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jjmaybud · 3 years

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bring her home to dad | rafe cameron

summary: BJ’s every parent’s nightmare and rafe brings her home to ward.

pairing(s): rafe cameron x fem!oc, platonic!sarah cameron x fem!oc, platonic!wheezie cameron x fem!oc.

word count: 5.17k

warnings: swearing, mentions of alcohol, fluff, angst, ward cameron.

author’s note: i’ve had this idea for a while and it was originally going to be a reader, but i have a lot of ideas for this oc and rafe that may or may not be a coherent story. i don’t know, we’ll see where it goes. this is an au where there isn’t any treasure hunt but like rafe still does coke and dropped out of college and sarah and john b end up dating. no season 2 spoilers! Also, the house they use in the show for Tanneyhill (it’s real name is Lowndes Grove) is actually so beautiful omg you can rent it for weddings!

BJ Bentley was in the passenger seat of her boyfriend’s truck on her way to his house for the first time. Though she’d been in a relationship with Rafe Cameron for the past few months, she understood the reservation he had to take her to meet his father. The dark tattoos all along her sun kissed skin and the style of her clothes definitely scared every one of her partner’s parents. It was especially worse when their parents were hard on them, and they tried everything to live up to their expectations. There were times when someone she was interested in brought her home just to scare their parents when they weren’t interested in her as well. It wasn’t like that with Rafe. For one, he was completely freaking out in the driver’s seat next to her as he drove to his house. And two, he told her from the beginning that he had to be in love with her to bring her home to Ward Cameron.

Well, he was in love with her. And she loved him, too. That’s why she was completely calm in the passenger seat as she waited patiently to pull up to the historic house. Rafe’s fingers tapped against the steering wheel as he was hyper aware of the world around him. Quick hits on the brake and too sharp of turns were a clear indication of his nervousness. BJ reached across the center console to take hold of his right hand. He gave it up to her with little hesitation, and she intertwined their fingers while bringing the back of his hand to her lips. The soft kiss released a bit of tension in his shoulders.

“We don’t have to do this today,” she said against his hand. He immediately shook his head at the idea.

He said, “No, I already told him you were coming today. He’s got Rose making her special meatloaf for the occasion.”

BJ placed their hands down on the console and smiled.

“I love meatloaf.”

He nodded, his mind still somewhere else, and stated, “I know. I told her.”

Rafe stopped the truck at a stop sign. With no one behind them, BJ reached her free hand up to his cheek and turned his head towards her, forcing him to meet her eyes. She smiled softly when he leaned into the palm of her hand.

“It’s going to be okay. I promise. I’ve dealt with plenty of parental disappointment. He might be a little harder on you, but he’ll let it go eventually.”

He smiled and kissed the palm of her hand before turning back to the road. As he pulled forward from the stop sign, she placed her outreached hand on his forearm to run her fingers up and down the prominent vein.

He said, “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

BJ’s hand stilled at his words, and she stared at the side of his face as she tried to think of any other reason he’d be so nervous.

“I don’t want him to scare you off,” he added as he avoided meeting her eye.

Her lip jutted out as she cooed, “Aw, Honey Bunch,” his eyes rolled and lip turned up at the pet name, “you don’t have to worry about him scaring me off. You’ve had plenty of chances to do that.”

Rafe laughed mockingly and reached over to squeeze her thigh. She laughed loudly as she tried to pull his hand off of her. When she managed to wrench his hand away from her, she reached over and poked his side which only resulted in his hand gripping her thigh again.

“Rafe Cameron,” she said in a firm tone, making him laugh. “If you don’t stop, I will knock you the fuck out.”

He didn’t stop. It took him almost side swiping someone’s car for him to let go of her and return his hand to the steering wheel.

“That’s what I thought,” BJ quipped but screeched and lifted her leg away from him as he pretended to reach for her thigh again.

The rest of the ride was silent aside from the music playing from the radio. Eventually, the sound of the turn signal interrupted the melodies of the song as they waited for the car in the other lane to pass to turn left into Tanneyhill. Trees blocked the view of the house from the gate, but she could see peaks of a white house with many windows. As they drove up the driveway and passed the trees, she could see the beautiful house in it’s full glory. The house itself was beautiful on it’s own, but the surrounding view made it stunning. She could see the expanse of the water over to the left while an expansive yard of trees veered to the right.

“Home sweet home,” Rafe muttered as he pulled into a parking spot next to someone’s car. He turned the engine off and unbuckled his seat belt but didn’t make a move to get out. BJ unbuckled her own seat belt and waited. She watched as he took a couple of deep breaths before turning to meet her eye. Her lips turned up in an encouraging smile. She leaned forward over the console enticing him to do the same. Their lips met in a soft peck and met a few times more before pulling away for good.

The couple got out of the truck at the same time and met at the back. BJ let Rafe stair up at the house before reaching her hand out for him to hold. He huffed a heavy sigh before taking her hand in his. On their way to the front door, BJ stopped walking. If he didn’t have her hand in his, he probably would have kept going. He stopped, their hands extended, and watched her eyes widen.

“What? What’s wrong?”

Her eyes moved from the house to him, and she said, “I’m going to meet Wheezie!”

Rafe released a relieved sigh as he let his head fall back with his eyes closed. The hat on his head nearly fell off as it’s bill hit the back of his neck. BJ laughed as she stepped closer to her.

“Don’t do that to me,” Rafe mumbled as he let her pull him along. When they got closer to his front door, he took the lead. He led her past the front room and into the main part of the house. They took a few turns before reaching a decent sized kitchen. As an old house meant to be preserved, it lacked the open floor plan most modern day houses choose to do. While some rooms were spacious, it felt very choppy as they moved through the house. Even the kitchen was cut off from the dining area. The only person in the kitchen was a blonde woman who was definitely not Sarah Cameron or Wheezie.

“Oh, hello!” The woman greeted as she worked on cleaning off the counters. She stopped at the sight of them and tossed the washcloth into the sink. Her eyes widened once she got a better look at the girl standing next to Rafe, but BJ took it in stride as she let go of Rafe’s hand to go shake hers.

Rafe spoke up from behind BJ, “Rose, this is BJ. BJ, this is my stepmom, Rose.”

“It’s really nice to meet you, Rose. I heard you’re making meatloaf! It already smells amazing,” BJ stated as she shook the woman’s hand. She watched Rose take in the tattoos on the back of her hand and the chain hanging on one side of her skirt, but she pretended not to notice as Rose fixed a genuine smile on her face.

“It’s nice to meet you, too! Rafe mentioned meatloaf was your favorite, so Ward asked me to make my special recipe.”

“Is there anything Rafe and I can do to help?” BJ offered. Rafe started to speak from behind her, but Rose beat him to it.

“Actually, the table still needs to be set, if you don’t mind?”

BJ shook her head and said, “Not at all.” She turned around to Rafe. “You know how to set the table, right?”

Rafe huffed and nodded his head. He turned to the left and led her into the dining room where a long, rectangular table that seats eight people took up one side of the room and a smaller, circular table that seats four people took up the other. He stepped over to the china cabinet and opened both of the doors.

“I can start with the glasses while you get the plates?” Rafe suggested as he looked at her. She nodded and walked over to him. He pointed at a specific set of plates before grabbing the glasses on the higher shelf. A place mat was already placed in front of each seat that was to be used. BJ started on one side as Rafe started on the other. They met at the head of the table, and BJ stared up at Rafe as he refused to move out of the way.

She wasn’t much shorter than him normally, but she was almost nose to nose to him with her boots on. The amused smile on his lips and the quirk of his eyebrow tempted her to do something about him being in her way. With a playful tint in the corner of her eye, she stood on the tips of her toes to press a kiss to his lips. His hand found her hip as their kiss lasted longer than necessary. When she pulled away and fell back flat on her feet, Rafe hummed and nodded his head. He patted her hip and stepped out of her way.

“You may pass,” he said, making BJ laugh. The rest of her task went without fail before the two of them placed the silverware out: BJ was in charge of the spoons while Rafe put out the forks and knives. The sound of a man’s voice interrupted the peaceful silence that laid over the air.

“Alright, I got the ice and another bottle just in case. I saw Rafe’s truck outside. Have you already met her?” The man stated as the couple saw him approach the island that Rose was standing next to.

Rose nodded, walked towards her husband, and said, “Yes, I did. They’re setting the table now.”

Ward tried to turn to look at where they were standing, but Rose grabbed the front of his blazer and pretended to fix it while she whispered to him. BJ puffed out a silent laugh as she looked at Rafe.

She whispered, “Very subtle.”

Rafe only had the energy to chuckle once as he watched the two in the kitchen. BJ studied the couple and watched Ward’s facial expressions to gauge his reaction. She noticed the exact moment Rose told him about her...appearance. His head tilted towards his wife in a quick motion to look in her eyes. Rose scolded him swiftly, and Ward fixed his face into a stoic expression. BJ could feel her boyfriend tense from beside her as she watched Ward look to the ground and nod at whatever his wife said.

BJ took the lead, grabbed Rafe’s hand, and pulled him into the kitchen. Rafe tugged on her hand to keep her from intruding on his dad and stepmom’s conversation, but BJ went through this too many times to know it was easier to rip the bandage off right away.

“Hi, you must be Ward! I’m BJ Bentley,” she introduced herself, extending her hand once again. Though he was warned, Rafe’s father appeared to still be surprised at the sight of her. He took it in stride regardless. His eyebrows shot up in delight and a charming smile crossed his face as he reached his own hand out.

Ward greeted, “Ah, nice to meet you, BJ. I have to say I was surprised to hear Rafe had a girlfriend, let alone that he was bringing her home to meet us.”

“Dad,” Rafe said as Rose called her husband’s name in warning.

“Honestly, I was surprised, too,” BJ confessed. “Didn’t think Rafe was the girlfriend type.”

The timer on the oven went off to interrupt the tense conversation. Rose hurried around the island to pull the door open. She used a cooking thermometer to check the temperature inside the meatloaf.

“It’s done. Rafe, can you go upstairs to get your sisters?” Rose asked.

Rafe made sure BJ was okay before reluctantly heading out of the kitchen to the stairs she’d seen on the way inside. She watched him until he disappeared out of the room and turned back to his parents. The brunette tucked her hair behind her ear as she caught Ward staring at the tattoos on her thighs sticking out under her skirt with a disapproving purse of his lips. She turned to Rose, the safer of the two, and offered her help.

“I can take the potatoes to the table if you’d like,” BJ offered as Rose sliced into the meatloaf and placed it onto a large plate. The potatoes were on a similar plate cut into chunks and seasoned so well that BJ’s stomach grumbled at the smell.

Rose smiled and said, “That would be great. Thank you.”

BJ returned the smile and grabbed the plate. Once she reached the table, she placed the potatoes in the center with enough room for the meatloaf. Ward followed her into the room and motioned to the side of the table with only two seats set.

“Rafe sits on this side next to me. Feel free to sit next to him,” Ward said. BJ nodded and stepped around Ward; she noticed then they were about the same height. Since Ward hadn’t pulled his chair out, BJ thought it best to wait to be seated. Her mouth didn’t agree to the plan.

“Your home is very beautiful. It has a lot of history behind it, right?” She inquired as Rose brought in the meatloaf before returning to the kitchen, probably for the drinks.

Ward’s head tilted in interest as he answered, “That’s right. People don’t usually know that.”

“I did a paper on Denmark Tanney in college. As you must know, he was the only person to survive the wreck of the Royal Merchant.”

A light lit up behind Ward’s eyes at the mention of the Royal Merchant. She mentioned offhandedly one day while hanging out with Rafe that she did a paper on the man who built his house after he told her he lived in Tanneyhill. He told her how much his dad loved the house and its history, so she knew she could use that to get on Ward’s good side. She wasn’t worried about whether the Cameron’s liked her, especially not Ward, but she wanted there to be mutual respect between them. From what Rafe has said about his father, she knew she would never like him. But as Rafe’s father, she had a level of respect for him that she wanted to be returned. No matter how the man treated him, Rafe loved Ward and looked up to him. She had to respect that.

“Of course,” Ward replied, his words more genuine than the other times he’s spoken. “It’s what drew me to the house in the first place. Tell me did your research take you to the information about the gold he was able to get off of the Royal Merchant?”

Rose brought in a pitcher of iced tea as well as a cup of scotch on the rocks for Ward. She started to pour a glass of tea for herself as she listened to their conversation.

“Yes, and no one has ever been able to find it. He had letters to his son that a lot of people have picked apart trying to find out where he hid it, but no one’s figured it out.”

“Ugh, dad, please tell me you haven’t bored BJ with your stories about the Royal Merchant,” Sarah Cameron stated as she came into the kitchen. She sent BJ a smile and a wink as she walked to her seat, leaving the middle one between her and Rose empty. Rafe followed in shortly after.

Ward laughed as he shook his head. “Of course not, Sarah. BJ brought it up.”

Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise and put her hands up in surrender. Rafe came to stand next to his girlfriend. Ward and Rose looked at him expectantly.

“Wheezie’s on her way down,” he stated before reaching over to pull out BJ’s seat. She smiled at the gesture as she stepped out of the way.

“Wow, Rafe has manners?” Sarah asked, sarcasm dripping from her words as she sat down. Rafe glared at his sister as BJ stepped in front of the seat. He pushed in her seat as she sat down. She mumbled her gratitude as he sat down next to her. Rose and Ward sat down after the kids, and Rafe took it upon himself to pour himself a glass of iced tea. He offered the pitcher to BJ, and she took it graciously.

The sound of loud steps interrupted the short silence, and a young, teenage girl wearing a bright pink tutu and a sequined, long sleeve shirt. BJ’s eyes widened in surprise, and she turned to Rafe as she pressed her lips together to contain her laugh. Rafe placed his elbow on the table and covered his mouth to hide his smile. From what Rafe told her about his youngest sister, the tutu was out of character for her.

Sarah gasped and said, “Love the tutu, Wheeze.”

“Wheezie, what are you wearing?” Rose asked as the girl sat down next to her. BJ turned back to watch the scene unfold in front of her. Wheezie smiled at her before turning to her stepmom.

Wheezie said with a shrug, “Wanted to try something new.”

“Wheezie, we have a guest. Go upstairs and change,” Ward demanded as he tilted his head back to stare at her down his nose.

“I think Wheezie has a right to dress however she wants,” Rafe said, finally lowering his hand away from his face.

Sarah added, “Yeah, dad, we should let her express herself.”

BJ could see what her boyfriend and his sisters were doing. Wheezie was dressed in an out-of-character outfit to make her brother’s girlfriend feel comfortable wearing the clothes that the older generation deemed unacceptable. Rafe and Sarah were helping coax their parents into understanding why she wore the clothes she did. It warmed her heart to see it. Wheezie didn’t know who she was, they’d never met before, but she was doing this because she loved her brother. Sarah and BJ had known of each other before she started dating Rafe because they went to the same parties.

“Also,” BJ spoke up, “I really don’t mind. I think you rock the tutu, Wheezie, and those sequins really bring out your eyes.”

“Thank you, BJ,” Wheezie said before she turned to her father expectantly. Everyone turned to him to see his reaction. Ward Cameron sighed as he stared at his younger daughter.

“Fine.”

***

“So, BJ, what are you studying in college?” Ward asked as he sipped on his second glass of scotch. The men finished their plates as well as Sarah while the rest of them were still working on finishing their potatoes and little bit of meatloaf. BJ complimented Rose on her recipe after the first bite once she tasted the burst of flavor on her tongue. She talked to Wheezie about a new movie that was coming out. Apparently it was a part of a series that the young girl really liked, so she told BJ the synopsis of the first movie and invited her to come over to watch the first two movies together. Most of dinner was Rose and Ward alternating asking BJ questions about herself or Sarah telling everyone what she’d been up to for the day and what she was planning to do in the next couple.

BJ took her time swallowing the potato she’d been chewing and answered, “Actually, I finished college last year.”

Ward and Rose’s attention perked at the sound of that.

Rose asked, “I thought you said you were the same age as Rafe?”

“She is,” Rafe answered. “She finished her Bachelor’s degree in business, right?”

He looked to her for confirmation. She nodded.

“I started taking a lot of my general education credits my junior year of high school and took more business centered classes in the summer,” BJ said, turning to Ward and Rose. “By the time I graduated high school, I was a junior in college.”

Ward appeared to be impressed with what he was hearing and asked, “So, are you working now or have you decided to do something else?”

“I am. I work with my mother in her real estate investment business. I’ve always been around the office, even interned there the summer after high school graduation, and that’s how I knew I wanted to have a career in business.”

“I have to admit that’s pretty impressive,” Ward said and stared at his son. “I wish Rafe had as much drive as you do.”

BJ looked to Rafe to see him stare into the bottom of his glass that only had chunks of ice at the bottom. She could tell by the pout of his lips and his slouched shoulders that the comment hit a little too hard. Without allowing the others to notice, she reached under the table to place her hand over his on his lap.

“Rafe has plenty of drive,” BJ defended. “He’s just got to figure out where he wants to put that energy. Calculated energy is better than wasted energy.”

Ward only hummed in response. She finished her plate without any interruption. Rafe and Sarah grabbed everyone’s empty dishes. BJ helped Rafe stack all of the plates before Ward asked Wheezie to show their guest around the house.

“Yeah, BJ, I’ll show you Rafe’s room first since you’ll probably spend a lot of time there,” Wheezie said as she pushed her chair out to stand up.

Rafe stepped back into the room and scolded her, “Wheeze. Shut. Up.”

BJ laughed and stood up to follow after Wheezie. She patted Rafe’s shoulder as she passed him. Wheezie talked the entire time as she showed the older girl every room in the house. Most of the stories included embarrassing stories about Rafe.

“The rug right here?” Wheezie pointed out as they stood in the hall leading to the stair and outside of Rafe’s room. “Rafe tripped over it running out of his room and almost busted his chin going down the stairs. Luckily he stopped at the turn or he would’ve broken his arm.”

BJ shook her head and asked, “When was this?”

“Last week.”

The two giggled at the news, and Wheezie took her up another set of stairs. BJ followed her into a room that was clearly hers. It was a typical young teenager room with a few posters and brighter, mismatched colors.

“The tour is now over, please don’t forget to tip your guide and remember to visit again,” Wheezie said in a highly comical, animated voice. She worked on taking off the tutu as BJ looked around the room. It wasn’t a big room, but it was large enough to hold everything her heart desired.

“Is she your favorite artist?” BJ asked, pointing to a small poster of Taylor Swift next to some, what BJ could assume were, lyrics.

“Of course, she’s a lyrical genius,” Wheezie said, and BJ could tell how much the girl looked up to the artist by her voice. “Who’s your favorite artist?”

A sheepish smile was brought to her lips and turned to Wheezie. The youngest Cameron was sitting on her bed against her pillows, and BJ went to sit on the edge near her.

BJ said, “So, this may come as a shock, but I love Whitney Houston.”

Wheezie’s head tilted forward in surprise as her eyes widened. BJ laughed. The former girl looked down at BJ’s clothes and tattoos before looking back up to her with narrowed eyes.

“There’s no way. You definitely listen to classic rock like Nirvana,” Wheezie said.

“Okay, Nirvana is definitely not classic rock. Whoever told you that lied to you. And yes, despite my looks, Whitney Houston just hits the spot.”

Wheezie laughed and said, “I can’t wait to tell Rafe.”

“Hah,” BJ mocked and hit the girl lightly on the leg, “he already knows.” She hopped off the bed and headed for the door. “I’m going to go find him. I just take the stairs all the way down right?”

The only response she received was a nod before leaving the room. BJ could hear slightly raised voices drifting up the stairs as she started down them. She could hear Rafe’s voice but couldn’t make out any of his words.

Then, clear as day, she heard Ward’s voice, “I don’t care, Rafe! Think about what people will say when they see you with her. What they will say about our family.”

“You didn’t say this to Sarah when she brought John B home,” Rafe countered.

“John B doesn’t dress like she does and doesn’t have tattoos up and down his arms! I don’t care if you love her, you-”

Suddenly, it was quiet as BJ stepped on a particularly creaky stair. Not that she was quiet on her way down, but they didn’t hear her over their yelling. As she came down, she saw Rafe, Ward, and Rose through the doorway into the kitchen standing in awkward silence as they waited for her.

“Please, don’t stop on my account,” BJ said as she walked towards the three of them.

Rafe started to talk, “BJ, I’m sorry-”

BJ held up a hand to stop him.

“You don’t have to apologise, Rafe. It’s not the first time I’ve walked in on an awkward conversation with my boyfriend’s parents. I just hoped your father had enough respect to talk to me about it.”

She smiled a sickeningly sweet smile as she met Ward’s eyes. Rafe said her name and offered for them to leave.

“And I wish my son had enough respect not to bring you home,” Ward said as he took a long drink of his scotch.

BJ’s smile didn’t falter at his words as Rose sharply said his name.

“You know, Ward, a person can always change their clothes,” BJ informed the older man and motioned to her own clothes. “Hell, on a normal day, I don’t typically wear this. I only wore it now so you could see the ‘worst’ of it and learn to get over it. I understand your reservations on tattoos. It’s not everyone’s preference. I, for one,” BJ stepped over to Rafe and motioned to his bare arm, “love the blank canvas that is your son.” Rafe muttered an “oh, my god” at her words. “But you should never judge someone’s character for what they decide to do with their bodies. It’s their actions you have to pay attention to.

“Your actions, specifically, have told me that you are a very insecure man who tries to keep the image of his perfect family intact to hide the fact that he feels like an imposter in the life he’s created for himself.” Ward stood up straighter and set his glass down forcefully. Rose put her hand on his chest to stop him from taking a step towards BJ. “The only reason I’m saying this to you is because, although I do not like you one bit, I have respect for you. I know who you are, Ward Cameron. Started on the other side of Outer Banks and, through hard work and sacrifice, you made it to Figure Eight. You raised a beautiful family despite hardly being there for them emotionally. Anyone can respect someone who has managed to do that for themselves.”

Ward scoffed and interrupted BJ’s tangent, “I let you into my home, and you decide to speak to me like this in the name of respect? My actions have told you all of this about my character? Through one dinner?”

BJ shrugged and simply said, “I minored in psychology. And I’m sorry if you find what I’ve said to be disrespectful. I found you talking about me without me present to be disrespectful. I love your son whether you like me or not and as long as he still feels the same way, we’ll have to treat each other with mutual respect.”

Rafe’s hand slipped into hers. Through their interlaced fingers BJ felt his grip tighten as he stood up to his father. With her other hand, she reached out for a handshake. Ward stared down at her hand for a moment before looking at Rafe. Another squeeze on her hand. Ward and BJ locked eyes. He sighed and reached out his hand. A firm handshake, and the two were on their way with Rafe saying over his shoulder he might be back later.

Her boyfriend practically dragged her out of the house and to his truck. The sun was already set, so the lights around the house were the only thing to light their way to Rafe’s truck. The overhead lights inside turned on and off as they got in. The dash light lit up Rafe’s features as he turned the ignition over to start the engine. BJ watched as he sighed heavily and fell back against his seat, and she reached over to grab his hand again.

“I almost shit myself when you called him insecure,” Rafe confessed, making her laugh out loud. “I thought he was going to kill us both.”

BJ leaned over the console and said, “But he didn’t.”

He opened his eyes and turned his head without lifting it to look at her. Pieces of his hair fell onto his forehead, and she smiled at him as she studied his face. A sweat had broken out on his face and neck, but it was slowly drying in the cool air of the truck’s air conditioning.

“No, he didn’t.” BJ watched his soft lips as he spoke.

“Now, the worst is over.”

He nodded. “It is.”

BJ’s free hand reached up to the back of Rafe’s head and pulled his face towards hers. Rafe didn’t put up any fight as he leaned into the kiss. She pulled away with a sigh, and the boy moved so he could comfortably lean against the console as she played with the hairs at the back of his head.

“Wheezie’s cool,” BJ admitted. “She told me a lot of embarrassing stories about you.” Rafe rolled his eyes. “Something about you and a rug followed by a small tumble down the stairs.”

Rafe shook his head and said, “I have just as many embarrassing stories of her.”

BJ smiled.

“I can’t wait to hear them.”

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capitainelevi · 3 years

Text

For @pufferssss, happy late birthday!! ❤️

Waiting for sunrise

Words: 2968

The first and last time Levi visits Petra`s grave.

Levi arranged his cravat again, self-conscious at the thought of visiting her for the first time. He stood frozen in place, with a bouquet of orange lilies in his hand. Her favorite flowers. Just a mere coincidence, not an effort on his part, of course. He never imagined he would visit her here so early on. Staring at the newly carved headstone, he tried to set aside the nagging thought that the earth underneath it only held an empty coffin.

What should he say to her?

“Your dad came to see me after the mission, and I had to tell him that I don`t even have a body to bring back home to him”?

“I failed in getting justice for you and the guys”?

“I miss your tea”?

The only words he could spurt out were “Hi, Ral.”

He groaned at his awkwardness and settled on presenting her with the flowers he chose for her. He could feel his hands getting sweaty from anxiousness, much to his confusion. He had nothing to be nervous about. It was just Petra in front of him. His subordinate. Petra, who fought by his side for years. Who swore to devote her life to him. Just his Petra.

Levi sat on the ground next to the gravestone, unconcerned about the dirt he would have to clean out of his clothes at the end of the day. “I hope you can hear me, wherever you are. I like to think you`re listening.” He never spent much time concerning himself with death and the life that supposedly followed it, but ever since losing them as well, he found himself wishing they were happy. He knew that those brats would be wasting the rest they earned to look over him, no matter how much he objected.

“I hope you like the spot I chose for you. It`s sunny, but you also get some shade from the tree. I thought you`d like listening to birds singing." On their free days, he could always spot Petra with a book on her lap, under the shade of the oak tree in their yard. He never dared to bother her, worried he would disturb the angelic aura of the image, content with being fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of it. He never dared get so close to the sun.

"I`m going to bring some flowers we can plant next time I visit. I know you had a green thumb.” Levi omitted in letting her know it only took a month for the plant in his office that she cared for years to wither away in his care. Or maybe it just knew Petra would never be back.

Levi closed his eyes, lulled to sleep by the quietness around him and the feeling of the afternoon sky on his skin, considering if someone would bother him if he moved to the tree trunk to nap. He craved some peace.

“I`m sorry I didn`t get to come earlier. You missed a real shit show in Sina.” He took a glance at his wounded leg and sighed. “It`s not as bad as it looks, no need to mother me.”

Without raising his eyes from the ground in front of him, Levi admitted to her in a hoarse voice- “I kept calling out orders for you, and Erwin had to remind me that you`re not here anymore. Like I could ever fucking forget.”

Despite the emptiness in his chest, he went on- “Eren misses you. I really wish you could help me manage that brat. You always knew what to say to him. Hange misses you. I… everyone misses you.” They left a hole behind that he doubted he would ever patch.

Levi cleaned off some dust from her headstone before promising her he would be back as soon as he could.

As promised, the second time Levi visited her, he got her some daisies to plant next to her resting place. After wiping his hands clean on a rag, Levi sat down against the tree trunk to admire his work. He was sure Petra would be proud of the progress he made regarding gardening. He had even gotten a new plant to replace the one on his desk.

“Tch, not talkative today, are we? That`s alright, you know I always talk a lot.”

Visiting her calmed his restless spirit. His anxiety over the plan, his worry over Erwin`s wellbeing, his longing to have his old squad by his side again, they were all pilling up for the last few days. Levi found himself losing even more sleep lately. But he would never tell her that since it would most likely end in another one of her scoldings.

“You`re missing it, the final push. The brat`s finally going to do it, he`s going to seal the Wall.” Levi hoped that they would be able to carry out the mission. That his squad`s sacrifice to keep Eren alive would not have been in vain.

“You`re not being fair, are you? You already know what we will find in the basement, and yet you keep it all to yourself. Tch, be like that.” Would it all be worth it? The pain, the countless sacrifices, and the lives lost along the way? He wished Petra could answer that for him.

He never wanted to upset her, but Petra always encouraged him to let others help him carry the burden. Levi took a deep breath before speaking again- “I think Eren misses you. He`s been going on about how he wants to visit you again. Bring you flowers. To help me maintain this place clean." Levi rolled his eyes again and the memory. "Like I would ever need his help with that.”

Levi took the ribbon out of his pocket and started fiddling with it, ignoring the slight pang of guilt at how he came into its possession.

“I hope you won`t mind I took that.” The first night he spent without them, Levi found himself roaming the empty corridors of the castle. When his steps took him in front of Petra`s door, the urge to hold on to something physical to remember her overtook his sense of shame. He was aware that her belongings would go back to her parents in the next few days, but he hoped the red ribbon Petra used to tie her hair with would not be missed.

“I took your patch at first. I was going to keep it in my breast pocket. To have a reminder of your sacrifice. But when I saw that kid eaten up by guilt, I knew what I had to do. I knew what you would have wanted me to do with it.” He had no regrets about that. It was the perfect way to honor the kindest soldier the Survey Corps ever had.

When the light began to fade, Levi got up from his spot and left without saying another word to Petra. He did not want to say goodbye to her. Levi felt no need for it since death could be in his cards the next day. And he could get to see her again sooner than he thought.

The third time Levi visited her, it was not with a flower bouquet in his hand but with a bottle of cheap alcohol he found on Moblit`s desk. That night, Levi allowed grief to consume him.

"Erwin died. But I have a feeling you know that already, don`t you?" Levi wiped his nose with the back on his hand, too absorbed in his anger to even care about the disgusting habit.

"Are you mad at him? Are you mad that he chose to sacrifice your life?"

But only silence greeted him.

"Are you mad that I didn`t even question it?"

No answer again. The rage burning inside him overtook him, and Levi smashed the bottle against the headstone.

"Shit. I`m sorry, I shouldn`t have done that." Levi crouched down and collected the pieces of the bottle into his handkerchief. The grief, the anger, and now the shame for denigrating her place of rest were eating him alive.

"We found out the truth, you know? It`s a shitty world out there, Ral. But I have a feeling not even that would have cut off your wings."

Levi found himself craving touch. Her touch. And for the first time in his life, he felt the need to be comforted. He smiled to himself bitterly. How cruel must the deity who created him be for making him desire the impossible?

The fourth time Levi visited her, he brought a special gift for her. A small, odd thing that Armin called seashell.

“We saw the sea today. Just a big old pile of saltwater. But you would have loved it.”

Seeing the brats play in the water with carefree smiles on their face made him yearn for a glimpse of amber hair in the picture. He missed them all dearly.

“I would have to pull you out of it by the collar of your shirt, I bet.” For as devoted and strict as she was, Petra always seemed to cause him distress. Not that he minded it, of course. Levi found himself wishing to hear her timid knocks on his door again, even in the middle of the night. He longed for those times, where she shyly approached him after needing his help in whatever problem she found herself stuck in again.

While that was not his intention when he first came to her, his heart was heavy with words he never said to her. "The world hates us, Ral." He could never imagine how someone would ever detest someone as kind as Petra just for the blood running in her veins. But if he had to be true to himself, a part of him hated Petra as well.

"Maybe I hate you too."

Petra broke his promises to him, after all. Two years ago, when death was imminent on an expedition, and Petra put down her swords in acceptance, Levi fought with her. He made her promise she would make it to the end. That she would be by his side the day they kill the last titan.

"Do you remember your promises to me? Such bullshit. Never thought you were a liar, Petra."

But Levi knew she would have never left him had she had a choice. That she would have fought for even just a second more by his side. But it never dulled the pain of losing her.

With a heavy heart, Levi said his goodbye for the evening, guilty for blaming her for things out of her control.

The fifth time Levi visited her, it was snowing outside.

It was always a wonder how someone radiating light and warmth could be a winter child. But Levi was sure he memorized the date right. It was an important one for him, after all. Levi fought to make sure he had enough time to get ready for celebrating her birthday. She deserved nothing more than a perfect day. Hange had been more than understanding, the wound left by losing Moblit still fresh in their heart.

Levi put the bouquet of twenty-two golden roses on the frozen ground. “Happy birthday. Twenty-two, huh? You`re turning into an old woman, Ral.” The irony of his words made a slight pang of guilt rise in his chest. The passing of time would never touch her again.

“I have your favorite”- he said, lightly shaking the box containing a small vanilla cake. Sugar was a rarity, but getting a cake was an unspoken rule in his squad. Their lives were too short to worry about the money. The first thing Levi noticed about Petra was the faint flower smell emanating from her. The first thing after setting his eyes on her clean nails, of course. On her first birthday that they celebrated as a squad, Levi gifted Petra a bottle of scented body lotion. And some high-quality cleaning rags, of course. But she did not pay attention to that. She and the rest of the Survey Corps never knew how to appreciate the finer things in life. But Levi did not miss the way her face lit up when he noticed something she enjoyed.

“I could never understand your sweet tooth, but today, I`m going to have a slice of cake.” Levi always refrained from indulging in this vice. Having grown unaccustomed to sugar, the idea of sweetness was unappealing to him. He always felt bad for disappointing her each year when she sat in front of him, with a small piece of cake she had cut for him. “Or two slices. Two is more appropriate anyway. If I get cavities, it`s on your ass.”

The ground was too cold for him to sit down on, and Levi made a mental note to build a small bench close to her headstone. He opened the box and eyed the cake wearily, considering if he should change his mind. He took a small bite of the cake, and he almost choked on it. “Oi, this is so damn sweet. How the fuck could you eat so much of it?” But it did not stop him from finishing his slice.

Levi expected to find some flowers lying in the snow or at least some tracks leading up to her grave.

“Does your old man still come around? I`ve never crossed paths with him since the expedition.” Sometimes, when he closed his eyes at night, he could still recall Mr. Ral`s pained expression when he realized there was no one left for him to wait for.

“Maybe it`s for the best. I bet he doesn`t want to see me again.” To see the face of the man who was supposed to protect his daughter. The face of the man his daughter wanted to devote her life to. The man who could not even bring him a body home to bury.

“I`m a shit. Ruining your birthday with talk like this.” Levi was never good at this. In his spot, Eld would have teased Petra about her first expedition. Tell her how now that she was a big girl, she ought to refrain from soiling herself again. Petra would turn red from embarrassment and elbow Eld in the ribs. Gunther would point out that despite their age, they are still children. And proceed with teasing Petra himself. Oluo would try to defend Petra`s honor to gain her attention, which would make him the target instead. Levi gave a small smile at the thoughts. He missed them dearly, more than he would ever care to admit.

Levi crouched down and cleared the layer of snow covering her headstone. He ran his finger alongside the letters of her name, wishing he would have had more opportunities to write it down.

“Happy birthday again, brat.”

The last time he visited her, Levi had company. Gabi and Falco did not give it another thought before offering to help him see her again before they would all leave for a new life. A better life, he hoped. But without her by his side, it was never going to be perfect. Gabi set down the flowers before they gave him privacy. While they never asked him about who she was, they knew Levi must have cared for her a great deal.

"Hi, brat. It`s been a while."

He had so much to say to her, and yet, he did not know where to start. A part of him expected to join her during the last battle, but fate always had something new in store for him. Levi was uncertain if it was luck by his side or a curse to watch everyone he ever cared about die. But life was looking brighter, and Levi promised himself he would never lose anyone again.

"Are Hange and Erwin with you now? How about the guys?" He wished for nothing more than to be there by their side. But Levi knew they would never forgive him if he did not try to live the remainder of his life to the fullest. And for them, he would try.

"Does Oluo still bite his tongue? Did he try to flirt with you again? Is Eld still teasing you? Does Gunther still treat you as a little sister?" Levi chuckled at the memory of their antics. He learned the hard way that he never appreciated them enough before he lost them.

"I hope there is an afterlife. I hope it`s peaceful. You all deserve it. Such a shitty end..." He closed his eyes and sighed at the words coming out of his mouth. "I`m sorry, I didn`t mean it. But you already knew that. I was always an open book to you."

Levi felt guilty for leaving the home they bled for behind, but if he were truthful, it had not felt like home to him for years. With no one left by his side, nothing was keeping him in Paradise anymore. While neither of them voiced it out, he had dreamed of a future with Petra by his side. And for her, he would try to live a long and happy life. Before he got to be with her.

"I`m sorry... for the future I never got to offer you. The one you deserved. I`m sorry for the house I never got to build for us, for the vows we never got to take, for the brats that will never play in my backyard." Levi knew Petra would encourage him to find love, but he never would again. He could never imagine a future by someone else`s side.

Levi glanced back at her grave for one last time before he set out for the remainder of his life- "I`ll see you soon. Wait for me."

ao3

#petra ral #rivetra #rivetra fanfiction #rivetra fanfic #my writing

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n0wornever · 4 years

Text

Wish You Were Sober - Luke Patterson x Reader

Based on the song by Conan Gray :)

“Are you sure that you don’t want to come?” Alex questions, giving her a quick side hug.

She sighed, leaning into him for a second. “No, I really don’t want to be around drunk people tonight.”

Alex rose an eyebrow “Or is it a particular drunk person...”

She pushed his shoulder back, a smirk sneaking forward on her lips. She shook her head at him as she pushed him toward his car. She watched her friend’s jeep pull out of her driveway and gave him a half-hearted wave.

Her phone buzzed, a new message blasting to the front of her screen. She rolled her eyes as she read his name. She opened the device, reading through the message.

“Alex told me you’re not coming tonight. Bummer :(”

She tried to fight the grin that stretched across her face at how quickly he had figured this out. She had just told Alex no longer than 10 minutes ago. She really wanted to say something witty, but the her racing heart betrayed her and fogged her thoughts. She sat down on her front porch stair, typing a weak response.

“Sorry :(”

Three little dots danced across the conversation, falling after a moment. Left on read. She shoved her phone back into her pocket as she walked back up the stairs to her house.

Y/N wasn’t opposed to high school parties. Give her a few drinks and she may convince you that she actually enjoyed them. It was the overall sinking feeling she got in her stomach as she watched him clumsily stumble around the room with a pretty blonde on his arm that made her dread events. She knew it was petty to avoid social gatherings entirely because of one person, but she had convinced herself that the only way to get over her crush on her neighbor, Luke Patterson, was to cut off communication cold turkey.

They had wandered into each other’s lives three years ago, when Luke’s parents purchased the house next to her own. Their mothers being the hostesses that they were, pushed for joint family dinners and barbecues to get to know everyone. Y/N would usually make herself pretty scarce, bringing her ukelele down and sitting on their old swing tied to the tree in their yard, watching the interactions from afar.

That was until Luke made it his mission to walk over and break the silence. As he approached her, he pointed at the instrument in her hand and smiled. “You play?”

“No, it’s for show,” She said, strumming it again.

Luke laughed at her, placing his hand on one rope attached to the swing. She tried to distance the eye contact, but fell victim to his dark green eyes. “For how long?”

She moved her eyes back to the instrument, fiddling with the third string in her hand. “A few years now...” she trailed off.

“Nice. I play guitar and....” She took note of his wandering sentence, looking over to see his jaw locked as he stared at her. “And you don’t care about anything I’m saying.”

This brought a smile to Y/N’s face, letting her nose scrunch a bit. “It’s nothing personal, just don’t like forced interactions.” She starting to play a soft melody, looking over at her mom, smiling wide at whatever Luke’s dad said.

“Unfortunately my mom is the queen of hosting.”

Luke nodded, his eyes darting from the table back to her. He nodded his head back in the direction of his house. “We could ditch and just jam in my garage?”

Her hand stilled. She looked over at her mom pulling out a phone with most likely a horrible old image of her in pigtails. She met Luke’s eyes again and nodded. “Quickly, please.”

He moved back from the swing, letting her plant herself back on the ground before leading her across the lawn.

From that day, Luke and Y/N had an interesting relationship. They weren’t exactly best friends, but they were able to bond over their love of music and their hatred of family events. Y/N would use his quiet personal refuge in his garage often just to strum her uke in someone else’s presence, the two rarely talking.

That was until Luke would cave and play a part of a song for her review. She always giggled at the boyish glow in his eyes when he played something for any willing audience. She’d give him notes and listened to draft after draft until it was completed.

It was about a month ago when she realized her feelings toward the guitarist had changed. One night she snuck over the fence for a first in-person event that Luke’s new band held. There were only two people in attendance, a pretty brunette who was attached to Luke’s waist, and Y/N. The boys were going to run through a few songs before the next battle of the bands.

Luke’s eyes met hers with his bright smile. “Y/N you made it! Josie will have someone to sit with.” He beamed down at the girl next to him.

She awkwardly planted herself on the couch next to the girl, mumbling a ‘hi’ in her direction. The interaction cut short by Josie turning away from her, the obvious conclusion that the girl was going to gawk at the musician the whole time. Y/N curled her feet underneath her, rotating from scrolling through social media and listening to the boys.

As her eyes gravitated toward the stage, she watched as Luke smirked at Josie, shooting a wink in her direction. She felt this feeling in her stomach that made her want to throw up, shoulders sinking lower. Alex’s eyes met her from behind the drumset for a moment before she moved back to her phone.

As the guys put away their instruments, Luke ushered Josie into the house. His drummer jogged over to meet Y/N at the couch. “You okay? You seem even more disengaged than usual.”

She let a little smile curl on the corner of her mouth as she met his soft eyes. “I’m fine Alex, just felt a little awkward.”

Alex placed his drumsticks in his back pockets, shifting his weight to his left side. “You can just say you don’t like Josie?”

Y/N stammered “It’s not that I don’t like her, I don’t know her I just...I don’t know.”

He eyed her up and down “I think you do. And I think the reason is inside right now with another girl.”

She bit her lip, throwing a pillow at the boy in front of her. Alex dodged it, laughing to himself.

She’d never been jealous before, but she didn’t like how nauseous it made her. This feeling followed her to every party or event that she went to. Luke would always bring some new girl on his arm, and she’d watch as he’d twirl her out onto the dance floor or catch them sloppily kiss each other in the kitchen while blacked out.

So she stopped going to parties. She didn’t expect Luke to notice, they didn’t even really talk at those events. They would say hello and Luke would try to get her drunk 90% of the time because he had determined that she needed to ‘let loose and have fun.’ She would roll her eyes and down a shot so he’d leave her alone.

Instead, Y/N spent most weekends with Alex or Reggie or Julie, and nights by herself in her room with her ukelele and a notebook. She’d started writing music when Luke formed the band, inspired by her friends’ talent and her budding feelings she toward one particular band member. She was happy that she had finally started writing songs instead of just strumming to Colbie Caillat lyrics all the time. It was the first time she felt like a true musician.

She pulled out her notebook and tucked her pen behind her ear, pulling her uke to her chest. She hummed for a moment, staring up into the distance as she thought. A few moments later, she grabbed the pen quickly and scribbled a few lines down on the page. She continued this pattern until she had finished the bridge of her new piece. As she set down her pen, there was a knock at her window.

She grabbed her keys, equipped with a small pocket knife and pepper spray and inched toward the glass. As she got closer she could make our curly brown hair. as she leaned into the futon, she looked out to see a wide-eyed boy staring back at her.

“Patterson, really?” She shook her head as she unlocked the window and pulled it up.

The boy fell into the room heavily, automatically making Y/N worry about her parent’s wandering ears. She held up her finger to her mouth. “Quiet or I’ll kill you.” She walked past him to stop the cold air from seeping in.

She stomped back over to stand in front of the boy, hands on her hips. “What are you doing here?”

Luke’s eyes were barely open, and she could smell the whisky from her safe distance. He stumbled a bit as he tried to walk forward toward her. She grabbed his hand and led him back to the futon. He leaned his arm on the back of the seat, looking at her with a smirk pulled onto his left cheek.

“Y/N, I missed you tonight.”

She rolled her eyes “Did you really climb on my roof to say that?”

He nodded, moving closer to her “You’re avoiding me.” he said, lip jutting out into a pout.

“No I’m not.”

His eyes tried to widen at her and she pursed her lips. He put his hand her thigh as he spoke again in an animated whisper. “I think you are, and I’m not happy about it. Y/N I thought we were friends.”

Her heart thumped at this statement. She did feel guilty about ignoring him without giving him a reason. He was so busy with school, the band and girls she didn’t think that his neighbor leaving him alone would be an issue. Luke’s hand came up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, giving her a wider smile.

“You look pretty in this light,” He slurred, body moving forward toward her.

She had to shut this down. She felt goosebumps raise on her arms as his hand trailed down her left side. He was drunk out of his mind right now. She couldn’t deal with the very real emotions she was having about this moment, as it was clear that this blank stare and dilated pupils were the only things present on his end. She stood up from the couch and held out her hand for him to take.

“I think you should go,” Luke rose to meet her, hand coming to grab at her waist.

“Y/N, wait.”

She shook her head, moving over to the window. This drunk idiot was lucky she lived on the first floor. She pointed outside as she looked back over at him. His eyes drooped as he stumbled across the floor. He placed a foot outside before turning back to her once more.

“Y/N..”

She cut him off, rubbing her right eye with her hand “Just go, Luke, we’ll talk later.” He frowned at her before disappearing out into the darkness.

She shut the window and moved over to her bed, flopping onto her back. She pressed her fingertips to her temples. She sat back up to pull back her covers before getting underneath them and shutting off her light.

Early in the morning, she woke up to her mother yelling to her from the kitchen. She crawled out of bed, pulling her slippers on her feet before opening her door and moving sluggishly toward the next room. Her mom was hard at work at the stove, making Sunday breakfast. He mom’s eyes met hers with a soft smile, eyes fogged under her glasses from the steam.

“We have a visitor this morning,” She stated.

Y/N gave her a confused look before she saw the small smile on a certain brunette’s face as he sat at her kitchen island. She was tempted to run back to her room, feeling faint from the heat rushing all over her body. Instead, she crossed her arms in front of her as she walked slowly toward him.

Luke looked at her with wide eyes, “can we talk.” She sighed, looking at the way his twiddled his thumbs as he spoke.

She gave him a small smile, pointing out of the room. She looked over to her mom before heading toward her door. “Let us know when breakfast is ready, I just have to show Luke something real quick.” Her mom beamed at the pair, nodding.

Luke trailed behind Y/N as she led them to her room. She pulled the door open and let him walk inside. She shut the door behind them, turned on the light before walking over to sit down on her bed, staring over at him, standing with his hands in his pockets.

“I’m sorry about last night..” He started in a low voice. “I don’t know what came over me.”

She shrugged “it’s fine Luke no need to make it a big deal.”

He shook his head at her. “But it is. Y/N, you’re avoiding me and I wanted to ask you about it for weeks but only drunk me had the courage to come over and do it.”

Her eyes widened. “Luke, I-”

He interrupted her “Don’t try to make me feel better, Y/N. I can see right through the act.” her shoulder slumped as she watched his eyes narrow at her. “What did I do?”

She ran her hand through her hair, standing up straighter. She watched as his eyes fell toward his shoes, taking a deep breath before addressing him again.

“Luke, I wish I could tell you. I- you never noticed I was there anyway so I didn’t think the distancing would be this complicated...”

His head perked up, frowning at her. “Y/N what are you talking about, we talk like everyday.”

She rolled her eyes “Yes, it was just hard to do so when I have to be around all of your lady friends every time i’m over. Their energy is always weird and I feel uncomfortable.....”

She watched as his expression changed to one of anger “So I can’t have people over to to my own home when you’re around?”

She shook her head, feeling her heart rate rise during the conversation. “No, Luke that’s not what I meant, Jesus Christ, I-”

He towered over her, practically seething as he talked “Then what is it.”

She put her head into her hands, steadying her breathing before looking back up at him. “It’s because I like you Luke, okay? It’s hard to watch you be all over other girls when I’m dealing with the fact that I want to be with you. Are you satisfied with me embarrassing myself now?”

His mouth ajar, he froze looking over at her. She moved from her bed over to the futon near her window to avoid his eyes. She leaned against the back, staring outside. After a silent second, she felt the cushion fall next to her. His hand came up to her shoulder, causing her to look at him again.

“Y/N, I had no clue...I..”

Tears in her eyes, she chewed on her bottom lip as she studied him. “How would you possibly know, I never acted on anything. I’m sorry I even said anything.” She gave him a pointed look as she watched a sad look paint across his face. “Please don’t feel bad for me, just...just forget I said anything.”

He ran his hand through his messy hair “It’s hard to forget a fact like that, Y/N.” They stared at each other for a moment before he moved his hand to her cheek to wipe her tears. She tried to ignore how the closeness made her chest tighten.

“Can it be my turn to be honest now?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She nodded, sitting back to get a better view of his face. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment before moving his eyes back to hers.

“I had a crush on you the day I met you,” he started, Y/N pulling a confused face as she listened to him. “But you were so distant, I got in my own head and decided that you weren’t interested. I’ve been dating around because I didn’t think it’d affect you, because you saw us as friends. Now I see that I wasn’t as observant as I thought I was.”

She watched as his hand moved over toward hers, touching it softly as he looked at her, waiting for the okay. She nodded slightly and he wrapped his fingers around hers. His smiled grew and he squeezed her hand softly.

“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable, unintentional or not, I never want you to feel like that around me,” He brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a quick kiss to her knuckles.

“Luke I told you it’s alright. I should have been honest and not iced you out. I promise it’s-”

“Y/N, if you say it’s fine one more time...”

“But it is I-” Her voice was cut off by his lips pressing into hers. She let herself melt into his touch for a moment before they pulled away. As her eyes fluttered open, she was at a total loss.

“I still like you, Y/N.” She felt a familiar feeling rush to her cheeks as he rubbed her thumb against the skin. The right corner of his mouth rose into a smirk, basking in her silence.

“If that’s what it takes for you to shut up, count me in.” He joked, bringing his free hand up to her neck and kissing her again.

Tag list: @xplrreylo @lovesanimals, @anythingandeverythingfandom, @crybabyddl, @oswin05, @themaddies-obx, @lukeys-giggle, @bumbleberry-pie @kiss-themoongoodbye @marinettepotterandplagg, @lolychu, @bathtimejish, @dasexydevitt13 @musicconversedance, @txrii @bestdressedandstressed @daisiesforlacey @epikskool @bookfrog247 @carleywhittaker @princessvader15 @rudysbay @spooky-season-bitch @kcd15 @whatever-happens-imma-stand-tall

#luke patterson #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson imagine #luke patterson fanfiction #jatp #julie and the phantoms

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zelinkwrites · 3 years

Text

A Mother’s Love

post calamity aoc timeline. started writing this, accidentally deleted it you get the gist here we go

Rita sat underneath the apple tree in her backyard, watching her daughter Aryll play with the stick she found.

“Mom! Mom! MOM! Look! Watch this!” yelled Aryll as she threw the stick in the air and caught it after it flipped once. “Mom, did you see that!”

“Yes, sweetheart that was very cool! I’m very proud of you.”

The little girl smiled at her mother’s praise and ran with her stick into the front yard.

“Aryll, do not fall into that pond! I don’t want you to catch a cold!” Rita, understanding her rest time was over, stood up and began making her way around to the front yard to make sure her energetic young daughter didn’t get herself into some trouble. For just a second she wished just one of her children had been born with a quiet and serene personality. Oh, but she wouldn’t change either of them for the world.

Speaking of her other child, Link had written home not long ago saying he intended to visit within the month. It had been so long since she had seen her son, what with his having been busy at the castle. She thought about her son, about the muddy, rowdy little boy she raised and how he had grown into such a handsome, mature young man. Oh she was so very, very proud of him. She’ll never forget the look on his face when he came home from a trip with his dad with a new sword strapped to his back, one almost at tall as him. The same sword that would grow to become such a burden to him. Rita had pledged one thing then: be as big a comfort and confidante for her son as he needed. Such is a mother’s love. Anything Link thought, he could tell her, unashamedly. Such is a mother’s love. Whenever he needed someone to hold him as he cried, she would be there. Such is a mother’ s love. Whenever he got hurt and needed someone to clean his wound and comfort him, she would be there, bandage in hand. Such is a mother’s love. As she rounded the corner of their home, she looked out at Hyrule, thanking the Goddesses for protecting her son while he protected the kingdom.

Aryll ran up to her mom, panting from the rigorous lap around the house she just made. “Mom. Mom, when is Link gonna be here? I want to show him my stick trick.”

“I’m not exactly sure, love. Any day now, you know Link has always been timely.” She smiled at her daughter’s impatience and patted her unruly dirty blonde hair down into a more manageable shape. “But don’t worry, he’ll be here soon enough and I’m sure he’ll be sooooo impressed with your talents.”

She watched as her daughter smiled ear to ear, and noticed, as if her words summoned him, blue fibers of light gathering in front of the shrine across the bridge from their house. Aryll followed her mother’s line of sight and yelled as she saw her big brother materializing at the shrine. She sped across the bridge, as fast as her little legs would carry her, and got halfway across the bridge before her brother was there, jogging to meet her, picking her up, upside down, much to his sister’s delight, as evidenced by her maniacal giggling. He continued across the bridge but only after turning behind him to see if his surprise guest was following him. He walked up to his mom, still holding Aryll by her ankles.

“Put her down before you drop her on her head.” Rita admonished before hugging her son and kissing his cheek. “Have you gotten taller since you were here last? I think you have...”

Link cleared his throat before stepping out of the way and letting his mother see who he had brought with him. Behind him was a gorgeous young lady with long golden hair, wearing a blue blouse with black trousers. Her hands were crossed in front of her and she looked very nervous, almost as if she felt she didn’t belong here.

“Well, who is this?” asked Rita, although the answer was glaringly obvious.

“This is Zelda, even though you probably already knew that. She said she had never been to Hateno and asked if I could... take her.”

“Well, hello Princess, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” Rita said, slightly bowing, mostly for show.

“Oh! Please just Zelda is fine, really! It’s fantastic to finally see this village. Link has told me much about it, and you too.”

“Oh is that so? Well come on in, I’d love to hear what else my son has told you.”

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

The visiting pair settled in, Link making a show of giving Zelda his bed and volunteering to sleep in a completely separate room (aw, showing propriety in front of his parents, how knightly).

Rita knew her son well, though, being one of the only people in Hyrule who could read him like a book. She knew he was hiding something. And she was confident in her ability in getting to the bottom of it. She noticed it first in the way he really had to work to separate himself from the princess. He made sure he was always about five feet away from her. Next, she noticed the blush that stained the princess’ cheeks whenever their hands brushed over dinner, passing a plate. Third, she noticed Link’s stare lingering on Zelda for just a moment longer than was really necessary. The thing that cemented her theory, however, was the beautiful necklace that slipped out of the princess’ collar one day when she was helping her in the garden. It looked strikingly similar to the one Rita’s mother had given Link before she passed away many years ago. Interesting.

She decided to corner Link one day and force the answer out of him. After all, such is a mother’s love. She saw the golden opportunity when Zelda was outside watching Aryll’s “stick tricks” as she called them. She slipped in front of her son right before he opened the door to walk outside. “Soooo...”

Link’s eyes got wide and he immediately started turning red, just like he did when he got caught doing something he shouldn’t have been as a child.

“The princess seems really nice.”

“Uh, yeah, yeah she is.”

“And she’s so gorgeous, also. Those ballads really weren’t lying!”

“Ahaha, yeah I guess so...” Link said, ruffling the hair on the back of his head.

“That’s good for you!”

“Yea- er what?” Link said, reddening even more.

“Well that means you won’t have to guard her through that courting stage for too long. That happened to your father you know. He still talks about having to guard the late queen when she was courting the king. Having to stand there while they make heart eyes at each other, obsess over each other’s looks, try to impress the other, oh your father hated it!”

Link’s face got somehow even more red as he heard his mother talk about the princess courting someone. Rita definitely did not miss that look he got. “Oh, uh yeah. That-that’s... good.” Link was looking everywhere except for his mother’s eyes.

“However that beautiful necklace she’s got on means maybe she already has a suitor. Wouldn’t that be something?”

He’d been found out. He told Zelda it was a bad idea to wear the necklace. He told her he wouldn’t be offended if she left it at the castle. But no, she just had to wear it. He can’t stay mad at her though. Link stayed silent, still not looking at his mother as the blush creeped into the tips of his ears.

“How long has it been going on?” asked Rita, smiling slyly.

Link sighed and said under his breath, “About four months.”

“Oh my goodness! My little boy has a girlfriend!”

“Mom...” said Link, who was madly scrambling to put away the smile that was on his face. Rita grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him over to their couch.

“Ok tell me everything.” And he did. Starting with his appointment, to the assassination attempt, to the end of the calamity, ending with current day, Rita shrieking whenever he recounted something particularly cute.

“Oh I’m so proud of you!” Rita grabbed her son and embraced him so hard he had to tap out to breathe. Then she got an impish little smile on her face and leaned in and whispered, “Have you kissed her yet?”

“Mom!” he exclaimed, the blush coming back to his face. She jabbed him in the belly and after they both calmed down Link quietly, almost too quiet to hear said, “yeah”.

“Link!” Rita playfully admonished her son, shoving his shoulder, pushing him onto the couch a little bit. She wasn’t strong enough to really push him over so she knew he did it for show. “Well, just know I like her a lot. Really.” she leaned and kissed her son on the cheek again.

“Me too.” Link said, a fond smile on his face. “We’ve been through a lot together. She’s had a lot of issues with her dad and, you know, with her mom dying when she was younger. I’m just glad she feels... comfortable here.”

Rita smiled and traced little circles on her son’s back as they sat in comfortable silence.

“Well, I should probably go out there before Aryll makes her fight her with a stick or something.”

Rita laughed and watched her son walk out and greet Zelda with a kiss on the cheek. Right then she made another vow: to extend that same amount of comfort to Zelda, as well. Such is a mother’s love.

extra content !!!

Aryll gaped when she saw her brother kiss the princess. It prompted a lot of questions in her mind. “Are you guys dating? Link do you like the princess? Does she like you? Will I be a princess if you guys get married? Will you be king? Does mom know? Oh my goodness does dad know? He’s gonna kill you Link. I won’t tell him don’t worry. Are you guys gonna get married? Can I be the flowergirl? Can we live in the castle?”

Link and Zelda both stood there, in awe of the stream of questions being produced from such a little brain. Link looked at Zelda apologetically, but also in a “I told you so” type of way. Zelda giggled and cut off Aryll’s questions. “Aryll, how about you show Link that trick you showed me earlier!”

“Oh yeah, Link, you’re gonna love this!” She got in her position to throw the stick and Link looked at Zelda nodding his thank you.

#loz #tloz #zelda #princesszelda #link #zelink #fanfic #fic #linksmom #aryll #bigbrotherlink #newrelationship #cute #botw #lozbotw

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hermannsthumb · 3 years

Note

Could you please write #43 grandparents/neighbors one?

43. we’re having our family meal at my grandparents’ house this year so fingers crossed your parents still live next door and you grew up to be even hotter

from winter writing prompts here

oh god this one got so long. sorry everyone! thank you to @k-sci-janitor for the alien bit because it was so fucking funny

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

Holidays have gotten a little weird to manage since Newt transformed into a fully-fledged adult with an apartment and a job and stuff, so while he hasn’t made it to the big Geiszler celebration in Germany every December since starting college out of elementary school, he still tries to make a point of dropping by his dad’s for dinner and a movie or something to fill his holiday quota. It’s fine by him; he loves his family, but they’re definitely overwhelming, and trying to submit final grades and work on syllabuses for the next semester all while distant relatives ruffle his hair and ask him when he’s going to hit his growth spurt is not his idea of a relaxing time. It’s a constant point of contention between him and his dad. This year more than most, apparently.

“Your grandmother misses you!” he tells Newt sadly over their Chinese takeout. “She calls me every week to ask how you are, and why you never visit with them. Every week.” He waves a fork at Newt. “You’re breaking her heart.”

“I’m in the lab, like, twenty-four-seven, dad,” Newt sighs. It’s a well-rehearsed conversation at this point, but it doesn’t get any less tiresome. Especially because he knows his dad is lying about the phone call thing—Newt is a great grandson and texts his grandmother plenty, thank you very much, he would know if he was breaking her heart. “I’m working straight through winter break this year. Seriously.”

“That’s what you did last year,” Newt’s dad says. “And the year before that…” Newt turns the volume up on the TV to cut his dad off before he can segue into the next part of his argument, which is (usually) that Newt needs to work on his personal life, maybe settle down, produce some grandkids of his own. Or at least adopt a cat. Also well-rehearsed.

He’s not sure why he says what he does next—maybe in a desperate attempt to distract his dad further. Maybe because of the sudden onslaught of childhood memories the mention of his grandparents’ house brought on. “Hey, do you remember that boy who used to live next door to grandma?” he says. “He had the weird haircut and always dressed kind of funny?” Old-fashioned, and a little too formal for the sort of things that little kids tend to do, climbing trees or playing in the mud—sweatervests and polished loafers and starched-white knee-highs.

Newt’s dad blinks at him. Newt half expects him to declare that Newt is nuts, and that he has no idea what he’s talking about, like this is one of those horror stories where the childhood friend turns out to be some ghost who died fifty years prior. The clothing would match up, he guesses. But he smiles in recognition a moment later. “You mean the Gottlieb boy?” he says.

“Gottlieb,” Newt echoes. It sounds familiar enough. “Hermann, I think. When I’d stay with grandma for the summer we would play together every day. I wonder what he’s doing now.” Hermann was a smart guy, a real geek like Newt; he used to carry a graphing calculator around in his pocket and build the most goddamn pristine model spacecrafts Newt had ever seen. Hermann’s dad shipped him off to a prestigious boarding school the last summer Newt spent there, when they were around twelve or so. Newt started at MIT not long after. “Dude’s probably designing rocket ships by now or something.”

“You could ask him yourself if you came with me,” Newt’s dad laughs. “The Gottliebs never moved away, and their children actually visit. I’m sure your Hermann visits, too.”

“Ha,” Newt says. “Yeah.”

It’s snowing by the time Newt and his dad finish their movie, and Newt (fearing his dad’s driving even in ideal conditions) declines the offer of a lift home to trudge his way through it to his T stop instead. It’s nice to have the chance to be alone with his thoughts, anyway, because he can’t seem to get funny little Hermann Gottlieb out of his head. What is he doing now?

A quick Facebook search on the train produces a few Hermann Gottliebs, but none of them promising—none of them have the brown eyes or strangely angular face (devoid of any baby fat even that young) Newt remembers, none of them are from the right German countryside, none of them went to a preppy English boarding school. Google (utilizing the information Newt does have) is a little more rewarding, and by the time Newt presses the button to request his stop, he’s scrounged up a decent amount of info: Hermann Gottlieb has a doctorate in astrophysics, Hermann Gottlieb publishes papers at a slightly terrifying rate, and Hermann Gottlieb turned out kinda hot.

As Newt stares down at a slightly grainy current photograph of his old friend—haircut and clothing unchanged, a cane in hand, some round librarian glasses perched on the end of his nose, wide mouth twisted into a scowl—he suddenly recalls another thing about Hermann Gottlieb: the summer Hermann was sent away to boarding school was the summer that Hermann kissed Newt goodbye, shyly and tearfully, under the shade of the tall maple tree in his yard. It was the last time Newt ever saw Hermann. It was Newt’s first kiss.

“Oh, boy,” Newt says.

He texts his dad when he gets back to his apartment. When do we leave?

Newt feels like the belle of the fucking ball when he steps into his grandparents’ house a week later, snow dusting his shoulders, small suitcase clenched in his hand. His cheeks are kissed; his scarf and hat and leather jacket are brushed off and tossed onto a coat rack; his hair is in parts smoothed down (too messy!) and ruffled (too flat!); he’s hugged more times than he has been in the entire last year, probably. “Still playing around with bugs in the dirt, eh, Newt?” his grandfather booms, tucking Newt into the crook of his arm with enough force to knock Newt’s glasses off.

“Actually,” Newt squeaks, scrambling for both what he remembers of his very rusty German, and his glasses before they can hit the ground, “entomology isn’t really my main focus at—”

“Newt’s studying jellyfish now,” Newt’s dad declares proudly. “He went on a diving expedition this July.”

“Diving? How exciting,” Newt’s grandmother says.

“Yeah,” Newt says. He pushes his glasses back on. “Yeah, it was fascinating, I was lucky to get the funding for it. You wouldn’t believe the sorts of—”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Newt’s cousin says.

“My little Newt’s a daredevil!” Newt’s dad says.

“It’s not that dangerous,” Newt says. “As long as you’re—”

“What happened to that nice man your father said you were dating?” Newt’s grandfather says. “With the, the what was it, the poetry? The poet? We thought you’d bring him!”

Newt flushes. Trust his dad to talk up some random guy Newt dated in March like it was a long-term affair and not an elongated one-night stand that fizzled out after three weeks. Though maybe that one’s on Newt—it’s not like he mentioned the one-night stand part to his dad, after all. He definitely didn’t mention that the guy ended it with a poem, too. “We broke up,” he says, weakly. He wriggles out from the throng of the crowd. “Look, it’s so great seeing you all, but I’m actually, like, really tired, soooooo…?”

“Oh, of course you are,” Newt’s grandmother says. She pats his head. “What a long flight you must have had! We’ll send someone up for you for dinner—you can have your old guest room.”

“Cool,” Newt says.

He scurries up the stairs.

The guest room he slept in during those summers is almost exactly the way he remembers it, but a little dustier—the floral quilt on the bed, his grandma’s sewing table crammed into the corner, the bookcase stocked with a weird combination of kid’s books and illustrated encyclopedias that Newt used to pore over for hours as a kid, often with Hermann. Newt draws back the embroidered curtains and peers out the window at the Gottliebs’ snow-capped house next door. Hermann’s window was directly across from his. It still is, technically, though the curtains (these navy blue and embroidered with little constellations) are pulled tight, and Newt has a feeling that Hermann hasn’t set foot in his old room in well over a decade. Two decades, probably.

He remembers the one summer he showed Hermann how to make a soup can telephone, and they managed to string it all the way across between their windows before discovering it kinda didn’t work as well as Newt said it would. He remembers when Hermann’s dad banned him from the Gottlieb house for tracking water all over their front hallway after he and Hermann went wading in the creek, but it was really Hermann who did it, because he forgot to take his shoes off and they got soaked, and Newt just took the fall for it so Hermann wouldn’t get in trouble. And when Hermann asked Newt to play astronaut with him, and Newt insisted on being an alien and mimed the chestburster scene from Alien, and Hermann freaked out so bad he fell in a mud puddle and got grounded for ruining his clothing, and Newt got grounded for that and for watching Alien when he wasn’t supposed to, and they spent the following few days staring sadly out across at each other before Newt’s grandma finally got tired of his moping and sent him to work weeding the garden. He remembers knotting a little friendship bracelet for Hermann out of embroidery thread he found in his grandmother’s sewing basket and Hermann vowing to keep it until he died.

Newt’s half of the soup can phone is still on the windowsill, though the string snapped and crumbled apart years ago. He picks at the peeling Chicken Noodle label, so distracted that he almost doesn’t notice the light suddenly seeping through at the edges of Hermann’s curtains, or the way they’re pushed open—almost.

Hermann—real, live, adult Hermann, botched haircut and round glasses and all—stares out at Newt with a shocked expression on his face. Newt drops the can with a clatter.

Then he waves.

“Hey, Grandma?” Newt says, poking his head into the kitchen. Tonight’s dinner is a massive pot of soup boiling away on the stovetop, dessert a mountain of cookies and tiny pastries on serving platters on the counters. Newt hasn’t had food that looked this good since he moved out, to be honest. The intersection of Newt’s sad lack of cooking skills and his attempts at vegetarianism means he eats a lot of boxed mac-and-cheese and frozen Vegetable Lovers’ pizzas. “Are you—?"

“Oh, Newt!” Newt’s grandmother says. She sets down her wooden spoon. “Are you feeling rested, then?”

“Yeah,” Newt says. “Grandma, I was wondering, could I—uh—maybe run some food over to the Gottliebs? To be…neighborly? We just have so much, and—”

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Newt’s grandmother says. “They keep to themselves, mostly, but I can’t imagine they’d turn it down. You might even see your little friend again! What was his name? You were so fond of him.”

“Hermann,” Newt says, quickly shoving cookies into a red-lid plastic container. “Thanks, Grandma.”

He tucks the tupperware under his arm and nearly wipes out on the icy front path he runs to the Gottliebs’ so fast. Before he can so much as catch his breath and knock, their door swings open; Hermann, dressed in a tacky Hannukah sweater, arches an eyebrow at him. “I saw you sprint over here like a bloody madman,” he says, in blessed English. He must’ve remembered how shitty Newt’s German was when they were kids. “Hello, Newton. What’s so terribly important?”

His voice got deeper—expected—and he swapped out his German accent for an English one somewhere along the way. Probably at his stuffy boarding school. He also got taller—he’s got a few inches on Newt now, but Newt admits that’s not exactly hard. God, he’s even hotter in person. “Uh,” Newt says. Why is he here? Oh, right. He thrusts out the tupperware. “I brought some cookies over for you?”

Hermann peers down at the offering over his glasses. His forehead wrinkles. “How considerate,” he says. He pulls an olive-green parka on and steps out onto the porch, tugging the door shut behind him. He taps at a peeling porch swing with the end of his cane. “Just leave them there. Would you like to take a walk?”

It’s freezing, and snowing, but for some reason, a walk sounds like the best idea in the world right now. “Yes, please,” Newt says, and chucks the cookies onto the swing.

“I must say,” Hermann says, after their meandering walk around the Gottliebs’ yard takes them to the old maple tree. The branches are bare, but thick, and shield them from most of the falling snow. Hermann’s breath puffs out white in front of his angular face. The last time I stood here, Newt thinks, he kissed me. “I really did not expect to see you.”

“I didn’t expect to see you, either,” Newt admits. “From what I remember, you and your family weren’t—uh—well, very close. I didn’t think you’d be coming back to share in the holiday cheer with them, is what I mean.”

The corner of Hermann’s mouth twitches up. “That’s certainly one way of describing it. Yes, I suppose you’re right—my father is a bit of a bastard, isn’t he?” Newt laughs awkwardly, unsure whether to agree or attempt to weakly the defend a guy who openly hated him for being a bad influence on Hermann most of his childhood; he’s grateful when Hermann continues and saves him the choice. “This is the first year I’ve come home in a long while. My brother’s just had a daughter, you see, and I thought I should start getting used to playing uncle.”

“Oh, congrats,” Newt says. Hermann shrugs, and Newt has the distinct feeling that this is Hermann’s older brother, who used to dissemble Hermann’s telescope and hide the pieces around the house when Hermann annoyed him, and tattled on Newt and Hermann to Hermann’s parents the one time Newt snuck in to see Hermann after he got banned. He always made Newt thankful that he was an only child. “Same here, actually. Not the uncle thing—I mean I haven’t visited since I was in college. Too busy.”

“I know,” Hermann says, and then adds teasingly (in a way that makes color flood Newt’s cheeks and his heart beat just a little faster), “I’ve looked you up online. Er—quite a bit recently, in fact. I was curious. You’ve made quite the name for yourself, haven’t you, Dr. Geiszler?”

“I,” Newt squeaks, and then coughs. “I mean, I guess? I like…science.”

“I oughtn’t be surprised,” Hermann says. “You were always giving me bugs, and salamanders, and funny little frogs—”

Newt liked bugs, and salamanders, and frogs, but he liked Hermann more, and the gifts had a lot more to do with the latter than the former, because what kid wouldn’t want bugs or salamanders or frogs, right? Not that Hermann ever appreciated them—especially not the worms Newt would pluck from the sidewalks after rainstorms. He thinks he got grounded for that one, too, because his grandma wouldn’t believe that he really wasn’t trying to terrorize the poor Gottlieb boy. “And what about you?” Newt says. He pokes his elbow into Hermann’s side. “Dr. Gottlieb? Guess those model rockets paid off.”

(“No, Newton,” Hermann would snap at him on the rare occasions he would allow Newt to watch him piece one together, “the glue hasn’t dried yet. You have to be patient, or else it’ll fall apart.”)

“Not yet,” Hermann says, “but I hope soon.”

Hermann smiles at him. A snowflake catches in his eyelashes—his long, pretty, dark eyelashes. “Do you remember when you kissed me here?” Newt blurts out.

“It’s hardly the sort of thing I’d forget,” Hermann says. He reaches out and tucks a piece of Newt’s hair up into his hat. “I like your tattoos—I saw the photographs on your social media accounts. They suit you.” Newt wonders if this means Hermann saw the shirtless selfie he posted on Instagram. “I’m also pleased to see you’ve gotten your braces removed. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience last time.”

Then he leans in and kisses Newt. Again, technically. It’s so light and brief Newt hardly believes it even happened. Their glasses clack together, and when Hermann pulls away, he straightens out Newt’s.

“I confess,” Hermann says, “that I’m wholly pleased to see how you’ve turned out. I hope that wasn’t too forward of me. I’ve been thinking about doing it all night.”

“Jeez, dude,” Newt says, blinking at him, his head swimming just a little. Hermann looks smug. “Not, uh, not too forward. So. Uh. You wanna get dinner or something this week and catch up?”

Hermann snorts, and nods.

#newmann #maria's fanfiction tag #Anonymous

98 notes · View notes

some-cookie-crumbz · 3 years

Note

h,,,huwumi,,,kiss in the snow,,, add fan kiddos if you wanna uwu

Cute domestic Huwumi fluff??? On MY tumblr dot com blog??? As it should be!

Days where Keigo was off to stay with the kids were some of Fuyumi’s favorites. The twins were going to be seven soon enough and spent a good majority of their days in school, and Isamu had officially started preschool, but Hibari had just hit two years old three weeks prior. When a sitter was needed, Rei was always excited and eager to offer to take any or all of her grandchildren. And, while less enthusiastic, Enji could be relied on when necessary. But none of that was the same as the thought of her husband doting on their children. There was something about knowing that Keigo would be there all day with Hibari and then picking the boys up once they were done with their days that brought her a sense of peace and put an extra pep in her step.

It was why she walked in the door with a smile, though it faltered slightly at how quiet the house was.

She had stayed a little bit after to finish some grading, knowing that it would be a good few hours between dinner and bedtime routine before she could resume, but had anticipated the usual enthusiasm levels. The twins were always eager to play some mischievous and rowdy game the second their homework was completed and Isamu flocked to her as soon as she was in sight. “Keigo? Kids?” she called out as she put her shoes away and swapped into her slippers.

After a moment she heard loud, high-pitched squeals coming from the other side of the house. She was quick to make the trek to examine, seeing the door to the backyard thrown wide open, cold gusts starting to creep in. While a full-fledged storm was far from kicking up, a light snowfall had started up. In the doorway was a bundled mound of blankets. She couldn’t help but smile as she reached out and gently pushed at the top of the bundle, revealing a mess of dark red hair and startled gold eyes. “Oh, Mom! Welcome home!” Reo said, shifting to lean closer as she moved to kneel and press a kiss to his forehead.

“I’m a little surprised you’re this close to the outside, hun,” she mused. Reo had inherited a stronger variant of Fuyumi’s ice Quirk - deemed Dry Ice by their family pediatrician - but had a ridiculous aversion to the cold. It wasn’t a situation of him lacking a resistance to it, either. He had a higher resistance to the cold as was the norm for temperature based Quirks like that. Somehow, someway, her eldest son had just decided that snow wasn’t his speed. Which she understood and respected, but this left her a bit baffled.

“I was helping Dad get Hibi dressed for the snow and then I wa-Bwah!” His explanation was cut off as a snowball came flying out of nowhere, pegging him straight in the face. He scrambled to wipe the flakes from his face and off his blanket cocoon. "KAITO!" he shrieked.

His blonde haired twin stood out in the yard, pointing with one gloved hand while the other arm was wrapped around his own stomach, cackling like mad. "Holy cow! I got you right in the face! Best day of my life!"

"So you've chosen violence... Very well! RrraaAAAHHHH!" And with that battle cry, Reo came scrambling out from his blankets and charged for his brother. Fuyumi briefly considered chiding him for leaving his blankets in the doorway and charging out without a proper coat but opted against it. Instead, she moved the blankets further inside, stepped out herself and closed the door behind her.

She spotted Keigo over by the large oak tree in the corner, his back facing her, Hibari's bright pink wing mittens just barely visible over his left forearm and Isamu hovering in the air just beside his father. While he wasn't an expert yet, Isamu's wings were large enough for him to hoist himself into the air for a good but short bit. She moved along to join them, briefly glancing over to watch as the twins tussled about in the snow a few feet away. "Birb! Dada, birb!" Hibari's voice cried in delight and wonder, quiet chirps coming from where she pointed.

"There's a lil birdie in there, Daddy!" Isamu gasped in quiet awe, fluttering up just a bit more to get a better look.

"That's right, buddy! It's a little sparrow. They're wintery birds, just like Hibi," Keigo agreed, tilting his head down to nuzzle his cheek affectionately against the toddler’s in his arms. Fuyumi giggled at the excited squeals he got for that.

"That's part of why Daddy calls Hibari his little sparrow," she chimed in, grinning wider when they turned to face her.

"Mommy!" Isamu gasped. He dropped back on to his feet and rushed over, arms looping around her waist as best they could and burrowing into her. "I missed you, Mommy."

She smiled and shifted to pick him up, settling him on her hip. "I missed you, too, Isa," She pressed a kiss to his forehead before turning her attention to Keigo.

“Hey,” he hummed, stepping closer to pull her close and kiss her. She hummed happily and kissed back eagerly, letting one hand slide up along the shoulder of his coat. When they pulled back, she blinked to dislodge a few snowflakes that had snuck past her glasses. “How was your day?”

“It was fine. Glad to be home, though,” she mused, leaning forward to give him another quick peck. She beamed when she saw how his feathers ruffled a bit from the quick affection. Even after years of marriage and four children, she still found how flustered he’d get to be achingly endearing. "Hibari's wings doing better today?"

He nodded and gently bopped his hip to bounce the tot, causing her to giggle. "They're still pretty sensitive but it’s still been going down. Today the sensitivity waned enough for me to be able to touch them gently, and she seems to be kinda starting to gain more mobility over them. Should probably be able to start doing those exercises the specialist was talking about in another couple of weeks," he hummed, chuckling as Hibari reached out to grab at a snowflake that drifted by. “Since she was in higher spirits today, I figured a little time in the yard would be fine, get her some fresh air. Little miss isn’t exactly fit to be cooped up all day.”

Fuyumi smiled as she reached out a hand to tuck a loose strand of hair back under Hibari’s hat. “That’s true. She’s such a curious baby bird, isn’t she?” she mused. Hibari, despite being nearly two, had already proven that her curiosity was vast. So many times they’d had to stop her from getting into somewhere or something she shouldn’t be, eager to point and let out a little questioning noises.

Hibari giggled at the affection before perking up and glancing over Keigo’s shoulder to watch as Reo flipped Kaito over his shoulder, clearly intending to throw him into a nearby snowman, only to be halted by a small flurry of red feathers swarming them. “Boys, keep the rough housing down. We don’t need any emergency room trips tonight,” Keigo said patiently. His feathers shifted to grab Kaito and put him back on his feet properly.

Reo huffed. “He started it! I wasn’t doing anything and he threw a snowball at me!” he yelped, pointing at his twin.

“Kaito, you know how Reo feels about the cold. Be respectful,” Fuyumi chirped in.

Reo flashed a smugly satisfied grin at his twin, who responded in turn with a raspberry. “I’m going inside and crawling back into my blankets! And I’m not coming out until it’s time for donburi!” With that announcement and another small huff, he began marching his shoe-less self back inside, swiping at his crimson locks to dislodge some of the settling snowflakes.

“Coward!” Kaito called after him, trying to toss another handful of snow at him but instead only succeeding in slipping. He would have hit the ground if Keigo’s feathers hadn’t been lingering about, just in case.

“Kai so silly!” Hibari giggled, peering up at her parents.

“Yes, he is,” Fuyumi hummed before looking back over to Keigo. “So donburi tonight?”

“Ah, yeah. I wanted to do something that shouldn’t take me too long to prepare and would be warm, considering the kids were all mostly outside,” he explained. A gust of wind picked up around them, causing one of Keigo's wings to shift and curl around Hibari to protect her better.

She still visibly shuddered and pushed closer to him. "'S bbbbrrrrrr!" she squeaked.

"It's very bbbrrrr, sparrow. Let's all get inside and I'll make some warm, yummy dinner for us all," he said. He glanced over at Kaito, who was reaching again for a handful of snow, but dropped it when he realized he was being watched. Keigo slowly quirked an eyebrow in amusement as their second oldest started the slog to the patio, clapping his hands together to remove the remaining bits of snow from his mittens. “Thanks for making a better choice there, buddy.”

Kaito grumbled something in response as he marched his way up, then shrieked when Reo suddenly leapt out from around the corner, grabbing his brother and starting to drag him further in. Hibari gasped before starting to squirm. “Daddy, down! Gotta help Kai!” she squeaked frantically. Fuyumi giggled as Keigo set her down, watching as she waddled as fast as she could through the snow to follow after her two oldest brothers. “Reo meanie! Stop!”

Isamu whined quietly in Fuyumi’s hold before shifting himself. “You want me to let you down, sweet pea?” she asked.

“Wanna make sure Hibi doesn’t hurt her wingies,” he mumbled, carefully moving with her to stand on his own. “Reo-Nii and Kaito-Nii play too rough sometimes.”

Keigo smiled and reached over to ruffle his hair affectionately. “You’re a great big brother, you know? Looking after your little sister like that,” he praised. Fuyumi felt her heart skip at the shy smile he gave his Dad in return, little feathers fluffing up a bit, expression and stance near identical to her husband’s just a few minutes before. Isamu was the most reserved of their children, seeming to take quite a lot more from Fuyumi, Rei and Shoto, but there were little ticks that were so much his father’s it always lifted her heart.

“Thank you,” Isamu chirped quietly before perking up at a loud squeal from inside. They weren’t sure which one of his siblings it was making the sound, but he was following after them with one good flap from his wings. “Y-You guys, hold on! We gotta get our snow stuffs off first!”

She watched as he disappeared inside too before turning to look at Keigo, watching him disappear with a fond look in his eyes. “They’re really great kids, aren’t they?” he asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

She smiled wider and reached up to set both her hands on his shoulders, turning him to face her fully. “I think we’re doing a pretty good job,” she hummed, leaning up to kiss him again as yet another frigid gust whipped around them. He looped one of his arms securely around her waist as he deepened the kiss, one hand coming up to gently stroke her cheek. When they pulled apart after a second she giggled and indicated towards the patio with a tilt of her head. “Shall we?”

“Always,” he purred back, flashing her a grin that was sincere and warm, chasing off the winter chill much better than her coat certainly did.

#crumbles grumbles #Huwumi #my fics #This was a fun one to write!#I haven't done too much with the family dynamic as a whole #So I wanted to show that a bit #Since I think it's fun

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bqstqnbruin · 4 years

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Secret Love Song

Hello, hello. Same message as last time! Donate, sign petitions, go to protests, if you want resources I will be happy to find them for you! Support BLM movements, black people should not have to fight for their right to live!

This was inspired by Secret Love Song Part II by Little Mix

I also still have two requests, so if you sent one of them in, please please please don’t think I forgot about you! I just suck!

__________________________

13 years old

Your mom insisted on having a party. Your neighbors were your best friends, and this year was ten years that they had moved in next door from Arizona. Keith was best friends with your dad, Chantal with your mom, and their three children were your best friends. Brady was closest to you in age, you were older by a little bit less than a year, which meant that you were still close enough in age that you were in the same classes until his parents decided he was going to go to Chaminade. Matthew was the annoying older brother who normally just included you in whatever teasing he released on Brady. Taryn was the younger sister who just hung around until her friends came along. Typically, it was just you and Brady.

The two of you were sitting by the pool, people going in and out of the house while Matthew was in the pool with some of the other kids from the neighborhood.

“So, if you were to date anyone here, who would it be?” Brady asked you.

“They have to be like, present at my house right now?”

“Yes.”

You look out to the pool, seeing no one that you would ever, in a million years, ever date.

“Do I have to?” you whine, not wanting to say anyone.

“Yes. Here, I’ll go first. I would date Maddison.”

“You really just asked me that question so you could admit that you like her, didn’t you?” He looks out at the pool to the girl he just mentioned, his entire face and his ears turning red, and not from the sun. You could read that boy like a book: every time she was mentioned, he lit up like a Christmas tree as his mom would say.

He doesn’t answer, “So, who would you date?”

“I guess, Matthew?” you say, throwing out a name. You’ve always had a small crush on him, but you could never tell that to Brady. But truth be told, you weren’t interested in any of those boys but him, so it was probably the only time you could be honest.

“What about me?” Matthew interrupts as Brady starts to say something, getting out of the pool and getting you wet.

“If I were held against my will only allowed out if I dated someone at this party, I would date you,” you exaggerate.

“Hm. Back at ya,” he winks, walking inside.

You feel heat rush to your face, just like Brady when Maddison was mentioned. You look at Brady, his eyes wide and mouth open. “Ok, no. Nope. Not letting that happen. Number one rule of friendship: you can’t date your best friends’ siblings.”

“It can’t be the number one rule if it only applies to one person. That can be, like, the eighth rule of friendship.”

“Fine. But no dating my brother. That’s gross.” He shudders at the thought of you two together. Nope. Gross.

“Just remember, you brought it up.”

16 years old

“Y/N, there’s a spot right here!” Matthew calls, patting the floor next to him. Everyone was sitting in a circle, playing spin the bottle. There wasn’t much to do in your neighborhood once it got dark; all the parents wanted you inside, so you, along with other kids in the area would just hang out in someone’s basement playing some stupid party game or watching a movie. Tonight wasn’t movie night.

“Alright, so whoever spins has to kiss whoever it lands on, and if you aren’t ok with kissing any given person in this group, then get out of the circle,” Maddison starts.

“How long is the kiss?” Brady asks, getting nervous. He wanted it to land on her; that crush of his only got worse as time went on.

“Uh, at least three seconds,” she says. Her house, her rules.

You look across at Brady. With his brother sitting in the circle, he definitely didn’t want to kiss him, but Matthew is never one to turn down a game like this. Brady was sitting in the circle hoping to have his first kiss with Maddison. You, honestly, wanted to kiss Matthew. But Brady couldn’t know you wanted it.

Maddison spins the bottle first. You can tell Brady is holding his breath, not breaking eye contact with the bottle as he prays that it lands on him, or at the very least, not on Matthew. Matthews elbow jabs your side, not hard enough to make you yelp, but hard enough that you jump a little and turn to him. “How much do you want to bet he freaks out if he has to kiss Mads.” The smile on his face is almost devilish like he wants Brady to freeze when it came to kissing his crush.

You can’t help but smile back, something about him looking you that way, you have to reciprocate. “Stop being mean, you know how much he likes her,” you whisper so he’s the only one that hears.

“The only thing that would make this better is if-” he starts, his eyes flicking down to your lips before Maddison’s spin stops on Brady.

You both burst out laughing as Maddison crawls over to Brady. His eyes are wide with panic, his entire face turning red even though you and Matthew both know how much he wants it. She grabs his face, kissing him. It takes him a second before he starts to kiss her back, only to be interrupted by Matthew yelling, “Atta boy, Brady!” You smack him in the chest, Brady pulling away, his face still bright red from the kiss.

“Wow,” was all Maddison could say as she went back to her original seat.

The rest of the game, you have your phone out, not paying attention to your surroundings, but talking to Brady about how his dream finally came true. Your best friend just kissed the girl he’s had a crush on for at least three years. There was no way you could be any less than ecstatic for him.

“Y/N!” you hear, snapping your attention away from your phone, “It’s your turn!” Maddison says.

You lean out and spin it. You want it to land on Matthew. But what would Brady say? You can feel your heart race as the bottle spins, slowing down to stop right in front of the person next to you. Of course. Brady groans at the thought of his brother and best friend making in out in front of him, everyone else cheering just out of the energy of the game.

You turn to him as Brady leaves, him not wanting to see what’s about to happen. You really don’t want him to, either. Before you can even think about leaning in, Matthew has his hands cupped around your face, kissing you so passionately you can’t even think. You feel your self about to fall back with him on top before everyone starts to cheer again, causing you to pull away in shock. All you can do is repeat after Maddison: Wow.

18 years old

“We can never tell Brady about this,” Matthew says, closing your bedroom door behind him.

“I’m aware of that. But, how do you expect me to keep something like this from him! He’s my best friend!” you say, trying not to yell knowing that there was a party going on downstairs for your high school graduation. That night after spin the bottle had lead to many nights of him sneaking out and coming over, you two going on dates without telling Brady, him calling you in the middle of dates and asking you to hang out for you to just lie to him about what you were doing. Matthew was your boyfriend, but your best friend couldn’t know.

“Hey, could you keep quiet? What do you think it’s like for me? He’s getting suspicious considering every time you’re brought up I apparently ‘change my mood,’” he uses air quotes, imitating his dad’s voice. “Brady isn’t an idiot, he knows I’m seeing someone and know you’re seeing someone. It’s only a matter of time before he puts two and two together.”

“What do you mean, you change your mood?” you tease, getting closer to him, resting your hands on his shoulders.

He pulls you closer by your waist, planting a kiss on the top of your head as the smell of his cologne wraps around you. “Apparently, I ‘light up like a Christmas tree’ whenever your name mentioned,” he says, imitating his mom this time.

“I kinda want to hear you do Taryn next,” you say, getting on your toes to kiss him.

He dodges it, his lips pursed in a smile, “That’s not a turn on, ya know.”

You both start laughing as you hear music start playing outside. He kisses you, holding you around the waist, saying back and forth to the rhythm coming from your yard. You stay like that for a couple of minutes, Brady wondering where you went, your mom looking for you so you could start cutting the cake.

“I wish we could have danced like this at my prom,” you say quietly. Your head is resting on Matthew’s chest, your eyes closed as you hear his heart beating.

He rubs your back, kissing the top of you head before resting his chin on it. “I know. But Maddison invited Brady as her date. It would have been so hard for me to keep my hands off you looking as gorgeous as you did.”

You look up at him, nervous to say it for the first time. You want to, because you do. You’re the only know who knows..

“Y/N!” you hear your mom calling from outside. “Come out here!”

You open your window, calling down to her that you’ll be down in a minute, Matthew’s hand already on the doorknob ready to leave.

“I love you,” you blurt out, not really sure why you chose now to say something like that to him.

He walks over to you, kissing you with the same passion as the first time you kissed that night in Maddison’s basement, his hands finding the small of your back, yours running through his hair. He pulls away when your mom calls your name again, a smile on his face, his eyes bright. “I love you, too.”

22 years old

Brady was surprised when you wanted to go to school in Calgary. One, your sights had been set on UCLA for as long as he could remember. Two, why would you choose a school in Canada that was close to his brother and not him? Three, Something was off when Matthew had suggested that you live with him to your parents so that they could save money on room and board; he was covering the rent already, and nothing changed cost-wise for you to live there. All they had to do was send money for food and he would be fine with you living there.

He had been suspicious that something was going on between you two, but you would never break your rule about dating him. Would you?

In Calgary, you were free to be a couple, so long as no one took a picture of you two being lovely and shit and posted it or tagged you in the photos. It was a new world from the one you had been in back home. You could say I love you in front of other people, you could walk down the street holding hands, he could drive you to your place and kiss you in the front seat before getting out and going upstairs for more. It was amazing.

For Thanksgiving, Brady was flying from Ottawa to Calgary to spend it with you two; their parents and sister were off doing something for field hockey, so it was the perfect excuse for Brady to see what you had been up to. It was also your birthday; the first one you would be spending with your best friend since he went off for that development team program.

“Happy birthday!” Brady yells in your face, tackling you in a hug once you open the door he had been incessantly knocking on for thirty seconds. He shoves a gift into your chest, beaming at the fact that he picked out the gift for you himself. “Open it now!”

You laugh, leading him into the living room of yours and Matthew’s place, Matthew sitting on the couch as the food finishes up in the oven. “Look what Brady got me,” you wave the gift in front of him. He hadn’t given you anything yet, but you knew he would. He always did, just a little later, and not out in the openness of his living room.

He rolls his eyes and smiles, trying not to pull you into him with you sitting that close, but with Brady there, he couldn’t. “Your birthday is technically tomorrow, you’ll get your gift later.”

You shake your head, looking up at Brady beaming. “Are you sure you want me to open this now?”

“Yes, please!” He’s practically bouncing up and down in his seat out of excitement. You unwrap the job that was clearly done himself to find a silver bracelet. The charm was the Senators logo, with Brady’s number on the back. “You’re my best friend, and now you can’t get rid of me. Plus, I got a bracelet since you always wear your grandmother’s necklace.”

You can’t help but smile. You get up and give him a hug, holding him tight. “I love it so much,” you say, slipping it on your wrist, “And, um, my grandmother’s necklace actually broke a while back. It’s costume jewelry, so it’s not like I could get it fixed anyway.”

Brady looks at Matthew who can’t seem to make eye contact with him, but is fixated on you instead. He’s looking at you the same way Brady looked at Maddison when they were dating. Something was definitely up.

The oven beeps, signaling it was time for dinner. You spend the entire dinner, the three of you, laughing, talking, at one point throwing pieces of bread at each other over some argument Brady and Matthew have been having since the dawn of time.

“So, Brads, are you taking the couch tonight?” you ask him as you clean up and put away the left over dinner.

“What, we’re not going to share your bed like we always do?”

You whip around, nearly dropped the spoonful of potatoes on the floor. You and Matthew had been sleeping together in the same bed every night since you started school. None of your family had come to visit and stayed the night to catch you, but tonight might be the first time. You hadn’t slept in ‘your bed’ ever, it was the guest room. “Um, sure!” you say, obviously panicked, “I just need to clean up a little bit, would you mind putting this stuff away?”

You practically throw the container at him, running to get Matthew. “Brady wants to share my room tonight but that’s going to be kind of hard considering all my stuff is in our room,” you whisper, pulling him down the hall.

“Well, fuck, what are we doing to do?”

“Move stuff from this room to that room?” you suggest, pulling stuff from the closet to at least throw on the floor. He doesn’t say anything, he just starts grabbing stuff from the drawers to put into the drawers there.

Matthew pushes the door to his room almost with you two inside, you still panicking over Brady wanting to share the bed with you. It’s not because it’s Brady, it’s because of Matthew. “How am I going to sleep without you tonight?” he asks, pulling close.

“I don’t know. We have to tell Brady,” you whisper.

“Not tonight. Not yet.”

“Babe, it’s been five and a half years. Five and a half years is a long time to be lying to my best friend and your brother.”

“I know. I know. We will before he leaves?” you don’t say anything as he kisses your forehead. “How about I give you that birthday gift now, huh?”

He goes to his nightstand, pulling out a box about the same size as Brady’s clearly wrapped by someone who wasn’t him. He sits down on the bed with you, not taking his eyes off you or letting his smile fade as you untie the ribbon. You pick up the gold chain, tears falling down your cheeks as you hold up the necklace, “My grandmother’s necklace?”

“I took the broken one to a jeweler and had him remake it; real gold, real pearls. That way if this one breaks, you can have it fixed properly,” he says, taking it from you to put it on you.

You can’t believe he would do something so thoughtful. You had no clue that he could even think of doing something like this. “I’m so in love with you. You really are the love of my life,” you say to him through the tears you aren’t holding back. “I love you, too,” he says, pulling you in for a kiss.

“You what?” you hear, snapping away from each other to see Brady standing in the doorway of Matthew’s room.

“Brady,” you get up and go to him, your tears turning from that of happiness of that of fear.

“How long?” is all he can say, not able to look at you or his brother.

“Since that night at Madison’s.”

“When we were 15 and 16?” He looks at you, hurt that you went this long without telling him. Hurt that you went that long breaking one of the most important rules of your friendship. Hurt that you were happy and that you thought you had to keep it from him.

You nod, Matthew standing up behind you, “Brady, we were going to tell you this weekend. Don’t be mad at Y/N.”

“Whatever. Forget it.” He storms off into the bedroom, shutting the door, the click of the lock following as you crumble into Matthew’s arms, sobbing.

The next morning, he was gone, on his way back to Ottawa without even saying goodbye.

23 years old

Christmas was the first time you were going to be home since celebrating your college graduation, only for you to move right back to Calgary. You had gotten a job in the area, working right after graduation. You hadn’t talked to Brady since the Thanksgiving before, him still mad at you for not telling him about you and Matthew. He had been talking to Matthew because they’re brothers and they had to.

“He’ll come around, I promise,” Matthew tells you on the phone. You look out across your backyard. Your families finally knew that you two were together, but still insisted on having you stay in your respective childhood homes. From your window, you could see into Brady’s room. He would always have his curtains open during the day so that you could see each other. Since getting home, he hasn’t opened them once. “Stop looking into my brother’s room, you freak,” he says, still on the phone. You know he’s just saying that to make you laugh. You look over to his room, him standing there, waving at you like a child seeing a character at Disney World on a parade float.

“Are you guys coming over for dinner later?” you ask him, trying to shake the fact that Brady still hates you off your mind.

“Of course! We would never miss Christmas Eve at your house!” You stay on the phone with him for a little while longer until his mom calls him to go downstairs.

“Alright, see you in a bit. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he says, hanging up and closing his curtains.

You still had an hour before the Tkachuks and the rest of your family were coming over. You go downstairs to help your mom with the finishing touches as always, hearing her and your dad laughing and talking as the Christmas music plays in the background like every year. You get to the kitchen, “Hey, what can I help with?”

At the counter, Brady is standing there with a bowl in one hand, a spoon in the other, mixing who knows what. Your parents look at each other, “Brady will explain it,” your mom says, pulling your dad into the other room.

“Hi,” you let out, not really sure what to say.

“I’m sorry,” he starts, putting the bowl and spoon down and grabbing you in for a hug, “I shouldn’t have gotten mad like that.”

“No, you had the right to. I was lying to you for so long. You’re my best friend, Brads. I didn’t know what to do when I fell in love with the one person you told me not to.”

“It’s not like I can control your feelings. And I certainly can’t control my brothers.” You both laugh, still hugging.

“Are we back to talking now?”

“Of course.”

“And we can be best friends again?”

He leans away, smiling, tears on his cheeks, something you had never seen before, “We always have been and always will. You can’t get rid of me that easily.

“I told you it would work out,” you hear, causing you to jump. Matthew walks up to the two of you, pulling you in for one big hug.

“Well?” Brady asks, pulling away, “Are you gonna ask?”

“Right now?” Matthew asks, “I thought we wanted to do it later!”

“No. Now. Right now.” Brady goes for Matthew’s pocket’s him swatting his younger brother away.

“Jesus, no, get off of me!”

“What are you two talking about?” you ask, Brady with a stupid smile on his face and Matthew looking more nervous than ever.

“This,” Matthew says, holding out a ring.

“Are you-?” you start.

“Will you marry him?” Brady asks, jumping up and down.

“Dude!” Matthew smacks him with his other hand as you start crying, “That was my line!”

Between their bickering, you manage to let out, “Yes!”

“Yes?”

“She said yes!” Brady yells, your parents and the Tkachuks coming into the room and hugging you three as Matthew slips the ring on your finger.

“Now you’re really stuck with me,” Brady jokes, lifting you up in a hug,

“Dude! Just shut up and let me have my moment with her!” Matthew says, prying you away from him.

“You’re going to be fighting over me for the rest of your life,” you laugh, hugging both of them.

#matthew tkachuk #brady tkachuk #matthew tkachuk imagines #brady tkachuk imagines #calgary flames #calgary flames imagines #ottawa senators #ottawa senators imagines #flames #flames imagines #senators #senators imagines #hockey #hockey imagines #nhl #nhl imagines

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betweensceneswriter · 4 years

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Island Hopper-Chapter 28b: Just Add Water Part 2

Shots and the ‘Shungle’

Previously on Island Hopper: Chapter 28: Just Add Water Some things are instant. Not usually sons.

ISLAND FEVER (Jimjeran Book 1)

ISLAND HOPPER (Jimjeran Book 2)

FanFic Master List

The days blended into one another after that. Mornings began with waking a reluctant child to give him his long-acting insulin. Jamie started taking Perkaj into the stall with him after I was done with my shower, washing Perkaj’s hair, wrapping him in a towel and sending him in to me. While they were out of the apartment I would rush into my own clothing. On Perkaj’s arrival back in the apartment I would dry him off, brush his hair, and give him a little privacy while he dressed.

He was amused by the bustle and pace of our household. If we ever tried to rush him, he would respond after a deep sigh, “Oh, Mama Peach, I am lazy,” or “Oh, Baba Shamie, I am lazy.” Jamie assured me that ‘lazy’ didn’t have the same negative connotation in Majel, but it still made me laugh every time Perkaj said it.

Perkaj was also surprised by how often we bathed, but after a few days Jamie said the boy had started to industriously scrub his skin with a washcloth and soap while Jamie washed his hair.

Breakfast was when he would test his blood sugar and give himself injections with an amount based on his level and how hungry he felt. In the beginning he turned up his nose at the steel cut oats we would usually have for breakfast, but he was delighted by bread with honey or jelly and peanut butter. Eventually with a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar, we were able to coax him to eat the ‘porridge’ as well.

Jamie had to leave for school a few minutes early so he could drop Perkaj off at his house, or if he was running late I would take him. There the little boy would be fussed over by his family and then walk to school with his brothers and sisters. His mother would pack him a lunch to be eaten at school, when he would check in with Jamie for testing and another dose of short-acting insulin before joining the other kids on the lawn for lunch & recess.

After school, Perkaj would come home with Jamie. They would test his blood sugar to make sure it was high enough for play and family time and give him a snack if it was on the low side. Most days of the week Jamie would walk him the rest of the way to his house, returning to our apartment to do grading and planning for the next day. Around six I would take my turn to travel to Perkaj’s house, supervise as Perkaj would prick one of his poor fingers again, and then the little guy and I would assess his dinner plate with his parents & auntie, talking about the insulin amount needed before eating.

At 7:30, one of Perkaj’s family members would walk him to our house where we would tuck him into bed with a story. One more test and snack or insulin would finish his long, eventful day.

After Perkaj headed to bed was when Jamie and I made sure to cuddle up to each other, having a little contact while reading or writing letters by the warm light of the bedside lamp. More often than not one or the other of us would nod off accidentally and wake up only when the other person turned off the lamp. Jamie or I would rouse long enough to climb under the sheet and turn to the other for a goodnight kiss before we would drift back into slumber.

Our life felt strange, broken up into little chunks like this-- repeated interruptions and moments of being apart when we would normally have been together. It wasn’t easy, but I steeled myself with the fact that there weren’t any other good options. This—serving the health of the islanders—was why I was here; not marriage, not sex, not selfishness.

“Ijab konaan,” Perkaj cried, sitting at the table with his tester and insulin pen in front of him. “Emetak.” He rubbed his face with his hands, smearing the dust from an afternoon of active play into gray streaks on his skin.

Of course he didn’t want it. Of course it hurt.

Jamie looked up at me, his eyes full of compassion and desperation. We had to get Perkaj to buy in to his own health if we were ever going to get our own lives back.

All of a sudden I had an idea. I grabbed a syringe from my black medical kit and a vial of sterile saline.

“How many carbs are you going to eat, Meester Shamie?” I asked him. He eyed the syringe and then looked back at me, narrowed eyes giving way to a tiny smile of understanding.

He took a deep breath, looking at the soup and muffins on the table. “Hmmm,” he said thoughtfully, “I know I’m hungry, and I’m lukuun kilep, so I’ll have five servings… some noodle soup and three muffins. How about you, Miss Peachay?”

“Oh, I’m not very hungry,” I responded. “When it’s hot like this, ijab konaan moni, so I’ll have three.”

Without looking off to the side at Perkaj, I picked up the tester, a strip and a lancet. “I wonder what my blood sugar is right now,” I mused. I pricked my finger, the sudden shock of pain giving me shivers, then pressed the drop of blood to the testing strip. “Eighty-five,” I remarked. “That’s good for before a meal.”

Jamie took the tester I offered him and did the same. He winced and stuck his finger in his mouth after he’d touched it to the testing strip. “Seventy-six? No wonder I’m starving!” He passed the tester on to Perkaj, who had grinned at Jamie’s over-the-top reaction to the prick of the lancet and blood on his finger.

“Okay,” I said. “Five servings means five units.” I held the vial up as I inserted the syringe and drew out several milliliters of saline. Then I handed the syringe to Jamie.

Up until then he’d been playing along with me. When I handed him the needle his face drained of color. His raised eyebrows communicated clearly, “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

Perkaj had tested his sugar and was already clicking the units into his insulin pen.

“One for being little high,” he murmured to himself. “And tree for carbs.” He screwed on the fresh needle tip and looked over at Jamie. “Why you waiting, Baba Shamie?”

Jamie frowned. “Ijab konaan,” he said, his eyes showing some genuine fear. “Enaj metak.”

Perkaj’s response was adorable. He patted Jamie’s arm like I’d seen my husband do to him countless times over the last few weeks. “Is okay, Baba,” he said reassuringly, shaking his head. “It not hurt forever.”

After that, there was no way Jamie was going to let his fear of pain stand in his way.

“Let’s do it together,” he said. “Will you count?”

“Juon, ruo, jilu,” Perkaj counted. On ‘three’ both boys jabbed themselves with their needles and pressed down on the plungers. They made faces at each other as they did, and when the syringe and insulin pen were returned to the table, Jamie pulled the little guy in for a hug.

“You’re so brave!” He exclaimed. Perkaj grinned and grabbed a muffin.

Out of necessity we discovered that about five minutes after Perkaj fell asleep he would be dead to the world for a solid fifteen minutes. If we’d saved enough energy, we could engage in a clandestine lovemaking session, covered by the bedsheet, trying to keep the bed frame from squeaking or the headboard from banging against the wall.

Unfortunately, I was gun shy after our ‘coitus interruptus’ and Jamie seemed to be internalizing the stress of parenthood even more than I was. He was still affectionate, and would frequently wrap his arms around me for a hug, come up behind me when I was doing dishes and rub my shoulders, or pull my head to his chest when we lay next to each other in bed reading. But after my experience being married to him thus far, it wasn’t like him. It was surprising that Jamie wasn’t lusting after me, wasn’t taking liberties with my body, wasn’t making it clear he wanted nothing more than to have me naked.

Perhaps even more disturbing to me, I was okay with the lack of sex. I tried to reassure myself. Jamie and I were still cooperating with each other, accomplishing an important thing. We were still working together, laughing together. Despite the inconvenience, Perkaj was adorable and Jamie was adorable with him. But both of us were exhausted at night. We were all sleeping in the same room; less alone time meant fewer opportunities when the same idea would strike both of us, when raised eyebrows or a simple caress would be the snowflake that started an avalanche.

But as my dad had said, this was ‘just a season.’

And what a season. Along with the hot, dry conditions that made it challenging to keep my garden healthy and brought the mamas to clinic fanning themselves and telling me they were lukuun bwil, the level of the catchment continued to drop until the bucket would scrape against the cement bottom of the tank when we drew our drinking water.

One afternoon after school Perkaj announced that he was going to stay and help Baba Shamie cut the grass. Apparently he and Jamie had been talking on their walk home and Jamie had shared his plans for the afternoon.

“Ikonaan jibaneke,” Perkaj said. “I want help you!”

Perkaj helped me water my plants and then used the hand-held grass clippers to assist Jamie by trimming the grass near our outbuildings and well. Jamie used an old school scythe to cut the grass, a wicked looking curved blade on a long wooden handle with two grips. When he held it on his shoulder as he headed out to the field, he looked like a tropical themed version of the Grim Reaper, with khaki shorts, a tee shirt, and flaming red hair.

I followed the boys as they worked, using a rake to heap up the grass and lift it into our wheelbarrow. Jamie had decided that composting was a necessity to increase the quality of our soil, so we were layering grass clippings with palm fronds and kitchen waste in a heap in the back corner of the property.

I was across the yard when two girls walked hesitantly up to Jamie. He leaned on his scythe, giving them his attention.

“Meester Shamie,” one of them said, “we no have water to drink. Our catchment is emmat...empty?

Jamie looked at them, at their water container, and at the big jug by the still, three quarters full from the days’ filtration. He glanced at me.

“Of course,” I insisted, “we have enough to share.”

As Jamie poured water into their bottles, I crossed the yard to the well. Someone would need to draw more well water to refill the solar still.

Through the sunny hours of the day while Jamie was teaching, I had taken it upon myself to keep the reservoir of the still filled with enough well water to keep the trickle of distilled water constantly flowing. When one water jug was filled, I would transfer the hose to the next jug and place the cap on the now-full container.

“Jibaneke?” The little voice asked from behind me. “I help you, Mama Peach?”

Perkaj might have been only seven, but he was an expert at the wrist flick necessary for getting water from the well, and the rapid hand -over -hand motion to bring up a full coffee can. He filled the five gallon bucket in half the time it would take me, then beamed up at me as we carried the bucket together to pour into the solar still.

He stood up on his tiptoes to peek through the sloped glass cover. “Well water enana?” he questioned, brown furrowed.

“Is it bad?” I responded. “Not bad. Just doesn’t taste good for drinking .”

“But Mama Peach,” he said with his forehead wrinkled, “Aolep well water,” Perkaj said.

It was all well water? I didn’t understand what he meant. Rupert had brought the lower grades over to teach them a lesson about the solar still and evaporation, so I had seen them peering in interest at the setup. I was sure Rupert had explained how the process removed minerals, salt, and impurities from the water.

“Ke?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

He showed the motion of the water with his hands -- the upward wafting of moisture, at which he said, “Well water,” then indicated the abrupt stop at the sloping glass, “Well water also” and then showed the drops falling into the collection channel. “Aolep well water,” he finished, holding up his hands as if to encompass the whole water cycle.

“Well, not exactly,” I tried to explain, hesitantly trying out my baby Majel. “This is a small version of how the earth makes fresh water. When the water goes into the air, it leaves behind germs and salt and bitter minerals. Do you see the white crust on the black fabric? That's the bad part-what was left behind.”

Perkaj peered into the still through the condensation -covered glass curiously. “Oh.” He exclaimed, wide eyed. I wasn’t sure he’d understood, but at least I’d tried.

The day stayed hot past sunset, the air barely holding any humidity. Without a breeze, the house didn’t cool off even when it got dark. Jamie had tried to cuddle me, but any place our skin contacted we would stick together, and any movement would feel like trying to detach from an octopus.

Perkaj was snoring quietly in his bed when Jamie got up and headed to the door, shoving his feet into his flip flops. He headed outside without an explanation; I figured he needed the restroom.

I was lost in my book when I startled at a faint sound behind me. Was that shifting gravel outside the window? I paused to listen. We’d opened the curtains because it was so damn hot, but that meant anyone outside would be able to see me… and could see that Jamie wasn’t here with me. Still, none of the island men would even try to bother me. I wasn’t a single woman anymore, and they wouldn’t dare insult Meester Shamie…

“Tssst tssst,” a voice hissed from outside the window. “Tssst tssst.” I pretended not to hear them, hoping inwardly that Jamie would return any minute and this person would fade away into the night and stop embarrassing themselves.

“Miss Peachay,” the voice sang, “I want to talk to you. Tssst tssst. You want to go to the shungle with me? Kwe konaan bwebwenato?”

As the invitations continued, I turned slowly to squint out the window. The light from the apartment shone faintly on the pole supporting the short wave radio antenna. There was a large hand gripping the pole, and next to the hand… there was curly red hair.

“You dip wad!” I hissed. “I nearly peed my pants!”

“Shhhh,” he responded. “Grab a quilt. Come to the shungle with me.”

Perkaj was sleeping, so I figured what the heck. I obeyed, grabbing a quilt and the mosquito net, turning off the lamp, shoving my feet into zories, and joining Jamie on the road in front of the clinic.

“Come on,” he whispered, taking me by the hand and leading me across the road. There was only a little sliver of moon, but it was enough to keep us from crashing into trees as we wove deeper into the ocean-side palm forest.

We got far enough that we couldn’t see the clinic light anymore, and giggled as we spread out the quilt and covered ourselves with the mosquito net.

Out of the house it was actually cooler, and I sighed in relief as I looked up at the stars, Jamie’s arm behind my head.

I couldn’t help it, laying on that quilt, covered by that mosquito net, looking up at those stars. “Oh, Frank…” I breathed.

My husband froze, and then he reacted. “Oh, you did not just call me Frank,” Jamie exclaimed. I giggled as he rolled over on top of me. “You take that back,” he ordered, his hand forcing its way under my tank top.

I laughed again, meeting his lips with mine, helping him peel off his shirt, wriggling out of my shorts and panties.

It had been so long and the circumstances were so novel I was fully engaged, blissful at his hands on me, kissing his neck, reaching for him with my hand. I attempted to change positions, to urge him inside, but he seemed determined to dominate me, insistent.

His hands were on my breasts and then his mouth was, teasing my nipples, biting them gently. His hands were on my thighs and he was between my legs. But he seemed to just be teasing me, pressing his pelvis towards me but then pulling away as I opened to him.

I realized he was waiting for something.

I took a deep breath. “I know who you are,” I whispered. “Jamie. Soulmate. True love. Partner.”

He paused, relaxed against me, kissed me gently between phrases.

“Provider,” I continued. “Protector. Gift of Providence. Father of my babies. Friend. Jimjeran.”

When we joined, finally, I was crying. I reached up and found his face, placing my hands on his cheeks, keeping his lips on mine as we moved together, as we connected, as we bonded ourselves together once again.

The whine of mosquitoes chased us inside, but not before we heard a wolf whistle from Anni and Kona’s yard as we crossed the road in front of the clinic. “Miss Peachay, Meester Shamie!” She exclaimed. “You go to shungle?”

We headed inside to the sound of her laughter.

The next morning as we were getting ready for work and school, I noticed Jamie scratching himself rather intently on the ass.

“Hey Meester Shamie,” I joked, “How did you get a mosquito bite?”

He grinned at me adoringly. “I wonder, Miss Peachay.”

#jimjeran #BetweenSceneswriter #Marshall Island #claire x jamie #Outlander #outlander fanfic #new canon

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aphrodite-would-be-proud · 3 years

Note

abt the historia and zeke are technically related, it got me thinking. We get a lot of yeager bros content and im sure there’s content of frieda being hostoria’s older sister but... where’s the content of zeke being a protective big bro to historia? Feel like they can bond well since they both got dick dads

historia taking the first few steps to breaking away from the nice, submissive type everyone knows her to be. she’s not perfect and there would be times that she’d doubt herself and go back to being insecure and playing herself down. in comes zeke who met her through his mother’s side of the family and is all for that personal growth. he relates to her wanting to stick it to her father, having gone through something like that in the past. he says stuff like, “like hell they can get away talking to you like that, tell me who they are and ill give them a piece of my mind.” and “your dad can go fuck himself, you can stay with me and mom if you need somehwere to stay. mom doesnt like rod either so you’re more than welcome.”

idk idk hahah :p

...i hope you don't mind me just wirting some headcannons and scenrios real quick, because wow anon you just opened my third eye for all this potential.

Historia and Zeke family bonding modern au below cut

They probably met for the first time at large family gathering when Dina took teen Zeke to meet his relatives and one of his uncles mentioned that his daughter from his ex-wife just started living with him after moving from the country side.

He was 17 at the time, and so while the adults were busy with each other as the topic of his mother's divorce came up again, he felt too uncomfortable to stay in the room so he just excused himself to the bathroom.

Only to sneak outside the house instead, knowing all the rooms in his uncle's big mansion were probably filled with maids or other relatives and he didn't want to risk getting caught.

The back garden was beautiful, the grass overgrown and not as bright as the front yard fake lawn, it was clearly an overlooked part of the house that the gardener seemed to forget from dried crunchy leaves collecting at the bottom of the old tree.

Zeke took a breath of fresh air, before reaching into the hidden pocket of his jacket and pulling a cigarette.

He knew if his mother found out she'd kill him, not to mention his concerned grandparents, but what they don't know can't harm them.

Getting out his lighter, he was too focused on covering the flame so the wind won't snuff it out before lighting the cigarette

"You shouldn't do that, it's not good for you." Came a high pitched voice that took him off guard, almost making him drop the lighter and cause a fire hazard.

Looking in front of him, a seven year old girl stood with messy blonde hair with some leaves stuck to it, she was clutching a patch of dandelions and weeds pulled from the ground.

Putting the lighter back in his pocket, Zeke took a deep breath before slowly letting the smoke out, pushing what she said aside, he said "And what exactly are you doing with those?"

She gave a big toothy smile before explaining how she's cleaning the garden, she said "they keep stealing the other plants' food, most plants here are dead and i wanted to help."

Zeke stepped closer before leaning down to be on eye level with her, judging by the dirt staining her white dress and between her fingernails, she must have been doing this for a while. He chuckled at the way she crunched her nose at the smell of smoke, before attempting to mask her features.

Wanting to mess with her, he held the cigarette with two fingers before offering it to her, "wanna try? i won't tell your parents, pinky promise."

Audibly gasping, she clutched the dandelions to her chest protectively before stumbling to politely reject it in a way that was clearly meant not to offend him, her eyes glancing at the garden fence door like she's considering running.

Deciding to end the joke before she would yell stranger danger, Zeke put out the cigarette with an amused smile before offering his empty hand to her.

"I'm sorry for the awful joke, please don't tell my mom, will you forgive me? Pretty please?" Putting on his best pout, Zeke almost couldn't hold back chuckling when the kid in front of him seemed actually moved by his act.

She reluctantly took his hand, tangling their pinkies together before nodding, with the most serious expression she said "okay...i won't, but you have to stop okay! My dad does it and he coughs a lot."

"Your dad huh..." Zeke stared into her eyes, "so you must be Historia."

"Mhm! Do you know my dad? He said some people will be visiting today and i should stay somewhere they can't see..."

"Hmm, well Historia " standing up, Zeke pushed his glasses back, "I'm Zeke, what do you say we become friends?"

Looking up at the tall boy with stars in her eyes, Historia enthusiastically noded, too happy to dwell on the fact that her first ever friend had offered her a smoke some minutes ago.

"That's the spirit, now" taking off his jacket, Zeke folded it before putting it aside on the fence, "what do you say we finish pulling these weeds so i can teach you a really fun game called catch."

That day, Zeke dragged dirt and mud into his mother's new car with his now ruined suit, Dina was too busy scolding him that she forgot the fact he never came back from the bathroom after leaving the room.

And after that, each year at Christmas and family gatherings, Zeke and Historia would see each other for a single day.

He slowly saw her confidence grow more and more, each time she held her head a little higher, smile more genuine than the fake polite one.

At age 15, She told him about her first girlfriend, he bought her alcohol with His ID and of course she was quick to refuse it and scold him, Zeke started worrying she's starting to resemble his mother more and more.

At 16, when her father found out and threatened to kick her out, Zeke was the person she first called even before Ymir, not wanting to worry her.

To his surprise was the fact she didn't shed a single tear as she packed her bags before getting in his car, not giving a single glance to her father staring with a horrified expression from the front gate.

No, she smiled instead as both of them went to grab some food.

He asked if she knows where she's staying, she said she knows some friends but still haven't asked anyone yet.

After arriving at his grandparents house, Dina was the first to pull her into a hug before saying how sorry she is and how she just ended a call with Riess after giving him a piece of his mind.

Zeke, knowing very well how his mother is like when she's angry, he smiled knowing the guy now definitely has a headache from all the yelling, his mother has great lungs after all.

Zeke was almost 26 at the time, and so he offered her his old room while he's away in college.

They definitely grew closer after that, although Zeke never mentioned a word to his friends neither did Historia tell anyone beside Ymir.

They just never mentioned their personal life while hanging out on the days Zeke came to visit from college.

His grandparents adored her and treated her like their granddaughter after his mother moved to another country, they even met Ymir a couple times.

Zeke never talked with Ymir but he met her on the times Historia brought her over at christmas, his grandparents were quick to praise her for landing such a beautiful girlfriend before side eyeing Zeke and asking if he will ever give bring someone home.

Zeke was there for her to see her actual sad side that she hid from everyone, both of them bonded over the burden they hold on their shoulders for having to be the "perfect reliable" person all the time.

She rarely cried, but whenever she did it was either with Zeke or Ymir.

While Zeke would vent to her about Grisha and how much the fear of turning like him is what prevents him from being in a commited relationship, while Historia listens to him before sharing her own experience with both her dad and mother and how both of them just abandoned her.

After that they just go out to get ice cream.

Fun fact, Historia can handle spicey food and like it's nothing, meanwhile Zeke will choke if he even smelled peppers.

At age 20, Historia moved with Ymir in an apartment after high school and Zeke moved back home to a house near his grandparents after finishing college and opening his own clinc.

She still sends them cards each Christmas and even visits at times, Zeke picks up each time she calls no matter what he's currently doing.

#talking🕯#Zeke🕯#Historia🕯#not a ship #they're more liking sibblings

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highpope · 3 years

Text

Silver Keys - Ch. Two

JJ Maybank x oc ? Soulmate AU / Topper x oc

warnings: none, if there ever are let me know? :)

word count: 2k ish

notes: hello hello im back from the dead for one night only. This chapter is from JJ’s point of view. I promise the drama will have been worth all this wait. (hopefully) as always feedback and reposts are encouraged.

There are two other parts! Read them here - Masterlist.

JJ Maybank was never one for soulmates. Coming from a household of two broken people didn’t make him feel like there was hope for him like the universe was created so people could find their other half or their missing piece. Why isn’t a person whole to begin with?

His parents weren’t soulmates. He didn’t need some magical musical force to tell him that. One questionable decision and nine months later, a blond boy was brought into the world, helpless. JJ tries to give them the benefit of the doubt, they didn’t mean to have a kid. But then his mom left before he could remember what her face looked like. Before he could memorize the sound of her laugh. He resented her for it, leaving him with his dad. JJ’s dad, who selfishly turned the world upside down and told him to walk through walls to make it out the other side.

JJ never bothered to ask his dad if he had heard the music. He figured if he had ever, it was long gone now.

Now, he leaned against the wall, a half-empty beer in his hand, surveying the crowd. He had long ago lost his friends and he was starting to wonder why he did this. Go to parties, that is. If he wanted to be drunk he could sit at John B’s and then pass out on the couch. If he wanted to listen to shitty music and watch people lose at beer pong, he could do it with people he liked. Instead, he was in a sea of kooks and faces he vaguely remembered as people he graduated high school with. They were getting too old to pretend like this was still fun like the universe hadn’t already projected the rest of their lives. But again, JJ Maybank was never one for all that universe shit.

The sunlight through the blinds shined into JJ’s eyes, making him groan and throw a pillow over his face. He had slept on the pullout last night, giving Kie the spare room. Pope was either on the floor or sprawled out on one of the recliners, JJ couldn’t remember. He went to check but was matched by a searing headache. Closing his eyes again he noticed the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Not two seconds later, June was opening the door to the Chateau. She let the screen door close behind her, making a noise loud enough to make JJ want to crawl inside his own body.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” June said when he had finally made his way to the kitchen.

“It’s too early for that shit.” He squinted.

She had left a bottle of water and some ibuprofen on the counter and he made a mental note to thank her when he wasn’t feeling like death itself.

“Hungry? I can do french toast, there’s bread.”

“Please,” Pope groans (from the recliner) as he rubbed his eyes.

“Tough night?” June asks, starting to bring another water bottle and meds over to the spot next to JJ. He watched as she walked back to the refrigerator, grabbing the half-empty carton of eggs and milk jug. She placed everything on the counter before standing on her tiptoes to grab a bowl. He noticed her shirt rose when she lifted her arms, exposing her stomach. JJ blinks, hard, and then instantly groans, reminded of his headache.

“I'll take that as a yes.”

Pope had since joined them at the table. He seemed to be handling his hangover better than JJ. The two of them talked about last night while JJ tried to piece it all together.

Just then John B stubbles into the kitchen, his hair sticking up in every direction, “Morning” he mumbles before taking his seat at the kitchen island. Like clockwork, June sets down medicine and a bottle of water, and JB thanks her.

“Hey, J, where’d you go last night?” John B asks.

“I just came back early,” JJ says truthfully.

June chimes in, “What? No lucky girl?” he narrows his eyes at her and she winks in response.

JJ clears his throat, “Nah, got all summer for that. Tourons aren’t even here yet.”

“Really?” Pope questioned, “You walked back?”

“Yeah, pretty sure I talked to Kie before I left,”

As if right on cue, Kiara comes shuffling out of the bedroom. Her eye makeup from last night is smeared and her hair is falling out of the bun on the top of her head.

“Speak of the devil,” JJ says when she joins them in the kitchen.

June, again, gets a bottle of water out of her bag and shakes out some ibuprofen from the jar, “Morning sleeping beauty,”

She narrows her eyes in response. No one messed with Kie in the mornings, especially when she was hungover. JJ wouldn’t be surprised if she hissed at them. There was one time they had all spent the night at the chateau and the next morning she was woken up by the rest of them doing something stupid in the yard. JJ could have sworn fire came out of her mouth. It physically hurt to be yelled at by Kiara.

Now, Kie takes the medicine from June and downs half the bottle of water, nods her appreciation, and walks over to the pullout where she rolls over, pulling the blankets over her head, falling back asleep. Safe for now, he thought.

The five of them had spent the rest of the day at the chateau. The girls had dedicated the afternoon to watching movies in the living room, while JJ, John B, and Pope sat around on the hammocks, swapping stories from last night. John B had allegedly won at flip cup three times, but Pope called bullshit.

The two of them had left to get some firewood to build a fire and pick up some food. JJ wandered down to the dock, took his shoes off, and stuck his feet in the water. The sun was starting to set and the reflection on the water looked like something out of a movie. He would never admit that to anyone though. He was just about to go back inside when June sat down next to him.

“Hey,” she started.

“Hey, how’s Kie? She chill out?”

She laughed, “Yeah. You know how she is.” JJ nodded. He knew.

“You doing okay?” June asks, bumping her shoulder against his. He could feel her eyes on his.

“Yeah, just. Rough night like you said.”

She must have accepted that response because she turned her gaze back to the water in front of them.

“What about you? Survive your birthday dinner, Ju Ju?”

She rolls her eyes, “barely. My aunt pestered my mom all evening. We were seconds away from the table being flipped.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was. Happens every time.”

“I’m sorry,”

She shrugged before speaking again, “can I tell you something?”

JJ nodded.

“I think I heard my soulmate yesterday. Right after you dropped me off. It was the weirdest feeling.”

“Really? How do you know?” JJ’s head was spinning with questions. It’s not like he couldn’t talk to Pope or John B about this, but it was different. They weren’t quite as open as June could be. Or maybe JJ didn’t want to be as open with them.

“I don’t know. I guess you just do. It’s not even like I knew the song or could even tell you what I thought it sounded like.” She breathed.

He looked at her now, her face was calm but her eyes were whirling. He could see her formulating her thoughts, trying to wrap her head around what she had heard.

JJ shook his head, “that’s crazy and so fast,”

“Right? I thought so too.” She paused, “J, it was so weird.”

“Good weird?”

“Yeah, comforting almost.” She was cracking her fingers, something she did when she was nervous. He noticed that she was still wearing the bracelet he had given her in the truck yesterday. He wondered what she thought about the whole soulmate thing. Her parents were still in love, there was no reason for her not to agree.

“Do you think-” he started, only to be interrupted by Kie yelling at them from the backdoor, “Pizza’s here!”

“Coming!” June yelled back, pushing herself up and slipping her shoes back on. She reached a hand out to JJ, who was still seated. He took it, even though he didn't need the help and the two of them started back to the rest of their friends.

It had been a week since the pogues had last hung out. JJ had picked up an extra project at the garage and was spending most of his time there. When he wasn’t, he was sleeping in John B’s spare room. But tonight, he was off and everyone was going to the boneyard.

Almost instantly, JJ pulled out a blunt and his lighter. The sun was in the weird period before it set and was completely dark and the waves were almost louder than the music. Almost. John B and Kiara carried down a few chairs and beach towels to the usual spot just south of where most people congregate. While Pope and June went to get drinks, JJ leaned against a tree, surveying the crowd. It was mostly people they knew from around the island. He recognized a few people from when he used to work at the country club, but the rest were new faces. He caught a girl looking in his direction from across the party. She was short with dark brown hair. He noticed she was alone, too. With one swift nod of his head and a hand through his hair, the girl was already walking over to him.

“Yeah, I really just couldn’t stay in the house any longer, you know?”

JJ nodded his head.

“Anyway, you’re from here?”

“Born and raised,” he replied with a smirk. JJ was trying to pay attention to the conversation, but he wasn’t sure he remembered her name and he definitely couldn’t tell how old she was. Was it Jess? It starts with a J he reassured himself.

“Are you here with anyone?” Jamie asked.

“Few friends of mine are hanging out over there,” JJ motioned, pointing Jackie in the direction of the pogues. He smiled slightly at all of his friends huddled around a fire. The moment was cut short when JJ noticed Topper and Kelce walking toward them. Almost instantly he got to his feet, muttering an apology to… Jade, and joined the others.

“JJ!” Kie sang when he walked over, clearly the drunkest of the five. She got up from where she was sitting to hug him only to stop short when she noticed the other boys.

“What the hell do you guys want?” She spits. John B stood up slowly.

“Hey, hey,” Topper starts, raising his hands in surrender, “just here to talk,”

“So talk,” Pope said. He was sitting next to June behind the rest of them.

Topper cleared his throat, “June? Can we-” He nodded toward the trees where JJ had just come from. Everyone’s eyes shoot to June who furrows her eyebrows before nodding her head and beginning to get up. Pope stands up with her.

“Look, I just want to have a conversation,” Topper states.

“It’s fine,” June says, starting to walk off. She

John B calls out, “You sure?”

June just nods her head.

“You better not fucking touch her dude or I swear to-”

Kie grabs his arm, “JJ,” she urges. June turns her head and gives him a look before walking off with Topper.

tags: @allycat449-blog @ifilwtmfc @sarcasticsagittarius1998

#jj maybank x oc #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj x reader #obx #obx fic #obx fics #outer banks #outer bank #topper x reader #topper x oc #topper thorton x reader #soulmate #soulmate au #silverkeys #highpopefics #highpope

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elliethesuperfruitlover · 3 years

Text

*sings* the family REUNION

A/N: A nice Klaus x Topazi. I’m projecting, and this is also comfort for me right now xx. I’m sick of this country, I want to get the fuck out, but I can’t, so this is what’s happened. I’ve thought about writing this one before, but I think what we all need right now is some tenderness and warmth, so what better way to do it than through fanfiction. This is the first time I’ve written for an OC, and I like it so far. This was initially for a black reader, then I thought, literally today “oh topazi” so here we are.

Warnings: food (and lots of it), mild drink, knowing myself small mentions of racism, mention of sex

Cheeky Tag List: @misskittysmagicportal, @super-unpredictable98, @badsext, @sean-falco, @the-freckled-luba, @iamsexytrash, @crabstick, @robertsheehanownsmyass, @frogs--are--bitches, @seancekitsch

“KLAUS, COME ON, I CAN’T BE LATE” Topazi yelled through the house, checking herself in the mirror one last time before springing to where Klaus was.

He was sitting on the kitchen island, nibbling on some chips. His feet tapped against the counter every other second.

“I told you, don’t eat yet, you won’t want to eat before we get there and that’s forbidden fruit sir.” she sternly stated, fauxly crossing her arms at him.

“Fine, by the way, your pasta salad is amazing.” he said, making a small chef’s kiss motion with his hands.

Topazi facepalmed as Klaus kissed her cheek, and he walked to the door and put his sandles on. Jesus sandles, actually. To spent hours making two tins of pasta salad, and he ate almost a full corner of it. He must’ve eaten some of it while she was in the bathroom, or when she was lightly scolding the cats for disturbing the resident mice. She rolled her eyes and packed into the car, but not before saying goodbye to the houseplants.

“How long is the drive supposed to be?” Klaus asked, long limbs extending in the car.

“Just about an hour. It won’t be long, trust me. You’ll wish the drive was even shorter when you get there too.” she said, smiling and Klaus grinned back at her, and he kissed her once more before shuffling over more to his side of the car.

About 45 minutes of time passed, and during that time, Klaus had opened a plethora of tangents, including pegging, ketchup being a smoothie (to him), why he doesn’t personally trust roaches(they just look weird, and they live forever), as well as why it took so long for him to cut that god-awful beard. All the while T was swerving in lanes, and glancing every now and then at the clock in the car. Klaus sat guzzling water while talking, and she knew the question was going to come up at some point, so she slapped her big girl panties on and took it.

“Are we there yet?” Klaus asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. His stomach was poking out, but just barely, and Topazi sighed heavily.

“Klaus, come on. We’ve got a little less than 20 minutes left, it’s not my fault you drank all that water.” she said, half stern, half jokingly.

“But I have to gooo. Can’t you pull over or something?” he whines, puppy dog eyes showing.

‘We’re on a highway, Klaus.” she muttered, gritting her teeth before pulling into a lane. That caused him to cross his legs, and close his eyes, groaning.

“Please, I really have to go. I’ll try to repay the favor when I can, I promise.” he begs, hands covering his crotch. T thought about it for a moment, and she’d been meaning to have Klaus eat her out again, so why not. She reached in the back and pulled out an empty bottle, and he picked it from her hands.

“I’ve been meaning to do this for a while.” he says, turning away from her and she gagged lightly, but at least he didn’t wet his pants....this time.

Topazi continued to drive for the promised 20 minutes, and she arrived at her parent’s house, cars already piling onto the lawn. Klaus quickly headed to the trash can outside, and threw the bottle away, getting sanitizer from the car. She grabbed a tin of the pasta salad, as well as Klaus, and he followed her to the front of the house.

“Are they even going to like me?” Klaus mumbled, eyebrows scrunching. They’d had discussions about it before, and his worry was extremely valid. She didn’t want Klaus to feel left out, or bad about anything. He was still a really good lover. He’d voiced his concerns multiple times, and time and time again, she reassured him.

“You’ll be fine. If they say one thing you’re uncomfortable with, I won’t hesitate to leave this place and drive all the way back. You know that.” T replied, using a hand to softly rub his cheek. He leaned into her touch, and the door opened, right as she was reaching for the doorbell for a second ring.

“Hi! Come on it! And you bought a guest, who is this?” Alena asked, ushering her daughter and guest into the house.

“Mom, this is my partner Klaus. Also, pasta salad, which is getting warm as we speak, so let me set it down.” Topazi rushed into the kitchen, shuffling quickly into the house, Klaus bumbling after her, looking around. She opened the fridge and shoved her dish in, gently patting it before stretching mildly, an aftereffect of staying in one spot.

T walked back over to Klaus and he smiled at her mom, who was walking him outside to meet the rest of the family. She followed closely behind, and she noticed him getting more and more comfortable. He went around meeting everyone and shaking their hands, or hugging them. T met up with her siblings, hugging them, and letting her nieces and nephews up on her hips. She played with them and chatted for a while, and Klaus came back to her, almost skipping.

“Did you know that your dad served in the Army?” Klaus asked her, a small sparkle in his eye.

“Klaus....he’s my dad. Why wouldn’t I know?” she replied, tilting her head to the side. She giggled at his look, and her siblings noticed him, and gave him a collective small rundown. She did argue with her siblings a fuck ton, but they always tended to come to her aid if needed.

Klaus went around and introduced himself to T’s aunt that just came in, and she giggled as he was almost crushed by the force of her hug. She patted his back and looked him up and down.

“Goodness, you need somethin’ to eat, one more gust of wind, we won’t see you ‘til Christmas!” she stated, shaking her head jokingly.

He giggled at the effort, and prodded about needing to go to a chiropractor. She cackled, and he went back to T, placing a tiny kiss to her cheek.

“This is going surprisingly well, what the fuuuck?!” he whispered, and she wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him. He placed his chin on top of her head and sighed in her touch. The moment, however, was short lived, as one of Topazi’s nieces came between them and giggled around their ankles, and Klaus picked one of them up, asking their name.

She was pleasantly shocked at his reaction with the kids, and soon enough, the two of them were running in the yard, playing tag. She was currently in the lead, and her siblings were bounding towards her, waiting for there to be a chance to tackle her. Klaus came up from behind her and tackled her, causing the both of them to crash to the ground.

“Oh come on, that’s nowhere near fair!” she yelled, trying to wiggle away from him. He looked into her eyes, and pecked her lips. They sighed against each other and the sun baked their skin. Klaus eventually rolled off of T, and just as they were getting hungry, dinner was called.

She ran to the backyard, dress billowing behind her, Klaus in tow, and she washed her hands before getting in line. Her mouth simply watered at the selection of southern food placed in front of her. Klaus was somewhat surprised at everything, but welcomed it happily when confronted with....wait a minute....sweet potatoes with cherries?? Topazi laughed at him, and promised to explain it to him once they sat down. Your family, and you could practically hear their thoughts “Shouldn’t he get more?”. It half sickened her to think of that though, so she found a lawn chair to sit in, carefully placing it to avoid the ant beds and tree roots.

“Okay so, what the fuck is with the sweet potatoes?” Klaus asked, shoving a spoonful of potato salad in his mouth.

“They’re called candied yams. The cherries help them become sweeter. And don’t take the fucking breadcrumbs off the mac and cheese. I’ll slaughter you, that’s the best part.” T whispered, slowly becoming more and more full.

She went back for another serving (or two) and stopped at dessert, which was provided graciously. Many cakes and pies laid in front of her, as well as tarts, and, wait, who the fuck brought Krispy Kreme?

“Who got lazy?” she mumbled, walking back to Klaus with her plate full of sweets, and she immediately took a bite from the glazed donut, eyes closing. “Still warm though.”

“I mean, Honey only taught me to make a couple things, and donuts weren’t one of them.” he stated, sipping his tea.

The sun began to set, and the drinks started pouring. The stories began to filter out, and Topazi saw Klaus start to nod off, and she announced their leaving. He sleepily said his goodbyes and when they got into the car, Klaus knocked out almost immediately. The drive home was very quiet. Music played quietly on the radio, and T hummed along quietly. Klaus shuffled every now and then in his sleep, and his breathing fogged the window on his side of the car. When they arrived home, Topazi gently woke Klaus, and he slowly made his way into the house, practically sleepwalking. As they were undressing and getting into bed, Klaus quietly whispered a couple words. Topazi barely heard him, and he repeated himself.

“Thank you for letting me meet your family. I enjoyed it. I’m happy I got to know the people who raised you. They did a damn good job too.” he whispered back, gently kissing Topazi’s head. She got a bit flustered from the compliment and gently thanked him as well, and the two of them fell asleep to the sound of their respective partner’s heartbeats.

Masterlist

#klaus hargreeves fluff #klaus hargreeves x topazi #klaus hargreeves x oc #hehe this is fun #tua fanfic

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writingsweetroll · 3 years

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Our Troubled Youths - 1

(This story is a continuation of the end of telltales the walking dead game. It follows the end of the "Loved Louis" route. So if you are not interested in the continuation in this route please read something else.)

You follow the journey of Willow, the daughter of Louis and Clementine. Its been 14 years since the delta battle, and everyone had settled down, literally. People had families, relationships and even their own homes. Life had really grown into something better, even different communities became friendlier...at least that what it seemed like behind closed doors.

[ART MADE BY ME]

The leaves crunched under my feet as I ran from the crazy beast. I look behind me and smirk at the dumb looking animal as it got slower and slower. I stop and turn around. "Is that all you got!?" I yell out. The thing whimpers and runs away. I chuckle at its cowardice. "Yea! Run away!" I then hear clapping behind me, I turn to see Clem. I smile and run up to her. "Did you see that? I totally beat that thing. I'm so uh-" I paused, contemplating if I should say it. "Bad--ass? Like y'know, you when you had that second leg." I chuckle trying to save myself from swearing in front of her. Before I could even hear a response the world underneath me started to crumble, and a faint 'Willow' could be heard.

"Willow! Wake up dude!" I jolted up at the sound of Carsons voice. I gave him an annoyed glare. "Yes?" Carson leaned against my door frame. "No need for the attitude Willow" He mentioned in a joking tone. "Just telling you dinners ready, and guess what were having?" He said, giddy. I sigh and respond, "You have been hanging around my dad to much Carson. Just tell me and stop messing around." He giggled. "Well we're having your favorite....carrot soup!" I throw my head back in annoyance, "Again?" At this point, Carson and I are on our way to the main court yard. "Yea, Mom said the other vegetables aren't in season yet, whatever that means. Oh also, speaking of which, she wants to talk to you later." I look up at him with confusion, "Ruby? Why?" Carson opened the entry door to the courtyard. "I don't know. Wouldn't tell me."

I stop and breathe in the nights air. I always loved this courtyard. It's covered in Ivy, and flowers, there's tables everywhere with candles on them, gardens and trees growing everywhere giving the courtyard a earthy vibe. Tonight made it even more beautiful, because on special nights like this one, since it was Maria's birthday, the fairy lights were on, and it made the place light up. Not to much, just enough so only the inside of our yard could see it. I walk towards the tables. Man, Dad did mention that they didn't have generators back when everyone were teens like me. What the heck would you do without them?!

"Thanks Omar, and Mark!" We all shouted in unison. I sat between my parents as we watched Maria opened her chocolate bar, our tradition when it came to 'milestone' birthdays. I remember when I was 5, and I got my first chocolate bar, it was heaven. We all clapped for her as she took her first bite.

I started to eat with my family...except one of them. "Hey...where's AJ?" I asked. Louis sighs and rests his jaw onto his palm. "You know him, he never sits down and just relaxes. He's doing another perimeter round." Violet interjects. "You can't blame the kid, he's been through hell." Violet widens her eyes and then turns to Clementine. "I didn't mean anything by that. I just mean-You know, I-" Louis cut her off. "She means you did everything you could my sweet. Its hard raising a kid, especially when you were only 11 years old. Some of us are just built different, like we handle trauma in different ways." Clementine gave Louis a smug look. I laughed at it, cause that face was certainly rare. "When did you become so, educated and sophisticated ?" Clementine asked, with her last words becoming royal. Louis shot back, "When did you become humorous. Tryna steal my thunder?" We all laughed, our mood being brought back up. "By the way Clem, how's the new leg?" Violet asked. "This ones actually a lot more comfortable then the last, who knew AJ was such a builder?" At that, Violet and Clementine got lost in conversation. Unsatisfied with the same meal for the 5th time now, I sighed. "Hey, Willow." I look over to my dad who had whispered to me. He pulls out a round object out of his black coat. "I know how much you hate carrot soup, so, I got you something." My eyes lit up at the fresh apple in his hand. I gasped as I grabbed it. "I thought these were out?" Louis chuckled. "Yea well, don't tell Ivy, but I found her secret munchie stash, and she had this apple and I borrowed it." He winked at me. I took a bite and sighed in relief. Apples were by far my favorite fruit. Just then AJ came into the yard, a dead squirrel in hand. He tossed it into the barrel full of others animals to be skinned.

"Those fuckers are way to fast" he muttered as he sat down. Clem glared at him. "AJ...could you be less vulgar at the dinner table? If Ruby heard she'd chew you a new one." It looked as if AJ was about to argue back but decided to be quiet with a nod and a 'sorry'. "AJ! Its my birthday!" He turned to her and laughed. "I know silly" he ruffled her hair. "You told everyone like 5 times today." AJ then grabbed something from his backpack, "Actually I have a gift for you Maria." He pulled out a Disco Broccoli figure, and handed it to her. Clem gave him a sad look. Maria thanked AJ and ran off to play with the other kids.

"Ok, so, Willow, Carson, and Brent--You're on trading duty tomorrow with the diamonds group in the morning. Ruby, my sweetie cute roll"--Everyone sighed in annoyance. Sure it was cute that they were still in that honeymoon faze but it got annoying fast. Aasim cleared his throat. "You will be on garden duty with Mark. Sally, and John will be teaching the kids and Violet, Ivy, will be tending the generators and defenses." We all agreed and headed to our rooms. I said my goodbyes to my parents and left to my dorm. I lay down onto my bed, listening to the sound of the soft chirps and leaves flying in the wind. Autumn season was always my favorite.

#twd #twdg #twdg s4 #telltale #telltale the walking dead #clouis #louistine #clou #clemxlouis #fanfiction #the waking dead game

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rose-sunlight · 4 years

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Can You See The Sparks?

Pairings: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago, Ray Holt/Kevin Cozner, Charles Boyle/Genevieve Mirren-Carter, Sharon Jeffords/Terry Jeffords

Warnings: One mention of childbirth (non-graphic)

Summary: The Squad get together for a Fourth of July party!

A/n: This is for the @b99fandomevents Summer 2020 Fic Exchange written for @impossiblyizzy! Hope you enjoy!

One thing that Jake had never known throughout his years of knowing Captain Holt and his husband: they had the biggest back yard he’d ever seen growing up in the rough parts of Brooklyn. They had a large brick patio, and their garden was surrounded by a stereotypical white picket fence. The grass was perfectly watered, and Jake knew that Kevin had probably calculated the exact amount of water his grass needed to get that specific shade of green, Jake wouldn’t expect anything less.

Upon seeing their yard for the first time in daylight, he’d immediately suggested a Fourth of July party around their house. What with the arrival of the latest Nine-Nine baby, Mac, Amy was desperate to get out of the house, meaning their tradition of going to the Peralta-Santiago household would have to be put on hold so the new parents could finally feel more—well, human.

It wasn’t that Amy didn’t want to host, Amy loved hosting parties and conversing with her colleagues, but when she had a screaming baby attached to her, wailing because the noise, or the lack of his father by their side (yes, Mac had turned into a daddy’s boy), or the lack of food being delivered directly to him. When Holt and Kevin had agreed to his suggestion, and invites had been given to the squad and their families, he could feel Amy’s tension around the holiday ease and evaporate, even after Mac had thrown up on her uniform before she left for work.

So, here they were, on the Fourth of July, surrounded by the Squad, their family members, and pets. Although most dogs had been left at home (Charles and Genevieve could not bring their six dogs through Kevin’s freshly vacuumed house). Diaz had however fought to bring Arlo, considering him as her plus one as she had no family members coming. So, on their perfect green grass that had probably cut with nail clippers, Cheddar chased after Arlo, brushing past the legs of Terry and his wife, arms slung around each other as they watched the twins and Ava play tag with Nikolaj and Iggy.

The kids careered around a large oak tree at the back of the garden, spinning around as they laughed, running back towards where Charles and Genevieve manned the barbeque, all different assortments of traditional American foods sizzling on the grill. That wasn’t all, though, as Kevin was cooking pizzas and making potato salad, cakes, casseroles and more. Kevin worked side-by-side in a comfortable silence with Rosa as she made cocktails for the adults.

“Can you pass the potatoes?” Kevin asked, quietly and without small talk. He was observant, and throughout their years of small conversations, Kevin knew all too well that Rosa hated small talk.

She passed them wordlessly, watching him as he began to chop them up for the potato salad.

Rosa hovered as she went to pick up the cocktails, turning to Kevin once more, “What made you change your mind about us?” She asked, “I mean, you hate cops.” Her mannerisms were blunt, Kevin knew she wasn’t trying to offend; she was just a very direct person, and he respected that more than he did others. He did, however, had to think about her question.

When did he start to trust his husbands co-workers? “I don’t hate the individuals. I dislike some aspects and prejudices in the system, yes, but I never hated anyone.”

“Oh.”

“If I had to pinpoint the moment my feelings around the nine-nine changed, it would be mine and Raymond’s anniversary, when Charles taught him how to cook. It was quite memorable.”

Rosa nodded “Oh,” She said again, unsure how to either end the conversation or continue it “well, I am…glad you don’t. Like, hate us, anymore.” She responded in her most sincere voice.

Kevin nodded towards the drinks on the side “Those cocktails can go on the table outside. Use coasters, though, please.”

Rosa nodded, leaving their kitchen and passing the living room, where Amy and Jake were sat with Holt, Gina, Scully and Hitchcock. Surprisingly, through the first few months of Mac’s life, Hitchcock and Scully had been surprisingly attentive towards Mac and Amy. Jake would never admit it, but Scully was responsible when it came to children, and he did feel bad that his two kids refused to talk to him since they had grown up.

Mac sat with wide eyes searching around the room, looking up at his grandpa Ray, who was bouncing him on his lap. Amy didn’t think she’d ever seen her Captain so relaxed and smiling, cooing down at the baby occasionally in between leisurely conversations with the small gathering sitting in his living room. Granted, his kind of cooing was a lot more observant than most, saying things like “did you know you have the perfect weight for your age right now? Yes, you do, McClane, you’re perfect!”. Holt and Kevin were the only ones who would call Mac by his full name, which made it personal to his grandpa and grandad (because if we don’t have separate names, Jake, how will he call for us individually?).

The food began to pile high on the outside table, and soon enough, everyone was called to eat. Specifically for this gathering, Kevin had brought a smaller table for the kids to eat at, and was enjoying watching all the kids have their own conversations at the table, most lead and dominated by Iggy, whose presence was as infectious as her mothers, who was also leading the conversation at the adults table. Kevin looked down towards Mac, who had been passed to him now, and adjusted the baby so he was more upright on Kevin’s knee, his arm wrapped around Mac’s torso protectively. Kevin smiled at the thought of Mac joining the kids table in a few years, and smiled even larger at being able to watch him grow. Raymond offered him the bowl of salad he had prepared previously, knowing he wouldn’t eat the burgers or anything that greasy. He gratefully accepted, and settled into a cycle of eating his food then paying attention to Mac.

“Oh, wait, it’s nearly seven, we need to be at the field at nine p.m.,” Amy said, nervously checking her watch

Charles, ever the time-sensitive character, began to sweat and fidget in his chair, eating his burger as quick as possible—he had wanted some more unique 4th of July food to be served, but Holt had restricted him to strictly traditional meats, “oh, uhm, it’s fine, if we leave now, we can probably make the end, right?” He turned to his partner, who took his hand and calmed him down.

Gina groaned, “Oh my god, you guys, don’t get your panties in a twist. We’ll be fine, if we’re late we can commandeer a bus or something.”

“How long does it take to get to the park?” Amy ignored Gina and directed her question to Kevin, her eyebrows furrowed.

Kevin checked his own watch “Only a seventeen minute walk. We’ll be fine, Amy.” His voice was reassuring, and so she relaxed, nodding happily. When it was time to go, Holt disappeared into their back room, digging through the things he had brought for the kids, and reaching the best fourth of July tradition—sparklers. He handed them out to the kids (with parental consent, of course,) and watched them happily hold the unlit sticks as Kevin went around and lit them.

Cagney and Lacey began to act out a wand battle worthy of being in Harry Potter, crying out curses that made Jake start to laugh too, practically begging Amy for a sparkler too. She nodded with a laugh, and watched him childishly join in with the twins in their battle.

Nikolaj and Ava, despite their five-year age gap, wrote each other’s names with the sparklers, and then began to circle and dance with the sparks, all the time being warned to be careful by their dads. Iggy was in her own world, twirling around like a princess, dancing with her sparkler like she was a ballerina preforming for the masses.

Mac watched all the pretty lights from his stroller, making grabbing gestures and watching his dad dancing around with Cagney and Lacey. Amy noticed, when she checked on him for the fifteenth time, that he was laughing, full on laughing, for the first time. His giggles were indistinguishable from those of the other kids, but she started cooing, and Mac laughed harder, looking at his dad dancing around.

“Jake!” She called out to her husband, who span around “Jake! Jake! Look, he’s laughing!” She excitedly informed him, and Jake looked to Mac, and felt his heart burst. His son was laughing at him. He’d smiled before, but at four months old, he was uncontrollably giggling.

Uncle Charles appeared, phone in hand, “Ohh! I captured the moment, Jakey, don’t worry!” He patted Jake on the back

“Thanks, Charles.”

The group set off walking to the park, the kids taking turns pushing Mac’s stroller, giving Amy and Jake a break, even if they had to make sure the stroller wouldn’t capsize.

Amy was talking with Sharon, who, throughout her journey into motherhood, had been a source of comfort. They often bonded over their experience of labour at the precinct, too, even if Sharon didn’t have to give birth there.

“You’re doing good,” Sharon reassured her, “when we had our first babies, we had almost no clue what to do. You’ve either done your research or are a complete natural.”

Gina nodded, the one and only time a compliment regarding Amy had ever slipped from her lips “Yeah, I mean, when Iggy was Mac’s age I was neck-deep in barf and decaf coffee.”

Amy blushed; compliments on her parenting had become the most gratifying thing to hear (other than ‘don’t worry, I’ll feed him this time’, of course). She found herself a little lost for words, but regained them fairly quickly “Well, I had younger brothers and little nieces and nephews growing up. And I read almost every book there was on…everything. Wasn’t prepared for birth, though.”

Sharon and Gina both winced “Yeah, they don’t put that in the lovey-dovey books, do they? If they did, I don’t think a single woman would want to go through that.” Sharon said

Amy could only laugh her agreement, hoping that the word ‘episiotomy’ would fall out of her memory and vocabulary one day.

When they arrived at the fireworks, the carnival was already in full swing. Terry had been bribed by all three daughter’s pleading eyes, and so far, all three had won a teddy bear (the biggest from the surprisingly easy strength test), and Terry was out a good twenty-five dollars on games and fair-rides. Gina probably had lost the same amount, although she had spent everything on the rides; Iggy never really wanted anything from the games booths, which must be a first for any child ever, Gina had tried to convince them. Charles was out much more, and Nikolaj was now a proud owner of a tiger, teddy bear, and a DIY crystal kit. He’d also been on every ride conceivable with his parents, and was currently sharing a huge wad of cotton candy three-ways.

Holt and Kevin watched as the kids came up to them after every win, proudly displaying their new item for the pair to hold while they went off to do another ride. Holt would smile, and actually mean it. After Ava dropped off her final win, a mock-forensics kit, she turned to sit in between the two of them.

“I want to be like you and daddy, Uncle Ray!” She had told him (Ava called them Uncle Ray and Uncle Kevin, because grandpa never felt right for the Jeffords family), and Holt had wrapped his arm around her and let her snuggle in close—for warmth only, he was sure.

“Really? Well, I have a few friends at the academy, Ava, I will make sure that they have a spot open for the class of twenty-thirty-six.” He said it deadpan, as he often did, but Kevin knew there was a touch of sincerity to his promise too.

“Promise?” Ava had asked, extending a gloved finger.

Holt looked at his husband, who was smiling back “Oh, I suppose I do promise.” He said, shaking her pinkie finger with his. She skipped off to tell her dad, leaving the couple alone.

Kevin laughed as Terry listened intently to Ava relaying the story, before looking to Raymond “Do you ever think about how we have managed to adopt a fully-fledged, albeit slightly delayed, adult, and somehow become entwined in others’ lives, so much so that we are now uncles and grandparents?” He asked.

Raymond pondered for a second, watching the separate families “yes, it is odd.”

“Do you ever regret not having kids….adopting them?”

“It was never allowed when we were in our prime.”

Kevin nodded, looking towards where Ray was staring Jake, grabbing Amy by the waist and kissing her softly, while still keeping one hand on the stroller, “I know. I just sometimes wonder how it would be different.”

“I do too. But, although we are late, I do think of Peralta like a son. We’ve watched him grow over these few years, from a childish boy to a grown, responsible man with a family. Who is still a childish thorn in my side, if I am honest. I think that describes having a child perfectly; watching them grow.” Raymond seemed sentimental—to anyone else, his voice remained unwavering, but to Kevin, he could sense the fondness, the same fondness that he himself carried.

“I would not change it, either.”

“I know you wouldn’t. He’s strangely ours.”

Nikolaj came running up to them, barrelling into their conversation with brazen confidence, the same type his father and mother had, “Mister Kevin! Mister Raymond! The fireworks are going to start!” He had run off as soon as he had arrived. He never called them uncle or grandpa, but that was okay, because Kevin and Holt both knew he had issues with attaching himself to others due to his past. They never asked it of him, anyway. Kevin stood up, dusting off his pants, and began to grab the various toys left with them, before parents came to try and help them out.

The squad and their families all huddled in a muddy and cold field, making sure they didn’t lose anyone in the massive crowd forming, most kids sitting on the shoulders of adults. Jake had Iggy on his, who was pulling his hair softly to direct him on where to go, all the time giggling as he obliged to her requests, before standing next to Amy.

The display was amazing, colours of red, white and blue flashing across the starry night sky canvas, painting it in different colours before sharply dissipating. The crowd would let out ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ every time something vaguely interesting happened, and Jake couldn’t help but join in, looking to Amy, whose face was perfectly illuminated in a glowing bright light. He squeezed Iggy’s hand, yelling up to her.

“Can you see the sparks, Iggy?” He was looking at Amy, who had rolled her eyes at the cheesy joke, but for Iggy the meaning was the fireworks, obviously.

“Yeah, Uncle Jake!”

Amy wrapped a hand around his waist, allowing herself to be embraced, dodging Iggy’s leg as it swung in the air “Eyes on the fireworks, Peralta.”

Jake leaned into her touch, “Baby, you’re a firework. Katy Perry, she’s always right.” Amy giggled, but it was drowned out by another loud boom. Mac had big ear protectors on, but his eyes still flickered across the sky. Amy’s heart swelled again, her family surrounding her as the fireworks spurred on.

She was so glad that they were invited to Holt and Kevin’s. This was just perfect.

Little did they know, Holt and Kevin had already decided between themselves to make this a tradition to carry on for decades.

masterlist| submit a request here

#brooklyn nine nine #peraltiago #ray holt #jake x amy #jake peralta #amy santiago #peraltiago fanfiction #peraltiago fanfic #b99 summer 2020 fic exchange #b99fandomevents

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selfishsunnies · 4 years

Text

i wish you sidewalk pennies - JJ x reader

warnings: not more than the show

notes: This is just a filler chapter... so much is ab to go down you guys I am so ready. we just gotta get there. Feedback & questions are apriciated!!!

word count: 2,300 roughly

CH. 2- “melodies & giant plastic dinosaurs”

It had been a few days since that night after the party. Kie had to work a few shifts at the wreck, so that left Alice alone in the house. It’s not that Alice wouldn’t help out at the restaurant, they just hadn’t asked. It left her with a lot of free time. She didn’t really remember the island, so she couldn’t head to the beach nor did she feel comfortable going by herself. Alice didn’t really trek outside of her comfort zone very often, but this whole summer was miles out of her little box.

With the cell phone towers down often and the wifi in the house being spotty, she spent a lot of time reading. She had brought a few books with her, but quickly finished those and had to resort to Kiara’s bookshelf. It was outdated, probably stuff she had read in middle school. Alice didn’t really mind though, she had read most of them, too. She picked up one she hadn’t and began reading. She quickly lost track of time and before she knew it, her aunt was home. She knocked lightly on Alice’s door, peeking her head in. The woman looked tired, bags under her eyes, her eyebrows pinched together.

“Hi, dear. I hope I wasn’t interrupting.”

“No,” Alice said, closing the book, “it’s okay.”

“How’re you doing? The first few days can be rough.”

“I’m good, Kiara’s friends all seem super nice and I’m loving the weather.”

Her aunt pinched her nose when Alice mentioned Kiara’s friends, but smiled softly. She thought about what she’d said, about being good. This wasn’t a lie. Alice really was having a good time. She felt relaxed for the first time she can remember since her parents began fighting. She didn’t miss her friends as much as she had imagined, although she wished she could group facetime and show them around the house or update them more often. She certainly didn’t miss her parents’ arguing. Her dad had lost his job a few months ago and it seemed he had no intention of getting another. Alice tried not to be home as much as possible to avoid them both. She kept busy with her job, school, and soccer practices, but now, all that was over.

And Kiara’s friends did seem nice. They were all instantly so accepting. She felt like they were all little kids again. She wished she remembered when they were.

“Well, we’re here if you ever need anything, baby.” She placed her hand on Alice’s cheek and kissed the top of her head. Alice nodded, grateful.

The next night, the four of them had dinner together at The Wreck. It was past closing time, but it was the end of a long week and Kiara had the weekend off. Her father had been working late hours to prepare for the height of the season, he was calling it. This meant they celebrated the last few moments of calm before the storm.

“So, Alice,” her uncle started, a glass of rum and coke in his hand, “are you still singing?”

Alice blushed at the question, “Not like I used to.” She tried to laugh it off. Alice used to train extensively, lessons twice a week, binders filled with sheet music, always doing a vocal warm up. That all changed when she got to high school though. She started playing for the school’s soccer team, her classes got a little harder and she needed more time to study. She started going to lessons only every other week, missing recitals for soccer games, until one day during senior year, she just didn’t go back. She never did the school’s musicals, though. When people learned that Alice could sing, they always assumed that meant she did theatre. It did not. Alice was a terrible dancer and didn’t particularly like acting. So, she stuck to singing.

“Aw, really? I remember you used to love coming down here because it meant you got to skip lessons. That didn’t stop you from singing though.” Kiara said, laughing.

“Really?”

“Yeah, you don’t remember?”

Alice shook her head sadly.

“Oh come on,” her uncle started again, “you never stopped singing. Used to make kie and the neighborhood kids perform talent shows for us and your parents in the backyard, couldn’t have been older than five.”

This earned a laugh from everyone at the table, “No way!”

“Oh, it really was the sweetest thing,” her aunt sighed, reminiscing.

The thought of John B and JJ performing in a backyard talent show had Alice nearly in stitches, Kie too.

“Oh, I cannot wait to hold that over their heads,” Kiara exclaimed. The laughter soon died down, making everyone realize how empty and quiet the restaurant was.

“Well, maybe I’ll start again. I’ve got tons of time,” Alice said with a smile. She was only half kidding. She really did love to sing.

“There is that fundraiser event at the end of the month.”

Kie sighed, loudly, “Mom, that is such a kook thing. Where does that money even go? Who are they even fundraising for?”

“Dear, they’re-” She started to reply, but was cut off again by Kiara ranting, “They’re a waste of time and good money that could be given to an actual cause.”

They went on like this for a few minutes before Alice could butt in, “Uhm. What?” she asked.

“The kooks are planning a fundraiser event for god only knows what and I am being forced to go.” Kiara shot a look at her mother.

“Of course we are going, it’s a really big deal. Everyone’s going to be there and,” she reached out and placed her hand on Alice’s arm, “and they need entertainment.”

“Oh, I don't know. That’s kind of-”

“Mom, please. No.”

“Honey,” her aunt's tone was tight, the crease between her eyebrows returning, She turned her attention towards Alice, “Just promise me you’ll think about it.”

Alice nodded her head in agreement. She silently made the promise to herself that she was not doing it. Alice had been out of practice for too long to just begin performing for an important event like this. The thought of singing in front of more than about five people made her stomach swirl. That was a different part of her life, one that Alice has left behind when coming here.

A few hours later the girls wound up at John B’s. Him and Sarah were laying in a hammock out back, tangled up in each other. JJ was rolling a joint while Pope sat next to him, talking about some tv show he just finished, “No, dude, it was crazy.” When they walked into the yard he stopped talking to kiss Kiara on the cheek and then returned to his spot next to JJ. He waved a nice hello to Alice and Sarah yelled her hello’s from the hammock. Her voice was smooth and a little giggly like she had been drinking.

“Kie, you want a hit?” JJ asked, holding the lit joint closer to her. She took it from him and formed O’s with the smoke she exhaled before handing it to Alice.

“Oh, I uh, I don’t know.” She stuttered out.

“Just like this” Kie demonstrated, very poorly may she add, before handing it back to Alice. She tried her very best, and still managed to choke. She coughed and coughed. This earned a laugh from JJ, “So I take it you don’t smoke?”

“I’ve just never tried, no one smokes back home. I guess it’s just not a thing.”

“You’re telling me no one where you’re from smokes weed? Bullshit. You’re just not going to the right parties.” He was laying in the grass, arm tucked under his head, a smug look on his face.

“I go to plenty of parties,” Alice said in defense. It’s true, Alice rarely turned down an invite to a kegger back home. She had only ever lost one beer pong game, and that wasn’t even really her fault.

“I don’t deny that. I’m just saying you ain’t going to the right ones if there isn’t weed.” JJ took another drag and formed O’s of his own. By now Kiara had moved to sit in between the two boys and was leaning against Pope. Alice sat on his other side, leaning back on her hands.

“I don’t know dude, even if it was there I couldn’t smoke it anyway. At least not in high school. Shit messes up your breath support and stuff.”

“She used to be a singer,” Kie clarified, “a natural talent really.” She said, poking fun.

“Ah, cool. So like musicals and stuff?” Pope asked, bless his heart. She felt her face light up now that the attention was all on her.

“No,” Alice answered with a chuckle, “like choir and recitals and all that.”

“She’s being humble, Miss first in the state.” Kiara shot back.

Now it was her turn to clarify, “That was like sixth grade! And it was just a junior competition. Anyway, enough about my miserable singing career, what’re we doing tonight?”

JJ raised his head to look at her, “this.”

“What? What about crazy adventures? You’ve all told me the stories.”

“We’ve retired,” John B spoke up for the first time since she’d been there that night.

“Retired? At the young age of 18, that’s quite a shame.” Kiara giggled at Alice’s sarcasm.

“Maybe if we didn’t spend a whole summer being chased by the police and a bunch of big men with guns, we wouldn’t be so tired.” Pope spoke up.

Sarah started to chime in, “Yeah, or get stranded in the Bahamas.”

“Facts.” John B said.

“Okay, okay,” Alice began, “I’m just saying, it’s a little depressing.” The crickets were loud in the trees and she closed her eyes, taking in the silence, the lack of cars speeding by. Truthfully, Alice didn’t mind sitting here all night. At home, there was always something going on, somewhere to be, someone to be with, but here everything felt like a choice. One that Alice could decide whether or not to pick, and the outcome was always good.

*********

“This is it,” John B said, gesturing outwards. Alice looked around at her new friends.They were all smiling wide staring at her, waiting for her reaction. After much convincing, everyone agreed to go on an adventure that night. They didn’t tell her where they were going, but when they arrived, she was confused to say the least, “Uhm. Okay.” Kie swung her arm around Alice’s neck, “You really have to take it all in.”

“I- Okay. I just don’t understand why?”

“Why do you have to take it all in?” She responded.

“No, no. Like why is it here of all places and why a dinosaur?”

Alice tilted her head staring at the massive dinosaur statue in front of them. They had all piled into the van and drove for what felt like forever until they arrived in a little town Alice had never been to. They parked and walked to the center of town to come across this. It was huge, really. It’s neck and tail longer than three of her on top of each other. And it was surrounded by hedges and flowers and a few benches. It was the most random statue she had ever seen and it was right here in the middle of a town.

“I don’t know. Some historical shit.” JJ said, “Bet I can climb it.”

“No, JJ.” Pope dismissed and then turned to Alice, “It’s a replica of brachiosaurus. Part of it’s leg bone was discovered here in the 1800’s, so they built it to commemorate that.” Alice smiled at this explanation, thankful for Pope’s knowledge.

When they turned back to look, John B already had JJ sitting on his shoulders, trying to lift him further up the statue.

“Guys, stop!” Sarah yelled, but she couldn’t help but laugh. He was close to hooking on to the neck.

“This is just pointless, what are you going to do when you get up there?” Kie asked, coming over to stand where Alice and Pope were. The two boys ignored the question, obviously struggling to get JJ’s leg over. Alice couldn’t help herself and took out her phone to record a video.

Finally, they did it. JJ was sitting on this massive dinosaur, posing cheesily for pictures while everyone laughed and egged him on.

“Imagine riding one of these things down the street,” he yelled from the top, “no one could stop me. I’m on top of the fucking world.” They were doubled over with laughter until someone spotted a cop car pulling up, “shit.”

“I cannot get caught right now,” John B said, quickly turning away from the car and grabbing Sarah’s hand.

“JJ jump!” Pope yelled. The others were on the move down the street and ALice could see the two cops approaching the group.

“Pope I can’t jump! Do you see how high I am right now?”

“Yeah,” he muttered, “In more ways than one.”

Alice kept her eyes on the police, inching their way to them, “C’mon!”

JJ swung his leg down and got as close to the ground as possible before leaping off and tumbling to the ground. He laid there for what felt like an hour before getting up and beginning to sprint away. The cops started to chase after them, but Alice was frozen on the scene. When she went to move, she realized Pope was already gone.

“Bro, move!” JJ yelled and grabbed her wrist, dragging her alongside him. They ran until they saw the van, Pope behind the wheel and Kie on the passenger side. Sarah was holding the back door open and the pair made it with just enough time to drive away.

#obx #obx fic #outerbanks #jj maybank #jj x oc #this may or may not have been based on my actual life

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