Tumgik
#Alcina really should wear more colors other than white
heisenberg-simp257 · 1 year
Note
Hewwo! Can I request the four lords with a hyper-feminine reader(fem or gn please)? Loves pink, baking, always is in miniskirts or dresses, shit ton of makeup on a daily basis(not insecure or anything, just likes the look :3)
Please don’t feel pressured to write this right away!!!! Take a break if you need it
Ps I love your writing hehehe
Thank you!! Hope you like it!💖
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Four Lords with a Hyper Feminine Reader
Tumblr media
Alcina Dimitrescu
-As one who detests all things masculine, she wouldn’t care at all about your love for pink or dresses. In fact, Alcina loves and encourages the behavior because she finds it endearing.
-She’s also into such things, but just a tad different and just a tad bit less than you. While you are for dresses, makeup, pink, and baking, Alcina is a bit the same. However, she prefers white and black. And wine-making more than baking.
-The two of you gossip about what dresses look good with what makeup and such. Cue the two of you trying stuff on for the other.
-Her daughters now have another feminine figure to look up on. You might not have as strong of lady power as Alcina (the power guys), but it’s someone they can take pointers from regardless. You might even teach them to bake.
-Speaking of baking, you and she would have the absolutely best meals and such because of her wine and your food. In fact, you try to incorporate some of her likes into your baking (we all know she has a taste for blood).
-Alcina would always have you in mind when she buys things. She will spoil you silly and call you her little doll. She finds you absolutely precious and as stated before, finds your hyper feminism endearing. Perhaps some of your likes will rub off on her.
Tumblr media
Donna Beneviento
-Donna wouldn’t find it weird but she would be horrified. Being into black and a gothic style like she is, Donna would struggle with what’s to like about all things pink and other bright colors like that.
-Dresses and skirts she can get behind. After all, she loves to design. Perhaps she would practice with the colors and designs that you like and have you be the model.
-The best part is when you try to remove Donna’s veil and beg her to let you do her makeup. It’s hard for her to reveal her face to anyone, so she is a flustered mess the whole time.
-One thing that the two of you really have in is baking. Her tea plus your treats combine for an amazing experience. Donna might even try baking given she has a bunch of free time on her hands.
-Angie is loving what you got going on. She’s the complete opposite of Donna in that aspect. So, while the lady of the house might be out of the loop, you can always enjoy your hobbies with the doll.
-Consider it a huge win if you are ever able to get Donna out of her black dress and wear something else. After all, while she is a lady in all aspects, perhaps you could get in touch with her secret feminine side.
Tumblr media
Salvatore Moreau
-Moreau would absolutely adore this. I think he’s the type to think of things like all women all super feminine like you are. However, with his experience with the other lords, he should know better.
-That said, Moreau does best to accommodate your hobbies. The things he went through so that you could bake at the reservoir and also have a decent room for your clothes and makeup was adorable.
-He’s also the type to let you do anything to him. Heck, some of the other lords have seen him wearing all pink at one of their meetings. Moreau didn’t mind, but Miranda was doing her best to say nothing.
-He tries his best to also get into your hobbies. However, he’s not the best at them. You have tried to show him baking once or twice but it didn’t end well. But he once made a treat perfect, and he was oh so happy.
-Even though you don’t wear makeup or dresses because you’re insecure (you just enjoy it), Moreau still takes the time to tell you you’re beautiful whenever possible. In fact, you’re his dream because you remind him of what he sees in the movies.
-While the location of his isn’t exactly a feminine paradise, you make it work because you appreciate all the love and understanding he gives to your character. You’re the first lady to ever treat him like a man.
Tumblr media
Karl Heisenberg
-Heisenberg both loves and hates this about you. He loves it because he’s always pictured himself as a macho alpha man that has a sweet very feminine lady by his side, so that’s a plus. But he hates how much makeup and pink you bring into his life.
-There were times in the beginning that he’s compared you to Alcina. All the dresses and high class when it came to appearance were something he just didn’t understand.
-However, he’s been very open-minded since then. In fact, there was a time when he tried to put makeup on for you (you looked like a clown afterwards because this man does not understand colors, but don’t bust his pride by saying that).
-The one thing he adores is your love for things like baking. This man can’t really cook or do anything with food to save his life, so having you there to help take care of himself is a big win.
-In fact, he soon grows to adore these little feminine quirks and hobbies of yours. Heisenberg has a room dedicated to just you in his factory where you can splash your pink every which way. So long as it stays there, he’s all good with it.
-Just understand while he acts all bitter about it on the outside, he secretly loves it on the inside. Something about these hyper feminine traits of yours makes him feel all complete. You’re very feminine and he’s all masculine. A perfect set in his mind.
185 notes · View notes
infernalrevenge · 3 years
Text
Nerves to the Nines
Fandom: Resident Evil 8: Village
Pairing: Alcina Dimitrescu x Reader (Gender Neutral)
Rating: T (for negative self-talk in some parts)
Summary: Reader is attending the Gathering of Lords with Alcina and is too nervous to even dress themself properly. Luckily, their lover is here to save the day.
Notes: I have no idea if Alcina may be OOC here, just know that I love the thought of very powerful and intimidating people being soft and protective only for those they love, and that's partly what spawned this thing. That, and the idea of how intimate it is to have your significant other help you get dressed for an important event (that I completely made up for the sake of this fic.)
Also thank you so much for 50 followers :D May not be a big number, but it's more than I expected when I started writing here a few months ago haha
----------
Two hours to go before the Gathering of Lords.
You went through the mental checklist as you assessed yourself in the mirror. Hair done, make-up done, clothes... well, most of them were on.
You wanted to dress to impress, but not stand out either. A black button up rested on your frame and loose wide-legged pants to match, where your cream-colored shoes peeked out from the bottom. The burgundy blazer you were going to wear over it was hung in front of your closet, and the white rose you would pin onto the lapel sat on the vanity.
It was meant to be an inverse of Alcina's usual attire. She was going to bring a burgundy shawl as well to complement the outfit. Daniela said it would look cute.
But right now, the idea of wearing an extra layer was unwanted. You were too warm right now, and the last thing you wanted was to sweat through your clothes. Everything had to be perfect -- you had to be perfect, lest you sully the "good name of House Dimitrescu" in front of your lover's siblings, and Mother Miranda.
You knew how important tonight was to Alcina, and she wanted you to be a part of it all. She was looking forward to it as much as you and the girls were; when Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela were told they could come, they immediately squealed and started chattering away with you about what they were going to do, what to wear, what you were going to wear, and seemed to already have everything planned in their heads. Their excitement rubbed off on you for the rest of the week, and the happy jitters only got more intense with every passing day.
But the closer the time got to leaving for the Gathering, the more those jitters made you feel like throwing up.
You sat in front of the mirror and idly fiddled with your unbuttoned sleeve cuff, feeling the nerves of tonight bundling up in your chest. One leg bounced under the table impatiently; you had to get the energy out somehow.
You want to go, you reminded yourself. You wanted to go. You still want to go... right? You had been looking forward to this all week, of course you want to go. Just pull yourself together. You took in a deep breath and clapped your hands together.
Wait, when did they get so sweaty? If you tried to shake anyone's hand, they'd be weirded out and disgusted. How can you get it to stop? This is so stupid, why are you worried about sweaty hands all of a sudden?! Control yourself, idiot! This was not the time to worry about such trivial matters, but why did it feel like your heart was about to burst out of your chest? It's going so fast, you started to wonder what it could be running from.
This was a mistake, you shouldn't go. You'll just embarrass yourself, and Alcina, and you can't handle that kind of pressure. The scrutiny you'll be under would be crushing, you could practically feel the air getting sucked out of you. This was a mistake, this was a mistake.
You undid the buttons on your shirt, ready to take it off. Just say you don't feel well, that's a good enough excuse. This was a mistake, this was a mistake--
"Y/N, are you alright?" You heard her voice in your room, and she had already ducked inside by the time you turned around. You sucked in a sharp breath.
I'm not feeling well, I think I should stay home.
The lie you had concocted got stuck in your throat as you looked up into her golden eyes, clearly concerned. You didn't want to worry her. You wanted to go. You did.
Instead, you swallowed it and tried to keep your voice steady, "Yeah, yes. I'm just, I'm having a bit of trouble with..."
You looked down at your fully opened shirt, gulping again. "I can't..." Why won't your hands stop shaking?
"What's wrong, my love?"
Alcina was standing at full height, and to any other person, having her look down at you like this might have felt condescending -- an effort to exert power and establish authority. But somehow, being under her shadow in what had felt like a bright room... it was comforting. Just to know she was there, physically. To know that she saw you as you were at the moment, trying to be brave.
"I'm just... nervous, that's all," you finally managed to admit, and it felt like a weight had just been lifted off your shoulders. You relaxed only a fraction though, remembering what the night was going to bring.
In about an hour and a half.
She sat down on your bed, her knees tucked in a bit considering its height. "Perhaps if we talk, you can settle your nerves." She presented the space in front of her, as if she knew you couldn't bring yourself to sit at the moment.
You started rolling the button on your cuff between your fingers, your arm close to your chest like you were trying to protect yourself. From what, you weren't sure.
"What are you nervous about?" she spoke softly, quite a contrast from the usual commanding tone she took on when she spoke to almost everyone else. "Are you worried about not looking right? Because I assure you, darling, you look wonderful -- you deserve nothing less than the best."
"No, I... well it was your idea for us to dress like this, so no, that's not... what I'm worried about." You looked up from under your lashes. Her eyes were still focused on you. You wanted to squirm, and your next words came out softer than you wanted them to.
"I just... don't wanna mess up."
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you." If you were any other person, she might have lost her temper at your mumbling. You almost flinched at the thought, but you knew she would never. Not with you.
"I-I don't want to mess up." You said a little louder as you folded your hands, one holding onto the other wrist. "You know, like, in front of your siblings, in front of... Mother Miranda... I'm afraid of embarrassing myself in front of them."
She frowned and leaned forward, "What could you possibly do that would embarrass me?"
You shrugged, wanting to shrink in on yourself. "I don't know, I might say something weird or do something that'll seem off, or just, I'm not sure. Something's probably gonna go wrong. Maybe even being myself is embarrassing enough," you joked.
"Darling, you are not embarrassing," she assured. You didn't know if she knew that you meant it as a joke, but she said it with such sincerity that it pulled some of that weight off you once more. It brought a small smile to your face.
"Do you not want to go anymore?" she asked worriedly, and you snapped your head up at that.
"No, I want to!" You answered so fast that Alcina seemed surprised but definitely not displeased
"I'm excited to go, I really am. I'm just not sure if I'm, like, ready to face the others. I wanna go, but I don't know, I can't explain it, I just don't want things to go badly because it'll reflect on you and your daughters and I know how much you want to be in Mother Miranda's favor so I--"
She took your wrist without a word, so gentle in her handling that you barely noticed it at first, and you trailed off. Her fingers fixed up your loosened cuff -- oh, right. Any more stubborn fiddling with it and you would've taken the button right off its threads. She did the same with the other cuff, a calm yet unreadable expression on her painted face.
When she finished, she gently smoothed your hair down, traced your jawline with a finger and tilted your chin up to look at her. "If you're worried about what everyone else would think, I understand. But you are my significant other, my lover. I trust that you'll be wonderful, so know that at least one person there believes in you."
It felt like you were really seeing her for the first time that night, looking so proud when she talked about you. She took the opportunity to fix the rest of your outfit, buttoning up your shirt once more, and kept talking to ease your mind.
"Don't ever doubt me, Y/N, because I've seen you at both your best and your worst, and your best is more than enough for tonight. If they can't see that, then it's their loss, not yours."
You could feel her words physically calming you, heartbeat steadying as you saw the loving gleam in her eyes.
The lady sauntered over to your closet, taking your blazer and handing it over to you. "Now, I believe you're missing a piece, my dear." You hadn't even noticed until then that she was already wearing her shawl. A gentle smile finally broke through your facade as you pulled it on in front of the mirror.
Alcina stood behind, laying her hands on your shoulders when you seemed satisfied. "A perfect match," she cooed, leaning down to face you, so close that you could feel her breath against the shell of your ear. "Wouldn't you say?" You could feel your heart racing again, but it wasn't from any nerves this time.
But before anything could be done about it, the moment was interrupted by multiple knocks on the door, followed by a loud thud. "Mother, Y/N, we're ready!" Bela called out from the other side, fussing over her sisters immediately afterwards. "May we come in?"
Alcina raised an eyebrow at you, a smirk playing on her lips. "Well? We shouldn't keep them waiting."
You felt loosened up for the first time that night, ready to face anything with Alcina by your side. You pinned the rose in place and took one last glance in the mirror. "We could always be fashionably late."
122 notes · View notes
yourdeepestfathoms · 3 years
Text
a little unconventional (part one)
[foster au]
this is set in America because i don't know how Romania works
---------------------------------------
rapture rising
“Alcina, my beloved sister, are you sure all of this is necessary?”
Alcina shot a glare over her shoulder at her toddling younger brother, who she was making carry in several boxes full of various items into one of the many rooms in her mansion. This one wasn’t one of the bedrooms, but rather a temporary storage room for all the things she had recently bought. She was going to have everything set up for the children to choose from when they eventually arrived. Just thinking about them getting to pick out their bedsheets and paint for their new rooms made a smile come to her lips, excitement rushing through her like dozens of butterflies flying for the first time.
…And then her idiot brother bumped into the doorframe and caused an avalanche of boxes to come down on top of him.
“Be careful!” Alcina barked, whirling around to him. She bent down to start picking the boxes up. “You’re lucky there was nothing fragile in here.”
“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Heisenberg grunted, rubbing his head.
“And to answer your questions, dearest brother, yes, this is all very necessary,” Alcina said. “I need this to be perfect for them. This may be the first time those little girls get a real home.”
“Inflating your ego, aren’t you?”
Alcina stepped on his foot.
“I have the paints.” Moreau, Alcina’s other brother, shuffled inside, holding several cans of paint on his arms. If they were hurting him, he didn’t say anything. He seemed pleased with himself for being so useful.
“Thank you, Sal,” Alcina said. She took the cans from him and placed them against the wall. “Yellow, green, red, blue, pink, purple… Do you think that’s enough? What if they want, like, a mauve room?”
“Mauve?” Heisenberg echoed as he was crow hopping on one foot, still recovering from being stomped on.
“It’s a shade of purple,” Moreau supplied.
“I know what mauve is, asshole,” Heisenberg hissed. “I was just saying.”
“And I’m just saying, what if they want a lighter-colored room?” Alcina said. “This purple is dark. Should I go buy more?”
“You could mix white into the paint?” Moreau suggested.
Alcina thought it over, then nodded. “Yes, I could do that. Good idea.”
“Who wants a mauve bedroom, anyway?” Heisenberg muttered.
“Alcina!” A fourth voice echoed throughout the house, and Alcina’s sister entered the room. Donna looked uncharacteristically bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She was clutching something in her hands. “Alcina, I have finished them!”
“When did you get here?” Heisenberg looked at her.
“Just now,” Donna said. “It doesn’t matter. Look!”
A beautiful doll was presented to Alcina. It was hand-stitched and dressed with great care. All the little details, down to the freckles and shiny eyes, were incredibly-made, and Alcina couldn’t help but pick it up tentatively, as though she were afraid of accidentally destroying it.
“Oh, Donna,” she said. “It’s beautiful! Thank you.”
Donna beamed. “I have also made stuffed animals and toy clothes for them. An entire wardrobe, in fact. Many selections.”
“Damn,” Heisenberg looked impressed. “Toys dress better than I do.”
“We know,” the other three said in sync, eyeing his ratty trenchcoat and old cowboy hat that he insisted on wearing everywhere.
“You weren’t supposed to agree!” Heisenberg barked like one of his dogs.
“Shouldn’t have said anything,” Alcina shrugged daintily. She looked back at Donna and smiled. “Thank you, Donna. I really appreciate your support. I appreciate all of your support. Even yours, Karl.”
“Sure, sure…” Heisenberg said, though Alcina didn’t miss the glint of fondness in his eyes.
“This is so exciting,” Donna said. “It’s a wonderful thing you’re doing, Alcina. Do you remember when we were all adopted by Mother?”
Heisenberg snorted. “I remember being kidnapped as a child and held for ransom, and then being one of the abduction victims to be actually found alive, only to discover that my parents had been killed while trying to get me back, to which I was then thrown into a home with you three.”
Donna winced. “Not…quite what I had in mind.”
“And you say ‘you three’ like we weren’t your best friends growing up,” Moreau pointed out idly, not looking at Heisenberg as he was helping unload some of the boxes. That one in particular held a wide selection of different bed sheets, ranging from leopard print to floral to plain blue.
Heisenberg raised his nose and huffed. “Well. Still.”
Alcina shook her head with a warm smile.
She vividly remembered life with her adoptive mother, Miranda, and her three other siblings. She was reborn from ash and flame after her old family estate burned down to the ground, smoldering the life she used to have and taking her parents with it. Yes, she could still smell the smoke, taste the embers on her tongue, even now, thirty-five years later. She was so small back then, only nine years old when the fire started, and she watched her home crumble to pieces right before her teary eyes. She thought it was over, that she had nothing, that she was going to be alone forever without her mother and father, but then a woman in a black cowl whisked her up into tender arms and took her under her wing as though she were the chicken to a nurturing mother bird.
She was the first of Miranda’s ragtag rascal children with harsh upbringings. For two years, it was just the both of them, reading books and watching movies in a beautiful countryside manor that quickly became her new home. Though the wounds had still been raw, the burns were very fresh, Miranda filled the void in her heart that her parents’ death left behind, extinguishing that eternal fire of survivor guilt and mourning.
And then the others came along.
At the time, Alcina had been rather indignant at the idea of having siblings. She was an only child with her birth family and she preferred to stay an only child with her new one, too, but she never voiced this opinion to Miranda. She grinned and bore it, even if it meant losing the attention of her mother.
Though, they didn’t end up being that bad…
The first of the “intruders” as she used to call them was Salvatore Moreau, a boy her age, though three months younger, and with a story similar to her own. He had been in a car crash after his drunken father got into a pretty nasty collision. The engine caught fire and it wasn’t long until the rest of the car followed. Moreau was trapped in the inferno, but managed to get out, running towards a nearby lake to extinguish the flames that were trying to make him its newest pyre. Unfortunately, the event left him badly burned, the scar still lingering all these years later, and nobody wanted to take in such a “disfigured child.” Miranda, however, stepped up to the challenge and fostered the boy, eventually adopting him fully later on.
Alcina was, admittedly, rather uneased by her new brother’s appearance at first, but she quickly got accustomed to him, even protective. There were several moments in school where she verbally (and sometimes even physically) pummeled any kids who dared to make fun of him, drilling into the bullies that he was not to be messed with while she was around. Some of her best retributions were when she threatened to leak unwarranted dick pics to the entire school, as it wasn’t uncommon for horny teenage boys to try to get into her pants, and that always shut them up quickly, especially when she loudly proclaimed details on their pathetic excuse for a penis, like the size and shape.
She and Moreau grew close rather quickly, much quicker than Miranda had been expecting. They both enjoyed more mellow things, like reading books and going on walks through the forest. Moreau was the sole reason she passed any English assignments done on Shakespearean literature, as he actually knew how to discern the confusing text, while she had to reread the same page over and over again to simply get a loose grasp on the grammar. He enjoyed cheesy romcoms, birdwatching, and swimming, the last of which he had a strong affinity for because of how the lake beside the car wreck very well could have been the only reason he survived. Now, he owned that very lake and made it into a popular fishing and boating destination for locals and tourists alike.
The second to arrive was Donna Beneviento, when Alcina and Moreau were both twelve. She was a full five years younger than the two of them and didn’t talk very often, at least for a good chunk of the first year she was there. She was put into the foster program after her parents commit suicide, leaving her with nothing but anxiety, trauma-induced selective muteness, and a doll named Angie.
It took time, but Donna eventually started opening up. First to Miranda, and then to Alcina and Moreau. Alcina strongly remembered a time when her little sister came to her room during a thunderstorm, lips quivering, tears glistening in her eyes, Angie clutched in a vice from her thin arms. She didn’t say anything, just stared from the doorway, whimpering and shivering.
“Alright,” Alcina had sighed. She flipped open her comforter, welcoming Donna. “Come on.”
Donna had brightened and skittered into the bed, snuggling right up against Alcina’s side. Alcina didn’t mind and resumed the book she had been reading before--Animal Farm, she believed. Donna pointed at the pages and then looked up at her curiously.
“Oh, this?” Alcina had said. “It’s called Animal Farm. It’s about these talking farm animals overthrowing their farmer to gain freedom, only to then be ruled by a communist pig.”
Donna blinked. “What’s a communist?”
“Well, you see…”
Her late-night explanation was certainly aided by the fact that they were in the middle of the Cold War at the time.
Overtime, Donna slowly grew out of her shell. Though she was still soft-spoken and reserved, she was also very kind-hearted and incredibly creative, which she showed through paintings, arts and crafts, and doll making. She would make dolls out of anything she could find--wood, thread, clay--so it made sense when she eventually became a toymaker once she grew up.
Finally, there was Karl Heisenberg when Alcina and Moreau were thirteen and Donna was eight. Right from the start, he was a loud, spitfire ten-year-old that broke the serene silence that used to hang over Miranda’s estate. He caused a great amount of mischief and mayhem, though Alcina would later discover it was to hide the fact that he was deeply traumatized by what exactly had happened to make him a foster child.
Even now, so many years later, Alcina still didn’t know the full story. Miranda said it wasn’t her tale to share and Heisenberg simply didn’t like talking about it very much. But from what she did know, Heisenberg used to belong to an incredibly wealthy business owner that ruled over their company with an iron fist. Due to the harshness his parents inflicted on their employees, it caused the workers to revolt against the abuse. A certain group took this way too far and kidnapped Heisenberg, holding him for ransom so they could get better treatment and pay at their work. Something ended up happening during the time between Heisenberg being held hostage and his parents paying up, and it left his mother and father in a way that he could never bring himself to explain. She only got snippets of the brutality of their deaths through brief moments when he would come to after vicious nightmares, one of which she actually stepped in to stop when she heard him struggling one night.
“Their heads, Alci,” Heisenberg had gasped, clawing manically for a desperate grasp on her arms, his body jerking and spasming in terror as his nightmare was still releasing his small, twelve-year-old body. “Their heads-- their brains were--” And then he stopped and keeled into her chest, sobbing in a way Alcina had never seen him do before in the two years he was living with her before that moment. Despite her occasional vex towards the boy, he was still her little brother and she was still his big sister, so she had wrapped her arms around him and held him close while he trembled and cried.
She never did find out what Heisenberg meant by “their heads,” but she had a hunch. Still, she never asked.
Nowadays, Heisenberg ran his own factory, where he treated his employees the way his parents should have treated theirs, learning from their mistakes. He also fostered all different kinds of dog breeds until they found their forever homes and rescued the more ‘vicious’ ones, like pit bulls and rottweilers, all of which he treated like royalty.
A freakishly tall girl, a burned boy, a selective mute, and a dog lover… They certainly weren’t the epitome of the stereotypical nuclear family, but they were family through and through, if not by blood, then by bloodshed.
“Do you guys remember the time Karl tried to clean the dishwasher with Kool-Aid?” Donna reminisced with a giggle.
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” Heisenberg said.
“Absolutely not,” Donna grinned at him.
“I still don’t know how you came to the conclusion that that would work,” Alcina shook her head.
Heisenberg threw his arms up into the air. “John said it did!”
“John also tried to steal a school urinal.”
“Also, you’re supposed to take all of the dishes out before you try to clean it with Kool-Aid,” Moreau spoke up. “You left all of the pots and plates and silverware in it.”
“And he didn’t even put it in the right spot!” Alcina joined, cackling. “You’re supposed to put the powder in the detergent dispenser. Karl, you just poured it out all over the dishes!”
“It wasn’t even the right powder,” Donna put in. “You’re supposed to strictly use unsweetened lemonade only. You used tropical punch!”
Alcina, Donna, and Moreau all burst into laughter, while Heisenberg crossed his arms and glared at them.
“John never specified any of that!” he blustered.
“Never trust John, dear,” Alcina tittered.
“Well, it happened!” Heisenberg said. “It’s over! What other boxes do you need to move!”
More laughter.
“I’m serious! I’ll get the boxes! Also WHAT IS THAT.”
They all turned to see a patchy tortoiseshell cat lazily strolling into the room with them. It looked like it had been run over, dismembered, run over again, and then put back together by a blind surgeon, but it held itself like it was the most pristine lion to ever walk the earth. It glanced over at the four siblings, meowed at them, then continued on its stroll to one of the empty boxes, which it jumped into and made itself comfortable inside.
“It’s a cat,” Donna said as if it should have been obvious, earning a snort from Moreau and then a glare from Heisenberg.
“It’s not funny,” Moreau said quickly after Heisenberg glared at him, too, but it was obvious Heisenberg’s leer was all in good fun.
“No, no. Tom from Tom and Jerry is a cat,” Heisenberg said. “THAT is an overgrown street rat.”
“Well, one could assume the same about you, but you don’t see us pointing it out,” Donna said breezily.
Another bout of laughter, this time with Heisenberg included.
“Okay, okay, you got me there,” Heisenberg said.
“Must you insist on reacting the same way every single time you see Tea Cake?” Alcina finally spoke up through the playful bickering. She crouched down next to the cat and stroked its back, which caused it to purr in content.
“It’s my trademark,” Heisenberg said with a shrug. “That old woman is still alive?”
“And kicking,” Alcina smiled fondly at her pet.
Tea Cake had been with her for a long fourteen years, witnessing more than a few existential crises and drunken concerts put on to chase off her lurking PTSD. That cat came during the worst part of her life, and Alcina owed everything to that little beast. She learned how to laugh and smile and genuinely feel again, not hide behind the facade that she was a strong, powerful woman who could take on everything and come out without a scratch.
And, yes, Alcina had known- still knew, that she had Miranda and her siblings, but sometimes they were not enough, not back then, not when she was filled with so much shame and self-hatred and disgust. Animals were different in a way people couldn’t be. Animals didn’t lie, they didn’t judge or think about how messed up you were in their heads. They didn’t share your secrets or give you false hope. They just--be there. They listened and lent their presence and, sometimes, that was all that was needed, and some people didn’t seem to understand that.
Tea Cake’s fur had dried more of Alcina’s tears than anyone else ever had because she never let them fall in front of others. Tea Cake didn’t get upset when Alcina touched her; she didn’t understand the concept of emotional trauma and sexual harassment and body image issues. She just cared, even if she didn’t quite get it.
Alcina would probably be dead if it weren’t for her.
Yes, she remembered that fateful night… The wind in her shaggy hair she hadn’t washed in days, the moonglow on her ashen skin, the tears burning in her eyes--all of it was so clear, even now. She remembered how horribly, hopelessly depressed she had been and how she drove out to a field with a note on the dashboard and a gun in the passenger seat.
At the time, nothing had helped her. Her antidepressants weren’t working, going out only made her feel unsafe, and her family’s presence no longer brought her comfort and happiness, rather guilt and shame. The only thing that ever helped was when she drowned herself in the alcohol she made for a living, drinking away her despair and trauma until her body tingled and the phantom hands went away. She was surprised her liver never exploded inside of her during those awful few months.
She had sat in her car for a while, leaning her head on the steering wheel and wallowing in silence and darkness. Then, she got out, made sure the note was visible, and grabbed the gun.
She considered calling or texting her mother and siblings, but that would make it hurt worse. It was better to leave them with their last memories of her than to have this sudden news of a goodbye that they wouldn’t be able to stop.
She placed the pistol’s barrel in her mouth and rested her finger on the trigger. Her life didn’t flash before her eyes like some movies or books say it did, and she was quite thankful for it. She didn’t want to relive the agony she had been put through that led her up to that point. She just shut her eyes as tight as possible in preparation for the bullet to pass through her brain…
Then, there was a rustling from the grass nearby.
Alcina hesitated. The metallic taste of the gun left her tongue and she looked in the direction of the noise.
“Hello?” she had called out in her best possible not-about-to-kill-herself voice.
A tiny meow answered her.
“Your roadkill wants you,” Heisenberg’s voice cut through the daze that had momentarily descended upon Alcina’s mind.
Blinking, Alcina realized that Tea Cake was gnawing on her finger and meowing. She smiled.
“It’s probably dinner time,” Alcina said. She stood up straight. “Come on, children. I have news to share.”
Curious, her three younger siblings followed her out of the room and to her kitchen, Tea Cake padding after them eagerly. Her house was a beautiful creation of the finest wood and the most luxurious stonework. Top-of-the-line appliances filled the space and every little detail, down to the hanging droplets on the chandelier and the grooves in the staircase railing, were customized to her preference. 6 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, 17,182 square feet, 14.99 acres filled by lush vineyards, and $5,500,000 later, and you had the Dimitrescu Estate.
And it was a barren prison.
It had always been there, ever since she moved in: that lingering loneliness that seemed to shroud every hallway. She had so much space, but nobody to fill it. Nobody except herself, Tea Cake, and her maids, of course. Lying awake one night, thinking about this issue as she often did, a solution had finally come to her.
After pouring some wet food into Tea Cake’s food bowl, Alcina grabbed a bottle of sweet butter wine out of her wine fridge and poured a glass for herself and each of her siblings, all of which were staring at her curiously. After taking a long sip, she finally began: “As you all know, I have plans to foster a child. And I greatly appreciate all of the support you three have provided me up until now.”
“Is this an award ceremony or something?” Heisenberg joked light-heartedly. “Can I have the award for most boxes carried? I think I deserve that one.”
“You mean most boxes dropped?” Donna giggled, earning her a playful poke in the side.
“No, it is not an award ceremony,” Alcina glared at Heisenberg without any fire in her gaze. She opened up a drawer in the stainless kitchen island they were gathered around. “Though, this may very well be an award…” She pulled out a blue folder packed full of papers and set it on the marble countertop, grinning brightly. “I just wanted to let you all know first that my training is done. I’ve completed all the classes.” Her heart swelled in her heart as she spoke her next words: “I’m a foster mom now.”
All at once, her younger siblings lit up brighter than the sun’s supernova, throwing their arms up into the air and letting out a celebratory shout. Donna and Moreau even raced around the island to hug Alcina, which she returned with a laugh.
“Oh, that’s so wonderful, Alcina!” Donna said, squeezing her with surprising strength. “I’m so happy for you!”
“Me too,” Moreau agreed.
“Sal, are you crying?”
“No!” Moreau yelped, then sniffled. “I just have something in my eye, that’s all.”
“You mean tears?” Heisenberg teased. He then looked at Alcina. “That’s amazing, Alcina. I’m really happy for you. You deserve this.”
“Aww,” Alcina crooned. “Is my little brother going soft?”
Heisenberg instantly steeled himself. “Me? No way! I was just saying what you would want to hear.”
Still being embraced on either side by her other brother and sister, Alcina chuckled. “I see.”
“Do you know your placement yet?” Donna asked, looking up at Alcina as though she were a child again.
“Placements,” Alcina corrected. She couldn’t help but grin again as she spoke of her future children. “Two. I’m getting two little girls.”
“Aww!” Donna and Moreau both cooed.
Heisenberg was nodding. “Girls. Yes. I can do girls.” He looked up at Alcina. “I’m getting them a puppy.”
“Oh, you don’t have--”
“I’m getting them a puppy,” Heisenberg said again, and it was clear he wasn’t taking no for an answer.
Alcina chuckled. “Alright. A puppy it is.”
Donna and Moreau began to join in on plans for being the greatest aunt and uncle, with Moreau saying that they needed to come to his lake for a swim and Donna listing off all the toys she would make for them. Alcina listened to them with a fond smile, happy to have such a supportive family. This was exactly what her daughters were going to need.
Daughters.
Just thinking about that word made her heart flutter in her chest. Her grin turned giddy. She was going to be a mother soon.
As she sipped from her wine glass, she thought about her placements. She had gotten the call four days ago and was scheduled to meet the little ones in the next two weeks. She could still hear her caseworker’s words in her ears during the conversation as she recalled it to her siblings.
“The first is named Daniela,” Duke had said. He was a studious, patient man with a warm smile and hands like chipmunk paws, keen on helping Alcina ever since she started her training to become a foster parent six months ago. “She’s a little girl and eleven years old. Her parents have, unfortunately, recently died due to a car crash. Her living relatives are unfit to take care of her, so she’s been placed into the foster system. Right now, she’s staying with her aunt and uncle, but she cannot be kept there much longer because of, ah…jealousy issues with their actual child.
The second is named Cassandra. Another girl, this one twelve years old. She’s been in the foster program ever since she was a baby when she was given up, as she was born from a teenager who couldn’t take care of her. She’s had…quite a few foster homes, all of which had given her up to someone else due to…issues. I understand if you don’t want to take this child. She’s been known to cause problems in her houses and pick fights. There is-- woo, that’s a lot of complaints… There are some notes on her left by her former families and-- Goddamn. They’re writing of her like she’s a monster or something…”
“Of course, I couldn’t turn down either of them,” Alcina concluded her retelling. “Especially the second one. Cassandra. The poor thing sounds like she needs a good home.”
“You’re so sweet, Alci,” Donna said, smiling at her.
“Think you can handle it?” Heisenberg asked. “I’m not doubting your abilities, but from what you said about the kid… Well, she just sounds difficult.”
“You were difficult,” Alcina said, grinning at him. “And everything turned out just fine, didn’t it?”
Her youngest brother’s concern didn’t diminish. “Yes, but… I don’t want anything to happen to you or my niece.”
Alcina, Donna, and Moreau all cooed. Heisenberg huffed.
“Oh, shut it! I have a heart!”
“You do,” Alcina’s smile lightened slightly. “But don’t worry: everything will be okay. I can do this. I need to do this. Those two little girls need a mother.”
Heisenberg considered her for a moment, then nodded. He smiled at her. “You’ve got a good heart, Alcina,” he said. “If you ever need any help, I’m here.”
“Me too!” Donna joined in.
“Me three!” Moreau piped up.
Alcina laughed. “Thank you. Really. This means a lot to me. Now…” She raised her glass. “Let’s drink before we have to cut back because there will be children around!”
Her siblings laughed and mimicked her gesture.
Alcina couldn’t wait.
183 notes · View notes