i am IN DEBT to this game. made this to help drag more people into the wormhole <3 if you like blue haired MCs and choices matter visual novels. if you’re a sucker for time loops. this is the game for you

Flowers for Papa

For Jonerys Week Day 1: Home & Family

Summary: For so long, it’s always been Jon who brought her flowers but this time, Dany decides that it should be her turn. While Jon is on his way home, she prepares his welcome home surprise and requires some help. Thankfully, three young Targaryens are more than eager to lend her a hand in laying out the finishing touches to welcome their papa home.

Part 6 of my Flowers for His Queen series. This can be read on Ao3 too~

Mood board once again created in collaboration with @midqueenally. Never could have done it without your help hehe. Thank you, Iris :)

I hope you guys like this! XD Enjoy~

It was yet another peaceful day in Kings Landing. The sun was shining with nought a cloud in the sky. In the nursery of the Red Keep, the three Targaryen children were enjoying a quiet afternoon of play with their babysitter for the day while their mother took some time to plan a welcome home surprise for her husband’s return from his trip to the North. It was the first time he’s left his family since the twins were born and to be away for two whole weeks, his family missed him dearly.

“This is a lion.” Aedon’s chubby hands held up a wooden lion figurine, one of ten hand whittled wooden animals by their father’s advisor and friend, Ser Davos, for the twins’ second birthday. Grinning, Aedon offered it to their uncle who lounged upon the chaise by the window of the nursery, his usual goblet of wine in hand.

Patting the child on the cheek, the queen’s trusted hand nodded, his voice a bit slurry from his drink. “Yes. You are quite right. That is a lion.”

With a huff the child toddled off the find his family’s direwolf guardian to show off his toys to. Little feet took Aedon over to the wolf, lying beside his big sister. It’s watchful red ruby eyes temporarily hidden from view as he rested. His bushy tail occasionally flicking and thumping against the stone floor as he rested. His ears twitched slightly hearing the little boy’s not so sneaky approach.

“Ghost, look at what I got!” The boy stood on tip toes, stretching his arm up as high as he could, brandishing the toy by the wolf’s snout. The direwolf opened his eyes and sniffed at the boy’s hand before sticking out his tongue, giving Aedon’s face a good licking. “Ghost!” The child squealed, dropping the figurine. His tiny hands now free, clenched into fists by his head, clutching at the white strands of fur as he hid his face in the wolf’s side, trying in vain to avoid the sloppy kisses. The wolf diverted the kisses to the boy’s mop of curly silver hair, styling it into whorls of cowlicks.

The eldest of the three Targaryen children was absorbed in coloring a piece of art she had drawn of their dragons soaring over the ocean that ran the fringe of the capital they called home. “Like dragons and wolves, lions are known to be fearsome. Quite like you, uncle Tyrion!” Elwynn perked up from her coloring. Her bare feet kicking in the air as she lay on her belly.

“Well, I wouldn’t call myself fearsome.” The tiny imp fearsome? Tyrion touched the scar that ran down his face. Most people would argue against that for sure, call him a coward more than anything. Although, these days he couldn’t care less for the opinions of others who didn’t matter to him. “But thank you dear child for thinking so. I must admit I do have some fine moments of bravery.” Those who he could now call his friends mattered and they accepted him for who he was, for his wisdom and capabilities. After so long, he finally felt accepted surrounded by the right company.

The princess grinned a toothy grin at him. These young ones were some of those who mattered to him. Children were innocent. They held not a trace of judgement towards anyone they met. Everyone was a person, an equal who deserved kindness. Children spoke their minds, with a frankness that was so refreshing, providing a short reprieve from having to put up appearances and plot schemes. Spending time with these three toddlers also filled a bit of the void that his family had left behind.

Arielle tugged at his sleeve from her seated position on the carpet, her book of children stories sliding from her lap as she moved to sit on her feet. She hadn’t learn all of her letters yet to read a whole book on her own yet but she loved to look at the pictures of dragons, brave warrior knights and princesses atop of towers. “What are you drinking?”

“Wine, little dragon.” Tyrion ruffled her silver curls idly.

“What is wine?”

The young princess had an inquisitive mind, much like her siblings, her whole family in fact. Must be a Targaryen thing. Her questions knew no end. Plus her love of books, she could grow to be a scholar. Tyrion regarded his goblet of wine for a few moments before replying: “Well, it’s a drink made from crushed grapes or other types of fruit fermented over a long period of time.”

“Ohhhh…” Arielle nodded, her head bobbing up and down.

Swirling the plum colored liquid around his goblet before he took a sip, allowing the velvety, bitter fluid to coat his palate before swallowing. It flowed down his throat leaving behind a fruity aromatic aftertaste in his mouth. Delicious, he thought with a smack of his lips. This bottle truly was his masterpiece. Tyrion wasn’t sure how much a three year old understood about fermentation and wine in general but it was never too early to learn the art in his opinion. “Come closer children.” He said gesturing the children over. The three children scooted closer to sit by his feet, looking up intently at him.

“Listen, while I teach you the wonders of wine.“ Propping himself up on an elbow, Tyrion took a hearty gulp of his drink before beginning his lesson. “Wine is a most marvellous invention of man. The Egyptians used to believe that vines that grapes grew on, sprang from the blood of the brave fallen warriors who battled with the gods. Another tale they believed was that, the goddess of war, Sekmhet had a thirst for blood of the fallen warriors. In order to placate the goddess from further destruction of humanity, humans tricked her into drinking copious amounts of an identical colored blood red liquid which many believed to be….” Tyrion waved his hand over his cup. “Wine.”

His audience gasped, completely entralled by his story telling.

“Also, wine was considered to have divine qualities, drunk only by royalty.” Another sip and lord Tyrion’s eyes took on a far away look. ”When drunk, it can both awaken and numb the senses when needed. Your worries, pains can be drowned out and replaced with a moment of blissful numbness.” Leaning in closer to his audience, with the scent of alcohol on his tongue, he disclosed a crucial technique: “Sometimes, when needed, it can be fed to your enemies to extract information as well.”

The young children listened with enraptured interest. Their mouths hung open in wonder. Curiosity piqued, Arielle felt the need to get her hands on that miraculous beverage sloshing around in the cup right inhere line of vision. “Can we have some? Is it tasty?”

“Hmmm…. I’m not sure it’s healthily appropriate for children.” If their mother found out he had given her babies alcohol, she’d probably be really cross. An angry dragon mother was not fun to be around. He’d seen it more than enough times to know. “I don’t think you would like it very much. It’s an acquired taste. You can have a sniff if you’d like.” Tyrion held the goblet out for the child’s nose to reach, holding back a snigger at the reaction that he knew was to come. Arielle took a deep whiff.

“Ugh! Yuck!” She exclaimed, pushing the goblet away from her face.

“I wanna sniff too!” Not wanting to lose out to his twin sister, Aedon eagerly shoved his head forwards to reach the cup. Tyrion sniggered, going along with the prince’s wishes. He offered the cup to the boy.

Nostrils flaring, the boy took a sniff and then promptly gagged. Tyrion’s body was overcome with a fit of chortling laughter, watching their tiny faces contort in disgust.

Knowing better, Elwynn shook her head, pushing the goblet away when her uncle offered it to her, his eyebrows were waggling. “Mama says it’s not good for your liver. You could die from too much alcohol. You shouldn’t drink so much, uncle.”

Tyrion blanched, even the babies were telling him to put off drinking. Should he really start doing that, he wondered. Besides helping with the Queen when she needed his counsel, life was rather looking on the up and ups. He’d even gotten the chance to start his own vinery, complete with a vineyard, producing his very own brand of wine, the Imp’s Delight. He didn’t need to drink himself into a drunken stupor whilst wallowing in the misery of his life anymore, that much was true. Drinking had become more of a leisurely pleasure to him now, something to be shared with a friend over a nice meal. “Hmm…. if I stop drinking, I’d lose my motto! I can’t drink and know things anymore. Now we don’t want that do we?”

Elwynn suggested: “You could drink less and still know things, right?”

Tyrion chuckled. “I’ll consider it.”

“She is right you know. You really should drink less.” A voice came from the doorway to the nursery. The children looked up and instantly bolted to its owner with a chorus of “mama!”s.

The dragon queen fell to her knees, almost automatically, her arms unfurled, welcoming her children into her embrace with a warm smile. She hugged them close, inhaling the scent of strawberries and fresh cream from their bath soap. Her heart filled with warmth and bloomed with love for her children. Holding them close, feeling their arms return her hug around her neck and torso reminded her of how grateful she was once again for being blessed with these beautiful, precious gifts that were her offspring. “Hello, my babies.” Dany cooed. She proceeded to grab hold of their faces, peppering each chubby, cherubic cheek with kisses in greeting, making them squirm and giggle.

With one last peck to their foreheads, Dany slipped her hands into Elwynn‘s and Aedon’s smaller ones. She got to her feet with Arielle hugging her waist. Swinging their joint hands gently, she looked down at the three pairs of purple eyes that mirrored her own and asked: “Have you been good for uncle Tyrion?”

Her question was met with resounding ‘yes’s.

Tyrion sat up, greeting his queen with a nod. “Your Grace.”

“Lord Tyrion.” Dany greeted her hand with a smile as she walked over to the chaise, gaggle of children in tow. Arielle waited for their mama to sit down before toddling forward. She sat on her feet, resting her little head atop her mama’s knees, her hands lay folded over one another propping her chin up to observe the two adults. Elwynn climbed up the chaise and settled herself comfortably into Dany’s side before helping Aedon up too. Dany smiled adoringly at her children, fingers of one hand reaching down to straighten the pink bow on the side of Arielle’s silver head. Her other hand proceeded to smooth down Elwynn’s wild raven curls, adding a tap to Aedon’s button nose, before coming to settle around her eldest child who cradled her baby brother in her lap.

Turning to her Hand, Dany inquired: “I hope you haven’t been informing my children about what lies at the bottom of a bottle, have you?”

“I wouldn’t dare, your Grace. Not to you.” Tyrion smirked. “I was simply educating them about the numerous uses a good bit of wine could provide.” He reassured the queen, a twinkle alit in his eyes.

Seated side by side like this, Dany recalled her last day in Meereen. They sat just like this as well, on the steps by the side of her throne room on the day she named Tyrion Lannister her Hand, the day she joined the great game for the Iron Throne. She would always be thankful for his belief in her, for supporting her vision for a better future, thankful for his counsel and guidance, thankful for his friendship. “We’ve been through a lot, haven’t we?”

“Yes, we have.” Tyrion let out a quiet sigh. “And what a journey it has been.”

The queen nodded, feeling that familiar sense of forlornness, that old friend who sometimes dropped by for a visit unannounced when the nights were typically dreary. They each had lost so much along the way. This road to breaking the wheel had not been an easy one, with death, war and bloodshed spattered throughout. Every each and one of them who was lucky enough to make it out alive, from the ragtag group of leaders, to their people and the soldiers they lead into a battle against thousands of dead men had each lost a piece of themselves as the price for their survival. Then came the penultimate war, fiercer than the last— the battle for the Throne. As the dust settled after the reclamation of the throne, a new future was in the making. Old wounds brought about new mended scars. The hands of pain and loss had carved invisible yet permanent scars on their skins, even more so, on their hearts.

“But we’re still here. Alive and well. Moving on a path to pave the way to a brighter future for the generations to come.” Tyrion digressed, nudging Dany’s arm gently in hopes to lift her spirits. “Besides, if it weren’t for the past, we wouldn’t have the present now would we?” Reclining fully once more on the chaise, he added with a nonchalant shrug: “And the present is looking pretty good. “

The queen and her hand shared a smile. He was right as usual. Life was finally good. She had a place to seek solace from those dreary nights in the arms of her dear husband and three babies whom she could give all her love to, unconditionally.

Little hands patting at her arm broke their conversation. “What is it, my sweet?” Dany asked giving Arielle’s chin a chuck.

“When is papa coming home?” Arielle asked. “I hope it’s soon. I miss the two of you telling us bedtime stories.” She pouted, her bottom lip sticking out pitifully. The king and his queen had a nightly routine of putting their children to bed with a story of their choosing.

“Yes, we haven’t seen papa in forever!” Aedon drawled, throwing his hands up in the air before collapsing into Elwynn’s arms. Aedon missed their play fighting. He missed sharing his toys with his papa and his wooden sword missed the clang against his father’s.

Elwynn giggled holding her brother to her. Ellie missed their trainings. Aside from sword fighting, Papa had just started couching her on using the bow and arrow. Thinking for a moment, she counted the days in her head. Her papa promised that he’d come back within two weeks. He’d been gone for… thirteen, fourteen days now. She gasped in realization. “He’s coming back today isn’t he? I counted the days!” Elwynn exclaimed in excitement, her purple eyes large and shining with glee.

“Really, mama? Really?” The twins whipped their head around to look at her simultaneously, wearing identical wide-eyed, slack mouth expressions on their faces.

Dany couldn’t hold back an amused smile. Her darling children were such a joy to watch. Their faces held nothing back, revealed everything they felt so clearly. Their eyes showed everything that was running through their minds. They held no secrets in their purity.

“Yes, my babies. He’ll be arriving home soon,” informed their mother.

“Hooray!!!” The children yelled. Grabbing onto each other’s hands, the children shot to their feet and began spinning in a circle happily. Their dresses and hair bouncing up and down as they jumped. Sensing their excitement, Ghost joined in their cheer, running around them, his tail wagging back and forth behind him.

“I’d best be getting a move on.” Tyrion shouted to Dany over the ruckus. “I have a certain grape harvester to rendezvous with.” He pushed himself off the chaise, side stepping around the jumping children and ambled over to the door. “A very pretty, very feminine grape harvester to be exact. Say hello to Jon for me!” Tossing a wink at Dany over his shoulder, he yanked the door open, bottle of wine still grasped in his hand. Shaking her head at his retreating figure, Dany laughed as he slipped out the door. Typical Tyrion.

“Children!” With a clap of her hands, Dany called to them. “And Ghost, of course.” All three heads plus their wolf swiveled to look at her. “I need your help.”

The azure waves glittered under the sun as the king flew across the vast open ocean. After a full two days of travel and two whole weeks without his family, he was almost there. Each flap of the dragon’s wings took him closer and closer to his destination which he could see growing in the distance.

Home.

Down in the gardens, three children and their mother meandered through the huge hedge maze that their father had designed for them. The hedges were planted since before the twins were born and within three years, the fast growing plants grew and grew to its current state, standing at five feet. The maze was built around an old lemon tree on a field of dandelions. The couple had found this location one day, shortly after moving in to the Red Keep. They wandered through the gardens exploring. Neither of them had been there before so they made it a point to get to know their new home. Taking a turn they reached a vastly different part of the gardens, the area looked unmanned, like no one had cared for it for years. Unkempt grass grew wild, vines and thorny brambles climbed all over the walls. As they walked on, they came to a clearing and right in the middle stood a lemon tree. Though it was not bearing any fruit at the time, Dany had recognised it immediately from her dreams and that vague hint of lemon wafting from the leaves as they drew closer. She had fallen in love with it instantly. For so long, ever since she was a child, the representation of home to her had always included a lemon tree. That afternoon, the king and queen sat under it, making plans for their future together which included how they would create the perfect little nook for their children to play in.

“This is a bit scary” Aedon gulped. His pouty pink lips wobbled slightly as he curled his fingers around his twin’s.

Little Aedon was usually quite courageous but being only a child of three everything seemed so much larger. The leafy green walls of the maze loomed overhead almost as if they were about to close in and swallow him up whole.

The girls however, weren’t the least bit phased. “Don’t be scared, big brother! This is exciting!” Arielle tightened her grip on his hand. “It’s an avent… adve…” A little furrow appeared between her brows. Tugging on Dany’s skirt, the princess asked: ”Mama? What’s the word again?”

“Adventure, my darling.”

“Adventure.” Parroted the princess with a firm nod. Her silver curls bouncing with her bobbing head.  

“Yeah! We have the blood of the wolves in our veins and fire of the dragons in our bellies, we’ll be fine. Just follow me.” Elwynn knew the way like the back of her hand, having explored every inch of the maze since the day the hedges were rooted into the soil, when the short shrubs had only a few leaves attached to their branches. “Here.” Sticking out her hands, Elwynn offered it to her brother and sister. “We’ll hold hands. That way we won’t get separated and you can hold on tightly if you get scared.”

Smiling, the twins placed their hands in hers. Fear gone without a trace, replaced with a renewed enthusiasm.

“Let’s go!” Elwynn cheered, pulling a giggling Arielle and Aedon along with her as she marched on ahead. “Mama! Come on!”

“Be careful, Ellie! Don’t go too far,” Admonished their mother. She wanted keep a protective eye on her babies just in case something happened to them. At the same time, she couldn’t suppress the strong sense of pride that expanded within her chest. Her children were everything she’d hoped for and more. They were kind, bright, brave and most of all they loved each other. She only hoped that it would remain that way and that they would care for each other regardless of the influences they will no doubt face from the people they meet and the ordeals they will stumble upon when they grew older.

“Alright, mama.” Elwynn hollered. The children slowed down and waited for their mama to catch up with them. Then, they made their way together through the twists and turns of the maze to the exit and into the field.

Settling the basket of flowers she held in her hands along with her trusty old tome of flower meanings by the lemon tree, Dany said to her children: “Here’s what we’re going to do.” Kneeling in front of them, from the basket of five different bunches of flowers, she retrieved three bunches and handed them to the children. “We’re going hide these flowers in the maze for your papa to find.”

“Hide and seek!” Aedon chirped.

“In a way, yes. A scavenger hunt to be exact.” Dany couldn’t resist giving his protruding little belly a light poke, enticing a high-pitched yip from the boy. His sisters shared a look dripping with mischief and decided to launch a tickle fest to their brother’s mid section.

Aedon’s childish surprised shrieks filled the air as he covered his belly with his hands, batting at their fingers. His little face gradually flushed red as he bowed over, giggling.

Watching her children tease and play with each other, Dany couldn’t help feel a bit envious. Growing up, she wondered why she didn’t have more than one sibling. Maybe if she had another sister or brother, Viserys wouldn’t have vented all his frustrations on her, the sole outlet of release for his anger. In retrospect though, she wouldn’t wish that on any child. Her brother wasn’t the nicest big brother, but she still remembered the good times, the times when they were little, when they’d have fun together in the house with the red door, before any semblance of their childhood evaporated and was replaced with so much anger, discontent and greed.

For her children, she wished that their childhood would last a long time. That they would have ample chance to experience what it is like to live a carefree life in a peaceful world, with no need to flee from city to city, with no hardship and no pain, in this new world that she’s fought so hard to change.

Eventually, his laughter began to transition into tears. Clearing her throat, Dany put on her sternest mum’s voice. “Girls, that’s enough. Let your brother go.”

The princesses relented, moving their hands away from a now weepy, teary Aedon. Hiccupping, he stumbled over to his mother. “Mama…”

“Hush, my sweet boy. You’re alright.” Dany wrapped him up snug in her arms, brushing back his silver locks from his face, rubbing a palm up and down his back, hoping to sooth the poor child. “Girls, I think we may have went a bit overboard, haven’t we?”

Elwynn nodded, rocking back and forth on her feet looking sheepishly at her brother. “I’m sorry for tickling you so much.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry.” Arielle reached for her brother’s hand. “I didn’t know you would cry.”

“I shouldn’t have started it.” Dany planted a kiss to Aedon’s flushed cheek. “I’m sorry as well. Forgive me?” Dany murmured, her heart aching at her baby’s tears. Her fingers reached out to chase them away.

Shaking his head fervently, Aedon’s face contorted into a broody frown, very much like his father’s when something wasn’t going the way he planned. “I’m not mad at you! It’s my flower, mama!” The prince only proceeded to cry further. Rubbing at his eyes, he lifted the bunch of purplish blue Anemones up to show his mother. Through his squirming and wriggling, between his snorts and shrieks, the flowers in his clenched fists were squashed against his chest. As a result, they were now looking a bit bruised, bent at the stalks and some of the petals had fallen off too. “Papa won’t like them anymore!” Aedon wailed, big fat drops of tears streaked freely down his flushed cheeks.

Dany felt as if her heart was going to melt into a puddle within her rib cage. Her boy was such a sensitive sweetheart. “Aww… don’t worry sweetling, your papa will love them all the same. As long as it’s something his children give him.” Dany assured the child, her fingers gently caressing his face, relieving him of the salty moisture that was being squeezed out from his very active tear ducts.

“Yeah? Mama?” said the boy between hiccups.

“I’m sure of it.” Dany said with a bop to his tomato red nose. The boy shot her a wobbly grin, feeling better at last. His older sister swabbed away the last of his tears and snot with the train of her dress, while his baby sister showed him her goofiest monkey face to tease a smile out of the toddler and a gave him a hug just to be sure that he felt better.

With a smile and that sense of pride swimming in her heart, Dany straightened back up to stand, brushing off the grass stains on her knees. “Alright, let’s get to work, shall we?”

The three tots nodded their heads eagerly, rocking back and forth on the balls of their feet, ready to get on with their assigned task.

“Make sure to hide them in the bushes. Can you do that for me please?”

They nodded again. Feet already inching towards the maze they’d just came out off.

In the basket by her feet, held two more bunches of flowers and another greener bundle of leaves. Dany took the remaining bouquet from the basket, leaving the leaves behind. “I’ll keep you for later.” She thought, smirking to herself. Jon was in for a surprise. To her children, she instructed: “Stick together now.”

The children complied. Elwynn slid a free hand into Dany’s larger one, Aedon grabbed hold of Elwynn’s blouse and Arielle brought up the rear with her fingers in Aedon’s shirt.

Together, the quartet headed back into the maze.  

That’s odd, Jon thought as he dismounted his horse. Instead of his family, it was Missandei who stood by the entrance to the Red Keep. Missandei and Ghost. Which was even stranger. Ghost rarely ever left the children’s sides since Elwynn’s birth. Did something happen?

Ghost bounded towards his master the moment his feet hit the ground. Leaping up in attempts to reach his face and smother him in slobbery kisses. Standing on his hind legs, Ghost stood with his front paws on Jon’s shoulders. The king chuckled ruffling the wolf’s fur by his face. “I’m glad to see you again, boy!

“Welcome home, your Highness.” Missandei greeted him warmly, her hands holding something behind her back. “I hope the skies have been clear?”

“Aye, the weather had been kind.” Jon replied, a hand stroking through Ghost’s white fur. “Is everything alright? Where’s Dany? And the children?” Jon queried, the beginnings of worry rising in his chest.

“They’re perfectly fine. Although the queen did ask me to give you this.” Bringing her hands to the front, Jon noticed that she was holding a roll of parchment. Missandei entrusted the scroll to him with a half smile, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

Jon eyed her with an arched eyebrow. To him she looked like she was keeping a secret from him.

The note was held close with a red ribbon. Tugging it off with a flourish, unrolling the scroll, Jon instantly recognized his wife’s neat penmanship. Across the parchment she wrote:

Find the four flowers in the maze. Follow the flowers to us, come to us, your family, my love.

“Huh. What could Dany be up to?” He asked absently.

Missandei simply shrugged, that cryptic smile still upon her lips. Definitely suspicious. Something was up.

Looking down at Ghost, he asked: “Do you know?”

Titling his head, Ghost merely barked.

Head into the maze, find the flowers and out the other side to his family.

“I guess I have to locate the flowers hidden in any of these hedges?” A perplexed Jon stood with his arms crossed across his chest at the entrance of the maze, pondering. “That’s a lot of hedges.”  

Ghost headed into the maze ahead of him. Looking back at his master, the wolf waited with a tilt of his head and a whine almost as if urging him to get a move on. Seeing Jon still standing there, he grew impatient. His whine became a bark.

“I’m coming! And you’re helping me search.” Jon patted his wolf on the head. The king only hoped his wife didn’t hide them too well. The maze wasn’t that big but it was still big enough to feel like he was searching for a flower in a field of flowers.

Turning this way and that in the maze, thank the gods it didn’t take long for Jon to spot the first flash of colour among all the green. The first blossom was a bunch of Stargazer Lilies held together with a similar red ribbon as the parchment Missandei had given him earlier, not so hidden in the side of a hedge. The lilies were gorgeous. They looked like stars with five petals forming the five points with their protruding pistil and stamens forming the middle. The petals were pink with speckles of red dotted all over. The edges were lined with white and the sweet, poignant fragrance they emitted reminded him of the glasshouses in Winterfell. “One down, three more to go.” His heart began to gallop. He was almost there and he couldn’t wait to see them.

Walking along, Jon could picture his children and their gleeful laughter, roaming about the maze to find the perfect hiding spot, obscure but not so hidden that he couldn’t find them. He wondered what they were doing this very moment just on the other side of this maze? Were they just as eager to see him, as he was to see them?

Just then, he felt a damp nose nudging at his leg. “What is it? Did you find one?” Ghost averted his eyes to a spot behind Jon. Following his gaze, he turned to find a bunch of bright royal purple Pansy just by his head. Plucking them out of the bush, the king had to laugh. He was so occupied with looking for them at ground level he neglected to remember that his wife, just like in everything she did, was very thorough. He suspected she would have been involved in the hiding too.

“Two more left. Come on, boy.” With the flowers in one hand, the king and his wolf went on through the labyrinth.

The next blossom he picked up were a cluster of red Petunias left right in the middle of the grassy path. “Convenient.” Jon added the bundled blossoms to his collection. It would seem that one of his darling tots were eager that he got to them faster and wanted to make his job easier. Which suited him just fine, leaving him with only one more.

This was a pleasant change, he thought, glancing down at the sizeable bouquet in the crook of his arm. Usually, it was he who planned the surprises for his dear wife.  He couldn’t recall the last time he’d gotten flowers or a surprise. Though his mind was beginning to piece together the meanings of the flowers, thanks to his elusive knowledge of botany not many people knew about, he still wondered what his queen had to say utilising these particular flowers. He couldn’t wait to hear it from her.

Ghost pranced by his side, tail swinging jauntily behind him, looking delighted as can be to be with his master again. Keeping his nose to the ground at occasions to help in his master’s search. As they reached the last turn, with the exit looming just ahead, Ghost suddenly rushed forward, sticking his snout into a hedge and returned to Jon with last bunch of flowers gingerly clamped between his jaws.  “Thank you, well done Ghost!” Jon accepted the bunch from him. It was a delicate bouquet of Anemone. The blossoms looked a bit battered, missing a few petals here and there, but they were still lovely nonetheless and meant so much to him already. They were quite rare in these regions, he had no clue they even existed in the gardens. These flowers were special for their natural ability to close when night comes and open to the sun when daylight breaks. He just knew that the children would love to see them, while still attached to their roots of course. He’d have to take them on a hunt for them during one of their afternoon adventures soon. With that, all four had been found. Time to meet his family just around the bend.

Among the field of yellow and white blossoms, three young children huddled close to their mother, bending stalks, weaving flower crowns and blowing at dandelion fluffs. Each seed carried a wish to the sky, a wish for their papa to appear before their eyes. Just then, their furry big brother leapt through the stalks, trampling across the field, barking. All four heads turned towards him and their eyes alighted on the figure standing at the edge of the clearing. Their wishes came true!

“Papa!” His children called out to him, children that he never thought he would have the chance to father. Childish voices soared through the air, so clear, so crisp like a cool spring breeze drifting through the leaves of a tree, carrying the distinct purity only the children of summer could have, as tiny sandaled feet pounded against the ground. Three tiny bodies rushed through the grass, sending fluffy dandelion seeds scattering everywhere. Their outstretched hands reached for him in search of that familial connection between a father and his children. Jon dropped to his knees with his arms held apart, ready to catch his prince and princesses barrelling straight for him. An armful of mini humans later, he found himself on his backside having toppled backwards with a grunt, his arms as full as his heart was bursting.

“Papa, we’ve missed you so very much!” Elwynn exclaimed, hugging him around the neck.

“Yeah! You’ve been gone forever!” Arielle rubbed her cheek back and forth against his tunic, like a cat welcoming her parent home from a hard day of work. In a way that seemed applicable to him too.

“Did ya see any White Walkers beyond the Wall?” Aedon asked, his hands clinging to Jon’s right sleeve.

Ignoring their disapproving whines at him squishing them, the laughing king intensified his grip around his children, dropping smooches all over the crowns of their heads. He simply sat on the ground relishing in the moment, having them so near once more, trying his best to give them two weeks worth of cuddles and snuggles in one ginormous one. These babies and his wife were his everything. The day he held Elwynn in his arms, such a small wriggly thing, bundled up in a blanket, he knew that he would do anything for his children. Then when the twins came along, he knew for certain that he would go to any extent to keep them safe, even if it meant giving his life. Now that he was a father, words that his uncle, who raised him like a father would, resonated with him. Even if it meant being the lone wolf that died, he would do so willingly to ensure that his pack lived on. But before that, he would burn whomever dared to harm his family to ash.

The human heart was such a mysterious organ, one that she was constantly underestimating. Underestimating its capacity to love. Her husband and her offspring interacting made such a beautiful sight, watching from a distance, an overwhelming giddy, fluttery, fuzzy feeling expanded and expanded before melting her heart into a puddle of molten emotions within her chest cavity as moisture gathered in her eyes. All of them, the four beautiful beings that she stood observing, composed a future that once long ago, she never thought would ever be in the cards for her anymore. Sometimes, it almost seemed to good to be true, like a dream, a dream of spring in the darkest, coldest winter. And yet, as her eyes met her husband’s, over the top of their children’s heads, she knew this was true, a reality that was hers. One that she would protect with everything she had.

Leaving the children to play a few feet away, making sure they could still be seen, Dany weaved her fingers through the spaces between her husband’s, where they fit perfectly, where they belonged. She walked them towards the giant lemon tree. Under the shade provided by the foliage, with the scent of lemon in the air, and white lemon blossoms above their heads, Dany nestled herself against the front of Jon’s body. “I spent the whole day planning and researching all this for you, did you know?” She stated feeling extremely proud of herself. The queen had Jon’s bouquet in he hands, clasped in front of her stomach with her arms around her flower almanac that still held all the flowers he’d gifted to her over the years, now long dried of course but the queen had them preserved and pressed into bookmarks so she could keep them for a long, long time. Shimmying slightly to get comfortable, Dany peered up at him, a look of pure bliss painted her enchanting amethyst orbs. After so many years, she was just as mesmerizing as the first moment they met. There was not a side of her that he had uncovered which he hadn’t fell for. Taking the courage and allowing his heart to fall and welcome her into it all those years ago was the best-damned thing he had ever done in his then, bleak and dreary life. At the moment though that old life seemed so far away. The endless winter had finally turned to spring.

“Thank you, my queen.” The king cuddled his lover in the warm enclosure of his arms, cherishing the feel of her back in his embrace. “This has to be one of the greatest gifts I’ve had the pleasure of receiving.” Pressing a lingering kiss to her temple, he added: “It comes close to meeting you and the birth of our children of course.”

His queen snuggled back into him, running the tip of her nose indulgently along his neck, breathing in his scent. Not withholding the urge to drop opened mouthed kisses along the expanse of his exposed skin, Dany relished in his shudder with an appreciative hum. How she’d missed him. The scratch of his scruffy beard under her fingers, up and down the her inner thighs, the touch of the calloused pads of his fingers that always reduced her into a trembling mess, the warm family moments they shared together with their babies, just everything that was him.

“Do you know why I chose these flowers for you?”

“Why did you choose them, my love?”

Tucking her head into the bend where Jon’s neck met his shoulder, Dany spoke softly, eager to savour this rare tender moment which didn’t come by very often now that they were parents: “These flowers in particular allow for a smoother storytelling process. The meaning of these flowers can be strung into a short tale of my woes while you were away.” She batted her eyelids at him playfully, before breaking out into a giggle, one that Jon couldn’t help but join in. “Would you like to hear it?” Her fingers already rearranging the bouquets in the right order as she spoke.

“Of course I would.” Jon replied, shifting her hair away from her face and placing the lock behind her ear. He loved her like this without her many intricate braids, with just the one running down the middle, made up of two smaller braids that held her hair away from the sides of her face, leaving the rest of her locks flowing free. In place of her royal crown was a flower crown, circling her head. In his eyes the ensemble made her appear no less regal but softer, more vulnerable in a way that made her even more beautiful, more carefree, away from her worries and duties, more like the Dany so often hidden under all her titles.

“Let’s start with this one.” Dipping her head low, Dany welcomed the sweet floral scent into her nose. “Stargazer lilies are really pretty aren’t they?” She asked. “I couldn’t sleep without you holding me, so I went strolling one night an the scent of these flowers drew me to them, I picked them and got the idea to give you flowers like you tend to give me! These flowers were the perfect candidate. You see, the predominant felling when you left was an acute sense of longing. These flowers carry that sentiment.” Twirling a lily around and watching their red speckles catch the light, she remembered how the children would query every night of when their papa would come home. Every time they did so, her heart would ache just a little more. “I’ve missed you, Jon, terribly. Our babies did too. We’ve never parted for such an extended period of time in so long.”

“I’ve missed you too. I missed my family. It felt odd being away, like a part of me was missing. Which I suppose was true.” Kissing her on the back of her head, he reflected: “A big portion of my heart stayed behind back here, with you. Seems like I can’t stray away from you, my queen. ”

“Good. You’d better remember that.” Dany flicked at his nose defiantly with the flowers, laughing lightly as he sneezed.

“Aye, I will.” Jon promised, sniffling lightly. Lifting the heavy tome up and out of Dany’s lap to wind his arms around her to rest on her belly, Jon cheekily nipped at her earlobe, making her yelp. Smirking as she shot a flustered glare back at him, he nodded with his head at the flowers, speaking an unspoken ‘continue please’.

Dany cleared her throat, all the while tyring hard not to smile at her husband’s mischievous capers. Sometimes her stoic wolf could be just like their children, which was something she found surprisingly endearing. Pulling Jon’s arms tighter around her, Dany picked out the Pansy next. “Essentially, the Pansy conveys the meaning of remembrance. Remembering events of the past.” Playing with the round petals under her fingers, a small smile stole across her lips. “Sometimes during the night when I felt particularly lonely, my mind would fill with all the things we’ve been through, all the good and the bad.”

“That was what I did too.” It was the same for him. Lying in his childhood bedroom, in his childhood bed back in Winterfell, everything around him looked the same and yet everything was different now. The space beside him in bed felt empty and cold without his love, a thousand miles away. The occasional raven from Kings Landing and the thoughts of his darling family were the only things that kept him on his task and the prospect of getting back to them soon pushed him to work harder. “The thoughts of the happy times we’ve spent together, are your greatest treasure huh?” Jon’s fingers reached forward to curve around the edge of a pansy petal.

Nuzzling her forehead against his, Dany hummed. “Yes.”

“As are mine.” Jon rubbed his nose alongside hers. “Always.”

“As the day of your return approached, I began feeling much lighter, my heart was so full to the brim with,” Waving the bunch of Anemone before his eyes, Dany could almost feel an echo of excitement in her building once more. “Anticipation, Jon.”

The king laughed. He knew that feeling all too well.

“And now that you’re back, I can give you these Petunias that fully represent what I hope we’ll have more of in the future.” Gently placing the flowers back in Jon’s hands, Dany wrapped her smaller ones around his. “I wish with all my heart that I will be able to fulfil my endless desire to spend the rest of my life in your company, because no matter what we’re going through, you make me feel sure of myself, you sooth every frazzled nerve that comes up and you just…. make me so happy.”

When they first met, the queen had no intention of getting used to the presence of this broody man, the solemn king in the North, no intention at all to grow close to him, to let him steal his way into that firmly guarded vault that held her vulnerability, held her heart. He did so in such a sneaky way that when she realised her feelings for him, the seeds had already taken root and had grown into little buds of love that would soon bloom into flowers that never withered even in the harshest of winters.

Jon was speechless. His throat so clogged up with emotions the only way he could react was to capture his wife’s lovely mouth with his.

“Just when I thought I couldn’t love you more…” He murmured against her lips when they parted reluctantly for breath. “I love you and would gladly spend my whole life working my hardest to bring you only joy, after all that you’ve been through, all the hardship and pain. You deserve only happiness.”

Chasing after his lips for more pecking kisses, Dany uttered breathlessly: “You deserve it too. Let’s agree to be happy together.”

“That sounds like a solid plan.” Kissing her back with ardour, Jon couldn’t agree more.

The dimly lit nursery was dark and the light snoring from two slumbering princesses was the only sound that could be heard. The only occupants awake were the king and his little prince.

“Papa?” A sleepy Aedon called out. His eyes were already drooping, but he had a very important question in mind that he needed to ask.

Jon came to sit by his son’s bed. “What is it, my boy?” He asked, tucking the covers securely around the child.

“Do you think I’m weak?” Came the prince’s voice, muffled from his mouth being half hidden under the covers. Aedon’s eyes darted around the room, not meeting his father’s directly.

Taken aback, Jon had to ask, his voice curious with a hint of worry. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, today when we were going into the lemon tree place, I got scared had to hold Ellie and Ari’s hands.” Aedon’s voice was beginning to wobble. Even in the dark, Jon could tell that tears were welling in his eyes. His son reminded him a bit of his baby brother Rickon. Aedon was such a sweet, sensitive boy who had the bravery of the wolf and dragon combined, residing in his blood but sometimes Jon wondered if he felt unsure of himself. He wasn’t the wildest or loudest child. He was the quiet, cautious one who never jumped into situations that could endanger him. The silent wolf that came prowling through the trees in the woods, silent but loud when need be. He was the perfect balance between his wilful sisters.

Pulling the blanket away from his son’s body, Jon gently lifted the boy up to sit on his lap. “Aedon, listen to me carefully now.” Tipping his head up by the chin so that their eyes met, Jon stated firmly: “Being afraid doesn’t make you weak. There is nothing wrong in being scared sometimes. In fact, it proves that you are strong.”

“How?” Aedon asked, confused.

“To be weak is to be brave. Let me ask you this, Aedon.” Jon’s hand came to curl around his son’s arm, shifting the boy to sit with his side resting against his chest. “Did you make it out of the maze?”

Aedon nodded, still looking up at his father warily.

“Then that’s all that matters! Only by being brave, allowed you to face your fear. That bravery in you gave you the courage to overcome that fear and come out at the end!”

“But… I still had to let my sisters guide me!” The boy frowned.

“That is also a sign of the bravery that you have in you. Being able to admit that you were scared and ask for help is a good thing.” Rocking his son gently from side to side, Jon said: “Besides, we don’t have to be brave all the time. Just as long as it appears when it’s needed, to protect the things you hold dear for example, like your family or to do what is right, what is necessary.”

Aedon’s eyes grew large as an unbridled grin formed across his face, pushing up his chubby cheeks. “I was brave, papa?”

“Aye.” Jon reassured him with a ruffle to his curls. “You are so very brave. And who knows, maybe one day your sisters will need you to defend them. Maybe even your mama and I might need your help.”

“No way!” Aedon said in a breathy voice, tinged with disbelief. “Me?”

“Aye. You will need to bring out that bravery you have inside here.” Jon pointed at Aedon’s chest. “Be the dragon you were born to be, be the wolf that protects his pack. Can you do that my boy?”

Aedon puffed up his chest with his lips pursed into the tightest line and nodded his head so vehemently his curls bounced all over the place.

“Good. Remember, being afraid does not make you weak.” Sticking out his pinkie finger, Jon offered it to the boy. “Promise you’ll remember that?”

Aedon hooked his tiny finger as best as he could around his father’s. “I promise.”

“Now, let’s get you to bed. You’re going to need your energy if you want to hunt some White Walkers with me tomorrow!” Jon tossed his son up in the air lightly, relieved to hear the sound of his son’s cheerful laughter. Urging the boy into the confines of his blanket, and watching with a smile as he lay back down before pulling the blanket up to his chin. Finally with the boy firmly tucked in, Jon said to him: “I love you, my son.”

“I love you, papa. Good night.” Aedon mumbled as his eyes fell shut, ready to join his sisters on their expedition through the land of dreams.

With lingering kisses to each other their slumbering heads, Jon crept out of the nursery, leaving the door open just a crack.

“Are the children asleep?” Dany asked from their bed.

“Aye. Arielle and Ellie knocked out before I even got to the end of the first page and you know how much they love that story.” Jon replied with a fond smile lifting the corners of his lips. The princesses requested that story almost nightly. It was the tale of a warrior princess mounting her dragon and slaying the hideous Chimera with dragon fire. It was very true to their characters. He wondered what kind of princesses they’d grow up to be, his beautiful daughters. One thing that he knew for certain was, they’d grow to be just as strong as their mother and their aunts in the North. It was in their blood after all.

“Ugh…. I’m exhausted!” Jon groaned, collapsing onto his side of bed, his head falling to rest on the queen’s thigh.

Dany ran her fingers lovingly through his silky curls. “I bet you are. But you can’t sleep yet!”

“What? Why?” Jon exclaimed with a pout, looking ridiculously like his children when they didn’t get their way.

“There is something else I saved for you.” A sly half smile fleeted across her mouth as she held up a sprig of mistletoe between her fingers. “I’m sure you know what this little plant means?”

“Mistletoe huh?” Jon sat up and crawled over to his wife, a languid smirk tugging at his mouth, until there was only a scant distance between their lips. “If my memory serves me,” he hummed, thinking for a moment, “it means you’re sending me a thousand kisses?” Jon murmured, his breath rolling over Dany’s face. He wasn’t aware of just how much he’d missed her in bed until they were just an inch away from touching. How he’d missed his lovely wife, the warmth of her pressed against him, the taste of her, her scent, her talented tongue doing sinful things to his body that made him want to combust under her, and the sight of her being a mother to their children, just her everything.

Turns out she’d been missing him too, for she craved him, dearly. The queen scooted herself closer to him, an arm curled around Jon’s neck, she pulled him to her. Her eyes slipped shut as their lips brushed against one another, not quite kissing just yet but grazing softly as they breathed together, savouring the closeness of their bodies, reunited at last. The contented hum released by the queen radiated from her lips to his, sending delicious tremors coursing through Jon’s body.

“Well…. I couldn’t send them to you attached to the feet of a raven, so I saved them up for you. Now that you’re back….” Wiggling the green parasitic sprig above their heads, her lips blossomed into a grin that he felt against his own. “Feel free to come and claim your kisses anytime, my darling husband.”

That was all a very reinvigorated Jon needed to pounce forward and pin his wife to their bed. The sprig of mistletoe fell to the floor, soon to be joined by their clothes as the king and queen spent the rest of the night rediscovering one another, reacquainting themselves with the spots on each other’s bodies that made them tremble and topple over the edge into the arms of carnal ecstasy.

It was good to be home, Jon concluded. As they say, home is where the heart was, amongst many other things.

February

Thursday had been relatively uninteresting, spent entirely indoors, watching the worst possible films Netflix had to offer. Very enjoyable, but nothing to write home about. It was now Friday morning, after another night sharing Harry’s bed, our legs intertwining at some point in our sleep, but shooting from one another as soon as we woke, and I was downstairs making us some breakfast.

Harry’s house was constantly stocked up with food, I had noticed. There was never a chance they would run out of milk, or bread. Never would you wake up in the morning without every ingredient you needed, and more, to make a full English breakfast. Everything you could ever want to eat, you were bound to find it in Harry’s house. Safe to say, it was my idea of heaven. Kev and Ben were out working for the day, which meant it was just me and Harry, which was fine, but we had no plans once again, which wasn’t the worst, but nor was it the best. I was looking forward to Manchester the night after. Harry was upstairs showering when my phone rang, and even though I was happy to see Zayn’s name on my screen, I hadn’t really been expecting a phone-call from Barcelona. “Good morning!” I beamed when I answered. “I’m currently making a full English breakfast. Are you proud? I know it’s usually you who does the cooking, but I can actually do it! I’ll cook you a full English when you’re home, I promise. I miss you. I’m talking too much. How’s it going? Is it sunny? Is it hot?” “You’re too chirpy.” He spoke. “Am I?” “Yeah. Well, to say you’ve been spending time with Harry Styles... Yeah.” My face dropped as the sausages sizzled. God damn. My plan has been foiled. I didn’t really know what to say. I fumbled over myself and tried to structure a sentence in a way that would go against what he had said so I could keep the plan of turning back up at university on Monday and surprising everyone with our new found friendship. Then I figured the other half of my troublesome twosome may have forgotten our original intent. “Oh god damn. Did Harry tell you?” “Huh? Tell me what?” “I’m really confused.” I wobbled. “You posted a picture of you and Harry in the pub on Wednesday night, and literally, what the fuck? Why are you at the pub with Harry? What the fuck?” Of course. It was me who ruined our plan. Absolute idiot. I hadn’t even realised. I had thought not to tweet about it, or put anything on Facebook, but I pretty much forgot about Instagram. Also, to be honest, I had just got so excited about the fact that me and Harry finally had a picture together, that we were finally at the stage where I could put my arm around his neck and we could smile towards a camera together. I really loved my first picture with Harry, and I had wanted to share it. Katie from home had text me straight away, asking who he was. “Shite. I totally forgot about that.” I rolled my eyes at myself. “An explanation, Pip? C’mon, it’s probably costing me a fortune ringing you from here, so cough up. I’m too confused. I need to know. Also, miss you too.” I did miss him, like mad, so much more than I was ever expecting to. Not even a week without a boy who I didn’t even know a year ago, and I was more or less falling apart without him. I cooed down to the floor before I finally got around to explaining myself. There was no longer any point denying it. “He offered me a lift when he was driving home-” “Harry drives?” “APPARENTLY? Who knew, right? Anyway, so I took him up on it, didn’t really know where to go. So then he offered for me to stay at his and I didn’t know what else to do, so I said yeah and now... like... we’re really getting on. It’s weird. We’re finally friends.” He didn’t say anything for a little while, but I could hear his grin, really hear it. Of course he was grinning. He had two best friends at uni (three if you include Louis, but I was still ignoring him at that stage) and that was me and Harry, who unfortunately, had hated each other in the past. Of course he was beaming that we were finally getting on, that made his life ten times easier, and made our future time at university full of prosperity. It was exciting, for all of us. “Well, thank god for that!” He sighed after some time. “I feel like I’ve been waiting my entire life for this day. God, I’m so happy for you, Pippa! That must feel like such a weight off your shoulders!” “Yeah, it does, really. It’s good. I mean, it’s annoying how everyone was right about us being similar and getting on but... yeah. It’s good.” “Alright, good. Well, I’m not even joking, this is probably costing a bomb. My mums gunna kill me, so I better shoot. I miss you loads. I’m not back til Tuesday, so I’ll see you then, alright?” “Beautiful. Miss you loads, have fun and get home safe.” “Will do. All my love, to you and Harry.” “I’ll let him know. Byeeeee.” “Bye.” He chuckled. With that, we hung up, and I went back to making breakfast, it already being ready and heated perfectly in time. The beans, the sausages, the bacon, the tomatoes. Everything was ready and beautifully cooked all at the right time. I was overcome with a bizarre sense of achievement. I plated it all up, grinning madly to myself as I did, feeling like I may as well apply to go on Masterchef or some kind of Gordon Ramsey programme just so show off my new skills. The decoration could have been a little better, to say the least, but I figured the quality was going to be good. Just as I was about to skip happily from the kitchen to inform Harry his Michelin Star meal was ready, he shouted me first. “PIP-SQUEAK!” I heard from upstairs, a hint of panic in his tone. “WHAT? YOU OKAY?” “PIP-SQUEAK, WHAT THE FUCK? HOLY SHIT, PIP-SQUEAK!” “HARRY, WHAT THE HELL? YOU’RE SCARING ME!” I stood in the kitchen doorway, and in seconds he was storming down to me, his footsteps and breathing loud. He flipped round the corner in an absolute state, his eyes were wide and worried, his breathing and posture all over the show. I was scared to death. I stood just waiting for him to say something as he stood at the far end of corridor, just looking back at me, unsure where to start. I opened my mouth in an attempt to speak, but he cut me off, finally explaining himself. “My lecturer emailed me.” He gasped. “Oh. Shit. Right. Okay?” “Said... Shit. He said I made a valid point, and that I have the freedom to picture whatever I want from now on to get my point across, and he’s glad I brought up the issue, because they’re looking into changing the entire course so there’s more freedom. For everyone. Fuck... Pippa they’ve listened to me. I’m staying. I don’t have to drop out. I’m staying.” My heart warmed, and it was almost like I could feel butterflies in my stomach. God knows why. But I was so excited and over the damn moon that he didn’t have to leave, that we had the time and the opportunity to let our friendship develop even more. Because we were doing so well. I really didn’t want it to stop. “You can stay?” I fluttered, my lips turning towards the sun. “I can stay.” He chuckled lightly. Without even saying anything else he rushed and closed the small gap between us, wrapping his arms tight around my waist as I flung quickly around his neck and he pulled me into his tough body, pushing against me and holding me so tight it felt like I could barely breathe. He then lifted me off the floor for a brief moment, before I lumbered back down, giggling and swaying with him. “I’m so happy for you.” I whispered. “Fuck. Me too, Pip. Me too.” The hug was extensive, dragged out for much longer than it needed to be, to the point where it was quiet and it was like we were touching just for the sake of touching, just to feel close to someone. I pulled away with the sudden realisation that my masterpiece of a meal would be losing its heat. I breathed heavily down to the floor, before looking back up to him, almost nervous beneath his gaze. “Food’s ready.” I mumbled. “It better be fit for a king, since that’s how I’m feeling right now.” “It definitely is.” He bit his lip in a smile and then whisked past me into the kitchen, leaving me catching my breath for a second before I turned around and joined him. “Jesus, Pip, this looks good.” He pulled out his chair and sat down. I sat down next to him, and we both started tucking in. I noticed Harry was the same as me, as we ate. Neither of us could really stop smiling. Harry had gotten everything he wanted and more, all in the form of an email. He could finally start taking the kind of pictures he wanted, at the university he wanted, surrounded by the people he wanted. Me included. I was overjoyed for him. For myself, too. There was massive potential in myself and Harry, and fuck, I’d never been a quitter when it came to people. Wasn’t going to start being at any point soon. It was also the thought of not having to say goodbye again, since I was so terrible at it. I didn’t have to say goodbye to him, and I was glad of that. “Shame though.” Harry shrugged from nowhere. “Tuesday night was a waste of time.” “Why?” “I’m not gunna use those pictures now. I’m gunna go with the original idea I had for the galaxy theme. So, yeah. It was a bit of a waste of time.” “Oh. I guess so.” Harry turned his head slowly to me, still chewing, eyeing up the side of my face as I sliced my sausages into smaller pieces, gulping and pretending I hadn’t noticed his stares. “Maybe not a complete waste of time.” He added. “I finally got you with a camera in your hand, didn’t I?” “You did.” I smiled, finally turning my head. ”Can’t possibly be a waste of time then. As long as you keep it up. Those pictures you got are good. Really good. You’re talented, Pippa.” “Thank you.” I put my head back to my food and shovelled some into my mouth, trying not to blush, but it had been so long since I was complimented on a picture, simply because it had been so long since I had taken one. Even my final assignment at college on my photography course hadn’t been up to scratch. I ended up scraping a B when I knew I had the potential to get an A. It was because my parents had already told me by that stage, that I couldn’t study it at university. All my applications had already been filled, and they were all to study English. I hadn’t enjoyed taking a photo for a year, if not slightly longer. That night, I did. I wouldn’t have done it without him. “Will you help me with my new ones?” He asked with a gulp. “Sure. What’s your plan?” “I have something in mind. You’re going to be a big contribution though so... I just need to know that you’re comfortable with it.” I suddenly remembered that Harry liked picturing body parts, picturing people, their lines and the hidden art within their bodies, the true shape of people. It dawned on me that I would actually be in front of the camera, rather than behind it, where I was more comfortable. “Go on...” I egged. “I want to paint something on your back, that’ll cover your whole back. I want to paint like... deep purples and stars and... Yeah. I dunno. It’s fine if you don’t want to, I’d totally understand ‘cause it’ll be pretty... intimate, y’know? I’ll find someone else if-” “I’d love to, Harry. I’ve seen your pictures, I’d be fucking honoured to be a part of one of them.” “Yeah?” He grinned. “Yeah.” I nodded. + + + As soon as Harry had broken the news to Kev and Ben about his lecturer emailing him, Ben had cheered so loud I swear one of the windows almost shattered, and proclaimed he was going to cook the greatest meal known to man and we would all sit down and dress nice and eat together. Friday night perfection. I hadn’t packed anything that I would class as suitable for ‘dressing nice’ because really, I wished I had a full length dress so I could do it properly. But when I rushed and threw a few things into a bag whilst Harry was waiting for me in the kitchen at uni, it hadn’t ever crossed my mind to throw a cocktail dress in there. So I’d gone with my only other option, the black dress I was planning on wearing the next night in Manchester. More important times had arrived. It was tight, down to my knees, very figuring hugging and backless, little tassels on the hem and on the sleeves. I finished my hair and jiggled my legs as I looked in the mirror, relatively pleased with my appearance. “You look good.” I heard from behind me. I whipped my head around and saw Harry with his arms folded, leaning against the door-frame to his en-suite, smirking to himself. “Thanks.” I giggled. “You ready? We’re all good to go downstairs.” “Sure.” I eyed myself up one last time in the mirror, before I whipped around again. Harry was wearing his usual black skinny jeans, unsurprising. But rather than a t-shirt, he was wearing a tight, white shirt, tucked into the jeans, some black shiny shoes on his feet that I hadn’t seen previously. “Nice boots.” I pointed to them. “Thanks. Ben got them for me. Apparently, it’s for, being the shining star at my uni and changing the course of my course forever.” He tried to mock his father’s tone. I giggled again and then looked up to Harry, his eyes glimmering under the bright bathroom light. He seemed so happy. He was shining. “You scrub up well, for a scrub.” I tilted my head. “Flattered. C’mon, Pip-Squeak, I’m starving.” I nodded and signalled for him to set off, so he did, quickly turning on his heel and making his way downstairs, so I swiftly followed. I had been able to smell the food for around half an hour, and my belly was rumbling so loud I was almost in pain. I had, by that point, experienced Ben’s cooking a few times, but on this occasion, he had said he was ‘actually going to make an effort’ so I had no idea what was coming, how delicious it was going to be. We wandered into the kitchen, and the breakfast bar wasn’t set up like I had imagined it would be. Harry sauntered further away, and I just followed, a little confused. He flung open some curtains which I had figured, since they were always closed, lead to some door to the back garden, but as he flung them open, I was welcomed for the first time to an extension to the house, where there was a grand dining table, the food already being set out for us by Ben and Kev. Kev was a little more reserved, clearly happy for Harry but calm, whereas Ben had been bouncing off the walls all night. “TAH DAH!” He yelled as we walked in, Harry laughing right away. “I give you, red peppers with goats cheese, and lamb absolutely smothered in cider, probably enough to get us all half gone. Sit down, come on!” For the first time all week, I felt like I was intruding, like maybe this was a family moment that they needed to share between themselves and I shouldn’t have been there. They were all so happy, maybe Ben and Kev were even happier than Harry was. It was their son, and he was finally more than happy with what he was doing. That girl he had mentioned that he hated over Christmas, was now his friend. They were over the moon. Subconsciously, I lingered in the doorway as they all sat down, feeling uncomfortable going further in. Harry glanced to me, and I swear his face dropped. He had started worrying about me, I hated that. I didn’t want to bring his night down in any way shape or form. “Sit down, Pippa.” Kev cleared his throat. “We can’t start without you.” I took a deep breath and then slid over, tucking into my seat as quickly as I could, looking down to my food whilst everyone else picked up their cutlery. “You okay?” Harry whispered, nudging my knee with his own under the table. “Yeah, sorry. I’m fine.” I whispered back with a smile. Brushing past the moment came pretty easily when Kev lifted his glass high in the centre of the table, waiting for us all to follow his lead, which we quickly did. They had cracked open a good bottle of wine, and even though it was never my drink of choice, I was going to have to stomach it. I had manners. “I’d like to raise a glass, to my son.” He grinned. “For working hard, making a point, and finally being exactly where he wants to be.” “To Harry!” Ben concluded. “TO HARRY!” We all said at once. Our glasses chimed together in a sweet tune, before we all took a swig, the wine going down like water, far too easily. I knew I needed to take it steady. I couldn’t think of anything worse than being a drunken mess at that dinner table with Harry and his dads. “We invited Niall, but he had plans with Naomi.” Kev said as we tucked in. I swear to god, it was almost like they knew when I wasn’t feeling quite right about something, and they knew exactly what to say to make me feel comfortable, without me ever having to say anything. I was convinced they had magic powers. The fact they had invited Niall made me feel like I definitely wasn’t intruding. “Shame.” Harry said, his mouth half full. “He’s like, my second son.” Ben sighed dramatically. “Niall’s the only person Harry’s still in touch with who has actually known Harry longer than we have.” Kev told me. “Really?” My eyes went wide. “Yes. If anything, we’re jealous.” Ben shrugged. “When Harry was moved away from his mother he was six. They moved him a couple of towns over, to the adoption home nearest to us, and he started going to school with Niall.” Kev told me. “She’s not my fucking mother!” Harry’s fist clenched on top of the table. “For fuck sake, why do you have to call her that every time she’s fucking mentioned? Stop. Fuck.” Ben and Kev both bit their tongues, quite literally. This was clearly something that had been discussed, even argued about, previously. When Harry had told me the tale of his biological mother, he referred to the woman as his mother, so I wouldn’t have thought it was an issue either. But how else was he supposed to reference her? Not only that, I think the main thing that got to him was that it was Kev and Ben who were using that word. Harry didn’t want them to ever feel like it was anyone other than themselves, who he classed as a parent. She was just some woman, they were his family. The two men had no idea what to say, and I ached for them. They had all gone from eating without fully digesting their food, to just eating in silence. I kind of figured that Ben and Kev hadn’t figured out the exact reason Harry was so uncomfortable with them using that word, other than blind hatred for her. Harry regretted snapping, that much was clear, written in the way his body slumped, the way he ate quietly, even to the point where he refused to let his cutlery clatter against his plate like it usually would. “When I was little,” I began. “My mum used to take me and my brother Liam swimming on a Tuesday night. We would get private lessons off a woman there who was so friendly, and so nice, we just thought the world of. One night, Liam came into my room and told he thought that she was our real mother. After a while of buying into this… conspiracy theory, we were… so convinced, that after a month or so we started crying to my real mum, and begging her to return us to her. We kept asking why she had stolen us from our mummy. We were convinced. It all seems so silly now, but… It broke my mums heart, to be honest. That was when we first found out our mums first name. Liam found a letter and then we started calling her Lisa. It tore her up because like... it didn’t matter that she knew she was our real mum, she was just upset by the way we felt about it. ‘Cause that’s all that matters, really, isn’t it? The way you feel. I guess I’ve only just figured out that’s why she got so upset.” Harry had been staring intently at the side of my face throughout my story, and there was a moment or two of complete silence before Kev’s face broke, his lips cracking into a giant smile before he burst out laughing, soon followed by Ben, and then by Harry. Eventually I joined in, covering my mouth with the back of my hand, trying not to choke on my food. “You thought your swimming teacher was your mum?” Kev coughed, everyone still laughing. “We really did! Both of us! Utterly convinced.” I chuckled. Ben was in absolute stitches, leaning far back in his chair, whereas Harry’s face was now in his hands, his elbows on the table, shaking his head at my story, an unmistakable grin showing that unmistakable dimple. After the laughter came to an end, things went back to normal, the atmosphere completely calmed, and it was like it had never happened. The only acknowledgment it was given again, was Harry, once more, nudging my knee with his own under the table. I had turned to him, and he had mimed a ‘thank you’ to me, with a wink. That was all we needed. + + + “Are you ready?” Harry called from the outside of his room. “Yes, I’m ready!” “Are you boobies hidden?” He said boobies like an absolute child. “Yes, Harry. My boobies are hidden.” “Are you sure? I’m gunna be honest, Pip, I’m pretty okay with them not being hidden. If I was to walk in and see some boobies, it wouldn’t be the worst.” “For fuck sake, Harry, just get in here.” I was laying on my front, topless, my breasts pressed down to a cushion on the floor as I awkwardly twisted my head round to look over my shoulder and see him poke his head through the door, making sure I was decent, before he fully stepped inside, now only wearing a pair of baggy gym shorts. There were paints and paintbrushes down at my side, Not Another Teen Movie was playing on the TV, which I could watch if I strained my neck a little, but it wasn’t really worth the effort. There was another pillow for my head, so I lay it down, my face to the side as Harry gently approached and got onto his knees beside me, next to the paints he had selected which lay at the side of my body. I watched as he concentrated on the skin of my back. “You sure about this, Pip-Squeak?” “Definitely. Now get painting.” The meal had gone perfectly after the slight blip, and myself and Harry had kept our drinking under control thanks to the fact we knew he would be painting on me and picturing me later on in the night. The same couldn’t be said for Kev and Ben, who had originally fallen asleep on the sofa, Ben tucked into Kev’s side, four bottles of wine down, before Harry had lumbered them both to bed. It was barely 10pm. Harry set everything up, and a few minutes later, I finally felt the cold brush on my back, flinching slightly. “Sorry!” He gasped. “It’s fine. Just a bit cold.” I tittered. He must have done around five minutes of painting. I had turned my head the other way in an attempt to get a slight glimpse of the film, but after laughing too much at a scene, Harry had switched channels, since my giggles weren’t much help when he was trying to paint on my shaking body. We were now watching Along Came a Spider, a firm favourite on Film4, and it had Morgan Freeman in it, so that was absolutely fine by me. “You enjoy dinner?” He asked me after some time. “Yeah, I really did.” “I’m sorry… About when I snapped.” He sighed heavily, uneasy. “Don’t be sorry. Must be weird, the thought that they aren’t your biological parents.” I hoped I hadn’t overstepped the mark, mentioning that, but it felt comfortable. The statement just flew out of me without a second thought, and I figured we were just like that with one another thanks to our past few days together. We had spoken about so many personal things, and somehow, it was normal. Even so, I widened my eyes and silently cursed myself for letting that fall so easily from me, it was still kind of unfamiliar how comfortable we were with one another. “They are my biological parents.” He replied. His statement was solid and sure. I didn’t know what to say. How would I ever know the feeling? I didn’t want to turn around and tell him he was wrong, they weren’t, because how the hell would I ever be able to relate to how Harry felt about those men? “Wh-what do you mean?” Was what I eventually chose to say. “They are my biological parents.” He confirmed once more. “They’re my dad’s. There’s something in the core of them that makes them love me. That made them want me. There is a chemical thing occurring in their bodies that makes me, mentally, their child. That is something completely out of their control, out of my control. Physically, I believe, it makes them my parents. If that doesn’t make them my biological parents, I don’t know what does.” I was swooning to the point where it felt like I was almost drowning in his words. He couldn’t have put it better. I wished Kev and Ben had been able to her Harry speak of them so fondly and honestly. That wasn’t some kind of excuse, something Harry had thought up to make himself feel better. That was genuinely how he felt, deep in his heart. “I think that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard you say.” I told him. “That proves more to me than any DNA link with that fucking woman. There are more important things.” I nodded, because like I said, I would never be able to relate, I just had to completely trust in Harry’s words, which wasn’t hard when he was so confident, his voice so strong. We were done talking for a while after that. I began concentrating on the tickles of the paintbrush on my bare back. It was quite therapeutic, in a weird way, like I was getting some kind of mini massage. It felt like he must have covered most of my back in the dark purple he had chosen by this stage. I tried to look over my shoulder again to see his work, but I could only get a rubbish glimpse of what he had done. I groaned and collapsed back down, watching Harry laugh at me, shifting uncomfortably on his knees. “Pip?” “Mm?” “Can I ask a massive favour?” “Shoot.” “I’m like, ridiculously uncomfortable, and painting sideways isn’t good. Can I... Can I please sit on the tops of your legs? I just need to do some lighter shading and get the stars in there. I promise I won’t be too long. Not long enough to make your legs numb, anyway.” “Do your thing.” I shrugged. He hadn’t really expected such a casual reaction from me, but it didn’t matter to me. We had shared a bed for the past two nights, three times altogether. It wouldn’t be ridiculous for him to sit on me, so he could finish his job. He moved, straddling my body and then plonking himself down as gently as he could, a little further up than he had promised, his weight mainly resting on my behind. My eyes widened again for a split second, before I just dealt with it, because he wasn’t budging. I exhaled a little, pursing my lips to do so, trying to get comfortable and not think about the fact that I was almost 100% sure I could feel his... y’know... thing. God damn, I definitely could. Those shorts were far too thin. I could definitely feel it which meant for a fact he knew it was against my right cheek. He seemed unfazed by it though. He didn’t say anything and didn’t start breathing uneasily like I did. He just leaned in further, and began painting my back again. “I don’t mean to toot my own horn when it comes to my painting skills,” Harry huffed. “But... well... toot toot.” I rolled my eyes and let out a tiny giggle, biting my lip, then closing my eyes, deciding to just relax and ignore the obvious. “You excited to go back to uni?” I asked, trying my best to look at him. “Now I am! It’s all onwards and upwards now, Pip. I can’t wait.” “I’m well happy for you.” “Zayn text me today, after you spoke to him.” He told me. “Yeah? I’m not too surprised.” I chuckled. “Did you know he’s already looking at three bedroom houses for us next year?” He chuckled too, a lot deeper. “Already? God, he’s keen.” “I know. I think it’s probably a good idea though.” “What about Mike and Tally?” “Mike was saying he’s looking into it with some lads on his course. And, I’m gunna be honest, I don’t really want to live with Tally.” He began placing dots of white on my back. “Well, a week ago, you wouldn’t have wanted to live with me either! Maybe you should give it a chance.” “We’ll see.” He lowered even further down to put the tiny dots on my back to finish off the look he had imagined, and I could feel his breath on my back, trickling down my spine like cool water. I got goose-bumps within seconds. He must have noticed. I couldn’t see them but I could feel how huge they were. My nose crinkled and I mouthed a ‘fuck’ because I was so frustrated. I didn’t want Harry to read into the goose-bumps, his breath was just warm and gentle and I felt so bloody exposed. “It looks good.” Harry mumbled, so quietly, it was like I would have to read his words off the skin on my back to fully take them in. “Is it ready?” I asked, desperately wanting to move by that point and just get the photos out of the way. “Almost.” Another three minutes of silence went on, a dramatic gunshot going off on the TV at some point but neither of us were concentrating on the film by then. Harry stopped eventually, sighing, proud. “Is it done?” “Yeah.” “Can I see? Quick, take a picture on my phone.” I passed it awkwardly over my shoulder and he took a quick snap, then passed it back to me. It looked amazing. Harry had every reason to toot his own horn because it really did look beautiful. I hated myself for knowing so many talented people. “It’s well good, innit?” Harry smirked, totally self-assured. “It pains me to say it but, yes, you’ve done a good job, Harold.” He was still sat on me. There was no reason for him to be, I was hoping he would have hopped off the second he had dotted the final star on me, but he didn’t. He stayed put, looking down to my back, my goose-bumps finally starting to shrink. Suddenly his hands moved, and they were touching my back, gently, his fingertips on my naked skin. “What are you-” “I’m just smoothing the edges. Sorry.” His thumbs blurred the lines on the outside of the paint, and my entire body tensed. I should have been relaxed, this was the closest thing to a massage I could possibly get but I had never been so stiff in my entire life. “Okay.” His voice was so low and deep, I couldn’t breathe. “It’s done.” “Where do you want me?” “Um... In the hall. Against the blank wall.” Even though he hadn’t got off me, still, I began to move, trying to stand up, forcing him off my body. I wrapped my arms around my front and got to my feet, Harry doing the same behind me. I pushed past him as quickly as I could, making sure I was covered, and scurried out into the hall, now more grateful that Ben and Kev were so wasted, at least we didn’t risk them coming out into the hall and finding me topless with my breasts against the wall. Harry followed soon after, purposefully not looking my way until he was behind me and there was no risk of him seeing my breasts, his giant camera drowning in his even bigger hands. “What do you want me to do?” I whispered to the wall. “Arms up.” He demanded quietly. “Wrap your hands in your hair. Click your hip to the left.” I did exactly as I was told, trying to ignore the circumstances and just feel normal. I was no model, and I had never experienced anything like that, but I would be damned if I was going to ruin Harry’s pictures just because I couldn’t let loose. The flash of his camera lightened the dark hall. “Was that okay?” I gulped. “Could you... turn your head to the side? I’d like to get a profile shot of your face... If that’s okay?” I nodded, and did just that, even more nervous now I knew my face would be featured in them. But if that’s what Harry wanted, that’s what I was willing to give him, no matter how strange it felt.

My Top 25 Movies of 2019.

It is indeed time… or at least, as is tradition, it is indeed now overdue for me to dust off the cobwebs from my Tumblr account and post my Top 25 movies of the year.

This time for 2019.

Years 2008 through to present are available in the archive. Frequent visitors know that I’ll throw out a few special mentions to all the films that I wish I could’ve included but couldn’t make them fit yet believe they deserve a shout out regardless and then I get stuck in to what I think are the 25 best films of the year.

As always, films listed are based on their UK release date whether that’s in the cinema or on DVD, VOD etc.

And no, despite several attempts, repeated proclamations on social media AND owning the bloody thing outright for the last 6 months, I still never got round to seeing Ash is The Purest White in time for my self-imposed deadline for this so if you’re here to see that lauded, I will dash your expectations now.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s the ‘also-rans’ and ‘near-misses’ separated per genre that very nearly made the final list:

In terms of comedies, I very much enjoyed The Breaker Upperers, The Favourite, Always Be My Maybe, Mega Time Squad, Good Boys, Brittany Runs a Marathon and – as ultimately disappointing as it turned out to be in comparison to the original – yes, Zombieland: Double Tap.

Dramas I really liked this year were The 12th Man, The Old Man And The Gun, The Man Who Killed Hitler and then Bigfoot, White Boy Rick, Stan & Ollie, Deadwood: The Movie, The Sister Brothers, the first two thirds of Feedback, Hotel Mumbai, The Mule, Shadow, Thunder Road, The Clovehitch Killer, The Nightingale, Destroyer, Vice and, as uncomfortable as it made me, Ray and Liz.

Documentaries I rated highly in 2019 included Leaving Neverland, Free Solo, The Inventor: Out For Blood In Silicon Valley, Divide & Conquer: Roger Ailes and The Amazing Jonathan Documentary.

In terms of horror movies, rather controversially I seem to stand alone in saying I rather liked both Velvet Buzzsaw and The Dead Don’t Die. I also thoroughly enjoyed One Cut of the Dead, Happy Death Day 2 U and In Fabric, the last of which VERY nearly made the final Top 25 cut.

Action movies I was a fan of this year were both Triple Frontier and Triple Threat, The Quake (or The Wave 2: The Quake as it is inexplicably retitled in some countries), We Die Young which features a wordless and stellar Van Damme performance, Furie and Stuber.

On the blockbuster ‘stage’, I fully embraced the absolute utter insanity (or stupidity?) of The Wandering Earth, really liked Shazam! As well as Spiderman: Far From Home and Terminator: Dark Fate. Somewhat controversially, I also had a lot of fun with Jumanji: The Next Level, 6 Underground and Joker (a straight-up masterpiece that last movie most certainly is not!).

Finally, in terms of animation that I liked in 2019 I’d pay mention to How To Train Your Dragon 3, The Lego Movie 2 and Toy Story 4 – the last two being very likeable but totally unnecessary. And of course, Klaus which was a lovely, moving, visual joy that me and my family will return to a lot over the years.

Now… onto that Top 25:

25. BOOKSMART

I really loved this first time I saw it earlier this year. I found it very funny and thought the performances were delightful by the two main leads. I had issues with the clusterfuck that is the film's third act but not enough that I didn't hold a place for it in my Top 10 of the year for pretty much the last four months or so. Then I revisited it again recently and I’ve still got a huge amount of affection for it and there is still a large amount of it that makes me laugh out loud - but that third act REALLY rubs me the wrong way.

Asides from the clunky plot developments that exist purely to give the film conflict and some sort of narrative 'propulsion' it doesn't necessarily need AND on top of the fact that Billie Lourd's entire thing is embarrassing and awful (are we allowed to kind of lean in together and whisper yet that she can't act very well?), what really smarts is for a film that is meant to be this 'progressive' and female-centred, it leans in on the laziest and most horrible of high school comedy tropes - the horny teacher who beds the student! And like cliche dictates it is always a female teacher and male student because even a film as allegedly "progressive" as this is self-aware enough to know that if the sexes were reversed they couldn't / wouldn't get away with it.

In an age of #MeToo and #TimesUp the idea that a female filmmaker would go with this iffy fuckin cliche in her debut movie and have no problem at all leaves a horrible taste over the back end of an otherwise pretty great little film... But yeah, definitely still check out BOOKSMART. Its progressive, millennial bullshit stance is complete piffle. But its comedic set-pieces are a lot of fun.

24. IT: CHAPTER TWO

I don’t understand anyone who's coming away from IT CHAPTER 2 complaining there's a lack of scares. There's not a lack of scares at all. The problem is there scattered across a running time that is not structured well enough to accentuate them. There were some moments where I very nearly jumped out of my seat and left because of their effectiveness - the pay-off to Bev returning home as teased in the trailer? Fuuuuuuck THAT!

I think it is fair to criticise its flabbiness though… How the hell its director can talk about his intentions for a four hour cut of this pushed up alongside a three hour cut of the first chapter as some sort of hope for the future feels insane - FOUR hours? This thing is ten minutes shy of three and it feels excessive!

The lack of discipline in the editing bay is quite possibly the reward that comes from delivering a $700.4 million return on a $35 million budget the first time round. That lack of discipline doesn't make for a film as focused as it needs to be... Once you realise an hour in that the story structure is one in which each character is split off to revisit their past and then each character is then going to be given a 'teachable moment', you realise that you've essentially got to watch the same plot point be repeated SIX times round each time. And from a narrative perspective that's both annoying and exhausting, frankly.

Hand on heart though, it's a minor quibble overall because what is there is effective as hell and very entertaining. Think of it cinematically as too big a portion of a great frickin meal... It's a hypocritical complaint also because ultimately there is so much joy in watching these actors go at playing these characters (Bill Hader is an absolute marvel in this and Jessica Chastain lives up to the 'dream casting' suggestion the minute Sophia Ellis turned up in the first one!)

It may well be overlong by a good thirty minutes but it is still an incredibly scary, funny ride... just with a denouement that, once again, shows how hard it is to deliver the climactic goods when Stephen King has given you such utter excrement to work with.

23. THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL

I watched this and flat-out loved it - yet another reminder that you can spin the dial and pick a genre, any genre, and the reality is that South Korea are delivering the best efforts in it nowadays. This is a big, broad, bombastic slice of action pulp that has its cake as a thriller/procedural and eats it as a blockbustery burst of car chases and violent dust-ups.

The remake rights for this are with Stallone and that's a scary prospect really coz if there's one thing problematic about that guy is that he's not ~great~ with playing "evenly" (the stories that came off the CREED II production are terrifying!).

22. AT THE HEART OF GOLD

I watched this with my wife and the both of us just kept shooting aghast and pained looks at one another the longer it went on.

Forensic documentary studies like this are a big interest to me but this was a gruelling yet kind of inspiring watch because it did the right thing in putting the victims front and centre from the get go and throughout.

Child abuse is an abhorrent thing. Doubly so on a scale like this. BUT when you're watching the revelations that it was so commonly known to be going on and covered up to the extent and at the level it was? That is just... there's just no words!

Fantastic little documentary though. If you think you know the full facts on this, you don't! And if the last 4 years are any indication, our generation have found our own Errol Morris coz Erin Lee Carr is responsible for 4 of the best documentaries in that time with this, I LOVE YOU NOW DIE, THOUGHT CRIMES and MOMMY DEAD & DEAREST.

21. ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT

I find that once in a while there's a true crime documentary so flat-out, jaw-droppingly fuckin... out there, that most of its enjoyment isn't in how utterly astounding it is but mostly the fun you have in telling people the details of it and watching them incredulously go "Fuck the fuck off! This didn't happen? Surely not!"

I saw this in early January when no one was talking a single word about it here in the UK and I spent roughly three months banging on and on about it to anyone and everyone and, sure enough, everyone looked at me like I was mad and kept saying "Fuck the fuck off! This isn’t a real thing, surely??” Then it landed on Netflix and… everyone went bonkers!

It is a tight 90 minute uncomfortable, grim, totally incredulous jaw-dropper detailing what are two of the STUPIDEST parents and the most horribly manipulative paedophile you could imagine. You've GOT to check this out because without this documentary no one would EVER believe the story of… ** SPOILERS here on out ** ... the most horribly manipulative paedophile you could imagine, who moves his family into the house next to a husband and wife with three daughters, befriends them, tricks the dad into giving him handjobs, seduces the mum into heavy-petting sessions - all with the intent of lowering their defences so he can get access to their youngest 11 year old daughter... who he abducts, manipulates by pretending to be an alien into believing there's an alien invasion that can only be prevented by her having his baby and sneaks across to Mexico once she's 12 so he can marry her. Then he gets arrested by the FBI, brought back to America, uses his previous intimate dalliances with BOTH parents to blackmail them into dropping the charges, re-seduces the mother into a long-term sexual relationship, reabducts the young daughter, hides her in a boarding school, poses as a CIA agent and...

... and... and... not one single element of this is UNTRUE! What the FUCK, right?!?

20. MIDSOMMAR

There's issues to be had with this in the sense that at two and a half hours it is needlessly self-indulgent and from a storytelling point of view it suffers like many from that flaw of walking in the wake of THE WICKER MAN's story beats without finding much in the way of variation.

However, it is exceptionally well directed and the building of tension and concern (despite knowing exactly where it will inevitably go) is impressive. It basks in its weirdness and then seemingly delights in getting weirder... You can say you've heard this story before but you won't have SEEN it told with imagery quite like this. The whole shebang wouldn't work half as effectively if not for the performances and they really are great here. Florence Pugh is quite exceptional. She joins Toni Collette in what will clearly be Ari Aster's roster of "Tremendous Performances That Deserve Awards But Won't Get Them".

By the film's end you come to realise the film is leaning into THE WICKER MEN comparisons purposefully - to show us what that movie would look like today, in Trump's America: Obnoxious Americans pissing up against and fucking around with longstanding tradition and history.

19. Us

Ignore all of the bullshit 33,000+ deep dive 'think pieces' spewed out across the internet about this and just judge it for what it is: a great horror thrill-ride with some terrific jump scares etc. but it's not without its flaws. For one, it's too strong a film to get landed with that big and lazy an info-dump conclusion... especially one that kind of clunks against what's gone before - but then, as much as we're clearly not meant to call Jordan Peele out on anything it seems, he IS a vastly superior director then he is a writer if this effort is anything to go by.

Was it really, really requiring of those penetrative essays though on what it "really" means or what Peele's hidden intent was? Could it not just be that the guy made a great horror film with all the very clear subtext of a Romero or Carpenter classic, and there's just nothing more to it than that? Because that's how I’m taking it. Because if I don't and I do actually have to wade through all this internet word clunge about how US is "really" about "the effects of classism and marginalisation" or how the antagonists are "effigies of situational classism", I'd write the film off as a failure of achieving its intent.

To dress it up as more than a relentless, scary cat-and-mouse shocker is like trying to put a monocle on a pig and call it a professor.

18. WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOUR

I went into this as a British person completely unfamiliar with Fred Rogers or any of his past work / impact on America and came away completely reverential to the man and what he stood for and achieved across generations. So much so that this documentary completely changed my outlook on a lot of things. It certainly changed the approach I take in how I communicate with my own children now.

It’s a heartwarming, inspirational ode to a clearly great man and I urge everyone to watch it and allow Mr Rogers to give your jaded perspective on life a reinvigorating kick in the butt.

17. APOLLO 11

This really is magnificent. The 70mm archival footage makes the whole thing make it look like you're watching a big studio blockbuster... and not actual real never-before-seen footage from decades ago.

There's moments within this that are just astounding and intoxicating, making you become completely engulfed in something even though you are well versed in what the outcomes are.

16. LONG SHOT

This was the surprise delight of the year. It was very lovely, fun and funny with a great cast being just thoroughly delightful. Charlize Theron is very rarely utilised in comedy (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Season 3 was so long ago) which is a shame coz she's really gifted, as is proven here - the scene where she does hostage negotiation on molly is one of the funniest scenes of the year!

Seth Rogen makes the sort of stuff that is just game-set-match for my particular sensibilities (40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN to SUPERBAD to KNOCKED UP to PINEAPPLE EXPRESS to OBSERVE & REPORT is in itself an all-timer run that puts him up there with Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Albert Brooks) and this is a further reflection of that.

They should never have changed the title to something this generic. And it could comfortably lose 15 minutes here or there. But they're minor niggles for a romcom that we'll still be holding in high regard for years to come. And June Diane Raphael SHOULD get awards for the graft she puts in here. She won’t because films like this never get respect like that, but she totally should.

15. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM

I flat out loved this (though I still maintain that I don’t even think the star and the director themselves have referred to the film by its 'full name') and I would be more than happy to see an entry to this franchise every two years if they're of this calibre.

CHAPTER 2 had me worried because it looked like there was a limit to just how much 'throwing people down to the ground and shooting them in the head with CGI gunfire and blood added in on top' you could push into a film before it felt tiresome but this completely circumnavigates all worry around that by dialling up the 'quirk' factor which has always been this franchise's most bizarro and interesting element.

And the introduction of Halle Berry to 'the floor' led to a stand-out set-piece that was nothing short of astounding!

I WOULD however have preferred it if this film had adopted a bit of the ol' VH1 Pop-Up Video Show (remember THAT??) approach and just stuck a bubble up during the motorbike sequence that said "We stole this wholesale from THE VILLAINESS because we know it’s unlikely you saw that movie!")

14. READY OR NOT

I offer up the heartiest of recommendations for this - an absolutely first class horror comedy that finds a delightfully irreverent spin on the cat-and-mouse / slasher movie. It really is the ‘little movie that could’ of 2019 that offers up way, way, way more than its marketing and log-line suggest. It’s very funny and has some truly effective jump-scares and, best of all, it has a great ensemble cast doing great work. Double-bill it with KNIVES OUT and thank me later!

13. ARCTIC

This really worked as an effective, throw-you-into-the-mix survival thriller. Mads Mikkelsen is terrific and he really sells the hell out of it.

You don't know just how successfully it has burrowed under your skin and pulled you along on the ride until the final five minutes when you're screaming "NO!" at the screen.

12. AD ASTRA

I still can’t believe this flopped. I genuinely can’t. It's fair to say it doesn't quite stick its landing in making the end of the journey as narratively thrilling as what it took to get there but it doesn't matter - the journey itself is a sumptuous, thrilling and truly exquisite ride taking an easy "APOCALYPSE NOW in space" label and delivering something so, so much more.

For anyone who grew up with any "sins of the father" issues this will act as a ten ton weight dropped onto their chest.

... It also has space pirates and space monkeys!

11. MARRIAGE STORY

The plaudits are all well-earned and I’m saying this as someone who's connected with very little of Baumbach's work other than THE SQUID & THE WHALE.

It's a genuinely enthralling watch due to a fantastic group of actors being set loose to do tremendous work; Adam Driver is superb and Scarlett Johansson raises her game considerably to go toe-to-toe with him but Laura Dern, Ray Liotta and Alan Alda deliver a trio of masterclasses under one roof.

(If there's ANY justice whatsoever in awards season Alda will split everything Best Supporting Actor related with Joe Pesci… He won’t, because there is no justice when it comes to the vast majority of awards season but that is not to say he doesn’t deserve it!)

This is a delicately crafted piece - where your favoured side in a fight you feel you really shouldn't be privy to, is expertly switched around - that comes from a very obvious place of truth.

10. STAND-OFF AT SPARROW CREEK

I really, really liked this. I can see it's a film I'll go back to quite a few times over the years and see if I can spot the 'turn' because, first time round if I’m honest, I very much did not see the reveal coming.

It's a great little film. The performances are terrific (James Badge Dale is the best actor of our generation, frankly) and Henry Dunham has delivered a hell of an interesting film - all long shots into dark corners of a big dank space, scenes shot with natural torchlight and headlight beams. It's never not interesting to look at.

It's essentially RESERVOIR DOGS re-spun so the diamonds are replaced with missing fire arms and the back alley warehouse in LA is replaced with a militia compound in backwoods America.

9. KNIVES OUT

I found this to be a tremendous amount of fun; the somewhat obvious result that is birthed from a great writer/director putting a terrific script in front of an exceptional cast, designing a fabulous set for them to let loose inside of and then stepping out of their way for quality to reign.

There's a barely tolerable Edgar Wright version of this where the filmmaking is of course "the star", the editing is distracting and the music is purposefully kitschy.

This very much isn't that.

It's decidedly UNshowy and by being so comfortable in its own skin, emulating a classic style of storytelling not so much told anymore, it really stands out as an excellent piece of original cinema.

8. DOLEMITE IS MY NAME

I urge you all to completely buy the hype: DOLEMITE IS MY NAME is every bit as fantastic as everyone is saying and Eddie Murphy is like awards-worthy great in it.

You don't have to have seen DOLEMITE to have fun with this but having done so certainly accentuates it.

It's very funny, surprisingly moving and is a genuinely great ode to the importance of following your passions and not letting anyone stifle your creative aspirations... Hell, if this thing existed 25 years ago I myself would be as prolific as Lee fuckin Childs by now.

Da'Vine Joy Randolph gives THE best supporting actress performance of the year. From straight-up out of nowhere.

Genuinely can't wait to watch this a few more times down the road.

7. AVENGERS: ENDGAME

I think there's two ways of looking at AVENGERS: ENDGAME - as a film in its own right with an atypical start, middle, end, etc. AND as a piece of cinematic event-level entertainment.

In the case of the former, it is pretty damn great though not entirely without its flaws:

Give the narrative set up and logical lay out a single seconds thought and this entire thing crumbles to the ground. On top of that, it takes a while to bed down and get going and its tonal scattershot approach across the first forty-odd minutes is a little jarring. Quite literally you're coming out of that first hour with your head-spinning from laughing and then getting whipped into sombre, dour moments... slapped with narrative leaps and 'we're putting the team back together' beats.

Then the 'points of purpose' settle in and quite frankly we're off to the fucking races, man. Captain Marvel is a repeated, annoying goddamn useless 'deus ex machina' and the entire use of Paltrow/'Rescue' is just irritating. BUT everything 45+ minutes is so, so, so, so flipping ACE that shit like that can't even destabilise it.

There's critics out there deriding this as 'Fan Service: The Movie' and, you know what, damn fucking straight it is and there's nothing wrong with that.

(Although it could be argued that a clunky 'let's put all the women together in one shot' moment that lands with a thud is 'fan service' taken too far and not pitched within proceedings well enough for it to be anything other than cloying.)

The entire middle hour of these three hours is a play within a play; only the play its playing in just happens to be TWENTY-TWO OTHER MOVIES!

They could have phoned this in haaaaaard by this point and it is so, so, so commendable that they didn't. Hell, a lot of the films problems lie in the fact that they tried as hard as they did to really do doing something you wouldn't be expecting with this!

As an 'event', there will never be anything like this again in my lifetime, I don’t think. I knew this walking out of it. There'll be more JUSTICE LEAGUE type failed rip-offs. Marvel themselves will try and replicate it with the law of diminishing returns playing into effect. But there will NEVER be something so accomplished from something so long-form on such a grand stage as this again as far as I’m concerned.

6. CRAWL

I’ve went back for multiple viewings of this and absolutely LOVED it even more each time.

It's a lean, bullet-fast, brutal B-movie creature feature that does not fuck around: There is a complete lack of JAWS like foreboding, skulking around... This is straight-up, in your face, nasty, fast carnage. Anyone going in expecting a knowing, winking PIRANHA 3D / SNAKES ON A PLANE type deal is in for a hard slap.

It's pitch perfect entertainment in the sense that it grabs you and then just keeps turning the screws ("Oh, she's battling an alligator in a flooded crawlspace!" "Aww, man! It's a full on storm and there's TWO alligators now!" "Holy Fuckballs - There's MANY alligators and a hurricane now??").

The last 25 minutes alone are an all-out, relentless assault upon your ability to breathe steadily.

This is the best B-movie of 2019!

5. DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE

My wife and I are big fans of S. Craig Zahler's BONE TOMAHAWK and BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 (two of the best films of the last decade) even though it's becoming more and more apparent he's quite far from our own political stance.

This, Zahler's latest effort, drops the latent suggestion and presents its right-wing, racist immoral world view with no restraint or apology. And regardless of your political stance, if you're there for the story and the filmmaking craftsmanship you'll find this to be tremendous stuff.

It's like a cut-price, gutter level version of Michael Mann's HEAT; a tale of cop and criminal convergence, told at a thoroughly unhurried and unconcerned pace... Only Zahler would think to interrupt his narrative to propose a short story within the story (about a mother returning from maternity leave) that's only there so that he can hurt you with it.

Mel Gibson's presence here laid up against the subject matter is the very definition of provocative and contentious but there's no getting around the fact that he is as tremendous an actor as he is an awful, awful human being. And by all counts he's REALLY very awful.

Gibson is every shade of ace in this and he's ably supported by Vaughn, who's rightly leaning away from the comedic persona he's broken too badly.

This is a languid, unapologetically nasty film but it's also an excellent one. It's so not for everyone but if you've liked BONE TOMAHAWK and BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 then this is a must. In fact, it's both easily Zahler's best film and one of the best films of the year.

4. MISSING LINK

I think this really is an absolute jewel and I can't understand why more folk aren't screaming about it. It's very funny and visually wondrousness (that boat-in-the-storm INCEPTION homage action sequence is fabulous). The magnitude of talent that would have gone into making this via stop motion... knowing that it takes one week to complete one to two minutes of useable footage!

The creases in the texture of each characters clothing as they move too? WOW! I’ve always adored Laika's output but this was the first for me where the sheer care and attention to detail really shone!

For one, it's easily one of the funniest movies of the year. For another, it looks totally gorgeous. And best of all, it gives kids their very own GUNGA DIN / RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK cinematic adventure type experience.

3. FORD VS. FERRARI (aka LE MANS ’66)

I’m so glad in the same very year where ‘Film Twitter’ nearly blew itself up over the ‘Marvel / Tentpole Cinema / Scorsese / No original studio films anymore’ debate, I got to experience something as majestic and very nearly perfect as FORD VS FERRARI (aka LE MANS '66).

It's got such a tremendous old fashioned style to it that I hope they do what they did with LOGAN and give us a black and white edition and we have 60s era style movie credits to open and close it. It's that kind of movie.

Yet at the same time it manages to display all the high end technical filmmaking majesty backed up by wall-to-wall terrific performances (only Josh Lucas lets the side down with his inability to deliver anything above unsubtle, cartoonish panto villainy).

It's a gorgeous, kinetic, enthralling and by the end a surprisingly tender and moving piece of cinema. I completely adored it.

2. ONCE UPON A TIME IN… HOLLYWOOD

I fell in love hard with Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD straight-out-the-gate and fell harder with repeated viewings. It's a beautifully shambolic, meandering 'day in the life' sort of deal that plays out as a dry, knowing comedy with a sideline in impending, escalating dread... before becoming, well, something else entirely that's so shocking and out of left field that it feels so courageous because of how swiftly it will divide a viewer.

What's so monumentally lush about it is that it is made by a cinematic craftsman who is essentially writing a love letter to everything he adores/adored about a very specific time in a very specific place within the industry that made him. It is framed, lit and shot with aplomb but on top of that every single thing inside of the frame is chockfull of things that are background noise to somebody and yet incredibly meaningful, funny and knowing to true TV and cinema fans.

If there's any complaint to be made about this movie it's that Tarantino's continued insistence on shoe-horning Zoe Bell into his films is absolutely hurting his product: The woman can't act, can't judge the tone of a scene, is flat-out incapable of putting in a performance consistent with what is going on around with other actors and she is routinely a very hard, very annoying distraction that draws you straight out of the film.

You could argue that it is a listless movie because, in the conventional sense people expect of a narrative, does anything truly happen in the atypical Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3 type of way. But I'd counter-argue that all the enjoyment is in just spending time watching these characters move around and interact with one another.

Knowing the history of Sharon Tate and what happened to her at the hands of The Manson Family fills the entire proceedings with a sense of nausea-inducing nervousness about what we're going to see and to what degree. It's like a pressure valve sat in the background, slowly filling and expanding and just waiting to explode. That it eventually does but in the manner it does, is... well it's audacious... and yet questionable... and still entertaining as hell.

1. THE IRISHMAN

Without a hint of exaggeration, at least once a day every day since I first saw this film I’ve found myself thinking back to both DeNiro's "phone call" scene of which no words would convey its brilliance and Pacino's final scene and the sound he makes in it. The former is genuinely just one of the most haunting, astoundingly natural pieces of acting you'll see from a truly great actor you'd kind of forgot was capable of going to places like this.

This really is a straight-out-the-gate, instant, flawless, completely majestic work of art. It is a master craftsman signing off on a genre he revolutionised in much the same way Clint Eastwood closed down his connection to the western with UNFORGIVEN.

It is three and a half hours long and it doesn't feel remotely close to that... and that's saying something considering most of the film's real awesomeness lies in scenes that are allowed to breathe and just sit or in points being driven home through the repetition in the mundanity of these characters' lives. Because that's the other thing that's really terrific about it - it's not a re-tread of GOODFELLAS or CASINO; there's nothing remotely glamorous about this 'life' - Scorsese presents it as this 'working class stiff' gig where being the right-hand man to some of the most powerful crime figures and industry heads of the 50s, 60s, 70s, etc is really not all that higher up past being a truck driver in the same era.

The much-talked about de-ageing stuff on the actors is a little jarring at first (the first scene of DeNiro in his late 20s or something makes you squelch in your seat a little and think "Fuck, this is going to be bad isn't it?") but it settles in and gets much better as the timelines between character and actor shorten - the work on Pacino in particular is first rate.

The performances are across the board superb - DeNiro and Pacino in particular are so bloody brilliant here that it wakes you up to how fallow and shit they've been for so long. But really, this is Pesci's movie. He gives what is the performance of the year by turning in a really human, considered turn... and in the process circumnavigating the expectations that comes from having this particular actor in this particular genre with this particular director.

Not enough reviews talk about how extremely fuckin funny the movie is - and it is very laugh out loud funny with some of the lines and interactions (Pacino and Stephen Graham together are hilarious!) - and no words accurately describe how truly sad and surprisingly moving it is in the final stretch.

... I don't believe a single word of the source material it’s based on but it's resolutely not important to have to buy into the ('fake'?) memoir in order to appreciate the film adaptation as this massive, majestic piece of cinematic myth making - one that I genuinely can't wait to see again many times over the years!

11170 Henness Rd Truckee CA 96161 | Gray's Crossing Home for Sale

Your mountain retreat awaits in the sought-after community of Gray’s Crossing

Spectacular views, superior workmanship, and impeccable taste are showcased throughout this magnificent mountain home in Truckee Tahoe, delivering a perfect union of privacy, retreat, and style.

This home was built in 2015 and has a nice blend of old world craftmanship with modern style and functionality. Homes of this quality in such a great location seldom comes on the market.

Nestled on one of the most desirable lots in the community, this home is perched high above the 6th hole, affording beautiful views of the golf course, trees, and distant mountains and still has privacy.

This two-level home features 3 bedrooms 3.5 bathrooms, and 3,006 square feet of living space. It boasts of space, unlimited viewing rights of picturesque mountain views, and stunning sunsets.

If you are looking for a mountain retreat where you can relax, enjoy the peace and the privacy, while feasting on spectacular views, this home in Truckee Tahoe CA is for you!

Enjoy the bright and airy interior of this spacious Truckee real estate property

This mountain home is warm and inviting, thanks to its simple yet unique stone and timber covered entrance.

The main door opens into a lovely foyer laid with tile floors.  Take the right hallway from the foyer and be led into a step down open floor area that draws inspiration from the classic mountain home design, combining the living room, dining area, and kitchen.

The living room is a masterpiece with its cathedral ceiling,  wall to wall wide plank French oak flooring, large windows, and gas fireplace.

It's all about the views in this formal living room.  Wherever you sit or stand, you have a view of the wooded terrain and the expansive blue sky. This picturesque scene is so captivating and serene, you'll feel your stress drain away.

The dining area is set by the sliding doors that led to the deck, allowing you excellent views whenever you’re enjoying your meals.

This dining space is spacious and can easily accommodate a table for eight to ten guests. Add a painting or wall decor and this place is all set!

A few steps from the elegant dining area is a beautiful, warm kitchen that is the soul of the house. Featuring a large island, plenty of storage space, a 48-inch Bluestar Range, and an oven, this gourmet kitchen is perfect and ready for you and your loved ones anytime.

A home that boasts of two master suites

This Truckee home is proud to offer two master suites.

Vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, huge windows, a gas fireplace, wood headboard, and custom built-ins - all these are yours in the ground floor master suite of this Gray’s Crossing home for sale.

If you’re longing for a private retreat and time to be alone, step out on the patio through the sliders of this master bedroom.

Attached to the bedroom is the master bathroom. This ensuite features a walk-in shower, a soaking tub, dual vanity counter, and a large walk-in closet.

The second master bedroom is located on the upper level, perfect as an in-law suite or a guest bedroom.

In addition to the spacious master suites, there’s one more bedroom suite upstairs and a large loft for additional guests and/or family activities.

There’s also a cozy office which boasts of neutrally-toned walls and rustic hardwood floor. Enjoy working in this office in a tranquil setting surrounded by beautiful views.

The laundry room that opens to the oversized 2-car garage, providing ease of access and convenience.

Enjoy the spectacular views offered by this Gray's Crossing property

Being able to admire the view from inside of this Truckee CA home for sale is wonderful, but to have the real outdoor feel is more incredible. That's the experience waiting for you on the expansive deck of this home.

Perfect for a private retreat and grand entertaining, this deck gives you unhindered views of the golf course and wooded terrain. It allows you to enjoy a breath of clear, crisp air you’ve been longing for.

This property in Truckee also comes with a patio with a gas fire pit, perfect for those cold nights when you want to enjoy the beauty of the stars.

Do you enjoy planting? There’s also a large built-in planting area for easy gardening.

Experience the vibrant lifestyle of Gray's Crossing

Gray's Crossing is a newer community located in the gently rolling hills of Truckee. Stretching on approximately 757 acres, this community offers the peace and serenity of the Sierras with the best amenities of a golf community.

Aside from the expansive golf course, it also offers its residents more than 500 acres of open space, a neighboring village, and extensive public and hiking trails. There's also a fitness facility with hot tubs and heated lap pools.

The community was designed around the 18-hole championship golf course, The Golf Club at Gray's Crossing. Designed by Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy, this golf course employed green management techniques so that the course blends seamlessly with its surrounding.

Gray's Crossing proudly offers five distinct neighborhoods and upscale homes that cater to different lifestyles and preferences. Many of the homes offer beautiful mountain views, golf course views, or wooded terrain.

This community offers the relaxed and tranquil lifestyle you've been longing for, combined with the proximity to downtown Truckee, only a little over two miles away. This proximity brings ease of access to restaurants, retail stores, bars, and more.

The clubhouse/gym and PJ’s restaurant are just a short walk from this property.  California State Route 89 and I-80 are also two miles away. Alder Creek Middle School is the closest education facility, less than a mile away from this home.

Tahoe Truckee Airport is only seven minutes away and Donner Memorial State Park is only nine minutes away.

Best of all, you can be in Lake Tahoe in just half an hour drive. Kings Beach State Recreation Area, one of the best beaches of Lake Tahoe, is a 20-minute drive away. If you enjoy skiing and terrain camps, Northstar California Resort is only 17 minutes away.

Don’t miss this chance to own a Truckee property

This magnificent real estate property in Truckee delivers privacy, retreat, sand  luxury, and it can be yours for $1,499,000.

Call me, Ann Nguyen, at (530)545-3458 to see this appealing mountain retreat.

Click here to explore this home in 3D: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=H27V6zaWQNt&mls=1

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