skylvrbenscn

[skylvrbenscn]

𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖 ℕ𝕠𝕨, ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖 || Self-Para

who: Tomi Oliver, Skylar Benson, Erin Russell when: Several days after the hunters left Fallcrest, and before the wards were downed where: Benson Cabin summary: The Polycule is afforded a rare afternoon with the cabin to themselves and no specific plan

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#tomi oliver #erin russell

[skylvrbenscn]

Mini Tour Nov 2021

SKYLAR

When they finally got to their room at the hotel, the girl was still so hyped - especially when they've got so many boxes of pizza! The girl was almost running down the hall with her boxes, however she wasn't the one with the keycard so there she stood in front of their room door, looking back, "Comeeee on babe, I'm really, *really* hungry. And these pizzas aren't going to get eaten themselvesssss."

ERIN

“I would be able to get there faster if you didn’t keep dropping things as you run,” she called out from where she was picking up…Sky’s _phone_. As she finally caught up to her, she added, “This is why your mom handed _me_ the keycard.”

Holding the card against the reader, and audible click let her know she could open the door and allow entry into the common areas of the suite.

As she flipped the light switch, she noted a small kitchenette to the right, a half-bath to the left, and the living room -of sorts- directly ahead.

Walking in further she took note of the actual bedroom doors leading off from the common area: two doors on the left and two on the right. Leading Sky to the furthest on the left she teased, “I’m assuming you’re not planning on enjoying those in the kitchen where you might have to share?”

SKYLAR

"I - oh." She waited for her girlfriend to catch up before she took her phone back bashfully. It's almost as if she was just buzzing behind Erin before the door finally opened up.

She got in and was looking around the place. "Oh wow, this place is nice." She turned around because there's no way she could look over her boxes of pizza. "Did you... Did.. the two of you want to share....?" She asked out of ... courtesy. Even if they were her lovely girlfriend and best friend, these were boxes of her favourite pizzas. "I was going to eat out here, but.. I did you want a slice? I guess you can have a slice or two." A smile spread on her face, "I'm kidding, I've got a lot of the same type of pizzas this time around. I can share." She walked up to one of the few kitchen spaces there were there and set her boxes there. "I just want to eat."

TOMI

She rolled her eyes at the redhead’s attempt at being funny, but was still far too wired from their show and the small meet and greet after to really care for too long. “I am so hungry, I’m a most certain I could give you a good run for your money right now,” she said taking the top box off the stack and opening it on the counter.

She was so invested in the food, when Sean -with his own stack of boxes- walked in with Ryllie after them and headed to the other room on the left, all she could manage was “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, bro.”

SKYLAR

“What? Is this a challenge?” She asked as she grabbed her own slice, taking a big bite out of it. The happy hum she made because the pizza was so good - or maybe she was just really hungry that anything tasted good. Her eyes had a playful twinkle in her eye as she watched Ryllie disappear into the room. “Keep the door open, Bean.” She chuckled.

She took another slice even though she barely finished the first one. “But mannnnnnnn, did you guys see the crowd tonight? Like I swear it was the loudest tonight. And mom even had to stop someone from going onto stage. Insanity.”

ERIN

Grabbing a slice of her own, being mindful _not_ to have her hand get caught in the cross path of the two others for safety, she sat down at one of the stools lining one side of the counter and scoffed at the pair. “Please, if anything we’re lucky the adults somehow decided to allow the three of _us_ to bunk together. If we’re honest, they probably see more potential for shenanigans from us then they e we would from Sean.”

Erin simply smiled and enjoyed her food, more than happy to listen to her princess and sister wife practically exude giddiness as they went back and forth.

SKYLAR

"We cannot be worse than having my aunts together in one room. Actually - I don't think think they're going to stay in their room." She scoffed, "I don't know what shenanigans you think we're going to be up. We're absolute *angels*."

Skylar let out a sigh, "That feeling when I just want to eat.. but I want to shower.. and take my make up off.. but I just don't want to stop eating."

LYRA

Lyra was making her way into the shared suite with the third of the four keycards that came with the room, when she caught the sound of Tomi calling dibs on the bathroom and her niece letting a noise of complaint in return. "You guys have been alone all of five minutes and already there's trouble in the throuple's paradise?" she teased, holding the door open for her cousin and sister to follow after with pizza boxes of their own.

Closing the door after them, she walked over to the girls and said, "I'd say Luke may have overdone it with the pizza, but judging from the progress that's clearly been made already, she may have just gotten it right..."

SKYLAR

Sky frowned, "Ughhh Tomi went to the shower literally when I said I wanted to take one." She sighed as she went to lean against Erin - only to stop before she actually made contact. "I can't even give my own girlfriend a hug because I'm like.. all icky." She pouted as she stood there with her pizza in her hand.

"Wait, did we get anything to drink? Because I am parched - Aunt Lyra no, that's not euphemism." She threw a look towards her family member.

ERIN

Erin offered her girlfriend an exaggerated pout as she whined, clearly not having her new-found rockstar status affecting _any_ part of her usual personality. Which, if she was completely honest with herself, she had been a little wary about throughout the duration of this impromptu mini-tour. After all, it was great to get to watch Skylar on stage, with her friends and her aunt, showing off her talent and having the time of her life. But it was also good to know that none of that would change the girl she fell for in the first place.

"I think your aunt Phoenix has a few drinks with her," she offered, before leaning in and adding, "And don't worry, princess. _I_ won't fight you for the shower," and tossing her a mischievous look and mouthing 'sharing is caring' as she had grown ever aware of he heightened hearing that constantly surrounded them.

PHOENIX

Phoenix did not expect to be going on tour on her visit - she also didn't think she'd be visiting for this long but she also needed to keep an eye on Lyra. She loved the girl but the moment Lyra self-invited herself, Nix was positive she needed to go with too. In the end, it was a pretty fun experience.

At the mention of drinks, she nodded towards the bottles that she set them on one of the tables in the room. With all the boxes of pizzas in the kitchen, she doubt there was enough room for the large bottles they brought along. "Pretty sure anyone who saw us walking up to our suite thought we were going to hold a party with all these pizza." She chuckled as she reached for her own piece. Despite related, her appetite was not as large as the rest of them.

LYRA

"Well considering the Luke and Keagan managed to book us what equates to half the top floor of this place all to ourselves, I don't really think the staff would have too much of a problem if a party happened to be the case," she noted, as she opened one of the bottles of wine she happened to pick up. "Granted, apparently the bar downstairs was playing the livestream of the concert, so I'd like to hope they're smart enough to have figured half the people in this suite are minors, so no risk of _major_ disaster. Especially considering one of the guests is the internet's newly crowned MILF!"

KEAGAN

It did not surprise her that her sister managed to smuggle a bottle on their way here. She gave the other a look, silently warning her not to go overboard with how much she drank since the kids were all here. Even with Luke, Nix and her in the room, it was hard to tell what the youngest Calvetti might do.

Her face grimaced at the sound of being called a MILF. And yes, she did know what that word meant but it was just... weird. It was also weird just how curious the band's fans were about her when all she did was make a few appearances in videos. "Don't..." She cringed, "Don't call me that please. Your fans - as great as they are - I did not expect them to also try to come look for me too instead of getting to the stage for you guys."

LYRA

Swallowing the sip of wine she’d taken from her already half-empty glass, Lyra glanced over at her sister and said, “Oh honey trust me, the thirst is real. I mean, sorry if Sky has a hard time hearing this _but_, most of the adults at the concerts? Not just there as chaperones for the teens. Hell, I’m not even sure some of them were accompanying any kid whatsoever.”

She took another sip and then set her glass down as she pulled out her phone. “Oh! And before anyone thinks I’m just being _me_, I have receipts. All of the band’s socials are blowing up in an almost 50/50 split over the teens and the grown ups attached.” She showed them her screen for emphasis.

SKYLAR

She didn't know how to feel whenever she heard her mother being considered a MILF. "well, mom is hot though." She beamed at the Deputy, "But really, mom, you should really see what the comments are up to sometimes because anytime you show up in our vids, our socials just blows up. It's like a rare sighting and everyone just flips out." She laughed, "Before we introduced you, the guesses and theories that everyone wrote in the comments - I'm sure Aunt Lyra knows all about them."

She hummed, "I think Aunt Lyra might as well be our social media manager with how on top of things she is with that." Skylar walked over to pour out two cups, bringing back one for Erin. "I'm pretty sure we're about to get comments about Aunt Lyra and Aunt Nix because they for *sure* saw the two of you."

LYRA

“Your _favorite_ aunt is way ahead of you on that one, Strawberry Shortcake. She gave me the logins to the official accounts at the beginning of the tour so I could post pics and videos to the official accounts and do some backstage stuff. It’s been really fun! ….and also has kept me too busy to do much else oddly enough…” Lyra turned to her sister and cousin and asked, “Ya’ll think she did it on purpose to keep me sober?” Only to proceed and take another sip of wine.

KEAGAN

She looked over to her best friend with a hint of disbelief. "I still can't believe you trust Lyra to handle your social accounts." She turned to her kid, "Your aunt's pictures have been accumulating a lot of views and likes - or so she tells me. What did she call them? Thirst traps." She didn't know if she should be concerned at all about Lyra being the one in charge. "Well, I'm going to take a quick shower first then since y'all still working at that.." She announced, motioning to the pizza before disappearing into her bedroom.

LUKE

Luke had come in near the tail end of Sky’s suggestion, and managed to catch her breath by the time Keagan questioned her judgement. “Why not? I figure if she can manage to keep Ianthe at bay by moderating what she posts on her own socials, surely she can manage….and if not I’ll just change the passwords.”

She’d gone ahead and moved over to grab a slice of pizza of her own when she heard the term and looked up confused and curious as she chewed her bite before asking, “Which aunt? Nix or Lyra? I mean, either way if you guys have the genetics by all means, rock ‘em.”

Luke waited until Keagan had disappeared into the furthest room on the right, and then pulled out her phone to show everyone a picture.

“If guys see this lady, do **not** engage. She came up to me while waiting for the elevator, and for all intents and purposes seemed nice enough. Said she enjoyed the encore and couldn’t wait to hear more of our original stuff….then she asked who hurt me so she could hurt them back on my behalf and it took three seconds too long for her to laugh after. So I got off at a random floor, waited till the elevator doors closed and just booked it to the stairs so she wouldn’t figure out what floor we’re on.”

LYRA

She was about to take another sip from her glass when her sister made her put it back down just to dramatically gasp and look at Keagan with feigned offense. "Uh, rude? I am totally perfect for the role. Job - Are you going to pay me for this because these creative pictures and captions is a lot of hard work, Titan."

Her feigned offence then fell to a look of sympathy, "Oh Luke. My precious tall giant. She meant you. You should see the album collection I've accumulated of just you. Like 'Arms.' and 'Hot' are basically the summary of them." She laughed.

Leaning to look at the picture, "Soooooo you got a stalker? Damn, Benson. Way to go~" She looked in the direction of where Keagan went. "But why did you wait until the security detail left the room to actual bring up the security issue. Oh, well, there's Nixie too but let's be real - Keagan is totally the one tossing people's asses out to the curb." She laughed as she got up from her seat. "Speaking of which, Nixie! Let's go check this security issue out and see what's the dealio!" Whether or not they were actually going to find this woman was a different matter. "You kids have fun! Don't do what Aunt Lyra won't do! Which isn't really all that much but the thought counts."

LUKE

“Of course you’re getting paid,” she replied with a furrowed brow. “That’s why I emailed you an official contract to become a part of BennieHolmie Productions….you haven’t bothered to check your email have you?” It was a rhetorical question, but she’d been careful to ensure that everyone on this trip was getting something in return. Keagan was listed as security and Nix was added as an additional tech for setup.

Luke’s look of confusión gave way to sheepishness and then circled back to confusion as she asked, “Is it still a thirst trap if I’m not the one, uh, trapping?”

Lyra’s response to the situation was -actually, no this was completely in character for the short woman. “I waited because she would’ve jumped to the same conclusion you did and taken the exact action you’re suggesting, when the reality is, this could easily be something that’s not a big deal at all. I’m only sharing because it personally jarred my vibes, and besides we’re only here for one night.” But of course none of what she said mattered as she watched the cousins exit.

Turning to her niece and Erin, she just said, “I really hope I don’t have to get up on the middle of the night to bail them out.”

SKYLAR

She watched as her aunt went back and forth on about the social media situation, and was somehow not surprised that Aunt Lyra have somehow brought up a situation yet also peaced out before fully listening to the reason. Maybe Aunt Phoenix did but still they both went out on their merry way to do… god knows what. It’s just best not to think about it. “Everytime, I wonder how Uncle JJ andmom are.. and then there’s Aunt Lyra. She’s fun but oh my god, I hope she doesn’t get arrested tonight either.”

She turned back to her pizza - she did great work at going through her boxes and her speed hadn’t slowed down yet. “… Babe, I think Tomi’s done with the shower…”

LUKE

Luke let out a small snort of laughter and said, “I think all the chaotic genes that somehow skipped JJ decided to just double-down in Lyra.” A resigned sigh followed almost immediately after as she added, “But if she does get into any trouble, I’ll be there to bail her out. In her own way she’s pretty much guaranteed to always do the same for any of us. _That_, ladies, is a case of Head Empty, Heart Full.”

Luke may have ‘brain off’ days, but she wasn’t a complete idiot, and only raised an eyebrow at the implication her niece’s words and facial expression gave away. Whether she was right or not, that was another matter, and she did not intend to stick around to find out.

“Ya know, a shower sounds like just what the doctor ordered. Enjoy the rest of night girls, and just don’t forget the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign if you guys would rather _not_ be woken up for breakfast.” And with that she went to her own room.

SKYLAR

The youngest wolf offered a hand, waiting for her to grab it so they can go take their shower. She only gave a quiet 'okay' before her favourite aunt disappeared to her room. "Babe come on, we'll clean later - or tomorrow." She laughed as they entered their bedroom, spotting their friend was already on her bed. "Tomes, if I didn't have wolf hearing, I would not have known you were done with the shower already." She whined before walking into the bathroom herself.

TOMI

There was little surprise when the door to the room flew open and red whirlwind made its way through, dragging her girlfriend behind her -though if Erin minded there was zero hint of that at all. "What can I say? Why expend the energy to let you know, when I knew your genetically nosy, oops, I mean _curious_ nature would just have those wolf ears of yours on high alert," she snarked.

Tomi watched as Sky made her way into the bathroom a bit far too eagerly, and simply looked at Erin going through her suitcase with a skeptical look, before she held up her headphones and said, "They're noise cancelling, so whatever happens just try not end up in a situation where you need to call for help, because you'll up shit creek." With that, she placed the headphones on, turned on a podcast and only barely registered as the older girl disappeared into the bathroom herself.

+Cut to outside the suite

PHOENIX

When they left everyone, Phoenix followed her cousin to the elevators before asking, "So.. What are you up to because I can't tell if you actually want to find the stalker or off to have fun on your own - I don't know which option is more terrifying at the moment." She snorted as she watched the numbers go down. "Also, since we have Keg and all the kids here, I don't think you can drink all you want either otherwise, you're going to be going home by yourself."

Even if she was closest to Lyra in the family, it was still pretty hard to tell what the woman would do next. Would she get kidnapped by strangers? Would she be arrested by the cops? Would she pass out in the street alley somewhere? Who knows? Surely not Phoenix and she was positive Lyra didn't know either.

LYRA

"Reeeeelaaaaax, Nix. I gave Keagan my word that I would be on my best behavior in front of the kids, so no sloppy hangovers to worry about. Especially since we're all piling into the one vehicle and I'm almost certain Tomi would troll me the entire way home." The last part came out as a grumble, but Lyra had to admit she was more than happy to be the aim of the minor pranks and teasing if it meant not seeing the kid as busted up as she was back when Skylar had left....

As the elevator opened up to he lobby, Lyra led her cousin out and did a quick survey. "Well, I don't see our target here, so we should be safe. The options are as follows: we park our delectable selves at the bar, enjoy some drinks and see what the night brings _or_ I can call us an uber and we can hit up a dance club so you can let loose all nice and proper...but we're _totally_ not inviting the Ginger Tatum because between the two of you, I'd never get the chance to reel one in."

PHOENIX

"Hey, it'd be all of us suffering if you have a hangover." She laughed as she looped her arms with the other. "I think that kid would simply troll you because that seemed like a thing that she does. I think she hasn't trolled me as much simply because she doesn't know me that well. That kid's polite."

Phoenix looked back at her cousin with narrowed eyes. The other knew Phoenix would never pass a dance club. "I don't even think Luke wants to come - you think she doesn't know what we might get up to now that we're off on our own?" She snorted as she pulled her cousin along. "Come on, to the dance club we go. Can't believe you suggested it like you didn't know that'd be the choice I'd make."

LYRA

Lyra feigned a look of offense. “I am _not_ that bad when I’m hungover. Experience has allowed me to develop my abilities. That kid just takes the folks that raised her a fair bit. No Rendall -not even the doctor- is above pranks, teasing, and trolling. The polite bit is all her mom though.”

It took an incredible amount of self-restraint on Lyra’s part to keep herself from making any comment whatsoever over Luke and her desire to come or not…

Instead she took the time to pille up the Uber app and make sure they’d have a ride lined up as soon as stepped out, because it was still much colder than she cared for. “What can I say, I like giving the illusion of choice every once in a while,” she teased as she allowed herself to be led away.

PHOENIX

"I think being raised by the Rendalls is most likely why that kid's all about pranks, teasing and trollings." She shook her head, "I remember how Avery was - well, still *is*."

It didn't take long before the car rolled around to pick them up. Needless to say, Phoenix was *excited* to get onto the dance floor. It's been a while since she last danced - and it'd be a nice de-stresser.

Once they got there, Nix was smiling at the atmosphere, "Not bad." She commented when she saw how the crowd was. "Ooooh! Ly, they're playing our song! It's like they know we're going to be here."

LYRA

“Oh! From the bits I’ve gotten from the different YouTube channels, Avery has a girlfriend now and a total simp, so the chaos there is down significantly,” Lyra noted. Granted, as far as simps went, she couldn’t say her own family didn’t have a few…

Lyra just grinned at her with a smug look before saying, “Teagan’s the DJ here. I shot him a text we’re on our way and as usual, my mans has delivered!” Taking her cousins hand, she led them directly to the middle of the dance floor. Drinks could wait for now.

PHOENIX

"Avery is a simp? I would not have guessed." She laughed, "But good for her. Someone can tolerate her long enough to date her. I think I'll like this girl." Phoenix couldn't imagine what it was like for Avery to be less chaotic than she normally was. Lyra and Avery had always been almost on par - her cousin's love for alcohol was probably one of the few things that was distinguishable.

Phoenix didn't even care if magic made it happen, the woman was already moving her body to the beat. The thing she loved most all her life was to dance. She hadn't been doing much since her job took up a lot of her time, but now that she was basically on vacation. She was getting back to it especially with Luke asking her to drop by the gym for a few classes. Of course, club dancing was way more different. "Move those hips, Lyra!"

LYRA

The woman barely caught what her cousin said in regards to her Rendall counterpart, having already given the crowd the once over and spotted a few potential candidates in case Nix got nabbed up. Which, honestly, happened oddly so often for a woman that rarely left the place accompanied…

At Nix’s call, she did just as told -even if truth be told she knew it was more of just hip _bones_ moving about- and was soon enough close enough to her cousin to manage a “If only we weren’t stuck sharing a room tonight, we’d certainly be having more fun!”

PHOENIX

Moving naturally to the beat, she reached out and took Lyra's hands in hers as they danced. While *technically* she could probably find some stranger to spend the night without problem, Phoenix was not going to suggest that. She expected that Keagan expected them to come out because.. why wouldn't they? The question was.. did they expect them to come back? No idea.

She had her arms on the other's shoulder as they swayed. "I don't know about that.. It looks like someone wants you to dance with them rather than with me." She subtly nodded in the direction of where she had seen the person eyeing them for the entirety of their time here.

LYRA

Lyra was by no means a stranger to the kind of attention two women dancing together managed to attract in a major city club. Even in the _modern_ ages. So when Nix pointed out a potential alternate dance partner, she was more than ready to roll her eyes at the prospect.

Granted, before she could subtly take a look, she felt the familiar buzz of her phone. Rolling her eyes at that instead, she kept moving in time with the music, even as she reached into her cleavage to retriever her phone. Glancing at the screen she put it back.

“Keagan would like to kindly remind us we should at least be back at the hotel for breakfast so as to avoid questions from the kids….one of which I’m almost certain is doing some ‘dancing’ of her own,” she laughed.

PHOENIX

She wasn't surprised that Keagan already sent them a message. "Okay, so they do expect us back." She murmured under her breath as her question was finally answered.

"Well, at least she didn't forbid us from drinking altogether." Since it was obvious her cousin didn't even want to know who was staring at them, Phoenix led her towarss the bar instead. If Lyra was allowed a couple drinks, they should get those drinks. "What are you feeling?" She wrinkled her nose, "Not shots please." She motioned for the bartender to come over before ordering herself a little cocktail.

LYRA

Lyra just smirked at the older woman and said, “You know, for someone who always makes it seem like ‘babysitting’ me is such a _chore_, you do somehow always end up enjoying yourself. Sometimes even more than me.”

Honestly, she couldn’t blame Nix. Even if she wasn’t out in the field like Keg, she was certain that being an agent was no easy feat and certainly one that didn’t allow for much in the way of fun…that was the _only_ explanation she could fathom for why her sister would even bother with Douche-win…_six_ different times.

She shuddered at the thought before letting herself be led to the bar. “I doubt they make them here quite as strong as the Bridgeport back home,” especially for a wolf, “But I’ll take a gin and tonic.” Once she had her drink she took a quick sip and then asked the million dollar question. “Are we aiming to leave this club the way we arrived, or with some additional company?”

PHOENIX

"It's not a chore. It's that every time you get yourself into trouble - I'm somehow blamed for not keeping a better eye on you." She snorted - of course, she wasn't upset about it. Over the years, it was somehow expected and both their parents knew it was just hard to keep Lyra from getting in trouble. "And you took me to go dancing, can't be upset about that. I think the goal is to get you home safe and everyone will be fine with that."

Phoenix threw a look at her cousin, knowing that the other was very aware that she - who took more of her mother's witch nature - could never keep up with the Calvetti's alcohol tolerance. "I'm.. down for whatever as long as we don't bring it back to the suite with us .... or not going home before the morning hits. I really don't want the kids to be asking anything during the ride home, Ly." She took a sip from her own glass, still moving to the music. It was obvious the girl was enjoying her time here. "Did you already have your eyes on someone? No wonder you didn't even spared a look at the person I pointed out earlier. Are you ditching me?" She laughed.

LYRA

Lyra simply shrugged and gave her cousin the best impression she could muster of a puppy dog -which after having been an actual _puppy_ once upon a time was quite effective- and said, “It’s not _my_ fault they assume as the younger cousin I’m the more innocent one.” She couldn’t hold the look for long though, as the idea was ridiculous even to her, and soon she dissolved into a fit of giggles. “If I’m trying to lure a lioness, I’m not going to use a carrot stick am I?“ she asked with a smirk.

The smug smile that spread over her face at her cousin’s words was only matched by mischief glinting in her eyes. “If anyone were to hear Phoenix Calvetti speak in such a way, they may even say I’ve _corrupted_ you,” she teased. At the question of having someone in mind, she took another sip of her drink before smirking and shaking her head. “No, no, not exactly. _But_, I do know I’ll always have an option anytime I’m in town,” she said, indicating the DJ booth with her eyes. “Besides, I would never ditch you. Either we both leave to have a good time or we both leave to make it back to the hotel in time.”

PHOENIX

At those puppy eyes, Nix rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time her cousin pulled those eyes on her. Granted, everyone in the family had pretty effected puppy eyes but Nix would never admit to that. That would be pinned as her weakness and that was dangerous within the family. "Like I said." She sighed, "I get shit because of you. Love you though."

The agent could only let out a snort, "You say that *now*. Don't make me come after you later when I find out that you actually ditched me for the night. You can have your fun, but I will definitely get you back before the night ends - I am not dealing with angry Keg alone. How are you two so different? Actually, how are all three of you so different?"

Just as they were discussing whether or not they were going to have company, Phoenix felt someone tap her shoulder. It took her everything not to tense because honestly, tapping her on the shoulder was not a smart idea. "...Hi?" She frowned as she placed herself between Lyra and them.

MATHESON

Math had agreed to take the weekend off and catch his cousin-in-law's last gig, having understood from his cousin that it was the last stop in spur-of-the-moment, impromptu mini-tour of sorts. He figured what the hell right. He could use the excuse to make the drive down to Philly, and drag his newest work buddy, Rikke, right along. The way Erin described everything, it would probably be something small...he _vastly_ underestimated the ability of the band's fanbase to mobilize.

Luckily, Erin was able to get him and Rikke in backstage. They got to double up as the band's onsite medical personnel after the taller woman offered their services. 'Rather be safe than sorry' she'd said, and the Chief Deputy agreed. He wasn't planning on fighting anyone before that, and one look at the woman made sure he certainly wasn't going to fight whatever they said _now_.

All in all thought, it had been an incredible experience. The band was fantastic, and he'd honestly not seen Erin look so proud and just genuinely happy since before her mum's passed, he honestly couldn't have asked for more. Even so, Luke had gotten the pair of EMTs booked at the same hotel, even if it was a different floor due it being last minute, so Maths now had some spending cash. Which is how the pair wound up at this dance club.

Granted, Rikke had been glued to the bar and he had been on his way to once again try and entice her to the dance floor when he thought he spotted some familiar faces. Granted the way the shorter woman reacted had him second-guessing himself as her sudden stance made him jump back and only stop short of falling on his ass when he collided with his, rather solid, para-buddy. "Sorry! Sorry!" He held up his hands. "I'm Maths. Uh, Matheson. Russell! Matheson Russell, Erin's cousin! I mean no harm!"

LYRA

Knowing that whatever the problem was, her cousin could easily handle it, Lyra just focused on her drink and looking out to the crowd to see what potential was out there. Honestly, she'd be fine just spending the night with Nix but options are nice.

However, what she didn't expect was the man to be so startled by Phoenix that he'd stumble back. Peering over her cousin's shoulder and listening to his introduction, Lyra leaned forward and threw her free arm around Phoenix's shoulder, clutching onto the other shoulder. "Oh! You're Erin's cousin! Right, the two people would came backstage tonight? As the EMT - Fawkes, he's basically family!" She hopped off her stool to stand next to Phoenix would visibly relaxed after realising who the man was.

"Oh wow." Her eyes went over to his friend, "You.. are also a Titan - Does our family just attract all the giants in the world?" She smiled, "Hi! I'm Lyra, and this little lady is Phoenix." As if she wasn't only an inch shorter than her cousin. "See, I'm glad to see that we're easily the fun members of the family. The rest of them are cooped up in their rooms - and they want us back before the morning? Lame."

RIKKE

The paladin could honestly swear this man forgot his supernatural origins at the most inopportune times. Clasping a hand onto each of his arms, she pinned them to his sides and easily righted him back on his feet when he fell back on her. Offering the brunette an apologetic look she simply said, “He’s harmless…mostly. Please don’t trigger his defense mechanism though, it’s a bit on the potentially disastrous side. Akin to your friend here.” She was vague due to their public setting, but could sense the other duo’s magic and figured the woman had caught on to her meaning.

“Rikke,” she replied at the introductions. Clasping a hand on the man’s shoulder she added, “And as mentioned, this is Matheson. Otherwise known as the reason _I’m_ not cooped up in _my_ room…being _lame_.”

PHOENIX

It wasn't all that surprising that Rikke warned them of the consequences for spooking him. After all, she figured there was a chance that Matheson was also magical since Erin was. "Hmm. Sorry, it's just never wise to approach a Calvetti from behind." The only exception might be JJ but they didn't need to know that.

She laughed, "Please, Lyra here is my reason for being out mostly. However, she said there was a dance floor so here I am." She leaned into her cousin. "Do you dance?" She asked, looking at both expectantly.

MATHESON

Maths just nodded in response, it taking him another second to find his voice again. “Yeah, I’m starting to realize that. Deputy Benson almost took my head off at the venue when I did the same to her. I thought it might just be a cop thing, but I’m beginning to see it’s genetic. Luckily my cousin’s got some tricks up her sleeve should she sneak up on wee Sky,” he said with a, mostly nervous, laugh.

He offered Lyra a quick high-five in response to being considered the fun ones, and already felt more at ease around the pair. Phoenix’s question made him make a playful face as he said, “Well, it depends on what you define as dancing. I have two left feet, but I still use them. If you’re looking for a _competent_ dancer, however, I may not be your man.” He then glanced up at Rikke with and said, “Oh! Rikes! You can use your doodly.” He proceeded to mime as if he were using a camera. “You know! Your thing!”

PHOENIX

Phoenix only smiled, letting the man think it was only a genetics thing. "Yes, well. She is in charge of security so.." She shrugged before letting out a light chuckle at the thought of Erin sneaking up on Sky. "Knowing my niece, I don't think your cousin needed any tricks other than sporting a pretty smile at her." Her niece was such a simp for the Russell girl, a trait she had no idea where it came from because that was surely neither Ricky nor Keagan.

Despite being very confused to what Matheson was on about, she turned her attention to Rikke. "What is a... doodly? Is he saying that you know how to dance?" She could not say that anyone ever called knowing how to dance.. doodly... "Since we're lamer of the two - apparently." She shot a look at her cousin and looking back at Rikke "Care to join me on the dance floor?"

RIKKE

The familiarity that was already budding between the other three, and the ease with which they mentioned their mutual relations and spoke about them, only seemed to highlight how much better her time would be used if she were still in Fallcrest. Rikke wouldn't lie, she _had_ enjoyed the show, but it was time she could've been using to try and find her charge. Though now that she was thought about it, mostly in a bid to ignore her partner, she had felt _something_ while with the others. It wasn't much, and she couldn't quite place it if asked, but it felt like she was on the right track for the first time since she awoke in present day...

Rikke was pulled from her thoughts at Matheson calling her and making his stupid 'secret' sign for her powers. At the woman's question she just said, "It's his weird way of referring to a _talent_ I have, which I can elaborate on at a later time and different place." Her brows furrowed at the cheeky look that crossed the younger woman's face at her words and she quickly added, "A Fallcrest-type _talent_. And as for the dancing," Rikke took a moment to scan the crowd, though she pretty much had been since they arrived anyway, "I know _now_..."

The paladin hadn't really been counting on this to evening to somehow lead to her actually having to dance, but her nature was still too archaic and courteous to not indulge the woman's invitation - especially considering she was practically vibrating at the idea. "Lead the way."

PHOENIX

Phoenix did well to not say a word about whatever 'talent' the taller woman was referring to. However, it did confused her when Rikke looked out to the crowd, only to say that she knew how to dance now... Did that mean she didn't know before? Or rather, it was because club dancing didn't look all that complicated - because it truly wasn't.

With a whole new excitement that she found someone who was willing to dance with her, she left her drink with Lyra as she led the other to the dance floor. So much for keeping an eye on Lyra.

Once they were there, she turned around - looking up at the other. God, this really reminded her of every conversation she had with Luke where she had to constantly look up. The young half-witch started moving to the beat, urging the other to join her.

RIKKE

To say she was grateful that Phoenix hadn't shown her fiery streak at the possible implications of Rikke's words that her cousin had pointed out in her own way, would be an understatement. She, ironically, hated confrontation. A remanent of having lived in many other past times, she supposed, that would follow her forever...

Luckily the prospect of the dance was enough to simply have the brunette lead her out to the dance floor and as soon as the blonde was able to get a sense of the [song] (https://youtu.be/3GL59bTciMY) it was simple enough for her brain to start doing the rest. Of course, after only a few seconds it was obvious her brain had little work to do as the shorter woman was more than okay in taking the lead and Rikke was more than happy to just follow along.

LYRA

"And she said that I was going to ditch her, HAH." She laughed as she moved her focus away from her cousin and Rikke. She didn't know much about the EMT but her cousin looked like she was having fun and that's all that really mattered. She was glad she got her to loosen up. Now the goal was to get Keg to loosen up. "You did not say your friend was that good at dancing. She's keeping up with Fawkes and there's not many people in town who can."

She chuckled as she now worked on her cousin's drink before ordering a new one. "Did you want anything?" She asked out of courtesy. "Also, I was asking my cousin whether we'll have company leaving this place. We definitely did not think we'd run into you guys so I guess it counts right?" She laughed, "So how's your night been? Because my night..Needs more drinks but I'm not allowed."

MATHESON

He chuckled and said, “You’ll find that she has a knack for being creepily good at a lot of things. I would find it annoying, but I know it’s not something she can entirely help, she’s not a braggart about it, and between you and me, it’s probably the reason we have such a great survival rate.” Matheson was almost certain there had also been a few occasions in which the paladin had probably used her healing but, all for the sake of keeping their patients alive. “You don’t really meet many people like that,” he said with a small shrug.

Matheson shook his head and said, “Considering this conversation started with me almost landing on the dance floor arse-first, I think it’d be wise to take a breather.” A dubious look, and a hint of mischief took over as she mentioned the women’s plans for company. “Well you’re certainly making the case for you two being the fun ones in the bunch. I _personally_ would have no issue with some company on the way out, but Rikes is, uh, a bit more reserved.” Maths beamed at her and said, “Between the concert and the club, this is easily one of the best nights I’ve had since landing from Scotland. Oh, if you’re up for it we can dance ourselves then. I’m not great, but I’m good for a laugh.”

LYRA

"Is that just a thing with super tall people? To be good at everything? Luke, who is also very tall, is good at everything. You can even ask the kids, like what hasn't she done for my pipsqueak of a niche? Is that why I'm short? I literally can't do half the things she does." She complained although her tone suggested that she was far from being upset over her lack of height. "But hey! You're both saving lives, that's all it matters! Good on y'all!"

Lyra made a face at the reasoning. "Excuse me, I think that was only because you approached a Calvetti from behind." However, there was a very good chance that the results may have differed if he approached Lyra instead. She was literally the only one besides JJ who didn't know how to properly fight. The shorter woman gave an innocent shrug, sipping away on her drink. "At least she's out here. Do I have to remind you that my sister, and my best friend - and your cousin and the kids are all staying in right now?" She pointed out, before finally putti~g her empty glass down. "Alright, my fave Scotsman, prepared to be seduced by my amazing dance skills."

MATHESON

His eyes widened as if he’s been told the earth _wasn’t_ flat for the first time. “Well I’ll be damned, it never occurred to me before but, now I think about it you’re absolutely right!” He laughed. For all the time he’d spent binging the YouTube content -at his cousin’s request- with Rikke literally at his side, it was just now clicking how similar those two were. “I can personally attest to it not relating to height though. I was given a set of skills that I am proficient at and the universe said ‘That’s it mate. No more’ though I can’t complain too much.”

Matheson just raised a curious brow as he asked, “Are you saying I should never approach _any_ Calvetti from behind?” The implication was there, but Lyra seemed to fall well outside of the mold already. It couldn’t hurt to ask, right? “To be fair, they did all technically work tonight. The band performed, your sister worked security, and Erin got hair and makeup duty. If anything I’m surprised their personal photographer is out and about. What stamina must you have for such a petite figure.” At the proclamation he followed her out to the dance floor, “You’re on, you wily yank.”

LYRA

"I'm telling you, Merida! I'm onto something here. Both tall as mountains, both be good at nearly everything they do? This cannot be a coincidence - if not height related like you said, but it's definitely something." She smacked the guy in the arm, "What." Smack. "Is." Smack. "Their." Smack. "SECRET?!" Smack. Smack. Smack. "I don't know what I'm more mad about - the fact that they're both bamboo trees, or that they're good at everything. Maybe it's the fact that they're good at everything because I love my size. I'm pocket size. it's cute. The universe really said that we're too cute as we are that they couldn't bless us with more skills."

Lyra playfully narrowed her eyes. "Are you asking me if you want to try sneaking up on me? Just because they didn't bite your head off, doesn't mean I won't. I'm just as lethal. Hi-yah!" Insert faux fighting pose. If it really came to it, Lyra would definitely not behave the way her family would but she was not willing to admit that in case Matheson decided to try it out.

The werewolf gave a shrug, "I like to think that they're just boring. The night is still young, Mattie! And you and I are going to enjoy it. They're definitely enjoying it so why can't we?" She nodded towards to the other two as she went through the crowd with him behind her until she found a suitable spot.

MATHESON

His eyes widened and he beamed at her when she called him Merida. "I've already got the accent, the curls, and the desire to rather marry myself than anyone else at the moment. You reckon I could pull of being a ginger? But like a proper one, like wee Sky and not-so-wee Luke?" Even as he asked this, he was already considering asking Erin to dye his hair. So needless to say, he was caught off guard when the punches came and immediately started flinching before it clicked that he wasn't really feeling much of it and he just stood there. He then laughed at her assessment and said, "Well ye are incredibly cute, I'll give you that, but from what I've witnessed tonight, the other wee lasses certainly seem to have been granted a few other talents." Math grinned before nodding over to where Lyra's cousin was clearly taking full advantage of Rikke's ability to pick up on things fast.

He gave a small shrug and said, "I think I was more so curious as to whether all Calvetti women were solidly opposed to being approached from behind, regardless of _circumstances_...I mean, it would certainly restrict dancing a bit, would it not?" A chuckle came at her attempt at a fighting pose. "Yeah, cute and pocket sized certainly seems to describe you well enough, Lyra Calvetti. Emphasis on the _cute_."

Maths put up zero resistance as he was lead into the throng of people already having a good time, and was more than happy to find his dance partner was up for keeping with his particular _style_ of dance. "Yeah!" he called out over the music. "What's the point of form when you can just have fun instead!"

LYRA

"Hell yea you can be a ginger! You can be whatever you choose to be! You just gotta be you, and nobody else!" Lyra started to sing out the last line, pointing at the man as she dance with her 'bad-ass' moves. As if Lyra's confidence and ego wasn't already up there in the clouds - nothing could possibly bring her down, this cousin of Erin's was definitely climbing the charts of being her next best friend. Lyra grinned, "Damn right I am! But that's what I'm sayingggg. As if they didn't already have it all, they got blessed to be modern day Renaissance women?"

She looked over to Phoenix ... It looked like someone was trying to either dance with her or challenge her to a dance battle, neither of which will turn out great for them. "Why would you want to approach unannounced on anyone? If you wanted to dance with Phoenix, you could have just walked up to her - not surprise her." She smiled, "I swear we're nice - I mean, my fave throuple is constantly cuddling with my peachick niece in the center and she's half a Calvetti - maybe that's why."

"Yeaaaaa Meridaaaa, show them your moves! Uh! uh!" She may not be as great of a dancer as Luke or Phoenix but that did not discourage her in any way as she moved about with her new dance partner.

MATHESON

"It wasn't my intention to accost 'er! I'm a tactile guy, it's actually a benefit in my line of work, but apparently I need to learn to reel it in when off the clock. Especially around you ladies," he said with a chuckle. At the mention of the throuple he just smiled and said, "Those three have become inseparable it seems. I think Erin was more than aware that the bond between Sky and Tomi was one that would never be broken, so she just to dubbing her sister-wife and moving on along. My aunts did some great work on that kid."

The encouragement was nothing if not welcome. He certainly wasn't getting anything remotely resembling this from _anyone_ back at the station so he was lapping it up. "Come on now Pocket Powerhouse, give 'em a real show!"

LYRA

“Hey, I’m just giving you a very fair warning that unless you want to know if you have a glass jaw, don’t sneak up on a Calvetti.” She wiggled her brows. It honestly wouldn’t be the first time it happened, or maybe it was just Keg hitting people harder than she should that it felt like everyone had glass jaws. “They are a very interesting trio and it makes sense to them so who are we to judge? As long as that pipsqueak is happy, no one in this family will say anything about it - well, we’ll say something if someone’s against it but I’m pretty sure Luke would have taken care of that before it even reaches the kid’s ear - or worse, her mom’s ear. No one expects to live if they decided to make my niche’s life miserable.”

With the prompt, Lyra turned it up. She could hear Phoenix groan with embarrassment but she did not care. Someone was willing to wild it out with her and she was going to make most of it.

RIKKE

To say it had been a while since she'd had these many endorphins rushing through her bloodstream in a situation that wasn't an imminent emergency with lives on the line, would be a massive understatement. Even her workouts at the Lodge didn't quite hit the same, but it was oddly refreshing, so she might be complaining to the bear the whole ride back...at least not _as much_.

It was as they took a small break from their own dancing that she caught sight of said bear making his way onto the dance floor led by the younger woman, and in his usual fashion no less. Only a minute into their 'show' and a groan from beside her let Rikke know that at least she wasn't the only one with second-hand embarrassment right now.

"At least they're enjoying themselves no? I mean, I might be more inclined to want to put a stop to it, but Maths machinations did manage to drag me away from the bar and I, uh, can only speak for myself, but can't say it was a _bad_ move."

PHOENIX

She didn't know how long the two of them had been dancing but she enjoyed every minute of it. The smile of hers was basically radiating by the time they agreed to take a small breather. However, that smile dropped when she spotted her cousin going through the crowd with Matheson. "Oh no.." She muttered under her breath as she continued to watch them.

And as she expected, Lyra busted out her moves. The half-witch let out a loud groan that she was sure Lyra would have caught even with the loud music blaring through the speakers. It wasn't as if Lyra didn't know how to dance either - both Luke AND Phoenix have taught her here and then over the years but Lyra just enjoyed goofing around and there was nothing wrong with that. Oh, but the second hand embarrassment she constantly felt every time.

The shorter of the two women let out a sigh, "I suppose that's all it matters." She snorted, "He also manage to draw Lyra away from the bar too so he's two for two."

RIKKE

She nodded and said, "I'm slowly but surely starting to get the sense that there's something about the Russells that seems to make them very affable to the women in your family." Thinking back to how they even met she chuckled and said, "Well, _almost_ all the women in your family. But if your concern was keeping Lyra away from the bar and entertained, I think he's got your back on that one. Seem to have gotten on like a house on fire, those two."

Taking one last glance and not being sure she'd be able to keep from physically cringing, she glanced back over to Phoenix and said, "Would you like some water? Maybe replenish a bit of what you've left on the dance floor."

+Cut to the hotel

SKYLAR

The wolf came out of the bathroom in her pjs and a smile that wasn't subtle at all. If she wasn't discreet earlier, she sure wasn't now either. Skylar basically skipped over to where Tomi was and launched herself on top of her. "Hi." She greeted before moving around until she could lay her head onto the brunette's lap.

She stretched out her arms and legs across the bed. "Babeee, are you done yet?" She called out, "Come join us." Not like they were really doing anything, but the girl wanted more cuddles.

TOMI

Tomi felt the shift of the mattress more than she heard the greeting -which thank the universe, because of the look on her best friend’s face was anything to do by, it means her headphones had been gloriously effective. She slipped the headphones down around her neck as Skylar made herself comfortable, and called out, “Erin! Please hurry! I don’t know, now do I think I _need_ to know, what magic you pulled off in there, but I’m terrified of dealing with the aftermath alone.” It was all snark, of course…mostly.

SKYLAR

She glanced up towards the door to see that it was still closed and looked back at her friend, "What aftermath?" She scoffed as she flipped around so she can wrapped her friend's waist in a hug. "But yes.. hurry so you can come out already anddddd be hereeeeee." She snorted as she peeked out so she can see when her girlfriend will come out of there.

ERIN

Erin made it out of the bathroom, still drying her hair with a towel and a smirk immediately came over features as she caught site of the unimpressed look on Tomi’s face.

Dropping the towel on a chair as she walked over and sat on the corner of the bed, she looked at Sky and said, “Princess, I think if there’s anyone that would recognize the look on your face right now and call know to call ‘bullshit’ it would _probably_ be my literal sister wife….and anyone with the unfortunate circumstance of having super hearing and no headphones…”

SKYLAR

Sky frowned as she loosened her grip so she could sit up again. "Its not like she doesnt know what we were up to already. Even Aunt Luke knew what we had to." She mumbled, "....Im just glad that mom didnt come in...and that Aunt Lyra isn't here." It honestly was worse if Aunt Lyra heard it over her mom hearing it.

"But still, no after math... Im just in a good mood." She snorted, finding it funny even when she said it.

TOMI

“I was able to text Sean a playlist to listen to, and that lovely bean didn’t even question it. Hope your mom had something to keep her busy otherwise …. breakfast will be fun,” Tomi remarked as Skylar continued to just do her best MJ impression by failing to be still while on her lap.

“Good mood. Great mood. I don’t care, just be still woman! I bruise easily. Erin help meh!”

SKYLAR

"See, that also meant that Ryllie was listening to it too." Whether it was by choice or not, she had a feeling the shifter listened to it. "Mom... Is...going to be fine....." She was not as confident. "Maybe I'll skip breakfast....." She groaned just thinking about it. "Maybe she wont say anything about it..."

The wolf whined as she laid back down. "Please, you're not a marshmallow. You cant bruise from this." She reached out and tangled her fingers with Erin's.

ERIN

Erin had the sense to at least look somewhat bashful about the situation. If nothing else, the knowledge that her girlfriend’s mother might have some choice words for her was enough for the witch to genuinely blush.

“I think skipping breakfast would just make it worse. Knowing your aunt Lyra, she’d burst in here without any announcement whatsoever and cause a scene.” As she spoke, Erin did her best to re-situate herself to try and help spare Tomi becoming a human stress ball for the ‘puppy’.

+Cut to other room

KEAGAN

Ever since she settled back in Fallcrest, she had never appreciated so much that she could take a simple shower and a night's rest without worrying too much. Coming out with a towel drying her hair, Keagan walked out, only to find no one was out in the lobby and so she pivoted and made her way to Luke's.

While she didn't want push Luke into talkin if wasn't up for it, Keagan still had a few things to get off her chest. Was that too selfish of her? Stepping up to the door, she gave a quiet knock. "Hey."

LUKE

As much fun as she'd had onstage during time they were performing, the aftermath of so much running around and physicality under hot stage lights having been immediately dried onto her skin by the bitter cold air of late November in Philly? Not pleasant. So the thought of a shower was genuinely enticing when she'd mentioned it.

Unfortunately, it turned out that as nice as it felt to have the water wash away the grimy feel of evening, the disconnection from everything else that often came with a shower and the thoughts it brought along to fill the void? _Also_, not pleasant. Luke left the shower with the sole purpose of trying to hang on to the last vestiges of the rapturous feeling this past week had afforded her.

Considering what she could practically read as the intent on her niece's face, knowing Sean and Amaryllis would be keeping to themselves -hopefully with some loud movie playing in the background....- and that the most rambunctious member of their group was out and being watched carefully, Luke really hadn't expected to have anyone come looking for her. She figured she'd have to find her own means of distractions, and had just reached for her guitar and wireless headphones when she heard the light knock.

"Oh, hey yourself," she greeted, before her expression turned to one of concern. "Is everything alright?"

KEAGAN

Although she had the intention to speak with Luke, Keagan hadn't even thought about how she was going to start or even where to begin. Even as she stood there, her mind drew a blank - only snapping out of it when Luke opened the door. "Yeah! Yeah, everything's fine." Her hand clutched onto the towel that was now around her neck as she leaned against the door frame.

"Do you have a moment?" She asked. "It's.. just that we didn't really have had time - with the tour and all." She paused, "And I know it's probably not fair to you that I'm basically setting out when or when not to talk.." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

LUKE

It was pretty obvious from the moment she opened the door that Keagan had pretty much made her way here directly following her own shower, which honestly kind of undermined her efforts to pacify Luke by saying things were fine because...with this kind of urgency -there was still a towel around her neck- were they _really_?

"Yeah, of course. Come in," she said, stepping aside to the let the older woman through. Guitar completely forgotten by this point, she closed the door behind Keagan but had little time to even move away from it when the woman was already speaking,

She let out a small chuckle and said, "Not gonna lie, I think I only followed like half of that." Luke gestured for her to take a seat on the edge of the bed, while she herself took a seat on the carpet, legs crossed as she glanced up at hazel eyes. "For the record, I can't think of anything you owe me an apology for, but I am all ears if you'd like to take some time and maybe use just a _few_ more words... My brain is still a bit rattled from all the jumping around earlier," she joked.

KEAGAN

The deputy took a seat on the edge of the bed, and was not surprised when the other woman decided to take the floor. It seemed that Skylar took a *lot* after Luke and it just made it even more endearing but this really wasn't the time to think about that. "You know you could also sit up here." She rest her hand on the spot next to her. "Sky and your affinity to the floor of all places."

Her smile flatted into a thin line. "I'm not sure where to start." She was not one to fidget, especially when such a tell could easily be a hindrance in her line of work but regardless, she clasped her hands together. "I feel like I owe you *many* apologies since a long time ago."

Keagan moved off the bed and settled on the carpet in front of her friend. "I guess I should start with apologizing.. for having you raise Sky ..pretty much all on your own. You've done such a good - such an amazing job with her. Just watching the two of you during this entire trip - and all that you've done for her over the years has said so much. It was unfair of me to push all the responsibility to you when you had your own life. I should've made it work - even if it's to at least share the load." Even now, Luke was always thinking about Skylar first. Keagan on the other hand, felt that she was severely lacking as a mother.

LUKE

"I could, but I find it's easier to hold a conversation when you're face-to-face over side-by-side," Luke replied, though honestly seeking the bit of distance between them as she had no idea where this conversation may or may not go. Distance was always her best defense. Physically _and_ metaphorically... "Oh come on, it's not that bad. Besides, it's a nice change for me to be the one to have crane my neck to make eye contact...even if not by that much," she teased.

All mirth was gone as soon as Keagan spoke again. It was clear that the woman had something she needed to say, and joking around wasn't really going to make it any easier. Which, was completely on-brand and Luke was more than okay with just keeping quiet. Kegan was like a non-newtonian fluid when it came to communication: if you apply any kind of direct force, you get a rigid solid; if you want it to flow, you just have to leave it be....and flow it did.

It took everything in Luke to keep her composure. She had already gone into this conversation with not the best emotional stability and hearing Keagan say these things...She immediately focused on her best friend, and reached out to take the woman's hands her own. "Hey, you don't _ever_ have to apologize for that. If anything, I'll be spending the rest of my life in your debt for not giving me the privilege to be there for her but for placing your trust in me-" She stopped, and swallowed as she worked through the lump that formed in her throat. "You _entrusted_ me to be around that kid at a point in time when I wouldn't have even trusted myself with a hard-boiled chicken egg. And the fact you did is honestly the only reason I'm here to even have this conversation right now." Luke let out a shaky sigh, still managing to keep her eyes clear, and gave the woman's hands a squeeze. "As for a having my own life? I'd choose this, and being Sky's guardian, and your best mate over _anything_. Any day.....'sides, we can share the load _now_ right?"

KEAGAN

Keagan smiled, nodding her head, "As reckless as you were.. *are*." She corrected with a chuckled, "You've always been dependable. At least I've always thought so. I wouldn't have handed my kid to just anyone. Like as much as I love my family.. and the Rendalls." Even without saying anything, her best friend just seemed to always know what to do without even a prompt. It made her smile a bit wider to hear that Luke would choose this life over anything. Perhaps now that she was staying in town permanently, she'd feel less guilty. Just maybe. "Yeah.. I *hope* we can share because you've done so much that there's barely anything for me to do." She chuckled softly before letting it die as the thought of moving onto the next thing she was apologetic for. Keagan wasn't so oblivious not to know that she'll say next would ruin the moment they were having.

"So, I know I don't really talk about my time away and it's not just because I'm literally not allowed to disclose anything from work." She sighed as her shoulders sagged, "You weren't wrong though.. As fulfilling as it to take down the evil in the world.. Being out there nearly off the grid and when no one knows who you are is pretty isolating." Especially when she couldn't call home whenever she wanted. "The thing is, um, I wasn't supposed to be gone for so long. Not intentionally anyways." Keagan had told everyone on her team to keep it a secret when it happened because she didn't want anyone to worry - and honestly, she was almost surprised that Hendrix didn't spill that when he was just running his mouth.

KEAGAN

"Saying that the mission didn't go as planned was a bit of an understatement, but it did put me out of commission.. for a long while." She might be downplaying it a bit especially when it had been one of the reasons why she decided to move here permanently whether or not she was going to be the new Chief Deputy. "I may have gotten injured...? Like, they should have pulled me off the case .. kind of injured." She freed one of her hands so she could pulled down her collar enough to show a grotesque scar - in the shape of a bullet - that sat between her shoulder and collar bone.

LUKE

Luke chuckled along with her at the ‘correction’ and said, “I think we can both agree that regardless of my current level of recklessness, it is a _vast_ improvement upon what my high school self would’ve likely done. Which, oddly enough, has helped in a lot of ways when trying to get a point across to a teenager. I spared her the details that no kid should know, but she understands that when I warn her against something, it’s usually because I know what I’m talking about…unfortunately.” She couldn’t help but cringe slightly at the memory of who she’d been…The embarrassment gave way to a scoff and smile as she said, “I’m sorry, have you met your daughter? Not only will there _always_ be something to do, but she loves you so much that getting to have you do even the simplest of things is bound to send her over the moon. Just getting to see you every evening has already been enough to make smile like I’ve never seen before.”

Years could come and go, but if there was one thing Luke would always be sure about, it was her ability to read the woman in front of her. She may not always be able to decipher the pieces of her that were guardedly written in code, but she’d be able to see they were there, and would always wait patiently for them to be transcribed. So as the chuckle on Keagan’s lips faded, Luke remained quiet, hands still holding her friends. A part of her already knew that whatever was to come, was very likely _not_ going to be something she liked, but her priority from the moment she had opened the door to her hotel room had been to put Keagan at ease.

And that’s what she was going to focus on. It’s what she _had_ to focus on. Because if the reticent woman felt safe and assured enough to be open with her, Luke was going to ensure that her best friend was able to get what she needed to off her chest.

LUKE

Even if with every passing word, Luke felt a familiar pit in her stomach grow bigger, and bigger, and bigger until it was practically a chasm. She would deal with all of that later. _On her own…_

For now, she kept her features soft and full of understanding as she simply reached her left hand up to gently place over the scar she was being shown. As she felt it beneath her fingers, the reality of it sinking in, it was almost too much for her to take in on top of everything else, _but_ the hand still held in her right one reminded her that this wasn’t about her. It was about Keagan.

“You never should have had to feel that this was something you needed to keep to yourself,” she began gently, still tenderly running her fingers over the raised tissue. “I do understand _why_ you felt that way, and as infuriating as the idea is, it would exceedingly hypocritical of me to even consider the idea of holding it against you.” Luke took her left hand and brought it up to gently cup her friend’s face as she said, “I do _hope_, that one day you’ll see that raising an awesome kid isn’t the only things we can share though.”

KEAGAN

Without fail, Luke was always the one who got Keagan speaking out her thoughts. Most of them anyways. There were still a few secrets she was too scared to reveal to anyone but to keep it from the two people who meant the world to her? The guilt only grew as time passed.

Her breath hitched as she felt Luke's fingers brush against her skin. Her eyes stayed on Luke's reaction as she kept herself so still - as if the slightest movement would break this moment. How long has it been since she connected with someone like this? Sure, it wasn't the first time someone saw her scar, but it was never like this. Keagan was also getting more worried the longer Luke quietly processed this. It wasn't her intention to have her friend disappear into her own thoughts and was not fretting internally whether she made a mistake or not.

However, that worry was resolved when Luke finally spoke again. "Didn't want to scare Sky if I came home with a bullet wound. That kid would've never let me go if she knew. It's really selfishness on my part." Her next words were almost a whisper as she leaned into the hand, "I really did sacrifice too much.." She mumbled. As much of an asshole Hendrix was, some of his words did ring true even though it wasn't exactly what *she* meant. "I shouldn't have chosen my job over my daughter.. over you." It was far too late to be regretting over her decision but at the same time, she didn't because she did a lot of good in the world. It just disheartening to see how grown her daughter was in a blink of an eye. "Well, this trip was a good memory for us to share. You've got quite the fanbase, Lucas Benson."

LUKE

“You should give her more credit,” Luke said with a small chuckle. “It’s true that she wouldn’t have _wanted_ you let you go,” _I wouldn’t have wanted to either…_ “But she understands that being able to do what we have a passion for is a privilege that not many people get and if you had made it clear you were going back because you wanted to, she wouldn’t have stood in your way.”

Luke gently rubbed the pad of her thumb over the swell of Keagan’s cheekbone as her friend leaned into the touch, and once again gave a light laugh. “It may look like you chose your job over Skylar in hindsight, and ultimately the level of truth in that is something only you would know, _but_ if there’s one thing _I_ can tell you, it’s that you weren’t choosing the job over your child in the moment. You were choosing the job _because_ of her. I could see it in your eyes, and it was written clear as day on your face every time you had to say good-bye: it tore you apart each and every time, but you truly felt that it was the best way of keeping her _safe_.”

She reached out and tucked a loose strand of unruly, air-dried hair behind the older woman’s ear. “It’s perfectly normal to look back on the past and see all of the things we could’ve done differently, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really change anything. And even if it did, do we really risk the present we’ve been given? Skylar may have loved to have her mother with her everyday in the past, but I would bet my left brain lobe she wouldn’t trade anything for the time she’s gotten to spend with you in just this past week alone.” She outright laughed at the mention of her fanbase, and said, “See, the _now_ is a _gift_ and that is why it’s called the _present_. We should enjoy it…within reason…I may need to establish parameters for Lyra and the socials.” Had she glossed over Keagan’s mention of choosing her career over her? Absolutely. She’d made her peace with that a long time ago.

KEAGAN

Just thinking about how she spent so many years away from home, and it really hit her all at once that Skylar was a college kid now while living her dream with her family and friends. Keagan smiled with a tinge of sadness in it. “She shouldn’t need to even feel like that in the first place.”

She was not one to cry that easily - not even when she was a child. Yet the topic of Skylar, and how Luke saw this as just had tugged on so many heartstrings. Furiously blinking away any hint of tears that may or may not have surfaced, Keagan looked away briefly to get a hold of herself. "..Yeah." Her voice choked, "Maybe that's it." There was definitely some truth in that. Less bad guys in the world, the safer her kid was. But was that really the case? She hated leaving every time and the devastated look on Sky’s face didn’t make it any easier. The girl might try to not look like, but it was obvious to everyone just how upset she really was each time they had to part ways.

Keagan looked back at her friend, and let out a soft chuckle. “Your left brain lobe? That’s.. oddly specific. But.. you’re right. As always.” She smiled. All the time she spent with Skylar almost made it feel like her sacrifice was worth it. Even she wouldn’t trade the time spent all of this week for anything else. There will always be that pang in her heart, knowing that she’ll never get time back so all she could do was move forward and focus on family. “You should’ve seen this coming when you gave her the credentials. When had she ever behaved?”

LUKE

Luke gave her a sympathetic look and said, "There are _a lot_ of things on this bitch of an earth that so very many people should _never_ have the need to feel or experience, and as much as we instinctively look at that kid and want to make sure none of those things ever touch her life, the reality is that _feeling_ is part of the human experience. You can't get a strongass diamond without first letting nature take its course and place all sorts of pressure on a fragile piece of coal." She let out a small laugh and added, "Skylar may not always show it, but she's a lot more emotionally intelligent than you might think, and she has the advantage of having one hell of a support system that would never just let her handle something she can't carry on her own. _I_ would never let her carry such a weight on her own."

LUKE

The redhead saw the tears welling up even before she heard the crack in her friend's voice, and the second she turned away, her hands were gently at either side of the woman's face to coax her back to look at her. "Whoa, hey. It's perfectly fine if you'd much rather not cry right now, that's entirely your prerogative, Cal," she began, a thumb wiping at an errant tear, "But you do know you don't have to _hide_ it, right? I've seen you cry before -hell I've _made_ you cry before- and seeing you do so has never once changed my opinion of you. It certainly won't start to now. Whether you want to let loose and feel your feels or you'd rather hold off and feel them on your own terms, as long as you allow yourself to _feel_, it makes no difference to me. I just don't want to feel like I've created a space where you feel the need to _hide_ the fact you feel....if any of that made sense...I'm gonna stop talking now."

The chuckle was enough to ease her back a bit, and she simply shrugged. "Well, the right-side affects creativity, imagination, face-recognition, and memories. I'd rather not know math, but still know you," she replied with a smirk. "But why not pictures of like, I don't know, someone else. It's so weird to have your childhood friend using you to thrist-trap by proxy...I suppose I should just be glad it wasn't the kids."

KEAGAN

It'd be wishful to believe that they could protect any of the kids from the negative experiences in their lives, and Luke was - again - right because these were the things that made the kids how they are today. "The support system we have here is one of the few reasons why I wasn't worried." She admitted. As chaotic as this town was, there was a reason why there's at least three generations of scoobs. They were all family.

The older woman didn't fight against it when Luke got her to look back. And she did not stop the snort when her friend reminded her that she did cry because of Luke before although the situations were different from today's. "No.. I'm not.. *hiding* because of you." She gave a brief wipe across her cheek even though there wasn't any trails. "You know I don't like to cry." The deputy mumbled childishly. She certainly didn't expect she'd tear up in the first place so this was a surprise.

Her eyes rolled about her sister thirst-trapping with their friend's images. They've mentioned this before and Lyra had yet to stop so unless Luke really insisted on it, this was very likely to continue. "You're the only adult in this band. I think we're all thankful she didn't use one of the kids."

LUKE

She ducked her head down the slightest so that she was sure to catch her friend's gaze with her own. "And now, that same support system is entirely available to _you_ as well. _If_, of course, you'll let it be. Think of it this way, out in the field knowing when to call for backup and put egos and personal feelings aside could mean the difference-" she couldn't help the flicker of her eyes back to the spot on the woman's body that now held a permanent reminder of her previous life "-between life and death. We live in Fallcrest. The magical town with a dangerous Nexus in our backyard. Let us be your backup... Let _me_ be your backup now...."

Luke let out a soft chuckle at the endearing display and said, "No one would _ever_ believe me if I said that Skylar got her pout from her mother." She realized she was poking the 'wolf', if you will, but she couldn't help it. It was like dealing with the kid anytime she was upset. "I'm going to level with you, Cal: I don't think there's a great many people who actually _like_ to cry," she teased.

A groan escaped her at the mere thought of what the comments would like by morning. "I'll...give her another week and see what she manages. She did an impressive job with pushing the Scarecast in the midst of the tour, so...I guess I'm just thrown by her deciding to tout my pictures while still claiming our future engagement."

KEAGAN

Although she did have her team and other connections to help with her job, most of the time, she was on her own and just had to make it work otherwise, all she worked for would be for naught. But she wasn't in the field anymore. People here knew just who she was - they all grew up with her and were the very same people she entrusted to keep her kid safe even with the Nexus just a few distance away. "I've been out there for too long." She smiled grimly, "I keep going back to my old habits." That wasn't to say she wouldn't depend on Luke and the rest of their friends; it's just that she'll often forget that she wasn't alone anymore. "I always trusted you to have my back... Even when you accidentally kick me in the face sometimes."

Her eyes rolled again when the topic of her pouting came up again. "I told you, I don't pout." She was going to deny it until the very end. Keagan Calvetti does not pout. "You know what I mean." She retorted when her friend started to be cheeky. Without a warning, Keagan moved forward and wrapped her arms around her friends shoulders. "Thank you." For everything.

Her eyes narrowed at the mention of the future engagement. "I told her that she'll need to tell dad that it's not happening... Did she not call them yet?"

LUKE

Nodding in understanding was all she could really dare to risk and do right now. If she so much as agreed or gave an example of _why_ she understood…it would likely open up an entirely different Pandora’s box, and that was the last thing Luke felt was needed right now. At the reminder of her past actions a groan bubbled up and from the heat on her face she could bet it matched her hair as she dropped her head down in embarrassment. “I was six…” came the rather pitiful whine.

She did look back at the immediate denial. Her face may still be flushed, but it certainly held a firm look of ‘Oh really?’. “Very tempted to hold my phone up to your face right now as proof….but it’s way over there on th-“ Her grumbling didn’t get too far as she was suddenly enveloped in a hug, which she gladly returned. “You will always be more than welcome,” she replied.

The sudden change on demeanor wasn’t entirely unexpected -this was still very much Keagan Anna Calvetti after all- but it did cause Luke to make zero effort to hide her confusion. “Uh, well for starters she hasn’t even technically told _me_ it’s not happening so…are you good? I mean, sure between your mom and JJ, your dad’s blind to be just messing with us…right?

KEAGAN

She didn't even bother hiding her smirk as Luke got all embarrassed over an incident that happened when they were just kids. "I don't know, Lucas. My nose took forever to heal - and I'm supposed to have my healing as an advantage." She recalled when everyone was stumped as to why it was taking her longer than usual to heal. The kick did sting but it should've healed within the week if not the day. "You had quite the kick even at six years old."

She didn't release her hug but she did slacken it enough so she could look up at Luke - even when they're sitting on the ground, the woman was still taller than her. "It's not happening." She said flatly. "And I have no idea - with both Lyra and his whims, it literally could be anything.... Although, speaking of which, that does remind me..."

Finally releasing the other, Keagan bit her lip as she hesitated. "...When are we going to tell Sky?"

LUKE

The reminder of how there was some concern among the pack at Keagan’s healing factor not going as expected, was enough to earn another pitiful sound to come from the younger woman. When she looked up there was puppy-eyes gaze that could rival any of the actual puppies Luke grew up with. “I’m just glad that it did eventually heal and you didn’t feel the need to make me pay in kind. Lyra still calls it a ‘Christmas Miracle in October’.” She gave a small shrug and said, “Well, glad I can use it to pay the bills now.”

When she felt the hold slacken, that was the first indicator the ‘joke’ aspect of the conversation was out the door. Glancing down a bit to keep eye contact, she simply nodded. “That is more than fine by me. And if it really bothers you this much, I’ll go ahead and give Pops a ring myself first thing tomorrow. Clear the whole thing up,” she offered.

The next question had her furrowing her brow again. “Tell Sky what? That the engagement was a joke? I think she knows that,” she chuckled. “If she believed there was any chance of it being legit, she’d have grilled me about it many times over by now.”

KEAGAN

"Yes well, Col did not let me live it down that I got my ass kicked by a six year old.. so I spent most my time kicking *his* ass." She looked away as she explained because she was not going to admit that Luke's puppy eyes was effective - Just as effective as Skylar's own puppy eyes. "I hope you meant self-defence and not just teaching kids to bust their babysitter's noses."

She sighed, "I'd call him myself, but I don't think he'll listen to me." Knowing her dad, unless either party made it clear himself, he'd keep his hopes up. She doubt her mom was as worried for Lyra as he was - speaking of which, why did mom not stop him?? "...I don't think he'll believe Lyra either, because she'll probably say something like she's meant to be wild and free - really won't help her case."

Keagan chuckled, "No. Not that. About us." She sighed, "It's on me for putting it off, but I'm constantly reminded that there's never really a 'perfect' time to bring it up so..." The shorter woman gave a shrug. The constant interruptions had made that clear.

LUKE

"Hm, I wonder if that had any effect in him deciding to just make himself my person doctor even though he doesn't actually have a general practice and his specialty is children's surgery...like, if he figured I somehow led to you kicking his ass, so now he makes me sit in the pede's waiting room surrounded by kids whenever I need anything." Which, in her case, was more often than she'd openly admit right now. The question immediately had her thinking _neither_, but instead she just said, "I plead the fifth."

Luke could tell that this was obviously a very real source of concern for Kegan, but her impression of her childhood friend was so spot on that she couldn't help a small chuckle. To her credit, she did immediately follow it up by adamantly stating, "Okay, well it's settled then. _I'll_ be the one to make the call tomorrow. I'll be sure to explain everything so there's no room for doubt and assure him that marriage isn't required for Lyra to always have my support when she needs it, because that in a weird way, she technically adopted me when I was six."

Her face once again contorted in confusion when she was told that wasn't the concern, but it soon gave way to a softer form of confusion as Kegan continued, "Oh..." was all she could manage in response as things fell into place, though it was quickly followed by wide eyes and a much more emphatic, "_Ohhhh_...."

Luke kept the loose hold she had around the woman's waist since their embrace, as she took a second to think about what to say. Only to, of course, just settle on the truth. "I'm not gonna lie, Cal. If it had been up to me, I'd have pulled the kid aside and at least started the conversation with her as soon as you dragged me back inside after, apparently, kicking my ass behind the diner," she teased, hoping to keep things light.

LUKE

“Obviously, that option went out the window and then once you said you’d rather wait, I just went with it. _But_, so many things just _happened_ between Halloween and now that…” Luke let out a heavy sigh knowing what she was about to say could very well make things go south, but she felt if Keagan had been open and honest with her, she owed her the same in kind. “…I honestly just figured you’d forgotten about the conversation altogether -**which**, I can not stress enough, I completely understood how that would happen. And then after everything else that just kept happening, I kind of just assumed that you’d maybe realized maybe your best friend was the best place for me in your life, and that too was something that I could understand.”

She reached up to gently place a hand at the woman’s neck, and cradled her head as she brought their foreheads together. “But I can tell you right here, right now, that my acceptance for any of those options _is not_ because I’d actually want either. But because you are just _so_ important to me, and have been since we met, that I would rather have you in my life as whatever than not have you in it all…so as far as telling Skylar, I’m ready whenever _you_ are.”

KEAGAN

She simply shrugged, not knowing the actual reason behind that decision. "Maybe he just wants to make sure nothing happened to you - or his staff." She hummed, "Maybe he just doesn't want me to kick anyone's ass as a safety measure." She teased.

"Everyone knows you'll have Lyra's back when it comes down to it. Honestly, if spending time with you would manage to calm her down even the slightest, wouldn't it already have happened?" She snorted. "I don't think there's anyone in the world that could make that girl chill - I've never seen her chill." But she was still her baby sister and she wouldn't trade her for anyone else.

KEAGAN

Keagan nodded, agreeing to what her friend was saying. "I would've pulled her aside that night too - but someone had to make their unannounced appearance.. And it just got chaotic from there." She pushed her hair back by running her fingers through the top of her head. "And I thought that maybe things would calm down if I waited it out - certainly did not.. and it really was on me for constantly pushing it off again and again just because I figured it was best to get everything sorted out first." She shook her head, "And it's clear that I may not have a moment of peace... and I have kept you waiting for far, far too long." Keagan knew it was very unfair on her part for the choices she made over the years when Luke was always there.

She looked up to meet the other's eyes. "I've just been an idiot over the years. And the fact that I'm never around didn't seem to help either." She muttered before giving a small smile, "I think we should tell her sooner than later - not to jinx anything, but I've had a pretty shit track record in terms of surprises." Part of it was a joke, the other part was dread. She really didn't know what else life was going to throw her way. "I'd suggest telling her.. *now* but I'm not sure what she's up to with Erin and Tomi and I definitely don't know if I want to walk in on whatever it is. But I also don't want to postpone this anymore than we - well, *I* already have."

LUKE

She pulled away a bit, a soft smile still in place. Partially because wanted to make sure she could see Keagan's face clearly, but honestly, she wasn't sure she'd be able to be this close to the woman for much longer without giving in and just kissing her senseless....which would logistically be a bad move. Luke had no idea how it would be a bad move, but historically speaking, when she felt that way and acted on it, it was bad so....

"Yeah," she chuckled, "I can take a pretty educated guess at what they likely _did_, but in an effort to spare ourselves, I think I'll just shoot her a quick text and ask if she can meet us here." It was as she said this that her brain caught up to her. Glancing down, she looked back up, face once again flushed as she began to disentangle herself from Keagan and walk towards her phone, mumbling, "Shirt, I should get a shirt. How did I forget a shirt?"

It didn't take her long to send the kid a text and then grab a henley from the small hotel closet. Not that the time did anything put her at ease as she walked back over to sit on the floor, stopping just short of actually invading Keagan's space again.

SKYLAR

After the girl eventually settled on a comfortable position that won't bother Tomi and Erin - maybe it still did and they didn't say anything, the girl almost fell asleep when she felt her phone vibrate and a ping following shortly. It looks like Luke wants her to come over.

Whining just slightly because she liked where she was at the moment and wasn't planning on moving whatsoever. However, Luke wanted her to come over so come over, she shall. Wiggling herself off the bed like a worm, the pup told the girls she'll be back and off she went.

Knocking on the door, she smiled when her aunt opened the door. "Hey Aunt Luke.. So.. What's up?" She leaned slightly to see who else was in the room, "Oh.. Mom, you're here too.." Her voice lowered out of wary. Was she in trouble? Oh no.. was it because of the shower time? Growing very quiet, the youngest slipped into the room and sat on the ground.

LUKE

As she opened the door on her niece, it was evident the second she spotted her mother that the kid was far more nervous about what they _could_ possibly have asked her here to address, then she was concerned over the fact that Keagan was in Luke's room at all. Also, in a weird way, she figured it leveled the playing field a bit as, though she could only speak for herself, the topic they _actually_ had in mind, was making Luke nervous too.

She closed the door behind the girl, and made sure to bolt it. The last thing she needed was the Hurrnado known as Lyra -and Nix by extension- to come barreling in while they were mid-conversation. Though if earlier messages from Teagan were anything to go by, those two were plenty busy.

Taking a seat next to her more petite copy, Luke glanced over and right off the bat said, "You're not here to discuss what happens behind your closed doors kiddo. I've always respected your privacy and I'm not about to go back on that now that it actually matters a little more. So you can relax."

KEAGAN

Keagan was almost amused by the tone her daughter held once Sky saw her. It seemed she was worried about why she was here, considering that everyone knew by now just what the girls were up.. at least two-third of them.

"No, we are not here to discuss that." She reassured the kid, but it doesn't look like it was as effective as either adults hoped. "Baby, come here." She chuckled softly as she pulled the kid to sit close enough so that Keagan could wrap her arms around and place a quick kiss on Sky's temple. "You're not in trouble either. Luke and I ...Just have something to tell you."

Was Keagan going to start it off? It seems so. Her grip on Sky tightened slightly as she grew more nervous. "As you know, you are the most important person to us and because of that, we take your input and opinions to heart in regards to everything." Where was she going with this because Skylar was looking very confused at this point.

"Before you were born... And before Richard and I were a thing, I..." She sighed, "Luke and I... well. We hooked up, to put it very bluntly...And it turns out that.. those feelings we had back then...Didnt quite go away. At all."

LUKE

Luke had been following along and nodding in agreement where necessary as Keagan took the lead -not surprising- and began to broach the subject with Skylar. "And of course, you and _I_ have our special 'copypasta pact', where nothing major happens without us looping the other in. You honored it by telling me what happened with Dallas, regardless of the possible consequences and I feel that level of trust can only ever be properly repaid in kind," she added, hoping to ease the girl by both complimenting her maturity in one situation and reinforcing that she had their trust as well.

Luke continued to smile softly and nod along as Keagan began to try and explain their past, only to have the smile drop and her eyes go wide when Keagan finally got to 'her point'. "Jesus Christ, Keg! You can't just drop those words on the kid, in that specific order and gloss over it," she exclaimed, before turning to Sky, "I mean, trust me I'm sure after hearing that the last thing you want are 'details' but it's not _quite_ like that. Like, I mean, I wouldn't share those anyway but- Anyway, my point is that- Let me just, fill in a few things...please?" As much as she wanted nothing more than to un-scar this kid for life, she also wouldn't stop her she decided this was all she could deal with tonight.

SKYLAR

She had no idea what to expect when she sat down. If she wasn't in trouble, just what did they want to tell her? Was it good news or bad news? Regardless of their reassurances, Skylar did not relax at all. If Aunt Luke had to bring up the Dallas scenario, then whatever they had to say must be just as important.

Her mom looked very serious as well as she started to explain things. At first, she didn't know what direction this was supposed to go but hearing her mom saying that she and her aunt 'hooked up' was definitely not it. Her eyes widened at the news. "What. Wait." She closed her eyes as she tried to wrap her mind around this, "*What?*" She repeated. Her focuse went back and forth from Keagan to Luke, looking at her aunt incredulously.

LUKE

Luke held up her hands, both to show that she understood this was a lot to take in and try and placate the girl enough so that she could at least _try_ to make it make sense for her. "How about, I start from the beginning? You're familiar with the story of how your aunt Lyra basically adopted both your uncle Teagan and myself when we were kids. So, I've really known your mom since I was six and she was twelve. Ricky never really had anything to do with either of us, even when he and JJ were hanging out in the same house. To make long story slightly shorter, I know that over the past years it's been easy to kind of look at your mom and I's interactions and think it all started when she became my sister-in-law, but that's _far_ from the truth."

She paused a bit to make sure her words weren't just going over the stunned girl's head. Luke then chose her next words carefully, because once out, there was no putting things back. But as she looked at Skylar, she realized this was an eighteen year-old young _woman_ and no longer a child. She deserved as full an explanation as could be reasonably given.

"I know you're aware that my dad left the family when I was five, and that your grandma died before you were born. She actually died when I was only fifteen, and I was the one that found her. I'll spare you the nitty-gritty, but it's important to note it because this also triggered some repressed memories of when your uncle Teagan's brother Steven died...when we were seven. Suffice it to say, I wasn't exactly left in the best of headspaces after that, and I wasn't really myself for long time after. The only person who noticed, and essentially cared enough to want to help, was your mom."

LUKE

She couldn't help but glance over at Kegan as she said this, reaching out to take one of the woman's hands in her own. "It obviously made it to where our friendship took on a completely new level of _emotional_ intimacy, and though I know now that it wasn't entirely un-reciprocated, it also wasn't the best moment for me to have acted on it given that I was still sixteen and your mom was twenty-two and looking at a government job. So, ultimately, even though we obviously remained friends and may have even ‘hooked up’ as she so Calvetti-ly put it, once I found out you were on the way I made sure that all of that was buried twelve feet under concrete somewhere I couldn’t find it.”

Luke made sure to have her niece’s gaze as she continued. “I wasn’t about mess anything up for _you_….of course it turns out my brother can mess things up all on his own, and after eighteen years of fighting it, we’d kind of like to see where things could go. _But_, always with you in mind. Not only would I be dating your mom, but I also promised I’d discuss my dating life with you first. I know this likely isn’t what you imagined would be the outcome of holding me to that, but I will always respect your input no matter what…okay…I’m done…”

SKYLAR

It wasn't news to anyone that Lyra 'adopted' her two friends. Til this day, her aunt was still claiming it so whether or not the other two vocally confirmed it. And so, it wasn't a surprise that her mom and Aunt Luke would've known each other. But why.. was she being taken so far back in time?

Still, she waited for the story to continue. Since Aunt Luke always listened to what she said, Skylar would do the same. When the topic of death came up, it looked like her mom was genuinely just as surprised as she was. Was it because she wasn't aware of the impact she had on Aunt Luke? Either way, those questions have all disappeared the moment she saw the hands joined together.

Oh... this.. was.. new.

It wasn't the first time they held hands, but the feeling was very different from prior to knowing that the two adults had romantic feelings for each other. Her eyes was just wide as she partially tuned into Luke's explanation on how their friendship blossomed into something else. Again, there was the word 'hooked up' again. And the only reason why they never pursued anything was because.. of her?

This was a lot to digest. How was she supposed to feel when she was apparently the reason why they weren't together? "Is mom why you're single all the time?" Somehow *that* was the first question she asked since learning all of this. Even if Skylar's opinion mattered, Luke did date before but they never lasted long. And like now, Luke would have told her if she was dating.

Despite all that... What stood out to her was that.. she was less upset about this than any of the other times. Even sitting in front of her, as weird as it was, it wasn't upsetting her to find the two holding hands.

LUKE

It was the way blue eyes that often mirrored her own had immediately zoned in her hand taking hold of Keagan's and then widened in response that had Luke pulling her hand back as subtly as she could manage...which considering her niece was almost staring daggers in that direction, didn't give much room for inconspicuousness. With bother her hands now firmly back in her own lap, she defaulted to her usual nervous fidget of pill-rolling with her left hand and vaguely 'playing' chords with her right.

The silence that followed her last few words was absolutely deafening, and she was almost certain that the fact she could _feel_ her own pulse in her neck was not healthy.... Of course, a part of her would've taken a few more seconds of silence over the question that was finally -and very directly- aimed in her direction.

Though her hands never stilled, she did let out a small chuckle in a bid to by some time and sort out how to best address the question. "You and I have managed to work so well because our relationship is rooted in transparency and mutual respect, and that's not going to change. Ever. So, in the vein of keeping with that, I shall take my daily dose of 'humble pill' here and admit that it's certainly possible that on a subconscious level I've always known that my heart would never really, _fully_ belong to anyone other than the two incredible women sitting before me," she began, making sure to keep her focus on Sky as she spoke. "_But_, in the vein of complete honesty, my actions have always been my own doing. I've never been one to shift the blame, for lack of a better term because my words are failing me now, onto anyone else. In any aspect. My dating life stalled because I realized that my own emotional intelligence wasn't up to par based on how I grew up, and left me pretty open to some not-so-great people. So I made the _conscious_ choice to place my energy and efforts elsewhere...and now we have band."

SKYLAR

It didn't slip either women's attention just how fast Luke released the hand but unlike Keagan who was used to keeping her face stoic when necessary, Sky looked away, growing slightly ashamed for behaving the way she was. They were only holding hands and she already somewhat established in her mind that she was... okay with it. It will definitely take her a while to get used to it but these two were the most important people in her life.

"Oh." She mumbled when Luke gave them the reasons on why she never really dated anyone longterm. It had always been on the back of her mind that it was because of her that the other rarely dated. "That.. makes sense.."

She then turned to her mom who was still holding onto her, and then back at Luke with *much* confusion on her face. "... So.. You really like each other?" She asked, "But like.. How did dad happen?" That really was a mystery because the whole town knew that Luke was a million times better than Richard Benson would ever be, than he would ever *wish* he could be. Not that he really wanted to considering that he had been an asshole from the beginning but her point still stood.

Skylar shouldn't really complain because without the asshole, she wouldn't be here... and she definitely wasn't upset that her parents didn't work it out. However, how on earth did Keagan pass up Luke for *Richard*??

LUKE

It didn't take a genius to know this question was going to make an appearance at some point during the conversation, but if after almost 20 years Luke had yet to get an answer herself, she wasn't entirely sure if Keagan would be immediately prepared to answer it now. Of course she knew that the woman would not leave her daughter without an answer, but Luke also knew it always took just a bit for the older woman to get her thoughts and words sorted enough to avoid things like telling her own child she 'hooked up' with her aunt....

So, in a bid to buy Keagan sometime, Luke resorted to what she normally did: bad humor. "Well Mini-me, once upon a time there was a man named Malcom Edward Benson and a woman named Adalyn Mabel Lucas. They met, and decided they liked each other well enough to start a family of their own...." She trailed off before putting on a look of mock confusion and adding, "Wait, unless you're asking how he came to be one of the world's biggest douchecanoes, in which case my best guess is that your grandpa Malcom's genetics are just _that_ strong. Good thing Calvetti genes are _stronger_ eh?"

She could practically _feel_ the incoming eyeroll from the girl, but as long as she wasn't actively angry or upset with her, Luke would take all the eyerolls and even name calling in the world.

KEAGAN

Oh, why did this question have to come up? Granted, she should have known this was everyone's question since the first day Richard informed everyone they were dating. At the time, her friends didn't even bother to pull her aside before they asked the same question. However, her answer was going to be different then all those years ago since she didn't have a reason to reveal at least this much.

"Uhm." She grimaced at the memory of being married to the elder Benson. "I guess I'm supposed to start from the beginning too..." She started to talk, "Richard...Was somehow friends with your uncle JJ. I don't know how but they were and of course, with him being his friend and also Luke's brothet.. that meant the rest of us knew him too. Obviously."

She sighed as she looked down at her daughter, freeing a hand to tuck back the redhead's hair behind her ear. "If it makes anyone feel better, I never liked the man." She said flatly, "Still don't. But one year, Uncle JJ got into a bit of trouble and Ricky.. being the asshole that he is.. basically decided it was a good idea to blackmail my brother unless he gets set up with me." Should she even be telling her daughter this? "Needless to say, I got looped in... And when I got my job, I did everything I could to figure what really went down."

The wolf let out a tired sigh, "Richard faked and lied to JJ...and thats when I confronted him to break it off." She was awfully calm explaining all of this. Maybe she was just tired of keeping it to herself. JJ, bless his soul, but he never wanted to mention this incident.

LUKE

It actually made the older redhead feel _worse_ knowing Keagan had been stuck in a relationship with her brother for nine years and didn’t even _like_ him. But she was definitely not going to be taking that small bit of comfort away from the woman, she simply offered her a half-smirk.

Hands that hadn’t stopped moving since she’d let go of Keagan’s hands, however, became deadly still as they slowly clenched of their own accord, along with her jaw, with every passing word. The idea that Richard could take advantage…

She glanced at her niece.

As angry and upset as she was at how vile her own brother could be, she knew that were it not for him and his actions, this beautiful and amazing young woman wouldn’t be sitting in front of her right now.

“I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to have to carry that with you for so long, but I do understand that it wasn’t fully your story to tell,” Luke said. “And in the end, I got pretty wicked cool _niche_ to spoil and have join me in some crazy adventures, so…at least personally, I’ll always be thankful for that.”

SKYLAR

She stared at her mom with absolute disbelief. Her dad *blackmailed* her mom into being with her? As if he hadn't already done enough, he just seemed to constantly surprise all expectations on just how trash he was. Her arms wrapped around her mom tightly, feeling that her mom was overdue for a hug. "I'm sorry." She mumbled despite not having a hand in any of this. However it did occur to her that even though Keagan didn't like the man... *she* existed. Slowly, pulling away, she bit her lip. "... You don't like him.. but somehow.. I'm.. - *Wait*." She frowned as she switched over to her aunt and then switched back.

"So doesn't that also mean.. he blackmail you to *sleep *with him?" That would mean she was an accident. Somehow not surprising but upsetting in a whole different manner. As grateful as she was to be alive, to be spending time with the best aunt and mom in the world, and 2 beautiful women who were currently in their shared room doing who knows what, learning this was just.. appalling.

LUKE

It was an obvious conclusion that Luke had opted to ignore in favor of focusing on the positives that had come out of the situation…but she couldn’t expect Skylar to _not_ have drawn the same conclusion.

It was look on the girl’s face as she clearly connected the dots that it was suddenly a very real possibility that her mother had been coerced into sleeping with someone against her will and that she herself was the end result…_that_ was the straw the broke the camel’s back for Luke.

But she knew there was nothing she could do about it now. She couldn’t get to Richard, she couldn’t leave her girls in the midst of such a conversation, and she couldn’t allow herself to break. Not now. Not when they both needed a solid rock to lean on the most.

So instead, Luke finally unclenched her hands -small half-moon indentations along her palms- and she scoot forward just enough to take one of each of the women’s hands in one of her own, and holding tight. Words failed her now, but she wanted them to know she was here, like she’d always been, and always would be.

KEAGAN

Her eyes widened at the conclusion her daughter came to and it appeared that Luke also came to the same conclusion. "Oh. Oh no. Sky, no, he didnt..." She squeezed both her hands. "I.. This is.. rather complicated." She muttered to herself which was not the thing her daughter wanted to hear either. "Its not what you're both thinking. He didn't threaten me with that. Okay? I don't even think he has the balls to do something to that degree." She sighed. How Sky came abiut was a different story but was that a story for today?

Keagan groaned as she thought back, "It was.. a.. unfortunate.. decision on my part but Sky, whatever you're thinking, you are not that okay. You're the best thing to happen in my life and I wouldn't change that." Maybe change certain aspects of it but never the choice that brought Skylar into her life.

LUKE

The burning she'd felt in her lungs was suddenly explained as it began to ease as she slowly, and as subtly as she could manage, let out the breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding hostage as she waited for Keagan's response. It did little to quell the burning of the raging fire in the pit of her stomach having learned that Kegan had been manipulated _at all_, but it did somewhat take the edge of her quiet, simmering, desire to commit fratricide...

She glanced over at her niece with a soft look -her anger was hers to deal with. "Your mom's right. Richard is capable of many things in the name of self-preservation, but at the core he's just a bully. He'd never attempt anything where he didn't have some form of guarantee that he held the winning hand," she would know, "And let's face it, your mom could kick his ass with her yes closed and hands tied behind her back."

Did she believe this? Of course. Had that mitigated her fear prior to the reassurance directly from Keagan herself? Not in the least. But Sky was already dealing with more than even Luke had bargained for when they started the conversation, the least she could do was provide some additional reassurance herself. Or at least try to.

SKYLAR

Her mom would never lie to her, this she knew very well but that reassurance wasn’t as effective as Keagan was probably hoping. Skylar couldn’t but think she was the result of a very ‘unfortunate’ event - as her mom put it. However, her dad being a coward and a bully was true. Surely he wasn’t dumb enough to do such a thing to Keagan. Her mom would’ve kicked his ass before he even knew what happened. “Okay.” She said very quietly. The wolf looked smaller than she already did.

The youngest of the three snuggled closer into her mother. “…But to deal with him for like.. so long..” She mumbled, conflicted between feeling sorry for her mom and anger at her dad. “I’m glad you left him.” Hell, she’s glad she didn’t have to deal with him anymore either. She looked up at her aunt, knowing that there wasn’t anything to worry about because Luke was the best person out there. Who better to be with her mom than … her other guardian?

LUKE

It was a much more subdued response than the ones she was used to -and, honestly, preferred- from the young wolf, but given the circumstances, she would take it. This conversation had definitely taken an unexpected turn, and if anything, Luke felt a bit guilty at not having considered Skylar would have such questions herself and maybe vetting things with Keagan a bit more beforehand so they could’ve approached the matter in a less surprising way…instead Luke found _herself_ knocked off kilter too.

In a bid to get at least a grin out of the girl Luke raised a brow and said, “Your mom’s as tough as they come. _I’ve_ had to deal with Rick thirty-six years and have managed…relatively alright. I’m sure it wasn’t the ideal situation, but unlike me she managed to find a way out, so that’s already win.”

Beginning to feel like she was perhaps intruding on a moment for the mother-daughter duo, Luke said, “I’m a bit parched. I think I’ll step out and grab a drink, you guys want anything?”

SKYLAR

Tonight was ... quite the rollercoaster. Sky did not expect the night to.. turn out like this. But still, it was in the past - and there really wasn't anything she could do. She already wanted to treat as if her father didn't exist. Sitting up, she pulled Aunt Luke closer and then joined their hands together. "There's drinks in your room, Aunt Luke." She chuckled as she got up from the ground.

"I should get back though. Tomes and Erin are definitely binging something without me, can't have that." With that, she just spun around and took off back into her room. Once she got back, the redhead just launched herself back to her original spot before the talk and buried her face into the pillow without a word.

ERIN

When the smallest member of their little trio returned and immediately settled back in without a single sound, Erin's eyes met Tomi's from across the 'lump' between them, with the human immediately turning off the show they were watching and Erin simply sliding down a bit to quietly ask, "Would you like us to listen or would you just like us to hold you?"

SKYLAR

"...Both" Her words muffled from the pillow. "The good news is though..." She turned slightly so she could be heard more clearly. "I think my aunt and mom are gonna date." She sat up though she kept her eyes down, "Did you know they liked each other for like...Since ever?" She pouted, "but they never got together after I was born."

TOMI

Almost in tandem, both girls on either side of the redhead situated into what had -_somehow_ - become their usual arrangement of intertwined limbs, with the wolf cozily placed in the middle of it all. At the mention of Luke and Aunt K dating, Tomi glanced over at Erin only to be met with a look that practically screamed 'do not' and so she went with, "Oh wow, that's pretty cool. Never would've seen it coming...." She trailed off not feeling capable of keeping up the 'ignorance' ruse well if she pushed too far. "Considering having the two most important people in your life care for each other doesn't strike as a bad thing, is it safe to safe that you're a bit put off by the idea they've liked each other for far longer than just recent times?"

SKYLAR

".. Why didn't they get together earlier?" She frowned, "Mom got divorced so long ago.. Even if they wanted to wait awhile for everything to settle. I guess mom's also away a lot." She mumbled as she leaned into Erin, while her hands found Tomi's and started fidgeting with her digits. The wolf was oblivious to everything the other two were doing. Lifting her eyes to look at Tomi, Sky gave a small shrug, "...I don't think it's a bad thing. It's just.. I don't know." She really didn't. "I'm not upset over it.. They never said anything though. What I am upset about.. is how much of a cowardly asshole my dad is."

TOMI

While Erin took to providing the bulk of the physical comfort, Tomi did her best to try and provide some comfort verbally. “I mean, if we’re being completely honest, it’s not like Aunty K is the most emotionally expressive person. Her job being a big reason for that, of course, but from what I’ve heard from Brax and Izzy, she’s always been the more stoic of the Calvetti clan. Maybe she had her reasons to wait other than just work or your dad. Each mind is its own vault and only the individual who owns the mind, owns the key…and chooses who to share it with.”

She dropped a soft kiss to her friend’s temple and chuckled as she pulled back. “Turns out _both_ of mine fit that description too, so we can trade war stories.”

SKYLAR

Sky frowned, "I guess.." It's just that the two adults *usually* tell her everything... Most things. "..Is she that stoic? I don't think she is.. She smiles all the time - well unless an asshole gets in her way. But okay, fine. She's way less expressive than Aunt Lyra but I don't think Aunt Lyr has a filter.. for anything?" She chuckled softly before letting out a groan.

"I can't believe we're looping him in the same category as the other two. Men are shit.. Except Bean.. and your cousin." She added as she looked up at Erin. "Two Beans, and the rest are shit."

ERIN

Erin let out a chuckle at her girlfriend’s attempt at defending her mother. “Babe, she smiles all the time around _you_. I’ve caught sight of her in general and that smile is hard to find most times.” She almost slipped and said ‘unless you’re Luke’ but clearly Sky was already feeling like she was out of the loop as it was. “Your mom and Luke are trusting you enough to tell you they would like to move forward with a relationship _before_ actually doing so. That is a lot more in the respect department than most get. Hell, as much as I love both my mothers, mum certainly didn’t wait for _my_ permission to start dating,” she chuckled.

Erin hummed and said, “Well, two himbos and one with a possibility for redemption, but yes. Even _my_ father was apparently shit. Luckily mean aren’t a priority here.”

SKYLAR

"Still counts." She smiled, nodding. "Okay. You've got a point." They really could just be dating without telling her so it was nice to know that she was somehow part of this decision - were they going to date? Her eyes widened slightly because she didn't even recall if she told them that it was okay since they got very sidetracked about mom's relationship with dad or there lack of. "I think they're going to date... " She mumbled under her breath. Well, they're surely going to find out tomorrow.

"I was going to say that maybe it's Fallcrest where they seem to just.. centralise in but your dad isn't from town."

ERIN

“I usually do,” she replied cheekily before dropping a kiss to the top of Skylar’s head. “But it always helps to have sister-wife backup to make things go much more smoothly,” she added tossing the other girl a wink. The lighting made it hard to tell, but there may have been a blush in response…

Erin let out a chuckle and said, “Yes, I do believe that Istanbul would be quite a bit aways from good ol’ Fallcrest, Pennsylvania.”

SKYLAR

"You two keep double-teaming on me - there's no way I can win against that." She sigh dramatically before turning slightly to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek. Her hands hadn't stopped fiddling with Tomi's fingers and it didn't seem like she was going to stop either.

Her eyes rolled, "Men are just shit except for the 2 and a half we have in our lives." She groaned as she tugged Tomi's hand so she could loop her around her arm instead. "Mom should have dated Luke a long time ago. Less of a headache." But then she wouldn't have existed but the wolf did not want to think about that right now.

TOMI

“Funny that you only seem to complain about us being a tag-team when it _doesn’t_ involve sharing furniture,” Tomi snarked. Granted, she herself had stopped fighting the title of ‘sister-wife’ not too long into the makings of this unique arrangement they had going, so…

“Men are trash and my sincerest condolences to those of you who still have the misfortune of being attracted to them.” The latter part being directed mostly at Erin with a genuine look of sympathy.

SKYLAR

"What's to complain about sharing furniture? We're *all* comfy, aren't we?" She retorted with a short hum. "Of course I wouldn't complain about this. But you two ganging up on me? Totally unfair." She chuckled.

"Mmm yes.. very unfortunate." She also looked up at her girlfriend. "But it's okay. You chose me and even have a sister wife to boot, so that's all it matters."

ERIN

"You are absolutely right, Princess. Everyone has been comfortable, and there have been no complaints on that front," she conceded, while taking advantage of her free hand to gently reach out and brush some hair out of Tomi's face. "Something tells me there won't be much in the way of complaints in the future either, but it would still be wise to remain considerate of all parties involved. Maybe if you stay on our good side, it'll make it to where one day _you'll_ get to to be the one teaming up with a sister-wife to prove a point."

Erin could very much see the redhead's mother's genes shine through in her confidence and self-assurance. Which, though a contrast to how she could sometimes be around her, just made her all the more endearing in how complex a person she could be. "I am indeed quite the lucky girl."

SKYLAR

"... Why would I ever want to be on your bad side?" Skylar had no plans on getting on *either* woman's bad side. She had already experienced it with Tomi once and it wasn't her fault to begin with. Regardless, she didn't want to find herself in that position ever again. "I like staying on both your good sides."

As confident as she was just now, hearing Erin said that she was the lucky one instead of Skylar just had her cheeks tint ever so slightly. "Whatchu talkin' about? I'm totally the lucky one... I'm the one in the middle right now." She chuckled.

TOMI

If anyone had -for whatever reason- deemed it fit to try and interrogate her on _why_ she not only wasn't surprised by the gentle caress from her _best friend's **girlfriend** _ but even relished in it, the girl wouldn't really have a reason. At best, she'd probably mumble out something about bad breakups and craving human touch...but also kind of fell apart when one considered said best friend was more than happily providing her own human touch...It was way too late on an already long day to begin with for her to be dealing with _that_ train of thought.

"Well, if you want to stay on _my_ good side, I suggest you talk to your mom first thing tomorrow morning and clarify that you are, in fact, okay with her dating Luke. Because otherwise, that is one awkward drive home I am not looking forward to. Speaking of, I call dibs on the middle seat on the ride back."

SKYLAR

She looked back at her with a sigh. "Okay.. I'll talk to them in the AM tomorrow... Better make sure everything is clear as day or else, they'll probably just... Leave it up in the air again or something.." Which was apparently what they sort of did over the years. "Wait how come you get to be in the middle?? What if you cover the rear mirror?" she laughed.

The smallest of the bunch started to think about the role Like had in her life quietly before eventually murmuring, "....Luke's kinda like my mom already."

TOMI

"I mean especially Luke. Bless that woman's heart, she's as kind and agile as she is simple sometimes...I wonder if she does it on purpose, ya know? Like, chooses when to use her brain and when to not? Because there's no way someone who is always dumb would be able to have helped us half our homework as well as she has," Tomi wondered, before scowling at the smallest person on the bed. "See, this is why we can't we have nice things, Skylar Anne."

It was obvious in the way she said it that Sky was still going over things in her head even if she'd actively decided to give the women the greenlight. "I mean, over ninety percent of the internet seems to think so as well."

SKYLAR

“I think..so? Aunt Luke’s not dumb. Like she’s capable of teaching us so many things - not just helping us with homework. I don’t think she’s dumb at all..” She pondered, “So.. I guess she just likes to turn her brain on and off whenever the situation calls for it?” She snorted, “I said nothing but the truth. Why did you want the middle anyways? I thought you would want to lean against the window to nap. But finnnnnnne, I guess I won’t get to sit with Erin.” She dramatically sighed. The girl had no qualms with sitting with her friend instead for the ride.

“It seems a lot of people in town too. Do you not remember how everyone always said the same thing as we were growing up?” She sighed, “Our professor also thought so when we first met.”

ERIN

Rolling her eyes at the dramatics she said, “You literally have not had to give up the middle since all three of us started sharing a household, Princess. One car ride won’t kill you…but it might give Poot Toni’s neck a much needed rest from having to _drop_ to your shoulder.” She shared a cheeky grin with the taller girl.

“Dr. Wren?” She asked, though it was clearly rhetorical. “Oh she still firmly believes there’s something weird going on with you guys. We were chatting about it in our last magic session. She mentioned something about ‘sensing’ Luke, which is weird because she’s human…but we ran out of time.”

SKYLAR

“…How does her sitting in the middle save her from that? Or are you saying that you’re giving her your shoulder?” She rolled her eyes, “Fineeeeeee. Tomes can sit in the middle. Wait, shouldn’t you sit with Rikke then? Pretty sure her shoulders would be better for you.” Skylar chuckled, “I kid, I’m fine with the window sit just for *one* car ride okay?”

“Why would she be able to sense Luke? …Why were you two talking about Aunt Luke?” The smaller girl shifted to get a better look at Erin, “…And besides, Aunt Luke grew up in Fallcrest, wouldn’t someone else sense something too by now?”

ERIN

“I was thinking more along the lines of _us_ using _her_ shoulders, but Tomi, you’re more than welcome to mine babes,” she replied cheekily. “Yeah, something tells me Rikke’s likely to end up with your other two aunts keeping _her_ shoulders busy.”

Erin raised an eyebrow slightly, as she tried to bite back a grin -that Tomi clearly now had full freedom to sport- at how protective the redhead seemed to get. “Well, for starters, as demure as Dr. Wren comes across, let’s not forget she’s part witch, part scion, _all_ guild hunter trained from practically birth. Bearing that in mind, it’s exactly because she shouldn’t be sensing her at all that she’s been so obsessed with Luke,” she chuckled. “The flirting is just for funsies apparently. As for why she was discussing it with me, well it was the hands-off portion of my own lesson in sensing.”

SKYLAR

Her eyes rolled as Erin flirted with Tomi right in front of her, something that she wasn't upset with at all. Skylar only snorted at the mention of her aunts. "Aunt Lyra is not going to pass up the chance. I think Aunt Nix would at least try not to. Keyword, try."

Sky was very confused to this new piece of information and as to why Dr. Wren was treating Luke like a puzzle. "So she thinks there's some supernatural lineage and it just.. never showed?" She shrugged, "Aunt Luke's Aunt Luke. Supe or not." The pup took Erin's hand and just held it, brush her thumb against it lightly. "How are those lessons going? Are you like.. the most powerful witch in Fallcrest now?" She chuckled.

TOMI

Opting to gloss right over the offers of shoulders -granted by now it should be understood that hers were always free and available as needed- Tomi instead shifted her focus to the discussion of Luke. "To be completely fair, you guys don't really _anything_ about her bio parents, right? Like, even if it wasn't a closed adoption, I don't think your dad would be invested enough to be helpful in that regard. So it _could_ be possible? I mean, not all of us have the benefit of being able to trace our entire lineage back to when Fallcrest was created or whatever," she chuckled.

"You're right though, I don't think it would ultimately have an affect on who she is as a person...or I would hope not..." Tomi snorted and said, "Smooth, Benson. You might as well have just asked her if Dr. Wren has made a solid move on her yet," she teased.

SKYLAR

"Good point. So maybe she is a supe.. Did Dr. Wren say what she thinks Aunt Luke might be?" Her eyes rolled, "My dad wasn't invested. Period. Even years after, he still hadn't stopped complaining that his parents adopted her." How on earth was he her dad? The more she thought about Ricky, the angrier she felt on behalf of her mom for having spent so long with him just because of his manipulations.

Skylar looked back at her friend before returning her attention back to her girlfriend. ".. She wouldn't.." Their professor did back off, and even took the time to talk to Sky about it so the wolf was sure Ripley Wren of all people, wouldn't be hitting on her girlfriend after hitting on her aunt.

ERIN

Erin's brow furrowed slightly as she thought back to the conversation. "Not really, no. She did mention having a few theories but stated she didn't want to say anything until she had more information, in very _off_ chance that it turned out to be nothing. Precisely like when she thought she sensed her being your mom, only to find out she's adopted. To be honest, I get the feeling the reason she's so obsessed with this 'mystery', if you will, is because was basically told she was wrong and that's not something she's used to," Erin laughed.

She laughed a little harder at the statement that came out sounding more like a question. "No, she wouldn't. She's a professional above anything else, and I am her student first and foremost...but it is rather nice to listen to her lecture..."

SKYLAR

Her brows just furrowed even further, "What? She sensed that? That's... weird. Maybe it's because Aunt Luke's the one to raise me.. do you think it has something to do with that? Magic is whack sometimes." She snorted, "Is my aunt the first person to tell her no or something?" She rolled her eyes.

Satisfied to know that nothing is going to happen - mostly because she trusted Erin, the wolf was less on edge. "You just like listening to her accent." She gave her girlfriend a poke into the side. "If I go live abroad for a while, would I come back with an accent too?"

ERIN

"Well, her exact words were that she sensed a similarity between you two, which wasn't weird until the whole 'adopted human' thing. Honestly, magic is so much more complex than I would've given thought to, that I'm very grateful Dr. Wren offered to help me learn more. Between her and Evan I think I might just be on track to catching up on all the years I was in the dark," she said, with a genuinely appreciative tone. She snorted herself and said, "You joke, but let's not forget that even _you_ couldn't be certain Luke _hadn't_ said yes..."

Erin had mo qualms in nodding in agreement. "It's a wonderful accent. Touch more posh than my own, and far more easy to understand that Maths'." She poked the girl back and said, "I don't know, you lived in Seattle for a while, you come back with a dying love for Starbucks and fish markets?"

SKYLAR

"This is so ... weird... Do you sense it? Or is it just her because.. trained .. and half Scion. I don't even konw what to think of that honestly. But like, I wish I was related to her instead of dad - saves everyone the headache for starters." She scoffed before her eyes widened, "Wait, do you think she said yes? Waiiiit, Aunt Luke wouldn't.." She frowned.

Skylar rolled her eyes, "I'm just saying, maybe I should learn and pick up an accent since you seem to love those so much."

ERIN

"I can definitely sense _you_, and I can even vaguely sense Tomi -which makes sense because even if not actively, you are still genetically a werewolf," she explained. "But again, it's very faint and I'm sure that's just because of lack of practice. So to bring this all full circle, I have no idea." Erin's eyes went wide, and she could tell that Tomi was doing her best not to laugh out loud. "Did you not _just_ come in proclaiming how much better of a partner Luke would be to your mum compared to your dad, and now you somehow believe that Luke would lead our professor on...and _then_ try to get with your mum?"

Erin couldn't help but grin down at the redhead as she said, "Babe, you _already_ have an accent, and if I didn't love it, we would not be dating."

SKYLAR

"Ohhhh, that's true! Wait, are you able to tell species apart then? Oh man, that's so cool though! To have a radar for supes." Although wolves could sniff out their scents, it wasn't quite the same." She shook her head, "No! no. I didn't mean right now. Like.. before.. Maybe.. Briefly. I don't know. I don't think Aunt Luke would lead people on.. She's not that type of person to do that.. at least not intentionally. And even if they did date.. She wouldn't be one to cheat either!" She rambled.

The girl simply smiled, clearly pleased with the answer and lifted herself up slightly to be able to give the other a kiss. "... Okay." She said dumbly.

TOMI

Tomi was very glad that Skylar had her back towards her right now, because _my god_ could that girl dig herself into a whole with no shovel _or_ hands. Managing to get herself under control as Sky and Erin shared a moment, she waited until the shortest got herself settled back, square in the middle to say, "I think the fact that you're essentially arguing with yourself at this point, is just a sign that we should get some sleep. It's true we'll probably get to sleep on the ride back, but personally I don't know how comfortable I am with being unconscious around the likes of Lyra and Matheson for extended periods of time."

SKYLAR

Skylar mumbled incoherently as she rested back down. "Fine.." She sighed as she scooted further down so that she's fully laying down. "... Are you guys going to sleep here too?" The other beds were left untouched since they've arrived - sheets were still tucked in and smoothed out. The only things missing were the pillows they brought over. "Aunt Lyra and Matheson should just be in the back by themselves or have Aunt Nix join them... usually Aunt Lyra behaves when her cousin's there."

ERIN

At Skylar's question, Erin noted how Tomi began to make to get up and even mentioned heading over to one of he open beds, so she just shot an arm out across the redhead and placed her hand gently over Tomi's to settle her back down. "These sheets are already nice and loose, and your spots already warm, don't be silly. Just stay here with us. Not like it'd be the first time you shared a bed with Sky, and it wouldn't be the first time I shared a bed with two puppies," she said, laying down herself once she was sure they were all settled in.

SKYLAR

Once they were settled in, Sky turned to face Tomi, "Did you not want to sleep with us?" She chuckled quietly as she snuggled into the pillow, inching over slightly so she could see Tomi when she asked. "It's warmer here tho." Sleep was definitely winning over the wolf now that she was lying down. Her hands took her friends and gave a soft kiss on her knuckles. "Cuddles...Are good..." Skylar drifted off as she spoke.

#keagan benson #luke benson #lyra benson #phoenix calvetti #tomi oliver #erin russell #matheson russell #rikke holstein #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

Benson’s Cabin 10/31

Transcript below cut: 

SKYLAR

The balloon spent most of the car ride quiet as ever, even as they made their way into the cabin. Sky just plopped herself face down onto the couch in her costume. Her father's appearance affected her a lot more than she realized and she really didn't think it'd be possible. The fear she felt that he might actually find her and try to make her leave again - the wolf groaned in frustration because she could not believe she allowed him to affect her that way. Her hand was about to go to the zipper when she remembered that her mother was right there - so she dropped it again ... and let out another groan.

LUKE

She made quick work of unlocking the front door and made sure to count her 'ducklings' as they made their way in. A rather sad looking balloon, a rather cold looking ghostbuster, a ghostbuster that had only managed to catch a doggo, and a woman barely containing the rage of a thousand suns....all here. She closed the door, locked it, tossed the deadbolt, and engaged the security system, before the groans from the couch caught her attention.

"Well it sounds like _someone_ just called dibs on the bathroom to get cleaned, so I'll go ahead and help her out," she said as she bent to scoop her niece up and toss her over her shoulder like she was an actual weightless balloon. "I'll have her all sorted out. and we do have two other bathrooms. Feel free to make use. You can all help yourselves to any clothes you find."

SKYLAR

With a yelp, the balloon found herself very high up in the air. It truly didn't help that she was one of the smallest wolf in human form...And her aunt was also a personal trainer that lifting her was like if she weighed nothing. "Aunt Luke!" She looked up and hoped that any of the other three dwell, maybe not Keagan right now - would come save her.

Once they were in the bathroom, and Skylar was back onto her feet, she started to let it all deflate before stepping out of it. "....How does my face look?" The wold didn't want to look in the mirror just yet.

LUKE

There was a method to her madness, as was the usual. But it helped her sell the bit of Sky’s surprise was genuine, of course. Once away from the others, she watched as the balloon deflated -oddly reminiscent of a melting marshmallow- and out hatched her niece.

Folding her arms across her chest, she glanced down and made a face. “Well, first off, we made an excellent choice in lighting for this bathroom, so jot that down,” she started. “But, uh, yeah there’s no real way to _hide_ the bruises. So it’s up to you if you want to risk straight-up lying to your mom…_which_ I would not recommend…”

SKYLAR

The niece gathered her courage and turned to look at the mirror. Yup, there was all that discolouration her aunt mentioned earlier. Even if both Erin and Tomi helped out with the make up, it was got going to cover it. Bottom line, her mom was going to find out tonight. It was a matter of how she wanted to reveal it to her.

"I...Don't want to lie to her." Not only did she not want to as a general thing, it was best not to piss her mom off even more after the night they've had. "...Is she going to kill me? Like this.." she motioned to her face, "looks rough." This was what she got from fighting a half demon after all. "Is she going to ground me????" What if she wasn't allowed to see anyone, especially Erin? The dread that just clenched at her heart.

LUKE

Luke uncrossed her arms and held them out to placate the girl. “Whoa there, Mini-me. There is like a _huge_ gap between ‘kill you’ and ‘ground you’. The former she obviously would _never_ do, alright,” she said with a small nod. “She’d have to arrest to herself after and that’s complicated.”

A dumb grin later and she added, “She also can’t really ground you, being eighteen and all that jazz, so the most she might do is like tail you for the next three weeks to make sure you don’t fight again…though more realistically she’ll just find a way to say this is my fault and then ground _me_.”

SKYLAR

The younger one just let out a groaned, wrapping her arms around her aunt's waist. "I love you, Aunt Luke. Pray for me." Her dramatic flair decided to make itself known as she hugged Luke like it's her last hug ever. "And she can't ground you if she can't ground me. You're older than me." Skylar stayed in that position for a bit more before releasing the other. "Okay..." She braced herself. "Might as well get this over with.....Like a bandaid..." She mumbled as she walked out the bathroom. However, not even 2 steps out, she stopped and turned around. "Walk with me please?"

When she turned back to continue walking, it was evident that her pace slowed down by a lot by the time she approached the living room again.

LUKE

Arms wrapped around the smaller frame almost reflexively, face matching the -clearly overly dramatic- desolation at the inevitable conclusion to their deception. “I’ll do ten Hail Fathers and some Our Marys,” she reassured. Luke sighed at the logic and said, “You’re technically right, but knowing your mom if she really wants to she’ll arrest me for inciting violence between tinies or something.” As her niece finally let go and positioned herself to exit, Luke just grumbled, “This is the longest bandaid removal I’ve ever witnessed…”

Instead of a verbal response, she just fell in-step with the girl. At one point realizing that Sky was slowing down so much she was coming to a stop. So Luke did the most rational thing: she reached out and scooped the girl up by the underarms and walked the rest of the way down, effectively presenting her to the living room trio like a ginger Simba.

SKYLAR

Skylar couldn't prevent the yelp that escaped her lips again when she felt herself lifted into the air - again. "Aunt Luke!" She huffed before she faced the three who seemed to have all returned from sorting themselves out.

Her eyes immediately finding her mother's as she anxiously braced herself for her reaction upon seeing her bruised face. "....Um.. hi. I swear.. it looks a lot worse than it actually is..."

TOMI

It was not a new sight to see Luke handling Sky with the same ease and manner as if the redhead were still a toddler, and by the look on Erin’s face as they parted off to change, it wasn’t new for her either.

Of all the things she imagined coming back out to, Luke presenting Sky to Keagan wasn’t on her bingo card. Before the deputy could speak though, Tomi stepped in front or Sky and quickly said, “It was my fault, Aunty K! I dated an asshat and Sky just wanted to help!”

KEAGAN

It had been a night, and when they all came to the cabin, she tmhad thought that they were just going to make sure all the kids were okay after being semi confronted by their fathers before letting them be on their way to do whatever. But nope. It seemed that her best friend and her daughter had something else in mind. It did, however, put a small smile to her face when she noticed that the way Luke carried her kid hadn't changed all these years. The small stature most likely helped with that. However, when she got a better look at what the balloon had been hiding all night, that smile flipped into a frown.

Tomi - bless this kid - took the opportunity to speak first, saying that it had been her fault. Keagan could put the pieces together and came to the conclusion that Sky went to beat up said asshat. Then the asshat was definitely that DJ she heard about.

"Tomi, it's okay. It's not your fault. I'm sure you had no idea when you met the girl." She offered a warm smile, "And knowing my kid, she probably wanted the opportunity to punch something - the DJ was just the unfortunate choice. Wasn't it?" Was it a question? She looked to her daughter, hearing just how angry she had been from Luke, Keagan guessed that the kid just redirected her anger onto someone else who also happened to deserved it. She understood because she wanted to punch Ricky herself. Sky really was her kid. "Clearly my kid asked for more than what she could chew judging by her face." She sighed, "You're an adult now, so you're responsible with your own choices and in this case, sporting those bruises for the rest of the week seems to be your punishment. I'm assuming the balloon was Luke's punishment."

ERIN

Erin managed to come back out to the living room just in time to watch as her girlfriend was basically presented as a sacrifice to her own mother. Her brow furrowed slightly, not really wanting to grimace or do any major facial expression that may end up influencing Keagan’s reaction. Luckily her sister wife was able to jump in, and give the woman at least a ten second pause before reacting.

At Keagan’s words, Erin finally spoke up and said, “That’s exactly what _I_ told her! Both hers! Sister wife’s not to blame, and tiny wife made her own bed now she can lay it. Also, I think Luke used the terms ‘idea’ and ‘suggestion’ for the costume, this considering wolves run hot, I’m sure Sky figured out it was punishment soon enough.”

SKYLAR

Her mouth dropped when her girlfriend basically said "I told you so". But hearing what both Keagan and Erin said, Skylar didn't have much to say back about it. They both seem to think Skylar deserved it. At least Tomi tried to defend her for a bit even though everyone in the room knew it wasn't her fault. "It's okay, Tomes.." she shrugged with a small smile "I did go after her on my accord so they're not wrong. This-" she pointed to her face, "was all me."

From what she gathered, her mom wasn't going to punish her more than she already had so..That was a good sign? She looked over to Luke and gave her aunt a small smile, almost silently saying that its a relief that at the very least, it wasn't her last day on earth.

TOMI

Stepping aside enough to where she could actually face her friend, the small frown remained. “I’m well aware of the fact that once you get an idea set in that hard head of yours there’s very little to be done about talking you out of it,” she relented, “But I still feel like I could’ve done a better job of maybe underselling the whole thing? I mean, yeah I guess it was importan to let the grown ups know about the Scion bit, but like I could’ve at least made sure you remembered that fighting between supernaturals can have an affect on healing factors.”

KEAGAN

“Okay.” She clapped after having a feeling that this might go on forever because this wasn’t the first time she had seen this happen over the years. “So we’re all in agreement that Skylar should have thought her actions over a bit more carefully.” Her warning look stopped whatever argument her daughter was going to give. Her look then softened as she stood up and walked over to Sky, bringing her into a tight embrace. “At least you won.” Her tone still filled with pride. All those years training with Luke paid off, somehow. And part of the sentiment was to protect her own. Keagan couldn’t get mad at that. Pulling back enough, she studied the younger Benson’s face - both the bruises and overall well-being because not long ago, the girl was shaken by her dad’s appearance.

LUKE

It hadn't dawned on her that she'd moved up to right behind her niece, much less wrapped an arm protectively across the front of the kid until she had to let go in order for Keagan to bring her into a hug. Taking a step back as inconspicuously as she could manage, she brought the hand she'd dropped from around Skylar to rest her hip and said, "Sweet! Glad that's been sorted....without further casualties."

Suddenly feeling the overwhelming sense of being the odd one out -and not really certain why- she opted to excuse herself and said, "I'm going to go make some snacks because I realize I still _didn't_ eat. Anyone want anything?"

SKYLAR

She hugged her mom back, thankful that her punishment wasn't any worse. At the sound of food, the wolf perked up. "I want food. I.. didn't really eat." The girl was in a balloon suit the entire night and she didn't dare to take it off so it went without saying that Sky didn't eat either.

"What snacks do we have?" she asked as she pulled away from her mom to run into the kitchen, just to sit on one of the stools by the counter.

LUKE

Luke wasn’t surprised in the least when the youngest wolf spoke up first. She kept a fully stocked kitchen for a reason. As she opened a few cabinets and the pantry, she turned around to give Sky a mischievous look as she said, “Looks like I have everything to whip up a couple of bowls of ‘Trash’.”

The name was terrible but the duo had come up with on purpose, so that Sky could be honest when answering what she had been packed for lunch but still make it to where no one asked her to share. Turning back to the pantry she said, “We can go regular, sweet and salty, or spicy?”

SKYLAR

She grinned at the meal that Luke was going to make, "I was spicy - Wait, do you guys want to eat too? Because then we might not make it that spicy...?" She asked without even explaining what Trash was supposed to be nor was she going to explain what it was either.

The girl reached out and took her girlfriend's hand, guiding her in for a hug from her spot. "Are you willing to dare trying out a spicy version of this mysterious food?"

ERIN

Erin stepped over to give her sister wife a quick hug goodnight when she opted out of food and decided to go up and read a bit. She figured she meant her mom’s journal, but didn’t pry.

When her girlfriend reached out for her, she gladly let herself be pulled into a contraceptive-free hug for the first time that entire night. The nice feeling of the hug was quickly replaced by a tinge of fear as she said, “Uh, that depends: are you cooking or is Luke? Because her root beer noodles were tasty and yours were…not even edible…I love you.”

KEAGAN

"Sky is not going to cook." She said it with such resolution because she knew that her daughter was not that great of a cook. And frankly, she just trusted Luke's cooking in general. There didn't seem to be anything the younger woman wasn't good at either. She looked over at Erin, "I think you'll be fine with any choice and not worry about indigestion." She laughed at the face her daughter was giving her. "Did you ever teach Sky how to cook over the years?"

LUKE

Luke was smart enough not to really say anything once Erin brought up the root beer noodles. Mainly because, as seemed to be tradition, the name the redheaded duo chose for the dish made it sound far, _far_ worse than it was. Instead she’d busied herself gathering what she needed and starting prep.

Needless to say, when Keagan addressed her directly, the question she was asked was not the one she expected, but she would take it. “I did give it an honest try, and I know if left alone for a week she won’t necessarily starve… _but_ like most wolves she’s much better at _eating_ the food…”

SKYLAR

"Guys, I'm right here." She mumbled into her girlfriend, "Everyone is bullying me. The one who isn't is upstairs reading..." Of course, she had a feeling Tomi's reading the journal she received earlier, which is why she hadn't decided to bail on this snack group to join them. "I can cook *some* stuff and they're edible and they actually taste fine."

"Most wolves.." She started, "Are you saying mom can't cook either?"

LUKE

"I can vouch that you _can_ cook some stuff," Luke started as she worked, "I mean, this day and age using a microwave totally counts as cooking." Though it might seem like a dig, she was actually very serious. "Whether it tastes fine or not...well, let's be honest with ourselves, there's a reason you usually get Erin to cook your stream meals when you don't order out."

The follow up question caused her to pause again. Turning to face the awaiting faces, she scrunched up her own as she thought about how best to answer the kid. "Well...I mean, I'm not saying that your _princess_ tendencies are genetic, **but** you've met our aunt Lyra, and you've met your grandparents, so the real question is, 'when would Keagan Anna Calvetti have ever had to cook outside of survival in the field?"

SKYLAR

"Wait, I can totally cook more than with just using the microwave." She pouted, "That's so not the reason why I get Erin to cook - I just like her cooking more." She mumbled against her girlfriend. "And I very much appreciate whenever she takes the time to cook. You guys make it sound like my cooking is completely inedible. That's just rude."

Sky frowned, "So.. you're saying yes, my mom can't cook either. Wait, she's been away from home for so long - I'm worried about her health now, like what has she been eating??" Maybe it was a good thing that she's home after all and not just because Sky just wanted her home in general.

LUKE

“I wasn’t saying you _only_ cooked with a microwave. I was actually trying to _validate_ cooking with a microwave so it could be added to your culinary repertoire _but_ I’m beginning to sense that tonight may have left everyone’s feels a wee bit…_sensitve_. Speaking of which, I know a lot happened, and I’d just like to remind everyone that my metaphorical door is always open, and I’ve been told I make a decent listener.”

Luke immediately turned back to her task and simply said, “She’s literally right there. Ask her about her calcium intake or if she’s getting enough D….from the sun, that is.”

KEAGAN

"Never you mind what my daily meals were." She cleared her throat, not wanting to approach this topic at all because Luke was damn right when she said she only cooked for survival purposes only. And because she was far too busy to actually cook, most of her meals were bought from outside - and a lot of that were fast food. Keagan did *not* have the healthiest lifestyle. She looked from her best friend to her daughter. "I know I haven't been around that much, but I'm here now too so if *anyone* wants an extra ear.. I'm there for you too."

Keagan only heard what happened and the aftermath of it all from Luke, but the anger towards Richard just grew immensely within her from watching how her daughter was reacting to it. She really should've been here for both Luke and Sky over the years.

ERIN

It was more than obvious that having her father randomly show up at the party had rattled Sky, and from what she knew, the witch didn't blame her one bit if she was still a little out of sorts now. Skylar was normally a very cuddly girl, even before they'd actually started dating, but tonight she was being especially affectionate, and in plain view of her mom and aunt to boot, which was even more telling. Knowing from experience that there really was nothing better to soothe the soul than a good conversation with two women you love, she dropped a kiss on her girlfriend's head, before reaching out for one of snack bowl's Luke had set before them.

"Well, I for one can only say that I'm glad my mother married an Italian, because English cooking can be quite...uh, not as a great," she said with light laugh, before turning to Sky, "If it's alright with you, I think I'll take mine up. MJ followed Tomi, and I'd like to get at least one in ep of Midsommer Murders before bed?" What she really wanted was to give the girl some time alone to talk things through with her mom, and Luke. She knew the sentiment would come across without needing to be so obvious. "Promise to wait up for proper good-night kiss though."

SKYLAR

It was only a matter of time before everyone picked up that Skylar was still shaken up from the party. She had *hoped* that she was able to play it off and not cause worry for anyone but cleary it failed. The youngest at the kitchen reluctantly released her girlfriend from her hold since she was politely excusing herself to give the rest of them some privacy. "Okay.." She smiled softly with a small nod. Skylar was already missing the warmth from Erin but she wasn't going to make her stay. "I'll see you in a bit."

Skylar waited until Erin disappeared upstairs before turning back to her family, the girl let out a sigh and slouched against the counter tops. "Sorry, Aunt Luke.." She mumbled her apologies. The cabin was well enforced with enough security to leave anyone feeling safe but Skylar still felt as if her father could just appear out of thin air and grab her out of here again. Away from home, which was the *last* thing she'd ever want.

LUKE

To the ‘chef’ her favorite part of making ‘Trash’ was that cleanup involved throwing away some packaging and shoving a baking dish into the dishwasher for later. Satisfied her kitchen was prim and proper, she turned in time to wave Erin off and see a pout already forming on her niece’s face.

Luke didn’t really feel it was her place to initiate the conversation, and figured if anything, this might be a time for her to also excuse herself and allow the girl to find the needed comfort in her mom. But that idea went out the window when she heard Skylar speak. Moving over to her side of the counter, she sat on the stool next to the kid and reached out to scoop her up onto her lap -something she was certain the girl would appreciate having happened _after_ her girlfriend’s exit- and wrapped her up in a hug. They’d found themselves in a similar position many times in Seattle, and Luke was quick to place a kiss to the girl’s head as she adamantly stated, “Oh, baby girl you have _nothing_ to be sorry about. You know that.”

SKYLAR

Not even fighting against it this time, Sky eased into her aunt's lap and wrapped her arms around the other as she buried her face into the crook of the neck. They had always been close but these hugs became a lot more frequent over their 'trip' to Seattle. "But I shouldn't let it affect me this much." She mumbled, "All he did was *show up*." The girl felt so ridiculous because she didn't even confront him like her mother did. The way she froze when she heard that he wanted to talk to her.

Breaking the hug, she turned enough to be able to see Keagan while still tucked into her aunt's neck. "I thought he wasn't going to come back, so why is he here?" She stilled, "He isn't trying to get me to leave again, is he?" She couldn't possibly leave again - Fallcrest was her home. "Why does he always show up when things are normal again? Mom is here.. *We're* home.. I got my friends back.. I got an amazing girlfriend." Her breath hitched, ".. Why does he keep trying to ruin it..?"

LUKE

It did nothing short of break Luke’s heart to hear and see Skylar like this, and it was her determination to make the kid feel better before anything else that was keeping her own eyes from welling up. After all, Luke would never claim to know _exactly_ how her niece was feeling right now, but if anyone had an idea and could empathize, it was probably her… She let Sky get her worries out, and didn’t dare interrupt because the last thing she wanted was to in anyway make the girl feel like she didn’t have room for free expression.

Once she was certain the tiny girl was taking a breather, Luke leaned her head in such a way that she knew she had Sky’s attention. “First thing’s first: I don’t **ever** want you to worry about having to leave Fallcrest, or any other place again, without _your_ full consent. I give you my word- No, I _swear it_ on my life, that Skylar Anne Benson will not be taken from anywhere against her will or without her own volition ever again,” she reached to take hold of one of Sky’s hands, using one of the girls fingers to mark an ‘x’ over her chest, before resting the girl’s palm on her heart, “cross my hear and hope to die.” For good measure -and in a bid to lighten the mood, as always- she took Sky’s finger again and brought to her eye as she said, “Stick a wolf claw in my eye.”

LUKE

Feeling that even her word didn’t quite do the trick, at least her antics would’ve eased the girl’s nerves a little more, she stood up and carried her over to the living room sofa and set her down. She didn’t want to deprive the kid of the comfort she clearly needed, but Luke needed to be sure Sky could see her face clearly for the next part. Sitting on the coffee table directly across from her niece, she reached out and took to small hands in her own.

“I know there’s very, _very_ few things about me that I don’t really talk about a lot, and my parents are one of them,” she began, “But you’re eighteen now, and I’m not even remotely delusional enough to think that you didn’t go around asking other people-“ she glanced over at Keagan “-who would have zero reservation in looping you in. Short story, long: My dad was a lot like your dad. I guess in some cases the apple _really_ doesn’t fall far from the tree…like at all…even if we don’t know where the tree even is.”

LUKE

Luke cleared her throat as she realized she got off track a bit, and said, “I want to make it very clear to you that people like our dads aren’t actually thinking about how to ruin things for other people. They’re just incredibly _selfish_ and are too busy thinking about what _they_ want to even stop and consider how their actions may affect others around them. It’s not a good trait, by any means, but my point is that whatever Ricky does, it has no direct reflection on _you_. He didn’t do it because of you and he, unfortunately, wouldn’t have done it for you either.”

She leaned in, and made sure to catch what was practically a mirror of a gaze. “I know it’s shitty when your dad is an asshat, but I promise you he will never have any say in your life whatsoever. He may be a werewolf, but he’s nothing compared to an angry _Ook_.”

KEAGAN

Just watching the two of her favourite people in the world bond like this was too endearing that even she had to look up to the ceiling to prevent her own tears from falling. Luke was so good, so soft when dealing with her daugther and for the youngest to be this comfortable to confide in the other. The scene itself was just beautiful to watch - although it did make her feel a bit left out. However, she wouldn't dare to say anything right now to ruin the moment. She was just thankful that the two of them had each other while she was away so frequently.

Keagan followed the two over to the living room, sitting on the arm of the armchair nearby as she watched Luke vowed for SKy's safety. Needless to say, she too would do the same. Nothing and no one will take Sky against her will. And now that she's also here, surely no one was dumb enough to try - although it was hard to tell with her ex-husband sometimes. After all, he did boldly take her daughter all the way to Seattle without notifying her. She silently smiled at Luke's attempt to make Sky smile - which succeeded for what it's worth for there was a ghost of a smile on the red-head's face.

KEAGAN

When her eyes met Luke at the topic of the Benson's, she gave a shrug. The kid asked, therefore she answered. Keagan may not have told the full story but she did let Sky know a bit about them and also tried her best to keep her own opinions to herself about them. This was Luke's story to tell after all. Keagan did, however, let out a snort at how Luke implied that the patriarch of the Bensons was missing. But nothing Luke said was a lie and she knew that which was why she was so pissed at Richard. The man was selfish to the core and didn't even stop to think how all of his actions affected Skylar.

She moved off the arm and settled onto the couch next to Skylar, wrapping her arm around the other. "He's an asshat, alright." She spoke as she rubbed her daughter's arms for comfort. "I'm sorry you had to deal with him like that, baby. But like you said, I'm here too. Both Luke and I are here for you and you're going to be safe if either of us has anything to say about it." The corners of her lips lifted slightly as she continued. "Also, we give you full permission to jab him in the throat if you see him - Not entirely condoning violence but if you want to, you could." She quipped.

LUKE

The trainer sat back a bit when Keagan came in to sit beside the girl, wanting to give the mother and daughter a bit of space. She couldn’t help the smile that overcame her features at being able to see her niece so easily and freely find comfort in her mother’s presence, knowing that it had been something the girl had longed for. She felt a small knot begin to from in the back of her throat, and was more than glad at Keagan’s timing with her quip regarding violence, as it allowed her let out a light chuckle and work around it.

Hoping to keep the mood on the upward trajectory -and maybe a teeny bit in a bid to distract her own self- Luke let out a sigh and said, “Hey, you know, I also hear there’s a _new_ deputy in town. They may be amenable to our cause or I might be able to find someone-“ She paused and made a show of running a hand trough her hair and striking a few poses to highlight her jaw before turning back to the pair and finishing, “-who is _actually_ charming enough to convince them to help.”

SKYLAR

If the girl could look any smaller, she would as she curled into her mom though her own hand still holding onto one of Luke's. She loved her aunt since the woman practically raised her on behalf of her mom, but it felt different to have her mom home. It felt *good* to have all the people she loved in one place and not having to worry about their safety. Skylar was aware of how dangerous her mom's job could be and though she never voiced it, she would always get paranoid if a call comes in because what if something *did* happen to Keagan?

"I'm really glad that mom's the new deputy." She snorted when Luke suddenly started posing. "I guess you mean me, right?" Her teasing tone was back. "Mom already said I could punch him if I wanted to ... so..." She shrugged as she sat back up straight, growing quiet for a beat, "Thanks Aunt Luke.. Mom.. For talking this out with me...but as much as I would love to take up more of your time.. my girlfriend's waiting.. and I should check on how Tomes is doing.."

LUKE

“Oh? I couldn’t tell for a bit there if you were okay with her now being around to be in your business all the time or not. Your reaction to the whole thing was kind of ambiguous,” she said with feigned confusion. A small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth as she simply said, “Of _course_ I meant you. You’re the most charming person I know, inability to walk backwards through walls aside…” Her tone became a bit less teasing at the thought of Skylar physically confronting RIcky. “Yes well, you’ll have absolutely no need to even consider the option, because I’m going to _make sure_ he’s never even in the same building as you.”

Luke nodded at the thanks and in understanding, allowing the kid to get up off the couch before saying, “You may actually want to just go on up to Erin. Something tells me Tomi will find us if she needs us.” Reading the musings of your late mother as she went through nine-months of carrying you in her womb? That probably required some uninterrupted alone time. She waited until she heard the door to the room close upstairs, to just let herself fall back onto the -luckily sturdy oak- coffee table, a dull thud sounding as her head hit. “I need a drink.”

KEAGAN

She watched as the little one make her way upstairs before turning her attention back to her friend. The two sat in silence until they both heard the door close and not a moment later, Luke collapsed fully onto the coffee table. "You did really well though." She offered, "With Sky. Makes me glad that she's got you in her corner." God, if only she could tell the other that Sky was actually her daughter. "What *do* you have here to drink?" With the Scoobs running in and out, Keagan wasn't sure they'd even keep alcohol here. "I could use a beer."

LUKE

There was no move to indicate that she was planning on leaving her current spot on the coffee table anytime soon, but even as Luke kept her eyes closed, she did manage a wry smile. “I’ve unfortunately had practice,” she said, a sigh following immediately after. “Cleaning up after my brother has become something of a specialty of mine. _But_, all in all I’m just glad it’s given the tools to ensure that kid doesn’t have to ever feel _she’s_ the one dealing with a mess that isn’t her own.”

One more deep breath and a sigh later, Luke finally sat back up and smirked at the question. “Oh I may have a bit of variety for you. You’ll have to follow me up to my office though. As much trust as I have in the kids that are in and out of this place, I’d still rather not risk having temptation within easy reach for them.” Standing up, she led them into the ‘office’ -as they’d dubbed it- which was the main room where Luke did editing, audio recording, management, etc.

Once she’d closed the door behind Keagan, she walked over to her desk and unlocked the top of three drawers only to reveal them to be a fake faced for a mini-fridge door. “I’m sure this probably looks more like I’m a secretly functional alcoholic, but I swear it’s just a means to keep it from the kids,” she said, “Most of the contents are here for the benefit of other folks anyway. Editing and such can get tedious. Feel free to help yourself though.” Luke for her part, just grabbed the bottle of vodka in the ‘freezer’ bin, though she was still a bit hesitant to actually take her ‘needed’ drink.

KEAGAN

"That is something that you shouldn't have been tasked with to begin with." She sighed, "Maybe he would've figured out how to get his head out of his own ass if he had to deal with the consequences on his own." Not that she was blaming Luke because she figured long ago that the other didn't have much of a choice given who the parents were. "I should've kicked him out earlier so that Sky didn't have to listen to all his bullshit."

Oddly enough, she did not expect that the alcohol would just be stored in Luke's office of all places. "I.. never thought I'd see a hidden fridge for alcohol." She chuckled as walked over to see the choices before finding one of her favourite brands. She couldn't help the smirk when she spotted what Luke opted for instead. "Oh wow, I didn't know we were going for hard liquor tonight." Keagan figured the other one really needed it since she had been the one taking on most of the work in both dealing with Ricky *and* comforting Skylar.

With her beer, Keagan turned and leaned against the desk - half standing half sitting on it as she took her time to take a few good sips before speaking again. "...Maybe I should join you on that vodka." The beer wasn't quite hitting the spot right now.

LUKE

“No, it isn’t,” Luke agreed without hesitation. “But even with all the magic at our disposal, we still can’t do anything to change the past. So, all I can do is focus on the present and make sure that my actions in the here and now _don’t_ have the same negative effect my loved ones, that those of others had on me.”

Luke offered her a sympathetic look. If anyone knew how that man functioned it was her. “You did what you felt was right in the moment, and kept things from escalating. Ricky was looking for someone to be the bad guy so he could play the victim with Sky and get her on his side to mess with you later. Predictable and I had _zero_ issues being his ‘villain’ because I know Skylar, and she knows me.”

Taking a seat in her desk chair, she pushed off a bit so she could prop her boots on the desk. “It’s in the office to keep away from the kids. It’s hidden to keep away from your _sister_,” she replied, recalling the last time she had to deal with a drunk Lyra and briefly getting a thousand-yard stare to rival any Marine… Knocking back another quick swig of vodka, Luke glanced up and simply said, “Beer is gross and wine won’t cut it.”

At the suggestion of sharing, she simply held out the bottle but then quickly pulled it back and said, “Sorry, did you want a shot glass? Bottle’s got my cooties now.”

KEAGAN

"That's a nice mindset to have." Skylar was definitely in good hands since it was clear as day that Luke would never let anything bad happen to her ever. While Keagan tried to have the same mindset, it obviously didn't go as plan sometimes - especially with what happened tonight.

"I think your method was the best way to keep things from escalating. Just kicking him right off the property... but that knowing that weasel, he would probably find his way *here* and that wouldn't be any better." In fact, Keagan had a feeling that it'd be worse because he would then know exactly which one was Sky. "It's also ridiculous that he didn't think that everyone at the diner knew *you* and knows straight up that he was bullshitting out of his ass."

She let out a laugh, knowing exactly why alcohol needed to be hidden away from Lyra. She adored her younger sister, but that girl needed to learn to control her intake. "You say that like Lyra wouldn't bring her own stash. That woman is prepared to drink on any occasion."

Her eyes rolled as she reached out to grab the bottle from the other, wincing after taking a sip from it. "Oh, this hits better." She snuck in another sip before handing back the bottle.

LUKE

At the mention of her brother finding his way back to the cabin, an odd look crossed over Luke’s features that ended in her scrunching up her face a bit as she said, “Yeah…I don’t think he’ll be making his way here any time soon…or at all. So, no need to waste your time even worrying about that one.” Taking a longer pull from the vodka bottle she added, “Besides, even _if_ he did for whatever reason find his way here, I’ll be set up in the living room anyway so I can run interference before he even gets a chance to catch Sky’s scent.”

The thousand-yard stare gave way to a grimace. “Yeah, I learned that the hard way. But we’ve managed to reach an agreement where she’s not allowed to show up with more than _one_ bottle of wine if she expects to get to see Sky, because otherwise it’s hard to get Lyra to put her pants back on and the kid doesn’t need that mental image…._no one_ needs that mental image.”

Chuckling at the woman’s reaction, she lightly shook her head as she waved the bottle away and said, “Keep it, I’m pretty set.”

KEAGAN

Keagan wasn't going to question it if Luke seemed adamant that the man wasn't going to be around at all. Frankly, she could have said that she murdered the man and the new deputy might just turn a blind eye. It did take her by surprise when Luke mentioned about camping out in the living room. "You're going to sleep here for the night?" Part of her wasn't sure if Luke was just setting up here in the case that Ricky decided to really come bother them after all. If that was the case, her heart just broke a little, wondering how often Luke had to basically stand guard for her kid - something that she should have been here for as well.

"Yeah.. I heard she's been behaving." She sighed, "Sorry about Lyra.. I thought she'd be a bit more controlled in the presence of a kid." the elder sister grimaced at the lack of thought done by her sister. "Has Lyra come by when I wasn't around?" It was hard enough to get updates from her family during her time away but she thought perhaps they would keep tabs on each other from time to time. Ricky would obviously never do such a thing - the two didn't like each other anyways.

Keagan shrugged and kept the bottle, throwing it back. When she put it back down, the deputy sat there in silence as she thought about how the night progressed. "... Still feels pretty surreal that I'm back even after hanging out with everyone, that I'm not going to leave my kid or you behind again any time soon." The older woman let out a small groan as she stretched out her back, "Oh right, *Deputy*. I still haven't wrapped my mind around *that*."

LUKE

She chuckled at the question and said, “Not exactly _here_, but yeah I’ll be in the living room. I’m honestly a bit to revved up for sleep to come any time soon anyhow,. Even though I am a _lowly_ human among wolves with super-senses, I didn’t need those to know that Sky wasn’t sleeping through the night when we first came back to the cabin. I’m sure that like back then, it’ll take her a bit to settle back but I learned that she was much more likely to go back to bed quicker if she saw I was still up when she happened to ‘do a check’. I’m hoping between me in the living room, her Deputy mom just at the other end of the hallway, and her girlfriend probably cramped into one of the small beds with her because bless that child but she would never think to just push both small beds _together_ -“ she paused her rambling to take a breath and let out a sigh, “- that she’ll be able to get some rest.”

Luke shrugged with a soft half-smile, after all, regardless of her theatrics, the redhead had nothing but love for her oldest friend. “Her heart’s always in the right place, but alcohol can have a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde effect on _any_ person, given he right circumstances….and I think five bottles of Merlot would lend itself to those circumstances.” She let out a small chuckle and was quick to add, “She’s been down here at least twice, but you know her and your parents. Once they left Fallcrest they didn’t really look back all that much. Your parents still call and video chat with Sky pretty regularly and I’ve driven out to visit them….mostly because I wanted to avoid your mom yelling at me and threatening to take her away again if I didn’t share - which wasn’t my fault to begin with, because we were in fucking _Seattle_.”

LUKE

A smile began to ease its way onto her face as Keagan spoke, mostly out of just getting to see her easing back into the Keagan she grew up with and less the woman who was constantly on-guard even when off the clock. It only grew at the reminder that Skylar was going to her mom around for good. At the mention of getting to be with Luke as well, the smile faltered slightly. If only because she still hadn’t fully processed _that_ yet. “Yeah…you know, I expected that after party I’d be having a bit of sit-down conversation with Skylar, but I certainly hadn’t expected it to be the one we _did_ have.” She gave her a bit of mock-stern look as she corrected, “_Chief_ Deputy. You’re the knew boss of the underlings. Do try not to let the power go to your head.”

KEAGAN

It was moments like this that had her feeling guity, sad, and slightly angry at herself all at the same time because Keagan missed out on so much of Sky's life. Even at during the talk a while ago, Luke knew exactly what their daughter wanted, how she was feeling - all of that. Keagan just stood in the back, watching the two interact, and as heart-warming it was to see the two people she loved doing so, she felt like a terrible mother. It was often her job that kept her away, but part of her knew it would be simple to get herself stationed at Fallcrest, like Blake. Sky, bless that child, never vocally complained to her about it but Keagan knew how disappointed the kid was everytime she had to leave. "I wish she didn't have to go through this in the first place." Skylar didn't deserve to have a shit dad like Ricky and it really was due to Keagan's dumb idea to marry him. "I also hope that your brother isn't dumb enough to approach the cabin."

The brunette gave a small smile, nodding at the fact that her sister got to visit. "That's good. Sky really is probably the only reason why she'd step foot in Fallcrest again. The 'Born in Fallcrest, Die in Fallcrest' don't really stretch out to them." She chuckled as she took another swing at the bottle. "I'm sure my parents know it wasn't your fault that the two of you haven't visit. Especially if you mentioned Ricky was involved." She rolled her eyes, "I swear my mom cares more about Skylar than either of her own two daughters. The last time I got the chance to speak to mom? The first thing she said when she picked up the video call was that 'oh good, you're still alive.' Not sure if that's what I want to hear after not being in contact for that long."

KEAGAN

She put the bottom on the desk as she frowned at what Luke just said, "What do you mean?” Her eyes rolled at the clarification that she opted to include because it felt weird to be suddenly handed the role of deputy - much less chief deputy. “I think I’ll be fine. I’ve had subordinates before remember? Blake’s one of them.”

LUKE

Without much thought she reached out and took the empty hand as she looked up -a rarity- at Keagan from where she herself sat at her desk chair. “Hey, whatever rabbit-hole you’ve managed to fall down that’s suddenly got your smile all upside-down, you know you can tell me right? I know we may be a little rusty, but I’ve known you since you were twelve. There’s a decent chance I can help you find your way back out.” She didn’t push any further nor pry into details of what may be upsetting the older woman, knowing that if Keagan wanted her to know, she’d tell her eventually. If not, at least Luke had done her part and offered to listen. It was a routine as old as time. Luke gave the hand in hers a reassuring squeeze as she said, “If wishes were fishes, the whole world would be an ocean…I admittedly never quite got how that saying was meant to be work, but I know basically it means we should focus on what we can control and not waste energy on the ‘what ifs’ and such. All of this to say, she’ll be fine. _We’re_ going to make sure she’s fine.” At the mention of her brother once more, Luke just groaned a bit before sighing and saying, “I did warn him that the cabin’s currently housing Jimmy’s daughter, a protective witch, and a _very_ protective and pissed of wolf mother….also, I have a collapsible bo staff now so it’s his funeral.”

LUKE

Luke wasn’t afraid of many things. Some might even say she wasn’t afraid of anything. But they’d be wrong. Because she was most definitely terrified of the Calvetti matriarch. “I know that Ianthe wouldn’t have blamed me, but they’ve always had that thing where they’d rather be the ones to have been caring for Skylar while you were away over Ricky having custody. Which in hindsight, probably would’ve been the better option for her but Fallcrest is her home and I’m a selfish aunt so…” She trailed off not really knowing where that was headed, but not wanting to find out. Instead she just laughed at the anecdote Keagan shared. “Well, I see that being direct is a genetic trait then. It did get a little diluted in Mini-me, but it’s definitely still there.”

At the question of what she meant, her stomach dropped involuntarily and very much uncomfortably at the thought that maybe Keagan had forgotten their conversation behind the diner. Granted, with everything that followed, she couldn’t really blame her. Even her own priority list didn’t quite have ‘them’ at the top at the moment. “Not all that important,” she said with a small shake of her head and a shrug. Before anything further could be said, she let out a small laugh at the mention of Blake being her subordinate. “Oh I’m very aware. Blake wouldn’t shut up about for at least a month.”

KEAGAN

The shorter woman looked down - which didn't happen very often - and offered a smile. The trained smile she often had on, "It's probably a conversation we might have another day but not tonight." It wasn't a tactic to avoid talking about it, but Keagan really wasn't up for it tonight after the night they've had already. "I'm not saying I won't tell you, I just... not tonight." She sighed as she returned the squeeze. Luke had always been the more optimistic out of them. "Well, that's a given." As if either of them would ever let anything happen to the youngest Benson. There was a reason why she wasn't ever worried when she left home. Skylar was in capable hands.

"I think anyone would be preferable over Ricky. He's an asshole and even my parents knew it." She scoffed, "You say that, but you know my parents trust you. If they really didn't, they could have found a way to have Skylar be brought to them instead. You're family too, Luke. Surely you still know that?" She frowned, "They're just overprotective about Sky. We all are." Her eyes rolled, "You keep saying that like it's a bad thing. Being direct gets the point across, gets things done." She snorted, "It's highly effective."

She felt a shift in her friend which only caused to frown even further. "Wait. Luke." She stopped the other, "What conversation were you referring to that you didn't expect to have today?" Now she wondered if she said something wrong when she asked the question. Her confusion only deepened, "Blake wouldn't shut about what? That I was her boss?"

LUKE

Her small smile didn’t even falter at the response, honestly not expecting any less. Keagan was direct about many things -mostly her opinions- but her emotions were hardly ever on that list. Unless the emotion was pissed off, of course. She nodded as she brought the woman’s hand up to place a light kiss on it and simply said, “More than fair considering how much talking we’ve already done.” Luke chuckled at he response to her reassurance, her own confidence bolstered by the trust that Keagan clearly had in her when it came to what was surely the most precious thing in the world to the older woman. “I’m going to ensure that _you’re_ okay too, ya know.”

At the comment on her brother, Luke could laugh lightly. It was never a secret how any of the Calvettis felt about him, Keagan now included, but it certainly did beg the question of how he wound up as their relative-in-law and husband…But Luke had never really been able to bring herself to ask that of Keagan, and she certainly wasn’t going to do _tonight_. “I mean, yeah, _logically_ I understand that, but emotionally I’m still allowed to be a little scared. _Especially_ when your dad doesn’t waste any opportunity to somehow remind me how he wishes I’d have been the Benson to marry his youngest daughter instead.” The look on her face was completely involuntary, and she could only hope that Kegan knew it wasn’t a dig at Lyra, but just the discomfort of marrying someone she practically considered her _own_ sister. “Being direct has never done anything for _me_ other than get me into trouble, so excuse me for wanting to find alternate methods of communication.”

LUKE

At the confusion that was clear in her friend’s tone, Luke opted to answer her questions in reverse order as the latter seemed far less important in the grand scheme. “Blake wouldn’t shut up about you being her boss, because apparently -and I quote- she just could never aim to beat that boss-ass-bitch…respectfully.” The redhead then dropped her feet from oof her desk and sat up properly in her chair. “As for the conversations with Sky, I just meant that no point did I ever plan on having to sit down and reassure her that she was safe from her idiot father…._but_ I did plan on having to sit down and have a conversation with her tonight…just about, you know, something entirely different.” She glanced up giving Keagan a pointed look.

KEAGAN

"Not just that. Just tonight in general was just a lot to process. It was one thing to the next. I know I have been away for a while but man.. were most gatherings like that because I swear, that is pretty stress inducing... anger inducing." She gave a small shrug herself, "Well, we'll make sure *everyone* is going to be okay." Though they did talk with one of their kid and was now spending time with her girlfriend, there was still another one who had been reading her mother's journal. God knew how she was feeling right now.

Now that was something she didn't know about until now, "My dad is trying to set you up with Lyra? I did not know that." Was she biased or she just didn't like that her dad was pairing off her best friend with her sister. "I.. don't know what you've said while trying to be direct, but it's mostly how I get a lot of things done." She laughed, "My family's, as you know, is pretty direct too. Skylar.." She definitely got Luke's influence. "I think she just didn't grow up with the Calvetti as much as we did."

"That's quite the compliment. I'll take it." She snorted. She had no idea her friend thought of her that way. Her laughter trailed when Luke elaborated about the conversations. "Oh, I did not think when you said that we'll tell her.. that you literally meant we'd tell her *tonight*. I don't mean to postpone it forever, just at least after a rest." She chuckled softly, squeezing the hand in hers, "But to be fair, that kid had been looking uneasy since the diner." It didn't slip her notice just how quiet their daughter was during the ride home even with both sisterwives with her.

LUKE

Luke could only let out a soft laugh as she nodded and said, “Yeah, that was kind of my point, _but_ I suppose that given exactly all those reasons I should’ve known better than try to be clever.” At the emphasis on everyone, a concerned look crossed her features.

As someone who never really got to know anything about her own birth mother, Luke and Tomi had always had a bit of an understanding between them. She couldn’t fathom what it would be like to suddenly have access to her mother’s thoughts or to deal with the fact the journal had obviously existed your entire life… “I think might actually have all three girls just take a mental health day tomorrow from school.”

She gave a shrug and said, “I’m sure with time being precious and sparse when it came to talking with you, he just probably didn’t see any reason why he should bring it up.” At the question of Luke’s own experience with directness, she once again shrugged and said, “Maybe I just don’t know when to pick my moments, so you’ll be much better suited to get Sky up to speed on that front.”

LUKE

Blue eyes widened as a look of complete embarrassment washed over her face. “Wha- no. No, no, no, no. That’s not- no,” was all she could manage for a moment as her thoughts raced faster than her brain could sort them out. “Sorry, I just- I didn’t mean that wanted to tell her tonight as in after everything that happened at the diner.” The thought that she’d be selfish enough to be bemoaning something that affected her over dealing with something that affected Skylar- it was gut punch. “I had the thought, briefly, as we made our way back inside the diner, but I assure you it went straight out the window as soon I saw my brother. I would never want to rush anything for my benefit at the expense of Mini-me’s well being. And honestly, after tonight, I think some time is definitely what she and Tomi are likely to need.”

Taking a breath, she sighed and let go of Keagan's hand as she brought both of her own to rub at her face tiredly. Sighing, but with a soft smile on her face she said, "I think it's honestly in everyone's best interest if we place _that_ conversation on the backburner until further notice to be honest."

KEAGAN

"Sounds like a plan.. and as much as I would love to also take the day off in case anything happens, I shouldn't skip on my *first* day at work." That would not make a good impression regardless of the high praises everyone seemingly was giving her. "Let me know if something does come up though. I'll be here as soon as I can."

She didn't blame anyone for not bringing certain things up since Luke wasn't wrong. Time had been sparse with her constantly away. However, this just made her feeling slightly left out as if she wasn't already feeling guilty for missing out on most of Sky's life. "I suppose there were other things to talk about. Although, I would think it was important to let me know that he was trying to hook up my *best friend* with my little sister." She snorted, "I don't know. It looks like whatever my kid is right now is working fine for her. Erin calls her a princess for a reason, you know."

The brunette's features soften when her friend started half panicking, "I know you wouldn't do anything that might affect Sky - It was just the first conversation that came to mind if it wasn't about what happened earlier." She laughed, "More than fair. I doubt we can cushion it entirely.." Keagan didn't even know how to handle a conversation with either of them when or if they find out that they were biologically related.

LUKE

Nodding solemnly, Luke simply stated, “Yes, well, speaking of _first day of work_, you should probably try to get some rest beforehand. Mick isn’t likely to be a hard-ass and just drop you into the deep end, but you’ve got a knack for wanting to hit the ground running regardless so… Can’t do that if you’re falling asleep at your desk.” At her words about getting a call to notify her of issues, Luke just a small face and said, “I do always try and make a genuine effort when I’m _aware_ it’s needed…fingers crossed and it _won’t_,however, because I’m certain everyone could use some down time after tonight.”

The redhead could only offer up a small shrug, having clearly underestimated how much of ‘thing’ this piece of information would become. “I think he just wants someone in Lyra’s life that might be able to act as some kind of stabilizing counter-force and figured why not someone she grew up with? I mean, would he even have a reason to consider me your _bestie for the resties_?” she chuckled. She couldn’t help the smile that came over her as she thought about those two, even if it did start out a little sheepish. “Oh-kaayy, I get it. She’s a little spoiled, but in my defense, she’s the only niece I got to have around all the time. If Toni had been allowed to stay over more, she’d be just as spoiled…maybe. On a different note, I’ve been rooting for Erin and Mini-me since Sky came home and basically spent the evening *gushing* about their initial meet-cute. It was one of the first times I’d seen her genuinely smile and her eyes light up since we’d made it back into town. If _that’s_ not princess material right there, I don’t know what is.”

LUKE

As relieved as she felt being reassured that it was known she would never put herself before her niece, Keagan’s additional words only served to bring to the forefront something that had been subconsciously churning at the back of her mind since they were standing in ankle deep-snow in the alley behind the diner. The question wasn’t meant to be said out loud, but it was in the air before she could stop it, “What if she’s _not_ okay about this? I mean, she’s a sensible kid -in spite of some overwhelming evidence to the contrary living on the internet- so the _past_ will be something she might react to in the moment, but she’ll realize it’s the past and that’ll be that. _But_ what about how she feels about the present?” Taking a moment to breathe, she shook her head and just stood up. “You know what, that’s a concern for another day. _You_ need sleep, because you have work tomorrow.”

KEAGAN

"You'd be surprised." She chuckled, although there was a part of her that thought it was plausible for her to fall asleep tomorrow because she wouldn't be used to sticking to her desk any time soon after years of being in the field. The adrenaline while being on the move was partially why she *could* work with lack of sleep - not the best idea but one had to adapt at times. Keagan only shook her head when Luke said that she made efforts when she was *aware*. If it were anybody else, she'd be concerned but the mother wolf knew Luke long enough to know that the woman was responsible when the time called upon it.

Guess she was going to have to talk with her dad about this. She didn't even know if *Lyra* knew about this. "Our kid is being spoiled by *almost* everyone she comes across." She laughed even though they both knew that Keagan spoiled her just as much as everyone else. "That sounded like a very cute thing to see. The girl's gushing about her girlfriend *now*. When she first started telling me all the things I've missed - You best believe Erin had a good chunk out of that time."

Keagan let out a sigh, putting a hand on the taller woman's shoulder - still taking advantage of rare moments that she was taller....until the other decided to stand up, so now she was just looking up instead. "We'll just.. have to see what happens. For better or for worse." Besides, the news of them *dating* would probably not be the most mind-blowing thing they would need to share with her. But that was a problem for another day - one that Keagan envisioned *many* many drinks to prep herself for it. "Knowing that kid, she might not say anything if she sees that we want to be together - Not saying that it would mean we would if she's uncomfortable with it. She'll probably have that guilty puppy look if she feels that she's what's stopping us." She joked. "Alright. I'll see you in the morning." She stretched out her back as she slowly made her way to her room - Luke's room.

#keagan benson #Luke Benson #erin russell #tomi oliver #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

RedWolfsDown Oop. Secret’s out. We’re coming to you soon so y’all better come! Tickets will be out soon. Stay posted. #ctrlcctrlv  #ctrlcctrlv2022tour

@ivmwc

#album #ft luke benson #ft tomi oliver #ft sean irwin

[skylvrbenscn]

skylvrbenscn​:

Skylar shook her head, not going to argue anymore because she wasn’t going to win. Instead she started to play with the dog’s fur, brushing it in one direction and then the other. “I don’t always get my way. Erin Russell, you’re making me sound a lot more spoiled than I am.” She chuckled, “And food is amazing. Good food is the best. Getting to try out all sorts of food is an adventure on its own. Aunt Luke is also getting better at cooking soooooo yes I love to eat good food.” 

The wolf huffed about it being jetpacking and not actually spooning. “I’m surrounded by freakishly tall people. The only time I was taller than someone was when Sean and I were still kids. He was tiny … and then his growth spurt happened. I did not get said growth spurt. I’m very offended that I didn’t.” 

“Hey, I am only speaking from personal experience. Maybe I’d find it easier to believe that you weren’t so thoroughly spoiled if you weren’t still sulking over the fact that there is still a very handsome boy sharing this bed with us right now,” she teased. “She really is, isn’t she? I still find it hard to believe that the woman who seems to pick up on things just by watching them done once or twice is also the same woman that has literally left a mark on our door frame because she constantly forgets to duck…”

Ering could only chuckle and point out, “Well, you took after your mom in the height department love. Not much to done about that. I’ll make a deal though, whenever we share your bed, you get to be whatever size utensil you want.” She then placed a soft, yet tame, kiss to Skylar’s lips. Whispering as she pulled away, “I was right about the pout.”

#end #erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

“You’re right,” she began as if finally acquiescing, “It’s not kidnapping…because it’s dognapping.” At the look the poor pup gave her, all Erin could do was give him a sympathetic look that said ‘I know buddy, I know’. She laughed at how affronted the redhead sounded. “I was more so saying that you are both very much used to getting your way, and have no idea what to do with yourselves on the rare occasions that you don’t….and also that you both love to eat possibly even more than you appreciate breathing,” she teased.

“Well, because you happen to be so compact that if I let you be the big spoon, then it would be less spooning, and more like jetpacking,” she stated. Erin reached up her hand and gently moved a stray strand of auburn hair out of the girls face as she said, “All in due time, Princess. I promise I’m a far more patient girl than you.”

Skylar shook her head, not going to argue anymore because she wasn’t going to win. Instead she started to play with the dog’s fur, brushing it in one direction and then the other. “I don’t always get my way. Erin Russell, you’re making me sound a lot more spoiled than I am.” She chuckled, “And food is amazing. Good food is the best. Getting to try out all sorts of food is an adventure on its own. Aunt Luke is also getting better at cooking soooooo yes I love to eat good food.” 

The wolf huffed about it being jetpacking and not actually spooning. “I’m surrounded by freakishly tall people. The only time I was taller than someone was when Sean and I were still kids. He was tiny ... and then his growth spurt happened. I did not get said growth spurt. I’m very offended that I didn’t.” 

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

“Instead of directly answering our question, allow me to suggest that you swap out MJ for say Kimi or Tilly, and then wonder how it may come across that you took the babies from their home, which they would’ve done willingly since they know you, and then you point out it’s not wrong because they’re happy -which being babies, they likely would be…” At the description of the mischievous guy between them, Erin could only laugh and say, “Sounds like he takes exactly after you, Princess.”

Erin narrowed her eyes at the girl immediately after the kiss. “Nice try Benson, but it’ll take more than a peck on the lips for me to turn against the baby of the house,” she replied, before adding, “But, I may have a solution.” The witch crawled up until she was sitting up on her knees, and proceeded to crawl over both the pups until she was occupying the snug spot between Skylar’s back and the wall. She then draped an arm over both other occupants and snuggled up to the redhead. “Compromise?”

“......It’s not kidnapping.” Her answer less confident as it was a while ago after Erin made the comparison. “It’s definitely not kidnapping.” She showered the dog with more kisses. MJ reacted with only a yawn before settling down again, evidently accustomed to the wolf’s antics by now. “I do not hold grudges!” She gasped, “Or are you saying that I’m easy to bribe?” 

Both Skylar and MJ watched as Erin moved around until she settled on the other side. “Why am I always the little spoon?” She mumbled, “At least MJ lets me be the big spoon.” Despite the complaints, Skylar leaned into the other and took comfort in the warmth. She turned herself enough so that she could get a proper look at Erin. “One day, we’ll have the room to ourselves.” 

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

“Yeah, according to my Criminalistics course, that’s not exactly accurate. It may even fall under what most investigators would deem to be ‘flawed logic’,” Erin replied, already prepared to share a bed with two puppies tonight. “I did figure something was up when he was purposely walking around you to get to me with his ball to play, but to think you refused him his treat…that is just callous Skylar.”

She simply rolled her eyes and took the other side of the bed. Turning so that she was facing Sky over the top of a rather fluffy head, she said, “Will you solemnly swear that MJ is the only both that will ever come between us?”

“Mmmm. Is it really flawed though? Look how happy MJ is? And he had so many treats that day! I couldn’t just keep feeding him, and it was getting close to dinner. Not that I think that would stop him but really, he had too many snacks that day and I’m pretty sure he got fed by everyone else too. This boy keeps doing round trips, thinking that we don’t know.” She kissed the dog on top of his furry head. “He only forgave me when I bought him this really big bone that was way too big for him.”

“I solemnly swear nothing but MJ will ever come between us.” She lowered MJ a bit so she could lean over to give a chaste kiss. “Well, unless you want to kick him out of the room?”

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

Erin could only watch in nothing short of pure amusement as redhead attempted to reason with the pup. A small part of her did wonder if perhaps on some level MJ did technically understand what Skylar was saying just by the sheer connection of their shared ancestor…but she figured that would probably be a question best asked of the girl’s mother.

As Skylar continued to go back and forth with MJ, she simply looked down at them both, the puppy clearly giving her the look, while MJ just gave her a look. All she could do was grin as she sat down on the edge of the bed herself and said, “This why we don’t dognap other people’s pets.”

“I didn’t dognap him!” She shook her head, “Dognapping him would be taking him against his will and by force which I have done neither. Besides, look how comfortable he was just now.” Sky wiggled down a bit and laid down with the dog. “Did you know this dog holds a grudge? Last time I didn’t give him another treat after he already had like.. 5 already... and he wouldn’t play with me for two weeks.” 

Skylar was very attached to MJ, especially when all her emotional support came from this dog and her aunt during their stay in Seattle. “Are you going to join us instead then?” In the end, Skylar wasn’t willing kick out the dog. 

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

Erin chuckled not really knowing what she found the most endearing right in this moment: Skylar’s inability to hold her gaze properly or her admission to feeling anxious over a possible rejection. “Well, if it’s any consolation to you whatsoever, I am very much not a natural flirt, and had honestly been pulling back earlier for the same reason.” At the redhead’s description of her anxiety, Erin couldn’t help but bring a hand up to the wolf’s chest, the steady drumming beneath causing her to sigh the overwhelming thought that Erin was the cause of that. She slipped her hand further up to cradle Skylar’s neck as she kissed her once more.

As the younger girl suddenly made to practically drag her up the stairs, Erin couldn’t help the laugh that tumbled from her lips, not really being able to recall the last time someone made her feel as genuinely happy as this little firecracker seemed to manage. Once in the room, she let Sky sit on the edge of the bed, as she herself came to stand directly in front of her. Her own right leg between Sky’s and the girl’s right knee between hers as she dropped her head down, forehead touching Skylar’s as she said, “Don’t forget there is a child in the room.” She then glanced at MJ who was very much looking back at the pair.

Skylar let out a small whine before giving the dog her attention. MJ looked so comfortable between their pillows that a part of her actually felt bad. However, it didn’t last long when the girl wiggled her way over and pulled the dog into a hug. “MJ.. I.. Don’t give me those eyes.” The wolf was almost trying to reason with the dog, “I want to spend time with Erin too.” She lifted the dog into the air, letting his feet dangle. “Erin, what do I do? He’s giving me the look.” She held the dog against her chest, making sure that MJ was also looking at Erin. “He’s going to be so mad if I move him off the bed... but I really want to.” 

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

“Well thank god for small miracles,” Erin replied with a wide-eyed look at the confirmation that Skylar did not in fact consider she might kiss Key of all people. Not only was he like an annoying little brother she never asked for, but he was also, well, Key. Bless his heart. At the mumbled complaint, Erin just raised an eyebrow and said, “Well, love, you really could have literally just asked. But like a normal person, because I swear if weren’t already used to how you speak, I’d have had no bloody clue what the hell your little outburst was on abo-”

The rest of the sentence died on her lips - or rather found itself deliciously smothered as the small redhead seemed to find her footing and brought Erin for a second go. She easily wrapped her arms around the small waist of the warm body pressed to hers and matched Skylar beat for beat, only pulling away to say “Now was any of that so hard?” before diving back in.

Breaking off the kiss, she pulled back enough to look at the other - well, flickering between the lips and her eyes, “But what if I had made things awkward needlessly because you didn’t actually like me, I’d feel like an idiot.” She moved her hands so that she could wrap her arms around Erin’s neck. “Some people are just naturally flirty, like you said.” She mumbled before meeting the kiss. “Very hard actually. My heart is about to jump out of chest because I was so anxious.” She admitted softly. 

“Come on, let’s go upstairs.” the wolf slipped around Erin and led the way up the stairs, hand holding onto the other’s. When they eventually got to their rooms, Sky went over to the bed where MJ was already very settled into the pillows. Once she sat down, she tugged Erin for her to join her so that she could resume what they were doing before.  

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

Confusion was the first thing that crossed her face at the question, unsure of exactly what Skylar was referring to. Granted, that soon gave way to slight offense at the follow up question. “I’m sorry, do I strike you as the kind of person who would purposely mess another’s emotions for fun?” It was a rhetorical question more than anything, because she knew that of course Sky wouldn’t think that of her…or at least she really hoped not.

“If you wanted to know whether my actions around you are just ‘me being me’ you should probably have asked yourself ‘Does Eriin do these things with Kiyan?’ and that would’ve probably been the biggest indicator, love. But, since clearly I’ve either overestimated my own abilities or underestimated you’re confusion…” she took a step closer and leant down to place a slow, but short kiss on the redheads lips. As she stood back up she just grinned and shook her head. “Right spoiled you are, Princess,”

Her face gave a genuine look of disgust because she did not want to imagine Erin flirting with Kiyan of all people. However, she didn’t even get a chance to get a word in because when the taller girl closed their distance and before she knew it, she felt warm lips against her own. “Oh.” It took her a moment for her brain to keep up. 

“I.. Okay.. I definitely didn’t think you did this with Kiyan.” She started once she found her voice again, “I just.. didn’t know.. if you actually like like me.” She mumbled but the dumb smile on her face still remained. Sky pulled her closer again to give another kiss, this time longer with added pressure into it. 

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

Erin looked over at her and gave her a look as if impressed. “Oh, a queen she says. My, my, some might say that’s quite the bit of confidence you’ve got there mate. Granted, any girl you choose could be a queen if you just remember to treat her like one.” She winked at the girl, but then had to laugh as MJ finally made his escape and immediately made for the stairs to head up.

“Some people are just natural flirts, and some of us are just natural spastic messes. It is the way of the world. Though, when it comes to your aunt, she strikes as the kind of person who has a very well developed brain, just picks and chooses when to use it. Acknowledging your niece’s professor is flirting with you is probably a ‘brain off’ kind of moment.” Erin stood up and begin to head to the stairs herself. “I’m heading up to join MJ on my bed. Feel free to join us if you’re so inclined.”

Sky fell silent the whole time Erin talked - about treating others as queen, about people who are natural flirts. It wasn’t until the taller girl got up that the wolf also stood with her hand shooting out to grab hold on Erin’s arm to stop her. “What about you?” She asked which had her feeling very nervous for asking but since she decided to, she pressed forward.

“Are you just messing with me or what?” That was the disadvantage of growing up with Luke. She was so used to her Aunt’s tendencies that she could never tell if someone else is just being nice and ‘swapping compliments’ or if they actually felt something. And with Erin’s teasing, Sky had to know. 

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

Erin made a show of looking all around their flat from where they sat. “Nope. The only prince I can seem to find in this place is the furry dude on your lap, and you’re holding so tight I’m not sure he’ll be too forthcoming with kisses right now.”

She laughed at the question. “Uh, yeah. As a matter of fact, I specifically recall informing you that she was helping me out with my magic on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Granted you had your headset on, so who knows if you even realized I was in the room.” At the mention of the professor’s penchant for flirting, Erin simply smiled sheepishly and said, “Oh bit it is teeny bit delicious to be on the receiving end of some of those compliments. Bet that’s what she likes about Luke! They just sit ‘round, sharing a spot of tea and swapping compliments.”

“Well, I prefer another princess.. or a queen.” She mumbled, looking down at MJ who really wanted to escape. Erin kept teasing her and sometimes, Sky couldn’t tell if there was actually something between them or it was just in her imagination. The wolf sulked further she wanted to kiss the dog on the top of his head but MJ kept squirming so she had to put him on the ground.

“Yeah see! She keeps flirtingggggg even if she’s not really and I’m just.. Does she know what she’s doing? Is that on purpose? Aunt Luke and her would constantly be flirting with each other but to them, they’re just swapping compliments. How do they do that???”

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

It took everything in her not to let out a full on laugh, mostly for the benefit of the poor dog that already looked like his spirit had tried to leave his body at the sound of the dramatic gasp. At the sight of the pout Erin couldn’t help herself and once gain brought her face a hairs-width away from Skylar’s whispering, “Oh my such a kissable pout.” Then she pulled back as she stated dramatically, “If only there were a fair Prince around to match wits with this Princess.”

Erin gave her an unimpressed look as she said flatly, “No, Sky. I take my notes with my eyes closed the entire lecture. Yes, I’m aware she’s the fittest thing to hit the campus since we enrolled, but some of us manage to crash into walls.” She laughed and said, “I don’t think Luke would share anything inappropriate….though she does love sharing your baby pictures.”

Her eyes widened when Erin pulled back again. This time was way more disappointing after what was whispered to her. “Um.” Her mind might have short-circuited for a moment there. “Isn’t there?” She asked quietly. The wolf was clearly unaffected after being called Princess - by someone who constantly told her that she was spoiled. 

“It’s not just how she looks, Eriiiinnnnn.” She sighed, “Have you ever talked to her one on one? She’s like.. flirt mode is constantly on even if she’s not really flirting with you.” 

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

“Considering my current position, I don’t really have much of a choice,” she began, slowly leaning down towards Sky, “At least, not without upsetting my favorite….” she paused just an inch away from the girl’s face before turning her attention to the dog. “And who would ever dare want to upset MJ,” she grinned.

Erin rolled her eyes, but she could feel the heat of a blush on her face at the compliment. “I would love nothing more than to say that flattery will get you nowhere, but clearly your personal experience has taught you otherwise. I shall take solace in the knowledge that you’re essentially useless against our dear professor, though your Aunt certainly seems to picking up the slack.” She really couldn’t help but smile right back at the redhead as she eagerly described everything she wanted to show her mother, even laughing at the invite. “Well, I can’t say I’m too handy with a hammer, but if you’re looking for a mural, I’m your girl.”

She gasped so dramatically loud at the betrayal that if her arms weren’t latched around Erin, MJ might have escaped. “I’m not your favourite?” That was definitely not something she heard often and while she was only feigning the hurt, Skylar definitely had the audacity to pout. “But I guess I can’t beat MJ.” She chuckled as she picked the dog up to hug him tightly. “...You’re stealing the attention, maybe I should have let you stay with Aunt Luke.” Sky mumbled to the dog quietly before she heard the accusation.

“Excuse me!? Have you not met her?” She chuckled. “I.. Well.. Aunt Luke is apparently friends with her. I don’t know when or how that happened but.. I really hope she doesn’t tell her things about me that a professor shouldn’t really know about their students.” 

#erin russell #convo

[skylvrbenscn]

ivmwc​:

Erin could only smile, though glad to be out direct sight of the redhead. The last thing she wanted was to give the girl the sense she’d ‘won’ or something. “I swear, you must’ve been the most cuddled child in town growing up. Spoiled you rotten they have.” For all her complaints, however, she made no motion to extricate herself or stop her ministrations.

She smiled even more at the memory of her mother before adding, “Well, for a bit there I was lucky enough to have two great mums. And yes, I know you’re absolutely adorable, and both would agree. Sometimes I wish I’d have gotten to keep at least one of them, but honestly there was nothing that would’ve kept them apart.” She sighed and shifted her focus to happier, more present things. “I did appreciate the invite because she totally didn’t have to, and I’m very much looking forward to you getting to spend some much needed quality time with her.” Erin could only roll her eyes slightly. It had been so long since they’d completed the cabin, and the pair of redheads still took every opportunity to remind people they did it themselves. It was actually endearing, but she wouldn’t admit it out loud. “Yes, I’m sure she’ll chomping at the bit to get you two to build her her own cabin too,” she teased instead.

“I am, and I am not afraid to admit it. Cuddles are the best anyways.” Maybe it was her wolf nature but the girl just loved to cuddle. “You love it too.” Sky chuckled when it didn’t slip her notice that no one was making an effort to stop any time soon. 

The wolf looked up, “I bet they were. Amazing, that is. Because you turned out amazing.” She simply beamed when Erin confirmed that 1. She was adorable, and 2. Her moms would agree. “I think your moms and my mom and Aunt Luke would totally get along. And yessssssssssss, I can’t wait to spend time with her! I’ve been waiting and I’ve got so much to tell her about. I’ve got like.. Piles of scrapbooks for her to look at too! She finally gets to see them now.” Skylar hummed as she eventually sat back up, “Maybe that’s our next project, you’re invited too if you want. Technically we still have the basement to do.”

#erin russell #convo