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silverofthunder · 12 days

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☆ (the beauty of) your world ☆

Papa Emeritus IV x GN Reader

summary: With a smile on your lips, you just listened to him, enjoyed how his voice seemed to reach somewhere deep and touch you in a way you couldn’t quite explain. It was truly beautiful and you could swear that if you hadn’t already fallen for Copia it had certainly happened now, right in this moment.

content: 2.8k words, mystery (kind of), drama, fantasy, romance, fluff, SFW (i think?)

♡♡ part 1 ♡♡ part 2 ♡♡ part 3 ♡♡

Fourth part already, wow! Now I have finally started to plan this story so it might help keeping this all together - hopefully, at least. This is my fave part so far, it was so easy to write this. Enjoy!

The time seemed to pass way too slowly as it usually did on Fridays. You had checked the clock too many times and picked your phone up several times to scroll social media so you could have something to do when there were no customers to be seen. However, there wasn’t much to see in social media apps – only a few posts about weekend plans or cute photos of pets and then only random recommended, boring stuff that you just ignored.

You leaned against the counter with sigh and locked the phone, putting it aside and let then your gaze to take in the shop. It didn’t take long before a sound of buzzing got your attention and you picked your phone back up, seeing the notification of a new message arrived hovering on the screen. Your heart made a happy jump in your chest as you saw Copia to be the sender and quickly you unlocked the phone, opening the message.

Meet me by the abandoned church at 10 pm. - C

Smile rose to your lips instantly, excitement hopping up several levels within you. Your curiosity was aroused, too, so you had to reply and ask what that was about. It didn’t take long before Copia replied with ”you’ll see it, then” and a winking emoji. You let out a light chuckle, mind already starting to ponder all the options of what would await for you. The abandoned church itself was a cool sight to see and you had done your exploration there a few times but surely there was going to be something more.

”Whoever got you smiling like that must be a special one.” Your co-worker’s, Olivia’s, voice broke you out of your thoughts and you quickly unlocked your phone, turning your head to see Olivia looking at you with amusement.

”Yeah, he is,” you admitted and Olivia seemed to study you closely.

”It’s fairly new thing, isn’t it?”

”Yes,” you answered briefly as you really didn’t want to share much about your personal life. Olivia was nice and all but you wouldn’t exactly call her your friend.

”If he is a good one, please, tell me where did you find him? I’ve gotten so sick and tired of the assholes who just disappear after one meeting or who don’t know how to treat a woman respectfully,” Olivia said and you could almost sense her frustration.

She had talked about her… acquaintances several times and it seemed that she had been really unlucky with guys but you really couldn’t indentify with her situation. You had never looked for anyone, you had enjoyed your single life until Copia had just appeared in your life.

”Maybe you should just stop looking for someone,” you suggested, shrugging and then grinning. ”Worked for me, at least.”

Olivia didn’t look impressed, her one brow rising up.

”So I should just wait and see if I happen to run into someone in one day and then he magically falls in love with me?”

You chuckled, nodding. ”Yes. It honestly can happen.”

”I doubt it,” Olivia stated, though now there was a small smile tucking at the corners of her mouth. ”How did you meet your guy, by the way?”

You grinned, shaking your head.

”Trust me, you don’t want to know that.”

Olivia looked like she wanted to ask more but you shook your head again and she got the message. You weren’t going to tell her more. Not now, at least.

You were a bit late as you had taken too much time figuring out what to wear for the evening. Eventually you had settled for a button up shirt and some loose-fitting trousers with a long, warm coat, scarf and your favorite mittens. Copia was already waiting for you, leaning against the handrails in front of the church, a guitar case on the stairs by his feet.

”Sorry, I’m a bit late,” you apologized, smiling at him as you climbed a few stairs up.

”Don’t worry, I have all the time in the world,” he said, pushing himself off the handrails and taking a hold of your hand and leaning in to kiss your cheek.

”What’s that for?” you had to ask, pointing the guitar case. ”I didn’t knew you play a guitar.”

”I didn’t play for a long time but I felt it would be nice to do that for a special occasion.”

”And this is that special occasion?”

”Yes,” Copia said, smile wide, and picked up the case, still holding your other hand. ”Let’s go.”

You let Copia lead you away from the stairs, taking then turn to right and head behind the church. It was kind of hard to see when there were no working lights around on your path but you trusted that Copia, or vampires in general, had a good night vision. You tried your best at not to trip on any branches of bushes or anything else that grew or were on the ground as you walked forward and realized that maybe your choice of trousers and coat wasn’t the best.

Copia took you all the way to the back of the church and then continued forward where there seemed to be some smaller building. You walked past that, and then you could see another, a bigger building rising before you. Copia stopped by the metallic staircase and motioned you to go first.

”Is this safe?” you asked, eyeing the stairs suspiciously.

”Yes,” Copia said softly, gently patting your back and urging you forward.

You started climbing, the metal under your feet giving a small noises with every step. It was kind of unnerving but knowing that Copia was there with you, made you feel safer. With Copia’s instructions you climbed until you reached the roof and when you turned to look at towards the church, the sight that greeted you was so pretty. You could see the city spread out before you in all its night glory, the lights shining in different shades near and far, the moon casting its light above you.

”Wow,” you said in awe. ”I had no idea that you can see the city from here.”

”Well, now you know,” Copia said, stepping beside you and putting the guitar case down. ”This is one of my favorite places, I have spent so many nights here.”

”I can see why.”

You took a glance at Copia, seeing him looking at you with a soft, happy expression.

”What?” you asked, now properly turning to Copia.

”I thought that if I ever found someone… special I would bring them here,” Copia spoke softly, a dreamy smile on his lips. ”This is a part of my world – the quiet, oftentimes lonely nights. But seeing all this made me feel less lonely, no matter how odd it sounds.”

Something tugged at your heartstrings and you instinctively moved closer to Copia and wrapped your arms around him to comfort him. He relaxed into the embrace and for a while you just stood there, in silence.

”So this is a date, then?” you eventually broke the silence, pulling slightly back so that you could look at Copia.

”Sí, obviously.”

You smiled, moving your hand and giving him a light, playful shove to the upper arm.

”Such a romantic,” you teased, making Copia laugh, a proper, deep laugh this time. You loved the sound of it, your smile only growing wider. It always felt good when you made him laugh.

”Always have been,” he said, maybe half-jokingly, then leaning in and placing a kiss on your forehead. ”Now, sit down and get ready for some guitar tunes.”

You didn’t have to be told twice so you sat down, eager to hear Copia playing. While you waited Copia to take his time for getting ready, you let your gaze admire the night lights, and hoped that you had taken your notebook and pen with you. It wasn’t typical for you to leave home without them but this time you had thought that you would rather enjoy the moment as it was, without any distraction.

”Here,” Copia soon said, your gaze falling to the worn-out notebook he was handing to you. ”There’s some pieces of lyrics I’ve written.”

Surprised you took the notebook, examining the cover. There seemed to be some symbol on it, like it was embedded on it but due to darkness and wear and tear you couldn’t make out exactly what it was. Just as you hesitantly opened the notebook, Copia played the first chords, and you removed your other mitten and took your phone out of your pocket, putting the flashlight on and pointing it towards the page. Words were written in black ink, handwriting looking pretty and for a moment you just admired it.

Copia was now playing properly, the soft, slow melody filling your ears and you started to read the words. The longer you read and the more you listened Copia’s playing, it felt like the words on the pages and the melody matched well sometimes. Whether it was intentional or just a coincidence, it was beautiful nonetheless. Then you closed your eyes, for a moment just focusing on the sound of the guitar, letting the music paint a picture in your head. Sadness, longing, hope.

It didn’t take a long before you were caught off guard by a low, sweet voice. You opened your eyes, turning to look at Copia completely in awe. You had had no idea that he could also sing but it certainly was a nice surprise. With a smile on your lips, you just listened to him, enjoyed how his voice seemed to reach somewhere deep and touch you in a way you couldn’t quite explain. It was truly beautiful and you could swear that if you hadn’t already fallen for Copia it had certainly happened now, right in this moment.

When Copia eventually stopped singing and played the last chords, you put your phone and Copia’s notebook down and plunged then forward to smash you lips against his. Copia let out a surprised noise, then melting into the kiss, his other hand cupping your cheek. You balanced yourself by leaning against Copia’s shoulders with your hands as your mouths explored one another slowly. There were so many things you hoped you could say but didn’t have words for so you had to try to convey them all through the kiss.

Way too soon air became needed for you so reluctantly you pulled away, searching for Copia’s gaze, your heart beating faster inside your chest.

”That was amazing,” you breathed out, knowing it was quite an understatement but right now you had no better words to offer. Copia grinned.

”I’m glad you liked it.”

”Liked it? I loved it!” you stated emphatically. ”You really have a beautiful voice and the lyrics… Wow, I’m impressed.”

Now Copia was basically beaming and you couldn’t help but lean to place a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. It made him chuckle and you felt the sound of it in your heart, the warmth spreading all over you.

”You definitely need to play and sing more,” you said smiling. ”Have you ever played for the audience?”

Copia nodded. ”Si, but it’s been decades since the last time. For some reason I lost a bit of the spark to do that even tough it was fun. But I think that tonight I might have gotten a part of that spark back.”

The way Copia’s eyes shined even in the darkness of the night, made you feel so happy.

”Are you implying that I inspired you to pick up the guitar and start singing again?”

Copia flashed you a crooked smile, raising his other brow.

”Well, you’re an artist yourself, so you probably understand how the inspiration works.”

You nodded, lifting your hand up to caress Copia’s cheek.

”Oh, I know that very well.”

Copia leaned against your touch, smiling sweetly, and you were so glad that he chose this night to spread out his heart and show more of himself. This was a perfect date, if you were honest. While you would have been completely fine with the basic movie or dinner date, this seemed more… you and Copia if that made sense. You weren’t even sure how dinner date would even work with a vampire.

”What’s going on in that sweet head of yours?” Copia interrupted your train of thoughts and you shook your head.

”It’s silly…” you started, lowering your gaze. ”I was just thinking how perfect this date has been. And I was wondering how it would have worked if we had had a dinner date instead.”

Copia moved his hand under you chin, gently making you to look at him.

You hummed, running your fingers along Copia’s cheeks, stopping right upon his upper lip. Copia’s lips parted slightly and you could see the fangs coming out, a wind-like movement passing you before settling into a warm vibration around you.

”That’s not silly,” he spoke softly. ”I’m happy that this has been a great date for you and I have also enjoyed this so much. And what comes for the dinner date… Well, I can eat human food but it doesn’t do much, you know. It would have been a bit weird for me but I would have managed it, of course. But it didn’t feel right for us so I wanted to do this.”

”With you I feel more like a human,” Copia said quietly, caressing your chin with his thumb. ”But I also hate these vampire aspects less.”

Smiling, you leaned closer to Copia’s face, watching closely how his other eye changed its color to red, how his nose twitched and you felt that odd satisfaction deep down as you knew that your scent was causing that. Naturally you had to close the gap between you, capture Copia’s lips in a kiss again, your mouths easily finding a perfect, slow rhythm. The night was cool and his lips felt cold against yours but you felt so warm within. It wasn’t a full, blazing fire but something more gentle, lingering – like a fluffy blanket wrapped around you. You hoped you never would have to let go of that feeling.

With a fluttering heart you pulled then back, smile matching to Copia’s as your gazes met. There was so much to see in those beautiful mismatched eyes, whole books of stories, remnants of the long life lived and you were already so lost in the vastness of it, the world you were now the highlight of.

The next thing seemed to happen in a blink of an eye and you found yourself to be pinned down against the cold surface of the roof, guitar now resting on the side and Copia hovering above you, his gaze taking in the sight of you. Gently he took a hold of you hand, pulling the mitten away and bringing your wrist close to his lips, then placing a light kiss on it, making you shudder.

”Could you feed off from me?” you asked, feeling how Copia tensed for a moment.

”Now?” he asked, confused, and you nodded, surprising yourself a bit by that.

”Yes, if you want to.”

Copia stared at you as if he was looking for any signs that could tell you weren’t actually serious. Then he inhaled deeply your scent, your wrist still close to his lips and you could see how tempting your offer had been. Then he shook his head, placing another kiss to your wrist.

”As much I would like to do that, now’s not the right moment,” he said, letting go of your hand, leaning closer and cupping you face. ”I’m not ready for that yet.”

You felt slight disappointment tying its knot within you but this wasn’t all about you or what you wanted. You didn’t want to drive Copia away by being too eager or persistent.

”It’s okay,” you said, offering Copia a reassuring smile. ”I can wait.”

A half-smile passed Copia’s lips as he run his fingers along the side of your face.

”It would hurt no matter how careful I would be. Until the venom kicks in, at least.”

”It can’t be that bad, right?” you sighed, and Copia made a face at that.

”Well, it doesn’t hurt as much as turning into a vampire but it still hurts.”

You pondered his words for a while, trying to imagine different kind of pain levels but of course you couldn’t grasp the reality as you had no idea how it would be. The idea of him biting you, feeding off from you, was still intriguing and you weren’t going to take back your offer.

”Okay, enough of this serious talk…” you said, changing the subject. ”Could we leave now? It’s getting a bit cold.”

Copia was instantly on his feet, extending his hand to you, his usual warm smile returning to his lips.

”Sure, I’ll walk you home.”

taglist: @nijiru

#papa emeritus iv x reader #copia x reader #ghost band fic #ghost band fanfic #jen writes fics

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scarletslippers · 4 months

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Nace Countdown to Christmas - Day 18

(From this post of relationship milestone prompts)

On AO3

first major purchase together

“I have to take Florence into the shop. Can you follow me and give me a lift to work tomorrow?”

Nancy drops the case file she’s reading and looks up. “Again? What happened to her now?”

“Routine maintenance this time. I’m having Nick look at her.” He sighs and pushes his hair back. “I’m worried she might need to retire from long-distance road trips.”

Nancy feels the ache bloom in her own chest with memories of their trips in Florence. Ferrying her safely to New York to remove the wraith. That mini-vacation they took to Portland. Trips home from med school, with Christmas music blasting on the radio and Ace smirking at her singing.

“Oh, Ace.”

“I know. We might need to think about buying a car. Still use our own cars for routine stuff, but to have one that’s in better shape for longer treks.”

Nancy quirks her lips at his implication. “Are you suggesting I also give up the Sunbeam? I made it up and down the coast catching sin eaters in that thing!”

Ace leans down to press a kiss to her forehead. “I love the Sunbeam, and I would never suggest you give it up. But I also wouldn’t complain about you driving a more nondescript vehicle when tracking criminals.” He pulls back, catching her skeptical gaze. “Just think about it.”

————

Her hands are shaking, even as she grips the wheel tightly and forces deep breaths, trying to tamp down the panic. Ace will be here soon, she reminds herself, replaying his words over and over in her mind.

Stay put, he’d said when she called, her trembling voice forcing out only his name. I’m on my way.

She shudders out another breath at the flash of headlights in her rear view. She’d know them anywhere.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he says when he opens the door, kneeling and tugging her into his arms. “It’s okay, you’re okay. I’m here. I’ve got you.”

She slides her arms around his waist and presses her face into his chest. He’s a blanket of comfort—warm and strong, his heartbeat beneath her ear and the smell of their detergent in her nose.

“I was tailing that guy, and…I got run off the road,” she mumbles into his jacket, when her breath steadies a bit.

“But you’re okay?”

Nancy nods. “I’m not hurt, just panicky.”

“Okay.” His hand rubs soft circles against her back, soothing her tension. “Did you get the plate number?”

She snorts.

“Right, stupid question. I’ll text it to Tamura later.”

“Thanks,” Nancy says as she pulls back from his embrace, managing a weak smile and tucking her hair behind her ears.

Ace’s thumb catches a stray tear at the corner of her eye. “Are you good to drive home? Or did you want to swap?”

“I’m good. You’ll follow me?”

“Yeah.” He kisses her forehead and stands, making sure she’s settled.

Once she’s buckled again he moves to close the door, but she stops him. “Ace? I think we should get that new car.”

#nace #nace fanfiction #nancy drew cw #cw nancy drew #nace countdown to christmas 2023 #my fic #nancy and ace #oops its 500 words and it got a little angsty #it was only a matter of time my friends

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s-creations · 8 months

Note

🛁🛁 platonic bathing in like a lake or small river with the M & L & W²

🛁 Bathing together/platonic bathing (specifiy)

((Woof, this one is long and rather difficult to write, enjoy!))

Link to Post

Mario and Luigi couldn’t help but let out a groan as they dropped on their bags. Both followed soon after. Sitting on the ground as they leaned against the other in exhaustion.

“You two really aren’t built for hiking? With all the stuff you’ve done so far? This is a worrisome development.” Waluigi casually pointed out as he placed down his own bag. Further back, Wario was already doing his best to set up the large tents, grumbling as he did so.

“We’re not really one for nature.” Luigi argued back.

“City boys, right here, all our lives, never left the city limits. This is different for us.” Mario added on.

“...Wow. Mushroom Kingdom heroes, right here. Can’t handle a little bit of nature.”

The conversation paused when Wario let out a cry of triumph. Who stood back from his handing work on getting the two large tents set up. With that out of the way, he turned to join the conversation properly. “Think your sensitive skin is going to bruise sleeping on the ground?”

“Very funny,” Mario huffed, “This is just a different kind of terrain for us. Give us some slack.”

“Absolutely not! As your mentor, it’s our duty to make sure you’re ready for any situation.”

“Okay, ‘mentor’, what lesson are we being taught here?”

“How to rough it, in a very moderate way. If we need to leave the Mushroom Kingdom for something major, our best bet might need to be a sneak approach. So, how do we survive the wilderness with very little with us? We’re taking it easy on you two this round.”

The twins groaned again, but didn’t argue back. Merely standing once more with their bags still resting on the ground. Mario stated, “Alright, what’s the first thing we need to get done.”

“Well, we have the tents set up-”

“I have the tents set up.” Wario interrupted his brother with his arms crossed.

“Fine, whatever, they’re set up is the bottom line. Now we get the rest prepared and properly stored away.”

Bottom line, it took a few hours before the camp was properly set up. Each twin paired with another brother so enough information was covered. Food safely stored, a place for a small campfire, tents secured so each set of brothers had their area set up for sleep.

“And…that’s it,” Waluigi looked around, “We have it all set up. Nicely done you two.”

“That wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.” Luigi admitted.

“Well, with that being done, we should probably-”

“Heads up!”

That was the only warning given before Waluigi had grabbed onto the twin’s arms and pulled them out of the way. Rushing past the three was Wario, now wearing only his underwear, let out a loud ‘Woop!’ as he jumped into the river. Creating a large enough splash that Waluigi had to pull them all back further with a look of disgust.

“Do you mind!” Waluigi huffed as his brother’s head popped out of the water’s surface.

“No, I don’t,” Wario smirked back, “What are you worked up about? You’re gonna be getting here soon enough.”

“That doesn’t mean I want the rest of my clothing wet!”

“What is happening right now?” Mario cautiously asked.

“Bathtime,” Waluigi replied simply, “We’re disgusting and this is the closest thing we’re going to get to clean water. Come on, clothes off.”

“Um…we’re good.”

“No you’re not. Trust me, nothing is more aggravating than trying to sleep covered in a good layer of dirt. You’re not going to be in your birthday suit, just your underwear, you’re fine.” Waluigi casually commented as he started doing as he suggested.

Mario and Luigi gave each other a worried glance before starting to do the same.

“How long are you lot going to take, I’m almost done!” Wario called out.

“Not without soap you’re not!” Waluigi argued back, “I’m not going to be stuck in that tent with you if you’re going to smell like sweat.”

“I have water washing over me.”

“That is not enough.”

Being the first of the twins to approach the river’s edge, Luigi let out a yelp as he pulled his foot back out of the moving water. “It’s freezing!”

“Well, yeah, this isn’t indoor plumbing. Nothing’s here to heat it up,” Waluigi stuck his foot in, “And it’s not that bad. Come on, in you go.”

The twins stuck close together as they inched into the water. Realizing it wasn’t as cold as they originally thought it was. But still keeping their arms crossed to hold into the stable point of warmth they created. Only for that plan to end when Mario suddenly felt hands in his hair. Waving his own arms in a desperate attempt to push the other away.

“What are you doing!?” Mario turned, glaring at Wario. Who was holding a sheepish smile with shampoo covering his hands.

“What? Just trying to help.”

“I can wash my own hair, thank you.”

“With how much you were whining about being tired? No way. Now hold still!”

Luigi only watched as Wario quickly wrapped an arm around the other twin and furiously scrubbed his fingers into Mario’s hand. All the while, the fire user was kicking his legs in an attempt to get Wario to stop or to break away from it. Just as Wario started, Mario was able to slip out. Quickly diving under the water to make his escape. Only for Wario to follow close behind.

He was pulled away from the ‘fight’ feeling a tap on his shoulder. Finding Waluigi there with shampoo pools in his other hand. “Keep your eyes close.”

“Okay.” Luigi smiled softly and faced forward again. Remaining still as fingers gently ran through his hair.

Both respectfully ignoring the ‘fight’ between their brothers.

#s-creations #s-creations answers #anonymous asks #drabble #emoji prompts #writing prompts #yellow purple red green #mario #luigi #mario and luigi #wario #waluigi #wario and waluigi #they're all brother!#either by blood or by begrudging choice!#don't make this weird!#if anyone marks anything of a pairing you're being blocked!

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kate-bishops-waifu · 2 months

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"Ow."

A/N: Uhhhhh I kind of hate it but these cluster headaches have been so bad that I needed to give this to myself. Do not be surprised if I delete it later, as I am already terrified to post it. Very very mild blink and you'll miss it suggestive moment.

Word count: 1336

Library Date Gone wrong.

Kate whined a little pathetically and swore under her breath. tossing her handheld console on the couch, she dramatically pouted at the girl sitting next to her who was pointedly ignoring her complaints. She leaned over resting her head on one of the pillows and squinted her eyes hoping to garner some kind of attention. This proved unsuccessful.

“It happened again.”

Ophelia didn't make any discernible response, keeping her nose in her book. Kate went on.

“That same kid- every time. I start a match and he's there, messing up my score. You know he was one assist better than me? One! I think I cussed him out the other night. He might be a hacker. Do you think he has some kind of vendetta? Should I kick his ass? I think he's like 12 I told you I talked to him on chat once-”

Ophelia nodded vaguely.

“Babe, how are you still awake right now?”

That earned her a gentle shushing.

“I literally can't stay awake, I read like, one chapter and I'm zonked. How are you still so concentrated?”

“Mmph.” Ophelia mildly grumbled, then shut her book. “Too loud.”

“But- this is the fourth time. You know I got his user-”

“You know I love when you talk about your games but darling we had such a nice quiet little moment there. Can you tell me about Fortnite later?”

Kate huffed. “You kinda sound like that librarian. And I know you know I'm not playing fortnite.”

“She wasn't uptight, you were just being a bit loud.”

Kate smiled smugly. “Well I got you to pay attention to me.”

This was answered with a patient sigh.

Kate plopped her face on Ophelia's shoulder and whined once more. This did earn her a scratch on the head. She turned her head and looked up, running an index finger over ophelia's cheek. “You have dents in your cheeks. They're all sunken in like a corpse.”

“. . . Is that a compliment?”

“Yes.” Kate sat up, scooting even closer and gently ran a hand down Ophelia's side, sliding further until she reached hip and pressed her lips against the shell of her ear. “There's noone around,” hip gave way to thigh, where she bunched a bit of skirt into a fist.

Ophelia couldn't help her face feeling warm, shying away ever so slightly. “M-maybe right now's not the best idea- I'm sorry I just,”

Kate shook her head, a smile on her lips, “you’re good.”

“It's my favorite library is all an-”

“Babygirl you're fine. I'm just gonna stretch my legs ‘kay?”

“Zoomies?” Ophelia asked, hugging her book to her stomach.

“Yup.” Kate beamed and kissed her girl's forehead, hopping off the couch in the same movement and disappearing.

OphelIa settled a little more into the couch, keeping her feet up on the table and reached over for the coat Kate had left. She unfurled it and draped it over her legs like a blanket, pulling the collar up to sniff before picking her book back up again. Absently, she began to play with the fidget necklace around her neck, a gift from Kate.

It was forty five minutes before Kate returned, two single slice pizza boxes in one hand and sipping on a sugary coffee from the other.

For a moment she thought Ophelia had abandoned their stuff on the couch, but then she noticed her coat shift and she giggled to herself.

“Are you hiding there?” She set the food on the table and went to pull the coat off Ophelia’s head but was met with resistance. “You okay?” She pulled again, lifting it all the way off. The girl underneath was curled up as tightly as she could manage in the corner of the couch, the heel of her hand pressed into her right eye. “Woah, okay, not okay. What’s going on?”

Ophelia gave what amounted to a pretty pathetic “Oww.” and shifted to sit up.

“Headache?” Kate pulled Ophelia’s hand away from her face.

She nodded. Her right eye was watering, and slightly red from pressing it too hard.

“Did you bring your meds?”

She shook her head.

“Okay here, drink this. It’s coffee.” Kate handed her drink over, and with eyes closed Ophelia turned the straw towards herself and took a long sip. She pulled away for a moment, pursing her lips. “I know it’s a little sweet,” Kate smiled, her voice low. Ophelia took another sip anyway, and Kate replaced the coat over her head. “Let’s get you home yeah?” Kate gathered their things, slinging both of their bags over her shoulder and helping the beleaguered girl up from the couch.

Ophelia held on to Kate, her arms wrapped so she could hold the cold cup against her temple. She had to press herself against Kate so she didn’t feel like she would fall. It was an awkward trip through the library to Kate’s old purple VW Beetle where Ophelia curled up as tightly as she could in the passenger seat.

The ride home was short, and more painful than she wanted to admit, Ophelia’s head was getting worse by the moment, and every sharp turn or hard rev of the engine made it worse. Kate was such an enthusiastic driver, for want of a better term. She usually found some excuse to drive faster than the speed limit and she had become rather adept at weaving through traffic. Thankfully they made it to their apartment before long and Kate helped her out of the car, “I’ll carry you in?”

Ophelia gave what Kate assumed was a nod, and reached up. Kate maneuvered her arms around her neck and lifted her out of the car, Ophelia’s legs wrapping around her middle. She buried her face in Kate’s neck.

“Atta girl. Hey, I can totally see your petticoats. Cover up slut.” Kate whispered, earning a half hearted kick.

It was a bit tricky getting inside, but Kate managed to get the door unlocked, drop their bags by the front door, and get Ophelia upstairs and into bed without tripping on Lucky who was sniffing excitedly at her legs.

“There you go, let’s get you something more comfortable to wear?”

“Meds?” Ophelia whined from between the pillows.

“Right. Yeah. Where are they?”

She was met only with a shuttered cry, and a sharp point to the bedside table.

Kate did a clumsy half jump half crawl over the bed and tore open the drawer where she sorted through a couple varieties of pills before coming upon the right one. “Here, here, drink some water and take this. It’s gonna taste really bad so I’ll grab you something sour. That helps right?”

Ophelia only writhed in pain, one arm shooting up to pull Kate down with her.

“Okay-okay shh it’s okay.” Kate adjusted them so she was sitting against the pillow with Ophelia’s head tucked into the softest part of her shoulder, tears staining her shirt pretty quickly. “We should really get you into something more comfortable,” A shake of the head. “No, no right. Umm just- oh- hey. Look who's come to check on you.”

There was a dip in the mattress as Lucky hopped up sniffing at Ophelia’s dark curls, and settling down, his muzzle pressed against her back.

“See? It can’t be so bad, Pizza Dog’s here. He’ll, um, heal you with his gourmet pizza and nasty kisses?”

It must have been an hour or more before Ophelia fell asleep, her body exhausted from the pain. Kate couldn’t tell, but she breathed a final sigh of relief that there was no more of that terrifying writhing. She’d been kidnapped, jumped off skyscrapers, even shot at, but at the moment that felt totally mundane. A problem she could shoot at or hit. She didn’t know how to deal with this, as rare as they were. She hoped her heart wasn’t beating hard enough to wake the sleeping girl. She took a long deep breath, gave Lucky a pat on the head and closed her eyes.

#f/o #fictional other #selfship #fictional lover #selfshipping

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tswaney17 · 1 year

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Daddy's Snowball

This might be the cheesiest of cheesy fluff that it's almost cringeworthy. 😅 My one Christmas fic turned into an AU (honestly, who's even surprised?) so there will be three, possibly four parts to this that I'll be posting throughout the month. This first part, basically Az being a simp for his wife and son. Enjoy, and happy holiday's! 💙

My fanfic account: @tswaney17fics

My ao3 account: tswaney17

Please let me know what you think about this update. I love getting your feedback. Constructive criticism is always welcome. 💕

Trigger warnings: tooth-decaying fluff.

Word Count: 1,820

Azriel had his hands, elbow-deep in the sink as he finished washing the dishes from their breakfast. Elain had made a brioche French toast that was unbelievably delicious—though everything she made was always wonderful.

His wife was currently cleaning the syrupy mess that was their son. By the time he finished eating, Azriel was pretty sure more of the sugar glue had ended up on his face and hands than in his mouth. He smiled to himself at the image.

Sunday was always his favorite day of the week. Because, on Sunday, he, Elain, and Kaden sat down for breakfast and then spent the rest of the day together. Sometimes they planned little day trips. Others, they spent lounging around the house just playing with their son. Kaden had quickly caught on to their Sunday rituals and started voicing his own suggestions for what they should do. Going to the zoo, watching a movie, or spending the afternoon at the park were just a few of his many ideas.

He was finishing up wiping off the counter when a little hand tugged at his pant leg.

“Daddy,” Kaden looked up at him with those large, pleading eyes that had his heart melting in his chest. “Can we go outside to pway in the snow?”

A smile took over his face. “Of course. But we need to get our snow gear on.” He dropped the towel on the counter and held his hand out for him. “Come on, let’s go get changed.”

Small, tanned fingers grabbed his ring finger and pinky as they walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his bedroom. Azriel grabbed all of Kaden’s winter clothing, his snow pants, and a sweater, helping him change. “Your jacket is by the door and so are your boots. I’ll meet you down there.”

“Tank you, daddy!” he called, racing from his bedroom.

Az chuckled, shaking his head at the hyperactivity his son was now displaying from his sugary breakfast. Quickly pulling on his rain pants over his jeans and thick socks, he met Kaden at the back door where Elain was zipping up his jacket.

“Don’t forget your gloves,” she told their son, helping him stuff his hands into snow gloves. “And a hat,” Elain added with a giggle, flopping a blue beanie on top of his rogue curls.

She turned, eyes beaming. “You too,” she said and tugged a beanie over Azriel’s head.

He leaned forward for a quick kiss as their son slid open the door and plunged into the snow. “Can I convince you to join us?”

“Oh, no. It’s much too cold for me. Plus, this is good to spend time with him alone. I’ll make some hot chocolate for you guys and come get you in about an hour.”

Azriel pecked her soft, pink lips again. “You’re too good to me.”

Elain’s fingers slipped into the hair at his nape, holding him there for a few more seconds.

He would’ve stayed rooted to the spot in the open doorway, kissing his fucking amazing, beautiful wife, had a high pitched, “Daddy!” not beckoned him to the frozen wasteland they called their backyard. Elain’s gardens flourished the rest of the year, but very little could thrive in Velaris’s harsh winters.

“Coming, buddy!” he called out, closing the door behind him as he trudged out in the nearly two-foot-deep white blanket that covered their yard.

It was cold enough that Kaden didn’t sink too far in, the underneath layer frozen. But Az’s heavy, muscular body sent his steps nearly to the ground. He snatched his son around the waist, tossing him in the air and catching him under his arms.

Kaden squealed, falling into him as they both landed in the snow, the little one on his chest. The happy giggles coming from his son’s lips were one of his favorite sounds, ones he collected like precious stones to store and take out when he was having a bad day.

“Can you do a snow angel, Kaden?” he asked, lying him down on his back.

Those hazel and green eyes looked up at him in such wonderment. Azriel sometimes forgot how innocent children were until Kaden came into his and Elain’s lives. They were his providers, his caregivers, his everything. It gave him whiplash how much their lives had changed since his adoption.

“Okay,” he started, positioning his limbs. “Be a starfish.” He followed his orders, his limbs forming a spread eagle. “Now slide your arms up and down.”

Kaden’s arms shuffled, pushing the snow around.

“And your legs,” he guided gripping the tip of his boots to direct him into the proper motion. “All right, up we go.” Az grabbed him and hauled him into his arms. “Look at your snow angel, buddy!”

Those eyes widened in child-like astonishment. “Now you, daddy!”

Setting Kaden down on the ground, Azriel flopped back into the snow, swishing his limbs to create his angel right next to his son’s. White powder dusted his dark hair, collected at the collar of his jacket, but he didn’t care. Not when it produced the precious, toothy grin on his son’s face.

“You’re so big,” Kaden stated, pointing at his snow angel once he climbed back to his feet. “Will I get big like you, daddy?”

He ruffled dark hair under his beanie. His soul softened every time Kaden called him that name—it had taken a while for him to grow comfortable with it.

At one point in his life, Azriel believed he’d never be worthy of a wife, of children. And then Elain came along and turned every doubt, every insecurity, into something he fought to concur. His demons, his past, they couldn’t touch him because of her love, her undying affection. He adored her for it.

“One day, you’ll be as big and strong as me,” Az promised, cradling the back of his head, and letting his thumb swoop in his loose curls. He could see it, with Kaden copying a lot of what he did. Elain had probably two hundred photos and videos on her phone, catching him grabbing more meat and veggies after Azriel did, trying to mimic him doing pushups when he worked out at home, sitting at his desk scribbling on paper pretending to work with him, tinkering in his shed with him. It was, undoubtedly, the cutest thing.

Those sweet eyes lit up at his words. A few weeks ago, Kaden announced he wanted to be “just like daddy,” and Azriel would be lying if he said that proclamation had him both puffing up his chest in pride and wanting to sob at the same time. It also had him stepping up his game to be an even better role model for his son.

They rolled around in the snow, tossing handfuls of it up into the air and letting it rain down on them, when he asked, “Kaden, do you want me to show you how to make a snowball?”

“Yes! Show me, daddy!” he cheered, running to plop himself on the ground next to Azriel’s hip.

He grabbed a handful of snow, forming and shaping it into a perfect sphere, explaining to Kaden how to pack it and smooth out the edges. Over his many years of snowball fights with his brothers, he learned quickly how to create the perfect ball.

His son watched him attentively, trying to copy his movements. “Like this, daddy?” he asked, presenting Azriel with a misshapen white blob of snow.

Az had to hold in his chuckle, knowing that as soon as Kaden threw it, the ball would disintegrate in midair. “Very good, buddy. Would you like me to help you make one of daddy’s snowballs?”

He nodded his head enthusiastically.

Digging into the ground, he told him, “First off, you want to get the right kind of snow. The top layer is typically too soft to hold together, so go down a little bit and get some of the firmer snow underneath.” He helped Kaden dig down, collecting a handful of snow in his small, gloved palms.

“Next, we want to pack it together.” Folding his hands over his sons, he helped him tighten the snow into a firm ball. “And then, shape it so it’s round.” He dusted off some of the rougher edges until it was smooth. “And there we go, a perfect snowball.”

Az lifted Kaden to his feet, aiming him for one of the close trees. “Try and hit the trunk.”

He threw the snowball with all his might, the frozen thing missing the tree by a good three feet. Az laughed. “Good try, bud. Here, let’s make more and try it again.”

Sitting on the ground, not caring that his ass was currently frozen, he made snowball after snowball for his son who took every single one in an attempt to hit the tree trunk.

Finally, after thirty balls or so, he did, the bark covered in a splotch of white. “Daddy!” he screamed in delight. “I did it! Did you see?” A little body came crashing into his chest, arms thrown around his neck.

“Awesome job, Kaden!” He hugged him tightly, taking every advantage he got while his son was still young, knowing that when he got older, hugs would become less and less frequent. The realization had him holding Kaden closer.

The sound of the sliding door opening caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Elain, leaning against the doorframe with a smile gracing her face.

“Boys, come inside before you freeze. I’ve made hot chocolate,” she beckoned.

Azriel rose to his feet, still holding his son against his chest.

“With marshmallows, momma?”

Gods, the smile on Elain’s lips would one day make his heart stop. It was so beautiful, so bright, that it lit up the darkest corners of his troubled past. Made him feel warmth, unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

“Yes, with marshmallows. I’ve already put some in your cocoa.” She leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss Kaden’s reddened cheek and then placed another on his. “Come in before you let all the hot air out.”

He set his son down, halting him when he started to run off to the kitchen. “Boots and jacket off, buddy. We don’t track snow all through momma’s house.”

After stripping him down to appropriate houseware, Kaden took off for the kitchen where yet another sugary concoction was waiting for him. “He’s going to be bouncing off the walls today.”

Elain laughed, looping her arm with his. “Yeah, well, he’s sweet and deserves it.”

Azriel looked down at her in awe. Because he knew she was right. They wanted to spoil their son with love, and he did just that. Sitting down at the table, he clinked his mug with Kaden’s and then Elain’s, thinking just how lucky he was to have this perfect little family.

~~~~~~

Remember, sharing is caring! Please reblog if you liked the fic. It helps spread my work and I truly appreciate it. 💕

I’m not doing a tag list anymore because they’re really more trouble than they’re worth. For notifications, you can follow and subscribe to my fanfic account where I will be reblogging updates and snippets only. You can also find me on ao3.

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lunarsands · 10 months

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Empires SMP S1 Fanfic: Once Around the Empires, Pt 1

Characters: PearlescentMoon, MythicalSausage, Scott Smajor, Xornoth (elf version), Shubble, Pixlriffs, GeminiTay, fWhip, LDShadowLady, Joel Smallishbeans, Joey Graceffa, Jimmy Solidarity, Katherine Elizabeth, and a small flock of adopted children

Relationships: MythicalSausage/Scott Smajor, LDShadowLady/Joel Smallishbeans, Katherine/Shrub

Tags: Empires SMP S1 AU, scosage, nature wives, adoption, wholesome, fluff Note: acknowledgement of amputation (not sure how else to tag that but just in case)

Summary: Having noticed that fatherhood is wearing on Scott and Sausage, Pearl suggests that the rest of the rulers take some turns at babysitting their kids. Everyone gets a learning experience: the children as well as the emperors. In particular, Lizzie gets in over her head, some poignant moments occur, and - as tends to happen with these things – somehow they lose track of who has the baby.

(Also available on Ao3!)

[ A/N: The story of how Scott and Sausage ended up together (and how Sausage came to lose an arm) is currently a WIP by @cynthrey. The story of how they ended up adopting over a half dozen children is the sequel that I’m currently working on.

This particular short fic, in the meantime, was requested by @dianealmera ! | I’m doing something unusual this time, however, and only posting one part for now because I feel bad for how long it has taken to write this! The ADHD and focus issues have been real recently, so the rest is still WIP, but the outline is completed. I just need to fill it out! Please bear with me, and any words of encouragement to kick my focus back into gear would be greatly appreciated :crying emoji: ]

[Bonus: A Small Introduction to The Children of Mythland!]

- - -

Part One

Since she was the one sitting next to Sausage during the quarterly meeting of the empires, Pearl was the first to notice his head start to bob downward – and noticed as his eyes drooped closed, and as he emitted a faint snore. She leaned over to nudge him in the side, although was careful not to hit her own elbow against the metal of his prosthetic arm. His eyes fluttered open but he remained slightly hunched and looked like he would nod off again any second.

While Joey continued to complain at the rest of the group, Pearl whispered to Sausage, “Hey, sleepyhead. Are the proceedings that boring for you? I mean, I’m antsy, myself, but you clearly need a nap.”

“Hm-mph. Sorry,” Sausage mumbled in response. “Mariposa was crying half the night, then one of the twins had a nightmare and kept us awake the other half.”

“Aw, poor kid. Well, poor you and Scott as well, but, which one? I’ll go tell her I’ll kick the scary stuff’s butt for her.”

“I… I’m too tired to remember which one right now.”

“Oof, you really are out of it if you can’t tell your daughters apart.”

Sausage scrunched up his face a little as if that might help his memory. Then he reached across with his left hand to cover the bottom of his eye scar with one finger. “Not this one.”

Pearl figured he was indicating the twin who happened to have a little scar of her own under her right eye. “Oh, Rayen, then.”

“No, no. Not visible.”

“So, Seren.”

“I… think so?”

“You know what, I’ll just talk to them both.” Pearl cast a glance past him. “Scott looks tired, too, but he’s definitely more awake than you are right now.” Just as she said it, the elf in question sitting to Sausage’s left unabashedly yawned without covering his mouth. Seated next to him, Xornoth raised an eyebrow at his brother. For a second Pearl met Xornoth’s gaze and he quirked his other eyebrow, nodding toward Sausage. “I spoke too soon.”

“Elves kinda… have a better handle on sleep issues. Goes with the long life span, I guess…”

“I’m sure elves can be troubled by their children having nightmares, too. While we’re on the topic, if I ask you which of your kids are elves and which are human, will you be able to remember that?”

Sausage snorted quietly. “I’m not that bad off, come on now!”

“Then tell me.”

“The oldest three are elves, the rest are human. See, I got this.”

“Now that’s a tricky answer. Aren’t Liana and Ilan the same age? Got you there, didn’t I?” Pearl grinned. “Anyway, I assume quiet would help you some. It will be breaktime soon so maybe you can take a ten-minute power nap. I guess it was just bad timing you were hosting the meeting this round.”

“Can’t exactly cancel things at the last minute just because of a fussy infant…” Sausage then also yawned. He propped his head up on his prosthetic hand, elbow resting heavily on the table. Pearl expected to hear the metal struts creak from the weight.

She considered the matter and decided she would bring up an idea to the others when the slightly-more-awake Scott announced it was time for a recess.

Once the two kings of Mythland had excused themselves to check on the kids – and maybe grab the suggested powernap – Pearl swiftly blocked the doorway of the council room to get everyone’s attention. “Just a quick thing I wanted to share before everyone wanders off: I think we’ve all noticed how worn out those two have been, especially today, and they’re real troopers, but I had a thought that maybe we could help out Mythland with more than just trade deals. Would anyone like to join me in extending an invitation to babysit their kids for a little while?”

A few questioning eyebrows were raised, as well as uncertain looks. Shrub was the first speak up. “So, like a vacation trip for the kids and a vacation from the kids for Scott and Sausage?”

Pearl smiled, “Exactly.”

Pix cupped his chin in thought. “I do have to be honest here, while they’ve adapted to having seven kids at once, it might be difficult for one of us to handle all of that out of the blue. Especially a baby…”

“Maybe,” Gem suggested, “We could take turns with only two of them at a time, and someone gets Mariposa on her own, since she would need the most attention without other distractions.”

“You read my mind, Gem,” Pearl said. She glanced toward the Ocean Queen. “Lizzie, I remember you commenting about wanting to steal Mariposa at her debut, what do you say now? Want to try out babysitting an infant for a few days?”

Lizzie’s eyes brightened and she grabbed Joel’s arm. “Oh, yes! Let’s try it out, my dear husband!”

Joel uttered a sigh. “If you insist. Thanks for the suggestion, Pearl.”

“You’re welcome, Joel,” Pearl chirped in reply. She then glanced around at everyone else for their thoughts. “I’ll start by taking Rayen since she’s so rambunctious. Maybe some sparring lessons will burn off some of that energy. And Azahar since he has started training to be a knight.”

“Then I’ll take Elowen and Ilan,” Gem offered, “Since they’re learning magic.

“Hmm,” fWhip said thoughtfully, “Liana likes to comment about Sausage’s arm when I’m here doing maintenance. I could show her things in my workshop that might satisfy her curiosity. That leaves Seren. Are you sure you want to separate the twins, Pearl?”

“They might be less chaotic if they have a different sibling around,” she replied.

“Oh, it can’t be that bad!” Lizzie dismissed the thought with a wave of a hand.

“Okay then, Lizzie.” Pearl grinned mischievously. “After a few other visits, we’ll reunite them at your place.”

“It will be so cute!” Lizzie said with blissful ignorance.

Joey scoffed. “You’re all crazy. How are you going to get anything important done with some little rugrats underfoot? No thank you. Count me out.” He fluffed up his wings as if having taken offense, then pushed past Pearl to continue the break elsewhere.

“Scott and Sausage manage it! And they’re not all little!” Shrub called after him. She looked back up at Pearl. “Okay, so, do we want to work out a schedule and maybe mix things up a bit when the kids change hands? This is starting to sound like fun, getting to hang out with them a few at a time, and show them our empires instead of only seeing them when we come to Mythland!”

Ever organized, Gem pulled out a book and quill. “Writing it down should make this easier – and faster. The tired dads might come back any minute, so let’s plan it out enough so they’ll feel better about getting on board with the idea. Are we all in?” She glanced around. Pix and Katherine nodded, but Jimmy looked uncertain.

“I don’t know,” he admitted in a reluctant tone. “I kind of have my hands full just taking care of my own things. I mean, if you really need me to if there’s, like, some kind of emergency, I could try? But, like…I don’t want to become the emergency, you know? Maybe just the older boys since they’re, um, less high-maintenance…?”

Gem chuckled lightly. “Okay, Jimmy, you can be a backup only if one of us has something come up at the time.”

Xornoth cleared his throat. “I’ll stand by as back up, too, since these are my niblings you’re plotting to abscond with.”

Pearl gave a sheepish laugh. “Ah, right. Scott’s own brother is here. Well, that could also mean if anyone has an issue, they can contact you instead of making the dads worry.”

Xornoth grinned in response. “I think this is a wonderful idea. I’ve managed to babysit all of them at once, although that was technically only for a few hours. They’re all good kids – well, some more energetic than others, but I think this will be a fun experience for everyone.”

After a little bit of head scratching, a plan had been worked out to have the six older children switch around so there were no repeat pairs and to be with a different empire each turn for two days. As for Mariposa, Lizzie insisted on taking her for the first four days, with her thought being that one child would be much easier to handle for extra time. The rest of the schedule, however, stuck with the two days, plus one extra change of hands. They agreed that four turns would be best for what was, essentially, an experiment. A week plus one day, enough time for Sausage and Scott to get a rest without disrupting the children’s regular schooling for too long.

Joey returned only to roll his eyes when he saw everyone’s cheerful faces – well, minus Joel, who looked more like he was going along with things for Lizzie’s sake. Then Scott and Sausage made their way back in, seeming relieved in the sense that no new issues with the children had arisen while they had been at the meeting. They went to their seats without questioning why nearly everyone else was standing grouped up.

Xornoth returned to his seat and put a hand on Scott’s shoulder. “Is Mariposa making up for lost sleep by napping this afternoon?”

“Yes, seems like. Thank goodness Azahar doesn’t mind keeping an eye on her during his studies. I think,” Scott paused to yawn, “He’s her favorite brother.”

“Yeah,” Sausage murmured in a smiling but drowsy agreement, “Seems like it.” They leaned against each other, almost as if they had forgotten where they were for a moment. The break clearly hadn’t done much for their tiredness.

Pearl picked up the final version of the paper for the plan that had been worked out. “If you two sleepyheads are ready to continue, I have a proposal specifically for you.”

Sausage shook his head in an attempt to clear the fog from it and sat up straighter. Scott had a slightly pained expression but folded his hands together on top of the table to hear her out, mentally preparing for more life adjustments.

Pearl continued, “We would like to offer to take your children off your hands for a vacation, so you can get some rest, and meanwhile the kids get a bit of a cultural exchange experience. We even worked out a schedule so you know where everyone is at any given time – you’re super dads, so you’ve been able to handle all of them at once, but we’ve arranged a way to split them up so we can each manage things better. Have a look, tell us what you think.”

She held the paper out to them. Meanwhile, Joey loudly announced, “Except me. I have no interest in this idea, and I think we’re wasting precious time right now!”

“Well, all right, Joey,” Pearl chided. “You’re entitled to your opinion. But the majority has spoken, so be patient. You know, establishing good relations with an entire royal family is important for the future.”

“They’re just kids.” Joey scoffed again. “All they know how to do is run around and be noisy. But you all have fun with that.”

Sausage scowled and pushed the paper toward Scott before standing up. “Our kids are already working on learning magic and other skills they need! And one day you will be answering to one of them as ruler of Mythland, but they’re also allowed to have fun! Everyone is!”

Scott patted Sausage’s arm then tugged his sleeve to encourage him to sit down. “So, you… all want to include Mariposa, too? I mean, even we’re still getting used to it, and we’ve had months to learn.”

fWhip put in, “Well, that’s why we’ll take shifts in pairs. Then one of us can nap while the other is awake at two o’clock in the morning, unlike you crazy dads who are both awake around then.” He gave a teasing grin.

Pearl nodded. “And I’m prescribing one hundred percent rest for you two. You can have final say on that schedule, if you want to review it now, then we’ll get back to official business.”

Still bleary, Sausage and Scott tried their best to analyze what was essentially a flow chart of kid pairings switching around. They did trust everyone involved, and everything looked like enough organization had gone into it, so…

Scott glanced around at their friends’ well-meaning faces. “Um. All right. Thank you, everyone. You know that if anything becomes an issue, you can bring them home at any time—”

“Hup,” Xornoth interrupted, “Absolutely not. You’re getting that rest. If anything comes up, everyone can contact me, and I’ll handle it. I’ll gather all the kids at Rivendell if I have to. That’s final.”

Sausage and Scott traded glances, then smiled weakly. Sausage replied, “As you say, I guess. Eight days, is it? Then we either see everyone back here the morning of day nine, or Scott and I take an extra trip to Rivendell.”

~*~

Another week went by while everyone fixed up guest rooms and saw to clearing up their own schedules, and in the meantime Sausage and Scott explained to the children about the special trips they would be going on. Elowen was predictably nervous at first that he would be travelling separate from Azahar for the first two visits, but relaxed a little when he heard that he would be seeing Aunt Gem first. Even though he had a gift for ice magic, he enjoyed learning about other types, as well as it being something he could share with Ilan.

Seren didn’t seem sure about visiting fWhip until Liana proudly proclaimed that they were going to learn how to fix Papa’s arm and do it even better than Uncle fWhip, which cheered up the younger girl. Rayen, meanwhile, ran around shouting about how she was going to be the best fighter ever, and Auntie Pearl was going to be the first person she defeated by the end of day two.

When the first round of rulers came by to pick up their assigned children, everyone was in good spirits and looked forward to having a good time. Sausage pressed an extra bag of baby supplies onto Joel while Lizzie cradled Mariposa – practically needing only one hand due to her godly size – and cooed over her. Mariposa mumbled then let out a cheerful, “A-Aa!” with her little arm up in the air.

Scott tried to convince himself that she was purposely waving since she couldn’t say goodbye yet. He and Sausage then stood in the empty courtyard feeling vaguely lost.

“So, we just…go do some work now, I guess?” Sausage asked.

“I’ll have to find something else to do this week where I would be overseeing their lessons. I hadn’t thought about that yet.”

“Well, we could always go build something with our own hands,” Sausage joked. “Like old times, before we started signing off on projects for someone else to do.”

“I suppose we could. Well, after regular duties, and catching up on that sleep like Pearl suggested.” Scott smiled and reached to clasp Sausage’s left hand. “For now, we just wait for word that everyone arrived safely.”

Sausage chuckled. “Yeah, and wait for snowy owls to arrive when everyone ends up with Uncle Xornoth.”

~*~

Gilded Helianthia, Day 1

Rayen was still running around even after Azahar attempted to get a little settled in the room they would be sharing at Pearl’s farmhouse. Rayen had insisted she was going to learn to fight in her dress just like Pearl, even when her elven brother tried pointing out that Pearl wore a dress specifically designed for battle. Of course, he knew there was plenty of spare clothing in her bag just in case, and at least she wasn’t wearing her fancier dress, although she did point out that he wasn’t wearing anything special to fight in, just his every day tunic and trousers.

Presently, he was gathering together his orange dreadlocks into a thick but short ponytail to keep them pulled back from his face during lessons, pieces of his practice armor already donned. Rayen was eyeing the short sword that he had been allowed to bring, but knew she wasn’t allowed to handle.

“I’m gonna get a sword like that soon! I’m gonna get it ‘fore I’m old as you!”

Azahar chuckled. “You have to wait until you’re as old as me to be allowed to start training to be a knight.”

“I don’t wanna be a knight! I wanna be a battle princess! I’m gonna kick so many butts!”

“Well, we’ll see what Auntie Pearl has to say. You have to get her approval first. If I had to, then you have to.”

“Yeah, but you don’t like to kick butts!”

“I don’t like to fight when it’s unnecessary. There’s a difference. Are you sure you don’t want leggings to protect your knees if you fall?”

“No! I’m not gonna fall! And battle princesses don’t wear leggies!”

“Okay. But you’re allowed to cry if you get hurt, remember that.” He watched her run ahead out of the room – only for her to run headlong into Pearl.

“Wow, I could hear that brave talk all the way down the hall. That armor looks good on you, Azahar. You’re already shaping up to be a proper protector – looking out for little scraps and bumps is just as important as wielding a sword.” She knelt to put a hand on Rayen’s shoulder. “I’m going to teach you a little about fighting today, but you need to be careful about yourself, too. Can’t go throwing yourself around recklessly or who would be able to fight bad guys then?” She ruffled Rayen’s hair. “Come on, out to the yard. I have a few things in mind, then we’ll have a relaxing lunch.”

Rayen took off ahead again. Azahar watched helplessly with a smile. As he and Pearl stepped out onto the porch, they heard the little girl complain from around the side of the house, “Aww, I wanted to learn wif a real sword!”

Azahar chuckled again when he saw her standing beside a table that held several practice – and even toy – weapons, most of them made of soft pine wood with padded fabric over the ‘blade’. He rested his hand on the pommel of his short sword for a moment, then went over and picked up one of the wooden swords.

Grinning, Pearl picked up another of the swords as well as a shield. “We’ll all use practice weapons for now, okay, Rayen?”

The little girl heaved a gigantic sigh and trudged up to the table to take a sword, and then, with an encouraging example from Azahar as he took one, a shield. “Fiiiine. But I’m still gonna fight the best!”

~*~

Crystal Cliffs, Day 1

Gem bustled around her library while Elowen and Ilan watched in silence, although the latter curiously peered out from the hood of their green and gold-star bedecked robe at one of the books she had left open on the end table next to them; they did, at least, feel right at home fitting in with Gem’s own wizardly trappings. Elowen was comfortable in a plain blue shirt and matching leggings, oblivious to the apparent dress code of human magic users.

“Okay, here it is,” Gem chirped, climbing down from a ladder with one last book in her hand. “Sorry that took so long, I didn’t have time during the week to find them all.” She placed the book on the end table next to Elowen. “This one is for you to look at later. It has snow-related spells designed by non-elven wizards. We can talk about them more in a little bit, but – Ilan, why don’t you tell me what you’ve been learning lately? Then we can find something to work on all together.”

The younger child cleared their throat and pushed up the sleeve on their right arm, only to have it fall down over their hand again. They took a moment to roll both sleeves up partway. “I learned a light spell. I can’t make it glow really bright but it’s good for using in my room at nighttime.”

Gem could see their look of concentration within the shadow of their hood as they carefully traced the forms of the spell in the air. A small orb of white light appeared above their right palm, which they were attentively holding steady while still uttering a small sigh of relief that the spell had worked.

“That’s very good!” Gem praised. “I can teach you the extra forms for different colors and one way to make it brighter, if you like. Elowen, I think there’s a spell in that book to make a snowball glow, if you want to try a light spell, too.”

Elowen nodded and pulled the book onto his lap to start flipping through the chapters, content to find it on his own while she began to shape an example of the light spell in green for Ilan.

~*~

Grimlands, Day 1

Seren fidgeted with the hem of her dress as she glanced around at all the buttons, levers, lights, and gadgets strewn along the walls and tables in fWhip’s workshop. He had figured he would get the busiest and most distracting part of the tour out of the way first.

Liana, meanwhile, darted left and right to get a closer look at everything. She had her hands pressed against her skirt as a reminder to not touch anything without permission, sorely tempted though she was. “Oh my gosh, you have so much stuff! Do all these go together? Are they parts for one thing?”

“No, they’re all different projects,” fWhip explained, then smiled at the younger, human girl. “You can look closer, too, Seren. It’s okay to just look, but you have to be careful of everything like with your papa’s arm. We don’t want any little fingers getting pinched, right?” Seren shook her head then crept closer to a bench and peered at some of the metal contraptions laying across it.

“This could all be the arm of a really big giant if you put it all together like one!” Liana proclaimed.

“It could,” fWhip admitted, “but I make things besides arms. There are lots of metal tools and machines that are helpful to everyone, not just when…” He paused, then mumbled to himself, “Which one was it again?” He coughed and returned his voice to normal level. “Um, when Papa Sausage gets his arm eaten by a blood sheep. Yeah, that was it. Gotta be careful of those blood sheep sometimes.”

Seren turned to him, suddenly dewy-eyed. “If my arm got eated by a blood sheep, would you make me a new one?”

“Of course I would! But we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. They’ve been told to leave good little children alone. Besides, isn’t your sister the one who already has a scar kind of like your papa’s? It would be silly if you copied him, too.” fWhip crouched to get on eye level with her. “I’ll tell you what, though. I could make a pretend one for you that you wear over your real arm for a costume. That would be more fun, and then you could say, ‘Hey, Papa! Look, my arm is metal, too! But wait – it isn’t! Because I’m not so silly as to get my arm eaten by a silly old sheep!”

Seren giggled, while Liana grumbled, “That’s not what Azahar and Elowen said happened…”

fWhip laughed somewhat nervously. He knew the story was being changed every time, and he was one of the few that knew the truth. But for now, wild tales of dragons, rogue sheep, and mysterious magic spells would suffice. “Here, let me show you one of the early designs I made. Imagine how funny your papa would look with his arm like this instead...”

~*~

Mezalea, Day 1

“Joel, she’s so tiny!”

“Everything is tiny compared to you, dear wife.”

“Have you ever seen anything so cute before?”

“I mean, I have, but she is cute for, y’know, a baby. They’re supposed to be cute.” Joel watched Lizzie sashay back and forth across the improvised nursery, Mariposa cradled in the crook of one arm with her opposite hand near to support the infant’s head. Mariposa was looking up at her with studious eyes, perhaps trying to make sense in her little head why there was a Big Person holding her who didn’t look anything like a human or an elf.

Lizzie ignored his comment. She held Mariposa up in the air, then cradled her again. “I just want to cuddle her all day!” The baby didn’t have a response, still only staring.

“I didn’t spend the past week building a crib for you not to use it. You do know there is a phrase that goes ‘put the baby down for a nap’, don’t you?”

The crib in question was made of acacia and sat at the side of the bedroom. Each slat was painted a different Mezalean-related color: lime green, magenta, orange, and dark green, with a white bunny on the headboard to represent the Ocean Empire.

“Well, who knows, Joel. Maybe after this week we’ll decide to adopt a baby of our own.” Still not looking at him, Lizzie held Mariposa out again and gently turned her to the left, then the right a few times, pretending to make her dance. “Then you can have a little friend close to your own age, instead of all those big rowdy siblings of yours! It must be so exhausting for you to see them running around while you’re stuck in a silly old crib.”

“Oh, geez,” Joel muttered, feeling a moment of panic. “Look, Lizzie, I’m not ready for any kind of baby fever right now. We’re only babysitting for a few days.” His voice cracked on the word ‘few’. “I don’t know where we would even get a baby from. Mezalean citizens come from the Mother Tree. Unless you intend to adopt a fish of some sort…”

“What’s wrong with adopting a fish?” Lizzie asked defensively. “I’m part fish.”

“I thought you were part axolotl…? Or did I miss something about the legendary blue one? Anyway…” Joel went over to the bed and picked up the baby carrier that had come along with the other supplies. “She doesn’t stay in the crib all day. Scott or Sausage haul her around in this thing. Um…” As he held it up by one strap, he noted the size of it and realized one rather important oversight. “I guess I’ll haul her around in it.”

He sighed as he slipped it on, then adjusted the front of it against his chest. “All right, give her here. We’ll go for a bit of a walk, little one, then you can see the majesty of Mezalea and tell your papa how dull his kingdom looks …when you learn how to talk.”

Mariposa stared up at him as Lizzie handed her to him. The infant made a likely indifferent noise, then giggled a single, “Hee,” and reached up to grab at the green streak in his hair.

“Well now. See, look at that!” Joel bragged. “She knows exactly what I’m talking about!” He got her situated into the carrier facing forward and checked to be sure there was no possibility of her falling out, then he headed to the door with Lizzie smiling a smug look of her own as she followed.

Perhaps by the evening he would warm up to the idea. If not, she could always keep offering to babysit until he did.

~*~

Mythland, Day 1

Sausage tapped his paperwork into one neat stack, then hopped up and stretched. It had been a very tedious morning, but all the land proposals and repair funding requests had been sorted for now. He glanced out the window to see the fair weather was holding, and it gave him an idea for what to do with his afternoon.

He scurried out and headed down the hall, glancing into rooms as he went.

Meanwhile, Scott was in the library pulling some new books for future school lessons. He came across one containing beginner spells that he had overlooked before, and he smiled happily as he tucked it under his arm. He placed the rest on the table, then headed out with the other book in his hands.

He ran into Sausage in the hallway leading to the children’s rooms. “Oh, hey, Scott! I was just looking for Azahar to ask if he wanted to do a little practice spar after lunch!”

Scott blinked, then looked down at the book. “And I was going to give this to Ilan, but… Sausage, did we both just manage to forget they’re not here right now?”

“Oh… ah-heh, I guess we did.” Sausage put a hand to the back of his head in embarrassment. “I got caught up in work and thought it was quiet in the castle because they were all out playing in the gardens.”

“Then what’s my excuse?” Scott mused, giving a sheepish look. “Have we started relying on our eldest son so much for help with Mariposa lately that I forgot to check on the baby?” He laughed, as if the idea was ridiculous.

“I mean… Are we?” Sausage asked, suddenly worried. “Or is it only that we’re tired,” he then admitted. “We didn’t exactly plan for that kind of responsibility to begin with…”

Scott smiled softly. “I guess we can count ourselves lucky we managed to meet a child who could be patient with us, too. And has such a generous heart.”

“We’ll make it up to him,” Sausage decided. “Maybe if all this works out, we can have other babysitters more often to give Azahar more free time, and not just giving us a break.”

They stopped by Ilan’s room to drop off the spellbook on the desk, then Scott put an arm around Sausage as they walked along in the direction of the dining room. “Well, going to be a quiet lunch, anyway. I know my brother said he would intervene if there were issues, but I assume everyone is behaving so far, and maybe they’re all having a nice lunch right now.”

Sausage put a hand to his chin in thought, then grinned. “I have an idea how we could have a nice lunch by ourselves. How about a picnic in the garden? Just you, me, and the flowers.” He slipped out from Scott’s arm and jogged ahead. “I’ll go tell the kitchen staff! Meet you out there!!”

Scott smiled after him. The garden would also seem too quiet without the children running around, but it might still be pleasant to reflect on the times before they started growing a family, and remember the romantic picnics they’d had back then.

Later, Sausage found himself standing over the empty crib in their bedroom, staring pensively off into space. Scott lightly touched his right shoulder. “You can stay up a little longer if you like, but let me help you with your arm first, because I might fall asleep pretty quick – tonight, at least. Although it might be nice to stay up later than usual reading together.”

“Sorry. I was just thinking…” Sausage said, turning to go sit down so Scott could more easily assist with removing his prosthetic. He waited until the redstone signals had tapered off from his awareness to elaborate, “I’m just kind of worried about waking up at random during the night wondering why she isn’t crying, and then think someone stole her, or something.”

Scott held the prosthetic arm to his chest to free up a hand so he could put it on his partner’s shoulder. “Sausage, no one has yet to break into this castle for any reason, never mind make it all the way in here.” He then chuckled gently. “Do you want to put a sign on the crib? ‘Go back to sleep, Mariposa is with Lizzie and Joel’. And then we change what it says after we get word that she has arrived at the next babysitter.”

“You know what, that’s a really good idea!”

Scott carefully laid the prosthetic down in its protective case on the side table, then went to get a quill and piece of paper. “And… done. Now you can rest easy.” He offered an optimistic smile.

~*~

Gilded Helianthia, End of Day 1

Rayen scrubbed at her cheek and fought back sniffles while Pearl bandaged a skinned knee. “There you go. You’re a tough cookie, but even the best fighters get hurt sometimes. I think you’ll be back in top form by tomorrow, though, and we’ll have a few more lessons after a good night’s sleep. Do you think you’re okay enough to help put things away?”

Rayen sniffled again, then nodded and let Pearl help her down from the barrel she’d been sat on for the small bit of first aid.

Azahar waited calmly by the table of practice weapons and gently ruffled Rayen’s hair when she scampered over. He then began to hand her the smaller-sized weapons one at a time. She brought each over in turn to Pearl, who neatly arranged them in a shulker box for use the next day.

As they headed inside for dinner, Rayen walked quietly beside her brother. She at least didn’t seem to be sulking, as far as he could tell. “You did pretty good today. But maybe tomorrow you can wear ‘leggies’ to protect your knees, okay?”

“Oh-kay,” she mumbled in acceptance.

~*~

Crystal Cliffs, Night 1

Ilan glanced back and forth watchfully while Elowen tested the handle of the library door, seeing if he could open it without any sound. Ilan whispered, “Will Auntie Gem really mind if we stay up late?”

“We’ll sneak back to our room after just a little bit. She’ll never know.” He eased the door open with only the tiniest of creaks, then the two slipped inside. He left it open a crack so they wouldn’t have to contend with the latch again later.

Ilan pulled their hood down, leaving their brown hair somewhat rumpled, and took an excited look around. “Dad and Papa have a lot of books, but these are all books about magic!”

“I know!” Elowen said, trying to keep his voice down, but he was also excited. “We can’t read all of them in only two days! So, we’ll stay up, and look at a few extra ones, and maybe we can visit another time to read more of them!”

“We gotta be careful. Like with Papa saying there are scary books and bad magic we shouldn’t touch.”

Elowen gave a big grin. “That’s what’s great about Auntie Gem. She runs a magic school, so she would put all the same types of books together, right? If we find anything that looks scary, all the ones near it are probably scary. So, we look for the ones that are for new wizards, like you and me.” He glanced up along the tall stacks of shelves “…But hopefully those are near the floor. I don’t think we should climb the ladders.”

Ilan raised their arms, barely lifting the hem of their robe off the floor to indicate how it might get caught underfoot while using a ladder. “No, I don’t wanna do that, anyway.”

~*~

Mezalea, Night 1… Day 2?

Joel nudged Lizzie as Mariposa began to cry for the fifth time since they had tried to go to bed. The infant had seemed fine at first in the unfamiliar crib, but after maybe two hours she began to loudly fuss and only quieted when Lizzie had picked her up and gently rocked her while pacing the room. The second time, Joel had tended to her, and when the rocking didn’t work, he checked if she needed a diaper change, then concluded she was hungry.

She had fussed a little when he offered her the bottle, but after quietly crooning a reassurance, she started drinking. He had gone over the rest of the instructions in his head in the meantime. Remember to burp her after each bottle. Don’t lay her down right away.

He had set aside the bottle and gently placed her against his shoulder, then very lightly patted her back. He heard what might have been a burp followed by what was definitely a hiccup. “Oh, you little, silly thing,” he jokingly scolded. Then he asked of the empty air, “How long do baby hiccups take to go away?”

Mariposa had stared cluelessly back at him, her turquoise eyes somehow still bright in the dimly lit room, and hiccupped again.

Now, though, Lizzie tried all of the previous things only to have Mariposa continue to squall. “Oh, what is it, little one? Auntie Lizzie is here. Did you have a bad dream? …Do babies even have dreams? What have you got to be so worried about, you don’t even know what’s out in the world… There, there. You sure you don’t want nice, tasty milk? Or a little walk to look out the window? See, there’s the sky out there, with pretty stars, and… and, oh, the sun is coming up. Well, we’ll walk around some more and wait for Uncle Joel to wake up, then he can help, too.”

~*~

Crystal Cliffs, Morning of Day 2

Gem tried not to worry when, having planned to wake everyone to have breakfast at the same time, she didn’t find the two children asleep in the room she had set up for them. Surely she hadn’t pushed them too much with magic lessons the day before; they couldn’t possibly have left to try to go home. Maybe they simply weren’t comfortable in the room, and had found somewhere else to sleep? But, where…? She didn’t have a spare parlor, or much space anywhere for children to get into, for that matter.

Then she realized she had overlooked the obvious. She hurried to the library.

The door was ajar. She sighed in relief but quietly pushed it open. There they both were, sitting in an armchair and both sound asleep leaning on each other. She could only shake her head in amusement at the sight of dozens of books scattered around the tables and even the floor. She underestimated their curiosity – or maybe their dedication to learning a new craft.

As she started to pick up the books, she snuck a glance at Ilan, glad to finally see their face. She hoped they would become more confident about themself over time; they certainly had enough of a talent for general magic to be a successful wizard one day.

~*~

Gilded Helianthia, Morning of Day 2

Azahar was awoken by quiet shuffling in the room. It was nearly time to get up, anyway, but he had figured that a vacation meant getting to sleep at least a few extra minutes. He peeked one eye open just to make sure his sister wasn’t rummaging in his bag.

What she turned out to be doing was finishing getting dressed – leggings and all – and then started acting out the warm-up stretches Pearl had tried to teach her the day before. Azahar continued to keep literally one eye on her to make sure she didn’t get carried away, but she seemed to be trying very hard to do them exactly the way Pearl had shown them.

He was intrigued. He hadn’t expected Rayen to have paid that much attention when, at the time, she had been more interested in swinging the toy sword around pretending to fight a monster. Apparently, she had a better memory than he would have given a five-year-old human credit for.

A little later, he and Pearl both became impressed by the way she very precisely imitated Azahar’s every pose as he repeated all the practice forms of swordcraft that Sausage had taught him and which Pearl had wanted him to demonstrate for her, intending to try to rein in Rayen for at least the morning – and it appeared to be working. Perhaps she would actually make for a disciplined fighter one day.

~*~

Grimlands, Afternoon of Day 2

Liana stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth in concentration as she slowly lowered a piece of copper wire into the form-fitted track of a wooden rectangle. When she figured she had it in place, she looked up at fWhip for approval.

“Yeah, that’s perfect! Well done, Liana. That’s how you can make sure a piece is lined up correctly to fit into the next part. How are you doing over there, Seren?”

The younger girl was playing with a dozen small squares of paper that had different shapes drawn on each side. She was attempting to match the shape from one to another so that they formed complete circles or triangles, with some extra lines thrown in to add complexity. “I got six!” she announced proudly. She held up two side by side to show one of the harder puzzles with two triangles nested inside each other.

“Very good! See, that’s how you can tell which pieces go together and how not to mix them up with something that looks almost the same.” fWhip grinned, rather proud, himself. This wasn’t so hard; the kids could have fun with simple components, and he could teach them some things about engineering. “We’ll do one more that both of you can look at, then we’ll pack things up so you’ll be ready to leave tomorrow morning, all right?”

“Okay!!” the two girls chorused.

As he set up another few pieces of wire, he smiled with the hope that even just one of the children might take an interest, and he could one day have an apprentice to help out with Sausage’s arm.

~*~

Undergrove, Morning of Day 3

Travelling on the back of a giant wolf was a new experience, but it was almost easy enough to think of it as a very furry horse. Gem had brought Elowen to the Grimlands to make it easier for Shrub to pick up both him and Seren, since the Undergrove was the neighboring empire, and it would be a shorter trip.

They did, however, take one break outside the border of the Undergrove proper so that Mother Wolf could rest a little. Carrying even two light-weight children along with one gnome was more than she was used to, but it was the best means of conveyance for Shrub herself, and it was just one more cultural experience for children who were, indeed, familiar with travel by horse.

As they stood beside a stream, Elowen noticed that Seren was gawking at Shrub. He tried to nudge her a bit to get her to stop, although he couldn’t help comparing his own height to the gnome’s, since he was looking down at both of them. It wasn’t too much, but still…

Seren seemed to have reached the same conclusion and blurted out, “You’re small like me! But you’re growed up enough to gots your own kingdom??”

Elowen put a hand over his sister’s mouth. “Seren, you met Queen Shrub before at your party last year, remember? W-We know gnomes are smaller than elves and humans, right?”

Meanwhile, Shrub chortled. “Queen sounds so formal! I kind of just look after the Undergrove, sort of like a guardian. A guardian of the forests! Like my wolves. We guard the forests together, and I also tend the mushrooms – here, see, look through these trees, you can see some of the skinny tall ones, and over on this side you can see the tops of a few more!”

That got both children’s attention, and Elowen exclaimed, “You have giant mushrooms here, too??”

Shrub smiled. Well, there was something familiar they might relate to more easily. “Yeah, I’ve got all sorts, not just the ones like around where you live! They come in so many different colors, and flavors—”

“Diff’rent colors taste diff’rent?” Seren asked. “I thought all muffrooms taste the same.”

“Nope! When you eat enough of them, you can start to tell them apart. Plus, some taste better in different dishes than others, like if you toast them over a fire or eat them raw or cook them with other things! You can try a few while you’re here, and I can send your dads a cookbook if you want to try more at home!”

Mother Wolf nuzzled Shrub’s shoulder then crouched down to allow everyone to climb back on. Elowen helped get Seren settled in place before joining, then off they went for a closer view. The trees became sparse, replaced by a huge range of multicolored mushrooms from regular-sized ones close to the ground, to ones that towered overhead – including the rainbow-stacked castle near the middle of the Undergrove.

“It’s so pretty!” Seren exclaimed. “There are a lot! And so many doggies, too!” She was watching as several wolves meandered around the paths between houses and animal pens.

“Those are Mother Wolf’s children. Like I said, they help guard the place.” Shrub patted the fire wolf’s side after she had laid down again to let them get down from her back.

“Oh,” Seren responded, “like Papa and Daddy has lotsa kids! You have a big family, too!” She turned and hugged Mother Wolf around the neck.

Shrub grinned at that. Mother Wolf licked Seren’s face, causing the little girl to giggle. “You’re like Bubbles! Just really, really big!”

Elowen had begun to wander away to have a look around, but stopped at one of the pens. “Que— um, Shrub, what kind of cows are these? I don’t remember seeing them anywhere before.”

The cows in question were distinctly red or brown, and – apparently, like everything else in the Undergrove – had mushrooms sprouting from their backs.

“Those are mooshrooms! Really versatile critters. If you milk them one way you get regular old milk, but with a different technique you get mushroom stew!”

Seren joined her brother by the fence and watched the herd for a moment, then stuck her hand through to pet the nearest one. “Hello, moo-moos.” When that particular mooshroom moved away, she withdrew her hand and went back to watching. Then she turned to Shrub to ask, “So… when you cook them, do they make beef soup with muffrooms in it, or do you has to put in the muffrooms anyway?”

~*~

The Overgrown, Day 3

Ilan instinctively kept hold of Rayen’s hand to stop her from running off toward one of the giant flowers, fully expecting her to want to climb it. To their surprise, she stayed calm for the moment, if not gazing around at everything in all its shades of pastel and coziness. Maybe the sheer fascination was keeping her in check. She did continuously take glances at the wings on Katherine’s back, too. Ilan could tell she was also itching to ask about them.

“And this over here is the fountain that grants visitors permission to take flowers from the Overgrown,” Katherine was explaining. “If you see any flowers here that you like, I can tell your dads, and they’ll be able to come by later to pick them up for you – then you can plant them in your own garden! You could also have ones that stay small and keep them in a flower pot in your room all for yourself.”

“You gots even more flowers than we do!” Rayen crowed, bouncing up and down on her toes. “Your whole kingdom is a really big garden!! Did Daddy and Papa get permiss’n a lots? ‘Cause they really like flowers!”

“Your papa likes to build beautiful things,” Katherine replied softly. “He expanded the gardens not just for the castle by itself, but to make something nice for your dad, too. So, yes, before they had children, they came here often to add more variety to their gardens. Do you want to learn about how flowers are named, so when you get home you can tell your dads everything you know about the flowers you already have there?”

“Yeah!! I know some! But other ones are just… red or… yellow.” Rayen pouted for half a moment.

Ilan laughed lightly. “That’s because their names are too long. You’ll remember them eventually.”

“Long names are hard! There’s, like… twenty million bazillion red ones!!”

Katherine giggled, as well. “That is true. Many flowers that have the same name come in a bunch of different colors. They can have different uses, too, like ones you use for dying wool or ones you can make into tea or medicine. And some have smells that can make you feel different ways, like helping you feel calm or a little more energetic. You can learn about all of that while you’re here, or we can just take walks and look around.”

“Learn, learn!” Rayen demanded. “Maybe calm smells can help when Mariposa is crying! ‘Cause she can’t tell us why she’s crying! But I wanna know what flowers to bring her so she can feel better!”

“That’s so sweet,” Katherine cooed. “All right, we’ll make a list of those, then you can ask your dads to help you pick some and they can set up a flower vase in the room for her. Ilan, is there anything specific you want to learn about?”

“Medicine,” they replied after a few seconds of thought. “And… ones that can be used for magic. I saw in some of Auntie Gem’s books that special flowers are ingredients for spells.”

“Oh, that’s right, you’re the budding mage of the family. Yes, I can show you some of those. We can mix up a few potions, too. You both just have to be careful around the glass bottles, all right?”

“Okay!!” the two children agreed.

~*~

Pixandria, Day 3

Liana skipped down the street humming her own little tune while Pixlriffs and Azahar walked at a more casual pace. The Copper King was giving the two children an extensive tour since Pixandria was quite off the beaten path; despite its desert sharing a border with Mythland, the city itself wasn’t exactly within walking distance, and they were unlikely to make visits until they were older – and perhaps on official royal business.

Pix was explaining the usage of the honeycomb farm to the more attentive Azahar when Liana’s gaze followed the path of a stray bee over to the middle of the square. “Ooh, Azahar, look at the pretty lanterns!” She tugged on the side of his shirt and pointed toward a tall but slender structure, where numerous colorful and slowly drifting paper lanterns hovered overhead. She stared up as the three of them walked over for a better view. Then she peered around at the sandstone shelves along the base of the structure. “What’s all those candles for?”

“This is The Vigil,” Pix explained in a gentle tone, knowing he was about to go into a very serious subject with someone who might not yet have a full grasp of the weight of it. “It’s a sacred place where people can either light a candle in memory of a loved one who has passed, or send up a lantern in honor of a wish someone might have wanted to make, but wasn’t able to. The magic in this spot almost seems to slow time, so the candles last longer, and the lanterns sort of get frozen in the air instead of floating away – where they might get lost. The flames for both do burn out at some point, however, and then there can be room for others to be added.”

Liana appeared to be processing everything he had said while gazing up at the lanterns again. Azahar had a thoughtful look, then a small if wistful smile crossed his face and he asked, “May I place some? They’re not for me, personally, though…”

Pix nodded. “You can memorialize whoever you like.” He added softly, “There isn’t a requirement or limit. The Vigil is a means for making peace with loss.”

He led them over to the stall where the various colors of candles and lanterns were stored, with suggested color matches for the regions of the world. Azahar took two cyan candles and two red candles, and then took a black lantern as well. “Hold this one for me. Careful, now.”

He passed the lantern to Liana, then carried the candles over to The Vigil. She and Pix followed; the younger elf cradled the lantern between her hands with utmost care, having come to understand the solemnness of this ceremony, if not quite figuring out what her brother had chosen to do. “Who’s love ones are those for?” she whispered as he set up the candles near to each other on the same shelf.

“For our siblings,” Azahar answered softly. “And this one for our Mythland grandparents,” he explained as he took the lantern from her, “Because Papa said they are missing, but I wish that one day they might get to meet us, and see the happy family we have together.”

Pix stepped in to light the lantern for the teen. “That is a lovely wish, young Prince Azahar.” He held the lantern aloft and gave it a small tap to send it drifting up to join the others.

Liana watched it for a moment, then said, “I dunno where my real mommy and daddy went, so I dunno if I should put candles or not.”

Azahar lightly patted her head. “That’s okay. You and I just happened to be doorstep babies, and it turned out that Papa and Dad needed us to be their family.”

“Liana,” Pix suggested, “Would you like to send a lantern up for your mum and dad? You can wish for them to know that you found a nice family – that might have been what they wanted for you.”

“Hmmmm, okay!” She followed Pix over to the stall, where he took out a cyan lantern for her. “Can I put a bunny on it so’s they know it’s from me?”

“You sure can,” Pix said with a kind laugh. “People sometimes put notes under their candles or tie one to the bottom of the lantern. Let me get you a piece of paper, hold on just a moment.”

Azahar leaned against one of the barrels, letting Pix handle helping Liana with her drawing. He remained there as they returned to The Vigil to send it up.

Pix was reassured by the happy smile now on Liana’s face; he had a feeling she now had a sense of peace of her own regarding her unknown origins. He himself had been gladdened by Azahar’s interpretation of the path their lives had taken that had brought them to become heirs of Mythland. Pix cast a proud look toward the teen. One day, there would be others who oversaw ways to cherish memories.

~*~

Mezalea, Day 3

Lizzie leaned against the wall while Joel leaned against her, both in danger of nodding off even while Mariposa sat crying in the crib. They were at a loss. “How much can one baby cry?” Lizzie lamented.

“Maybe we just have to admit we’re not her favorite auntie and uncle, Joel said with resignation.

“Aww, don’t say that!”

“Well, maybe she misses her dads. She probably recognizes what they look like, and her siblings, too. Neither of us look anything like them.”

Lizzie gazed down at him thoughtfully. “You could try growing a beard?”

“You do know it’s gonna take longer than one day for that, right? Also, Sausage doesn’t have a green stripe in his hair.”

“Darn, good point. My ingenious plan has already been foiled. Any other ideas, then?”

Joel sighed and stood up, glancing to where the latest bottle had been left. He picked up Mariposa to try rocking her a bit to see if it helped any.

Lizzie sighed, too. “I guess we need to call for back up.” She wearily heaved herself from her seat and went to find a piece of paper and quill.

“Dear Xornoth, I have made a terrible mistake…”

It took until the afternoon for communications to cross all the way to and from Rivendell, but Xornoth arrived soon after his response came via owl, which itself travelled faster than the Mezalean hot air balloon messenger. He gave the weary couple a sympathetic look as he entered the room, then he quickly took over, cradling Mariposa in his arms and talking softly to her while Joel packed up the baby supplies that had ended up scattered around during attempts to get the infant settled down.

Mariposa finally stopped fussing and mumbled instead, at one point reaching up a hand toward Xornoth’s earring. He lightly shook his head to make the jewelry jangle around. Mariposa let out a louder, “Ah-blah!” and when he lowered his head a little to let her touch the earring, she made a grab for his ear itself.

“Told you she recognized them. She knows an elven family member when she sees one,” Joel commented as he closed up the second supply bag.

Xornoth gently pried the little fingers from his ear then set Mariposa back down in the crib. “I mean, I have enough of a resemblance to my brother that she might see it, but I think a little baby noggin might catch on more to familiar colors and shapes that she sees regularly.”

“Still, you kind of worked wonders there. We tried everything, but I guess this is too out of her element. It might even be the difference in the air or different smells, maybe?” Joel’s voice cracked at the end. “Either way, I think we’ll keep the babysitting to a stay in Mythland. She might like that better.”

“Could be anything, who knows. Rivendell is colder than Mythland, after all, and she seemed fine there at the winter festival.” Xornoth shrugged, then went about securing the bags to a line of metal clips on his belt so his arms would be free.

He didn’t have far to fly to his intended destination compared to if he was going all the way to Rivendell. “Well, you two take care. If I remember correctly, you’ve got the boys next. I’m fairly certain they’ll sleep through the night.” He winked then pulled on the baby carrier and got Mariposa settled against his chest before the three of them walked outside.

As he activated his wings, Lizzie leaned to where Mariposa might see her. “Bye-bye, little one. We’ll come visit you at home someday soon, okay? Maybe you’ll like that better.”

Xornoth offered another sympathetic smile, then placed his arms securely around the baby carrier and took off at a moderate speed, not wanting to jar Mariposa too much, but soon she seemed to be giggling about the feeling of the wind ruffling the hair on the top of her head.

A short time later he landed in Gilded Helianthia. He had made a precursory circle around to see if Pearl was out in the fields, but since he hadn’t spotted her, he figured his best bet was the main farmhouse. He patted Bingo on the head on the way up the stairs, then rapped on the door before calling, “PearlescentMoon, I have a visitor for you~”

A moment or two later the door opened. Pearl glanced from him to the quietly babbling bundle in the baby carrier. “Ah. Yeah, I figured Lizzie was getting in over her head. Are you just dropping by for a little rest stop on the way? Which is actually a good idea. Not sure how the little one would handle a long flight.”

“No, actually…” Xornoth proceeded to grin, “Since all of this was your idea, I thought maybe you could partner up with me for baby duties. I still need to get a little sleep, too.”

“Cheeky elf. All right. I’ll have to rustle up a crib somehow, the plans hadn’t called for her to stay in my empire since it’s closest by and Sausage might come rushing over if he gets too worried.”

“Fair point. It wouldn’t take long to construct a simple one, if you want to hold her for a bit and show me where your wood supplies are. Oh, and we need to send a message to update the worrisome dads that I’ve picked up Mariposa for this round. We don’t need to tell them where I’ve stopped to watch her, though.”

He grinned and chuckled. The owl that had followed him back from Mazelea and was now perched on the corner of the roof hooted, sounding almost like it was used to such shenanigans from the elven monarch.

~*~

Mythland, Day 3

Scott requested the head court violinist to play for them in the dining room during lunch, then toward late afternoon the same violinist and a cellist joined the couple in the ballroom for a casual private dance session.

Sausage smiled softly as he held his upraised palm against Scott’s, his other hand tucked behind his back. “This reminds me a little of the masquerade ball, the one before all the, uh, chaos, and how we had a few dances together where it seemed like there was no one else in the world but us and the music.”

“I remember that one, and that feeling, yeah… I should have noticed the lovestruck look on your face back then, but I was still convinced we were just friends chatting the night away.”

Sausage’s smile turned a little bittersweet, regret almost surfacing in his eyes, then he initiated a turn in time to the instrumental piece’s change. “We should host a masquerade sometime. The kids would have a lot of fun dressing up, and it wouldn’t be as formal as their introduction parties were.”

“That is an excellent idea. Maybe we should let them pick the theme. I can already bet Liana will ask to dress as a bunny.”

“Maybe Seren and Rayen will pick different things and not try to swap accessories.” Sausage then laughed. “But imagine by the end of the night they’ve mixed everything up so much no one knows what their costumes are anymore!”

Scott chuckled at that, then after a moment he sighed. “It’s nice to have a dance to ourselves, but this ballroom feels too empty right now…”

“Time for dinner, then?” Sausage brought his arm forward and lightly wrapped it around Scott’s waist to bring their dance to a halt.

“We might as well.” Scott nodded absently, then they walked over to the musicians to thank them and bid them a good evening.

There was an owl waiting on the back of Scott’s chair when they reached the dining room. It stretched one wing lazily before hooting at them. Scott carefully took the message from the pouch around its neck. He smiled in amusement as he read it. “Well, that went as expected. Xornoth currently has Mariposa, and will hand her along according to the schedule. Poor Lizzie and Joel. They were even less prepared than we were for an infant.”

“Better change the sign on the crib,” Sausage said with a chuckle. “But I think if there’s ever a plan for this again before she’s toddler age, she’ll just stay with us, and everyone else can have adventures in other empires.”

“You’re forgetting the whole point of this is so we could get a full night’s sleep without a crying baby contributing to keeping us awake.”

“Okay, okay, okay – then next time she goes straight to Xornoth, unless someone proves ahead of time they can handle everything.”

Scott smiled warmly at him. “You’ve really got this overprotective father thing down pat.”

“Well, of course! We’ve been at this for over four years, and since the family keeps growing, I want to be sure all of them are as safe as possible and we know exactly where they are at all times!”

Scott’s expression now turned wry. “You know, I’m not sure either of us are really going to be getting as much sleep as Pearl hoped, because you’re absolutely right.”

~*~

Gilded Helianthia, Day 4

Pearl woke up to the sound of elven song coming from the guest room where they had set up the makeshift crib and Xornoth was using one of the beds when he was ‘off shift’. It seemed close to sunrise, just about when she would be getting up, anyway. She could remember being awoken by Mariposa maybe three times during the night, although on the third incident Xornoth was already reaching into the crib. He had stopped to tap a finger to his lips then shooed Pearl away.

Currently he sang a lively tune while lifting her up in the air several times to make her giggle. He did look tired, though, and Pearl was ready to take over watching Mariposa so he could get some more sleep – as soon as he happened to put her down.

“You’re really loving this role of being uncle, aren’t you?”

Xornoth chuckled quietly. “A little bit. I haven’t quite found that special someone yet, so I’m living vicariously through my brother’s children – although I don’t know if I want that many of my own. But if a little one like this happened to find their way to me, well, I doubt I could say no, either.”

He held Mariposa toward his face to tickle her with his nose, then kissed her on the cheek. She babbled and patted at him, nearly poking him in the eye, but he merely closed that eye and lowered her out of range where she could grab at the folds of his shirt instead. He smiled softly down at her. “Well, someday, maybe. My brother waited over two hundred years and then some to figure out the right one, so I suppose I could wait a few more…”

He seemed to space out for a moment, his smile fading to a pensive expression, so Pearl stepped closer to take the baby from him. “I think what you shouldn’t wait for is some sleep. I’ll handle the morning shift, and we’ll keep it quiet as we do the morning chores – right, Mariposa? You can learn all about running a farm! Or maybe you can just learn to gently pet the sheep and cows because you could fit inside the milk bucket, but forget about carrying it. Come on, little one. Your Uncle Xornoth needs sleep just like your dad and papa. My goodness, you are causing all sorts of trouble all over the place, aren’t you? So much mischief in such a tiny body.”

Xornoth smiled after them with his own weariness while Mariposa babbled a “blee-blee-blee” sound then cooed. Well, at least she was getting along with Pearl for the moment. He heeded the advice, however, and laid down with his arms folded behind his head, letting his mind wander to days of the past when he and Scott had been children. He dozed off to the memory of the first time they had encountered sheep together.

[To Be Continued in Part Two]

23 notes · View notes

avonne-writes · 2 years

Text

Reminisce

Pairing: Nick/Charlie

Word count, rating: 5086, M

Summary: The day of Nick's five-year class reunion brings some surprises.

Link to the AO3 post

As their car turns onto the familiar streets leading to Truham, Charlie's heart jumps. Here we go. Back after four long years. He looks at Nick's hands on the steering wheel and sighs. Nick's knuckles are going white.

"We can still turn around and just go down to the beach instead." He suggests, putting on an encouraging smile because he can feel the tension rolling off Nick in waves.

The resolute little wrinkle that Charlie loves so much appears between Nick's eyebrows. "No, we RSVP'd."

"Come on." Charlie coaxes him, rubbing Nick's thigh with his right hand. "They won't even notice we're not there."

That's an outright lie. Everyone will notice if Nick isn't there. Mister "Rugby King". And by association, they would also notice Charlie's absence, because everyone and their dog knows that he was the one who Nick went out with for the better half of his high school years. But as indifferent as Charlie is towards this reunion, he knows that Nick doesn't want to be there. Something has been off about him for weeks now.

With an ashen face, Nick steers the car into a spot in the parking lot and kills the engine. He checks the watch Charlie gave him for his twentieth birthday. "I guess we're early."

He reaches for the door handle, but Charlie grabs his other hand to stop him. "Hey."

Some of the colour returns to Nick's skin. He turns in his seat, away from the school's entrance, and leans closer to Charlie. "Hey."

Charlie puts a hand on Nick's cheek and strokes his temple. "What's wrong?"

It's a tell-tale sign when Nick looks down, then away. Over the years, Charlie has become fluent in these looks, knows the shade of each one. The guilty side-glance, the flustered back and forth when Nick is turned on but doesn't know if Charlie's game, the dark stare when he's angry. This is the scared puppy version, and it tugs at Charlie's heartstrings.

"Seriously, we don't have to go in. Most of these people don't have any influence on our lives anymore."

"I know." Nick says, frustrated. "It's not that."

"Then what?"

Nick's mouth opens, then closes. He grimaces. "Not just that."

"Okay." Charlie waits it out.

"Okay, so one part of me just keeps thinking about all the bad memories, like, you know, Ben and Harry and stuff, and I know that it's not relevant anymore and they may have grown up or something but I feel like I'm in a time machine. That I'm about to step into a situation where I'll have to fight to protect us. Does that make sense?"

Sometimes, Charlie can barely take it, the way Nick makes him feel. "Yeah. I understand."

"But." Nick swallows and blows out a long exhale. He seems calmer already, now that he has voiced what's bothering him out loud. He smooths a hand over his burgundy shirt. "I know I have to do this to get over it. I think replacing the images I have of them might help, you know?"

Charlie smiles. "I know."

Nick nods, visibly more relaxed now. He squeezes Charlie's hand. "How are you so calm about this? I thought you'd be the more anxious one."

Charlie shrugs. It would be a bad idea to say he has enough experience ignoring bullies. "I guess you're nervous enough for the both of us." When Nick smiles at his lame attempt to lighten the mood, he adds "And I know that if it's really bad, we can leave anytime. It's not exactly a luxury we had seven years ago."

Nick's smile widens. "Seven years. God. Can you believe it?"

Charlie mirrors Nick's expression and leans close enough that their noses brush. "It feels longer to be honest." He presses a chaste kiss to Nick's lips. "Nick?"

"Hm?" Nick steals another kiss.

"Do you think we could pretend to be like a high school couple again?"

Nick snickers. "Nooo, we were so awkward in high school."

Grinning, Charlie winds his arms around Nick's neck and pulls him closer. He can feel one of Nick's hands on his waist. "We're still awkward."

Nick leaves a trail of sticky kisses on Charlie's neck and cheek. "I'll let you know that I'm a… suave gentleman, Mister Spring."

"Right." Charlie drawls, and they have to break the next kiss because they're smiling too hard.

~°~

As far as Charlie knows, five year reunions aren't all that common - his year certainly isn't planning to have one - but some of the more sociable guys in Nick's class collaborated with people from the girls' school and this idea came to life. A joint reunion. On school grounds, no less, because they thought it would be nostalgic. Charlie would rather call it torturous, but even he has to admit it'd be kind of nice to see some of his and Nick's go-to spots. Like the art room. Or the nook behind the gym building where he touched Nick's bare stomach for the first time…

It's a funny thing that suddenly, he remembers that with great clarity, even though it wasn't pivotal in any way. He wonders what Nick thinks about as they walk through the old, familiar hallways hand in hand under the papier-mâché decorations.

"Do you think we're the only ones who came?" Nick whispers, which pretty much answers Charlie's question. It's eerily quiet. Their steps echo on the tiles as they approach the door that leads to the pitches outside.

Charlie pushes it open and comes face to face with Ben Hope. "Oh."

"Sorry." Ben says automatically, taking a step back before realizing who he's talking to.

His face twists then, but Charlie can't read it. All he can see is flashbacks to petty hatred and jealousy. He freezes. At the same time, he can feel Nick tense. His hold on Charlie's hand tightens, and he steps forward, trying to angle himself in front of Charlie. He must have been aiming for subtlety, but his broad shoulders and the narrow doorway make it impossible, and Ben's eyes snap to him immediately.

Ben blanches. He looks lean and pretty as ever, but it looks like a facade to hide the struggling within. Or maybe that's just the way Charlie sees him after everything he went through and witnessed in school. "Hello."

"Hi." Charlie manages to croak, pulling Nick to the side. "Sorry, we're in your way."

Ben averts his gaze. He clears his throat. "No problem." Without another glance, he rushes inside the building.

Nick's free hand is balled into a fist. His fingers clench and unclench in that awkwardly frustrated way that Charlie finds way more endearing than he should. "Didn't we agree that you wouldn't say the s-word to any of your bullies?"

Charlie looks at his feet. "S-"

"No."

A laugh escapes Charlie's mouth. "Oh, fine! It was just a courtesy, okay?"

Nick sighs. He gives Charlie a slow smile, then lets go of his hand only to throw his arm around Charlie's shoulders. "Let's find those picnic tables."

The reunion buffet is set up by the rugby pitch, with tiny, tasteless sandwiches and petit fours. It's surrounded with a few picnic tables for those who want to sit down, and some girls from Higgs are already mingling around. It's a mild, sunny afternoon. Charlie's content to soak in the warm light like a cat while Nick holds polite small talk with two lads from the rugby team. It seems as though they've grown even larger since graduation, their muscles bulging and sculpted with sharp lines. As conventionally attractive as that is, Charlie's glad that Nick's not obsessed with the gym like these two must be.

"I'll get us something to drink." He tells Nick and disentangles himself from his embrace.

He should also eat something, he figures, but old habits die hard - the thought of taking even a single bite in front of these people makes him queasy. He grabs a paper cup and gets himself some coke. Knowing all too well that if they're drinking different things Nick will just try to filch Charlie's, he pours out another cup and turns to head back. He stops dead in his tracks though, when someone approaches him directly.

"Charlie Spring!" It's Harry, loud and obnoxious as ever, but his grin doesn't feel mocking this time. He claps Charlie on the arm, almost making him spill one of the drinks in his hands. "All right, mate? Haven't seen you in ages."

"Yeah. Um. Nick and I have moved to Leeds." Charlie replies. His insides clench from the dread of an imminent homophobic comment, but Harry's trademark cruel grin doesn't make an appearance.

"You two still going strong? Glad to hear that, real glad, mate." He nods, still in the habit of using 'mate' as a punctuation mark. "I shacked up with my girlfriend in Kensington, can you believe it?"

Very much so, Charlie wants to roll his eyes, but he offers a polite smile instead, suspecting that Harry's disbelief refers to him having a steady girlfriend, not him living in one of the poshest neighbourhoods possible. He's right, because Harry launches into a gushing monologue about his girl that seems to come from genuine happiness and not a need to brag.

It's weird, having a normal conversation with Harry. The atmosphere between them never defrosted during their school years, even after the overt bullying stopped. But, it seems, Harry either can't remember any of that or chooses to ignore it. All things considered, Charlie realizes he prefers this to Ben's avoidance - but yet again, Ben has always been a coward.

After about twenty minutes of this surreal experience, his eyes wander back to Nick, missing the solid support of his hand on Charlie's back and the shield of his good-natured smile in the face of uncomfortable topics. It's evident that Nick is in a similar state. He's crowded by a circle of old classmates and some girls who probably used to have a crush on him, and his eyes are darting around in what Charlie identifies as panic. There's a ninety-five percent chance that he doesn't know how to say no and excuse himself from the conversation because he doesn't want to offend anyone.

A fond smile tugs at Charlie's lips. "So-" He bites back the second half of his sorry, remembering Nick's words. "I think I have to go rescue my boyfriend."

Harry follows his eyes. "Good idea, mate, we should join the lads!"

They have to skirt around the tables in a way that puts them behind some of the louder guys standing in Nick's group. Apparently, they have a vested interest in Nick's love life. It must be fascinating to them, Charlie guesses, but that doesn't make their questions less annoying or intrusive. He can feel the blood drain from his face when the first one reaches his ears.

“But isn’t it boring to only have sex with one person your whole life?”

"Yeah, don't you ever think about trying it with a girl? You're bi, after all, aren't you? You're missing all the fun at uni."

"I -" Nick draws his shoulders up defensively. "That's a shallow way of looking at it -"

It's their saving grace that Harry, with his usual penchant for drawing attention to himself, crashes the party. He greets all his old friends with complicated - and ridiculous - handshakes and throws in a story about his girlfriend, and just like that, everything else is forgotten. For once, Charlie feels thankful for his insatiable need for admiration.

He manages to shoulder his way through to Nick, who's still frowning in displeasure, and presses a drink into his hand. He puts his free hand between Nick's shoulder blades.

"Charlie!" Nick says in relief. "I've been looking for you."

Charlie gives him a weak smile. "I know." He looks around the group, and the guys who commented on their relationship earlier avoid his gaze. He spots Ben at another table. When their eyes meet, Ben looks away too.

"Can we go sit down?" Charlie asks Nick. Dark thoughts batter his mind, suggesting that people hate him, that they don't want to be in his company - he thought five years would have been enough to change that.

Looking concerned, Nick guides them to a bench at one of the tables. The early summer breeze blows his fringe into his eyes. "You okay?"

Charlie nods. He picks Nick's hand up and plays with his fingers, noting that the number of freckles on them has already increased in the marigold light. He thumbs at the base of Nick's fourth finger and wonders if this really is for life between them. He wants it to be - they've made it through the tough transition between high school and university without a break-up after all. They can make it through anything. But he can't help but be scared sometimes that he limits Nick's life. That he holds him back from experiences he'll regret not having later on in life.

"Okay. What?" Nick leans in closer, his mellow brown eyes focused on Charlie. "I can see you spiralling."

"Nothing. It's stupid." Charlie worries at his lip. He can't put the weight of his insecurities on Nick when Nick's already so tense from meeting some of the people he used to hate.

Nick, however, doesn't let it go. "Charlie." He whines, hugging Charlie close and rubbing his stubble on Charlie's face until he's pushed away.

"Oh my God, stop, stop." Charlie laughs. He blushes crimson.

Nick smiles back, utterly unashamed. "You asked me to act like we're in high school."

"You never acted like this in high school."

"Not in public."

Charlie laughs again. When Nick just sips his coke, watching him above the rim of his cup, he sighs.

"I was wondering if… if it really doesn't bother you that you never…" He runs a hand over his face. "I mean, you did miss out on some stuff. And you've been acting strange lately. Ever since you submitted your dissertation."

"What did I miss out on? Meaningless hook-ups and walks of shame? No." Nick shakes his head, frowning like the very idea irritates him. "One of these days I'm going to convince you not to ruminate over crap other people say about our relationship. Who cares about their opinion?"

Charlie smiles and rests his head on Nick's shoulder. "You're right. I let it get to me again."

Nick curls an arm around Charlie's waist. He's relaxed, but a second later, a strange tension spreads through him. He clears his throat. "Just for the record, that's not why I've been a bit out of sorts lately."

Charlie raises his head to look at him with wide eyes. "Then why?"

Nick returns his gaze for a moment, then leans down and kisses Charlie's shoulder through his shirt. "I'll tell you tonight, okay?"

Charlie's heart struggles to beat through the ice that seems to surround it. "Okay." He says faintly.

Nick's hand tightens on his side. "Oh, look, that's Miss Singh! Let's go say hi."

Mustering a smile, Charlie nods and stands up.

~°~

Overall, despite that little hitch and Ben's continuous awkward behaviour around Charlie, they have a reasonably good time. It cheers Nick up when he catches up with old friends he didn't stay in touch with, and Charlie gets to have a long conversation with Mr Ajayi, which makes it all worth it to be honest. They stay long enough that the afternoon sunshine bites Nick's fair skin and leaves him whining about his sunburn all the way to the hotel. Charlie laughs at him, and once their room's door is closed behind them, he pushes Nick on the bed and presses his cool lips to Nick's pink cheeks and nose until he can't stop giggling.

“Tell me again, why aren't we staying in your old room? Or mine?" Charlie asks, combing his fingers through Nick's hair. They're lying side by side on the covers, him on his stomach and Nick on his back with an arm outstretched to let Charlie press up close.

Nick's eyebrows curve up in the middle just like they do when he's about to ask Charlie something he cares deeply about, but he seems to think better of it in the end. "I kind of wanted to go down to the beach."

Charlie frowns and huffs a confused laugh, because it doesn't make sense, but Nick puts a hand on his nape and pulls him down into a kiss, and then it doesn't matter anymore. They make out in comfortable silence. He tastes the lingering sweetness of coke in Nick's mouth and shares wet, languid kisses with him. In the amber rays of the setting sun that stream in through the window, Nick's hair and eyelashes glow golden. His lips are soft and pliant, and his palms are a steady pressure on Charlie's neck and the curve of his back. He's so peaceful like this that Charlie just wants to warm himself on him, in Nick's love and the sense of belonging he feels in his arms.

He draws his kisses from Nick's lips to his neck, over his stubbly jawline to his pulse point, and he sucks the faint saltiness of sweat away from his skin until Nick squirms and pulls his shirt off.

Charlie's hand goes to Nick's pecs immediately. "What about going to the beach?" He asks playfully.

Nick bites his lip. "Maybe tomorrow?"

Charlie snickers.

They undress each other slowly, enjoying the moment. As though they haven't done this a thousand times before. How can it still be so mesmerizing after seven years? It never fails to amaze Charlie. Once they're both naked, he settles himself between Nick's legs and caresses the hills and valleys of his torso as if trying to memorize them, just like he did during their first time. He loves Nick's body. Loves that he's strong and thick but not sinewy like the adonises they cast in TV shows, he loves that Nick is hairier than he is, that he has freckles all over and a little layer of soft fat on his abs. He leans down and paints kisses on the skin he has just caressed, down along Nick's sternum, to one nipple then the next, then down to his stomach. When he reaches Nick's belly, he nips the supple skin there. Nick's hand tightens in his hair.

He looks up to meet Nick's half-lidded eyes. "I've been thinking about this all day."

Nick's chest expands around a deep breath. "Going down on me?"

"No, about your stomach."

Confusion looks ridiculously adorable on Nick's face, if someone were to ask Charlie. "Um, okay."

"I don't know, I just really like it." He kisses Nick's stomach again, running his fingertips over the spot that makes Nick snort a laugh.

"Charlie!" Nick captures his fingers.

"I'm serious." Charlie laughs back, then sits up and watches Nick until his grin fades. "So…" He raises an eyebrow playfully. "Do you want me to go down on you?"

Nick groans. His free hand is already clenched in the sheet. "Please."

Charlie smiles again. He settles in a comfortable position and takes Nick's cock in a gentle hold, casually stroking it while he has his fun adoring Nick's hipbones with kisses and bites. It's a game they play sometimes, to see who caves into desire first, who cuts the teasing short. Nick has already said please, so technically, it should be Charlie's win, but he doesn't argue his case when Nick lets out a quiet, breathy laugh at the first touch of Charlie's lips on his cock.

"Shut up." Charlie swats at him before mouthing his way up the side of Nick's cock.

Nick grabs his hand. He continues to snicker until Charlie wraps his lips around the head and sucks.

"Ah, that's so good." He sighs then. One of his hands strokes Charlie's hair. "So good."

Giving Nick head is one of Charlie's favourite things in the world. There's nothing quite like reducing him to a babbling, flushed mess with a few well-placed flicks of pressure. He likes to feel the muscles around Nick's hips jump to thrust but not move until he says it's okay, he likes to hear the hitches in Nick's breathing and taste his pleasure on his tongue. It's something he's become really good at over the years, and something about doing it in a new place makes it even more exciting.

When he pulls off, Nick's trembling. He tugs at Charlie's arm. "Charlie."

They kiss, long and deep, running their hands all over the familiar planes of each other's bodies until rubbing against each other isn't enough. With a needy noise, Nick pulls one of Charlie's legs over his hips. "Straddle me?"

Charlie only pauses for a split second to think it over. "Okay."

It's still not his favourite position to have sex in but he knows it when Nick needs to relinquish the weight of control. He can ride Nick if that's what he wants. He reaches for the lube in their bag to prepare himself while Nick strokes his thighs. Sometimes, Nick likes to bottom, but this isn’t one of those nights and quite frankly, Charlie prefers it that way. He enjoys the way Nick does it, how he holds and fills Charlie in the best of ways, and how sated they both are after.

"Ready?" He asks when he is, gripping Nick's cock again, trailing slippery fingers up and down its length.

Something about that question still makes Nick flush from anticipation. "Yeah."

It starts out as a slow ride, something sweet and comfortable instead of the rushed quickies they used to have in Charlie's last year of high school, when they were long-distance. Charlie doesn't even know why those memories float back to his mind but he can't help comparing the confidence in Nick's touches to those earlier days. He can't stop his brain from bringing back the memory of their first time when Nick was so nervous he almost cried. He has to slow down to a rocking movement because a giggle bubbles in his chest. Even without knowing the reason, Nick starts laughing along with him in ragged, panting chuckles, rubbing Charlie's arms and then grabbing his waist to flip them around.

He gives Charlie a messy kiss. "Hi."

Charlie's lips curl into a smile again. "Hi."

Nick laces both of their hands together and pulls them above Charlie's head. He takes a moment to let his gaze roam all over Charlie's flushed face. "I love you."

Charlie wraps his legs around Nick's waist. "I love you too."

It doesn't take long to reach the peak after that. As he often likes to do, Nick presses his face to Charlie's neck when his thrusts start gaining strength and speed, and Charlie lets the sensations of it wash over him, those rhythmic jolts of electricity and the gradually building heat. He can hear that Nick is on the precipice, recognizes the stutter in his moans and the rapid bounce of the mattress, so he wriggles a hand free and strokes himself to completion.

"God, you're so hot." Nick whimpers as Charlie gasps through it. Their mouths crash together again, sloppy and distracted, and Nick still keeps going, on the brink but unable to tip over it.

Charlie wraps his arms tight around him and starts whispering into his ear. “Come on, sweetheart.”

"Ah." Nick cries out, snaps his hips and stills, shuddering from the rapture of it, his chest damp and heaving against Charlie's. He all but collapses when the last ripples are over. "Oh, Charlie. That was…"

"Yeah..." Charlie closes his eyes. He walks his fingertips down Nick's spine, then back up. He kisses Nick's ear. "Admit it, you have a thing for sweet nothings."

Nick just hums and hugs him tighter, his nose still tucked into the crook of Charlie's neck. Charlie shakes him. "Hey, no falling asleep on me."

Moving as little as possible, Nick pulls out and shifts his hips off Charlie, but keeps his torso draped over him. "Better?"

Charlie grimaces. He can feel the wetness between his legs and he hates the sensation. This is the reason why they still use condoms sometimes. He tries to crawl out of Nick's embrace. "I'm going to take a shower."

Nick makes grabby hands after him. "No, stay with me a little longer."

"I'll be back in, like, ten minutes."

"Charlie…"

"Ten minutes!"

He doesn't look in the mirror because seeing Nick's marks on his body is a double-edged sword, sometimes it makes him happy, other times his self-conscious nature takes over, and he doesn't want to deal with that tonight. He climbs into the shower and rinses himself off, relishing the hot water on his skin. He's about to finish up when he hears the shower stall open, and Nick's hands touch his shoulders.

He laughs, unable to turn in the tiny space. "We don't fit, you dork."

"We can try."

He bats Nick's hands away and gets out. "You're so clingy today."

It's the wrong thing to say, perhaps, because Nick goes quiet, and Charlie has to dry himself in the awkward silence. But just when he's about to apologize, Nick pipes up on the other side of the shower's wall. "Char, can we go down to the beach after all?"

"Now? It's an hour-long drive. We won't catch the sunset, if that's what you're thinking."

"I still want to go."

Charlie breaks into a confused smile. "Okay."

~°~

The sky is purpling blue with billowy grey clouds when they arrive at the beach. Their beach, with its rocky shore and colourful huts. They take a walk along the empty bay while the water laps sluggishly at the shore. The wind teases the curls of Charlie's hair and makes Nick zip up the hoodie he stole back from Charlie's side of the wardrobe. They're quiet, and the lack of conversation worries Charlie. It wouldn't, normally, but Nick seems lost in thought again, and he said he had something to tell Charlie. What could it be?

At a spot near the water, Nick stops and they take a moment to watch the town's lights play on the waves. Then, he takes a deep breath, looking at Charlie then away again. Charlie doesn't know what it means.

"Charlie?"

"Yes?"

"This isn't really how I planned to do this, but uh…" He puts his hands in his pockets and turns one of his feet on its side. Charlie's eyes zero in on that movement, but he still can't put it together. "There's something I've been wanting to talk about for a while now."

"Don't - Don't say it." Charlie interrupts, panicking. They can't break up, he doesn't want to - everything was fine until Nick started behaving like this last month. What if it's a quarter-life crisis? "We can work it out, I'm sure, just let me know what's wrong and I can -"

"Charlie." Nick removes one hand from his pockets to squeeze Charlie's shoulder. "Nothing's wrong."

"Are you sure?"

The answer is an incredulous laugh. "Yes."

"Oh. Okay."

There's a pause when they try to read each other's expressions and fail.

"What?"

Charlie hides his hands in the sleeves of his sweater. "Just. You've been quiet in the past couple of weeks. A bit distant sometimes."

"Oh." Nick's eyes go round in genuine surprise. "I didn't notice. I'm sorry if I came across like that. Just had a lot on my mind, really."

Charlie nods, waiting with his heart in his throat. He doesn't expect Nick to step close and stick his own hand into the sleeve of Charlie's sweater to hold Charlie's fingers.

"You're my best friend." Nick starts. His palm is clammy. "You're everything I've ever wanted in a partner, and… I kind of prepared a speech but I'm too nervous -" He stammers.

Charlie's heartbeat races for an entirely different reason now. He feels like he's back in that empty room at Harry's sixteenth birthday party, leaning in to kiss his crush and hoping he isn't dreaming. It's surreal to see the same wildly nervous light in Nick's eyes and the determination in his jaw to barrel through his fears nevertheless.

"I just love you so much." Nick says, leaning even closer. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Charlie has to squeeze Nick's hand not to faint. Nick gives him a long, hopeful look, then pulls his other hand out of his pocket. There's a little box in it, and when Nick pops it open between their chests, Charlie sees a ring.

"Will you marry me?"

Charlie doesn't think it's embarrassing that after the emotional rollercoaster he put himself through, he bursts into tears.

"Yes." He laughs. "Obviously."

He barely keeps himself from sobbing into the kiss Nick presses to his lips. He continues to smile and cry at the same time as he watches Nick's trembling hands put the ring on his finger. When it's finally on, he throws his arms around Nick and hugs him tight. Nick's face presses into its usual place on Charlie's shoulder. "I never thought this would happen to me."

Nick clutches him tighter. "Me neither."

"I can't believe you asked me after your class reunion."

"I told you I didn't plan it like that! I just couldn't keep it a secret from you any longer. You were already catching on."

Charlie strokes Nick's hair. "You really want to get married?

There's a second of silence, then Nick pulls back and laughs. "Yeah. Isn't that obvious?"

Charlie opens his mouth, but he can't say anything, he's grinning too hard. With a fond smile, Nick shakes his head and presses their foreheads together. "Do you want me to pick you up and shout it out loud?"

"Please, don't." Charlie chuckles, but Nick's already running into the sea, spreading his arms and turning towards Charlie.

"I love Charlie Spring, in a romantic way, not just a friend way!"

From one of the houses closest to the beach, someone hoots. Charlie covers his face with his hands. He can hear the squelch of Nick's shoes - he's going to be the one to drive them back to the hotel now, isn't he? "My God, you're so cringe."

Nick's laughter rumbles in his ear. His arms wrap around Charlie's waist. "You love it."

Charlie sighs, but the kiss he lays on Nick's lips is soft and tender. "I really do."

🍂End🍂

#heartstopper fanfic #nick nelson #charlie spring #heartstopper #narlie #nick x charlie #my writing

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