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ask-rp-devra · 3 years

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The night was short, the pair were able to sleep a good 8 hours before getting ready the next morning to set off towards the train station. The pair decided to come back through to pick up the Pokemon to bring back to the island before heading home, but for now they could stay behind with Devra’s mom, just for a little while longer. The only team members that went with them were coal, the little hybrid houndoomxarcanine pup, and Aliza, who had taken a shine to the ponyta gifted to Peach, they seemed to play well together, even Dreepy liked her. With bags gathered, goodbyes said, and tickets bought, the pair stepped onto the train, waving off Olivia who came to see her daughter go, and off they went, towards the new Galarian island, the Crown Tundra.

Devra settled into her seat, waving goodbye to her mom as Coal jumped up in the seat next to her. He was small enough to be on the train, but Aliza had to stay in her pokeball for the time being. She looked over at her friend and smiled. “I hope you slept alright. I always thought the guest room bed was too hard.”

“‘you saw me right? I was asleep in an aeroplane chair sitting up right, the bed was just fine. Much better than most of the places I sleep while away from the lab.” She recalled a few occasions being able to just about catch an hours rest while being trapped in a tree by aggressive Pokemon. “it was a warm, dry bed, with actual sheets and a roof over me haha. It was great.” She mindlessly petted Val, ordering a good coffee off the trolley that passed by, a sweet little wigglytuff in the train companies uniform asking for payment. She got her wallet out...or so she thought? Her hand reached into her bag, and hit something very cold and very smooth, reeling from the weird texture. Val sniggered to herself, shifting to the empty seat the bag sat on, to peer inside.

“I think we have a stow away.” Peach murmured, carefully opening the bag much wider than needed to get a good look. “‘Dreepy?” Inside was the little ghost type, she swore while waving to Devra’s mother at the station when they left, she had also spotted this Pokemon amongst others that had come to see the trainers off. He was wrapped up in one of Peach’s shirts, and seemed a little nervous about being caught in her stuff.

Devra looked over at Peach from her camera, having been looking th right some pictures. “Dreepy? He’s here? But I saw him with my mom. Here, I took a picture of the group when we left.” She held the camera so they could both look. “Oh....well. I thought he was in the picture.” She looked at the little Pokémon and sighed. “I guess he really wanted to come with you.”

“well, it’s fine with me, if he wants to come then I guess we’ve got a new team member.” She smiled a little at the Pokemon and let him and Val go and pick some snacks off the trolley before paying. She gave eyes at her steadfast fire type while Dreepy’s back was turned, asking without words for her to tone her usual disinterest down by like 20%, and she began chattering to the ghost Pokemon as she selected a strawberry filled dumpling thing in a wrapper. With the stern silence broken between the two, peach could relax a little, perhaps they two would be fine together for the trip.

“You’re right though, I swear I saw him on the platform too.” She glanced at the screen on the camera, seeing no signs of him. “‘how strange. You’re faster than you look hey bud?” Dreepy seemed quite proud of the compliment, and finally chose a chocolate-orange flavoured pastry twist before returning to the open bag to snack. “I’m buying, you and your team want anything?”

Devra nodded to Coal, who bounced over and happily started sniffing around until he found a pumpkin muffin. She then grabbed an apple cake and raspberry pastry for her other two team members before sitting back down. “I don’t need anything. Mom made sure I left full.” She laughed and opened Coal’s treat for him. “Tell Peach thank you young man.” The little pup barked happily as me bounced over to her for pets.

“she’s a good mom that one, I bet she’d enjoy a little holiday in johto, lots to see, I can hook you both up with some fun things to do for sure.” There was plenty of art galleries, heritage sites, and excellent restaurants throughout the region, not to mention live music, public gardens of great beauty, and a butt load of areas to sightsee in. Peach paid up and petted Coal, she was very glad to see him in capable hands, he took to Devra like a Ducklett to water, and she was confident he’d grow fast now he was out exploring with her. The Dreepy seemed to peep its eyes out at the hybrid Pokemon, still nibbling away on its snack.

Coal bounced back up next to Devra and started to munch on his treat. “I’m sure she’ll love the trip.” She looked out the window, watching the countryside roll by. “What’s the first thing you want to do once we get to the tundra?”

The professor sipped her hot drink, also enjoying the windows view. “hm, that’s a good question. I suppose I’d really like to find a place to stay, I’d normally not mind camping but I see the name ‘Crown TUNDRA’ and feel like I wouldn’t want to stay over night outside as much. What about you? You’ll be knees deep in herd Pokemon in no time I bet, anything else you’d want to check out?” The little Dreepy had snuck closer to the window to look out, still nibbling.

“Well, there is this big ruin building with a massive old dead tree that’s I’d love to see. But it’s at the top of one of the mountains here. So it might be tricky getting to.” She mindlessly pet Coal as she slowly started seeing snow. “And I think there’s a small town that we could ask about lodging at. Day trips to the tundra and back by dark?”

“‘oh I do love a tree, that sounds interesting, you could always try to find a Pokemon who could get you up that mountain a bit easier?” Peach had planned to do just that, the cold sneaking in, she could feel her bad knee aching ever so slightly already, and almost exactly after that thought crossed her mind, Val crept over to radiate heat, sitting in her lap, easing the dull pain.

“perhaps we can camp out some of the time, it’d be nice to see what happens at night, what Pokemon come out, just perhaps not in any heavy weather if it can be avoided. I did take a look online, the village there is usually pretty open to travellers, think I noticed a B&B or two with vacancies posted, I’m sure we’ll find somewhere to stay.” By this point, the views had turned pure white, in the fields you could see grazing Pokemon, a herd of wooloo who almost blending in with the surroundings.

Devra spotter the wooloo right away, fawning over one of her favorite Pokémon. Coal picked up on his trainer’s excitement, his tail wagging happily as she told him what snow was like. “Oh I can’t wait to see Aliza’s face when she sees her first snow!”

“thats right, she’s not even seen a December yet, or a snowy route. Good thing you got your camera then isn’t it, I’m sure mom and pop would like to see her first experience with it, you know Cole hasn’t seen snow either before. Bet he’s real excited about now.” The pup must have felt something, seeing all this white for the first time. “‘what about you Dreepy, you seen snow before?” The little ghost type looked back, didn’t turn its body at all, but bent it’s neck fully back to look at the Professor upside down, giving no clear answer, which to her seemed like a big fat no, but perhaps he was a little shy about answering right away. “no matter, we’ll soon be in the thick of it.”

She giggled at the sight of the little dreepy. “He’s seen some light snow before. I caught him in the wild area. The weather there is always so weird. But he hasn’t seen this much before. This is going to be a big busy day.” She snapped a quiet picture of dreepy being cute, then one of Coal barking at the snow through the window.

The train began to turn a final corner, the tannoy alerting passengers to the upcoming station, the only stop on the journey coming up very soon.

“looks like we’re nearly there, ready to get going?” The trip had been only short, but outside it looked like a completely different region, so much snow and ice everywhere, nothing but pine trees. The woman grabbed her bags, not before waiting for the little Dreepy to return to the inside where it wrapped up in the spare clothes to keep warm. Val took to her shoulder as she usually did.

Devra nodded, standing up to gather her things. She then picked up Coal, holding his stout body in her arms to keep him from running of into the snow. “We’re ready. I’m so excited to see this area. I’ve read about it but they took forever to get it safe enough for more visitors.”

Safe enough wasn’t always entirely foolproof, and Peach was quietly happy she packed a first aid kit. She had heard some murmurs it was a little risky here, a lot of tough Pokemon roamed about.

“I hope you’re right, I’m sure the locals wouldn’t put people at risk.” The pair stepped off the train once the doors pinged open, the brisk cold air swept past, pulling them all out onto the platform. People came and went, and before long they became aware of the exits and where to head to next.

Devra took a slight lead of the two, following signs towards the little town. “Well, they did give all of us coming here a safety talk too. I just hope trainers actually listen. You gotta be smart about this place.” She then set Coal down and let the little guy run circles around the two humans. “I think I’ll wait to let Aliza our until we’re settled.”

With the pup thoroughly enjoying the snow, the trainers paused to check their phones, a map was needed for a moment, before they began to hear some loud ruckus just outside to the right of the station, sounded like a man and a young woman, peach didn’t even register it much, turning her back to the noise almost instinctually, trying to figure out which way to go. Val however was being nosey and sat on her shoulder judging the people making all the noise pretty hard from the look on her face.

“I think you’re right, we should find somewhere to stay before we really go out on a wild adventure.”

She nodded, looking at her own map on her Rotom phone, thanking the Pokémon inside for his help. “It looks like we head on that way.” She pointed to the road as it took a slight left turn. “Shouldn’t be more than a 20 minute walk.”

“‘sounds good to me, wonder what Pokemon we might see on the way?” Pocketing the phone and hoisting her bag up a bit, Peach began to take a few steps, noticing the pair who were making such noise earlier, avoiding them entirely, they seemed to be having a dad-daughter tiff that was no ones business. Onward, to the first route of the Crown Tundra!

Devra took a glance at the arguing people and sighed, hoping the wouldn’t bother her or the Professor. Coal bounded ahead as they walked, but kept in his trainer’s sight. “It’s really pretty here. Just look at all the ice on these pine needles!” She crunched her way to a tree and found an angle to catch light in the ice.

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lucif5er · 3 years

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AssassinKatsuki x PrinceIzuku

Katsuki doesn’t know how long he’s been sitting in this cell. Was it weeks? Months? He can’t tell anymore. Days and nights have merged together to turn into one big blur. Finally, a guard arrives and tells him he’s been bought, by the prince of course. The prince he’s meant to kill.

He was hired to kill the prince, soon to be crowned king of Musutafu. They offered him a hefty sum, enough for his family to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. It was an offer Katsuki couldn’t refuse.

Izuku Midoriya was rumored to purchase prisoners and turn them into his slaves. Apparently, the bastard went through a new slave every month then they disappeared. Everyone around the kingdom has heard the rumors of the prince who kills his slaves once they were no longer useful to him. He was nicknamed Deku, fitting for a useless prince.

Getting imprisoned was the perfect way to infiltrate. The guard, a tall man with duo-colored hair and a scar on his eye walked him to a small room. “You must shower before meeting the prince. Everything you might need is in there.”

Katsuki could only scoff at the smug bastard. Once he was finished and changed the guard was already waiting for him at the door. He escorted him to what must have been the prince's room but stopped before the doors.

“Your majesty is waiting for you.” the guard says.

Katsuki pushes the door open and he spots a small man sitting on the bed. If this is the prince he’s definitely not what he was expecting.

Wild green curls sprout from his head which is filled with freckles that seem to be never-ending. When he turns to look at him, Katsukis breath catches in his throat. Big green eyes stare at him and he smiles so brightly at him Katsuki has to keep himself from looking away.

“H-hi um I’m Izuku but you probably already knew that uum so you’ll be working as my attendant so um well” the man starts mumbling while his cheeks and ears slowly turn pink “and well please take care of me,” he says as he bows.

“Are /you/ the prince they call Deku?” Katsuki asks and he can’t help the distaste in his voice.

The smaller man looks down as if ashamed and nods. “That's just a nickname b-but if that’s what you’d like to call me it’s no problem.” He says as he scratches his arm.

“Okay, Deku what is it that you would have me do? Will I get some type of training?”

Deku looks up and he's smiling again. “Oh well, you sort of j-just need to keep me company.”

“Tch so what am I like your fucking call boy or something?” and Katsuki feels disgusted at the words. Never would he have thought the prince stooped so low as to taking advantage of his servants before killing them.

Deku flinches at the words but takes a few steps closer to Katsuki anyways. “N-no of course not. I-I would never. Y-you will just be like a friend.”

Katsuki barks out a laugh that echoes through the room and when he turns to look at Deku he’s red all over and looks like a strawberry.

After a week of being Dekus “friend”, he learns that the prince is a nerd. He reads countless books and talks Katsuki’s ear off every day, from sunrise to sundown.

On the 7th day, one of the other servants disappears and Katsuki remembers he can’t be swayed by this monster in disguise, he has a job to do after all.

But on his way back to his servant quarters he hears one of the other servants talking about the one who disappeared.

“Prince Izuku took her back home last night. She was so happy. I’m going to miss her so much.” the servant girl says.

“I know Ochako but soon you’ll get to go too. You know we have to give the prince some time or we’ll get caught.” Katsuki recognizes Iida's voice right away. He’s the servant who helps Deku with his studies.

“I know I know Tenya. The prince is too kind for his own good.” Ochako says.

Katsuki didn’t mean to eavesdrop but he can’t believe what he’s hearing. Deku took the servant girl home? He freed her? There's no fucking way. So Katsuki stalks his way to Deku's room and doesn’t even bother knocking.

When he swings the doors open he sees Deku standing in front of his mirror, shirtless. His torso and back are covered in bruises but his arms...Katsuki is shocked at the scars on Deku's arms, they looked old but his skin looked mangled as if his skin was chewed up until the point of no repair.

Katsuki sucks in a breath and Deku turns holding a blanket to his body.

“Waacchan. Y-you scared me. I thought you were going to bed” Deku says with a look of mortification.

“The fuck happened to you Deku?” Katsuki asks as he moves to grab Dekus' blouse, holding it up for him to put his arms through it.

“O-oh it’s nothing I was just training with my father,” he says as he hisses at Katsuki’s light touch

“This seems like a little extreme don’t you think nerd?”

“Father says it’s character building for the future king”

Katsuki simply humms at his response.

As days turn into weeks Katsuki learns of Deku's garden which he tends to every day. Of his secret spot in the library that holds his favorite books. He learns of the constant abuse that is inflicted on him by his father.

But the kindness in his voice when he speaks to his servants or ‘friends’ as he calls them never leaves. He learns that in secret Deku sends provisions to the villages whom his father steals from. He learns that he is far too kind and gentle for his own good and Katsuki can’t help but grow angrier because how will he fulfill his job like this?

And every 7th day of the week Katsuki waits for him in his chambers with healing tools for his never ending cuts and bruises and burns. And he waits for Deku to break down because he can’t fathom a life like his but it never comes.

Deku only sits with his head held high and a shy look on his face as Katsuki tends to his wounds with the lightest of touches.

“Kacchan do you miss your family?” Deku asks him one night. This night Deku's wounds are the worst he’s ever seen them and Katsuki can’t help the rage that fills him.

“Why do you care?”

“H-huh oh I was jus-“

“I know that you free your servants” Katsuki doesn’t mean to sound so angry but he can’t help it. “I know you fake their death and send them away. Are you going to send me away too?” and it comes out as a whisper.

Deku just sighs. A look of indignation on his face. “My father is a cruel man, Kacchan” and Deku looks so sad, so fucking sad that Katsuki wishes he could kill every fucker that put this look on his face.

��Soon Kacchan will be home. I promise” and for the first time, Katsuki sees tears. They stream down freckled cheeks.

“Oi nerd whats with the tears”

“It's because it hurts Kacchan” Deku says with a small smile on his face

“Hah?! You get beatings on the daily and this is what hurts? The beatings getting to your head now?” Katsuki says with a grin.

“Ah, I really just wanted to see Kacchans smile.”

As Katsuki wipes a stray tear away and rests his forehead on Deku's he realizes that he may love this man, because the scent of bell orchids that he can smell when he’s near him, he very selfishly hopes that he’s the only one who ever smells his scent. Only him.

Katsuki’s love is slow, but even hearts of stone can long for something more. So it is, that Deku and he gradually move closer to one another as the days wore on, tiny fractions of an inch at the time, so slowly that even someone who was paying attention wouldn’t notice.

And when Katsuki starts feeling impatient, sometimes when the waiting is unbearable he finds himself moving entire inches at a time and he takes and takes and takes. Takes from Deku because he is always willing to give. He gives everything to Katsuki, bending to his touch.

—————————

“Lets leave this place Deku”

Deku pauses his watering and turns to look at Katsuki. “Leave?”

“Yes. Somewhere far away. Where no one can find us”

They stood there for a long time under the light blue sky until Deku finally spoke.

“We can’t leave my mother and-and our friends”

“They’re not your friends they’re your servants Deku”

“Maybe” Deku says with a sad smile “but Kacchan is my friend right?”

Katsuki sighs and takes Dekus hand and presses a soft kiss to it. “Yeah Deku but only me okay?”

“Of course. I love Kacchan the most.” Deku beams at him and in this moment Katsuki exists for a while in a state of blissful glow but the pressure of all this light is crushing his bones into powder. It’s too much.

Katsuki always believed that there was no such thing as too much love that it’s warmth was a comfort from which we never tire but when love turns to obsession it consumes itself. The flame that nourished becomes angry, merciless, an all consuming blaze that now leaves him confused by the chill in the air and the hate left behind.

——————

“The king has requested your presence” the guard whom he now knows is named Todoroki says.

Katsuki rises from his cot and walks out the door. “I can get there myself half’n’half” he says without turning.

When he arrives to the throne room /he/ is sitting there. But Katsuki does not see a king, no. He sees a tyrant, a murderer, an abuser. Hisashi Midoriya, the devil incarnate.

“It has been nearly 4 months and you have yet to complete your job Bakugou” the king says.

“I changed my mind. Keep your gold” Katsuki spits out.

“Oh? Then maybe you need a better incentive” he says nonchalantly.

Katsuki sneers at him. “I won’t do it you bastard. I’m leaving.”

“Tell me, do you think you can get there before your village burns to the ground?”

Katsuki’s eyes widen and he grits his teeth “You wouldn’t!”

“Are you willing to sacrifice hundreds for one person?”

“You fucking bastard I’ll kill you”

“Maybe one village isn’t enough. Well. There are always more villages.” And he laughs. The bastard has the audacity to fucking laugh. “You may go now but make sure you think about it. The coronation is coming soon.”

Katsuki leaves the throne room unbeknownst to the man standing just outside the door.

Please, God, Katsuki thinks, and then realizes that he had no idea what he was asking for. Please what? Please don’t let what happened happen? Please don’t let him take Deku away? Please don’t let me feel this way anymore?

Please take away this awful thing inside me.

——————

“You asked me if I missed my family” Katsuki says as he wraps yet another cut on Dekus arm.

Deku looks up at him with wide eyes then they turn sad but filled with understanding and already shiny with unshed tears but his soft smile doesn’t leave his face “Is Kacchan ready to go home now?”

He looks away, willing his own tears to go away but Deku sweeps him out of his chair and dances him around the room while Deku laughs in his arms, his movements smooth and graceful as ever.

Katsuki hugs him tight and the pressure on Dekus cuts must be hurting him because he whimpers but yet he doesn’t pull away.

“I can’t take you with me Deku”

“I know you can’t love”

“I’m sorry”

“Me too Kacchan” Deku says at his shoulder, but Katsuki hardly hears him. With one sudden movement he reaches out and thrusts the blade in his back.

“I will always love Kacchan the most” Deku breaths.

He just holds him there as Dekus body grows limp. When Katsuki dares to look at his eyes again they are no longer green, and he realizes that he didn't have a word for the color they were anymore. The color was bleeding and leaking out of his world in mere seconds.

And suddenly he hears it, in the heavy stillness of that wretched palace, the heavy pounding of boots through the corridors and the echoes of the shrieks, all running towards the direction of the training room.

“THE KING HAS BEEN MURDERED”

Katsuki wails.

He weeps until he can only lay next to him, motionless, with his lips almost touching Dekus, he closes his eyes and breaths. Wishes he could’ve told him that he was the closest thing to true love he had ever known.

But maybe he just wasn’t close enough, not this time, not this way. Maybe next time around, the universe will be kinder to them and Katsuki won’t be a monster and Deku won’t fall in love with him.

#bakudeku #bkdk #katsuki x izuku #bkdk fluff #bkdk au #bakugou katsuki #bkdk angst #dkbk #mha izuku #bnha izuku #katsudeku #decchan

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solastia · 4 years

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Shadow Of You | 2

Pairing: Seokjin x Jungkook

Summary: Alpha Seokjin is sixteen when his best friend’s baby brother is born. When he finally gets to visit and meet the new baby Jungkook, he’s dismayed to discover the infant is his true mate. Or: Seokjin and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Long Wait For His Mate.

Seokjin bounded down the stairs of his family’s entirely too large house with his backpack slung off one shoulder. His hair was still damp as he’d rushed through getting ready and his clothes were thrown on without a thought. He hadn’t even had enough time to finish up his homework this morning like he’d been hoping.

“Where do you think you’re going without breakfast?”

He grinned sheepishly at the old housekeeper as he stuffed his feet into his shoes.

“Sorry, Yeona. I’m going to be late as it is.”

She sighs and offers up an apple she had in her apron, obviously having expected such an answer.

“At least eat this. It should tide you over until your first break. And stop staying up so late. You look thin and ragged. Do I have to move in to make you behave?”

Seokjin chuckles, having heard the same threat since he was a young boy.

“But Yeona, I have to study well so I become a doctor someday and can steal you away!”

“Oh, off with you. Have a good day. I’ll make your favorite for dinner tonight, alright?”

He cheekily saluted her and munched on the apple as he rushed to his car, finishing the fruit in just a few bites and throwing the core in a random bush for the gardener to find later. His poor stomach wasn’t happy with just a few bites of fruit, but hopefully, it would hold off until he had a chance to sneak off the grounds and get himself a real meal.

His phone was already rumbling with a barrage of messages, probably from Hoseok complaining that he’d had to walk to school since he’d never showed. He felt bad, but he’d hadn’t even been sure he was going to go to school today since he was just coming off of the most horrible rut in his life - never mind that it had only been his second.

After the life-changing visit to the Min household, Seokjin had rushed home, expecting to shut himself in his room to think about things. However, his body had decided to take matters into its own hands and he’d been horrified to feel himself going into his second rut - three months too early.

For once he’d been thrilled about the fact that Yeona had the weekends off and that his parents were at an event in Jeju. While it probably would have been safer to have someone around to check on him, he was glad he hadn’t had to explain why he was in so much agony. Why he refused to touch himself - instead curling up and sobbing as his body wracked with pain.

As someone who actually paid attention during his science classes due to his future career, he knew that it was simply his body's way of preparing itself since he’d found his mate. And since there was no mate around to sate him, his body increased its demands and he’d been forced to deal with high fevers, horrible cramping, and vomiting. He probably would have been able to reduce the severity with a couple rounds with his own hand, but it felt horribly wrong considering what had triggered it in the first place.

Jin drives with the radio off for once, the silence forcing him to finally think about his situation. And the honest to God truth was that he had no idea what to do. He’d never heard of anything like this happening before. He didn’t even know how to start looking for the information he needed.

When he was being realistic he’d always thought he’d never even find his true mate. It was becoming a rare thing for anyone these days. He’d pictured his life looking pretty much exactly like his fathers - marry someone his parents picked and work at the hospital until he was forced to retire. If he was lucky like them, he’d at least become friends with his mate and maybe pop out a pup before they start a life of celibacy (hopefully. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know if his parents had others).

Now...what kind of life could he have, always being drawn to something he couldn’t have? Now that he’d scented his true mate, had skin to skin contact as he’d held him in his arms, his body was going to be thoroughly fucked.

The horrible ruts were just going to get worse for at least a couple of years before his body would finally accept the loss. His scent was going to spike enough that he’d probably have to start showering several times a day and practically smother himself in scent masking products.

Worst of all, if he decided to just move on with his life and let his parents assign him a mate, no bite would ever take. He could marry and produce pups just fine, but he’d never be able to officially mate anyone else in the traditional sense. That would be a big deal-breaker for a lot of people.

Even in this modern world, the wolf and their instincts were still held in high regard. Being married without being mated would be looked at as taboo by his family and their circle, right up there with him mating a beta or becoming a janitor.

Jin sighed as he pulled into the school’s parking lot and finds Yoongi standing there with his arms crossed, giving him no chance of escaping unless he drove off and skipped school entirely.

Jin was many things, but a total coward he was not.

He grabbed his bag and slid out of the car, pasting a grin in his face that he hoped would pass for authentic even under the shrewd eyes of Min Yoongi.

“My darling Yoongichi, were you waiting for me? Chivalry isn’t dead!” he says dramatically, heading straight for the school building and ignoring Yoongi’s grumbles as he tries to catch up to him.

“Don’t give me that. I’ve been trying to call you all weekend. What’s going on?”

Jin shrugs, going for nonchalance, even as that subtle fragrance clinging to his friend began to call to him. “I guess all the stress from school got to me. Went into rut early.”

“Really?” Yoongi clucks in sympathy. “That sucks. Wait...weren’t your parents gone? You spent your rut alone?”

Jin waves away his worry. “I was fine. Some mild cramping. Five packets of beef jerky and a few rounds with myself and my Kumi Koda poster and I’m good to go.”

“You’re gross,” Yoongi groans as he pushes past him to open the door to their first class, which happened to be together.

He was incredibly happy to slide into his first period for once, as that teacher was notorious for not allowing talking and making everyone turn in their phones before class. For now, he was free from any more questions and could simply focus on his shitty schoolwork in peace.

Until lunch, that was.

And when it came around, the nerves roiled in his gut but he sat in his usual spot anyway. He watched his friends quietly as they all settled in like a pack of hyenas on a sugar rush. Yoongi settles into the spot right across from him and Jin nearly groans because that scent is still on him. Understandable, considering. Was he ever going to be able to eat strawberries again without thinking about how fucked up his life was?

“What about you, hyung?”

He snapped to attention when Hoseok jabs him with his elbow. “What?”

“We are heading over to shoot hoops at the park then have dinner at Yoongi’s.”

“Oh, ah,” he stammers, scratching the back of his head as he searches for a way out. “I was going to work on my biology project. Really big deal. At least forty percent of my grade, you know?”

“You can do it there,” Yoongi says with a shrug. “Ma has been asking about you, and you know if you make her wait much longer she’ll kidnap you.”

And that was the heart of his dilemma because the Min household was basically his real home, and he longed to be there. Ached for the feeling of belonging and acceptance that the family gave him. But he also knew that all of it would fly away if they learned the truth.

“Besides,” Yoongi continues after swallowing his food (the only one of his friends that actually bothers to do that by the way), “She’s been really worried since last time. She said she had a feeling she knew what was wrong but she wouldn’t tell me. Like having a rut is something to be embarrassed about,” Yoongi scoffs.

Jin’s nerves went wild. Did she know? Mama Min knew? He supposed she had been closer to him at the time so she would have seen his eyes, and he had growled at her but...shit. He was so fucked. She only wanted him to come by so she could warn the destined pervert away from her son.

But...he supposed he should go. Just one last time. One last moment to soak in as much of that feeling of home as he could get before he was banished. And now that the initial imprinting and rut had passed, he’d even be able to look at him without losing his mind. So maybe he’d take the chance to apologize to Jungkook too because he was going to grow up longing for something he couldn’t understand and unable to bond properly all because fate had chosen poorly for him.

He sighed and pushed around the food on his plate. “I’ll go.”

“Great, hyung. Ma will be happy and stop blowing up my phone.” Yoongi smiled gummily at him.

That seemed to be the end of it, as they all went back to eating and talking over each other about video games. Listening to them made Jin feel ancient, despite the fact that just last week he had nothing better to talk about than video games himself.

The rest of the day went by much too quickly. All of his teachers seemed to be in great moods and willing to cut classes early or assign easy work, so there wasn’t much to keep Jin’s mind occupied. He declined to play basketball with the others afterward because he felt the overwhelming urge to go home and get prepared to go to the Min’s.

It wasn’t until he noticed that he was wearing Burberry from head to toe and had spent twenty minutes styling his hair that he realized he’d been primping for his mate. For an infant that would be more likely to vomit or piss on the outfit than admire the cut or pattern. He scoffed aloud, practically hating his wolf at that moment.

“Get used to disappointment, you bastard,” he muttered wryly.

Still the wolf wouldn’t settle. Jin drove with gritted teeth, wondering what his instincts were screaming at him to do now. It wasn’t until he passed a shopping center and he nearly crashed into someone trying to control his arm from turning the wheel that he understood. Shopping? Why the fuck did he want to go shopping?

The urge grew until stopping abruptly, letting Jin’s mind clear.

Oh! The bastard wanted to bring a courting gift. Not in this lifetime, buddy.

He breathed with mingled relief and wariness when he finally pulled into his usual spot at the Min household. He saw all the scooters and skateboards laying in the lawn that meant his friends were already here.

He gulped and climbed out of his car, walking towards the door with an odd sense of deja vu. It was just a few days ago where he made this same journey that changed his life forever.

He stared at the door, suddenly wondering what to do. Normally, he barged in like he had the right to...but did he any more?

The choice was taken from him when Yoongi flings the door open and scowls at him like he’d just grown three heads.

“Why the hell are you just standing there, weirdo? Come in already.”

“Yoongi, be nice!” Came the familiar command from the living room.

“Yes, Ma,” Yoongi grumbled as he closed the door behind Jin and waited for him to take his shoes off.

They walked together towards the living room as Jin tried to control his racing heart. He was so nervous but his wolf finally seemed content with that strawberries and cream scent filling his nose like a balm.

The moment they walked into the living room, Mama Min pierced him with a meaningful look. Then she turned and handed Jungkook to Hoseok.

“Take him into Yoongi’s room and you guys hang out in there for a bit. I just want to check on Jin without you guys hearing a bunch of embarrassing questions.”

They all chuckled, having dealt with the same concern after one of their own cycles. Jin eyed the bundle in Hoseok’s arms warily, both wanting to run from it and to protect it from Hoseok's too loose grip.

“Seokjin,” Mama Min said softly, bringing his attention back to her.

She was...crying? Was she going to kick him out right away then?

She held out her arms and thickened her scent, the comfort and reassurance she was exuding exactly what he’d needed.

“Come here, sweetheart.”

He keened and ran towards her arms, letting her pull him close. She rocked him as he finally cried for the first time since it happened. He could feel the wet droplets as she joined him.

“Oh, you sweet boy. I’m so sorry. So, so sorry,” she crooned, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head.

“I’m sorry, Mama. I didn’t do anything. I won’t do anything! I promise!” he cried hysterically, desperate to keep her from ever looking at him with disgust. “I can stay away from him, I will.”

“Oh, darling boy. I know you would never do anything you shouldn’t. I’m just sorry it’s like this,” she said softly, cradling his cheeks to make him look up at her. “I always knew that you were meant to be a part of this family, but this seems like such a high price to pay for it. I wish I could have had him sooner for you.”

“What do I do now?” he asked softly, sniffling.

She sighed and pet his cheek. “I don’t really know, Jinnie. I’ve never heard of this before. I suppose your parents don’t even know about this yet?”

He shook his head. “No. They’re not even home right now.”

Her eyebrow raised in shock. “But...Kim Seokjin! Did you just have a rut all alone in that mausoleum of a house?”

“Uh, yes? Yeona is off weekends and my parents were out of town so I had no choice. BUT! I didn’t do anything! I swear! I just slept a lot and I swear I didn’t think anything bad.”

He clutched at her as he swore, and her eyes softened even as they filled with more tears.

“Hush, sweet thing. This is an...odd and difficult situation, but I like to think I know you well enough to know you’re trying your best. I’m not going to automatically think you’re feeling...things...for an infant. If anything, your alpha should just be feeling super protective of him, and judging by the way you growled at me last time, I think it’s safe to say you are.”

He cleared his throat with embarrassment. “Sorry about that.”

She waved it away. “It’s alright. You can’t help it.”

The conversation lulled to silence after a few moments, with him simply enjoying the way she was petting his hair.

“Mama Min?” he finally asked softly.

“Yes?”

“Should I...um...do you want me to stop coming by now?”

She sighed and tilted his chin up to face her.

“No. You are always welcome here, sweetheart. Always. I trust that not only will you be able to control yourself, but that I will be able to be a fair judge of whatever is going on.”

She waited until he nodded in acknowledgment. “However, if at any time it becomes too hard for you to be here, know that we understand and will love you no matter what you decide. If you think it’s better to stay away, that’s fine. I’ll still expect you to write, call, send a pigeon. Whatever. We won’t be upset if you decide to find a mate your own age and move on with your life. You deserve to. No one will judge you for not waiting for eighteen years for a mate. That’s unrealistic and unfair.”

He nods and looks down. “Does Yoongi know? He’ll be pissed.”

“Not yet. I’ll tell him tonight after you all leave. I think he’ll take it better one on one. But you know him. He’ll take the night to process it and then he’ll be angry at you for two days because you thought he’d get mad at you, not because of the situation.”

That much was true, he supposed.

“Alright,” she said with gusto, pecking him one last time on the head. “Go round the hooligans. Dinner will be done in a moment.”

He jumped up, feeling lighter than he had in days. His life still royally sucked, but at least for the time being he still had his home.

“Everything okay?” Yoongi asked the moment he flung open the bedroom door.

They were all gathered in a little circle in front of Yoongi’s bed, with Hoseok sitting on top of it. He was bouncing and singing something entirely inappropriate for a child.

“Yeah. It’s cool. Dinner’s almost done.”

“Finally!” Namjoon huffed, his stomach rumbling loudly to agree.

“Here!” Hoseok huffed and shoved the bundle towards him. Jin accepted it without thinking.

He looked down and locked eyes again with the creature that had so changed his life. His wolf quieted almost instantly, finally content to be in the general vicinity of its mate. The others shuffled out of the room and he barely noticed, so enthralled he was by the eyes blinking up at him. The baby was so quiet. Aren’t they supposed to be loud?

And...he supposed as far as infants went he was decent looking. Didn’t look like a potato like some infants he’d seen. His eyes were larger than the rest of the Min’s, and his nose seemed a bit longer. Maybe it was just a baby thing and he had to grow into himself.

All he knew was that he was very glad that all he scented was strawberries and pup, and it just made him protective. He didn’t feel any crazy urges or have bad thoughts - he simply wanted to make sure this pup was safe and happy.

Huh , he could live with that.

“Well, how’d I do?”

He looked up to find Mama Min watching him from the doorway, leaning against it and smiling softly.

“He’s only seven weeks old and already makes Yoongi look like a gremlin,” he scoffed playfully, standing up.

She laughs and holds out her arms. “He is a pretty one. Yoongi’s not so bad either when he sleeps more than four hours and showers.”

He hesitates, his wolf unwilling to release the pup now that he had it. But no, he was more than instincts. He thrust Jungkook towards her and pretended that his wolf wasn't howling against the loss.

Who else would he be safer with than his own mother, you bastard? He growled to himself.

When they gathered for dinner it was the usual chaos. Everyone was screaming and talking over each other, tons of laughter and teasing. Amazing food and even better friends.

Maybe I can keep this, he thought to himself. He smiled hopefully as he observed everyone he cared about sitting around him. Maybe things don’t have to change too much. Jungkook will just be another friend. Eventually. When he learns to talk that is. I can keep on with the plan.

Nothing will change.

#bts #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #fanfiction #alpha seokjin #omega jungkook #jinkook #bts scenarios #mxm #solastia #omegaverse #shadow of you

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everlarkficexchange · 4 years

Text

The Proper Response

Written by: @madetofly

Prompt 29: Post-MJ, Growing Together. Peeta is finally showing his affection and love for Katniss as they heal and reconnect. Katniss, being Katniss, seems to act like she doesn’t appreciate this, and is less than enthused. Peeta, taking this like an adult, stops showing her with the affection and tries to show her his love in other ways. Katniss, however, does not appreciate him stopping those things and set out to try and get him to continue it again because she misses it. [submitted by @albinokittens300]

Summary: After the war, Katniss and Peeta go back home. But when Peeta begins gifting Katniss with bread, she’s not sure what the proper response is.

Warnings: past character death, alcoholism (Haymitch), and references to events in the books.

Katniss threw her empty game bag over one shoulder, followed quickly by her sheath of arrows. Each step of the familiar routine helped her feel a deeper sense of ease, but she didn’t really feel like herself until her bow was in her hands. She gripped it tightly as she left the house.

She meant to make a beeline for the woods. With the fence around District 12 now little more than a suggestion, she could enter the woods from a spot right outside her front door, but the flowers in her front garden made her pause, just as they had every morning since they were planted.

They were thriving despite Katniss not touching them since Peeta had planted them. She’d caught him tending to them a few times, but he did most of it discreetly while she was in the woods or selling her catches in town.

The way Peeta appeared to be ignoring her made her uneasy. Not that she could blame him for it.

She understood because she didn’t have a clue how to act around him either. Everything was different, not even talking to Greasy Sae was the same as before the war. Returning to normalcy would have felt even weirder than the state they were in, but Katniss wished she knew how to better bridge the gap she still felt between her and Peeta.

Glancing at his house, she noticed lights in the kitchen that indicated he was awake.

With a sigh, she turned away from him and from the flowers and headed into the woods.

The last thing she expected when she returned home was Peeta sitting on her porch with a plate of cheese buns in his hands.

He’d been tending to the flowers he’d planted for months, yet she hadn’t needed to face him directly in nearly as long.

There was a moment when she hesitated. Her bag was packed with several rabbits. She’d been planning to keep them to herself, but upon getting a glance of Peeta, she started formulating a new plan to take them into town and sell them before he caught sight of her.

Her indecision lasted long enough that Peeta happened to glance in her direction, his senses better honed after two games and a war. He offered her a smile and a short wave.

Katniss did her best to return it, but she could feel the embarrassment twisting her features into something more like a grimace. Peeta’s smile fell with his hand.

She couldn’t run, but she approached him with the same caution she used when she stalked deer. Peeta looked more nervous than the deer often did.

“What are you doing here?” Katniss snapped, her voice coming out hostile out of her fear.

She hated that Peeta had that effect on her. He wasn’t anything like Snow or the gamemakers or anyone Katniss felt justified being frightened of, yet he made her tense up every time she was around him. It had only gotten worse since the war ended. And Katniss knew it wasn’t because of the Hijacking.

Peeta held up the plate of cheese buns. Plastic was wrapped over the surface to keep them fresh, but their smell still wafted towards Katniss and warmed her.

“I wanted to bring you these,” Peeta said.

Katniss stared at the bread, trying to ignore the way her mouth had begun to water.

He had baked for her family between the games, but he had almost always presented the bread to Prim or her mother. Katniss has mostly been able to pretend it was for them, not her. She couldn’t do that anymore.

They both had the same income, so she knew this wasn’t some gesture of sympathy. She wasn’t the starving girl he’d once tossed burnt bread to. That would have been far easier to accept.

She slid her game bag off her shoulder and pulled out one of the rabbits she’d killed. With the new laws, she hadn’t bothered to skin it in the forest, and its dead eyes stared back at Peeta as she held it up.

“Take this,” she said, holding it out to him.

Peeta eyed the rabbit with uncertainty.

“Katniss,” he said slowly, “I really don’t want—“

“If I take the cheese buns, you should take the rabbit.

Peeta sighed and sat the plate of bread on a small table on the porch, one that hadn’t been sat in since her mother and Prim had fled during the bombing.

“The bread’s supposed to be a gift, Katniss. I didn’t want it to feel like a transaction.”

Katniss’ hand that held the rabbit fell to her side. Was that what she had been doing?

She stared at the bread, which was much easier than looking at Peeta.

“Okay,” she said, further words failing her.

Her mind raced as she tried to work out what the appropriate next move was. It seemed polite to invite Peeta in and ask him to share the bread with her, but the idea was so terrifying that it kept her frozen in place instead.

She took too long to do anything.

Peeta ran a hand over his face and brushed past her to leave, her heart racing at his momentary proximity.

Katniss squeezes her eyes shut, keeping her back to him as he hurried back home. She was left with nothing more than the cheese buns and a plate that she’d have to return.

In the months that followed, various baked goods showed up on Katniss’ porch while she was hunting. Half the time it was cheese buns; the other half of the time it was something else. But Peeta was never with them when Katniss returned.

Each time, Katniss returned the platter to Peeta’s doorstep in the early morning when she set out for the woods. She didn’t knock. Instead, she scurried away, frightened he might open the door before she escaped, though he never did.

Sometimes, she left things for him along with the dishes: wild strawberries like this family had always bought, rabbits, the occasional cut of deer meat. He took them all without reaching out to her, and at first, she was grateful.

As time passed with little more than glimpses of Peeta as he came to and from town, Katniss began to long for any sort of contact she could make with him.

She thought long and hard about what she might say if she were brave enough to knock on his door, yet she never worked up the courage to find out.

Her nerves didn’t turn into fear until the gifts stopped coming all together.

There had been no baked goods on her doorstep for nearly a month; the realization made her stomach churn and her chest tighten.

Peeta had gotten tired of baking for her. It wasn’t like she could blame him.

Even then, she didn’t work up the courage to knock on his door.

Knocking on Haymitch’s door was something else entirely. She couldn’t leave any of what she gathered in the woods on his doorstep because they’d rot without him knowing they were there, stinking up all of Victor’s Village.

Instead, Katniss brought him food at least once a week, supplementing the supplies from town that Greasy Sae always brought by.

He was half-cognizant of Katniss during one of her usual visits, watching her with a dazed look as she wandered around the kitchen to put everything where it belonged.

She was just gathering her empty bag when Haymitch spoke in words that were more than lazy grunts.

“How’s Peeta? He didn’t stop by this week.”

Katniss hesitated, her hands tightening around the straps of her bag. Though it was empty, she took her time adjusting it before she answered.

“I don’t know. You’d have to ask him that yourself. I haven’t talked to him, and I don’t think he wants to speak to me anymore either.”

Haymitch let out a loud, undignified snort that made Katniss glare at him. He was unaffected as he slumped back in his chair and regarded her with lidded eyes.

“I see the two of you are being as ridiculous as always,” he said, tilting his drink in her direction. “Especially you.”

Even with the slurred words, Katniss was offended. At least she was functional. Haymitch spent his days drunk in his house with others taking care of him. What right did he have to judge her for anything?

“He’s stopped leaving bread by my door,” she shot back. “That was him, not me. It’s clear he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

But her defense didn’t get rid of the knowing grin on Haymitch’s face. He pointed in the general direction of his kitchen window, nearly sliding off his chair as he did so.

“Sometimes I bother to look out the window. Don’t think I’ve missed that perfectly tended garden outside your house. I know you’re not the one doing that.”

Katniss froze, images of the flowers flashing through her mind.

Of course she had noted that the garden was still as well taken care of as Peeta’s own, but she’d assumed that was more about the flowers than her. Peeta wasn’t the kind of person to let any creature, even flowers, die pointlessly. Of course he would continue tending to them.

She turned her face towards Haymitch’s window. The early afternoon sun streamed through the crack in Haymitch’s curtains and warmed her face. She could get the blurriest of views of her own garden through the dusty glass.

“Stop being ridiculous, sweetheart,” Haymitch said, raising his drink to take a swig. “Go talk to the boy.”

She didn’t say anything to Haymitch as she turned to go, frowning at the drunken laughter she heard behind her.

The sun was bright, and it hit her with full force the second she was outside of Haymitch’s darkened house. She had to squint to see Peeta’s house. The sunlight reflected off the white siding, stinging at her eyes.

She glanced over at her own house, eyes scanning the flowers of various colors that lined the outside of it. The garden had only expanded since Peeta had last spoken to her. Maybe Haymitch was right and the garden was about more than just keeping existing flowers alive. Katniss glanced down at Haymitch’s own flower beds of nothing but dirt and weeds.

Without allowing herself time to second guess the move, Katniss headed straight for Peeta’s door and knocked.

It took him mere seconds to answer, his gaze widening when he found Katniss on the other side.

“Katniss?”

His shirt was speckled with every color of paint imaginable. Some of it was old and dried, but some of it was undoubtedly new, shining in the afternoon light. There was even a bit of blue across his cheek. It was smeared as if he had tried to wipe it away only to fail. It took all of her willpower not to focus on it as she spoke.

“Why did you stop bringing me bread?”

If she was going to do this, there was no sense in beating around the bush about it. Peeta’s mouth opened and closed several times as he looked at her. Eventually, he motioned for her to come inside and closed the door behind her.

Katniss’ eyes scanned the space. She hadn’t had many opportunities to see the inside of Peeta’s house, but the layout was the same as that of every other house in Victor’s Village. The decor, however, was entirely different. Katniss’ house was clean but plain. Haymitch’s was a mess. Peeta’s was something akin to an art studio, with paintings all over the walls, some hung with nails and others propped against it on the floor.

“I didn’t think you wanted me around,” Peeta said from behind her.

Katniss’ eyes kept scanning the paintings. It was easier to have this conversation if she didn’t look at him. One painting in particular caught her attention. To most, it would look like nothing more than an interesting design of various shades of gray. To Katniss, it was a wall of the cave they’d hidden in together during their first games.

“Of course I wanted you around,” Katniss continued. It was much easier to blurt things out once she’d started. “I just didn’t know how to act or what to do.”

Peeta sighed. She listened as he took several loud footsteps forward until he’d come to stand at her side. She didn’t look away from the painting.

“There’s no one way you have to act, Katniss, but I can understand if you’re uncomfortable around me.”

It took Katniss a second to realize that he was thinking about the highjacking. In all of her worries over Peeta not being around, that had been the farthest thing from her mind.

She turned to look at him straight on. He was close, much closer than he’d been in a long time.

“Sometimes I do get uncomfortable,” Katniss said quietly, “but it’s not because of that.”

No, she’d forgiven him for that before he’d even arrived back in District 12, but that was a detail she couldn’t yet bring herself to reveal.

“I’ve never—” she started to say before cutting herself off. There was no easy way to voice what was on her mind. “I don’t know exactly what we are, but whatever it is, it’s new to me. I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do.”

The confession hung heavy in the air until Peeta smiled in a way that made her heart skip a beat. That was something new too. She hated the way it made her want to flee again, but she fought against the urge, staying rooted in place.

Slowly, Peeta held out his hand, watching Katniss through long lashes. Katniss held her breath as she took it and let him link their fingers together. Both of them stared at their interlocked fingers, neither daring to make another move at first.

It was the most physical Katniss had been with anyone in a long, long time. Even when her mother and sister had been around, she’d always felt uncomfortable about it unless it was from Prim, but Peeta’s hand around hers felt good. It almost made her want to cry.

“I don’t expect anything,” Peeta said, giving her hand a squeeze. “But maybe we should be more open with each other. That might solve at least half of our problems.”

He offered her a small smile that Katniss hesitantly returned along with a slow nod of her head.

“And you can have space whenever you need space,” Peeta stressed, his brow furrowing suddenly.

Katniss’ smile widened.

“Thank you,” she said.

She didn’t know what other words should be said. She felt like she should promise him something in return, but what that should be eluded her.

It was silent for a moment, both of them lost in their own thoughts as their hands continued to dangle between them.

“Actually,” Peeta said slowly, “I haven’t had much time for baking recently. I’ve been more focused on painting. There’s something kind of…large that I’ve been working on.”

When Katniss only blinked at him in response, he continued.

“Something for you. Even though I wasn’t sure I’d work up the courage to give it to you.”

Katniss’ eyes widened, and her stomach fluttered in an unfamiliar way. She felt light-headed as Peeta led her by the hand to one of the rooms off the main hallway. It was the one he used as an art studio. Various canvases in half-finished states were scattered around the room, all of them abandoned for the particularly large canvas placed in the middle of the room. Peeta’s paints were laid out carefully around it.

Katniss gasped the second she saw what was on the canvas. Though it was nowhere near finished, the figure was undoubtedly Prim.

A smiling, happy Prim as opposed to the one who had been hardened by the rebellion and life in Thirteen. This was the Prim Katniss wanted to remember, and apparently, Peeta did too.

Katniss hadn’t dared look at any false representation of Prim since she’d died, frightened that it would be too much for her, but seeing a reminder that someone else was thinking of Prim like she was—not just thinking of her but viewing her in such a way—left Katniss with a sense of comfort she hadn’t been expecting.

Without thinking, Katniss surged forward and wrapped Peeta in a tight hug. He gripped her back just as tightly. She pressed her face against his t-shirt, able to feel places where the paint staining it hadn’t dried. It didn’t bother her. In a way, it was comforting.

They had hugged before, of course, even when they weren’t faking it for the cameras. But they hadn’t really hugged in anything like real privacy. For once, they had something that was just for the two of them, and Katniss hadn’t expected how much comfort she gained from that.

There was no telling how long they stayed locked in their embrace. Neither of them bothered to check the time. But eventually, they did pull away, smiling stupidly at each other as they did so.

“And, Katniss,” Peeta said as he led her towards the kitchen, “I don’t need any meat in exchange for this one.”

He motioned at the painting over his shoulder before disappearing into the kitchen. Katniss paused in her step, watching the spot where he’d disappeared for a minute as she debated the proper response.

She shook her head. There was no proper response. She would have to stop worrying about things like that. Instead, she smiled and followed.

#Springtime Edition 2020 #madetofly #albinokittens300 #prompt 29 #submission

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bbrandy2002 · 4 years

Text

Happy Birthday Burnsy!

@burnsoslow

Burns,

You probably don't remember this, but the first time I ever talked to you was a reply to your comment on my fic, The Breakfast Club, in early July. I'm not sure what possessed you to reach out to me a week later in chats but, you did and its been one wild and crazy ride since then. You've certainly come a long way since we were new and mulling over those earlier stories-or in your case-Heavier Things, Chapter 1 (YOU ARE STILL WRITING THAT...LOL) . And while you have sooooo many friends here, for some reason you chose me to be your Tumbler Bestie. I hope you know you are so much more than that though ... you're my sister, my twinsie, a truly good friend. You've inspired me in ways you'll never know. I have watched you grow in your craft and reach an unprecedented level of talent that is evidenced in the quality of your work and through the amount of enthusiastic readers who can't wait for you to post the next epic chapter. You did it all through a tremendous amount of hard work, lot of tears and because you have a likeness that draws people to you. You're just truly an incredibly, special person who possesses a certain spark that makes this crazy place even better. And I think I tell you enough, but you really are one of the best writers in this fandom. And as you say to me all the time, I'm gonna say to you ... I'm one proud TBFF!! I can't thank you enough for all the late night laughs, bull sessions, real talks, 6 hour chats about nothing, letting me know when I'm being a dumbass or just being there when things get really, really tough. The fic I wrote isn't anything special and definitely could have been better, however I hope in some small way it captures the essence of our crazy friendship. Keep growing and shining and being your amazing self.

Love you my friend and Happy Birthday!!

Brandy

**You asked for Drake, Alyssa, Riley and Liam shenanigans. I don't know if this will be what you were expecting, but its what I came up with after 20 different versions. You'll recognize some of this as inside jokes or dialogue and situations from your own stories (yep, I stole them...lol). This is wacky and crazy and makes no sense. Okay Im shutting up now.

Thank you @sirbeepsalot for gutting the hell out of this on Monday night and @emceesynonymroll for SO MUCH of your help and suggestions. Also to my lovely pre-readers/keep me saners @jessiembruno and @loveellamae

Song Inspiration: You're Still The One by Shania Twain. **Drakes final dialogue will come from these lyrics.

Alyssa pulled her black mini-van through the palace gates, running over a cone and nearly taking out Michael, the security guard, in the process. Her hair was swept up into a very messy bun and her sunglasses were perched atop her head. She was wearing a blue, faded Bears sweatshirt, black leggings with a small hole in the crotch, and a mismatched pair of flip-flops -- both were for the left foot. Unable to find a close parking space, she double-parked her van in two handicapped-accessible spaces. She checked her reflection in the rear view mirror and wiped away the smudges of mascara that had run below her eyes.

She was hurt and mad as hell, yet waited until, 'DIRRTY’, finished on the radio before shutting the van off and tossing the keys in her oversized mom purse. Alyssa’s dainty fingers fumbled hastily as she tried to release the lock on her seatbelt with no luck. "You son of a bitch! Let me go!"

After pulling and tugging, twisting and karate chopping at it as hard as she could, she finally freed herself.

“HAHA! MOTHERFUCKER! GOTCHA!”

Alyssa snatched her purse and cell phone before she swung the door open, hopped out, and kicked the door shut. Still mumbling obscenities, she walked a few paces before turning back around and hitting the van’s hood with her swinging purse. “Fucking hold me hostage like that again and I’m driving your ass into a ravine!”

Everyone who knows Alyssa Walker would say she is generally a fun, loving, and sociable little woman. She’s a devoted wife who has been married to the man of her dreams for several years and a wonderful mother to their children. She's very successful professionally, having served as the Royal Education Director for 8 years. A social butterfly of sorts, she’s been known to give Maxwell a run for his money, in regards to being considered the life of any party. On most days, Alyssa is typically outgoing and joyful.

Today is not one of those days.

Her flip flops were barely hanging on as she trudged across the lawn that led to the palace gardens, thoughts of her morning crossed her mind.

For every single birthday since marrying Drake, she would wake up to the smell of bacon, scrambled eggs, and french toast wafting through the cabin. She would lay in bed and pretend to sleep until Drake and the kids burst in with a tray full of freshly prepared foods, a hot cup of coffee, and a glass of orange juice. They would shower her with kisses and hugs, sing Happy Birthday, and then wait anxiously as Alyssa took the first bite to see if their mother approved of the time and effort they put into making her birthday morning special. When she finished, like clockwork, Drake would send the kids outside with the eldest child and give Alyssa a gift that only he could give her; one that required the skilled use of his lips, hands, and the colossus that was his … well … colossus.

Except, there were no bacon, eggs, or french toast. There were no kids jumping on the bed to wish her a happy birthday and fighting over which one hugged her first. Drake did not send the kids away when she finished her breakfast nor had she risen from the bed barely able to walk from the most mind-blowing sex she’d ever had.

None of the things she expected happened.

When Alyssa woke up this morning no one was home. All she found was a letter by the coffee pot from Drake, telling her the kids went with Maxwell for the day and that he would see her after work. To make things worse, her 20 attempts to call him that morning went straight to voicemail.

Drake had been working late and acting shady for months, telling her he was helping Liam take care of some horses they were preparing for next month's derby. Lately, she was beginning to wonder if there was something more he wasn’t telling her.

Now she was late for her luncheon with Riley.

As Alyssa rounded the corner that entered the gardens, she saw Riley on the patio arranging a tray of fresh fruit and sandwiches on the table. An array of metallic birthday balloons danced and bounced from the chairs with the changing breeze. Alyssa frowned with resentment towards her best friend of over 20 years. Bitch is still in her 30s.

Riley’s focus was averted when she heard the sound of rustling leaves behind her. She turned on her heels and said, “Happy 40th Birthday, Old Lady!” Her cheery voice trailed off when she caught sight of her disheveled friend.

“Lyss? What the hell happened to you? You look like shit.”

Alyssa strode past Riley and threw her purse on the ground beside a chair before she slumped down into it.

Riley furrowed her brows with a snicker. “Bad day?”

Alyssa reached for a strawberry and dipped the entire berry, stem and all, into a dish of melted chocolate before leaving behind a trail of droplets from the dish to her mouth. As she chewed, she mewled. “Ma life if ofer!”

Riley scrunched up her face and arched back in an attempt to avoid the spittle of food that sprayed from her friend’s full mouth. She sighed heavily, grabbed a napkin, and wiped away the chunks of fruit-and-chocolate-mixed saliva that landed on her arm. “Oookaay, what’s going on? Why is your life over?”

Alyssa threw the stem on her plate and leaned forward into the table, gesticulating dramatically. “He didn’t tell me happy birthday, Ri! There was no breakfast, there was no spoiling, there was no fucking, colossus dick! There was nothing!”

“Who? Drake?”

“No, fucking Santa Clause! Of course Drake.”

Riley bit into her sandwich as Alyssa complained about Drake’s lack of attentiveness over the past few months. It wasn't the first time her friend had mentioned this to her; however, judging by how upset she was and the fact that she was dressed like a $2 hooker, she knew it was really serious now.

Alyssa continued to point out how Drake was always working and, supposedly, was helping Liam out with the horses too. When he returned home each night, his clothes were sweaty and dirty but never smelled like horse shit. To make things worse, the sex had dwindled. Alyssa could give up a lot of things in life, but Drake's dick was not one of them.

“I know he’s cheating, Ri,” she lamented, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

“Nooo.”

“YES! He’s found another woman … someone younger, sluttier, who hasn't popped out a bunch of kids!”

Riley scoffed. “Lyss, everyone knows Drake worships the ground you walk on. I’m sure there is a good reason why he hasn’t paid as much attention to you lately.”

“But he KNOWS I’m needy and clingy and desperate for love!” she wailed.

Riley lifted the napkin from her lap and tossed it on the table. Her friend was a hot mess -- a more than usual hot mess -- and she wanted to help. She stood and walked around the table to her grieved friend and grabbed her tiny hand. “Come on.”

Alyssa’s weepy eyes stared up at her in confusion before she let out a small sniffle. “Where are we going?”

“We are going to the stables. You said he is there today, so let's go talk to him.”

Alyssa sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I’m not going, Ri. He needs to come to me!”

Riley began pulling on her friend's arm, but Alyssa was not being very cooperative with her efforts. “Get your ass out of the chair, Lyss, and go get your man.”

Alyssa pulled back harder. “Get off me, you skank ass ho!”

Riley continued to tug at her, surprised there was so much strength in such a little body. “Bitch, I will drag your ass and this chair all the way to the stables!”

“I’d like to see you try, dumbass!”

With a hard jerk from Riley, Alyssa’s chair tipped over and she landed on the ground. Her resolve never once faded. While Riley continued to tug at her arm, Alyssa reached over and grabbed her broken flip flop and began smacking vigorously back at her.

Riley immediately let go of her and stumbled backwards. “You have gone insane!” she groaned. “I tried to help you and, if this is how you’re gonna act, leave me out of it!” She turned to walk away and glanced back quickly. “You know the way out.”

“Ri … wait.” Alyssa called out softly to her.

Riley stopped and quirked her brow with a huff. “What?”

“Can palace security take us down? You know my ass ain’t walking that far.”

Riley called for a guard to take the 30-second drive to the stables. Both girls hopped off the cart and entered the empty barn. Riley called out for members of the stable staff while Alyssa’s eyes roamed the perimeter for her husband.

“Your Majesty? Did you need something?”

Riley turned to face the man in charge as he walked around the corner wiping his hands off with an old cloth. Before she could acknowledge him, Alyssa popped in front of her, nearly knocking her over.

“Eric!! Where’s Drake?”

The Queen smiled at the stable manager. “Eric, we’re looking for Drake.”

He looked between the two women, confusion etched across his face. “Is he supposed to be here, ma’am?”

Riley looked at Alyssa, who looked like she was ready to snap at his question, then back to Eric. “Um … yes. He told Mrs. Walker here that he would be helping in the stables today.”

“Hell … I’d say its been a good --” Eric paused to calculate before turning his attention back to the women. “--three … maybe four weeks since I last saw Walker here. Came down with King Liam to take the newest horse, Driam, out for a ride … it made me real hard ma’am”

“Hold the fuck up!” Alyssa yelled with one hand on her hip and the other covering her forehead. “He told me he has been helping out here for the last several months. Is that not true?”

Eric, realizing what is going on, backed up defensively. He could sense this was not something he wanted to be a part of. “Nope. I'm not getting in the middle of your marital woes, Ms. Alyssa.” I just want in the middle of your husbands.

Alyssa approached him and aggressively poked at his chest. “Oh, you are in so far in the middle of my woes now, Ricky boy! So drop the bros before hoes bullshit and spill what you know.”

Riley grabbed both of Alyssa's shoulders from behind and pulled her aside. “It’s not his fault, Lyss. Plus … I think Eric’s the ho in this case”

Alyssa shrugged her away and began to pace back and forth frantically. “I’m seeing sounds, Ri. I am seeing fucking sounds all over this bitch!”

“Oh God, Lyss! No! Don’t look at the sounds ... Don’t look at the sounds” She turned her frantic friend around to face her, squeezing her arms soothingly. “Look at me.”

Alyssa’s lips quivered as she stared back at her best friend. “I’ve lost him, Ri. I’ve lost him.”

“No, you haven’t.”

Alyssa sniffled through her tears and wiped her nose on her shirt sleeve. “Can me and the kids live with you now that I’m a single mother with a cheating ass husband?”

Riley pulled her into a hug, rubbing comfortingly along her back. “Of course you can, but maybe we should talk to Liam first.”

Lyss wiped her tear-stained face on Riley's shoulder and pulled back. “Liam loves me. He won’t care if I stay with you.”

Riley smiled with a nod. “Yes, he does love you, but Drake loves you too and you know that. There has to be a good explanation for everything.”

“Then why did he lie? He’s never lied to me, Ri.”

Riley gave her friend a sympathetic frown and shrugged. “I don’t know, girl, but let’s find out”

Palace security was once again summoned to haul the girls back to the palace.

Liam was in his office taking part in a video conference with Queen Elizabeth when his door burst open.

“WHERE IS MY HUSBAND?!”

His eyes went wide as he cut them to the flash of Alyssa barging in and stopping behind him at his desk; Riley was just a step behind her. Liam’s face flushed as he looked back at the camera and apologized for the interruption.

“Alyssa, dear,” he whispered. “Now is not a good time.” He motioned to the video feed on his laptop.

Alyssa turned to the laptop with the 106-year-old Queen’s face still illuminating from it. “Turn the hearing aid down, Lizzie! Unless you know where Drake is, this conversation doesn’t concern you!”

“ALYSSA!!” Liam stood, towering over her petite frame. “Are you coming for your King?” (had to put that in there lol).

“Liam, she's had a rough day and, remember, we love Alyssa,” Riley interjected with an innocent smile.

“We do, but she can’t just barge in here while I’m working!”

Alyssa grabbed his tie and yanked him down closer to her face. “Please, just tell me you know where Drake is. He said he was working for you and he’s not. He didn’t tell me happy birthday, he didn’t make my breakfast, and he didn’t fuck my brains out this morning!”

“Oh My!”

Alyssa turned back to the laptop. “I thought I told you to turn your hearing aid down, you old coot!”

Liam’s hands covered his face in embarrassment as he fell back into his chair.

Alyssa crouched down in front of Liam and pulled his hands from his face. “Real talk, Li. Did you or did you not ask Drake to work for you?”

He stared at her for a moment with a deer-in-the-headlights look. He knew exactly where his best friend was and what he was doing -- he had known for months -- but he couldn’t tell her that.

Nervous, Liam knew there was one way to solve this problem. He reached over to his intercom and pressed the call button. “Bastien.”

A split second later, the door to Liam’s office opened and the head guard entered. “Your Majesty?” he said as he bowed.

“Yes, could you see Alyssa and my wife out, please.”

Exasperated with Liam's request, Alyssa stood back up and eyed Bastien with a steely glare. “I’m not afraid of this bitch! He’s the one who raised the man whore my husband became with all his hookers and shit. My children are fatherless now because of you!”

Refusing to leave, Alyssa plopped down on Liam’s lap and gripped the armrests of his chair tightly with both hands. Her bony ass caused him to yelp as it dug into the muscles of his thigh. She reached for Liam’s scotch and took a sip before leaning down so that her face could be picked up by the camera.

“Alright, Liz, help a fellow girl out here! You have a lot of experience with a cheating ass spouse and son … should I rip his big, beautiful nuts off? Orrrr … just take it up the ass like you did?"

The Queen of England clutched her chest with an exasperated expression. "Little lady … your behavior is simply prudish and insulting. I highly suggest you learn proper etiquette when addressing me … and, as for your husband, I can see why the poor man's eyes have roamed with such an immoral and, need I dare say, crazed woman such as yourself for a wife."

"Conversation over, bitch!" Alyssa threw the rest of Liam’s drink at the screen, hoping it drenched the queen and slammed the laptop shut.

"God Dammit!" Liam yelled out while he wrapped his arms around her from behind before standing up and handing her off to his guard.

With Bastien holding Alyssa in his arms, her little legs dangling and kicking at his shins, Riley took action.

The Queen grabbed her friend's feet, which were now bare from her crumbled flip flops, and tried with all her might to pull her back.

"You’re gonna break her hip, Bastien! She's an old, feeble woman now! She could have osteoporosis or the menopause!”

Giving their best efforts to escape, including Alyssa's teeth being firmly sunk into Bastien’s upper arm, neither were able to overpower his strength.

While carrying Alyssa and dragging Riley -- who was still holding onto her friends legs -- Bastien was able to get the two of them out of Liam's office and into the main corridor.

Alyssa followed Riley back to her quarters, where she was given a pair of flip-flops and new leggings from Riley’s 12-year-old daughter’s closet. The hole in the crotch of her leggings had completely blown out during the struggle with Bastien. There were still no answers or replies from Drake, and Alyssa was beginning to feel utterly hopeless.

Alyssa started to raid the royal couple’s liquor cabinet, happy to swipe a bottle of Balkan vodka, when Riley had an idea. She snapped her fingers with a sly grin. “I know someone who can help us find Drake.”

“Who?”

The ladies left the quarters and walked downstairs to the ballroom. Once inside, Alyssa took a hard swig of vodka and eyed the utility closet Riley stopped in front of with a questioning look.

The Queen gave four quick knocks followed by two slow ones and the door unlocked. Mara had been working out of this closet for years, having been fired after a fall out with Alyssa during a costume ball that nearly got her killed. The former guard walked in there during that ball and just never came back out. Riley and Bastien were the only two people who knew about this and told no one -- Bastien purely for comical reasons and Riley for a certain skill the woman possessed.

Alyssa was surprised to find the woman hiding out there after all these years. "I thought you fired her ass! I nearly got a traumatic brain injury and hearing loss from her incompetence!"

"Shhh!" Riley pulled her friend inside, peeking around the ballroom to ensure no one was looking, and shut the door quickly.

Riley explained how Liam revoked her cell phone pinging privileges with the guards before the costume ball all those years ago. Apparently, he wasn't too keen on her stalking the entire cast of Friends. He did what he had to do when a restraining order from Matthew Perry came across his desk. Mara, however, was still able to ping into anyone’s phone, thus, the Queen allowed her to stay.

“That's amazing,” Alyssa remarked. She pursed her lips as she scanned the tight space of the closet. “Can she find … maybe … Dwayne Johnson?”

Riley nodded. “Bitch can find anyone.” She looked to Mara, who was sitting at her desk, and winked with approval.

“Okay,” Alyssa clapped and leaned over Mara’s shoulder. “Let’s find him … I wanna know where Drake is!”

Within several seconds, an unfamiliar address popped up on the screen. It was close to the Walker cabin but still not somewhere Alyssa knew of.

She reached for a pen and a pad of paper from Mara’s desk and started to write down the location. “I can’t believe he lied to me this whole time! I must be really stupid for him to think he could actually get away with this.” Alyssa tossed the pen back on the desk and ripped the sheet of paper off the pad. “They’re gonna write a country song about me, Ri,” she cried. “Poppa’s in the graveyard and Momma’s in the pen! I just need a shotgun and for my damn dog to run away and I’ve got a hit!”

The two snuck out of the utility closet and ran to Alyssa’s van. Alyssa pulled the ticket for double parking in handicapped spaces from her wiper blade and threw it in her glove box with the rest of her parking tickets. Riley shoveled away the piles of empty, diet coke cans and cheese whisps bags from the passenger seat into the parking lot when she opened her door.

Alyssa squealed her tires as she burned rubber down the palace drive, taking out the same cone again, nearly running down Michael again, and driving straight through the lowered arm of the security gate.

“WOOOO!” Riley yelled as they sped through the streets of Cordonia into the countryside. “This is just like old times in college, huh, Lyss?”

“I suppose. We’re just not high as fuck.” Alyssa raised her eyebrows and grinned slyly with an all too familiar gleam in her eyes that Riley recognized immediately. “Say … grab my purse, Ri.”

“Oh God! I know that look. We're gonna get smashed aren't we?" Riley extended her arm behind the driver's seat. Alyssa reached into the side pocket of her purse and pulled out the rolled up, clear baggie and tossed it to her friend.

Unrolling the bag, Riley began to bounce in her seat with anticipation of smoking weed for the first time in 15 years. The excitement quickly faded.

“Um, Lyss?”

“Hmm?”

“I know I haven’t smoked pot in a while, but this looks like a bag of carrot sticks.”

“Give me that, dumbass!” Alyssa glanced over and snatched the bag. She held the bag over the steering wheel and examined it for herself. “Well fuck!! Looks like one of my kids had a really interesting snack yesterday at school. Oh well”

After a twenty-minute drive from the palace into a forested section of Cordonia, Alyssa and Riley stopped in front of a long gravel road. Riley double-checked the address on the van’s GPS with what was written on the paper.

“It says this is it. Look’s kind of desolate,” Riley mused, not sure where the isolated road would lead.

Alyssa turned the steering wheel of her van, probably a little too tipsy to drive considering she had consumed a quarter of a bottle of vodka (that the author of this story forgot about). They made it there, nonetheless, and no one was hurt. Never drink and drive!!

Lush, plentiful trees and a wooden fence lined the gravel road that seemed to lead to nowhere until they came upon a clear view of Lake Cordonia. Drake’s truck was sitting in front of a large wooden cabin with a huge, flat yard and one of the most stunning views of the lake either woman had seen anywhere. Alyssa tried to keep it together ... until she didn’t. When she saw Drake standing on the front porch, casually drinking a beer, shirtless and wiping his forehead with his denim shirt, she skidded the van into park next to his truck.

Drake’s eyes widened when he saw his wife get out of the van wielding an ice scraper in one hand and a tire iron in the other, a look of pure hell in her eyes.

He took a small step back. He hadn’t seen her like this since a drunken Olivia grabbed his ass at a Beaumont Bash two years ago. Drake waved his hands in front of her defensively. “Baby girl … wh … what’s going on right now?”

“Don’t you baby girl me!” Alyssa threw the ice scraper and Drake ducked just in time as it flew over his head.

Drake had no idea what the hell she was so pissed off about, but she was approaching him quickly and twirling the tire iron in her hands. He jumped over the railing of the porch and took off running around the side of the house. As he rounded the rear corner of the home, he ran directly into Riley, who was waiting to block him. The plan was a good one -- it really was -- but her thin frame was no match against the much larger Drake. With a hard thud, Riley fell backward, which caused his body to trip over her and land face down on the ground.

Drake rolled over on his back and shook his head in an attempt to get the daze out of his frazzled brain. There she was, standing over him, holding the tire iron like a bat, ready to pounce him without a second thought.

“Baby! Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“You … you’re a cheater and a liar!”

Drake went to sit up but laid back down when Alyssa flinched the hardened steel at him. “The fuck you talking about, Lyssa?”

With months of building suspicions and hurt, Alyssa took a long, deep breath and let it all out with a wail.

“I’m talking about the late nights, the shady-as-shit lies you have spewed to me over and over again. I’m talking about you missing out on dinners, coming home and falling on the bed without a word to anyone. I’m talking about only having sex with me every other day and forgetting my birthday. Now, me and the kids have to live with Liam, who hates me now because I told Queen Elizabeth she got fucked in the ass! It’s because I’m old now, isn’t it? You wanna be a Bastien and have bunga bunga sex parties with skank ass whores who have big boobies and wear their panties around their ankles! And … I just can’t compete, Drake … I just can’t.”

Drake held his hand up to block any sudden swings in his direction. “Can I get up?”

Alyssa nodded her head before she turned away from him and dropped the tire iron to the ground. “Just tell why, dammit?” she whimpered. “Was I not enough?!”

“Not enough? NOT ENOUGH?!!” He quickly rose to his feet, twisted her around and brought her flush against his hard body. With tears in his eyes, he kissed the top of her head, his thick hands sunken into her lush, brown hair. He was barely able to mutter a single word. He was visibly shaken and broken by her accusations and that she held those feelings about herself for so long.

With both hands now on the sides of her face, he tilted her head so that she was looking directly at him. “Alyssa!” he sobbed softly. “Don’t you dare ever say you aren’t enough for me … ever! You’re literally my whole world. In every single life, in any alternate universe … I choose you every single time. And you wanna know what I’ve been doing? Look!” He turned her around to face the house.

“This is what I’ve been doing all those months! I built it, with my bare hands, just for you, for your birthday. I wanted you to have a bigger home so you could get out of that small cabin and have the view and the yard you always dreamt of. I wasn’t cheating and I didn't forget your birthday. I just wanted you to have everything you deserve”

Alyssa gave Drake a quizzical look. “But … you’re terrible at woodworking.”

Drake chuckled. “Maybe I love you enough I learned.”

Alyssa sunk to her knees, not to give a blow job, but realization and understanding of the last few months had set in. She stared up at the beautiful, two-story log cabin that had every bit of her husband’s heart and soul for her in it and wept. “Drake.” Her voice was raspy and full of guilt. “I’m so, so sorry.’

He crouched down behind her and wrapped his loving arms around Alyssa before placing a gentle nip at her ear. “You've nothing to be sorry for. I guess I gave you plenty of reasons to think that, but I was crunched for time and wanted to surprise you. Just hope you like it.”

“It’s magnificent … and it’s our home?”

“It's our home. Happy Birthday, Baby girl.”

Drake and Alyssa checked on Riley, who was still knocked out cold. After assisting her and giving her a moment to collect herself, Alyssa thanked her friend for all of her help and gave her the keys to the van to return home in.

Drake showed his wife around their new cabin, pointing out the lowered cabinets in the kitchen that would be easier for her to reach. He had built her a library where she could work from and read without the noise and chaos of a house full of children running around. She was thrilled over the balcony that sat just off their bedroom, overlooking the lake and featuring private jacuzzi tub where they could relax together and, of course, have sex in.

Drake took her outside and walked down to the lake, where he had put a gazebo in overlooking the water and ushered her to the center of it.

“Drake! This is amazing. How did you know I wanted this?”

He drew her closer to him and kissed the tip of her nose. “I know everything about you, Lyssa … there’s nothing I wouldn’t give you.”

She smiled up at him lovingly. “And I love you so much for it.”

He reached for one of her tiny hands, brought it to his chest, and wrapped his other arm around her back. With very little room between them, he kissed her lips tenderly. “Dance with me, Alyssa.”

Alyssa gave him a knowing look with a grin. “Drake Walker doesn’t like to dance.”

He began to sway with her to music that wasn’t there, but he felt it in his heart. “Drake Walker will always dance with his girl.” Kissing her once more, they began to slowly dance together and Alyssa had never felt more alive or loved in her life. He has that effect on her--always had and always will.

He spun her in a twirl and pulled her tiny body back into his own. “Ya know, Lyssa … when I first saw you, I saw love.”

Drake reached down and lifted the bottom of her sweatshirt over her head and tossed it on a nearby bench. He caressed her cheek and trailed a gentle line down her neck and across her shoulder. “And the first time you touched me, Baby Girl ...I felt love.”

His lips found that sweet spot just behind her ear before he whispered to her. “And after all this time ...”

Drake’s thumb grazed across her bottom lip before he stared into the blue eyes of his yesterday, today, and forever. “You’re still the one I love.”

What happens next? .......

#drake walker #drake x ALYSSA #alyssa devereaux

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calenheniel · 4 years

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Queen of the Ashes, a frozen fanfic | Part VI

Frozen | Alternate Universe | Hans x Elsa | Romance, Drama | T+

They meet as children, each with a secret. Plagued by tragedy, their paths cross again many years later, and their secrets are unraveled.

Author’s Note: I realize that everyone already knows what the “twist” is going to be in this fic from the title and the many unsubtle clues I have left along the way. So I am just going to try to keep you all in suspense anyway with how exactly I’m going to get there. Coincides with Day 7 of (makeup) Helsa Week 2020. @helsa-week

Read it on: AO3 | FF.Net | Wattpad | or read below

Follow updates: #QueenoftheAshesFrozen

»»————-　❈　————-««

VI.

Breakfast was a considerably more pleasant affair the next morning, the queen demonstrating little of the animosity which had come to dominate her interactions with the prince over the previous week.

“Last night was rather interesting,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone try to recite Shakespearean sonnets and play the violin at the same time. Sort of impressive, in its own way.”

She laughed mid-chew, placing her fork down as she fought to swallow her bread. “Yes. Can’t blame them for trying, anyway.”

“And what about that flautist?” he added with a grin. “I’m all for contemporary, original compositions, but…”

“It sounded like a dying bird,” she finished. “A very loud, dying bird.”

The princess, perplexed by their easy rapport, was quiet as she picked at her food in-between glances at them.

The queen eyed her with a smile. “Anna? You’ve hardly touched your toast. That’s unlike you.”

The younger woman’s nose wrinkled. “I’m just surprised,” she said with a sniff, staring at her sister suspiciously. “You’re not usually so chatty in the morning.”

When the queen looked down in embarrassment, the princess quickly added: “Not that that’s a bad thing. Actually, I like the change. It’s good for us. Plus, who wants to hear me yammer on all the time? We all need a break from that, including me.”

“You don’t ‘yammer,’ Anna,” the prince protested through a half-smirk. “I like how you talk. It’s genuine and… frank.”

“He’s right,” the queen agreed, and admitted: “I can hardly hold a conversation by comparison.”

The princess waved away the comments. “I can tell when you’re lying, Elsa. And Hans—you’re a better liar than she is, but your smooth talk gives you away.”

He leveled a lopsided smile at her. “Is that right?”

“It is,” she replied, her chin raising with confidence. After a beat, she noted with a sly look: “But don’t let that stop you from giving me compliments. Even if they’re fake, I’ll take ‘em.”

The prince and the queen chuckled, and as their gazes met, their faces pinked, and they promptly directed their eyes back down at their plates, resuming their meals in silence.

The princess picked up the conversation again a few moments later, relating some anecdotes from her lessons and recent meetings with ambassadors and various nobles. Her sister and the prince nodded along, adding comments occasionally, until the clock struck nine.

The queen blinked. “I lost track of time,” she excused herself as she dabbed her lips with a napkin and rose from the table. “I have to be off, now. I’ll see you both later.”

“Elsa, wait!” her sister called, rising and rushing to her side. A small, furtive smile played on her lips. “Can we talk for a minute?”

The queen glanced at her pocket watch. “Fine. But only for a minute,” she agreed, and turned to the prince. “If you’ll excuse us, Hans.”

He bowed. “Of course.”

The princess led her older sister away to a secluded corner of a narrow hallway some distance from the dining room, her eyes bright and curious. “So? Did you two kiss and make up?” She grinned. “I saw you leave together last night at the end of the concert.”

The queen’s face flushed. “We… came to an understanding of sorts, yes,” she replied, and frowned. “But no kissing was involved.”

“An ‘understanding,’ huh?” the princess repeated, her grin growing. “What exactly does that mean, Elsa?”

“Not what you think it does, apparently,” her sister said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. “We just talked, that’s all.”

The princess raised her hands in surrender. “If you say so. I’m just happy you’re talking to him again.” Her eyebrows waggled with interest. “Did my little speech to you help, after all?”

The queen sighed, her expression relaxing. “Maybe a little bit,” she conceded. When the princess gave her a pointed look, she clarified: “Okay—maybe a lot. Anyway, it’s resolved now.”

“Good,” the princess nodded, smiling. “I’m glad.” She curtsied to the queen, who responded in turn, and then began to walk away. After a brief pause, she looked back at her sister over her shoulder, her smile becoming devious again. “So you won’t be mad if I tell you that I told Hans to meet you this afternoon in the rose garden, right?”

The queen stood stock-still, her skin the color of a ripe strawberry. “Anna, you…” Her hands fell to her sides, and she stuttered, flustered. “That’s the middle of the day, and you know I have—”

“Meetings and paperwork and other business, yes, I know,” her sister finished, her smile unrelenting. “Don’t worry—this won’t interfere with any of that. I checked your schedule with Kai last night while you were gone, and told him that we were going to take a walk together today for a break from all of the guests.” Her expression grew softer. “Don’t be upset with him, though; he seemed really happy about us spending time together. Otherwise, I don’t think he would’ve told me a thing.”

The queen opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out.

The princess smirked. “Anyway, he’ll be expecting you around two. Don’t keep him waiting.”

And with that, the younger woman skipped out into the hallway, humming the strange, cacophonous flautist's tune from the night before.

»» —— ««

Against her better instincts, the queen found herself walking toward the rose garden at the appointed time—though she deliberately walked very slowly so as not to be too punctual, or seem too eager.

She cursed the meeting under her breath as she traveled, as the thought of seeing him in such a place – and of her sister’s maneuvers in arranging it – had distracted her the entire morning, making her appear inattentive and careless at some of her meetings. Recalling the strange warmth of his hand, she had even smudged the ink of her signatures on various papers, and had had to send them back to be re-written.

She had sworn at various points that she would not go to meet him after all, and by noon she had convinced herself that she was going to disappoint him and the princess in order to keep her own sanity intact.

When the old steward had noticed her distraction and asked if she was feeling unwell, she had said yes; this half-truth had given her an excuse to leave her last engagement early, so that she could collect her bearings alone. In solitude, however, the temptation to go grew ever larger in her mind, to the point that when the clock struck quarter past one, she rose from her bed as if possessed, and left.

Initially passing many servants and courtiers on the way to the garden put her in a nervous state, and so the queen took a more circuitous path through discreet hallways until she reached a small side door by the servants’ quarters, exiting onto the kitchen gardens. By that time in the afternoon they were quiet, and she was able to slip relatively unnoticed around them, finding a well-trodden dirt path towards the meeting place.

A tall hedge and locked iron gate separated her from it, and she groaned a little at realizing that she had forgotten her keyring in her bedroom. She jiggled the lock on the door as she peered through the bars on it, and her surprise at seeing no one in the gardens within caused ice to spark from her fingertips, breaking the lock in twain.

The queen jumped back, startled by the sound of the iron as it clattered to the ground below, and then pressed her offending hand to her chest with a red face, exhaling deeply.

“There’s another unlocked gate further down the hedge, you know,” the familiar voice of the prince said from the other side of the hedge, and her head shot up at the intrusion. “No need to inflict more property damage.”

She sighed through her nose. “I didn’t mean to, I just—never mind,” she said, frowning. “Which way is it?”

“To your left,” he replied. “Just follow my voice.”

She continued along the hedge and onto softer grass shadowed by tall trees, keeping her hands close by her sides. Her face was still red. “I don’t know this path,” she said.

“I’m surprised to hear that,” he remarked. “I would’ve thought, being confined for so long, that you’d know every inch of this place by now.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “I was confined indoors, mostly. I’m not as familiar with the gardens, because…”

She paused when she came to the very edge of the natural wall, and she turned to face the hedge, her eyes widening as they met his. The only thing between them was a short wooden gate secured with a latch, which the prince lifted easily.

As she stepped through it and looked up, a soft gasp left her lips.

Tall arches wreathed with red roses in full bloom surrounded a dirt path just a few feet from the gate, and from the state of the vines and leaves encircling the arches, she could tell that they had not been properly pruned for some time. The shine and heat from the afternoon sun was lessened in the wildness of that space, its disuse casting an odd, green light upon the ground where sunlight filtered through the leaves.

“Your parents didn’t allow you here?” the prince resumed their conversation, standing behind her.

She glanced at him over her shoulder, then approached the side of an arch, reaching out to graze the edge of a rose before withdrawing it. “It wasn’t like that. They wanted me to come out more, actually. But… I was afraid to. I didn’t want to spoil things.”

“Spoil? You mean—”

“Well, freeze them, yes,” the queen clarified, irritated. “My mother was very fond of these gardens, though I can’t remember ever coming to this part of them.” Her gaze tightened at the rose she could not bring herself to touch. “I guess the staff haven’t kept it up since she died.”

He was quiet for a while before coming to stand at her side, regarding the same flower. “You haven’t spoken much about them.” At her warning look, he continued: “I know that their passing was unexpected and tragic. But I imagine, before then, that you must have been quite close to them.”

“I was, and I wasn’t,” she said, her lips pressing into a thin line. “They did their best to keep me safe, and love me in their own way, despite the circumstances. But I pushed them away.”

His brow lifted. “‘Loved you in their own way’?”

Her cheeks flushed. “I wasn’t an easy child to care for; I gave them many hardships. It’s a wonder that I haven’t hurt more people, and I have them to thank for that.”

He was silent at her reply, and then his hand reached out to the rose, his fingers drifting over its petals.

“You know, Elsa,” he began, “roses are actually rather difficult to grow. The conditions have to be just right, with plenty of sunshine, well-drained soil, and in areas free from pests, since they’re so susceptible to disease. Without regular attention, it’s unlikely they’d survive.” He eyed her pointedly as he added: “So it’s a wonder that these are still here, and blooming as beautifully as they are.”

The queen did not miss the look, her eyes darkening. “I’m not a rose, Hans. I don’t require sunlight, or pruning, or ‘regular attention’ to endure.” She stood taller, her chin raised, and directed a withering stare at him. “You’re prying by means of flattery, but I already told you that won’t work.”

His hands came up, yielding to her. “You’re right,” he conceded, “it was a bad comparison. Forgive me.”

She crossed her arms. “What were you trying to say, before?” she said. “It’s not like you to drop a line of questioning, once you’ve started.”

He smiled a little at the observation. “Yes, that’s true,” he agreed. The smile faded as his brows knitted together. “It’s just… you speak so poorly about yourself and your powers. Calling yourself a ‘hardship’ to your parents, saying that you pushed them away—all because of one incident from your childhood, which your sister obviously recovered from.”

“It wasn’t just that one incident,” she countered, her hands curling around her biceps. “That was the worst of them, yes, but there were many others after that which created cause for concern. You’ve seen it yourself—what happens when I get worked up, when I feel out of control.”

She pressed a hand to her forehead, cooling the skin there. “This curse is my burden to bear, alone.”

“Curse?” the prince asked. “Is that how you see it?”

She glowered at him. “What else could it be?”

He was quiet for a time, studying her irate features, and then stepped into the shadow of an archway. The green light flickered against his skin, dappled by the roses’ red. “I used to wish that I had your powers, when I was a boy,” he said, staring up at the sunbeams obscured by vines. “When my brothers would torment me, each act of cruelty more petty and vicious than the last, I fantasized about suffocating them with snowdrifts, or turning them into one of your spectacular ice statues—anything that would make them stop.”

His eyes closed tightly, lines of pain visible at the edges. “Even realizing that doing so would make me the same as them, I couldn’t help but imagine it, and it brought me some comfort during the hardest years of my childhood.”

When the prince opened his eyes again, there was a dark honesty in them that the queen had never noticed before. “I know what it’s like to feel cursed, Elsa—to feel like a burden. To feel as if I should never have been born. But I couldn’t have lived this long if I kept feeling that way about myself. And I don’t think you could’ve, either.”

Her face reddened, and her hands throbbed as they fell to her sides.

“Conceal,” she told herself, swallowing. “Don’t feel.”

“What was that?”

She blinked and stared at him, her lips parting but unable to form a reply.

“Don’t let it show.”

“Elsa?”

Snow fell lightly at first, and then all around them as if in a waking dream, and she gripped the sides of her dress tight enough to cause tears in the fabric.

Conceal, she heard the mantra again, don’t feel.

“What are you saying?”

Don’t let it show, she finished, silently mouthing the words.

Through the snow, the prince’s hand reached out to the side of the arch, forcing itself into the barbed stems.

Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let it show.

He plucked a single rose from the bush.

“Elsa.”

His voice was, at first, intermingled with her father’s, and she found it hard to focus on him through the snowdrifts, her vision obscured.

“Come back, Elsa.”

The second time she heard her name it was clearer, and as she squinted, the drifts began to dissipate.

“I’m here.”

All at once, the snow was suspended in the air, and she could clearly hear – and see – the prince in front of her, holding a single red rose. At his side, his right hand hung loosely, blood trickling from the fingers down into the earth.

She gasped at the sight, instinctively seizing the injured hand and tearing one of her gloves off, wrapping it around his pricked fingers and palm, pressing there. The snow that was suspended, as well as the drifts that covered the earth, disappeared. His skin was hot to touch.

“What were you thinking?” she exclaimed, her face still pale from shock. “You know they have thorns.”

He stood in stunned silence watching her tend to him, her thumbs pressing upon the uncovered skin of his wrist.

“Elsa, you…” he managed before growing quiet again, allowing her to focus.

She glanced up at his red face. “What? Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

He gaped at her, fish-like, before closing his mouth, suppressing a larger smile.

“No,” he replied softly. “I suppose I was trying to prove something, but… clearly, I just ended up making a fool out of myself.”

Some color returned to her face, and her grip on him relaxed a little. “Yes, you did,” she agreed, not looking at him.

He nodded, looking down at his hand still in hers. “I see that now,” he said, and her blush deepened. “But what about your glove?”

The queen realized what she had done, and almost recoiled from him in surprise. “I—I’ll just have it washed when I get back. I’ll tell Gerda I tripped.”

“Thank you, Elsa,” the prince said, bowing his head. “I really am grateful.”

She nodded in return, a hot tremor coursing through her hand as it finally let go of his. She caught sight of the rose still in his right hand, and pursed her lips. “You’d better let go of that, before you hurt your other hand.”

He followed her look and examined the flower in question before carefully inserting it into the chest pocket of his jacket. “There, that’s better.”

Her brow rose. “Really?”

He shrugged. “It’s a waste to throw away such a beautiful thing, even if it can hurt me.”

She blushed at the long look from the prince that accompanied his remark, and crossed her arms.

“You’re incredibly unsubtle,” she told him, frowning. “It’s very irritating.”

“Then I shall strive to be cleverer with my innuendos,” he said, a half-smirk tugging at his lips. “Wouldn’t want you to get sick of me—not just yet, anyway.” His humorous expression dissolved as he regarded her for a minute, and then his gaze returned to the glove covering his left hand, the light between the arches casting striped patterns across the stained fabric.

“It seems as though the bleeding has stopped,” he said, and unfurled it from his fingers. “Are you sure you want it back? I’m happy to clean it for you, and return it in a more presentable condition.”

She snatched the glove from his hand. “No, thank you,” she snapped, and then added more gently: “It’s just something I need to take care of on my own.”

“You’ve been saying that a lot,” the prince observed. “Needing to handle things, alone.” He continued before she could interrupt him. “And I understand that, since I’ve often thought that I had to do the same. But…”

The queen swallowed. “But?”

He smiled. “Perhaps we can rely on each other.” He glanced down at his thorn-pricked hand, and then up at her again. “It certainly paid off for me, today.”

She clutched the bloodied glove. “You’re asking a lot of me.”

He nodded. “I know. But I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t believe you were capable of it.”

Her blush faded as she stared at the rose in his pocket. “I just… don’t understand why you do.”

He cradled his injured hand thoughtfully. “Because you don’t see what I see in you.”

“No, I don’t,” she admitted, and pressed the stained glove against her stomach, her grip relaxing. Her eyes met his in the next moment, and a deep, unbidden desire was spoken.

“But I want to.”

»» —— ««

She returned to her bedroom a little while later by the same winding route she had taken to go outdoors, her sullied glove balled up in her bare left hand and pressed to her side, out of sight. She exhaled with relief once inside her door, quickly changing out of her torn dress and laying the glove on a side table.

“Your Majesty?”

She held back a sigh at the sound of her trusted steward’s voice on the other side of the door.

“Yes, Kai?”

“May we speak for a minute? I know you still have a many meetings ahead of you today, so I won’t be long.”

She grabbed the dirtied glove from the table and hid it behind her back as she opened the door, waving him in. “Come in,” she said, and nodded at the guards outside to close the doors behind him.

Her brow furrowed a little upon observing his tense expression and bearing, unused to seeing him so concerned. “Is everything all right?”

His lip twitched. “Well, Your Majesty, I heard a slightly… worrying report just now, from one of the kitchen staff.”

The queen’s eyes snapped open. “Oh?” she asked, trying to appear nonplussed. “What did they say?”

The steward’s gaze grew more pointed. “That they saw you going out the back door to the rose garden. They said it looked as if you were meeting someone down the hidden lane to the wood gate—the one your mother and father used to use, when they walked there together.”

At her twitching features, he continued: “The maid who looks after the guestrooms also mentioned that she saw Prince Hans go out not long before then into the same garden, before she lost sight of him.” He paused. “I was surprised to hear this, since I thought you were going on a walk with Princess Anna this afternoon.”

She frowned. “Are you having me followed?”

The steward was mortified by the accusation. “No, of course not, Your Majesty; I wouldn’t dare. I assure you that these reports came in to me independently, completely of the staff’s volition. I gave no orders to them.”

Her stare was still suspicious. “Fine. But what is your purpose in coming to me with these reports? What business is it of theirs, or yours, where or with whom I choose to take an afternoon walk?”

The older man rose to meet her eyes again, and swallowed. “Well, Your Majesty, as you know, your father charged me with looking after your personal well-being before he passed, and so I feel that I must speak up when I observe something that may… endanger your health and happiness.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Endanger my health and happiness.”

“Yes,” he affirmed, his posture more assured. “In this case, endangered by getting too close to a certain southern prince.” At her annoyed look, he continued: “You remember the many months we spent discussing the fires in the Isles, and their curious origins—the research you sent me to do, and that you did in turn about the prince’s family, as well as him? And now suddenly he is here as a valued guest, at the princess’s side during many social events, at family meals, and with you on private walks of the rose garden.”

His lips curled. “You know, Your Majesty, that innocent or not, he is a man of ill repute in his own lands, and is seen as suspect here in your own court, as well. There are already some rumors around him and the princess, and should word reach our guests of your meeting with him today…”

He paused at seeing his queen’s face grow more and more twisted with anger, but went on to conclude: “I can see how his appearance and manners would be charming to you both, and can understand the temptation to overlook his dubious character. But, respectfully, I do not think it wise for you and the princess to associate yourselves further with this young man, Your Majesty.”

The room crackled with an invisible energy, the queen’s power barely contained as she remained silent, her fingernails digging into her palms.

Don’t feel.

She almost spat at the words as they filled the empty air, her seething breaths cold as she swallowed them down.

Don’t let it show.

Her gaze lifted to meet his. “Before my father left on his last journey, he told me to be strong—for myself, as well as for Anna. I told him I would try in order to please him, assuming that he and my mother would be back in a few weeks.” Her expression grew dark. “I thought I could go on as I was, keeping to myself, believing Anna was better off on her own.”

She stopped for a beat, feeling her fingernails draw blood from her palms. “But I was wrong, Kai; they never came back, and Anna was left without parents, and without a sister.” Her eyes were as hard as coals. “But now I am queen, and I must protect her. And I can tell the difference between good and ill intent well enough myself.”

He swallowed again. “Your Majesty, I’m not questioning your judgment. I know you’re—”

“Good,” she interrupted, smiling thinly. “Thank you, Kai. I appreciate your concern. You can go, now.”

He was taken aback by the abrupt cut off, and even shorter dismissal; nonetheless, he bowed, and made his way towards the door. “I’ll see you this evening, Your Majesty,” he said, and left.

Alone, the queen’s hands finally relaxed, and she exhaled through her mouth, sliding down the side of her bedpost to the carpet. Closing her eyes, she lifted her left glove until it was propped up atop bent knees, her heart still racing.

When she opened them again, she saw that the blood from her palms had become intermingled with the prince’s on the fabric.

#helsa #QueenoftheAshesFrozen #frozen #frozen fanfiction #helsaweek 2020

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flowersoldier · 4 years

Text

The Flower Girl and the Wolf

Chapter 2: Wolf, meet Human

AO3 ff.net

“Are you sure about...”

“Yes.” Interrupted Aerith, not letting Cloud finish the sentence because she knew what he's gonna ask. Again. “I'm really, really, really sure, okay?” At least then he stopped talking and just followed her like the puppy that he was. Aerith couldn't help but giggle at the thought and ignored his confused look.

It didn't take long for them to cross the Sector and came closer to her home. And even though it's still a part of the Sector 5 Slums, it looked so different from the rest of it. Aerith was quite sure that her house was the most beautiful below the plate and she was the only one who had an actual garden with lots of flowers. Well, for some reason they only grew here and in the church.

Cloud stopped when they reached their destination and stared at the garden. “Beautiful, huh?” She asked, smiling at him and tilting her head.

The blonde looked at her then and mumbled something that sounded like 'you are', before correcting himself. “It is.” Aerith giggled, especially when she saw him blushing. So she heard right.

“My mom and I grew them. It's weird, this and the church are the only places where flowers can grow.”

“This is amazing...” Aerith watched how his fluffy ears wiggled, taking in all kinds of sounds. He looked so cute. Then he noticed her staring and returned her gaze. “W-what?”

“Nothing.” She smiled at him brightly and grabbed his arm. “Let's go inside.” Cloud only nodded and let her lead him into the house. “Mom, I'm home!” She called, as they entered the house.

Elmyra came down the stairs a moment later. “You're very early today.“ She said, before seeing the hooded figure next to her. “And who's this?“

Aerith smiled and grabbed Cloud's arm. “Don't worry. He's not one of them.“ She tried to reassure her mother. “This is Cloud. I know it sounds crazy, but he's a wolf.“ At her questioning look, Aerith pulled off his hood to reveal his ears and then her look turned into surprise.

Cloud looked at her hesitantly, before looking down again. “M-ma'am.“ He was a very polite wolf.

But her mom didn't quite looked like she wanted him here. “Aerith...are you sure he's not dangerous? I've heard stories about them...“ At that Cloud gave her a look that said 'See? People hate me and you should, too', but she ignored it.

“Don't worry, mom. He's really nice. And he's looking for a place to stay the night. He'll leave tomorrow.“ She tried to convince her mother but it looked like she wasn't convinced. “He's not dangerous.“

Elmyra took a minute to think, also glancing at Cloud to judge for herself if he's dangerous or not. “Okay. But only for tonight.“

“Promise!“

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

Aerith looked at him with the brightest smile he's ever seen on a person. And he couldn't help but feel happy that she was happy. He returned her smile slightly, before looking to her mother. “Thank you. For letting me stay.“ He said, bowing to her, using all the good manners his mother taught him. But the tension broke again when he felt someone poking his ear.

He didn't even have to look up to see who it was...It tickled, though and his wolf ear moved by itself. “So cute.“ Squeaked Aerith delighted, while Cloud could only look away and hope none of them saw him blushing. “Cloud, are you hungry?“ She asked, getting his attention again.

The blonde nodded, but wondered how they should get food here. How did anyone get food here? There aren't any creatures to hunt. “Yeah but...there's nothing to hunt around here...“ He said, confused at Aerith's carefree and teasing smile.

“We're not hunting, Cloud.“ He frowned. “You're right, there's nothing here. That's why some people leave this town to hunt. And others have farms. And they sell their food so that everyone can have something. We pay them with money. Do you understand?“

Still frowning, his eyes went up to the right to imagine what she just said. So it was like a team of the pack leave to gather food enough for them and for the whole pack. But instead of just giving it to everyone they want 'money', because people only fend for themselves apparently. “I guess...“ He mumbled.

Aerith went to a different part of the house, that she called 'kitchen' and Cloud followed. He stared at everything in confusion, not knowing what all these weird things were for. When she opened something, he stood right behind her to see what's inside. Smelled like lots of food, but not only that, he could feel cold air coming out of it. “What's that? Why is this cold?“ He asked her, now looking at it mesmerized.

“It's a refrigerator. The cold air keeps the food fresh.“ She explained. So it was like in winter, when they buried meat in snow?

“I see...“ He mumbled, that was indeed very handy.

“So, what do you wanna eat, Cloud?“ The girl asked and Cloud only got the most obvious answer from him.

“Uh, meat?“

Aerith giggled. “Of course.“ She took out a big piece of meat out of that cooling thing, but brought it somewhere else. The wolf tilted his head and watched her taking other utensils.

“Cloud, why don't you sit down and wait a while?“ Said Elmyra, who joined them in the kitchen.

He only got out of their way though. Cloud stayed nearby and watched the women curiously, until a very delicious scent filled the whole house. It was the meat, but it smelled kinda different now. Something sizzled, too. A few minutes later they seemed to be done and brought the food to the 'table'. It was on 'plates' and Aerith taught him how to use the 'fork' and 'knife'. At his question what she did to the meat, she said she cooked it. “Be careful, it's hot.“

“It smells...nice.“ He mumbled, sniffing the still slightly sizzling meat. Then he clumsily cut off a piece and and put it in his mouth. His eyes widened at the taste. It was so delicious! He's eaten meat his whole life, but never did it taste like this before!

“You like it?“ Asked Aerith, who's eating her own food. He noticed that she and Elmyra had something else entirely. All he could do was nod, as he cut off a bigger piece. As he began to literally wolf down his meal, she noticed Aerith glancing at him from time to time and smiled at him. In one of these times he couldn't help but return her smile slightly. This only seemed to make her happier, as her smile brightened.

“Cloud, what else are you eating in the woods? Except meat, of course.“ Asked Elmyra once they were all done eating.

Cloud swallowed his last piece before answering. “Well, sometimes we eat fish and berries. Why?“

“I'm just curious.“ Said the older woman innocently. The women brought the plates back intonthe kitchen and did something there. Cloud watched them from his seat, but couldn't make out what they did.

Then Aerith prepared something, he still couldn't see but something smelled delicious. “Do you want some strawberries, Cloud?“

He didn't know what it was, but if it smelled so delicious it had to taste like it too. “Sure.“ Just a moment later she came back with a 'bowl' with red fruits. “I've never eaten those before...“ He mumbled, before trying one. And he was right, these 'strawberries' were delicious!

“You like it?“ Aerith asked the obvious, as she watched him eat.

Cloud nodded. “Yeah. They're great.“ The girl smiled and took a berry herself. The blonde noticed that some of the berry juice trickled down Aerith's chin and he had to fight the urge to lick it off. That's not what humans did, right? When Aerith noticed him staring he immediately looked away, feeling his cheeks heat up. They kept eating in silence until the bowl was empty. As Cloud looked around to avoid Aerith's gaze, he noticed another interesting thing. It looked like a box, but...not quiet. There were buttons on it and...a part that looked different from the rest. “What's that?“ He asked going closer to the box.

“That's a tv.“ A second later he was blinded by light and foreign voiced talked. And when he saw people in the box, he backed away in shock. He heard Aerith giggle.

“What is that?! Are tiny people living in this box?“ He asked, while she kept laughing.

“No. The people are regular sized.“ And then she explained him the magic that was 'television'. It's not that he could understand it, though...But having this to get info's from the whole planet and a few things to 'pass the time' and 'entertain themselves' was amazing.

In the 'news' came something unexpected then. It showed him, how he ran into the town. He had to scare a few people away, so he looked as wild and dangerous as the guy called him. “Wow, Cloud, you made some big impression there.“ Joked Aerith then.

Of course she still wasn't afraid of him...He expected her or Elmyra to say anything about it, but...“Cloud, where are you from?“ Asked the older woman and joined Aerith at the table again.

“Uh, Gongaga.“

“Wait what? That's on another continent! How did you get here?“ Asked Aerith surprised.

“Uh well...Wolves in my age usually leave the pack to make a new one. But our current situations won't let us. Still I wanted to see a bit of the world and they let me go. I didn't plan to come here, though. I, uh smelled something to eat in a ship and got in. And then I was here. Well, a few people chased me around on the way, too.“

“Aww, I'm so sorry Cloud!“ Said Aerith, looking so sad at him, that the only thing he wanted to do was make her happy again.

“It's fine. If...if they wouldn't have chased me around I would've never met you.“ Cloud was glad that it made her smile again and he noticed her cheeks turning pink, too.

They kept talking for the rest of the day. Aerith had to deliver some flowers to the Leave House and asked Cloud to help her. He wasn't very happy to pick and carry around flowers, but he did help her. And when she asked him to help her watering her big flower garden he did that, too. The place was too big for Aerith to do this all alone.

When they were done, he saw her kneeling by a patch of flowers. She seemed to be talking to them. Cloud went over to her, but she was already done talking. “And that was my day.“ She said to the flowers.

“Are you talking to the flowers?“ He asked her curiously.

Aerith nodded. “I know it sounds crazy, but I have the feeling they want to tell me something. But their voices can't reach me.“

The wolf tilted his head, staring down at the flowers. It wasn't as crazy as she thought it was. He did hear about people, even some of his own kind, who were able to communicate with the planet. What were they called again...? “Well, let's go inside. Have some dinner.“ As Aerith went past him again, Cloud looked at the flowers again.

“Learn to talk to her.“ He said go the plants with a low voice but when he turned to follow Aerith, he realized she was still there and surely heard him.

“Did the flowers say anything?“ She asked, clasping her arms behind her back.

“Uh...'Good job today, guys'?“ He said, just hoping it's making her happy. And it did. She was smiling at him as if she's glad that he didn't think she's crazy and pretended to actually talk with the flowers.

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

“Good night, mom.“ Said Aerith, as she skipped all the way up the stairs. Cloud took his time and turned to Elmyra.

“Good night.“ After the woman wished him a good night as well, Cloud went up the stairs, to see Aerith waiting there for him.

“This is your room.“ The girl pointed at the door to the left. “Well, actually it's my room but you can use it today. My mom and I will share hers.“ Then the pointed to the door to the right. “So I'll be nearby if you need anything.“ Cloud nodded, although he felt guilty for taking away her 'territory'. “Alright. Good night, Cloud.“

“Good night. Aerith.“ He said and watched her disappear into her mother's room. Once the door closed, Cloud entered Aerith's room. It was difficult to see in the dark with human eyes, but it's enough to find the bed. The whole room smelled like Aerith. If he thought before that he was wrapped in a warm flowery bubble, then how he wad literally in it. He stumbled to the bed, hitting his foot somewhere on the way, and lay down.

The bed was so fluffy. It was such a big difference from sleeping on the ground all the time. The sheets, the pillow...Aerith's smell intensified there. It's almost like she lay right next to her. It lulled him to sleep immediately.

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

In his dreams he was a little pup again, cuddled up against the white fur of his mother. A pup who's been pushed away by the others of his age. But it wasn't like he wanted to be their friend anyway. They were all so childish, laughing at every stupid thing. No, he didn't need any of them. The way his mother was washing him, distracted him. But it also reminded him of the bite wound he earned himself from fighting one of these puppies.

“Cloud, you should stop fighting the others. We're a pack.“ Her mother scolded him. The gold-ish pup huffed and let his mother lick his wounds. He didn't need a pack. He'd grow up to a literal lone wolf. “You know, when you're old enough to leave, I'd like you to settle down with a nice girlfriend. Someone older than you who can take care of you.“ Cloud could only roll his eyes at that.

Then they both looked up, startled, when they heard battle noises. “He's back...“ His mother said, before quickly carrying him away. With her fur white and his gold-ish, they were the most obvious targets and wolves with those fur colors were supposed to be the firsts hide.

The rest of his dream was like a blur. It was weird that he could remember everything clearly but this. His mother was running, then he was hiding under some thick bushes. Then came a silver wolf with glowing eyes. They were green-ish/blue. Really scary. And then there was red. Lots and lots of red.

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

“Cloud?“ Said blond woke up with a start. He sat on the bed, his heart racing and civered in sweat. His eyes moved frantically to the person that called him and for a second he saw these scary, glowing eyes. But then he blinked and they turned to a deep and calming green he learned to like. “Cloud, are you okay?“ Aerith asked and her voice was enough to calm his racing heart.

He took a few deep breaths, before he could answer. “I'm fine.“ He mumbled, looking away from her just as he felt a tear gliding down his cheek. These dreams...these memories came to hunt him more frequently now.

“I don't think you're fine. I heard you screaming in your sleep. Looks like you had a real bad nightmare.“ Aerith sais, with the softest voice he heard from her yet. “Do you want to talk about it?“

Cloud leaned on his bent knees and stared at his feet. “No...“ He expected her to press on, to force him to talk about it, but she nodded and just said 'okay'. Most of the wolves in his life where very pushy, but he was glad that Aerith wasn't like that.

“Do you want me to leave you alone?“ She asked then. Cloud needed a moment to think. Everyone else would've left already or just stayed there, but no one asked what he wanted before.

“...No...“ Aerith's presence was very calming and being alone right now wasn't something he wanted for once. Nodding again the girl sat on the bed next to him. She didn't say anything and she didn't need to. Then she put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. When he looked at her, she was smiling as if to say 'everything's gonna be okay'. And he wanted to believe it. “I just...“ He began, after taking another deep breath, hos eyes focused on nothing in particular in front of him. “...dreamed about my mother. And what happened to her when I was a pup.“ Aerith just looked at him and didn't ask any questions. “She uh...was killed.“

At that he felt Aerith's hand on his shoulder squeezing him gently. “I was born in Nibelheim. But then a crazy wolf appeared and destroyed everything.“

“I've heard about it one the news...that some big wolf is on a rampage, killing lots of innocent animals. Mostly Chocobos.“ Said Aerith thoughtfully. It wasn't surprising to him, that she heard about it. Must've been some big news back then.

“We do eat Chocobos once in a while. They're really good actually, but we would never kill for sports. Not like this bastard.“ He clenched his fists tightly, till his knuckles turned white. Cloud would do anything to be strong enough to get revenge on him. But this wolf wasn't normal...

“I'm sorry for what happened to you and your mother, Cloud.“ Her hand squeezed his shoulder again.

Cloud only hummed and looked at her again. She was smiling sadly and kinda looked like she saw more than he showed or said. He didn't know what happened then. He felt like breaking down at any moment and usually he did everything to avoid it. But now...He knew Aerith wouldn't judge him if he did. Turning a bit more towards her, he let his head drop on her shoulder. In a matter of seconds Aerith wrapped her arms around his neck and just held him. Her fingers gently ran through his hair, while he just sat there with his eyes closed and only concentrated on her and her scent.

#clerith #cloud #aerith #final fantasy vii #ffvii #cloud strife #aerith gainsborough #se #square enix #fanfiction #fanfics #wolf au

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thefandomlesbian · 4 years

Note

Prompt: “Don’t touch me. We’re fighting.” For WintersDay, please and thank you 😊

Someone knows WintersDay is my weakness! Please read on AO3 to read with appropriate formatting, since Tumblr eats it.

Read on AO3 here!

“For by my side you put on

many wreaths of roses

and garlands of flowers

around your soft neck.

And with precious and royal perfume

you anointed yourself.

On soft beds you satisfied your passion.

And there was no dance,

no holy place

from which we were absent.” -Sappho

Bostonian spring was cold and came far too late for Misty, whose cabin fever had driven her to the point of insanity. She hated Boston. She had hated it before, when she had arrived with Lana in the early autumn, but at least then, there had been some hope of hiking and camping and escaping the grotesque city and its disgusting smells and the soot and ash flowing through the air freely. Winter had made Boston even more repugnant to Misty.

If she didn’t love Lana so much, she would have hitchhiked herself back to New Orleans in less than six months. But she did love Lana so much, so she suffered in silence, her magic building and twitching inside of her from lack of use, her irritability burbling up to the surface in the middle of the night when the noise pollution refused to let her sleep. Misty kept telling herself she would be happy here, eventually, as long as she was with Lana… That was what she had told herself when Lana asked her to get into her car and ride more than fifteen hundred miles up the east coast, ripping up her entire life for a love she had never known before. As long as she was with Lana, she could be satisfied. She just had to get used to it.

She wasn’t used to it, though. She loathed it. She loathed the cars and the exhaust and the asphalt. She loathed the barren, cultured grass, nothing but an environmental waste, and she loathed the fake decor and poor landscaping. But more than anything, she loathed the people.

In fact, Misty was quite convinced that Lana Winters was the only good, honest, decent, loving person in the entire city of Boston.

Lana knew none of this. Misty kept her misery to herself, though she did share it with her three-legged squirrel, Big Red, who rode about on her shoulders day after miserable day indoors. And when the springtime sunlight finally breached the forlorn gray clouds over the city, Misty perked up in spite of the chill. “Hey,” she greeted Lana the same day that the sun came out, “do you think I can plant a garden?”

Lana looked at her. “Well--yeah, sure. Do whatever you want in the yard. Less to mow.” Ugh. Mowing. Misty couldn’t believe people just threw away perfectly good grass also while pitching pollutants out into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate. “But, um, I don’t know how much work you want to spend on the whole reviving thing. There’s still a chance we can get more snow this year. I don’t want you to be disappointed if a frost kills off everything you planted.”

Snow? It’s mid-April! “I’ll take my chances.” Misty knew she could bring everything back. The months of unuse for her powers had not caused them to atrophy, but rather had built them up stronger than ever before. Armed with a hoe, a shovel, a water pail, and some seeds and saplings, Misty headed outside before the crack of dawn the next day. Maybe she couldn’t be happy in Boston, but perhaps she could bring enough of the swamp to the city so she could have a smidgen of peace.

Still under the cover of darkness, Misty worked with her magic when she trusted no one could see. She could dig and hoe at the same time with her telekinesis. The ugly, metropolitan shrubs she pulled up. “Compost these.” She stripped all the ugly, pebble landscaping from around Lana’s house. Nothing healthy could ever possibly grow in such harsh, unforgiving conditions. Once the rocks were stripped, Misty dug along the side of the house first… and then she gradually worked her way out into the rest of the yard. Let me plant some things I can eat. Misty hated eating out of a can. She needed to grow her own vegetables. But she would make it beautiful, too, for Lana to enjoy. Maybe in a few months, when these saplings are large enough, I can build a treehouse for us to climb in. Everything smaller she could bring to fruition in a few short hours, but the trees would take longer. Even with all of her strength, she did not think she could grow the vast oaks to the size she wanted them to accommodate a treehouse in a day.

Misty slaved over her craft. Big Red chittered, resting on the gutter as he watched her work. She lined the house with her own bushes--blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry, strawberry, cranberry. Further out, she had all of her vegetables--the squash, the tomato, the pepper, the carrots, the potatoes, several stalks of corn. She planted oak saplings for Big Red when they grew large enough to produce acorns, and she lined every path with sweet-smelling, natural growing flowers. Lana doesn’t want to mow--she’ll never have to mow again! Anything Misty pulled up that she could not make use of went into the compost pile. I’ll get us some worms and really get that compost going. The earth was barren of worms, as well, but she could fix that soon enough.

As the day wore on, her blossoms opened. The space from garden to garden was just wide enough for them to walk through. The grass won’t grow here if I throw down some mulch and keep it tramped down. No need for the mower anymore. Misty despised the sound and smell of a lawnmower. If she could keep Lana from mowing, they would both be extremely happy.

She crawled into bed that night, long after dark, freshly showered and clean. Lana rolled over. “Hey, bear.” Her hands curled into Misty’s hair, still wet from the shower. “I missed you… You were outside all day. Must be a nice garden.” She kissed Misty on the lips. Misty spooned up behind her like a happy cat. “You can show me tomorrow. How long til we have some tomatoes?”

“Not long,” Misty promised. She kissed Lana’s neck and tickled her tummy, forcing her to squirm and giggle with delight. “I’ve got you.”

Lana hummed happily. “I’m so glad you’re feeling like yourself again.” She peeked back at Misty. “I was starting to worry the winter was wearing you down.”

Misty sighed. Maybe I wasn’t as discreet as I wanted to be. “It was. But I’m feeling a lot better now.”

Lana snuggled up against her and bid her goodnight. Misty’s exhausted body held her warm and near, and for the first time since she had come to Boston, she slept all the way through the night without the sounds of the trains or the vehicles outside disturbing her slumber.

The next morning, Misty rolled out of bed with Big Red tangled up in her hair and found Lana on the couch sipping her coffee in front of the television. “Morning, cityslicker,” Misty teased as she came up the hall. She sank onto the couch beside Lana. “What are your plans for the day?” She ran her hand down one of Lana’s legs, and at the summoning, Lana turned her body and placed both of her feet in Misty’s lap.

Misty began to rub her feet. “Well,” Lana said, “I gotta run some errands. The weather says we’re officially out of snow for the season, so I better stop by the gas station and pick up a gallon for the mower. It’ll just be a week or two before they’re making me mow it.”

Shaking her head, Misty said, “Uh-uh,” as she rubbed Lana’s feet with her thumbs.

Lana’s brows quirked. “What do you mean, uh-uh?”

Innocent blue eyes flicked up to Lana. “You told me you didn’t like to mow, so I fixed the yard so we won’t have to mow anymore. No more wasted space. I’m just gonna throw some mulch down on the trails--”

“Trails?” Lana questioned. “Misty, my yard is less than two acres! What exactly did you do to it?”

She sounds angry. “You said you didn’t want to mow anymore and I should do whatever I wanted with the yard. So I ripped out all the landscaping--”

“You did what?”

Misty’s defenses rose. “It was ugly! Nothing could grow in those pebbles. I laid natural bushes instead--ones that are good for the environment and will benefit the wildlife!”

“What wildlife? This is the middle of the city! Any wildlife that comes into our yard is going to get flattened!” Lana rolled off the couch and ran to the front door. “Holy shit!” she gasped as she stared out of the front of the house. The morning sun shed light on all of the dewy flowers and leaves and bushes. “We have to take it all down.”

“We what?” Misty snapped. “No way! I worked all day on making it beautiful! I’m not killing everything I just brought to life!” Lana stepped out of the house. Her bare feet touched the beautiful, freshly stirred earth, leaving slight footprints in their wake, and the low bushes and flowers brushed her ankles and left water trickling down them. “Why are you making such a big deal out of this? You told me to do whatever I wanted with the yard, so I did!”

“I thought you were going to plant a handful of tomatoes and some squash and maybe some pretty flowers, not recreate the Okefenokee swamp! The city is going to send us notices for looking overgrown and unkempt!”

Heat burned Misty’s face. “Overgrown and unkempt, my ass! It’s beautiful!” she snapped. “All I did was try to make it beautiful for you! I planted tomatoes because you always say you hate the ones out of a can! I planted potatoes because you hate buying them by the bag, I planted wild blackberries because you like that they have seeds the ones in the store don’t! I planted blanketflowers because they remind me of your eyes, bluebells and merry bells because you have that portrait in our room that you like, dayflowers and blue morning glories because that’s your favorite color to wear because you think it makes you look thinner even though I know you’re beautiful in any color! I planted a dogwood tree because you said it’s your favorite tree and you told me the old fable that Jesus’s cross was made from the dogwood tree! And I planted some sunflowers to grow so I can braid them in your hair on the days you’re so miserable and I’m not able to cheer you up!”

“Bullshit, you did it for you! You’ve spent all winter moping and whining and now you’re trying to get a little piece of the wilderness in the city!”

“Yes!” Misty’s whole body grew hot. Big Red jumped off her shoulders as her skin became too hot to touch, driven by her rage. The squirrel ran to Lana and scampered up her leg. “Yes! You’re right! I fucking hate it here, Lana! I can’t sleep at night! It’s too loud! It smells like chemical warfare! Your neighbors all have sour, angry faces, and the grass is sterile, and the soil doesn’t have any earthworms! This place sucks! And I am trying to be happy here, because this is where you are, and you’re all I ever wanted! But the water that comes out of the tap tastes like metal, and every day that I spend here in this hellscape, I feel myself hating it more and more! So god forbid I should plant some flowers in the yard where I live, so maybe I can walk outside without wondering if I made a mistake by coming here at all!”

A black car parked in front of Lana’s house. A man rolled down the window and stuck his camera out it, beginning to snap pictures. Lana turned on her heel, attention suddenly stripped from Misty, but as she approached the car to reprimand the photographer, Misty stormed right past her. She strode powerfully, her hands balled into tight fists and the magic crackling around her--only Lana could see, but she knew it was dangerous enough. “Misty,” Lana cautioned. Oh, god, Misty, don’t! She trotted after her. “Misty!”

Misty slammed both hands against the door of the car. The driver flinched back away from her. He reached to roll up the window, but with a flick of Misty’s eyes, the handle snapped off. Lana jogged up beside her, watching as Misty glowered directly into the man’s eyes. “You do not know who we are. You did not take any pictures of us. You will not come back here again. And so help me god, if you do, you can compost my goddamn flowerbeds.” The man had a blank stare… She’s controlling him, Lana realized with some horror. She had forgotten Misty could do that. He blinked a few times, as if shaking himself, and then pulled back onto the road and drove away.

But the speed with which Misty whirled upon her indicated the fight was not over. “What?” she snarled. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know--” It was him I was worried about. “I was afraid you would blow up the car.” She measured her words as she spoke them, patient and slow, trying to remain calm. I had no idea she was so miserable here. Lana licked her lips. “I didn’t want you to do anything rash.”

Misty’s eyes flashed, glossed over with tears which did not shed. “Of course. You think I’m too goddamn stupid to have any decision-making skills. You think I would put you in danger because I can’t think for two seconds to realize that blowing up a car in the middle of your residential suburban America hell is a bad idea.”

“That is not what I said--Misty, come back!” Misty was already walking away from her. Lana steadied Big Red on her shoulder, grabbing Misty by the hand. “Ow!” She jerked her hand away. Misty’s skin was hot to the touch, like a pan on the stove. “What the hell?”

“Don’t touch me! We’re fighting!” Misty’s voice had gone from furious to shrill. She thundered into the house, and as Lana fought to keep up with her, she walked faster, entering the bathroom and slamming the door shut firmly behind her.

The sound of the lock clicking into place finalized it for Lana, though she still tried to turn the knob a couple of times. “Misty!” She pressed her ear to the door. She could hear nothing but Misty’s uneven breathing. She’s crying. Lana only seen Misty cry once since they met. The knowledge that she had hurt Misty so deeply wounded her soul. “Misty… I’m sorry I upset you. I’ll apply for a permit to certify the yard as a wildlife habitat, so we won’t have to take it down.” It will be nice not to have to mow. Big Red teetered on her shoulder, clasping her hair with his front paws. “I’m so sorry you’re unhappy. I didn’t know… I thought it was just some cabin fever.” She leaned against the door with one hand pressed flat against it. “I’ll start looking for somewhere else for us to live. Somewhere outside the city, where we can have some room and some quiet.” The days Lana had spent in the swamp with Misty had been among the most miserable in her life--and she included Briarcliff and Thredson in that mix, the swamp had been that bad. But they had to find a middle ground. She couldn’t lose Misty… Not after Wendy. She couldn’t endure that heartache again, knowing she had lost the one she loved and it was her fault.

Lana sighed, leaning against the door, losing hope that Misty was going to let her in. “We can take time this summer to go back… if you want. I know that’s not the safest place in the world for you, but if you’d like to go, we can go. I trust you can protect us.” She chewed her lower lip. “Once it’s a little warmer, we can go camping…” She wasn’t hitting any of Misty’s buttons well enough to get her to open back up. She’s pissed at me. She had every right to be. “I don’t think you’re stupid,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry if I ever act like that. I know--I know you aren’t well-educated, but that doesn’t mean you’re stupid. I only thought you were going to blow up the car because that’s what I would’ve wanted to do, if I were you. I know you would never do anything to put us in danger.” She cleared her throat. “I know all of this is new to you. And I know you’re trying. I’m trying, too. I need you to talk to me… That’s the only way I can make things better.”

A long, silent moment passed before the lock clicked again, and the bathroom door inched open. Behind it, Misty stood, stony-faced, her blue eyes rimmed in red. Lana’s eyes fluttered wide eagerly, opening her arms, but she hesitated before hugging her; she didn’t want to be burned again. Misty opened her arms in return, and Lana sank into her hug. She flung her arms tightly around Misty’s neck and buried her face into the crook. Misty squeezed her, her arms folding protectively around Lana’s back. “I’m sorry I burned you,” Misty mumbled in her thick voice, still a little teary. “It was an accident.”

“Oh, bear, I know,” Lana whispered. “I know you would never hurt me on purpose.” She tucked a lock of hair behind Misty’s head. “I’m sorry I yelled at you… I was overreacting.” She swallowed hard. “You know change is hard for me, without Wendy.” Some part of her still wanted to leave everything the way it was when Wendy had died. Slowly but surely, Misty was teaching her to move on… But sometimes, it all came back, the fear that once she had lost Wendy, she would never get her back. “But that doesn’t give me any right to take it out on you. Especially when I told you to do whatever you wanted… I didn’t realize we had two very different ideas of what a garden is.”

Misty ducked her head, snorting in spite of herself. “I should have clarified,” she mumbled. “You complained about mowing… and I hate lawnmowers.” She shuddered as she said the word. Pity leapt through Lana’s heart. “I thought I would make it easier for us by making something beautiful. Make it a little less awful here.”

Lana caressed Misty’s cheek. “There is nothing you can do to this place, or to me, to make me love you less.”

Misty leaned into her embrace, kissing the inside of her wrist. “I would live the rest of my life in this hell hole if it meant I got to be with you.”

A tender smile touched Lana’s face. “It was very thoughtful of you to plant that garden… I didn’t realize you could do so much in just a day.” She planted everything thinking of me. Oh, that stung Lana’s insides now, how she had hurled it back in Misty’s face in a fit of rage. “I’d like to walk out and look at it now, if you’ll show me.”

A calloused hand touched the small of Lana’s back. “Of course,” she whispered. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to Lana’s lips, and Lana closed her eyes as the magic surrounded her.

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bleusarcellewrites · 6 years

Text

My Boy*Friend Lance

i had this on my drafts....*shrugs*

“This is my friend; Lance.”

Shiro snorts, choking on his own spit when his mother slaps the back of his head as a reprimand.

He’s highly almost totally sure that there’s a missing word before the word ‘friend’.

It’s ‘boy’. The word was ‘boy’.

He doesn’t voice any of his thoughts though, not when his mother is giving him a warning look from the side before she looks back at the two sixteen years old before them and smiles sweetly.

“Nice to meet you, Lance.”

The tall but slim brown sixteen years old smiles widely back at her, compliments of her beauty and her house slipping through his lips like a practiced speech, but Shiro gives him points for trying.

He looks behind Lance, where his little brother stands, and shakes his head when he catches the way Keith’s shoulders drop, relief washing down on him and Shiro thinks it’s ridiculous to think that his brother was nervous about him introducing his boy -

Friend*. Right. No ‘boy’ yet.

Shiro sighs internally, lips twitching fondly when he catches the way Keith smiles at the way Lance interacts with his mom and how his eyes soften, never leaving the brunet’s face.

This boy is so far gone.

And so gay.

It’s four in the afternoon on a friday when Keith leaves the house with nothing more than a hurried goodbye that echoes around the walls and picking his house keys hastily on his way out.

It’s ten at night on the same friday when Keith stumbles back home, keys jiggling on his hands as he steps inside and even from his spot on the living room, Shiro can see the goofy dopey smile on his brother’s face, the dimming lighting above him doing nothing to hide the raging blush on his cheeks.

“Fun night?” Shiro calls out, arching an amused eyebrow when Keith jumps on his feet, as if the mere thought of finding someone else alive in the house was ridiculous and unexpected. Rude, Shiro lived here first, thanks.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, it was...it was fun.” Keith coughs, looking away as he drops his keys on a small bowl near the entrance and rubs the back of his neck.

“Who were you with?” Shiro asks, head tilted to the side in mock innocence.

“With my friend, Lance. You know him.”

Shiro hums, teasing grin growing on his lips. “Ah, yes, Lance, right. Where did you guys go, though? Because you look like a chicken nested on your hair, dude.”

Keith chokes. “Uh, movies.”

‘Makes sense; dark place, loud background noise.’ Shiro thinks with a hum before he speaks up. “Cool, what movie?”

“Uh, Paladin’s Love?”

“Cool, cool. Is it any good? I’ve been meaning to watch it.” Shiro says, dropping his chin on his flesh hand as he gives his entire attention to his brother. His grin grows when Keith shifts nervously.

“Uh, yeh?”

“What is it about?”

“Uh, it’s about a Paladin’s….love?”

“Brillant.” Shiro says, throwing a low whistle in the end and chuckles when Keith glares at him.

“Shut up, Takashi.” Keith says annoyed, flipping him the middle finger as he stomps his way to his room. Shiro waves him off with a smug smile.

“Nice new cologne, by the way!”

“Shut up!!”

“Boys!”

“Sorry, mom!”

There’s giggling.

Shiro arches his neck up, as if the mere simple move will help him get bigger ears for him to hear better the ruckus that’s going on upstairs, most likely coming from his brother’s room.

His science homework lays forgotten on the kitchen’s table, highlighter in the middle of the book as he narrows his eyes and listens.

Yup, more giggling.

“They do know we have thin walls, right?” Shiro mumbles quietly as he purses his lips. His dad hums behind him, still chopping some fresh fruit and placing them on the big bowl next to him.

“Let them be, Kashi.” His dad reminds with amusement, not looking up from his task and leaving once again Shiro to his thoughts.

Shiro counts in his head, waiting for the inevitable that always comes whenever Lance comes over and locks himself in his little brother’s room every time.

Giggling. Giggling. Giggling. Giggl -

“Ack! Dude!”

Yup, there you go: the shouting.

“You started it!”

“I hit you with a goddamn pillow! Not a book!”

“It’s the french book!”

“Oh, I’m sorry? Did the two thousand page hardcover book suddenly turned into a soft french baguette?”

“With enough imagination, yes.”

“You little shi -!”

“Ack! Lance!”

“Is he ever going to tell us, though?” Shiro asks quietly as the shouting continues, lips twitching in amusement when a second door opens upstairs and then his mom’s scolding echoes around the house, quickly followed by two embarrased teenaged apologies, “I mean, it’s not like it’s a secret.”

“It is for them.” His dad says softly, picking up his cooking tools and placing them over the sink before he turns to his oldest, “Keith will tell us when he’s ready.”

“Pft so he gets to be gay with a boyfriend because he hasn’t ‘officially’ come out to us, but I don’t get to do my memes and embarrassing him like the big brother that I am?” Shiro huffs, leaning back on his chair and throwing his head back, enough to meet his dad’s eyes upside down, “That’s unfair.”

“Well, it’s not about you and your sexuality, son.” His dad chuckles poking him on forehead.

“Well, what if I told you I was bi?” Shiro asks, arching an eyebrow.

“Then congrats, buddy.”

“I’m not bi.” Shiro scoffs before he frowns, “That I know of.”

His dad pats him on the back. “Take your time figuring out.”

Shiro snorts. “Okay, okay, but still, I mean, he knows we doesn’t have to hide it from us, right? We cool with him being gay and having a boyfriend.”

“Your brother approaches things in a different way, Takashi.” His dad reminds him, giving him a small bowl with chunks of strawberries and apples, “Give your brother time, he will come around.”

Shiro opens his mouth to reply but the sound of giggling comes back, even louder than before and Shiro scoffs with a good-heartilly smile.

Alright fine, let the ‘Hide-&-Don’t-Seek-I’m-Gay’ continue.

“Takashi, is this yours?”

Shiro looks up from his laptop, eyebrows furrowed at the clothing in question his dad holds up for him to see.

“Uh, no.” He answers confused, “Where did you find it?”

“I was doing some laundry and found this in the basket.” His dad shrugs, growing at the jacket on hand, “It’s not Keith’s, based on the color scheme so we should throw -”

“No!” Keith shouts, jumping out of nowhere and grabbing the jacket, clutching it close to his chest, “Nop! It’s uh, it’s Lance’s. He left it here last time, so I’m just...gonna put it away. Sorry, dad.”

Their dad blink, more out of surprise at the sudden outburst than anything else. “No problem, son.”

Keith smiles sheepishly before he turns and leaves the room, heading towards his own.

Shiro watches him go in silence. He then snort so loudly that he almost chokes two weeks later, when Lance had been over their house in a total of ten times and his jacket still sits on Keith’s desk.

Are they even trying?

They’re helping their mom with the garden when Shiro notices.

It’s a small blue hair tie, keeping Keith’s ponytail in a tight hold. It’s quite the miracle, when Keith is well known to let his wild mane go at all times.

“What’s with the hair tie?” Shiro asks as he pushes himself back and sits on the back of his knees, pointing at Keith’s hair.

Keith blinks before he blushes, eyes dawning with realization. “Ah, uh, it’s Lance’s.”

“Lance doesn’t have long hair, though.” Shiro says confused.

“He, uh, bought them for me.”

“Such a coincidence they are blue, huh?” Shiro says sneakily, wiggling his eyebrows playfully, “It’s almost as if it was for you to remember him. Wow, such a good friend.”

“Kashi.” Their mom says slow and long, a gentle warning in the back of her voice.

“Shut up, Shiro.” Keith says instead, picking some tiny pebbles from the ground and throwing them at his brother.

They both get grounded when they do more mess than helping on the garden, but worth it.

Shiro’s coming out of the bathroom, hand scratching his stomach over his undershirt lazily before he turns off the light.

He’s barely a foot out when he collides with another body.

Shiro groans, glad that his butt was saved from slamming itself against the cold hard floor but his eyes widen when he catches the figure in front of him.

Lance rubs the side of his head with a small pained pout, only freezing when he finally catches Shiro’s eyes on him.

They stare at each other for a solid minute before Shiro speaks up.

“It’s five in the morning.” He hisses incredulous, missing his prosthetic this time only so he could have two arms to throw in the air to emphasize his exasperation, “What are you doing here?”

“Not cuddles.” Lance answers in a breath, eyes widening before he slaps his own face hard, “I mean, uh, homework? Yeah, homework.”

Shiro blinks, mouth wide open in disbelief before he shakes his head and comforts himself to at least throw his only flesh arm in the air to express himself.

“Unbelievable.”

“Mom, Dad.” Shiro coughs intentionally on the background, making Keith rolls his eyes before he starts over, “Mom, Dad, and Shiro.”

“Yes, sweetheart?” Their mom ask softly, soft gentle smile on her face as she waits for her youngest to continue.

Keith takes a deep breath before he nods to himself and then -

“I’m gay.”

“Hallelujah!”

“Takashi!”

“I’m, like, super proud of you, lil bro.” Shiro says later that day, flopping himself next to Keith on the couch and locking him with his flesh arm, ruffling his hair, “My baby bro is finally out! Thought I was going to grow a beard before you decided to come clean.”

Keith grunts as he wrestle his brother’s hold and huffs when Shiro finally gives him mercy. “Yeah, well, it would have been nice to know you all already knew.”

“Hey, I tried. You’re just slow.”

“Shut up!” Keith laughs, shoving his brother by the arm but there’s this happy at easy smile on his face and Shiro’s chest feels warm at the sight.

“I’m really happy for you, Keith, honestly.” Shiro says softly, squeezing his brother’s shoulder, “And I wasn’t lying earlier, I’m really proud of you.”

“Thank you, Shiro.” Keith mumbles quietly, fingers running through his hair sheepishly as he look away, “It feels like a big weight off my chest, you know? I’m just...really really happy.”

“I can imagine.” Shiro snorts, punching him playfully on the shoulder, “But I noticed you didn’t mention Lance, what gives?”

Keith gives him a weird look. “Why would I mention Lance?”

“You gotta be shitting me.”

It takes another month before it finally comes.

“Mom, Dad.” Shiro coughs on the background, once again, and Keith limits himself to flip him off with his free hand, his other one still holding Lance’s tightly, “Mom, Dad, and Shiro.”

“Yes, son?” Their dad asks kindly, nodding at his youngest as reassurance to continue.

“This is my boyfriend; Lance.”

“Hello.” Lance waves with a happy beaming smile.

Shiro throws his hands in the air and drops to his knees.

“Hallelujah!”

“Takashi!”

#bleu writes #klance #klance au #broganes #broganes drabble #vld keith #vld lance #vld shiro #lance mcclain #keith kogane #takashi shirogane #listen #not gonna lie #this probablly sucks and its shitty #but on the other hand #im grumpy and smad so like #yolo

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neganandblake · 6 years

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I think I liked you better when you didn’t have a knife in your hand, Peaches... Chapter 173 - Nothing but the rain

When Blake finds herself sold out to the Saviours by her abusive fiancé, she realises that she’s certainly not on her own anymore and finds an unlikely friend in Negan. And Negan does NOT like men who beat their girlfriends, one tiny bit…

MASTERLIST

Chapter 173 - Nothing but the rain

[Negan and Blake catch up after so much time spent apart, but the pair find that stolen moments like these, in amongst everything, never last as long as they might want them to...]

Negan and Mia stayed for the entire afternoon, things feeling completely normal between the three of them as they enjoyed a hastily thrown together, very late lunch, after watching Mia blabber and play about on the mattress before them for what had felt like hours.

Blake was enamored with the little girl, so excited to seeing her growing and developing day by day.

Gone was the shy little thing she had once met, hiding in a vent in the wall. And now Mia was flourishing, with her own little personality, completely bossy at times and often far too intelligent and quick for her own good.

It was late afternoon by the time Blake and Negan stood in the small white kitchen, Blake washing up what dishes Mia had used for lunch, using a little of the water boiled over the fire.

Negan stood at her side, his back against the counter to her right, popping yet another wild strawberry, Blake had found growing in the bottom of the garden, into his mouth.

Having five minutes peace from Mia, who had crashed out on the couch next-door after her lunch, Negan had been updating Blake on life back at the Sanctuary in her absence.

"...an' Simon is bein' asshole as always.." said Negan matter-of factly, mid-chew. "Damn shit-prick is making a mockery of my entire fuckin' set up."

Blake glanced up at him now, remembering suddenly back to how Simon had spoken to her back in Mia's bedroom on the night he had found her with Tara.

But she knew just how Negan would react if he ever found out, and the last thing she wanted was for Negan to lose one of his more loyal lieutenants because of a fleeting moment of Blake feeling slightly offended.

Because surely Simon hadn't meant to shout at her like that?

Right?

And so Blake held her tongue, but Negan, as always, was quicker than she gave him credit for.

"What?" he asked giving a small frown, his dark eyes grazing over her face. "That asshole done somethin' to piss you off too, Peaches?"

But Blake shook her head, placing a soapy dish onto the drainer.

"No…" she murmured. "It's nothing. I was just going to say that maybe you're too uptight for your own good."

At her words Negan raised both his eyebrows bemusedly, biting down hard upon his lip and pushing his long, lean form from the counter and closing the gap between the two of them.

"That so?" he uttered, leaning in towards her now, as Blake turned too, his face hovering a mere breath away from hers.

Blake smiled, savoring his closeness.

She had missed the intimacy. That feeling that she had shared with very few people in her life, Negan being one of those select few who she had given her everything to.

She had missed him like crazy. Missed their conversation. Their playfulness. Missed having someone hold her at night when the nightmares threatened to take hold...the constant, reoccurring dreams of a baby crying somewhere, where Blake couldn't get to it.

Negan didn't kiss her now, but instead leant forwards, grazing his stubbly lips over her brow, his hand pulling her shoulders into his chest and holding her there close to him.

She heard him sigh heavily, enveloping her in the warmth of his strong arms. And Blake, in that moment knew, that this was where she wanted to be forever.

"I'm sorry for leaving…" she whispered now, her face buried in his collarbone, breathing him in.

To her he smelled like burning wood smoke and gasoline, heady and strong, but oh-so familiar to her now.

She remembered then back to that day, in that broken down truck on the side of the road where Blake had found herself cuddled up to Negan for warmth, that first time she had noticed his scent….noticed how warm he was….noticed how perfectly her body fitted into his.

She was indeed sorry for leaving.

Not sorry for being here, for getting out while she still had the strength to.

But sorry for having to be away from him. And Mia too.

For Blake had been in a dark place, and staying at the Sanctuary would have done nothing for her mental health. For her anxiety, or depression.

And the sorry fact of it all was, that Blake knew that if she had have stayed there, then she might not be here right now.

For in that abyss, that low point in her life, the blonde woman had been far from herself, her thoughts muddled and twisted. And for one single screwed up desperate moment she may have believed a gun with a single bullet, or a jump from a high window, to have been her only chance of freedom from it all.

But she was healing now. Getting better day by day.

And those thoughts weren't there any more, thankfully.

She felt Negan's words reverberate through his chest as he spoke now.

"I told you, you don' need to be apologisin', Sweetheart," he growled, his large hand sliding down her spine. "

Blake closed her eyes, giving a sad sort of frown for a moment before she pulled back a little to stare up into Negan's face.

The face of a man that so many others feared and loathed, and yet Blake knew a different side of, one of strength and compassion, and of love.

"I want to come home, Negan, I really do," she said, her eyes flickering down to the breath of space between them. "But I just need a few more days…"

Blake trailed off, glancing up at him again, oh-so desperately trying to tell him that this was not because she didn't love him, or didn't want to be back with him and Mia.

And maybe a few days ago, Negan wouldn't have understood, wouldn't have seen her reasons behind it. But now, it was as if he was seeing what she was seeing, that the fear, that the darkness, may come back again if those wounds did not have time to fully heal.

And she could see now that Negan understood that if that happened, he might lose her forever and never get her back.

A frown line lingered between the tall Saviour's dark eyebrows, but he didn't look angry, merely pulling her into him once more with a growled- "C'mere, Darlin'," resting his bearded chin on top of her head.

Blake closed her eyes.

"I love you," she said quietly, knowing that the sun would be setting soon and Negan would need to return to the Sanctuary with Mia, leaving Blake alone once more.

And she could only let out a sad smile as Negan hummed a "I fuckin' love you too, Peaches," in earnest return. "And I was deadly fuckin' serious about comin' back to see you. Every goddamn day if that's what you want."

The caramel blond woman blinked her eyes open.

"That's a lot of gas you'll be wasting on me..." she replied teasingly, as she eased herself back from him now. Staring up into his face and offering him a smile.

But Negan merely smirked, his tongue poking out from between his teeth for a moment, grinning back widely. "Well it's a good job I'm the one in charge of rationin' that shit, now aint it?" he mused, letting go of her with a sigh.

He leant back on his long legs marvelling at Blake for a long moment, long face cocked to the side, as Blake continued to smile back, rolling her eyes a little at Negan's cockiness.

She was just about to open her mouth to say something cutting in return, when there came a small, familiar-sounding wail from the living room, causing both adults to sigh internally.

"She probably needs her bed," said Blake, letting her eyes fall to the ground now as she folded her arms a little shyly over her chest, knowing what was coming now.

Blake would have asked them to stay of course, but knew that Mia would be safer away from here, back at the Sanctuary with its high walls and almost impenetrable gates. And by the knowing look of disappointment etched over his features, Negan knew that too, as he dropped his eyes, nodding back.

"Yeah," he huffed out, digging both hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

Blake had had such a wonderful afternoon, that she never wanted it to be over, but knew that another day would come soon. And even if it wasn't tomorrow, it was still something she could look forwards to in amongst the slow passing of time spent here, healing.

Blake took the lead now, tucking a stand of long hair behind her ear, not looking at Negan, and heading back into the living room to see Mia stirring on the couch.

The tiny girl was obviously tired and teasy, and very much in need to be back home in her own bed.

And Blake certainly couldn't deny the need for routine into the little baby's life.

Blake moved to the couch, bending down to pick Mia up, lifting the sleeping girl gently into her arms, as Mia with her thumb stuck into her mouth, rested her head on Blake's shoulder, her chubby fingers curling around a strand of the blonde's long hair.

Blake pressed a kiss to Mia's temples, moving over to the front door.

She didn't want to look at Negan now, hearing him make his way slowly over to her, his boots chinking as he went.

She desperately didn't want either of them to go, but both adults knew, that right now they had no choice.

The afternoon had been blissful and Blake would remember it forever.

But in the time her two visitors had been here, by the sound coming from outside, the rain had not relented even a little bit.

Blake pressed another kiss into Mia's hair as she turned, easing Mia carefully into Negan's strong arms, before she quickly turned away, giving a sniff, still avoiding the dark-haired Saviour's eye, and reaching for the door handle.

Blake tugged open the white painted door to the sound of the rain hammering down, and, stepping forwards, peered up into the darkening sky.

But Blake's eyes flickered sideways seeing Negan, at her side now, doing the same, also giving the bleak sky above them, a look of distaste.

"Holy fuckin' shit," he grumbled in a low voice. "Thought it mighta' eased off a bit…"

And with that, Blake turned to face him, her heart aching inside her chest as she took him in.

Negan was standing there now, Mia in his arms, his black leather jacket unzipped and tugged across them both, shielding Mia from the rain outside they were about to endure.

Not even a year ago, Blake would never had imagined that this man, this intimidating man spoken about in fearful whispers by many, would be standing here, looking every inch the handsome protective father he was.

Blake tilted her head to the side, long blonde locks tumbling down over her shoulder, as she took a step forwards, kissing Mia one last time and stroking back the hair from her sleeping face.

"You be good for your Daddy," she murmured quietly, her voice breaking slightly as the words escaped her lips.

And with that the blonde woman stepped back once more, tears pricking at her eye as she gazed up at Negan, her heart almost breaking in two.

Their eyes met for second, and yet again, so many unspoken things passed between the pair. So many things left unsaid, and despite them having almost the whole afternoon together, for Blake it was not enough.

But she knew it was time now, to let them go.

For this had been her choice...to stay here...to be alone. A decision she had to live with.

And so, chewing on the side of her lip, Blake's green eyes stared into Negan's chocolate ones...

"...I love you," she repeated again softly.

And Negan just gave a slow, sad looking blink, a gulp travelling up and then back down his bearded throat.

"I love you too, Peaches," he said parting his lips.

And Blake took that as her cue to take one last step into him once more, standing up on her tip toes and pressing her lips to his, her hand curving up around his neck and into his hair...

Their lips met tenderly, tasting each other one last time, before Blake finally, after what felt like a perfect eternity, broke away, keeping her eyes closed shut, tears sliding down her cheeks.

And what felt like eons later, by the time Blake had eventually managed to pluck up the courage to open them again…

...Negan and Mia were gone…

...leaving Blake alone…

...on an empty doorstep…

...with nothing but the rain.

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged/untagged.

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peacefulheartfarm · 3 years

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What is a Freemartin Heifer?

What is a freemartin heifer? That’s today’s topic. It is related to one of our cows having twins. Stay tuned for those details. In other news, “is that a skunk?” That’s what I thought yesterday when I was walking out to get the cows. You never know what you are going to run into on the homestead. And the dogwood trees are in bloom what a treat. It’s different for us out here in the country. Driving along the highway, there are lots of dogwood trees in everybody’s yard. These are well-trimmed and very round trees. They are quite lovely. The dogwood trees here on the homestead are sprinkled through the woods. It looks like it is snowing in patches everywhere. I love this time of year.

I want to take a minute and say welcome to all the new listeners and welcome back to the veteran homestead-loving regulars who stop by the FarmCast for every episode. I appreciate you all so much. What would I do without You? I have no idea. I’m so glad you are here. I’m so excited to share with you are the various stuff going on at the farm this week. There is a lot of it.

Our Virginia Homestead Life Updates

This time of year, everything is kicked into high gear. It seems like one thing is happening right on top of another. And when you have the odd thing pop up – like your windshield getting a ding by a flying rock on the highway that quickly expanded to a lengthy crack requiring a windshield replacement, it makes it that much busier. To top off that cute little story, you never question how much it is going to cost for those great auto-driving gadgets if something breaks. The windshield has a camera right behind the rear-view mirror that required recalibration after the glass was replaced. That lovely service cost one and half times the cost of the windshield replacement itself.

A day later I find out that the automatic headlight features are no longer working. I have to make a second trip to town for some codes to get cleared out. That fixed the problem but it took another three hours out of my day. Do you guys have days like that? You have so much to do and you end up doing something completely unrelated to anything on your “to-do” list. I still have a pending “to-do” regarding that windshield replacement. In Virginia, every county has an annual inspection that requires a sticker to be displayed on the windshield. Yup! You guessed it. That little feature didn’t survive the procedure. I got it back in pieces with an apology and a reminder that I would need to get that inspection sticker replaced. When am I going to get that done? Geesh. It has been one of those weeks. On to the homestead happenings in and around these minor annoyances.

Gardens and Orchard

The strawberries are doing really well. I can’t wait for them to start blooming. Speaking of blooming, the blueberries are busting out all over. Keep the second week of June in mind. That’s likely when we will have blueberries available at the farmer’s markets. I’ll be making lots of blueberry jam again this year. At least I hope I will be.

If you’ve been around the podcast a while, you might remember that we have had some trouble with racoons in the past. These are really cute creatures and I’m willing to share a little of our abundance with them. However, when they start eating the entire crop of blueberries, that’s where I draw the line. We put up an electric fence two years ago. It worked beautifully. In fact, it worked so well that we didn’t even have it working last year and we still got all the berries. I guess the experience the previous year was so “shocking” that these little guys decided not to even try last year. I wonder if that caution will hold up for another year. Naw, let’s not test it. That electric fence needs to be reinstated in the coming weeks to ensure that we are successful in harvesting our wonderful blueberries.

The blackberries are growing lots of leaves but have not started blooming quite yet. It is a wonderful time of year when the blackberries bloom. A related plant, the wild rose, also blooms about the same time. Between these two plants, the fragrance in the air is heavenly. The goats have cleared out most of the wild rose and wild blackberries so we may have to rely solely on the domestic blackberries for our perfumed air this season. We shall see.

The green peas are jumping up out of the ground. Scott built a wonderful trellis for these lovelies. We have two 70-ft long beds with six rows of peas in each that are coming up. Peas love the cool weather. It’s a good thing they do. The temps are going to drop into the low 30’s tonight. But I expect the peas to be fine. There might be a very light frost, but we should be okay with that.

The early blooming fruit trees are done and will be setting fruit at this point. That is a greater concern. If it gets too cold, the cherries, peaches, and plums could lose their fruit. I was looking at the peach trees yesterday and I didn’t see any small fruit. Perhaps it will be all right. We shall see.

What was I doing out in the orchard yesterday? I was chasing a small quail.

Quail

While I was testing the automatic waterers, one of the younger girls slipped by me and jumped to the ground. I chased her and chased her and chased her. She got into the orchard and the grass is about 8 inches tall in there. I saw exactly where she landed but when I got there, she was gone. I walked outward in a spiral, expanding larger and larger, but I never saw her. I guess she’s gone for good. Sigh! I hope she has a great life out there on her own. Hopefully, she will be able to fend for herself. It’s hard to tell though. She has always had her food presented in an easily consumable form with no effort on her part. Out there on her own, she will need to scratch around a lot to find bugs and worms and such. Quail are very carnivorous and require lots and lots of protein. I wish her the best. Who knows? She may turn up in a day or so and I will be able to catch her. We had that experience a couple of years ago. Scott lost two hens that time and we eventually caught both of them and returned them to their cages. So, there is hope.

The rest of the quail are doing very, very well. Twice a year Scott gives the quail hutches a thorough cleaning. He finished that job just as the new babies went out into the grow out cages. They are doing really well. We have 36 of them at this time. Figuring out how to work the automatic waterers is always a challenge, but they mastered it in no time.

Just this morning 72 more eggs went into the incubator. The second cycle of baby quail has started.

Sheep and Lambs

We are done with the lambing season. The last ewe delivered twins a few days ago. Girls!! Yay!! They are doing very well. We ended up with three girls and three boys. Six healthy lambs. Susie Q is still getting her bottle twice a day, but she has been turned loose with the rest of the sheep and lambs. I’m thinking she doesn’t like this very much, but she is getting used to it. Because she was so attached to Scott and myself and literally never left our side, it was important for her to start spending her time with other animals. After all, she isn’t a human and she needs to make friends with the other animals.

It seems to be going well. I always feel sorry for these lambs that have no mother caring for them. But they seem to do very well in spite of their orphan status in the flock. Lambert is our flock ram. He was a bottle-baby last year. Look how far he has been elevated in status. I’ll probably keep Susie Q as a flock ewe also. The bottle babies are somewhat like pets. Not exactly, but definitely more special than the others.

Cows and Calves

Violet is the only animal we have left who has yet to deliver. She is not due until the first week of June. It’s always a relief when we make it through this delicate time for all of our female creatures. Scott briefly talked about having a second set of lambs in the fall. I am not in favor of this as it is quite stressful for me when our ladies are nearly term. I’d rather keep it to just a couple of months in the spring. My nerves need a rest for the remainder of the year.

Butter produced a very big surprise for us. If you haven’t seen and heard Scott’s video on our Facebook page, you have to get over there and find it. It was posted on Thursday, April 15th. He is filming the results of him helping Butter deliver this cute little girl when all of a sudden, he sees another set of hooves. Here’s a link to that post. It’s hilarious. Watch to the end.

The twin calves are really cute. However, there is a problem when twins are one boy and one girl. The heifer calf, the girl, is most likely what is called a “freemartin”. That’s the topic that I want to dive into with more detail.

Butter’s Surprise

I had Butter pegged for delivery in late May, not mid-April. I’m not sure how I got so far off on those calculations. I think I was planning ahead on my spreadsheet, estimating where the dates would fall with various scenarios and neglected to put the dates back to their original settings. About three or four days before she gave birth, it became obvious that my calculations were off. Her udder swelled up and she was just huge. And it was the day before she gave birth that I had the very strong thought that she might have twins. She was really huge. It really is hard to tell though. When they fill their belly up with hay and grass, it can get really big even when they are not pregnant. Add pregnancy and they all look really huge just before they give birth. I just had that very strong thought and then she did, in fact, have twins.

There is no problem when the twins are both girls or both boys. But when one is a boy and the other a girl, there are definite issues. Nothing like they will die or anything like that. No, they will be quite healthy. It’s the freemartin phenomenon to which I am referring. What? You don’t know what that means? Neither did I.

We had actually purchased a calf that was a likely freemartin heifer when we purchased our first milk cows, Claire and Buttercup. We purchased Beta because the price was right and we wanted one additional cow strictly for beef. So, what is a freemartin heifer anyway? Here is the low-down.

Freemartin Heifer

The term freemartin refers to an infertile female mammal with masculinized behavior and non-functioning ovaries. The animal originates as a female with the double X chromosome, but during gestation acquires the male, XY chromosome. This can only happen with a male/female twin gestation. As I said, as long as there are two girls or two boys, there is no problem. This occurs in all cattle species that have been studied, and it can also happen occasionally in other mammals including sheep, goats and pigs. We have never seen this in our sheep and they deliver mixed male/female twins all the time. So, I have to think it is quite rare in sheep. Sheep and goats deliver twins and even triplets all the time. However, natural twins in cows only happens about .5% of the time. About one in every 200 births. A large cattle herd of 200 or more cows would see twins regularly in any given calving season.

With the male/female twin calf set, they not only share the uterus but they also share the placental membranes. That’s where the problem arises. The joining of the placental membranes occurs at about the fortieth day of gestation. After that happens, the fluids of the two fetuses can easily mix. There is an exchange of blood and antigens that carry unique characteristics of bulls and heifers. In the end, both will have some characteristics of the other sex.

The male is only affected by reduced fertility. In the female, over 90% of them are completely infertile. That makes her a freemartin. One who is genetically female but has characteristics of a male. Ovaries generally do not develop correctly and are small. There can be other structural anomalies as well. In the end, freemartinism cannot be prevented. And it really is rare. Even with any set of twins, there is a 50%-50% chance of same sex calves. If I do the math correctly, that means that 1 in 200 births would produce twins and at least half of the time, those twins would be fine – twins of the same sex.

Anyway, that’s the story of our twin calves. They are cute beyond measure, but likely we have two steers. I don’t know about the Hansel. Oh, I forgot to mention we call them Hansel and Gretel. So, I don’t know if Hansel will make a decent bull or not. But we can be pretty sure that Gretel will never produce a calf. What do you think we should do with these two calves? We currently are bottle feeding both of them. They could be sold as bottle babies. We could raise them as steers. We could try to breed Gretel when she is old enough. We could raise Hansel as a bull. He is 50% registered Normande and 50% registered Jersey. If he is fertile, he would make a fine bull for somebody.

Let us know what you think.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for this podcast. It’s a great time of the year here on the homestead. I’m so glad to be nearly finished with birthing. As I mentioned it is quite stressful for me. I just never know what to expect. We have beautiful lambs and beautiful calves. We are truly blessed. The joy of watching all of the plants and animals grow will fill our lives for the next several months.

I hope you all are having a wonderful spring season as well.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please hop over to Apple Podcasts or whatever podcasting service you use, SUBSCRIBE and give me a 5-star rating and review. If you like this content and want to help out the show, the absolute best way you can do that is to share it with any friends or family who might be interested in this type of content. Let them know about the Peaceful Heart Farmcast.

Thank you so much for stopping by the homestead and until next time, may God fill your life with grace and peace.

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