#unplanned sibling sounds about right

[uselessalexis165]

My friend @anxiously-drawing-again describing Cookie Run characters (10)

[probably-writing-x]

Missing Piece.

Summary: can you do conklin!reader x conrad where since she’s the oldest sibling, laurel had so much expectations for her and she held a lot of responsibility to the point where she couldn’t even enjoy being a kid. this is gonna sound sad but let’s say conrad chose belly over her but he was really just confused about what he wants which was reader but since her and belly are so similar, he chose belly and the reader had a big argument that led to her being the bad guy and all the stress caused her to just leave cousins and cut contact with everyone. Flash forward like 2 years ( reader is in college and everyone else is beginning college soon ) reader comes back to cousins and everyone is shocked to see she has a son 😭 it doesn’t have to be conrad’s i was thinking it could be like an ex boyfriends or one night stand’s BUT yeah she comes back with a whole kid and she’s so grown now. ( you can add a lil stepdad conrad if you want 😮‍💨 )

Warnings: Discussions of toxic family relations, mentions of unplanned pregnancy

Author’s Note: I’m sorry this is so long but I took this idea and RAN with it! Hope y’all enjoy plz plz plz let me know what you think

You always knew how your little sister Belly had felt about Conrad when you were all growing up. For as long as you could remember, she’d been head over heels for him. She laughed a little harder at his jokes, remembered a little more about everything he said. She loved him.

You weren’t exactly sure when your feelings for Conrad had started, however. He’d always just been a friend. The boy you spent every summer with as the two of you were responsible for babysitting the rest. He’d always just been Conrad. But lately that had felt like it was changing.

The worst part about it all? You couldn’t even tell him how you felt. For the fear of breaking your little sisters heart was worse than letting your own break right in front of you.

“Are you even listening to me (y/l/n)?” Conrad stretches out a leg to kick you from where he sat on the other end of the couch and you look up from your book to see him.

“Um,” You clear your throat, “No, I didn’t hear a word you said.”

He rolls his eyes at you, “I asked if you were coming to the party tonight.”

“Oh, yeah, I hadn’t thought about it,” You shrug, “Is everyone going?”

He shrugs his shoulders, “I haven’t asked everyone. I’ve asked you.”

You smile in return, “Yeah, sure, I’ll come.”

He stretches forward and grabs the book from your hands, “What are you reading?”

“Con!” You exclaim, reaching over his legs to try to grab the book from his hands, “Give it back.”

He laughs and holds it high over his head, away from your reach as you fall forward, hand catching yourself on his chest.

You look up to his eyes and he’s looking down at you with a smirk on his lips.

“Can you please give me my book back?”

“I could,” He returns, the pages still tight between his grip.

“Okay, will you?”

“What’s in it for me?”

There’s something about the way he says the words. Hoarse in his throat, almost catching on his tongue, foreign tone to hear from his lips. You feel the heat increasing in your cheeks and try to ignore it.

“Nothing, just give it back,” You groan, stretching far up enough that your fingertips brush the pages and he eventually releases the book from his grip.

You compose yourself and return to your side of the couch, trying to ignore the deep heat coursing through your cheeks.

“Hey!” Belly’s voice sounds from the doorway as she comes in, “I’m not interrupting am I?”

“No, no, of course not,” Conrad stands up quickly from the couch, “Are you ready to go?”

Belly nods, “Yeah, sure. Are you coming (y/n)?”

You force a small smile in their direction, “I’ll be there in a bit.”

“(Y/n) I really need your help tonight,” Your Mom, Laurel walks into the room in their absence, “We’ve got so much to set up for tomorrow so I’ll need your help with it all.”

You set your book down and look up at her, “Actually I think there’s a party tonight that everyone’s going to so I sort of had plans.”

She brushes you off, busy looking at something on her phone, “Well just cancel your plans.”

“It’s a party, Mom, everyone’s going,” You roll your eyes, “Can’t I just help tomorrow morning?”

“Can you please not make this more difficult than it needs to be?” She shakes her head at you, “You’re eighteen now, aren’t you too old for those kinds of things?”

“Right, yeah, eighteen is the cut off point for having fun,” You stand up from the couch.

“(Y/n) wait!” She calls after you, “I need you to go to-“

“The store, yeah, I just got the list,” You wave your phone in your hand, “(Y/n) Conklin at your service.”

Your relationship with Laurel has never been ideal. You were the oldest of the three of you and so her expectations for you seemed far beyond what she wanted from the others. She was more patient with them, more understanding. You didn’t get that. They got a childhood and you got the responsibility of looking after them. They went to the fair? You had to make sure they all came back in one piece. They went to a party? You had to be the designated driver and make sure neither of them drank too much. Something important going on? They got to be kids whilst you dealt with it like an adult. You grew up too fast and she was to blame for that - her expectations tainting any form of childhood you could’ve held onto.

You step outside and start walking towards your car, pausing when you hear the sound of laughter from the others. Conrad has Belly in his arms, lifting her up from the ground as the other boys try to grab her legs. He’s holding her tight, a bright smile on his face when he looks at her. They’d had that tradition for years. Since you were first coming to Cousins. But you were never a part of it. Because whilst they grabbed Belly and ran her to the pool, you had to help your Mom carry in the luggage and set up everyone’s rooms. Traditions, right?

“(Y/n)!” Jeremiah yells over to you when he catches sight of you, “Are you coming later? We thought we could go to the store and get some drinks before we go.”

He walks over to you and the other boys follow behind.

“Um,” You drag a hand through your hair, glancing at the house, “I can’t come tonight, I’ve got stuff to help my Mom with here.”

“Oh come on, you’re so boring,” Steven groans, “You never come to parties.”

Right, because I’m too busy picking up the slack for you and Belly.

“Yeah, sorry, Laurel’s orders,” You shrug, “Maybe next time.”

“Can you at least stop at the store and use your fake? Thank youuuuu,” Steven yells back as he heads back towards the pool.

You roll your eyes, forcing a smile to the Fisher brothers, “I’ll see you guys later.”

Conrad frowns a little at you, “You sure you’re not coming?”

You shrug your shoulders, “I’ll be designated driver, you can just call me when you need picking up.”

He smiles faintly and watches as you head towards your car, your shoulders dropping as you let out a sigh. Laurel’s orders.

———

You spend the night helping your Mom and Susannah set up for their charity event before you eventually get a text from Steven asking you to come get them.

You drive across the town to the other end and pull up in front of the house, texting them to say you’re outside.

Only Jeremiah and Steven step out though.

“Thanks for coming,” Jere smiles, sitting in the back seat, “You’re a lifesaver.”

You frown at the two of them, “Where’s the rest?”

Steven laughs, “Don’t get us started.”

“What’s going on?” You ask, glancing back in the mirror to catch Jeremiah’s face, watching as his jaw clenches.

“Conrad and Belly disappeared together,” Steven explains, “They were all over each other, and then the next minute we couldn’t find either of them.”

“So-“ You clear your throat, words seemingly catching on your tongue, “So you don’t know where they are?”

“They’re together, they’re fine,” Steven shrugs, “But god I’m dreading hearing that story tomorrow.”

You swallow the lump in your throat and lock eyes with Jeremiah who just shrugs his shoulders at you. He was your counterpart in this. Him in love with Belly despite his brother. You in love with Conrad despite your sister.

“Can we go?” Steven nudges you, “I’m starving.”

The three of you drive back in relative silence apart from Steven hiccuping every five seconds, until you reach the house and you pull up on the driveway. You make sure to shut the door quietly behind you so that Laurel wouldn’t complain in the morning and the two boys disappear into the kitchen.

“(Y/n) can I eat some of your-“ Steven calls out loudly.

You stick your head around the doorframe of the kitchen and shush him, whispering back, “Eat whatever you want as long as it’s not the food for tomorrow.”

He salutes in your direction and you roll your eyes, walking through into the lounge and collapsing down onto one of the couches. Your Mom would kill you if Belly didn’t come home tonight, and especially if you didn’t have any clue where she was.

So whilst the boys eat and reside to their bedrooms, you wait.

-

It’s around three am when you hear the door open again and two hushed voices coming through into the silent house.

“Is everyone asleep?” You hear Belly whisper and you glance up from the couch.

That’s when you see it. His hand intertwined with hers, his flannel shirt around her shoulders, both of their eyes alight.

“I think so,” Conrad hisses in return as the two of them walk towards the stairs.

She steps up ahead of him but he pauses on the bottom step, glancing into the lounge where his eyes lock with yours. You don’t look away and neither does he, so you watch as he swallows the lump in his throat, his hand dropping from its grip on Belly’s.

You look away then, turning over on the couch so that your back faces them. It’s such a quick response isn’t it? Five seconds and now your throat feels like it can’t breathe air, and your eyes are pricked with tears threatening to spill. You let out a shaky breath and grip firmly onto the cushion beneath your head, your chest feeling tighter and tighter.

———

The following morning you wake up to the sound of voices in the kitchen and you groan at the sudden realisation of how uncomfortable the couch really is.

When you walk through, it’s your brother and sister.

“She’s alive!” Steven laughs, “What happened to you last night?”

You drag a hand over your face, “I-“ Your eyes shift to Belly who’s stood with the faintest smile over her face as she sips her coffee, the look of a girl in love, “I was going to stay awake to make sure Belly got back safe but I must’ve… I don’t know, I must’ve fallen asleep before she got back.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, we were pretty late,” She clears her throat, “I mean, I was- we weren’t-“

“Come on Bels everyone saw you and Conrad together,” Steven scoffs, “You didn’t exactly make it discrete.”

“Well, I-“ Belly laughs a little, “We just-“

“I don’t think I want to hear this,” Steven groans, “Please spare me the details.”

He takes a cup of coffee from the counter and walks out, his shoulders hanging low.

You take a deep breath and turn back to your sister, pausing for a second. Something about her seems so different - like she’s a whole new person. One piece of her life fallen into place and she was… happy. You swallow the lump in your throat.

“So, you and Conrad,” You mention, your back turned to her as you pull out a pancake mix from the cupboard.

“I don’t even know how it happened,” She shakes her head, “I mean, you all know I’ve had a crush on him since I could remember and then he told me he wanted us to be together and I-“

“He wants you to be together?” You half-choke out the words, your hands feeling weak, your heart numb.

“That’s what he said,” She nods, “We still need to talk about things but yesterday seemed pretty official.”

You blink a couple of times and take a deep breath, pulling your shoulders back a little, “That’s great, Bels, I’m happy for you.”

Before you can say anything more, Conrad walks through into the kitchen, pausing when he sees the two of you.

“Oh, um, morning,” He offers a small smile, letting out a breath.

You nod in greeting, “I’m going to leave you two to it.”

“(Y/n)…” Conrad speaks quietly as you go to leave, his hand reaching out towards you.

You look up at him and there’s a shift in his eyes, a difference in the way he looks at you. Like he knows everything and nothing about what he’s done.

“Never mind,” He shakes his head.

And you’re gone.

———

You don’t see them for the rest of the day. In fact, you don’t see anyone. You go down to the beach at some point in the afternoon and swim in the flat waves and return to the house hours later with damp hair. Your Mom makes a comment about how you need to look presentable for this evening.

You’ve showered and are sat on your bed wrapped in a baggy hoodie and shorts straightening your hair when there’s a knock on your door.

“(Y/n) can I come in?”

It’s Jeremiah.

“Yeah, of course,” You shift on your seat and he steps inside.

“I just wanted to see how you were,” He perches himself on the edge of the bed, looking at you through the mirror.

“I’m okay, this event should be good,” You lie through a smile, fixing the hair around your face.

“(Y/n)…” He frowns at you, “You don’t have to lie.”

“Wh-“

“He broke your heart,” He confirms for you, “And she broke mine.”

You laugh a little, “Well that makes us sound sad, Jere.”

He smiles gently, softly, “It’s okay for you to be upset about it. You don’t have to put on that facade like you normally do.”

“I just-“ You shake your head, “I can’t be upset. I’m happy for Belly, she’s loved him since forever.”

“(Y/n),” Jeremiah waits until you turn around to face him, “You’ve spent your life being happy for Belly, it’s okay for you to let yourself once wish that you were happy for you.”

You look down at the ground and back up, shaking your head a little as tears pool at your eyes, “I just really thought it would be me.”

Instantly, Jere jumps from the bed and hurries over to you, engulfing you in his arms as you bury your head into his chest.

“I did too,” He mumbles as he runs a hand up and down your back.

“God, I’m so stupid,” You laugh, dragging your hands under your eyes, “I need to stop this before tonight.”

He pulls back and holds both of your shoulders, “You’re going to get dressed into your best dress, and you’re going to look beautiful, and we’re going to drink, and drink some more, and we’re both going to forget all about last night. How does that sound?”

You nod your head, “Okay.”

“Okay,” Jeremiah grins, “Now cheer up before you make me cry too.”

You laugh softly, watching him disappear before you let out a shaky breath, turning back to yourself in the mirror and setting your shoulders back to fix your posture.

You could do this.

———

By the time you come downstairs, the house is flooded with people all in attendance for the event. The garden doors are open and people have spilled outside, all mingling between each other as Susannah goes around to greet everyone that she can.

You take a glass of champagne from the tray in the kitchen and tip it back until the liquid empties down your throat, and you grimace a little at the taste.

“Woah, take it easy Conklin,” Steven raises his brows at you as you refill your glass, “You never drink.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a party isn’t it?” You shrug your shoulders, tipping back another glass.

“Who are you and what have you done with my sister?” Steven laughs.

You go to respond but your eyes fall on the pair just across the room. The girl’s fingers fixing the bow tie around the boy’s neck, her hands settling onto his chest soon after, a smile on her face. Belly and Conrad.

“They seem pretty-“

“Yeah, I know,” You respond quickly, “Made for each other.”

“I was going to say full-on,” Steven grimaces, “It’s weird.”

You shrug, “Maybe they’re happy.”

You swallow the lump in your throat and try to ignore the tightening in your chest, sure that you could leave at that sight alone.

How could you do this? How could you be normal with them when it was like this? How could you spend every day with them?

“I can’t be here,” You shake your head, “I need some air.”

You grab a bottle of tequila from the liquor display and take it with you outside, sipping from it before you’ve even got to the garden.

It’s colder as the sun is already setting but another sip of tequila seems to take the edge off just a little, and its already going to your head.

You start making your way around the perimeter of the pool, your steps a little off balance as you teeter across the edge.

“(Y/n)?” Belly’s voice calls from the doorway of the house, “What are you doing out here?”

Your foot spins you to face her and you catch sight of her at the door, a black jacket wrapped around her shoulders. The sight makes your heart sink into your stomach, churning your insides.

“Come on, Mom wants you to mingle wit-“

“I don’t care what Mom wants,” You reply harshly, swigging back the tequila once again.

“Wh- what are you talking about?”

“I’ve done my bit, okay? I’ve done more than my bit. She can leave me alone for one night,” You roll your eyes, “Just one fucking night.”

“What’s going on with you (y/n)? This isn’t like you,” She wraps her arms around herself, the jacket tightening across her shoulders.

“Is that… is that his jacket?”

The rational part of you is unsure as to why you even ask it. But the tequila is almost a third gone now, and you’re not sure the rational is what’s in control anymore.

“We- yeah, he gave it to me to come outside,” Belly confirms, “What’s that got to do with-“

“Did you know I liked him?” You interrupt.

“(Y/n) what-“

“Answer the question,” Your words are harsh, too harsh probably, “When you kissed him last night, when he told you he wanted to be with you, did you know that I liked him?”

“Come on, you know how I’ve felt about Conrad, how I feel about him,” Belly shakes her head, “This isn’t ab-“

“About me? Right, of course it’s not,” You scoff, stepping towards her, “Because god forbid things don’t work out the way Belly wants them to, right? God forbid we’re not all making sure that you’re happy and that things are going your way. God forbid anyone else get a fucking happy ending!”

You know you’re raising your voice, you can tell from the way she flinches as you speak. But that doesn’t seem to matter anymore either.

“You wanted him and so you got him. And me and Jere? We don’t matter, do we? We’re just thrown to the curb so that you can be fucking happy,” You half laugh, “I gave up everything for you, Belly. For you and for Steven, I gave up my whole fucking childhood. I couldn’t be a child because you two needed to be them instead. So I grew up, I stopped going out so I could do chores for Mom, chores that you missed because you were too busy with Taylor or at volleyball or failing your fucking classes. I did it all! I gave up everything. And the one thing it felt like I had was… him.”

You choke out the last word and feel the tears prick at your eyes.

“Conrad was the only one that understood, the only one who knew what it was like to feel responsible for your asses,” You scoff, “And… I gave that up too.”

“You didn’t give him up, (y/n), Conrad chose to be with me!” Belly defends, her voice breaking.

By now, the small crowd in the garden has started to increase to hear what was going on, people slowly starting to trail out of the door until you see the familiar faces.

“Girls, can we try doing this somewhere else?” Susannah steps outside, trying to smile for the guests gathering around.

“(Y/n)!” Laurel hisses, hurrying down to where the two of you stood, “Can you control yourself please? There are guests here!”

You look at her and let out a scoff, “My fault, of course.”

“You should know better,” She mutters to you, faking a polite smile for the people watching.

“Yeah, maybe I should, Mom,” You nod, fighting back your tears, “Excuse me.”

You step away from her and Belly and push your way across the garden, towards the side of the house, past the outdoor shower.

“(Y/n)!” Conrad’s voice approaches from behind you.

You keep walking in your direction, refusing to be interrupted until you feel the grip of his arm around your wrist, turning you around.

“Get off me, Conrad,” You pull away from him but his grip remains.

“Talk to me (Y/n)!” He exclaims, “Talk to me, tell me what’s going on.”

“Tell you what’s going on?” You laugh, “Like you don’t fucking know!”

“l do- What do you want me to say?” He looks frantically between your eyes, dropping his hand from your arm.

“I want you to tell me that it’s Belly you want,” You snap, “I want you to tell me that you feel the same way about her as she feels about you.”

“It’s- I mean… it’s complicated.”

“It fucking shouldn’t be!” You yell back, “You chose her, you should know how you feel about her.”

“Chose her? What… you…”

“Yeah, you fucking chose her!” You push his chest, “I was right fucking here Conrad! I was right here! I’ve always been here,” Your voice cracks and tears spill over your cheeks.

Conrad holds your hands over his chest, like he wants to hold onto a piece of you, “(Y/n) I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know,” You step back, sniffing, “Of course you didn’t.”

“(Y/n)…” His voice trails off as he sees you, the broken version of you that he seemed to cause.

“It’s always been her, hasn’t it? She was Laurel’s favourite daughter, she was the more popular one at school, she’s Susannah’s favourite, she’s… she’s yours. And I was there to just… drive her home, cook her dinner, let her cry, buy her shit to make her feel better. I was just… there.”

He doesn’t speak, watching the way you seem to shrink into yourself at the words.

“I’m never going to be good enough, am I? For Laurel, for this family… for you?”

“(Y/n) please…”

“I’m sorry, I just… I need to…” You clear your throat, dragging a hand through your hair before you hurry inside.

———

You don’t get much sleep that night, instead running over a thousand options in your head before settling on the only one that makes any sense - that you need to go.

By five, you’ve packed up your things into a bag, checked over everything twice to make sure nothing was left behind, and grabbed your keys to head downstairs. The house is silent, and littered with the fancy aftermath of the party. You glance behind you once more and step outside, fleeing towards your car.

“(Y/n)!” Even the sound of your name rings through a trauma from the night before.

You turn around against the bright morning light to see Conrad jogging towards you.

“What are you doing?” He asks you, a frown on his face.

“I’m…” You clear your throat, “I’m just heading out.”

He looks down at the bag in your hand and his shoulders drop, “You’re leaving.”

You take a deep breath, “I… I have to Con.”

“(Y/n) please,” He reaches forward and takes one of your hands into his, “I need you to know, I- I didn’t mean to hurt you. I never wanted that.”

You pull your hand from his grip and cup the side of his face, your thumb brushing his cheek, “Con, I know you didn’t. But, I can’t stay here like this. I can’t be here. Okay?”

He looks away from you momentarily and back up to your eyes, his seemingly losing their hope.

You brush away the strands of hair around his forehead, “I’ll see you around, Fisher.”

—— 2 Years Later ——

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Carmen asks you, perched on the edge of your bed, “I mean, seriously, how long has it been?”

“Two years,” You confirm, folding up another top to put into your bag, “And I think it’s a terrible idea, but I’ve got to bite the bullet eventually.”

“How do you think they’re going to react?” He persists, “Do you think they’ll be mad?”

“Um,” You take a deep breath, “Maybe. I think it’ll be a shock more than anything. I just, I want them to see me, you know? And, look, Jere never did anything wrong. He’s reached out to be a thousand times and I want to be there for him today - that’s all I care about.”

“And who can be mad at a little face like this?” Carmen looks down at the small bundle wrapped in his crib, peacefully asleep for now.

Your son had been born two months ago. You and Carmen had been dating through your first year of college before you fell pregnant. You’d split up only a few weeks before you found out you were expecting, but the two of you had managed to successfully co-parent so far. He came to all of your appointments, asked far too many questions, slept on the spare room in your dorm when he was worried about you, and had held your hand all through the delivery. Since then, you’d managed to both fit your schedules around taking care of your baby. He worked weekends and you worked evenings, he stayed in your dorm when he knew you needed to sleep and you both avoided a fair bit of socialising so that you could be there for your son. It worked. And, more than anything, you were the happiest you’d been.

“Alright little man, be good for Mommy okay?” Carmen lifts up your son, Kylo, from his bed, “I’ll see you soon.”

He sets the baby into his car seat and fixes the straps around his chest.

“I’ll help you get him in the car,” Carmen encourages, following behind you as the two of you leave the dorm and head down towards the parking lot.

He fixes the car seat into its slot in the car, checking it twice before he steps back.

“Alright, I’ll let you know if it’s a disaster and I’ll be driving back tonight,” You laugh a little, “And if you get an SOS text from me please put your foot down and get there as soon as you can.”

Carmen chuckles, squeezing your arm, “It’s going to be fine, okay? They love you and they miss you.”

You nod, “Let’s hope so.”

“Drive safe,” He steps back, letting you get into the drivers seat.

“Wish me luck,” You smile, waving goodbye as you reverse out of the parking spot.

It had been two years since you’d seen the Fishers, and even your own family. You’d left that day at the beach house and not returned. There were countless calls from your Mom, and Steven, and Susannah and Jere. But nothing from Conrad and Belly. You’d moved your things out of your home shortly after and moved into college as early as you could. It has been good for you.

The first big milestone was when you didn’t go home for thanksgiving. All of the family would be at Cousins and you told your Mom you couldn’t make it. The same again at Christmas. Eventually, a few months after, Laurel had stopped trying. She knew you needed your space, as much as she resented you for it. You’d kept in touch with Steven, and Jeremiah still spoke to you as much as he could. But none of them knew about Kylo. You weren’t ready for that yet. This was your son, you’d done it without them then and you could still do it without them. But he deserved to have them in his life. So, when Jeremiah had invited you to his graduation, you’d agreed.

It couldn’t be as bad as it was two years ago, right?

———

As soon as you arrive in Cousins, you stop at the hotel room that you’d booked for the two of you. Sure, you were okay with being here, but that didn’t mean you wanted to stay at the house.

You shoot Jeremiah a text to tell him you’re near and he tells you he’ll be waiting outside. You text Carmen to tell him you’re already considering turning back.

There was just something so strange about seeing these streets again, these houses, these places that held so many memories. And, as you near the water, the house that held more memories for you than anywhere in the world.

True to his word, as you pull up into the driveway, Jeremiah is waiting on the steps for you.

He hurries straight over to the car before you’ve even stepped out.

“Oh my god it’s so good to see you!” He grins, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

“You too Jere, I’ve missed you,” You squeeze him in return, “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Wh-“ His face drops a little when he catches sight of the seats in the back of your car, “Why do you have a-“

“Um, yeah,” You laugh a little, “I might’ve forgot to mention I was bringing a plus one.”

You open the side door to the back seats and unclamp the car seat from the chair, lifting it out.

“Jere, this is Kylo,” You let out a shaky breath, “My son.”

Jeremiah’s face drops, dumbfounded, “Oh m- I mean I- Congratulations! He looks exactly like you.”

You chuckle, “I’m sorry I didn’t mention him, I just didn’t know how to say it over a text.”

Jeremiah shakes his head, “Don’t apologise. Come on, nobody’s home, you can come inside.”

He takes your baby bag from you as you carry Kylo into the empty house, a flood of memories hitting you as you do. Nothing had changed here and yet everything had changed with you.

“Do you feel like you’re ready to see everyone?” Jeremiah asks, sitting down beside you on the couch.

“Not in the slightest,” You shake your head, “But I can’t wait any longer.”

“You’re right,” Jeremiah nods, “From what I’ve heard, they’re all just ready for you to come home.”

You smile, lifting Kylo out of his seat, “I’m ready for him to have a family too.”

Jeremiah wraps an arm around your shoulder and squeezes.

“Oh shit, I think that might be their-“ He stops himself, “Yeah, that’s them. Are you okay?”

You take a deep breath and shift your position on the couch, “I’m okay.”

You were far from it. You were sure your mind was racing a million miles a minute, and every muscle in your body was tense. You were sure Kylo could feel it too, whinging in your arms. Part of you wanted to run, but you’d done enough of that two years ago. Not anymore.

“Hey, Jere, who the hell is parked in the-“ It’s Steven’s voice first, “Oh my fucking god!”

He runs into the lounge and freezes instantly, his eyes widening, his mouth agape.

“Hey Steven,” You smile, standing up from the couch.

“You- uh- you…”

Your Mom, Belly and Susannah walk in shortly after, all of them stopping just as your brother had.

“(Y/n)…” Belly looks at you like you’re a piece she’s been missing, “It’s so good to see you.”

“Is this…” Laurel looks down at the boy in your arms.

“This is Kylo, my son,” You look up at her, “Your grandson.”

Her face both lifts and falls at the same time, unsure of what to say.

“Can I?” Laurel asks you, looking down at him, and back to you.

“Of course,” You hand him over, fixing his head into her arms.

Laurel gasps at the contact, smiling gently down at the boy as her eyes fill with tears.

“I’m-“ You clear your throat, no apologies, “I know it’s been a while. But a lot has changed, and I want you to be a part of his life. I want him to have his family.”

Belly steps forward and stretches her arms out to you, stepping once more to engulf you in her arms, her head burying on your shoulder.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” She whispers, sobbing a little into your neck as she tightens her grip.

You smile and hug her just as tightly back, “Me too. I’ve missed you.”

“Alright alright don’t leave me out,” Steven groans, squashing both of you in a hug of his own, towering taller than both of you now.

Belly pulls back and sniffs and you lift your hands to her cheeks, wiping her eyes.

“We’re okay, okay?” You nod at her, the same phrase you used to tell her when the two of you ever argued as kids.

Belly nods, squeezing your hands, “Okay.”

“Oh honey,” Laurel passes Kylo to Susannah who takes him with a bright smile, before your Mom turns to you, “I don’t even know what to say. I had no idea that you… I mean I didn’t even… I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”

You shake your head, “It was me too. We both needed the space, right? We all did.”

She shakes her head too, “I’m just so sorry, I should’ve been there.”

You smile, “You’re here now.”

She steps forward and hugs you too, feeling so much smaller against you than she ever did before, perhaps you just feeling taller.

“You’re a Mom,” Her voice breaks against you, “I’m a Grandma.”

You chuckle and step back from her, “So much to catch you up on.”

Susannah hands Kylo over to Belly as he gets passed around to the waiting arms and she wraps you in a hug of your own, whispering something about how this family had missed you and it hadn’t been the same without you there.

But there was still one piece missing.

You sit down on the couch and Laurel and Susannah sit on either side of you. Belly, Jere and Steven all sit on the coffee table across from you as if they can’t possibly be too far away from you.

“I can’t believe you’re back in Cousins,” Belly smiles, “This is surreal.”

You chuckle, “Yeah, it’s weird. I just couldn’t miss watching Jere graduate.”

He grins, “I’m just glad you accepted the offer.”

Belly passes Kylo over to Steven who holds him as if he’s the most fragile object in the world.

You laugh a little at the sight, pulling out your phone and snapping a photo of the pair. You’d send it to Carmen later - a little sign of ‘hey, my family haven’t completely disowned me’.

“Okay, I have to ask the questions,” Laurel squeezes your arm, “How did this happen?”

“Well, Kylo was born about two months ago. I was dating a boy called Carmen in my first year of college, possibly the nicest guy ever but we realised we were better as friends. And a bit later I found out I was pregnant. He was there the whole time, don’t worry, and we’re surprisingly really good at co-parenting,” You explain, “I know it’s not conventional but, god, I think I was made to be a Mom.”

Steven laughs, “Yeah you got that from raising us three idiots,” He glances to Jere and Belly.

You grin. You’d never considered that when you were growing up. That mothering those three, losing so much of your childhood. It was setting you up for this. For mothering your own child, for bringing him up in your own way.

“He’s a pretty chill baby too,” You comment, “Like sleeps through the night, only wakes up once for a bottle. He even sits into some of my classes.”

“You’re still carrying on with college?” Laurel looks at you slightly shocked.

“Of course, I’ll just graduate with a toddler on my hip,” You beam down at your son in Steven’s arms, “I don’t need to lose my life because I’m taking care of him.”

Laurel looks at you with tears in her eyes before dropping her head to rest on your shoulder, like she’s trying to keep as close to you as she can. You don’t tense under her touch.

———

Later in the day, Jere, Belly and Steven have gone to the store for supplies and Susannah is setting up some bits for Jere’s graduation.

“Hey, do you need any help with anything?” You ask Laurel as she walks into the kitchen, “Kylo’s just had his bottle so I’m free if you need me to help.”

He’s strapped in a wrap to your chest napping against you.

“Oh god no you relax, we don’t need you to help,” Laurel encourages, “Sit down or something.”

“Come on Mom, I can help. What do you want me to do?”

She looks at you and sighs, “I think I spent 18 years asking you to do far too much, maybe I need to be making up for that.”

You clear your throat, “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“I know, I know it’s not,” She shakes her head, “I just… I don’t even feel like you’re my daughter anymore. You’re so grown up, it’s like… you’re too much of an adult to be mine.”

You nod, “Yeah, well, a lot changed.”

“I hate that things got to the point where you felt you had to leave. I mean, I know everything happened with Belly and Conrad but I was just as much to blame, wasn’t I?”

You run your hand over the wrap across your chest where Kylo lay, “I never got a chance to be a kid, Mom. Not properly. It felt like my whole life Id been running one step ahead of them all so that I could catch them before they fell, shaping my whole life around making sure that they were in line and okay and that I was doing enough for you and for them but also making sure my whole life was perfect so that you weren’t disappointed and… it was draining.”

Laurel looks at you with a pained expression, her shoulders dropping with the weight of realisation.

“I went to college to get away from every shitty feeling that all of that gave me. I got away to finally be my own person, for once in my life just think about me,” You smile, “And it was good for me. I healed. I went to a therapist, I cried, I figured out my shit. I’m a different person now but I’ll always be your daughter. And I want Kylo to have his grandma.”

“I want that too,” Laurel beams, “(Y/n) I… I know I never know how to say these things but I’m so proud of you, honestly.”

Before you can respond, the front door clicks open and your head whips around quickly, expectant of who could be walking through.

“He’s at work,” Laurel comforts you, “He’ll be back tonight.”

“I-“

“I’m still your Mom, I know these things.”

You laugh in response as the other three all come into the kitchen, carrying bags of groceries.

“Oooh here Kylo I got you a present,” Steven rummages through the bags to find what he was looking for and eventually pulls out a small brown teddy bear, “Just securing my spot as favourite uncle.”

You grin, taking the bear, “Thank you Uncle Steven.”

“Oooh, we’ve got the beer in the trunk,” Jeremiah reminds him.

“Shit, yeah, we’ll be right back!” Steven says and both of them hurry back out.

“Beer?” You raise your brows at Belly.

She laughs, looking down at the bags, “Yeah, Steven managed to get a fake.”

“Of course he did,” You shake your head, “Want some help unpacking?”

“No, no, I got it,” She encourages, “You’ve got your hands full.”

You wiggle both of your hands in front of her, “The perks of this thing is that both of my hands are free, Bels. Don’t tread on eggshells around me, honestly.”

“Okay, this one is light,” She pushes one bag towards you.

Both of you potter about in silence putting away their food and it’s as if neither of you wants to break the comfortable quiet. This was the most time you’d spent together in two years, and you felt like strangers to each other.

“So, how’s everything going with you?” You ask her, turning back to the kitchen island.

“I’m good,” She nods, “I’m not…” Belly clears her throat, “I’m not seeing anyone.”

You laugh, “Did you not know how to tell me?”

She smiles and hits your arm, “It’s awkward, okay?”

You chuckle at your sister, somehow catching such a glimpse of yourself in her expression.

“We actually… me and Conrad… we ended things not long after you left,” Belly clears her throat, “It was for the best.”

“Bels I didn’t…”

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t because of you. I just think Conrad never really knew what he wanted, and maybe I didn’t either. I thought I was in love with that boy since I could remember, but I don’t think that was love. It was just the idea of him.”

You nod, “Well, younger Belly would probably thank you for figuring that out. But, tell me, is there anyone new on the scene?”

Before she can respond, the boys come tumbling in the front door again and you watch her eyes follow Jeremiah as he moves towards you both. There’s a brightness in them, one you’d only seen in your own when you were with Conrad. That was the feeling she was looking for.

“Jeremiah?!” You mouth to her and Belly widens her eyes at you in warning to not say anything more.

You raise your hands in surrender but give her a somewhat approving look, one that makes her cheeks ignite.

This was a pocket of home that you’d missed. One you didn’t realise you needed. Your siblings, this house, your family. It would always be important to you. And something about it felt even more magical now that you got to experience it with Kylo.

———

You find yourself focused on the sound of the door as if you can wish it to come sooner. Though you’re not sure why. You want to see him but you have no idea what to say to him. You have so much to tell him but you’re not even sure he’ll want to see you. Did he still hate you? Had he ever hated you? Would he hate you for not being here, for leaving?

You busy yourself with fixing the blanket in Kylo’s car seat. Jere and Steven had just gone to collect your stuff from the hotel - you’d agreed to stay at the house now.

And then it goes.

The sound of keys in the door, the door closing behind a familiar pair of feet. Rushed steps up the stairs, a left turn until they’re coming towards you.

And then your bedroom door opens, and a single figure stands in the doorway, slightly breathless.

“I saw your car on the drive.”

You stop in your tracks, the car seat behind your legs.

“I saw your car in the drive and I-“ Conrad begins again, “You’re home.”

You don’t have a chance to respond as he strides over and hugs you as if you’re a lifeline. His head buries into you and his arms around you as if he’s been needing you for years. His eyes are closed against you and you feel him inhale as if your presence had knocked every breath from his lungs.

And for a moment you’re frozen.

Until your arms kick into gear and they throw themselves around him too, holding him just as tight like you’re the only things holding each other up.

You feel him shift against you, that sort of shocked pause.

“(Y/n)…” His voice is quiet as he pulls away from you, “Is this…”

You step to the side to let him go past you as Conrad crouches down to the floor, his whole body cautious.

“This is Kylo.”

“Kylo,” Conrad grins, “You always said that’s the name you wanted for a boy. Do you remember? When we went to the boardwalk and there was that name on the-“

“The leaderboard for the go karts,” You grin, “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

“I can’t believe you did too, you stuck to your word,” He smiles, talking softly as if he doesn’t want to disturb the tiny bundle looking up at him.

Conrad’s fingers are at either side of the car seat and Kylo reaches up to grip onto his thumb. Con laughs like a sort of gasp, as if it is choked in his throat.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” He half-whispers the words and you’re not sure at first if it’s to you or to the boy in front of him.

But you settle on it being both.

Conrad looks back at you and breaks into an even wider grin, standing back up, “Can you just… tell me everything.”

He sits himself down on your bed and you sit down beside him. And this is it. This the final bit of home you were waiting on.

You and Conrad. Him and you. The piece you’d been waiting for.

———

The following morning, you’re up early with Kylo. You carry him downstairs and go about fixing up a bottle for him, the two of you resting on the couch whilst he drinks.

There’s a text from Carmen on your phone.

Hope they don’t hate you too much x

You shoot back a quick response of reassurance and send him a photo of Kylo smiling at you from last night.

Just as Kylo finishes his bottle, there’s a sound from the stairs creaking as someone comes down.

“Morning,” It’s Conrad, dragging a hand over his eyes as he does.

“Hey,” You return softly, “Why are you up so early?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” He grumbles, still in a half asleep state.

He drops down onto the couch next to you and smiles at Kylo, reaching out a finger to tickle his chest.

“Hey, could you do me a favor?” You ask him, “I need to change his diaper but the bag’s upstairs.”

“Yeah sure, what’s it look like?”

“It’s a black one, not the one with the handle but with the straps, and it’s like-“ You pause as you notice him watching you more and more confused, blinking at your explanation, “Okay, I’ll get the bag. Can you just watch him for a second?”

“That’s much easier,” Conrad grins and shifts on the couch so that he can hold the baby in his arms.

You stand up and head towards the door, hurrying upstairs to find the bag.

When you come back down, Conrad has Kylo stretched across his legs, his little feet hitting Conrad’s stomach and his head resting against his knees. He’s smiling down at him and Kylo grins tiredly up, giggling when Conrad tickles under his arms.

“You’re a natural,” You grin, coming down to sit beside him.

He looks up at you and raises his brows, “You think?”

“Well, he seems to like you,” You point out, not wanting to disturb the moment between them.

Conrad wiggles his hands beneath Kylo’s head and lifts him up, looking at you, “Where do you want me to put him?”

You snap back into reality, “Oh, right, yeah I’ve got a mat.”

He lowers the baby down onto it and then looks at you like he’s awaiting further instruction, “Come on, tell me what to do.”

“You want to change his diaper?” You laugh, “I can do it.”

“I’ve never done one before. I want to learn.”

“Alright, here,” You hand him over the wipes and a fresh diaper.

He’s far too slow when he starts and Kylo starts to wriggle on the mat, impatient of course.

“Does this thing not stay still?” Conrad grumbles, tongue between his lips as he concentrates on the task, his face grimacing just a little at the state of the dirty diaper.

“Put that one in here,” You hold out a diaper bag for him to dispose of it, “Alright, now wipe and new diaper. But make sure he’s covered - he’s a boy so that stuff can go everywhere.”

Conrad’s eyes widen as he takes your instruction, fixing the new diaper on - just a little wonky.

“There we go, fresh as a daisy,” He grins proudly at his accomplishment, “I think I could be pretty good at this.”

“Well that’s task two - making him laugh being task one,” You nod, “Not bad, Fisher.”

He lifts him back up onto the couch and lays him down beside you, Conrad sitting on the floor just in front of him like he’s already prepared to catch him.

He lets Kylo grab at the end of his hoodie, laughing at him before he turns to you.

“So, how does it all work? Are you… with someone?”

You shake your head, “We split up before I found out I was pregnant. But we’re really good friends, so it works. He helps out a lot.”

Conrad nods, “Well that sounds healthy.”

“What can I say? I’m mature now,” You joke.

“I think you always were,” He scoffs, “Especially compared to the rest of us.”

Both of you fall silent again and Kylo fills the space by gargling in some form of baby talk.

“What about you?” You clear your throat, drawing your legs to your chest on the couch, “Are you seeing anyone Mr Stanford?”

He scoffs, looking down at his hands, “No, no, I think I needed to stay away from all that for a little while. Clear my head.”

“And did you find anything in that clarity?” You taunt, yearning for the same connection the two of you had so long ago.

He looks at you for a second and pauses, “I guess I finally figured out what I want.”

For a brief moment you’re drawn to him, something in those eyes and that voice. But you tear yourself away.

“Well I’m glad the break was worth it,” You smile, looking away from him, “Sometimes that’s all that you need.”

You look down at your son and feel the same swell of pride you had when they first handed him to you in the delivery room. The same realisation that this was it now - this was everything.

“You know this place changed when you left,” Conrad comments, “And it’s changed again now you’re back.”

“Yeah, well, I always had that effect,” You wiggle your brows jokingly, lifting Kylo up from the couch to rest him on your lap.

Conrad pushes himself up to sit on the couch beside you and both of you fall silent in the seemingly empty house. He watches you with Kylo and is sure for a second that he’s looking at someone else. But it’s you. The one that was always made for this.

“I’m sorry if I-“

“I’m sorry if I-“

You both speak at the same time and look at each other with hints of smiles.

“You first,” Conrad encourages.

You take a deep breath, “I’m sorry if I made you feel like you couldn’t be with Belly. She told me you guys ended things not long after and I just hate thinking that I was… I don’t know, that I ruined things,” You shake your head, “I know it was forever ago.”

“You didnt ruin anything. Me and Belly… we… I think I always knew that she liked me. And I just, I hated the thought of breaking her heart. Like it would be my fault if I didn’t feel the same. And that night, I don’t know what it was, I just convinced myself that I could feel the same as she did,” He takes a deep breath too, like both of you are fighting for air against tightened chests, “But we’re must better as friends, we both know that. And I’d never… I never did… feel that way about her. I was just confused.”

You nod, “Now you go.”

“I’n sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren’t good enough,” Conrad exhales, “Because I know that’s how you felt, and I never ever wanted you to think like that.”

“Con…”

“Im serious (Y/n),” He shifts in his seat so that he’s facing you properly, “I was younger and naive and I knew that I liked you and I just… suppressed it. Because I knew if I started anything with you then I’d want that to be it, and I wasn’t ready for you to break my heart.”

You laugh a little, your eyes pricking just slightly with tears, “You think I’m a heartbreaker, Fisher?”

Conrad smiles, his cheeks flushed a little, his muscles visibly relaxed from what they were. He’d missed this. You, the way you knew him, the way you read him. He’d missed it all.

———

“We’ll watch him, you can go and shower,” Belly assures you, “And I’ll make sure Steven doesn’t do anything stupid.”

You’d spent the day in and around the pool with Belly, Steven and Jeremiah whilst Conrad had gone to work. They’d bought a float for Kylo at the store and were all impatient to use it - taking a thousand photos of him with his hat on laying back in the float.

“Alright, well just shout me if there’s anything,” You encourage, “I’ll just use-“

“(Y/n),” Steven says in a calm tone, “Relax, we’ve got him, I promise.”

You nod and step off of the lounger you’d been on, walking around the side of the house to where the outdoor shower still stood.

This place. It held memories you’d wanted to forget.

Before you step in, your phone starts ringing and you glance down to see Carmen’s contact on your screen, you accept the call and press the speaker button on your phone.

“Hey (y/l/n), how’s it going?” He says as soon as you pick up.

“It’s going well, yeah,” You turn back around to the garden where Belly was holding Kylo in her arms, “They’re all so excited to meet him.”

“Do they know about his super cool, super helpful, super present Dad yet?” Carmen taunts.

“They do,” You chuckle into the microphone, “They’re glad I haven’t been doing it on my own.”

“Yeah, well, they would’ve known that if they tried-“

“Carmen,” You sigh, “Less hating them, yeah? It’s going well.”

“Okay, you’re right, but I’m still not their biggest fans,” He comments, “What about the long lost love of your life?”

“Oh my god will you stop?” You widen your eyes at his words.

“Come on, I know that’s who you were most nervous to see,” He returns, “How’s it been? Do you still… you know, feel that way about him?”

“I-“ You glance down at the exact spot you’d been stood in two years ago, when you’d told Conrad the truth, “It’s Conrad, you know? He makes me laugh and he listens to me and he feels like… it feels like the piece of me that I’ve been missing.”

Carmen laughs, “And I’m guessing you haven’t told him that.”

“I already ruined things with that boy once, I can’t do it again.”

“Ruin things? (Y/l/n) I think you’d be telling him what he’s been waiting to hear for two years.”

Before you can say anything, the sound of a twig snapping behind you makes you jump from your thoughts and you turn around to see Conrad stood just metres from you.

“Um, Carmen, I have to go,” You stumble over your words into the microphone, “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Wear protection!” He yells down the phone before you hang up, your cheeks flushing bright red as you look back at Conrad.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to-“ Conrad mumbles, scratching at the back of his neck, “I just got back from work.”

“Right, yeah, of course, how- how was it?”

“Good,” Conrad nods, stuffing his hands into his pockets, “I didn’t mean to listen in, or anything. I just… I don’t even normally walk this way, I don’t know why I did but I thought I could hear people and so I thought maybe you were outside, not that I was looking for you, but well I was-“

“Con,” You interrupt, “It’s okay.”

He smiles, taking a second to breathe, “That was Carmen?”

You look down at your phone in your hand, “Yeah, just calling to check how I’m getting on. It’s the first time he’s been away from Kylo too.”

Conrad nods in understanding, “Yeah, of course, I bet that’s weird for him.”

“Yeah I don’t think I could ever leave Ky now, it’s a parent thing, I guess,” You scratch at a patch on your arm as the nerves seem to overtake you, “I should probably… you know, I need to shower before tonight and I-“

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll let you get on,” Conrad raises his hands and goes to step past you as you step into the booth of the shower.

You don’t make any move after that, thinking of every single thing you could’ve just said to him. How two years ago every word came to you all at once and, now, you can’t find a single right word to say. You feel your bottom lip tremble just slightly at the thought of everything you could’ve just told him but you shake it off.

“Hey, (Y/n),” Conrad’s voice speaks from the exact spot you’d just left him in, “What did he want you to tell me?”

You feel every bone in your body freeze at those words, practically sending a shiver down your spine. Your hands go numb, your eyes glazing over, your throat seemingly closing off any words.

As you turn around back to the entrance of the shower, there he is. Stood on the path with a look of hope in his eyes that you thought you’d never see again from Conrad.

“What did he want you to say?” He persists, eyes burning into you.

You exhale deeply, the tension in your shoulders dropping as if you’ve lost hope, “That I never should’ve walked away from you that night. And I hate myself every day for not fighting for you more, for not standing there and telling you that I’d wait for you. I’d wait for you in every life if that’s what it took for you to realise that you loved me. And I know I shouldn’t and I know it’s different now because I have a son and that’s complicated and you don’t have to want that or feel like you have to-“

He strides forward then, his hands coming up to cup either side of your face, his lips crashing into yours as if they’re returning home for the first time in forever. It’s messy and rushed and heated but neither of you care, both relaxing into a feeling you never thought you’d feel. Your hands grip at the material of his t-shirt like you’re convincing yourself that he’s real. And he is. It’s all real.

Your lips pull away first, rushing to catch every ounce of breath that had just been knocked from your lungs.

“I’d wait for you, (y/n). In this life, the next and the next after that, I’d wait for you too,” Conrad confirms, his eyes searching in both of yours, “This is it, okay? This is what I want, it’s what I’ve always wanted.”

You let out a laugh, somewhere verging on a sob as every emotion of every missed day seems to come out of you, “We’ve waited long enough, don’t you think?”

Conrad smiles, his hand moving to your chin to pull you into his lips once more.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that,” He mumbles just millimetres from your lips.

“I think I have some idea,” You return with a smile, kissing him quickly.

This was it. In this life, the next one and the one after that - this was where you could be truly happy.

[pearlywritings]

"Bring your kid to work" day

synopsis: but sometimes it's very much unplanned.

pairing and characters: Zhongli x fem!reader, Xiao. Your family name is Rex-Lapis. Childe plays part in it too.

tw: modern AU, University AU, established relationship, fluff

word count: 2.8k+ words

a/n: Also a part of my University modern AU with history professor Zhongli

The day started perfectly. Your older daughter was already at school with your permission to stay at her friend's house for a sleepover later, you had your day off, lounging in the living room with your son cuddling to you with his most favorite dragon shaped toy pressed between your bodies, listening to your husband walking around the bedroom, getting ready for the lectures at the University, being blessed with afternoon classes.

The day was perfect indeed. Until it absolutely isn't.

Sometimes you really want to kill your boss. It must be today that you are called to work to help with an emergency, that no one knows how to deal with except for you. And the fact that your boss does not consider any possibility of you having trouble with doing what's required, makes you fume harder.

"Li, I don't know what to do!" You cry in frustration, buttoning your shirt. "We can't find a babysitter in ten minutes! You have to go to work, I have to now too, we can't just ask Ganyu to cancel her plans, she's been waiting for this sleepover for weeks, and I can't take Xiao with me - by the sound of it I won't have a single moment to look after him."

It's been no longer than five minutes since you received that call, but you are already as stressed as after a week of non-stop work. Why must've the stars aligned this way!?

Your husband - bless his soul - is fully dressed and is holding your little son perched on his arm, supporting his back with a hand, watching your frantic movements with sympathy.

"I don't think I'll have many spare moments either, my love. Only breaks between lessons. Let me think," the man hums, leaning Xiao’s body more onto his shoulder and reaching for his phone with a free hand. The boy wraps arms around his neck, watching you brush your hair with a pout. The plan was to spend the whole day together with mama, watching cartoons, playing, maybe going for a walk or, ideally, taking a nap, finishing it all with making dinner and welcoming papa home. Now, it seems to him, all these plans are thrown out of the window.

However, Xiao was always a very perceptive and patient kid - he sensed somehow when the situation couldn’t be helped and him throwing a fit - not like he would - would only cause more trouble. That is why he is quietly waiting for what comes next.

And finally Zhongli finds a solution.

“I’m calling Ajax. He mostly spends time at the teacher’s lounge. As far as I know he really loves kids and has several younger siblings, he should be able to handle our son. And during breaks I’ll be taking over” “Oh,” as good as it all sounds, there is an instant hesitation in your mind. “‘Li, you sure you can ask him that? It’s a big deal after all…” “I know, dear, I know. That’s why I am calling him now in advance to make sure it’s alright,” your husband dials the number of his department’s secretary and puts the phone to the ear. “I don’t even mind paying him if he agrees.”

In reality you had nothing to worry about. The gingerhead was more than willing to watch your five-year old son. Maybe willing isn’t the right word even - the young man is excited.

Zhongli is lucky to arrive before the current class ends - the less attention is drawn, the better. He collected everything he could think of to occupy Xiao during his time at the lounge in a bag, which he passes to Ajax the moment his son and him are introduced. However while the secretary is wearing a wide and kind smile, the boy is glaring up at him from under the brown bangs, boring his strikingly golden eyes in the tall figure.

“Dad, I don’t like him,” the little boy pouts, hugging his plushie even tighter and throwing daggers at the gingerhead from behind the dragon’s mane.

“Ouch, little guy,” with a dramatic gasp, the young man clutches the shirt on his chest and presses the back of his hand to the forehead. “How will I live? Hated by Mr Rex-Lapis’ son…”

“Now, now, Xiao,” Zhongli gently pats his head, bending down to look into his eyes and finding displeasure there. “It’s only for today, baby. Me and mom are really sorry for not spending time with you today. I promise that soon I’ll be home for two whole weeks.”

To that the boy’s eyes widen.

“Two weeks… That’s fourteen days?”

“That’s right, sweety.”

“That’s a lot!” He jumps, elated by the news, no trace of dissatisfaction written over his cute smiling face.

“Haha, it is, dear.”

“Wow, Mr Rex-Lapis, your son is really smart!” The secretary stopped playing hurt, instead clapping his hands together in praise and nodding his head in approval. “How old is he?”

“He is five. Yes, he learns really fast.”

“No wonder, he has you and your wife as parents.”

The remaining 20 minutes before his first lecture Zhongli spends in attempts to make his son comfortable not only around Ajax, but also at the new place as well. All that time Xiao doesn’t let go of his ever-present companion - a toy dragon, which he is hugging close to his chest. He politely greets every professor that comes to the lounge, which makes the secretary’s jaw drop since he is the only one who’s been initially rejected and, Zhongli can swear, he saw his boy smirking in the toy’s fluffy mane.

Other professors can’t help but mention how much the son resembles the father, even making small talk with the boy, whom they’ve only heard about before or seen in the framed picture of your family on Zhongli’s desk. By how polite (sorry, Ajax) and shyly sweet he is Xiao quickly becomes everyone’s favorite, pockets currently full with all kinds of treats.

When it’s time to go, the man kisses Xiao’s forehead goodbye, promising to be back in an hour and a half for a break, and grabs the materials. Once he leaves alongside his colleagues, Xiao sighs and, ignoring his temporary caretaker, moves to the bag his dad left, starting to dig out all the candies to put them into its side pocket.

“Whatcha doin’, little guy?” The young man is at his side in two long strides, curiously watching the boy’s actions. Xiao gives him a side eye, before deeming the question plausible and turning back to his task.

“I don’t want them right now. I’ll bring them home and share with mom and dad.”

“I am sure they’ll like that,” Ajax hums, busying himself with the contents of the main section. “Oh, would you look at that! It seems that your dad packed some coloring books, toys and… oh, puzzles! You like puzzles?”

The boy quietly nods. Tiptoeing, he tries to see the two boxes his temporary caretaker is holding, and the young man immediately crouches down to let him look.

“This one is new,” Xiao finally points to the box in his left hand. Ocean blue eyes skim over the picture of a phoenix, drawn in a simple yet elegant style. Yes, that definitely looks like something Mr Rex-Lapis would’ve bought for his child’s entertainment.

“Alright, let's get you behind your dad's desk,” golden eyes sparkle and a glimpse of wonder appears on the boy’s face. Dad showed him his own space at the lounge; it's tidy and organized, with all the necessities sorted inside the drawers and some notes and pictures pinned to the corkboard on the wall to the left. He wants to see them closer!

His caretaker drags the chair back, but climbing on it Xiao performs himself. As Ajax is humming something while tearing off the tape on the puzzle box, the boy turns to look at the photos Mr Rex-Lapis has on display. It’s so funny, really - not so long ago this little fella’s father was an image of reserve to students, no one knew who his wife was or the fact he had two kids. The secretary remembers how just half a year ago he used to be among those only ones who knew of the professor’s secret (which, in reality, wasn’t a secret at all). Why hasn't he ever spilled any info to the students who adore him?

Well, what fun would’ve been in it?

“Is that your big sister?” Xiao quickly glances up, taking notice of how the tall (but not as tall as dad) man hovers over where he is sitting and points at one of the pictures. The boy looks at it again.

“...yes. It’s Ganyu.”

“I have a sister too,” the fond expression on that freckle-covered face and a seemingly lightened color of those ocean-blue eyes disarms the five-year old a little. He blinks, waiting for what more he can tell. “Not one actually. Oh, and I have brothers too. One is your age, by the way!”

“Doesn’t it get too… loud?” Small hands reach for the carton box, lifting the lid.

“It does, in a good way though. But when our two huskies join in on the fun… Let’s just say it’s a good thing we have our own house.”

“You have dogs? That’s so cool! I want to have a pet too,” Xiao unceremoniously empties the contents onto the table, yet carefully places the lid with the picture against the monitor of the computer. “Mom promised that when I get older, they’ll buy me a bird.”

“Oh? You love those?”

“Mhm… Maybe we’ll buy something as pretty as…” he pauses, looking at the fiery bird. Ajax quickly realizes the struggle.

“A fo-nuhks,” Xiao prompts.

“Yeah… A fee-niks.”

As the minutes tick by, the boy’s initial hostility seems to evaporate. He still doesn’t talk unnecessarily much, but he does talk to Ajax, so that's progress. He is quite quick to finish the puzzles, and his temporary caretaker makes sure to praise the child. They talk a bit more about their respective families, Xiao even introduces him to his dragon companion. And the gingerhead picks the small fox-shaped keychain his elder sister knitted for him to play toy pals.

For another half an hour it manages to entertain the boy, but as the end of the class is nearing, he grows more and more distracted, glancing either at the door or the clock hanging high on the wall. It’s not hard to guess he is missing his father and is anticipating his return, but both Zhongli and Ajax can do nothing to just speed the time.

What professor can do though, is excusing his class ten minutes earlier, quite happy they got to get through all the material he prepared for this lecture. Bidding the students goodbye, he locks the door of the auditorium with his suitcase inside and puts the key in the pocket of his fancy vest to come back in twenty minutes.

When Zhongli enters the teacher’s lounge, he finds the secretary showing his son something on his own laptop. However, once Xiao’s eyes spot his dad’s figure in the doorframe, the little guy is down from his chair and running all the way to the man.

“Dad!” Mr Rex-Lapis barely has time to close the door and scoot down to catch his son, who nearly bumps into his legs, threatening the man’s balance. Finally in his arms, with his own tiny ones tightly wrapped around strong neck, the carbon copy of Zhongli happily smiles and Ajax has to rub his eyes to make sure he is not hallucinating. Wow, this boy can smile like that (sorry, my guy, you are just not his favorite, though now tolerable at least).

“Hello, Xiao,” Zhongli plants an affectionate kiss on his son’s cheek. “I see you’ve missed me,” the words are answered with eager nods. “Did you have fun with Ajax?” At least some of it.

The gingerhead lifts his eyebrow when the boy looks back at him, holds the gaze of ocean blue eyes for a moment, and then turns to his father once more.

“I suppose.”

The older man has to clear his throat with a polite cough so as not to break into a smile at the image of the assistant's slack jaw.

“That’s good, my dear.”

“Are we coming home now?” His son wonders, fingers playing with the longer locks of dark brown. Unfortunately, the answer is a dejected sigh.

“I am afraid we are not yet, sweety. But mommy texted me recently that she’ll be able to come get you after my second lecture. And then I’ll have one more.”

At the promise of you soon arriving to take him home, Xiao’s just building pout quickly disappeared. It’s okay, he can wait for a little bit longer. And that fox-like man isn’t bad, his company is quite nice. He even showed him some pictures of his family - almost all of them are ginger. Oh, and he promised to download some simple games onto his dad’s computer so he could play. And he still has his coloring books back there and he believes he saw you packing a small book - there is plenty to entertain him with.

Only for all these thoughts and motivation to be shuttered when someone knocked on the door and a second later some student���s head pushed through the gap. None of the three people currently present in the room could’ve anticipated what a black hole is about to be opened.

“Good afternoon, is Mr Rex-La- Oh, professor, you are here! We were wondering if we could take the key to leave our bags inside? As always? Oh, hey kiddo- Wait, a kid???”

“Dad, who is it?”

“DAD!?”

Before anyone could do anything, loud gasps break their way into the lounge. It appeared that almost the whole group was standing in the hall and heard everything crystally clear. Of course students are curious. Of course, they know about professor Rex-Lapis’ kid - the news and that cute picture from an online lecture were still the talk of the whole faculty just a couple of months ago. Of course, they want to see those sweet cheeks for crying out loud!

Ajax is the one who has to get everyone who does not belong in the room out and calm them all down as more than a dozen youngsters beg and plead with Zhongli to bring his baby boy to the lecture. And the said baby boy doesn’t help the situation either, looking at his father with those striking eyes, silently asking to stay with him. “I’m gonna sit very-very quiet,” he even promises.

Is it really a surprise that Xiao ends up sitting at his dad’s desk with his coloring books while the man is reading a lecture? (Students almost crumbled when their tall, handsome, enigmatic history professor walked into the auditorium with his son’s tiny hand clasped in his? Look, he even had to bend his body a little to do so!)

And, as much as students want to gush all over their favorite professor’s small-sized carbon copy, they keep their best behavior, because the situation gives the “once in a century” vibes and they’d be damned to destroy the magic of the moment.

Well, maybe a little, because the smallest interactions between Zhongli and his son as the man lets his students finish writing down information from the current slide are mind-blowing. Groupchat-blowing too.

Even cuter the whole occurrence becomes when the boy stops drawing and lifts his head, curious of what his dad is speaking about. He turns slightly in order to see the presentation, golden eyes skimming over the pictures and words, though he does not understand most of it. But it’s alright though - he can listen to his father instead.

Zhongli is pleasantly surprised when no one can answer one of his revision questions and Xiao lifts his hand, giving him the answer he wanted (he misspells the word a little, sure, but he knew the right response nonetheless). Aaaand that’s probably when the students finally lose it.

By the time the lesson is over and Zhongli meets with you in the teacher’s lounge to pass your very happy and very proud son to you so you two could be on your merry way home, the man feels a little drained. Nothing that can’t be fixed by your tender cheek kiss and soft rubbing on his back, but he still exhales heavily and swears that when he comes home, you are in for a new story.

And by what Ajax had time to tell while you’ve been waiting, you're sure it’s going to be a hilarious one.

taglist: @meimeimeirin Cause I remember how you once said you'd love to see more of this AU

[chloe-skywalker]

Parting Scar's - Poe Dameron

Poe x Fem!reader Solo

Warnings: mention of sibling abuse?

Word count: 656

Summary: Ben left some parting scar’s on his sister Y/n, that she doesn’t like to show off. But when Poe ask’s her to hand him a tool Y/n’s shirt lift’s up and he sees it and get’s concerned.

Masterlist

STARWARS Masterlist

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Can you help me for a minute?” Poe asked as he saw Y/n in the halls and walked over to her.

“Sure. What with?” Y/n nodded at Poe and started to walk beside him. Y/n wondered what he needed help with.

“I need to fix some things in my X-Wing and I need someone to hand me tools because I have to use both my hands.” Poe explained, he hoped he wasn’t rambling.

“Okay. Just tell me what to hand you.” Y/n sighed nodding along. If he needed help Y/n would gladly help her pilot, even if it sounded a tiny bit boring.

“Great.” Poe smiled back, the two walked to the hanger and over to Poe’s X-Wing.

“So what’s wrong with the X-Wing?” Y/n asked sitting down next to Poe and the tool box.

“Somethings rattling under the cockpit.” he told her as he shoved his hands further into the open compartment of the X-Wing.

“Hello BB.” Y/n laughed as the little droid rolled over to her beeping happily. The little droid loved her and Y/n loved BB as well.

Helping Poe with the X-Wing took longer than they thought it would. But during Y/n helping Poe, Y/n reached to grab a tool for him Poe noticed her shirt lift up and a ton of scars littered her back. It made Poe become alarmed.

Later the two decided to break and get dinner before it was all gone. ALthough they decided to take it back and eat in the hanger, so they could get to work again when they were done. Y/n and Poe rearranged some cargo cases so they could sit diangle next to each other.

“Y/n can I ask you something?”  Poe spoke up after taking a bite.

“Shoot.” She nodded, taking her own bite of food.

“The scar’s on your back.” Poe nervously pointed out, he didn’t want to upset her or embarrass her.

“You saw?” Y/n put down her food not looking at Poe yet. She had to take a minute to wrap her head around the fact that she now had to tell Poe. Tell him about something that eats away at her constantly.

“Yeah, I’m sorry if this is crossing some boundaries.” Poe apologized.

“You were gonna see them at some point, right?” They had yet to be physically intimate, but Y/n wanted to go there with Poe and she was sure he wanted to go there with her. So eventually she was gonna tell him anyway but not now, not when it was unplanned and out of the blue.

Poe felt guilty for bringing it up, he should’ve waited for her to tell him but he saw and he was worried. “Y/n, what are they from?”

He might as well ask since he brought it up.

Y/n took a deep breath to calm her nerves and gain some confidence. “My brother. When he turned to the darkside and joined the first order.”

“Kylo Ren.” Poe had a moment of PTSD when speaking that name.

Y/n nodded and gulped before she explained further. “Kylo Ren, Ben Solo. I don’t know which. Both most likely. It happened the night he turned. We fought and it was his parting gift I guess. Scar’s that run along my back, some of my arms and torso… I think he was trying to kill me but I’m stubborn and survived.”

Poe had to control his anger, if he didn’t hate Kylo Ren already he definitely did now. But Poe also didn’t want to scare Y/n. Poe pulled Y/n into his arms and rested his chin on top of her head. “If I ever get the chance I’ll get him back for you.”

Y/n wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled at his protectiveness. Y/n nuzzled her face into his neck. “Thanks Poe.”

Taglist: @gruffle1 @padawancat97

[ateriblewriter]

It’s Kind of Funny (q.h)

requested: sort of but not really. they requested one thing and this is what my brain came up with but it doesn’t really go with what was requested but it kind of does at the same time? sorry about that.

warnings: none really

enjoy! let me know what you guys think (please)

y/n always loved the off season because it meant that she could spend more time with her beloved quinn, wether it was in vancouver or michigan. where they were didn’t matter, as long as they were together. it had been like that for years, until this year. this off season she was stuck in vancouver. with it being summer and all, many of her co-workers opted to take vacations, leaving the office short on people. y/n being the nice person she was, decided to take one for the team and work through her summer.

quinn planned on staying with his girlfriend but she knew he missed his family and urged him to go home to michigan to visit with them. to combat the fact that they weren’t going to be together, they set up a schedule with certain dates and times where they would sit down and chat over the phone. sometimes the call would take place over facetime, which often times of you were alone would lead to sexy times

unfortunately for y/n tonight wasn't a phone date night. after having a crummy day at work and desperately missing her quinn, she just really wanted hear his voice and maybe see his face. ideally she would love to curl up into his side as he held her, but she was going to take what she could get. and sure they had been messaging all day long but it wasn't anything compared to hearing his voice

"hey queenie. im a little busy right now what's up?" quinn inquired. he was currently out on the boat with his brothers and a couple of others. it wasn't the ideal place to have a conversation but since it wasn't a regularly scheduled time something must have been up.

even though it had been an unplanned call quinn was always willing and wanting to talking with his girlfriend. she was his everything. it had physically pained him when he had to leave her behind in canada. he wished like hell that he could have brought her along with him to michigan, but he understood how important her job was to her.

"i just need to hear your voice. today wasn’t good and i need you.” her voice was soft and quiet a hard combination to hear over the boat’s motor. but it had sounded a little bit off to him, there was a certain sadness oozing out of it.

"y/n? what's up? are you okay?” he pulled the boat to a stop as best he could. they hadn't started wake boarding yet, so no one was in the water. he could tell she was about to say something when he noticed the phone no longer in his hand.

"no phones quinn!" jack plucked he mobile device from his brother's grasp. there was a rule that bee put in place some time ago that no phones were allowed on the boat. of course they still brought them in case of emergencies, but that was their only purpose. this was friends and family time, everything else could wait.

"come one man, can i have it back? it's y/n" quinn tried to get his property back from his younger brother. "please jack."

"oh it's queenie? pass it here jack!" luke jokingly used the nickname that had been reserved only for quinn to use. the younger boy made grabby hands towards the thing in his older brother’s hands to which jack happily gave him, mischievous smiles dancing around their faces. holding the phone up to his ear, luke started to speak mimicking quinn's voice the best he could.

"queenie, darling, sweetie pie, my cutie patootie. you are the love of my life. i miss you so much. my love for you is endless. i want to marry you and have ten babies, three dogs, a cat and, maybe a fish!" the youngest sibling finished his little speech by making kissing noises into the receiver of the phone, causing everyone on the boat to erupt into laughter. everyone except quinn, who's face was beet red.

"luke come on. please, give it back" quinn began begging luke to stop and give him his phone back.

"but i'm not done talking to y/n. we still have things to discuss." luke giggled holding the device out of quinn's reach, coincidentally over the edge of the boat. “i haven’t told her about the big house yet!”

he had had enough. he was going to get the electronic back. climbing over his brother, quinn reached as far as he could and almost got it before the phone was knocked out of luke's hand. everyone watched in horror as the mobile device sunk to the bottom of the lake.

to say he was mad would be an understatement, quinn hughes was furious. y/n called him sounding like she was having a hard time with life and their summer distance and his stupid little brother had to go and dropped his phone.

"im sorry. i didn't mean for that to happen quinn." luke apologized profusely, but quinn wasn't listening anymore. sitting back down in the driver's seat, he turned the boat around, heading back for home base, so he could call her back on his computer.

y/n felt her phone vibrating in her pocket before she heard the deafening ringtone she programed into her phone letting her know that it was her favorite boy calling her. the caller was confirmed when she unlocked her phone, accepting the call and quinn's face popped up on the screen. once she answered and pleasant greetings were given, quinn listened as y/n ranted about her bad day throwing in an i’m sorry and a i love you every once in a while, and she did the same for him when it was his turn to complain about the people he was with.

“so what happened before?” y/n placed an elbow on the table and her head on her fist. she felt a lot better now that she was talking with her boo.

“it’s kind of funny, but it’s not funny.” quinn launched into the story of what happened after luke said what he did and why he was on a computer and not his phone.

“you really want to marry me? and start a family of ten with a couple of dogs and cats?” y/n joked about what the youngest hughes had said. a smile appearing on her face, that made quinn feel warm inside despite being thousands of miles away.

of course he did, he loved her and even had a ring picked out, he was just waiting for the right moment. the only thing he wasn’t sure about the ten kids. but who knew maybe a big family was in their future.

[smartwatermagic]

AITA for inviting my archenemy and his (ex?) girlfriend on a date the same time same place?

So some background info, I (17M) joined Ls (M 19 at the time) fight against his ultra neglectful father and extended family when I was 12. It was an easy decision considering they also neglect my mom (∞F) and I was tired of the disrespect she received and is still receiving. I just want to make her proud and get her some acknowledgement for all she did for them through centuries, you see. The fact that the summer camp they run made me and a lot of other kids sleep on the floor also helped.

Long story short, we lost horribly. L got killed at age 23, most of my friends died when two people from the summer camp exploded our main base ship and the neglectful parents™ killed my siblings (admittedly because of a wrong decision I made), twisted my mom's arm to stop fighting and kicked me out of the summer camp for life.

Now, this left me immensely angry at my archenemy, let's call him P (17M) as he was one of the people that blew up our ship, the leader of who we were fighting against, and as I suspect, responsible for Ls death so I swore vengeance to avenge the deaths of the people I loved.

Now the problem is, P had broken up with A (17F) as the amount of power he has scared both of them and he didn't want to hurt her. Apparently it happened at an unplanned trip to Ps uncle Hs (∞M) basement and my previous boss Ks (∞M) jail. I have no idea how they even ended up there. Despite my murder attempts P had been incredibly kind to me and denies that he killed L/K. I CANNOT put my undying hatred for this man into words but after a few unintentional date nights I think I have fallen in love with him.

Around this time A found me. One thing that I and everyone around me know is just how protective A and P are of eachother. One time my late friend E(17M) tried to stab P in his weakest point and A took a poisoned knife for him. P broke his nose in retaliation, I think if E hadn't escaped P would've killed him right there. Anyways, A is also very possessive and didn't take being broken up out of nowhere very well due to her abandonment issues. The thing is, she, like me, also looked up to L and we used to be friends when I was at the summer camp. After some mental warfare, a knife fight and some crying about L, one thing led to another and we ended up going on dates.

Neither A and P are aware I also meet up with the other but from what I've heard from them, they sound like they were a very dysfunctional and codependent couple. I feel like they're just using me to fill up their loneliness and as a person to vent up about their increasing resentment towards the neglectful parents™, almost like a pet passed between two exes.

I talked about this with Es ghost, who called me an idiot, and my mom and adopted dad (40+/dead,M) both pointed out I was as lonely as A and P.

So Aita for inviting both of them to the same date because I want to sort things out?

I created a side blog for this because of self consciousness, lmao, hi mutuals this is for you/hj

[gloster]

FAVORITE FANFICS OF 2023

We did it. We made it. We made it through the end of 2023, and BOY AM I HAPPY AS HELL TO SAY GOOD-FUCKING-BYE TO IT. I don't know about you guys, but this year- particularly the last quarter- have been a lot to say the least. A lot of headaches, a lot of mental breakdowns, a lot of emotional gymnastics, and more.

But thanks to good friends, good shows, good music, and of course good fanfics I managed to see it through the end.

One of my favorite New Year's Eve's traditions where I do my annually fanfic recs/favorite fanfics of the year. This marks a whooping 5th year doing it, YAY 🎉💃🏿 If interested, check out 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 lists.

Please know there's no real ranking, despite the number ordering. Loved all these stories listed. Loved all the fanfics writers featured. And of course highly highly highly recommend

Without further ado, here are my favorite fanfics of 2023:

1). Something Good by @no-net-ensnares-me (kathony/kanthony)

Summary: Eager to earn a wage that would provide a more suitable life for her family and prepare for Edwina’s debut in a couple years, Kate accepts a position as governess for the Bridgerton family and moves to London, where she finds herself thrown into the chaos of living with the severe yet handsome Viscount Anthony Bridgerton and his seven siblings.

or

The Sound of Music AU

The Hills are aliiiiiiiiiiiiive with the sound of music/and the feels are FEEEEEEEEEELT with each new chapter. LOL, but all jokes aside, yes it's been a year since we saw our dear Viscount and Viscountess yet I still ride hard for them like it's their season premire all over again. Thanks of course to the awesome fic writers who keep us well-feed as we wait for season 3, such as this gem right here

Seriously, I cannot stress how insanely good this was. A good retelling where you see elements of Sound of Music while also being its' own thing. The longing, the longing between Kate and Anthony is so good. READ IT.

2). A Devil's Love by FormerlyIR (Irony_Rocks), Irony_Rocks (kathony/kanthony)

Summary: When Kate's sister goes missing, she gets herself a waitress job at the Pebble Lounge to track her down, working under London’s seedy underbelly to find the only person she has left in this world to love. And Anthony Bridgerton? No matter how alluring and distracting he may be, he’s just a means to an end, his life defined by his family business built on corruption.

Kate won’t dance to that tune. She’s just trying to find her sister.

Two in a row. A win for kathony/kanthony. Where the first one for the most part is cozy and light, this one is dark. Not surprising since this story, according to the author, was inspired by the 2022's The Batman, focusing on the electric dynamic between our favorite Bruce and Selina Kyle. Or rather in this AU, the dynamics between a dangerous mob boss and a woman going undercover as a waitress to figure out what happened to her sister.

It's got everything. Protective/possessive Anthony. Stubborn, witty Kate. Great sexual tension. Fair warning, there is an unplanned pregnancy so keep that in mind. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride

3). Intent to Cherish by iffervescent (kinn x porsche)

Summary: A mouthy beta runs off with Kinn's watch. He goes to get it back.

4 chapters this story is. 4 chapters of hilarious back and forth. 4 chapters of Porsche keeping that stubborn streak in tact with Kinn trying to chip his way through. 4 chapters we get to watch Porsche go from intriguing thief, to Kinn's employee, and finally intended.

This story checks off so many boxes. ABO AU, which is always a favorite. Sugar Baby and Sugar Daddy dynamic- never get tired of that. And of course Porsche being spoiled rotten. What more could you want?

4). burnt cotton series by taetaehland (taekook)

Summary: here's a series featuring your favorite bratty taehyung and his whipped husband, jeongguk (plus their adorable pups)

Once again, we got ABO and we so far have 11 stories of it featuring our favorite BTS as they grow more of their little family, grow more in love, and of course Tae growing more crafty and poor Kookie growing more insane. I love it.

Not to mention seeing all the ways Jungkook becomes more and more whipped for his husband is just the icing on the cake.

5). 'Tis a Far Better Thing by @the-sinking-ship (drarry)

Summary: 'Tis a far, far better thing doing stuff for other people — or however the Muggle saying goes — because Potter is in need of professional help, and Draco is just the man to give it to him.

A Drarry Clueless AU.

Sometimes you come across two things, such as two fandoms that on the surface seem so far farfetched until one ambitious fic writer creates a story that combines elements of the two and creates a wonderful gem of a story. Which is exactly what happened here.

Draco Malfoy and Cher Horowitz are so much alike, it's not even funny. Thus enhancing my enjoyment for this story to outright love love loving.

Again, elements to a famous story that brings on the nostalgia and enjoyment while also being it's own fresh spin. Plus FASHION. Draco as a Fashion Designer with Harry being his newest client. Along with Draco massively simping- always a win in my book.

6). Tracklist by Mia_Moon (sukuita/sukuIta)

Summary: Singer Sukuna x Fanboy Yuuji

Where they do kinky stuff together first and then get to know each other later.

Sometimes you have that fandom with an OTP that's set and your loyal ride or ship. Then there are other fandoms, where you love most of the characters, see the chemistry between them, love the dynamics, and it's fair game for shipping season. Jujutsu Kaisen is one of those fandoms, and sukita/sukulta was one of those ships that I just ended up falling in love with it.

Listen. Listen. Listen. I know the synopsis just give smutty smutty good time, but you get that and MORE.

What more you say be asking? Well, for starter our dear boy Yuuji who gets spoiled rotten, pampered, and yes, also gets sexed up 7 ways to Sunday- featuring some of the hottest smut I've read so far might I add. Mia_Moon did their thing, and I definitely will be reading more of and more of their works.

I don't know why to explain it, but there's something about a celebrity AU, where we have one half of the ship be this famous celeb and the other being this outsider getting pulled into their world. I ate it up every single time.

7). I'm Only Going to Heaven (If it Feels Like Hell) by stereobone (eruri)

Summary: "Are you saying you want to be my sugar daddy?" Levi says.

This story, I kid you not, came at the best timing, especially as I still try to untangle my very tangled feelings regarding the final season of Attack of Titan. But one positive that came outta it was my ulitmate love for Levi Ackerman, along with rekindling my love for eruri.

Good to note, one of the quickest quickest ways for me to immediately read a fanfic is if I see the keywords: Sugar Daddy.

What can I say? It gets me everytime. And this one was no different. This story not only came to my radar at the perfect time, but it also was just so damn perfect. So damn good. And of course had me looking through whatever other eruri stories the writer had under their belt.

8). Minor Family Supremacy by @yoonmoonbii (vegaspete, kinnporsche,payurain, prapaisky)

Summary: Like Vegas, Venice Theerapanyakun was born into a dangerous world of crime and power plays. And unlike Vegas, he is well protected by his family who shelters the little boy and spoils him to the core. However, in a day like every other, Venice is kidnapped.

Oh dear lord, where do we begin with this one? Well, much as 2023 was a hot flaming mess, it also became the year of Love of the Air (my new comfort show) and Kinnporsche. For not only me but also for my dear friends @littlenightdragon & @kila09. And what does one do after getting into a new show/fandom? Find fanfics to satisfy the fangirl cravings.

Minor Family Supremacy, or as me and @littlenightdragon often like to call it, the Minor Family Saga was the fanfic for us. And deliver what we needed after finishing Kinnporsche and wanted more of Vegas, more of Pete, and see the other side of the Minor Family.

This one, massive massive props, praise, and all the kudos for @yoonmoonbii for putting this series together because wow. Series starts off with Payu aka Venice as a kid, best friends with his cousin Prapai, being protected by his loving parents until one day changes their dynamics forever- and further widen the gap between the two . But quickly as each story goes on, the two find themselves being more aware of their positions, the complicated histories of their families, and how to stay on course of their own lives without falling into the trappings of Korn's narcisstic chesse game.

It's that good. Each story is like a TV season to the vegaspete spin-off we were so badly owed and sadly weren't granted.

9). Haute Couture, Mon Amour by @goldentruth813 (sheith)

Summary: When a scruffy stranger walks into Mamora Designs, personal shopper Shiro decks him in finery instead of sending him away. Little does Shiro know there’s more to this man than meets the eye and while trying to give him a picture perfect moment he just might find his own instead.

When it comes to @goldentruth813, you can count on several things. Amazing sheith stories. Incredible moments that will make your heart swoon or flutter (depending on the rating). And of course for Shiro to be spoiled rotten and given more depth than the show did.

This one, one word: FASHION. Fashion, fashion, with a lot of a Cinderella-ish vibe, only slightly if you catch it.

Honorable mention:

Wishing on a Frat Boy

10). He's The Bride by @sashadistan (tododeku)

Summary: Fae Prince Shoto has been waiting his whole life to marry his betrothed. As it turns out, a few interesting details were lost in translation, but Shoto still thinks his bride is worth the wait.

Oh @sashadistan, how I adore thee. For the way you just drop these amazing stories for us peasants, feeding us with wonderful content one story at a time. I always love your stories whether it's sheith, tododeku, and more.

This one was no different. This story has everything I could want: Fae Shouto, possessive Shouto, body worship, Izuku being his stuttering and flustering mess, and arranged marriage.

If y'all told me 5 or so years ago, I'd get into arranged marriage, I would have been dumbfounded. Or wonder if you were trying to be funny. Now? I love it. Just goes to show that sometimes it takes a good writer to make something you don't like a win in your eyes.

And now for the Honorable Mentions that were insanely good but due to time & length, couldn't go into full depth:

Just Breathe by @icecream-suga (2 part series w/1st part focusing on yoonmin & the 2nd on taekook; gangsters, drugs, gunplay, OH MY. So goooooood)

Right at Home by cmere (firstprince, alex x henry; grad students in a non-royal AU, fake-dating, and hijinks)

Hair Ribbons and Silk Ties by writer_of_passion (tiana x nanami/tianami; loving husband goes bonkers seeing his wife's curls loose and it GOES DOWN, so so so good)

Bedroom Hymns by Writcraft (drarry; daddy kink w/dom & sub undertones, insanely HOTTT)

Like, Comment, and Romance by @xskyll (tododeku; Youtuber Deku, pro-Hero Shouto, mutual longing and pining wrapped in a insanely fun read)

And there you have it. As usual, thanks to the awesome fanfic writers who do what they do. Fanfics, literally, is the only thing keeping us sane. And please check out all these stories.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS

[lokislytherin]

daniel & friends

i just wanna explore the different friendship dynamics daniel has with lookism characters in terms of friendship vibes and / or personal experience? i’m kind of projecting all over them so these are not necessarily things they’d do in canon but things i can envision them doing as normal teenagers

daniel is the common theme so i kinda refer to him as “you” so ig you could also envision this as lookism character & reader sans daniel

daniel & jay ;

if you had to pick a friend to date, it would be them

you’re a little bit in love with each other because that’s real friendship 

your friends probably call you a married couple and you always deny it but get flustered every time they’re physically affectionate with you

sitting together on the morning school bus in comfortable silence, watching everyone around you doze off and feeling comfortable enough with them to be on the verge of dozing off yourself

being gently bonked because you’re a little slow on the uptake, but not being mad about it because you're friends and they don’t really mean it

daniel & zack ;

pain in the ass friends (affectionate), chaos bros

slapping them in the back a little too hard and laughing when they stumble, both laughing when they smack you back just as hard

sending each other dumb memes in the middle of the night and trying hard not to laugh because you don’t want to wake the neighbors

chasing them because they slapped your ass with 0 context in the hallway

head empty you two share a brain cell but who has the brain cell right now? it might not be either one of you actually uh oh

daniel & vasco ;

that special friend dynamic of younger sibling and older sibling

cooing over puppies in the pet shop together and crying internally when the shopkeeper asks you if you’ll buy any pets but you don’t have the money/permission/space/time for one even if they’re so cute

social media feed merging because both of you love cute animals and soon you’re sending each other the same posts at the same time, completely unplanned

sharing a bag of chips and being absolutely entranced by a horror movie, screaming and dropping everything when both of you get jumpscared by the film but also each other screaming

being given obscure advice which sounds really wise when you first hear it, but when you think about it a little longer you have no idea what it means actually. and they will not elaborate bc they don’t know what they’re talking about either

daniel & zoe ;

the best opposite-sex friend you’ll probably ever have

going window shopping together and picking out the best and worst fit combinations for each other to try on, getting kicked out of the fitting rooms for laughing so hard you trip over and break the curtains

“get in loser we’re going shopping” “hey who are you calling a loser!”

the first person to get into a relationship that actually works out well has to buy the other person boba tea, it’s an ongoing bet, it doesn’t actually matter who it is because you’ll be crying happy tears either way

they call you “girl” every time they get excited about things but it’s a gender neutral term to them now it’s like the way you call them “bro” when you get hyped up

they would totally set you up with people they think would be good for you 

feel free to give me requests or add things too! asks or comments or reblogs work! if you want to challenge me or make me cry feel free to request gundaniel friendship (if they count as friends, that is)

[occult-roommates]

Cringe failed woman

Akva went outside the house, she needed some air...Or maybe some water, she’s a mermaid after all. Either way, she could no longer stand the overall atmosphere of the previous situation. Athena went outside too, to make sure she was ok, and Akva vented away to her old childhood friend.

She never really enjoyed talking about it, but Akva does feel like a failure for multiple reasons. First of all, growing up kinda poor meant she had always been encouraged to work extra hard to so she could “make it” in life. Though of course, as long as in the end of the day she eventually settles down, gets married with a nice merman and pops out some merbabies. As a woman, it was her duty afterall.

Then she came out as a lesbian, and this expectation fell apart. Her younger relatives such as her siblings accepted her no problem, but her older one...it was an uphill battle. And then when it came out she did had a baby and put her up for adoption in spite of that...Like first she messed up not being a loser, now she’s even messing up being a woman, wow...She tried not to internalize this, but the feeling did caught on to her, and now that she sees she’s not even the best mother for the baby she gave birth to. She knows it’s silly, but it still hurt.

Athena: I mean, I know how you feel...You think I don’t feel like a failure? Akva: Aw, Jay, it’s ok. Enjoying wearing makeup doesn’t make you less of a man, and like we said at the airport, long hair is pretty common in merfolk. Athena: Ak...Akva I...I don’t wanna make this about me but...like

And just like that, Akva figured out where her friend was going with this. This was a bit of a shock, it makes sense considering Athena’s current look, but she 100% did not saw that coming.

Akva: Since when? How long did you know?  Athena: I kinda knew pretty much since I hit puberty, but like, I thought it was just a healthy thought experiment that everyone goes through where you wonder what life would be like if you were born the opposite sex. Then I’d say, around the time Khaled died, so like senior year of high school, I knew for sure. But I knew my parents wouldn’t take it super well, and I felt like I was throwing away my future by coming out, so I tried to repress it...That is until last year, right before my birthday. I didn’t had the courage to tell anyone, but I had to stop lying to myself and that’s when I started doing some stuff like growing my hair out and buying some new clothes. Akva: And why didn’t you just tell June and I? Athena: I knew you too would likely not care, but I was still afraid. Especially since like, look at me, I know I don’t look like a woman! I feel more like a weird crossdresser currently, and I’m worried I’ll never look like one. I didn’t wanted to make everything awkward by just coming out as trans when I don’t pass. Akva: I mean, you’re never gonna pass if you stay closeted.

There was so much guilt involved in her situation too, like, she knew she used to be a pretty attractive dude, and now she’s throwing this away. On top of that, amongst her parents’ three kids, she was the only “son”. 

Athena: And like, I always try to tell myself I’m lucky to be a man. Like, I’ll never have to worry about periods or my life being potentially ruined cause someone nutted in me...I’m sorry that’s the grossest way I could have described an unplanned pregnancy I don’t know why I said it like that. Akva: Well, there is more to being a woman that like...being able to make babies you know. Like, Paisley’s infertile. Athena: Then why do you feel like a failed woman cause you can’t raise a baby?

She got her there.

Akva: Well, I guess we’re both cringe failed women then.  Athena: It’s...My name is Athena by the way. It was hard to pick, I thought about a weird compound name like my old one, but nah, didn’t felt like repeating my parents’ mistake and couldn’t come up with one that sounded as...I don’t know, iconic as Sanjayson. Then I read somewhere about not enough people being named after Greek gods, and like my mom is Greek so I took that opportunity. At first I considered Amphitrite as she is the goddess of the sea, but that was way too much of a mouthful and I couldn’t come up with a good nickname. Everyone knows Athena. I’ve been calling myself that for a good six-seven months now. Akva: Mind if I just call you Thena or Nana? Athena: Of course not! Akva: And also, I have a friend who’s a spellcaster, and I know genderbending potion are a thing, I could try getting you one. Athena: I did consider that, but like, but then I found out how hard they are to come by, especially if you’re not a spellcaster. Akva: I just said I have a friend who can make you one!

Well, that was one hell of a relief for Athena. Now, she just had to repeat it over and over again to everyone she knows, starting with June, and then working her way to her parents. 

As for Akva well, you know...this does explain why she did felt a weird attraction towards her even though she’s a lesbian.

Prev - Next

[technocinema]

Reality Frictions explores the boundaries between fact and fiction

Although I have been researching this topic and gathering materials on and off for several years, the project went into high gear about a year ago when I posted a call to the scholars and makers associated with the Visible Evidence documentary film community, requesting examples of "documentary intrusions" -- roughly defined as moments when elements from the real world (archival images, real people, inimitable performance, irreversible death, etc.) intrude on fictional or quasi-fictional story worlds.

The response was overwhelming -- in just a few days, I received some 85 suggestions and enthusiastic expressions of support. This community immediately recognized the phenomenon and reinforced many of the examples I had already gathered, while also directing me to dozens more, such as the bizarre and troubling inclusion of Bruce Lee's funeral as a plot device in his final film, Game of Death (1978). For practical reasons, I decided to limit the scope of the project to Hollywood films and their immediate siblings in streaming media & television, but the international community of Visible Evidence noted the erosion or complication of fact/fiction binaries in many non-US contexts as well -- definitely enough for a sequel or parallel project in the future.

As the editing progressed, I quickly realized that the real challenge lay in curating and clarifying the throughline of the project without becoming overwhelmed or distracted by the many possible variations on the fact/fiction theme. The conceptual core of the project was always inspired by Vivian Sobchack's concept of "documentary consciousness," described in her book Carnal Thoughts (2000). Sobchack's inspiration, in turn, derived from a scene in Jean Renoir's film The Rules of the Game (1939) depicting the undeniable, physical deaths of more than a dozen animals as part of the film's critique of the elitism and narcissism of France's pre-war bourgeoisie. Sobchack returned to this scene in two separate chapters of the book for meditations on the ethics and impact of these animal deaths for filmmakers and viewers alike, relating them to both semiotic and phenomenological theories of viewership.

On the advice of filmmakers and scholars who viewed early cuts of the film, nearly all academic jargon has been chiseled out of the narration, leaving what I hope is a more watchable and engaging visual essay that embraces the pleasures and paradoxes found at the intersection of reality and fiction. Additional feedback convinced me to stop trying to make my own VO sound like Encke King, my former classmate who supplies the gravelly, world-weary narration for Thom Andersen's Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003). I've done my best to talk more like myself here, but there's no denying Thom's influence on this project -- both as a former mentor at CalArts and for the strategies of counter-viewing modeled in LAPI. Going back even farther, I would note that it was my work as one of the researchers for Thom's earlier film (made with Noel Burch), Red Hollywood (1996), that got me started thinking about the role of copyright in historiography and the ethical imperative for scholars and media makers to assert fair use rights rather than allowing copyright owners to define what histories may be told with images. This singular insight guided much of my work for the past two decades, realized principally in my ongoing administration of the public media archive Critical Commons (which celebrates its 15th anniversary this month!) as an online resource for the transformative sharing of copyrighted media.

This project also bridges the gap between my first two books, Technologies of History: Visual Media and the Eccentricity of the Past (2011) and Technologies of Vision: The War Between Data and Images (2017). The historiographical focus of this project emerged as an unplanned but retrospectively inescapable artifact of engaging questions of authenticity and artifice, and it afforded the pleasures of revisiting some of my favorite examples, such as Cheryl Dunye's Watermelon Woman (1996) and Alex Cox's Walker (1987), both exemplary for their historiographical eccentricity. An additional, important element of context is the recent emergence and proliferation of generative AI for image synthesis. Technologies of Vision addressed some of the precursors to the current generation of synthetic imaging, which has only accelerated the arms-race between data and images, but recent developments in the field have sharpened the need for improved literacy about the way these systems work -- as well as the kind of agency it is reasonable to attribute to them.

Reality Frictions also aims to intervene in the anxious discourse that has emerged in response to image synthesis, especially among documentarians who feel confidence in photographic and videographic representation slipping away, and journalists besieged by knee-jerk charges of fake news. While I totally understand and am sympathetic to these concerns, challenges to truth-telling in journalism and documentary film hardly began with digital imaging, let alone generative AI. It is axiomatic to this project that viewers have long negotiated the boundaries between images and reality. The skills we have developed at recognizing or confirming the truth or artifice found in all kind of media remain useful when considering synthetic images. Admittedly, we are in a moment of transition and rapid emergence in generative AI, but I stand by this project's call to look to the past for patterns of disruption and resolution when it comes to technologies of vision and the always tenuous truth claim of non-fiction media.

Although the format of this project evolved more or less organically, starting with a personal narrative rooted in childhood revelations about the world improbably drawn from TV of the 1970s, the final structure approaches a comprehensive taxonomy of the ways reality manages to intrude on fictional worlds. Of course the volume and diversity of these instances makes it necessary to select and distill exemplary moments and patterns, all of which provides what I regard as this project's main source of pleasure. One unexpected tangent turned out to be the different ways that side-by-side comparisons trigger uncanny fascination at the boundary between the real and the nearly real. Hopefully without belaboring the point, I aim to parse these strategies from the pleasures of uncanny resemblance to what I view as superficial and mendacious attempts to bolster a flimsy truth claim simply by casting (and costuming, etc.) actors to "look like" the people they are supposed to portray.

Other intersections of fact and fiction are less overt, requiring extra-textual knowledge or the decoding of clues that transform the apparent meaning of a scene. Ultimately, I prefer it when filmmakers respect viewers' ability to deploy existing critical faculties and infer their own meanings. Part of the goal of this project is to heighten viewers' attentiveness to the ways reality purports to be represented on screen; to dissolve overly simplistic binaries, and to suggest the need for skepticism, especially when dramatic flourishes or uplifting endings seem designed to trigger readymade responses. While stories of resilient individuals and obstacles that are overcome conform to Hollywood's obsession with emotional closure and narrative resolution, we should be mindful of the events and people who are excluded by the presumptions underlying these structures.

A realization that develops over the course of the video is that the films with the most consistently complex and deliberate structures for engaging the problematics of representing reality on film come from filmmakers who directly engage systems of power and privilege, especially related to race. From Ava DuVernay's re-writing of Martin Luther King's speeches in Selma (2014), to Ryan Coogler and Spike Lee's inclusions of documentary footage in Fruitvale Station (2013), Malcolm X (1992), and BlacKkKlansman (2018), the stakes are raised for history films with direct implications for continuing injustice in the present. For these makers -- as for the cause of racial justice or the critique of structural power writ large -- the significance of recognizing continuities between the real world and the cinematic one is clear. This is not to argue for a straightforward correspondence between cinema and reality; on the contrary, in the examples noted here, we witness the most complex and controlled entanglements of both past and present; reality and fiction.

In the end, I view Reality Frictions as offering a critical lens on a cinematic and televisual phenomenon that is more common and more complex than one might initially expect. Do I wish the final film were less than an hour long? Yes, and I have no doubt this will dissuade some prospective viewers from investing the time, but once you start heading down this path, there's no turning back and my sincere hope is that I will have made it worth your while.

[gh0stchoir]

Filo hummed, summoning a cloud once they were outside. "If it's a sketchy area, I'm even more offering to bring you home. Gotta make sure your family doesn't has to worry about you getting hurt." Tao bit his lip. Yeah, as if his mom ever cared about him. Then again, Sensei would care if he was gone, right? And Tomura and Kurogiri would, too, he was sure of it. "I-is it really okay?", he asked again, really not wanting to bother Filo. The girl just smiled and patted next to her on the cloud. "Sure it is. I'm in no rush to get home, so even if it is on the other side of town, I'd just go window shopping. My mom won't come home until late anyway, so I don't have a curfew." Tao hummed, climbing on the cloud. It was surprisingly firm and soft. "Okay then. I-I'll lead you", he said, making a sound of surprise as the cloud flew a bit higher, until they were too high for the people on the street to look at them. Filo chuckled at his confused look. "I don't like people starring at me. I tend to stim while walking, you know? Waving my arms like wings, flapping my hands, dancing a bit, that kind of stuff. And people always stare with those judging eyes. It's annoying, I shouldn't have to be ashamed for acting like I do. So I avoid their eyes by being high up." Tao simply nodded, giving the first direction to the base. Oh, how well he understood. The things he'd give to never have those curious eyes on him again. What a blessing she could escape them so easily.

"So, you live with your Mom?", he asked on the way. Any info could be helpful, right? Filo smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I do. She had me when she was barely 18, didn't even really got to finish school. My dad died before she could even tell him I existed, never knew him. She had to move back with her own parents and they helped raising me. Money was super tight a lot of times, with her not being able to get a real job in the beginning. Only changed after I was a bit older and she finished school and all. Still, if you ever come over, don't expect a fancy mansion or such. Or a bunch of cool stuff in my room." Tao nodded, listening to her rambling away about her mom, grandparents and their apartment. Well, at least she wouldn't judge him for living above a bar. Yet still, hearing about such a strong connection and trust between mother and child, through such unplanned things and sacrifices. Why had his own mother been unable to do the same? To give him the same love?

"I'm sorry you never got to meet your father.." Tao looked down at his hands. "It's alright. Do you live with your dad or mom?" She asked. Tao frowned at the words. For being his age he should have two loving parents, having a nice warm home to go to. Instead one he never met and one abandoning him all those years ago. "I never got to meet my dad, actually.. My mom moved far away from him when she realized she was pregnant with me. No idea if he's alive or not." Filo nodded. "And your mom?" She asked. Tao looked away. He could still see her face, even when he tried to hard to forget it. "I live with her. S-she barely makes enough money for us so hence why we live where we do.." He lied. Better to lie and say his mother was still with him, than to blurt out he lived with villains. Especially the most wanted ones in Japan. "I-I just glad I have a place to sleep at and food. It's better than living on the streets." He gave a small smile, not knowing if he was reassuring her or himself.

"Any siblings?" Filo asked after a moment of silence. Tao paused for a second. He had no knowledge of if he had any biological siblings, as his mother never shared that information. The only person he'd consider a sibling was Tomura. He was the only other person to actually understand Tao. It took years for the two to get along. Shigaraki being his usual self and pushing Tao away. A few times snapping at him and yelling. And Tao being too scared to leave his room. Now the two were comfortable with another. Tomura would even help, the best he could, when Tao was having a mental spiral. He was always there before Tao almost lost control and destroyed anything he could. Tao also was the one who got enough money to buy Tomura those artist gloves. Now he had multiple pairs, but it was extra special that those were the first pair he'd gotten. But it's not as he could go yelling that. Tao shook his head. "I don't have any." Filo nodded with a hum.

[ihaveatheoryonthat]

Whumptober* Day 14: “I’ll be right behind you”

*I tried. I really did. I just hit “The Powers That Were Trying His Nerves” and couldn’t take myself seriously anymore.

@blaiddraws, someday I’ll write something for one of your AUs that’s not ridiculous fluff, but alas, today is for Worm Shenanigans.

---

There were certain inevitabilities in life.

The commuter who only just made his train to Humilau every morning, the annual Nimbasa blackout as Elesa’s ambition tripped the power grid, the departure and return of Casteliacones-- all of these events were guaranteed to happen, though the time frames varied between them.

Another constant was this: Ingo picked a direction and Emmet followed him.

It sounded odd, imbalanced even, but it really wasn’t. Ingo was too fair-minded to chart an inequitable path, and Emmet had no compunctions about raising an objection if need be. If anything, it was a game of give and take, of compromises. It was a substantial part of how they had ended up running the Battle Subway.

There was exactly one place Ingo had ventured where Emmet had been unable to join him, but, as always, he’d split the difference. While Emmet still wished he’d been able to accompany his brother on the unplanned commute to Hisui, the fact that it had been a round trip lessened the sting.

It was a strange homecoming, but not a bad one. There was a lot that had to change to accommodate their new lives, and a lot to adjust to or reacquaint oneself with; that was just the nature of things when you or a loved one was reincarnated as a soul-powered train. For every weird or uncomfortable new quirk, there were ways to alleviate that burden or find the fun in it, and there were plenty of perks mixed in. It was life-- just a new spin on it.

From the day he’d figured out who, precisely, was haunting the subway tunnels, Emmet had set his course.

As always, he followed his twin’s lead. It just took a little longer this time.

That was a nice way of saying that, when he passed, he turned right back around and demanded to become a second Frightrail. He knew the drawbacks; he’d been right there to witness them for years on end. While he might not relish the idea of drawing sustenance from others’ life force, he’d come to terms with that reality. Having a completely different body type would be a learning experience, but was it so much worse than moving on without his brother? No.

When it came down to it, that was the answer to every tricky question. He could endure it. They could endure it as a--

...could they be a two car train if they were both trains? Did one’s existence as a literal train preclude their ability to be a metaphorical car?

The Powers That Were Trying His Nerves stared for a long moment, processing, and then decided to wash Its hooves of him. Or at least, he assumed that was what happened. Something had to have occurred, because he blinked and then everything looked wrong.

Well, maybe not wrong, but weird. Even before reaching up to scrub at the rounded snout changing his field of vision, Emmet understood why that was-- again, he’d put years of thought into this, even if he’d made his decision all but immediately-- it was just… a lot at once. At least he had the luxury of knowing what he’d been getting himself into. Having an older sibling was convenient like that.

Speaking of.

He stopped pawing at his steel-smooth nose and looked around. Seemed Arceus had seen fit to plonk him in the park across from the station. Truthfully, Emmet hadn’t expected anything in particular, so this destination made as much sense as anything else. While it would have lived up the classic image of a ghost to rise where he’d died, he really didn’t need that kind of drama in his afterlife; he’d passed at home, and, logically, that space belonged to someone else now.

...he should go haunt the tunnels, just to see how Ingo liked playing worm wrangler.

Emmet made to push himself upright, but only made it so far as the first set of arms, lacking any of the tertiary pairs that studded each segment of plating. Right, they stayed dormant by default, didn’t they? He knew the sections of his body could slide apart to bring them out, but how exactly did one go about doing that…?

Maybe he should have asked some more pointed questions when he’d had the opportunity.

Eventually, he gave up on the ghost limbs, but with some trial and error, managed to wriggle himself into the air, and that would do for now. He stayed lower to the ground than strictly necessary for a host of reasons, ranging from ‘less noticeable’ to ‘not as far to fall’ to ‘feels more train-like’.

He was well aware that there wouldn’t be anyone at Gear Station so early in the morning-- not since Jackie had retired-- but it was home station for a reason, perhaps now more than ever. Even if he couldn’t make the staff understand what he wanted, all he had to do was wait around and he’d get it.

It wound up somewhat easier than he’d expected; even with the late hour, the station master’s office was occupied.

Blatantly ignoring the yellowed sign asking that patrons ‘not tap the glass, because the station master was sleeping’, he nosed it open and barged right in. Then Emmet did something that, were he alive, would have gone against the very fabric of his moral code: he deliberately caused a collision of trains.

With a sleepy hiss, his victim cracked an eye open, then chuffed a yawn.

“How long has it been?” He asked, nudging insistently at his brother’s face, “Do not tell me you were asleep all this time.”

“’All this time’? I can make assumptions, too, you realize. You’ve been here… hm… seven minutes, and you’re already jumping to conclusions.” Ingo rumbled, amused. His voice was raspy with disuse, and he didn’t even bother opening his other eye. Combined, it told Emmet that yes, he’d been asleep for awhile.

Magnanimously, he decided to ignore the comment, “You taunted me for days, before. And this time you decided to take a nap?”

His twin finally resigned himself to consciousness and ducked under Emmet’s head, giving himself room to stretch the first set of arms. “I’ve told you, the circumstances were nerve-wracking; it only turned into a game because that was the track you chose.”

Emmet grumbled his malcontent, and, to his surprise, it echoed in his throat. Before he had the chance to fully process that fact, Ingo raised his head, bumping against his.

“I assisted for a time, but it wasn’t fun in your absence. This seemed the easiest solution.”

Oh, it was a matter of fun was it? He could work with that. Eyes darting this way and that, he picked a quarry and escape route. When Ingo seemed distracted untangling himself, Emmet lunged forward and gave the tip of his tail a yank before scurrying off toward platform 3.

There was a bark of outrage that quickly condensed into:

“Your form is terrible!”

A delighted whistle escaped him and, without turning back, he called:

“Then you had better come correct me!”

The air displaced behind him, a secondary presence emerging from the slipstream he’d carved. There was a tug on his tail just before Ingo pulled up to his side.

“Honestly,” He huffed, nudging at Emmet’s spectral arm, “You studied aerodynamics; you should be aware of how inefficient this is.”

The plating slid shut at the contact and, unbalanced by his arms’ sudden exit, Emmet wobbled in the air. As he sped up, Ingo pressed their sides together, steadying him until he was the one leading, purposefully cutting a path through the air for Emmet to follow.

Well that just proved it: two cars to a train, irregardless of the number of sub-trains within.

Some things simply did not change.

[writingwithcolor]

Black, divorced, formerly teen parents, Black lgbt+ with white partners

tiredandtears asked:

Hi, I am currently working on a story about a single black mother who left her son’s father (who is also black) on amicable terms a couple years before the story’s beginning.  The mother is the main parenting figure in the son’s life, but she keeps in contact with the father who lives in the next town or two over and visits often.  They’re friendly with each other and co-parent as best they can.

Something that I am worried about is that when I started outlining the story, I wrote that they had their son a year or so after graduating high school, so they both started working to support their son.  I’m nervous that this might relate to a stereotype that black people have unplanned children as older teens/young adults.  (I’m not sure if that is a common stereotype, but I have heard it voiced in the past.)

Another thing I’m a little nervous about is that as the mother works, she starts to fall for one of her coworkers (a white bisexual woman).  I’m scared that this could play into the somewhat common occurrence that black LGBTQ+ characters only seem to appear when they have a white partner, and I don’t want to add to that if it is indeed an issue.

Teen Black parents

There is indeed a stereotype that young Black people are mothers / parents. There’s a lot more to this, but part of the matter comes from the adultification of Black children, especially girls in this case. There’s also this insistence, within and outside the community, that Black girls are “fast” or “act grown.” This hypersexualizes Black minors. I’ve heard many stories of a young Black girl being somewhere with their baby sibling / cousin / any young child and having strangers assume she is the parent, even when they’re children or teenagers themselves. It’s absolutely happened to me when I was younger, too. 

Based on birth rate statistics from the CDC, there are reportedly more BIPOC teen parents than white ones in the USA. At the same time, teen birth rates have also decreased in recent years (at the time of this post). But it’s not about whether Black teen parents exist, as teen parents exist in all races. More than white does not mean that every young Black girl / person should be assumed to be a teen parent.

Consider that:

There’s nothing wrong with people who may “fit” stereotypes. I’ve talked about this extensively here. They’re people too, even if society places a stigma or judgment of them. 

There is usually nuance to any “stereotype”, such as in discrepancies in access to proper birth control or bc education, underreported data, etc. And on that note

Check your intentions as well as your logic in writing on these topics. Are you the right voice? How far are you exploring the depths of the issue? You’ll need to be well-researched when making commentary on any matter, especially from an outside perspective. 

Depicting Black teen parents may not be well received by Black readers. And it’s well within their rights to be uncomfortable. You could avoid the matter completely by making them fairly young parents, but not teenagers.

Long story short; if you’re going to write Black teen parents, portray these parents respectfully without demonizing their actions. They sound like responsible and good parents, and likely have a support group to help them be that way. If you wanted, you could add in a white friend or two that were also teen parents. Still, some people will not be fans of someone outside of the group writing on this. And question what their intentions are.

~Mod Colette

Black lgbtqia+ with white partner

Well. interracial lbtqia+ couples absolutely exist! But since you’re worried, and I do think it’s lacking in media, it would absolutely help to add in Black lgbtqia+ representation.

~Mod Colette

Queer representation of exclusively Black couples is rare. Why can’t the new love interest also be Black, too?

-Mod Norma

It seems to me that representation in romance, especially for queer romance is either white or with one white love interest. Rarely does it not involve at least one white love interest. It would be refreshing to have her have a Black love interest especially. It would be very welcome.

~Mod Alice

[bts-reveries]

expect the unexpected | 18

You sat on the toilet (with the lid closed) waiting for the results. 

Can this really be happening?

You just got back from the store and are now in your parent’s house. You told your parent’s that you were just going to get medicine, which you did, but you really went for one other thing. 

*Dit. Dit. Dit.*

The three minutes were up and you were nervous to check.

What if…

No it’s not likely.

Who are you kidding? You took a deep breath, grabbing the pregnancy test from the sink next to you. 

Two lines. 

“Oh boy..”

-

The following evening…

“I already finished all of my homework,” Minseok says, jumping onto Jin’s bed. 

“Me too!” Soojin says, following her brother. 

“Me too me too!” Haneul says, climbing up the bed.

“You don’t go to school,” Soojin tells him, pushing him off of the bed. 

“Soojin don’t push him,” Minseok says, hopping down to help Haneul up the bed. “That’s mean.”

Jin sighs as he walks out of the bathroom that you two have in your room, seeing all three kids hopping on the bed. 

“Hey, what are you three doing in here? I thought I already tucked you all in bed?” he says, wearing a bathrobe and rubbing a towel on his head as he just got out of the shower.

“We wanted to hangout with you,” Minseok says, sitting down and pulling Soojin with him. 

“You have school tomorrow morning and daddy’s tired,” Jin says, walking over to his closet to change into some pajamas. It was a long day. Again, the kids spent their time with Jin in his office after school. Haneul and his siblings had fun running around and Jin was having a hard time focusing. He was glad that he was able to do some work as Haneul was finally not crying and clinging onto him, but that was just replaced with three loud kids running around. 

“Can we stay with you here until we fall asleep then,” Soojin asks with her puppy eyes, looking up at her dad when he walks to his bed, now in his pajamas. Soojin knows her dad can’t say no to her puppy eyes. He sighs.

“Fine, only for tonight,” Jin says, climbing onto his bed. “Scoot over,” he says to Haneul, who crawls to the other side of the bed. 

“Your hair is still wet daddy, you need to dry it or you’ll get sick,” Minseok says, pointing to Jin’s head. You told them that every time you’d dry their hair after their nightly showers. You’d be glad to know that your words stick to them.

“It’s dry enough, I’ll be okay,” Jin says, laying his head onto his pillow, facing the kids. “Now come on, lay down so you can fall asleep and I can carry you to your bed when you do,” Jin says, smiling at them with that ‘please just cooperate I’m tired’ smile.

-

Meanwhile...

You laid in bed, just thinking.

*Flashback to the day you left for Jeju*

“Uhh..vitamins,” you say to yourself, grabbing the vitamins. “What else? Oh yeah!” You say, reaching out for your case of birth control pills. It was placed right next to Jin’s allergy medication. “Shoot, I ran out.” You shake your head, holding the empty case. “We’ll just get more later.” 

>>fast forward to that evening after all the unexpected turn of events>>

“A long night in bed sounds great after today’s ‘festivities’,” you tell Jin. Your first night away from the kids, it was a stressful day… 

“If that’s what you want,” Jin says with a small laugh, leaning in to give you a kiss. “I’m up for whatever you want to do.”

“I think it’s the only way we should be spending our first night away from the kids.”

You didn’t need to say the word for Jin to know exactly what you meant. 

-

You and Jin cleaned up after finishing all of your food. You two were cuddled up on the couch when you called Jin’s mom to facetime the kids to say your good nights and sweet dreams.

“Alright my babies, good night~” You tell the kids, waving at the camera. 

“Aww I wanna talk still,” Soojin pouts, grabbing the phone out of her brother’s hold.

“It’s mommy and I’s anniversary,” Jin tells her. “We still have to go celebrate.”

“But it’s time for bed!” Minseok says, peeking in from the side. “How are you going to celebrate?” You turn your head to look at Jin, wondering what he was going to say.

“Mommy and I are going to watch Netflix. We need to relax,” Jin says. “So bye, love you.” Jin waves and waits for the kids to say it back before hanging up.

“Love you,” Minseok says, nudging his sister to say it back. She sighs, clearly upset that you two are going to hang up soon.

“Love you too..”

Haneul was already knocked out according to grandma and grandpa. 

Jin and you send them a kiss before hanging up and Jin sighs, throwing his phone on the couch.

“Let’s go,” he says, pushing you off of him just so he can stand up and stretch. You were about to get up when he suddenly picks you up and throws you over his shoulder, walking to the bedroom.

And I shouldn’t have to tell you what happens after that.

*end of flashback*

“I guess this is a late ten year anniversary present for both me and Jin,” you say, rubbing your belly. You couldn’t believe it. Another one. You and Jin have always planned for a big family. Three to be exact. But maybe four is what’s meant to be for you two. 

It was definitely a surprise. Definitely unexpected. And definitely unplanned.

But were you happy? Excited even?

Heck yeah.

-

*ring ring*

“Hello?” You say, leaning over to turn your lamp on. Jin suddenly called you on Facetime. 

“Mommy!” Soojin says in a loud whisper. 

“Soojin? It’s so late, why are you calling me? Is everything okay? Where’s daddy?” You say, rubbing your eyes. You had just fallen asleep not too long ago.

“He’s here,” Soojin says, flipping the camera and showing you Jin’s sleeping face. His mouth was wide open and you could see drool on the side of his lip. He was only like that when he’s really tired. It must’ve been a long day for him.

“We wanted to hang out with him tonight,” Minseok says, popping his head into the camera in front of Jin’s face. “But daddy was too tired and said we can stay here until we fall asleep and he’ll take us to our room, but he fell asleep first.”

“Oh poor daddy, you three weren’t too much on him today, were you?” 

Soojin flips the camera back to herself. She shrugs.

“Well let daddy get his sleep. You three could stay there. Wait, where’s Haneul anyways?” You ask, only seeing your two oldest on the screen. Soojin moves the phone to the side to show Haneul sleeping on the edge of the bed.

“Oh my gosh, Minseok, move your brother to the middle. He moves a lot in his sleep, he’s going to fall,” you say quickly. Minseok gets up and carries his brother, putting him next to Jin.

“I’ll sleep on the edge mommy,” Minseok says. “So don’t worry.”

“Thank you baby. It’s already getting late and you two still have school tomorrow. Make sure you sleep soon okay?”

“We will,” Minseok says.

“But I’m not sleepy yet,” Soojin whispers to him. 

“Well if you lay down and close your eyes you’ll get sleepy,” her older brother says. You laugh upon hearing their conversation.

“Alright you two, go to sleep. Mommy’s sleepy too.”

“Wait mommy,” Soojin says.

“Yes sweetheart?”

“Why didn’t you answer our call yesterday? We missed you,” Soojin says, pouting. 

“I was asleep sweetheart, I’m sorry. I had a… very surprising day yesterday. Mommy got some news that she had to process and she ended up falling asleep,” you tell her. 

“You and daddy like to nap a lot,” Soojin says, half smiling. You laugh at her comment.

“Well a lot of things happen that make us tired,” you tell them. “Speaking of being tired. Let’s sleep now okay? We can talk again tomorrow.”

“Okay, night night mommy! We love you~” Soojin whispers, pressing her nose to the screen. Minseok waves from the side, sending you a flying kiss.

“I love you too.”

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

expect the unexpected

♡ part eighteen: oh boy ♡ 

pairings: ceo, dad!jin x interior designer, mom!reader

a/n: a short update to explain the previous one aha... it literally took me three different times to make this i- but yes, most of you guessed it from the last update (well it was pretty obvious~) but only a couple of you were suspicious of it before! told you to expect the unexpected ;) also i know i haven’t answered some asks! some of you have asked things that will be explained in further updates 👀👀 if i answer it’ll just spoil everything ahead ahhhhhh so i will answer them later on~ but omg, it’s already part 18??? did i count wrong?? lol there should only be 10 parts left since i always do 28 parts (for some odd reason). there’s literally so much to unpack after this larfhkjreh

taglist: @silentlyimpractical @jillianmarie @waddlebby @cecedrake2217 @ddofa @samros95 @sope-and-shine @joonjoonsmiles @codeinebelle @aianloveseven @Chamchamcham @princessjazzyjazz @notvantaes @casspirit0705 @ramyagovindraj @brinnalaine @ephyra1230 @betysotelo18 @thoughtfultaledreamer @salty-for-suga @cosmicdaylight @dreamcatcherjiah @kookoo-kachoo @justinetingball  @josierosie @jayhope88 @butterflylion @hobiismyhopeu @momma-said-that-it-was-oke @ygbubs @catspancake  @somewhereofftheglobe @strawberryforever25 @rjsmochii @prdshobi @beeeb05 @eatjeanjin @taekookcaneatme @Cheeely14 @kookietsukkie @anpanman-sonyeondan @glitteringcoffeefreak @chocobetterknot @alpaca1612 @ohmy-fandoms @liljooniecutie @Jikachoo @preciouschimine @fan-ati--c @Joondala @httpmuffin @dammit-jjk @jikooksgirl19

TAGLIST IS CLOSED!

to be notified when i post, please turn on my notifications! thank youu~

[vonaerys-blog]

NCT, a Step Towards the Future

[Or NCT is Taking Over Me and I'm Powerless]

Now this has become a tradition. Me, going back to this abandoned website just to write about men who caught my attention, turning me into a big fan, yada-yada. Well, NCT is different, I felt the elation, euphoria, and excitement. And I believe this time I think it’s real.

Me discovering them wasn’t unplanned but it was unexpected. Around July, a few months ago, I was slowly venturing towards other interests, read: men, as I find it suffocating in the other fandom I was in. Repeated fan wars left and right made me disinterested further.

I followed a bunch of topics of different K-pop idols on Twitter during that time. There was Mingyu, Jooheon, even NCT/WayV’s Lucas, the local male idol group called BGYO, and lastly the Gilas Pilipinas Basketball player Dwight Ramos. But what surprised me was Jaehyun who slithered his way into me without knowing who he was.

It was Mixx’s fault, a Thai actor, on why Jaehyun’s face and whole being invades me right now. He liked a bunch of the guy’s pics on Twitter which in turn ended up flooding my timeline. Now, I didn’t complain at all, it got me even more curious to the point where I followed accounts that’s dedicated to him. I avoided fan accounts as much as possible, I don’t want history repeating itself. (Bad fandom experience involving brainless vermins.) It’s my “live, laugh, love” era and I don’t want some kids to ruin my rebirth, having close friends who turned into NCTzen at the same time as me is enough.

For the first weeks of me being a fan, I didn’t listen to their music at all. I was busy gushing about Jaehyun and his peers. They have multiple channels on YouTube where they put up random videos of them doing different activities. I must say those really pulled me in. Their dynamics with one another amazes me. 

The content was never ending. It’s like they covered almost every niche of activity one can have. From planting fruits to rock climbing, doing ASMR videos or doing some stretching, playing football, assembling an aquarium, or if you like anything mint chocolate? They made a video about that, no caps. I fell in love deeply with how entertaining they are, and how caring they are towards one another. It’s like watching 23 siblings having fun!

Now I know it’s a bit unorthodox, liking a K-pop group without listening to their songs? Hey, here’s the thing, them being an SM artist is a dead giveaway about their talent, musicality, vocals, and their GOD tier visuals. 23 godly men. Conversation done!

And when I finally ventured to their music, it was an instant hit to my ears. The cacophony of layerings, beats, drops (and anti drops, I’m looking at you Sticker!) truly amazed me. I love how different they sound among their contemporaries, always not afraid to be experimental with sounds. The juxtaposition of different styles incorporated into one song? I was clearly awed, it’s like for every mood they have a song for it! People call it noise music and yet their faves are now finally doing the same. Talk about NCT being the blueprint. Ahead of their time, I must say! Then the music videos, it blew me away! When I say SM has the budget for them, they have the budget for them! The editing is so visually pleasing. From NCT U’s Make A Wish to NCT Dream’s Hello Future, WayV’s Regular to NCT 127’s Superhuman, they are all great. Their choreography is always on point, the dancers in the group always give their 100% paired with top tier vocals and you have a power group.

A friend said I came into fandom just at the right time. These men are now all polished and perfect according to them and that gave me, weirdly enough, an assurance that they would never bend down according to what’s trending, to what’s in. They drew flak from people, calling them flops early on, but they persisted and remained original and now it's paying off. It’s never a secret that I knew a few of them since their SM Rookies days. And to watch and see the crowd appreciate them, join the fandom, other groups copying their styles, and now they spearheaded another “risk” during NCT 127’s most recent comeback with STICKER (now, watch its style become the standard in the future), it gave me a sense of pride.

All these achievements have made me proud. I might’ve been a fan for only a few months but reading about and watching their journey has made my heart full with emotions. They inspire me, they make me feel appreciated, they show me the love that has been neglected to me. It’s like I finally found someone that truly deserves the love that I can offer. Being an NCTzen feels surreal because I’ve never been this happier in a fandom. NCT never made us feel alone, they wanted us to see them, to listen to them. They talk to us, they sing to us, they play with us, it is like we are breathing in the same city, breathing the same air. It’s like I can touch them within arm’s reach ready to grab my hand and pull me in their embrace.

And these men are all so grounded. They do not put themselves on pedestals instead they’re all relatable, one way or another. Like how Taeyong was a lost cause during his trainee days. That boy came in with nothing, his mentor almost gave up on him because he can’t dance at all but he persevered. He practiced every night coming back to their dorm late to perfect his skills, and now we’re here, him being the leader of the whole NCT, producing his own songs, and becoming one of the top idols of Korea. Or Renjun who originally auditioned as a dancer but ends up as the lead vocalist because of how beautiful his voice was. And then there’s Jungwoo, sweet Jungwoo who suffered from anxiety to the point where he had to take a break, a hiatus, from NCT. But now he’s back and has done promotions with them, making everybody smile with his antics, and even being an MC to a music show! Imagine how our hearts swelled seeing how far he has come, how brave he was, and how inspiring he is to all NCTzens.

A few days ago, NCT 127 had their comeback. It is my first as an NCTzen and it had me on edge during the releases of the teaser every night until D-day. My friends and I talked on Twitter Space daily, having conversations about the surprises they had for us. This comeback was a culture shock for me. They probably had done every content possible for hyping it up. From photo teasers to track videos, the different concepts they created to even having a whole 30 minutes of sitcom-ish video (which had me laughing like there’s no tomorrow, they’re that good.) Guestings, reality shows, etc. They did it. And it worked! Everyone was excited, they became double million sellers, even breaking some of their own records! Their lead track, STICKER, became the talk of the town. It was so different but it was so Neo. Some didn’t immediately grasp it but once they did it’s game over, it sticks to you. The song was very experimental, probably their most unique title track ever. It’s not NCT if it’s not top tier and CAMP!

My experience with NCT has been euphoric, it brought out joy that has become a stranger to me. It was like I’m constantly unlearning trauma, removing all these baggages that has pulled me down and just being elated at what they have to offer. And in that I become happier, not caring at what others have to say to these men because I know that it won’t hold them back, they would come out hard and strong. I’m also excited for their future comebacks. I heard 127 will have a repackage, there’s WayV’s another album, and possibly NCT 2021! I cannot wait for the future because I am so sure that it’ll be brighter and filled with reciprocated love.

Here I am loved, and I love in return.

♡♡♡

Sincerely,

Vonaerys.

[1234-angelika]

Park Picnic

an:Hey y'all! I'm back from my unplanned hiatus and I have been catching up on all the stories I have fallen behind on. So, I have a new Matt fic for y'all. This is the third installment of the Happily Ever After fic for Matt. As always, hope y'all enjoy!

words:1.1k

warnings: mentions of food

summary:"The purpose of our lives is to be happy." -Dalai Lama

masterpost|taglist|have an idea

After Kristy stormed out of the room, the weather outside changed like a bad green screen from a movie, and you couldn’t help yourself; you let out a laugh.

You had a smile on your face, just at the idea of going on a date with Matt. As you walked to the coatroom alongside Matt and the kids, he looked over at you and, noticing the smile on your face, he broke into a broad grin of his own. Packing up the children went as fast as it usually did, meaning not at all. But before you knew it, you were all in the car getting ready to go on the date.

After buckling in the kids, a task in and of itself, you and Matt got into the car. He turned the key in the ignition, and the car roared to life. Turning to face him, you asked,

“So, where are we going?”

“Well since the kids are with us, I was thinking we could grab some food and have a picnic in the park—“

“That sounds lovely.” You tried to respond while he paused but, he just kept going.

“—but if you would rather do something else, we can reschedule….”

He finally stopped talking, and you took a moment to make sure he was actually finished before you answered.

“It’s perfect!” You said wistfully. “I love the idea and, it’s important to include your kids.”

He gave you a soft smile and looked back at his kids before turning back to look at you.

“Is Waffle House okay? That’s the only fast-food David will eat at the moment.”

You nodded, saying, “Wafflehouse it is then.”

Matt drove out of the parking lot, and you guys were on your way. You knew the closest Waffle House was about twenty minutes away on a good day, so you were prepared to keep the kids entertained for the drive. Eight minutes in, and you were right. The kids had already started saying that they were bored and asking if you were there yet. The ride to the drive-thru was full of games of i-spy, kid-friendly trivia (based on cartoons and their favourite characters), and storytelling. The time went quickly, and then, you were at the drive-thru. After collecting the food, Matt parked in the lot and turned to you.

“Do you have a park in mind?”

You thought for a moment before saying, “What about Alum?

“The park not too far from my place?” Matt asked, surprised you even knew about that park.

“Yeah, it’s easier for you then when you need to get home and it’s a beautiful park.”

As you drove through the neighbourhoods, you couldn’t help but notice the vibrant colours and charm coming from the communities. When the car passed his house, you knew you were almost there, and you got a little nervous. You liked Matt a lot and didn’t want to screw it up.

He parked the car under a grove of trees just at the edge of the park, and the two of you got out to help the kids. You set up shop at one of the picnic tables and got them all situated before handing out the food. They ate quickly, and Matt made them wait a few minutes before running off to play. Just as the boys were about to take off, Matt made sure to tell them,

“Jake and David, the two of you are responsible for your sisters. Make sure you stay where I can see you okay?”

To hurry their dad along, the boys grabbed the hands of their sisters before running to the playground. Once you cleaned up the kids’ mess, you finally took a seat at the picnic table. And though your food was cold, you didn’t mind one bit. You were already having a great time. Grabbing the food that was left, you divided it between you and Matt. He walked back to the table and sat down across from you, still keeping an eye on the kids while conversing with you. You guys ate in comfortable silence, occasional conversation drifting in and out effortlessly. Being with Matt was easy. It didn’t feel forced.

Hours went by, and the kids were still playing, and you and Matt were still talking. Once the sun started to go down, it got a little more chilly. You shivered slightly, and Matt, keen eye as always, offered you his jacket. You accepted, and he gently draped it over your shoulders. As happy as the action made you, you couldn’t help but internally roll your eyes at how the cliche move gave you such a serotonin boost. Only a little after that, the girls came back to the table and sat down. Lily, beside you and Chloe beside Matt, leaned against you guys, obviously tired from the long day.

It was only about half an hour later when the boys ran up to the table.

“Daddy, Miss Y/N, can you play?” David asked, looking at Matt. The puppy eyes the boys were sporting were guaranteed to work on Matt. The girls seemed to perk up at this.

You nodded, and just as you were going to answer, your phone started ringing. You frowned at the caller id before answering the boys.

“Daddy can go play. I need to make a call and then I can come okay?”

He nodded his head vigorously and ran back to the playground, siblings in tow. Matt turned to look at you before joining them.

“Are you sure Y/N?” He asked, a little worried about your reaction to the phone call.

“I’m sure. It should be quick and then I’ll come join you guys.”

He gave you one last look before taking off after the kids.

“Matt?” You called out.

“Yeah?” He asked, turning back to look at you.

“This is the best first date I’ve been on.” You said with a smile on your face.

You could just make out the smile on his face in the dusk lighting before he turned back and continued for the playground. You made your phone call, and as you were waiting for the person to answer, you watched them play. And the smile from not long ago made its way back to your face. This was a perfect first date. You couldn’t have asked for anything better.

taglist:@multixfandomwriter

@gspenc @myescapefromthislife