#um that's his daughter he birthed her himself

[cry-ptidd]

Dumb & dumber I love them (original)

[cryptidghostgirl]

Here is a fic ask? Or an idea that popped into my head! Soo I got this idea of Fem! Reader being this Nephalem thing, she made some deal with God, and God lost, she was aloud to make some corrupt angels.

More on reader, she works at the hotel, posing as a normal demon, but she doesn't sing nor dance, how odd because everyone does!..

Adam being her next target, they strike a deal that if he gets the idea of Extermination he can have one thing of whatever he wanted of course reader wanted something in return, his wings. It happened but than he soon died, and before he truly died, Adam could hear he voice, and this holy but demonic chain and parper appeared, indicating he made a deal made literally everyone freeze.

Singing this song, is basically Reader angel and demon side debating what to do! https://youtu.be/0Y9rL6xpvlk?si=i_rjScHV8Kg2qwjp

I can imagine the reactions of the others that where there. 🤩💃🕺

Her taking Adam's precious wings instead of his soul, I can imagine she probably has Lucifer, the other deadly sins and even lillith under a contract as well.

Also take your time with this! I know it a lot to take in haha! Drink water okay!!

A/N I hate Adam so this request is very fun :) Also, I just went off the vibes of the song rather than incorporating lyrics for the most part, I hope that is okay. Also I made her and Lucifer friends because I wanted to.

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely (Adam x Reader)

Pairing: Adam x Reader

Warnings: So many. Um, gore, abuse, just generally Y/n being evil and malicious. Adam.

Word Count: 2,432

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Y/n wasn't supposed to exist. Then again, souls trapped in Purgatory weren't supposed to challenge God, but she had done that too. It had been a simple bet, based entirely on God's belief that absolute power does not corrupt absolutely. He had lost and so, Y/n had become something else.

Not quite good, not quite bad. Neither a sinner nor a winner, a demon or an angel. She was something in the the middle, something worse. She called herself the God of Prospects, she was known as a nephalem.

A traveler between worlds, Y/n found herself the perfect fit when she had first heard of Lucifer's daughter's hotel. The two were friends of a sort and she had been quite bored of late, when he had mentioned it off hand her eyes had lit up with hunger. Lucifer had known that look, the irreversible calamity that always seemed to follow not far behind it.

"Just don't make a deal with Charlie, please." was all he had said on the matter, his voice bleeding.

Y/n had hummed a noncommittal response but took his plea to heart.

The others at the hotel were generally wary of Y/n. Even in her demon form, she cut an intimidating figure. Half a head taller than Charlie, thin muscles tracking the course of her limbs - she radiated power. Her steps were quiet and determined, the crowd never failed to part for her.

Charlie knew nothing of Y/n's truth of course, only that she was a friend of her father's. This was confirmed when Lucifer eventually visited the hotel and the pair greeted one another warmly and so, Charlie trusted her implicitly despite every sign not to. Still, she was wary. She was wary because Alastor gave Y/n a wide birth at all times and Alastor never feared anyone. When Charlie had questioned him on the matter, he always carefully changed the subject.

When Lucifer had gotten Charlie the meeting in Heaven, he had asked Y/n to go with. Neither Charlie nor Vaggie knew why save for the fact that maybe Lucifer wanted to keep an eye on his daughter. He had, after all, had a tone steeped in regret when he had told the pair he would be unable to come with himself and Y/n was his friend. It kind of made sense. Kind of.

It was there Y/n met Adam. He had pulled her aside before the chaos of the trial, making brazen advances towards her. Never having had the pleasure of meeting the first man before, she was amused to no extent by his bravado. He didn't suit Heaven at all, in her opinion, yet another example of the opinion she had proven to God all those years before. He might've been a good man once, but he was no longer. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

"So what do you say, sweet cheeks?" Adam had asked, his hands on his hips after having described everything he could 'do to her.'

Y/n had stared at him so long and hard he had almost begun to shake. Only then had she spoken, her voice like sharp gravel on bare feet, hot asphalt on hands in the dead of summer. It tore the world around it, it burned.

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Uh, hot demon snatch?"

Y/n had laughed at this, her teeth sharpened into points. Her head thrown back in glee, Adam had watched in confusion. When she had finally calmed her wild and uncalled for, in his opinion, joy, she had met his eyes once again, hers burning lazy fire.

"I am the God of Prospects. I will be your doom."

He hadn't known it then, but she had been right. It was strange. Adam had always liked women with a temper, hence his picks for the exorcists he worked with, but he had never liked being outshined, overpowered. It made him uncomfortable, he stayed away from women like that. Yet, something about Y/n in all her carefree composure, all her spiraling damnation, drew him to her.

"Let's make a bet."

She had held her hand out to him then, her nails sharp enough to draw blood.

"A deal?"

Adam had heard of deals in Hell, what an overlord could do through such a thing. He eyed her in suspicion.

"Did you listen to what I said? No, a bet." Y/n corrected tactfully.

"You're not an overlord, are you?"

"No."

Y/n's grin widened, unsettling him further.

"Then what is it?"

"If you win this war that is bound to happen, I will go with you. If you do not, I will take something from you."

"And how do you know it is going to be a war?"

All pretense was gone, he was nothing but a man in her scorching gaze. A shiver traveled its way down his spine, unbidden.

"I told you." she replied, as if speaking to an ignorant child, "I am the God of Prospects."

Y/n had been suspiciously absent from the battle until its very end. She appeared beside Angel Dust as Lucifer and Charlie stood before Adam, laying beaten and bloody on the ground.

"Where the hell have you been?" Angel asked and Y/n smiled, her arms crossed.

"I told you," and she had indeed told them all, the night before at the bar, "I would have made it unfair."

"Like any of us beleive you're actually that powerful." Angel scoffed and Y/n just shrugged, watching the scene play out before her in anticipation.

This was what she had been waiting for all along. She hadn't realized it until she had met Adam in person but, Y/n knew the cure to her boredom and it was not the hotel. No, the hotel was just part of the gateway, same as Adam. Really, the last time she could recall being genuinely entertained was when she had first placed that bet against God. New challenges to face, new mountains to climb, whisked past her minds eye. Plans formed and reformed, she made matter out of nothing.

"How does mercy taste you little bitch?" Lucifer said as he and Charlie turned their backs on Adam, joining the small group of people who had congregated behind them.

"No..." Adam weakly replied, slowly getting to his feet, "You don't get to end this."

Y/n could see his face now, for the first time, without his mask blocking it. She had been right all along, he had always just been a man. Mythologized, but a man none the less.

"I am fucking Adam!" he yelled, pulling himself from the crater, "I am the fucking man, and you're just some fucking clown or something! I started everything on Earth! All of mankind came from these fucking nuts. You all should be worshiping me, you ungrateful, disgusting, fucking..."

He trailed off as he caught sight of Y/n. She stood near the back, her arms crossed. Everyone looked around, trying to figure out what had him so out of it when they realized his frantic gaze was being met by none other than Y/n.

As she stepped between Vaggie and Lucifer, she began to change. Large black wings sprouted from her back, a black halo, similar to the one the exorcists wore, appeared above her head. Then there were the thorns, black vines twisting their way around her limbs. She leered over the now trembling Adam.

"Y/n..." Lucifer began, the smile long since having vanished from his face, "what did you do."

"I made a bet, that is all." she placidly replied, not bothering to look at the man.

She licked her lips in hunger, her mouth full of razors. Adam stumbled a step back.

"No!" he yelled, "It's not over! The war is not over! I... I..."

"This is your fate now."

The group watched in horror as Y/n grew taller, her limbs and torso stretching out thin and monstrous. She looked emaciated, she looked like death.

"NO, it's not!"

"I choose your fate now or did you forget about your side of the bargain? I will get what I am owed."

With a flick of her finger, Adam was raised into the air by glowing black, thorny vines. He struggled against the bonds as she turned his back towards her. Even now, he couldn't help but find something compelling in her, something that drew him to her.

"What are you doing? What are yo-"

He cut himself off in a terrible, protracted scream. The sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone was nauseating as Y/n slowly ripped the wings from his back. She let him fall, whimpering and bloodied, to the ground. Turning the wings over before her eyes, she examined them carefully as she shrunk back to her normal size and body shape.

"Beautiful but... I already have a pair." she mused before throwing them to the side.

"What are you?" Vaggie asked, breathless, as Y/n turned back to the group.

Her hands were stained golden in blood as were her teeth. She grinned.

"I am the God of Prospects. I am corrupted by absolute power."

"Jesus, Y/n." Lucifer sighed, a hand to his head, "You're scaring them."

"Good."

"You knew?" Charlie asked her father in shock and he nodded softly.

"But I've never..."

"Seen me like this before." Y/n finished the thought for her friend, "In my true form. It is a lot to digest, I try to be kind."

"You try to be kind?" Husk repeated.

"Oh I like her." Cherri smiled brightly and Y/n tilted her head to the side in thanks.

It was now, as Lute pulled herself from the wreckage and Adam took his last stuttering breaths that she screamed, rushing to her master's side.

"Sir? Sir?!" she asked, flipping him over with her good arm.

Y/n turned to the scene, smiling. If this was the sort of thing her newfound passion would bring her, life was certainly about to become much more enjoyable.

"Stay with me, sir." Lute begged the dying man.

The last thing he did was smile up at her before falling dead. Charlie stepped forward with Vaggie not far behind her, her eyes glowing red with power and matching those of her father as he followed in her steps.

"Adam!" Lute yelled.

"It's over." Charlie announced, and the exorcist looked up.

"Take your little friends and go home." Lucifer added forcefully, "Please."

Lute looked between them for a moment before obeying, calling the retreat. The exorcists rose into the air, disappearing back through the portal. but not before she had grabbed Adam's fallen halo.

Charlie now turned to Y/n, the same fire burning in her eyes.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

Y/n shrugged noncommitally.

"I was bored, you all are interesting."

Charlie took a deep breath.

"What are you?"

"I am the God of Prospects."

"She is a nephalem. Well, sort of." Lucifer corrected and Y/n pouted.

"A nephalem?" Vaggie asked.

"Neither an angel nor a demon."

"How... shouldn't you be in purgatory?" Angel asked, taking a step forward.

"Does she look like she should be in purgatory?" Husk countered.

"I was there for a while."

"Really? What happened?" Cherri asked in excitment.

Y/n turned to her.

"I made a bet with God."

"And she won. Hooray, now, who is up for pancakes?"

After some conversation, it was determined that Y/n would be allowed to continue her stay at the hotel as long as she promised to protect it should the battle return. Y/n knew it would and told everyone as much, she agreed to the terms. Then the subject at hand had turned to lamentation. For the hotel, for their friends - the minute Charlie had brought up Alastor and his supposed death, Y/n had stopped her.

Holding a hand out to the demon princess, Y/n closed her eyes.

"He's injured, but alive." she announced after a moment, "I will go get him."

Before anyone had the chance to ask her how she knew or what she meant, Y/n had taken off into the sky on her wings of night.

The radio tower was in pieces, and Alastor sulked within. He looked up at the sound of her entry, his eyes wide and wild.

"Took a beating there, huh." Y/n mused playfully and Alastor scoffed, "I have a new job for you."

"What." he spat back, "Something else to get me almost killed?"

"Maybe." Y/n shrugged, "Either way, you know you can't refuse."

Vines, the same ones that had held Adam, appeared on Alastor, wrapping their way around him, bringing him to his knees. He grunted softly as they hit the ground. He knew she was right. He had been vain and a fool, he had been cocky. He had made a bet, and now had to lay in the grave she dug for him.

"What is that job?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"You're going to help me get a meeting with God."

Y/n hopped up onto a mostly intact table, taking a seat upon it. Alastor watched her, speechless.

"Yeah, he's sorta been, you know, avoiding my calls? Between you and me, I think he's pissy he lost our bet."

"Why do you want a meeting with him? Don't you already have everything?"

"Almost everything. I want to play a game."

"With God."

"With God."

"What for?"

Y/n hummed in thought, kicking her legs slightly.

"I want to be corrupted absolutely."

Alastor could read between the lines, he had known her long enough. His eyes widened with surprise. Y/n wanted power, to replace the man upstairs. She wanted to be God, not just a nephalem. She was always crossing boundaries, doing things she wasn't supposed to do, being things she wasn't supposed to be. Who was to say she couldn't do this too? Still, the fear and uncertainty ate away at him. He had no choice but to bend to her will but that didn't mean he had to have complete faith.

Y/n stood again in response to Alastor's doubtful look, her vines dragging him to his feet. She stared him dead in the eyes, her hands on her hips.

"Remember, foolish man, if not for my kindness you too would be gone. Don't try anything, just keep holding up that lovely facade of yours at the Hotel. I will alert you to when your skills are needed."

[dilxcc]

epilogue

summary. in which two friends who desperately clings to each other until the other slips away . . .

contains. fem!reader, friends to lovers, this chapter contained some suggestive stuff, fluff, slowburn, cussing, grammatical errors . . .

notes. im glad that i managed to finish this. the slight angst at the end was meant as um... well you know T-T i miss him sm

previous chapter

it wasn't often like this. satoru felt bad for waking up late. after moving in with you, he doesn't like to be the one to wake up late. he had made a pledge to himself that he will wake up first before you do because he wanted to do everything for you first thing in the morning.

so when he woke up finding you nowhere on your side of bed, he almost panicked. in your relationship, satoru was always the one to cook for you. he likes doing so. a smile soon plastered on his face when he heard the slight clattered in the kitchen.

he wasn't used to you cooking him breakfast. but he still enjoyed watching you struggle as you squint your eyes at your phone to look at the recipe. it wasn't that your eyes are bad or anything. he could tell that you were just making sure that it is the right ingredient.

he crept up behind you and wrapped an arm around your waist. "what are you making?" he asked softly. "just... pancakes," you tried to smile with pride but the slight burn on it made you do the exact opposite. "you're doing great," he kissed your shoulder softly.

as you continued to make breakfast, the white haired male moved to sit at the table. "you know that i don't mind cooking for you everyday right?"

"i'll feel bad," you chuckled. "plus, i wanted to make you something once in a while. you do everything for me,"

"i love doing everything for you. i don't mind if it makes you happy," satoru muttered as he downed the hot chocolate. since he likes sweet things, you learned to always make him anything sweet. his hot chocolate was always extra sweet.

you hoped that he wouldn't need too many sweets in the future.

.

satoru smiled to himself as he watched you sleep, his hand caressing your head carefully. he was proud of you. you were always stronger than he ever was. he didn't care what people say. he didn't care when people said that he is the strongest.

in his eyes, you will always be the strongest to him. carrying a baby for 9 months and giving birth to his child.

he was glad that your daughter had gotten your eyes. your eyes had always been the most beautiful. the way that her hair shines a beautiful white under the moon light gave a light tug at his heart. his daughter had been given both of her parents' trait.

he was glad. maybe it would be fine then if he were to leave you behind one day.

taglist: @wooasecret @charisthemaniac @tw0fvced @1lellykins @dnnalssndra

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[bl00dst41ned]

*.·:·.✦ my little secret (jude bellingham ‘series’ pt.4) ✦.·:·.*

pairing: jude bellingham x female oc (Mariah)

summary: in which it’s time for Jude to learn a bit more about babies

author's note: part 4’s finally out, sorry i'm late. not proofread at ALL !! also i have a Jude imagine sometimes next week (and I loveeee it). taglist: @everlyjay, @barcagirly, @alwaysclassyeagle @urmotheris, @fashphotolife

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word count: 848

The door opened in front of Jude, who was met with Mariah.

“Hey, come in” She gave him a small smile, stepping to the side to let him in.

Jude slowly walked in her apartment. He was instantly hit with the warm and familial atmosphere of her home.

“Tami’s in her room, you can come”

They had decided to spend the evening together with their daughter.

He followed behind her to the nursery. Tamara sat in her swing seat, calm as ever

“Hey baby, look who’s there” Mariah cooed to her daughter with a smile.

The baby looked where her mother was pointing and noticed Jude, a smile appearing on her face.

Mariah handed Tami to her dad. She placed her upright on his shoulder, putting his right hand behind her neck. She went to open the blinds, the room’s decoration revealed by the daylight.

The light blue color reminded Jude how much she despised pink for baby girls and promised to do a blue one just to piss people off.

“You did a good job with the room” He broke the silence.

“Thank you” She briefly responded before leaving the room, Jude and Tami at her trail.

They exchanged these few words before going back to silent. A comfortable one.

“How did your parents react to the news?”

Mariah had not seen or talk to them since the break up. They might hate her, or even think she’s lying for money.

“My mom slapped the bloody hell out of me, asked me to apologise and they ordered me to be there for you and Tamara”

She chuckled a bit, recognizing his mom’s personality. Nevertheless, she was glad they weren’t mad at her.

She sat at the table while watching Jude handle the little baby carefully and get more comfortable. He sat on the couch and laid her on his stomach.

His hand caressed her face, pulling back each time she tried to put it in her mouth. He listened to her whines everytime she didn’t get what she wanted.

“Stop being bratty, you ate already”

Mariah and Jude chuckled at her antics.

“Um, Mariah” Jude called hesitantly. “What’s her exact date of birth ?”

Asking this question embarrassed him more than anything. How could he take care of a child he knew nothing about.

“September 23rd, at 2:17AM”

Jude could only respond a small ‘oh’ while printing the information in his head.

“Wait ?! she was born on Jobe’s birthday?”

Mariah nodded with a smile since she had waited for him to catch on that detail.

“He’ll be buzzing when he’ll hear that”

He made a mental note to text his brother about it focusing back on the little human on his chest. The young woman could sense how it affected him not knowing anything about his daughter, not even her birthday.

“ She weighted 2,9 kg and measured 48cm. She’s pretty calm but can get bratty as you can see. She’s really social and loves to see other people….Oh and she loves Frank Ocean’s voice to sleep” She emphasized her last sentence, ranting things he needed to know.

Jude listened to each word, glad he didn’t have to feel embarrassed to ask about her.

His thoughts were interrupted by an unusual smell, his nose instantly scrunching.

“Oop- looks like baby need to be changed”

Jude was ready to hand Tamara to Mariah but was instantly stopped.

“How do you want to learn if you don’t practice”

They headed to the bathroom, Jude gently laying Tamara on the changing table. Mariah got a basket with the products while he opened her used diaper. He stepped back, disgusted by the sight.

“Stop being childish and clean her up” Mariah laughed off giving him baby wipes.

Jude slowly complied himself under Mariah’s instructions. With a little help, he managed to change her. He put her back in his arms, and they both left to the living room.

“I see you’re getting comfortable” Mariah smiled at them rubbing their daughter’s hair as they sat next to each other.

They watched her eyelids getting heavier. They could tell Tami tried to fight sleep, her eyes popping open every once in a while. But she could not resist to her mother’s caresses on her face, soon dozing off.

“Is that some type of cheat code ?” Jude remembered seeing Mariah do the same thing on her IG story.

“It works when I do it at least”

They fell in a comfortable silence, only sound being little baby whimpers. Jude felt like he had found his place. He had a beautiful little girl to take care. He found balance and was slowly growing back a friendly bond with Mariah. Everything he did wrong was turning right.

Mariah also felt like this. Not telling him about Tamara was her biggest mistake and she regretted it daily. But the solution came by itself and she had the opportunity to right her wrongs. Despite failing their relationship, she knew they could succeed in being a family. He gave her his word.

“Thank you for keeping your promise”

and scene !! this is the end of this little series. hope you liked reading it as much as I liked writing it.

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[letstrythisout4]

um hi again. ok I really, really really loved your Blaise head canon. the girl dad one.

If you couldn't tell already, I freaking love Blaise, so I was wondering if you were still taking requests and if you are would you consider doing like a head canon thingy or like something about Blaise in different parts of his daughter's life like

When she's born

-------------------

When she's a toddler

-----------------------

When she's in her tween age

---------------------------------

When she's in her teenage age (13-17)

-------------------------------------

When she's old enough to move out and she's like a pre adult (18-20)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

etc.

you can add and remove anything if you'd like, plz dont feel pressured if you want to. and plz dont feel pressured to do it if you dont want to, I just really love your writing and you're one of my fav writers here sooo.

Anyways love you

bye

♡ ♥💕❤

authors note: i am so flatttered, here you go babes, love you too, if anyone has anymore requests or ideas lemme know

When she’s born:

I imagine Blaise to be one of those dads who like won’t do anything to risk missing their baby's birth

Like Draco and Theo invite him out for a drink and hes like “but what if something happens while i'm out” “mate she's not due for a month” “yeah but what if”

The moment she is born he has her in his arms, he’s very reluctant to let go when the healers ask for her back so that they can check to make sure nothings wrong but he relents (he hovers over the healers as they perform their diagnostic spells)

He will not let her out of his sight- at all

The only babysitters he allows is his mother, narcissa and lucius

Draco and theo (being good friends) offer to babysit as well but Blaise refuses

Not because Blaise doesn't trust them, but what if something happens and they don't know how to handle it because they are not parents themselves.

No no if blaise can’t be there himself to watch his baby (this rarely ever happens) his mother, narcissa and lucius can take care of her

Though he does not-so-subtle train draco and theo; his friends understand his concern but how are they supposed to be the cool uncles if they never take care of her

Theo is the baby’s godfather and he takes his job so fucking seriously

Like theo reads almost as many books as blaise on how to be a parent 

I imagine blaise to be the one to “take one for the team” and have the first baby from the friend group 

They friend group being blaise, draco, theo, daphne and pansy

Takes a village to raise a child, right?

Well those four are his village

I also imagine blaise was rather young when his daughter was born like early twenties young

Meanwhile his friends start having kids in their thirties maybe late twenties but definitely not as young as blaise did

Painted and built his baby’s nursery all by hand with his village “i could have finished this hours ago with a flick of my wand” “shut up and keep painting, pans”

The first few months with the baby is just everyone basically living in Zabini manor

While blaise won't leave them alone with his baby, his friends are more than welcome to play and feed and spoil her (within his eyesight)

When shes a toddler:

Reads to her every night

“Daddy can i have this plush” *holds up a plush bigger than her* “of course baby”

By the time she is four her babysitters have expanded to include her uncles and aunties

Blaise only allows this expansion because now she is verbal enough to report back what happened while he was gone

Makes his mother sit down and teach him how to braid his daughters hair

His daughter is one of those little black girls that have beads in their hair, she likes the noise they make when she walks

Does hours and hours of research into finding a safe, educational muggle pre-k for her to attend

Absolutely breaks his heart to drop her off for her first day, her book bag is as big and she insisted on adding her favorite bow to her ponytail, he watched as she sat with the other kids paying no attention to the reassurances the teacher was giving

He was the first person at pick up and stood anxiously outside the classroom, eager to have his baby back, it was the first time he ever left her alone with someone outside of his family

The door opened and his daughter rushed into his arms, rambling about the friends she made and the picture she drew of him and her

When she was very young blaise would say, “its okay, accidents happen” to which she now repeats whenever someone makes a mistake

Theo despite his growing emotional maturity refuse to admit that he cried the first time she said it to him

He likes to take her to watch muggle films and buying her dolls of the characters (she has the entire disney line up)

He will play pretend with her and is a professional pirate, ghost, king, prince, wizard (ironically) and dragon

Every year she decides how she wishes to spend her birthday but along with whatever she picks the entire village will come to have dinner at the zabini manor and shower her in gifts

Tween 

Blaise enrolls her in muggle primary school so that she has some social skills pre-hogwarts but has also been having her tutored by the best tutors possible since she could talk in various forms of magic

Blaise limits her involvement in pureblood balls and parties as much as possible; she is involved enough that everyone has seen her and knows that the Zabini family has an heir, but not enough that she can be spotted in a crowd

Has to have the tough conversation of the expectations and potential dangers that are going to be placed on her as a POC, girl, heiress to a wizarding family, descendant of a known slytherin family etc; 

Has to explain what the wizarding wars were like from their families perspective and how that compares to non-Slytherins perspective

(honestly half the reason why he sent her to muggle school was so that she could build up some tough skin before going to hogwarts)

Blaise knew that in the upcoming years he wasn't going to be spending nearly as much time with her as he was used to and decided to take full advantage of the time he did have

The two sat down when she was ten and begun to list out places the wished to visit across the globe, once they were done Blaise rolled up the parchment and got to work planning out the twos next several vacations

The summer before her first year was spent traveling all across India learning about the country's extensive history, several different languages, meals, etiquette, magical practices etc.

The two came back the week before hogwarts and Blaise had to stop himself from looking miserable as September 1st arrived and he and his family stood on platform 9 ¾ saying their goodbyes 

 Blaise did in fact cry silently as he hugged and smiled at his daughter before helping her onto the train

 Tween while in hogwarts:

Constantly sends her gift baskets

The two have magically bound journals where the write to each other at least once a week 

Goes insane decorating the manor for yule (even more so than usual)

Is determined to be the cool dad, and allows her to invite her friends over for the holidays

Teenager

Will sit in his daughters room for hours listening to her rant about whatever she wants because he refuses to be a father who doesn't know his child and no amount of time at hogwarts is going to change that

His house is the hangout spot

Partially because he likes to be the cool dad that her friends know they can rely on; partially because he doesn’t trust adults to look out for his daughter

He knows that teenagers will get up to shenanigans and he's willing to let her go out and adventure in both the muggle and magical world; he trusts her to be responsible

In the summer before her fifth year, she came up to him confidently asking if she could go to a party at her friends house

He agreed, giving her a curfew of 10:30pm

And then invited his own friends over the evening of the party to ensure that he didn’t lose his mind waiting for her

He was a teenager, he remembers the parties that he and his friends threw, he knows what goes on in the Slytherin common room, he even knows that this isn't the first party she's been to (it was basically tradition to throw massive “secret” parties every time slytherin won…literally anything)

He still worries

He's a dad, it's his job

And he tells his daughter as much when she floos home at 10:30pm exactly (she comfortable with her dad but shes not stupid, shes not breaking curfew) to find her dad, and uncles lounging around in the living room; clearly waiting for her

His daughters teenage years can essentially be understood as him slowly letting her go, because he always knew she’d grow up and that he’d have to let but damn was it hard

Young adult

His daughter had made the decision to continue studying herbology and potions after hogwarts, she had found a mentor in Ghana who was a well known healer who was willing to take her in

Blaise spent the summer of his daughters sixth and seventh year in Ghana, familiarizing themselves with the nation and the healers that she was going to be working with

The entire village came together to help her move and Blaise was not the only one to cry this time

As she gets older they continue to spend the holidays together but instead of traveling the world she urges her father to stay in the manor and solves puzzles and play exploding snap like when she was young

They still write each other frequently and visit each other at least four times a year but now when he looks at her, a brilliant adult with a plan for what lies ahead, he feels comfortable enough to walk away for the first time ever

[sansacherie]

"Men would say she had my look."

There's something about the way Sansa looks like Catelyn, an accident of birth that she isn't rewarded for.

Firstly, it's a source of Arya's resentment towards her. Arya already resents her older sister for being "perfect" without having to try whereas Sansa resents Arya for not trying enough in her eyes. Both are wrong. But anyway, to Arya it's bad enough that Sansa is already ahead, does she have to look like Catelyn too?

It's the cause of Littlefinger's obsession with her. He has her framed for murder because he doesn't want Cat's daughter to rely on anyone else but him. He is a grown man contenting himself with forcing kisses on a thirteen-year-old girl because he knows he can't force himself into her bed yet. He is going to die.

Lysa, who could have taken a chance to make amends after realizing- "My god, what have I done", when she learns that the sister, she tricked into going to war with the Lannisters is now dead after she and Robb- the nephew Lysa held when he was hours old at Riverrun- was butchered at a wedding by them. She could have chosen to see Sansa as a way of honoring Catelyn's memory. Instead, all she sees is how much Sansa looks like Catelyn. Too much. And it's not because Sansa is wanted for murder. No, in the end it turns out Lysa is more bothered by the fact that Sansa is the spitting image of the woman who Lysa thinks tried to steal Petyr away. And she tries to murder her traumatized niece. She dies because of it.

Sansa is beautiful because she looks like Catelyn, in the same Arya will develop Lyanna's wild beauty because she looks like her lost aunt. But Sansa being beautiful is literally the reason why Tyrion wasn't forced into marrying her. He had a choice, and he chose Sansa because she's beautiful. She's forced to marry her enemy because he was literally attracted to her and decided he'd rather have the beautiful child instead of the plain, older woman. As much as Joffrey hates Sansa, the text shows him lusting after her because of her looks. He assaults her and would have graduated to rape if he survived his wedding and Sansa never escaped Kingslanding. Let's not forget the awful way the Hound treats her.

So yeah, with all this background/context I'm just going to find it really cathartic when Sansa is reunited with people who will find it bittersweet seeing Sansa because of how much she looks like their lost mother/sister/niece. You can't tell me Arya and Bran won't get emotional at seeing how much Sansa looks like the mother they miss, in the same way, Sansa won't get emotional over how much Arya looks like the father they miss?

I also love it because with the whole "how will Sansa prove her identity without Lady"- um BECAUSE of Catelyn. She is the spitting image of Catelyn Tully, wife of Ned Stark. Lady of Winterfell for 15 years. The Northern lords damn well knew she was.

I love it because in the end Sansa looking like Catelyn is going to work in her favor. The very thing that this fandom has bizarrely used as one of their pieces of "evidence" to argue is that she isn't really a Stark (even though in the books none of Cat and Ned's kids look like Ned except Arya) because she has Tully looks... will be the very thing to validate her Stark identity.

[nrilliree]

https://www.tumblr.com/dreamfyre-beautiful/748866149787353088/problems-i-have-with-hotd-so-far?source=share

This post is killing me !

Alicent is not a good person.

Helaena is barely a character in the original version and she never had any autonomy.

The point of dancing is not to have a smalfolk perspective, stop with this fucking hypocrisy.

Criston Cole is not even a fucking member of the smalfolk ! Wtf ?!

Then the problem with Laena is not that they try to make her look older than Rhaenyra in episode 5, in fact canonically in HOTD she remains younger than Rhaenyra, so what are you complaining about ? Plus this comment is completely stupid, because Laena is older than Rhaenyra in the book ! You know ! The original version ?!

Um... A mother who abandons decorum for her child ? Alicent doesn't do what she does for Aemond by wanting to take Lucerys' eye and attacking Rhaenyra. She's been doing this kind of thing for 10 years already. She literally uses what happened to her son to try to take down Rhaenyra by making up lies saying that Lucerys ambushed Aemond to try to kill him and then she brings it all on herself, poor woman who has no did what was expected of her all these years. It mostly looks like a woman taking out her frustration on another woman, rather than a mother defending her son, we need to stop the bullshit.

So... Laena didn't die killed by Daemon. She died of a complicated childbirth, like many women of the time. She simply accelerated the death process by getting burned by Vaghar (for somes stupid reasons...). And Laenor didn't even die in HOTD, and people always seem to voluntarily forget that yes, certainly Daemyra had this plan together, but that Laenor there accepted and left of her own free will !

Then, it's crazy this obsession to repeat that Rhaenyra is trying to take the title of Corlys for Luke and therefore that she is taking it from the twins Rhaena and Baela... The TG really has a problem with legitimate heirs, huh ? Rhaenyra was designated heir to the throne by Viserys and Lucerys was designated heir to Lord of Tides by Corlys himself ! What isn't clicking in your head about that ?! Rhaenyra doesn't steal anything from anyone for her sons !

And his rant about "the new promo saying "[team black] acts more like family" maybe my family is weird but we don't fuck or get married at all" Um... wtf ? Yes, the TB is more of a close-knit family than the TG, there is not even a debate to be had over it and sorry but does this person forget that there is incest also among the TG ? Not only because of the marriage of Aegon II and Helaena, but also simply because Aegon II openly flirts with Baela, you know, his uncle's daughter? (I say this because a lot of TG claims that Aegon II is actually disgusted by incest and is only with Helaena out of obligation. So yes, the marriage to Helaena is arranged, but clearly this boy didn't have problem with the incestuous costumes of the Targaryens and Westeros This is shown by his reaction when he learns that he is going to marry Helaena and that he flirts with Baela / sexually harassed her). Aemond even since have a crush on Helaena in HOTD, so... no incest in TG ? Let me laugh !

And oh poor people who are full of the fact that the dragons in their team have no development ? We're going to see Sunfyre in season 2, it's confirmed. Then Dreamfyre plays no fucking role in the dance, just like Helaena. Welcome to reality. This show neglects dragons in general anyway, a shame when this show normaly talks about their extinction...

And still the madness of talking about the fact that Alicent doesn't have the right to terrifying childbirth scenes ?! So, the show is about the Targaryens, especially Targaryen women. At least she's supposed to ! And it makes sense that women who died in childbirth or had complications during childbirth are entitled to on-screen scenes about it. Alicent is not a Targaryen and didn't even have a complicated birth so get the fuck out.

My god the TG really have a problem understanding the basics of this story...

I have a blocked user, so I will not refer to @dreamfyre-beautiful's post, but to what you write.

1) If you feel satisfied by forcing a woman who has not yet delivered her placenta to give up her newborn baby (knowing the history of her siblings, mother and both grandmothers) or march through the entire castle - you are not a good person. If you allow one son to bully another until no one sees it - you are not a good person. If you are planning a coup and usurpation of the throne, sending your children to war because you will not bend the knee- you are not a good person.

2) Helaena is probably more of a character in the show than she was in the book at this point in Dance. She was always barely a character.

3) Criston is not a smalfolk. He belongs to a family that was the banners of the Dondarrions. It's not smalfolk.

What amuses me the most is when someone is both team green and team smalfolk, because… it's impossible. I'm not saying that team black was wonderful for the smalfolk, because during the war you can't do that, as ASOIAF has shown more than once, but it is the green team that is responsible for the vast majority of suffering among the smalfolk.

It was Aemond who burned the Riverlands. It was Daeron who burned Bitterbridge. It was the TG people who committed the Tumbleton massacre. It was the TG people who plundered Spicetown. It was Aegon who ordered the building of large golden statues of war criminals during war and famine.

These were all crimes against smalfolk.

And TB? Rhaenyra raised taxes because the Greens robbed the treasury. Alternatively, you could add the Greyjoy plundering to this.

4) In my opinion, there were some problems with Laena's casting. The actress who played teenage Laena was almost the same age as adult Laena, and the actress who played adult Laena was much older than the actresses who played Rhaenyra and Alicent. She was undoubtedly beautiful, but a little too old for the role.

5) Alicent doesn't even scream to Rhaenyra about Aemond's harm. He screams about his own, putting his own suffering above his son's in that moment. With her attitude, she forced Aemond to comfort HER.

6) Okay… I understand people say Viserys murdered Aemma, but how could Daemon murder Laena…? After all, he cared about saving Laena, not the child. He talked to the maester about this. What did he use to murder her? Because he got her pregnant? They already had two children, in the series Baela and Rhaena are apparently not twins, so it's no wonder that he thought that the third birth would also be problem-free.

7) Rhaenyra didn't take anything from Baela and Rhaena because… Driftmark was never theirs. They are Targaryens. Lucerys is Velaryon. Corlys chose to legitimize his own bastard rather than give Driftmark to his grandchildren, so where is Rhaenyra's fault? Even if she didn't want Drifmark, she had to fight for it, otherwise giving away her son's inheritance would be suspicious, right?

8) The marriage of a niece and uncle is less incest than the marriage of a brother and sister. Even outside the Targaryen family, nieces married uncles and cousins married cousins. Even Tywin Lannister was married to his cousin. And even if the marriage of Aegon and Helaena was arranged, she is not wind-pollinated and he fathered her three children.

9) I wrote about dragons here, I think it was about the same post: https://www.tumblr.com/nrilliree/749167004582297600/i-saw-a-post-complaining-that-the-show-goes-above?source=share

10) Aemma's birth was necessary because she died that way. Laena's birth was necessary because she died that way. Rhaenyra's birth was needed to show Alicent's cruelty and Alicent's objectification of Rhaenyra's children. Alicent's delivery was not necessary. And seriously, three birth scenes for six episodes was enough. Definitely. I feel sorry for every pregnant woman who watched the series.

[ofstoriesandstardust]

lights will guide you home (p.m.m.)

a/n: this is the if i stay!au i never intended to actually write, but it feels like a long time coming. this is not same mistakes-verse canon but an AU that takes place inside the same mistakes universe? does that make sense? anyways, there’s a playlist for this fic and um i think i’m gonna go sob now

summary: “If you want to go, I need you to know that it’s going to be okay.” 

-

Or: Maverick says goodbye. 

title comes from coldplay’s “fix you”

main masterlist | top gun: maverick masterlist | same mistakes-verse 

warnings: hurt/no comfort, heavy angst, major character death, car accidents, hospitals, ventilators, mentions of giving birth, rebel as a baby, blood, do not drive while under the influence, hit and run, medical inaccuracies, mentions of the afterlife, mentions of canon deaths, mentions of an afterlife, i think i broke the angst meter, 

word count: 6.1k

tears stream down your face/when you lose something you can not replace

It’s quiet in the room. Barely lit. The only sound comes from the machine in the corner, from the ventilator keeping his daughter alive, the steady beeping of the machine measuring her heart rate.

He sighs, letting go of her hand and bringing his arm to rest on his knees. His head hangs down, his hands coming up in the gesture of a prayer.

He knows in his heart what he needs to do.

So he steels himself, searching for the strength to be brave just one last time, and be the father she needs him to be.

He takes a deep breath, taking her hand again as he shifts up to brush some of her hair away from her face. He allows his fingers to trail over her face, trying to memorize the way it feels under his calloused fingertips.

He squeezes her hand, hanging his head once more.

“If-” His voice gets caught in his throat and he has to cough to clear it.

Be brave, one more time.

He swallows, nodding to himself.

“If you want to go, I need you to know that it’s going to be okay.”

-

He remembers the first time he held her so clearly.

Maybe now more than ever.

He remembers how quiet it had been in the nursery. It was late at night and he shouldn’t have been there. But Natalie’s birth had been so stressful and chaotic that the nurse must have taken pity on him, letting him in to hold his daughter.

He remember reaching out for her little hand, so small and tiny and fragile.

He remembers the fear that had struck him cold.

He wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready to be a father. He barely knew how to keep himself alive, why Goose and Carole trusted him Bradley was beyond him.

Deep down, he knew that wasn’t true. He’d go to the ends of the earth for the littlest Bradshaw. His buddy.

Even in her sleep, she’d wrapped her fingers around his own, nuzzling closer to his touch. His heart clenched at the movement, feeling an overwhelming sense of love come over him, quickly replacing the fear.

He reached down, gingerly picking her up. He was afraid he’d wake her but all she did was hum as he gently pulled her to his chest. He held her over his heartbeat, slowly rubbing his hand up and down her back.

She was so small.

“Hi baby.” He whispers. “It’s your Daddy. It’s late right now, so we can officially be introduced in the morning, but I just wanted to come say hi.”

She yawns, nuzzling closer to him.

If it’s possible, love blooms even brighter in his chest, a sense of pride swelling in him.

This was his child.

He bows his head, tucking his chin on top of her head, hiding the tears at the fact that Carole and Goose had been right, that all he needed was to see her, and it would all click.

This was his daughter.

Looking down at the little child in his arms, he places a soft kiss to her head before gently putting her back down. He reaches out, tracing his fingertips over the few tufts of hair on her head.

He swears, in that moment, that he would do whatever it took to protect his daughter from harm.

-

He couldn’t protect her.

It’s all he can think of as Penny drives him to the hospital.

He should’ve been there to protect her.

The night is rainy, thundering against the rooftop of the car as he struggles to keep himself upright and breathing, mind racing with the worst possibilities. Out of the corner of his eye, he recognizes the movement of Penny glancing at him before reaching out to squeeze his thigh.

“She’ll be okay.” Penny whispers. “Your daughter is nothing if not a fighter.”

He knows that, rationally, he knows that.

But for as much of a fighter as his daughter is, he knows that the universe is just as much of a cruel temptress, who cares little about matters of life and death, of love and loss, of the people who are still needed on this earth.

Bradley needed her. Javy too. Amelia and yes, even Jake.

Many loved his daughter, even if she didn't always see it. Many needed her in their lives.

He still needed his daughter.

Getting the call, the worst call, had been like a bucket of ice down his spine.

The hospital hadn’t told him anything over the phone, which only stood to heighten his fears. They’d just asked him to come to the hospital as soon as he possibly could, which only made his worry grow.

The rest of the drive is a blur.

He remembers his breath getting caught in his throat as he stepped through the door, brain flashing back to the night Carole had checked into the hospital for the last time.

Penny squeezes his shoulder, bringing him back to the present. She nods at him, the smallest signs of encouragement, moving her hand down his arm to intertwine her fingers with his own.

You can do this.

He walks to the front desk, the nurse in green and pink scrubs with frogs looking up at him. “How may I help you?”

“My- my daughter.” Penny squeezes his hand as he forces himself to take a shaky breath. “I’m Pete Mitchell, I received a call that my daughter was in a car crash and was brought here?”

The nurse behind the one sitting, wearing all blue scrubs, looks up at him from a chart she’s looking over. “You’re Pete Mitchell?”

He nods, afraid of the look the flashes through her eyes at the sight of him, at the way she softens as she steps closer like he’s a wounded animal who might run.

“Your daughter is still in surgery. When she’s out of surgery, she’ll be moved to the ICU and at that time, you may see her. I’m afraid I can’t give you any more information at this time.”

“How- how did this happen?”

Someone clears their throat, prompting them to turn. An older man is standing next them. He’s wearing a police uniform, holding his cap in his hands.

There’s lines under his eyes, sign of years of laughter and love.

What won’t be for the first time that night, he’s struck with the realization that his daughter may never see those days.

“Mr. Mitchell, I’m Officer John Matthews. I was the responding officer at the scene. I rode with your daughter in the ambulance here and I’d be happy to fill you on what happened. I’d like to wait with you, if that’s alright.”

He realizes too late that there’s still blood on this man’s uniform.

His daughter’s blood.

“We’d love to know anything you can tell us.” Penny says from beside him.

His breathing is coming out in shorts bursts now as he zeroes in on the crimson stain against the Navy blue on this man’s uniform. It feels like he’s underwater as this man guides them to a set of chairs to sit.

A thought strikes him, breaking him out of the panic.

“I’ve- I’ve gotta call Brad. Do you think he knows? He needs to be here, he-” He stands up, staggering as he fumbles for his phone, patting his pockets.

“Mav!” A voice calls out from across the waiting room, sprinting towards him from the door.

His head swings up, barely catching sight of his son before his body barrels into him. Instinctively, he wraps his arms around him, trying to soothe his shaking body.

“They called, they wouldn’t tell me anything, oh God, please tell me she’s going to be okay-”

Bradley pulls away, wiping at his eyes furiously.

“Kiddo, I-” He shakes his head. “I don’t know. She’s still in surgery.”

“Why don’t you have a seat? Officer Matthews was just about to explain what happened, he was the responding officer on the scene.” Penny says softly from behind them. Bradley nods, moving to one of the chairs, pulling Maverick with him. “This is Bradley, her fiancé.”

Matthews gives Brad a small smile. “Hi son. Nice to meet you.”

Bradley gives a jerky nod in return.

Matthews sighs, running his hands over his pants. “Your daughter was hit by a driver who was driving while under the influence. Her car was t-boned on the driver side in the middle of the intersection. The driver had the red but sped through the intersection anyways, hitting her at 80 miles per hour. He took off after the accident, but because he was highly intoxicated and injured and on foot, he only made it a few blocks before officers caught up with him. He’s currently in custody and sustained minor injuries. We have traffic cam footage of the accident as well, so he will be facing charges.”

Matthews sounds like he’s rattling off a report he wrote, telling them the pure facts and nothing more.

“I was the responding officer at the scene. Because of the rain and the force of the impact, your daughter’s car slid on the asphalt and-” Matthews cuts himself off, taking a shaky breath before shutting his eyes. He doesn’t need the officer to continue to guess what happened next. “Mr. Mitchell, I am so sorry. We did everything we could at the scene to give her proper medical attention before EMTs got there. I am so sorry.”

Next to him, Bradley whimpers. “She was just supposed to be picking Harvard up. She was just supposed to pick him up and take him back to his house and come home. I offered to go with her, but she told me to stay in bed, that I looked too cozy with Buddy. I should’ve been there. It should’ve been me.”

Shoes squeak on the floor, causing them all to look up.

Javy is standing there, looking paler and shaky than he’s ever been, even after the time he went into g-loc the first time this group had all been together. He seems frozen in place, fear etched into every inch of his face.

Jake’s next to him, barely keeping Javy from tumbling to the floor.

Behind him, he can see Natasha’s shorter figure.

Bob towers over them, with Mickey leveling out the group.

The shoes they heard are attached to that of Reuben, who’s holding a coffee carrier. His wife Celia is next to him, holding two more.

No one seems sure what to say, all just looking at one another.

“If Rebel was here, she’d say we all look like the Spiderman meme.” Mickey breathes out, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face.

It’s Jake who laughs first, breaking the tension. “Garcia, could you read the room please?” He says through choked chuckles, head swinging back to the shorter man.

Mickey shrugs. “She would’ve thought it was funny.”

“I hate that you’re right and I can not wait to see the look on Rebel’s face when you tell her that.” Reuben says. “Now come on you lot, sit. We’re going to be here a while.” Reuben nods his head to chairs as they follow his direction, gathering around him and Bradley. “I brought coffee for everyone. The smallest of comfort right now, you know?”

The group is silent as they sit, taking their coffee from Reuben and Celia. When Reuben gets to Maverick, he wordlessly holds out the drink before sitting down next to him. Penny has since moved, talking with Celia and checking in with the aviators. He shifts the cardboard sleeve on the cup as Reuben sighs, leaning back in the chair.

“I’m really sorry Mav.” He says, shaking his head. “I’m- I’m a Dad and I can’t even imagine what you’re going through right now.”

“That explain the coffee?” He asks, holding the cup up.

Reuben chuckles. “That’s Celia’s idea. She’s holding it together for me, I think. Penny called me and Celia’s first instinct was to figure out how to make it better for everyone else. We fell in love with saints of women.”

He frowns, nodding.

Penny really had been great and things really hadn’t even begun to unfold.

He had no idea what would happen over the next 24 hours.

So yeah, maybe he could kind of understand the appeal of coffee, a small gift of something he didn’t have to worry about while he focused in on the one thing that did matter: his kid.

-

He isn’t sure how much longer he sits there, tearing at the edges of the cardboard sleeve. The waiting room is quiet, a nervous tension buzzing in the air. 

His pilots are quiet, maybe for the first time in their lives. 

Callie has appeared along with Billy and Neil. Her head is leaned on Billy’s shoulder, legs propped up on Billy’s lap. 

Mickey’s leaned back in his chair, Reuben’s arm thrown over his WSO. Celia is on the opposite side of Mickey, rubbing her arm up and down the man’s shoulders. 

Natasha is next to Brad, her hand on his knee. Bob’s next to them, arm slung over Nat’s shoulder as she leans into his chest. 

Javy won’t let Jake touch him, it seems. Javy’s head is in his hands all while Jake watches his boyfriend closely. 

��Pete Mitchell?” 

He looks up towards the voice. It’s the nurse from earlier, the one with the pink scrubs with frogs. 

“Your daughter is out of surgery. Dr. Hansley was wondering if he could have a word?” 

He nods, standing up from his chair with aching limbs as he walks towards the nurse and down a hallway with her, feeling almost like he’s walking towards hearing his daughter’s death sentence. 

The doctor meets them outside of the ICU, a younger man with glasses atop his nose. He almost looks like Bob. 

“Mr. Mitchell, it’s good to meet you. I’m Dr. Carlos Hansley, I was the chief surgeon who operated on your daughter.” 

“Is she going to be okay?” He asks abruptly, unable to bring himself to do the niceties. 

The doctor sighs. “Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee that. Your daughter had many mild contusions and lacerations along the left side of her body. In addition, she also had what is called a hemothorax, which is internal bleeding in the lungs. This was due to the impact of the collision and the subsequent rolling of the car. We had to sedate her and put her on a ventilator to allow for a chest tube to be inserted so as to drain the blood. We also suspect that she may have some brain swelling due to the collision, but our main priority was to drain the blood from her lungs.” 

He swallows, nodding. “So, what’s best case scenario we’re looking at here?��� 

“Best case scenario? We are able to ween the sedation and take her off the ventilator at some point over the next few days, where she will be able to breath on her own.” The doctor pauses, biting his lip. 

“But?” 

“But there is no telling just how much her quality of life will be diminished, just that it will most likely be severe. As of right now, we are unable to tell the long-term consequences of the collision. Your daughter is physically stable right now. But it’s up to her to keep fighting and I want you to be fully aware that it may not be worth it to her.” Dr. Hansley sighs. “This is never easy to tell a parent but you should prepare yourself for the possibility that your daughter may not wake up.” 

His ears begin to ring at the words, suddenly feeling underwater once more. 

“Can I see her?” 

Dr. Hansley nods. “This is your daughter’s nurse, Jessica. Should you need anything while you’re with her, Jessica can help you and will be attending to your daughter. She will explain all the visitation rules while she is in the ICU.” 

He nods as the doctor excuses himself, walking down the hallway. 

“You mentioned something about a fiancé?” 

He nods, looking back down the hallway where he came from. “Yes, Bradley. He’s her fiancé.” 

She nods, gesturing back towards the hallway. “We usually limit visitors in the ICU to that of family, and although not legally married, I trust that he will want to be here. However, it seems that there are many people here who might wish to say goodbye to her, so I just ask that you all behave and limit yourselves to three in the room at a time.” 

“Do you think she’ll make it?” He hears himself asking before he can even register that the words have left his mouth. 

It almost feels like he’s floating. 

Jessica sighs. “It’s tough to say, Mr. Mitchell. I think that your daughter is going to be one hell of a fighter. Why don’t you stay with your daughter if it’s alright I inform her fiancé of her state?” 

He nods, starting towards the bed he can see his daughter laying on through the glass window on the door before stopping again. “We’re Navy.” He admits sheepishly. “They’re my pilots, they fly with my daughter. They’re family.” 

She gives him a soft smile. “Well then I’ll make sure they all know they’re welcome to come by. I’ll send Bradley down here as well.” 

“Thank you.” He whispers. 

“Of course, Mr. Mitchell.” 

“Pete. Please call me Pete.”

She nods. “Of course, Pete. Now go look after your daughter.” 

-

It’s the waiting that kills him from the inside out, unable to do anything more for his daughter than just wait. 

-

It’s not for another two days before the doctor informs them that they should probably start thinking about taking his daughter off the ventilator and letting her pass peacefully. 

Bradley rages. 

-

The next morning, everyone prepares to say their goodbyes. 

Despite the open offer to go with them, he keeps himself in the waiting room, Penny’s hand in his. 

Callie and Billy go first. Callie only makes it a few minutes before she re-appears, sobbing so hard he isn’t sure she’s breathing. 

Reuben and Celia go next, Celia bringing a little teddy bear Reuben’s boys, Elijah and Adrian, had picked out for her to bring her comfort in her last moments. 

When Celia leaves, Mickey joins Reuben. The two are in there for almost an hour and a half and he wonders what stories Mickey is telling her before he never gets the chance to. He briefly thinks he might be catching her up on the latest Marvel film she hadn't seen yet, although he couldn’t tell you what it was. 

Natasha and Bob go together, although Bob leaves before Natasha does, the girl spending another 45 minutes with his daughter. He wonders what kinds of promises she’s making about Bradley. 

“Do you know what you’re going to do yet?” 

He shakes his head slowly, unable to meet his girlfriend’s eyes. She sigh, shifting gently in the chair next to him as Amelia disappears down the hallway with Jake to go say goodbye. 

“I’ll support you no matter what choice you make Pete.” She says, taking his head and settling her chin into his shoulder. 

“I want to be selfish.” He says, his voice cracking. “I want to be selfish and tell her to stay. I want her to fight and I want her to make it. I want to be selfish and keep my daughter with me.” He shakes his head, swallowing as he finally turns to look Penny in the eye. “But she could live the rest of her life in pain. We have no idea what life would be life for her physically if she woke up, to say nothing of her mental state. And I would never forgive myself if my daughter spent another ten years on this Earth in pain all because I was selfish.” 

“We make sacrifices for the ones we love.” She whispers. 

“I just wish it didn’t have to be me.” 

“She loved you Pete.” Penny whispers, pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade. “I know that doesn’t make it better or bring your daughter back but she loved you. She knows the sacrifice you’re making for her. You did right by your kid Pete.” 

“She deserved more time.” 

“I know but you’ve got to be brave enough to let her go. You’re strong enough to let her go and I’m right there with you.” 

“I love you, you know that?” 

She gives him a watery smile, pushing back some of his hair. He sits there a minute more, allowing himself to feel her love before he stands up. 

“Pete, wait.” 

He turns as Penny stands up, wrapping him in a hug. “Tell her I loved her too.” 

“She loved you Penny.” 

“My favorite thing about her. How much love she had to give to everyone.” She squeezes him before stepping back. “I’ll be right here.” 

He nods before sighing, turning away to walk towards his daughter’s room. He passes Amelia in the hallway and she stops, giving him a hug. He holds the girl to his chest, noting the way she’s grown up before his very eyes. 

“I’m sorry Maverick.” She whispers. 

“It’s okay A. She’ll be somewhere better, you know that.” She nods, wiping at her eyes once more before disappearing down the hallway towards her Mom. 

He finally reaches her room, pausing outside the cracked door, as he catches the sound of Jake’s voice. 

“-you didn’t even like me, you know?” The blonde sniffs and he suspects Jake might be barely suppressing tears. “You didn't even like me and yet you tried so hard for Javy.” Another sniff. “I think maybe that’s what I’ll miss most: your heart. You loved people so deeply, and you tried to see the best in everyone even when they’re just awful to you.” 

He pushes the door open a little wider, leaning against the doorframe as he takes in the pilot seated next to her bed. He’s holding one of her hands, head bent over her body. 

“You know, I- I would always argue with you just because I thought it was fucking funny. Javy always begged me to stop, told me that one day I was gonna get smacked and he wouldn’t feel sorry for me. But- But I loved that about us, you know? We argued and bickered and got in each other’s faces but you still would’ve picked the phone up at 3 am if I had called.” 

Jake sniffs again and as Maverick creeps closer into the room, he can see the fresh tear tracks on Jake’s face. 

“Getting to know you has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life. You were a light, Rebel, and the world will surely be darker without you. I’m- I’m sorry it had to end this way and those words feel hollow but I am. I’m sorry for all the things you’ll never get to see. I um- I bought that ring I was showing you.” Jake sniffs agains as Pete’s heart clenches. 

His daughter had been helping Jake plan to propose to Javy, he realizes. 

“It’s a shame you won’t be here to see it, because he’d want you to be here. He loved you with his whole heart, you know. You two truly were platonic soulmates and I loved y’alls friendship maybe more than you loved it. Because I knew that if something ever happened to me, you’d be there to look after him. So here’s my promise to you: I’ll look after them. I’ll look after Javy, I’ll look after Bradley, and I’ll even be sure to look after Pops. I don’t want you to worry that they’ll be alone because they won’t.” 

Jake rubs his hands over his face as he pulls away from her, standing up from his chair. 

“There’s some place better.” 

Jake jumps, turning to face him. 

“Mav, I-” 

“She really cared about you.” 

The pilot nods, glancing back at her. “She was a good friend. I’m really gonna miss her.” 

“There’s some place better.” He whispers, throat closing up as he looks back to his daughter. 

He knew what he needed to do. 

Jake pats him on the shoulder as he walks past. He stands there for a minute, just watching her before moving closer to her bed, sitting down in the chair Jake had abandoned as he picks up her hand. 

He squeezes it, looking over his daughter. He spies the little teddy bear tucked up on the bed, right next to her cheek. It almost makes it seem like she’s just fallen asleep. 

There was an ache settling in his chest, one he was never sure he’d fill, the same ache that had settled in his chest when Goose, Carole, Ice, left him. 

“If you want to go, I want you to know that it’s going to be okay.” He whispers, looking at her face. He rubs his thumbs over the bruised knuckles, wondering how they ended up here. 

She wasn’t supposed to beat him back to them. 

She was supposed to live a long, healthy life with Bradley and their dog and everything she had ever wanted. 

He decides in that moment that losing his child is more painful than anything he’s ever experienced as his breathing becomes ragged, eyes wet. 

“I want- I want to be selfish. I want to be selfish and tell you to stay, to fight, to be here with us. But I know that- that fighting may not be worth what you know will wait for you if you wake up. And I guess- I guess it’s kind of my choice here too, and that maybe I’m taking it away from you. But from the moment you were born, I-” 

He chokes on his breath, shuddering as he bows his head. “I promised to keep you safe. I promised I would protect you. And I’ve done a really shit job of it, haven’t I? I’ve failed you, every time, I’ve failed. And I won’t- I won’t fail you this time kiddo. I promise.” His voice cracks on the last word, body overcome with sobs. 

He isn’t sure how long he sits there, crying over her body, but the sky outside has darkened by the time he finally pulls himself together, the answer becoming clearer as he looks at her. 

Finally, he stands up, ready to face his decision. 

He sighs, closing the door behind him as he faces Javy and Bradley. They’re the only two left, minus Jake who’s lingering. He’d sent the rest of them home hours ago, wanting them to get some rest. They both watch him carefully as he pulls up a chair in front of them.

He swallows, the tears refusing to leave even as he tried to steady himself. “I have made the decision to pull her off the ventilator.” 

The words are quiet but Bradley’s next are not. 

“Mav, you can’t.” His eyes are wide and he can’t bring himself to meet them for too long, knowing he’s got the same betrayed look in his eye the day he found out he had pulled his papers. “Why are you just- why are you just giving up on her? She still has so much fight in her.” 

“Bradley, listen to me.” He says, doing his best to keep his voice measured. “We have no idea what it would be like for her if she survived. She would probably never fly again, she could spend the rest of her life in pain. I’m not taking that risk, not when she can go peacefully.” 

“No, she- she wouldn’t want you doing this.” 

“Bradley, you have to let her go.” He whispers. The pilot stands up abruptly, chair clattering to the floor from the force of the movement. 

“No!” He nearly shouts. “No, and I can’t believe I’m the only one fighting for her. I can’t believe you’re giving up on her like this! She’d be so disappointed in you, Mav.” Maverick winces, looking away from his son. 

“Brad, I’m sorry but this is what’s for the best for her.” 

“No, you’re wrong. I- I can’t be here.” 

Bradley turns, stalking down the hallway as he lets out a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. 

“You’re doing the right thing.” Javy says quietly, even as he looks torn apart from the inside out. 

“You’re welcome to stay when they take the ventilator out until she passes.” 

Javy sniffs, shaking his head. “I can’t. I’m afraid- I’m afraid that if I stay, that’s going to be the only way I remember her. And I- I want to remember her the way I’ve always known my best friend. I want to remember her as the girl with the witty comments and who loved so fiercely. I want to remember her as full of life and not- not laying in a hospital bed.” 

He nods, reaching over to grasp Javy in a hug. The man returns it, tucking his head into his shoulder. “You were her best friend. No one can take that from you and it'll always be that way.” 

Javy nods, gripping him tighter. 

“I’m gonna go- I’m gonna go say goodbye to her.” 

He nods as Javy clings to him for a minute more before letting him go, moving to walk into the room. 

“Mav?” He turns, catching sight of Javy hesitating at her door. “Would- would you go with me? I’m- I’m scared.” 

He follows Javy into the room, shutting the door behind them. He stands, back resting against the wall, as Javy takes her hand. It’s all he does for a while, just looking at her. 

“I- I don’t even know where to start.” Javy whispers. “You were—are—my best friend. I don’t want to say goodbye because goodbye means that I have to move on with life without you in it and God, there’s never been a moment we’ve been friends where I thought of that as a possibility. I’m always- I’m always gonna remember you as the girl with the witty comebacks and insane flying skills and some of the best hugs.” Javy takes a shaky breath. “God, I always took for granted the time we had. I thought we’d have forever to get up to stupid shit and annoy our partners and I-” 

It’s then that Javy breaks down and he’s known his pilot long enough to know when he needs space. It’s hard on him too, watching all these people who had loved her have to say goodbye to her. 

It kills him to think that there might've been a point in her life where she had thought she wasn’t loved so strongly, so immensely. 

He walks blindly down the hallways to the nurses station where Jessica sits, typing something on the computer. She catches sight of him, offering him a soft smile. “Yes, Pete? What can I do for you?” 

He sighs, leaning against the counter. “I’ve decided I want to take her off the ventilator.” 

She sighs and nods. “I think you’re making the right choice here, Pete.” She says, standing up from the desk. 

“I hope so.” 

They walk down the hallway as she softly explains the procedure to him, how they’ll sedate her so she’ll feel no pain as she goes. She explains that they can be there the whole time so that she doesn’t have to be alone when she goes. 

As the reach the room, Javy’s still in there, Jake hugging his boyfriend as he cries. Javy pulls back when he spots them, Jake understanding in a moment what’s about to happen. 

Javy leaves the room, Jake offering him a final hug as he exits. He takes a deep breath, sitting down in a chair, as Jessica begins the process of taking her off the ventilator. He forces himself to watch, to hold his daughter’s hand as he tries to soothe her. 

Finally, as Jessica leaves, she rests a hand on his shoulder and whispers, “Let me know if you need anything.” He nods numbly, unable to look away from his daughter. She leaves, the sound of the door shutting behind her sounding through the room. 

He glances at the monitor, realizing her numbers aren’t going down like they should be. 

“Why is she fighting?” He whispers, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “It’s okay sweetheart. I’m here, please don’t fight it, please just let go. It’s okay, I’m telling you it’s okay to go.” 

He nervously watches the numbers on the machine next to her, wondering if she’s in pain, desperately hoping she’s not panicking and thinking they abandoned her. 

“It’s okay, honey. Let go. I’m right here honey, it’s okay.” 

The door opens, revealing Bradley, who looks beyond distraught. His hair is tugged in wildly different directions, eyes red as his face is covered in tear tracks. He shuts the door quietly behind him, walking to sit down next to her. 

“How’s she doing?” He whispers, taking her other hand. 

“Fighting it.” 

Bradley grimaces, leaning forward to run his fingers over her forehead and down her cheek. “It’s okay baby. Your Dad and I, we’re right here. Let go. It’s okay to go, please don’t fight it.” 

He watches as his daughter’s numbers settle to how Jessica told him they should, almost like she’s breathing a sigh of relief as Bradley tells her it’s okay. 

“I love you, baby. It’s okay to go. Go to Mom and Dad, they’ll take care of you. I’ll be okay, I promise. I know you’ll wait for me. Just let go, let them take care of you.” 

His throat closes as he watches Bradley say goodbye, intertwining his fingers with her own. 

He forces himself to not watch the numbers on the machine that signal her getting closer to passing but instead focuses in on her face, the last few moments he has with his daughter. 

“I love you sweetheart. It’s okay, you don’t have to be scared. Ice is waiting for you.” He whispers, squeezing your hand. “He’ll take good care of you, sweetheart.”

In what is probably a matter of seconds, but feel more like a lifetime, she slips away. 

The machine gives a steady beep, signaling the end of her life. 

Bradley squeezes her hand ever so tighter, his head falling to rest on her arm as a sob overtakes his body. His shoulders are shaking with the weight of everything. 

Maverick can’t make himself move. He should go over there, comfort his son, tell him it will be okay, but he can’t bring himself to look away from the sight of his daughter. 

She looked so peaceful. 

-

Go to Mom and Dad, they’ll take care of you. I’ll be okay, I promise...

You feel warm, the sound of Bradley’s voice appearing. It’s comforting, hearing him tell you that it’s okay. You want to give him a hug, to run your fingers through his hair, and give him one last kiss. To tell him that you’re sorry it had to end this way, that the two of you hadn’t had more time. 

You want to curl up in your Dad’s arms, like all those times you’d done when you were scared when you were little. To tell him you were sorry you had become one more person he had lost. 

You hoped they stayed close to each other for the time they had left, that they wouldn’t make it their mission to come join you too soon. 

It’s okay, you don’t have to be scared. Ice is waiting for you...

Something lights up inside of you at the thought of your godfather again. As their voices become fuzzy and distant, the warmth envelopes you, almost like a hug as you’re drifting off to sleep. 

The next thing you feel is someone strong wrapping their arms around you, a hug from someone who smells like honey and ocean water. Like Carole had. 

The warm white clears, revealing a man who looks to be like your fiancé did, if only 40 years before. A man you recognize from pictures and hazy memories. He offers you a kind smile, if albeit a bit sad. 

Th person hugging you strokes your hair, whispering words that don’t register as your throat closes up, catching sight of another figure. 

“Ice?” 

He turns, giving you a watery smile. 

“Hi kiddo.” 

The person hugging you pulls back every so slightly, giving you a chance to catch the unmistakable blonde hair of Carole Bradshaw. She gives you a warm smile, still not letting go of you. 

“You’re safe now. We’ve got you.” 

[written-in-flowers]

Hiii. Do you think you could write something with Aemond x a disabled/chronically ill reader? Like maybe she struggles with walking and holding things/dexterity and is just sick very often. As a disabled person I’m often pretty drawn to disabled characters like Aemond but there’s like never any disabled reader fics for them 🧡 (Also I’ve sent this request to multiple people I hope you don’t mind and I can’t remember if I’ve already sent this to you so sorry if it did)

More Than That 

It did not bother him at all when they told him you came with "complications". He had one himself and it irked him when his mother commented that House Lowe did not detail these "complications". Aemond had a duty to his family and his house, and he was nothing if not a good son. So, when he saw your long weirwood crutches on your wrists and the difficulty of your walk to him, he understood why you’d gone through so many suitors.

The "complication" was clear as day. You suffered from a spinal condition you've had since birth, which severely impacted your lower extremities, mainly your legs and knees  You walked relatively well on your own, though it became more obvious that walking long distances pained you greatly. On your first meeting, he could tell by the clenched jaw and determination in your eyes, you tried not showing your "weakness". He could tell by your shifting eyes how aware you became of people around you. Some stared in pity and others in disgust. He knew how you felt. People often did the same to him, even though he tried hiding it. 

As expected, his family held a feast for yours. Your father and his mother talked about dates and doweries while you both sat nearby. It was awkward, he won’t lie, but not because he was next to “Y/N The Broken”. It was mostly because he wasn’t much of a talker, yet he’d have to speak to you eventually. He saw how your eyes watched the dancers on the floor, seeing them move gracefully in unison to the music. 

“Everyone looks so lovely here,” he heard you say. “In the North, we usually wear leather or wool, so our clothes aren’t so ornamental or colorful. But, everyone here is always shining and pretty. Is it like this all the time?”

“Not so much. It’s mostly because it’s a feast, so people enjoy showing off.” He couldn’t help looking over your soft features. You looked just as lovely, the loveliest. A daughter of The North, you stood out like a sore thumb in the sea of bright gowns and golden jewels. “If you ever wished...I could, um, have someone...fashion gowns...” it sounded so stupid, but what else could he say? He didn’t want you thinking he did not like you or was disappointed. He was the opposite. “For you?”

“Oh,” you were a bit stunned by this offer. “Um, yes, that’d be...that’d be nice.”

“You’re going to be a princess soon,” he said, “You should look like one.”

“Ha,” you huffed.

“What? You’d be marrying me, and I’m a prince.”

“I don’t look like a princess.” He noticed you eyeing his sister, Helaena, who danced with her nephew, Jacaerys. 

“Who said this?”

“People.”

“What people?”

“Just...people...I see how they look at me when I walk down the corridors. They pity me. They think I’m helpless and useless. My own family even says so. My uncle asked my father how could he possibly offer me to the King when he has other daughters much more fitting for a prince. He said it’s an insult to The Crown.” 

“From what I understand, your sisters are already betrothed to other lords,” he said. “Your father would be insulting them by dissolving those pacts in favor of me. I’m sure he’s more concerned with keeping his bannermen and lords content over a King thousands of miles away.” He then said, “Do you believe any of the women here would want to marry me? Some of them would rather take Aegon than me.”

“Why? You’re still a prince and...handsome...” you looked away, embarrassed by your own compliment. 

“Because of this.” 

Aemond removed his eyepatch to show the sparkling sapphire underneath. The deep, thick scar broke through his pale skin from brow to cheek, with another ring around the brim of his eye. The moment he did, people instantly started staring at him instead. He’d trained himself not to give them notice or pay them any mind. When he looked over at you, he saw your wide eyes and parted lips. 

“I’ve heard the things people say about me. They speak about how my eye will work against me in sword fights; they say I’ll always have trouble being the same as everyone else, and how ugly my scar is. Noblewomen who are presented to me look away from it or refuse to marry me because they’re marrying a man who isn’t...” Whole. Complete. He sometimes wondered what his life might be like if he’d never lost his eye. “What I mean to say is, that I understand how you feel.”

“You’ll never be able to dance with me properly.”

“I don’t care about dancing, but we’d find a way for you to dance.”

“I won’t be able to pleasure you how you want.”

“That's certainly not true at all.”

“You’ll become burdened by me. I require assistance a lot.”

“That’s what servants are for, and you’d never be a burden to me even if I did have to do it myself.”

“I can’t ride horses...or dragons.”

“You can and I’ll help you.”

“I’ll be useless to you.”

“No, you will not. Are you trying to convince me to not marry you?”

“I’m only telling you what you’ll have to put up with from me.”

“There’s more to you than your condition. From what your father boasts about, you’re very knowledgeable in diplomacy and strategy. You’ve studied philosophy, cultures, and histories. You’ve studied other cultures and languages, and he claims you speak High Valyrian?”

“Oh, no,” you shook your head and laughed. “Your uncle, Prince Daemon, visited my father once at Tower Hill, and he taught me a few words. I think he was only being kind to me because he felt sorry for me.”

Or because he’d never bedded a crippled woman before and wanted to see what it was like. It angered him somewhat. You’re not a novelty or exotic sexual venture. You’re a person, a beautiful person, and his wife-to-be. “I could teach it to you,” he said, “If you wished to truly learn it. I speak it the most fluently out of my siblings, and I won’t mind.”

You smiled softly. It lit up your face and crinkled your eyes slightly. You looked beautiful. “That’d be lovely.” 

“I’d also like to introduce you to my dragon,” he added. “Vhagar is a bit skittish with strangers, but once she’s used to your scent, she’s less aggressive.”

“I heard she’s the oldest of them all?”

“And the largest.”

You then giggled, and when you gave you a questionable look, you said, “Oh, forgive me, my prince. I just had the silly thought that perhaps she chose you because you remind her of Queen Visenya.”

“What?” he almost laughed at it himself. 

“With your hair being white and long like hers, and her being the dragon equivalent of an old maid, I imagined her thinking you were, but only missing an eye.”

He couldn’t help laughing with you. “Oh gods, now I’m going to think of that whenever I ride her.”

The mood between you lifted after that. Aemond continued talking with you all night, slowly building a world with only the two of you. To him, you were the most interesting person in the room. It was rare for him to meet someone who didn’t stare at his eye or give notice to it. Most people usually couldn’t stop. He hated to think how you’d react if he ever removed it, and he’d never do so. 

Once you started living in the Red Keep, Aemond constructed a chair with wheels, so you’d go places faster instead of relying on guards to lift you everywhere or struggle with your crutches. It gave you a sense of freedom whenever you went down long halls in your chair. You liked it more when Aemond wheeled you around instead of a guard. He took you on walks around the gardens, and showed you all his favorite places within the castle. He brought you to the godswood, which quickly became your favorite place since it reminded you of home. It always was the sight of your first kiss. You’d been reading out loud about the Ghiscari empire when he softly called your name. When you turned your head, he kissed you briefly. When you gave him that bright smile, he kissed you again. 

To ride horses, since you admired them so much, he constructed a special saddle for you. You’d command the horse with words and sounds instead of feet movement, even though you managed to do that as well. He marveled watching you trot your horse, Summer, around the yard for a while. Your delighted giggles, and cheers made him smile, a thing he so rarely did. Riding Vhagar was no problem, since he held you close to him in the saddle. You admitted you’d prefer staying on the ground, but you still greatly admired his mount. 

He didn’t wear his eye patch around you. Seeing his own disability made you more comfortable with yours. Soon, he stopped caring if people stared, because it certainly took attention away from you on your chair. Your comfort and happiness is always a priority to Aemond. 

The day of your wedding, he thought you were the most beautiful woman in the room. He couldn’t take his eyes off you for too long, because nothing kept his attention as much as you. Aemond hated dancing, but he let your feet stand over his as he moved around the room. It was careful and not the same speed as everyone else, yet it made you happier than ever. When time for the bedding came, Aemond carried you to the bed, kissing and taking great care not to hurt you.

That night, Aemond showed you all the ways you both could pleasure one another. Having you on the edge of the bed broke your maidenhead for him. Then propping you up on pillows to have you from behind (as you’d asked if he would); the second time involved you in his lap so you grinded against one another and on your sides facing one another and also with your back to him became part of your regular routine. Aemond kissed and fondled you throughout it, and you did the same back. 

When you had your firstborn, you thought the child might come out with a disability the same as yours, but you’d been wrong. Taegon Targaryen came out healthy and pink with white hair and your eye color. A son of The North and The South. You wrapped him in a shawl you’d embroidered, dragons and bears running side by side over a field of dark green. He grew into a handsome, capable youth who had his mother’s good heart and his father’s martial skills. 

Aemond loved and adored you, and he showed that to you every day until his last.  

***

A/N: okay, so this was my first attempt at writing a disabled character. Since the illnesses I have aren’t physical ones, I wasn’t sure where to begin, but I looked to my mother who has a lot of physical/spinal issues and took direction from there. I really enjoyed writing this little venture from my comfort zone, and I hope the requester enjoyed it too. 

[mybookstorecarlovinghusbands]

Forever Starts Tonight

Summary: Aziraphale and Crowley take on a whole new adventure!

Pairing: Aziraphale x Crowley, Nephilim!Daughter!Reader

Warning: Angst, fluff, the whole shebang. The use of Y/n. Mentions of torture and injuries. ALSO was written based on what information we had back when S1 came out, so this doesn't correlate with what happened in S2.

Notes: THIS WAS WRITTEN BACK IN 2019 and I just logged back into this account after Season 2 so I didn't even realize this was in my draft until now 🙃

It’s kind of a Supernatural!AU, given that their lore is different from Good Omens’ lore so I mixed it up a little. Read the narrative in our Frances McDormand's God voice. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~

This story all starts when the demon Crowley is waiting for his angel, Aziraphale, to return to his -now their- flat from ‘an expedition of finding the Holy Grail of exquisite books’... the angel’s words, not Crowley’s. The demon himself was bored while waiting up for Aziraphale, so he ordered Chinese and began to channel surf to see what was on television. It wasn’t long after that did he hear the door open and close within seconds of each other, causing Crowley to look up from the couch to see Aziraphale standing in the doorway with a bundle of pink blankets nestled in his arms.

“Oh, somebody's sake, no. Not again.” 

“I can explain!” The angel squeaked out right away, clearing his throat nervously as Crowley just leans further into the couch while eyeing him expectedly through his shades, eyebrows raised in question.

After several moments of utter silence, Crowley’s lips caved into an amused smirk, “I’m waiting.”

“Right! Yes, well, um,” Aziraphale cleared his throat again, “I heard rumors. Rumors around Heaven and I was curious, I couldn’t help it. What I’m saying is that it’s not my fault and I couldn’t just leave her there and-!”

“Alright alright, slow down, Angel. No need to accidentally combust and set the child aflame,” Crowley waved off while pushing himself to stand up, leaning on one hip lazily while eyeing the pink blankets, his hands digging into his pockets, “Now what rumor exactly are those panty-twisting winged bastards spreading up there?”

“Oh! Uh... well,” Aziraphale tries to smile, his free hand reaching up and unwrapping the blankets to reveal the tiny pink face that Crowley was expecting to be under the bundles but in all honesty, even he admits that he wasn’t prepared for how disgustingly cute she was. She was definitely cuter than Adam when he was a baby, and he could confirm that as Aziraphale continued, “What I heard was that Gabriel had been with a human.”

“He, what?” Crowley sputtered, utterly shocked, “Are you telling me that that’s a Nephilim? A child of a human and a bloody angel?”

“Technically, an archangel, but yes,” Aziraphale hummed, unknowingly swaying his own body to gently rock the baby in his arms, “I didn’t believe it at first. Gabriel is always against such things, but, now that I think about it, she was conceived around the time Armaggedon was supposed to happen and Gabriel was pretty furious at the time.”

“So he took his frustration out on some poor woman?” Crowley answered his own question with a deep whistle, “That’s low, even for me.”

“I know,” Aziraphale smiled softly, and Crowley wished he could take it back just to spite him, but quickly swallowed down that idea as he watches the angel practically beam down at the baby while whispering sweet nothings to the sleeping infant.

The fact that Crowley thought it was such a beautiful scene horrified him as he quickly clears his own throat to grab Aziraphale’s attention again, “So what exactly are you doing with the Nephilim?”

The angel sighs in defeat, “Well, unfortunately, Y/n’s mother... passed away after giving birth to her and, well, you know Gabriel, so I just thought--”

“Did you seriously name the poor thing Y/n?” Crowley smirked ever so slightly, walking around the couch to meet the angel in the doorway.

“N-No!” Aziraphale stammered, “Her mother did right before she died. I wouldn’t dare change it if that’s what her mother wanted.”

“And so you just decided that we would take her in, a Nephilim, and raise on our own like some normal human family?”

Aziraphale swallowed something sharp in his throat as he looked down at the baby instead of Crowley, absolutely terrified at what expression he might see. Although he will admit, he was curious about the wording of ‘we’ since he said no such thing of the two of them raising this child together. He knows that Crowley has always been about ‘us’ and ‘our side’ but Aziraphale wasn’t sure just how far Crowley was willing to go in doing things together. He would understand if Crowley was against this, given that if she wanted to, one day, Y/n could just burn a demon such as himself alive just by looking at him. Nephilim were extraordinarily powerful beings, and that is why it’s illegal for angels to procreate with humans. They’re extremely dangerous when provoked. Granted, not as powerful as the Antichrist but still, terrifying. 

“I- I- I mean,” Aziraphale flushed, “My thoughts were that if she was left to be adopted by a normal human family, further down the road they would realize that she’s not normal and then we would have a lot of trouble on our hands from both of our sides.”

“Again, we’re on our side now,” Crowley stared down the bridge of his nose at the angel, “And do you remember the last time we tried helping a child?”

“Warlock was different. We thought he was a ticking time bomb.”

“This is a Nephilim. It’s not that much different.”

“But with Warlock, we were trying to force life lessons on him while trying to cancel each other out. We practically broke the poor boy in the process.”

“If you can even call that boy 'poor,'” the demon muttered, “So you’re saying that when a demon and an angel work together to raise a child it would have a much better outcome?” The grin on Crowley’s face was smug, Aziraphale knew it was, given that to counter his question, the angel would have to admit that they do, in fact, make a great team as Crowley’s been saying for 6,000 years.

“Yes,” Aziraphale blurts out sternly, lips frowning in defeat as he pouts, “Go ahead. Gloat. Say ‘I told you so’.”

“I could, but then it wouldn’t be as fun now would it?” Crowley beamed, “What sounds even more fun is pinning it against you for the next eighteen years of this little squirt’s life.”

~~~~~~~~~

And so it was that an angel named Aziraphale and a demon named Crowley took Little Y/n in and raised her as their own. Of course, there were a few bumps in the road along the way, but nothing the three of them couldn’t fix together. Over the years, they live the best life that neither angel nor demon could possibly believe could happen to them.

Crowley ends up being the best father a girl could ask for. When baby Y/n was hungry at night, Crowley was already up and ready to feed her. When she asked for a tricycle, in an instant, it was there against Aziraphale’s wishes. Even when Y/n fell off that damn thing time and time again, Crowley either pretended to fall with her so she wouldn’t feel embarrassed or he would encourage the best way that he could... through temptation. So what Y/n had some trouble sleeping those first few nights after getting that tricycle because Crowley had given her candy every time she succeeded?

She first started calling Crowley 'Dad' and Aziraphale 'Papa' by the time she was five, and it was around that time when her angel father consulted with her demon father about her powers.

“Perhaps this is a good age to teach her how to control her gifts?”

“Absolutely not,” Crowley muttered, practically pouting while leaning against the wall and glaring into nothing. And before Aziraphale could blink, that discussion was over. 

When Y/n was old enough, borderline sixteen, she even dyes her hair to look more like Crowley than Gabriel, the girl only ever wanting to resemble the beings who raised her compared to the one who helped create her. When she went to her dads the next morning to show her work, Aziraphale was more fond than angry for dying her hair, commenting on how she looked so much like her father. Crowley, on the other hand, was falling off his chair while laughing, clutching his sides and yelling, “That’s my girl!” He always knew she was the rebellious sort. In secret, he was trying his best not to cry, touched by the influence he had on his child.

By the time Y/n was a teenager, Crowley still did not want to discuss the possibilities of teaching his daughter how to control her powers. And for the life of him, Aziraphale couldn’t understand why. Y/n knew of her abilities. Her dads didn’t hide her from any truths once she was old enough and understood what she was and what she was capable of doing by the time she was sixteen. By then, she had also wondered why Crowley did not want to teach her. After fruitless efforts into getting him to do so, Y/n had gotten angry because she believed that her father was wanting to hold her back from her true potential, or even worse, she believed that he thought she was a monster. And being that she was so close to her Dad, the thought of how he might fear her practically broke the teenager’s heart and she ran away, her special blood giving her the cloak she needed to hide from her otherwordly dads.

When they were unable to find her right away, Aziraphale and Crowley got into the biggest fight they have ever had in their shared existence, and it ended with the angel leaving in a huff to go and keep trying to find their daughter. In his rage, Crowley also left the house to try to blow off some steam and find Y/n. 

He was walking for a while, unable to drive since Aziraphale took the Bentley. It was a little petty, maybe, but Crowley begrudgingly admitted to himself that he was proud of the angel's pettiness. As he turns the corner and walks down an alley, he scrunches his eyebrows and hears movement behind him, causing Crowley to turn around just as two demons appear directly behind him. Before he could react, Crowley is tackled to his knees and restrained, and, to his hidden horror, was restrained with chains that had definitely been dipped in Holy Water, as the cold feel of metal begun to sting and seep into his skin. Looking up, the rogue demon noticed a third figure with his attackers, and his upper lip twitched at the sight of him.

Hastur’s lips curl into a smile while having the pleasure of watching Crowley’s confident demeanor give way when those snake-like eyes look over his shoulder. Knowing what Crowley was seeing behind him, Hastur happily watched the restrained demon's face fall at the sight of two more demons dragging his daughter down the alleyway by both of her arms as she cries out, “Dad?”

Hastur laughs as Crowley’s first reaction is to fiercely fight against his restraints, ignoring the pain of the Holy Water bathed chains as he growls and hisses at the Duke of Hell, snake eyes blazing with hellfire, “You tell them to get their filthy hands off of her RIGHT. NOW! Or I’ll--”

“Do what, exactly? Die trying to get out of chains meant to burn through your fleshy form?" The demons all laughed at Hastur's joke and he just beams proudly, "It's nice to see you're not as immune to Holy Water as you claimed to be. I don't know how you managed to survive that bathtub, but I can assure you that we'll never make the mistake of that again."

Crowley ignores the fact that he's been exposed and tries focusing on his child, “Darling, where’s your father?”

"I don't know!" She cried helplessly, the grip the demons had on her arms slowly starting to cut off circulation, her fingertips growing numb. Her demon father wanted nothing more than to return the favor and cut off their own arms to see how they'd feel. Instead, he tried not to get violent and focus more on her little, sweet, snot-and tear-ridden face while she sobs, "I'm sorry--"

"Don't be, love," Crowley tried to speak as gently as possible, despite the fact he could smell his skin beginning to burn and give way to the chains, "It's not your fault."

"You've been keeping low under the radar for a while, Crowley," Hastur interrupted, "How long has it been? Sixteen years? Now that I look at her," he makes a point to stare at Y/n, causing Crowley's skin to crawl with the expression on Hastur's face, full of ill-intent and evil ideas, "I can see why we haven't heard from you. It’s remarkable, actually. You took in a disgraced offspring of some human and an archangel just shortly after betraying your own kind?"

"Don't listen to him," Crowley didn't mean to snap, immediately regretting it when Y/n flinched. He wasn't sure if it was from his hiss or Hastur's words, either way he wanted nothing more to hold and comfort his child.

Hastur and the other demons continue to laugh, "You have two options. You can try fighting your way through your torturous bonds and allow your daughter to watch you slowly die in front of her. Or... you can tell us what we need to know.”

"Such as?" Crowley growled like a hellhound, pulling against its chains and ready to be released on its target.

"Where is the angel Aziraphale? Heaven has also reported his absence for sixteen years. One could wonder..." Hastur's eyes flick back to Y/n, "That isn't a coincidence. Did you finally move in with the boyfriend, dear Crowley?"

Crowley decided he didn't want to entertain this group of clowns any further, trying to conjure all his willpower and miracle a small, barely conceivable time stop, like the one he made to speak to Adam before Satan's arrival. It wasn't as strong due to his pain, but he immediately spoke directly to his daughter once he noticed Hastur's mouth stopped moving, and the other demons stopped laughing.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry."

Y/n's eyes briefly widen. She wasn't sure she could remember the last time Crowley apologized for anything. He sometimes did that little apology dance both he and Aziraphale created whenever they were wrong about something, but those were miniscule apologies compared to this.

Crowley's words were desperate and bled just as deep as the chains currently burning their way through his flesh, "I told Aziraphale that I never wanted you to learn how to use and control your powers because I didn’t want you to be anything like me, like him, or any angel or demon in this universe. I just wanted you to be... to be, like... like YOU."

Both father and daughter had matching tears falling down their cheeks, and through his desperation, Crowley found determination as well. Determined to get Y/n to see herself as he saw her. Strong and sure of herself, as confident as her papa, the very angel he loved dearly and hoped he would get to see again before the Holy Water reached his heart, "But I realize now that I was only holding you back in becoming you because those powers are what make you who you are. And right now, I need you to do that. I need you to focus. Burn away these bonds, and we can get out of here and find your father.”

"I-- I can't do that!" She exclaimed, her words shaking as she noticed the demons around them slowly beginning to move again, her father's intervention starting to fail due to his dying strength. "I don't know how!"

"You can!" Crowley had noticed, too, and the pain was becoming unbearable. He desperately wanted to be free of these chains, but more importantly, he desperately wanted his daughter free and running away, far from here and hopefully to Aziraphale, "You can and you will! Or else they'll take you somewhere your father can't follow. Aziraphale won't know where to look, and without me, he won't ever be able to get into Hell to save you! You have to try, Y/n!"

She was crying again, unable to breathe as the time was slowly beginning to restart. Hastur's movements were almost comically slow, snail-like as he full-bodied, turned to directly face Crowley. By the time Hastur was staring directly down at the rogue demon, time had fully restarted again, and the demons who ambushed Crowley were none the wiser.

Hastur grinned, "So what'll it be, old friend?"

"Even if I knew where the angel was, I wouldn't tell you," Crowley snarled, "I haven't spoken to Aziraphale in years."

"6,000 years on this planet, and you don't seem to know how to lie any better," Hastur snarled, turning back to stare at Y/n, "Very well. You're never too young to watch your dear old daddy turn into a puddle of goo."

"NO!"

A blast of light, blinding as the sun, bursts through the alleyway. Even with his shades, Crowley still had to close his eyes, his ears bombarded with a chalkboard-scrapping screech followed by men screaming in anguish. Even when the noises stopped and the light subsided back into a night sky, Crowley's ears still rang, and his vision was spotted. He blinked rapidly, faintly noticing that his shades were cracked and lopsided on his face. When he was finally able to look around, he couldn't find Hastur or the other demons. Instead, small piles of ash replace where they all once stood. The rogue demon's senses fully return, and he groans when hot, searing pain begins to make itself known. Looking down, he noticed the chains were now beating red and hot to the touch, sparking when the links rubbed together.

"Dad!" Y/n shouts, rubbing her sore arms as she runs to Crowley, who still knelt on the ground in shock.

Her voice snaps him out of it, and he raises his voice in warning, "Y/n, wait, you'll burn-!"

But, when Y/n touched the chains, nothing happened. She didn't pull away in pain, and he couldn't see any burn marks on her hand as she helped him shrug away the restraints. She's careful not to let the chains touch his skin anymore than they already were, and once the chains were removed, she immediately reverts back to crying as she sunk into her demon father's arms.

"Alright. Alright..." Crowley grunts, still in pain but holding his girl in his embrace regardless, taking deep breaths as he tried to relax, "It's alright now, love. You did it."

They stayed there, knelt on the ground of the alleyway for who knows how long, the only sound being a dog barking and car alarm going off in the distance, likely startled by Y/n's outburst.

The car and dog weren't the only ones her burst of energy signaled. Crowley picked up a different car sound, the rumbling of a familiar engine in the distance, quickly drawing closer. A smile finally emerges on his face, squeezing Y/n tighter and releasing her when he hears the sound of a car door slamming shut just down the alley.

"Y/n?!" Aziraphale appeared, eyes widening when he not only found his daughter, but his dearest as well, both collapsed on the ground and surrounded by ash and scorched earth. Immediately, the angel's footsteps pick up, "Y/n! Crowley!"

"Papa!" Y/n cried, sinking into Aziraphale's embrace when the angel sunk to his knees to join them on the ground. The teenager sobs into the angel's lapels, gasping between cries, "Dad... Dad's hurt."

Aziraphale's eyes immediately flick up to Crowley's, although it was proven difficult when the demon's cracked sunglasses got in the way. Keeping one arm around his daughter, Aziraphale leans into Crowley's space, taking the dark shades off to get a good look at those beautiful, snake-like yellow eyes, "My dear... are you alright?"

"Hm," Crowley's grin was lopsided, loopy like a lovesick loon, "Better now that you're here, Angel."

Y/n hiccups out a small laugh, and Aziraphale scowls while rolling his eyes. The sight of their reactions could fuel Crowley another 6,000 years if needed. Recognizing the burn marks of Holy Water, Aziraphale performs a quick miracle with the flick of his wrist, and before Crowley could blink, he's back to normal, tired but otherwise unharmed. He sinks into Aziraphale without a second thought, joining Y/n in tucking their faces into either sides of the angel's neck and staying there with no intent of leaving.

Aziraphale doesn't complain, unaware of what happened, but allowing his two loves to stay where they are, safe under his arms and wings.

[bethanydelleman]

What do you think of John and Isabella Knightley's marriage? To me they don't seem all that happy. John appears to always be in a bad mood and Isabella's hysterical outbursts whenever she believes someone in her family might not be well is irritating him (not that i can blame him). She loves him dearly but he never seems to be all that invested in the relationship himself. It just makes me wonder how they even got together.

I think their relationship is much stronger than it appears at first and we have to remember that Emma's opinion of John is really biased.

He was not a great favourite with his fair sister-in-law. Nothing wrong in him escaped her. She was quick in feeling the little injuries to Isabella, which Isabella never felt herself. Perhaps she might have passed over more had his manners been flattering to Isabella’s sister, but they were only those of a calmly kind brother and friend, without praise and without blindness; but hardly any degree of personal compliment could have made her regardless of that greatest fault of all in her eyes which he sometimes fell into, the want of respectful forbearance towards her father.

Notice, Emma doesn't like John because he, like George Knightley, doesn't compliment her. Also, unlike Mrs. Bennet, who does know her husband is cruel to her, Emma feels slights that Isabella does not. Those slights might well be his insistence that she has to stop worrying about his health. Either way, we know that Isabella dearly loves her husband and will not stay home because she can't bear being separated from him:

Mr. and Mrs. John Knightley were not detained long at Hartfield. The weather soon improved enough for those to move who must move; and Mr. Woodhouse having, as usual, tried to persuade his daughter to stay behind with all her children, was obliged to see the whole party set off, and return to his lamentations over the destiny of poor Isabella;—which poor Isabella, passing her life with those she doated on, full of their merits, blind to their faults, and always innocently busy, might have been a model of right feminine happiness.

The "poor Isabella" in this quote is clearly sarcastic, Isabella loves her life.

Now as for John, it's not immediately apparent, but he does love his wife back. The best example is here, where John is watching Mrs. Elton on a solo visit: "wanting only to observe enough for Isabella’s information". He's collecting gossip for his wife! That is the cutest and most romantic thing in the world. And then when Mr. Weston comes home after a long day and joins their party, John thinks:

Could he [Mr. Weston] by a touch of his finger have instantly taken back his wife, there would have been a motive; but his coming would probably prolong rather than break up the party. John Knightley looked at him with amazement, then shrugged his shoulders, and said, “I could not have believed it even of him.”

So the dynamic is this, John actually has a job, unlike most Austen characters, and he is devoted to both his job and his family. His idea of a good time is woking during the day and being with his family at night. It makes sense that he'd be a bit moody when he's on visits to Hartfield since it's messing up his normal routine.

Also, um... judging by the five babies, John is enjoying at least some of his time with Isabella ;)

(the birth rate tended to be much lower in non-love matches)

[newtonsheffield]

I'm really interested in seeing the Bridgerton's reaction to Anthony dating Kate in this new au . I know they won't be jerks about it obviously, but it is a complicated situation to be sure

It’s a complicated situation for sure. There’s a lot to consider and a lot that could go wrong. Let’s say in a year they break up, and Anthony’s already in love with this baby and now he’s lost his partner and a baby he thought of as his? They have their reservations.

But at the end of the day, they’ve never seen as Anthony as happy as he is with Kate. Not since his father died.

And Violet saw it coming honestly, by the time Kate was eight months pregnant, Anthony was sitting across from her in the kitchen.

“Mum, I wanted to talk to you about the baby.”

Violet nodded slowly, “Not long now.”

“Not long now.” Anthony smiled, running his hand through his hair, “I um- Kate and I have spoken about this and… I… am going to be… This baby’s my daughter.”

She wasn’t surprised, not with the way Anthony had thrown himself into this. Not with the way he sat with his hand pressed against his girlfriend’s stomach and cooed delightedly when he felt the baby kick.

Anthony took a deep breath, “I know this is pretty unconventional, but I love Kate, and I love this baby, and I want to be a Dad. This might not be the way I expected it to happen but I’m ready for this, I’ll be a good Dad. I’m… putting my name on the birth certificate and nothing you say is going to change my mind.”

Violet raised her eyebrow at her son. “The only thing I have to say is Congratulations, Papa.”

[fixfoxnox]

I would now like to formally request ceo ghost and soap attempting to get Roach’s attention at a corporate camping trip and failing miserably so much so that Roach’s kid sits the two adults down and goes “if you love my daddy just tell him and stop being wimps” as a drabble ok love u🥰🥰

YES MY GUILTY PLEASURE AU

Also

You: as a drabble

Me: 8,000+ words coming right up

Mini Bug (1)

Description: A weekend retreat for the company seems like the perfect time for Ghost and Soap to try to impress Roach. Unfortunately for them, the Mini Bug (Lilian Sanderson: Roach's daughter), is frightfully observant and see's right through them.

Pairings: Established SoapGhost, GhostRoachSoap

Warnings: Brief Angst (THE NARRATIVE MADE ME DO IT)

Notes: Trans! Roach (he birthed the child). Lily refers to him as "mom/mommy"

"Okay," Roach pushed his way into the roomy office, earning the attention of the two men inside. He was quick to hand each of them a small identical file folder, "That's the information on Shadow Corp. and the deal they want to make. Just sent over this morning."

He watched quietly as both of the men tilted over the front of the file folder, flipping through the pages. Soap was moving quickly, his eyes scanning everything with large sweeps. Ghost was reading slower, carefully scanning over each page.

"And?" Ghost asked lowly, "What do you think?"

"Honestly," Roach shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, "I wouldn't trust these guys as far as I can throw them. The deal seems set up perfect for them to eventually pull out and leave us with nothing. It's a trust exercise that I wouldn't participate in, no matter how much they offer."

"And their CEO?" Soap looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, "What do we think of this Graves character?"

"Philip Graves," Roach sighed deeply, "Southern accent, smug grin, looked like he dumped an entire thing of hair gell on his head before he got here." He shook his head slowly, "Miranda at the front desk said that he called her toots about six times during their two-minute conversation and when he got up here he seemed disappointed that I wasn't a hot woman in a pencil skirt."

Ghost gave a snort at his words and immediately closed the file folder. "Right, so that's a no then." Soap followed his lead and Roach gathered the folders back up from the men.

"I'll draw up an email," Roach nodded to the two, but hesitated for a moment. "Um, really quick, I was hoping I might talk to the two of you about the retreat this weekend?"

The two men turned to him, Ghost with a raised eyebrow and Soap with a bright grin. "Sure, Bug, everything alright with it?"

Roach took a moment to snap himself out of the slight haze that Soap calling him "bug" had left over his mind. He had to snap himself out of it. These were his bosses, his bosses who were married to one another. He had to get over himself. "I, well," he gave a deep sigh, "I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to come."

"What?" Soap's face fell and he and Ghost shared a quick glance with one another.

"Is something wrong?" Ghost asked carefully, "If it's about the rooms, Soap and I were talking and we could-"

"No," Roach interrupted with a shake of his head, shuffling nervously in place for a moment before explaining, "It's Lils. I had everything planned for someone to watch her this weekend, but her usual sitter broke her leg a few days ago and has to have surgery on it." He turned his gaze away from Soap and Ghost, his face tinting pink, "I've tried to find someone else to watch her, but no one else is going to be available on such short notice."

There was a moment of quiet that passed through the room before Ghost spoke simply, "Bring Lily on the retreat."

Roach looked up at him, his eyes wide at the suggestion. "But," he shook his head, "It's a work trip?"

"It's a glorified camping trip," Soap sent a look that Roach couldn't decipher toward his husband. "We aren't doing anything that a kid couldn't do, and besides, Lily likes camping doesn't she?"

"Well, yes," Roach shuffled a bit, still unsure about the idea, "But what about sleeping? I was supposed to share a room with someone, but I doubt anyone would be okay with me and Lily."

"Stay in the cabin with us," Soap sounded almost nervous and the words made Roach's eyes widen. Share a cabin with his married bosses who he was also crushing on? With his daughter there as well?

"We have an entire cabin to ourselves," Ghost rushed to explain, "Perks of being married I suppose. Point is, we have plenty of extra room."

Roach blinked at them both for several moments, absolutely dumbfounded by the turn that things had taken. He'd expected to be forced to miss the retreat, not for his bosses to invite him to bring his daughter along. They were right though, Lily loved camping and there wasn't anything inappropriate that would be happening. It just might be a little odd for others to have a little girl joining them for trust exercises.

"Are you sure?" He asked after a moment, "I really don't want to inconvenience anyone."

Ghost was quick to wave him off, "It isn't an inconvenience, Bug."

"Besides," Soap gave him another smile, "We both adore Lily, you know that. We certainly won't mind having her around."

Roach felt a sense of fondness and affection curling at him with those words. It was true, his bosses did seem to adore his daughter. They'd been more than helpful for him since they'd learned about her existence. Hell, her birthday that year had been the best she'd ever had thanks to the two men spoiling her. Soap and Ghost certainly got along with his daughter.

"Alright," he finally gave in with a hesitant smile, pulling an excited grin from Soap and a quirk of the lips from Ghost. "Thank you guys, really." He held up the manila folder again with a low chuckle, "I'd better get to work on these." He started to the door, intent on heading out to his little desk, only to pause in the doorway and turn with sharp glaring eyes to the two men behind him, "Oh, also get your lunch order in early today! I am absolutely not going back out five times just because you two were indecisive."

With that he turned and marched out of the office, hearing Soap and Ghost's amused chuckles following after him.

"Do you think that we'll see any snakes?"

Roach looked through his rearview mirror, smiling at his daughter in the back seat. She was peering out the window excitedly, watching the trees and water that they were passing. Roach had already been forced to remind her several times not to twist in her seat to try and get a better look. The only thing that had finally gotten her to settle down was the reminder that they would have plenty of time to look at everything when they arrived. "I don't know," he answered, "Do you want to see a snake?"

His daughter nodded her head rapidly, "Yeah! I bet it would make Suds scream!" She giggled to herself.

Roach shook his head at her, though an amused smile remained on his lips, "Soap," he emphasized his boss's name, "would certainly not like it if we found a snake. But if we do, we'll be good, won't we? No trying to pick it up."

His daughter whipped around to face him with a pout, "But-!"

"No buts, Lillian," Roach reminded, "Until you can properly identify the poisonous snakes on your own, no just grabbing."

"But I've almost got it," she complained. "See it's red on yellow, that's a good fellow, red on black, your dead jack!" She paused for a moment before muttering, "Or is it red on black, that's good for Jack, red on yellow, you're a dead fellow?"

"And that," Roach reminded playfully, "Is why we won't be picking up any snakes."

A fond smile pulled at his face as she crossed her arms with a huff, her brows wrinkled in a way that had Roach's heart-tugging in his chest. It was a familiar look to him. He tried to shake the feeling off as they finally pulled down the road towards the cabins. Luckily the change in scenery seemed to be enough to lift Lily's spirits again and soon she was peering out the window with a bright grin on her face.

"Mommy, I see Suds and Ghost!" She bounced in her seat excitedly, "Hurry! I want to show them my new shirt!

"Alright, alright," Roach pulled his car into one of the available spaces, a chuckle pulling from his throat. He kept the door locked, even as Lily tugged on it, "Remember the rules?" She didn't answer at first, so he waited patiently for several moments before, "Lillian, the rules?"

"Yes!" She turned to him with a pleading look, "I remember! Please!"

With those words he finally unlocked the door, allowing her to quickly push her way out of the vehicle and scramble to where Soap and Ghost were making their way toward them. Roach followed after her, lifting himself out of the vehicle and closing the door behind him. Rather than making his way toward Soap and Ghost, though, he just watched. It was a sight to see his bosses crouching down to the ground to greet his daughter with a hug and kind smiles. Lily was quick to begin excitedly talking to the two, her hands moving a mile a minute as she motioned around her to everything. Soap and Ghost were patient, listening to her with soft smiles on their faces and that adoration that he knew the two held for her in their eyes. For a moment, if he didn't know any better, he could almost imagine that the two men were Lily's fathers. He was quick to brush the thought off and move around to the back of his car to begin getting bags.

He had to keep his head on straight, but it had been getting harder and harder to do that lately. With all the time that he'd been spending around his bosses, his little crush on the two men had grown from a "little crush" to a "large all-consuming, bordering on something more crush." It was embarrassing for him. The two men were married to one another, he certainly had no chance with either of them. And yet, as he would watch them with Lily, as he would take lunches with them, as he spent more and more time with them and felt that familiar tugging at his chest, he knew that he would continue to want. He just couldn't help himself.

He already had all of the bags unloaded from the back when Soap and Ghost approached him, Lily walking between the two with her hands clasped in theirs. "Need any help with anything?" Ghost didn't even wait for a response before stepping forward to begin gathering bags in his arms. Roach noticed immediately the way that he grabbed for the biggest and heaviest-looking ones.

"It's fine," Roach chuckled, "We're only here for the weekend, we don't have much." Ghost still slung some of the bags over his shoulders, a small smile sent Roach's way as he did.

"You two will like the cabin," Soap chimed in, tugging playfully at Lily as he did, "Right on the lake."

Lily gasped in delight, "Can we swim?"

"If your mom is okay with it," Soap answered back, a wink sent in Roach's direction. "But, even if you don't swim, there's a big tub on the second floor that you can use as a pool. How's that sound?"

"Second floor?" Roach looked between Soap and Ghost with wide eyes, "How big is this cabin?"

Ghost chuckled at his shocked look, one of his hands landing on the small of his back to begin guiding him forward, "Big enough." He leaned forward to whisper to Roach, "Let us treat our favorite secretary a bit, yeah?"

A shiver went down Roach's spine at the low rumbling words. He did his best to push past it and only responded with a grumbled out, "I'm your only secretary."

He allowed himself to be led down the cracked sidewalk in front of several of the cabins, he and Ghost following closely behind Soap and Lily. Lily was still chatting animatedly, talking excitedly about how excited she was about everything for the weekend. She'd only just started telling Soap and Ghost about the last camping trip they'd been on, one they'd attended with his family on a trip back home when they finally turned to start walking up toward the front door of the largest cabin on the strip. Unlike the other cabins, this one was two stories tall and had a wrap-around porch that appeared to surround the entire building.

When they finally stepped inside the building, he was sure that his eyes were the size of saucers. The cabin was even larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside. The entire living room of the cabin alone was probably about half of the size of his and Lily's apartment. "This…is really big." He paused in the center of the living room, turning in his spot to look at everything around him. He could hear Lily running around behind him, oohing and ahhing at everything in the room. "You guys rented this for the weekend?"

He turned his attention to Ghost and Soap with a raised eyebrow. He was met with a grin from Soap, "Nope." He paused for a moment before shrugging, "We just bought it."

Roach blinked at them for several moments, unsure how to respond to the words. After several moments he finally settled on a grumbled, "Rich people," before turning toward where his daughter was running around the room. "Lily! No running inside, remember?"

She immediately turned toward him, Ghost, and Soap with a big grin on her face, "Mommy, this place is so cool!" She rushed past him to wrap Ghost's leg in a hug before switching to do the same to Soap's leg, "Thank you, Mr. Ghost! Thank you Mr. Suds!"

Roach huffed and shook his head fondly, it seemed his daughter would never lose the silly nickname for Soap. Not that the man seemed to mind, a bright smile slipping across his face as he accepted her hug. "Course, kiddo." He looked up to meet Roach's gaze and shot him a wink, "We want you and your mom to have the best time you can this weekend. You wanna see your room?" Lily pulled away from him quickly after that, nodding her head rapidly up at him. "C'mon then, I'll take you up to your room and Ghost can take your mom up to his room."

Roach didn't have time to say anything before Ghost's hand was back on the small of his back and he was being slowly guided toward one of the side hallways as Lily was rushing up the stairs, Soap following after her. Roach waited until he knew that they were far enough away before whispering to Ghost, "You guys didn't have to give us separate rooms, you've already done too much."

Ghost shook his head, "We've got plenty of rooms in the cabin." He opened one of the doors closer to the end of the hall, allowing Roach to step into the large room first before he followed after him, depositing his bags by the door. "What do you think? If you want something else there are a few other ones but," He walked over to the window at the back of the room and pulled the curtains open, revealing a view of the lake behind the house, "Soap and I thought you might like the view."

Roach resisted the urge to gape as he stepped up to the window, stopping beside Ghost to look over the expanse of water that sat just outside of his room. "This is…perfect." He turned toward Ghost with wide eyes, "I seriously can't thank you and Soap enough for this. I mean letting me bring Lily is one thing, but the rooms and letting us stay with you guys? I really don't know what to say."

Ghost stepped a bit closer to him, the two almost pressed chest to chest with their proximity. Roach flushed a bit. "Soap and I wanted to do this," Ghost lifted a hand and hesitantly brushed a piece of hair from Roach's face, "You don't have to thank us for taking care of you. You don't have to thank us for doing something that we enjoy." There was a long pause and Roach, for a brief moment, was sure that Ghost had looked down to his lips. He brushed the thought off when Ghost stepped back a moment later, his own face a bit pink. He cleared his throat, "Anyway, I'll let you get settled. Soap and I are sleeping in the room next door, if you need anything. And," he cleared his throat again, "Company dinner to start the retreat tonight. Which I," he shook his head at himself, "imagine that you would know since you created the itinerary."

Roach couldn't help the chuckle that pulled from his throat at the words. He gave another grin to Ghost as the man waved to him and left the room. His eyes turned back toward the window, taking in the view in front of him again. It was breathtaking.

"Stand right next to me, okay?" Roach grabbed tight to Lily's hand, making sure that she wouldn't try to run off toward the water. He wasn't too worried about her getting in, after all, she was in her swimsuit and floaties already. He also knew how strong of a swimmer she was already. Still, this was a company retreat and their group hadn't gathered down at the water just so that his daughter could go swim. No, they'd gathered down at the water to participate in a…rather extreme trust exercise. Really it wasn't anything bad, just certainly more than what most other companies would do for a trust exercise.

"Alright," Soap clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. He was in his own swimming gear and Roach had to try to keep his eyes from tracing over the man's bare chest. It was hard to do. It was even harder when a similarly bare-chested Ghost stepped silently up next to him. Roach knew that both of the men were much stronger than they looked. He knew that at least Ghost was ex-military. But knowing and seeing were two very different things. "Today we're going to do a fun little obstacle course! Our goal is to learn to trust those around us, we want to know that the person next to us has our back and can be relied on during important times." He turned and motioned to the large inflatable water obstacle courses that they'd rented for the exercise. "We'll split off into groups of four. Everyone will be timed and everyone in the fastest group gets a $100 gift card for themselves!"

That had a bit of excited chatter running through everyone and Soap was quick to shoot Roach a thumbs up. The monetary incentives were something that Roach had suggested, just a little something to keep everyone invested in actually trying to win. The company had the money for it, more than enough money for it, so Soap and Ghost had readily agreed. "Alright everyone, split up and pick your team!"

Roach stood hesitantly, still holding tight to Lily's hand. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that he was going to be the last pick for any of the teams. They all wanted to win and he came with Lily, so whatever team picked him was going to have a bit of a disadvantage. He'd considered just asking Ghost and Soap if he could just sit the exercise out and cheer everyone on from the side, but he'd brushed that thought off. It came back now in full force and he found himself beginning to look around for where Soap and Ghost had gone to.

"Looking for someone, Bug?" Roach turned around to meet both Soap and Ghost who'd somehow snuck up on him.

"Hi, Suds! Hi, Ghost!" Lily waved at them excitedly, "Do we get to go on the big floaty thing?" She pointed excitedly to obstacle courses, her eyes wide.

Ghost gave a chuckle and glanced up carefully at Roach before responding, "We do. In fact, why don't you and your mom join Soap and I's team."

Roach was quick to chime in, "You guys don't have to do that." He waved them off, "Lily and I can just sit off to the side and cheer everyone on."

"Now why would we want that?" Soap leaned against Ghost with a grin, "We want the fastest people on our team, and," he looked down at Lily with a grin, "We hear there's a little speed demon right here to help us win."

"Yes!" Lily jumped up excitedly, "I'm super fast! I'm like the fastest swimmer in the world!" She pretended to flex for the group, pulling a small laugh from the three adults around her.

"What do you say then, Roach?" Soap turned his gaze back to Roach, the grin still on his face. "Join our team?"

"Alright," Roach agreed after a moment, an apologetic smile sent their way, "Apologies in advance if I make us lose. I'm certainly not as fast as speedy here." He playfully nudged Lily and she grinned up at him. He still felt a bit bad, but he figured that Soap and Ghost weren't exactly aiming to win anyways, so he might as well join their team with Lily to at least allow the little ball of energy he called his daughter to participate.

"Okay," Farah, who was doing the timing for their group stepped out of their way, "Get ready boys and girl, remember, the time to beat is two minutes!" She paused for a few moments, watching the small watch on her wrist before, "And…go!"

Their little group took off toward the obstacles, Lily rushing ahead of them to immediately begin climbing up the first of the obstacles, a small wall. She was moving up it quickly and Roach found himself snickering a bit as he heard Soap curse under his breath, impressed by her speed. He wasn't too surprised with how fast she was moving over this obstacle, after all, she'd always been a bit of a climber. They followed up after her, each jumping over the wall only moments after she did.

Roach made a point to pick her up as they moved to the next obstacle, helping move her to it a bit quicker because of her short legs. This one required them to slide through several inflatable holes in succession and, while Lily flew through them, when Soap tried to follow behind he caught his legs on the first hole, sending him tumbling through with a groan. Both Roach and Ghost laughed as they heard his groan from the other side and, when Roach followed through the hole after him (much more gracefully) he had a bright grin on his face. He was quick to help Soap back up to his feet as Ghost came through the hole after them.

They went through the next ones much more gracefully, though noticeably slower thanks to Soap trying not to trip again. By the time they made it through the last one, Lily was huffing and puffing waiting on them, her floaties crossed over her chest as she glared them down. "Come on! We're going to lose!"

They moved through a short little field of tubes next, forced to push them out of their way as they ran. Roach was following behind Ghost which meant that he got a perfect view of the moment when Soap released one of the tubes and it flung back to smack Ghost in the face, sending him stumbling back a bit. Roach hadn't been able to contain his laughter at that and had to grab onto Ghost's back so that he could be guided out of the field of tubes as laughter threatened to knock him to his knees. He'd still been laughing when they emerged from the tubes to see Soap already meeting them with apologies on his lips. Ghost had waved him off with a grumpy grumble and they'd moved through the next two obstacles with no issue.

"Close to the end," Roach commented as they came up to the little inflatable beams of varying sizes that they would have to jump over before moving off toward the final catwalk over to the end zone. The last part was really the only area where any of them would be able to fall into the water below. Luckily only one of them had to make it to the end of the course for their time to be considered finished. Though they would take a five-second penalty for anyone unable to make it to the end.

"This seems easy," Soap puffed up a bit, "Ghost and I can get through this quick and help you and Lils across the catwalk."

"Agreed," Ghost nodded, "Wait here, we'll go across."

Roach wanted to tell them that it wasn't necessary and that they could all go at once, but it was too late. His bosses were off, darting over the various inflatable beams quickly. Roach and Lily watched them go, Roach feeling more than a little impressed with their speed. The two were already nearing the last of the hurdles and Roach was certain that he was going to see them pop up at any second at the very end. That was until Ghost pulled ahead of Soap just slightly while moving toward the end. Roach saw the low-to-the-ground inflatable beam, but apparently, Ghost didn't as, before Roach could warn him, he was hitting it at full speed.

He immediately tumbled forward, falling flat over the last of the beams and tumbling down over the edge of the little inflatable obstacle course down into the water below. Roach started laughing at the same time as Soap, though Soap's laughter was short-lived as his distraction caused him to make the same mistake as Ghost and send himself flailing over the edge of the obstacle course and down to the water below with a splash. Roach was hunched over, his hands on his knees for support as laughter wracked his system. His eyes watered and he was sure he was going to pass out from the lack of air getting to his brain.

"Mommy!" Lily tugged at his arm as he continued laughing, "C'mon! We have to get to the end!"

Roach allowed himself to be dragged over the beams by his daughter, laughing the entire time that they moved. He barely made it over the beams and, as he and Lily came to the small catwalk, he was sure that he was going to fall over the edge to join Soap and Ghost in the water. He could see both of them floating down below, watching them. The sight only made him laugh harder.

He wasn't sure how long it took him and Lily to finally make it to the little end area, but when they did Roach's face felt delightfully warm and his cheeks hurt from how hard he was laughing. Their time was called and later, when he and Lily slid down the inflatable slide and into the water together and then made their way back to the beach to get their time, Roach couldn't be the slightest bit surprised to hear it had taken them over six minutes to complete the course.

"Sorry we didn't win," Soap handed Roach a can of cold Soda before plopping down next to him on the picnic bench he'd sat himself at. Roach was watching Lily dig under rocks for bugs, his eyes occasionally shooting over to admire the figure of Ghost prepping the grill for the burgers he'd promised to cook for everyone.

"I didn't think we would," Roach chuckled and sent a playful grin Soap's way, "If it hadn't been you and Ghost, it probably would have been me."

Soap chuckled, his face going a bit pink at the reminder of his and Ghost's tumble off of the obstacle course. "Better us than you," He leaned back against the picnic table and took a small sip from his drink, joining Roach in quietly watching Ghost and Lily. After a moment he gave a sigh and leaned a bit closer to Roach, motioning toward Ghost with a grin on his face, "You know if it was any other competition, we'd have won."

"Oh yeah?" Roach felt a small amused smile quirk up his lips.

"Oh yeah," Soap confirmed. "Ghost and I are good with a lot of things." He moved a bit closer to Roach, "Work for example. Or," his voice dropped a bit, "Our hands as another example."

Roach found himself flushing a bit at the low tone that Soap had used. He tried to shake it off, after all, there was no way that Soap was implying what he thought he was. It just wasn't possible. He cleared his throat nervously and brought his drink up to his mouth in an attempt to hide his blush, "Really?"

"Really," Soap looked him over carefully, the grin still on his face, "If you'd like, we'd be more than willing to- what the fuck!" He jerked back suddenly, his eyes going wide with panic as he lifted his feet from the ground and tucked them up on the bench, fear in his eyes. Roach trailed his eyes down quickly, amusement quickly squashing any heat in him as he spotted the little lizard on the ground that Soap was staring at.

He gave a slow chuckle and leaned down to pluck the little thing from the ground, holding it in his hands carefully, "Did he run over your foot?" He shot Soap an amused smile, chuckling at the embarrassed red color that was slowly taking over his face. Soap nodded his head slowly. "Don't worry," he gave him a small smile and held the lizard out for him to see, "They usually don't bite."

"That's comforting," Soap joked hesitantly, his eyes still wide.

Roach stood up from the bench, holding the creature carefully. He gave a slow hum as he looked around, trying to find a place to take the little thing, "Don't worry, I'll put it over in the woods so it won't bother you." He shot a wink to Soap before starting toward the treeline. "Lily, do you want to see a lizard for a few seconds?" His daughter was by his side in an instant, oohing and ahhing at the creature in his hands.

He held it for her for a few moments longer than he normally would, allowing her to gently stroke her fingers along it for a few moments. He gently transferred it into her hands and instructed her how to carefully release it onto a nearby rock. They both watched as it crawled rapidly down from the little rock Lily had placed it on and scuttled off across the forest floor. Roach waited until he'd lost sight of it to stand back up fully.

He gave a brief stretch before turning around, intent on rejoining Soap at the little picnic table they'd been sitting at. Instead, he slammed directly into a hard body. Within a moment there was cool sticky liquid soaking through his shirt and seeping onto his skin, pulling a grimace from him. He looked down at the dark-colored wet spot across his clothing.

"Shit, Roach," Alex was quick to set down the little red cup he'd been holding and grab a nearby towel, offering it to him, "I'm so sorry."

Roach waved him off, "It's okay," he gave a short chuckle, "Trust me when I say that Lily has spilled much worse on me before."

"Hey!"

"Should we talk about the bucket of paint?" He raised an eyebrow at his daughter and a sheepish look was quick to cover her face. She gave a grumble but said nothing else as she moved away from the two adults to begin hunting for bugs in the brush again. Roach shook his head at her and turned back to face Alex. He turned down the offered towel, "It's okay, I'll just run back to the cabin and change shirts," he looked down at himself with a wrinkle of his nose, "No way am I staying in this sticky thing for the rest of the day."

He stepped away from Alex and started toward the little path that would take him back to the cabin. The stickiness of his shirt pressing against his skin was getting to be a bit much for him, the feeling making his skin crawl. As he passed by where Ghost had just lit the fire for the grill, he made the decision to just go ahead and take the shirt off. There was no harm that would come from it.

He grabbed at the back of his shirt and was quick to tug it over his head, wadding the cloth up in his hands. Beside him, he could hear a quick clatter of something hitting the ground before a quick puff of warm air and a pop caught his attention. When he turned, it was to the sight of Ghost stumbling away from a large plume of fire that rose from the grill he'd just lit.

"Ghost!" He and Soap were quick to surround the taller man, both of them checking over him quickly as the fire of the grill died down. Luckily, it seemed that the man hadn't been burnt or singed, but there was a rather amusing ring of black soot around his face where the smoke from the fire had painted his skin.

Ghost seemed more dazed than anything, just blinking at Roach with wide eyes and pink dusting across his face as Roach checked him over carefully. A few others had gathered around them as well, Laswell, in particular, seemed to be anxiously awaiting whether Ghost was okay or not. Roach knew it was likely because she would be the one having to fill out the paperwork if someone got hurt on the retreat.

"Ghost," Roach carefully felt along Ghost's face, watching to see if the man winced at any particular point during the process, "Can you hear me? Are you hurting anywhere?"

Ghost shook his head slowly, still watching Roach with wide eyes. Despite the fact that he claimed to be fine, Roach was beginning to wonder if the man had a concussion or something from his fall to the ground.

"Simon," Soap's hand landed on Ghost's shoulder, his voice taking on a tone that Roach couldn't decipher. It seemed to be enough to snap Ghost out of whatever stupor he was in as his eyes quickly darted away from Roach and he started to slowly push himself from the ground. Roach tried to give him room but stayed close enough that he could rush forward to help if need be.

"I'm fine," Ghost's face had turned steadily pinker and he wouldn't meet Roach's eyes. "Sorry, I, uh, zoned out I guess. Used too much lighter fluid." He brushed himself off and leaned slightly into Soap who'd wrapped an arm around him to provide some support.

"Well," Roach nodded to him, "I'm glad you're okay, though, maybe you should let someone else work the grill?" He gave Ghost a small smile, the concern that had been written across his face slowly faded into something a bit calmer. If his heart had stopped for a brief second when he saw the fire bursting up toward Ghost, he could keep that to himself.

"I'm okay," Ghost assured, "I'll still cook, not like I really hurt myself."

Roach gave him an amused smile, "No," he agreed, "Thankfully not, but maybe you want to let someone else start it and come back to the cabin with me?"

Both Soap and Ghost's heads shot toward him, their eyes wide. "Come back to the cabin with you?" Ghost stuttered out after a moment, his face somehow going a shade pinker.

Roach raised an eyebrow at both of them, confusion filling him. It wasn't like he'd offered anything odd, so he couldn't quite understand why they both seemed so shocked by his words. "Yeah," he motioned toward Ghost's face, "To clean up all the soot and stuff you got on you?" Both Ghost and Soap seemed to deflate slightly at his words, sharing a quick glance with one another. Behind them, Alex and Farah gave quick choked-out laughs, only adding to Roach's confusion. "What did you guys think I meant?"

"Nothing," Ghost motioned forward, "You're right, I should clean up." He shot a quick glare toward Farah and Alex before marching past Roach in the direction of the cabin. Roach shot a confused glance toward Soap, but noticed that the man looked almost like a kicked puppy and wouldn't meet his gaze either.

"Right, um," he turned to look for Lily and found her already watching him closely, her little face twisted up into a look of serious contemplation that caught Roach by surprise. He didn't think he'd ever seen her look so serious before. "Lily," he caught her attention, "You stay by Soap, okay?"

She nodded her head at him, her face still twisted up, "Okay, Mommy." Roach wanted to question her sudden deep thinking, but he decided better of it and instead just started after Ghost toward the cabin.

"Mommy?" Roach stopped in the doorway to the room that Lily was staying in. He'd already tucked her in and he'd just flipped the lights off when she called his name. Quickly, he flicked it back on and turned to face her, letting her know that he was listening, "Do you like Suds and Ghost?"

Roach tilted his head at her, a small smile quirking at his lips, "Of course I do. We work together, but they're my friends too. Why do you ask?"

Lily was quiet for a moment, her eyes trailing away from Roach and up toward the ceiling. She'd been contemplative ever since the moment that Ghost had nearly lost his eyebrows to the grill. Roach had checked in with her numerous times, but every time she'd just happily told him that she was okay before going back to her contemplation. Roach had wondered briefly if she was upset that they were going home already, but he was sure that Soap and Ghost's promise to bring her back had banished that sadness from her mind.

After a long moment, she asked, "Do you like Suds and Ghost," she paused for another moment before looking at him, her eyes practically piercing through him. In that moment he could clearly notice the two different colors of her eyes, one a greyish brown and the other an all too familiar pale green. His heart squeezed tight in his chest. "Mommy, do you like Soap and Ghost like you liked Daddy?"

Roach's heart stuttered over in his chest and, for a moment, he didn't remember how to breathe. "What," his voice broke and he had to take a few moments to breathe, "What do you mean by that sweetie?"

Lily watched him for another moment and Roach had to wonder if this truly was his six-year-old daughter that he was talking to. She seemed much older than she was. She seemed to know more than he'd thought possible for her. After another long moment, she seemed to come to some sort of conclusion and turned away from him. "Nevermind. Night, Mommy, love you."

She tucked herself under the covers like nothing had happened and Roach couldn't help but wonder if he'd imagined the whole thing. He stood still for a long moment, his mind running circles around itself. Finally, he reached up to turn the light in the room off. He stepped out of the room silently, pulling the door closed behind him. He stood there, his hand still on the cool metal of the doorknob.

It wasn't a question he'd been prepared for, certainly not one he'd been prepared to hear from his daughter. Now he found himself silently asking the question to himself, anxiety creeping up his shoulders as he did. He liked Soap and Ghost. But, like Lily asked, was it similar to what he'd felt before?

He didn't quite know if he was ready to face the answer to that yet.

"I can't believe I freaked out over a lizard," Soap sulked, tucking his face against Ghost's shoulder with an embarrassed groan. The whiskey glass in his hand was already half drunk. Next to him, Ghost seemed equally as downcast, his own whiskey glass already drained. He was on his second.

"At least you didn't nearly kill yourself just because he took his shirt off," He took another drink from his glass, his face feeling hot again. "Were we this useless when we were trying to get together?"

"I don't think so," Soap tucked himself closer to him on the couch, "I feel like we were braver then."

Ghost snorted, "Well, that I believe. I guess when you're getting shot at, confessing your feelings feels like nothing next to that." He sighed and tilted his head over so that his cheek was resting on the top of Soap's head, "Maybe we need to almost die again. Get some of that confidence back?"

Soap snorted and shook his head against Ghost's shoulder, "That's stupid. A terrible idea if I've ever heard one." He paused for a moment before groaning, "Though if it helps get rid of the memory of eating shit in front of him today, I might be more willing to agree to it."

"We're useless at this." Ghost sighed and pressed a kiss to the top of Soap's head.

"I agree."

Both Soap and Ghost shot up immediately. They were quick to look behind them over the couch, panic coursing through their system as they met the gaze of Lily, still in her night clothes. "Lily," Soap plastered a smile onto his face, but his eyes were quick to scan around nervously, "Where's your mom?"

"Don't panic," she marched into the room and circled around the couch until she was standing in front of both Soap and Ghost, "He's still in bed. It's just me." She crossed her arms across her chest as Soap and Ghost shared a relieved look with one another.

"And why aren't you in bed?" Ghost asked carefully, an eyebrow raised at her.

"Because we need to talk." She sounded surprisingly serious for a six-year-old and Soap and Ghost shared an amused look with one another.

"Alright," Soap sat up fully in his seat and gave her a soft smile, "What's going on, kid?"

Lily watched them for a moment before narrowing her eyes, "You two like my Mommy, don't you?"

Soap choked on his own breath, his face going a bright red. Next to him, Ghost controlled his reaction much better. "Of course, we like your mom, Lily," He assured, "We're friends."

"No," Lily countered, "You want to kiss my mom! I can tell!"

That had Ghost snapping his mouth shut, his neck and ears going a bright red to match the color of Soap's face. They both stared at Lily, unsure of what to do in the moment. This was certainly not something they'd been prepared for in the slightest.

After a long moment of both Soap and Ghost stumbling over one another to try to refute Lily's words, the little girl rolled her eyes. "If you guys like my Mommy, just tell him!" She paused for a moment before giving a bright grin and adding, "Unless you just want him to keep saving you guys from lizards and laughing when you mess up." She gave a bit of a secretive giggle, Soap and Ghost's sheepish faces only making her laugh harder. Her laugh sounded a surprising bit like Roach's.

"You," Soap hesitated for a moment, "You're okay with Ghost and I wanting to..."

"You guys can be my dads if you want," Lily shrugged, "Oh wait!" She shook her head suddenly and pointed at them, "If you wanna be my dads you have to buy me a Nintendo Switch first! Oh! And a new bike! And I want some Sour gummy worms!" She paused to think for a moment and Ghost and Soap couldn't help the amused look that they shot one another. Lily's seriousness seemed to disappear at once and both of the men were reminded that Lily was only a child. A child who just wanted her mom to be happy. "And you guys have to come to the Daddy-daughter dances with me at school! And buy me more fun clothes! Oh, and I-"

"Lily," Ghost cut her off with an amused smile, "Why don't you make a list for us?"

"Oh! That's a good idea!" She jumped up excitedly and started toward the entrance to the living room, likely off to find a piece of paper and a pen. She stopped before she could fully leave the room, though, and turned to face the two men, "By the way, if it helps, my Mommy likes you guys too." With that, she left the room and two shocked men behind her.

"Everything alright with you two?" Roach asked the question as he shut his car door behind Lily. They'd fully packed up everything and now all that was left was for them to go home.

"Of course," Soap waved him off with a soft smile. There was something else in his eyes though, something that Roach could clearly see despite the man's obvious attempt to hide it. It was the same with Ghost. Both of them seemed to have something else going on in their mind, something that very clearly had to do with Roach considering it was only present when they looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

Roach shrugged, walking around the front of his car to meet them, "You two just seem quiet today, like you have something else on your minds." He hesitated for a moment before shyly adding, "I just want to make sure that you guys are okay."

Ghost and Soap shared a look with one another, something passing between them that Roach couldn't quite decipher. "We're fine, bug, really." Ghost turned back toward him, "Just, uh, well," he paused for a moment, "Things were a bit crazy, but did you at least have a good time this weekend?"

Roach gave a small chuckle, "I had a great time." He gave the two men a grin, "Thank you guys for letting me bring Lily. I know she enjoyed herself a lot."

Soap nodded at him, a grin crossing his own lips, "We're glad to hear, you know how much we care about the kid." The words warmed Roach's chest and he could feel his face heat up slightly. He did know. He also knew just how good both of the men were with his daughter. Just how good they would be if...

He cut himself off. He couldn't think like that. These were his bosses and there was certainly no way that they felt the same toward him. "Well," he cleared his throat nervously and gave the two men another smile, "I guess unless there's anything else you need from me?"

There was a long pause as Soap and Ghost looked at each other. They seemed to be having a silent debate but, in the end, it was as though neither of them won. Ghost turned back to him with a small smile and a nod, "You're free to go. Let us know when you and Lily make it home safe?"

Roach nodded, "Of course. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Despite the fact that it seemed like both Soap and Ghost wanted to say more, neither of them stopped Roach from getting into his car. It wasn't until they were pulling away from the little cabins that they'd spent the weekend in that Lily spoke. Her words were no louder than a mumble, but Roach still heard them.

"They're so silly." He didn't bother asking who the words were about. He could guess for himself.

A week after the weekend trip and a package was delivered to Roach's doorway, addressed to Lily. The only note on it was typed out reading, "As per our agreement."

Lily was more than happy to pull the Nintendo Switch out of its wrapping. Roach, on the other hand, couldn't help but wonder what exactly this "agreement" was that his daughter had supposedly made with his bosses.

[mamashenanigans]

No-Quirks CEO AFO AU Snippet!

Wanted to do something different and try to write Kudo and Bruce interacting for the first snippet of this story.

Quick background:

1. Yoichi died right before their surrogate gave birth to their daughter, Kotomi.

2. Something happened between Kotomi and AFO(Daiki Shigaraki) three years ago that has changed her outlook on her Uncle. Only she and Kudo know as her father doesn’t want to reveal such sensitive information about his brother-in-law, regardless of how much he may hate him.

3. Yoichi’s last words to Kudo before his death, along with a video will, are important to Kudo even if some of it does involve his brother-in-law.

4. AFO is incredibly rich and the CEO of All for One Industries. He became a recluse after Yoichi’s death and hardly leaves his skyscraper where both his business and living quarters are. His business ambitions became far darker after the death of his only moral compass. Kotomi took on her dad’s role of trying to persuade AFO concerning his business dealings. She’s actually been quite successful in the last three years, but doesn’t talk about it much unless cornered by her father’s old teammates.

5. The One for All Operation was created by whistleblowers, law enforcement, and others to try and finally have AFO pay for his crimes, but they’ve never been able to succeed due to AFO’s legal team and ability to pay anyone to do anything. Kotomi knows nothing about this.

Anyway, enjoy this little snippet. It’s a rough draft so excuse any grammar mistakes.

———

“Knock, knock!” Bruce called out as he let himself into Kudo’s apartment. He let out an impressed whistle as he took in his surroundings.

“Wow, Kudo, my man! This is quite a nice place you have here!” He shouted as he moved further in following the sound of running water. He found Kudo in the kitchen at the sink, his back turned towards his friend. Bruce casually leaned on the corner of the archway and quirked a brow.

“Um, you hear me, ol’ fearless leader?”

”Yes, Bruce. I heard you before you even walked in. And that’s the reason why we preferred you at a computer most of the time.” Kudo answered nonchalantly, his back still turned.

Bruce would have chuckled if the words didn’t sound so hollow. He eyed the fancy kitchen then asked, “So, where’s Kotomi?”

Kudo turned off the faucet and turned around. “Where do you think?”

”Dear ol’ Uncle, huh?” Bruce shook his head, but couldn’t help but grimace as he caught sight of a large television on the wall of the adjourning family room.

“Speaking of which,” Bruce leveled his eyes with Kudo’s, “how’d you afford all this, Kudo?”

Kudo threw down the cloth he was using to dry his hands and turned back around. He planted his palms on the counter and growled, “I knew this was coming. I don’t want to do this right now, Bruce.”

”You promised that you wouldn’t use any of his dirty money and, damn, you haven’t since Yoichi passed, but now you’re fine with it?”

”Bruce, I lost my job-.”

”So?! You’ve changed your cover jobs more times than I can count! You got a whole new apartment! Have you really sold out like this?” Bruce breathed in heavily once he finished and gestured to the family room.

Kudo slammed his fists on the counter then spun around once more, his glare piercing through Bruce.

”I did it for Kotomi, okay! The private school here is one of the top in the country and my daughter’s too damn smart to miss out! The university here is just as prestigious! I know Yoichi would want what’s best for her too! So, yes, he offered and I accepted.”

Bruce sputtered. “Oh, an offer, huh? And what was it exactly, Kudo?”

”He offered to pay for all of it! The school, the apartment, even the university once she goes there! I couldn’t pass it up, Bruce! I was tired of watching her potential be wasted! She can do so much for this world, like Yoichi wanted to himself…”

Bruce closed his eyes as his thoughts wandered to his old friend. Yoichi was one of those dreamers that always wanted to do good in the world. Even though he knew his brother’s business had morphed into something dangerous, the man could never take his twin out of his life. Daiki had always been a shadow in the background of their friend group’s relationship. For a good while, many of the One for All Operation members were wary of him, convinced he must be a spy. Yoichi wasn’t, but he also never committed entirely to the cause. He was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place: he hated what his brother’s company was becoming, but still believed he could change him. Or, at the very least, guide those predatory eyes to something less evil…if only for a moment.

“Since you won’t just fucking say it, Kudo, what’s the catch? Aye? What did he want?”

Kudo finally broke eye contact and looked away.

“Pfft, it has to do with Kotomi, right?”

”Yes!” Kudo yelled. Bruce took a step back and shook his head.

”So, what? Are you forcing her to visit him now? That poor girl—”

”She wants to go,” Kudo whispered and Bruce barely heard it.

“Excuse me? Wants to go? You’re joking right? Who wants to be around that asshole?”

”She does! I’m not making her do anything and that’s…that’s the hard part, Bruce!” Kudo finally left his vigil over the sink and sat himself down at the kitchen table. He grabbed his head in his hands. “She’s been more than willing for the last three years to see him. It was harder when we lived farther away. It became harder and harder to deny his limos that came to pick her up, to turn away the delivery men with gifts, and keep her from running off to ride some derelict train to the city. This…this works for her and for him.”

Bruce scoffed. “Does it work for you, Kudo?”

“It does if Kotomi is happy and able to have the best education possible.”

”Dude, you know that’s not what I’m asking.”

”And that shows you aren’t a parent.”

Bruce decided not to detonate that bomb and moved on. “So, what? She visits him more often now? That’s all he wanted?”

”Often isn’t quite the right word,” Kudo bit out. Bruce tilted his head in question, so Kudo continued. “He…he has her spend the night a lot. Like…a week at a time. Her, uh, her school is pretty close, so…”

”Are you joking?! Are you guys sharing custody or something?”

Kudo was out of his chair faster than Bruce could react and was now in his friend’s face.

“Don’t you ever say that again!”

”Why? Did it strike a nerve?”

”GET OUT!” Kudo roared and Bruce was smart enough to obey.

As he backpedaled towards the front door, he couldn’t help but call back, “Our team has been working for DECADES to get that man behind bars! I know Yoichi wasn’t aware of all of our plans, but are you sure he would want this?”

Bruce slammed the door as he exited leaving Kudo to stand alone in the hallway of his new home. He clenched his fists and looked at the floor, tears held back just barely.

”Yes,” he whispered only to himself, “I know he would and that’s why it hurts.”

[ur-fav-inactive-writer]

𝐈𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒

Ivan of Zandar x Pregnant!Reader | Part One , Two @smoiesaustine

Request: Once you are done with the Ice Ice Ranger pt 2 can you do a pt. 3 of Ice Ice ranger? The birth of our baby.

WC: 1129

It had been many, many months since you had stopped being a ranger. It wasn't permanent, but it felt as such. You hadn't been a part of any battle in nearly 5 months. And even after the baby came, Ivan wanted you to be on maternity leave for as long as possible. You were annoyed by this, but agreed for yours and the baby's health and wellbeing. Ivan was thrilled that you agreed to stay out of danger but understood how frustrating it must've been.

As you approached your due date, Ivan began trying to stay away from any missions or battles. Ivan did everything in his power to ensure you'd always be at his side. Or if it wasn't by his side, it was Shelby's, Tyler's, Riley's, or any other rangers. He needed to be certain that you were always safe, and having a ranger beside you at all times allowed him to calm down a little. It was an incredibly busy day at the café meaning that you were the only one left in the base. Being heavily pregnant, you were forbidden to be working. No matter how understaffed they were, they didn't let you work. Ivan just wanted you to relax for the remainder of your pregnancy. You were in the base, relaxing, when you felt it. Your water broke. Uh oh. Everyone was upstairs and you certainly weren't waddling up all the stairs in your condition. You panicked for a few moments before remembering that your phone was across the room. You grabbed it and called Chase, who always answered since he was always on it. He answered and before he could say hi you blurted out,

"Hey Chase, so um, don't panic, but my water just broke, so I just really really really need Ivan right now."

You heard him go silent in shock before shouting out for Ivan and Ms. Morgan. As he shouted this, he hung up. You stood in the base for a few minutes until you heard the sound of clamouring. Turning your head, you saw Ivan and Ms. Morgan rushing to your side and the rest of the rangers following suit. Ivan grabbed you by the waist, hastily asking a plethora of questions. You hushed him and reassured him you were okay. Ms. Morgan recommended that the two of you head to the hospital, and you agreed. Tyler quickly offered using his jeep as a ride, and you nodded. Ivan carried you over to the car, helping you breathe through the contractions. He carefully sat you down in the car before sitting himself next to you and holding your hand. Tyler and Kendall sat in the front seat, occasionally checking in on you. They arrived at the hospital, and Ivan carried you from the car into the hospital. Ms. Morgan decided to do the talking for you. She explained the situation, and the nurses guided you into a room. The contractions kept growing stronger, causing you to cry out in pain. Ivan gently squeezed your hand, sharply inhaling when he realised how cold your palms were. Whenever you were in pain, your ice powers kicked in and turned you colder than ever. He decided to talk with you to distract you from the overwhelming pain.

"So, do you think the little one will have your powers?" You smiled at his words. "Maybe, perhaps we can call her Elsa if she does." The light laugh that came along with your sentence caused Ivan to crack a smile. "She, hm? How can you be certain?" You shrugged, "Mothers instincts. You're gonna have a little lady, I'm sure of it." You both laughed softly before you squeezed his hand again due to another contraction. He helped you breathe through it and started up the conversation again. "Well, having a mini (Y/N) wouldn't be so bad." He said, looking at you with a soft smile. "Just imagine her with your adorable curls and smile. Maybe she'll look more like a little Ivan." The thought of having a daughter with both of your features made him happier than ever. You two kept conversing, pausing occasionally to breathe through the contractions.

Eventually, it was time for your little one to come into the world. You grabbed Ivan's hand, overwhelmed with the excruciating pain coursing through your body. You squeezed his hand tightly as he tried to reassure you it'd be okay. Breathing heavily, you whimpered out an incoherent sentence. Ivan looked at you quizically, gesturing you to repeat it. "Ivan, 'm scared, it hurts so bad, I can't do it." He pressed a soft kiss to your hand. "Yes, you can milady, I'm sure of it."

~*~*~*~*~

It had been many, many hours since your water had broken, and the team was sat anxiously in the waiting room. They hadn't heard anything about you since you had been admitted to a room, so impatiently waited for an update. After what felt like years, Ivan came into the waiting room. The Rangers' faces lit up at his presence.

"How is (Y/N) and the baby doing?!" Came Shelby's voice.

"Is everything doing okay?" Kendall's voice chimed in.

"Do we get to meet baby?!" Asked Koda enthusiastically.

Ivan silenced all of his friends. Smiling, he began speaking. "(Y/N) is doing just fine. It's a girl. Winter Amber (Y/L/N)." The team awww-ed at his words, Shelby being excited that it's a girl. He invited them all to come see you and the baby. They all walked in, trying to keep quiet and not disturb you too much. As they walked into the room, they all gushed over how adorable your baby was. She had icy white hair, soft curls (just like Ivan's), and Ivan's eyes.

What was apparent to you once you had held her for the first time was that she had inherited your ice powers. You figured this out due to the fact that when you picked her up, she was cold to the touch and had left small flakes of snow in her cot. You passed her around to the rangers, making sure someone was there to help Koda with holding her.

"Hey, how come you called her Winter with the middle name Amber?" Shelby inquired. You softly grinned, excited to explain why you had named your daughter what you had. "Well, since she's inherited my ice powers and was born in December, we called her Winter. And Amber is because its a similar colour to gold, which pays tribute to Ivan being the gold ranger." You said, looking up at your fiancé fondly. He was still sat at your side, gently caressing the back of your hand.

"I can't wait to raise Winter with you, my love." He whispered softly in your ear, pressing a kiss to your temple. And if you were being honest, you couldn't wait either.

[toomuchracket]

mads how about mrs mac going into labour, maybe even when Ross is on tour

combining with I can’t stop thinking about Ross just being so soft and caring whilst wifey is in labour also hope you feel better soon darling ❤️ (and thank you! i'm not really. but it is what it is)

let's talk about keir's birth. i think it happens during a show at least somewhere in the uk, if not london itself, because there's no way ross (or any of the boys, or d word girlie coordinating things) would even chance him being in a different part of the world from you for at least a month and a half before your due date - which, by the way, is two weeks later than the date keir ended up arriving on. anyway, there's genuinely a show scheduled for that day, and you're chilling backstage at it, laughing at eilidh shoving hairclips into both her dad and matty's hair, when you start to feel a bit... odd. you go to the toilets, with d word girly (not dating matty at this point, btw) being like "hmmm you look a bit out of sorts. i'll come with you"; thank fuck she does, because pretty much as soon as the door to the girls' toilets closes behind you, your water breaks. you start to say "babe, please go and get ross", but she's one step ahead of you, bless her, like "i'll get him, i'll make sure matty's got eilidh, i'll make some calls", and then she hesitates like "are you sure you'll be ok on your own?" - you wave her off, and it's fine because ross is at your side in under a minute, checking to make sure you're alright and hugging you like "we're alright, everything's alright. just means we get to meet our boy sooner than we thought, yeah?", and you're genuinely quite calm. the same can't be said for the other room, where the tour promoter is genuinely trying to suggest that the gig tonight could still go ahead because "matty plays bass, right?" - matty literally puts his hands over eilidh's ears so she cant hear him say "i can, but also no fucking way am i missing this. this baby is basically another sibling for me. we're rescheduling the gig. end of", and then looks at girly to be like "is that going to be too much extra work for you, darling?", to which she's like "matty our friends are having a baby it's worth it" lol. it takes a while until your contractions are close enough that you can go to the hospital, but the couple of hours' wait is fairly pleasant; you're not in too much discomfort, and you're content to just sit with your husband and daughter (who is hyped about the happenings) and let everyone fuss over you. when it's almost time for keir to make his entrance, you kiss eilidh goodbye and tell her to be good for everyone while she waits for her baby brother, and she skips off with matty holding one hand and girly holding the other (hellish for them i fear) so everyone can congregate at adam's, before mark drops you and ross at the hospital. it's a quick labour, relatively straightforward, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like fuck; as you push, ross half-hugs you as best he can, kissing your forehead and reassuring you like "i know it hurts, my love, but you're almost there. a few more pushes, and we'll have our baby boy. doing so well, i love you so much". when keir starts to properly make his debut in the world, you clutch your husband's hand so tightly that it's probably agonising, but he doesn't mention it at all, just keeps cooing praises and brushing your hair from your face, while the midwives keep you updated on how, um, increasingly present keir is lmao. with a final push, he's here, tiny baby cries filling the air and mixing with sniffles from mum and dad - ross weeps when he gets to cut the umbilical cord, crying even harder when he watches you do skin to skin with your son and then when he gets to meet him for the first time himself. keir's a far less fussy baby than his sister was, so it isn't long before ross is sitting holding him against his chest while you sleep, just rubbing keir's tiny little back and feeling so overwhelmed that his boy is here and healthy and hopefully happy. yeah, it's all just so so soft and sweet <3