to calm though as Alison closed the gap between us, and touched her nose to mine and gently rubbed them against each other. I snort inwardly at the corny gesture. “I suppose you are forgiven.” 

“That easily huh? I was going to offer to get you a chocolate mudslide.” 

“Oh, I don’t even wanna think about how many squats I’d have to do to work that off...”  Alison chuckles with the shake of her head, and I place my hand on top of hers. “...though, I can think of more fun ways to work it off.”

And their it was again; my body is made to feel completely weightless at the return of that pull from earlier that evening. 

“GUYS you do realise you’re not alone?” Zack waved both his hands, trying to draw attention to his presence. 

“oh, leave them alone.” Annisa said whilst laughing. 

Alison pulls away from me and she offers to get the next round of drinks for everyone, she gives me a tiny wave as she skips backwards towards the bar. Zack watches her leave then leans in close to me. “so, when’s the wedding?” he asked me, I know he is teasing but my face feels as though it is on fire, before I could even consider my response, an obnoxious laugh tears through my body, I swivel on my chair to see some red head talking to Alison. I feel that twinge from earlier again as I lean forward, inspecting every element of her. She’s pale, slim with long flaming hair, and I already hate her.   

“If you keep staring at that girl like that, you’re going to burn a hole through her skull!” it seemed my stalking hadn’t gone unnoticed by Kaitlyn.

 “Good! The maybe she’ll drop dea…it, maybe she’ll drop it.” 

“I think they’re just talking, you can chill out.” I turned to the table and found the 3 staring back at me, I dismissed Zack’s remark with nothing but a sigh and turned back to hear more obnoxious laughter coming from the red head. Those drinks are taking forever, why is Alison even talking to her? 

Suddenly my world turns to slow motion as I’m forced to watch as she places her hand on Alison’s arm, whilst forcing that ridiculous laugh. “Okay! did you guys see that? That was a move. I’m telling you.” 

“Becca, seriously Alison will handle it.” 

I folded my arms in a huff, conceding. Zack was right, I decided to make a conscious effort to keep my back to them, I just had to take deep breaths. Along as I never hear that stupid giggle again, I’d be fine. 

But then, there it was right on cue like she could hear my thoughts. Cold runs up my spine and there is a toxic stab in my stomach, taking hold and twisting inside of me. “THAT’S IT!” 

“erm?! Where – “ 

“I think we’re about to witness the human equivalent of a dog urinating up a tree!” 

That’s the last thing I can hear Kaitlyn and Zack mutter as I leave them behind. I’ve lost it. My legs have taken over and before I know it, they’re stomping their way over to the bar, Alison turns to face me and gives me the sweetest smile, a pang of guilt scratches at me, but it’s not enough to stop me in this moment of madness. I’m leaving a mark, I take her by the shoulders, and I plant my lips on her cheek, forcefully smudging against her 

“oh my god, how insecure do you have to be." 

The bitch walks off in a huff, I pull away from Alison’s cheek, she’s smeared with my red lipstick. Her sweet and endearing smile now replaced with an unreadable expression.  She slumps off with a sigh leaving me behind with nothing but the drinks, my aching chest and knotted stomach.

I look over to our table, Kaitlyn is trying to say something to me but I can’t hear over the jumble of chatter and music, she’s now waving frantically at the door, trying to wave me off to go follow Alison outside.  

I step out and she is standing by my car, looking out into the cold air with her back faced to me. I nervously approach her and wrap my arms around her waist, resting my chin on her shoulder, man, I thought she’d pull away.

“I’m sorry that I got all…”   I didn’t fully know what this is, all I know is every time I felt this way, she was there, it always involved Alison in some way. 

She turns her head towards me a little, her cheek almost touches me, still stained with my red, angry mark. “I don’t mind that you got jealous that’s normal. But I wasn’t a fan of how you responded to it.” 

I pull away from her as I begin to shrink inside myself, that was it, I went from being jealous of who she was and everything she could do, to being jealous of what? nearly everyone else that might want to talk to her, steal her away from me. What did I hate more? Someone paying attention to Alison or her paying attention to someone else, that wasn’t me.

and that she might not feel... what I do? Because why would she. 

“What you thinking Becca?” I hear Alison’s voice drift from behind me. 

“That’s its difficult being in a relationship knowing…the other person could do better.” 

I hear her take a few steps towards me and she takes my hand in hers “I don’t need better, not when we fit so well.” As she pulls me to face her, our eyes connect, my ears and cheeks boil, I feel exposed. My heart pounds, faster and faster, it’s as though it would leap out at her if it could. Well, it does belong to her after all. 

“I love you.” 

The words escape my lips so easily, so comfortably, like I’ve said them a thousand times before. yet they’re left hanging there in the quiet as I watch Alison’s face go from startled to more serious. I wait and wonder if I’ll ever hear them back, my body is about ready to flee unable to handle the deafening silence, I’m starting to doubt if she even heard me. 

“Becca, I love you too!” she lunges at me, wrapping her arms around my waist, lifting me off the ground slightly. “I can’t believe the Becca Davenport has fallen in love with me.” 

“More like pulled” was all I could just about say as she squeezed, barely able to breathe never mind talk or anything else. She quickly set me down though, probably noticing the strain in my voice, she looked at me confused. I couldn’t help place my arms around her neck, pulling her in close.

“Alison, you saw me at my lowest and built me up to be better than I ever was, and you didn’t take an ounce of credit. How could anybody not be pulled into loving someone like that?” somehow she smiles even wider and I return it with my own.

 “Becca, I can’t handle not kissing you right now!” she urgently pulls me in, pressing her lips into mine in a passionate kiss. Everything appears to melt away, as we completely breathe each other in.

Alison ends the kiss a moment way to soon. “I could spend forever alone with you…”my heart flutters, I could only silently agree with her as she brushed her thumb across my cheek. “…but we should get back to the others.”

She was right, she took me by the hand and we walk back inside to join the group, but when we got inside, I saw no sign of Annisa and Kaitlyn, I scanned around for them as we made our way back to the table, where Zack gave us a frosty welcome as he simply pointed to the corner of the room before folding his arms in a huff, the other girls had left him alone to play pool and tonsil hockey. Man, he looked pissed. 

“See Alison I told you, Fifth wheel, FIFTH WHEEL!!”

[endemictoearth]

About Town Pt. 2

AT LONG LAST! (And I’ve written more than a sentence of the next part, which was my mistake with my first part . . . so you WILL NOT have to wait six freaking months for Part 3.)

I have so many fics in my tabs and need to do a lot of reading/reblogging, but decided I didn’t want to let another month go by where I wasn’t contributing! 

I have gotten some lovely messages about this fic, in particular, so I hope part 2 lives up to expectations . . . there will be at least one more part, but this isn’t a traditional Frae fic. 

I hope you enjoy! (I will be putting this on the Round-Up forthwith, but am not tagging, bc I’m not sure who wants to be tagged anymore . . . )

(Oh, and to refresh your memories, here’s a link to Part 1.)

* * * * *

On Tuesday after school, Finn was back at the shop. Both Rob and Dave were there, sorting through the delivery of new stock.

Finn dropped his bag behind the counter, and they grunted a unison greeting without looking up. Finn smirked, immediately getting stuck in to the stock, as well.

He wanted to say something about Saturday, about how he had seen Rae, how he knew . . . something. He knew where she was, but not why she was there. He knew what she looked like with the sun at her back, but not how she felt about . . . well, anything. He’d got a couple pieces of a 1000 piece jigsaw, and he just wanted to keep gathering more, fit them together into a complete picture.

But when he went to say something, it was like there wasn’t enough air in the room, or maybe just in his lungs. He tried to take a deep breath, but only managed a deflated sigh.

“What’s up wi’ you?” Dave asked, his tone tinged with the typical ‘just us lads’ harshness. The default reply to any question about how one was should be some form of shrug, grunt or “Alright, I s’pose.” No highs or lows were allowed . . . this was a mellow space for cool people.

Rob elbowed Dave in the arm. “Shut up, mate—his nan’s ill,” he said in undertones. Finn had to strain to make it out, and when he did, he flushed.

“How’s your nan, Finn? She still on the ward? They looking after her alright?”

Rob was good people, Finn thought.

He nodded. “She’s not doing too bad; at least, she hasn’t gotten any worse.”

“Glad to hear it,” Rob nodded.

Dave frowned and kicked an empty box toward the backroom door. “Sorry to hear about your nan, Finn. But it’s good they’re lookin’ after her properly.”

Finn nodded again. He leant down to pick up another box, and when he straightened back up to place it on the counter, he said, “Funny thing, though . . .” and had the immediate interest of the other two.

“Yeah?” asked Rob, sorting through a load of used cds. Though he wasn’t looking at him, Finn could tell he had his attention.

Finn stammered, “I-it’s weird, ‘cause we were just talking about her, but when I were at the hospital, I run into—erm—Rae, y’know, Saturday Rae? The . . . girl who hasn’t been by in a while.”

He cleared his throat into the silent shop.

Rob looked up, and tried to read Finn’s face. “Oh, yeah? Was she . . . ?” he didn’t seem to know what to ask, but Finn could guess his question. Was she a patient or was she visiting someone?

“She had a bracelet on. I think . . . I think she’s been there this whole time.” Finn exhaled a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

Dave coughed pointedly. He’d never been good with words, Dave. Even worse than Finn for talking. It was one of the things that bonded the two of them. They could both abide long silences without feeling the need to fill the air with blather. Rob probably talked the most, but even he wasn’t on a constant yammer.

But now, this seemed to need to be said, only what was he saying? He didn’t know her diagnosis. Maybe she had something physically wrong with her, but she didn’t look sick or extra pale or like she’d lost weight or broken a bone . . . she looked just the same. The same way she did standing on the other side of the shop. He stared over at the display rack, imagining she was there, squinting at a track list.

Rob asked a complete question this time. “Did you talk to her?”

“Real quick, but yeah. I gave her one of the extra Melody Makers. I mean, I had one with me. Seemed to cheer her up. Well, a bit.”

Looking over at his boss and his co-worker, Finn saw them both nodding like those dashboard dachshunds his dad had in the car. Like they couldn’t think what else to do, let alone say.

Because they’d all seen it, without really realizing it. She came in, quiet and unassuming, rarely smiled, always alone. There was a certain air about her.

There was that time those lads from outside the corner shop had followed her in and said a few disgusting things before Dave ran them out, shouting, “Next time, you’re banned for permanent!” as they scurried up the street. Finn wasn’t in that time; he wasn’t sure what he would have done if he’d witnessed that first hand.

There was the fact that she hardly ever bought anything, just looked and looked, carefully reading track listings and skimming music magazines, doing her best to absorb what she could just by being in the shop. Nodding along to the music, sometimes jotting notes in her beat up orange notebook (Finn always assumed it was lyrics she wanted to remember.)

Those things they’d observed and promptly forgotten, never adding them up or drawing conclusions, because you couldn’t. Not really.

But when they heard, “She’s in the hospital.” and “She might’ve been there this whole time.” A chord is struck somewhere, familiar yet haunting.

Dave moved over to the periodical section, as swift as his bad knee would let him, and decisively grabbed one of each of the magazines on the rack. He thrust the pile at Finn.

“Here.”

Finn raised an eyebrow.

“Next time you go. Give her these. Just say they were extras, leftover, whatever.”

When Finn took the stack in his hands, Dave spun around, picked up another box with a quick sniff, and flipped open his pocket knife to cut along the taped seam.

Finn tightened his grip for a moment, then remembered himself, and smoothed the covers before slipping them into his bag.

“Thanks, Dave. I’m sure she’ll appreciate them.”

Rob piped up with a question. “Do you know if she has a way of playing music? I could make her some copies of stuff.”

Finn bit his lip, wishing he’d thought of that first. “No, sorry, we only spoke for a minute. But if I go back . . . I mean, I’ll ask. I’ll find out.”

“Yeah, let me know.”

The three of them unpacked in silence for a few moments.

Then Dave said, suddenly, “Finn, d’y’wanna to leave early? It’s pretty dead, and we’ve got this. I won’t dock your pay. But . . . you know . . . if you wanted to . . .”

Finn picked up his bag and jacket and said, “I might not make visiting hours, but I’ll try.”

“Cheers,” Dave and Rob said, replying in unison.

* * * * *

Finn had taken his scooter to work, so he made it to the hospital in record time. He’d remembered her last name, from her bracelet and the post-it on the Oasis CD months ago. Earl.

“Rae Earl?” He asked for her at second floor reception, near where he’d seen her before, trying to seem nonchalant, but his fingers drumming too fast on the strap of his bag gave him away.

“She expecting you?” the nurse behind the desk asked, deadpan.

“Um, probably not, but I saw her the other day, wanted to check up—I mean, check IN. I just . . . wondered how she was.” He swiveled his neck in an attempt to feel less uncomfortable, but it didn’t work.

“Yes, well, I’ll let her know you’re here. Have a seat.”

Finn inclined his head. When the nurse had disappeared behind a pair of swinging doors, he collapsed onto one of the turquoise plastic chairs that were bolted to the wall. He slipped his bag over his head, wrapping the strap around his palm a few times, squeezing the canvas and leather.

He wanted to bite his thumbnail so bad it almost hurt, instead he slipped his free hand under his thigh, pressing down against the smooth surface of the seat.

Just then, the door swung open and the nurse bustled back out and settled into the seat behind the desk without so much as a glance Finn’s way.

He was about to clear his throat and ask what Rae had said, when on the second swing of the doors, she was there, hovering with an uncertain look on her face while the door wobbled into place behind her.

As he stood, his bag hit the side of his knee. He didn’t wince, just walked over to her. When he was right in front of her, he said, “Hiya.” He winced now, his voice nearly squeaking on the second syllable.

Rae had yanked her sleeves down over her wrists, fingers pulling at each hem nervously. Finn dimly registered it was probably to hide her bracelet. She kept her head angled low, but peered up at him, eyes wide.

“Y’alright?” He closed his eyes in horror. Of course she wasn’t alright, but it was just one of those things you say, in normal greeting. At the pub or the chippy, running into your mates at the park. Not here in the hospital. “Sorry, I just . . . thought I’d stop by. I mean, I mentioned that I’d seen you and—“

“What?” She nearly spat the word.

“I mean, just . . . Dave and Rob. We were wondering where you’d got to and I said I’d seen you. That’s all. I mean, I don’t know . . . anything.” Finn unfurled the strap and swung his bag over his head, then stuffed his thumbnail in his mouth, not being able to resist any longer.

She didn’t seem happy, but he thought she might have relaxed just a bit.

“How was the mag?” he asked, desperate for her to say something. She was quiet in the shop, but her silence had never been this charged before.

Her eyes flew to his, then she seemed to remember. “Oh! Good, thanks, there were some great pictures in there. We’re allowed a bit of blu-tack, so I have something on my wall now.”

Finn nodded. That sounded bleak, but he tried not to show it. And it seemed like a good moment to mention the stash he had with him.

“Uh, we had some extras again, so Dave said I should . . . well, he said I could . . . anyway.”

Finn lifted the flap on his bag and drew out the pile, nearly a dozen titles. He squared them up against his hip, and held them out to Rae, her eyes growing bright all of a sudden.

“What? I can’t . . . that’s too much.”

“Trust me, we end up chucking some in the bin nearly every month . . . it’s better if someone reads them.”

She reached out slowly and Finn pressed the stack into her hands.

Her eyes questioned. “Dave really said these were extras?”

“Yeah, really.” Finn smiled at her, not too broad, not wanting to spook her.

“So you could’ve given me free mags before now, then,” she chuckled.

Finn was so relieved when she took them, he nearly laughed out loud.

Rae looked down, flipping through the titles, grinning at Rolling Stone, which really was an old issue; they were always about a month behind on them.

She raised her head, and started to ask, “Do you wanna—oh, never mind.”

“No, what?”

“It’s just, visiting hours are almost up. I was gonna say did you wanna come to the lounge, but there isn’t time. Stupid idea, anyway.”

“No! No, I’d like to come and hang out in the lounge sometime. Maybe I could come back on . . . Thursday?”

“Um . . . yeah, maybe. We have group on Thursday, but you probably be coming after . . . after . . .”

He could tell she didn’t want to say ‘school.’ “I could come around 4:00, would that be okay?” Finn really wanted to come back, and he had a sudden feeling that she might need him to. That for him to show sudden interest and then take it away would be worse than never having come at all.

They both stood there, sneaking glances at each other in turns, but not really looking. Finn drummed on the strap of his bag again, his momentary relief turning back to awkwardness.

“Yeah. 4:00’s good.” Rae said softly. “You should probably go.” She wanted him to leave first, then. Didn’t want to retreat behind the swinging door, but rather wanted proof of his leaving.

“Yeah,” he sighed, straightening.

“Oh, but—“ she started.

“Yeah?”

“How’s your nan?”

He was pleased she’d remembered, but he didn’t actually know—he’d come straight here, on a mission from the shop.

“Okay, I think. I . . . well, I came here first. I’m headed over to her now.” He reddened.

Rae’s eyes widened. “Then you really should go; visiting hours are almost over!”

For the first time since he’d seen her here, in this place, he didn’t feel unsettled. He reached up to fix his fringe, glanced at her from underneath it, and grinned like he was trying to charm a girl down the pub. “Oh, the nurses usually give me a few extra minutes.”

Her already big eyes grew even bigger, in some sort of surprise, and then she scoffed. “I’ll bet they do. Who could resist that—“ she clutched the magazines to her while her free hand waved in his general direction “—face?”

His cocky grin slid over into sheepish, and he huffed a laugh, turning to walk down the hall to his nan’s ward. He pivoted back, “Oh, wait!”

She hadn’t gone anywhere, hadn’t moved to return to the lounge or her room or wherever she was allowed to be at seven o’clock on a Tuesday evening. She waited, as requested.

“Do you, I mean, can you play music . . . I mean, do you have a way to play anything? In here?”

She hugged the magazines to her chest, hair falling in front of her face. “Walkman, but I didn’t bring much with me.”

“Cassettes?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He could usually charm his way to staying after the official hours, but he should try to get there before they were officially over. Turning his head, he said, “See you Thursday!” before jogging away.

* * * * *

His nan was sitting up, smiling, more alert than he’d seen her in a while.

“Finn!”

“Hiya, Nan—you’re looking well!”

She was. Her color was up, and she didn’t look so down as last time. There was a inkling of the old twinkle in her eyes.

“I’m not feeling half bad, either. The doctor says I can go home this week. Maybe even day after tomorrow!”

Finn grinned, then thought: Thursday. He was supposed to see Rae again on Thursday.

Nan must have seen his eyes dim a bit. “Anything wrong, love?”

Finn shook his head. “Not at all!” His grin was back full force, and she peered at it, studying.

“Hmmm, you’re happy again. Something happen? Or someone?”

Finn flushed pink, but his smile didn’t fade.

“Ah, I see I’ve hit close to the mark. Don’t worry, though, I won’t pry.” She settled back against the pillows behind her. “Did you work today?”

Finn cleared his throat. “Just a bit. Dave sent me home early; wasn’t much to do.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

As he pulled his head back, she caught him, her crooked hands framing his face. “And you come straight over to visit your old nan. Not many young men would be bothered. I do love seeing you so often, lad.” She patted her right hand on his left cheek, and he flushed again, feeling a twinge of guilt for stopping to see Rae first.

He sat down on the seat next to her bed, glancing to the door, but there was no nurse tapping their watch impatiently, so he settled back.

“How’s your dad?” she asked. His dad had gotten a promotion at work, and was on a big project. Finn knew his dad felt bad that he couldn’t stop by as often as he did.

“Good, good. Says with all the overtime he’s been getting, he’s going to have to take us somewhere nice when you’re feeling up to a trip.” He winked at her; she shook her head good-naturedly.

Finn held his hands up. “His idea, not mine!”

Nan smiled. “The seaside might just be calling, if he can get away for a day or two this summer.”

She must be feeling loads better, if she were thinking about going up the shore.

The two of them reminisced about previous holidays at the sea for a few minutes, and then there was a nurse at the door, her uniform just a bit too tight, dirty blonde hair pulled back in a messy knot. She cleared her throat. “I’ve already let you stay fifteen minutes past,” she whispered loudly.

Finn nodded, pulling his bag onto his shoulder as he stood. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

He gave his nan another kiss, and she beamed. “Next time you see me, I might be going home!”

He beamed back, but there was a fragment of worry at the back of his mind.

Rae.