#and if it is my family’s fault then they’ve gotten away while I keep forgiving them and falling apart more each day | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

janetbrown711 · 3 years

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"how do you think this ends?"

Despite Lena’s hopes and dreams that when the morning came everything would feel as right in the world as it had when the little family had fallen asleep, it wasn’t true. When she awoke (for whatever reason, she was the first), she walked out of the room and was immediately surrounded by maids and servants pestering her with their endless questions. Of course, she knew why they were asking, she was supposed to be dead.

She did her best to explain the situation and told them that her mother had died in an avalanche at Acme Falls. This, however, made the situation worse, as then officials and advisors soon got word and started to try and plan things out with her, and Lena wanted none of it. It was early- hell, she was still in her nightgown and robe. She just wanted to take an early stroll around her home, but nope.

Then again, what did she expect? Come back from the dead and people are going to have questions.

Still. Being swarmed with questions and having plans and ideas thrown in her face that early was too much. She yearned to return to bed, but by the time she successfully convinced them to stop, it was likely too late.

So instead, she went to the kitchen and began to chop up some fruit, a skill she had gotten quite good at over the past year. She couldn’t do a lot, so she liked to help Helloise and Doctor Scratchnsniff prepare food, usually while they talked about things. Now all Lena could think of as she chopped was that of her offer.

She had written a letter last night asking for their assistance. In all honesty, she was ashamed. She thought returning home would do a lot to heal everything they went through over the past year, but Dot’s nightmare quickly told her otherwise. Because of her nativity, she had to write a letter offering and asking them to come to the palace to be the royal psychologist and counselor not just for Dot, but likely Wakko and perhaps even Yakko too. Goodness knows all of her kids must’ve been through hell under the care of her mother.

Lena paused and placed a hand on her cheek. She sighed.

Lena continued cutting fruit.

She hoped they were hungry- she was making a lot- goodness.

Well- she knew Wakko would be anyway. Her poor boy... he was so light to carry. Angelina must’ve locked him in the tower before the Wishing Star, and probably didn’t feed him.

Her mother deserved far, far worse than death.

But it was what needed to be done. She didn’t regret it. Not one bit.

Hopefully, they’d use all this food for the picnic they’d be having-

It was still winter. Snow was outside. They couldn’t have a picnic.

No. They’d just have one inside. It’s what Wakko wanted- who was she to take that away from him?

She continued to cut, despite realizing she lost count of how many kiwis, strawberries, and star fruit she had sliced by now.

“Mom?” Wakko came out of nowhere, startling Lena and she cut her finger.

“Gah- Jesus Wakko, you can’t sneak up on me like that,” She quickly began to suck on it and look for a towel.

Wakko froze, dead in his tracks.

“I-i’m sorry, I-i didn’t mean to- I-i-” He stumbled over his apology.

“It’s alright, Wakko, I’m not-” But by the time Lena said that, he had run out of the kitchen.

“Dammit, Lena, now look at what you’ve done,” She muttered to herself, wrapping a rag around her finger and running off to go find Wakko.

Day one and she was already screwing up.

“Wakko? Where are you?” She called, looking under hall decor, behind curtains, and in almost every room she walked by.

“Wakko, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap like that,” She said, hearing sniffles come out of one bedroom. Lena knocked on the door softly.

“Wakko?” She said.

“I-i said I’m sorry, go away!” He shouted back.

“Wakko, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize, it was I who snapped at you,” She placed her hand that didn’t have a towel around it against the door.

“Go away! I only get people hurt,” He cried more.

“Wakko honey, no,” Lena wanted to go in, but the door was locked.

“Wakko, whatever your grandmother told you, she was wrong. You’re such a wonderful kid- energetic, compassionate, brave, and you give the best hugs,” She countered his statement. The prince paused.

“B-but it’s my fault D-dot died... they were aiming for me,” He countered, his words becoming mumbled.

“Wakko, it’s nobody’s fault but your grandmother and she’s already paid the price,” She said.

“She can’t hurt you anymore... so please... come out? I promise I’m okay.”

Wakko was quiet. Lena bit her lip.

“If you come out you can have a snack in the kitchen,” She said. Wakko must’ve responded positively to that because before she knew it there were shuffling noises, and he opened the door, though unable to make eye contact with his mother.

“I’m hungry,” he said.

“I know honey, let’s get you some food and water- I bet you’re dehydrated too, especially after all that crying,” Lena said, offering her hand. Wakko took it.

“Yeah,” was all he said. Lena gave his hand a comforting squeeze as they made their way back. Once there, she lifted him on the counter and started slicing more fruit, everything from apples to bananas, and handing them to him once finished. He ate slowly, but it seemed to be doing him a lot of good, as his mood increased dramatically once he got some food in his system.

“You feeling better?” She asked him. Wakko nodded. “Good,” Lena smiled and ruffled his fur a little. Lena always found it funny how he often liked to sleep with his red hat on, but who was she to judge.

“Now honey, I want to make things very clear with you: everything your grandmother ever told you or made you feel is false okay? I don’t want you saying it, I don’t want you thinking it. You are so much more than she ever thought, understood?” She placed her hand on his cheek, stroking his face with her thumb. Wakko leaned into it, nodding.

“Okay,” he agreed. Lena smiled softly.

“It’s not gonna be easy to undo what she’s done... but we’re going to figure it out together, understood?” She said. Wakko nodded again, eating an apple slice.

“I haven’t told your siblings yet, but in roughly a week's time, the good doctor from Acme Falls is going to start working at the palace to help you three heal from the abuse my mother put you through. He’s an emotions doctor and he’ll help you feel better, does that sound like something you want?” She said, going back to cutting fruit.

“Okay,” Wakko nodded, his tail twitching curiously. “What about you?” he asked.

Lena paused. “What about me?”

“Will he be helping you?” Wakko asked innocently. Lena looked down at her hands, then at the 20 or so fruits she sliced this morning.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I’m going to have a lot more responsibilities than what I’m used to in the upcoming days- I’ll likely be too busy.”

“But you should be okay too,” Wakko frowned, reminding Lena of how observant he could be.

“I’ll be okay Wakko- I promise,” She looked at him. He scanned her face a minute before either believing it or just dropping it and going back to his apple slices.

After a moment of more slicing and handing to Wakko, Lena spoke again.

“We’re going to be having a picnic today, just like you wanted,” She said. Wakko’s face lit up.

“Really?! Isn’t it snowy?” Wakko tilted his head.

“We’ll be having it inside, but I think that hardly makes a difference. What do you think?” Lena asked him.

“Okay,” he gave a toothy grin.

“Good,” Lena nodded. “How about you go and get dressed and get your siblings ready so we can do that soon, hm?”

“Okay,” He said, jumping off the countertop, and scurrying out of the kitchen.

Good. At least he was somewhat back to his old self. That meant there was hope after all. He was still a kid- he deserved to be happy and young while he could.

With a sigh, Lena began to get bags out and put the sliced fruit into separate bags as kitchen workers started to come in and began preparing their breakfast. Once Lena finished, she quickly apologized and got out of their way, explaining what was going to happen later with the picnic and all. They understood, and she left.

Now she was on her own again. And still in her nightgown- Lena really needed to get changed. Quickly she went back to her room and went to her closet to get dressed but her fingers hovered over her dresses. It had been so long since she wore something so fancy... Would it even feel right anymore?

Of course it would, she was born a princess, she was just being ridiculous... right?

Lena sighed and changed into her usual purple dress.

Today was going to be interesting.

.o0o.

And interesting it was. Home for less than 24 hours and already advisors and courtiers were already throwing piles upon piles of papers onto the poor queen-to-be. After signing about fifty billion documents, she finally got them to leave her alone, stating she made plans with her family she fully intended to keep. Thankfully, since she was in charge, nobody argued otherwise, though she knew they were likely doubtful. She did her best not to dwell.

By the time she did finally join her family in the room they were having their picnic, Wakko and Dot were already finished with their food and running around chasing each other, nearly running into Lena as she stepped in, though they both paused to give her a hug before running off again.

“My, they’re energetic today,” Lena chuckled as she joined her husband and Yakko on the pillows.

“Last night was probably the best sleep they’ve gotten in a while, nightmare or not,” Yakko shrugged, eating a piece of bread.

“I don’t doubt that... I slept pretty well last night too,” William said mostly to himself, looking at Wakko and Dot fondly.

“It really has been a year, hasn’t it?” Lena looked at Yakko, sadness in her eyes. “We’ve missed so much...”

“Not a whole lot... I mean- there were birthdays and stuff, but not... well...” Yakko was reluctant to finish the sentence, but Lena understood perfectly.

“Not much good, no?” Lena sighed. “I’ll never forgive her for this... for any of this.”

William and Yakko nodded supportively.

“But... Dot’s birthday was nice. I even managed to sneak a cake, and we all had a big sleepover, which was fun,” Yakko said. Lena smiled a little.

“That sounds lovely,” She said, sipping some tea.

“It was,” Yakko smiled at the memory.

“Oh! And we continued teaching Wakko to read,” Yakko remembered to tell.

“Really? Oh, that makes me so happy Yakko,” Lena side hugged him.

“We were so worried that Angelina wouldn’t let him and he’d forget,” William admitted.

“We had to do it behind her back, but I definitely think we made progress,” Yakko smiled, proud of himself, and rightfully so.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to hear it. You did a very good job taking care of your siblings in our absence Yakko, I’m very proud of you,” She kissed the top of his head.

“Thanks, mom,” Yakko teared up a little, and he quickly wiped it away. Lena didn’t comment, smiling softly.

“I’ll never forgive her for this.” The thought repeated in her mind. Anger returned.

“So, what took you so long?” Yakko asked.

“Paperwork. I’ve a coronation to set up by the end of the week after all,” She tried to laugh at the dread facing her.

“What about Grandma’s funeral?” Yakko asked.

“She isn’t going to be getting a funeral,” Lena said.

William blinked. “Are you sure that’s best?”

“Doesn’t every royal get a funeral? I mean- she even held one for you two...” Yakko said quietly.

“It’s unprecedented yes, and will perhaps even look bad to the people. However, once we explain everything that happened, I’m sure the people will be more than happy and most importantly on our side,” Lena sipped her tea.

“I guess that makes sense,” Yakko shrugged a little. William sighed.

“Lena darling, I know it must be difficult, but she was the queen after all-”

“She committed treason on the highest offense, William.” Lena snapped.

“I know, but well- hasn’t she already paid the price?” He said in a hushed tone, even though Yakko was still right there.

“It’s not that I think she deserves one, Lena. I’m just concerned that the people won’t understand and that it’ll cause them to turn against you,” He clarified softly, touching her arm. Lena swiped it away.

“I know full well what I’ve done,” She stated sharply. “And I don’t regret it. Let the people be upset if they will, they’ll get over it.”

Wakko and Dot stopped running by then, now looking at their parents, confused.

“Lena, darling, perhaps we should take this outside,” William sighed. Lena looked at her children before sighing and nodding.

“We’ll be back shortly... carry on until we get back,” Lena said, placing a hand on Yakko’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze before standing up and going. William followed in suit.

William stood by the door a moment, making sure they weren’t listening in. Lena paced across the hall, holding her arms.

“Well?” Lena asked him.

“Well, what?” William questioned her harshness.

“Well, what’ve you to say? You asked us to leave the room and we’ve left, so what’ve you to say?” She asked, digging her fingers into her arms.

“Lena darling... I just thought perhaps it wasn’t best to discuss such matters in front of the children,” William said softly. That didn’t make Lena feel any better.

“William, I’m tired of pretending I care about her,” Lena looked out a window. “I don’t want to waste a year of my life wearing all black and veiling myself pretending to weep over what I’ve lost. I can’t even fathom pretending to care a day,” She admitted.

“Of course,” He nodded slowly. The queen-to-be glanced at him.

“You aren’t going to argue otherwise?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Lena darling, I love you with all that I am. I trust your judgment. I’m simply trying to look out for you, that’s all,” William went to her.

“I love you too William,” She said. “I just... I know what I’ve done. I don’t regret it.”

“My dear... you keep saying that,” He took her hand and kissed it.

“It remains true,” Lena took a step away.

“Lena, who are you trying to convince?” He asked honestly.

“I... nobody,” She said quickly.

“Lena-”

“Nobody, William,” She closed her eyes and turned away from him.

She didn’t regret it. Her mother had to die, and by her hand.

There was no other way.

“There was no other way,” She said aloud.

“My love, you’re trembling,” William worried.

“She didn’t love me. She never did- even as a child. She shouted, she pulled the flowers out of my hair, she grabbed me, she blamed me for Father’s death, she... she hurt Wakko, she locked him up like some animal and then she... she killed Dot. She had to die, William,” She still didn’t look at him.

“I know darling...” He approached her slowly.

“A-and even if she had loved me at one point... if she brushed my hair, or sat with me in portraits, or picked out a dress she saw me admiring, it doesn’t matter. She killed our baby girl... she had to die,” Lena looked him in the eyes, though the sympathy was almost too much for her.

“My love, I know... What you did was incredibly difficult,” William said, wiping a stray tear from her face.

“Why though? Why was it difficult? After all that she did to our children, it should’ve been easy,” Lena argued.

“Lena, I do not know,” He sighed, stroking her face with his hand softly. “I’m not a psychologist or anything of the like... but I assume it’s because- well... she was your mother.”

“Hardly...” Lena muttered to herself.

“Despite everything, she still was. You can’t deny that,” He said. “And despite everything, you’ve always been slow to retaliation, so of course it’s taking a while to process what you’ve done.”

“I thought you said you weren’t a psychologist,” Lena joked a little. William chuckled a little.

“I’m not dear... though perhaps you really should take up Scratchnsniff’s offer,” William said.

“I wrote for him last night. He’ll do the children lots of good,” She said.

“That’s not what I meant,” William gave her a look.

Lena paused, sincerely thinking about it.

“I’ll be woefully busy... I’ll hardly have the time,” Lena said.

“We’ll make the time,” He countered.

“William- I just... I don’t know...” She turned away.

“Lena... please? I worry about you,” William held one of her hands in his and gave it a squeeze. Lena said nothing.

“My dear, you deserve to be at peace. Ever since I met you you were burdened by your mother’s actions, and now that she’s gone, you can finally find peace,” He said with a small smile. She could hardly look at him now.

She was an adult. Almost queen. She should be able to handle this on her own.

“If not for yourself, then can you at least do it for them? For...me?” He pleaded quietly.

Lena looked at the door a long moment, practically seeing her children leaning up against it (which she knew they likely were).

“William I don’t know if I can find peace...” She whispered.

“Can’t we at least give it a try, my love?” He whispered back. She looked at him. His eyes... those warm, dark, familiar eyes had brought her so much love and comfort over the years. So much love and worry...

Lena knew she’d do anything for him.

“I can try,” She nodded slowly.

“Really?” He smiled a little.

“I’d walk through hell and back for you, my love,” Lena placed a soft hand on his cheek. “I think I’ll be able to believe in myself a little for you too.”

“Thank you,” He kissed her wrist before pulling her in for an actual kiss, which she gladly returned.

However, the kiss didn’t last too long before a chorus of voices behind the door grew louder and before they knew it, the door opened, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot spilling out with it.

“Darn it Dot- you got us caught,” Yakko shook his head.

“Haha... hi,” Dot sheeped. Lena rolled her eyes.

“Mind telling me why you were listening in to what was supposed to be a private, adult conversation?” She teased, helping them up and off each other.

“Uh... curiosity?” Wakko shrugged. Lena laughed.

“Can’t deny that I suppose,” She ruffled his fur. Wakko smiled up at her with his tongue sticking out. She missed that smile.

“Well... the day isn’t over yet... what do you three want to do?” She asked.

“Can we hear a story?” Dot perked up and asked.

“Yeah! A story!” Wakko agreed. Yakko snorted, giving his silent agreement.

“It’s nowhere near bedtime,” William said. “What are we going to do then?”

“We can handle two stories,” Dot rolled her eyes. William chuckled.

“That you can... that you can,” He said, stroking his mustache.

“How about this: I’ll tell you a bedtime story if you’ll help me out with this one, hm?” He offered, winking at Lena to boast his cleverness. Lena rolled her eyes.

“Okay!” The younger warner siblings said in agreement.

“But first we have to clean all this up- can’t be leaving everything out like this,” Lena remarked, going back into their picnic room. Quickly, the children ran in and began picking up any toys they had brought in, folding blankets, and putting back pillows where they belonged, while Lena and William dealt with the food.

“Quite the plethora of fruit you prepared for us this morning,” Willaim commented as he cleaned.

“I do it when I’m stressed,” She shrugged. “You know this- you were there.”

“I know,” he teased. “They were very good.”

“I didn’t grow them,” Lena rolled her eyes, teasing him right back.

“It’s our garden. I think we ought to have some claim,” He shrugged. Lena rolled her eyes again.

“You say that like we don’t get most of our fruits from the farms-”

“Actually, we get our apples and citrus from the farms. The starfruit and berries were from the garden,” Yakko snuck up from behind, folding a blanket.

“Who’s side are you on?” Lena gave him a look. Yakko laughed.

“Checkmate,” William grinned.

“I hate you,” She snorted, putting the bread into a bag as Yakko disappeared to put the blanket away.

“You love me,” William elbowed her lightly. Lena chuckled and continued to clean without comment. However, a thought slowly dawned on her and she paused.

“Lena..?” William noticed.

“Sorry, I’m just... thinking,” She shook her head and continued.

“Thinking of what?” He asked.

Lena thought about how best to say it.

“I suppose... well... I don’t know. I just-... Do you really believe any of this will ever truly be over?” Lena asked him.

William sighed. “I really hope so... it may not be today, or tomorrow, or even the day after, but in my heart I know one day we’ll finally be truly happy and free from her and her effects.”

“What do you think it’ll be like when that comes?” She asked him. William smiled.

“Well... I imagine there’ll be dancing under a sky full of stars. Music playing softly in the other room, while we just have all the time in the world to ourselves, knowing Yakko, Wakko and Dot are safely tucked to sleep- or even if they aren’t we know they’re safe. They know they’re loved, we know we’re loved, you know you’re loved,” He said, a far-off look on his face indicating he had given this thought before. Lena smiled.

“Dancing under the stars... I’ve missed that,” She agreed with him.

“Perhaps we’ll even go to the garden. We’ll sit on our bench by the fountain where I first proposed to you and we’ll just sit and reflect on the good times we shared, and the good times yet to come. It won’t be the end, after all. There’ll still be a lifetime ahead of us,” He said. Lena closed her eyes, envisioning it.

“That sounds lovely,” She smiled and opened her eyes.

“One day,” He said with a wink.

“We’re doneeee, can you tell us the story now?” Dot ran up to them, grabbing William’s leg. He laughed.

“Alright, c’mon,” He said, peeling Dot from his leg and picking her up instead. Wakko went to Lena and held her hand. She gave it a comforting squeeze, not that either was nervous. Yakko walked on her other side.

Together, the family all went back to the familiar playroom and settled in for storytime with Dad.

Effortlessly he weaved a tale about a beautiful princess, a handsome knight, and a fearsome dragon. Had it been done before? Of course, but it was the audience’s choice and they missed the cliché. He spoke of everlasting love, the princess and the knight saving each other numerous times, and eventually how they lived happily ever after and created a land of prosperity, peace, and love- unlike the age of the Dragon. It didn’t take a genius to figure out his inspiration for such a tale, but it was interesting and exciting nonetheless.

After that, Lena and William played with Yakko, Wakko, and Dot with their dolls, playing a game similar to the story, but with its own twists (like the Princess being fire breathing and could transform into a giant lion and the knight was secretly the God of Thunder) until it was eventually time for diner.

After that, William read them a bedtime story, this time of a lonely siren and a sailor who nearly drowned, which captivated Wakko and Dot easily, though Yakko was tired, and barely awake by the end. Then, they checked for monsters for Dot (a new concern of hers), after which Lena sang them their lullaby and they all went to sleep.

And so several days passed in such a way. Lena would spend her mornings over paperwork and giving signatures and statements and writing to other kingdoms in preparation for her coordination while William watched the kids, and in the afternoon she’d join them for lunch and for some quality family time until it was eventually time to sleep and the cycle would start over. As much as she hated the paperwork portion of her days, she couldn’t deny the quality time made up for it. Seeing her children slowly regain their spirit filled her with more happiness than she could ever describe, especially with the help of Doctor Scratchnsniff.

Ah, yes. Doctor Scratchnsniff. At first, the children were hesitant to meet with him, but after Lena and William offered to sit in with them for their appointments (for the first one, at least) they agreed.

Dot seemed to be liking him, though she found him and his accent strange at first. However, the doctor reported she was already off to a good start and even after meeting twice he said she was making good progress. That was good to hear at least. The sooner her PTSD was gone, the better.

It was evident Yakko liked him less so, but Lena and William weren’t surprised by that. His issues were with being fiercely independent and untrusting so naturally, it was going to take a while for him to open up, which they were okay with. They had all the time in the world now.

Wakko, however, never wanted to be alone with him. He always had Lena sit with him through his appointments, either clinging to her arm, or sitting in her lap the whole time as she stroked his ears or rubbed his back soothingly. He hardly spoke a word at first, which was expected, but the doctor didn’t seem to mind. Hopefully, progress would be made with time.

Lena eventually found time to make an appointment of her own. It felt... odd, to say the least. She was used to the loving and kind support from William, but opening up to Scratchy was a different feeling entirely. She didn’t have to fear what he thought, as he was trained to listen and help. She liked that.

What she liked less was reflecting on her childhood. So many feelings and emotions and twisted memories she didn’t know how to look back on. He said this was natural for victims of childhood neglect and abuse, and she couldn’t deny that.

However, she was processing now. Moving on, as he described it. Acknowledging what happened was the first step, moving on was the next. It was... interesting. Then again, these were only the beginning steps. She still had lots and lots of work to do, but she had all the time in the world.

The days passed in such a sequence, that the day of her coordination threw her off guard. Heck- she had hardly noticed that when she had awakened, maids and dressers were immediately there to get her in the gorgeous cerulean blue, and gold dress they had made for her. It wasn’t until they were trying to comb through her hair she realized the day was special. Sure- she wasn’t normally dressed by handmaidens, but in all fairness, she had just woken up.

Oh god- it was finally happening. Important guests from kingdoms all over were going to arrive to watch her rise to the throne and accept her fate and destiny as the next queen of Warnerstock.

Hell- it felt like Lena blinked and suddenly she was waiting for the doors to open so she could walk down and accept the crown and say the lines and well- get coronated as Queen. She was wearing the nicest gown she’d ever worn in her life, and her ears were unbound, as she was no longer wearing her princess crown anymore.

“You ready Mom?” Yakko asked, adjusting his fancy little outfit. Lena thought he as well as the rest of the kids looked adorable, though it was clear he was rather uncomfortable with the lapels and sash. Still- that didn’t stop Lena from wishing she could get a portrait of him done.

“Hopefully,” Lena laughed through her nervousness.

“You’ll be great, I know it,” Wakko grinned up at her. Lena smiled at him, before noticing his sash was on the wrong shoulder and she fixed it.

“Yeah! You’re super nice and pretty and you’ll be a great queen,” Dot encouraged.

“You’re too sweet, darling,” She thanked her before standing.

“You’ve nothing to worry about, my love,” William placed his hands on her shoulders. “We have your back, it’ll be okay.”

“I’m the luckiest queen-to-be in the world,” Lena chuckled.

“Yep!” Wakko agreed.

“Your highness? They’re ready for you,” said one of the officials. Lena took in a deep breath and nodded.

“Well... let’s go,” She gave them a nod. Her family gave her quick grins and thumbs up, before the door opened, and the ceremony officially began.

The ceremony went perfectly as planned. Not a word nor person was out of place. She recited the vow of protection and service perfectly, didn’t flinch when the cold metal of her new crown touched her head, and even managed not to flinch at the mention of her full name (though she could still feel the internal dread of it). She recited her speech to the people perfectly, gaining their understanding and support with her carefully crafted yet heartfelt words, and eventually, the ceremonies were over and the festivities began.

Quickly, the children ran into the outdoor courtyard with many of the other royal children from nearby kingdoms, and music began to play. However, this wasn’t the stuffy, snooty music her mother would’ve chosen for her coordination, no. This was Lena, and she chose something exciting. A new beginning. Songs that make you kick off your shoes (if you wore those) and dance in circles until you pass out from exhaustion you didn’t know you had because you were too busy being swept away by the fun of it all. Lena danced with her new subjects and partners in foreign policy all day, and even a bit of the night as the sun eventually went down, only stopping when the feast began, or the band needed a break, but then returning right away.

She hadn’t felt this alive in years, and Lena was determined to never let it go. This was what freedom was. This was what life without her mother’s control could be, every day. People laughing, cheering, celebrating, being together and safe and happy.

People were happy.

Lena was happy.

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot were happy too, even mingling with children from neighboring kingdoms, with Yakko even finding himself fascinated with a certain dog prince that she and William gave a quick thumbs up to, embarrassing him deeply. Eh, he’d get over it. They were back, and that meant embarrassing him to his crushes- even if he just met them that night.

Wakko and Dot were having fun dancing, and drawing chalk on the ground. Wakko proved himself to be quite the artist, as while he danced he dragged and drew with his tail, and before anyone knew it the whole floor was a Wakko art piece. Sure, it may have stained their feet, but it was truly something to behold. Dot, on the other hand, was chatting with other princesses and citizens, charming them with her classic wit and cuteness that made Lena proud.

And William? For the first time in what felt like forever, he seemed to be enjoying himself too, the worry that was constantly behind those deep, dark eyes she loved so dearly being practically gone. Instead, joy and excitement, as well as love was shining back, as he spun and lifted and danced alongside her to the exciting music of the band. The couple had never felt so alive and free.

Eventually, though, all good things come to an end, and guests slowly began to leave, saying their quick goodbyes to the new Queen, wishing her luck, and promising their loyalties and hopes for the future. It saddened to see things coming to an end, but eventually, the band began to play much slower, softer music, and William took her hand in his and they slowly began to sway under the starlight.

“I told you you had nothing to worry about,” William smirked.

“I know, you’re always right, blah blah blah,” Lena snickered.

William laughed. “I’m serious though, I’m extremely proud of you. You’ve come a very long way for it being less than a month since returning.”

“And here I thought it was already a year,” Lena joked, referring more to the neverending piles of paperwork she managed to go through in such a short time than her time with her loved ones.

“Lena, I mean it. I’m incredibly proud of you,” William made sure she knew it.

“Thank you, dear,” Lena kissed him. “I couldn’t have done this- any of this without you.”

“I know,” He said with a small smile. Lena snorted a little, before stepping closer and leaning against him as they swayed together.

“How’s this for a perfect ending, hm?” he asked.

Lena thought about that, looking around the more than half-empty courtyard.

Wakko was curled up into a ball on a pile of pillows nearby a firepit, looking perfectly warn out and warm. Dot was drawing with chalk next to him, looking half asleep as well. Yakko was telling a story to his new friend, though it was very clear that friend was going to have to leave soon, but whoever was in charge of the boy clearly didn’t have the heart to break the two up, which Lena couldn’t say she blamed them for. They were cute. Kids- but cute.

Then she looked back at William. The love of her life. The man who never once left her side and carried her through the worst moments of their lives, and somehow made it out alive. She kissed him again.

“It’s not completely perfect... but it’s a damn good start,” Lena smiled.

“A damn good start indeed,” William grinned.

And it was a damn good start. After all, Queen Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Second was married to Sir William the Good, and had three beautiful children she loved more than anything in the world. Her mother was dead, and couldn’t hurt any of them anymore. There were no more secrets, no more lies, and no more abuse.

Together, the Warners were entering a new era; an era of peace, of love, of great healing, and great togetherness. After all- the old queen was dead, proving once and for all that nothing could or ever would keep them apart for long.

They were together now, and together the Warner Family was unstoppable.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 The End

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ivorysoapshavings · 3 years

Text

So…… my hyperfixation on HxH is back and stronger than ever so I wrote this

TW: Hanahaki mentions of blood and corpses alcohol and minor cursing

Kurapika finally took the time to open his phone after a few months, he opened it to find eight voicemails and over twenty missed calls. He clicked on the voicemails and played the first one that was sent almost two months after Gon, Killua, Leorio, and him first split up.

~The other night dear as I lay sleeping I dreamed I held you in my arms~

“Hey, Kurapika it’s Leorio, I just wanted to check up on you; you’ve seemed pretty busy lately hope you’re not overworking yourself. Anyway things aren’t too interesting here at medical school but I do have a few big tests I need to study for,” there was a pause for a long sigh, “guess I should get to doing that huh? Well, call me back when you get the chance. It's been a while,” there was a small pause before the line went dead.

~But when I awoke dear I was mistaken so I hung my head and cried~

“Hey, Kurapika, it's Leorio, just wanted to check up with you and see how you’re doing. Oh! something hilarious happened I think would have amused you. So me Gon and Killua were eating lunch together and Gon tried to do his impression of you and Killua was taking a drink at the same time, and Killua laughed so hard water came out of his nose,” There was a small chuckle at the other end of the phone, “you know they miss you too,” silence for a couple of seconds, “welp, you know my number call me back when you get the chance,”

~You are my sunshine my only sunshine you make me happy when skies are grey~

“Hey, kurapika, it’s me again. Listen I know you’re probably just busy with your job and all but I can’t help but be a little worried. You’re not injured are you? You don’t even have to call, just send a message of something, anything,” there was a sharp inhale and a light sigh, “Well bye then,”

~You’ll never know dear how much I love you please don't take my sunshine away~

“Hey Kurapika it's Gon! I just wanted to see how you’re doing. I can tell Leorio is kinda worried about you. We’re also been doing a lot of things. Nothing dangerous of course!” Gon paused to nervously chuckle, “It's been fun though I wish you could be here with us. That would make it even more fun! Leorio said he told you about Killua spewing water out of his nose that was really funny but what I bet he didn’t tell you was that he choked on his food and almost fell out of his chair too,” There was a pause and some chittering in the background, “Welp, we gotta go hopefully you’ll call us soon but call Leorio first he really wants to hear from you,” there were a few crashing noises and someone yelled Leorios name then the line went dead.

~I’ll always love you and make you happy if you will only say the same~

“ Kurapika, it’s Killua you better call us back soon or I’m gonna -,” Killua was cut off by someone. Then came a lot of muffled yelling and a loud crash. “Got it ,” Gon yelled triumphantly, clearly having wrestled the phone from Killua’s hands “Sorry about that Kurapika. Killua just misses you too he just has an awful way of expressing it” Another crash and the line going dead.

~But if you leave me and love another you’ll regret it all some day~

“Hey Pika, It’s gotten boring here again. Gon and Killua ran off to god knows where, no heads up just left. I just really hope they stay safe, they’re always getting into the most trouble,” Leorio let out a small chuckle, something about his voice sounded different more weak “I really worry for them sometimes they’re just so young yet they’ve been through so much,” he paused letting out a sigh, “Ugh, I sound like a dad. Anyway hope you’re staying safe kicking ass out there. I really hope you’re at least listening to these and not just deleting them. But stay safe don’t overwork yourself, miss you,”

~You are my sunshine my only sunshine you make me happy when skies are grey~

Kurapika noticed something strange as he was going to click on the next voicemail. They were usually sent two to three weeks apart from each other but this one was sent almost a month and a half after the last one. He brushed it off thinking Leorio was just busy, until he opened it.

~You’ll never know dear how much I love you please don't take my sunshine away~

“Hey Kurapika it’s Gon again, we just met up with Leorio again and he’s --,”

“Gon! He didn’t want us to tell,” Killua yelled interrupting him

“I know but it’s gotten worse and-,”

“We can ask him again when he wakes up! But its not out place to tell,”

“I know!” Gon yelled exasperated, “but what if we tell him and it’s to late,”

“That won't happen, so give me this an-,” the voicemail cut off there

~You told me once dear you really loved me and no one else could come between~

Kurapika sat in confusion at the voicemail ‘What did they mean it was getting worse? Was there something wrong with leorio? Why didn’t he want to tell me? Is it something bad? Deadly?’ Kurapika wondered to himself as he stood up and started to pace the room with worry. He needed answers so he clicked on the next voicemail which he noticed was also almost a month apart from the last one. About a week ago.

~But not you’ve left me and love another you’ll regret it all some day you have shattered all of my dreams~

“Here, you have to tell him,” It was Killua’s voice, “Or I'm gonna tell,”

“I can’t,” It was Leorio this time but his voice sounded even more different from his last message. It was less preppy and loud and more horse and mellow, “I don’t want him to worry about me. He’s probably doing something important and it’s not like hes gonna listen to this anyway,” Killua let out an angry huff

“Fine than, Kurapika hey it’s killua you better get your ass over here because-,”

“Wait! Killua I’ll tell him just give me the phone,” there were a few shuffling noises and then Leorio started speaking again, “Hey Pika you probably won't get this but I’ve got Hanahaki and it’s you I love you,”

~you are my sunshine my only sunshine you make me happy when skies are gray~

Kurapika stopped pacing and dropped his phone in shock ‘Hanahaki’ ‘it’s you’ ‘I love you’ he was trying to make sense of it all Leorio loved him Leorio had Hanahaki because of him.

“How? How! God damn it!” he yelled to no one. He grabbed his phone off the floor and ran outside. Kurapika had run a couple of blocks before it hit him, he had no idea where to go. He knew they were in the same city but where? So he stopped and dialed Killuas number. It seemed like days as he waited for someone anyone to pick up the phone he gasped out of relief when someone did answer

“Kurapika yo-,” Gon had answered the phone he sounded like he was crying

“Just tell me where you are,” and after Gon had finished telling him the address Kurapika immediately hung up and started running again.

~you‘ll never know dear how much I love you please don't take my sunshine away~

“YOU’RE TOO LATE. YOU’RE TO LATE KURAPIKA. HE’S DEAD HE JUST FUCKING DIED,” Gon shouted furious as kurapika bolted through the door of their hotel room, when he saw what was infront of him he froze in shock from the sunflower petals scattered along the floor, Leorio dead in Killua’s arms, Gon swearing at him, “THIS. ALL. COULD. HAVE. BEEN. AVOIDED. IF YOU PICKED UP. THE FUCKING PHONE. FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE,” Gon kept shouting, shoving Kurapika in between each phrase. Kurapika just let it happen because he knew it was his fault Gon was right.

“Gon stop,” Killua said monotone, now behind Gon holding him back from shoving Kurapika even more. Gon didn’t even fight him; he just turned around and crumpled into Killua’s arms. “Kurapika say something please,” Killua begged. After Kurapika stayed silent and didn’t answer, Killua got up from under Gon and stood in front of Kurapika and slapped him across the face. This snapped something inside Kurapika and he fell down to his knees and started sobbing

“I killed him… I killed him.. I killed him I killed him I killed him I killed him,” Kurapika chanted, getting louder each time he uttered the phrase. He turned and looked at Leorio on the floor lifeless, blood stains all up his front, covered in petals, “I killed him,”

~In all my dreams dear you seem to leave me when I awake my poor heart pains~

The funeral came and It was Kurapika’s turn to come up and say his final farewell to Leorio. As he stepped up to the casket he saw Leorio pale and lifeless, no amount of makeup being able to make him look alive again. He was also wearing that stupid suit he always wore but now that he was seeing it for what was probably the last time it wasn’t really stupid. His casket was also scattered with sunflower petals which stared at Kurapika mocking him for not being there when his friends needed him most, for being so selfish and such a workaholic. He stepped down from his place in front of the casket and left the building not bothering to stay for the rest of the service. He didn’t think he could face Leorio’s family or Gon and Killua after being the reason that Leorio died. So he made his way back to the hotel room.

~So when you come back and make me happy I’ll forgive you dear I’ll take all the blame~

It had been a few hours since Kurapika left the funeral which meant it had probably ended by now. All he had done was sit there and think and ask questions that could now never be answered. After a few more minutes passed the door to the Hotel room opened, and Gon and Killua walked in.

“Oh you’re here,” Killua said, slightly annoyed.

“Kill stop now is not the time to be fighting,” Gon practically whispered, his voice being hoarse from crying.

“No! You had your chance to yell at him earlier, now it's my turn,” Killua retorted, slightly raising his voice.

“Listen Killua, I know it’s my fault. I’ll just leave,” Kurapika mumbled, getting up from his position on the floor.

“No! Do you know how much pain he was in? How much blood and flower petals he coughed up? We were the ones to keep him company and comfortable.

We were the ones who had to watch him slowly die as we desperately tried to contact you. We had to make him tell you about the disease because he didn’t want to worry you in case you were doing something important. And you didn’t even show up until weeks after we told you about it. And after all that you don’t even stay for his funeral ,” Killua was flushed and slightly out of breath after yelling and Kurapika stood in front of him, eyes now a beautiful yet frightening scarlet color.

“You know what? No. I don’t know how much pain he was in nor how much blood and petals he coughed up. And I know I should have been there when he needed me, how none of this would have happened if I had picked up the stupid fucking phone sooner, and I couldn’t stand being at the funeral because how could I ever face his family knowing I’m the reason he died,”

“Guys can we please stop this,” Gon begged from the sidelines, desperately tugging on Killua's hand. Killua just shook him off and stepped closer to Kurapika.

“Yeah because you’re a fucking coward , and it’s not like being here would’ve changed anything you probably didn’t even love him back,” this is what made Kurapika snap.

“How do you know what I feel, Killua Zoldyck! How? How would you ever know how I feel when you’re just an emotionless assassin,” Killua gave a sharp inhale

“Yeah, well because of your cowardice everyone you loved is dead, Leorio, your clan -,” before Killua could finish Gon stomped his foot on the ground cracking the ground underneath them.

“Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! You guys are arguing like a bunch of babies and there's no point in insulting each other, it's not gonna bring Leorio back. So just.. Stop it!” Killua just huffed angrily and toed at the ground not looking at either of the two boys in the room. Kurapika just brushed past the two boys towards the door knocking into Killua on his way.

~You are my sunshine my only sunshine you make me happy when skies are grey~

After Kurapika left the hotel room he wanted to find a way to distract him to relieve him of his hurt and stress and fast. So he found the nearest bar.

“Hey kid, aren't you a little young to be in here,” The man behind the bar asked Kurapika. In response all he did was place his hunter license on the bar and said

“something strong,” The bartender grunted in response and went to mix a few things together before pouring it in a cup and sliding it to Kurapika.

“You look like shit,” The bartender told Kurapika after what was probably his fifth drink.

“Yeah? Well, I just killed someone I loved,” Kurapika managed to slur out. The bartender just raised his eyebrows in question, “Hanahaki disease. You know the one where you spit up flowers? All because I couldn’t be bothered to pick up the fucking phone.” And without another he stood up, shoved his hunters license in his pocket, slammed the rest of his drink down and walked out of the bar. Now that he had nowhere to go, no one to return to, he was bound to endlessly wander till he couldn’t wander any longer.

~you’ll never know dear how much I love you please don’t take my sunshine away~

#hxh #hunter x hunter #leorio paladiknight #kurapika #gon freaks #killua zoldyck #hanahaki #hxh angst #leorio x kurapika #leopika

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percabethfiles · 3 years

Text

Charlie

Uh... Hello? Anybody still here? I haven't been around in years and years. But I keep my fandoms stored in some corner of my brain waiting for something to tug them out. And of all things this time it was Taylor Swift re-releasing her old songs, because I used to imagine so many percabeth scenes listening to "Fearless". So have this little something that's been sitting unfinished in my archives for years now.

Remember that time Percy saw Sadie Kane and thought “Hey, this is what mine and Annabeth’s daughter would look like”? Yes.

(Also there are small nods to that fic I wrote about Logan, Hidden Heritage, but I've been meaning to re-write it someday because there were SO MANY PLOT HOLES omg)

When they find out it’s a girl it’s a bit too soon to know for sure, or so the doctor tells them. They’ll have to wait for the next appointment to know for certain. “So don’t go buying any tiny dresses yet,” he jokes and they laugh along, but they’ve been together for approximately eighteen years now, they can tell what the other’s thinking with a glance and the ecstatic grin that breaks through their lips lets him know they’re on the same page. Too late. They’re already thinking plush bow and arrows and a Merida costume for her first Halloween.

Percy tries to keep his cool. As the weeks progress, he tries not to get his hopes up, but in his heart he knows already. They hadn’t really had a preference before, they’d been too happy knowing their baby was fully human and had all its limbs (with the number of deities they’d pissed off, you never knew), but a little girl? It feels right after their two boys, it feels like their family will be complete.

(He thinks about a slight blonde girl with streaked hair and a British accent dropping from the sky on a magic camel, remembers thinking “if Annabeth and I had a daughter…” and his chest squeezes tight with happiness so raw he has a little trouble breathing)

When the doctor beams at them next appointment and says “Congratulations, Jackson family, it really is a girl,” he’s not surprised, but no less elated. He doesn’t hear the lame joke about Jackson Five, he’s too busy trying to be a manly man and not burst into tears because he’s going to have a daughter. When Annabeth’s in the other room paying for the appointment, and he’s waiting for the doctor to print the really impressive high tech 3D picture of the ultrasound, the man asks him “So did you go ahead and buy a tiny dress anyway?”

Percy blushes.

The man shakes his head in amusement. “Every time”.

His work colleagues, proud dads of little girls themselves, try to terrorize him with tales of tea parties and future boyfriends, and Percy thinks somewhere in the middle of all that teasing they mean well, but really, he’s mostly annoyed. It’s not like he’s new to parenthood, he’s got two sons already and they seem to be turning out okay, and before, when Logan and Nathan were just a nice dream for the future, there was Estelle, the little sister Percy had never expected, but loved to bits all the same.

And then Charlie is born.

She’s tiny, warm and pink, all curled up in her yellow cable-knit blanket, a tuft of blonde hair peeking out of a tiny, tiny beanie, features scrunched into the most adorable variation of a grumpy face. He’s not new to parenthood, he’s been here twice before, but the rush of affection and protectiveness and awe and raw love is just as genuine. He’s smiling like a dork, can’t seem to stop, walking from side to side, avidly searching her traits. She’s bigger than Nate was when he’d been born, but smaller than Logan. Her hair was light, like Nate’s, would it stay blonde or darken with time? Would her eyes be like his or Annabeth’s? And oh, she had her mother’s nose (they all did).

It never fails to amaze him how such a small, vulnerable being can shake up his whole world until it’s made a space for her. And he’s done this before, he’s no first time sailor this time, he’d thought he had it all under control. But she blinks and looks up at him with half-lidded eyes and a frowny face and—they’re green. Her eyes are the blue-green Logan’s are, Percy’s are.

(He’s got two sons who are his life, and he does love all his children equally, but holding his daughter for the first time, he thinks he understands his friends’ warnings. He doesn’t love her more, it’s just… different. It’s special.)

When he goes back to work, Nick takes one look at him and bursts into laughter. He claps him on the shoulder in commiseration.

“I told you.”

He’s completely wrapped around her finger already.

It’s not too different, he finds out. Especially having been pre-trained by Estelle. He’s got to brush up on his Disney princess knowledge, and hair braiding skills. He hasn’t gotten much better at color coordinating the polka dotted bows and tiny shoes, but Charlie is really forgiving. She is a very happy baby, much happier and easy going than any of the boys had been.

She’s also fucking crazy.

She is smaller and skinnier than her brothers, likes to wear frilly dresses and talk to plush animals and dance around the house in a pink tutu, but she’s wild. She never learned to crawl, just held on to the couch until she was wobbling on two feet, and it seemed like the very next day she was running across the house, the mall, the park, and if he turned his eyes away for one second, she was shooting off in the streets and nearly getting run over.

He’d found her dangling from the kitchen cabinets, trying to reach the cowering cat. She had a phase when she thought she could fly and she would climb furniture and stairs and the window sill and just… Launch herself into the air expecting her flying powers to manifest spontaneously. If they hadn’t been trying to raise them away from the whole mythological world, he would have sat her down and clarified that she had the wrong Olympian Grandparent in mind. She might have had more luck jumping into the ocean.

She had a way to jut out her lower lip, and turn those big green eyes on him that could render his every effort to be a responsible parental presence useless.

Besides, she was so funny. He could never muster enough anger to discipline her, because if he found her on the kitchen table covered in peanut butter, somehow sporting a very sticky Mohawk, and looking entirely unapologetic, well, he just couldn’t stop laughing.

One day he’s coming home from work and he hasn’t even pulled the key from the lock when Charlie calls out ‘you’re back daddy,’ in what sounds vaguely like a new jersey accent. He finds her sitting on the floor of the living room, drowning in one of Annabeth’s bathrobes, pink plastic barbie sunglasses on, holding a pooh bear sippy cup with one hand and a pinky stretched out.

“Charlie, what are you doing?”

“It’s wine Wednesday, daddy.”

“It’s what?”

“Wine Wednesday.”

He had half a mind to check if her sippy cup actually contained wine because they hid their alcohol way up in the cabinets she can’t reach but that girl could climb like a monkey. He knows he should follow that remark up with some kind of questioning of where she’d even heard of ‘wine Wednesdays’ and then explain that kids don’t drink wine or some other kind of responsible parent speech, but a sudden burst of incredulous laughter bubbles up in his throat and he takes refuge in the kitchen, lest he encourages her behavior.

He finds Annabeth there, hand over her mouth, clearly in stitches over their daughter’s performance. He wants to question if she gave her permission to wear her bathrobe but finding his wife nearly doubled over in silent laughter in the kitchen is too much and he finally lets out the guffaw he’d been trying to hold on to.

It’s not the first time Charlie leaves them breathless with laughter, and he’s almost scared of what she’s going to cook up in the future.

Charlie is a hellion.

There isn’t one person safe from her pranks, but she’s so adorable she hardly ever catches hell for it, and she’s learning to use it in her favor – thankfully, just in time for her parents to develop immunity to her puppy eyes. And she’s… difficult, yes, but not always, and not in a terrible way. For all her climbing the roof, organizing illegal cookie sales, getting in fights with her classmates, she’s not a bad kid. She’s got Percy’s penchant for befriending the kids no one wants to go near, and defending her ragtag team of losers. She’s loyal to a fault, and it gets her in trouble often.

She and Nate have epic jealousy fights over everything, including – but not limited to – Logan’s attention, the crayons, the biggest piece of cake and all the videogame characters in the world are not enough, they will always want whatever the other picked. It gives them many, many headaches. Logan, on the other hand, positively spoils her, and whenever Charlie gets in trouble they can be sure to find her hiding behind her big brother while he gives them this solemn look and says “It’s ok, mom and dad, Charlie promises she won’t do it again. We’ve talked.”

When the whole “Logan being attacked by a dracanae in school and thus finding out his Olympian heritage” debacle came to pass, and they started frequenting camp again, there was nowhere in the entire Camp Charlie would rather be than the stables. She’d spend hours there with the Aphrodite kids, brushing the pegasi and talking to them endlessly about all her classmates and her friends, and her dolls, and her new dress, and the new book grandma gave her. It was all really cute until Percy realized the pegasi were talking back, and she fully understood their replies.

And it’s funny, really, because Logan had taken after Percy, to a point where bathing him had been hard as a child because he tended to stay dry in the tub, and Nathan was Annabeth to a T, but Charlie was a perfect mix of them both.

He guesses it makes sense it would be so explosive.

When Charlie is twelve, she gets kicked out of school.

Percy is not overly worried about it himself – the number of schools he’d been kicked out of reached double digits, and this was only her first – but he is worried about how she will feel. Getting the boot from a place that’s housed you for years, where your friends are, where everyone already knows you and having to start over is never pleasant, no matter how used to it you were.

He’d expected the school to have gotten tired of all her pranks and misbehaving, which was fair, he guessed. But when Annabeth comes home from the meeting with the school director, she is seething, and not at their daughter. Charlie is angry too. In fact, it’s the first time he’s ever seen his daughter well and truly pissed off. The two of them are a sight for nightmares, both blondes standing side by side ranting with righteous fury, they look ready to start a revolution. What he gets from her angry snarls and Charlie’s rushed rambling is that Charlie had talked back to a teacher that was picking on the autistic kid and demeaning the thirteen year old who was repeating sixth grade.

She’d called him a brain-washing small minded overgrown bully who, he was quoting, didn’t get enough love from his parents.

And Percy is so proud his eyes even get a little misty.

Because he’s getting old and sentimental and raising kids is very hard. No one knows what they’re doing, not one person, not even the fancy psychologists with those books on raising perfect, well rounded, high-achieving members of society that Annabeth insisted on reading when she was pregnant with Logan. You do your best and you hope for the best, and you don’t know what you get until it’s basically too late to do anything about it. And even if he did have the best mom in the history of the entire world to draw example from, he was also half of an absent Olympian father whose heritage condemned him to dance in and out of battlefields half his life.

He’s always been terrified of being a crap father.

He looks at Charlie cussing out with every mild version of actual cuss words, stalking around the kitchen like a little lioness in a cage, furious at the unfairness of the whole situation, caring less about being expelled and more about who was going to defend her friends from that awful teacher when she’s gone.

His daughter is only twelve, but she’s already so brave, such a force of nature. She won’t stand for injustice, and she won’t take insult lying down. And she’s so kind. She’s growing up, and the person she is slowly turning out to be… is good.

And something in his heart shifts and settles down, smooths over old fears and anxious thoughts.

Percy doesn’t mean to brag, but he thinks he’s not doing half bad as a parent.

#fanfic #pjo #percabeth #percabeth kids #charlie jackson #back at it again with the old unfinished fics #percabeth fanfic

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glacecakes · 3 years

Text

Alchemy Lullaby (15/?)

Of all the changes that came with living in the castle, becoming a father was not one he anticipated. When Eugene encounters a small child suffering like he did, he gives them the opportunity to grow up the way he never did… helping them both heal. (AU where Varian is 4 and gets adopted by Eugene)

Experiments, imprisonment, and introspection.

Read the rest on AO3

woop woop Once again thanks to Finn, space, and AJ for all the help they've given me on this fic, and to all of you for your kind words! We're in the endgame now! 2 or 3 more chapters! I'm starting finals week which is no fun, but im also starting to work on the next chapter right now, so hopefully it'll be out soon! But who knows! I sure as hell don't!

The dungeons hadn’t changed since last time.

Eugene laid on his cot, staring up at the ceiling without much of a thought. How long has he been in here? He wasn’t sure. Nor did he really care. The only way he could tell time was the light in his window, and Lance.

“Hey bud, how are you doing?” speaking of, there he was again. Lance stopped by at least twice a day to update him. It was pretty much the same conversation every time.

“So… the princess is still locked in her room,” The bald man said, twiddling his thumbs. “Her dad is sticking to his guns. You know. His kid was kidnapped, so he can’t exactly let her kidnap someone’s kid, it’s about the principle, yknow? Even though the kidnapping was justified…” he trailed off awkwardly.

Eugene is silent. He doesn’t even blink.

“Apparently the King figured out that Cass took the princess to the rocks, yknow, where she got her hair back. And he wasn’t thrilled. I think she’s going to a convent.” Oh, that was new. “She’s not thrilled about it for obvious reasons, I think even the queen is trying to talk him down.” Oh finally, someone is actually fighting back? He sighed through his nose.

It was wrong of him to assume the others weren’t just as upset as him, but he couldn’t help but feel… betrayed? Furious? The feeling is unclear. It’s similar to how he felt when the Stabbingtons tried to kidnap Varian, but more urgent. It felt as if an alarm was constantly going off, sending his emotions into overdrive at all times, draining him of all energy.

Eugene asked the same question he always did. “...Varian?”

Lance sighed, and that was all he needed to know.

“Good morning, Varian,” Quirin hummed, gently shaking the boy. “I brought you some breakfast.”

The little lump shifted, and Varian peeked out from a messy bed head. Oh, it was so cute! Quirin once again kicked himself for letting his son go unnoticed by him for five years. He chuckled at how Varian pouted, but Varian didn’t seem to understand what was so funny. He took the banana offered to him and crammed his face like it was his last meal on earth.

Though, knowing Ulla, it may be.

He sighed as he helped get Varian ready for the day. Ulla, though she raised Varian, was oddly absent now that Quirin was here. She focused all her time on research, spending the day in her lab with Varian and the night in her room pouring over notes. What was their life like before? Did she ignore him often?

Back at the castle Varian was quite a dramatic kid, always wanting to be the center of his dad’s attention. It was that desire for love that caused all this, after all. Was this where it stemmed from?

It was with some reluctance that he handed Varian over to Ulla once the boy was dressed. She nodded at Quirin, but then gazed eagerly at her son. It wasn’t a loving look, not like how Rapunzel would excitedly grin at Varian. It was that same mischievous look she gave to her specimen on the road, and it sent shivers up Quirin’s spine now. To think he used to find it endearing.

“Good morning, Varian,” She said. “We’re going to do some tests this morning, see how well you can control the rocks, ok?”

Varian whimpered at that. Now that Ulla seemed to think he could control them, she was determined to get him to harness it. Create specific patterns, cause them to retract, et cetera. He’d only ever gotten them to obey him exactly once before, back at the castle.

Back when he wanted to use them for love, to fight for his family.

Quirin gave him an encouraging smile. “I’ll make you ham sandwiches for dinner, ok? Just behave for your mother.” He’d go with, but discovered quickly he couldn’t stomach it. Seeing Varian so upset, seeing Ulla yell at him, it hurt too much. He’d nearly stopped the experiments, much to Ulla’s displeasure. They needed to do this, she said. They had to figure out how the moondrop manifested, how it worked, in order to get the moonstone out of him safely.

He told himself this, and yet the screams from her lab still haunted him.

Rapunzel paced around her room, frustrated. Every second she stayed here, safe and sound, was another second Eugene suffered, Cass suffered, Varian suffered. Her window was gated so she couldn’t climb down, and guards were stationed outside the door. She couldn’t even go to the bathroom alone! Pascal occasionally snuck out but he couldn’t exactly talk or help her breakout.

She had her mom for that, thank god. Arianna currently sat on her bed, flipping through her daughter’s journal. While the pages were filled with her daily adventures, and occasionally a desire to explore, the longer the journal went, the more it focused on Varian. His quirks, his misadventures, his powers…

She shut the journal. “Rapunzel, sweetie, I know you’re upset.” She said. “But you said you knew Varian was kidnapped? The whole time?”

“Not the whole time, just… most of it.” She admitted. “I knew it was going to come back and bite us, but not… not like this.”

“Well, your father sure is a stickler for his laws. You should’ve seen him when Varian tried to take over,” She laughed slightly at the memory, but stopped when Rapunzel only became more miserable. No doubt her daughter blamed herself for the current situation. “I can��t say this isn’t your fault, because in a way it is. But you’re not alone in blame.” She walked over to rub her daughter’s shoulders.

“No, but it’s not right!” The queen’s hands were shrugged off. “Varian was taken because his mom wanted to harness his powers and hog them all to herself. The only difference between her and Gothel is that she’s his birth mom! That’s it! He’s just a kid!” Rapunzel blinked, wiping away stray tears. “He’s just a kid, my kid…”

Arianna was silent. Then, she sighed. Rapunzel was right after all. Her methods may have been wrong, but she was right. Sometimes, the law needs to be broken in order to do the right thing. After all, Rapunzel was brought home by the man who stole her crown.

Well. Another day, another failure.

Ulla swirled the solution, staring at it idly. Varian had been fussy all day, crying and screaming whenever Ulla so much as raised her voice. That thief spoiled him, didn’t he? Stupid brat. She never wanted kids, not like Donella. Children would only slow her down, and the better she is, the better the world is.

Right now, Varian was being tucked into bed by her partner. Quirin was great, truly, don’t get her wrong. He was soft, he was kind. But that softness would be his undoing. They’d always joked about the moonstone, what would happen if she harnessed it, what would happen if he destroyed it.

A shame it turned out this way. In another life, perhaps they could’ve been a happy family.

They both knew what would happen here. One way or another, Ulla was going to extract the moonstone. Quirin would try and get his hands on it in order to destroy it, while Ulla would try to grab and absorb it for real this time. None of that womb gets first dibs bullshit.

Come on, Quirin, she thought, you know what happened last time someone tried to destroy it! What’s so special about this time? She never did figure out how to destroy it, after all. She’d just convinced him that they could take it and experiment. He’d thought they’d work together on the moonstone in order to destroy it. But she’d never wanted to destroy it! Unbreakable houses, bridges defying physics, unrippable stitches, the ideas were endless! Why destroy knowledge?

Why worry about the health of the parasite attached to it?

She’d been messing with an idea for the past few days: if a chemical reacted to the rocks, maybe it would react to the moondrop. The concoction in front of her turned a golden color, glowing faintly in the light. The bubbles trapped air like flies in amber. Carefully, with a small pipette, a single drop of solution was placed on obsidian.

For a moment, nothing happened. She groaned.

Then a tendril of amber began to grow. And grow.

She backed up quickly, just in time, as the whole rock suddenly groaned in protest. Amber tentacles wrapped and squeezed the rocks tighter and tighter until-

Snap!

Ulla stood, dumbfounded, as the broken piece of rock clattered to the ground at her feet.

Quirin sighed, placing a plate full of food in front of Varian. The little boy was so tired he couldn’t keep his head upright without support. Drowsy eyes flickered over the sandwich before slowly raising it to eat. It was good that he was eating, right? Eating meant not sick. It would be adorable if it wasn’t so distressing.

He couldn’t help but lament his past self. Foolish, lovestruck Quirin had been so willing to overlook Ulla’s flaws, her red flags. He’d convinced himself love had changed her, that taking her to the moonstone would convince her it needed to be destroyed. And when that didn’t happen, he’d blamed himself. How could he not?

He spent five years chasing down the only woman he ever loved, fully prepared to forgive her. And when she’d told him the moonstone wasn’t with her, he had let himself hope. Maybe she had destroyed it, after all! Only to realize the moonstone survived… in his son. Their son. The son Ulla didn’t love, just like she didn’t love him…

Did she ever love him?

Varian’s head drooped, and would’ve dropped onto his plate without Quirin’s hands. He smiled despite the circumstances. Varian was definitely the one good thing to come out of this mess.

“Come on, son. It seems it’s bedtime.” He lifted Varian effortlessly, and he laid his head on Quirin’s shoulder.

Varian sighed sleepily. “Daddy…”

The knight’s heart plummeted. It wasn’t him Varian was calling for.

He was going to put Varian to bed, when he had a bright idea.

“Varian, son, can you wake up for a little bit? I want to show you something.” He carried him to the study, where the graphtyc sat unassumingly. He took it with him after the whole debacle in the castle. Varian groaned, rubbing his eyes, but glanced curiously down at the sheet of paper in front of him. He remembered it from the castle, this was what caused him to run away… this is what said he could hurt people.

“As my son, you have a birthright to the secrets of the Brotherhood,” Quirin said, stretching the paper out so Varian could read the translation. “This is one of them.”

Baby blue eyes read over the paper. “Whatsit mean?”

“Well the first one I’m sure Rapunzel has sung to you. It’s a song to make you feel better.”

“Oh!” Varian’s eyes lit up at the mention of the princess. “One time, my head hurt, and she said her song had magic healing powers!”

Quirin chuckled. “Did it work?”

“Not really.” Varian reached out to brush his fingers against the black rock drawing, a frown etched onto his face. His hands shook almost imperceptibly as he read the other incantation.

“That one is yours,” Quirin whispered.

“Mine?”

“You have the moondrop, you can use that one.”

He could see the cogs turning in Varian’s brain; like mother, like son. “Does it actually work?”

The knight laughed a bit harder. “Yes, it does. But you shouldn’t use it unless you’re in danger, ok?”

Varian bit his lip. “Ok,” He whispered. Did momma count as danger? Is it ok to hurt people if he’s in danger? Is that what Quirin was saying?

His head spun. He wanted Eugene. Eugene made sense. Quirin didn’t. He was full of contradictions; the man wanted to keep people safe and yet he was keeping Varian from his family. Rapunzel said your real family loved you no matter what, and this wasn’t his real family.

Sadly, Varian buried his head into Quirin’s shoulder. For a brief moment, he could pretend it was Eugene.

Quirin sighed as he carried Varian to bed.

“Goodnight, son,” he whispered, stroking Varian’s hair away from his face.

Varian whined. “Not your son.”

The knight said nothing. He left the small room with his head lowered. As the door shut, he could faintly hear the beginnings of tears as Varian sobbed for Eugene.

Denial had blinded Quirin for too long. He’d never love Varian as unconditionally as Eugene does, he’s already proved it. His love for Ulla and dedication to the moonstone caused him to hurt the boy. There was no way Varian would forgive him, even if this all does work out.

He’d messed up big time, hadn’t he?

He had to talk to Ulla.

Sometime around midnight, Eugene awoke to someone at his cell door, jostling with the keys. He swung upright, ready to yell at Lance about waking him up, but faltered.

“Cassandra?” He asked, dumbfounded. Black hair bounced as its owner looked up.

“Yo,” She simply said as his jail swung open. “Let’s go.” She walked away, but Eugene didn’t follow at first, too shocked. Her annoyance was clear in her voice. “Hurry up, daddy-o, we don’t have all night.”

“First of all, never call me that again,” Eugene complained as he followed her. “Second, I thought you were being shipped to a convent?”

“Yea, that was a lie,” she said as they snuck past several guards. “My dad made it up so we could plan this without suspicion.”

“Plan what?”

She looked at him like he had grown an extra head. “Your escape, dumbass. Me, Lance, and the queen.” Eugene choked on that last name. The queen? Breaking the law? It was hard enough to accept Cassandra deliberately breaking the law, but her?

They snuck down large, moonlit hallways silently. Finally at Rapunzel’s doors, she and Arianna stood waiting for them.

“Eugene!” Rapunzel gasped, racing towards her boyfriend. He easily lifted her into his arms, spinning around in the embrace. For a moment, they just stood there, taking in each other’s scent after so long apart.

Arianna cleared her throat, and they separated. “The guards have been relieved. We have 10 minutes till the next shift comes in.” She said. Her eyes were glittering like diamonds, full of mischief and determination.

“Your majesty, I-I… what is going on?” Eugene gasped, struggling to find the words. “I mean, I can probably guess what’s going on, clearly you guys are breaking us out, but why?”

The queen’s eyes softened. She placed an arm on Eugene’s shoulder. “We spent too long trying to reason with my husband. He’s a man of the law, even if the law is unfair. For every minute we let him have his way… Varian has been gone.” She gripped his shoulder. “I know how painful that is, to know someone else has your baby, and you don’t know if they’re safe.” Her words shook so painfully Eugene wanted to hug her, but he wasn’t sure that was allowed. “Do what I was never able to do, but you did for me. Save your child. Bring him home.”

Eh, fuck it; Eugene wrapped the queen in a quick, grateful embrace. She returned it.

“We’re going out the same way me and Raps snuck out,” Cassandra said. “Lance and her majesty will keep the king and my dad occupied.”

“But there’s no telling for how long,” Rapunzel summarized. “So we have to hurry.” With that, they raced down the corridor, leaving Arianna alone.

“Hang on, Varian,” She whispered, glancing up at the moon. “Your parents are coming.”

Max rode straight into Old Corona, never stopping for a second. Each second they waited was another second Varian was in danger, or maybe worse.

“He’s gotta be ok, right?” Rapunzel rambled as they rode. “Quirin is there, and he’s a good guy! He wouldn’t let Ulla hurt him… right?”

“Didn’t he betray us and hand Varian back over to his mom?” Eugene replied, getting an elbow from Cassandra. “Look, I’m just saying. We gotta be ready for a fight.”

“He’s right, I doubt Ulla will give up so easily.” Cassandra said, brows furrowing. “Why exactly did they take Varian?”

“Varian is the moondrop, and apparently that makes him dangerous,” Eugene’s fists clenched at the thought. Sure he may have crazy rock powers, but dangerous? His boy? The kid befriended a raccoon and brought it to a fancy dinner party! He was just that, a kid!

Cassandra shook her head to indicate it wasn’t what she meant. “Right, I got that. But why does he even have those powers? Quirin said it was an accident.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Eugene butt in before Rapunzel could respond. “What matters is that Ulla hurt him for having the powers, and we need to stop her.”

“Right.” As the conversation ended, they entered Old Corona… or rather, tried to. Max couldn’t even enter the city, it was so covered in rocks.

“It’s worse than before,” Rapunzel hissed. “We’re going in on foot.” As they entered the village, her hair began to glow, reflecting off the rocks in tandem.

In his room, Varian shot upright. A warmth radiated in his chest, spreading throughout his body and filling him with a sense of peace. “Punzel?” He whispered. He could feel it, but he wasn’t sure how. Tiny feet padded out of his door and downstairs. She was headed towards the lab entrance, he could feel her movements! And if Rapunzel was here, so was Eugene! He excitedly raced into the lab, only to stop at the scene in front of him.

Quirin and Ulla, glaring one another down.

A flask in Ulla’s hands, a sword in Quirin’s.

The door to the lab burst open.

#varian #tangled the series #tangled #tts varian #tts #tts eugene #tangled eugene #eugene fitzherbert #team awesome

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let-it-raines · 4 years

Note

I’ve been in such a Neverland/3a kinda mood with fic reading lately, so I figured I’d send my fave CS fic writer a prompt! Or not really a prompt... I’m giving you free reign of everything, I just want to read something from you set in that time period ❤️

@dorisquinn you flatter me so because I am the worst at writing canon and/or canon divergence, but I figured why not? I 100% went down the road of neverland smut because, well, I’ve never done that before, and I feel like that’s a right of passage here. lol. If you want something different, shoot me a message and I’ll try to figure something else out! 💕

thanks to @shireness-says for making me sprint so that I actually wrote for once

found on ao3 | here |

-/-

She’s quiet tonight, but really, he would never expect otherwise, especially after everything that’s managed to transpire today.

Rarely is Emma Swan a woman of many words, but now? Now when they are in the most dreaded place in all of the realms, at least to him, and she is constantly working to try to save her boy? Now she is more silent and pensive than ever, but the fire behind her emerald eyes burns just as brightly as always.

As someone often on the receiving end of her rage, he knows that look and that flame better than most.

He knows that look because he feels it too.

Or, well, he felt it, long ago, and on occasion, sparks flicker back to life, the fire igniting and burning so brightly that he thinks the inferno will begin again with no chance of being extinguished.

Yet, as he sits with his back against a hardened tree and watches Emma ignore her parents fervently talking, he knows that what he feels is not the same.

He knows that he does not have a child, no matter how much he felt like Bae was his, and while his loss stings far more than Killian is willing to admit to himself, it is not the same. It is not Emma missing Henry, constantly worried over his well-being as she keeps their little group from killing each other, and while he is not particularly fond of any of their partners in this adventure, at least he is not counting on a woman he despises and parents who blatantly do not understand him to save the one person in the world who matters most to him.

Oh, and a dastardly pirate who not a soul trusts even though his intentions are good. He swears of it, but it has been a long damn time since someone believed in him like that.

The Charmings do not seem to find him capable of living up to their namesake, but he can’t blame them. His first impression was not one he would call particularly good.

Lies, deceit, violence and the works, but he was in a different mindset then. He didn’t know these people, didn’t have any inkling as to who they were, and he had an end goal in mind that he would have done anything to accomplish.

Still would, most likely, but there’s decidedly something different now. When he wakes up, his first thought is not of vengeance. Those thoughts creep in often, but they are not everything.

He’s been given a reminder that he might be capable of more than the evil he’s been for longer than he’d care to admit.

Killian has done horrible things, has ruined lives, and he won’t pretend he has not. If Snow White can forgive the woman who ruined her life in more ways than one can count despite the Queen showing little remorse, maybe Killian can be worthy of the same kind of forgiveness.

Though, he cares little for the forgiveness of Snow or trying to get on her good side.

But he is here and helping to save Emma’s lad, and he knows this devilish island better than anyone else here.

Well, the Crocodile is wandering around here somewhere and tends to know more than he should, but Killian prefers to think of him as little as possible lest he get caught up thinking of his own vengeance and not the goal here.

Henry.

Bae’s son, which Killian still can’t quite believe.

Emma’s son.

That’s why he’s here. That is all, even if David keeps telling Killian that he is only here to seduce Emma. Killian chuckles to himself. That might be nice, but that is not his goal.

If he is to win her heart, it will not be out of any trickery or misdeeds.

If he is to win her heart, it will not be dishonestly. That hasn’t been important to him in centuries, but there she goes again, reminding him of things he has forgotten.

There’s a rustle of leaves, and Killian stops sketching words into the dirt with his hook and prepares himself for battle with one of the Lost Boys before realizing that it’s simply Emma standing from her spot.

And walking toward him.

Well, maybe he’ll be preparing for a battle of another kind then.

She settles down next to him, the tree’s width large enough for them both to have a place to rest their backs, and he can feel the heat of her skin flicker across his as her hand accidentally brushes against his own. She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t explain her presence, and he silently reaches for his flask and hands it over to her. She takes it and then downs a healthy amount of rum. His preferred kind is strong, likes to burn down his throat despite his tolerance, and there’s a part of him that is always impressed by how easily Emma can handle it.

As those words flicker through his mind, he’s immediately brought back to earlier today, to his taunting and teasing. All he wanted to do was get a rise out of her. It’s simply so bloody fun to see her nose scrunch and her eyes roll, and while he’s wanted to kiss Emma for weeks now, to feel how soft her pretty pink lips are, he was not expecting her to take him up on his offer.

Then again, Emma is always surprising him.

The way she grabbed his coat and pulled him to her sent heat to his groin almost immediately, and there was a hunger in her kiss that he felt in his own. It’s been decades since he felt a fire like that deep in his belly, and Killian was reminded of just how much he likes when a woman takes charge of her own desires.

(Another reminder, another reminder, another reminder.)

He simply did not expect for his desires to turn into a want that he’s dared not hope for again.

It was a reminder that he didn’t want, that good things could happen to him, but he knows who he is to this woman and these people. He’s an outsider, and if David’s words earlier weren’t clear enough, he is not welcome amongst them.

And yet, here is this fierce woman who has been like a siren to him, calling him back when he wants to stray, sitting so close to him that her thigh keeps brushing against his own.

The jungle is quiet tonight outside of their camp. He hears no birds or other creatures, only the crackle of the fire and the words being shared between Charming and Snow White. They’ve been huddled close together ever since Snow was informed of her husband’s condition, and while it is obnoxious to have to view, Killian so wishes he’d had time like that with Liam. It’s not a happy future for the two of them, especially having to be separated from their daughter and grandson should they chose to stay here to be together, but it is a future.

There is a possibility of one, and that’s more than most people get.

It’s more than he got.

The Queen is hidden behind a tree across camp, avoiding everyone, and truly, it should be the other way around. He’s no saint, but that woman ruined this family. He understands that a young Snow shared a secret that had horrible consequences, and while Regina was certainly a victim there, she is not one now. At least when it comes to this family. Her son is in trouble, but no one in this camp is at fault for that.

He needs to get off this damn island. It’s giving him too much time to think about people he should not be giving a second thought to.

“How does this rum never run out?” Emma suddenly asks.

She hands him the flask back, and he takes his own sip. “It’s enchanted.” “How’d you manage that?”

“I’ve gotten around.” Emma snickers, and he arches his brow. “Something funny, Swan?”

“Nope. Nothing at all.”

Killian hums and tucks the flask back into his pocket. “I’m aware of what the phrase ‘getting around’ means, love. I was in your world long enough to pick up on a few things.”

“Of course you would pick up on innuendos.”

He winks, and there’s that eye roll he so fancies. “I do my best to make sure I’m well versed in things that I need to be well versed in. Makes life easier.”

“Innuendos make your life easier?”

“When it comes to beautiful women such as you, aye.”

“Do you always flirt to get what you want?” “Why, darling, are you admitting that I’m flirting with you? Are you going to return my affections?”

She kicks at the dirt and turns away from him.

Push and pull.

Push harder. Pull further away.

That’s Emma.

“No matter,” Killian continues, waving his hand in the air in front of them. “Did you come to sit with me for any particular reason? Perhaps to get away from your parents?”

She groans next to him. “I can’t listen to it anymore. I mean, I can’t imagine how they feel, but I – you know what, never mind.”

“Pan got your tongue?”

His lips curl up at the same time that hers pull down into a frown. She is obviously not amused by him tonight.

“My apologies, milady,” he sighs before standing from his spot. The leaves rustle underneath him, but no one from the other side of the camp notices his movement. They’re all too wrapped up in their own lives.

Emma cranes her neck up to look at him, and he’s never seen someone so swan-like. She lives up to her name, but with Emma, he thinks it must be the other way around.

“Are you going somewhere?”

He tilts his head to the side. “I, too, would like to have some time away from the doting lovers and the moaning queen, so I thought I’d take a walk. I know this area well enough to know that we’re near the beach. Would you like to join me?”

Her eyes narrow and dart over to her parents and then back to him. “Is that safe?”

Killian pats his sword with his hook. “I’ve got weapons, as do you. I think we’ll be fine. C’mon, love. I know you need to have your mind taken off of things. This island will drive you insane if you don’t find something that calms you.”

Emma’s shoulders sag before she stands and steps up to him. “What was that for you?”

He swaggers closer, the magnetic field around her always pulling him those few inches forward, and then dips his head so she has a direct view of his wink. “A man likes to keep his secrets, love, but if you play your cards right, I might let you in on it.”

“Can’t you ever be straightforward about anything?”

“I find that I’m straightforward about many things. You simply never pay attention because it’s not what you want to hear.”

Killian doesn’t bother to wait for her reaction. Instead, he turns on his feels, grabs a lit lantern, and starts heading down the path they made earlier to make his way to the beach. He can hear the ocean waves already. It’s a sound that usually calms him, one that he’s nearly always searching for, but here, the echo is different. It’s loud and brash even when the waves are gentle, and he aches for the sound of the waves in the Enchanted Forest or even those of the ones in Storybrooke.

Anything other than this.

Anything.

Emma’s boots crunch behind him, and he lifts an overgrown branch until she steps underneath it and begins walking at his side. A part of him doubted that she would actually follow, but deep down, he knew the odds were more in his favor than disfavor. She’s silent as they walk, but occasionally her hand will brush against his arm, and he feels the heat of her touch spread over him.

There are no truly nefarious plans in his mind as to what they are to do on the beach once they get there, and he wouldn’t be opposed to simply watching the moonlight glint off the water. However, he knows what he was implying when he suggested them leaving the campsite, and he knows that Emma does, too.

A one-time thing, she’d said. Emma may possess a superpower for telling when others are lying, but she’s not the only one who is good at reading people.

The beach comes into view past a few vines and bushes, and Killian slashes through them with his sword before putting it back in its holster and stepping over the newly slain foliage. Emma steps behind him, following exactly in his footsteps, and then all of the sudden the sound of footsteps stop when they step onto the sand.

That was the one good thing about these beaches. It’s soft sand instead of hard pebbles.

There’s a scratch of nails down his back, a faint feeling through the thick material of his leather, and Killian twists his head to see Emma standing so close that he can see all of the freckles on her face, counting them one by one until he knows them as he knows the constellations in the sky.

He’s rather more interested in them than the constellations here.

“You were saying something about getting my mind off things?”

Killian nods and reaches his hand up to tuck her loose hair behind her ear, and his fingers ghost across her cheek, feeling the soft, velvet skin. He’s seen many a beautiful woman in his few hundred years, but there’s something different about this one that he believes might not be physical after all.

Though, she certainly is beautiful in that way.

“Aye, love, I believe I was.”

And then he dips his head and slants his mouth over hers. The initial shock is much the same as it was earlier today, but this time, it’s his turn to take charge. He gets to thread his hand into her hair first and pull her into him before she can grab onto the lapels of his coat, and he gets to control the pace. It’s fast and heady, her tongue already swiping across his bottom lip, and while he wouldn’t mind slowing it down to savor the feeling of her, that’s not what either of them need.

That’s especially not what Emma needs.

It’s been awhile since he’s done this, his taste for bar wenches fading away a long time ago, but the movements haven’t been lost on him. The push and pull, the teasing and tasting, it’s all second nature, but right now, it feels new.

Everything about this is refreshing, but he has to push those thoughts down. He’s had too many sentimental ones about Emma today, too many realizations and questions since their dalliance, and this isn’t a time to think of him yet again not getting something he craves because he isn’t good enough. This is the time to let his body take over and to forget.

That’s why they came here after all.

Emma’s hands tug on his lapels before moving to the inside of his jacket. She runs them over his chest and over the chains hanging from his neck before they settle on his shoulders. He can feel her nails much more clearly with only the thin layer of his shirt keeping her from his skin, and his eyes shut even more tightly at the feel of it all as his tongue tangles with Emma’s in slide so perfectly in sync that he doesn’t believe it’s real.

This is real, this is real, this is real.

“You tell no one of this,” Emma grunts against his lips as she works to remove his coat from his shoulders.

“Aye, I understand.” His hook tugs against her backside, and he releases his hand from her locks to help her take off his coat. It’s heavier than he would like, but it’s what he’s needed to keep warm in ports and on the deck of the Jolly over the years. Now, it will be a nice barrier between the two of them in the sand. “It will be a private dalliance between us.”

“Do you always have to talk like that?” “Like what?”

“Like you’re from a Jane Austen novel?”

“What’s that?”

That gets a smile from Emma, and maybe he’ll be destined to only make her smile when she’s teasing or feeling superior over him not knowing something about her world. For now, he’ll take it.

“She’s a writer. She writes romance.”

“Oh? You read those? I didn’t take you for the type.”

“Shut up,” she groans, pushing him down until he gets the idea and settles down on the ground. Emma sinks down onto her knees and settles on his hips before she dips her head and rejoins her lips to his. “Just be quiet, okay?”

“As you wish.”

Her mouth stills at the words, the same ones he used earlier, but then she’s continuing the kiss, and Killian can feel her over every inch of her. His skin is prickling and beginning to become sweat-soaked once more, but now that he’s without his coat, he can feel the cool breeze of the ocean wafting up onto his skin. He doesn’t know how long they lay in the sand with their mouths moving together with no destination in mind until he feels Emma’s hands near his trousers. She’s pulling apart the laces, and as her mouth breaks away for her to get more access to it, he takes the opportunity to pull at her blouse with his hook. She gasps at the touch, but she doesn’t push him away. Her skin is sun-kissed and glistening with sweat, and her chest is heaving, heart obviously beating as quickly as his is. He swears that he can feel it, but he knows that’s not true.

She’s glowing underneath the moonlight and the flickering of the lantern, and this may be the first time he’s been truly fond of the moon here in a lifetime.

There he goes thinking those thoughts again, and he swore to himself that he would not do that.

Ever tried, ever failed.

Finally, he gets her blouse down enough that he can see the roundness of her breast, and Killian groans at the sight. He’s spent more nights than he’s willing to admit dreaming about something like this, but the reality is much better.

Bloody hell.

Her hand brushes over him through his leathers, and he hisses. But the pain is good, a pleasant burn, and Killian lifts himself to lick away sweat that is gather on Emma’s collarbone. Her skin is salty on his tongue, and he savors it.

“Why the hell are your pants so frustrating?”

“I believe it takes a more patient hand.”

“I don’t have any time for patience,” she huffs, and he notices that her hands are shaking and that she really is struggling to get his leathers down. Killian takes the opportunity to lift his hips to help her, and she finally gets them tugged down, smiling as his cock juts out.

Well, maybe that’s another way he can get an elusive smile out of her.

“Aha,” she laughs, almost giddily.

“I don’t believe that’s a reaction I’ve ever had before.”

She shrugs and starts working with her own bottoms. She handles them much better than she handled his, the zipper easily tugging down and the material peeled off of her so that he can see the toned legs she possesses, all of her muscles defined.

Beautiful.

His mind simply can’t get past that.

“Yeah, well, I’m always one for new things.”

Emma kicks her trousers off until they’re resting on the sand, and she settles back on top of his hips, her softness brushing over his hardness. She’s more ready than he thought she would be, but he’s certainly not going to complain, not when he so desperately needs to be inside of her. Maybe if he’s allowed to do this again, which he doubts, he’ll be able to take the time he usually would with someone like her.

Someone who is more than a conquest.

Someone who should be treasured.

“Really, now?” he questions. “In that case – ”

She slaps his chest, and he grabs onto her hand, holding it to his chest as he chuckles.

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”

“Aye, and while I do so love a woman who takes charge, you have to let a man have a little fun.”

Her groan is frustrated as she tilts his head back, making her neck swan-like again, and all he can think is how much he wants to bite the delicate skin. But that thought is quickly dissipated when Emma takes him in hand, stroking him a few times, before guiding him into her.

Bloody fuck.

It’s better than he could ever imagine to feel her warmth stretching around him and to hear the groan straining in the back of her throat. She’s a vision like this, still half-dressed but entirely indecent, and he almost tells her so before her hands clutch at his shoulders and grab onto the chains around his neck. They’re the only cool thing about this moment, the Neverland heat and heat of their activities consuming him, and it’s a nice touch to feel the mementos he’s collected over the years.

He wishes that he had a way to collect this moment.

“Fuck,” she hisses as she begins a gentle rocking, adjusting a testing out this new position they’re now in. “Fuck.”

“At a loss for words there, Swan?” “Don’t be cocky.”

He juts his hips up at her words, and she moans, and digs her nails into his skin so hard he may bleed.

“Apologies, love,” he says, not meaning it.

In fact, he can’t keep the smile off his face. He’s sure she despises it, but Killian doesn’t care to stop himself when he hasn’t felt this good in ages.

But they’re doing this to forget, he reminds himself, not to remember.

They quickly find a rhythm that works for the both of them. Emma takes control, like he knew she would, and continually changes up how deep he enters her over and over again. It’s like she can’t figure out if she wants shallow or deep, fast or slow, and eventually he tires of it and wraps his arms around her to flip them over, careful not to hurt her with his hook. She gasps at the movement and opens her mouth to say something, but then he’s pushing into her as his mouth deliciously slants over hers.

Emma hooks her foot against his backside, pushing him further inside of her, and he can feel his heart between his ears as he finds the pace that he wants. Her nails keep scratching into his back, and Killian groans before trailing his mouth away from Emma’s to find her ear. He begins whispering to her, working around her rule of him not being loud, and when she complains, he tells her that he’s very much being quiet. Besides, he thinks that words he whispers to her keep her from protesting anymore.

He’s getting close, his high nearing the edge, and he props himself up on his left arm so he can reach between them and rub his thumb over where they’re joined. Emma lets out a long moan that he hasn’t heard before, and then he feels her fluttering, feels her falling around him.

Fuck.

The feeling nearly causes him to fall right there, but he has enough mind to pull out and take himself in hand to finish himself off since he doesn’t believe Emma has any of the potions that prevent pregnancy with her.

This was never really in either of their plans.

Going off of plan is quite possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to him on this damned island.

He’s almost there, teetering on the edge with shaky limbs, and as soon as he feels Emma’s soft hands on him, he’s gone.

Afterward, they don’t spend time lingering on the sand. Before they can catch their breaths, Emma is standing and straightening herself up, tugging her clothes down and back on, and he does the same. Though, he’s much slower than her, partially due to his hand but mostly due to the fact that he doesn’t seem to be fighting the internal war Emma is.

He knows that he just slept with a woman he fancies from time to time, while she just slept with a man she most likely still finds despicable despite them getting along rather well lately.

Nothing like a crisis to bond people.

“Thanks for that,” she finally mutters as she twists her locks back to remove them from her face. She’s flushed, the heat still lingering, and he can see the slightest bit of redness on her chest from where his beard rubbed against her. “It was…”

“Bloody satisfying.”

“Yeah,” she huffs, her lips turning up even as she looks away from him. “But also, a one-time thing. I mean that this time. Today has been complicated.”

“Aye, Swan,” Killian sighs, “whatever you say.”

He’ll respect her wishes with no hesitation, but like he thought earlier, Emma isn’t the only one who knows when someone is telling a lie.

#dorisquinn #cs prompts #cs fic #cs ff #cs fanfic #captain swan fic #captain swan ff #captain swan fanfic #captain swan

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chickensarentcheap · 4 years

Text

Best Part of Me -Chapter 12

Warnings: none

Tagging: @alievans007, @thunderintheshadows, @innerpaperexpertcloud, @c-a-v-a-l-r-y

Preparing to leave the house with five kids in tow is a full-time job all in itself. Bathing them after a long and active day at school, getting them dressed –which includes incessant bitching and moaning about the textures of clothes and how the tags are ‘too itchy’, having to actually put on socks and shoes-, and giving them the usual list of warnings before even stepping out the front door. No arguing, no fighting, and no bad language. And by the time you manage to get to the front door, at least two have to go to the bathroom and another wants to change what they’re wearing. This time it’s Millie; her self-described princess dress suddenly not ‘princessy enough’. Opting for one with more frills and more sparkles and way too much pink, then insisting on topping the look off with her well-worn light up Spiderman sandals. Tyler had long ago learned to pick his battles, especially as a girl dad. Was suggesting nicer shoes really worth the epic diva style meltdown he’d have to endure? Especially when he’d rather be in flip flops or even bare foot himself?

“I honestly do not care,” he says, when she holds aloft the sandals with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Other parents would force their kids to comply; embarrassed by the mismatched lock. But he’s gotten so used to carting around boys dressed in superhero costumes –masks and all- that the stares and whispers of strangers don’t both him anymore. And fighting over shoes with a soon to be six-year-old is not the hill he wants to die on. “Do what you want.”

For a brief moment –as he buckles the three oldest into the their car seats in the very back of their second, and much larger, vehicle, he muses about just how different his was now is compared to the one that he used to live. When he was drunk off of his practically twenty-four seven, numbing the pain, guilt, and grief with a potent combination of booze and pain meds. Back in that little shack of his in the Outback, with nothing but a dog and a chicken to keep him company. When he was totally committed to the job and spending his days fighting to keep himself –and quite often someone else- alive in dangerous situations. When he was battered and bloody and sometimes on the brink of death. Now he’s proficient in changing diapers, fixing bottles, and making and packing school lunches. A far cry from the old days. And for a brief moment, the thought makes him feels sad; that his existence is nothing more than a mere shadow of what it used to be. That he’s gone from one extreme to the other. And it shouldn’t; he’d made the conscious decision to give it all up. For his family. So he’d be able to hold his marriage together.

And the sadness is replaced with guilt; that he’d miss the job while getting the opportunity to even have kids and watch them grow. A lot of guys in the job weren’t so lucky; they either never turned alive to their wives and kids, or their marriages completely disintegrated, and they never saw their children again. That’s his worst nightmare; things falling apart and either rarely getting to spend time with them, or not being able to see them at all. Being a dad has given him something to take pride in; raising tiny humans that will hopefully one day grow up to be amazing big humans. Decent adults with compassion and humility. Fiercely independent. Alarmingly intelligent. And it’s given him a chance to finally do it right. He’d been an epic failure as a father with Austin; he’d been cowardly and selfish and would never truly forgive himself for it. But he’d been given another chance; entrusted with helping bring five beautiful lives into the world. And he’s determined not to fuck that up.

“I don’t wanna wear shoes!” TJ laments, and proceeds to use his toes to push his sneakers off one heel, then the other, letting the offending items fall to the floor of the SUV.

“Listen, mate. We’re not going to fight about this. If your mum says you wear shoes, you wear the shoes.”

“This is crap!” Tanner chimes in. “My feet are so hot! Like they’re gonna catch on fire!”

“No one’s feet are going to catch on fire,” Tyler assures him. “You’re wearing the thinnest socks possible. We get there, the shoes go back on. And how come you guys don’t have to wear normal pants?” They’re clad in matching tan cargo shorts; one in a green and white stripped golf shirt, the other in blue and white. Always insisting on matching in some way, despite the fact their parents have purposely dressing them differently from day one.

“’Cause we’re only five!” Tanner huffs, as if he’s just been subjected to the dumbest question that’s ever been asked in the history of mankind.

“By the way,” Tyler says, as he finishes buckling Tanner into his seat. “I want my fifteen bucks back that you scammed me out of the other night.”

“I got that money fair and square,” his son argues. “I got you the info just like you asked.”

“Your mom gave me the info. Which technically means half of the money should go to her.”

“It’s not my fault that you fell for it, daddy. You should be smarter than that. You got totally played by a five-year-old.”

“He’s not wrong,” Esme says as she appears alongside of him, clutching Declan by the hand, the baby resting along her forearm. “You did fall for it.”

“You’re in on this together, aren’t you? You probably put him up to it. You’ve been teaching him some of the tricks of the trade. Getting him ready to follow in your footsteps. I bet he even split the money with you.”

“Please just put the kids in the car before we’re really late,” she implores, then stands on her tip toes to brush her lips against his. Which in turns prompts loud and dramatic gagging from all three of the older kids.

“Don’t do that!” TJ cries. “We don’t need any more babies in the house! Why can’t we have a puppy for a change? I don’t want any more sisters!”

“Well I don’t want any more brothers either,” Millie retorts, and sticks her tongue at him.

“Okay, don’t start.” Esme warns. “At least wait until we’re out of the driveway. And besides, it takes a lot more than that to get a baby brother or sister.”

“Like what?” Millie inquires.”

“Like none of your business,” Tyler replies as he tends to Declan, scooping him of the ground and settling him into his car seat. “Besides, there won’t be any more brothers or sisters. It’s not possible.”

“Can we get a dog then?” Tanner asks

“We already have a dog,” his mother reminds him.

“Let’s get another one!” Millie enthuses. “A puppy!”

“I have enough mouths to feed and barely any sanity left.” Esme says, and passes the baby to her husband, who arches a brow and stares at her pointedly over the dog comment. “Not you too!”

“It’s not a bad idea. We’ve got the room. Inside and outside.”

“Please don’t encourage them. They won’t stop talking about it now. They’re going to ask a million times a day about getting a puppy and I don’t think my mental well-being can take it.”

“We’ll talk about it,” he says, then kisses her and shit the SUV door.

“Oh, you think so do you,” she grins, then runs her hands across his shoulders and down his chest; smoothing out the wrinkles in his simple white dress shirt., the first three buttons undone and no tie; paired with dark washed jeans that fit ‘just right’. Beard still full but neatly trimmed, the product in his hair giving it that unruly ‘bed head’ look. “You clean up nice.”

“You don’t look half bad yourself.” he chides, and then places a hand on her hip and leans into her, pressing a kiss to her ear. “You look beautiful,” he praises, as his hand slides up the middle of her back. The dress is simple and modest; emerald green and off the shoulder, flaring out at the waist and just skimming the bottom of her knees.

She’s still self-conscious about her post-baby body; she’d on twenty-five pounds and had damaged to drop fifteen of them seemingly overnight after Addie was born. She hates the extra weight that clings to her hips and gathers at her waist; despises the stretch marks that mar her skin. Yet to him they just make her even more beautiful; the signs left behind that she’s given him children. There’s no woman in the world that could ever hold a candle to her. It stretches far beyond physical appearance. It’s her strength and her tenacity and the loyalty that that she’s always shown towards him and their kids. And it’s the way she looks at him; as if he’s the most incredible man on the planet even though there’s times he’s shown he’s anything but.

A slight blush creeps into her cheeks. Even after six and a half years of marriage she’s still not used to his random compliments. Mark had all but destroyed every ounce of self-esteem she’d ever had, so Tyler had taken it upon himself to help rebuilt it every chance he got. Whether it’s when she’d dressed up with her done and make up on, or when she’s worn down from lack sleep and her hair is messy and she’s still in her pajamas with baby puke stains on them.

“I’m serious,” he says, as his hand slides down to the small of her back and his lips find hers; soft, slow, simple kiss. “You look incredible.”

She smiles. A genuine, glowing smile that lights up her entire face and makes her eyes sparkle and dance. And with her hands on his chest, she stands on her tip toes once again and places a kiss on the corner of his mouth, then lays her hand against the side of his face and runs the end of pad of her thumb over his lips, her eyes never leaving his.

It’s the sincerest ‘thank you’ he’s ever received.

****

Nik and Kyle have a room at Sovreign Resort Hotel, and they’ve arranged to meet on the outdoor patio belonging to the in-house restaurant. It’s better for the kids; no cooping them up in a crowded, busy room and expecting them to sit still and keep quiet. Being outside gives them a chance to breathe; away from the hustle and bustle and all the judgmental stares and comments if they dare step out of line. There are gardens and fishponds to investigate when they get bored or agitated and need some time to decompress, and room for a high chair for Declan and Addie’s stroller, giving her a comfortable and safe place to retreat to while the others eat and converse.

“Now I know why we don’t go out more often,” Esme comments, as she notices the curious looks and hears the comments tossed their way. A fairly young couple with so many kids, all close together in age. Most find it cute; drawn to the twins in their complimenting outfits and Millie in her princess dress, but there’s the bitchy people as well. The ‘children should be seen and not heard’ crowd that find it ridiculous –and maybe even disgusting- that people are willingly having such large families in this day and age. “People are staring at us,” she frets. “And whispering.”

Tyler moves Declan from one hip to the other, than lays a hand on the back of her neck and gives it a comforting squeeze. “Want me to tell them that I have weak pull out game? Lighten the mood?”

“I’d laugh but I wouldn’t but it past you do actually do something like that. Seriously, what is everyone’s issue?”

“Who gives a shit. Just ignore it. Maybe it bothers them because it’s obvious by all the kids that we’ve had more sex in five years than they’ve had in fifty.”

Normally it would aggravate him, that kind of attention and all the talk. But he’d taken half a dozen Ativan before getting out of the car and the effects are already starting to take hold. He’s relaxed. The calmest he’s been in the past four days. Although he’s pretty sure having to be in Nik’s presence and enduring her version of ‘small talk’ will change that.

Nik and Kyle have already arrived; sitting side by side at a large table near the edge of the patio, leaning into one another, foreheads nearly touching as they talk, their hands joined on top of the table.

“I’m going to be sick,” Esme mutters. “Ughhhh. The way she’s looking at him. He’s way too good for her. Let’s just leave. I don’t think they’ve seen us yet. If we just sneak out now...”

Kyle has spotted them and is already on his feet and making his way towards them; the kids so focused on their surroundings that they’re completely unsuspecting until he’s within five feet, noisily clearing his throat to grab their attention.

“Uncle Kyle!” Millie cries, and is the first to break away, the soles of those old sandals flapping against the concreate patio as she rushes to where he’s already crouched down, arms outstretched, gathering her into them and pulling her tight against him.

The twins follow suit; shrieking his name as they run towards him, finding themselves enveloped by his strong arms and gathered into a bear hug along with their sister. Tears sparkling in Kyle’s eyes as he showers them with kisses and tousles their hair and listens to their excited ramblings; all three talking at the same time, filling him in on all the excitement and adventures they’ve experienced in the past six months. And Tyler notices that Nik doesn’t budge from the table, sipping at a glass of wine and never acknowledging the scene playing out in front of her.

“Wish me luck,” Esme sighs, and he gives a reassuring before taken Declan from him, carrying him on her hip and pushing the baby in the stroller as she herds the other three towards the table to get them settled.

He watches as the two women exchange tight lipped smiles; Esme’s one of lingering bitterness and anger, Nik’s filled with a hint of remorse and maybe even regret. And how his wife holds it together despite wanting to completely unleash on her old friend; instead patiently getting the kids settled and Declan strapped into a highchair. He knows it’s difficult for her; his ‘history’ with Nik still the elephant that lingers in the room, the other issues that she’s caused over the past six and a half years adding insult to injury.

“Good to see you, man,” Kyle gives him an awkward one-armed hug and then claps him on the shoulder. “What the has she been feeding you? You’re a fucking tank.”

“Just a lot of hours in the gym. Gotta keep myself busy somehow. Things are good with you?”

Their relationship has been strained; not just because of the thousands of miles between them and Kyle holding him responsible for yet again ‘stealing’ his sister, but the ongoing hostility with Nik. The last time they’d talked, Tyler hadn’t been kind; letting her know to stay the hell away from him, to never contact him again. He’d been harsh. He’s the first one to admit that. But it had worked. At least until now.

“Things are good,” Kyle says, and then glances over his shoulder at Nik, a smile curving his lips. “Things are really good. What about here? You guys are doing alright? The kids seem happier.”

“We’re all happier. It was the right thing to do. Coming back here.”

“She’s struggling though,” Kyle nods in the direction of his sister. “Don’t even try and tell me she’s not.”

“She’d be struggling a lot less if you have just listened and kept Nik away. It wasn’t enough you’re marrying her considering everything in the past? You had to make things worse by bringing her here?”

“We hadn’t heard from you guys yet. About the wedding.”

“And that means you come all the way here and fuck things up? You have a phone. You've got the internet. Send an email. Don’t just show up. We’re still trying to get past all of this. Nik and her shit, the job.”

"It was her idea. Nik’s. To come here and try and make things. Patch things up. I told her that I didn’t know if either you or Esme were ready for that that yet, but....”

He frowns. “It was her idea?”

Kyle nods. “She wanted to make amends. In person.”

“She told you that? That that’s why we wanted to come here?”

You poor delusional bastard, Tyler thinks. Kyle’s being played and manipulated in the say way she’d messed with him. Nik always has an ulterior motive. And Kyle is either blind to it, doesn’t give a shit, or genuinely doesn’t realize what she’s capable of.

He decides it’s the latter.

“We want you guys at the wedding,” Kyle says. “I mean, if it wasn’t for you and Esme, we never would have met.”

He feels as if he should apologize in advance. Because six months from now, Kyle’s going to realize just what kind of shit show he’s gotten himself into. “

“And we want the kids there,” Kyle continues. “Millie could be the flower girl, the twins could be junior ushers, Declan could carry the ring up. We want it to be a family affair.

The last thing Tyler wants it to be stuck anywhere with Esme’s family. He doesn’t give a shit about their feelings towards him. If they want to spend the rest of their lives hating him and viewing him as the enemy, so be it. But the way they’ve treated her.... his wife...is unacceptable. And the worst place to air those grievances is at the wedding of the only member of that clan he can actually stand.

“Won’t be the same without all of you,” Kyle says. “I mean, we’re family.”

Tyler wouldn’t go that far. You usually don’t become family with someone you used to casually fuck,

“This is a big deal for her,” his brother in law continues. “Wanting to come here. Wanting to make things right.”

“And you really think that’s why she wanted to come here?”

“Why wouldn’t I? She hasn’t given me a reason not to believe her. Why?” his eyes narrow. “You know something I don’t know.”

“I don’t think you know Nik as well as you think you do,” Tyler says, then gives him a sympathetic pat on shoulder before heading for the table.

****

“You’re here to take daddy away, aren’t you.” Millie voice is accusatory and full of venom; eyes narrowed as she regards Nik from across the table.

Dinner is long finished; all dirty dishes and cutlery cleared away in favor of tea and coffee for the adults and ice cream for the kids. His daughter has been glued to his side all night, Nik bringing out the clingy and protective side of her. Nearly causing a fight with Tanner when he initially wouldn’t give up the seat to Tyler’s right. Then climbing up into his lap as soon as the meal was finished; sitting sideways on his thighs, an arm curled tightly around his neck.

Esme shifts uncomfortably beside him, then noisily clears her throat and reaches for a glass of ice water. He takes her hand, squeezing it tightly before placing their joined hands on her thigh.

“No one is taking anyone away,” he assures his daughter.

“That's what you said last time,” Millie reminds him. “And then you were gone forever.”

“Well this time is different. I’m not going anywhere. Uncle Kyle just came to see you guys. So she tagged along. Nothing more than that.”

“She is your Aunt,” Kyle speaks up. “It’s okay if you guys call her that even if certain people don’t want to acknowledge it or accept it.”

Esme clears her throat once more, hand tightening around Tyler’s.

Millie isn’t convinced. “If I wake up tomorrow and my daddy's gone, I’m going to be really pissed!”

“Okay, calm down,” Tyler presses a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m still going to be here when you wake up tomorrow. So just relax, okay? Take it easy.”

Millie turns to face him, then kneels on his laps as she leans in close and whispers. “I don’t trust her, daddy.”

“It’s a long way to come,” Esme pipes up. “Just because you missed the kids. Web cam chats do exist, you know.”

“It’s not the same,” Kyle says. “And things are slow right now for Nik and I had some vacation time owe to me, so...well...here we are.”

“Yeah,” Esme gives a tense smile. “Here you guys are.”

Tyler moves Mille over to his other thigh, then let’s go his wife’s hand in favor of laying his arm across the back of her chair, thumb repeatedly brushing against her shoulder.

“We thought it was time to smooth things out,” Kyle explains. “Before the wedding. So things aren’t tense that day like they are now. I mean, it’s been six months. Time to let it go, don’t you think.”

“I think you’re underestimating what the nearly six years before were like,” his sister calmly responds. “Or am I just supposed to pretend they never happened? That she...sorry.... you...” she looks over at Nik. “...never pulled all the bullshit you did?”

“Mommy.” Tanner looks up from his ice cream. “That’s a bad word. Daddy said no bad words tonight.”

“You’re right,” she says, and then gives her son a smile and wraps an arm around him, drawing him tight against her. “Bad mommy,” she scolds herself, and then runs her fingers through his hair and places a kiss to his cheek.

“No one is saying that you have to forget about all of that or pretend it never happened.” Kyle informs her. “But wouldn’t you rather iron things out so you’re carrying around so much animosity?”

“Oh, that’s rich, K. Maybe you should be addressing your future wife’s animosity. And how she was so pissed at Tyler and I that she was willing to leave us both on a bridge in Dhaka to die.”

“Okay...no one needs to hear about this,” Tyler says, and rubs her shoulder. “Especially little ears.”

“I’ve already apologized for that,” Nik finally speaks. “Countless times. But things didn’t exactly happen the way you think they did.”

Esme snorts. “Spare me, Nik. Yaz told me all I needed to know. So don’t waste your breath lying to me. Dhaka was a total crap show and you just went ahead and made it even worse.”

“Alright, settle down,” Tyler implores, and then leans sideways to press a kiss to her temple, lips settling against her ear. “The kids do not need to hear this. Any of this. Okay? Can you stop? For me? Please?”

She reluctantly nods.

“It was Nik’s idea to come here,” Kyle says. “She wanted to patch things up. With both of you. So we could be part of the kids’ lives. They deserve to have family. Are you going to let your ego get in the way of what’s best for them?”

“Whoa...whoa...” Tyler comes to his wife’s defense. “...that’s way out of line, mate. Don't use her kids against her. Don’t ever accuse of not doing what’s for her kids. Our kids. Don’t stoop that low or you are I are going to have problems.”

“I’m just saying that...”

“I know what you’re saying. But find another way to say. Because I won’t let you disrespect the mother of my children like that.”

Nik gives a dramatic sigh. “Obviously the two of you are still holding onto a lot of bitterness and anger and this was a total waste of our time.”

“We’re holding onto a lot of bitterness and anger?” Esme retorts, then laughs. “Says the woman who couldn’t handle that her with friend with benefits met someone and decided to move on with his life. The same woman who was so mad about it that she spent six years trying to get my husband to cheat on me? Or are you going to pretend none of that ever happened?”

“And I’ve apologized for that, Esme. But you’re just so childish and petty that you can't let it go.”

‘Well I’m sorry, Nik. Maybe I’m not comfortable with my husband’s old side piece becoming my sister in law.”

“There’s kids here,” Tyler reminds them both. “They don’t need to hear this. Either settle down or just drop it.”

Esme glares at him. “And suddenly you’re on her side?”

“I’m on your side. I’m always on your side. But I’m also on the side of my kids not having to hear this stuff.”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ve heard a lot worse,” Nik snidely remarks. “With you as their father.”

Esme’s eyes narrow. “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You know what he’s like. The mouth on him. I’m just saying that I’m sure the kids have heard a lot worse than what we’re talking about.”

“How about you just leave my kids out of this,” Esme suggests. “Or is that the real issue? That they’re my kids...with him...and not yours.”

“Jesus Christ,” Kyle moans. “Not this again.”

“That’s what really pissed off six and a half years ago, wasn’t it, Nik. The fact that you wanted more than just the dick and he wouldn’t give it to you. It just pissed you off when he met me and all of sudden he was getting married, having kids, enjoying a normal life. That’s what really bugged you. What still bugs you.”

“Can we not talk about that?” Tyler asks. “Do you really think the kids need to know this kind of shit?”

Esme ignores him. “Why don’t you tell Kyle the real reason you’re here, Nik. And don’t lie and say it was to repair things between us. Tell the truth for once. Tell him you’re here to screw things up all over again.”

“I don’t think we need to talk about this now,” Nik says. “This was supposed to be about coming together and sitting down and ironing things out. To patch things up and see the kids and...”

“I think we should call it a night,” Tyler suggests. “It’s getting late and the kids are tired and have school tomorrow.”

“No,” Esme responds. “We’re not leaving. She’s going to come clear to my brother about what she’s really here for. How she used our kids as an excuse to come here. Tell him, Nik. Tell him exactly what you came all this way for.”

“Esme,” Tyler warns. “...not here...please.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Kyle. It isn’t for my husband’s dick. For once. It’s all business, isn’t it, Nik. It’s all about the job. And you trying to manipulate Tyler into helping you.”

“Would you stop,” Tyler tightly squeezes her shoulder. “Enough. Stop Not here. Not now. And not in front of the kids.”

“Nik wants to hire Ovi to be a mercenary,” Esme announces. “Ovi. Of all goddamn people.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Tyler orders. “If you two wants to hash it out or kick the crap out of each other, go do it somewhere else. Just not in front of my kids.”

“You’d think she’d have more comment sense than that because of everything Ovi went through in Dhaka,” Esme continues. “But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering we wanted us to leave him in the street like a piece of trash. She probably wanted Tyler to leave me there too. Because I was the obstacle in the way or getting what she really wanted.”

“Is this true?” Kyle address Nik. “That’s why you really wanted to come here? To hire Ovi?”

“Oh, not just that,” Esme informs him. “She wants Tyler’s help. She wants him to train Ovi before she sends him off to be killed. She probably wants more than that. She always has.”

“Okay, we’re going.” Tyler tightens his hold on Millie and stands up. “Enough. I’ve had enough. I said not to do this, and you did it anyway. Let’s go.”

“I want to know if any of this is true,” Kyle says. “If that’s the real reason we ended up here. Is it?” he looks back at Nik. “IT had nothing do with fixing things, did it. It was all bullshit. Just to get something you want.”

“That’s Nik’s M.O,” Esme smirks. “That’s all she ever cares about. Getting what she wants. And trying to destroy anyone that stands in her way.”

“Why would you do this?” Nik hisses. “Stoop this low?”

“Now you know how it feels,” Esme give a victorious smile as she stands up. “Doesn’t feel good, does it? Having some bitch trying to fuck your life up.”

“Jesus Christ,” Tyler snarls. “Let’s just go. Enough. You’ve said enough.”

“Oh, I have more tons more I could say.”

“Well another time, another place. We’re leaving. Now.” His tone is demanding. Authoritative. But his face remains calm as he gathers up all the kids; Declan on one hip, Millie on the other. “Let’s go guys,” he says to the twins. “Home time.”

“Thank God,” Tanner huffs. “Adult stuff is so boring.”

Kyle hurries after them as they leave, catching Tyler by the arm before he can get out the side entrance of the patio. “I am so fucking sorry. I had no idea what she was up to,” he says, as Esme and the twins –with TJ pushing the baby stroller- continue the walk to the car. “She told me that she wanted to come here and fix things. And so I could see the kids. I had no clue she had an ulterior motive.”

“That’s one thing about Nik. She always has an ulterior motive. I’m sorry, too. That you had to find out that way. Esme should have just kept her mouth shut. For tonight at least. I tried, but...” Tyler shrugs. “...she doesn’t always listen to me.”

“She doesn’t listen to anyone,” Kyle gives a dry laugh. You guys going to be okay?”

“We’ll be fine. She’ll get home and go off on me for a bit and then she’ll calm down. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before. I’m used to it after six and a half years. Good luck with Nik, though. You’re going to need it.”

Kyle frowns and runs a hand over the back of his head. “That bad, huh?”

“Mate, you have idea. If she boots you out and you need a place to crash, you know where to find us.”

“Yeah, don’t be surprised if you come out in the morning and find me drunk and passed out on the beach.”

Tyler smirks. “There’s been times I wished I was loaded and passed out on the beach, believe me. I am sorry. That your sister went off like that. But you were going to find out sooner or later.”

“Better sooner if you ask me.” Kyle says. “Tell her I’m sorry. That you’re dragged back into this shit. Into that life. Esme deserves better than that.”

“Yeah,” Tyler agrees. “She does.”

#tyler rake #tyler rake fan fic #tyler rake fan fiction #best part of me #extraction #chris hemsworth character

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alltherestisdrag · 4 years

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2 and 40 from angst prompts with any ship of your choice 🥺🥺👉🏻👈🏻

This is probably my favorite prompt req I’ve written so far huh, hope you enjoy

Wrote this while listening Wasted Time by CLOVES so you can listen while reading if you want, the rhythm matches well

XOXO

2. Don’t fuck this up. and 40. You crossed a line. | Branjie

Vanessa was whomping up the files while she was trying to find the right ones for the meeting. She had only ten minutes left until the appointment, and she knew that she had to use the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. And obviously climbing up three floors in a pencil skirt wasn’t in her field of interest.

“Fuck,” she mumbled when she dropped a bunch of important papers onto the floor. “Fuck, I don’t wanna mess this up.” She tucked the escaped papers into her red folder and kept looking for the indentures. She knew that she put it around, but where was that?

Brooke and her coworkers had always told her that she had to be more organized because at some points her printer wasn’t gonna be with her, and eventually they were right. She was about to lose her mind.

When she heard the door knocking, she wanted to get under her desk and disappear, because god, she had no time for talkative coworkers nor visiters at that point.

“Come in,” she said, almost whispering and wishing not to be heard.

And there she was, in her amazing navy-blue suit, hair tied tightly in a ponytail, sleeves rolled and always ready to work her ass of. The most hardworking and idealistic boss in the world.

Also her flawless girlfriend.

She let out a deep breath when she saw that it was no other than her, and continued looking for the papers.

“You supposed to be at the auditorium, baby,” she mumbled when she could find one more missing paper and smiled with relief. “We’re gonna be late otherwise.”

When she couldn’t get an answer from Brooke, she tilted her chin a little bit and found her deadly gaze. She knew that look, but mostly, she wasn’t getting her share of that.

When a worker fucks up something, Brooke would breathe down their neck and yell her throat off until the things get better.

Or if someone would object her morals, she wouldn’t get disturbed by kicking their asses of the building.

That was her, and Vanessa was known as the one always going easy on her, that was why they could merge like puzzle pieces. Someone had to tolerate for a perfect relationship.

“What?” She asked, and gulped. “I’m trying to find one more file, and I’ll be there. Don’t wait for me.”

Brooke’s face was staying still without any movement when Vanessa could finally gather all of the papers. She exhaled loudly and tucked the stack under her arm.

“What?” She asked again. “Why are you looking like that?”

Brooke pointed the clock on the wall, and tied her arms on her chest. She could clearly see that the blonde was mad, and she wasn’t looking like the sweet woman in her bed at all.

Vanessa was late, too late.

“Shit,” She whisper-screamed. “You know I don’t get late, baby. My watch was miscalibrated, I completely forgot about that!”

Brooke rolled her eyes and tremulously moved on her place. “We’ve been waiting for you to come and start the presentation for thirty minutes, Vanessa. Those are businessman. They’re not waiting for a play date.”

She was right, and Vanessa knew that. That was why she crushed onto her place as she talks like a stranger.

She wasn’t used to those manners since they’ve first met. Brooke had always been so kind on her, knowing that her stress levels wouldn’t take otherwise, and now this, this was so humiliating.

“I accept no fucking excuses after this point. We almost made it and you’re being stupidly unprofessional. I won’t take that.” She almost yelled, and made Vanessa jump slightly.

“‘M sorry, baby,” She mumbled, and tucked her hair behind her ear, asserting her gaze through the windows. “I’ll be there in two. Can you give me a second?” She bit her lips, praying for Brooke to calm down by hearing the pet name a little bit. But she wasn’t taking even one step back.

“Don’t fuck this up, Vanessa,” she eyed her from head to foot as if she wasn’t looking at her girlfriend, and immediately left Vanessa alone with her shaky hands instead.

She had to make it up to them, and then make it work.

***

“What else I could do, Plastique?” She drove her hands down her neck and grasped her own shoulders, trying to warm up her frozen body. “I literally put the best I could’ve done. Now everyone is saying that the broken contracts are completely my fault? Just because I was late? Fuck no! ‘M not taking that-“

Their words got interrupted by the door opening harshly, making the taller girl jump in her place. Obviously they were all gonna get their shares of Brooke’s boiling rage.

“Plastique, out, give us a minute.”

For the first time, seeing Brooke wasn’t relieving for Vanessa. Because she knew that the thing they were gonna talk about was too serious.

They had literally lost thousands, and she knew how grumpy Brooke could be when the things go wrong.

Usually, she would be the one who makes her relax a little bit, but at that point, all the weight was on her shoulders.

“So,” she said. “Hope you’ve understood that even a little bit of unprofessionalism can make us lose thousands of pounds, right?”

Brooke wasn’t a kind of person who throws all the weight onto someone and blame them all the way; and Vanessa knew that she could see that it wasn’t all her fault. But at the end she was mad, and Vanessa was stepping onto one of Brooke’s nerves, that was obvious.

“Yeah, and I said I’m sorry. That was an obvious fault,” she mumbled. “So you’re here to read me down?

Brooke sat onto Vanessa’s desk, and caged Vanessa onto her chair. “You think you have privilege over me?” She said, and a chill ran down the younger girl’s back.

“You better be joking right now,” She smiled fakely, and drove her hands onto the table to grab Brooke’s hands, but she didn’t let her do that.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Vanessa whispered, knitted her eyebrows and looked right into Brooke’s eyes. She was so serious.

She shaked her head and buried her face down her hands. “So you’re basically saying that I’m just like the others to you?” She spitted, even herself couldn’t believe a word she said.

“Don’t warp the point,” Brooke said, and played with the pens in the rack, obviously trying so hard to not to yell. “I’m saying that your professionalism dissapoints me a lot.”

Vanessa laughed as if she was turning crazy, and sticked her long nails into the leather of her chair. “What are you gonna do?” She asked. “Fire me just because I accidentally showed up late? Oh god... Brooke, I feel like I don’t know you anymore. What’s wrong?”

Brooke stood up and started walking through the huge room with an amazing sea view she had given to Vanessa, ‘her’ unprivilaged, unprofessional Vanessa.

“I don’t know if I can put all the money in place,” she tousled her blondes and bit her plump lips. “I- you literally fucked it up this time, Vanessa.”

Vanessa wanted to disappear at that point. She had never felt so unfairly disparged in her life.

She would never believe in the world if someone said to her, Brooke was gonna be the one who does that. She was feeling broken and downtrodden.

“Why?” She asked the first gross thing came into her mind, immediately regretting after letting it out. “Just because I didn’t come here with my family’s money like you?”

That was harsh, Vanessa knew that when Brooke turned to her with an incredibly offended gaze.

Even if the company had passed to Brooke after her family, Vanessa knew that she was working her ass off to show them she deserved it, that was why she was so certain and merciless at some points.

Vanessa knew that, and she knew that that was the worst thing she could bring on during a pre-fight.

“You crossed a line,” Brooke whispered. Her eyes were filled with tears. “I thought you were the only one who could understand my effort but I guess I was wrong, Vanessa,” she continued, every word making Vanessa regret.

“All I needed was bursting out after a thunderstorm but now I feel like ‘I’ am talking to a stranger, thank you very much.”

Vanessa wanted to beg for her to forgive her when she had heard those word leaving Brooke’s lips with the most broken tone.

She may had not fucked up with being late for the meeting, but she surely did fuck their relationship up.

They both did, just because a nervous workday.

Maybe they shouldn’t have worked together from the beginning, as all their friends said, maybe they shouldn’t have mixed their professional life to their love life. Maybe it was all a mistake, Brooke thought.

They were both feeling devastated, just by hearing two hurtful words from each other.

“I didn’t mean to say that...“ Vanessa tried to fix, she really did, she would never give up on someone who comforted her anytime she needed. She wouldn’t give up on someone who she loved, loved a lot, loved enough to memorize every moment she had spent with her, loved enough to get ready to propose, loved enough to remember every word she had heard from her...

And those were the only words she’d gotten from her, that she wanted to forget with all her heart.

Otherwise, all the thing was gonna get so irrecoverable, and Vanessa had never thought her future without Brooke. She would get into an emptiness, lose her job, lose her love, lose her all life.

She needed Brooke, so she tried, tried her best.

“Brooke, baby I’m so sorry,” she stood up and got in front of Brooke in no time, and tried to hug her and make her sobs stop, but she was unsuccessful. Brooke pushed her away, and wiped her leaked mascara under her eyes.

“I don’t wanna hear no more words,” she said. And turned right into Vanessa’s eyes with a resentful look. “I think we did a mistake,”

Vanessa didn’t want to hear the rest. She didn’t want to throw her heart away in two minutes, she was too weak to continue without her. She wanted to turn the time back, and keep her mouth shut while Brooke keeps yelling at her.

“I think we did a huge mistake,” But Brooke continued. Making her girlfriend tear apart with her words. “Maybe these should never have happened. Maybe we-“

Vanessa couldn’t take heart no mode and interrupted her. “Please...” She tried fo fondle Brooke’s cheeks, but Brooke was making herself seem too far to reach.

“Please,” she said and held onto her shoulders instead. “You know I didn’t mean to say that, I would die instead of hurting you, Brooke, baby, please-“

Brooke shaked the younger girl’s hands down her shoulders and gulped. “I’ve never felt so disappointed in my life.” She whispered and tucked her hands into her pockets when she couldn’t find a place fo find to put them on.

Normally, they would easily find Vanessa’s fingers as if they belong to each other, so it felt different, Vanessa thought.

“I’m sorry,” Vanessa whispered, and bit her lower lip. The heavy regret was almost making her heart stop. She would rather losing everything else in her life except her, she would rather being yelled by Brooke all day, but she could never stand being a stranger against Brooke ever again.

She wanted the time to stop, as she reached and held Brooke’s hands. “I’m so sorry.” She repeated. “I’m sorry, baby, I’m so sorry.”

But Brooke pulled herself back in no time once again. That was their last touch at that point, and they were both crying their feelings off.

Vanessa looked at her beautiful, nearly flawless face and thought of all the times they said beautiful words to each other, Brooke caressing Vanessa’s face on their corner couch, sometimes finishing bottles of good wine and getting drunk together...

They were too good to be finished in five minutes. They were too good to be done.

But Brooke’s words were saying the right opposite, an uncertainty slapping their faces with pain. Vanessa thought she was about to faint when she’d heard those last words.

“I think we need a break. Pack your stuff, you’re leaving.”

#branjie #prompt request #angst #atrid writes

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tclinemarr · 4 years

Text

— && guests may mistake me as ( normani ), but really i am ( taline mar + cis female + she/her ) and my DOB is ( 12/26/1996 ). i am a ( dance teacher ) and would like to stay in suite ( 309 ). i won’t be much of a bother because i am ( idealistic & charismatic ), but i can also be ( domineering & scatter-brained ) at times. personally, i like to ( listen to podcasts, shop online & solve crossword puzzles ) when i have the time to relax, and my favorite snack is ( flamin’ hot cheetos ) to have in my suite. thank you for checking in! ( nessa, est, 21 ).

tw: mentions of anxiety.

hello, my babies! okay, i swear, this is the last muse i’m bringing in for y’all. the muse with fiona just didn’t click as i hoped it would so i decided to bring back a favorite muse of mine, taline! you’re a real og if you remember when i first played her. anyways, i literally can’t think of how to do an intro post, wowie, but below will have some info about her! if you wanna know more about her you can check out her pinterest board here or her full bio here! i’m always down to plot, so lmk if you’d like to plot and we can work something out!

as of right now, she is keeping herself focused on herself and uses her job as a dance teacher as a form of every day therapy. she’s been living in chicago for about two to three years so far. in her spare time, she helps tutor kids after school and likes to shop online. taline swears those are the only things keeping her sane.

let’s get a few things out of the way: taline is both distant and clingy at the same time. she doesn’t let a crap ton of people close to her but once she does, she can be draining. she texts about random things that she thinks her friends will enjoy. she asks how they are all the time. she wants to hang out and watch movies and cuddle a lot. she wants to cook for them and buy them things. she wants to share her favorite books with them. she wants to witness their shocked faces during the plot twists of her favorite movies. it isn’t uncommon for her to have to be told that someone needs a break from her for a few days. she tries not to take those times personally but the majority of the time after being pushed away for a breather, taline is unsure of what to do with herself and gets fretful and does massive amounts of work and dancing.

taline is frequently told that she could be a politician due to her diplomatic presence and strong-willed mindset. even so, she has much interest in politics as a profession, and takes it as a compliment and revels in the fact that people think so highly of her.

hardened by the unwanted advances and crass comments people would throw at her when she was younger, the brown-eyed beauty has perfected the art of appearing intimidating and serious. but the reality is that she has a fantastic sense of humor that can be cracked into by treating her the way everyone else didn’t – like a human being and not an object.

taline fits very well into the “femme fatale” trope and often receives comparisons to michaela pratt from htgawm for both her sophisticated sense of style and bold personality. somewhat of an uptight perfectionist, she has always followed the rules and is her own worst critic.

despite her demeanor, the young woman is extremely caring and always wants the people she cares about to be comfortable and happy. when she’s very close to a person, she can be very emotional expressive towards them. she doesn’t mind expressing her feelings and thoughts with someone she’s extremely close to. in fact, she finds it therapeutic. of course, this is something that comes over time when you’re her friend. she doesn’t get close to people very easily.

everything that she does is very methodical and thought out. she’s not afraid to flaunt her intelligence, nor is she afraid to intimidate people by shoving her systematic way of life in their face if it benefits her. taline is a very cut-throat type of person when it comes down to it, but it’s because she believes she deserves the best and will do anything to get it.

due to her own arrogance and intelligence, taline has an opinion on everything and a tendency to share those opinions when it’s not necessarily appropriate, which gets her in trouble frequently.

she no longer speaks to her father due to the fact that the pressure he put her under caused her to suffer from anxiety attacks. she’s currently looking for a good therapist since she’s still dealing with the impact of his words and the expectations he set for her.

she moved to chicago a few months after dropping out of the graduate program at vanderbilt university. she wanted a clean slate since she was always surrounded by the same people for the past few years. chicago seemed like a good idea to her and it would be an easy escape from hearing her father’s nagging.

currently, she is living at the malnati while teaching at the small dance studio she works at. she posts on youtube every other week and has recently gotten on the tiktok bandwagon. she moved to chicago because it reminded her a little bit of indianapolis and she needed a new place of scenery to reinvent herself. at the moment, there is no family in the picture as taline has been estranged from hers since she was twenty one for choosing to pursue her own dreams instead of trying to fit into the neat little box they’d carved for her. that has left a pretty big void in her life that she chose to ignore and then fill with dance.

to help her make a little money on the side, she has an onlyfans account. she enjoys showing herself off in lingerie. taline at night vs. taline during the day is such a difference that it will blow your mind.

plotting

at first glance, there isn’t very much to taline. she’s the girl who is impeccably dressed with a wide grin on her face and a childlike kindness that makes her embrace everyone she meets with open arms. she goes to great lengths to make sure that is all that people see; that she is recognized as the ex-rich girl who lucked into her own brand of success with her youtube channel. she genuinely adores people from all walks of life and takes great joy in getting to know them. honestly, taline is a combination of a really reliable friend and someone who frequently just disappears off the face for months at a time when she's focusing on her work. she's surprisingly introverted for the job she has and can be something of a hermit, but if a friend needs her she'll dust herself off and come out of her hole. she's an interesting person to have around and has stories for days, but can be a little self-involved and work-obsessed. she's also not great at talking about her feelings unless she's pissed off. she's a lot of fun, though, and loves to party.

i can see taline having a lot of friends but many of them not being particularly good ones. she's a very charismatic and outgoing person but also withdrawn in the sense that a lot of her friendships are very surface level. it takes a lot for her to decide to let someone get much closer but when she does, she's a good friend who will look out for the other person. she just has a tendency to put herself first because she doesn't feel like anyone else will do it for her, so she needs to do it herself. she also grew up feeling pretty lonely and i think part of the reason why she'd have so many superficial friends.

in conclusion: taline is someone with a kind heart who would give the shirt right off her back for anyone she deems a friend. she’s open-minded, loving, and incredibly forgiving when she wants to be. she definitely has her faults. she can be vain and self-involved and a little unreliable as she’s incredibly disorganized. it tends to be made up for with her genuinely good nature, how eager she is to please and how prone she is to spoiling her friends. overall, she's a good friend to have around when she decides to attach herself to you!

on the flip side, taline loves a good debate, and honestly, loves a good fight. she's full of opinions and refuses to believe that she could be wrong. losing an argument or debate is not in her vocab. she is argumentative and also quite moral/righteous. with that being said, there will also be people she rubs the wrong way. being a strong character and a person not afraid of confrontation, taline frequently ends up in situations where she antagonizes others. when she believes in something, she's very adamant about it and she will fight for it, even if she's not always in the right. she's very passionate and very outspoken and she tends to step on people's toes more often than not. she's also stubborn and doesn't easily see her own mistakes, so she's been known to keep holding onto her opinion even when it's been obviously wrong. get into a heavy conversation with her at your own peril, xo.

despite having a lot of acquaintances, i would like for her to have a circle of tight friends, people she is incredibly close with that she trusts implicitly. some she's known for a long time and some that maybe are newer but they feel its like they've known each other forever. just give this girl her pals, please!

she has plans to open her own studio in the near future, so anyone who be interested in aiding to her dream or who wants lessons or even just a place to practice could befriend her.

she is a hopeless romantic, through and through. she is something of a serial monogamist where she wants to be in a relationship because they help ease some of the insecurities she’s been battling with since she was disowned by her family. she tends to put all of that yearning for their approval into relationships with other people. she’s bisexual, and she’s interested in people who can make her laugh and feel comfortable. she likes the idea of having a partner in her life but she's also so independent and in her own world, so she hasn't ever been particularly good at dating. if we’re being honest, the only serious relationship she has ever been in was with moira sanchez back in college, and she’s still mending a broken heart from that.

she's very protective over her own feelings but equally tends to jump into things too fast and then back the hell out all of a sudden. if she does choose to be in a relationship, i think she’s quite picky with who she decides to do that with because she had a childhood of not receiving the love she needed and i think that shows in her approach to romantic relationships (ouch). i can't see her having loads of hookups since she does tend to project onto someone who shows her attention or affection. she falls hard for people, especially people she starts sleeping with. fwb or fuck buddy relationships often become complicated for her or they evolve into something that ultimately ends. she’s unlucky in love, to put it simple.

wanted plots

left brain, right brain. taline’s other half. the two couldn’t be more different regarding their behavior and interests, but they somehow make it work. they don’t fight often, either, even if they aren’t the same in the slightest. the one thing they have in common is how much they adore the other’s existence.

two best gal friends. -- like a troublesome trio. the three are always seen with at least one another. you can call them charlie’s angels, destiny’s child, or phoebe, rachel, and monica from friends. something that resembles the friendships of the bold type and someone great.

now we got bad blood. -- taline doesn’t have many enemies, but there is always someone out there in the world that will get on her nerves. this person makes her want to gouge her eyes out with a fork. right off the bat, these two bumped heads, arguing about petty things like favorite tv shows and favorite foods. perhaps it’s because they’re both natural born leaders and can’t seem to reach an agreement, or perhaps it’s because they remind each other a little too much of themselves. either way, nobody understands their dislike of one another.

the art of intimacy. -- she has never been one to indulge in senseless intimacy. actions where touches were detached from feelings. it’s not her -- that’s not taline. but sometimes, the feelings of fingertips on her skin, and the taste of lips, mixed with the rich moans and pleas for more, drives her to break her own rules. she can study them. learn notes about the way of intimacy and sex when you remove the feelings. true, she’s terrible at removing that and she proves time and time again that she can’t separate lust and love. maybe it wont end in disaster? maybe it’ll provide just the right muse.

almost lover. -- they probably had a thing at one point and she got too attached, they broke her heart, and she just can’t let it go.

#malnatiintro #malnatiooc #malnatism

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alewyren · 4 years

Text

tumblr is dead but I’m gonna post my thoughts on Inuyasha here too for archiving purposes. cw for (non-detailed) discussion of sexual assault and suicide wrt kikyo

OKAY. SO. MY THOUGHTS ON INUYASHA. warning for some INCREDIBLY hot takes.

it. sure was a journey. I am not sure if I liked the series overall or not. It had some legit good/touching moments, but it dragged SO LONG and there were a lot of things I thought could've been handled better. But it was fun liveblogging it for sure. And I got NarKik out of it, which snapped me out of my year-long creative dry spell, so it was at least a net positive time investment LMFAO.

I liked... mmmmost of the characters? sango, sesshoumaru, kagura, kanna, naraku, kohaku, K I K Y O, and even kagome were all Good. On the flipside, Inuyasha himself is FUCKING TERRIBLE and he sucks and I hate him. Emotional immaturity ain't cute, he gets everything handed to him on a silver platter, rarely apologizes for being a selfish prick, and the other characters are WAY too forgiving of his bullshit. I got tired of the tsundere het romance cliches between him and Kagome pretty fast, as well as how often he was jealous of her. Like, Kagome's insecurities over Kikyo I can legit understand (despite being #1 Kikyo Fucker). But whenever she's so much as civil with Kouga and Inuyasha's all HANDS OFF MY WOMAN I'm like... dude shut up you two-timing hypocrite. If You Like It Then You Should’ve Put A Ring On It. Credit where credit is due tho, they did chill out over time and some of their moments together towards the end of the series were legit sweet. I'm pretty meh on Inukag overall, and iffy on the resolution of her moving to his era permanently, but that last panel of him greeting her as she came out of the well gave me a Feel.

(Actually, on that note, it... would have been legit kind of hella if the series had ended with Inuyasha himself permanently moving to the modern era? Aside from their friends he had far fewer attachments in his world than she did hers, and there's so much more potential with him having to adapt to the modern era, lol. ALTERNATIVELY, kikyo lives and she switches places with kagome and makes a new life for herself in the modern era. thus letting her truly live as a normal girl. But I'll Get To Kikyo Later. smh)

The premise of the series is actually pretty strong, though of course you can poke holes in it. To my knowledge it was the first isekai anime that really took off, and the driving plot of collecting the Shikon fragments is excellent monster of the week material (though I'm not really a monster of the week fan myself). Also, youkai are awesome. Focusing the series on real-world mythology makes my Shin Megami Tensei heart very excited.

I know the series runs on emotion rather than logic, but I REALLY have some questions here. The fact that the well is explicitly stated to take Kagome back in time rather than to another world makes no sense at all. First of all, where are all the youkai in the present day? Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are at least a couple hundred years old, right? What happened to them in that 500 year timespan? Surely some creature or another from the series would have naturally survived that long. So what happened? Was there a mass-youkai extinction somewhere along the line? Shouldn't this be cause for concern? Also, do Kagome's time-traveling actions create a stable time loop or a branching timeline? If Naraku won in the past, how would that affect the present? The two eras are just completely isolated from each other and I really don't get it. That kind of stuff. Yeah yeah I know MST3K mantra and all but MAN this bothers me.

Which brings me to Exhibit A of stuff I think should have gone differently: Kagome should have stayed the protagonist, and the modern era should have gotten more focus. Not as in her day-to-day school shenanigans, but stuff touching on the questions listed above. There's just a lot of untapped potential regarding How This Shit Works, rather than confining the story pretty much entirely to the Sengoku Jidai With Youkai. Also there could be plenty of shenanigans with characters OTHER than Kagome and Inuyasha hanging out in the present. LIKE KIKYO. okay yeah my kikyo bias is showing but it would be the perfect opportunity to 1. hide her from naraku (unless he found a way into the present, but that just ties into my previous point), 2. develop her friendship with Kagome. Which would have done both of them wonders. BUT I'LL GET TO KIKYO LATER. (I'm dying imagining Kagome introducing Kikyo to her schoolmates as her cousin and taking her shopping though..... teaching her how to ordinary human... like..... HHH.)

Anyway, Kagome as the protagonist. She was very much the protagonist at the start of the series--she took a more active role in a lot of the monster of the week conflicts, and just had a lot more focus and screentime in general. Then Inuyasha got his sword upgrades and her role in conflicts became reduced to sensing Shikon fragments and occasional use of arrows. It took until the last hundred chapters for her to get ANY sort of substantial power-up, and it felt... unearned? I had been looking forward to her developing her miko powers alongside Inuyasha's youkai powers, and getting bow upgrades to match his Tessaiga upgrades, but it just... didn't happen. Her miko powers having been sealed all along felt like an ass pull, and I wasn't really a fan of the test of character she had to go through in order to get the fancy bow upgrade being solely focused on overcoming her feelings of jealousy towards Kikyo... again... like it's valid for her to feel that way but we've been here already! Surely there's more to her character than this! I think it would've been awesome if she actually got some fights of her own too, and maybe Kaede and eventually Kikyo mentoring her growth as a miko? But as far as canon went, it just felt like she got shallower and less interesting over time as Inuyasha slowly took over the protagonist role and that was a damn shame. Let Kagome be the plucky isekai protagonist she was always meant to be! This, of course, ties in with my assertion that the modern era should have gotten more focus too.

okay, so. it's time. kikyo. Kikyo. I fucking LOVE kikyo, absolutely my fave chara, I was not expecting to love Kikyo this much lmao. All that ship war propaganda was a big fat lie. She has an ASTONISHINGLY mature narrative about the effect of tragedy and trauma on people and relationships, but it was SO under-utilized and shafted in favor of the Love Triangle and Inuyasha's Manpain and I'm FUCKING UPSET. Kikyo was (or at least had the makings to be) the best character in Inuyasha but she was not done justice at all, in this essay I

Like, sit down and think about it. Here we have a woman who lost her parents at a young age, taking on the responsibilities of her household, and training to be a miko on top of it--which in the world of Inuyasha is a very emotionally demanding position that requires her to basically devote her entire life to her duties, ESPECIALLY once she's entrusted with the Shikon Jewel. All while being required to live a life of asceticism and suppressing worldly desires. In short, she basically never had a chance to actually, like. Live. Keep in mind that she was a child/teenager throughout all this (she was 17/18 when she died). That's a LOT of pressure on someone that young.

At this point, she's understandably lonely and depressed, and then along comes Inuyasha. She falls in love with him, gets a taste of a life that would truly make her happy, and has it ripped away. Like, there's some really fucking dark subtext to the whole Onigumo plot. She shows kindness to a random stranger, who proceeds to make a deal with the devil to LITERALLY RAPE HER, and her life is ruined as a result. No, Kikyo wasn't literally raped in canon, because even though Onigumo wanted to rape her Naraku's intentions towards her were... more complicated if still incredibly fucked up, but good lord the subtext is THERE. And as a result of the ensuing incident, believing Inuyasha betrayed her, she straight up KILLS HERSELF. Yes, it was partly to protect the Shikon Jewel, but she did not want to come back to life. Let that sink in. Kikyo was driven to suicide by an incident incited by a man who took advantage of her kindness in order to rape her. (nostalgia critic voice) FAMILY PICTURE!

I'm not gonna pretend Kikyo was the only victim here, though. Inuyasha has pretty clear PTSD from the event too, even after learning Kikyo is innocent. But through his relationship with Kagome, he begins to heal and move on. Then Kikyo gets brought back as a clay zombie, fucks up his whole grieving process, kickstarts the love triangle, you know the story. Kikyo's perspective is actually really interesting to dig into though. She didn't want to be brought back. She's PISSED. Even when the dust settles and she learns that Inuyasha is innocent, the anger and trauma have changed her. She's got a good ol' dose of PTSD herself. She's colder, harsher, engages in risky/self-destructive behavior, and distances herself from her loved ones. Like, think about it. Was there any logical reason she had to separate from Inuyasha and his group to fight Naraku on her own? To keep them in the dark about why she surrendered the Shikon Jewel to Naraku? No. That's a character flaw on HER part. And all this puts real strain on her relationship with Inuyasha. They still love each other, but their mutual trauma has completely changed their dynamic. Their love is based on their past relationship rather than their present chemistry. They don't make each other happy anymore. Neither of them are at fault for that. That's REAL AS FUCK. That's what trauma DOES to people and relationships.

So, yes, I'm a hardcore Kikyo stan who supports InuKag over InuKik. We exist. InuKik does not work as a relationship in the present because they've both changed due to trauma and that's the GODDAMN POINT. It's not a story about true love, it's a story about moving on from first love. The problem is that Kikyo's character is largely confined to her role as a love rival to Kagome. Inuyasha's side of the InuKik narrative, of letting go of the past and healing, is resolved. Kikyo's is not. And boy, I was ABSOLUTELY FUCKING LIVID that the love triangle was resolved through Kikyo's death rather than Inuyasha just... fucking, PICKING KAGOME OVER KIKYO BEFOREHAND RATHER THAN HER NEEDING TO DIE. She can still die after that! I swear, I'm not just salty because my fave died. At least 70% of my favorite charas are dead. I literally don't care anymore. I'm mad that she was killed off in a way that reduced her to being Inuyasha's Woman rather than getting a chance to heal and grow apart from him, as he did from her. And this in turn cheapens the narrative around why InuKik doesn't work as a present relationship to begin with, because he never actually picks present love over past love! He just keeps committing emotional infidelity until Kikyo gets killed off to wrap things up in a neat little bow with no character growth on his part! This shit is why I hate Inuyasha (the character).

Kagome's kindness towards Kikyo also plays a part in why she softens up by the end, yes, but that kindness is entirely depicted as "I want to save her because she's important to Inuyasha and I love Inuyasha." Kagome's character growth in these moments hinges on her picking love over jealousy, NOT through actually bonding with Kikyo. On top of that, Kikyo saving Kohaku over defeating Naraku struck me as out of character (have to show she's not a bad person after all? which she isn't, but still). It definitely made her death feel even more pointless. How come Kohaku gets to live and not her!!! Seriously, the fact that Kohaku gets to live and Kikyo doesn't REALLY rubs me the wrong way. She barely even knew Kohaku! He was willing to die to defeat Naraku! NOT killing Kohaku to defeat Naraku almost cost MORE lives! It could've been a poignant resolution to her character arc, but there wasn't enough buildup for it to be a convincing decision for her to make.

And oh my god, there's SO much wasted potential here. Kikyo's resentment towards Kagome is super understandable, and it's never really explored. Kagome replaced her. Kagome is filling the role she should have filled. What's even left for her except her hatred of Naraku? She asserts that Inuyasha cannot forget her (her being lowkey possessive of him is *chef kiss* my wife is a bitch and I like her so much), and he doesn't, but she still straight up tries to kill Kagome lmao. Like I said they do reconcile, but it's kinda half-assed. Kikyo's feelings are never explored in-depth. She's never truly given a chance to heal and realize that she does have a place in the world beyond her decaying relationship with Inuyasha and hatred for Naraku. That her scarred, flawed existence is still just as fucking valid as Kohaku or Rin or Jaken being able to live after being brought back from the dead. Like lemme stress again that the girl experienced INTENSE trauma and COMMITTED SUICIDE. The notion that she's the only one who needs to die in order to restore the natural order, that her death is beautiful and tragic but necessary, is..... gross, tbh. :U

Like, she can still die, lmao. IMO it'd be legitimately more interesting if she lived, if she had an opportunity to carve a place for herself outside of Kagome like Kagome did Kikyo, but it IS possible for her to die without it making ME want to die. Just resolve the love triangle shit first, flesh out some of her relationships outside of Inuyasha himself (ESPECIALLY Kagome), show her healing and softening, and then she can die protecting everyone or some shit. That would've been fine. But No. She just gets killed off for the service of Inuyasha's character, so he can hook up with Kagome guilt-free, with NONE of this addressed. Because it's more palatable for a woman to be dead than broken up with, I guess? I Hate It Here, You Guys.

her (near) last words being "I've finally become an ordinary woman" rubbed me the wrong way too... it like, tried to wrap her character arc up in a neat little bow while ALSO entirely confining its resolution to being Inuyasha's Woman and discarding the narrative of trauma driving them apart. I love the narrative of the girl forced to be inhuman who just wants to be normal. This just felt like... a really cheap way to go about doing that, at the disservice of her character being about OLD love, for a forced (and false) sense of closure. Didn't like it. God fucking damn, typing it all out just made me even MORE pissed off.

tl;dr: kikyo had the makings of an amazing trauma survivor narrative but it got shafted. she deserved everything. thank you for coming to my TED talk.

SIGH. okay. there are other characters I wanna touch on too. Uhhh I actually thought Naraku was pretty cool, though he became way less interesting after Mt Hakurei (for the most part--he was cool again during the direct lead-up to Kikyo's death as well as the final battle). His identity crisis was pretty neat, as was the way he specifically targeted other people's emotions and relationships as a way to compensate for his own utter lack of a sense of self. Not to mention the cold, detached way he regards his own emotions ("my pp stands up whenever i look at kikyo, wish it wouldn't do that :/") and how this leads him to succumb to the influence of the Shikon Jewel, in contrast to Inuyasha and Kagome breaking the cycle. His lack of motivation is actually kind of the point, and I think it's neat as hell! Things got boring once The Baby entered the picture, and I got the sense Rumiko wasn't really sure what to do with Naraku for a while. His style of villainy got a lot more distant and "just as keikaku," when it was the way he got up in everyone's business and pushed their buttons for his own shallow amusement that made me like him in the first place. His fragments aside from Kagura and eventually Kanna were way less interesting, and I think it would've been neat to go more into his role as basically being an abusive dad, but it's fine. The Baby was a fucking boring and atrocious villain though, jfc. The /idea/ of Naraku's own heart rebelling against him was cool enough, but it means jack shit when The Baby is just a bland-ass villain who doesn't remotely represent the character traits that make up Naraku's "heart" in the first place, even aside from Kikyo.

Speaking of which, his fixation on Kikyo is a LOT of fun. Their interactions (which he was apparently secretly into), how he rejected his own humanity and destroyed both himself and the object of his desires, etc. Which is another reason he got less fun after Mt. Hakurei tbh. I fucking hate the way Kikyo's death was handled overall but I liked that he had to reclaim his human heart in order to overwhelm and kill her. That was neat. Something something toxic desire destroying both yourself and the person it's directed at. Then at the very end he realized that his entire existence was completely pointless and empty and his complicated feelings towards Kikyo were the only thing that ever made him actually, like, give a shit. Pour one out for this absolute dumbass. He's a relatable villain because I too would go to absolutely insane lengths to get over a girl I never even dated.

Uhh who else. Sango and Miroku. Sango was my favorite character in the main party. She's the most level-headed of the bunch, has a super cute design, and her story with Kohaku was responsible for a lot of the emotional moments in the series that really landed for me. Her friendship with Kagome was actually super cute and heartfelt. That scene early on where she broke down crying in Kagome's lap because she was scared of being alone again HURT. Also, Kirara is fucking precious. Miroku I've got mixed feelings about, since on the one hand he's a legitimately interesting character and some of his scenes with Sango did hit fairly hard, but DEAR GOD I hate the quirky pervert trope with a burning passion. If it were played seriously, I'd stan him to hell and back a la Adachi. But it isn't, so it's not. I've got mixed feelings about MirSan too. Their resolution was really sweet, but I was kinda like "wha" when Kagome said Sango had a thing for Miroku in the first place. Like, sure okay, but I think more time should've been spent showing her falling for him in the first place lol. Also the butt-grabbing joke got old fast. And when he proposed to her and basically refused to stop flirting with other women I facepalmed so hard. Can't have character growth when you have unfunny running gags! To his credit, he did chill out for the most part, but still kept making jokes about flirting/scoring that clearly made Sango unhappy and I'm like. Why. Then the bit with Hirai-Kotsu needing to be fixed. I liked their mutual resolve to protect each other, but I thought Sango's comment about how she couldn't live without him was..... a bit much. Like what about Kohaku??? But anyway I'm just glad Sango got a happy ending even if I'm still super *SQUINTS* at Miroku.

Sesshoumaru was pretty neat, I get why he's popular, though wasn't really My Type. Sure he's cool, but his /personality/ was a bit lacking and I think we should have gotten some more insight into his relationship with his father for how much focus his quest for the Best Sword got. His development was pretty good, but I've kind of got an issue with how Rin was more of a plot device than a character. Like, okay, one of the reasons I decided to start reading Inuyasha was because the announcement of Yashahime sparked a wave of Sessh/Rin discourse and I wanted to form my own take on it. And, yeah okay I don't like Sessh/Rin either and I say this as a certified Nasty, lmao. Less because it's problematic (though I find it kind of offputting myself, even aged-up) and more because it's bland. Rin has no character whatsoever outside of being a vehicle for his development and I'm REALLY not a fan of girls being objects for male charas' development. Still, I'm not gonna boycott Yashahime if Sessh/Rin is canon or anything. I prefer him with Kagura or even Kikyo but they're dead, so. If Rin has to be his cum dumpster to make this happen, then that's how it's gotta be.

Thats about it I think. I'd put it a rung or two above Naruto in terms of overall quality, but BOY am I still mad abt Kikyo. 6/10 probably wouldn't recommend, but it WAS fun.

#musings

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elisajdb · 5 years

Text

Life With You: XXVI

Part Twenty-Six:

Making Up

Goku opened his eyes to a dark room. He didn’t know the time but he knew he was late. He was always late. He sat up and stretched. He scratched his head as he shook off the last vestiges of sleep. Fighting off a yawn, Goku stood up, folded his blankets and stuffed them in the closet. He picked his pillow off the floor and placed it on his empty side of the bed.

ChiChi didn’t want Gohan thinking things were bad between them and even though their child rarely entered their room, she didn’t want to risk Gohan seeing anything so Goku hid he slept on the floor while ChiChi slept in bed.

Not only ChiChi kept him out of their bed, she forbid him from touching her unless absolutely necessary. Goku leaned forward and placed a kiss on ChiChi’s forehead. This wasn’t absolutely necessary but what ChiChi didn’t know, didn’t hurt her.

It’s been five weeks now. ChiChi should’ve been healed two weeks ago. When Goku came by to pick up the senzu beans three weeks after the incident, Korin told him Yajirobe ate them all but promised more will be ready the next week. Goku came by again to learn Yajirobe ate those beans, too. Now going into week five, Goku made sure this time Yajirobe wouldn’t eat the senzu beans before he got some for ChiChi.

Goku was getting tired of this. He knew as long as ChiChi was hurt, he was not welcomed in bed. He understood ChiChi’s feelings but he wanted to sleep in his bed. He wanted to share the bed with his wife. He wanted to make love to his wife.

When he was dead, he was too focused on reaching King Kai’s place and training to have these feelings. In the hospital, ChiChi provided temporary relief and on Yardrat, he distracted himself with training. His control was waning fast but the knowledge he was going home kept his urges at bay. Now it was sheer torture seeing ChiChi every day and not being allowed to touch her the way he wanted.

Dropping a kiss on ChiChi’s cheek, Goku left the room. Goku exercised for an hour outside with Piccolo looking on and shaking his head occasionally. When he finished, Goku hunted a fish in a nearby lake. While that cooked outside, Goku entered his home. ChiChi and Gohan were awake and waiting for him in the kitchen. While ChiChi drunk her tea, Gohan read his schoolbook, Goku cleaned his hands, put on ChiChi’s apron and started breakfast.

Goku was climbing an uphill battle working his way back in ChiChi’s good graces. The first step: get a new home. Gyu-Mao was true to his word in financing the purchase of a new home. Just as they did while engaged, Goku, ChiChi and now Gohan visited a capsule store for one. This new home was bigger and had more space in the kitchen and the living room area which pleased ChiChi. It also had a second floor where both bedrooms were.

Goku’s second step in getting ChiChi’s forgiveness: take over ChiChi’s responsibilities for the house. The first days of her accident, Gohan and Goku took care of the cooking and cleaning but once the family settle into their new home, ChiChi told Goku he will be responsible for everything.

“It’s your fault I’m hurt so you should be responsible in doing all my housework until I’m heal. Gohan is a child and since I have to take him out of school for three years so he can train to fight these Cyborgs, the least he can do is schoolwork until he has to start training.”

So, until the senzu beans were ready, Goku prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner for his family. Last time Goku did any domestic work, Gohan was a baby. Times were happier then. He volunteered to help with cooking and cleaning since ChiChi was overwhelmed with Gohan. Now Goku felt as if he was walking on egg shells around ChiChi every time he spilled food on the floor, broke or damaged a dish. It always meant more work for him so he tried to be as neat as possible.

After cleaning the breakfast dishes, Goku and ChiChi returned to their room where Goku cleaned up himself and ChiChi. It would be a fun experience but ChiChi wasn’t in the mood to play around. After ChiChi’s bandaged arm was carefully wrapped and protected, she would stand in the shower with Goku as he clean them. Sometimes it took longer when Goku washed her hair. After they showered and dressed, ChiChi sat in a chair while Goku brushed and styled her hair.

Afterwards, Goku cleaned the house, sweeping and mopping floors, washing the windows, before breaking to start lunch. After lunch, Goku did the laundry: sorting clothes for the washer and washing some by hand, folding and putting them away before starting dinner. After dinner, the family spent time together talking of their time apart and playing family games before going to sleep and starting the day over again.

ChiChi didn’t speak to Goku unless she had to. Even alone in their room, ChiChi didn’t say anything even though he knew while he laid on the floor and she in bed, she was awake. Goku knew he screwed things up badly but now he wondered if he permanently ruined things between them.

So, he was surprised while brushing ChiChi’s hair before bed, ChiChi initiated a conversation with him.

“We have to see Dr. Barkley tomorrow.”

Goku parted her hair in half and gently brushed. “She needs to look at your arm again?” They visited the doctor last week. “Tomorrow, I’ll visit Korin to see if the senzu beans are ready.”

ChiChi rolled her eyes. “Goku, it’s been five weeks. By the time those beans are ready, my arm will be healed.”

“They’ll be ready tomorrow.” Goku placed the brush down and began braiding ChiChi’s hair. “I made sure of it.”

ChiChi wasn’t sure what that meant and at the moment, she didn’t care. “Goku, the visit is for you. When Dr. Barkley questioned what happened to me, I told her but I also told her what will happen to you. I wanted her to examine you in hopes of preventing you from catching the heart virus but her specialty isn’t in cardiology. She promised to find a heart doctor we can trust. She’s found one. He has a clinic in East City.”

“East City? Ain’t that city destroyed?”

“They’ve been rebuilding since the destruction. Gohan and I visited a few months ago.”

“Ohhh.” Finished braiding, Goku brushed the other half of ChiChi’s hair. Goku didn’t object to seeing a doctor about his heart since he was curious about the virus, too. He had the medicine but if there was a way to prevent him getting sick, Goku wanted to know what he can do.

“His name is Dr. Sims. He wants to give you a complete physical.” Goku groaned behind her. ChiChi knew Goku hated that. He complained a lot during his first one years ago. “It’s for your own good, Goku. I’ll be there and I’ll hold your hand if he has to give you a shot. Oh,” she gasped feeling Goku’s arms wrap around her. He gently pressed her body against his. “Goku, what are you doing?”

“Thank you. You still care for me.”

“What?”

Goku released her and resumed brushing her hair again. “You wouldn’t want me to get an exam or find a way to prevent me from getting this heart virus if you didn’t care.” He put the brush down and started braiding her hair. “I’m okay with you being angry with me now I know you still care about me.”

“Of course I care about you, Goku. Why do you think I don’t?”

“You don’t speak to me unless you have to. You don’t want me touching you unless I have to. You don’t look at me when we eat or when we spend time with Gohan after dinner. I thought you didn’t care about me anymore because I screwed things up so badly.”

So he thought her silence was solely at him? On some level, ChiChi understood why Goku thought that but she had hoped Goku would understand there was more to it. Obviously wrong, ChiChi explained herself. “When I married you, I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I had to teach you everything. I knew it will be hard and I knew I had to make sacrifices but I was fine with that because I knew a marriage, a good marriage is hard work and it was worth it. We raised a beautiful child and had five wonderful years together. All the hard work and frustrations were worth it.

“Then your reunion happen and everything was turned upside down. Plans for a second child was put on hold. Our family’s entire life was put on hold. Not once but twice with you gone another year. The second year you’re gone, I told myself to keep faith, to believe you will come back to Gohan and me. I told myself things will be normal one day. Gohan started school again, and I thought when you return, you’ll have gotten all that fighting out of you; you’ll get a more lucrative job to care for us and we’ll try to have another child. We’ll go back to being that happy family we were before that awful reunion.”

ChiChi rubbed her eyes, trying to hold back her tears. “Now that won’t happen. You’re back only to prepare for another fight where you can die again to these Artificial Humans or that virus. We have to hold off having another child again. Our lives are put on hold and I’m at risk of losing everything again!” The dam broke and the tears flooded from her eyes. “I’m tired of this! Why is it always us?! If I lose you and Gohan, I won’t have anything. But I’m the bad person,” she angrily spat. “I’m the selfish person because I’m tired it’s always my husband and now our son putting their lives on the line for billions. I’m the bad person because I want you safe; I’m bad because I don’t want you or our son to die…. I don’t want you,” her voice shook, “I can’t live if I lose…..” ChiChi buried her face in her hands sobbing heavily.

Goku witnessed ChiChi cry before but she never broke down like this. Goku touched ChiChi’s shoulders. “You’re not a bad person, ChiChi. Why do you think that?”

ChiChi shoved his hands off her as she faced him. “It’s not what I think. It’s what you think! You waited until I asked you why Piccolo was outside. You didn’t even tell me he was out there until I confronted you just like your friends two years ago!”

“It happened so fast,” Goku excused himself. “I just got home after being away for two years and I knew you were angry at me. Gohan told me what my friends said and what Gyu-Mao wanted you to do. I couldn’t tell you right now.”

ChiChi didn’t accept his excuse. “You couldn’t tell me about the future but you had no problem inviting Piccolo to live with us for three years without talking to me! This is my home, too, and you had no right to make a decision like that without talking to me first!”

“I didn’t think it was a problem. I thought you like Piccolo like Gohan and I do now.”

His words were insane. “Like the person that took my son away from me for a year? Like the person who nearly beaten you to death seven years ago and finally succeeded in killing you? Why would I like him?!”

“Piccolo’s different now. You know he gave his life for Gohan against Vegeta and Nappa. He saved both our lives on Namek. Didn’t Gohan tell you what Piccolo did for us on Namek?”

“With his constant nightmares, I didn’t force Gohan to say more than he wanted about what happened on Namek. I really don’t know much,” ChiChi admitted. “When Gohan started getting better, I didn’t bring up Namek. Gohan seem happier when he didn’t have to think about Namek.”

“Oh.” That explained why ChiChi was still hostile to Piccolo. She refused to allow him to set foot in their home.

“Goku, if I hadn’t noticed Piccolo, how long would it have been before you told me about the future?”

Goku shrugged. That was a tough question. “Later. Maybe the next day. I knew you would be upset but I wanted time to tell you.”

ChiChi shook her head disgusted. He was just like them. “You’re just like your friends; leaving me in the dark; keeping important stuff from me while everyone else knows the truth on what’s happening to my family!”

“Don’t….” Goku warned her. “Don’t compare me to them.” Goku touched ChiChi but she pushed him away with her good arm.

ChiChi turned away from him leaving Goku to stare at the back of ChiChi. Her shoulders shook as she cried again. ChiChi told him to not touch her but Goku knew ChiChi needed him to hold her like he needed her now. Goku wrapped his arms around ChiChi and pulled her against his chest. She immediately struggled, “I said don’t to—“

“That’s enough!” Goku snapped at her. “You need this! So be quiet and listen!” ChiChi stopped struggling against him. The only sounds in the room were her soft sobs. His lips touched the back of her head as he inhaled her sweet scent. “Don’t you think I feel the same as you, ChiChi?” He closed his eyes as he leaned his head against hers; her tears were like a knife to his heart.

“When I was on Yardrat, I decided I was done fighting to protect everyone. I wanted to come home to you and Gohan. I was gonna keep training but for fun with Piccolo or Vegeta if he was still here. Now I saw his potential, I wanted to train Gohan. I knew you wouldn’t like it but I knew I could convince you Gohan can study and train. I wanted to try having another baby my first day back. I wanted things, too, ChiChi, but when Trunks told me what will happen, I realized I have to be the hero a little longer.”

ChiChi’s tears had stopped during Goku’s discourse. She wanted to cry again knowing Goku felt like her. “It’s not fair, Goku. We’re forced to keep putting things off for us. What if we never get time for us? What if we never have another baby? What if we never get back to the life we had?”

Goku had some hard truths for ChiChi. ChiChi was still idealistic, even more than him at times, but he knew from losing his grandpa how things can never go back to what they were. “We can’t go back to that life, ChiChi. I thought we could but we can’t. That life died when I died. This…. me fighting to protect our future is the life we have now.”

“I don’t want this,” ChiChi whispered. “I want our other life; our happier one.”

“It’s gone,” he told her. “But it doesn’t mean the life we have now can’t be a happy one.”

Maybe but it’s not what ChiChi wanted. “Let me go. I…..I want to go to sleep.”

Goku released ChiChi. She got in bed while Goku tucked her in. As Goku turned to his bed on the floor, ChiChi grabbed his hand. Their eyes locked. He saw sadness and longing in her eyes. “ChiChi?” In response, ChiChi released his hand but she never stopped looking at him. Goku leaned over ChiChi to give her a kiss good night. With a smile, he turned off the lights and joined his pillow and blanket on the floor. Before he fell asleep, he heard ChiChi’s soft sobs against her pillow.

****************

Goku and Gohan arrived at Gyu-Mao’s castle by teleportation. Staff at the castle were surprised to see Goku and even more surprised at how cool Gyu-Mao appeared with Goku. Goku kept his talk brief before disappearing and leaving with ChiChi on Nimbus to Dr. Sims in the newly renovated East City. Goku remembered coming to the city over the years alone with ChiChi and later with Gohan. Walking to Dr. Sims office from a nearby park Goku was amazed at the city’s turnaround from the barren wasteland he saw on TV over a year ago.

There were many skeletal buildings still in construction but a few completed ones. The population was smaller but there were people; most moving from other cities wanting to be part of the reconstruction including Dr. Sims.

When they entered Dr. Sims office, they were greeted by a friendlier Dr. Barkley. Dr. Barkley’s anger had cooled over what Goku did to ChiChi. Goku was grateful despite what he did, she really wanted to help them.

Dr. Sims was a tall, older man with salt and pepper hair. He had a friendly smile and a friendlier demeanor as he was excited to be studying someone of alien origin. Goku was still nervous but felt better ChiChi was with him; holding his hand and having Goku focus on her as Dr. Sims drew blood; being in the room with him as Goku went through every test Dr. Sims performed on Goku. During some of the physical tests, Goku held back but broke a few instruments anyway. The scans were easier as Goku laid down with a machine examining him from his head to his toes.

After two hours of testing, Dr. Sims needed time to study the results. Dr. Barkley stayed behind to assist. After calling her father to check on Gohan, Goku and ChiChi went to a restaurant to pick up several to go meals. Goku carried multiple bags to the newly opened park near Dr. Sims office.

Under the sun, sitting on a picnic blanket with food, with other families and couples in their separate spots, Goku and ChiChi looked like any other couple eating and people watching. One wouldn’t think they had problems in their marriage or worries for the future.

After eating their meals, ChiChi people watch while Goku laid on his back staring at the clouds in the sky. His thoughts surprisingly weren’t on his heart but of East City. It was smaller, different from the last time he was here. He knew to expect some differences since most of it was completely wiped out but it was still jarring to see how different the city is now from what he remembered.

“Gohan and I came here on the one year anniversary of the city’s destruction,” ChiChi casually spoke. “The news reported progress in the city; how many moved here from other cities to rebuild. Thankfully, no one figured out what really happened.”

Last time he saw Aki, Aki told him the news reported East City was destroyed by meteors. Survivors of the destruction lived on the outskirts of the city. There were reports of something in the sky. Though it didn’t bother Goku if it led back to him, Aki told him it was a good thing people believed meteors destroyed the city and not aliens.

Several times Goku heard what Vegeta and Nappa did to East City, saw pieces of the destruction on TV but it wasn’t until he was here it hit him how bad it was; how even after a year of the city’s destruction, the effects still lingered. This park he came here with Gohan and ChiChi three years ago was smaller. The lake that was the epicenter and main attraction of the park was gone.

“All this building reminds me of the time we went to King Furry’s home.”

“I remember,” ChiChi smiled fondly at the memory. “That was the day we learned I might be pregnant with Gohan.”

“We should’ve brought Gohan with us.” Goku rolled on his side. “Maybe that jungle gym is still here. He liked that.” ChiChi shook her head, letting him know it wasn’t. “Why didn’t they rebuild it or the lake?” Goku asked. “Gohan loved feeding the ducks there.”

“They rebuilt the lake but it’s smaller. Since the lake was completely evaporated, the only water there is a manmade memorial fountain that surrounds the memorial where the lake and jungle gym used to be.”

“Memorial?” Goku repeated.

“Memorial of all the people who died when Vegeta and Nappa arrived.” ChiChi pushed herself to her feet. “We should see it. There’s…..” ChiChi suddenly looked distraught. “There’s something I need to show you.”

Goku followed very curious why ChiChi wanted to show him the memorial. When they arrived, it hit him again how disastrous Vegeta and Nappa’s attack was. At the entrance of the memorial there were statues of people in grief; statues of people pointing upward at the supposed meteors that destroyed the city. On one wall, an artist created a mural of the city seconds before its destruction. There was a memorial pool in the center as ChiChi said. Little children stuck their hands in the water, giggling at how water spurted from the fountain. Looking away from the children, Goku noticed marbled walls all around the memorial with people looking and touching. Stepping to one, Goku realized what the people were looking at.

Names. Names of the dead. There were so many one wall; maybe thousands.

Goku put his hand on a wall, feeling the names etched in the marble. “All these people were killed by Vegeta and Nappa.”

ChiChi took Goku’s hand and led him to one specific wall. “When I came here with Gohan, I started remembering people we met like that teenager who gave Gohan his hat after it was knocked off by the wind and…..” ChiChi placed her hand on the wall. “People we knew.”

Goku frowned at ChiChi. Sure they met people when they came to this city but he didn’t recall knowing anyone by name. “We don’t know anyone here.” His eyes followed where ChiChi’s hand were on the wall. He read the name her index finger pointed to. “Paz.” It’s been years but he knew that name. “That shop we went to when we needed food. His mother knew Grandpa and me as a baby. Are you sure it’s him?”

“I double checked. Pictures of the victims were posted so family outside the city could check if their family members did die.” She sighed. “His whole family is gone.”

As Goku reached for a sandwich, ChiChi sweetened Goku’s tea with honey. “Goku and I thank you for giving us a moment of your time.” She pushed Goku’s cup to him and sweetened her tea next. Instead of sitting with them, ChiChi noticed Paz going to a box resting on a sofa. “How is it your Mom knew Goku as a baby?”

“I grew up in these mountains but I wanted more out of life,” Paz explained as he flipped through the box’s contents. “I moved to East City for college and didn’t look back. After Dad died twenty years ago, I tried to convince Mom to move in with me and my family but she liked living out here and running the shop she and Dad opened together.” Paz smiled as he found what he was looking for. He returned to the table and placed a photo in front of Goku. “Your grandpa came to my Mom’s shop.”

Goku’s fingers touched the names etched into the wall. Each name had a number indicating their age. “Paz. His entire family is gone.” Goku’s hand dropped from the wall. “Damn. I didn’t know. I forgot he lived here.” As Goku thought of a solution to this problem, he cursed again. “Damn. They can’t be wish back. It’s been too long.”

“Too long?” ChiChi repeated. “What do you mean?”

“Everyone killed in East City has been dead for over a year. That’s past the dragon balls’ limits.”

ChiChi vaguely recalled Goku telling her about the limits of the dragon balls. It was something Mr. Popo told him. “And none of us even thought of using the Namek dragon balls.”

“That won’t work.” If it did, Goku would be trying to locate the new planet the Nameks live on now. “The Namek dragon balls can only wish back one person at a time.” Goku’s hand touched the wall again. His fingers touched the names of all seven members of Paz’s family. He was father and grandfather and died with his wife, three adult children and two grandchildren with the youngest being one.

“This is my fault.” Goku stepped away from the wall. He looked around seeing people touching the walls, reading the dead names of thousands. “If I wasn’t late, this wouldn’t have happened.”

ChiChi touched Goku’s face with her good hand. “This isn’t your fault, Goku. You are not the protector of everyone. You’re just a man… my husband who can protect everyone but shouldn’t be burdened to.”

Maybe he shouldn’t but he was. “What happened here, I won’t let happen to any other city on Earth, ChiChi.” He gripped his hands making a promise to himself. “I won’t allow it.”

ChiChi and Gohan can be part of something like this if I die. They probably are in Trunks’ future. I can’t die to that heart virus. I won’t.

When Goku and ChiChi returned to Dr. Sims office, ChiChi tried to read Dr. Sims and Dr. Barkley expressions but both appeared neutral as she and Goku sat across from Dr. Sims at his desk. Dr. Barkley sat on the windowsill behind Dr. Sims.

“I will caution that with Goku being an alien everything may not have picked up on the instruments and machines I use,” Dr. Sims wanted to warn them. “That said, Goku appears in good health. His arteries are clear, there’s nothing unusual in his blood and his heart is strong. There’s nothing wrong with him.”

“But he’s expected to get this virus within a year,” ChiChi told him. “If you don’t see anything wrong now, is there anything we can do to prevent Goku from getting sick?”

Dr. Sims was blunt. “This virus hasn’t made the news yet. There hasn’t been any strange deaths or anyone falling sick. Until patient zero arrives, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t counteract something we haven’t encountered.”

“So,” ChiChi was crestfallen, “we just let Goku get sick? There’s nothing we can do?”

“Keeping the body healthy with the right foods and exercise is all I can recommend at this time. I suggest checkups every two months to monitor Goku’s heart but the moment Goku feels different, come to me. We want to catch this early. We don’t want to be too late on this.” Dr. Sims handed Goku the medicine he received from Trunks. “The ingredients are very potent. With that combination, it must be vital Goku takes his medication as soon as he feels ill.”

Goku handed the medication to ChiChi who placed it in her purse. “What happens if he doesn’t?”

“If taken early, Goku should be conscious throughout recovery but bedrest is strongly recommended. Goku, you cannot do any strenuous activities when you suffer from this heart virus. It will speed up the virus attack on your heart.”

Keeping Goku still will be a handful but ChiChi was a determined woman. “I’ll make sure Goku stays in bed while he recovers but I know my husband. If you tell him not to do something, even for his own health, he will do it to know the consequences. So what happens if he doesn’t take the medication early and the virus spreads?”

Dr. Sims didn’t like what ChiChi told him but Dr. Barkley did warn him. “If he doesn’t take the medication as soon as the symptoms appear or he does something that puts more pressure on his heart, it will take more time for the medication to work. The medicine is potent enough to put him in a deep sleep for as long as ten days.”

“Ten days of sleep?” Goku whined. “Oh, I’m gonna be so weak.”

“Weak but still alive, Goku,” Dr. Sims reminded him. “And even after your heart has healed from this virus, I want to examine you to see if there are any side effects on your heart. Even if there are no side effects, you still have to rest for at least another two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” Goku complained again. “So I won’t be doing any martial arts for almost a month?”

“This is your heart, Goku. If it’s damaged, it affects your whole body and that will affect how you live the rest of your life. If you’re not careful, you can have irreversible damage on your heart. As a precautionary measure, if Goku is in a deep sleep for ten days, I’ll put in orders for medicinal shots to be given to Goku so he doesn’t starve or dehydrate.”

More shots? The very thought of it made him tremble. On top of what Dr. Sims warned what could happen to him left Goku frustrated. No training for a month? Goku couldn’t go two days without exercise and this doctor wanted him to rest for almost a month? He couldn’t rest in the hospital. As soon as he could move, he exercised much to ChiChi and the hospital staff’s annoyance.

On the way home, Goku didn’t know how he will make it a month without exercise while ChiChi worried about his heart and what the heart virus will do to him. Once home, Goku suddenly disappeared using that teleportation trick he learned on Yardrat. With him gone, ChiChi went to their room to put the medicine away in a small storage box she purchased.

ChiChi hated that despite all the testing there wasn’t a way to prevent Goku from getting sick and the heart virus will strike Goku no matter what. The idea of her husband being sick; the idea of him being incapacitated broke her heart. She didn’t want that for Goku. He suffered enough in his life. She didn’t want him to suffer anymore.

Which led ChiChi to think of their problems. For five weeks, she was stuck in this cast and for five weeks Goku has been home, taking care of the cooking and all her housework. He was sloppy and messy spilling food and breaking dishes but over the weeks, he got better with the cooking, cleaning and laundry. He spent all his free time catching up with her and Gohan. Despite the urgency to prepare for fighting the artificial humans in three years, Goku stayed home to care for her, their house and spend time with her and Gohan. She knew that irritated Piccolo for she saw him yelling at Goku everyday about them not training.

ChiChi knew Goku wanted to train but her injured arm held him back. He was doing all this for her. In return, she kept her distance. She only spoke when necessary, only let him touch her when necessary. She didn’t think he understood what they were losing but that talk last night convinced her he understood. He had dreams and plans for the family, too, but the grim future changed all of that.

Like Goku said they can’t go back to what they had but they can be happy together if they were willing to try.

She was willing to try.

Goku suddenly appeared, startling ChiChi. ChiChi put a hand on her racing heart. “Goku, you have to stop doing that. I’m not used to you appearing and disappearing like a magician!”

Goku shoved a bag in her face. “The senzu beans are ready! I got them before Yajirobe ate them.”

“Oh…” ChiChi stared at the bag. “How did you stop him this time?”

Goku handed ChiChi a senzu bean. “Dump him a thousand miles away from Korin’s Tower and took any capsules he had so he walked back.” ChiChi’s mouth fell open. “He wouldn’t stop eating them. I had to get him away from Korin’s Tower, ChiChi.”

ChiChi put the bean in her mouth and chewed it. Her body pumped with energy. The ache in her arm disappeared. She unwrapped the bandages pleased her arm had finally healed. “Finally. I can do things again; clean my house; cook for my family.”

“Yep,” Goku grinned. “It also means me and Gohan can start our training with Piccolo.”

The joy of being well again quickly deflated in her like a popped balloon. There will be nothing to keep Goku from leaving the house every day to train with Piccolo and Gohan. It’s for our future ChiChi told herself. Maybe but she knew she will cry when Goku and Gohan leave.

“The man who gave you the antidote to the heart virus,” ChiChi changed the topic, “Who is he?” It occurred to her in all this time she never asked about the person who gave Goku his medicine. She wanted to know about the man and if he is around in this time, thank him.

ChiChi never saw Trunks and with relations being strained with his friends and ChiChi, there was no chance of them meeting in three years where ChiChi could accidentally spill the secret. Still Goku worried about risking Trunks’ future. “He’s a young man. I guess 17, 18. He’s really strong. He defeated Freeza without breaking a sweat from what Gohan told me.”

“But you said he came twenty years from the future. If he’s as young as seventeen, that means he’s not born yet. Why did he come to the past to find you?”

“His mom told him about me. She thought if I live, there will be a timeline where the cyborgs are killed and Trunks can learn from me on how to defeat them.” With his friends, Goku kept up a positive demeanor fighting the cyborgs will not be a problem. Alone with ChiChi, Goku lowered his guard and share his concerns with the one he knew will understand. “I don’t know if I can defeat them, ChiChi. These things killed everyone. If they killed Vegeta and Gohan when both became Super Saiyans….I don’t know how much I can do unless I can reach a level beyond Super Saiyan.” Goku shrugged unsure, “And I don’t know if that exists.”

It was rare Goku showed doubt. ChiChi knew in front of anyone else, there will be panic. ChiChi knew from personal experience Goku’s friends couldn’t handle Goku showing doubt or fear. They needed to see him confident. Maybe it was a way for them to not be scared or panic because as long as Goku acted carefree and confident, they didn’t have to worry. Only she did because it was her husband risking his life and she had more to lose than them. With Goku showing doubt, it was up to her to pick him back up.

“You have three years. You know they’re coming. You’ll be ready.” ChiChi playfully jabbed his cheek. “You better because if you let Gohan die, I’ll kill you.”

Leave it to ChiChi to threaten him to get his act together. It worked. This was his ChiChi and he didn’t want her any other way. I wonder what my and Gohan’s death did to ChiChi in Trunks future. It probably killed her. “I couldn’t protect Gohan in Trunks’ timeline but I promise you, he won’t die in this one.”

“Trunks?” ChiChi reiterated the name. “That’s the name of the man who gave you the medicine. Who is his mother? Do you know her?”

Oh, boy, if ChiChi knew the truth…. “I promised I wouldn’t say who his parents are in case he won’t be born, ChiChi.”

Those words didn’t have the affect Goku wanted. It confused ChiChi and made her even more curious. “What does that mean?” When Goku didn’t answer, ChiChi said, “Do you know his parents? Have they met yet?”

Goku chuckled nervously. “They know each other,” his voice got higher as he spoke, “but they don’t know they’re gonna be parents. If they know, it might not happen.”

He spoke in riddles. ChiChi stared at him, thinking. Goku could see it on ChiChi’s face she was trying to figure out the mystery. Finally she gasped horrified! “Are Bulma and Vegeta Trunks’ parents?!”

Goku screamed and waved his hands frantically as if telling ChiChi to keep her voice down in case Bulma and Vegeta heard her. “Shh!! Don’t say it so loud! They might hear you!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Goku! They’re hundreds of miles away!” Honestly, her husband can really try her patience with his innocence. “Is it true about Bulma and Vegeta?”

“Yeah,” Goku admitted, “but how did you figure it out?”

“His mother knows you and Bulma’s smart enough to build a machine to send someone back in time. If Yamcha and Bulma are his parents, you would’ve said it.” After a moment, she added, “And it makes sense.”

“It does?”

“I overheard Yamcha and Bulma arguing not long after he was wished back. Yamcha wasn’t happy with Vegeta living with Bulma and her family while he was dead. He accused her of being unfaithful.” ChiChi shrugged. “I guess he was right in his suspicions.”

Now he didn’t have to keep the secret to himself, Goku was very relieved. Piccolo didn’t want to talk to him about it. He was happy to share this with ChiChi. “It was a shock to me, too, but when I saw Bulma a few weeks ago, I noticed her staring at Vegeta funny. I guess she’s liked him for a while.”

ChiChi knew Goku left to talk to Bulma the morning after he returned from space but with everything that happened later with her father, getting settled in their new home, she forgot to ask what happened. “You never said what happened when you talked to Bulma.”

Goku forgot about it, too, since other matters took priority. “Well, you were right about Bulma having feelings for me.” He made a repulsed face. “Really strange, too. I never saw Bulma like that.”

“I was hoping to be wrong but it makes a lot of sense. What did you tell her?”

“I told her to stop being mean to you. She knows I never liked her like that.” He shrugged. “She’s not what I want.”

“I was never worried about you being faithful to me.” Things weren’t perfect but ChiChi was confident in Goku’s love for her. “I know I’ll always have your heart but it’s just weird and it will be awkward next time I see her. I know you talked to her but maybe I should, too; woman to woman to make things clear.”

Make things clear. It was deja vu for Goku. Gyu-Mao said something similar years ago about him and Kaifun. “It’s kind of the same with you and Kaifun. He likes you but I know you want me.”

“Kaifun?” Now ChiChi made a disgusted face. “It’s not the same. We’re not even friends anymore. You and Bulma are friends.”

“He still came to my house when I was gone.” Just thinking about Kaifun in his home, annoyed him. “After you promised to not be alone with him.”

“He came here to fix the hole in the ceiling that wouldn’t have been there if you came home.” She put her hand up stopping Goku from speaking. “I know why you couldn’t but don’t you dare get angry at me when I did nothing wrong.”

Arms crossed over Goku’s chest. He couldn’t get angry when it was his fault. ChiChi didn’t break her word since Gohan was home but the thought of that man in his home with his wife and child…. He had a strong urge to turn into a Super Saiyan and confront Kaifun. Maybe he’ll get the message then. “He angers me. I don’t like he wants you. You’re my wife. He should get his own.”

The anger in his voice and his eyes were startling. Goku didn’t anger easily. ChiChi touched his face with her newly healed hand. “You were like this during the full moon. Possessive. I guess Saiyans are protective of their spouses.” It was another thing she will have to get used to. “As for Kaifun, he got married while you were gone. Kaifun invited me and Gohan to his wedding but it didn’t seem right to go with all the drama with his grandmother so I didn’t.”

“Kaifun’s married?” It was a relief for it meant Kaifun wouldn’t bother ChiChi anymore but he wondered what woman would marry Kaifun.

“You missed out on a lot of things while you were gone.” ChiChi removed the ribbon from her hair and brushed it. She appreciated Goku taking care of the household while her arm was broken but her husband wasn’t the best cook. It wasn’t spoken but it was obvious her husband and son wanted her cooking again as soon as possible. “There’s enough time to cook a real feast. We can start with that wild boar in the refrigerator. So, while I’m cooking, pick up Gohan from Dad’s castle. Get a fish from the lake, too.” ChiChi put down the brush and pulled her hair up as she prepared to wrap it in a bun. Just as she wrapped a ribbon around her hair, Goku turned her around to him. With one hand on her hair and the other on the ribbon, ChiChi addressed Goku confused. “What?”

“Let’s catch up before I pick up Gohan.” Goku touched the edges of ChiChi’s dress and pushed the soft garment up her legs.

ChiChi stammered as she understood Goku’s implication. “W-w-we told Gohan we’ll get him after we return from the doctor.” She stepped away from him until the back of her legs touched the foot of the bed. Oh, no! Not here!

ChiChi moved away from the bed with Goku slowly following her with a playful gleam in his eyes. She’d seen that look from him before. Sometimes, when they were playful, ChiChi would pretend to run from him while he give chase. Well, she would actually run but Goku was so fast, it was never a fair chase. With his speed and strong sense of smell, he always caught her in a short time.

Just as ChiChi opened the door, Goku’s firm hand pressed hard on the door shutting it. “We will.” ChiChi turned to face him. Her cheeks were flushed and that excited Goku even more. His hand slipped up the skirt of her dress. “But let’s do one of those quick sands before I go.”

“Quickies, Goku,” ChiChi corrected him. “Hah,” she exhaled as Goku’s fingers reached between her legs. “Careful,” she told him. She’d be lying to herself if she said she didn’t want this but she was worried. As Goku leaned forward to kiss her, ChiChi immediately flinched when Goku touched her recently healed arm.

Her eyes went up to Goku’s kind eyes as his hand caressed her arm. He knew what bothered her. “Five weeks I’ve showered with you. Five weeks I’ve helped dress you. I even washed and styled your hair.”

That should be enough proof Goku had control of his strength and wouldn’t hurt her but ChiChi was still nervous. “Last time we had a dry spell, it was after Gohan was born. That was four months. I could handle it then but it’s been two years and you’re a lot stronger now. Just,” ChiChi pleaded, “take it slow.”

Slow? Goku grinned as his fingers moved slowly between her legs. “Like this?”

“That’s not….” ChiChi exhaled, “That’s not what I meant.”

He stopped moving but kept his fingers inside her. He cocked his head to one side looking completely innocent. “What do you mean?”

ChiChi glowered at him. That innocent look. Her sneaky husband exactly what she meant. “You know.”

Goku innocently shook his head. “No, I don’t.” He smiled slyly. “Could you…. show me?”

ChiChi chewed her lower lip. Those thick fingers wedged between her legs; touching her in places that longed for him with that blank innocent look on his face that he perfected. ChiChi grabbed a fistful of his shirt and yanked him to her face so close her breath fanned his skin. “Touch me the way I want or I’ll kill you.”

“Nngh!” ChiChi gasped as Goku lift her off the floor with his fingers wedged between legs. “Oh!” Initially, his fingers felt warm inside her. Now they were suddenly hot. Her back was firmly pressed against the door as Goku fondled her slowly as she quickly glistened his fingers. ChiChi slammed Goku’s lips against hers while she clenched around his fingers. His lips felt hot as did his body. Opening an eye, ChiChi noticed a strange blue aura around him. It should concern but since his thrusting fingers were making her feel so good, and his hot lips against hers made her body hot and needy, she ignored it.

After a moment a third finger entered her, then a fourth until ChiChi couldn’t take it anymore. She clenched around his fingers and muffled a long moan against his mouth. Goku removed his lips from hers and lowered her back to the floor. While ChiChi leaned against the door panting, Goku pulled his thick and leaking penis from his pants. The aura around him was gone. Or was there one at all she wondered. She was certain Goku glowed but now she wasn’t sure.

She also didn’t care as Goku lift her against the door and lined himself against her. His tip brushed against her moist entrance. After two years, she will finally feel this wonderful piece of man meat inside her.

“Mom? Dad? Are you home?”

Gohan?!

“Aw, damn! Again?” Goku whined.

Footsteps could be heard approaching the door. ChiChi slapped Goku’s shoulders frantically forcing him to lower her. While Goku struggled to hide his bulge in his pants, ChiChi pushed her dress down; her hands shaking as she smoothed the skirt of her dress. “Gohan,” she tried to sound normal. “Is that you?”

Gohan turned the knob of the door and opened it. He saw his father standing and grinning behind ChiChi’s chair by the window. Well, it was anyone’s chair to sit in but it was mainly ChiChi’s as Gohan often saw his mother sewing or knitting in that chair.

“Gohan!” ChiChi snapped. “What have I told you about entering before knocking? You know better than that!”

“Sorry,” Gohan apologized. He noticed his mother’s arm wasn’t in a bandage. “Your arm is healed.”

“Those senzu beans were finally ready. Why are you here?” ChiChi snapped. “Your father was gonna pick you up. Is Grandpa here?”

“No,” Gohan shook his head. Why was his mother mad? “Mr. Aki drove me home. When he stopped by at Grandpa’s to make some deliveries, he offered to take me home because he wants to talk to Dad.” Gohan looked at his father whose eyes suddenly widen. “Dad, Mr. Aki is in the kitchen. He’s waiting for you.”

“Right now?” his voice squeaked and his grip on the chair tightened. How could he move when he still had a hard on?

“Uh, Gohan,” ChiChi intervened. “Give your Dad and me a few minutes.” She looked at her husband for a moment. “I need to finish my….. talk with your Dad before I forget what I want to say.”

“Okay.” Gohan left and closed the door behind him. Gohan was only a few steps down the hall when he heard a mild groan coming from his parents’ bedroom. It sounded like his Dad was in pain. He stopped but turned around and continued down the hall. Talk. Gohan figured that ‘talk’ was actually Mom yelling at Dad. He wondered what Dad did this time to anger Mom.

When he entered the kitchen, Aki sat at the table with a glass of water. “Are your parents here?”

“Yes, but we have to wait. Mom’s mad at Dad about something. I think she wants to finish yelling at him before he can talk to you.”

“Oh.” Aki sipped more of his water. “Well, sometimes parents have to argue. It’s natural.”

A few moments later, a cheerful Goku entered the kitchen. “Hi, Aki! Wow. It’s been a while! How ya been?”

Aki laughed at the arrival of his friend. His cheerful friend seemed extra happy. “That’s my line. I heard you’ve been back….for five weeks.”

Goku rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He knew it looked bad he’s been back all this time but hadn’t caught up with his friend from Gyu-Mao’s village. “I’ve been busy catching up with my family.”

“I understand. You guys haven’t really been together for two years.” He stood as ChiChi entered the room. “Hi, ChiChi.”

“Hello, Aki. What brings you here?”

“Well, I had to see for myself Goku is back,” he joked. “And collect on our agreement.”

“Agreement?” Goku frowned. “What agreement?”

“In the hospital.” His friend looked clueless again. “I told you we should have a barbecue when you get back. I have two big grills, plenty of charcoal, freezer full of hamburger meat, an awesome sound system in the backyard and a sweet, one year old baby girl that needs to meet her Uncle Goku.”

Last time they talked, Aki did tell him his wife was pregnant. It was mind blowing so much time passed, Aki’s daughter was born and now a year old.

“We can have a barbecue. When?”

“Today if possible,” Aki knew it was short noticed but he also knew if it didn’t happen soon, Goku will forget again. “Who knows when we can hang out again. It’ll take a couple hours to thaw the meat but everything else is set up.”

“We can bring some meat,” ChiChi offered knowing hamburgers will not be enough for her husband and son. “Goku can hunt a fish and we have that seasoned boar meat we were gonna have for tonight’s dinner.”

“Sounds good to me.” Aki looked at his watch. “How about you come in a couple hours?” Aki suggested. Goku looked at ChiChi who nodded her approval. “Great. I’ll see ya then.”

As soon as Aki’s car left their home, Goku headed for the door. “Guess I’ll hunt that fish. Wanna come with me, Gohan?”

“Sure, Dad.” Gohan wanted to go to the barbecue but his parents forgot something important. “What about Mr. Piccolo?”

“We can’t bring Piccolo, Gohan.” ChiChi wondered what her son was thinking. “He’ll scare Aki’s family.”

Gohan didn’t think so. Piccolo will grumble but he wouldn’t intentionally scare anyone. “Mr. Piccolo trains in the woods during the day. He doesn’t come back until nighttime. He’ll be confused if he comes home and we’re not here.”

ChiChi snorted. “As if I care what that monster thinks.”

“We’ll be back before Piccolo returns,” Goku brushed off Gohan’s concerns as he urged them outside. “Let’s get that fish and go to that barbecue. I’m starving.”

*********

The backyard of Aki’s home was a lively place. In the fenced yard, music played on Aki’s sound system, his one year old daughter, Kala, freely ran around as she was playfully chased by Gohan. ChiChi and Aki’s wife, Reia were in the kitchen preparing the fish and wild boar for the grill. Goku and Aki were outside keeping an eye on the children while they prepped Aki’s two large grills for all the food. After Aki loaded the fuel soaked charcoal, Goku lit the grill with a tiny burst of Ki from his hand.

Aki whistled impressed. “One of these days, you have to show me how to do that.” Aki handed Goku two plates of burgers and a package of buns while he grabbed a large food container of marinated vegetables. Having done this before. Goku placed the burgers and buns on one grill while Aki placed vegetables on the other. “I still can’t believe you escaped an exploding planet. That must’ve been scary as hell.” He shook his head. “Pfft! I would’ve been dead.”

“A lot of close calls but I wasn’t dying on that planet.”

“Yeah,” Aki put aside the empty container. While he moved the vegetables over the grill with his spatula, he observed Goku with the burgers and buns. “Family is a great motivator. The buns are ready,

Goku.” Goku grabbed an empty plate and loaded it with the burger buns. Aki stifled laughing at Goku wincing each time he picked up a hot bun. He checked on the kids and noticed Kala stumbling on the grass. She immediately cried. Gohan sat on the grass and pulled Kala on his lap and made goofy faces to the child until her tears turned to laughs.

Aki looked away from the children bonding to Goku flipping the burgers. “I go crazy missing Kala when I work all day. I can’t imagine how it was for you to miss Gohan and ChiChi for a year.”

“I trained a lot so I didn’t have to think about it.” Goku liked his friends Yamcha and Krillin but Aki was special. They didn’t train or fight but they definitely created a brotherly bond over the years. He couldn’t talk to Yamcha and Krillin like he could with Aki. “Thanks for checking in on Gohan and ChiChi for me.”

“No problem.” Aki pulled some of the vegetables off the grill. While the rest cooked, Aki quickly put together the meaty sandwiches. “I visited but ChiChi and Gohan had things under control. Especially Gohan. You got a very strong boy, Goku.”

Goku checked on Gohan. He was walking with Kala sitting on his shoulders. “He’s grown a lot and changed so much.”

“He’s not that shy boy anymore. Gohan!” Aki waved them over. “Burgers!” Aki stood with Goku holding three large burgers layered with meat, cheese and vegetables. “I got this.” Goku took his plate of sandwiches and sat down while Aki cleared the remaining burgers and vegetables from the grills. “You missed a lot but you can make up for it now.” When Gohan approached, Aki pointed to Gohan’s plate of burgers. Gohan placed Kala on her feet and she went straight to her father and wrapped her small arms around his left leg.

Watching Kala around her father, Goku smiled recalling how attached Gohan was to him when he was Kala’s age. He glanced at his son eating his burger. Gohan wasn’t as attached to him anymore. He didn’t hug him as much; he called him Dad now instead of Daddy. He missed that. He missed having a baby around. Now because of the future he and ChiChi have to wait.

ChiChi and Reia came out with large platters of fish and wild boar in their hands. “The first group of meats are ready to be cooked.” Reia put her platter on the table. “Are you sure we don’t have too much meat, ChiChi? With these and the ones in the house, we have enough to feed fifty people.”

ChiChi laughed as she placed fish on the grill. “With my husband and son, it’ll barely be enough.” She looked over at Goku nearly stopping at what she saw. Goku took Kala off Aki’s hands. He raised the child over his head smiling and making faces. Kala shrieked in giggles. Seeing him play with Kala, ChiChi could think of several moments catching Goku with Gohan, feeding him, crawling with him and even changing his diapers.

Goku howled in laugher. “She’s slobbering on my shirt.” He unbuttoned it and pulled it off, leaving himself in a tank white shirt. “Ow!” he said when Kala grabbed a fistful of Goku’s black hair.

Reia was amused at her daughter’s playfulness with Goku. “Kala’s usually shy around new people.”

“Goku’s always been good with babies.” Kala was a cute baby but ChiChi’s eyes were on Goku. Because of earlier, she could only think of him. Her eyes swept over the muscles outlined in his tight shirt. They went lower staring at how well he fit in his jeans. Goku usually wore looser pants like his fighting gi but when he wore tighter clothes that outline how fit he is, ChiChi couldn’t help staring and desiring to get him alone as soon as possible.

Reia noticed how ChiChi ate Goku with her eyes. “He’s good with babies. Now that he’s back, maybe you can get started on a playmate for Gohan. He’ll be a very good big brother.”

Oh, how she wanted to but knew that wasn’t possible now. “Maybe,” ChiChi turned her attention back to the fish. “Someday.”

While ChiChi, Reia and Gohan stayed with the grills, Aki and Goku who fed Kala with a bottle walked around Aki’s yard talking. Goku shared some of his time on Yardrat but kept most of the conversation on the future in three years.

“Maybe it’s because I’m not a fighter but I think you should find Dr. Gero’s lab and destroy everything before he builds those cyborgs, androids, artificial humans, whatever the hell they are.”

Aki wasn’t the only who thought that way. Bulma and ChiChi did, too. They made sense but Goku couldn’t help himself. It was in his Saiyan blood to fight. “I know it’s crazy but I gotta fight them.”

“Just remember East City, Goku,” Aki warned him. “You knew your people were coming but you couldn’t prevent what happened to East City. Your people could’ve arrived anywhere but this is different. You know what city will be attacked and you and your friends can prevent that. If anyone in South City dies, I hope you guys are ready to share the blame.”

“No one will die,” Goku wasn’t as bothered by that since there was a solution. “But if they do, we can undo it with the dragon balls.”

“I hope so.” Aki said. “But I’m still building an underground shelter for my family in three years.” Aki looked over at Goku again. Kala laid her head against Goku’s shoulder sleepily. “Let me take her. If she sleeps now, she’ll keep me and Reia up all night.” He gently plucked his daughter from Goku’s arms. He held her hand and forced her to walk with him. The child sleepily rubbed her eyes as she walked with her father.

As they walked, Aki checked on his wife and ChiChi. ChiChi stood by the grill laughing as Reia showed Gohan a dance move. “I’m glad the princess is happy again. This year was rough on her. ChiChi handled Mrs. Niver but it doesn’t take away the stuff she said. Mr. Olitz, Mr. Lupp and I tried to tell the people you’re not the person Mrs. Niver made you out to be but you not coming back really hurt your credibility.”

“Yeah,” Goku sighed. He saw the looks of Gyu-Mao staff earlier. “I know.”

“You did make up for it right?” Aki asked him. When Goku looked at him puzzled, he elaborated, “With ChiChi. You apologized. Grovel. Made up with her,” he elaborated his words.

“Oh.” Goku rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He talked to Aki about a lot of things but he never told him about the incident that happened five weeks ago. ChiChi didn’t want anyone outside the family to know. “Well, I’ve been cooking all the meals and doing all the housework since I came back.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” The stare Aki gave Goku was of suspicion and mild shock. “Goku, have you slept with ChiChi since you came back?” Goku’s prolonged silence and awkward rubbed of his neck were his answers. “Holy…..” Aki stepped away from Goku. If it were possible, Aki’s eyes would grow as wide as those characters on the animated programs he’s seen. “Goku….. you’ve been back five weeks. I thought I haven’t seen you because…..” Aki knelt and covered his hands over his daughter’s ears. “I thought you were fucking your wife all this time. What the hell are you thinking?”

“I wanted to, but some stuff happened when I got back and ChiChi got even angrier at me…..”

“No, no, no,” Aki shook his head. He wouldn’t accept any excuse Goku had. “Hell, no! Whatever the problem is, sex will resolve some of it.” Aki stood with his daughter in his arms. “Gohan’s staying with me tonight and you’re going home and do with ChiChi what you should’ve be doing for the last five weeks.”

“But….”

“The only butt you need to focus on is your wife’s!” Aki left Goku and briskly went to the women. He was a man on a mission. Most of the grilling was done with the table laden with burgers, grilled vegetables, fish and boar meat. “Wow!” Aki’s eyes gleamed at all the food. “Smells great.”

“Grab a plate,” Reia said. “I’ve fixed several. Everything’s delicious. Gohan is on his fourth plate.”

Juggling his daughter on one arm, Aki picked up his fixed plate with his free hand. “Speaking of Gohan, I told Goku we’ll watch him tonight.”

“Gohan?” ChiChi looked up from the grill to Goku who arrived rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “Why, Goku?”

“Oh, I’ll love it if Gohan stays the night,” Reia approved. “He’s so good with Kala. I’m sure she’d like her friend to stay a little longer.”

“But…..” ChiChi protested. Reia whispered in ChiChi’s ear. She didn’t know what the men said but watching ChiChi stare at Goku earlier, Reia knew the woman needed time alone with her husband. ChiChi’s eyes grew wide with saucers and her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. Was she that obvious when looking at Goku earlier? Goku, on the other hand, had that awkward look on his face as if he said something he shouldn’t have. The color on her face darkened as she realized Goku let it slip she and Goku were having marital issues. “You!” she snarled at Goku. “How could you?!”

“But I…….” Goku shook his head and waved his hands frantic. ChiChi looked as if she was going to hit him. “I didn’t…”

Instead of striking him, ChiChi put the large fork and spatula down and disappeared into the house. Reia followed after her leaving Aki to finish grilling and Goku to keep an eye on the kids. Reia and ChiChi eventually returned. ChiChi wasn’t outwardly angry but Goku could feel an angry aura surrounding ChiChi. Gohan was concerned when ChiChi stormed off but her laughing with Reia and Aki while appearing friendly to Goku fooled him.

While ChiChi and Reia were in the kitchen cleaning the dishes, Aki and Goku cleaned up outside. Gohan stayed inside watching Kala and an animated movie while his parents were busy. He expected after the cleaning was done he will go home but was surprised when his father told him he was staying here.

“But why?” Gohan asked.

“You’re still watching this movie and I don’t want you to miss the ending,” Goku told him. Gohan did like the movie and they didn’t have a copy of the movie at home, but… “Can’t we stay until it’s over?”

“Nah. It’s been a long day and I’m ready to sleep. Besides,” Goku whispered to Gohan. “I want you to have as much fun as you can because with Mom well again, we can finally train with Piccolo and that’s all we’re doing for the next three years.”

With that, Gohan accepted he will stay at Aki’s house and happily finished watching his movie.

*********

As they flew home on Nimbus, ChiChi didn’t speak to him. Aki told him what he and ChiChi should do tonight but the silence from ChiChi told him he will have to wait another night. So while ChiChi took her first bath alone in weeks, Goku pulled a blanket from the closet and his pillow off the bed expecting another night on the floor. While laying his blanket on the floor, Goku heard the door open behind him.

“You’re dirty.”

“Hmm?” Goku turned to ChiChi. She stood in the doorway in a bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her hair.

“You can’t go to bed dirty,” ChiChi repeated.

Goku sniffed himself. He wasn’t as fresh as he was this morning and maybe he smelted a little smoky from the grill but it wasn’t an awful smell. “I’m not that dirty and I’m sleeping on the floor.”

“You’re dirty.” She pointed to the bathroom. “Clean up.”

Goku opened his mouth to argue but gave up. If ChiChi wanted him to clean up before he slept on the floor, fine. Goku shrugged as he stood and shuffled into the bathroom. A few moments later, ChiChi heard the sound of water running.

ChiChi picked up the blanket, folded it and placed it back in the closet. She placed Goku’s pillow besides hers. Next, she pulled out lingerie she expected to wear the night Goku returned. While her husband showered, ChiChi prepared herself.

ChiChi sat in bed waiting for Goku. She looked over to his side of the bed nervous. Since his return, she had him sleeping on the floor with a blanket and pillow. Tonight, the blanket was in the closet and his pillow was on the bed beside her. Tonight, Goku will know she no longer wanted him on the floor but in bed intimate with her.

She was angry and embarrassed earlier but talking with Reia, realized her hungriness for Goku was obvious. If Reia saw it, then Aki did, too, and knowing Goku sometimes let things slip….. she sighed. She couldn’t really be angry at him.

ChiChi held her breath as the bathroom door opened and Goku cheerily stepped out naked with a towel on his head. ChiChi wondered if Goku was punishing her for kicking him out of the bed by walking around naked for five weeks. Every night, her eyes roam up and down the muscles on his chest and back to settle on the bouncing appendage between his legs. Usually ChiChi kept her face buried in a book when Goku walked out but tonight, she stared.

Goku pulled out a pair of boxers from the dresser drawer. He was going to put them on when he saw the floor empty of his makeshift bed. Goku thought ChiChi wanted him on the floor again. She was embarrassed Aki knew about their bedroom issues but now he suspected ChiChi changed her mind. “ChiChi?”

ChiChi could feel the blush on her cheeks. “It’s…. it’s a little cooler tonight. I thought you would want to share the bed with me.”

“Really? You’re not mad about earlier?”

ChiChi pulled the covers back. “Come to bed, Goku.” Goku nodded slowly. He raised a leg to step in his boxers when ChiChi stopped him. “You won’t need those.” Goku lowered his leg and the boxers slipped from his hand.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Goku,” ChiChi said quietly. “Come to bed.”

Almost in a trance Goku went to bed. ChiChi turned to him, settling on her knees as Goku faced her. ChiChi’s scent hit him at full force. He could smell her arousal and in return, he began to show his rising in front of ChiChi. He wanted to touch her, wanted her to touch him but decided to let ChiChi make the first move.

ChiChi initiated intimacy with a kiss. She took her time, moving her lips slow and exploratory over his before her tongue slipped in his mouth. While her hands caressed his chest, ChiChi felt Goku’s hands on the edges of her lingerie. He pulled it up, breaking the kiss to remove it.

Goku kissed her again, taking control; his tongue dominating hers. His body lean further forcing ChiChi back until she fell against the bed and Goku on top of her. His mouth went to her neck giving her kisses and tender bites while a hand massaged a breast. When the other breast became occupied with his mouth, her back arched and a hand fisted his spiky hair while the other slid down his back to touch the stub of his tail.

Goku moaned into her breast with each caress on his tail stub. A firm dig of her finger had him pulling back to vocally announce what she was doing to him. ChiChi caught the serious look on his face when his eyes met hers. That cocky smirk, those dangerous eyes. If it was anyone but Goku looking at her this way, she would be scared but she found it arousing. Her finger circled his stub. “Doesn’t that feel good, Goku?”

“You know what that does to me. I’m barely controlling myself now.” He groaned as she caressed his stub again. His eyes shut for a moment and he gritted his teeth. “This isn’t like before, ChiChi. Before I became a Super Saiyan.”

“Because you’re stronger now?” ChiChi questioned. “This side has always been with you, Goku. You never saw it but I did.” She jammed her finger in that stub again pleased her action created such an erotic, animalistic response from Goku. When he groaned like that, her lower body responded. She could feel the moisture increasing between her legs. Maybe it was a little wicked but she loved having this control over Goku. “When you saw the full moon, it was your Saiyan side coming out.” Another caress and he shuddered. “What you could’ve been as Kakarrot.”

The way she said his Saiyan name came off in a soft, erotic caress. Goku’s shaft tingled in response. She wasn’t touching him here but it felt like she was with the way her delicate fingers worked the stub on his lower back.

ChiChi laid before him. Her lips touched the tender skin of his ear, her teeth gently nibbled his earlobe all the while she continued to caress his tail stub fast and slow. When she pulled her nibbling lips away she whispered, “Kakarrot.”

“Nngh!” he groaned in his pillow. Goku hated that name Kakarrot. Accepted but still hated it Vegeta called him by that name but the way ChiChi said it…..“I want to see more of this side you want to keep hidden.” She pinched his stub and Goku fisted the sheets. “I want to see Kakarrot.”

Goku shut his eyes panting. He was hard and tight between his legs with his tip oozing liquid. He desperately wanted ChiChi to touch him there. She refused. Instead, she punished him with touches on his weak point. She said his name again and he groaned loudly. Why did she have to say his Saiyan name like that? “ChiChi,” he tried to warn her, “when I was on Yardrat, I had dreams. Those times I blacked out during the full moon….I remember everything. It was hard dealing with those memories and not have you there.”

“I’m here now.”

Goku shook his head. He was so close. ChiChi needed to understand. “I’m stronger now and there are things I want to do.”

“Do it to me….. Kakarrot.”

The final caress of his Saiyan name on her lips, the final stroke of his tail stub on her fingers caused Goku to snap. He roared in his pillow; his body jerk forward as he came spilling on the sheets and ChiChi. ChiChi swept up a dollop of creamy liquid on her finger and placed it in her mouth. “Mmm,” she moaned dreamily. “I missed this taste.” She smiled slyly at Goku recovering from her touches. “Maybe I am the strongest in the universe. No matter how strong you get, I can always defeat you.”

ChiChi yelped as she was suddenly knocked on her back. Goku pinned her arms to the bed while hovering over her. “Exposing my weak spot; taunting me to lure the raw Saiyan in me out.” The flowing black hair, the teal eyes and rising smirk on his face left ChiChi wondering if she went too far. “So be it.”

One of Goku’s hand pinned ChiChi’s arms over her head. His other hand illuminated in a yellow glow. ChiChi looked at the glowing hand to her smirking husband. “Goku…..” she laughed nervous, “maybe we should work up to this. I don’t know this trick. You never done this before. It might not be ooohhhh….” her chest arched as Goku’s glowing hand caressed a breast. “Mmm. How are you doing this? You ne—“ another moan silenced her.

Goku grinned as his sparkling hand massaged ChiChi’s right breast left her shaking and panting against him. “Feels good, doesn’t it?” He pinched a nipple and ChiChi shrieked. He chuckled. “That’s a yes?”

ChiChi nodded quickly as she struggled to breathe. “Yes….” She whimpered at Goku. “Do it again.”

Goku’s glowing hand hovered over ChiChi’s breasts. ChiChi’s eyes followed his hand, watching it sway over them. “Mmm,” she could feel the delicious heat hover her skin but he wasn’t touching. She chewed her lower lip in anticipation of that delicious pleasure that struck all her sweet spots as his hand moved closer and closer until he suddenly pulled away.

“No.”

“What?!” ChiChi shrieked. She tried to move her arms but Goku’s stronger hand kept her at bay.

Goku chuckled above her as his heated hand glide down her stomach. “You enjoy exposing my weak spot.”

“You like it.”

That was true but he also knew when he’s vulnerable like that ChiChi got a little too cocky for her own good. Sometimes she would brag she could defeat him just by touching him there. When they are playful she always found a way to touch him there to immobilize him. As competitive as Goku is, as someone who enjoys winning he couldn’t allow even his wife a little victory.

“Remember our agreement? You have the household.” His glowing hand slipped between legs. “I have the bedroom.” ChiChi screamed as if Goku shoved his thick penis in her. Her chest arched inches off the bed, her breasts jiggled as her entire body tickled with intense pleasure. Moisture soaked Goku’s fingers as a thumb brushed her sensitive clit while his heated fingers thrusted inside the folds of her pink flesh. “Sometimes….” His deeper voice rumbled, “you need to be reminded.” ChiChi’s sweaty body continued jerking against Goku’s hand; her head turned left and right causing the ribbon in her hair to snap loose and her silky hair to spread over her pillow. “Don’t you?” When she didn’t respond, he repeated firmer, “Don’t you?”

“YES!” ChiChi shouted submitting herself and body to his torturous pleasure. “Goku…..I….” Two slippery, hot fingers pinching her clit was her undoing. ChiChi screamed while her body spasm, pulsed and soaked all over Goku’s fingers.

The glow of Goku’s hand faded as he pulled out of ChiChi. Mimicking her earlier, he licked his fingers, enjoying the sweet taste he’s been deprived of for too long. ChiChi’s face….. Goku smirked. If his hand created that pleasuring glow on her face, he could only wonder how she looked once he’s inside her.

Not wanting to wait, Goku crawled over ChiChi. She was still panting as her husband settled over her. His hair fell back in place and his eyes returned to the black coal she knew and loved. She felt Goku lift her left leg and settle it over his hip. She spread and link her other leg over his in anticipation. She expected Goku to enter her but instead he captured her lips in a possessive kiss. She clung to him as he kissed her, exploring her mouth as he shoved himself inside, hard.

ChiChi broke away, groaning at the slight pain she felt with all of Goku inside her. Teeth nibbled her neck as Goku whispered. “You’re so tight.”

“Two years, Goku,” ChiChi gritted her teeth as Goku shifted a little. Her nails dug in his back to dull the pain of their union. Slowly, Goku pulled out and pushed back in. With each thrust, the tension in her body drained and pleasure rose in return.

ChiChi’s hands slid up and down Goku’s sweaty back as she tried to get a grip. Once Goku felt ChiChi relax under his thrust, he increased his speed for his and her pleasure. With each whap against her hips, Goku was either letting her know how much he missed her or punishing her for delaying their union. At the moment, she wasn’t sure and she didn’t care. He pounded in her so hard it started to hurt again but it also felt good.

“Still hurts?” Goku’s hot breath fanned her face.

“A little….” ChiChi moaned. “But…. it’s …. .good. Don’t you dare stop.”

“I’ll make it better.” Goku slipped out and flipped ChiChi on her stomach. Having an idea what Goku had in mind, ChiChi got on her hands and knees. She barely had time to adjust herself before Goku slipped back in again.

“Ooooo….” ChiChi crooned as Goku gripped her hips and plundered her from behind. With his tight hold ChiChi couldn’t push back to return some of the pleasure he was giving her. “Yeah….” her hands gripped the sheets, “this is better.”

“And deeper, too!” Goku groaned as he rapidly slapped her hips against his. Appreciating the firmness, Goku gave one cheek a nice firm whack. “You’ve been working out, ChiChi! Yeah!” he whap her again. “I love it!”

ChiChi laughed against her pillow as Goku smacked her repeatedly from behind. “Mmmm, Goku…..” It felt so good to have Goku pummel her this way. “I can handle more.” Her voice trembled with need. “Don’t go easy.”

Goku obliged ChiChi’s request. As she cried for more, Goku put more into his thrusts, pounding into ChiChi’s receptive body. If she can take him like this now, Goku knew a few more times and she’ll be ready for him as a Super Saiyan. Sweat glistened his body, his skin tingled. He was gonna come again and it was gonna be a good one!

As he worked himself to another release, Goku suddenly felt he and ChiChi weren’t alone. There was another presence nearby. He was sure of it. He turned his head towards the window.

Piccolo with purple cheeks, wide eyes and a hanging mouth locked eyes with Goku.

Shock coursed through Goku but also anger. They were on the second floor which meant Piccolo was hovering in the air, which mean Piccolo was deliberately watching them. What the hell was Piccolo doing watching them? Last time he felt this anger it was on King Kai’s planet where he probe his mind and viewed his memory of him and ChiChi being intimate.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Goku’s Ki flared as he screamed.

ChiChi suddenly convulsed into an orgasm as she felt Goku grow bigger inside her and intense heat spread over her body. Arms turned to jelly as ChiChi collapsed on the bed. She felt Goku pull out of her but her mind was dazed as she tried to understand what was happening. She turned her head horrified to see Goku was in his Super Saiyan form.

“Stop looking!” Goku screamed.

“Wha…..?” Goku’s eyes were on something out the window. ChiChi looked in his direction but saw nothing. “Hmm?” Goku leapt off the bed and bolted to the window. “Goku?” ChiChi pulled herself to sit up. Her jelly body fell back on the bed. Too fast ChiChi told herself. What was her husband thinking turning into a Super Saiyan? She’s not ready for that! “What’s out there?” Slowly she pulled herself out of bed. Gingerly, she joined Goku at the window. She didn’t see anything. “What did you see?”

“Uh….” Goku powered down to his base form. ChiChi barely tolerated Piccolo. If she knew Piccolo saw them, she’ll be mortified and in her anger may forbid him and Gohan from training with Piccolo. “Animal.”

“Animal?” ChiChi looked out the window again. She saw nothing. “We’re on the second floor.”

“I think it was a dinosaur…. the flying ones or maybe a bird? I need to check.”

ChiChi slapped him. “You turned into a Super Saiyan in me because you saw a bird?! Goku, you could’ve killed me! Wait!” she called after him as he walked away from her. She wasn’t done yelling at him! “Where are you going?”

Goku grabbed the towel he left on the floor. “Stay here.”

ChiChi stared at the slamming door puzzled. What just happened? Normally, if she was angry, Goku would stand there and take it but he walked off annoyed by something and stormed out. That wasn’t like him at all. “Goku?”

Goku stepped out of his home with a towel around his waist. He looked up to see Piccolo hovering several feet over his home. Goku flew up to meet him. His temper had cooled but Goku was still annoyed Piccolo saw him and ChiChi in a very private moment.

Without a moon in the sky, it was dark with only the twinkling stars as his light so Goku raised his Ki to turn into a Super Saiyan. Now he had some light, he could see Piccolo. The Namek didn’t look at him. His eyes were cast down and his cheeks were still purple.

“So….” Goku started, “about what you saw, Piccolo……”

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” Piccolo suddenly flared at Goku.

Goku pointed to himself. “Are you mad at me? Piccolo, you’re the one peeping—“

“I WAS NOT!!!” Piccolo cut him off. “I returned from the forests after I finished my training. When I came here, I didn’t feel Gohan’s Ki but I felt yours and I thought that was strange. Then I felt your wife’s. Then…” his cheeks turned purple again, “I heard noises, strange noise from your wife. You sounded different, too. So I flew up to your window and I…… and I…..” Piccolo shuddered disgusted. “Is there anything you don’t eat?! What the hell were you doing to your wife?! Why was she screaming in pain and begging for more?! Why were you—ARGH!!” He put his hands over his face. “Damn image is stuck in my mind!!!”

Now Goku understood. Living in the woods, Piccolo didn’t interact with humans. He might’ve seen a few interactions from a distance but Goku was confident Piccolo never saw intimacy. “There are different words for what you saw: sex, intimacy, making love, fucking, banging, smashing, mating…”

“Mating?!” That was a word he heard before. Living in the woods, Piccolo seen animals in the same kneeling position he caught Goku with his wife. He eventually realized that was how animals had children. Animal mating he’s seen but never human mating until now. “That’s what you were doing?!”

“Yeah. It may be weird to you but it’s a normal thing people do.” Goku powered down relieved. “Whoo! I was starting to think Nameks were perverts like Master Roshi.”

Piccolo put a hand on his stomach. “I think I’m gonna be sick and Nameks don’t get sick.”

“If you feel bad, think how ChiChi will feel if she knew you saw us.” Goku put his hands together in a prayer to Piccolo. “Please don’t tell her you saw us.”

The image of Goku slapping his pelvis against ChiChi and the sounds of their voices appeared in his mind again. “ARGH!” Piccolo covered his eyes screaming. “I want to burn my brain!”

That was assurance for Goku Piccolo wouldn’t say anything. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you here. Don’t come back until tomorrow. ChiChi and I ain’t done and with your ears, you’ll hear more than what you want.” Goku swerve to the side avoiding a blast of Ki from Piccolo. “Hey!! I’m tryin’ to warn ya!”

“Shut up, Son!” Piccolo warned him. “Or I’ll kill you!”

With a cheeky salute, Goku put two fingers to his forehead, disappeared and reappeared in his bedroom. ChiChi was in the middle of putting on her robe when she suddenly jumped. “Oh! You’re gonna give me a heart attack doing that.”

“What are you doing?”

“I was gonna look for you since you took too long coming back.”

“I was only gone five, maybe ten minutes.”

Maybe but the way he stormed off, left ChiChi very worried. “Did you find what was out there?”

“No. It was gone.”

“Probably a bird,” ChiChi figured. “At least it wasn’t Piccolo.”

“Piccolo?” Goku squeaked.

“He is living with us now. The wilderness has been his home for years. He lived with Bulma until the Nameks left but Gohan said he spent all his time with his people. Being around us is probably the first time he’s seen regular human interaction. Imagine if he saw us in our most intimate moment.”

“Oh…yeah.” He laughed nervously. “That would be embarrassing.”

“Tell me about it.” Now that was settled, ChiChi was ready to resume their marital duties. They had two years of catching up and with Gohan gone and a bag of senzu beans, ChiChi was going to make good use of the entire night. “Goku….” She smiled slyly as she opened his towel. ChiChi grabbed his arm and threw him on the bed. Goku was momentarily startled. He should be embarrassed his lowered guard got him tossed but ChiChi doing this to him, turned him on. She removed her robe and crawled in bed over him. “My turn to be on top.”

Outside, nauseating sounds of intimacy reached Piccolo’s sensitive ears again. The Namek roared in anger and soared from the Son Family home. When they start training, Piccolo vowed to make Goku pay for this.

Part Twenty-Seven: The New Normal

AN: I know I teased it privately with some readers but Piccolo will be featured more in the next chapter. I’ll delve into how he lived with the Son Family for three years and addressed things left out like Goku talking with Piccolo on his treatment of Gohan when he was dead; Piccolo interacting with ChiChi and how ChiChi went from hating him to considering him part of the family.

Knowing he will die from a heart virus, I think logically ChiChi would take Goku to a doctor and try to prevent him from catching the virus. I know if someone from the future told me I will get sick and die, I’m doing everything possible to try to prevent it.

It’s interesting how the dragon balls became a clutch later on in the series and especially in Super but there was a time where people died and nothing was done to revive them. As important it was to revive Yamcha, Tien, Chaozu, Piccolo and Kami, everyone forgot about East City being destroyed by Vegeta and Nappa and there were other people who suffered from that fight.

#Goku #ChiChi #fanfiction #Life With You #Part Twenty-Six #Gochi #Dragonball Z #dragonball #Son Family

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nadiafm · 4 years

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( camila morrone, cisfemale ) hey ! have you seen NADIA PEREZ around ? they work as a ICE SKATING INSTRUCTOR at big bear resort, but they must be off their shift by now. well, if you do see them can you let me know ? they’re 21 years old & they’ve been working here for 11 MONTHS. they tend to be +AMOROUS & +CONVIVIAL, but can also be -LICENTIOUS & -WARY. the other employees have labeled them THE ROMANTIC. thanks a lot ! gold hoops , floral mini dresses , pink lipgloss , overly dramatic eyeshadow , freckles specked across your nose , mascara running down your cheeks , tequila shots chased with salt and lime , lana del rey blasting in your headphones , mirror selfies , golden hour , glitter and rhinestones , blue raspberry dum dums , piled up books you keep forgetting to read.

hey y’all !! i’m so excited for this wow. i’m sam, i’m 22, and i live in pst !! i’m a sucker for cooking shows and dogs and candles. but more importantly...this is my freaking baby nadia, an absolute idiot with a heart of gold ! i already know this intro is going to be too long but bare with me i will include a tldr at the bottom i promise. also hmu on discord to plot ! capricornmom#1278

here is nadia’s pinterest & here is her playlist

aesthetics : gold hoops , floral mini dresses , pink lipgloss , overly dramatic eyeshadow , freckles specked across your nose , mascara running down your cheeks , tequila shots chased with salt and lime , lana del rey blasting in your headphones , mirror selfies , golden hour , glitter and rhinestones , blue raspberry dum dums , piled up books you keep forgetting to read

character parallels : jackie burkhart ( that 70′s show ) rachel green ( friends ) , cassie howard ( euphoria ) , brooke davis ( one tree hill ) , bianca stratford ( 10 things i hate about you ) , april ( palo alto ) , erica vandross ( flower ) , gigi & triple a ( booksmart ) , snooki ( jersey shore ) , jessica day ( new girl )

full name : nadia paloma perez

birthday : july 23, 1998

zodiac : cancer sun , pisces moon , pisces rising . god help this emotional ass girl

nationality : american

religion : roman catholic

sexual & romantic orientation : bisexual , biromantic

hometown : aventura , florida ( 20 minutes outside of miami )

languages spoken : english ( fluent ) , spanish ( fluent ) , french ( still learning , takes it in school , somewhat conversational )

likes : candy ( sour punch straws , lollipops ) , watching soccer games ( messi stan till she dies ) , rex orange county , writing , magazines , making empanadas with her abuela , romantic comedies ( her fav is how to lose a guy in 10 days ) , tequila sodas , sex , lana del rey , chipotle burritos , iced chai lattes with almond milk from starbucks , gossip girl , craft beer , margaret atwood

dislikes : quinoa , nuts in things like salad or cookies , star wars , watching golf , oatmeal , church , screamo music , california ( a grudge ) , spoiled rich kids , condescending business majors , quentin tarantino ( and his avid fans )

BACKGROUND

Born and raised in South Florida, a little aways from Miami ! Her mother, Paloma, was an Adventura native while her father, Santiago, was an immigrant from Argentina. Her parents met in college when Paloma was studying abroad in Argentina. They fell in love, rather quickly, and the rest was history. They had planned on moving back to America together, but Santiago’s visa was denied. So, after only four months of knowing each other and 2.5 months of dating, they got married.

Turns out sometimes you should know your partner better before getting married !! shocker right. It wasn’t so bad at first, though. They were young and in love and their honeymoon phase seemed to last forever, until it didn’t.

By the time Nadia was born, they’d already begun to realize each other’s faults and flaws. Santiago was a good looking guy, and with his thick Argentine accent, he tended to come off as overly friendly and at times overtly flirty. Paloma was jealous and needy. It never seemed to mesh well when she thought her husband was flirting with every other mom in the neighborhood.

So, for the majority of Nadia’s childhood, all she remembered from her parent’s marriage was them fighting. She had a close relationship with the both of them, though, and she was particularly close with her father. He was her biggest supporter !! Always hyping her up. He was the one signing her up for sports like soccer (they’re a huge soccer family, the only time her parents weren’t fighting was during Argentina games), gymnastics, dance, and ice skating. Her favorite was soccer, and her for most of her adolescent years, her dad coached her team. They formed a really close bond because of it.

The marriage was sort of non exinsistant at this point, but in some sort of last attempt to salvage any love they might have had for each other, Santiago and Paloma had a baby. It was more Paloma’s idea than anything. Santiago, at that point, was only sticking around for Paloma. She was seven when her little sister was born, Caterina, and Nadia absolutely adored her. They may have been seven years a part, but they were the best of friends.

When Nadia was twelve, she woke up with a note on her bed side table. It was from her father, and it read: “Nads, I’m so sorry I couldn’t say goodbye to your face. I wish I was stronger. I am so proud of you and I promise I will be in touch. Te amo. Papa” He hadn’t left anybody else a note, and not even a word to her mother. As close as she was to her mother and sister, she couldn’t help but blame them for her father leaving. Still, she was pretty certain she’d hear from him soon. That he’d come back once he cleared his head. Only, he didn’t.

Word spread pretty fast around school about what had happened. Suddenly, Nadia was a charity case. PTA moms were coming up to her and offering to bring her lunch or dinner, if she needed it. She was the girl who’s dad left them high and dry. It didn’t help that on top of that, her body was going through changes much more rapidly than any of her friends. She already had gotten her period, and by the time she was in seventh grade she was wearing a D cup bra. So in addition to the sudden spotlight as the girl without a dad, boys started treating her differently. Boys that had never talked to her previously suddenly wanted to be her friend. In eighth grade, Hayden Walker rolled up a small piece of paper and shot it like a basketball into her cleavage. He high-fived his friends after and thanked her for the backboard.

So middle school was rough. And while Nadia had had one or two boyfriends during that time, she’d never gone past kissing them. That’s not how the rumors went, though. That was the part that hurt the most. The things people said, especially the things girls said about her. Girls she thought were her friends.

At the end of eighth grade, during the summer before high school, she got a text from her dad. The first one in 2 years! She’d idolized him her whole life, so obviously she was ready to forgive him as soon as she heard from him. He told her he was living in California and Nadia was like, I’m sold! Let’s go! Only her mother was like...are you fucking insane you are not going to California to visit that man. Long story short, she found a cheap cross country bus ticket and essentially ran away from home to see her dad! He was shocked she had come at all, despite his text message leading her to believe he wanted to see her. Apparently it was more of a courtesy text, a text so he could let go of the guilt of leaving an entire family behind. Because in the two years he’d been gone, he managed to start a new one. He had a new wife, and two newborn twins.

Nadia was pretty furious, but she stayed the summer anyways. She had full intentions of starting high school in California and not going home to Florida. Things were tense at her father’s, though. Her “step mother” obviously didn’t like having her around, and though her bond with her father was slowly rekindling, there was still a sort of distance between them. But they were trying to make it work, at the very least.

Then came the end of the summer. Nadia had made a few friends around the neighborhood, and was invited to an end of summer kickback with a bunch of high schoolers. Naturally, she lied about her age at the party. She was 14, but told everyone she was 16, and everyone seemed to overlook her baby face thanks to her ass and tits. At the end of the night, a boy drove her home, and the two ended up hooking up in the car. Apparently she had misjudged how much her father actually cared, because he’d waited up for her to come home, and after seeing car headlights out front, he’d stormed outside to find her in the car with a high school boy, half naked. After allowing her to gather her bearings, he essentially humiliated her right there on the front lawn, screaming about how irresponsible she was amongst other things. The majority of the conversation has since been blacked out from her mind, but she’ll never forget the look on her dad’s face when he said, “you’re nothing, you’re just like your mother, and i don’t want you anywhere near my family.” whew !! ya girl was hurt.

So, obviously, she was back on the way to mom’s ! Honestly at that point her mom wasn’t even mad at her for leaving she was just thankful she was back.

GODDD okay this is getting long so I need to wrap this up. I haven’t even gotten to personality KJSHG Okay let’s wrap up high school in one bullet point. Basically she sub consciously searched for every man’s approval because she lacked the approval she needed from her father! This meant lots of boyfriends and never saying no. In her four years of high school, she was maybe single for a total of like ... seven months. not seven consecutive months lmao, 7 months in between relationships.

one of those boys was connor perch, her first official boyfriend freshman year ! they were really sweet n young and nadia really thought she was in love. but then she gave him a blowjob and this mf recorded it ! and nadia found out after the fact, asked him to delete it, he said it was just for himself to look at, only to find out he’d sent it to his friends a few days later. so that basically set the precedent for how she’d be treated the next four years of high school ! she tried to act like it didn’t bother her but dang. high schoolers can be very mean !

oh my god i seriously have to wrap up okay this will be quick. basically when she was a senior in high school she went on a ski trip to big bear and met a boy named ethan, who she like fell in love with so fast like literally a week give it a rest girl. he was from Colorado but when she left they kept in touch and basically talked every day for the rest of the school year and throughout the summer. She’d decided to apply to Boulder University to be closer to him because this time it really felt like the real thing ! SURPRISE AGAIN ! She got to school and found out he had a girlfriend. She was really mf heartbroken over that. But did she learn her lesson? No. Does she still fall in love with anyone who looks in her direction? Yes.

Okay and lastly she has been working all sorts of jobs throughout college because her mom is helping her pay for tuition and rent so she’s gotta cover spending money ! She ended up getting a job at Big Bear Resort during her last winter break as an ice skating instructor because she used to do ice skating back in the day. Now she works at Big Bear during her school breaks and on some weekends !

TLDR/Tidbits

Hopeless romantic with major daddy issues

Will overanalyze every interaction she has with anyone because she thinks they might like her

EXTREMELY GULLIBLE

Probably will have a crush if you are even remotely nice to her

Really dumb but means well. Literally no common sense. Complete bimbo

Cries A LOT. Complete crybaby. Happy or sad she’s probably crying

Heart of gold!! She really always means well even when she fucks up so bad I SWEAR her heart was in the right place

Can outdrink anyone. She would drink a 6ft5in, 200 pound man under the table any day

Tequila is her choice of drink, but vodka is for her #sadgirlhours

Obsessed with Rosalía, Lana Del Rey, & Rex Orange County. And also 2010 bangers. Anything she can shake her ass to !

She pretty much used to exclusively wear mini dresses because when she realized everyone was just gonna sexualize her anyway, she was like FUCK IT, i’ll show my ass n titties n legs. Except it’s fucking like negative degrees in Colorado so she can’t do that ! Bummer. (she’ll still probably find ways to wear mini dresses)

Obsessed with makeup!! She loves doing adventurous things with eyeshadows and lipsticks like ok euphoria

Kinda crazy. Major crackhead vibes especially when she’s drunk! She loves going out, she’ll go out on a Tuesday, she just likes to have fun ok and dance on tables and make out with cute people

She’ll have a one night stand but just know for HER she’ll probably get attached. I’m so sorry it won’t last that long but she’ll pine for at least a week

ok that is all i’m so sorry for this shit show of an intro but here is a messy list of wc !

#bigbearintro #literally so pointlessly long but

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nellie-elizabeth · 5 years

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The Handmaid's Tale: Sacrifice (3x12)

Uhhhhh what the hell, June?

Cons:

I can't fault this episode for moving the plot forward... I certainly prefer action to the drudgery of some of this season's earlier episodes. But what the hell am I supposed to make of Eleanor's death in this episode? What the hell am I supposed to make of June letting her die, a la Walter White? It was dark in a way that I'm not sure this show has earned. What am I supposed to be thinking about June right now? This season has spent a long time turning her into a villain, but this moment was just sickening. How am I supposed to get past it?

See, the thing is, there was a relatively easy fix to this problem. If they had done more to show how much of a threat Eleanor was to the plan, or explained why her death was of huge benefit to June, then I'd still be horrified, but I'd maybe feel differently about the narrative benefit. It would be about June being forced to make a horrible choice for the sake of the kids. But here? Sure, Eleanor's mental illness almost blew the plan up, but June stopped her, and she was contrite. They could have kept her in her room and kept her quiet enough to salvage the plan. Her death was in no way necessary. Also, this was a huge tactical risk for June to take. Joseph manages to keep the borders open and preserve the escape plan, even in his mourning. But what if Eleanor's death had sent him spiraling? What if he'd locked himself away and refused to help? What if he'd blamed June for Eleanor's death, because June was too rough with her, and decided to turn her in? I just feel like Eleanor's death benefited June because the narrative needed that to be true. I honestly don't think it was smart or necessary for Eleanor to die. The show was more interesting with her there.

And back to the bigger point - how am I meant to forgive June for letting a good person die? A person who needed help, who could have been okay if allowed to escape from Gilead, and to receive proper psychiatric care? Fred tells Luke that June isn't the same person anymore, and I think he's right about that.

Pros:

All that said, I still like the push and pull of loyalties and sympathies that exist in this complicated world. June can feel sorry for Commander Lawrence, but we cannot forget what this man is, and what he has wrought. There's this moment when Joseph is talking about the wine he saved for his anniversary with Eleanor, and June reminisces about her own anniversary with Luke. She's doing it to form a connection with him, but she's also invoking the name of her husband, the man she was violently separated from, because of the world Joseph helped to create.

And as always, this show is great at establishing atmosphere, and showing how oppressive this world is. There's the moment when Rita and June briefly touch hands at the grocery store, sharing news of Serena and Fred, and of the escape plan, and connecting over their shared history and trauma. There's Aunt Lydia giving June the chance to be alone with Joseph at the grave of his wife, a strange respect of their shared grief. And these little moments shine bright because of the oppression surrounding them.

For my money, the stuff going on in Canada is more interesting than anything else. There's something so invigorating about being out of Gilead, about breaking up that oppressive atmosphere with something different. It's the small things, like seeing Serena with her hair down, in different clothes, being offered pizza. And the big things, like seeing Luke and Moira, with their unconventional family, bicker while going through the metal detectors. Even though they've escaped Gilead, even though Nichole has escaped Gilead, the pressures of global politics are still ensnaring these people. It's scary, because it feels like these freedoms can be taken away from them so quickly. Everything about this world feels tenuous, and seeing the contrast between the trapped and the freed makes this very obvious.

I suspected that Serena gave up Fred on purpose, but seeing it confirmed was a real treat. That scene was a master class in acting from both of them. I love that I can watch the Waterfords interact with such passion and feeling, and yet still never for one moment lose sight of the truth. They're monsters. They're rapists. And Fred, as the realization slowly dawns on him, is not feeling merely the pang of a broken heart. He's feeling betrayed. Duped. His pride is hurting him. He's still the same weak-willed, power-hungry monster that we've known all along, but now he's paying for his arrogance, and it's satisfying in the extreme.

Luke doesn't come across looking so hot in this episode. He wants an audience with Fred, but anyone could have told him that was a bad idea. Still, I like seeing this moment of weakness from him. I can't exactly blame him for being filled with rage, for having a sick curiosity to confront the man who raped his wife. There's the temptation to gloat, to show Fred how his own actions have led him to his downfall. I also thought it was interesting that Luke pointed out how similar he and Fred were, in the time before. Similar upbringing, education, etc. It really shines a light on how arbitrary the system of Gilead has become. The power has consolidated into the hands of the few, but those few are just the ones who already had power and influence. The rich get richer, or what have you.

Moira has a real MVP moment when she drops Nichole off with Serena for a supervised visit. Serena tries to be polite, but Moira states that she's June's friend. That Nichole is June's daughter. And that Serena is just the person who held June down so her husband could rape her. She even lets Serena know that Fred went to Jezebel's, reminding the audience that Moira has a personal reason to hate these particular people, rather than just the system at large. And Serena seems offended and hurt by Moira's outburst. But once again, there's this awesome tension between watching a woman in serious emotional distress, who you want to feel sympathy for, and remembering that this is Serena Joy Waterford. I don't feel sorry for her. I think she's pathetic, and frankly she doesn't deserve these visits with Nichole. I'm glad this is all she gets, though.

Next week is the finale. I really hope that the plan to save the kids works, because I want to catapult this show in a new direction. I want a serious status quo change, instead of the fits and starts we've gotten so far. I want Gilead to be ripped apart, so we can examine the aftermath. Even though I'm pretty horrified by June's behavior in this episode, I still feel compelled to follow her journey. I want to see what comes next!

8/10

#review #handmaid's tale #handmaid's tale review #the handmaid's tale #the handmaid's tale review #handmaids tale #handmaids tale review #the handmaids tale #the handmaids tale review

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thecleverdame · 5 years

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Part One

Alpha!Werewolf!Sam x Omega!Werewolf!Reader

Summary: You and Sam are a bonded pair with four children. You’re both interrogated by the police who are convinced that Sam and Dean are running a criminal enterprise.

Warnings: Language, violence, murder, dom/sub overtones. mentions of: knotting, breeding, claiming, giving birth

This falls into the same AU as The Brown Bottle, Moonlight and The Derby.

The Raid

It’s just after one in the afternoon and you’re cutting the crust from a peanut butter sandwich. “Liam, you want jelly on yours?”

You son looks up from up his sea of building blocks with a grimace on his face. “No!”

“Alright, no jelly,” you confirm. His cheeks are pink, hair stuck to his forehead. The air conditioning broke two days ago and Sam promised to have one of his guys come by to look at it by tonight. “You look hot buddy, why don’t you come in here.”

There’s a ceiling fan set on high in the kitchen, bringing a small amount of much-needed relief. He picks up several of his favorite toys and makes his way to the table, taking a glass of water from you and tipping it back with both hands.

Your other three children are scattered through the house. Killian, still an infant, is sleeping in the bedroom with the window unit Dean brought over the night before. The two middle children are sitting in the middle of the tile floor, one happily coloring the other with a bottle between his lips.

The Omega in you loves this: chubby babies and domesticity. There’s still a slice of the old you that sometimes wonder what the hell you’ve gotten yourself into, but you wouldn’t go back, wouldn’t change anything. If you had a live-in nanny and unlimited funds you’d give Sam a football team, but four is already pushing the boundaries of too much, especially when they’re all this young.

You’re happy but also exhausted. Sam stayed home for the first couple of weeks after your youngest was born, changing diapers and making lunches, but that could only last for so long. He and Dean need each to keep the operation running, not to mention pack issues. Your Alpha is also the Alpha, which means a never-ending cycle of pack business and territory disputes.

You take a moment, wiping sweat from your forehead and placing two hands on the counter. You’ve got no idea how regular, human women do this. Even with the perks of lycanthropy; body healing faster and phenomenal stamina, you’re being pushed to your breaking point.

“Alright, boys, lunchtime,” you sing-song, setting sandwiches and sliced fruit in the center of the table.

It’s just as Liam reaches for his PB (no J) that the front door explodes opens. Two police officers dressed in swat gear bearing M4s barge into your living room. All the children scream, and you freeze as more men clad in riot gear stream into your home.

“Police, hands in the hair, knees on the ground!” A man shuffles toward you screams with a gun pointed at your chest. Liam throws himself at you and the guy comes a second away from pulling the trigger, “I said on your fucking knees!”

You fall from the chair to the ground, somehow managing to gather the presence of mind to respond, “they don’t understand–”

He doesn’t respond, just booms in a loud voice “we’ve got kids in here, how do we proceed.” After listening to whoever’s speaking in his earpiece he points his weapon at your forehead. “Is there anyone else in the house?”

“No,” you breath, then panic realizing you’re wrong, “I mean yes, my son is the in the bedroom. He’s just a baby. Please don’t hurt us.” You can already hear the high pitched screech of your youngest screaming from the bedroom, blending in with the chorus of crying children around you.

“Is Sam in the house?”

“What? No.” You shake your head with arms held high.

“It’s better if you tell me the truth right now. If we’re the ones who find him, he’ll leave in a body bag.”

There’s a moment when you think you might shift, it’s never happened outside of a lunar cycle, but the rage stirring in your chest is making you vibrate.

You don’t even know how to respond to that statement, you just blink and look at your sons who are sobbing, Colin, who’s just turned one, sucks his thumb between his lips as he chokes on fat crocodile tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. “He’s not here,” you respond, the world moving in slow motion. “Can I…?” You look from the officer to your children. After a moment he nods and lowers his weapon as you sit in the middle of the floor, pulling them into your arms.

There are several calls clear, clear coming different part of the house, then uniformed officers pulling your children out of your arms. You protest, but to no avail, as you’re led to the back of a police cruiser.

Interrogation: Y/N

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, I wanted to grab some coffee before we sat down to chat.” The woman before you is holding two cups, steam rising out of both. She sets one in front of you, there’s a cartoon police car drawn on the side along with the words: I like big busts and I cannot lie. I’m a cop - get your mind out of the gutter!

You push it away from you, shifting in your chair. “I’m breastfeeding.”

“Oh, I know,” she smiles warmly nudging it back toward you. “Yours is an herbal tea.”

“Is there anything else I can get for you?”

“You can tell me where my children are.”

“They’re just down the hall, we’re taking good care of them, I promise.” She holds two fingers up in a boy scout salute.

“I nurse Lee every couple hours. I need to see him.”

“It’s okay,” her voice is soothing, she’s like a horse whisperer earning your trust. “I’ll make sure someone brings you to him in a little bit. I’m not heartless, I’ve got two of my own.”

“There were assault rifles pointed at my kids, so you’ll forgive me if I don’t have the utmost confidence in your intentions.”

“That’s fair, I’d be pissed too. I’m sorry about that,” she holds up her hands in a sign of compliance. “I don’t want to get this thing started on the wrong foot. How about we start with introductions. I’m Detective Barden, but you can call me Linda.”

She stares at you patiently, as you cup your tea with both hands. You haven’t decided what version of yourself to share with her, but right now you get the distinct impression she thinks your mindless baby factory.

“Y/N,” you force a weak smile, pushing the hair out of your face. “Are you going to tell me what’s happening?”

“You aren’t in any trouble, not yet anyway. I just want to have a conversation, but it’s important that you tell me the truth.”

“I’ll tell you whatever I know, but I’m not sure I can be much help.”

“We’ll see, I’m sure you know more than you think. Does Sam ever talk about his work?”

“Sure, I mean I don’t get the boring details but we talk just like everyone else does.”

“And you’re referring to Reliant Construction?” Linda raises an eyebrow.

“What else?” You look at her wide-eyed. You both know that there’s a laundry list of other businesses that he and Dean are involved in, but you’re not going to play your hand, not yet anyway.

“Let’s get to that in a minute,” Linda smiles, still the good cop. “Tell me about Reliant.”

“Like I said, I don’t know the ins and outs. It’s was Sam’s father’s company when he died Sam and Dean took it over. They build, commercial, residential, a little of everything.”

“They’ve been doing pretty well lately,” she nods, thumbing through a legal pad, “they just built that new office building over in Hastings, and are set to break ground on a strip mall up highway eighty-nine.”

“I didn’t know that,” you sigh, making no attempt to the hide the fact that you’re peeking at her notes. “Sam mentioned a couple new projects.”

“But nothing specific huh?” She’s testing the water now, lapsing into sarcasm to see if you’ll take the bait, but you pretend not to notice. Can’t have Linda thinking you’re too perceptive, you think.

“To tell you the truth he might have told me a bunch of stuff. I…I’m running on empty, just trying to keep going. Sam gets home and wants to talk while I’m just trying to get through the day.”

There’s truth in your words, not quite as desperate as you want her to think, but it’s there. You let yourself feel the emotions, the anger, and fear, tears well up in your eyes on queue.

Linda responds to this, her face softening. She thinks she’s found her way in. “You’ve got a lot of your plate sweetheart, no one faults you for feeling overwhelmed. Four kids under five…I couldn’t do it.”

“Yeah,” you wipe your eyes, giving her a weak smile. “It’s a lot sometimes, but we make it work.”

The impression of the completely overwhelmed housewife is a lie, but like all good lies, it has to be rooted in truth. Your day to day life is a lot, too much for most women, but you’re not just a women. You’re a wolf and an Omega, creating a family with your Alpha is part of your DNA. Being a mother and a mate comes as naturally to you as drawing breath.

You need Linda to buy into the narrative you’re creating.

“Trust me when I tell you I’m not the bad guy here. I don’t want to traumatize your kids or hurt you or your husband. I’m just trying to get to the truth.”

“Then just tell me what you want to know.”

“I want you to tell me about Sam.”

“Okay,” you hesitate, looking to her for direction. “Can you be a little more specific.”

“Well, why don’t we start with what I already know and we can work back from there huh?” She opens the folder in front of her. “Y/N Winchester, twenty-eight, originally from Broken Bow, Nebraska. Your mother, Millie, owns a bar, your father fixes up cars in his garage for cash under the table. You dropped out of high school your junior year and started working for your mother the next summer. How am I doing so far?”

“Sounds accurate.”

“Good, I’ll continue. From what I can tell you were a good kid, worked hard, stayed out of trouble. Then, five years ago you met Sam. Seems like you must have hit off because then came the babies, one after the other. Liam three, Colin two, Owen one and the little guy, Killian, I guess you call him Lee. He’s still just a tiny thing huh, almost six weeks? You must be one strong woman to have four kids back to back like that.” She whistles, sitting back in her seat.

“We want a big family,” you shrug.

“You wanna know what I think?” She leans forward, spreading both palms on the table. She’s going to tell you regardless of your wishes. “I think you’re smart. You saw a strong guy, a guy who owned a company and could give you a different life, so you took a leap of faith. I think you were a high school dropout who saw an opportunity to get out a life serving beer to truckers and you took it.”

You set down your tea and look her in the eyes, “are you calling me a whore?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong but according to our timeline you had Liam nine months and two weeks to the day after you met Sam. You either got pregnant the night you met him or soon after. I don’t think a smart girl like you lets a guy like Sam, a virtual stranger, knock you up unless one of you wanted it.”

If you had the liberty there’s a lot you could say to Linda, starting with the fact that she’s not completely wrong. Sam did manage to put his first pup in your belly that night all those years ago. You both wanted it, but Linda isn’t privy to the same knowledge, the mechanics of knotting, mating, and bonding. She thinks Sam was your meal ticket.

When you don’t respond to her commentary she goes on. “I don’t think it was Sam who wanted kids, at least not back then. I’m not saying this to hurt your feelings, but the week before you walked into the picture he was still fucking anything with a short skirt and two legs. He didn’t seem much like the type of man who settles down.”

“What or who he did before I met him is none of my concern.” You wave your hand, looking down the table.

“You’re more understanding that I’d be.” She smiles, devoid of joy. “Then again, there must have been something between the two of your because he went all in, didn’t he? You get pregnant and Sam commits. That was a gamble.”

“So you are calling me a whore.”

“No,” she shakes her head, she’s genuine about this which you find interesting. She’s about to tell you what she really thinks. “I’m calling you a survivor.”

“You don’t know me.” You set your jaw, lacing your hands together on the table.

“Really? I was working on this case long before you ever came into the picture. Six years I’ve watched Sam and Dean and rest of their buddies living like they’re above the law. If there’s one thing I believe with all my heart, it’s that they are bad guys, Y/N. While I can’t say for sure what goes on behind closed doors, I’d be willing to bet that Sam is a guy who likes control.”

“Why don’t you just say what it is you’re trying to say.” You sit back, balls your fists under the table.

“Tell me about this.” Linda pulls out a photo taken a few weeks ago. You recognize it immediately, it was taken in the emergency room. It’s a photo of you with a black eye, swollen completely shut, blue and purple bruises spelling from the edge.

You’d like to have some great tale about how you got it, something about shifting under the moonlight and fighting with the pack, but the truth isn’t exciting. Liam had been playing with Sam’s Maglite and while you were holding him and making shadow puppets on the ceiling. He’d whipped it around, stronger than any normal toddler for obvious reasons and popped you right in the eye socket. Sam’s the one who insisted you have it checked out fearing you’d damaged the orbital socket. Two X-Rays and a four-hour wait later all you got was a visit was a visit from a social worker who very gently took your hand and asked if your husband was beating you.

Now that you look at the photo it’s easy to see how she assumes you were punched.

“That was an accident.” You don’t offer details, just take a sip of your tea and wait.

“What kind of an accident?” She’s softer now, lowering her voice as she morphs into a new, more caring version of herself. She’s good, you’ll give her that.

“The kind that’s none of your business.”

“Okay. What about these?” She lays another photo in front of you, this one looks like a surveillance shot. It occurs to you that they really have been watching and for a long time. This picture is from last summer, you’re in Dean’s backyard, standing the edge of his in-ground pool. Sam’s in the water with Colin held up in the air, his tiny face squealing in delight. It would be a sweet family moment if not for the marks covering your body. You’re wearing a bikini that leaves little to the imagination and your skin is littered with bites and bruises, hand prints on your arms and bite marks up your back.

You shrug, “I like it rough sometimes.”

“I don’t think anyone wants to be bitten like that.” She gestures to the scar at your neck.

“Sam’s never done anything that I didn’t want him to do.”

“You believe that?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you or anyone else.”

“Well, you’re going to have to explain yourself to a social worker. I’m sorry but there are children involved, we need to put their best interests first. They’ll need to make sure you and Sam are providing a safe environment before we can let them go home.”

You shake your head, trying to hold back real tears.“I can’t believe you.”

“Is Sam really the kind of man you want raising your children? The example you want to set? A man like that with a history of violence can’t be how you imaged raising your boys.”

What you’d like to tell her is that Sam’s going to be an even better parent than you when they’re older. They’re purebloods just like their father, born of two lycanthrope lineages. While you can only shift when the moon is full they’ll all be able to control it like changing clothes. Sweet little Liam will shift into a beast just like Sam and then his brothers will follow. You’ll have a house full of Alphas who’ll look to Sam for everything.

“He’s an incredible father,” you answer honestly.

“I don’t think incredible is the word I’d use. Let’s review some of Sam’s convictions before you met him.” Linda pulls a stack of folders from her briefcase and throws them on the table, one by one as she receipts the charges contained in each. “Assault, drunk and disorderly, aggravated assault, that one’s actually my favorite. Sam and Dean beat this guy, almost to death, with their bare hands. The poor guy was so fucked up he wouldn’t press charges. But I digress, we’re aren’t done yet. Disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, suspicion of bribery.”

There is a certain amount of truth in what she’s insinuating, but it’s an old truth.

When you first met Sam you were both younger and unattached and still wild. Sam was different back then, everything he did was governed by biology and testosterone. He got into bar fights with Dean, fucked who he wanted whenever he wanted and didn’t give a shit about what anyone else thought. They got into trouble, a lot of trouble.

Now, a mate and four children later, Sam is a leaned out version of himself in every sense of the word. He stops to think before he acts, always has a plan in place and never fails to make time for you and his children. He’s found a patience that he never knew he was missing. And while there was a steep learning curve, these days, his family comes first.

“I get the point.” You concede.

“I’m not sure you do. Those aren’t even the charges we’re interested in, I could give a shit about bar fights and hookers. You wanna know what the world’s best dad has been up to? Why you’re here?” She pulls out a series of warrants, adding to the cluttered mess on the table. “Suspicion of human trafficking, extortion, money laundering and eight counts of homicide.”

Your eyes narrow as you take the paper from her, reading over the details. “There’s no way this is true.”

“Here,” she throws a photo on the table. It’s taken outside a location that you’re not familiar but Sam has a young blonde woman by the arm, she’s clearly in tears while he pulls her from his car. “Two days after this was taken she disappeared.”

You recognize her but you don’t let Linda catch in, instead tracing the outline of Sam’s face on the picture. The woman he’s got the arm was Alyson, her story is one you’re well versed in and unfortunately it’s not uncommon. She wasn’t living by the pack rules, killed three people and threatened to expose you all. Sam, being the Alpha, was tasked with doling out her punishment. The rules don’t leave much room for debate; you kill a human, you forfeit your own life.

“People disappear all the time. It doesn’t mean that Sam had anything to do with it.”

“I’ve got over a dozen missing persons cases where Sam and Dean are involved.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You’re either willfully ignorant or blind. This is the man that’s raising your kids.”

“I told you, Sam is good to us. I know how things look, but it’s true.” You’re starting to get tired with the insinuation.

“Right, an incredible father who married their mother… two months ago?” Linda looks up, waiting for a response.

“You have a problem with us getting married?”

“For five years and four kids, Sam never seemed to feel the need to lock you down. The minute we start talking about bringing Sam and Dean in, you two tie the knot at the county courthouse, while you’re nine months pregnant.”

“What’s your point?”

“I hate to break it to your sweetheart, but it wasn’t about love. My point is two words: spousal privilege. Somehow he knew what we had planned and married you to give you both legal protection. I can’t compel you to testify against your husband. You were his last loose end.”

Damn. She does know what she’s talking about. Sam’s your mate, bonded for life and neither of you needed a piece of paper to reinforce that commitment, your connection is far deeper than a ceremony. But Sam’s informant tipped him off the three days before he dragged you down to City Hall and married on his lunch break while Dean tried to wrangle three toddlers out in the hall.

“What is it that you think is going on?”

“Your husband and his brother have killed people, Y/N. They’ve got their hands in every cookie jar in the county and we’re going to take them down. You can either help us or you can go down with him. It’d be sad to see those kids without a mother.”

“I already told you, Sam doesn’t talk to me about work.”

“That’s bullshit and we both know it. You’ve been with him five years, he trusts you. He married you because you know more than you should.”

“That’s not why we…” you take a breath, holding yourself together. She thinks she’s making progress, wearing you down.

“Right now we’ve got a team of people tearing your house apart, tossing Sam’s office. We’re going to search every inch of everything he owns until we find what we’re looking for.” Linda sits back, crossing her arm over her chest. “Here’s the way I see it, you’ve got two options. You can tell me what I want to know about Sam, give me some information that will stick or we send in child services to launch a full-scale investigation. Now would be the time to jump ship.”

You’re silent, staring her down with eyes locked. “I’m not normally a person who talks like this, but Linda… go fuck yourself.”

Part Two

#Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader #alpha!sam winchester #sam winchester x reader

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