#we have guests (two aunties who are sisters) and we were talking w them about the wedding
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
waiting 🧍🏽♀️
#we have guests (two aunties who are sisters) and we were talking w them about the wedding#and one of them is really into fashion and she was like i have clothes i can give to you that i never wore#and they started making a plan of how we are going to go back to theirs to try them on...#now just waiting for them to decide when to go. so..#i hope they actually come to the walima bc we only have so many normal acquaintances 😭 the ratio of freaks to normals is so off#they are so nice tho they bought gifts for the couple and jewellery for us. which is more than our own direct family
1 note
·
View note
Text
i'm in your corner
Rating: G | 1068 words | Billy and Max are good siblings
B1 - professional basketball for @harringrovesummerbingo
read on Ao3
Summary:
Max corners Billy at Lucas's basketball game and makes him talk about his feelings.
“You’re late.”
Billy huffed and grabbed the lanyard with the VIP pass that Max was holding out to him before following her through the double doors. “Not everyone is lucky to work from home and live within ten minutes of the stadium where their husband plays basketball, Maxine.”
“Excuses, excuses, William,” Max replied, not even looking back at him. “Pretty sure you were making out with your boyfriend and that’s why you had to rush.”
“First of all, I don’t have a boyfriend, and in case you forgot, I live, and work, on the other side of town.” They got to their seats in the VIP section and something occurred to Billy. He looked around, in case Roscoe was hiding or sitting with her grandparents, but they didn’t seem to be there either. “What did you do with my niece?”
“She’s with Lucas’s parents, they were going to see Erica up in L.A. and Roscoe wanted to see her auntie.” Max put down her handbag before going over to the nearest stand to get a drink. She nodded towards the selection to Billy who pointed at the water.
“And you’re okay with her missing school?” Billy said, taking his bottle from Max with a thank you nod, and sat down.
“She’s six years old, Billy, I hardly think it matters if she misses two days of school on either side of a weekend. She is very excited to go to Disneyland.” Max sat next to him and took a sip of her water. “They took Rosie with them as well, as you probably know.”
“I think Steve mentioned something about it,” he said, fully aware he couldn’t lie to his sister. She’d always been able to tell, ever since they’d met when his dad married her mom, when Billy was fifteen and Max eleven.
“I bet he did,” Max said with a satisfied smirk.
“Oh my god, stop it! You keep trying to make this thing between me and Steve into more than it is. We just… enjoy spending time together.”
“Billy—”
Whatever Max was going to say was interrupted by the MC stepping onto the court and welcoming everyone to the charity game, reminding all the guests the aim of the evening was to raise funds for a queer youth shelter.
The teams ran onto the court a moment later, to a standing ovation. Max and Billy joined the rest of the crowd, cheering and whistling, sitting back as the game started.
Billy knew better than to try and talk to Max while the game was on. His sister’s attention was fully on her husband and his team during each quarter, affording Billy time to really think about what he was going to tell Max when she circled back to the topic of how much time he was spending with Steve.
He felt his phone buzz in his pocket but didn’t dare take it out, lest he incurred the wrath of Max. He’d agreed to go over to Steve’s after the game; he’d even packed a bag for the weekend since Steve was unexpectedly child free. Now Billy knew why.
Max joking about him and Steve getting married that day at the beach had freaked him out and he hadn’t seen Steve while his daughter was around since. Clearly, they hadn’t been careful enough and he felt bad about that. They’d agreed at the start that this thing between them would remain casual. As a single dad, Steve didn’t want to risk his daughter getting attached to the people he was seeing, not unless he was serious about them.
While Rosie had met Billy a few times, she knew him as Roscoe’s Uncle Billy, not as her dad’s… whatever. Ugh. Billy really hated that they hadn’t put a label on this… situationship, or whatever Max had called it. He still wasn’t quite sure what that word meant, exactly, but he was not about to ask her to explain it again.
The halftime buzzer sounded and Lucas came over to say hi to his wife and Billy. Once he’d gone back to his team, Max put one hand on Billy’s arm and he turned to look at her.
“Talk to me, Billy.”
“I don’t know what you want me to tell you,” Billy said with a shrug. She didn’t need him to say anything for her to take an idea and run with it, that was obvious enough.
“Come on, you’re my big brother, I know you. You don’t do casual. You have hook-ups, or you’re in a committed relationship. This situationship thing, it’s not you.”
Billy sighed. “Max, I really like him, okay?” He rolled his eyes when he took in Max’s shit eating grin. “Yeah, yeah, are you happy now?”
“I mean…”
“It doesn’t matter. He told me at the start that he doesn’t date, because of Rosie.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s very peculiar about who he brings home to meet his kid.”
“But Rosie’s met you, a bunch of times, so what’s the problem?”
“Max… she knows me as Roscoe’s uncle, not her dad’s boyfriend.”
“Oh, yeah, I see. So when do you see each other then?”
Billy shrugged. “The nights she’s at her grandparents’ house, or sometimes he’ll get a babysitter. Or when she’s at your house. The occasional lunch date.”
“And you’re happy with that?”
“I don’t have a choice, Max.”
“Billy…”
“No. Don’t. I’ll just… take what I can get, okay? And then, once he’s had enough of sneaking around, or when he meets the girl he wants to take home to meet his child, I’ll just… learn to live with that, I guess.”
“And what? Move back to Seattle? You only just came home!”
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I’ll discreetly avoid him, or something. Can’t be that hard, I mean, I hadn’t met him before Roscoe’s party.”
“You deserve to be happy, you know that, right? You deserve love, no matter what Neil said.”
“I know. I promise. But that thing with Steve… it is what it is, and there’s nothing I can do about it, so I would appreciate if you stayed out of it.”
“Fine. But I’ll keep working on my best woman speech anyway.”
“Oh my god! Shut up!”
“You first.” Max’s cackle was drowned by the third period buzzer.
Despite all her pushiness, Billy was happy he had his sister in his corner.
#harringrove#billy hargrove#steve harrington#billy x steve#hsb2024#harringrove summer bingo#harringrove summer bingo 2024#it started with a kiss#dragonflylady77
25 notes
·
View notes
Text
expect the unexpected | 5
(text after images + more images at the end!)
“It’s open!”
“Auntie Rin!” Haneul yells, running to the door as one of your best friends walks in. He smiles up at her, waving.
“Hi Haneul, how’ve you been?” Rina asks, closing the door behind her.
“Good,” he says, looking behind her. “Where’s hyung?” He asks sadly, realizing Sian is not with her.
“He’s at home with Tokki and Uncle JK,” she says, reaching down to squish his cheek. “Where’s mommy?” Rina asks.
“I’m here!” You yell from the hallway, running to the living room. “Hey,” you say, walking up to her to give her a hug. She groans, hugging you tighter.
“I’m so tired,” she says, leaning into you. You laugh, she’s going through that new mom phase again… but with a puppy this time.
“Go ahead and take a nap in our guest room then,” you say, pulling away from her, holding onto her arms. “I can wake you up when Yuna comes.”
“Are we having a playdate?” Soojin asks, walking into the living room.
“Yes, but only for your mommy and aunties,” Rina says, laughing at Soojin’s reaction when she frowns up at her.
“Siannie hyung is not here,” Haneul pouts, resting his head on his palms as he looks at his sister from the arm of the couch.
“Gyu will be here later though,” you tell your kids. You then turn back to Rina. “Go ahead and take a nap, Yuna will be here in like an hour. I’ll wake you up then,” you say.
“Okay okay, thank you,” Rina says. She then walks off towards your guest bedroom when she stops halfway.
“Oh yeah,” she says, opening up her bag. She then takes out three bags of cookies. “I got these before I left work.”
“AHHhhhhH!” Haneul screams, sliding off of the couch and running to Rina. Rina laughs, handing one to him and then the other to Soojin.
“Thank you!” they both yell with joy.
“You’re welcome~ Umm.. Where’s Minseok? This one’s for him.”
“He’s reading in his room,” you say, “I’ll give it to him though, thank you! Go ahead and sleep now, you’re going to knock out any second.” You laugh as you watch her eyes flutter, trying her best to stay awake.
“Alright,” she says, finally going to the room. “Wake me up when she gets here!”
“I will, I will.”
-
“Soojin, you wanna wake up Auntie Rin?” You ask as you let Yuna and Mingyu in.
“Um, no,” Soojin says, returning back to her cookie and the show playing on the tv. You scoff, shaking your head.
“I have a better idea,” Yuna says walking towards the guest room. “Wanna come Haneul?” She asks. Haneul excitedly runs to Yuna, going inside the room first.
You tilt your head to the side, wondering what she was up to.
“Attack!” You hear Yuna yell, you hear her throw the kids onto the bed.
“Auntie Rin! Auntie Rin!” You hear the kids yell.
“I’m awake, I’m awake,” you hear Rina say. “Oh gosh, you guys are so cUTE!”
You laugh at her reaction, you know Yuna just gave her baby fever.
Again.
“How dare you wake me up like this,” Rina says, walking out holding Mingyu in one arm and Haneul in the other. “I just got better from baby fever, I can’t have it again, I don’t need another baby right now.”
“That puppy really keeps you up at night doesn’t it,” you say. Rina nods, a yawn escaping her lips.
“It’s okay, I still love her though,” she says. You nod. You always wanted a dog, but you barely have any time.
“Babe,” your husband says, walking out of Minseok’s room, “I just finished helping Minseok with his homework and got a call from Yeonjun, a client rescheduled-- oh hey girls.” Jin waves at them, just noticing that your friends are over, and turns back to you. “I’m going to leave in a bit, Yeonjun and Jungkook should be stopping by in a couple of minutes.” When the name comes out of his mouth, Rina almost drops the kids.
“W-who’s coming by?” She stutters out.
“My secretary and your fiance--”
“UNCLE YEONJUN IS COMING?” Soojin practically screams, dropping the cookies to run to her room. Haneul and Mingyu don't hesitate to wiggle out of Rina’s arms to take them.
“Where are you going?” Jin calls out.
“I NEED TO LOOK PRETTY!” His daughter answers back. Jin turns towards you.
“I’m going to call Yeonjun and tell him to stay in the car.”
As if on cue, a knock came from the door and you all turned towards it.
“It’s open!” Haneul yells, running to the door. Mingyu follows after him.
The door then opens and Tokki comes running in, jumping on everyone he sees. Knocking down the youngest member.
“Siannie hyung!” Haneul yells, hugging and clinging onto Sian.
You turn to look at Rina who’s glaring at Jungkook. He smiles, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
“Hey don’t look at me like that, blame the client that decided to reschedule!” Jungkook says.
“IS UNCLE YEONJUN HERE,” Soojin yells from her room.
“NO THE BETTER LOOKING UNCLE IS THOUGH,” Jungkook yells back.
Soojin comes running out of her room and the smile on her face wipes off when she doesn’t see Uncle Secretary.
“Do you not love me anymore?” Jungkook says, putting a hand to his chest.
“I still do,” she says, walking to her uncle and raising her arms for him to carry her. Jungkook picks her up and she wraps her arms around his neck, planting a kiss on his cheek and making Jungkook pout.
“Aw I want a daughter,” he says.
“Being in this house is dangerous,” Rina mumbles, referring to the baby fever you get when you enter the Kim’s residence.
“I think we have enough children in our group right now, but anywho,” Jin says, turning back to you. “I’ll be home by dinner,” he says, giving you a kiss. “Let’s go Kook,” he says. “The quicker we get there, the quicker we finish.”
“Okay hyung,” Jungkook says, putting Soojin down and walking over to Rina to give her a kiss as well.
“I feel so left out,” Yuna says, thinking about Jimin. Both Jungkook and Jin looked at each other before turning to Yuna and giving her an overly exaggerated flying kiss.
All three of you laugh at the boys’ antics, shaking your head.
“Thanks.” Yuna says sarcastically, “I feel so much better.”
“We’ll get going now,” Jin says, walking out with Jungkook.
Soojin pouts, dragging her feet towards you, hitting her head on your stomach.
“What’s wrong?” You ask her wrapping your arms around her shoulders.
“I wanted to see Uncle Yeonjun,” she whines. You pick her up, and you and the girls exchange looks.
“Are the girls really growing up and liking boys now?” Yuna asks. “My heart hurts, I don’t think I’m ready.”
-
“So what are your plans for your big anniversary trip?” Rina asks, sitting on your couch with a cup of coffee. She was glad that all the kids were just keeping themselves occupied and playing with the dog. She didn’t have to worry about a thing.
“Honestly, we haven’t talked about it much as I thought we would,” you say, taking a seat next to her. “He’s been busy with work, as you can tell, and then I’m busy with the kids and work too. I think as it gets closer, we’ll start to settle things. Like booking an airbnb, call his parents to watch over the kids, and take a few days off of work.”
“Isn’t your anniversary in a few days though?” Yuna asks. You were about to drink your coffee when you stopped halfway.
Grabbing your phone from the coffee table, you went on the calendar app.
“You’re right. I guess we were too busy to notice,” you laugh half heartedly, “I’ll bring it up tonight, we’re planning to go to jeju island. Calling his parents and booking the place shouldn’t be too har--”
“NO,” you hear from the kids’ room, interrupting your sentence.
“MINES!”
“STOP IT!”
You three all turned to each other with furrowed eyebrows, turning to face the hallway.
“HANEUL STOP,” you hear your daughter yell, as soon as you hear ‘ow!’ and a loud cry afterwards, you three came running to the room.
The three of you got to the door of Soojin’s room where Tokki ran out of.
“What happened?” you say, walking towards the two crying boys on the floor.
“They were fighting over Tokki,” Sian says, calmly sitting next to Soojin. Both of them dangling their legs over the edge of the bed.
“Why were you two fighting over Tokki? You both can play with him,” you say, sitting down on the floor, calming your son and nephew. Yuna sits down with you, putting her son on her lap.
“You’re lucky Sian hyung lets you two play with his puppy,” you say, rubbing Haneul’s back.
“Haneul took Tokki from Sian and pushed Mingyu when he tried to pet him,” Soojin snitched. She folded her arms over her chest and crossed her leg over the other.
“Haneul why did you do that?” You ask calmly.
“My puppy!” Haneul yells, kicking his feet. Yuna got Mingyu to finally stop crying and calmed down.
“The two of you need to share okay?” Yuna says. “Mingyu go to Haneul and you two should say sorry to each other.”
“Actually, Tokki is MY puppy,” Sian corrects him, putting his finger up.
“No!” Haneul screams, angrily pushing Mingyu down as he walks towards him, knocking him down to the floor.
“WHY DID YOU PUSH HIM, SIAN IS THE ONE WHO SAID IT,” Soojin says, jumping off of her bed to run to Mingyu. Sian looks at her shocked.
As Haneul watches his sister run to his younger cousin, he pulls her hair as if he was jealous that she was going to Mingyu and not him.
“Haneul!” You exclaimed, grabbing his little fist that was shut tight around his sister’s hair.
“OW MOMMY OW!” Soojin yells.
“I’m sorry baby just-- hold on,” you say, trying to ungrip his hand.
Rina quickly left to go find wherever Tokki went to and silently whispered to herself, “Hmm, I guess baby tantrums are the best cure for baby fever.”
She walks into the living room and finds Minseok calmly petting Tokki on his lap while eating the cookie she gave him.
“Hi auntie, thank you for the cookie,” he smiles. Rina laughs as the scene in front of her was the complete opposite as the one she just left. She could still hear Soojin and Haneul screaming.
“Are they okay in there?” Minseok asks, pointing towards Soojin’s room. Rina turns towards the room and looks back at him, giving him a little shrug.
“Just baby drama,” she says, walking towards him and sitting next to him on the couch. “So do you want a dog of your own?” She asks, noticing how calm Tokki is with him. “You seem like you’re pretty good with dogs.” Minseok looks at her and nods.
“I would someday, but I think having Haneul and Soojin is enough,” he says, making his aunt laugh hysterically.
expect the unexpected
♡ part five: baby drama ♡
pairings: ceo, dad!jin x interior designer, mom!reader
a/n: im just excited for when jin and yn goes on their anniversary 😭
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 @nightapple4jk @josierosie @jayhope88 @butterflylion @hobiismyhopeu @momma-said-that-it-was-oke @shinyplaidbagellamp @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~
#bts-reveries#bts x reader#bts fluff#bts#bts au#bts smau#bts social media au#bts x you#bts dad au#dad bts au#jin x reader#jin x you#seokjin x reader#seokjin x you#jin fluff#jin au#jin dad au#dad jin au#jin social media au#jin smau#namjoon smau#yoongi smau#hoseok smau#jimin smau#taehyung smau#jungkook smau
126 notes
·
View notes
Text
Chapter 3–The Princess Sets Out; Scene 4
master of the heavenly yard pages 58-70
“—Looks like we managed to give them the slip,” Riliane sighed in relief, clinging to the nun’s back.
Then she gently patted the white horse’s back.
“You did a great job, Josephine. And—” She tightened her grip with the arm she was using to hold onto the nun. “—Thank you for coming to save me, Clarith.”
“Oh no, it’s no big deal, Rin.”
Sister Clarith.
She was the one who had once saved a wandering Riliane after she’d lost her seat on the throne.
Josephine kept running even after they’d left the palace.
“Where are we going?” Riliane asked Clarith.
“…To the great land god, Michaela.”
“Huh!? –But the Millennium Tree Forest is in the opposite direction.”
“Michaela’s not there right now. It’s become too dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
“The soldiers who attacked you—the theater that serves as their base of operations is in the forest.”
“…’Evils Theater’, huh?”
“--!? You know of it?”
“I’ve—lived there once before.”
Clarith pulled on the reins, and Josephine started to drop her speed—Eventually, she came to a stop. “…How about we rest here for a minute? It doesn’t seem like anyone’s chasing us.”
The two of them got down from the horse together.
Clarith joined her hands together and seemed to think on something. When she did, two lovely, pure white chairs and a table appeared there.
They sat in the chairs and faced each other.
“Seems like a lot’s happened for you…Rin.”
“I think close to five hundred years have passed since back then. How much do you know, Clarith?”
“Frankly, not much. I just came to get you under Michaela’s orders.”
“I got worried when you didn’t show up at my banquet.”
“Ah, well…I’m not so great at being around lots of people.”
It was a trifling conversation.
The kind they’d had many times, once.
The only difference between then and now—was that instead of inside a monastery, they were in the middle of a barren field.
“Do you think everyone’s…alright?”
Riliane thought back to the people she had left behind still sleeping in the palace.
If what Tony said was true, then his soldiers had been after Riliane. But that didn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t cause harm to the sleeping guests.
“Clarith—you said that we were going to Michaela, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“…Let me explain from the beginning. Right now, military units of Tasan Elphegort much like we just saw are heading to every land from the theater.”
“But I thought the theater was blown to smithereens by that explosion.”
“—The explosion caused by the weapon of mass destruction ‘Punishment’, yes. That is what happened, but after the world’s destruction it was restored. Though I don’t know why—”
“…I think I have an idea.” After a few seconds, Riliane then uttered a certain name. “—‘Ma’. The woman who was a screenwriter, sorceress, and Gallerian’s lover. Gallerian was the one who supplied the funds when the theater was built…but Ma was the one who saw to the actual construction. She must have had some scheme in mind.”
“…There are other items that were restored after ‘Punishment’’s devastation.”
Clarith took out a hand mirror from her pocket.
That was—a very familiar item to Riliane.
“The ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’. I borrowed this from Michaela. She was able to seize an opportunity to recover them while the theater was temporarily destroyed.
“And the other vessels?”
“They’re all with Michaela. That was one of the reasons why she left the forest. There was a chance that the troops from the theater would come to reclaim them.”
“But it was Gallerian and Ma, who was using him, who were collecting the vessels. They were both dead already before the world ended—You can’t mean that one of them is the mastermind ordering around these Tasan soldiers!?”
“Not even Michaela can see what’s going on inside the theater. So I still don’t know the truth yet.”
“…Ma tried to collect those vessels for a very long time. I’m sure she must have had a fair amount of info on them. It wouldn’t be out of the question for her to have known that the ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’ had some restoration ability and to have used it on the theater.”
Clarith’s eyes widened in admiration. “Rin…You seem to have grown so much smarter than you were before.”
“Don’t talk like I used to be an idiot.”
“Haha—How about we get back on topic. At first we didn’t know where the Tasan army was headed specifically, or what their goal was. But one of the demons dwelling in the ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’—the demon that took the form of a fish—told Michaela that they were probably going after those who had contracted with demons.”
“Can you trust what a demon tells you?”
“Well…I’m not really sure on that myself. But Michaela and the demon…apparently they’re old acquaintances from long ago.”
“…An acquaintanceship between someone who was a spirit, and a demon, huh.”
Riliane didn’t seem fully satisfied with that answer.
Still, Clarith continued talking. “Regardless of whether or not we believe it, the fact is that you, a contractor yourself, were attacked. It’s unclear what exactly the Tasan army is ultimately trying to do, but at the very least I don’t think Michaela looks kindly on that action. She—”
“Augh, enough! Michaela this, Michaela that! You just love this girl, don’t you Clarith!?”
Riliane stood and fiercely hit the table in front of her.
“Rin—are you jealous?”
“Hmph…I’ve had enough. I’m going back to the palace.”
“--!? You can’t do that! The ‘Sleep Princess’—the one who can control the sleep drug ‘gift’--is among your enemies. It’s too dangerous.”
“But that drug didn’t have any effect on me.”
“Yes…I wonder why that is?”
If Riliane truly was their target, then one would think it would be fastest to put her to sleep.
Tony and the others had been fine as well, so perhaps this ‘gift’ was something that could differentiate between targets. Though even if that were true, she still didn’t know why they would exclude Riliane in that regard.
“Whatever’s the case.” Riliane put her hand on the table and continued, “Now that I know those soldiers are after ‘Deadly Sin contractors’, I can’t sit idly by. My dear Kyle—is inside that palace. I have to go help him!”
“You…know? That he’s also a contractor—”
“He told me himself during the banquet.”
“—I see. But even so, I can’t let you leave.” Clarith also stood, and moved to throw her arms tightly around Riliane. “…I don’t want to lose anyone precious to me again…”
“Clarith…”
The two of them were silent for a moment, not moving from the spot.
--A rat broke the silence.
“Gag! You two are so mushy.”
Riliane and Clarith both turned to the source of the voice in bewilderment.
“A—a winged rat!?”
“Long time no see, Riliane.”
“I don’t have any acquaintances that are rats.”
“Aw…how sad. You and I were once one being, you know.”
“Don’t say something that creepy.” As she spoke, Riliane seemed to finally realize the rat’s identity. “You’re—the ‘Demon of Pride’.”
“Exactly. I was riding along inside the hand mirror that woman was carrying.”
“For what purpose?”
“What a crass remark. You’d think you’d want my assistance, if you intend to battle your enemies. Come! Give over to me! Be grateful! Honor me! Prostrate yourself on the ground!”
“…No need,” Riliane coldly shot back.
“What is this, Riliane!? Don’t you want my enormous power!?”
“…I haven’t forgotten what happened back then!”
“’Back then’? When do you mean?”
“Back in Enbizaka! When I was Miroku Rin—You were of no help to me at all!”
“Oh…Yeah, there was that.” The rat’s face at once changed to an expression of embarrassment.
“I had a horrible time of it!”
“You’re referring to having died.”
“Yes! It was extremely painful!”
“Come on, let’s let the past be water under the bridge—and change the topic. Regarding Kyle Marlon…You don’t need to worry yourself over him.”
“…? Why?”
Riliane regained her composure upon hearing Kyle’s name.
“He and I didn’t have very good ‘compatibility’.”
“…I’d appreciate it if you could explain that in some easier to understand terms.”
“Between demons and their contractors there is a concept called ‘compatibility’. If it’s favorable, then they can utilize our abilities more powerfully��If >auntie Rahab’s theory is correct, then your enemies are most likely targeting the contractors who had the best compatibility with their respective demon.”
“Who is ‘auntie Rahab’?”
“The ‘Demon of Envy’ that that woman over there called a fish.”
“…Demons have proper names too?”
“Yeah.”
“So then, what’s your name?”
“Hm? You curious?”
“Not really.”
“Well, if you’re that obsessed with it then I’ll tell you. My name is—” The rat paused as though to put in a sense of grandeur, and then shouted loudly, “—MARIE!”
“Wow…That’s a girly sounding name.”
“Obviously. I’m a girl.”
“--!?”
Upon seeing the surprised expressions on Riliane and Clarith behind her, Marie fluttered her wings in satisfaction.
“W-well, whatever…Anyway, you think that Kyle is going to be alright, Marie?”
“Probably. Whatever you do, going to Michaela first is best. If you have any plans to beat the ‘Sleep Princess’ then you’ll need the help of the other demons.”
Riliane turned to look at Clarith.
“And where is Michaela now?”
“She’s where the country of Marlon used to be.”
“That’s across the ocean! How are we going to get there?”
“Thanks to the tidal wave that occurred when the world was destroyed, part of the bottom of the Hark Sea has surfaced. Right now the island of Marlon is connected to the mainland, so we can get there on Josephine without trouble.”
“Got it. Well then—Let’s get going.”
Clarith nodded, and climbed up on Josephine’s back.
Riliane got on after her, and Marie settled herself on Clarith’s cleavage.
“…Hey, why there!? You dirty rat!” Riliane shouted at Marie angrily.
“Come on. We’re all girls here, aren’t we? This is the most comfy spot.”
“I don’t really mind,” Clarith said calmly.
Riliane begrudgingly gave up on any further complaints.
With all three of them along, the white horse started to run to the west.
“Hey, Rin. What…do you plan to do? Myself I think you ought to bide your time by Michaela’s side,” Clarith said to Riliane.
“Bide my time?”
“Yeah. You do have people after you; it would be reckless to go to them.”
“And will anything get resolved by just waiting around?”
“…The truth is, there’s something I’ve avoided telling you.”
“…?”
“Allen. Your brother is currently on the ground world.”
“—Yeah, he is. All of the souls are here, so Allen wouldn’t be an exception to that.”
Contrary to Clarith’s expectation, Riliane didn’t seem to be all that surprised at that fact.
“But it seems he’s a little different from the other souls. He was sent to the ground world by the sun god, and he’s trying to accomplish something.”
“…Hmm.”
“Michaela tells me he’s become very dependable. I’m sure that Allen can do something about that theater and the Tasan army units. So—"
“—No,” Riliane muttered in a low voice.
“Huh?”
“I’ve always been waiting. For the last five hundred years, as I’ve been reincarnated down here over and over again. Even now—But I’m fed up with just waiting!”
“Rin…”
“Allen helped me. But even so…No, that’s why I hate always being protected. This time, it’s my turn to help him.”
“He probably wouldn’t want you to do that.”
“I don’t care. I—have to become stronger. The old me was mistaken on how to do that. But now…I will prove by myself that I can do this on my own. And when I do—”
--She would puff up her chest with pride, and go to see Allen.
Clarith could not see how Riliane’s eyes were filled with determination from in front of her.
But she could feel it through her back.
“Alright, Rin. I won’t try to stop you…Come on, let’s hurry!”
As though spurred on by Clarith’s voice, the white horse picked up speed.
<<prev------directory-------next>>
29 notes
·
View notes
Text
Old ghosts of years past.
Little Mina has a surprise guest and Kit’s worried.
Set: 31st October 2015.
...
Kit Herondale was wide awake when he heard murmurs drifting down the hallway, from his little sister’s bedroom.
He should’ve been sleeping.
After training nearly every day, for at least six hours, it surprised him that he hadn’t become accustomed to his new lifestyle.
A lifestyle that was only fit for a Shadowhunter.
It had been a long day.
It was a holiday that was dedicated in remembrance of the dead, as well as, marking the celebration of ghouls, goblins and anything that went bump in the night. Mundane children ran around the neighbourhood in costumes and knocked on strangers’ doors for candy.
Kit remembered Halloween as it had been when he lived with his father. His school friends often insisted on going ‘trick-or-treating’ when he was young, but Johnny Rook always refused to allow his son the freedom of enjoying the day.
It was common knowledge that some Downworlders, particularly faeries, used the day to their advantage. They disguised themselves as children wearing fancy dress to deceive mundanes, and demanded something more valuable than sweets.
Kit wasn’t aware of it at the time, but he soon realised the most precious thing Rook hid from the outside world was him, and the faeries that instilled such cautiousness were the Riders of Mannan.
It’d been three years since the battle in Idris, and still the memory of the confrontation haunted him.
Yes, they were killed.
But there would be others, intrigued by his true lineage and determined to exploit the mysterious magic surrounding him because of his relation to the First Heir.
Now, he tried willing himself to slumber so he could wake up early. Jem had planned a hike for them across Dartmoor National Park the following day.
Tessa and Mina had made egg mayonnaise sandwiches, before placing them inside two backpacks with drinks. His sister was insistent on making the food herself, nevertheless Tessa stood beside her daughter to ensure no eggshells fell into the mixture.
Kit even laid the clothes he was going to wear on an armchair beside his bed, the night before.
It was the largest park within miles of Devon, and the more he thought about the long trek ahead, the more he curled under his covers and buried his face into pillows.
He wanted rest.
He needed rest.
But Wilhelmina Carstairs was unwilling to cooperate.
It hadn’t been the first time she kept him awake during late hours of the evening.
Their bedrooms were located on opposite ends of a hallway, but there was no mistaking she hadn’t slept either.
She was, no doubt, talking to her ‘friends.’
Kit often dismissed this as a, ‘child’s imagination.’
But Jem and Tessa had been sceptical, considering these ‘imaginary friends’ were occasionally described wearing period clothing dating back more than one hundred years ago.
Annoyed with his unrest, he tried covering his ears to drown out her incessant giggling by placing the duvet over his entire body.
Min Min, please let me sleep, he thought.
When sleep hadn’t come, Kit sighed with frustration. He sat up with a flinch when his feet landed on the cold floorboards and rubbed the weariness from his eyes.
The t-shirt he wore had been crinkled after hours of continuous pivoting, from one side of the bed to the other.
Jem had bought it for him two weeks before, claiming the store manager said it was a superhero’s symbol and Kit loved Marvel.
It was only after he unpacked it, when Kit realised the red colour and ‘W’ came from a D.C comics heroine called, Wonder Woman, instead.
He wasn’t fussed.
To spare Jem’s feelings, he said he loved his new t-shirt and would wear it paired with comfortable black joggers.
He stood up then and walked barefoot, across the room and turned the doorknob to step outside.
The hallway was dark and still entailed some elements of the Edwardian era. Century’s old wallpaper adorned the interior, a few portraits of an old Shadowhunter family were attached to the walls while sconces hung low and emanated witchlight instead or fire from a candle.
They’d contemplated redecorating when they first moved in, however Jem claimed it wouldn’t have felt like home.
The grandness of Cirenworth Hall often reminded Kit of the fictional Hogwarts castle.
When he first made this remark, Tessa replied with, “Read those books.”
To which he responded, “Saw those movies.”
Jem, as always, contributed in the only way he could with, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Now the closer he walked towards Mina’s bedroom, the louder the voices inside became.
Her door was painted white and it was opened slightly ajar.
The room was mostly dark, and only the moon emanated brightness from outside the large window. It cast a ray of light down on the bed, as if to present the little girl sitting on top of it in the most theatrical manner.
Mina was dressed is a cream onesie she wore on most days because of the bitter Autumn weather. Her hair was loose and ruffled, reaching just below her shoulders as she swept it aside to prevent it from obscuring her vision. It was like she was performing on stage, waiting for a playwright to give her next lines.
But sitting on the edge of the bed was a figure of a man - a ghost of a man.
They were immersed in their conversation, so much so, they failed to notice the boy peaking in through the door.
Kit felt overwhelmed with protectiveness and prepared to walk inside to cast the phantom away, until he began to identify the mysterious guest.
The man appeared to be around his age, seventeen or eighteen. He was wearing a clean Victorian suit, white in colour. A tribute to those who were mourning amongst the Nephilim. It contrasted with his black hair that tangled in untameable curls.
Kit remembered another day, standing on the imperishable fields beside a boy in similar clothes and features that took his breath away, before he boggled and shook his head to chide himself.
Memories served one no good, especially if they were painful. Kit trained himself expertly over the years to leave his past behind, by locking such thoughts away in the furthest recesses of his brain.
Focusing on the situation at hand, he began recognising the voice of the phantom, as it spoke in warm and friendly tones.
Will Herondale of course, Kit thought. This is the same bastard who kept me awake the other night, singing about something ghastly called, ‘Demon pox.’
Only when Kit had asked whether Will’s own death was caused by the disease, did the ghost disappear with a shriek of outrage vowing to return and haunt him for all eternity.
“So, can you go anywhere in the world? Anywhere you like?” Mina piped up, capturing his attention.
“I suppose I can - ghosts don’t get tired of travelling,” Will replied.
“Shadowhunters get tired. Dad wants to take Kit out for a long walk tomorrow. But he doesn’t want to go.”
“That’s because he’s a lazy sloth.”
“I like sloths. They’re cute. Like Sid in ‘Ice Age.’”
“What’s that?”
“‘Ice age’ - it’s a movie. A great movie. Do you want to watch it?”
“Maybe another time,” Will said with a smile.
“Of course if we go downstairs, we’ll wake everyone up!” Mina giggled mischievously.
“That wouldn’t be a good idea. I got you into trouble last time.”
Kit remembered.
A few weeks ago, Mina had woken in the middle of the night, and made her way to the library. She opened a famous book called, ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ and began reading it out loud. No one would’ve woken up, if her hand hadn’t clumsily upset a bookend that was holding a row of tomes on the windowsill. When the heavy books fell and toppled onto the floor with large thumps, the entire household woke up.
Tessa had walked hastily out of her bedroom with Jem on tow, both in pyjamas, as Kit came out of his room calmly to assess the situation.
They had stood in the hallway looking at each other’s bewildered faces, when realisation hit them.
“Mina,” they’d said in unison, before running towards the library.
When they entered it, they were met with an innocent looking girl curled up on a bench, looking guiltily down at the mess she created.
Only Kit saw a glimpse of a transparent figure vanishing into the darkness, leaving him horrified yet curious.
Tessa had been firm with Mina, but Jem couldn’t remain angry with his daughter for very long.
When it was evident little damage was done, Kit was instructed to pick the books up while the rest of them returned to bed, much to his dismay.
Mina had stuck a tongue out to him cheekily while he pulled a face before they left the room.
“I remember! That book was great,” Mina exclaimed, drawing Kit away from his thoughts.
“What? ‘Alice in wonderland?’” Will questioned. “It’s a classic.”
“What’s your favourite snack?”
“Caramel apples.”
Kit snorted.
Mina scrunched her nose with distaste, “that’s too sticky and messy.”
“What do you prefer, then?”
“Candy floss!”
“Like the time when your parents took you to the funfair? You got a big sugar rush, became overexcited and wouldn’t settle down all night.”
“You were there? I didn’t see you!”
“Of course I was. I can choose when I can and cannot be seen.”
“Can you see other ghosts?”
���I’ve seen your aunty Jessamine.”
Jessamine? Kit thought. The ghost from the London Institute?
“Jessie! She comes to visit me sometimes,” Mina said happily.
“I bet she takes good care of you.”
“She does! Do you see others?”
“Most of the people I’ve known have found peace.”
There was an awkward silence.
“Who do you love most in the world?” Mina asked to lighten the mood.
There was a pause and Kit listened more intently.
“Two people. Two of the best people I have ever known.”
“Do I know them?”
“Would you believe me if I said you’re closer to them, than you could ever imagine?”
Mina gave it a long thought.
“Is one of them Kit?”
At that, Will laughed out loud and Kit pretended to gag.
“I think you’ll be able to figure it out when you’re older.”
With that, Kit retreated to his own bedroom for his long-awaited rest.
One day, Mina would understand.
Her parents would eventually tell her exciting stories of the war against automatons, the great demon invasion and the endarkened. But most importantly, they would talk of the epic and beautiful relationship they shared with one man they, too, loved most in the world.
Just not tonight.
#cassandra clare#the shadowhunter chronicles#the dark artifices#the wicked powers#ghosts of the shadow market#lady midnight#lord of shadows#qoaad#the lost world#forever fallen#the clave#the clave in exile#the los angeles enclave#the los angeles institute#devon#cirenworth hall#faerie#kit herondale#mina carstairs#riders of mannan#johnny rook#jem carstairs#tessa gray#will herondale#ty blackthorn#jessamine lovelave#mina and kit#mina and ghost will#fanfic#mine
131 notes
·
View notes
Text
Affection - Sixty-Four: A Hotel in London.
Mine and @mistyyygoode‘s story!
TW: Mentions of abuse.
"Morganne, leave them alone!" Alice yelled from the bedroom.
Shelby nodded before she heard Morganne. She looked back, feeling the anxiety and panic within her chest getting even worse now. Morganne meant everything to Audrey.
Audrey knew there was no way she was going to stay at that house with Anne, let alone force her lover to stay there. She bit her lip as she stared down at the girl. "Come here, sweetpea." The actress said softly, managing to stay calm even though her eyes were already teary. She bent down, the teary girl running into her arms, hugging her close. "Can you make a bag to spend the night really fast?"
"Yes." The girl nodded, letting go from her aunt and running to her room.
Alice and Anne came out of the guest's room right after. "She is not going with you!" Alice said firmly, holding Anne's waist tightly.
Shelby gulped when she heard Alice's tone. Her eyes went from Alice to Audrey. She knew she shouldn't say anything more, she didn't want to make the situation worse.
"Alice," Audrey said firmly, staring into her sister's eyes. "Trust me on this one, please."
"No! You can't just take my daughter away when things get bad!" Alice protested. "And, according to Anne, it was somebody else's fault." She added, side-eyeing Shelby.
"Excuse me?" Shelby asked with raised brows. Her anxiety was now turning to anger. "My fault? What did I do other than defend myself and Audrey?"
"Just overreacted to everything," Anne answered back.
"Now you shut the fuck up! I will not tolerate you talking shit about my fiancé!" Audrey said firmly.
Just then, Morganne came back, holding a big pink, glittery backpack, and a book. "I'm ready."
"You're not going!" Alice said firmly.
"But mom! I miss the—"
"No, Morganne!" Alice said once again, causing the girl to frown as her eyes got teary once again.
"But it's nicer with them!" Morganne yelled.
"I'm not overreacting! I was upset because you took advantage of Audrey while she was drunk and didn't pull away when you landed on top of her earlier! Alice, I'm sorry that we don't get along, but I can't be around this anymore, I need to go... I-I'm going to have a br-breakdown if we d-don't leave." Shelby said firmly, but her words started to break at the end.
Audrey didn't think twice when pulling her lover closer. "We are leaving, sweetpea. I'm sorry, I can't t-take you if Alice d-doesn't allow me to." She looked at the now crying girl, feeling her heart breaking. "Alice, look at your daughter!"
"Morganne," Alice took a deep breath, staring at the girl. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with me and Anne?"
"I w-want Auntie D-Drey." The girl said between tears. "P-please, Mommy. Y-you know how m-much I miss her, she's m-my best friend."
Alice sighed as she nodded.
Anne rolled her eyes.
"You can go but call if you need anything." Alice sighed once again. "And you, guys, tomorrow we are meeting to have a talk."
Shelby nestled into her lover's side as she felt the tears coming back. When she heard the mention of another talk, she tried to not think about it, at least right now, she couldn't handle it. "C-can... we g-g-go?"
"Yes, baby, come here." The actress said softly as she started guiding her lover to the front door.
Morganne quickly holding Audrey's free hand, holding it tightly. As they reached the living room, the actress quickly gathered their purses before continuing their path.
Alice and Anne followed them.
"I'm calling you later, Alice." Audrey said firmly as she opened the door, not even bothering to stare back at the other couple, quickly guiding them to the car.
Shelby's tears started coming stronger as they walked to the car now that she wasn't in front of Anne and Alice. They already seemed to not like her. She didn't want them to see her as weak either.
Audrey bit her lip to stop herself from angry crying, pausing as she reached the vehicle. She motioned for Morganne to enter on the back seat, what she quickly did. The actress stopped to stare into Shelby's eyes, caressing her cheeks as she wiped her tears away. "Baby, look at me," She said softly, tenderly. "Look at me, babygirl, it's okay, we're okay."
Hesitantly, Shelby did. She nodded softly as she bit her lip hard. "I-I-I'm so s-sorry... th-this is a-all my-my fault!" She said before sobbing harder. Her head fell forward as she covered her face with her hands.
"Babygirl, no, come here." Audrey hugged Shelby tightly, caressing her arms and back, heart breaking over the scene in front of her. "Baby, I need you to breathe, it's okay. I promise you... if it is anyone's fault that's fucking Anne's...! sorry." She mumbled, knowing now was no time to be mad.
Shelby nodded slowly as she took one long, staggered yet deep breath. "I-it's o-okay..." she said softly.
"I mean it, baby, please, call down." The actress said tenderly, never stopping caressing her lover. Hesitantly, she pulled slightly away, placing a kiss to Shelby's forehead, hands now caressing her cheeks. "It's okay, babygirl, it's okay... please, don't blame yourself, you did nothing wrong."
Shelby nodded again. Slowly but surely, she took in deep breaths and was able to calm herself along with Audrey's help. Her sobs subsided into small hiccups and her tears were far and few. "Th-thank you, b-baby." She said softly.
"Of course, my love, you don't have to thank me." Audrey smiled softly, sadly, placing another kiss on top of her lover's head. "Here." She opened her purse, taking a Valium and handing to Shelby. "We just don't have any water..."
"I've taken them dry before, so it's okay. I love you so much." Shelby said before looking into her lover's eyes with swollen, red ones. "Y-you mean the world to me."
Audrey took one as well, soon caressing her lover's cheeks once again. "You are my world, Shelby, I love you more than anything." She said softly before placing a soft, sweet kiss on Shelby's lips.
Shelby loved the feeling of her lover's lips against her own. She kissed her back softly, smiling. "I love you more th-than you will ever know. Thank you for sticking by my side."
"Forever and always, my love." Audrey smiled softly, hesitantly pulling away and taking Shelby's hand. "Come on, let's rest... how does a hotel sound? I don't want to explain it all to my parents, and we can get a big room with two separated places, so Morganne can give us privacy to talk if we need to."
Shelby nodded softly as she smiled. "That sounds perfect. Thank you so much, gorgeous." She said. "Let's go. I don't want to be here anymore."
"Me either." The actress sighed, opening the door for her lover.
"Thank you, babydoll." Shelby said before getting into the car.
"Of course, my love." Audrey smiled before closing the door, taking a deep breath as she walked to the other side. As she entered the car, she instantly buckled up.
"Is everything okay?" Morganne asked softly.
Shelby bit her lip as she buckled herself in. She knew Morganne was smart and would most likely know if they lied, so she thought honesty would be the best. She looked to her lover though, wanting to make sure it was okay.
Audrey nodded softly at her lover before starting the car, her free hand instantly resting on her lover's thigh, caressing it.
Shelby smiled softly as she felt a hand on her thigh. "Anne and I... we had a-an argument of sorts... a fight if you want to call it that." She explained.
"I thought so..." Morganne sighed. "I heard some parts of it, but I got annoyed with Anne, so I called Mommy." She explained.
"Yes... Anne was not very nice to Auntie Shel..." Audrey added.
"Does it mean... I have to choose?" Morganne asked softly, eyes growing teary once again.
Shelby felt her heart break over the question. "No... not at all, honey. We would never make you do that." She said, hoping that it was the right thing to say.
"We are going to work it out, sweetpea." Audrey said softly, smiling sadly at her lover. "We will still be a family, still have lunch together, and still go out together like yesterday, okay?"
"Okay..." Morganne nodded softly. "If I knew it all was going to happen when Mommy got a date, I wouldn't have wished for it so much..." she sighed.
"It'll be okay, honey. I promise." Shelby said with a soft smile as she turned to look at the girl.
"Do you promise?" Morganne asked with big, brown eyes, extending her pinky to Shelby.
Shelby gently wrapped her pinky around Morganne's. "I pinky promise, sweetheart." She said with a soft smile.
Audrey smiled to herself as she heard the conversation. She remembered the first time Morganne had made her pinky promise her – the girl was three years old, and the promise was for Audrey to always go see her at least once a year. Taking a turn on the street, the actress stopped on a red light.
Shelby smiled at the girl. "Is it okay with you if we spend the night at a hotel?" she asked. "We can get pizza or whatever you want." She added.
"Mhm," Morganne nodded. "But... why?"
"We don't really want to explain to granny and gramps what happened... it's something they don't need to be involved, you know? At least not now." The actress explained softly. "Plus, this way, we get to do something different with you!"
"Um... okay." Morganne nodded, still slightly confused.
Shelby sighed softly as she looked forward again, eyes dropping down to her hands. "I'm sorry..." she whispered.
Audrey softly squeezed her lover's thigh. "Hey, it's not your fault, baby." She said softly.
"It's not, Auntie Shel." Morganne shook her head. "I heard the conversation."
Shelby nodded softly. She still felt horrible and felt like she was the cause of everything. "I-I'm sorry that you heard it..."
Audrey bit her lip as she heard Morganne's words, wishing she was not in the middle of it all.
"It's okay, I think what you did was very nice." The girl said softly, sweetly. "And I don't think you were overreacting... I've learned about alcohol and read the whole law system, it's a crime to take advantage of someone who's out of their senses." She said confidently.
Shelby bit her lip as her eyes stayed down. "Y-you're right..." she said softly, sighed softly.
Audrey didn't remember the story, and seeing it now, caused her to feel extremely repulsed. She had been molested, and her eyes started getting teary as she tried to remain calm.
Shelby looked over at Audrey and saw the look on her face. She gently took her hand that laid on her thigh, lacing their fingers together. "I-it's going to be okay, babydoll." She said softly.
The actress nodded as she squeezed her lover's hand a little, taking a deep breath without taking her eyes away from the road.
"Is... is Anne a bad person?" Morganne asked worriedly.
Shelby wasn't sure how to answer the question. She liked Anne when they first met, but over time, the more she learned about her, she started to dislike her, and it was easily growing into hatred.
"No, sweetpea." Audrey answered softly. "She made some mistakes, but that's alright... we were y-young, it was a long time ago."
Shelby didn't completely agree with Audrey's statement, but she kept her thoughts to herself. Now wasn't the time to disagree.
"Okay..." Morganne mumbled. "I don't want Mommy dating someone bad."
"She's not, don't worry." Audrey reassured, taking one last turn to the hotel.
Shelby lightly squeezed her lover's hand, smiling as she looked to her. "I love you," she said softly.
"I love you too, my love." Audrey smiled weakly, soon parking the car. "We're here."
"Yay!" Morganne squealed. "This is going to be fun!"
Shelby smiled softly, "It is! How about I go get us a room?" She suggested to her lover.
"We can all go together, baby." Audrey smiled at her lover.
"Yes!" Morganne squealed once again. "I want pizza and ice cream!"
"We can get those," Shelby chuckled before unbuckling herself. She got out of the car, and around to the other side to open the door for Audrey.
Morganne quickly got out as well, running to join Shelby, taking her hand in her tiny one.
The actress smiled as she got out as well, taking her lover's other hand. "Thank you, my love."
"You're welcome, gorgeous." Shelby said before looking down at Morganne with a smile. "Ready?"
"Yes!" The girl squealed, causing Audrey to giggle softly as they began walking.
The hotel was a very fancy one, five stars, but the actress didn't care, she just wanted to rest.
As they entered the lobby, it was very huge and full of couches and even a see-through elevator.
Shelby looked around in awe before spotting the desk and walking up to it.
"How can I help you, ladies?" a man with a thick French accent asked.
Morganne's eyes were just as huge as Shelby's and Audrey's.
"Hi, um, we'd like a room." Audrey said softly.
"Are you... Audrey Tindall?" the man asked in awe.
Shelby instantly wrapped her arm around her lover's waist out of habit. "She is."
"I am" Audrey smiled shyly.
"Oh... oh my, do you, um, do y-you mind a-autographing a p-paper or s-something for me?" he asked, voice shaking with nervousness.
The actress couldn't help but chuckle softly, nodding as she did so. "Of course," Audrey said sweetly.
Shelby smiled softly at how starstruck the man was. She dug through her purse to grab a pen and paper for her lover. "Here, baby." She said as she handed it over.
Morganne giggled sweetly, staring up at the man.
Audrey took the paper while smiling at Shelby. "Thank you, my love."
"And-and you're Shelby! Audrey's now girlfriend!" He smiled, hands shaking.
"Fiancé," the actress corrected softly, starting to autograph the paper.
Shelby blushed softly as she nodded. "Yes, I'm her fiancé now."
"Really?!" He asked with a wide smile.
"Yes." Audrey smiled brightly. "What's your name, sir?"
"It's Mark." He said happily.
"Well, here you go." Audrey handed the paper to the man, smiling sweetly.
"Thank you so much. What kind of room can I get you, ladies? A suite perhaps?" He asked with a smile.
"Yes, please." Shelby said.
"We have a normal one, a master one, and a presidential one." Mark smiled.
"The presidential, please... does it have a tub?" Audrey asked shyly.
"It does! A kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms, one with a king-size bed while the other holds a queen, and even a balcony." He explained.
"That sounds perfect." Shelby smiled. "What do you think, Morganne?" she asked as she looked down to the girl.
"Can we have pizza and ice cream?" the girl asked the man.
"Of any flavor," he smiled.
"Yay! It's perfect!" Morganne squealed, causing Audrey to chuckle softly.
"Alright," Shelby smiled before turning back to the man behind the counter. "We'll take the room for the night."
"Alright, under Tindall?" he asked.
"Yes, please." Audrey nodded.
"Okay, that'll £800 for the night, you can pay when you check out." The man said. "Foods and drinks from the room are on the house, we also offer room service, breakfast, and convenience stores down the first hall."
Shelby started digging through her purse only to remember she couldn't pay. "Babe, you'll have to pay... I'm sorry."
"I was going to anyways." Audrey giggled as she took her credit card, handing it to the man, who smiled as he quickly swiped it.
"Thank you so much, ladies, your room is the 415, and here..." he paused, grabbing the card from under the desk. "Is your key." He handed it to the actress along with her credit card. "During check out, you only have to pay tor anything additional."
"Thank you so much." Shelby said with a smile before taking her lover's freehand again.
"Have a wonderful afternoon, ladies!" He said.
"Thanks!" Morganne smiled excitedly, starting to pull Shelby to the end of the hall.
"I think we could go to the conveniences first... buy some important things." Audrey said softly, eyeing her lover, hoping she'd understand.
"Yes, I agree." Shelby said softly. She knew she would definitely need some panties and possibly a fresh shirt for after their bath or shower.
"And you, sweetpea, can get anything you want." Audrey smiled at the girl as they entered the store.
"Anything? Even plushies?" Morganne asked with shiny eyes.
"Yes, of course!" The actress smiled brightly.
"Anything you want, sweetheart." Shelby said with a smile. "We're spoiling you tonight."
Morganne giggled as her cheeks turned a bit red, staring down as they kept walking.
Audrey smiled as well before turning to one of the aisles, pulling Shelby and the girl with her. "Do you have fresh underwear, sweetpea?"
"No... I forgot to pack those..." Morganne smiled shyly. "Sorry."
"I'm sure we can find some in here." Shelby said softly as she lightly squeezed the girl's hand.
"Okay." Morganne giggled.
The actress stopped in front of a shelf with underwear, smiling at the two. "Feel free to choose, girls." She chuckled.
Shelby bit her lip as she looked. She chose a pack of simple cotton panties for now. She didn't want anything too revealing or sexy while they were with Morganne.
"How many are in this pack, baby?" Audrey asked her lover.
Shelby looked at it, making sure they were the right size. "Four."
"Can I use one of those?" the actress asked, seeing Morganne was looking on the children packs, staring at a Frozen set.
"Of course, babydoll." Shelby said with a soft smile. "Maybe we can grab a shirt each, so we have something to wear tonight?" she asked.
"Yes," Audrey nodded, soon turning to the girl, smiling at her. "You can get these, sweetpea."
"Really?!" Morganne asked happily.
"Yes." Audrey chuckled.
"Anything else, cutie. We told you." Shelby said with a soft smile.
"Okay." Morganne giggled, grabbing the package.
"So now shirts?" Audrey looked at her lover.
"Yes, let's go see what they have." Shelby said before guiding them over to where the shirts were. She smiled when she saw a shirt that said 'I ❤️ London' with the UK flag. "This is cute."
"It is." Audrey smiled. "I'm taking one." She said softly, grabbing a large one. "Are you?"
"Yes, please, baby." Shelby said with a smile.
"Okay, babygirl." Audrey smiled as she grabbed another one. "Do you want one, sweetpea?"
"No, thanks." Morganne smiled softly.
"Do you want any shirt?" Shelby asked softly.
"No, thanks," Morganne said once again, shaking her head.
"Okay, lovely." Audrey smiled. "Hm... toothbrushes! Did you pack those?"
"Yes." The girl nodded.
"That's good." Shelby smiled. "We need those and whatever else you want, Morganne."
"Okay." The girl giggled.
Audrey pulled them to the next aisle, quickly finding the toothbrushes. "Here's a pack with two, honeybun... do you want pink or purple?" she asked, chuckling.
"I think I'll take purple unless that's the color you want." Shelby said softly, chuckling as well.
"I'm okay with the pink one." The actress smiled. "Although, I think pink suits you better." She winked, wanting to light up the mood.
"Strawberry toothpaste..." Morganne whispered in awe as she stared at the pink tubes in front of her.
"You think?" Shelby asked with a small smile. "Do you want strawberry toothpaste?" she asked Morganne.
"Mhm, you're my sweet, lovely fiancé." Audrey answered sweetly.
Morganne was so caught up in the toothpaste that she didn't even hear Shelby's question, eyes still glued on the pink tube.
Shelby smiled at her lover's words. "Thank you, baby." She said as she wrapped her arm around Audrey's waist. She turned back to the girl, smiling at how cute she looked.
Audrey smiled as she placed a kiss on top of her lover's head, chuckling sweetly at the girl. "Sweetpea." She called, the girl finally staring at them.
"Yes?" Morganne asked.
"You can grab it." The actress said.
Shelby smiled, even more, when she felt the kiss atop her head. "Can you grab me a mint toothpaste?" she asked.
"Yes! And thank you so much!" Morganne smiled excitedly, grabbing the two tubes.
"Of course, sweetheart." Audrey chuckled. "I think we got everything we need..."
"I think so." Shelby nodded. "Do you need anything else, sweetheart?" She asked as she looked to the girl.
"No," Morganne shook her head.
"Are you sure, sweetpea?" The actress asked.
"Yes," Morganne answered.
"Okay, let's go," Shelby said with a smile before guided them all back to the front of the store so they could check out.
As they reached the cashier, Audrey put all of their items up, and soon they were out of the store, going to the elevator. "Are you already hungry, Morganne?" the actress asked.
"Not yet."
"I'm not either. I'm actually tired." Shelby said softly as she leaned against her lover. "I think it's the medicine." A small yawn followed her words.
"Me too..." Audrey said softly, caressing her lover's waist.
"I don't mind reading while you guys take another nap," Morganne said softly. "I have my own king bed." She smiled cheekily, happy to be having a room just for herself.
Shelby chuckled softly. "As long as you don't mind, sweetheart."
"I don't," the girl shook her head.
"Thank you so much, sweetie." The actress smiled, the elevator door now opened again.
"Thank you," Shelby said softly before stepping out of the elevator. "What room are we again?" she asked as they started to walk down the hall.
"415," the girl answered as they walked towards the right door, Audrey caressing her lover's waist.
Shelby followed after Morganne, smiling to her lover as she stopped before the door. "Do you have the key, baby?"
"I do," Audrey nodded, taking the card and placing in the door, opening it and instantly gasping at how huge and luxurious it was.
"Wow..." Morganne gasped as well.
Shelby looked around in awe. "This is amazing." She said. "Tonight is going to be fun." She smiled.
"It is!" Morganne squealed, running inside and to the other room, the one with the smaller bed.
Audrey chuckled as she pulled her lover inside, closing the door behind them.
Shelby sighed softly as she put her purse down. She turned to her lover and wrapped her arms around her while resting her head on her shoulder. "I love you so much." She said softly.
Audrey placed her purse and the bags on the floor as well, smiling as she felt soft arms wrapping around her from the back, hands caressing her lover's. "I love you too, babygirl, so, so much."
"I love you more." Shelby smiled before placing a kiss on her lover's neck. "I'm sorry today didn't go well..."
Audrey melted at the kiss, turning around and placing her hands behind her lover's neck, caressing it. She stared lovingly into blue eyes. "It's okay... me and Alice always fight, and Anne turned out to be much more of an asshole than I thought she was."
Shelby nodded softly, frowning as her eyes dropped. "Thank you for standing by me through it."
"Of course, I'd stand by you, my love." Audrey said tenderly, gently pulling her lover's chin up, blue eyes meeting brown ones. "You are my world, and besides that, you were right... she... I think s-she might have taken a-advantage..."
Shelby bit her lip as she stared into her lover's eyes. "I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry. I-I wish there was something I could have done to change what happened."
"It's so confusing..." Audrey sighed, eyes falling down. "I don't remember anything, but she told me I was the one who started it... and the first time w-we kissed we were both drunk but not that m-much... I'm sorry to bring it up again, I'm just so confused."
"Don't be sorry, baby." Shelby said as she brought one hand to her lover's cheek to gently caress it. "I think this is definitely something that takes time to process, and I'm here for you, okay?"
Audrey nodded, taking a deep breath as she did so. "I just d-don't want to u-upset you for bringing the t-time we kissed up but I... I h-have no one else to talk to..." brown eyes had grown teary.
"Baby, I would never be upset about that. I'm not upset, I promise you that. And I'm here. I'm always going to be here for you, Audrey. Always." Shelby said softly, lovingly.
"Okay..." Audrey took a deep breath, staring up at blue eyes. "I... I'll check on Morganne, then we can cuddle and talk..."
"Okay, baby." Shelby smiled softly before letting her lover go. She went over to the bed and pulled back the blankets after she kicked off her shoes.
Audrey walked to the other room, knocking on the door as she did so. "Sweetpea? Can I come in?"
"Yes!" Morganne said.
Softly, the actress opened the door, seeing the girl reading, sprawled on the bed. "Me and Auntie Shel are going to take a nap, okay? If you need anything, just call."
"Okay." Morganne nodded, brows furrowing softly as she realized her aunt's teary eyes. "Are you okay, Auntie Drey?"
"Yeah... It's just, it's been a hard day." Audrey sighed softly. "I'll be okay, I promise you."
"Okay... I love you." The girl smiled softly.
"I love you too, sweetpea." The actress smiled before walking out of the room.
Shelby climbed into bed and grabbed the remote to search for a light-hearted comedy to put on while they tried to sleep. A little noise and laughter always seemed to help them through times like these.
Audrey walked back to the other room, wiping away the tears present in her eyes. "Hey," she smiled softly.
Shelby looked to her lover, frowning when she saw the tears. She set the remote down and held open her arms. "Come here, babydoll."
Audrey nodded as she felt more tears coming down her cheeks, instantly kicking her shoes off and climbing in bed, burying her face into the crook of Shelby's neck.
Shelby held her lover close, arms instantly wrapping around her waist. "It's okay, baby... everything is going to be okay." She said softly.
The actress moved so she was laying basically on top of her lover, holding her closer and closer. "Can w-we talk?" she mumbled.
Shelby brought one hand to her lover's hand, gently stroking it. "Of course, gorgeous." She said.
Audrey took a deep breath as she pulled her face away from her lover's neck, wiping her tears as she laid down on the pillow, staring into her lover's eyes. "I'm a l-little confused..."
Shelby's hand moved from Audrey's hair to her cheek, gently caressing the skin there. "That's okay, tell me what you're confused about."
"O-okay..." Audrey took another deep breath, tangling their legs together. "Do y-you really think A-Anne took a-advantage?"
Shelby thought for a moment. "I wasn't there, so I can't say yes or no for certain... but, the way she described it, I think yes. If you were sober, it would have been different, but the fact that you couldn't even stand on your own, and that happened... I think yes. It's just my thoughts though." She explained softly, gently.
Audrey listened to everything cautiously, nodding as she did so. "Yes... I don't remember anything from that night, j-just that I drank a l-lot at a club, and then I w-woke up in the m-morning all wet in my b-bed with the worst h-headache..."
Shelby sighed softly. "She wasn't there?" she asked.
"I d-don't know... I think... I think so..." Audrey's brows furrowed, her eyes getting teary once again. "Oh... o-oh my... she... she was... she was there, n-naked..."
Shelby felt herself getting angry again. She bit her lip as she nodded, trying to think of something not hateful towards Anne. "Did you... God, I don't even want to ask this." She sighed. "Did you feel like you had sex? Like... the morning after we do, you just have that feeling that the night before... d-do you know what I'm trying to say?" she asked hesitantly.
Audrey felt her breath getting heavy. She bit her lip harsher, tears falling down more and more as she nodded. "Y-y-yes, I k-know what you m-mean... I don't k-know, my whole b-body hurt the n-next day, and I... why d-didn't Alice tell m-me?"
"I-I don't know, baby. I'm so sorry." Shelby said softly. She brought her other hand to Audrey's face so she could wipe her tears away. "Maybe the part where Anne said neither of you went any further than your stomachs was true... maybe she didn't... go that far." She said, hoping and praying that it was true.
"M-m-maybe... I... I gotta call her, I w-want to call her now. This can't g-go any further." Audrey said, starting to shakily get up from the bed.
"Okay, baby. I'm right here for you, okay?" Shelby said softly. "But let me get your phone." She said before getting up instead.
"O-okay..." Audrey nodded, eyes opened wide, her chest heavy as she didn't know what to do, nor what to think.
Shelby got up from the bed to grab her lover's phone. When she turned back to Audrey, she saw the look on her face and felt herself fill with worry and panic. She sat down in front of her fiancé, taking one of her hands while her free hand went back to caressing her cheek. "Baby, talk to me. I don't want you having another panic attack."
Audrey nodded as she started taking deep breaths. The actress stared into blue eyes, trying to think about Shelby and only her, hoping it would calm her down. "Y-yes, I won't b-baby."
Shelby smiled softly before placing a kiss on Audrey's forehead. "I love you so much, please just try and think of that... it always helps me."
"I am." Audrey smiled softly, caressing her lover's hand. "It's w-what keeps me s-sane."
"Me too, babydoll." Shelby said before placing a tender kiss on her lover's lips. "You mean the world to me."
"Y-you are my world," Audrey whispered before kissing her lover's lips once again. As she pulled apart, the actress took one last deep breath. "Okay... I'll call."
Shelby nodded as she held the phone over to her lover. "Here you go, baby... do you mind putting it on speaker? I'll be quiet I promise, I just want to hear what she has to say."
"I don't m-mind at all... you can s-say things, too." Audrey smiled softly. She clicked on her sister's contact and put on the speakers. "Thank y-you, too, for sticking by my side... it m-means a lot."
"Of course, babydoll." Shelby said softly before placing a kiss on her lover's cheek.
Before Audrey could say anything else, Alice picked her phone.
"What do you want?" she said harshly, not even greeting her first.
Shelby frowned at Alice's words. The whole time she was here, not once was she rude or mean, so it was so strange to her to hear her like this. She bit her lip to keep her thoughts to herself.
Audrey sighed as she stared down at her phone, her hand softly squeezing Shelby's. "Is A-Anne there with you? O-on the phone?"
"No, she's taking a shower to calm down. Is Morganne okay?" Alice asked.
"Yes, she's reading on the o-other room." Audrey explained. "Look, I don't k-know what Anne told you, but you can—"
"She told me Shelby started being rude with her." Alice cut her off. "And I give Anne all the right to be rude back."
Shelby sighed heavily. She didn't want to interrupt, but it was going to be hard for her. She knew if something didn't happen that night, there was no way Anne would just come out and say it.
"Can you hear me out for o-one second? I was there, and Morganne heard the talk t-too. If you want, I can call her and ask her to tell y-you exactly what happened." The actress said.
"Don't you dare put Morganne into it. I don't want her hating my girlfriend." Alice said firmly.
"Honestly, Alice, I w-wonder how you really see me if y-you think I'm capable of doing that to a-an eight-year-old, whom I love like my own child." Audrey protested, not believing it all.
Shelby shook her head she looked down at her lap. She grabbed her lover's free hand, gently caressing it, hoping that it would keep her calm.
Audrey smiled softly to her lover, lacing their fingers together. The actress could hear her sister sighing through the phone.
"I don't know, Audrey." Alice said. "I never thought you'd be able to scream at Anne and look what happened just an hour ago."
Audrey bit her lip as she took a deep breath, shaking her head in disbelief. "Will you let me tell you what happened or not?"
"Go ahead."
Shelby lightly squeezed her lover's hand. "It's okay," she whispered with a small nod.
Audrey squeezed her lover's hand once again before proceeding. "Anne came to apologize, but what happened is that I don't... I don't remember any of the things Anne told us about t-the shower... I was p-passed out, Alice, and y-you know that legally... she took a-advantage, she m-m-molested me."
Shelby continued to caress her lover's hand as she talked. She wished there was more she could do for Audrey, she wished she could take all the pain away.
"Audrey... t-that-that was years ago. I thought you remembered i-it." Alice said, way softer now.
"I didn't... I don't." Audrey took another deep breath. "She... she w-woke up with me the n-next day, n-naked..."
Shelby sighed again as she squeezed Audrey's hand, trying to remind her that it was okay.
"I know... I woke up first with you guys..." Alice explained. "You two made out until I fell asleep."
"O-oh... oh my... do y-you know if... if...?" Audrey mumbled.
"She didn't do that! Of course, she didn't! You were drunk, Audrey. She'd never rape you!" Alice exclaimed, annoyed.
Shelby was taken aback by Alice's words and tone. "How do you know? Did you watch them the whole night?" she asked without hesitation.
Audrey felt a tear falling down her cheek as she bit her lip.
"Shelby? Oh, please." Alice sighed. "Look, even if you two had sex, we were young. We knew no better, and you clearly wanted it."
At the last words, the actress felt herself losing it. "Listen to m-me, Alice. You know d-damn well I had just broken up with Beatrix, and I was as insecure as Hell b-back then. Trying my best to drink and f-forget things, wanting to feel wanted!"
"I fucking know it, Audrey! And Anne did, too! That's why I asked her to make out with you! Satisfied?!" Alice yelled.
Shelby's eyes grew wide, her brows raised, and her jaw dropped. She never expected that one. She didn't know what to say or think.
Audrey felt her jaw-dropping. She looked at her lover with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. "Y-you... both t-times?"
"Yes." Alice sighed. "It's not that she didn't want to, but she liked me back then, and I knew it, so I knew she liked girls... I just wanted to help, Audrey. You were so insecure that I wanted a pretty girl to show you, you were gorgeous, and someone who piqued your interest." The woman explained. "I'm sorry if you felt used. And no, you guys didn't have sex, you wanted to but Anne told me you were too drunk at the other day."
Shelby's brows furrowed as she listened. She couldn't believe that Alice would do this. She knew that Alice was trying to help, but in her mind, that wasn't the right way to go about it. She squeezed Audrey's hand again, gently caressing it.
"H-how come you n-never told me that?" Audrey asked softly, brokenly, another tear falling down her cheek.
"Because I didn't want you to think no one would want you." Alice explained. "That's why Anne got so irritated about the talk and lashed out, and pointed out the jealousy, guys... she really is sorry, and I am too, for realizing now that it hurt you."
Shelby brought her hands to her lover's cheeks to wipe away the tears as they fell. She still wasn't sure what to say at this point. She was so shocked by it all.
"I-it's o-o-okay..." Audrey mumbled. "We t-talk more t-tomorrow..."
"Okay..." Alice sighed. "Bye... I love you."
"I love you t-too... b-b-bye..." Audrey pressed on the 'End call' button.
Shelby sighed as she continued to wipe her lover's tears away. "I-I-I'm so sorry, b-baby... I'm so sorry." She said softly.
"I... I'm so c-confused." Audrey mumbled. "I... y-you... baby... I... I'm s-so confused..."
Shelby nodded softly. "I-I am a little too..." she sighed. "Tell me what's going on in your head."
"I-it was not Anne's fault... a-and I can't b-blame Alice... s-so... I t-think we need t-to talk a-and work it all o-out..." Audrey said softly, thinking about each word. "Especially w-with you and them... clear e-everything, explain why w-we were rude..."
Shelby nodded softly as she looked down. "I didn't feel like I was rude." She said. "I was thinking of us, and standing up for us..."
"I know baby, I know... you weren't, b-but we need t-to explain it... Anne, however, she w-was rude to you, a-and I'm not allowing her get o-off without apologizing." Audrey explained, scooting closer to her lover.
"Okay, baby." Shelby sighed. "I just... I hate that this happened. All of it."
"Me too..." Audrey sighed softly, grabbing her lover and gently pulling her up to her lap, holding her tightly. "It's o-okay... we d-didn't actually h-had sex... I... it's o-okay..."
Shelby continued to caress her lover's cheeks. "Are... are you okay, baby?" She asked softly.
"I g-guess... I think I-I'll need some time to... to digest t-things." Audrey explained.
"I understand, gorgeous... do you... do you need some time alone?" Shelby asked hesitantly.
"N-no, no, please, n-no." Audrey shook her head, subconsciously holding Shelby a little tighter.
"Okay, babydoll. I just wanted to make sure." Shelby said softly as she caressed her lover's cheeks again.
Audrey smiled softly, nodding as she did so. "Do you... do y-you mind holding me i-instead? I-I really need i-it..."
"Of course, I don't mind," Shelby said softly. She moved so she was sitting next to her lover and held her arms open. "Come here, babydoll."
Audrey gladly snuggled closer to her lover, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.
Shelby wrapped her arms around her lover, holding her close. "Why are you sorry?" she asked softly.
"For... e-everything..." Audrey sighed, head buried in her lover's neck. "This w-whole week h-here was so s-stressful..."
"Baby, you have nothing to apologize for. It was just as stressful at my family's as well." Shelby said as she brought her hand to Audrey's back, gently rubbing up and down.
"I s-suppose..." Audrey sighed, a tear falling down, but she quickly wiped it away. "I just want t-to go home... the only reason I'm n-not taking a f-flight right now is M-Morganne."
Shelby frowned as she brought her other than to her lover's cheek to wipe her tears. "I'm sorry, baby... we're only here a couple of more days. Then, we're heading home, okay? We'll be home, just you and me, and well, our new puppy if you want to pick her up when we get there." She said softly.
The actress nodded as she snuggled just a little closer to Shelby. "Yes... that'd be awesome." She said softly, sniffing a little. "I'm just s-so tired of all t-these panic attacks..."
"Once we get home, I'll set up appointments for us, okay? We'll talk to our doctors and see if we need some medicine for a while... a-and if we do, that's okay. Okay, gorgeous?" Shelby said softly.
"Y-yes." Audrey nodded, allowing her eyes to close as she kept her head against her lover's chest. "I already take antidepressants, so it's o-okay..."
"Okay, baby." Shelby said before laying down, pulling her lover with her. "I love you so much, Audrey. More than I will ever be able to express to you."
"I love y-you just as much, babygirl." Audrey said as she let her body rest on top of Shelby's, feeling extremely comfortable, even safe. "Oh, I j-just remembered something, did y-your lawyer call?"
"I don't know... I'll have to look later. I don't want to get up right now. I just want to lay here with my beautiful, gorgeous fiancé."
Audrey's lips turned into a smile. Her eyes were still closed as she felt her head hurting from crying so much. "Okay... me too..." she said softly, sweetly.
"Do you need anything, baby?" Shelby asked. "Are you hungry?" she wanted to make sure that Audrey was taken care of and happy.
The actress shook her head as a small yawn left her mouth. "Just you... and m-maybe a nap." She giggled weakly.
"Okay, baby. Let's take a nap." Shelby said with a soft smile. She pulled her lover impossibly closer as she allowed her eyes to close. "I love you so much." She said softly.
"I love y-you so much more... you're the best, thank you s-so much for everything you've done to me today, a-and always... it means the world." Audrey mumbled sleepily.
"You don't have to thank me. I'll always here for you, gorgeous." Shelby said before placing a kiss atop of her lover's head. "Now go to sleep. We both need some rest, babydoll."
"'Kay..." Audrey mumbled, placing a sloppy kiss on Shelby's neck, soon falling asleep due to all the adrenaline that was leaving her body and causing her to feel extremely tired.
Shelby smiled as she felt the kiss. She placed one on Audrey's head before falling asleep as well.
Hours passed and the room was dark. Morganne softly walked out of her room and to her aunt's. Slowly, softly she got on the bed, fuzzy socks making no sound. "Aunties...?" she whispered softly.
#affection#ahs#ahs roanoke#lesbian#lesbian fanfiction#roleplay#lesbian story#lesbian fanfic#mistyyygoode#rabexxpaulson#shaudrey#audrey tindall#shelby tindall
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
Knock, Knock. Part 21.
Chapter Summary: More family meet up, and deep talk.
Pairing: (single) Jensen x Reader
Warnings: Cussing. Fluff kinda.
Word Count: 3083
Series Masterlist
Part 21:
You went and took a quick shower to get the musk of the plane and shop off of you. You made it fast knowing Jensen would probably want to take one too.
As you stepped out, you grabbed a towel off the hook, and wrapped it around carefully tucking it so it wouldn’t fall. You grabbed another one to ring out your hair. You did the rest of your after shower routine deciding to leave the makeup off, and just add some simple styling product to your hair to tame it a little.
You looked around and realized you forgot to grab any clothes in your rush to the bathroom.
“Damn it!” you muttered to yourself.
You peeked out the door to see if anyone was close, and heard Jensen in the kitchen still with your parents chatting away.
“She fell straight down the fence, and it cut her side pretty good.” Your dad said explaining a childhood injury.
You furrowed your eyebrows trying to figure out what they were talking about.
“Yeah, I was out sunbathing at the time, and she came running to me with blood just running down her stomach.” Your mom said. “Wayne here came home, and said, ‘Eh, just put some antibiotic cream and gauze on it, and she’ll be fine.’ Sure enough we did, and she’s still got the scar to prove it.” Your mom laughed. “All because she wanted to see the dog that was on the other side of the fence!”
“She didn’t need stitches?” Jensen said laughing with them.
“Eh, she’s tough. She walked it off like a champ.” He snickered. “Now, if it were her sister… That would have been a other whole dramatic scene.” He huffed.
You rolled your eyes at the story they were embarrassing you with, and quickly ran to your room deciding you needed to break up the memory session before they got to the more cringey stories.
You made it to your room unseen, and uninterrupted, and started digging through your bag for clothes to throw on. It was close to dinner time, so you didn’t expect to be leaving the house anytime soon. You picked some comfy clothes for around the house. You had just put on your bra and joggers when the door suddenly opened.
You turned around quickly moving your hair out of your face.
“OH! I’m so sorry!” you heard Jensen say, but he stopped in his tracks as he saw you shirtless still. Instead of turning to look away, or covering his eyes he just stared.
You stood from where you were crouched over your bag, and placed your hands on your hips.
“See something you like, Ackles?” you teased. You were fully confident of your body, and were actually finding it quite funny how he was reacting. “You’re going to catch a fly if you don’t close your mouth.” You said crossing your arms now.
That seemed to snap him out of it.
“Oh, uh- I-I’m so sorry! I-I’m just going to-”he pointed to the door but still hadn’t looked away.
“Jay, you act like you haven’t seen a girl topless before.” You laughed.
“Right, w-well…” he stammered. You raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m gonna… Go. Sorry again!” He smiled and waved as he walked out.
Right before the door shut he gave you one last look as you went to go grab a shirt. A grin formed on his face, and he licked his lips looking at you. He shook his head. “Holy shit, she’s hot…” he thought as he shut the door.
__
You got dressed throwing on a T-shirt and grey joggers with a grin on the whole time. Jensen seeing you half naked made you giggle, and blush thinking about him staring.
You made your way into living room where you found Charlie sitting next to your mom who was holding your 9 month old nephew, Bentley. Jensen was on the single chair directly across from them.
“Is that who I think it it?” you said rushing over to your mom who was bouncing Bentley on her knee. He turned his head toward you, and a smile was on his face along with his finger in his mouth. “Hey, B-man!”
He gushed at you and his hands went up to grab for you to hold him. You quickly picked him up, and placed him on your hip.
“He sure has missed his Auntie Y/N.” your brother chuckled.
“Ugh, it’s been too long! He’s doubled in size Charlie.” You said rocking in your place.
“You’re not wrong. It feels like he grows an inch every night.” Charlie huffed.
“Jensen do you have any nieces or nephews?” your mom asked making Jensen snap his gaze from you to your mom.
“Uh, just a nephew right now, Logan. My brother and his wife are expecting again actually.” He smiled looking back at you with the same smile.
“You never told me that.” You said and Bentley pulled your hair. “Ouch! Bentley!” you said taking your hair back and pulling it all to the opposite side he was on.
Jensen and Charlie started laughing at the action.
“It never came up I guess…” Jensen said as he watched you play with the little boy on your hip. You were just so captivating. The way you interacted with your nephew and how he seemed so happy being with you. It was making Jensen think of things he never thought of before.
He was broken from his thoughts when the back door opened, and your dad and Sadie walked in.
“It looks great Wayne! Really! You’ve outdone yourself again!” she said patting his shoulder as she walked into the living room and spotted you.
“Y/N! Oh my God! Look at you!” she said rushing over and giving you a big hug, careful not to squash her son. She pulled back to look you over. “How can you get more and more stunning every time I see you?” she gleamed.
You felt your cheeks redden at the compliment.
“Oh, hush! Have you seen yourself? Stunning doesn’t even begin to do you justice!” you said giving her hand a squeeze.
It really didn’t. Sadie was a beautiful brunette with bright blues eyes. She had a cute button nose, and perfectly tanned colored skin. She had the figure every women hopes to have after having a kid, and was one of the most humble human beings as well.
“I tell her that everyday.” Charlie said giving her a hug from behind and kissing her cheek. She smiled and fell into his embrace.
“I would hope so, or I would have to fight you for not treating your wife like the goddess she is.” You said giving him an eye. You saw Jensen out of the corner of your eye getting up, and watching the whole interaction with a giant smile. “Oh, Sadie I almost forgot.” You walked over, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “This is Jensen. Jensen, this is Sadie, Charlie’s wife, and one of my best friends.”
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you!” Jensen said going to shake her hand.
“We give hugs here Jensen!” she said going in for the hug. “We’re all family!”
He returned the hug with a laugh.
“So I’ve heard!” he said still laughing.
“Charlie said that you would be coming! I was a little worried with how Wayne over here would react.” She said pulling away and pointing toward your dad.
“Hey, I’ve keep it pretty cool I think.” He pouted.
Everyone joined in to laugh at that.
“Sure dad! You didn’t go full on fan girl or anything.” You said rolling your eyes with a smile. You were still rocking Bentley on your hip when a whiff of something smelly came your way. “Oh, I think B-man here may have made a-“
“Oh, I got it!” Charlie said running up to you to grab him.
“I can get it if you want Char-“
“It’s fine! I got it.” He said taking him into the other room to change him.
“He’s trying to get faster at it.” Sadie said crossing her arms watching her husband run with her son at arms length. “Some bet with a friend. I don’t know. I don’t understand boys.”
You giggled. “Who does?” you said bumping Jensen with your hip.
He looked down at you with a grin he couldn’t fight. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” he said bumping you back.
“So where’s Zoe?” you said ignoring him and going to sit on the arm of the chair that Jensen was on.
He rolled his eye at you not answering him, but still had a smirk on his face as he sat back in the chair.
“She still working at that bakery. I guess her boss wanted to stay open for Christmas eve, and she wanted the hours so she is working until 6.” Your mom answered.
“If there is anyone you need to worry about fangirling it’s Zoe.” Your dad muttered.
“Wait, you guys didn’t tell her Jensen was coming.” Sadie said sitting on the couch.
“No. Mom here wanted to surprise the two people that needed time to process it the most. Therefore, if Zoe has a heart attack, I am not taking the blame for it.” You said putting your hands up.
“She’ll be fine.” Your mom waved you off.
“How much you want to bet?” you sassed back.
“Y/N…” you dad said raising and eyebrow telling you to cut it out.
“Fine! I’ll stop.” You said leaning back on the chair semi resting on Jensen. “Also,” you looked down at him, and he met your eye line. “I wasn’t kidding about you smelling. If you want to take a shower you can.” You grinned.
“Y/N! Don’t speak like that to our guest.” Your mom said not realizing you were being sarcastic.
“Mom, I wasn’t-“
“It’s fine.” Jensen said getting up. “I know she actually loves how I smell. Which is why…” he turned to you, and picked you up from your seat, and wrapping his arms around you so tight that it was impossible to escape. “She loves when I give her big hugs like this!”
You knew he was doing it so that you can smell him even more. Your face was right in his chest, and you caught a whiff of his cologne. It smelled amazing. You didn’t even know how to explain it, but it was a smell that you would bath in just so you could smell it all the time.
“Jensen! Let me down!” you laughed loudly as he picked you up off the ground and pinned your arms to where they were stuck on his chest. “Jay!”
“Fine!” he put you down, and looked down at you hands still on your hips. A smile pulled at the corner of his lips. A piece of hair had fallen in your face, and he gently moved his finger across your cheek to tuck it behind your ear.
You both just stared at each others eyes until you heard Bentley cooing as he came back in the room. You both looked toward the sound. Jensen turned back to you seeing the red on your cheeks.
“You sure you want me to take a shower? I know you love the smell of the airport, and four hour plane rides.” He winked at you.
“Get out of here ya dork!” you playfully shoved his chest. He chuckled and turned to your family as they all stared at with you with knowing grins.
He cleared his throat, and waved at them realizing they saw all that.
“I’m gonna go take that shower. I’ll be back in a little.” He said walking to the bathroom.
You chuckled as you awkwardly put your hand behind your back.
“I’m going to go get a drink.” You said walking quickly into the kitchen.
__
Not two minutes later, and hearing mumbling from the living room, Sadie came in the kitchen, seeing you sipping on a glass of wine.
“Wanna talk about what just happened out there?” she said with a big grin.
“Nothing to talk about.” You said taking another sip. She just stared at you. “Sadie-“
“Before you try to find an excuse, let me just say he was blushing just as much as you.” She said leaning on the counter across from you.
“Yeah because all of you were watching us like hawks!” you said throwing a hand up.
“Only because everyone sees what’s going on, but you two apparently!”
“I have no idea what your talking about.” You looked away and went to pour more wine in your glass.
“You know what? I actually believe that. I think you are completely oblivious to it.” She snarked.
“Sadi-“
“Listen, Y/N. I know what happened. Your mom let me in on it. She knew that if she talked to you about it you would shut down, and run from her like always.” She said effectively cutting you off and grabbing your attention. “You and that Cole guy that we never met, but heard of broke up, and that’s why Jensen is here instead.”
“I-“
“No, you are going to listen to me first then you can talk.” She said sternly.
You straightened your back, and shut your mouth quickly.
“I’ve known you since as long as I can remember. Hell, if it wasn’t for you then I would have never met your brother, and fallen in love.” She smiled. “Clearly something went down with this Cole guy. Then Jensen here, gorgeous by the way,” she whispered causing you to grin as you drank some more. “is here instead. What’s going on? There is clearly something happening, and you need to talk about it.”
You paused waiting to see if she had more.
“You done?” you asked like a smart-allick.
“Don’t start with me Y/N/N…” she replied in a scary tone.
“Fine, but only because I need to get it off my chest, and I rather it be you than mom badgering me.”
“I’m not going to badger you.”
“I know. I know. That’s why I’ll talk.”
You pulled her over so that no one could eavesdrop.
“Cole was a sweet guy. Really sweet, cute, and well... all around good guy.” You grinned. It fell at your next sentence. “It’s just… There wasn’t… A… Well, I don’t really know how to explain it.” You huffed.
“Spark?” she asked.
“Yeah. No… spark.” You picked your drink up and took a long sip. “The night it happened we had a big Christmas party at our house. I got kinda drunk, and after Gen helped me sober up I found myself out on the porch looking at the stars while everyone was inside or out in the yard.”
“Something you only do if your deep in thought.” She said taking your glass and taking a swig herself. “What? Momma needs her grown up juice too.”
You giggled at her before grabbing another glass.
“Anyway, while I was out there Jensen came out. We had a really good talk about the stars, but it was all code for… Love.” You mumbled. “I didn’t realize I was talking about it like that until he had this look in his eyes. I don’t know how to explain it, but they sparkled. Like actually sparkled.” You said looking down remembering that night. “He was there to listen, and he actually genuinely wanted to listen. Not just sit, nod, and agree with everything I was saying to shut me up.”
Sadie hummed knowing where this was going.
“But listen. There was something about that night that I never felt with Cole. Not even a little.” You said looking back at her.
“What did you do next?” she asked never looking away from you as she took a drink.
“Well, we were interrupted and never got to finish the conversation. But Cole showed up about 10 minutes later, and I knew I had to break it off.” You sighed.
“Do you regret doing it?”
“No… I don’t think so. There wasn’t that… connection. I did what my gut told me, and that’s fine with me. It’s just-“
“You have feelings for Jensen, and you feel bad because you felt like you dragged Cole along. Which you didn’t by the way.” She said seeing you were about to agree. “Now, you don’t know how to act on those feelings.”
“How do you-“
“One of your best friends. Known you since you were a Junior in high school. Sister-in-law.” She said motioning to herself. “It’s kinda my job to look after you.” She winked.
You chuckled lightly. “Yeah guess it is. Anyway, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to act on my feelings because we are roommates. Hell, I invited him here without thinking, and I’m hoping that doesn’t go down hill.” You laughed nervously. “If I do tell him how I feel, and he doesn’t reciprocate those feelings then it can make things super awkward and awful at home. I don’t want to ruin our friendship…”
“If you ask me,” she said making you look at her. “I think he has the same feelings.”
“You’ve met him for 10 minutes.”
“That’s all I needed. You two are radiating puppy love for each other! The way he looks at you, and the way you look at him… It’s SO obvious Y/N/N!”
“I don’t know-“
“Well, I do! Listen, I’m not saying you should act on it immediately. By all means wait till your comfortable.” She said putting the glass down and putting a hand on your shoulder. “But, I think the feelings are mutual. When you feel like the time is right, follow your gut. It’s never been wrong.” She said waiting for a response. “Am I right?”
You paused pawning it over. “Yeah. You’re right. You win. I’ll think about it.” You huffed giving in.
“Good!” she gave you a hug. “Just don’t think to much with your head ok?”
“Ok, mom!” you sassed.
“Hey!” she pulled back. Hands still on your shoulder. “I love your mom, but I am not her. That reminds me to tell you.” She started walking toward the living room before turning back around to you. “Don’t let her get to you. Be the bigger woman.”
“I’ll do my best.” You sighed knowing your mom would at some point bring it up, and try to talk about it when you least wanted to.
Tags:
@shamelesslydean @sleepless-sin @unabashedsoul97 @sandlee44 @gripmetight-raisemefromperdition @cabbagewithissues @supersleepygoat @anotherwaywardsister @spnwoman @ravengirl94 @carryonmywaywardcaptain @ezilyamuzed @thosekidswhohuntmonsters @purpleskiesandcherrypies @anise-d-castle6 @adoptdontshoppets @casper57x @tailsoflightning @spookycowz @eve05glee @snffbeebee @angelessquirrel @mirandaaustin93 @natura1phenomenon @tftumblin @gh0stgurl @screechingartisancashbailiff @kersumgen @herscrunchiehairtie
#supernatural#supernatural series#Jensen Ackles#jensen x reader#jensen ackles series#knock knock#reader insert#jensen ackles x reader#jensen ackles au#jensen ackles x y/n#Supernarural#SUPERNATURAL AU#SPN#SPN AU#spn reader insert#SPN series#spn au series#justkending
113 notes
·
View notes
Note
✖your pic
21.)Affectionate Kiss
A future birthday party
@grotesquegabby ‘Cause yours are here
I apologize for this will be a little long, that being because I tried including as much interactions as possible
After a while of planning and setting things up, Cosmos and Vespers were finally at ease...some ease at least. Thankfully, no money was spent on the venue in which a birthday party was being held, Phoebe’s birthday party.
She had decided that she wanted a “small” party with just her family and thankfully had asked to have it at Cosmos’ diner, so he closed it off to celebrate his little moth.
“Hi there birthday girl.~”
“You actually came!”
“Well, why in the world would I miss my niece’s birthday party?”
“I dunno, why would you miss my birthday party? It’s the best there is!” Phoebe giggled as she greeted her aunt Juno, taking her hand as she walked her through the diner, or rolled around with. “Why are you late?”
“Just some hold up, nothing to worry about.” Juno smiled down at her noticing the sparkly skates on her niece’s feet. “What are those?”
“These are one of the gifts my daddies gave me! I sparkle so much! Hey, did you bring me a gift auntie?”
“Of course I did.” Juno nodded as she revealed the box she had somehow been hiding behind her.
“Auntie!”
Phoebe and Juno looked up ahead where they heard running footsteps, Juno soon feeling arms and legs wrap around her legs which made her laugh.
“Guuuuys, get off auntie! I was greeting her!” Phoebe frowned as her twin siblings giggled to themselves.
“You have to learn to share Phoebe.~” they creepily said in unison, Phoebe rolling her eyes before she rolled away on her sparkly skates. On her way away from the twins, she grabbed a large basket that was filled with sparkly bags that each contained goodies like candies, and she thought that maybe now was the time to pass them around. At least there was a whole lot of other family around the diner. Soon enough, she saw a friend who sat alone, smiling as they looked out into the rink full of guests.
“Hiya Rory.”
“Hello Miss Phoebe.” the doll smiled at her, talking quietly yet was surprisingly heard by Phoebe despite the loud music playing. “How do you do?”
“I’m a little bored. I already went skating, and then bowling, and then the arcade, and to get food.”Phoebe shrugged as she also watched the rink. “Where’s Clara?”
“She is with Rudy.” Rory chuckled to themself as their eyes landed on said boy.
“I feel bad for that kid.”
“Why is that?”
“Well I mean look at him! He’s a mess!” Phoebe exclaimed as the pair watched as Rudy stumbled to the ground right in front of Clara, and she worriedly helped him up before checking his face for any injuries. Rudy practically melted in her hands, but this was because he was extremely embarrassed.
“And I mean, he’s even best friends with-”
“What are you two marks doing here all alone?” asked a voice that made Phoebe’s antennaes droop and her lips frown.
“Hello, Carney.” Rory plainly said as they turned to their right where Carney now squeezed in between the pair, reaching over to grab a bag from Phoebe’s basket.
“Candy bags! Nice!” he laughed before shoving one of the candies into his mouth. “Hey Buggy, give me some more for my sisters! I’m gonna give it to them.”
“No you won’t, you’re going to keep them all to yourself.”
“Nuh uh! I’m gonna give it to them. Right,-” Carney turned to Rory, his smile fading as he looked at Rory’s own smile. It was an innocent, sweet smile...but...there was something...very off...”Um...w-where’s, um...have you seen my mom?”
Carney turned to Phoebe, his eyes widening as he saw her green eyes turn fiery which made him gulp. He turned back to Rory, and then Phoebe, and it continued like that for a while before he gave a cough, sliding off the bench they had all been on. In an instant, he ran away, even forgetting his candy bag.
“Well anyways.Here you go Rory, a goodie bag for you.” Phoebe now smiled as her eyes went back to normal, Rory gratefully taking the bag before the two waved goodbye to each other. Soon, Phoebe was on her way once again. Now, she reached another set of benches which made her grin as she skated over to them.
“Grandpa Peri! Grandma Lyra!” she exclaimed before sitting on Peregrine’s lap, hugging him tightly as her grandparents smiled at her.
“How is the birthday girl doing?” Lyra asked as she pinched Phoebe’s cheek. “How does it feel being a year older?”
“Great! Just seven more years till I’m the Dancing Queen!” Phoebe shouted before looking at Peregrine. “Aren’t you guys gonna go skate with us?”
“We’re gonna sit it out for now, is that okay with you?” Peregrine asked as he tucked Phoebe’s hair behind her ear.
“Oh yeah, that’s fine! Even Auntie Magpie is sitting down, probably ‘cause of all the times she crashed into the wall and the floor.”Phoebe shrugged, then giving Peregrine an affectionate kiss on the cheek which made him lightly chuckle. “I’m gonna go with everybody else now, I just came to drop off these goodies that my auntie Juno made for everybody. She even got sparkly bags!”
“These are so sweet Phoebe.” Lyra smiled as she took a bag. “But I’m afraid your grandfather-”
“My grandpa what?”Phoebe interrupted, giving her grandparents a sweet smile and a flutter of her long eyelashes that not even Peregrine could resist.
“I love this bag, thank you Phoebe.” he ‘finished’ for Lyra, taking the bag as he gave Phoebe a kiss as well before she hopped off his lap and rolled away to the next guests.
Peregrine peeked into his sparkly bag, looking at all the sweets inside which made him scrunch up his nose a bit. However, just for Phoebe he would take them.
“Did you hear that?” Lyra interrupted his thoughts.
“Hear what?” he asked, then looking around before he gave a frown, the couple speaking together as they heard arguing and inhumane sounds that they easily recognized as:
“The twins.”
______________________________________________________________
“Why aren’t you guys skating?” Phoebe tilted her head as she now stood behind the trio consisting of Davey, Benjamin and Harper, all sitting on the rink’s rail.
“We’re taking a break.”Benjamin stated before taking a sip of his soda.
“And think this stuff is pretty boring. “Davey shrugged before taking a bite of his pizza slice. “Besides, I don’t want to be on the same rink as doofus over there.”
Phoebe turned to the rink as she caught sight of her cousin Ula and her boyfriend Schrader, both of course skating and laughing with each other.
“Schrader? But he’s a cool guy.”
“Pfft, sure.”Davey rolled his eyes before finishing his pizza. “Like I said, he’s a doofus and I don’t want to do any boring skating.”
“Not even with your mommy?~” a voice said behind the kids, Davey’s eyes widening as they all turned around to see Jelly with Penelope and Cordelia on each of her sides.
“Mom, I don’t wanna-”
“Come on you salty sailor, you’ve been sitting here the entire party.” Jelly shook her head as she helped Davey down, turning to the Cordelia and Penelope. “You two girls go on without me, I’ll be there in a sec.”
“Moooom.” Davey slightly groaned as he was being carried away, though he didn’t really mind that part nor the affectionate kiss given to him by his mother. Phoebe then gave a snicker before turning to the remaining boys.
“Anyways, I’ve got some goodies for you guys!”
______________________________________________________________
Phoebe was now on the rink, watching her family skate around as she realized that...she surprisingly hadn’t seen her fathers in a while. Hm, she imagined papa would be dancing his awesome dances while dad video taped him with his phone.
“What’s up birthday girl?”
Phoebe turned to her side as she noticed her cousin Ula skating right next to her.
“Oh, nothing. I just don’t know where my fathers are.”
“They’re probably off making out in the kitchen.”
“What?”
“I said they’re probably hanging out in the kitchen, handling food and your cake, ya know?” Ula giggled. “There’s nothing to worry about Pheebs, they’re just trying to make today super special for you. And my mom also told them to not constantly be on your tail.”
“Oh, so they’re giving me some space then?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, where’s your boyfriend?”
“Oh, he’s just taking a break with Dante. We came a little late because he had to finish work before coming here so he’s a little tired.”
“What about your uncle?”
“Pepper? Billy?”
“No, the hamster guy.”
“Ah, James. He’s hanging out with Magpie, having a little chat. Both seem to suck at skating.”
“Yeah, I can tell.” Phoebe giggled as Ula did so as well before noticing Phoebe’s basket.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, these are the goodie bags my auntie Juno made for the guests!” she smiled before handing two to Ula. “For you and Schrader.”
“Thanks. And what about those last two?” Ula pointed at the remaining bags.
“These are for my daddies but like I said, I haven’t seen them.”
“Well, I’d say your luck is turning around.”Ula smiled as she made Phoebe stop skating, then pointing to the outside of the rink which made Phoebe smile with a gasp. Soon, she skated her way out of the rink at full speed before jumping in the air, her wings spreading before she landed in Vespers’ arms.
“Dad! Papa!” she exclaimed before giving a pout. “Where the heck have you two been!?”
“We were getting your cake ready.”Cosmos chuckled as he gave Phoebe an affectionate kiss on the cheek.” Your uncle Pepper and aunt Belinda were helping us out.”
“All this time!?”
“Well, not really.”Vespers gave a small laugh as he stepped away along with Cosmos, revealing the gift table behind them that had one more gift.”We had to drag this in, and without you noticing it.”
Despite the stacks of gifts, the newest addition was the one that stood out for it was the largest one, and very large it was.
“I wanna open it! I wanna open it!” Phoebe reached out towards the gift as her fathers laughed.
“Let’s cut the cake first, yeah?”
“Hurry up then!” Phoebe wiggled in Vespers’ arms before she was set down to skate away on her sparkly skates, but not before both Cosmos and Vespers kissed her cheeks in an affectionate manner. “Everyone get your butts over here! We’re cutting the caaaaake!”
“Oh god.” Vespers shook his head as he laughed, then feeling Cosmos kiss him on the temple with the same affection given to Phoebe.
“What do you expect? We raised a cute, energetic, little moth.” Cosmos chuckled as he watched Phoebe hurriedly gather everybody up, even noticing each set of her grandparents holding each twin. “She’s gonna disown those skates you made soon.”
“Shut up dude.”Vespers playfully hit Cosmos before giving a sigh.”But you’re right.She’s gonna go crazy once she unwraps that car you made.”
The couple turned to each other, sharing one more kiss before excited chaos ensued.
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Tell Me Why - chapter 7
Hi,
I have come to the conclusion that I love the Drama because I watched too many soap operas when I was a kids, latin ones at that. Oh well... I dedicate the extra drama in this one to my dear friend, @taqueriaonamoon.
Also, this whole tumblr link bug is so disappointing and just plain ugh! Hope it gets fixed soon!
Love, Lina.
(Chapter 1) -- (Chapter 2) – (Chapter 3) – (Chapter 4) – (Chapter 5) -- (chapter 6)
Source
The bus makes a special detour to leave Charlie at her sister’s house and she honestly can’t wait any longer to be reunited with her family, “Charleh, yeh are ‘ere!! Boys, c’mere, Aunty Charleh is ‘ere!” Emily engulfs her sister in a hug, pulling her inside, “Hi, Em. ‘ow are yeh guys?” Em pulls away and takes a good look at Charlie, “yeh look different.” Charlie brushes her off and turns to great her nephews, “Nate darling, can you take aunty Charlotte’s bag to her room? Help him, Vi.” Emily pats her children in the back and they grunt before disappearing inside with Charlie’s things. The older woman pulls her inside and into the kitchen, closing the door, “There is something off with you.”
Emily squints at her, regarding Charlie from head to toe, “Em, stop being weird. Well, weirder than normal.” Emily shakes her head, sniffing Charlie’s shoulder and ultimately squeezing her breast, “Em, wot the fook?” Emily smiles broadly, “You are pregnant.” Charlie’s face falls and her posture falters, “W-What? ‘ave you lost yehr mind?” Emily crosses her arms in front of her chest, “Yeh can’t lie to meh, Charlie, I’ve ‘ad two kids. ‘ow maneh weeks?” Charlie gives up and sits at the kitchen table, “Almost 12.” Emily sits next to her sister, rubbing her back, “ ‘ey,mardy bum, wot’s wrong? Aren’t yeh ‘appeh?” Charlie sighs, pushing her hair away from her face, “I-I am, i-it’s joost I ddin’t want anehone to know yet. I-I’m not readeh.”
As she is pulled into another tight hug, Charlie chooses to snuggle close to her sister, cherishing the sense of home she carried, “ It’s gunna be alreight, love… Do yeh know who’s the father?” Charlie only nods in response, “Do I know ‘im?” The thing about Emily and Charlotte’s relationship was that being born only two years apart the girls grew very close, and even though they hadn’t lived together for more than 10 years now, they were very attuned to each other’s feelings and emotions, “Y-Yes…” Charlie’s voice is barely a whisper and in turn Emily sighs and hugs her closer, rocking her lightly in a soothing manner, almost as if Charlie was a small child herself.
“Is he from Sheff?” Charlie nods again, tears sprouting from her eyes, “Oh Charleh, I thought it’d been years since yeh two…” And for the first time since she found out about the pregnancy Charlie truly let herself breakdown, in the arms of her beloved sister, “Oh Charleh, it’s gunna be okeh.” The sobs rake through her slight body, emerging from deep with Charlotte, from all the doubts, and fears, and pain she’d kept bottled inside these past weeks, “Love, look at meh, yeh’ll end up making yehrself sick.” Charlie raises her head from her sister’s bossom and Emily wipes her face gently, “I’ll make yeh sum tea, ‘elp yeh calm down and we’ll talk about it, eh?” Charlie nods weakly, still sobbing lightly.
Emily gets up, swiftly putting the kettle on and setting up a plate of biscuits, “Yeh look joost like mum.” Remarks Chalie, nibbling on a chocolate digestive, “Well, I’ll take tha’ as a compliment.” Emily had indeed followed in their mother’s footsteps, from having two children to taking over the family’s beauty salon, “ ‘ere yeh go, joost as yeh like it.” Charlie blows into the steaming mug before taking a sip, appreciating a small token of warmth and homeliness, “I’ll never learn yerh way.”
“It’s love. Speakin’ of which…” Charlie rolls her eyes, “Don’t act like yerh the expert.” Fueled by her anger and lack of sleep Charlie has spoken without a second thought, “Em, I’m sorreh, yeh are only tryin’ to ‘elp and I’m being an asshole.” Emily waves her off, “I’ll let this one go, yeh are ‘urting. Plus, what ‘appened between Michael and I ‘as nofing to do wiv yehrs and Alex’s relationship.” The sound of his name brings back the near constant nausea in the pit of Charlie’s stomach, “Wot’s tha’ face? Charlie yous two ‘ave been in love with each other since yous were kids. Mike and I were a silly high school romance. All of ‘igh Green ‘as been waiting anxiously for their golden children to be togetha’.” Charlie cringes at her sister’s words.
“Emily, stop wiv tha’’ nonsense. Alex and I love each other as friends, this was a one off fing. ‘e were ‘urting and needed meh.” Emily scoffs, “Tell meh anotha’ lie, please. Alex were ‘urting so yeh shagged? When did it ‘appen?” Charlie blushes as she remembers the night, how detached still so connected they were, “After ‘e broke up wiv the witch.” Emily raises an eyebrow dramatically, “So ‘e’s free for the first time in three years and the first fing ‘e does is shag yeh? Yeh, tha’ boy realleh loves yeh like a sister.” Tears come back to Charlie’s eyes as if they’d found their permanent place on her face, “If ‘e loves meh so mooch then why does ‘e alreadeh ‘ave a new girlfriend, huh?”
Emily is at a loss, “Yeah, ‘ow the fook do I tell ‘im I’m pregnant when it was just anotha’ mindless shag in ‘is book? I can’t lose ‘im in meh life, specially not now!” Charlie feared Alex’s reaction would break her, his presence in her life was a constant she wasn’t ready to lose, ever. She couldn’t remember an important day in her life that he hadn’t been a part of and the mere thought of his rejection made her crumble. “I need time, Em. To figure this fing out.” Emily nods gravely, “ ‘Course, we’ll get through this. Together.” They hug once more for a brief moment, “Ok, now let’s move. Yeh should ‘ave sum time for a nap before the big luncheon, ugh.” They roll their eyes simultaneously, for different reasons.
The Monkey’s mothers had organized a welcome luncheon, taking advantage that the band had arrived a day early, at the Turner’s and Helders’ backyards which were adjacent and could be opened for big events like this. All families were invited for an afternoon of good old group fun, which both sisters dreaded. Charlie for Alex related reasons, whereas Emily had her own problems to deal with. Her former husband, Michael Cook, would be in attendance this afternoon and since the divorce the pair hadn’t been in the best terms. Emily put on a brave face in front of the kids, but she’d never imagined she’d end up in this situation where she couldn’t even have a civil conversation with the man who had been her partner for 10 years.
Emily leads her upstairs to her old room, which had become more of a guest room in recent years and soon Charlie is fast asleep, the stress of the last couple of days having taken it’s toll on her. However, her nap is short as soon Emily wakes her, “Charleh, wake up. We ‘ave to get going.” Charlie groans and turns away from her sister, “C’mon love, I’ve a surprise for yeh.” That perks her attention and Charlie raises her head, “Wot?” Emily groans, knowing the word surprise would get her sister’s attention, “It’s in the living room, come down and see. Get ready first, tho.”
Once Emily has left, Charlie gets up and diggs through her bag for an outfit and makeup. She changes into a simple sky blue tea length dress with a fluffy white cardigan on top, and after a quick brush of her hair and some light makeup, Charlie slips in her ballet flats and heads downstairs. As she turns into the living room Charlie finds her mum and dad sat on the couch, “Mum! Dad!” She is filled with joy at the sight of her parents sitting on the couch, “Charleh, me babeh!” Her mum, Margaret, gets up from the couch and embraces her youngest daughter tenderly.
“What are yeh guys doing ‘ere?” They pull apart so Charlie can hurt her dad, Pete, “We hadn’t seen yeh girls in forevah, yehr dad and I thought this was the perfect opportuniteh.” Emily emerges from the kitchen, “Kids, come down. We ‘ave to go.” Nate and Violet run downstairs and so the Jones family goes, walking the three blocks over to the celebration. Margaret walks arm in arm with Charlie, “Yeh look skinneh babeh, is everyfing okeh?” Charlie nods, giving her a hopefully reassuring smile, “Yes mum, ‘m perfect. Promise.” Her mum tuts.
“Yehr ‘air on tha’ other ‘and, it’s awfully long, Charlotte.” And so the motherly remarks begin, “I know mum, I’ll ‘ave Em cut it for meh before I leave.” Margaret stops them for a sec, taking charlie’s chin in her hand and inspecting her, “Yeh look different, there’s this… Glow about yeh, is there anything going on?” Charlie takes the hand away from her chin gently, “It’s just meh makeup, mum.” She moves them along and thankfully once they reach the celebration Margaret is distracted by her friends.
Charlie immediately spots Eily heading with the kids towards Jamie, Katie and Forrest who were talking to Alex and Louise. She excuses herself from her parents and heads over, “Hi guys.” Charlie gives Katie, who was chatting with Emily already, a hug since Jamie and Alex were too excited talking to Nate about music and guitars. Jamie had gotten him one for the past x-mas and since then that’s all the kid had been able to talk about. She kneels down to Forrest’s height, the small boy was being entertained by his cousin Vi and Louise, “Hey For, can aunty Charlie get a hug?” He notices and opens a wide smiles, “Aunty Charlie!”
The toddler throws himself into her arms, causing Charlie to nearly stumble back, “Story, story, story!” She chuckles, kissing his soft cheeks, “Later, love. Aunty promises.” Since Forrest mostly saw her at the bookstore for story time, or when she babysat for the Cooks, he had linked her to storytime, “Before your nap, baby.” Katie intervenes to avoid a tantrum and the toddler is soon distracted. Charlie stands up, “You are so good with him, Char, you’ll be a great mum someday.” Emily chokes on her drink and Charlie has to hold herself back not to glare at her sister.
Luckily everyone is distracted by a new arrival, “Mike’s ‘ere.” The kids noticed too and start running towards their dad. Charlie stands back, between Alex and Emily, linking arms with her sister. “ ‘ow long’s it been?” Emily downs her drink before answering, “Almost two months.” Charlie huffs and Alex takes her hand, squeezing it once, and she is thankful for his support. Michael reaches them with an arm around Nate’s shoulders and Violet hanging from the other, both kids beside themselves to have their dad there, “ ‘ello, ‘ello.” He is visibly altered, at 2pm in the afternoon, at a family event, “Hey Mike, I have to feed Forrest right now. Kids, do you want to come with us?” Katie had sensed the incoming conflict and picked up her son, asking her nephews to join them brought some relief to Emily, “Go babehs, try and find yehr grandparents.”
Alex also felt the fight brewing, as he was well aware of the Cook’s temperament, “Babeh, why don’t yeh go wiv them? I’ll be reight there.” Louise took her queue and follows after Katie, “What were yeh thinking, Michael?” Showing up to a family event plastered liked this?” Michael moves towards Emily, “Yeh are no longer meh wife, Emily. So shut the fook up and go back to yehr silly little chats about ‘air or shite.” Charlie can see jamie’s hands curling up into fists and moves closer to Emily.
“It’s not about meh, yeh wanker. It’s about our kids, who ‘adn’t seen their poor excuse of a dad for nearly two months!” The next few seconds happened in slow motion for Charlotte. She sees Michael charge towards Emily and steps in front of her sister, receiving the slap that had been intended for her. The whole party quiets down as she is thrown into her sister’s arms and Alex grips Michael by the collar, throwing a punch to his nose. Before the fight started Jamie held Michael back and their parents intervened.
Margaret takes a hysterical Emily into the Helders’, while Jamie and his father drag Michael away from the whole thing. Alex and Charlie are herded by Penny into her kitchen, where she takes care of them just like when they were kids and scraped their knees biking. Charlie is sitting at the table with a ice pack against her cheek and hand over her stomach, daydreaming about what happened, “Is everything alreight, Charleh?” She snaps out of it and looks up at Alex, who was leaning against the counter as his mum tended to his split knuckles.
Charlie had been worrying about the baby, even though she knew nothing could’ve possibly happened, “Yeah, ‘m just ‘ungry I fink.” Penny finishes wrapping his hand and gives him an ice pack, “You two stay ‘ere, I’ll get yeh some plates. It’s best yeh eat in ‘ere, just until the ice melts down. Especialleh yeh mister, yeh’ve work to do tomorrow.” They chuckle in unison as Penny goes back outsied, “Are yeh realleh okay, love? That wanker gave yeh quite the blow.” Alex is clearly still agitated so Charlie pats the seat next to her, “C’mere Al.” He sits down and takes her hand, “I’m okay. Just worried about Em and the kids.” Alex pulls her ice pack away to peak at the swollen skin and grimaces, “I know Char, but we’ll ‘elp Em make through this, okay? I promise.” Charlotte smiles despite the pain on her right cheek.
This was her Alex, he was always there to save her and everyone she loved. In that moment she almost blurted out about the pregnancy, but their mums walk into the room and ruin the moment, “Oh Penny, don’t they look adorable?” Charlie and Alex roll their eyes simultaneously, “Yes Maggie, I just wish they’d get together alreadeh and save meh the trouble of all these girls Alex keeps bringing ‘ome.” Alex objects, “Oi mum, can yeh not, please?” Charlie holds back her giggles as Penny tuts, “They are all beautiful to look at, son. But they are not for yeh, next to our Charleh they don’t stand a chance.”
They were used to their mothers comments by now, so they try to ignore them and go on with their meal. Once Charlie and Alex are both fed and their ice packs have melted they venture back outside, where Charlie is quickly pulled away to read a book for the kids.
Alex stays back to watch and is quickly approached by his grandma, “ ‘ey Nanna.” She hugs him from behind, keeping an arm wrapped around his waist, “ ‘ow are yeh, son?” He hums a positive response, eyes trained on Charlie as she entertains the kids, “She really is summat, innit?” Alex looks down to his grandma smiling and agrees, placing his injured hand on top of hers.
“Weh never realleh understood why yehs two didn’t end up together. I, personally, blame yehr father.” He pulls a face, “Nanna, tha’s awful! Besides, Charleh’s way too good for meh. She deserves better.” He looks back to his friend, catching a moment when she’d just read a funny line and all the children were laughing with her, making Charlie shine with a special glow. Nanna notices the look on his face and smiles sadly, “Whatever you say, love.”
—//—//—//—//—
Once the kids and their parents are sound asleep in their beds, as Charlie had given her room to their parents, she and Emily head to the living room for a nice sisterly chat, just like old times. While Em enjoyed a cup of red wine, Charlie resigned herself to curling up on the love seat with a warm cup of tea, “Today was…Quite the day, huh.” Ponders Emily taking a sip of her wine and sloshing the liquid around in her mouth.“I ‘ave to tell ‘im, don’t I?” Emily nods and Charlie sighs, “I’m so scared. I-I love ‘im as a friend above everyfing and to… Lose ‘im, I don’t know if I can.”
“You are scared of losing him like I lost Michael?” Charlie only whispers a word of agreement, “Char, you and Alex ‘ave ‘ad the perfect friendship for 30 years, yeh never fight. The worst fights Mike and I had, and still have are about money and that’s not an issue you and Alex will have.” Charlie grimaces at her sisters words, “I’m not gonna let Alex pay everyfing and spoil the kid at random.” Emily waves her off, “I know, love. But Michael and I were two broke kids, wiv not even a college degree, trying to handle two kids. The only reason I even ‘ave a ‘ouse today is because mum and dad left it to meh when they retired. Yeh ‘ave yehr own place and business, even if yeh raised this kid by yehrself, which I find highly unlikely, you’d still be good and not have to bother fighting wiv the father.”
Charlie takes another sip of her tea, trying to figure out how to voice her next question, “Em, did Michael… Did he ever hit yeh?” Emily looks down into her wine glass, as if she could find an alternative answer at the bottom, “Hmm, once… The week he left.” Charlie reaches out to grip her sister’s hand, fighting the instincts to storm out and find the man that hurt her sister, “Tha’s when I knew there was no going back, tha’ we was done.” Charlie reaches out to hold her sister’s hand, “Tell ‘im, Charleh. Worrying about it won’t change the fact that you are ‘aving ‘is baby.”
Emily finishes her wine and bids her goodnight, but Charlie can’t go to sleep yet, there was too much going on in her head so she falls back on an old habit. She takes her coat that was hanging by the door and slips into her boots, ready for a late night stroll around the neighborhood, where the cold air would hopefully help her sort through her thoughts.
Charlie wraps her coat tighter around herself as she takes a turn and to her surprise Alex is standing in front of his parent’s house, smoking a cigarette just like old times. She approaches him, “Can’t sleep?” He asks as she stops by his side, “Nope… I feel like we’re 16 again.” He chuckles, “Reight… ‘ow are yeh, Char?” She sighs, taking the cigarette he offered, thankful for the cold night as she takes a fake drag.
“I’m fine, Alex.” He shakes his head, knowing how stubborn she could be, “Me mum finks yeh’re depressed again. Are yeh?” Charlie looks down, kicking the gravel beneath her feet, “No. Are yeh? Yeh’ve been acting weird too.” He throws the cigarette butt on the ground, stepping on it, “No Charlie, ‘m not. But yeh’d tell me if there were summat wrong, reight?” Charlie turns to face him, “Yes, Alexander. I should go back ‘ome, it’s late.” She moves past him, going back towards her house, “Night, Charlotte. I love yeh.” She has to dig her nails into her hands to keep from crying as she turns back to face him, “Love you too, Turner.”
#alex turner fanfic#alex turner imagine#alex turner#alex turner fanfiction#arctic monkeys#arctic monkeys fanfic#ittookthelightforever#arctic monkeys fanfiction#arctic monkeys imagine#tell me why
24 notes
·
View notes
Text
guess who’s expecting!
who? Naomi Owens & Amy Taylor where? Janey Taylor’s Wedding when? February 16th, 2019
Weddings, at least for Naomi, has always been one of her favorite things. There was something about the affair that brought out the best mood in every single guest — love was in the air, who couldn’t be swept up in the romance of it all? The ceremony was near perfection with a pair of vows that moved Naomi to tears, while the spacious venue the guest relocated to blared with funky music and dancers moving around the dance floor was laughs on their face. By then Naomi had tore herself away from the table she shared with Michael and her brother, moving on toward the snack table before the dinner would be served. Scanning across the plates offered up, Naomi grabbed a few cubes of cheese to pop into her mouth, though immediately scrunched her nose. “Well, I guess I ain’t a fan of spicy jack anymore.” She laughed as she noticed Amy approach her side, right around the time she swiftly crumbled up the cheese into a napkin to quickly throw away. “Babe!” The brunette then grinned, turning around to face Amy, clad in her pink wrapped dress. “This is so gorgeous.”
Although the wedding had been in the works for a few months only, when the day finally rolled around, Amy breathed out with relief. Finally, it's here. Someone might have thought she was overwhelmed and annoyed with all the planning and all the conversations that have been had over the past few months, but it wasn't that which held her breath to ransom in her chest. It was that finally, after all these years, Janey Taylor would make her happiness official once more. Whatever the differences the eldest child had with her mother, it was ultimately all she wanted for the woman that had given birth to her: happiness. And though Amy would be the first to say having a man did not equate a happy life, she was glad that her mother would no longer be alone. Legally, emotionally, or in any other way. That, however, was not where her mind was at as the day progressed into the evening and the party was in full swing. No, something else had kept her mental gears busy and preoccupied, lurking for a private moment with her oldest friend. Something she had mentioned that morning as she was helping the Taylor girls with their makeup, and traces of which she had noticed throughout the day, now that she had been made aware of them. Finally spotting her friend on her own by the snack table, Amy did her best to sashay over to her, the sage green of her dress and the matching clutch holding three (3!) different pregnancy tests, helping her blend in with the background. "Having fun?" Amy wondered with a smile on her lips, taking a quick look around the room. "Mom's outdone herself. You know she basically planned this whole thing on her own? I'm amazed." Yes, the kids helped run errands, but it was all at Janey's directive. "I kind of need to talk to you, though. Can you come with me to the bathroom?"(edited)
“Oh, totally.” The teacher laughed, before feeling the surprise take on over. “Your Mom did all this? Does she want to hand over that planner and mojo whenever I get hitched? Because... damn.” Naomi complimented as she allowed two large hues to scan over the crowded venue once more — it was no secret that the wedding she was planning once before it went up in flames was very similar to the idea, but this was all she could ever want herself. A warm ceremony to officiate a love, followed by a rowdy reception where nothing else could be heard other than laughter and good music. “Now we know how spectacular yours and Aubrey’s is gonna be.” The brunette then winked, loosely clasping her hands together in front of her. The night was going on perfectly without a hitch, so when Amy opted for a ladies room break, Naomi simply chuckled and ducked to gather some material of her dress so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. “Of course. I actually need to fix some smudges anyway.” She gestures toward her lashes, thinning nothing of the suggestion before she was twisting to head toward the side exit with Amy. “Everything okay?”
It was impressive, Amy agreed. Not only did Janey know what she wanted, but she knew how to get it, too. No vendors could persuade her otherwise, and it showed in every carefully chosen detail, every delicate flower that adorned the tables spread out throughout the room. And Janey Ta─ Madison, now─ shone like the brightest star in her gorgeous, yet simple and appropriate white dress, holding her new husband by the hand as if they had only just gotten together. Which, in a way, they did, Amy admitted to herself, smiling at the newlyweds dancing not too far away from them. "You know she's gonna make herself an honorary planner whenever you find the man that deserves all the goodness you've got to give." The two families had been so closely intertwined that, yes, Janey Madison would 100% be involved in the planning of Naomi's wedding (if only to drag Pamela away before Naomi lost her nerves entirely and strangled her). Warning flashed in Amy's hazel eyes, a decided shake of her head discarding the idea of a wedding happening any time soon. "Let's not talk about those, not even hypothetically." Lacing arms with Naomi, the two of them adorned in their gentle pink and green dresses like heralds of spring amidst the winter themed décor. "I don't know yet. You'll tell me in a few minutes." The ominous tone of her words could not be avoided as they reached the restroom, and Amy set out to check all the stalls and make sure they were all empty.
Amy did have a point, not that Naomi had minded all that much. With how intertwined the two families had become to be over her entire life there was no doubt a Taylor hand would be played with her big day. Not only Janey, but she always envisioned Amy to be one of a few girls to be standing up there with her as she exchanged her vows. The smile that was on her face because of it didn’t even disappear as they made their way through the venue. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Your Mama is just proving she’s a genius.” Naomi laughed as she walked along beside Amy, unable to help the eye roll that followed suit. If she knew Amy Taylor well enough by now, she knew the idea of her being thrown in a white dress was almost as dreadful as a natural disaster tearing up the town. It wasn’t that it wasn’t possible — but that more or less happened on Amy’s terms. “Well, you better duck and cover when you wait out there for the bouquet toss.” The teacher winked, before slipping into the bathroom. She didn’t pay much mind to it as she moved toward the mirror and began the original task she had in mind, but the twinge in Amy’s rasp had her brows furrowing together. That, coupled with the suspicious way Amy has checked the stalls, had Naomi turning away from the mirror to look toward her friend. “Okay, now you’re being a total weirdo.” Her brows furrowed. “What are you so amped up over?”
"Girl," Amy said, shaking her head at the thought, "you know I won't even be in that lineup. I'll conveniently have to deal with an emergency when she tosses the bouquet and I'll let you and Bree fight over which one catches it instead." Okay, so, maybe avoiding the ordeal was pushing it, but Amy would certainly try to remove herself from the trajectory of the flowers that would quite possibly be aimed at her. Between Wes having a child when he was eighteen, and Amy losing her loved one at the age of seventeen, the Taylors had yet to celebrate or crown one of their kids tying the knot. And Bree was just too young. I mean, twenty-eight is ridiculously young, right? Or so Amy's inner protective sister thought. That, however, was neither here nor there as the subject matter Amy wanted to discuss had nothing to do with any of her family. Having made sure no curious ears would be listening in on the conversation she was about to have with her childhood friend, Amy joined the doe eyed woman at the mirrors, setting her purse down on the sink. "Okay, so, remember how you came earlier today and you were feeling all weird and wonky? And you've mentioned being sick a few times in the last few days?" She began, hesitant, for once beating around the metaphorical bush. "It got me thinking and..." She reached into the little purse matching her dress, drawing out three different pregnancy tests sans their original packaging because it wouldn't fit that way. "Can you just humor me and take these? Or at least one of them?"
“Oh, you’re funny. You act like I’m not going to be dragging that booty out there with me. It’s tradition!” If Amy knew her as well as she said she did, she would then know that Naomi was a stickler for traditions. She even went as far as pointing her fingers into the mirror so the reflection was technically pointing to the other brunette when she spilled the space beside her. Returning her attention back to the mirror and leaning in close to adjust a smudge, Amy’s words at first seemed rather casual, and Naomi didn’t think much of it. “I’m beginning to think it was the bad case of taco Tuesday.” It didn’t seem reasonable, but Naomi laughed it off anyway. There could only be a handful of explanations, right? But those tests came into view out of the corner of her eye, and Naomi stalled immediately, looking over toward her friend. At that point, she actually couldn’t help the hard laugh that escaped her mouth. “Amy, what?” She laughed again, shaking her head. “You’re kidding. Seriously...?” Her body then turned toward her friend. “There’s no way.” It wasn’t the most far off thing in the world. If Naomi stood witness to Amy going through similar signs, she would swear up and down she was about to be an auntie to be. Naomi just stood by the fact that she knew her body and would have known, as one little slip up in the past month wouldn’t have granted her... well, a child. Her brows creased together and she immediately reached out to grasp one of the tests, holding it up. “You went out and bought three tests? You psycho.” She shook her head, laughing. “They’re going to be all negative. It’s just an off week.”
Not only did Amy know Naomi had great respect for tradition and wouldn't dream of breaking this particular one, she also knew Naomi would make sure Amy was stood beside her for the bouquet toss, leaving not even a sliver of possibility for the older brunette to duck away. Not that it would stop Amy, who saw herself as far too serious for these things in the first place. "Mmm, we'll see about that," she shrugged her shoulders, not really eager to get into it when she knew she'd lose, no matter how stubborn she was. A bad case of taco Tuesday could explain some things, but not the fact that it was now Saturday and Naomi had been acting off all the while. The laughter that spilled from her friend's mouth wasn't unexpected, and Amy greeted it with stern seriousness, the three tests unflinching before Naomi. "I'm not kidding. Do you know who called Iris's pregnancy first? This girl," she pointed her thumb at herself. "I have my reasons to suspect, and if it turns out I'm right, I'll be a truffle pig for pregnant women, but that's a bridge I'll cross when we have the results." Wide-eyed and a little outraged by Amy's suspicion, Naomi, however, broke through her disbelief and finally agreed. "I'm not a psycho, I'm just thorough! These things aren't 100% certain, so if they all show the same thing, I figure I'll believe them. So come on, thank god you've had all that bubbly out there," Amy joked, making a mental note to keep Naomi away from the champagne chutes once they got out of there if it turned out that her friend was wrong.
It was a little difficult to even begin to take Amy seriously when she was holding those three pregnancy tests before her, picturing her best friend roaming the drug store looking for the best brands, with a look on her face that told Naomi there was no avoiding this. There was literally no way that this could happen, Naomi was probably the most careful woman there could be, but this kind of thing didn't just happen to her... At least not without a whole lot of planning on her part, and she really didn’t plan something like this. The laugh that left her mouth was a bit sarcastic as much as it was genuine, since she did actually find this entire thing humorous. But if this would amuse Amy, so be it. “You’re still a little crazy. You’re at your mom’s wedding, and you have three pregnancy tests stuffed in your purse! What if Cass found these?” Her brow arched, though she plucked them out of her grip anyway. To humor her, she would just do it. “Yeah, well, Iris also had a fiancé and was totally fertile with the second kid after Sophie. This is you just being totally paranoid.” With that, Naomi set her little clutch down near the table underneath the mirror and actually went for the bathroom stall to have a little privacy to do the deed and the business. For the next minute or so the only thing that could be heard was ripping of a few packages, humming to distract herself, before a quick flush and Naomi was pushing the door open with her heel as she was carrying the dried tests wrapped with torn off tissue. “You’re going to be severely disappointed, I hope you know..” Naomi deflected as she moved to set the tests down on a paper towel, then run her hands underneath the water to wash. “You totally made me pull a Snooki at your mom’s wedding!”
1 note
·
View note
Text
DIVE!! Book 2 Chapter 8-SO I ENVY YOU!
Figuring out what Shibuki’s mom was saying was really hard
Full list of translations here
Previously on DIVE!!: A productive summer.
“Your friends came.”
One afternoon, his mother called Kyouko’s house and told him that, so he ran for twenty minutes on the hill road and passed through the door of his house that was close to the sea. When he suddenly saw Tomoki and Youichi biting into watermelons on the garden’s porch, their sudden appearances weren’t the only things that Shibuki was shocked at seeing.
Until yesterday, the summer had only been woven with light and shadow. Why was it that as soon as their figures were added to it, the surrounding scenery suddenly started to come alive with vivid colours?
The sky was at its bluest.
The clouds were at their whitest.
The watermelon was at its sweetest.
All it took was for one or two unfamiliar foreign objects to arrive, and everything that was too familiar to him had been freshly revived, just like that.
Youichi said, “Yo” to Shibuki, who was standing stock still while reeling from those dizzying changes, as a black seed flew out of his mouth.
“We came back from Beijing the day before yesterday. We were completely exhausted from being drilled by Coach Sun. That’s why we’re taking a three-day vacation.”
Next to their backpacks that were stuffed with three days worth of luggage, the two were actually thin enough to clearly see that they had been training hard at the training camp. Youichi, who boasted perfect proportions, lost a bit of meat, and Tomoki’s cheekbones had also become very thin underneath.
“Sorry we came here on such short notice. But Youichi-kun said that it would be boring if we don’t suddenly come like this.” Tomoki said as though to make an excuse.
“Actually,” Youichi continued from the side. “I thought we’d stay somewhere cheap. But from what that auntie said earlier, there’s no accommodations around here. So, she said that we could stay here, but is that really okay?”
Before Shibuki could reply, his mother, Miyuki, said, “Please feel free to,” as she brought seconds of barley tea. “It must have been troublesome to come here all the way from Tokyo. If these rooms suit you, then please feel free to borrow them. Please don’t be afraid to take advantage of our hospitality.”
“Sorry for all the trouble,” Youichi said with a bold smile as he reached his hand out for a second helping of barley tea.
“For rooms, you can use the south guest room. The one next to Misaki’s and Minami’s (1) rooms would be too noisy, and the west guest room is humid…For the bath, you can go in whenever you like. I will call you when dinner is ready. That’s right, you should also call Kyouko, right?”
To Miyuki, who was talking briskly, Youichi grinned broadly with a “Sorry for the trouble” again, and Tomoki asked, “Who’s Kyouko?” with curious eyes, all before Shibuki even had a chance to get a word in. And thus, his three days with them began.
Shibuki did not protest this one-sided development, because he realized that somewhere deep inside, rather than wanting to protest, he was exhilarated.
He didn’t know what kind of feelings Tomoki and Youichi had when they came.
However, at any rate, their visit was certainly very sudden.
Because it was already three in the afternoon, they took an early bath instead of going anywhere, and leisurely gathered around the dining table in the Okitsus’ tatami room.
The Okitsus ate dinner early. Preparation was completed at 5 PM, everything was completely eaten at 6 PM, and all the lights in the house were extinguished at 8 PM. This was also one of the reasons that kept Shibuki away from his home, but today his mother was preparing fresh fish that she procured from his uncle, and the dinner with a large number of people continued into 7 PM, something that was very rare. When Miyuki suddenly thought of it during the preparation, she made Jappa soup.
From the time he was little, Shibuki almost never talked about himself, and Miyuki often complained that “I don’t know what he’s thinking about.” But for Shibuki, as his mother rarely expressed emotions, he didn’t know what she was thinking either. She was a woman who disavowed Shiraha’s way of living, and in order to go through with that opposition she continued to support his stubborn father, who devoted himself to fishing. Although she had a main image of a devoted and patient person who lacked humour, however, today Miyuki was in an extremely good mood, and sometimes laughed like a young girl.
His two little sisters showed contrasting responses to the two young men. Misaki, a second-year in middle school, welcomed them in her best clothes, and frequently moved to change everyone’s dishes, but Minami, who was in fifth grade, was being shy and didn’t speak a word, occasionally whispering something secretly into only Kyouko’s ear.
Minami wasn’t the only one who was tense. Youichi, who was suddenly greeted by three young girls who led him to the tatami room, was also slightly awkward, but on the contrary Tomoki quickly made himself at home, and even though he didn’t even drink alcohol, he talked on and on about his heartbreak for an hour.
The other women, including Miyuki, all had the same opinion.
“It’s only natural if you turn her down on dates and phone calls.”
“Even I would side with the brother.”
“Even though she tried to two-time you for the time being, and there was a way to choose the one who was better, she was still honest as she cleanly moved onto your brother.”
That last opinion was from Kyouko, and though Shibuki was used to it, Miyuki looked like she had mixed feelings.
Past seven in the evening, a pleasant breeze blew in through the window, and dim lights drifted warmly between the bushes that shook the white outline on the other side. Tomoki, who had been making a big fuss over seeing fireflies for the first time in his life, seemed dumbfounded by the shrill cries of the cicadas. The sound of the waves, the sound of the wind chimes and the noise from the trees, absolutely everything was swallowed up and painted over in one color by the loud sounds of the cicadas. On the way to the guest room where Miyuki had laid down a futon, Tomoki discovered a singing cicada clinging to a pillar in the hallway, and once he was aware that just one of them was the offender that split his eardrums, he was amazed, saying things like, “It’s just you…?” and so on.
Kyouko made the tactful move to return home by herself, and when the three boys remained in the guest room with the futons lined up, they thought of the same thing at the same time. It was almost like the night of a school trip. Naturally, they definitely weren’t going to bed anytime soon, so the three of them continued to talk in murmurs as they laid upon the futon.
Initially, the topic was exclusively focused on Kyouko.
“When and where did you meet?”
“How far did you guys go?”
“Are you going to marry each other in the future?”
Tomoki and Youichi barraged Shibuki with questions, but Shibuki wasn’t willing to separate Kyouko from their own little world and expose her to the public eye for just that reason, and as he was being embarrassed and ambiguously dodged the questions, the enthusiasm in the room died down, and when Tomoki looked like he was going to start again about his heartbreak story when he said “But Miu and my brother…” Youichi changed the topic quickly.
“At any rate, I’m beat. That’s China for you, it makes you feel awed.”
Deep down, Shibuki cared most about the topic of the Asia Joint Training Camp.
“The world is different, after all. That really hit me when I went to this training camp. I mean, I was pretty overwhelmed.”
Maybe they aren’t going to talk about the joint training camp…
Shibuki secretly held those worries, but Youichi began his story quite naturally.
“The Chinese athletes were especially different. After all, their sense of stability in competitions is the work of the strength and flexibility that they thoroughly trained for. What their practice consisted of was completely different in the first place. When we were in the training camp, while we vomited so many times while trying to finish that regimen and feeling like we were going to die, that regimen was just the bare minimum that they finished every day. Well, for flexibility, the people with the best qualities were chosen from the start.”
That was right. The system of diver training in China was thorough. First, coaches from elementary-level sports clubs scout for children with promise among artistic gymnasts and other athletes, and then welcome only those who show true potential at the tests. After that, they were screened by intense special training, and only those who survived it were allowed to belong to regional teams all over the country. Those athletes from the regional teams enter the dorms, doing dryland training from dawn, school in the morning and the pool in the afternoon…everyday was devoted to diving, but the dorm also had things like a cafeteria dedicated to athletes and a special infirmary, which were all perfectly equipped facilities. But still, only those who were selected for the national team, where only excellent elite athletes from the regional teams were gathered, could participate in international meets.
“Well, you become stronger whether you like it or not. You know, even though we’re all Asians, the Thai and Indonesian athletes were giddier compared to the others, but the Chinese and South Korean athletes, how should I put it, even their stern faces were different. They moved like machines according to the coach’s instructions, so it was a little bit creepy.”
“Even so Youichi-kun was still amazing, and Coach Sun favored him and said crazy things like, ‘Won’t you become a Chinese citizen?’” From next to the grumbling Youichi, Tomoki added in even more complaints. “On the last day of camp, everyone performed in a competition, and Youichi-kun got third place! He was third out of forty people. Although I was worthless in thirty-third place.”
“It’s enough to perform without worries only at your first international meet. I was in third place to begin with, and it’s a rank restricted to the young people of Asia. And there’s rumors that China is still hiding truly great athletes.”
“But, Youichi-kun, you couldn’t stop talking in English. During practice, Coach Sun got Chinese and English mixed up, and even when I was being yelled at, I didn’t know what he was saying, and I could only say “What? What?” (3) I was so embarrassed when I was given nicknames like ‘Mr. What’. If Youichi-kun hadn’t translated for me, I think I would have cried.”
“I had been studying English extra hard with my tutor. It was so that I could join the American training camps, but if I couldn’t understand my rivals’ words in international competitions, I’d look weak. Even this time, thanks to words, I got a lot closer to the unreachable Coach Sun…He was complaining about the unappetizing meals in the training camp, and it made him seem a lot more human.”
“Aah, I will also work harder. In English and in diving.”
“For diving, since you were always surrounded by the big-shots, you haven’t noticed how much you have grown. Trying soaring in a Japanese pool. You’ll almost certainly be surprised.”
“You really think so?”
“Really, I do. Even I was nearly overwhelmed by your strength. When I was too tired to even stand anymore, you kept saying things like going to see the pandas.”
While the two were dragging out the remaining heat of the training camp as they talked excitedly, Shibuki kept silent and strained his ears, his face stiffening slightly. It wasn’t jealousy. If he was jealous of them, it wasn’t for being able to participate in the training camp, but for their passion for diving, which they could give forth without any hesitations. That one moment. When he remembered that thrill in that one competition, to tell the truth, even now Shibuki wanted to climb onto the dragon’s back. What am I doing here? he wondered.
Before long they noticed Shibuki’s silence and became surprised. Tomoki, with his open face, immediately kept his mouth shut, but Youichi’s expression didn’t change as he stared at Shibuki.
“Matsuno, who went with us, didn’t make it until the end of camp. While he was there his shoulder was injured so he had to return. Of course, there was medical staff there, and even though every night he received ultrasound treatment, his amount of practice was not cut in any way. There were some athletes from the other countries who left because of injuries. To be honest, I think that it was good that you didn’t go.”
Shibuki tilted his head, making a gesture that couldn’t really be said to be nodding.
“Okitsu, did you dive into the sea yet?”
“No…a lot of stuff came up, so I had to put it off.”
“A lot of stuff, huh.”
“I was too busy having sex with a woman.”
“If that’s the case then you had a great summer.”
As the three faced each other silently, a strange vortex drawn by the smoke from the mosquito-repelling incense sticks grazed against their noses. They sniffed the smell together, but after a few seconds Tomoki couldn’t stand it.
“I mean, I’m too jealous of you.”
After he spoke that honest comment, like he was tearing off an iron mask, Shibuki bared his teeth and vented all at once.
“Honestly, I also acted like an idiot. Are you sleeping anytime soon?”
“Uh-huh.”
Entering the futon while laughing, he turned off the lights in the room.
“It’s really dark in here.”
Just like when he met the fireflies and the cicadas, Tomoki was also impressed by the darkness.
“Why is it so dark?”
“Because it’s night. Good night.”
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
When only the sound of the waves started to dominate the room, Shibuki wondered what Kyouko was doing right about now. Good night, he murmured again in his heart. It was always a strange feeling not having the person you always lied down next to there, and he felt sorry when he thought that Kyouko might be feeling lonely, and even more sorry when he was able to sleep better than usual that night.
Translation Notes
1. More sea-themed Okitsu names. Misaki (岬) means “cape” (as in on a coast) and Minami (美波) means “beautiful wave)
2. Jappa soup is miso soup that uses the leftovers after filleting cod. It’s an Aomori specialty.
3. Tomoki is saying “what” in English here.
Next time on DIVE!!: It’s finally summer vacation for Tomoki and Youichi.
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
Episode 7: A Game of Chance
A safe house at last – time for some rest, perhaps, as long as Charlie's prepared the way properly.
Good Mood
[birdsong, and the sound of Lawrence whistling]
STANTON: You seem in a good mood today, Lawrence. Keeping up a brisk pace.
LAWRENCE: Me? Well, yeah. Good night’s sleep, pleasant company, great breakfast. Stretching my legs. Doesn’t take much to make me happy, Elizabeth. Or does anyone call you Liz?
STANTON: They call me Wing Commander. Or Ma’am. And I suppose at least it wasn’t breakfast of endangered waterfowl.
LAWRENCE: I- [sigh] Yeah. How you doing, Emma? See you put your earpiece in again.
EMMA: Yeah. No, yeah, so I was thinking about this, I think I’ve got it all wrong. I was just a bit panicked yesterday.
STANTON: Yes. We noticed.
EMMA: So listen. I’ve worked out what’s going on here. Do you want to know?
LAWRENCE: Emma. If you really know everything that’s going on here, I think I might just marry you.
EMMA: Someone got there before you. Not sure where he is now, though. Anyway. Okay. There’s only one thing that makes sense. Those people that are searching for us, The Burn or whatever: they’re using extra-terrestrial technology. That’s how they keep finding us.
LAWRENCE: Hmmm. You’re saying the people looking for us are... aliens.
EMMA: Don’t be ridiculous. Just their technology. Alien life isn’t adapted to our atmosphere so they wouldn’t go bumbling around in public. Everyone knows that.
LAWRENCE: Yep. Yep, yep. Should’ve remembered that.
STANTON: You did have quite a shock, Emma. It can have a strange effect on the human mind. I remember when my mother died, I lost my short-term memory almost completely for a few days. Orders, advice, couldn’t hold anything in my head. And I didn’t even like my mother. Believing this kind of thing is probably a symptom.
EMMA: But I didn’t just start believing it. I’m a paranormal researcher. ESP, mostly. But of course you do learn a lot about the hidden truths of the universe simply by exposure. So obviously I thought the tech Charlie was using was alien too. That’s why I was suspicious. Most aliens aren’t friendly to the Earth, you see, and using their tech can corrupt us. But I can tell that Charlie’s been in contact with the Race of Light- that’s a race that’s become so advanced that it’s converted itself into pure light.
LAWRENCE: Oh, yeah?
STANTON: Where is Charlie? She was supposed to check in with us at oh-eight-hundred hours.
LAWRENCE: Haven’t heard a peep out of her all morning. Charlie?
Charlie? ...Hm. No, nothing.
EMMA: We’re in a deep valley here. Maybe her signal’s blocked. If we get to higher ground it might be clearer.
STANTON: Worth a try. Without her to guide us-
LAWRENCE: We could walk straight into The Burn’s arms. Okay, let’s get climbing.
Altitude Sickness
[birdsong]
LAWRENCE: [gasping and panting heavily] I can’t breathe properly! Is the air thinner up here? I think I’m- I’m suffering from altitude sickness.
STANTON: It generally doesn’t start to kick in until you’ve climbed more than five hundred meters. Any word from Charlie yet?
EMMA: Still nothing. Charlie? Charlie! Where are you?
[loud static and feedback starts coming through the earpieces, and makes Charlie’s voice all but inaudible]
CHARLIE: Walker, Lawrence, Emma, can you hear me? Can you hear me?
EMMA: Thank god!
LAWRENCE: Is that you, Charlie? You sound like you’re on a really bad phone line. [chuckles] Hey, remember phone lines? Heh, remember phones? Remember when our iPods worked and we could listen to music whenever we wanted?
STANTON: It was only a few days ago. Ask her where on Earth she’s been.
CHARLIE: Listen. You have to listen. I- [cut off by static] guys, I’m going offline for a while. I don’t know if [static] I hope it’ll just be a few hours.
LAWRENCE: W- what’s happened? Charlie, w- why are you going offline? Charlie?
CHARLIE: My communication systems are using a lot of energy to push through to you. Could be solar flares, could be The Burn, I don’t know.
EMMA: So where are we going?
CHARLIE: Craigarren House. Manor. South. They’re expecting [static] I’ve called and told them you’re coming. They’ll think you [static] I’m sorry, guys, just go along with whatever they’re expecting. They don’t know who you are. Remember, Craigarren House.
LAWRENCE: W- Charlie, wait. Charlie, we didn’t hear what they think we are.
CHARLIE: You are [static] go along with it. I’ll be back soon. Keep each other safe.
[The static cuts out as Charlie cuts communication]
LAWRENCE: Wait! [sigh] They think we’re what? Dead? Enemies? Jehovah’s Witnesses come to share the good news? What?
STANTON: We’ll just have to find out when we get there.
Craigarren House
[birdsong and crunching footsteps]
LAWRENCE: Craigarren House. Says so on the sign.
EMMA: Long driveway. Huge grounds. Massive mansion house. Are those tennis courts? I could get used to this. Maybe they’ll think we’re lords of the manor.
LAWRENCE: Is this a good idea? I mean, Charlie’s not here to check stuff out for us. Should we just walk up to the front door?
STANTON: No. We’re going this way. Round the side of the house. We’ll take the lay of the land first.
LAWRENCE: Hey, i- it is really big. Probably, what, like, thirty bedrooms? Looks like it’s at least three hundred years old. Uh, maybe there’ll be some kind lord or lady of the house who’ll take pity on us, treat us to a slap-up dinner.
EMMA: Look, the crest of the lion. That’s a very strong spirit animal, you know. Maybe they’ve been in touch with the spirit world themselves.
LAWRENCE: In a place like this, you’d expect a good larder. And a cellar full of aged port. Those boxes there in the kitchen- see them, through the window? I bet they’re full of brandy.
STANTON: They’re not.
LAWRENCE: How do you know?
STANTON: Because the lid’s come off that one. Look.
LAWRENCE: ...Right. Yeah.
EMMA: That’s not very in-touch with the spirit world.
LAWRENCE: A massive crate of guns? Nah. No, nah, it’s not.
[sound of a gun being cocked]
MAN: Hands up, all of you. Don’t turn around. Just start walking out to the stables, over there. I’ve been expecting ya.
Turn Round
[birdsong and crunching footsteps]
MAN: Alright, turn round now. [footsteps stop] Turn round and face me.
EMMA: Hey. Hey, listen. Whoever you think we are you’re wrong, okay?
LAWRENCE: Uh, yeah. Yeah. We’re just tourists. On a- a walking holiday. Er, this is my sister, Emma, and, er, this is my Auntie... Stanton. Yeah, er, yeah, uh, we’re a very formal family. Uh. Sorry. I, er, babble when I’m nervous. I- oh, please don’t kill us, please!
MAN: [laughs] You won’t get far in paintball if you turn sissy like that at the first sign of trouble.
STANTON: Paintball.
MAN: Did you think it was real? It’s just my little joke. Look. [fires two pellets which splat on the ground]
EMMA: Hey, some of that paint splashed on my leggings!
LAWRENCE: D’you think we can trust him? I mean, maybe he’s just acting innocent, and he’s gonna shoot us with- with a real, working, lethal gun when we get back to the house.
STANTON: Charlie sent us here for a reason.
LAWRENCE: Yeah, in a message we could hardly hear.
MAN: Come on, guys, this way.
STANTON: We’ve got to trust him. We don’t have another choice.
Guests
[birdsong]
MAN: Here we are: the main entrance. You’re guests, so you really should come in the front door.
EMMA: I like those great big marble lions.
MAN: Bonnie, aren’t they? We’re very proud of those sculptures. Apparently, they were modelled on real beasts shot by the fourth laird. Of course, he didn’t use one of these paintball rifles to do it.
LAWRENCE: I wish you’d stop waving that thing around, it’s making me nervous.
STANTON: It isn’t real.
LAWRENCE: That wasn’t what you said before. I thought you were supposed to know a real gun when you saw it.
STANTON: I was just biding my time. I know perfectly well it wasn’t-
LAWRENCE: You didn’t look properly. Aw, you were probably just trying to work out how to kill him with your penknife.
STANTON: Maybe.
MAN: Our phone’s been out of action, but somehow your friend Charlie managed to get a call through to tell me to expect you for a couple of nights’ stay.
STANTON: There, you see? Charlie did talk to him.
LAWRENCE: A couple of nights? Wh- in a real bed? With, like, a duvet?
MAN: I’ll show you to your rooms, and you can get changed into your overalls. There’s a venison stew with prunes and red wine warming in the oven. Or would you like a little drop of brandy first? To keep the cold out.
LAWRENCE: Brandy! Oh! [tuts] Honestly, Elizabeth. Mistaking birdwatchers for terrorists and paintball for a real gun. You’re jumping at shadows.
STANTON: I’m jumping at shadows? [scoffs] What about you and-
MAN: And there’s your opposing team now. They do look like real guns from a distance, don’t they?
EMMA: Opposing team?
MAN: Very competitive bunch, looks like.
STANTON: Yes.
MAN: They’re setting the course on fire. Hey! Hey, you cretins! Hey! No!
Not Another Paintball Team
[birdsong and crunching footsteps]
LAWRENCE: I think those might... not be an opposing paintball team.
MAN: Only people around here are paintballers. Or the grouse hunt, comes by sometimes. But I send them on their way.
LAWRENCE: Maybe we should go into the house, Paul. Where the venison stew is, you know. And the brandy. The lovely, warming, delicious, golden brandy. And the beds. And the door. That we can barricade. Against the... opposing paintball team.
MAN PAUL: I’m gamekeeper here. It’s my job to preserve the estate. The owners come back in the winter. Fire like that could catch, take down one of the trees, even the house. Hey! Hey! Stop that!
STANTON: They’re setting up assault positions to the east and the south. They’re planning an attack on the house.
PAUL: They are not. Mansion is strictly out of bounds on paintball adventure holidays. Can’t get the paint out the carpets. And some of that carved wood is Grinling Gibbons.
EMMA: Paul, what if we were to tell you that those weren’t paintballers at all? That they’re part of a shadowy organisation called The Burn who’ve been following us for days because we’re carrying devices that are vital to the human race’s survival?
PAUL: The Burn, eh? Sounds like you’ve got quite an imagination there. Now, had a group here once who wanted to pretend they were dragons. And the other team were, what was it, the people of Winterfell?
LAWRENCE: No, that’s ridicu-
STANTON: Gun! Down on the ground!
[everyone but Paul hits the deck]
STANTON: Paul! Down on the ground, they’ve got a bead on us!
PAUL: Those aren’t real rifles, they’re just souped-up paintball guns that some of the young people like to-
[rifle fires and Paul screams]
EMMA: Paul! Paul’s been hit!
PAUL: That’s- that’s not paint...
A green and yellow seed packet showing an image of a large, lush lawn fringed by trees under a clear sky. In yellow text in a green oval at the top left of the packet is the word “NEW!” with the name “Suregro™ Grass Seed” in green text over the image of the sky. The bottom half of the packet is solid green, with stylised blades of grass at the top and a slope upwards towards the right edge. In yellow text on this part of the pack are the words: “Tired of uncertain weather destroying your lawn? Suregro is designed to cling on in extreme climates - even underwater for pu to sixty days!” Beneath this, in smaller print: “Suregro is a Sanmonte genetically-patented product.”
An extremely crumpled and frayed flyer, the paper browned and stained round the edges. The heading reads “NEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS”. A line separates the heading from the following section, which reads: “Given the increase in extreme weather events in recent decades, all households are strongly encouraged to keep the following on hand at all times, in amounts suitable for sustaining your household for 3-4 months: * Shelf-stable, dried and tinned foods *Bottled clean water, and/or a purification system *Generous stocks of torches, batteries and a radio for tuning in to emergency broadcasts *Baby food and formula *Critical medications *First aid kit, including dust masks” This section is then separated from the next by another line. The final section reads “Remember, in the event of a disaster, shops may be closed or out of stock. By the time an emergency arrives, it will be too late to prepare. Hope for the best - but prepare for the worst!”
1 note
·
View note
Conversation
wahppn
J: nothing bad it was just really hot and i changed clothes twice
wake up 7 o clock for my interview, eat one piece a bread and some orange juice
ace di interview
dem tell me fi fill out the application twice
some yout try sell me a jelly candy
it cant open, but eventually does
Monique forwards
i meet her friend in the painting studio and we go get a box lunch
i sit down and eat the food
im sweating my life away
R: pepper?
J: before meeting the hustling yout, i left my portfolio in the hr office so mi did have to go back for it
no it's just hot af inna kingston
and i was wearing a long sleeve shirt
Paige seh him nah fwd fi di shoot
Thevrtistisjvmvicvn is sitting next to me, but i'm talking more than he
me a wonda how he can go school in full business attire and not become a puddle of sweat
Yanah appears and asks if she can have something nutritious
on campus
like a shake
Juice immediately says no dawg
Juice is working on a mythological drawing, but the paper he's using is trash and i tell him so
he says something about how it will still sharpen his skills and i said he needs watercolor paper if he's going to mix it with watercolor
is my story interesting?
i'm interested in telling a good story
R: I'm more interested in your friend's names
J: thevrtistisjvmvicvn said he wants to be a curator, but hasn't curated any shows yet
i tell him do that shit
lmao
R: Thevrtistisjvmvicvn, Yanah, Monique and Juice
I actually fucking love Juice
Now i know there are places I can't say that out loud
J: i ask my father if he can pick me up because Paige nah forward
he replies hmm
lmao have you seen the film?
my phone is dying and i have no credit because the tuck shop only selling $500 credit today
*back to the story*
i'm telling you this from my laptop
R: What parent says "hmmm"? was this a text?
J: yes
i knowwww
like
can't even K me
wtf
my shoes too big for me, so i stand on them instead of wearing them for a bit
Juice is playing music on his phone and one of the songs is from frank ocean's second project that he released the same time as blonde
my mind is blown
R: That must be some song
J: Yanah returns from the tuck shop with water still disappointed that there is no health food available
more mindblowing that he released two projects at once
i tell theartistisja that i like doing projects with many layers of meaning and process
i talk about my ananse storybook thesis and how i want everyone to know ananse is a deity and amina blackwood meeks taught me that
i say something like "yea, she's rad"
i talk about how the first time i met easton lee, i believed someone when they joked that he was 100 years old
and hoped that he didnt remember when i asked him if it was true
im dying laughing rn
my cousin invites me to sit and do work together at starbucks later
my father sends me a message "M is here, please call her through K-dollasign"
R: googled Easton Lee
J: lmao what did you find? he and my grandmother are friends
they're both legendary chinese-jamaicans
R: I can see he's definitely chinese-jamaican
J: yes and so is my grandma lol
R: author, poet
not bad
1931
J: but no doubt their swagger is enwrapped in their proximity to afro-jamaicanness
wow he's 87 this year
or 86?
M is my grandmother
i message K-dollasign
"i heard grandma M is here"
he replies "makes sense"
but intonates that he was not previously informed
i try to decode my father's message and K-dollasigns response
"makes sense"
he must be referring to Shutterbug's wedding
the same one i wasn't sure i was invited to
R: LOL
wow
are you going?
J: wait nuh man
R: lol
J: okay so i reach home, turn on my laptop
charge my phone
i frantically whatsapp my relatives
fb message uncle Macbook to get in touch w grandma
i try to search the internet for clues as to when this wedding will be
my sister says i should just ask Shutterbug if i can come
so i do that
uncle Macbook replies me with a different number to call, i call, get grandma
she says "no, no, no, you can't come to the wedding, the guests have already been counted and there's too many"
my heart sinks
i say, okay, well i can still see you today?
my cousin Carlton who wants to go to starbucks has arrived at my house
R: woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
J: i try to devise a plan with Carlton and grandma and my dad all talking at once to pick grandma up and she says something about not wanting to be stranded and i say we would never let that happen to her
the phone isn't working very well and at some point my father has the phone
i return to my whatsapp messages on the laptop and Shutterbug has replied!
"hey, we were overcapacity a few months ago, but there's some space now. if you can make it on sunday, please come"
i tell grandma what she said
"okay, but how are you getting there? and where are you going to stay?"
i had not thought of this second part
the wedding is in mobay
R: MUFUFUFUFU
on a beach
duh
just sleep on the beach and get dressed in someones room in the morrow
J: i quickly say "aunty Rose's"
and she has already said she's very busy today and the plan to see me nah work out
"see you in mobay then!"
okay bye grandma, i love you!
"i love you too sweetheart"
now i have to whatsapp aunty Rose and see if she will shelter me
and K-dollasign to see if i can drive with him
R: funny at points but not a bad day
J: Carlton still deh yah a try reach liguanea fi get some food
the story did not get resolved yet
lol
it wasnt a bad day just long af
R: wait what
J: let me try summarize
R: Well I mean, between Yanah's Healthy snack Crisis and the Wedding Snafu, I thought the day was sealed with you tryna get aunty Rose
J: I was also supposed to meet Pearl at starbucks for 3pm
when Carlton and i pull up to starbucks, Rose a walk up deh too
synchronicity
R: 'the hell? Starbucks is a spot now?
J: that's the culture of the company
im like baffled as to both my grandmother and father asking me if starbucks is an appropriate place to link and do work together
that's how they've been selling the place for at least the last ten years
i order a tall strawberry and cream frappe w coconut milk and Carlton is very excited to get a pumpkin spice frappe, no latte because he doesn't want to burn his tongue
yesterday Pearl showed me a video she edited featuring this black guy with ginger hair, Souffrant
Souffrant appears before us in starbucks and sits at our table
i'm supposed to edit my own video with Pearl's color correction advice, but i'm still trying to figure out my travel situation
before we went to starbucks, we walked to tastees and my mom replied to my frantic messages about grandma and the wedding with "ur not paying attention to what i tell u"
there's like a whole thing where i'm trying to get my cousin Jazz's number to ask if i can go from kingston to mobay with him because K-dollasign is unavailable.
aunty Rose says of course i can stay with her and of course she has Jazz's number
resolve dat, so mi have a place to stay and a drive
there are several unrelated phone calls that need to be made but mi still nah no credit, so i borrow Souffrant's phone
then the next chapter is me, Carlton, and Pearl trying to walk to sov after i finally finish editing my video.
i take some really dope shots of the sunset
pause for incoming illustration
R: i mean
sure
make hay
all of the birds with 1 stone
J: -picture of sov-
R: this is sov
dark
but its sov
J: it's the golden sunset reflecting off the walls
then we all go to kfc and then i try look for some shoes to wear to the wedding, but then mi nuh even know if it's really a beach ting, but never fear, my likkle sister is here to whatsapp me the link to the wedding info website the couple set up!
it's a garden brunch affair ting
so we think to go to lee's instead of payless and when we reach back in fronta payless di people dem close
so now i will go to the thrift store tmrw to cop a whole new fit from the dress to the shoes.
when i reach home my father is going to the airport and grandma (dad's mom, not the one i was tryna see earlier) asks me to come with them which i would have done anyway.
driving back from the airport, grandma's bajan soca music continues to play in the car, but it seems louder now without dad's voice. i try to talk to grandma about herself. i ask about high school. she says, "do you expect me to remember 50 years ago"
i'm like yes of course
she said
"well
i was head girl"
of course! i say
and she was also in charge of sports such as running
the drive back home is very slow because grandma cant really see in the dark
when we finally reach home and i lay inna mi bed, mi wonda why mi so tiyad
and now i know why
thanks for tuning in, this has been an appreciation for the life we live, by Jeana like jeans pants
totes forgot the best part where K-dollasign pulled up on Carlton and me in traffic when we walked back to the plaza to get to the car
then another man pulled up on us and Carlton cuss me jokingly bout how i know everyone and we probably see someone else weh mi know
#fabulous
R: like bloodcleet jeans pants
yea, cause clearly you're a superstar
beer people, links and visits
J:
0 notes