#loving grandparents who like me over my cousins? never heard of em

[stylesluxx]

no matter what – p.lahote

[warnings: one or two swears, angst, and a flashback to bullying]

summary: in which paul couldn’t protect y/n | clearwater!reader| requested!

word count: 8,561

masterlist

Every summer you came from Washington, D.C. to Forks, Washington. You were originally born in Forks, but you, your mom, and dad relocated to D.C. when you were eight, leaving behind your family. Of course, you were distraught having to leave your cousins, Seth and Leah; you were basically their sister. Your parents had you do everything together, you even wore matching outfits, as if you were triplets despite being three years older than Seth and three years younger than Leah. It was the summer the year your Uncle Harry died that changed your life. Well, actually, it started when your mom got a new job in France.

She told you the middle of your junior year that you would have to pack up and move to Europe.

You were happy for her, of course, but you wanted to finish school before they dragged you off to somewhere new. So, you spent the rest of the school year making plans and you were hoping they wouldn't fall through.

Your grandparents were more than happy to let you live with them in Forks so everything sort of fell into place. You'd be back home, finishing up high school, and you'd get to be around most of your family.

It was hard to say goodbye to your parents but you were excited to be back in La Push. Whenever you were there, you never felt out of place. As if you were stumbling everywhere else except when you were in the small village.

You got to your grandparent's house on a Friday, 8:30 in the morning, bright and early.

"So what are your plans for the summer?" Your grandfather, Peter, asked.

You just walked through the doors of the house and were about to drag your suitcases upstairs.

"Well, I hope to find a job but when I'm not working, I'll either be here or with Leah and Seth. Ya know, the usual," You shrugged and gave them a small smile. "Can't be away from my family for too long."

"Such a sweetheart," Your grandmother, Julia, cooed. "Are you going over there today?"

"Yeah, for lunch. And then I'm all yours for dinner," You nodded and grabbed the handles of your suitcases. You started on the stairs but stopped at the first step. "You know, I'm really happy to be here. Back home."

"You're not going to miss your parents?" Your grandpa questioned.

"I'll miss them; heck, I miss them already but I love Forks. Also... you guys cook and they don't," You teased before turning and continuing upstairs.

You walked to the room you always stayed in whenever you visited: your dad's old room. All the rooms were pretty small, especially compared to the room you had in D.C. but this room made you happy. You kept most of the decorations up, not wanting to ruin the nostalgia of it all, and just filled the drawers and closet with your clothes.

Lunch came quickly and all your clothes were unpacked. Your parents were going to send the rest of your things over so that would be your task for next week.

You practically jumped down the stairs trying to get to Seth and Leah. You bid your grandparents a quick goodbye before bursting through the front door and into Leah's arms.

You squeezed her tight as she laughed and you pulled away and pulled in Seth. At first glance, you didn't realize how different they looked.

"I missed you guys so much it's crazy," You squealed, but it was muffled since your head was in Seth's shoulder. You pulled away and got a good look at them, your eyes growing wide.

They had matching tattoos which you'd admit was kind of cute, but it still took you by surprise. And Seth was no longer scrawny and five foot eight. He was at least six feet now, still lanky, and his hair was cut down super short. And Leah who was also five foot eight was now maybe five foot ten and her hair was in a short pixie cut.

"OMG, you guys cut your hair. And are these tattoos? Guys, what the fuck happened? You guys got these after the funeral?" Your happy demeanor was snatched away and replaced with concern, your arms crossed over your chest, and your eyes narrowed.

"It's a bit of a long story," Seth chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Okay, well I live here now, I have all the time in the world. Are you, like, going through a phase? Should I call for an intervention?"

"No, it's not like we're going drugs," Seth scoffed but kept a playful grin on his face.

"Y/N, let's not be so dramatic. Come on before mom starts calling," Leah shook her head before going to the car.

"Alright alright," You eased up and put your hands in the air as a sign of surrender.

You sighed and tried to wrap an arm around Seth's shoulder but once you realized he was six feet tall, it was a little bit harder to do. But to make you feel better, he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and squeezed you tight.

"You sure you're not on steroids?" You teased and looked up at him.

"Positive!" He laughed.

You got to the other Clearwater house in town and were practically bouncing in excitement.

"Hi, Aunt Sue! How are you?" You asked as you kissed her cheeks and hugged her.

"Better now that you're back in town," She replied and rubbed your back. "A little birdie told me that you're staying for the school year."

You nodded and pulled away so you could sit at the kitchen table. Seth had brought in the chair that was specifically for you when you came to visit and you thanked him.

"'Little birdie' as in Grandpa. That man can't hold water," You shook your head.

Leah came and sat next to you after she finished setting up the plates. Seth sat across from her, and once your Aunt was done placing the food at the table she sat at one end. The other end was your Uncle's spot that remained empty.

Leah squeezed your hand once she noticed you staring into space. You blinked back tears and looked at her and the soft smile that adorned her face.

"You should come to the beach tomorrow and meet our friends," Seth said, an attempt to get your mind off of things.

"Yeah, sure, that sounds good. I just bought a new bikini," You nodded and forced a smile.

You didn't realize how hard it was to be here without your uncle. And now your home felt a little empty. But maybe a beach day would help.

Around noon the next day, Leah was driving you and Seth to the beach, though it was a quick walk from where you lived.

You grabbed your beach bag and followed behind Leah to the group of people you saw huddled on the sand. You thought you'd be surrounded by boys all day until you spotted Emily, your other cousin.

"Y/N!" She gasped and pulled you into a bear hug once you got close enough.

"Hi, Em! I've been doing so much hugging lately, but I could never forget you give the best ones," You smiled and hugged her back.

"Hey!" Seth interjected.

"Seth, don't get jealous," You teased and shoved him lightly once you were released from Emily's arms.

"Never, I know I'm your favorite cousin," He smirked. "Guys, this is our cousin Y/N, the one that visits every summer. She's gonna be living here until she graduates."

Seth addressed everyone and then introduced them all to you, except for Jacob. You guys used to hang out as kids too. He'd sometimes come over with another girl from Forks and the three of you would play together.

You smiled and waved at them all, your eyes met with all of theirs but you were stuck on the last boy Seth introduced. Paul.

He had brown eyes, short black hair, and had almost the same build as Seth but was muscular. He was definitely a La Push boy and he was perfect to you.

"I can't have anything..." You heard Leah grumble from behind you, making your eyes move to look at her.

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks, embarrassed at the fact that you were staring at him. But he was staring back so maybe nobody else would think it was weird, but that was unlikely.

Seth sat on a towel and pulled out down next to him, giving you a bright smile. You always loved Seth. Your parents told you that you had to warm up to Leah, but ever since you met Seth, you were two peas in a pod. But Leah, she understood you on a level no one else did. Somehow you got lucky with the best of both worlds.

"So, what do you plan on doing once you graduate?" Emily asked and moved your bag from your lap and set it with the other bags.

"I'm taking a gap year in France!" You spoke excitedly.

You felt everyone's eyes fall on you, making your smile fall slightly. You didn't exactly enjoy being the center of attention, especially since you didn't know the group too well.

"Y/N, you never told me that," Seth spoke up.

"Uh, yes I did. You just don't listen."

"That's a bit far don't you think?" Emily asked and you just shrugged in response.

Sure it was far, but it's not like you were leaving anything behind here; you'd see everyone the next summer.

"Yeah, but I like traveling and it's only for a year. then I'll be back in the states for college. Maybe the east coast, they have a bunch of schools to choose from."

Your eyes searched for Leah's but they found Paul's instead. They were distant and cool but once he recognized you were looking at him, they softened.

You looked away quickly and found Leah's eyes, practically pleading for help.

"I'm hot," She said, not too loud so it wasn't an obvious diversion but it was loud enough that everyone heard. "Come to the water with me?"

She was looking right at you and you nodded. You stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the water.

You slipped off your flip flops and let the water hit your toes as you sighed.

"Thanks," You mumbled.

"Yeah, that's kind of what big cousins are for, saving your butt.”

You stood in the water for a while before grabbing your beach towels and laying them out. You were a bit away from the group, but Leah didn't mind.

You stripped from your shorts and tank top so you were only in your swimsuit. You laid on the towel next to Leah and tanned for maybe an hour two. You tried to learn a bit more about the group, specifically Paul but Leah had no real interest in talking to or about them, so you just let it go. But as you tanned, you watched them talk and play soccer, or talk as they scarfed down some sandwiches Emily made.

You were back in the water, now playfully splashing each other. All day you felt eyes on you that you just couldn't shake but for some reason, it was bothering you now. It reminded you of when you brought up your plans for next year and everyone kept their eyes on you, not breaking contact.

"So, is there a problem with me going away next year?" You asked Leah after getting one last splash in. "Why was everyone looking at me?"

She was silent for a moment as if she were stuck in her thoughts, having an inner dialogue with herself.

"It's just a little... complicated," She shrugged, making you roll your eyes.

"You know, you've changed a lot, Leah. I used to be able to read you like a children's book but now... I guess I'll accept that some things change and some things are need-to-know," You huffed out and started to walk back toward the sand. "I think I'm ready to head home now."

You started packing your things, not wanting to be there any longer. And you felt bad you were cutting Leah's day short, but honestly, it didn't seem like she wanted to be there anyway.

"Y/N, you're leaving?" Seth asked as you walked over to where he was stretched out.

"Yeah, I'm tired," You nodded and forced out a yawn. "It was really nice to meet you all."

From the corner of your eye, you see one boy who you remember to be Jared, nudge Paul, causing him to speak up.

"I can drive you home, I was just about to head out anyway," Paul said, looking you right in the eyes.

It was the first time he had spoken to you directly and something about it moved you to a sense of euphoria. Like, if he ever stopped talking the world around you would crash and burn. If he ever stopped looking at you the way he did, the way his eyes softened at the sight of you, you would disappear into thin air. It was a pull and connection you never felt before and you never wanted to stop feeling it.

You looked over at Leah, to get her approval but she was looking at Paul cautiously before looking over at you. She nodded and you turned back to him and nodded.

He didn't bother packing up whatever things he brought, he just stood up and motioned for you to follow him.

You waved goodbye to the others and ruffled Seth's hair as you left. You were walking to his right when you noticed his tattoo.

"Leah and Seth have that tattoo too," You blurted out.

He looked at you and down at the tattoo as if he forgot it was even there.

"Oh yeah, we all have one," He shrugged.

"What's it for? Like does it mean anything?"

"It's just for our little group."

It was a vague response, his tone was similar to Leah's. Maybe it just wasn't your business. And though you were annoyed with Leah, you weren't annoyed with Paul. You never wanted to be on the outs with him so you just accepted his answer and got in his truck.

It was weird that you were nervous since you felt connected to him but you also felt the need to impress him.

He pulled up in front of your house and you turned to smile at him.

"Thanks for bringing me home, I really appreciate it. I'll see you around?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out again soon. I was thinking of a picnic?"

He was nervous, you could tell. It was the first time he hadn't looked at you all day. He was facing you, but looking everywhere but at your face.

"Just the two of us?"

"Yeah, unless-"

"Sure, just text me a date and time and I'll be ready," You cut him off.

He nodded and let a victorious smile rest on his face as he handed you his phone.

You saved your number in his phone before handing it back and getting out of the car.

"Bye Paul," You smiled and grabbed your bag, resting it on your shoulder.

"Bye Y/N."

You shut the door and walked up to your front door, unlocking it. You turned back and waved at him before slipping inside the house and letting out a sigh of happiness.

"Was that a boy?" You heard behind you, making you jump.

"Grandma!" You gasped and held your chest.

"So who was that?" She teased.

"Just a boy."

"Right," She hummed with a raised eyebrow and turned to leave you alone.

Definitely not just a boy.

A picnic on the beach was your and Paul's first date. He picked you up, picnic basket in hand, and you guys walked through the woods and to the beach. He brought a big blanket for you both to sit on as you talked and ate the sandwiches he packed.

You played in the water, laughing vibrantly as you splashed each other. You attempted to make sandcastles but failed and decided to just walk up and down the sand.

"So," He started.

"So," You mimicked and looked at him.

"When did you move away?"

"When I was eight. If you're trying to remember me, I promise we wouldn't have been friends," You chuckled and shook your head.

He titled his head to the side and stopped walking.

"And why not?" A playful smirked rested on his face, and you stopped walking simply at the sight of it.

"There's no way I could've been separated from Seth at that point. Like no way. And if it wasn't Seth, it was Leah. And I only knew Jacob because our dads hung out. But I was just a weird, clingy kid," You shrugged.

"So, it's not just because you think you're better than me?" He teased. You scoffed and put a hand on your chest.

"Please," You scoffed and shoved his shoulder gently.

You kept walking down the beach, this time walking back toward where the blanket was. And as you were walking, Paul picked up a stick and wrote "Paul + Y/N" in the sand with a heart around it, making you giggle.

If anyone else had done that on the first date, you would've run for the hills and never looked back. But it was Paul so it was okay.

And when you started spending more and more time together, like going bowling or to a museum, no one questioned it.

The date to the museum took you completely by surprise. You mentioned once or twice to your cousins how you wanted to go visit the museums in Seattle, but you never got around to going.

You two walked around, holding hands, and admiring all the art. It was intimate and quiet, and it was really about enjoying each other's company.

"You stole our cousin!" Seth burst out as you and Paul walked into Emily's house.

You waved to everyone else who sat at the kitchen table or around the kitchen.

"Did not," Paul brushed him off and set a hand on the bottom of your back.

"Good morning to you too, Seth," You smiled.

"We just came to take a nap before lunch. So, if you all don't mind," Paul said and ushered you toward the living room.

"Why don't you guys just do that at your own houses?" Jared spoke up, contorting his face in fake disgust.

You looked at Paul and he looked at you before you both turned back to face Jared.

"Nah, I don't think so," Paul shook his head.

"If it's all the same to you, we're gonna go take our nap now," You hummed and used your thumb to suggest you'd be in the living room.

You let Paul lay down first and then you climbed on top of him and rested your head in the crook of his neck.

"What do you think we're gonna have for lunch?" You asked as your eyes began to get droopy.

"Mmm, maybe burgers."

"Doubt it."

"Okay, if I'm wrong, I'll carry you for the rest of the day."

"You were probably gonna do that anyway," You chuckled and closed your eyes.

"Yeah, that's fair."

You drifted off as he drew shapes on your back. You listened to his heartbeat and the quickness of it. Usually, you'd hold your breath so yours would match up, but yours was beating just as fast as if you had been running for miles.

"I don't smell any burgers," You mumbled as you woke up. You sat up and pecked his forehead before standing up and reaching your hand out for him to take. "Did you sleep?"

"Maybe for an hour," He shrugged and took your hand, following you into the kitchen.

You sat at the table and Paul took the seat next to you. Your hands still latched together, rested on the table in between you two.

"Do you guys have to hold hands at the table?"

You gave Jared a sly smile before moving your hands onto your lap and giggling.

"Why are you being such a downer today?" You asked Jared, your voice holding a playful tone.

"Me? A downer? Please! I'm an upper!"

"Since you're such an upper, why don't you join us on our walk after lunch?" Paul challenged eyebrow raised.

"I'd rather not third-wheel. Thanks for the invite though."

"Your loss."

"Doubt it."

—

"Okay, when does a joke become a dad joke?" You asked, looking up at who you considered to be your boyfriend.

"Uh, I don't know," He shrugged but was smiling sheepishly.

"When it becomes apparent," You giggled.

After lunch, you two left Emily's and headed into the woods. You had no idea where you were going or if there was even an intended location but you were happy to just be hanging out with your favorite person.

"That was a good one," He nodded. "Okay, um... what do you call an ant that had been shunned by his community?"

"A socially dissed ant! Come on, everyone knows that one," You laughed.

"Alright, alright. What do-"

Before he could finish, his head snapped from facing you, to now looking in front of him.

"Paul?"

He ignored you and looked ahead, his eyes scanning the area. He looked back at you, his face serious and his tone reflected that.

"Y/N, run back to Emily's and don't stop. When you get there, just wait for me to come back," He said and kissed you on the cheek before backing away from you.

"Paul, what's going on? What's wrong?" You asked, your face displaying your confusion.

"Just go," He demanded and though it wasn't harsh, you knew he meant business.

He started running ahead and just as you were about to turn around and run back to Emily's it was as if some huge wolf came and ate the boy that was right in front of you.

It was huge, five times larger than Paul, with dark silver fur. And when it turned to glance at you, you recognized its dark eyes and they were pleading for you to listen.

You quickly turned around and ran back to Emily's. It was already hard enough jumping over logs and pushing branches out the way, but with the rumbling of the ground, you were struggling. You saw seven more gigantic wolves going the same way as the dark silver wolf, which you assumed was why the ground was so shaky.

But were they going after him? If your eyes weren't deceiving you, that wolf was Paul. But for as long as you've known him, which was maybe about a month and some change, he's either with his friends or with you, no time for him to get into any trouble.

You burst through Emily's front door, clearly scaring her since she practically jumped out of her skin.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked, placing her hands on your shoulders as you panted.

What would you say? You just saw your boyfriend turn into a huge wolf and saw seven other wolves running in the woods? The thought of even saying it aloud was ridiculous. And even though Emily was very understanding, you knew this was too crazy to tell.

"No, yeah I'm okay," You nodded and plopped into a chair by the table, your hands behind your head as you tried to regulate your breathing.

But as much as you tried to calm down, you couldn't stop your leg from bouncing and you couldn't keep yourself from biting your nails. You were so worried you didn't realize that it was only you and Emily in the usually full house.

Emily tried talking to you, but you were so lost in thought that you would only him in response. You were never quite sure what she was talking about but you thought humming was a sufficient answer along with nodding or shaking your head.

You couldn't even look at her. If your eyes were on the door, waiting for any sign of Paul, they were watching the clock and watching as the time slowly went by.

When you finally spot him, he's shirtless and wearing khaki shorts (the ones he was wearing earlier was a mud brown). You jump from your seat and through the screen door, into his arms. And without missing a beat, he caught you and held you close.

"Yeah, let's just forget we exist," You heard Seth in the back but you couldn't tear your attention from your counterpart.

"You okay?" You whispered.

"Yeah, are you?"

You nodded in response and let the silence and your nerves settle. You knew he was safe since he was in your arms and you could hear his heart beating against his chest.

"What was that?" You breathed out and peeked up at him.

He looks over at Sam as if they were speaking to each other with just their eyes, before looking back at you.

"Let me drive you home," He suggested and you nodded immediately. Being with him wasn't something you had to think about.

You pull away from him and turn to Leah and Seth.

"We're still on for breakfast tomorrow?" You asked and wrapped around Paul's waist, snuggling into his side.

Leah glanced at Paul and then back at you before nodding.

"Yeah, we'll come get you."

Paul ushered you to his truck, helping you get in before getting in himself. The ride home was quiet and you watched the trees, hoping to see the silver wolf staring back at you. Hoping that you weren't crazy and that the impossible remained impossible.

"I know you have a lot of questions," Paul started as he parked the car in front of your house.

"More than a lot."

He sat silently, mulling over what he was going to say, before going into great detail about everything. From the legends you grew up listening to, to shifting, and finally to imprinting.

"And you expect me to just take this in with ease?" You questioned.

"Not at all."

"The only reason why I'm not laughing and calling you a liar is only because I saw you turn into a huge wolf right in front of me. The imprinting part I can believe with ease; that makes the most sense."

"We're soulmates," He nodded, smiling bashfully.

"More like twin flames but yeah sure," You nodded. "And you saw a... vampire today? That's what you were chasing?"

"Yeah, we don't know why they're here. They're not with the Cullens. But you don't have anything to worry about, we chased them to Canada." His eyes met yours, noticing the concern in your eyes, and reached a hand over to rest on yours. "Everything is fine. Everyone's safe."

You nodded reluctantly and sighed, pulling his hand to your mouth to kiss.

"Stay safe, please," You mumbled and held his hand to your cheek.

"Always."

"I'll text you when I get back from breakfast, you can come over."

He nodded happily, a big grin danced in his face as he leaned over to peck your lips.

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye dork," You giggled as you got out the truck and walked inside.

Tomorrow came quickly and you and Seth were now seated across from Leah at a diner.

"So, what did the big, bad wolf tell you?" Leah asked while wiping the syrup off her mouth with a napkin.

"Everything," You shrugged, as you stuffed your mouth with eggs.

You slept on what Paul said, occasionally pinching yourself to make sure you weren't dreaming. There wasn't anything you could do about it, so why stress about it?

"And how do you feel?" She continued, eyeing you as if trying to read you and see through your calm demeanor.

"Fine. Normal. You don't have to hide anything from me anymore so that's good," You hummed and sipped at your water.

"I'll be back," Seth mumbled.

He stood up and walked over to the bathroom, leaving you and Leah alone.

"So, I know I've been keeping things from you, which isn't like me at all but it's just because of this whole pack thing. Only select people are supposed to know about it," Leah explained.

"Yeah, I know. Paul told me."

"Why are you acting like this isn't a big deal? Why aren't you angry or upset or sad?"

"Because I understand why you couldn't tell me. It's not your fault, Leah. What's there to be upset about?" You uttered, trying to get her to understand what you were thinking. "You're still my cousin and I still love you. That's it."

"That's it," She nodded and gave a smile that didn't show any teeth. As if she were still holding back. But it wasn't your place to force it out of her. She'd talk when she was ready.

When you got back home, your grandparents were at the store but you knew they wouldn't mind Paul being over. So, as you promised, you called him and invited him over.

You were upstairs in your room, straightening up when you heard banging on the side of the house and then saw Paul standing next to the window.

"So you... climbed up the side of the house... instead of ringing the doorbell?" You questioned, arms crossed over your chest.

"Less work for you," He shrugged and pulled you into his arms, pecking your forehead.

"So thoughtful," You giggled and pulled away so you could lay on your bed. "How was breakfast?"

"Good. I brought you some pancakes, they're downstairs."

He laid next to you on the bed and poked your cheek, making you roll your eyes in faux annoyance.

"You're going to school on the Res?" He asked.

"No, Forks High," You shook your head. "I figured, I didn't need to be around Seth all the time. Give each other some space."

"How perceptive."

"And then I'm going away once I graduate, you knew that though."

"What about me?"

"Do you want to come? Meet my parents and eat escargot?" You smiled.

His face was suddenly hard, on the brink of sadness and frustration. Your smile immediately dropped once you noticed his expression and you were ready to comfort him, your palm softly rested on his cheek.

"I can't leave the pack right now. Things need to die down before I can just up and leave," He rolled his eyes hostilely and moved your hand from his face.

You frowned and your eyebrows furrowed to match your anguish.

"Okay, well, we'll make it work," You tried to open the conversation to compromise.

"You're not even sure where you're going to college."

"P, it's not the end of the world. We'll figure it out."

It seemed the more you talked, the more upset he got but being silent and sweeping things under the rug never made anything better.

"You say that now but once we're thousands of miles apart, you're going to see it's not as easy as you're making it seem. We're not a regular couple. Long-distance is already hard but with an imprint, it's much worse. The emptiness and misery will become overwhelming-"

"Well, what do you want me to do Paul? Put my life on hold? We will figure it out. We have a whole year before I go-"

"I need to go."

He abruptly got up from the bed with a red face, slightly shaking but not too much.

"Where are you going?" You sat up, practically talking to his back since he was facing the window.

"For a run. I'll be back later, maybe."

He left your house the same way he came, not bothering to look back at you. It felt as if he were talking to an enemy if you hadn't known any better. But you knew he was just disappointed and frustrated that he couldn't pause time and replay this past summer. And you understood why he felt this way. Somethings are just so good, you never want them to change. But life isn't easy and we can't always have things go our way.

You had never been around a Paul that wasn't either in a positive headspace or worried. Worried Paul didn't shut down the way he just did. He was gentle and soft-spoken.

You sighed and fell back onto the bed, rubbing your temples.

Did that count as an argument? Because if so, that would be your first. It was usually smooth sailings but you had only known each other for a month, so of course, you tried not to step on each other's toes.

You jumped up at the sound of feet landing on the floor in front of you, thinking Paul came back. But you were met with a woman with olive skin, red eyes, and short, curly, black hair. She stood about 5'3" and had an aggressive nature about her that pulled you to your feet, triggering your fight or flight response. Her face was squared, with a flat nose, her cardinal eyes hooded.

"You were with the wolf the other day. You're his... mate," She broke the silence, speaking the last word with either mix of interest or disgust (you couldn't tell which). Her voice drew you in; it was smooth and tantalizing.

You stayed silent and didn't think to move a muscle. To move meant, you wanted to be chased in her eyes and you knew you couldn't outrun her.

She slowly took steps closer to you and continued, "You're pretty for a human."

You confirmed that her voice was full of disgust. The way she said "human" and how her top lip curled as she did so, was not a reflection of interest.

As she moved closer, you knew time was running out and maybe that's what made you speak up. You'll never know the real reason, it was a shock to both of you.

"Paul will be here any second. But if you do happen to succeed in whatever you're planning, you need to know: he's not going to stop hunting you until he has your head."

Your voice was oddly steady and full of confidence you didn't know you had. Maybe because deep down you knew it was true and you weren't just trying to keep the clock running.

She chuckled as if entertained by your words, as if she was able to look through your charade. But now she was standing a few inches away and if anything gave it away, it was your heart beating rapidly.

You heard a bowl from outside, making your eyes flicker over to the window, then back to the trespasser in your room.

You almost let out a breath of relief, but that might've meant you weren't scared anymore, and then she might not show any mercy. You didn't want to antagonize her.

"I wonder if... he'll still love you if you're one of us. Red eyes, skin as hard as a rock, and as cold as ice-"

"I promise you, he will."

"'m not too sure. I'd like to test it out though."

In the blink of an eye, she was gone and you were on the floor, letting out a blood-curdling scream. Your whole body felt like you were on fire, you laid on the hardwood of your floor, flailing around and screaming while you held on to the center of all your pain.

And while screaming out and crying for help, the tears puddling on your floor weren't from the pain, but from the memories as your life flashed before your eyes.

"Mom, he's so pretty," You mumbled in awe as you peered over into your Aunt Sue's arms and watched your little cousin look back at you. "Isn't he," She smiled at you and you nodded energetically. "But we have to head home, to give Aunt Sue and Uncle Harry some space with him." You nodded sadly but obediently and moved from your aunt's side to your mom's. You reached up and grabbed her hand, gripping it tight and leaning on her leg. You waved as you followed your mom out of the room, your eyes filling with tears. She must've heard your sniffling as you neared the elevators because she paused and looked down at you. "Hey, what's wrong Little One?" She asked as she crouched to your height. She held both of your hands and tried to look you in your eyes, but you kept your head down, trying not to let her see your tears. "He's jus' so p-perfect and I don' wanna leave h-him," You spoke between hiccups. She gave you a fond smile and let go of your hands to wipe the tears from your chubby cheeks. "We can go back for a couple of minutes but then we have to go meet your dad and Leah. They're waiting for us in the gift shop, remember?" "Okay," You nodded. "I promise I won't cry when we leave this time." "Oh baby, it's okay to cry. Sometimes we love things so much that we cry. You two might be soulmates; meant to meet and be there for each other. An irreplaceable bond. That's how I feel about you." "You love me so much you could cry?" You gasped, eyes widening at the fact that an adult you admired so much cried just like you. "Yep! I love you more than I could tell you." You hugged her as tight as you could in your little arms, so full of immeasurable happiness "Love you too, Mommy."

You couldn't imagine leaving them behind. Your parents always showed you so much love and support, you were beyond lucky to have them. But your mom was a goddess in your eyes, even if you have grown apart. Your feelings will never change. But what would they tell her once you're no longer you?

And Seth. No matter what Sam decided, he'd find a way to see you and spend time with you. You knew he'd never let you spend eternity without him. But Leah was tricky, as she always had been.

"Y/N, what are you crying about now?" She huffed as she sat down next to you on the porch. You both had come home from school, Leah was in fifth grade and you were in first. "Nothing, Leah," You mumbled and turned your body completely away from hers. "It's not 'nothing' if you're crying? What's the matter?" Her tone was more gentle this time and she put a hand on your left shoulder. You leaned into her hand subconsciously and wiped a tear that fell from your eye. "Is it those kids in your class?" She asked. You hesitantly nodded. You didn't want to hear the whole "stand up for yourself" speech again but you also didn't want to keep this to yourself anymore. "Just been picking on me because of my shoes," You muttered and looked down at your feet. These were your favorite shoes, but now they were dirty and worn out. You still wore them though since the value was still there in your eyes. You loved those pink light up shoes and couldn't bear to part from them. "I like your shoes," Leah shrugged. "Thanks." You didn't know if she actually liked them or if she was just saying that to appease you. You guys' parents always were telling her how her influence and approval meant a lot to you, even if you never showed it. She was your big cousin and you adored everything about her. And because your big cousin said she liked your shoes, you wore them again the next day. Sure, you were subjecting yourself to another day of teasing, but if Leah liked them, screw what the other kids thought. You stomped your feet and watched the colors on your shoes shine as you stood in the lunch line. "Really? The beaten-up shoes again?" You heard behind you. You say was officially ruined. Bigmouth Iara Lyons had to come in and ruin your whole mood. Her and her little snotty-nosed posse. You kept your head straight and ignored her as your mom suggested. Your dad wanted you to hit her, even if it meant him having to come and pick you up from school, but you couldn't bring yourself to do it. But Leah was Leah and wasn't afraid to step up to anyone. "I know you can hear me, Clearwater!" Iara kept going and you could feel her amber eyes burning a hole through the back of your head. "Clearly, she's ignoring you." That was Leah's voice. A voice that made you gasp and turn around. This was a confrontation you needed to see. "And you are?" Iara raised one of her fine eyebrows, a hand on her hip. "Leah Clearwater. Stop messing with my cousin." You now stood behind Leah, somewhat cowering behind her, but still able to be seen. "Or else what?" Leah pushed the girl down without hesitation, making you cover your mouth with your hand. You didn't know if you wanted to gasp or laugh, so you settled for gasping now and laughing later when you were home, replaying this scene right before bed. The other two girls with Iara looked at Leah with wide eyes and then down at their friend who was looking for them to defend her. "Or else, I'm gonna do more than push you. You're a first-grader with a mustache, worry about that instead of her shoes," Leah snarled. The whole lunchroom was looking at Iara and Leah now, wondering what their next moves would be, but you knew it was Clearwater: one point and Lyons: zero. You win. You watched the tears well up in Iara's eyes as she scrambled to her feet. She stood in front of you for a moment, not knowing whether she wanted to run or stay but chose the former. She ran out of the lunchroom, her friends reluctant to follow after her, leaving you and Leah. You saw Leah let out a sigh before turning to face you. "Now, if you make me do that again, I'm going to push you too. Got it?" "Got it," You nodded, a proud grin on your face.

That day made you proud to call Leah your cousin. But now you were at a crossroads. Would you still be allowed to hang out with her? Would she still want to be around you? Or was this the line that you never knew was drawn?

The night of your bowling date with Paul, you two were laying in your bed, holding hands. Your eyes were closed as you started drifting off, and he must've thought you were sleeping, but you perked up at the feeling of Paul kissing the top of your head. "You are the most important person in my life. I'm so happy you're here with me," He whispered into your hair. "Forever." You smiled softly and pulled him closer to you, literally wanting to be attached at the hip. It was as if you were dreaming. This affection was something some people could only dream about. But here it was in the palm of your hands. Your body was flooded with a certain happiness you had never known. A happiness that can only be obtained by being in the presence of Paul Lahote.

But would you ever feel this happiness again? Did the trespasser rob you of a happiness that only a few were lucky to experience? As your body felt like it was being torn apart, limb by limb, and tossed into a fire, every memory you relived tore your heart the same way before everything went black.

—

You ignored the migraine and the aching feeling of your body and pulled yourself into a sitting position.

The spot next to you was empty. If Paul was next to you, you would've assumed it all to be a nightmare. But you woke up alone, dazed, and confused. So where was he?

You took in your surroundings and recognized you were in your room. Nothing looked touched, but the floors were clean and your window was shut and locked.

You stood up and your vision immediately got fuzzy, but you grabbed onto your headboard to keep from falling over.

You took baby steps toward the stairs, keeping a hand on the wall so you had something to leave on. You gripped the railing tightly as you walked down the steps. You tried to be quiet, as to not disturb your grandparents but you weren't quiet enough to go under the radar of a shifter.

At the bottom of the stairs stood Seth, a comforting smile graced his face. "Where's Paul?" You asked, pausing in the middle of the stairs.

"That's the first thing you ask? Of all the questions you might have, that's the one you ask?" He chuckled and held a hand out for you, gesturing for you to keep walking.

But you didn't laugh, giggle, chuckle. You kept walking down the steps and once you reached your cousin, you placed a hand in his.

"Where's Paul?"

You turned to look into the living room where you saw the rest of the pack and your grandparents sitting, waiting for you to make your grand entrance. Seth was at the stairs, Leah was right behind him and the others sat on the couch and in chairs, eyeing you carefully but still smiling.

"He just went to use the bathroom, Sleeping Beauty," Leah answered, attempting the smoothen the tension.

Paul walked in, your eyes watching him carefully and his doing the same to you.

"Are you okay?" You asked him.

He didn't look hurt, just a little out of place, mentally. It was weird because he seemed completely fine and he would seem like that to a normal person but to you, he wasn't himself. He was standoffish, normally he would've been the first to greet you. He would've been in your room, if not in your bed, at your desk, and if not there in Seth's spot. Normal Paul, wouldn't have missed you waking up. It made you feel like something was wrong.

"Am I okay? Are you okay?" He asked, almost appalled that you asked about him.

"Am I... myself?"

"You're yourself," He nodded and glanced at your body once more, but this time he stopped at your left wrist.

You looked down at your wrist to see what he saw. And that's when you saw it. It was huge teeth marks from when the nomad bit you, still red and fresh. It wasn't actively bleeding but it couldn't have been more than two days since the incident.

"Don't we have patrol to go to or something?" Paul coughed, making you take your attention off your wrist.

You looked up him and then over at Sam who nodded. You frowned and went to inch closer to Paul, but instead decided to move backward and stand between Seth and Leah.

Paul was the first to leave and the rest of the pack stood and walked toward the door, but wishing you well as they left. Sam handed you a bouquet and told you that Emily would be over later.

You nodded and walked over to the couch, placing the flowers on your lap.

"Do you want to be alone?" Your grandpa asked, trying to see where your head was at.

"Just Seth and Leah, please," You nodded.

Your grandparents left the room and your cousins came and sat on either side of you.

"How did... how am I still normal?" You asked. You heard Seth gulp loudly, making you look over at Leah. She sighed and mumbled something about always being the bearer.

"Paul... heard you scream and came right to you. We were waiting for her to come out but he couldn't ignore your screams. He brought you over... to the Cullens," She paused and shuddered before continuing. "Carlisle sucked the venom out."

"Oh," You nodded slowly, taking everything in.

The incident wasn't anything you'd ever forget but it was coming back to you in flashes. And you remembered how you told the woman that nothing would change you and Paul's relationship.

"What's that frown for? We took care of her, Y/N," Seth asked, nudging your side.

"I was just... so confident that no matter what happened, Paul's feelings wouldn't change for me and here we are."

You smiled sadly, tucking your lips in your teeth. After shrugging, you leaned your head on Seth's shoulder and closed your eyes.

"Maybe I should've just went to France," You mumbled.

The exhaustion hit you like a ton of bricks and before you knew it, you were back to sleep.

You kind of figured you'd be back in your room when you woke up. You expected the three of you to be squished in the bed, napping as if you were, five, eight, and eleven again. But you woke up and it was Paul laying beside you, staring down at you like he was waiting for you to wake up.

"Hey," You greeted him.

"Hey."

"You okay?"

"Are you?

"Yeah."

"Then, yeah I'm okay," He responded and paused for a moment, glancing into your eyes, reading you. "There's no way I can explain how sorry I am that this happened to you-"

"It's not your fault, Paul."

"They went after you because you were with me. I couldn't even keep you safe. I'm sorry and I will forever be apologetic," He stopped again, closing his eyes and collecting his thoughts. "You might not remember but you weren't just screaming, Y/N. You were screaming my name. Not just crying out random wails, but crying out for me. I should've been there, I should've never left. Now the sight of you withering in pain and calling for me will forever be engrained in my mind. The pain you were in... it was because I left."

What he said didn't change how you felt about anything, but it made you think about how you had so much faith in him. It was news to you that you were screaming for him, specifically, but you also weren't surprised. You believed he would come and save you and he did. Because he was your Paul and he would always be there.

"No one could've known she'd have a vendetta against you and come after me, Paul. This is no one's fault, I need you to come to terms with and believe that. I feel safest in your arms, don't ever forget that, please."

Maybe it was the imprint, but he let it go, tentatively of course. But what mattered was that he let it go for right now and kissed your forehead.

You let an arm drape around his waist and he had a hand drawing shapes on your back. You sat for a while, enjoying each other's presence, after being separated for two days. And though you didn't want to pick a fight, you just had to know.

"If-if I were changed though, would you still-"

"No doubt about. You're still my Y/N, no matter what."

[AN: okay so I wanted to address two things. one, I don’t want y’all to think the soulmate thing is weird so I’ll explain. soulmates are anyone, whether romantic, familial, or platonic, that you feel an instant connection to. basically someone that was meant to be in your life, whether they stay or leave. so that’s how I saw seth and the reader. ALSO, I didn’t really go into depth about the relationship between the reader and the rest of the pack but I just didn’t feel like that was super important for me to focus on. but yeah everyone is on good terms, I just didn’t go super into depth about that. lastly, I’ll probably go through and edit this once more, I just wanted to post it finally. anyway, hope you all enjoyed !]

#stylesluxx #paul lahote #twilight #paul lahote x reader #twilight x reader #twilight imagine #wolf pack imagine #Paul Lahote angst #Paul Lahote blurb #paul lahote fluff #paul lahote imagine

[marmolady]

New Horizons

Main Pairings: Estela x (f)MC, Graleister

Summary: Endless Ending. Liv and Reggie are starting school in San Trobida. Notes at the end!

Word Count: 9695

Chronology: After 'Growing Pains', before 'How the time escapes me...'

Tagging: @saivilo, @edgydepressedchoicesthot, @sceptilemasterr, @greengroove @mauvecatfic​

Thanks for reading!

San Trobida, July 2035

“Hey, Auntie Grace!”

Reggie looked up from his book at the sound of his cousin’s voice, and hastily placed aside his shiny new copy of ‘A Guide to San Trobidan History’ so he could rush out into the hallway.

Grace was already wrapping Liv in a hug. “Hello, sweetheart.” She kissed the side of her niece’s head, before her eyes wandered down to a bloodied knee. “Did you have a mishap on your bike on the way here?”

“Yeah… I clipped the kerb and crashed,” Liv said, offering her aunt a better view of her wound. As she heard Reggie’s footsteps, she looked up to meet his eye and smiled.

“Youch!” Reggie offered sympathetically as he came close enough to peer over Liv’s grazed knee.

Liv shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”

Grace, though, was more concerned. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head when you fell?”

“No, just scraped my knee. It does actually sting a bit.”

“Hmm. Well, I think we’d better put some anti-septic that knee just to be safe.”

The new house was a mess. Boxes and misplaced furniture filled every room, and the twins-- six years old-- had been making forts with the packing boxes that had been emptied so far. The family had been in the house for just over a day, and some good progress had already been made. There had been a lot that had been left behind. Neither Aleister nor Grace put too much value on material possessions, so most of what had come with them and the children to their new home in San Trobida had been essential furniture, and the mountains of photo albums and memorabilia from a life with the kids.

Grace sat Liv down on a wooden ottoman, and, after a little bit of rummaging, found the first aid kit.

“Okay, this might hurt just a little,” she said gently, and she carefully dabbed Liv’s graze.

Liv yelped, “Fuck!”, causing Reggie to gasp, looking to his mother for a reaction, and Erin and Immy to burst out giggling from inside their box-fort.

Grace raised an eyebrow, but her warm smile didn’t shift. “It stings that much?”

“Yeah…,” Liv said, flushing a little. “Sorry about the language.”

“I’m sure I didn’t hear a thing.”

There was the usual bustling around as Aleister got the girls into their shoes; Immy and Erin had decided that swapping one shoe with one another was the peak of humour, but eventually, their father managed to get them each into a left and a right-- even if they didn’t match. Six-and-a-half-year-old sisters, Reggie had come to realise, made just about everything more of a headache than necessary.

Eventually, though, they were on their way. His mom and dad, walking beside the twins as they pootled along on their bicycles, had the address, but Reggie rode ahead with Liv, taking her lead as she zig-zagged through the streets of Valle Brava. Having only set foot on San Trobidan soil as a new resident some twenty-four hours ago, everything aspect of his environment set his senses alight. This wasn’t like being back in America. Perhaps it was the tropical climate, but he was reminded much more of La Huerta-- of home. Liv certainly seemed right at home here. She and her mothers had settled a few weeks before, and Liv had been coming here pretty much all her life. There were just a few blocks between their respective houses, and the wide cycle paths along the bitumen roads made for an easy journey. This, Reggie had been told, was a newly developed area; much had been re-built since the war he knew his Tia Estela had been involved in. The cycle paths ended as they came nearer to Liv’s place, a little way out of the main township. The foliage on either side of the road became thicker, and there was less street noise, more birdsong.

“Beat you!” Liv announced as she planted her feet into the ground, forcing her bicycle to a stop.

Reggie grumbled, pulling up beside his cousin in front of a humble bungalow-style house with outer walls a vibrant azure blue against yellow accents. The sound of a dog barking-- unmistakably Liv’s Robin, was further confirmation they’d arrived. “You didn’t beat me, Livia. I was following you. I didn’t even know where we were going.”

“Jeez, dude. No one likes a sore loser….”

“I am not a--!”

The door swung open.

“Reggie!” Taylor wasted no time in sweeping her nephew into a hug. “It’s so good to see you! I can’t believe you still have the energy for cycling over here-- didn’t you move house, like, yesterday?”

Reggie laughed. “Hi, Auntie Taylor!” There was something about seeing a familiar face in this new environment that made the pieces seem to click into place. Family made it home. “I’m a little bit tired but mostly just excited. I did sleep in today, so I guess I won’t crash until later.” His sisters on the other hand… there was no way they’d last the evening without overtiredness rearing its ugly head.

“I’m guessing your mom and dad are on their way with the girls?”

“Yeah,” said Liv, “but they’re pretty slow. I don’t have to wait to give Reggie the grand tour, do I?”

“Knock yourself out, kid. Hang on, Liv? Walk your bike through the house, please.”

“I was gonna!”

Reggie could only smirk. Like hell you were….

“Aaaand,” Liv finished off with a flourish, “this is my room!” She opened the door to a good-sized bedroom. It seemed to Reggie that what floor-space wasn’t taken up by the bed was piled up with boxes.

“I mean, I can’t say the mess wasn’t a clue.”

Liv gave her cousin a look as she flopped into her bed. “Hey-- moving house is hard. You’ll see soon enough. You get started all excited, but once you start living your life, you kinda get… stuck. Mama Taylor says we’re going to just blitz it all next weekend, and throw ourselves a pizza party as a reward.”

Reggie got up onto the bed and crossed his legs. “Do you like it here?”

“I love it here! I always liked coming here when I was little, so I guess it doesn’t feel like something completely different. I reckon my tio abuelo is over the moon that we’re here for good; it’s like I’ve got a grandparent now.” Liv’s cheeks flushed pink, and she glanced away.

Understanding, Reggie nodded. Together, they’d grown up in a family that didn’t take the traditional shape. There were some things that simply couldn’t be explained to other friends; like why Reggie’s grandma could help him with his homework, but could never come in for grandparents’ day, and why Liv had a whole side of the family with no grandparents at all-- not even dead ones.

“And,” Liv continued, “people don’t really look at my Mama Estela funny. I noticed that years ago. I guess ‘cause of the war, people don’t look twice at someone who’s maybe a little bit banged-up. I got so sick of it back in America. Every time we met someone new, they’d put on that ‘God, what happened?’ face. Maybe Mom doesn’t want to explain the whole ‘revolutionary in a civil war’ thing to every random person who can’t mind their own business. Some people have scars-- big freaking deal. It’s better here.”

“Yeah, that would be a nice change. The amount of times I’ve seen you and Auntie Taylor look at a nosy idiot like you want to deck ‘em--”

Liv burst out laughing. “True, that.”

The sound of excited barking rang out from the backyard. It seemed pretty likely to Reggie that his parents and sisters had just arrived. When he and Liv arrived in the backyard, Erin had already joined Estela at the barbecue, desperate to be involved, while Immy was passionately talking to Nicolas about goodness-knows-what. Reggie made a mental note to rescue him in a few minutes; that kid could be intense, and the poor old guy had come out here for a relaxing lunch with his niece.

Nicely, but firmly, Reggie nudged the wriggling, writhing form of Robin the dog to the side so he could join his mother and Auntie Taylor at the large alfresco table under the porch. And Robin returned to his favoured position at the feet of the barbecue-- Erin was just a kid, surely, she’d drop something….

“Do you need a hand with the salads?” Reggie asked as he greeted his mother with a hug. He’d been seeking a lot of those. With so much changing, familial comfort meant a lot, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

Perhaps more than anything, though, he was grateful to have Liv by his side. It was the way it had always been; from their toddler days on La Huerta, through elementary school, to their adventures in home-schooling. Some things might change-- some things might change immeasurably-- but he always had his cousin.

___________________________

La Huerta, 2028

Liv yelled out as she splashed down into the shallow surf. “Reggie!”

“I got her, Xiraana!” Reggie cried, and soon he was joined by a young Vaanti girl, who helped restrain their victim.

“No, no!” Liv squealed as she struggled. Vaanti kids, she’d long ago realised, were strong. “You’ll never take me alive!”

“Five-- four--- three….” Xiraana counted down, not letting Liv out of her grasp.

“Two-- one!” Reggie finished triumphantly, and he let his cousin fall unceremoniously back into the water. “The klaawyi ate all the meat off your bones. You’re one of us now!”

Liv pouted, but admitted defeat. It wasn’t the worst thing that could happen; she was pretty good on Team Klaawyi anyway. Or, she would have been… had she not seen the figure of her favourite uncle descending onto the beach from the great tree of Elyys’tel.

“Tio Diegoooooo! Hiiiii!” Liv ran across the sand, almost tripping in her desperation to reach him.

“Hey, Livia!” Reggie cried out, indignant at being suddenly abandoned. “You’re meant to help us catch them!”

But Diego had crouched down to wrap Liv in a hug, and Reggie might as well be talking to a pile of rocks for all that was being absorbed.

“Tio, they got me! Reggie and Xiraana got me, and now I’m a klaawyi!”

“You?” Diego laughed. “You’re no klaawyi-- I’ve never seen a klaawyi that was ticklish!”

“Wha--?” Oh no. Once again, Liv was shrieking with mirth, this time dodging the tickling hands of her tio.

Still standing in the shallows, Reggie stomped his foot, which achieved little but splashing himself in the face. The game went on without them; games of Klaawyi Chase didn’t stop for anyone. The usual fun on the beaches outside Elyys’tel would go on like this every day… whether Reggie and Liv were there to join in or not. And Reggie didn’t want to miss out now.

“Come on, Livia!”

She just shook her head, not letting her adoring gaze up at Diego slip for so much as a heartbeat. “Nah,” she said. “I’m done.”

Torn, knowing that whichever direction he ran in, he’d lose out on precious time with friends, Reggie admitted defeat and rushed back to Liv’s side on the shore. He looked back over his shoulder and waved goodbye-- for what he’d been told would likely be a long, long time. Engrossed in their game, his friends gave just the most fleeting of farewells before continuing to race through the small waves that lapped the beach.

Liv, in contrast, had eyes only for her tio. She clasped his hand tightly; if she held on tight enough, perhaps he’d have no choice but to come with her to wherever her mothers were taking her in the big aeroplane.

Where exactly she was going, Liv didn’t quite understand. It was away from La Huerta, but they weren’t going back to live with Tio Nicolas, they were going… someplace else. Someplace with no Tio Diego and Varyyn, where all the other kids would be boring shades of pink and brown rather than blue and green, and where no one knew about the yeti-bear, or the magic crystal alien that made her mom, or about The Story of the Year the World Stopped.

“I want you to come, Tio Diego…,” Liv softly beseeched.

Diego’s eyes grew misty, her earnest words having tipped him over the edge after what had been a long period of emotional build-up. Goodbyes were never easy, and Liv’s family was his family. He squeezed her little hand gently.

“I’ll visit you, Livi-- I promise. Cross my heart. And your mommies will bring you over to visit us here too; you are going to learn so many new games at school that you can teach Xiraana and the other kids.”

“But I’ll miss you…”

Having rejoined Liv, Reggie peered up at Diego’s teary face with concern. “Diego, you’re making your glasses all foggy.”

“Ha. I know, I know!” Diego wiped his eyes. “You might have a point there, Reggie; I want to spend this last night with you guys actually being able to see you!”

Liv giggled and wrapped her arms around her uncle’s legs, only to be peeled off and hoisted into the air. “We can still have fun until bedtime, can’t we? Will you tell us a story?”

On the ground, Reggie danced around, his arms waving. Diego-time was the best story-time.

In the arms of her tio, her playmate since she was a baby bouncing on his knee, Liv was a mess of emotions; of fear and excitement, of merriment that competed with the looming sorrow. It was more than her little self had a clue what to do with. She was only five.

Sensing his cousin’s turmoil, Reggie reached up a hand and took hold of Liv’s, hanging down by Diego’s side. “Don’t worry, Livia! If you worry, you won’t enjoy story-time.”

Liv stuck out her bottom lip. That little nerd-face could be pretty smart sometimes. Tomorrow night, there would be no goodnight story from Tio Diego, but tomorrow night was not now-- now, everything was as it should be. Her wavering grin returned, and to her delight, it brought matching smiles to the faces of her companions.

“Do you think Varyyn, and my mommies, and Auntie Grace and Uncle Alli, and Auntie Grace’s tummy babies want to listen to the story too?”

“Yeah,” Diego said, letting Liv back down to the ground, where she immediately found another hug in Reggie’s arms, “I think everyone would really like that.”

_____________________________

San Trobida, August 2035

“I don’t get it,” Liv said thoughtfully, as the car rolled right on past the turn for her Auntie Grace and Uncle Al’s place. “It’s right on the way; wouldn’t it have been easier for us to pick up Reggie?”

“Hon,” Taylor replied, “I think Reggie wanted his mom and dad to take him to orientation. They’ll probably be better at helping with his jitters than we would be.”

“I guess.” Liv looked out the window, watching the surrounding vegetation thicken once more as the car followed the road up out of the valley. “Orientation Day shouldn’t be too bad, right? Just, like, meeting our teachers, learning where stuff is, that kinda thing?” And you’ll have to try and make friends. That would be a laugh.

By the time they pulled up at the Las Selvas Secondary School, however, Liv fully understood her cousin’s nerves, and realised that was probably why she’d been so disappointed that he didn’t share a car with her. Through every big change in their young lives, his presence had been a reassuring constant.

“Uggghh,” she groaned. “Can I change my mind? Home-schooling was all right; more of that, please.”

Estela leaned from the front seat and gave Liv’s knee a squeeze. “You know, I don’t think he’d ever say it, but I’m pretty sure Reggie would be really scared if he had to walk into this without you. Besides, you were so excited about starting here; you owe it to yourself to at least giving it a shot.”

Again, Liv groaned, this time even louder. “It’s so annoying when you’re right.”

“Story of my life,” Taylor laughed, while Estela smirked.

When they pulled up at the school, Reggie was already waiting, standing beside the car-park while his parents fussed over him.

“You have your phone?” Grace quizzed, checking for the fourth time since they’d set off.

“I told you, yes!” Reggie replied, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket to wave around for good measure. “I’ll send you a message when I’m ready to be picked up, I promise.”

“In that case, you just have a wonderful time, darling.” She wrapped him in a hug-- already Reggie was easily as tall as her. “Go well, and have fun.”

Liv rushed over, all smiles. Her own nerves were a whole lot less bothersome when she had the distraction of friendly faces.

There were a few more rounds of hugs exchanged-- and then, suddenly, Liv and Reggie were on their own.

“You wanna head over? Looks like people are already crowding around-- it’s probably gonna start soon.”

Reggie’s expression brightened, as if he’d been just waiting for a little push for his confidence to surge back forth. “Well, it will hardly be an auspicious start here if we miss the principal’s address. Get a move on, Livia!���

The morning passed relatively quickly. Liv placed herself next to Reggie at all times-- they’d been put in the same Grade Seven home room as requested, making him one of the eldest in the class, and her one of the youngest. The whole set-up wasn’t entirely different to the school they were accustomed to, other than the bilingual approach. They were given a small pile of boring paperwork, and outlines of what to expect in their new classes; as English was their first language, they’d be taking ‘Spanish as a Second Language’, and Liv was also excited about ‘Nature Studies’, a subject she’d never been offered in America.

As far as Liv was concerned, the most traumatic part of the session was being expected to stand up in front of a room of strangers and give a short spiel about themselves. The perfect opportunity to officially balls-up any chance they might have of making new friends, or at least that was how she saw it. She mumbled down into her chest; something about enjoying hiking and gymnastics, something about liking Batman, and animals, and then she hurriedly sat right back down with flaming cheeks. Reggie, she observed, handled the brief foray into public speaking with rather more poise. Even though he was shy-- perhaps even more than she was-- he seemed able to go into ‘school presentation’ mode, and breeze through. When he sat back down, though, his hands were shaking-- but that was for the eyes of his trusted friend only.

When the lunch break came along, Liv was ravenous; a new and challenging social situation could do that to a person. While Reggie sloped off to the bathrooms, she tested out the school canteen, emerging a little while later with a hot empanada. It wasn’t quite as good as her Mama Estela’s, but it was definitely a step up from what was on offer at her old school. Maybe she could get used to this place….

Liv watched this new world go by all around her as she ate, cross-legged beneath the tree she’d told her cousin to meet her by. Kids moved in their little circles, talking loudly, laughing. Most of them coming into Grade Seven had come from the local primary school, and many knew each-other. Liv and Reggie would be starting out on the outside… and that was daunting. She could not be more grateful that she wasn’t taking this on alone.

Or… at least, she shouldn’t be. The lunchtime queue moved on, the gaggles of kids spread out, and still Reggie hadn’t returned.

Damn, constipated on your first day. Sucks to be you, Reggie.

Tentatively, Liv approached the boys’ bathroom and, having ascertained that no one was watching, slipped in. Her footsteps were unheard, drowned out by the loud, frantic breathing of young Reggie, slumped over the sink. Alarmed, Liv rushed over. Tears were spilling down his cheeks.

“Reggie… it’s okay,” she said gently. A little unsure, she reached out a hand to rub his back, and to her surprise, he didn’t flinch away. Slowly, he seemed to regain control of himself.

“Liv…,” Reggie panted. “You know you’re not meant to be in here; this is the guys’ room.”

“Hey! Like it’s my fault you didn’t take your anxiety attack into the unisex bathroom. That’s on you.” Hmph. Ungrateful, much?

Reggie scowled, and dragged his cousin out of the toilet block by her arm. He slumped down by the wall, and scooched over to encourage her to join him.

“You’re a pain in the arse.” He was still shaking.

“It’s been said, yeah.” Liv huddled a little closer. “You don’t need to worry, okay? You’re not going to have any trouble making friends. Did you see they’ve got a chess club, and a photography club as well? At least that’ll get you talking to people.”

“That’s,” Reggie said quietly, “not exactly what I’m worried about.” When Liv looked at him expectantly, he continued. “When I was in a room with all those kids, my head just went back to being at our old school… and what happened. I know this place is meant to be progressive and all that, but that doesn’t mean that everyone’s okay. What if I think I’ve made friends with someone, and they find out about Erin, and they make it a big thing, and then some arsehole finds out….”

“Man, you’re really spiraling,” Liv observed, not especially helpfully. She wasn’t exactly surprised by what was troubling her cousin; getting into a fight in defense of his young transgender sister had completely unseated Reggie from the comfortable life he’d had at the last school. It had changed everything.

“You would too, if she was your sister!”

“Probably. But I think you should at least give people a go. It sounds like they’re really strict on any kind of bullying against minorities. Swinging back hard in the opposite direction after that fascist dictatorship.”

“Those are some awfully big words for you to be throwing around there, Livia; watch you don’t hurt yourself….”

“Hey! I know my stuff!” Liv demanded. “Do you think my tio abuelo would have it any other way? But anyway, I’m right. All the people who didn’t fit in before have come to this part of the country. Probably a lot of the kids have parents who saw really horrible things in the war; they wouldn’t want to send them somewhere that was bad like before. My Mama ‘Stel gave the principal the grilling of her life, and I bet she hasn’t been the only one. People are gonna want to make sure their kids are being looked after.”

A smile quirked on Reggie’s face as he imagined his aunt on a school tour. “I bet Tia Estela left Principal Sanchez quivering under the desk.”

“Yeah… after what happened in the last school, there’s no way they’d let us go anywhere unless they were sure it was a place that treated people right.”

Reggie knew that much. But his parents, and even his fierce aunt, could not shield himself, his sisters and his cousin, from everything. He contemplated silently, grateful for the patient companionship.

“I guess,” he said at last, “if no one gave anyone else a chance to be anything but the worst, then we’d be pretty lonely.”

“Yup. We should at least give it a shot. And if it all goes in the crapper, I’ll sic my moms on the fools that mess with us. And the freaking yeti.”

Reggie couldn’t help but roll his eyes. That had always been Liv’s answer to everything. “Livia, I hate to break it to you, but if you go around threatening people with yetis, everyone’s gonna think you’ve got a screw loose. Except me; I know you’ve got a screw loose.”

“So damn rude,” Liv growled. “Anyway, you really should eat something. It probably won’t help you feeling crap and light-headed if you’ve got an empty stomach. They’ve got arepas!”

“...I could eat an arepa,” Reggie admitted. There was only so much a young boy of thirteen could control; he couldn’t wave a magic wand and guarantee that his little sister would never be hurt by cruel, ignorant words, but he could look after himself, so that he was the best him he could be-- and the best brother.

_____________________________

USA, 2028

“You did a great job, sweetheart,” Taylor said kindly as Reggie delicately placed his knife and fork atop his small plastic plate, signaling that he’d finished. Immediately afterwards, the little boy’s small hand had dropped to his side to get a reassuring touch of his teddy’s scruffy fur. “It was nice of Big Bear to join us for dinner. Does he like lasagna as much as you do?”

Reggie yawned widely as he nodded to his aunt. He hadn’t known it was possible for a kid to be so full of yawns, but living with newborn twins had shown him just how big a tired feeling could be. “Big Bear likes to watch from the floor.”

“That’s nice of him to let you have the whole plate for yourself. We’re gonna have plenty to bring over to your mommy and daddy for them to eat tomorrow.”

Lasagna had been Reggie’s choice. This whole sleepover was to be all about him; giving him a welcome break from the stresses of being a new big brother to two babies at once. He’d been on many, many sleepovers at Tia Estela and Auntie Taylor’s place before, but this time felt different. Reggie knew that at home, his parents were busy with their other children… and in his sensitive state, it took no time at all for him to miss them.

Twins, Reggie had come to realise, were very hard work. They cried a lot… and his mommy cried a lot, and his daddy cried a lot, and he cried a lot. All crying and no sleeping was not a whole lot of fun. Reggie wanted so badly to get away from the babies, but at the same time he longed to be with his parents. However much fun it was to take a break at his aunts’ place, the worry in him just wouldn’t go away.

Side-by-side, he and Liv changed into their pyjamas. Five-year-old Liv, true to form, nattered away to him the whole time. Babies, of course, were the subject of choice.

“My moms say we’re probably not gonna get another baby. Maybe ‘cos you have two I can borrow one if I get lonely. Do you have one that you like best?”

Reggie shrugged.

“Maybe next time your mom and dad will have three. You could have all these babies like a baby army, and if someone’s ever mean to you, you will have like a hundred poopy diapers you can throw at them. No one likes poop.”

“I don’t want lots more babies,” Reggie said softly. I want no more.

“If you don’t like babies, you can come and live with us forever!” Liv suggested brightly, oblivious the the wobble of her cousin’s bottom lip.

When Estela popped her head around the corner to check on the kids, Reggie was in tears and Liv looked totally bewildered.

“Mommy, Reggie’s crying…,” she pointed out, rather unnecessarily, for her mother had already scooped the little boy into a cuddle.

“It’s okay, mijo,” Estela soothed as she gently rocked her nephew in her arms. “It’s okay to cry. This has been really hard. You know what? You have been such a good boy for Mommy and Daddy.”

Liv, not quite sure what to do, but nothing if not well-meaning, draped herself over Reggie and patted him on the back. “There, there. It’s okay.”

Estela took Reggie into the lounge room for some cheer-up time, and Liv took Big Bear. Taylor quickly joined them, and pulled Reggie into her lap for a cuddle.

“Are you feeling a bit sad, sweetpea?”

Reggie nodded. “Uh-huh. I liked it better how things were before. Everything’s different.”

Taylor gently rubbed the little boy’s arms. “Change can be really tough. It’s like you’ve got to figure out how life works all over again!”

“Yeah, it’s not nice.”

“So, it’s okay to have a good cry. We will give you as many hugs and cuddles as you need.”

“Reggie,” Liv piped up, “do you wanna play a game? That could make you feel happy?”

Reggie sniffed and nodded again. Pleased-- she had this cheering-up business down-- Liv plonked herself in Estela’s lap and leaned forward to her cousin.

“Do you wanna play… ‘Klaawyi Chase’?”

Estela intervened quickly. “Maybe something with a little less running around. It’s nearly bedtime, Livi.”

“Okay. Ummmm…. ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’?”

“Livita.”

Well, you’re no fun. Liv gave a soft huff and pondered. By her best guess, ‘Hide and Seek’ would be a ‘no’ too… especially as last time she’d hid, no one managed to find her for a full hour.

“How about,” Taylor suggested, “we have a game of ‘Fortunately-Unfortunately’?”

“I wanna play that one!” Reggie said enthusiastically. “Can I start? Fortunately, we all had ice cream for dessert.”

Liv bounced in her mother’s lap. “Unfortunately, the ice cream was smelly-feet flavour!”

“Livi!” Taylor exclaimed, rolling her eyes. Why was everything smelly-feet with that kid? “Okay, then-- fortunately, Robin Dog likes smelly-feet, so he ate all the ice cream for us.”

“Oh!” Liv cried. “I’ve got a really good one!” Hehe, Robin with smelly-feet farts….

“Unfortunately,” said Estela. “It was Mama Estela’s turn, and Miss Livita just had to wait.”

Liv turned and poked her tongue out at her mom, making Reggie giggle. He snuggled in against his Auntie Taylor’s chest, his mind far away from worries about his new role as big brother to a pair of very needy twins.

“Fortunately,” he said, smiling, “Furball was visiting, and he made us some new ice cream with no yucky flavours in it.”

“Unfortunately….”

_________________________

San Trobida, September 2035

It was the last weekend before school started, and a lazy warm day at the Montoya house. Estela was up a tree, hammering boards into what would soon be a playhouse for the kids. She’d already finished up a two-storey-high climbing wall on the other side of the yard, which, at Liv’s request, would eventually be connected to the new tree-house by a zipline. Then, there’d be a slide, and monkey bars, and a tyre swing, and a fire pole. Basically, Estela had made it her mission to put together the best backyard playground on the Costa Libertad. Taylor, meanwhile, had been busying herself with a vegetable garden, with the help of a fascinated Erin and her parents, who turned out to be quite clever when it came to soil chemistry.

Liv had been up and down her new climbing wall like a yo-yo, leaving her dog, Robin, running rings around the base and all but tripping Reggie up as he tentatively took his first steps towards ascending.

“Are you coming?”

“I’m trying! Your dog’s getting in the way.”

Eventually, Reggie managed to clamber his way up, with a little help from Liv who hauled him over the top.

“See; piece of cake.”

Reggie couldn’t quite agree, and now that he was up twenty feet, he was already dreading his descent back to solid ground. Keen to distract himself from the dizzying height, he passed Liv the rope that he’d carried slung across his shoulders.

“What do you want me to do with it?” she demanded. “You’re meant to drop one end back down….”

“I’m not going near the edge!”

“Fine. Immy! You down there still?”

On the ground, and trying to wrestle a squeaky toy giraffe from Robin’s mouth, Immy craned her neck up.

“Yeah-- but you’re lucky I am, Reggie was so slow.”

“Careful. I was careful. You should bloody well try it sometime.”

Immy rolled her eyes dramatically, but nonetheless took the rope end that Liv had lowered to her, and ran it over to Estela so the distance could be measured.

“There we go,” Liv said, after having marked the rope at the edge of the platform. “Done. Reggie, if you’re just going to look down, you might as well be on the ground. Come on-- check out the view!”

Begrudgingly, Reggie sat up properly and looked around.

“Woah.” Maybe he could see the appeal of being up so high, even if he was immensely grateful for the safety rails around the platform. “You really can see everything up here.”

“Isn’t it cool?” Liv beamed as she pointed her cousin towards the paddock behind the yard. “You wanted to see our horse? Right in there at the side of the sheltery-shed thing….”

“Oh, wow! Okay, fine, I believe you now. I guess she was just hiding earlier.”

“That’s Miel. She’s like, older than dirt; Mama Estela used to ride her when she was a teenager.”

“And she’s still alive?”

“Just about. I think she’s uh… nearly thirty? Pretty ancient. Mom found out she was all on her own after her friend died, and she bought her so she could retire here with us. She’s kind of a bitey asshole. Uh, the horse-- not Mom.” Liv quickly amended, glancing to the in-progress tree-house. “So, we’re keeping her, and if she wants to make friends with the new horses we’re getting, she can, otherwise at least she can, like, neigh rude horse words at them from over the fence.”

Reggie snorted. Weirdo.

“I’m super excited. I know Mama ‘Stel was kind of nervous about us moving over here because of how things were when she was a kid-- but it actually… feels nice. I love our new house. I love cranky Miel. I love that we’re gonna get chickens, and maybe a new friend for Robin. Even the school seems pretty good.”

Swallowing his fear, Reggie joined Liv at the railing, dangling his legs over the side of the platform.

“Yeah, I think I like it here, too. Mom and Dad seem really happy; Dad says he can make more of a good difference in the world here than in America. So, I guess that’s got to be good. Did I tell you we’re going to put a pool in?”

“You might have mentioned it. When you’ve been whining about the heat, for the hundredth time.”

“It’s so humid!”

Liv giggled. It was like being back in the tropics of La Huerta, and to her, that felt right. Granted, it might have been nicer if they could just pop on over into a neighbouring alpine region that was inexplicably right next to the hot, sticky jungle, but she really loved it.

“Well,” Reggie said, “it’s going to be great. And it should be done by the time Quinn and Michelle come to visit.”

“Do we even know whose house they’re staying at yet?”

“It should be my place.” Reggie puffed out his chest, as if to emphasise the rightness of his point. “You’re definitely getting Jake and Sean and Mikey. You can’t take all the visitors. And besides… we’ll have a pool.”

That was hard to argue with. “It’s up to the adults anyway,” Liv conceded. In the end, it didn’t matter; she was going to make the most of having her La Huerta family around even if it meant camping out in Reggie’s back yard. “But, I will be a much better San Trobida tour guide than you. I’m still showing you around.”

Reggie hmphed, and Liv laughed.

“Come on, Reggie,” she said, dropping gracefully down the side of the wall and taking up hand-holds. “I’m getting hungry.”

It was at that point that Reggie made the sobering discovery that going down, was rather more intimidating than going up a sheer vertical surface.

“Um, Liv…,” he said quietly. “I, uh, don’t think I can do that.”

“Oh!” Liv responded. “Sorry, I forgot you’re new to this. Maybe you should’ve started smaller. But don’t worry, I’ll get you down….”

“Okay…,” he murmured, clearly not remotely convinced.

“Mom!” Liv hollered, all but making her poor cousin topple over the edge in surprise. “Reggie’s stuck!”

Reggie felt heat rise in his cheeks as his sisters, hanging out on the grass below the wall at the worst possible time, burst out laughing. Like they could even get up this high to begin with.

Up in the tree-house, Estela looked up and wiped off the paint from her hands. Rescuing kids from scrapes had pretty much become her specialty at this point; twelve years with Liv had seen to that. “I’m coming,” she called back.

“I’m not exactly stuck,” Reggie muttered defensively, as his Tia Estela easily scaled the climbing wall to join him and Liv, who’d already rejoined him to offer moral support. “If I really wanted to, I could climb down; I just feel I should practice climbing up a few more times before I try that.”

“You’ll get there,” Estela said kindly. As far as she was concerned, the fact that her nephew had a realistic view of his own capabilities was only a good thing. “I’ll have that zipline going in no time anyway, so you’ll have no hurry to work it out.”

With his aunt’s back offered to him, Reggie took the cue and wrapped his long arms around her neck, and his legs around her middle. Getting rescued by one of the team of protective grown-ups? Basically, the story of both his and Liv’s lives.

“Hang on, Regito,” Estela laughed.

____________________________

La Huerta, 2034

The frigid wind howled against the cabin door, and it took all of Liv and Reggie’s combined might to wrestle it closed. Both kids were panting heavily-- and shaking like leaves-- as they nervously stepped away.

“Thank god this little hut was here, really,” Liv heaved. “I dunno about you, but I’d rather be stranded in a snowstorm with walls around me.”

Reggie said nothing, and just shivered, wrapping his arms around his own torso. He’d wrapped up-- as if his parents would let him go wandering into the colder pockets of the island without a heap of layers-- but the snow had wet his gloves through, and a chill was now spreading through his body.

“Hey,” Liv said, “we should… we should get a fire going. You look like you’re halfway turned into a popsicle right now.”

As his cousin busied herself at the fireplace-- thank goodness there was some firewood left-- Reggie fiddled with his emergency phone. His heart sank. No signal. His mom and dad were going to be so worried when he and Liv never came home….

“Uh, Liv… I think the storm’s screwed up the reception here. It won’t let me phone Mom and Dad.”

Liv looked up, and for the first time, she looked truly fearful, her usual intrepid spirit extinguished in a flash. “They’re really gonna panic,” she said softly. She shuddered. If their parents came out looking for them, it meant walking out into a blizzard, and all the danger that came with it. If she could just tell her mothers that she was safe, that she and Reggie had shelter… they could wait out the storm. Anything could happen, anything….

“Are you okay, Livia?” Reggie asked, and he handed her a heavy blanket as he sat down cross-legged in front of her feebly burning fire. “You look kind of spaced-out.”

“Hng?”

“They’ll find us; it’ll be okay.”

“I don’t want them to come and find us,” Liv snapped. “I want them to stay where it’s safe. They could get hurt or, or worse because we were stupid enough not to turn around when the weather changed.” She placed a stick too roughly, and her firewood tower collapsed, extinguishing the flame. “For fuck’s sake!”

Reggie, wisely, stayed quiet, letting his cousin fix up the mess and get a new fire started without interference. He watched her with concern as her eyes welled. “Livia…?”

She huddled close to him, but for a long while, didn’t speak.

“Reggie,” she murmured at last, “something really horrible happened a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t want to talk about it with you, ‘cause… ‘cause I didn’t even want to think about it…. It just made me feel too bad. But, uh.... I was… I was playing in the sea with Mama Estela. Just like we always do. We were just goofing off. Then, um, I got all tangled up in those freaking weeds. They grabbed me and held me under.”

“That must have been so scary….”

“Of course, Mom got me out of there. B-but there was a sea-snake in there. It bit her. It happened so fast… I hardly even saw what happened, but she suddenly just... could hardly even get out of the water. I somehow managed to haul her up out the water, but she was all limp and… and I gave her the anti-venom, and she just started having some kind of fit.. Like her body was jerking around, and her mouth was all frothy.” She gasped through a sob. “Then she… she stopped breathing, completely.” Liv shuddered as the memory filled her mind, vivid as if it were yesterday. She could feel Reggie’s wide, horrified eyes upon her. “I screamed. I screamed for help. Mama Taylor was up the beach, she couldn’t hear me. S-so I did CPR. My hands were shaking so-- so bad. And all I could think was ‘I’m gonna screw this up. I’m gonna screw this up and my mom’s gonna die’.” Her voice cracked and she sputtered through hot tears that she wiped away with her arm. Before she knew it, Reggie had his arms around her and was holding her tight. “I don’t know how long it was,” she said. “It felt like forever, but it was probably only a few minutes. Then she started breathing and I just… I cried, and cried, and cried.”

Reggie gently rubbed Liv’s back, and it soothed her.

“I, uh, I guess I always thought Mama Estela was invincible. To me, she always was. There was nothing I couldn't do either, because she would always be there to protect me. It was so close, Reggie… it looked like she was gone.”

“I… didn’t know it was as bad as that. My dad told me she’d been bitten but…,” Reggie mumbled. “You must have been so scared. Have you… have you talked to your moms about it much?”

Liv sniffed, and wiped her face again. “Yeah. You know what my Mama Taylor is like; we’ve talked it through lots, I’ve told them how I’m feeling. But I haven’t… like… had a big cry since it happened.” Until now. Now, she just couldn’t seem to stop the tears from coming. Reggie didn’t seem to mind; he just sat with her, and rubbed her back, and told her it was okay.

After what seemed like an age, her tears slowed.

“It is going to be okay, you know?” Reggie said gently. “Obviously, they’re going to come out looking for us, but they’re smart. They’ll be prepared; just like your Mama Estela was with the anti-venom.”

“Yeah…,” Liv said, her voice small. You could be as prepared as you wanted, but sometimes the world managed to stay one step ahead. The storm outside was wild and furious, battering on the roof and walls… and it was frightening. Liv could only snuggle under her cousin’s arm, and trust that whatever search and rescue party was out there would come through.

The two kids huddled together beneath their blanket, speaking little, but making their mutual support known without words. Just the squeeze of a hand through the most blood-curdling howls of the wind, and the simple offer of presence.

Somehow, the creak of the door shoved open cut through the dull roar.

“Oh, thank goodness!”

“Dad!” Reggie leapt forward and flung his arms around his father, his face lighting up further when Grace followed in behind. “Mom!”

Grace put her shaking hands to her son’s face, gently sweeping hair from his eyes. “Darling, are you all right?” Then she pulled Liv into a fierce hug, and in a moment Aleister had his arms around all three of them. “We were so worried!”

Liv whimpered against Grace’s shoulder. “Are my moms out in the storm?” She knew the answer already.

“Yes, honey. They’re out searching for you. Don’t you stress, okay? We’ve got a flare to set off so they’ll know we found you here-- and Varyyn and Diego too.”

“Woah,” Liv murmured, “you got a whole search party out.”

There was a buzzing, and the flickering of blue light, then Iris materialised.

Reggie beamed. “Hey, Grandma! So, a ‘whole search party’ is pretty much correct.”

“I will say, being able to scan for nearby lifeforms is quite handy in situations like these.”

So, find my moms and Tio Diego. Liv hugged tighter to her Auntie Grace, with no words pleading for help.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Grace said gently, stroking Liv’s face, while Aleister saw to setting off the flare. “It’s going to be just fine. We’re not far from Elyys’tel; we all fanned out from there, so no one is going to be too deep into the mountains.”

That… actually made sense. It was enough, just enough to keep Liv a step above panic-mode. She headed back to the fireplace, but as her backside hit the floor, a guttural roar rocked the cabin, and she leapt back to her feet.

“What the--?”

“You two stay back!” Aleister ordered, his voice shaking. Why, oh why, did the children want to go gallivanting out in the frozen wilderness when there was a perfectly serviceable tropical paradise right outside their front door? He was going to be old before his time at this rate….

Grace, though, was already hauling open the door, to reveal the hulking figure of the Mountain Guardian.

A growl rumbling in her throat, Arktos loomed in the doorway, looking down at Grace with a questioning gaze.

“Hello…?” she said cautiously. The gigantic bear-like creature was generally reasonably friendly…. “Did we… did we disturb you with the flare?”

Arktos grumbled, her furry ears flicking with curiosity.

“Our friends are out there in the storm,” Grace continued, certain that the yeti would understand; her past experiences had only supported the fact that this creature was incredibly intelligent-- and benevolent. “The flare was to bring them to this cabin.”

With a soft huff, Arktos shuffled backwards, and all of a sudden, it seemed as though she was surrounded by a force-field… a bubble that the wind and blinding snow couldn’t penetrate.

Understanding, Grace turned to Iris. “I think we’re going hiking again-- with a little extra help this time. Al, you’ll stay and watch the kids?”

“I--I--” Aleister stuttered. “Well, of course. Stay close to the… the bear thing.” Scrambling a little, he pulled off his outer layer and offered it to her. “I won’t have you catching hypothermia.”

And Grace stepped into the snow, Iris hovering behind her, and found shelter in the yeti’s protective shield. She looked up at the beast, now rearing up onto colossal hind legs to scout for signs of nearby human activity. “Thank you, Arktos. I guess… I guess, you choose the direction, and we’ll start the search.”

The unusual trio headed out into the storm, and within moments, they were invisible for the wind thick with snow. Aleister, a look of dumbfoundment upon his face, closed the door, and again, the cabin was quiet.

“Damn. Auntie Grace is a fricking badass,” Liv breathed, face alight in awe.

Aleister, recovering from his wife’s shock exit quickly-- he’d seen her steely courage in action enough times to just about take it in his stride, nodded. “Indeed.” He brushed the last flakes of snow from his coat, and looked around the room. “Well, I don’t suppose the wait will pass any faster with us standing around here. Reggie, did we leave any board-games here last time?”

“Uh, looks like we’ve got ‘Scrabble’?”

Well, Liv thought, I don’t have a hope in hell against these people. Should’ve left ‘Twister’ here….

Reggie sat himself down in front of the crackling fire and started unpacking the box. “Hey, Livia-- team up with me?”

He was clearly still a little worried about her. If there was an opportunity to thrash her at something, Mr Pedantic-Always-Right would take it without fail. Or so Liv had believed.

She plonked down cross-legged beside him. “Yeah? Yeah, all right.”

The two kids exchanged a high five, and Liv couldn’t help but grin. You are going down, Uncle Al.

___________________________

San Trobida, September 2035

As the car pulled up the neatly paved pathway to Aleister and Grace’s house, Liv excitedly rolled down the window.

“Reginaaaaald!!!” she hollered.

“How,” Aleister wondered aloud, “can such a small person-- and the offspring of Estela and Diego of all people-- sound so eerily like a bloody foghorn?”

A beaming Reggie followed his father out the front door. He exchanged hugs with both his parents-- and his two little sisters-- and then rushed to join his cousin on the back seat.

“Are you ready to go, mijo?” Estela checked in, suppressing a laugh as Taylor all but did a contortion act to give her nephew a hug from the front seat.

He had Liv, didn’t he? So, basically, he was ready for anything.

The short drive to the school saw the return of those pesky jitters, and Reggie knew from the way his cousin jiggled her leg the whole way there that he was definitely not alone in that. The school ground, filled only with kids their own age when they’d been there for orientation, was swarming with adolescents of all sizes-- and just about all of them were bigger than Reggie and Liv.

With an awkward hug and a kiss to her mothers in the front of the car, Liv bit the bullet and, bulging backpack in hand, stepped out into a brave new world. There was only one thing for it; Reggie would just have to take the plunge. He swung his backpack over his shoulder, and followed after his cousin.

“Welp,” said Liv, “here goes nothing!”

Reggie gave a nervous laugh and playfully bashed Liv with his backpack, putting a reassuringly silly grin on her face.

We’ve got this.

_______________________

NOTES

Little Xiraana is @mauvecatfic's baby. Check out her stories; you won't regret it!

If you read 'A Ride to Remember', you might remember Miel. She's the very same horse.

Aaaaand, the incident Liv is recounting during the snowstorm is the one you can read from Estela's perspective in 'Teething Problems: Part Two'.

#endless summer #playchoices #liv montoya #reggie hall #graleister #estela x mc #estela montoya #grace hall #aleister rourke #diego soto

[missfay49]

Just Listen

Summary: The fam-ILY gets together for a Christmas celebration.  

Warnings: Logan and Virgil get in a fight but they make up, obligatory interaction with relatives, alcohol, food, Christmas, cursing, countdown, mention of past injury, struggling with recent hearing loss

Word Count: ~3000 

Oldest to Youngest: Logan/Remus/Roman/Janus/Virgil/Patton/Alec

Other Characters: Aunt Patty and Uncle Mitch, Aunt Mel and Uncle Jim, Titi, Grandma Sanders, Grandpa Sanders, Maman, Nico Flores

DD:HH:MM:SS - Days : Hours : Minutes : Seconds

AO3

Once upon a time, there were seven cousins born of four siblings.  The oldest sister and her husband had twins and named them Roman and Remus.  The second oldest sister and her partners had a child and named him Alec.  The youngest sister had one child and named him Patton.  And their brother, the youngest of them all, had three children named Logan, Janus, and Virgil.  

00:16:02:32 until Christmas Day, 7:58 AM

Logan, the oldest cousin, was leaning against the kitchen counter holding a fresh cup of coffee in one hand and rubbing his right temple with the other.  He blinked against the early morning sun of Christmas Eve streaming in.  

“You’re up early!”

Logan jumped at the movement to his right and found his aunt looking at him. 

“Good morning, Aunt Mel.  I made coffee.”

“Bless ya, kid,” she said, turning toward the machine.  When she came back around to grab the sugar, he was gone.

00:13:25:17 until Christmas Day, 10:35 AM

“Who took the last piece of bacon?!”  

Roman froze in his spot on the floor in front of the T.V.  If he were just very, very still, maybe-

“J’accuse!”  Remus shouted from the kitchen door over the sounds of chatter and clinking kitchenware.  Roman spun around to see Remus pointing at him menacingly.

“You already had some!”  Roman yelled back, pulling his plate close.  Remus, not breaking eye contact even once, methodically kicked off his flip flops and set his plate gently on top of a bookshelf.  He crouched a little and rolled his shoulders.

“Remus, no, my juice, Remus!  NOOO-”

00:13:23:03 until Christmas Day, 10:37 AM

From his cozy spot beneath the sheets in the spare bedroom, Virgil heard a scream and a thump.  And then several more thumps.  He blinked and stretched, smooshing his face into the pillow.  For one precious moment, he imagined he could go back to sleep but the dream was pierced by Aunt Patty’s shrill voice scolding someone down the hall.  

He shoved himself up on his elbows and sent a hostile glare at the general brightness of the room.  Things quieted down but it was too late - he was up.  He stretched for several more minutes before finally straightening his clothes and stumbling out to follow the smell of breakfast.

00:12:40:54 until Christmas Day, 11:20 AM

Virgil shuffled past the subdued twins in the living room and into the kitchen, stopping at the door as his brain tried to process what was happening.  His younger cousin, Patton, was furtively opening and closing all the cabinets, searching each and every one.  Apparently he found what he was looking for, because he started chuckling to himself and reached behind some cups to pull out a huge plastic bag of cookies.  He opened it and spun around on his socks, walking headlong into Virgil.

“Ah!”  Patton nearly dropped the bag, and a couple cookies fell out onto the floor.  Virgil laughed as they picked them up together.

“Whatcha doing, Pat?”

Patton waved him close, whispering.  

“My mom keeps hiding the cookies.  She said if I keep eating ‘em she’s gonna have to make more for tomorrow.  That sounds like a win-win to me!”  He took the floor cookie from Virgil and pocketed it.  They took turns peering into the dining room where the older folks were talking.

“You do you, cuz.”  They bumped fists and Virgil scooped some cold leftover eggs onto a paper plate to take with him to the living room.  Remus shoved past him coming back into the kitchen.  

Whatever Remus had planned to do in here was lost when he spotted Pat.

“Oo!  Cookies!”

00:11:22:49 until Christmas Day, 12:38 PM

“What exactly are we watching, Roman?” asked Patton, popping a couple Tums into his mouth and flopping down into a recliner.  Roman was still planted in the middle of the living room floor, but now Virgil was keeping him company, fast asleep on the couch with an empty plate in his lap.  Roman didn’t look away from the screen.

“A Christmas Prince.  It’s about a journalist that falls in love with the prince of a whole Christmas-themed country!  And the bad guy’s not too bad lookin’ either.”  Roman squeezed a pillow to his chest.

“Oh, right, I thought it looked familiar!  Did you watch Jenny Nicholson’s breakdown of it?”

“Who?”

Patton smiled at the look of wonder on Roman’s face as he followed the characters on screen.  At the silence, Roman turned around to look at him, distracted but curious.  Patton waved him off.  

“Never mind.”  Better not to spoil it.

00:07:12:24 until Christmas Day, 16:47 PM

“Dinner tiiime!”  Aunt Patty peeked into the living room.  “It’s all ready, you guys hungry?”

“Yisss!”  Patton launched himself out of the recliner with Virgil following slowly behind.  Roman tore his eyes away from the current Hallmark movie with great effort, checking his phone messages.

Aunt Mel was in the kitchen with their little cousin Alec.  Just as they passed through he let up a screech, making them all jump.  Roman’s phone went flying.

“AAAAA DON’T WANNA WASH I’M STILL PLAYING!”

“AH, sweet Jesus,” Roman clutched his chest dramatically as the rest started laughing.

“Alright, keep it together, ya hooligans,” Aunt Mel teased them.  “Alec, I’ve had too much wine today for you to be screaming at the water.  You told me yesterday you love playing with the water-”

Auntie continued to help Alec wash his hands and the cousins tumbled into the dining room where Logan and the grandparents were already gathering.  Logan braced at the incoming chaos.  

“What happened to you?”  He asked them.

“Didn’t you hear Alec screaming?”  Virgil deadpanned.

“Oh,” Logan straightened his glasses.  “Yes, that.”

The rest of the family came up from the basement talking heatedly about the Saints and the Vikings.  Who was winning or losing at that particular moment was unclear, but dinner would proceed regardless. 

00:04:47:19 until Christmas Day, 19:13 PM

“Defuse!”  Remus slammed a card down onto the table.  “Whew, that was close.  I almost exploded in a fiery, kitten-y death!”

“Boom!” Alec cheered.  Nearly the whole family was gathered around the kitchen-table-turned-game-table, even the grandparents and great grandma, Maman.  Aunt Patty and Uncle Mitch were downstairs watching the end of the football game, and Titi was just a few feet away putting a new batch of sugar cookies in the oven.  She shot a good-natured stare at Patton.  

“Sorry, mooom,” “Sorry, Titiii” he and Remus chorused.  “Patton tricked me!”

“Hey!”

“That’s okay, you two can help me decorate these later as punishment.  Remus,” Titi pointed to the person beside him. “Help Maman with her turn, remember?”

“Oh, yeah!”  Remus leaned over the centenarian.  “You got any actions, Maman?”

“Quel est ce dessin?”  She held her cards up to him and pointed.

“That’s a cat dressed as a taco, Maman.  C’est un mème.”

While the game continued around the table, Virgil watched Logan discreetly.  Sitting to his left, something was wrong with his oldest brother.  He wasn’t sure what yet, but it was definitely… something.

“Nope!”  Logan put a card down over Uncle Jim’s attack.  Aunt Mel went next, then she helped Alec with his turn, and then, there it was; Logan’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.  His eyes flitted back and forth between the players and the cards.  He stared at their faces, but not quite at eye level.  Patton’s, Roman’s, Grandma’s turns all passed the same - he was concentrating so hard.  Why?

“Virgil?”  Grandpa nudged him out of his speculation.  “It’s your turn.”

Logan was staring at him expectantly.  

“Oh.”  Virgil glanced at two mismatched cats and drew.  An exploding kitten.  He was dead.  “You’re turn, Lo.”

Logan spent a second longer waiting to see if Virgil was done, and then played his own cards.  As they both watched Remus go next, Virgil leaned in closer.

“What is up with you?”  He whispered.  Logan didn’t take his eyes off Remus’ cards.

“Hey!”  He kept whispering, jabbing Logan in the ribs.

“Ow!”  Logan yelped, then lowering his voice.  “What?”

“I asked you a question, don’t act like you can’t hear me.”  

Logan squinted at him, then his face shifted.  He looked stricken.  

“I’m playing “See The Future”,” someone said.  “Hand me the deck.”

00:04:22:44 until Christmas Day, 19:38 PM

VIRGE: what happened?

A new round had started and Virgil hoped that switching to text would let them continue their argu- debate without distracting the rest of the family.

BIG BRO: Nothing

VIRGE: bullshit

Logan ignored his phone, watching the game progress counter-clockwise this time.  Virgil did not accept this strategy.

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

BIG BRO: Stop

VIRGE: tell the truth.  

BIG BRO: (Seen)

They paused to take their turns, and when Virgil picked his phone back up, Logan was already typing.  He tried to be patient, but the energy was clear in the way his foot tapped the ground.

BIG BRO: It seems my hearing has not entirely recovered since that explosion during chem lab a couple months ago.  I’ve got tinnitus in my right ear.  It is quite difficult to pick up sounds over the ringing when they’re coming from that direction.  

BIG BRO: Or sometimes from any direction.  So, I’m concentrating a little more.  That’s all.  

Virgil glanced between the texts and Logan several times, Logan staring with seemingly great intent at his cards.  

VIRGE: THATS ALL?

BIG BRO: Calm down, it’s not a big deal.

VIRGE: have you been to a doctor?

Logan stopped to play another “Nope” card.  Virgil was ready to scream at the delay.  The chatter at the table seemed louder to him now and much, much different.

BIG BRO: Yes.  And I’ve done plenty of my own research.  There’s not much to be done unless I want to get surgery or start wearing hearing aids.

VIRGE: so wear hearing aids until you decide about the surgery

BIG BRO: They’re expensive, Virgil.

VIRGE: dads insrance must cover some of it and ive got some extra money

BIG BRO: No.  Thank you.  That money’s yours.  You worked hard for it.  

VIRGE: your e taking it

BIG BRO: That’s not the problem.

VIRGE: then what is.?

BIG BRO: (Seen)

VIRGE: why won’t you make it easier on yourself?  you know none of us will care if you wear one.  the explosion wasn’t even your fault, it was that other kid

Virgil sent the text and looked at Logan, waiting.  Remus was nearly finished with his turn; Logan was next.  The turns passed, but Logan didn’t pick his phone back up from the table.

VIRGE: why

Logan glanced at the text preview when it came up on the screen, still not moving.

VIRGE: i know you can see this

VIRGE: why

VIRGE: why

VIRGE: why

“Because!”  Logan shouted, slapping his cards down.  Everyone fell into a stunned quiet.

“Are you guys cheating?  Mom says cheating is wrong.”  Alec’s voice broke the silence a second later.  Virgil stuck his tongue out at him.

“I assure you we are not cheating,” Logan smiled at Alec.  “Virgil’s just being a pest.”

The game resumed, Patton taking an absurd amount of actions before drawing another Beard Cat card.  Was it even legal to have that many cards?

Virgil leaned back in his chair, tired from the stress.  His phone buzzed.

BIG BRO: This is my last semester.  I’ll get one after graduation.

00:00:41:12 until Christmas Day, 23:19 PM

Roman carried two mugs of coffee into the living room as back-to-back commercials for 24 Hours of A Christmas Story played on the T.V.  He handed one to Virgil and got back under the throw blanket.

“Thanks.”

“Whatcha doing?”  Roman peered at Virgil’s laptop.  There were at least a dozen tabs open.  The current screen showed some kind of fancy earpods.  

“Just killin’ time.”  Virgil opened yet another tab.

“Yeah, it’s a bummer Janus picked a college so far away.  But the train’s due in a few minutes!  Then it’ll be officially Christmas.”  

“I mean, he still has to, like, get here from the station.” 

“Whatever,” shrugged Roman.  He flipped through the channels.  All commercials.  He settled back on the Hallmark channel, laying down and closing his eyes while they waited for the latest must-have-product ads to end.

“Remember when we played dress up together?”  Roman mused.  “Mom taped all those toilet paper rolls together so we could have swords and we all fought over the two paper crowns from Burger King?  Do they still make those?”

“I have no idea,” Virgil laughed.  “That was so long ago, how do you even remember that?”

“Because I was a fabulous ruler!  The kingdom prospered unendingly under my leadership!”  Roman flung his free arm wide, not bothering to open his eyes.  “It was glorious!”

“All you did was declare free love-”

“An important doctrine!”  Roman jabbed at the air once before letting his arm flop back down and graze the carpet.  “All Janus did was universally pardon thieves and liars, was that so much better?”

“Well, I was playing a thief.  Maybe I’m biased.”

“You would…” Roman muttered.  He didn’t finish the thought.

“Roman?”

 A little snort was the only response.  Roman was fast asleep, coffee untouched and the remote resting by his head.

00:00:00:03 until Christmas Day, 23:59 PM

00:00:00:02...

00:00:00:01...

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Virgil was stirring; he snuck like a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

in hopes that his brother soon would be there.

Christmas Day, 01:23 AM

“Wake up!” 

Roman gasped.  Someone was shoving him into the couch cushions.

“He’s here!”  Virgil bounced on his shoulder again, almost knocking the laptop to the ground.  

“Okay!  Jeez, I’m up.  I’m up!”

Virgil was already gone, shoving his boots on while a taxi drove away outside leaving two figures in the darkness with their bags.  By the time Roman was on his feet, Janus was shouldering through the door with a backpack and giant suitcase, a cute boy following just behind. 

“What is up, king?”  Roman and Janus clasped hands and half hugged.  “Who’s this?”

“Oh, you know.”  Janus shrugged off the bag.  “This is my boyfriend.  Nico, this is my cousin, Roman.”

Nico stifled a yawn and waved.  “Pleasure to meet you, Roman!”  Virgil came in setting down two more bags and nudged Janus.

“I thought we all agreed not to bring dates again after what happened last-”

“Oh, sweetheart, you must be exhausted!”  Roman interrupted as he picked up one of the bags.  “I’ll show you where you’re sleeping.”  

“Thank you so much, our stuff took forever to load off the train.”  Nico started to follow him.  

“Hands to yourself, Ro,” Janus hissed after them.  “I like this one.”  

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Roman grinned, disappearing around the corner into the hallway.  Nico hesitated.

“What…?”  

Janus waved him off.  “I’ll tell you later.”  When they were both out of sight, he turned to Virgil.  

“It looks like half the county’s parked in our front yard.  Is dad up?”

“He didn’t stay.”  Virgil shrugged.  “He got into a fight with Titi last night and left after an hour.”

“I see…” Janus sighed, looking down the hall for a moment.  “Can’t break tradition now, can we?”  He smiled up at his little brother.  “Did you get taller?”

Virgil answered by way of a bear-hug, squeezing the breath out of him.

“I missed you, too, Virge.” 

Christmas Day, morning-ish

“Merci, Maman!  Thank you!”  Everyone spoke over each other, unwrapping the sweaters she had made for each of them.  

“Yellow was very, uh, popular this year, no?”  She teased them.  “I hope that you like them.”

“Mine does not have yellow, it’s gold.”  Roman corrected everyone.  Aunt Patty scolded him.  Janus laughed.  

“Don’t complain, Roman, yellow is just the superior color,” said Janus, wrestling his own sweater on.

“Yours is more black than yellow!”  Roman pointed out.  Janus’ head popped up through the collar.

“Did I say yellow?  I meant ‘black’.  Black is the superior color.”

“Black’s not even a color,” Roman called after Janus shimmying away to grab a cookie with Nico in the kitchen.  He came back a second later.

“Why does this cookie look like it’s frosted with vomit?”  Janus held one up, looking affronted.

“Don’t suppress my creativity!”  Remus shouted from under the tree.

Christmas Day, sometime, who cares anymore?

Logan stood in the hallway, reading an email from Virgil, sent at three that morning.  It was lists of hearing aids, their pros and cons, and prices.  And another email from Janus a few minutes ago with links on how to get disability funding.  That would explain Virgil’s note at the end...

I love you.  Please don’t be mad.  I told Janus.

He rubbed a hand over his face and chuckled.  Had he really thought he was going to keep this a secret for even a day around those two?  He pocketed the phone for now and walked through the house.  

There was Patton and Roman watching a girl in a beret talk on youtube.  Roman had a horrified look on his face.  Janus was in the kitchen teaching Alec how to play chess, and not going easy on the kid at all.  Logan peeked downstairs.  There were Virgil and Remus and Nico, playing charades with the aunties.  Remus was making some obscene gesture that had Aunt Mel on the floor laughing and spilling her wine, and Aunt Patty was yelling at both of them.

Logan wandered to the couch and plopped down.  It’s a Wonderful Life, was playing on the television.  Logan hummed along with the closed captioning as the characters celebrated saving George Bailey from false charges.  The vibrations in his chest felt right.

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

For days of auld lang syne

~

The End.

@sanderssidesgiftxchange @kieraelieson

#fan fiction #sanders sides #virgil #logan #janus #roman #patton #remus #holidays #christmas #secret santa 2020 #secret santa #missFay #my writing #writing #sanders sides gift exchange #fluff #hallmark #relatives #alcohol #food #doctor mention #a christmas prince #jenny nicholson #tenavious d #exploding kittens #exploding kittens party pack #caps #pride!logan #envy!remus

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Too Smart for Your Own Good: Part 1

Pairings: Machine Gun Kelly x Reader, (Past and Future) Henry Cavill x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, one night stand, unprotected sex

Word Count: 2,551

A/N: Doesn’t have a completed end yet, but just giving you more content to try to get myself out of a writing funk. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So there’s something you need to know about my cousin.” Ashleigh sighed as she took her ID back from the guard at the gate of your very exclusive Malibu community. Colson looked over at his best friend and manager as she ran her fingers through her hair and looked out the front window for a moment. With a small shake of her head, she looked over at him with a small sigh. “She’s weird, OK? And like… stupid rich.”

“Stupid rich.” He confirmed with a huff as the guard got off the phone with you and let your guests into the beach side development. “What, you got a fucking actor in your family I don’t know about, Ash?” Your cousin sighed again, trying to figure out just how to explain the one branch of her blood line no one really ever talked to or about.

“She discovered a new branch of stars and like micro planets and shit in the Milky Way that no one knew existed… when she was eleven.” Kels felt his jaw actually drop as his friend continued past the extravagant houses to the only gate guarded house at the very end of the road. “So her grandmother, Ann was the woman that invented the baby carrier in the 60’s for her son, my Uncle Negan, who is now the president of a motorcycle gang in LA- the Sanctuary? You heard of them?”

“Heard of ‘em.” He confirmed with a nod as he looked up at what he could see of the massive house through the slow moving bars of your personal gate.

“He married my mom’s sister, Lucille, and they had (Y/N). Aunt Lucille died in child birth, and Negan and my family got in a huge fight over who was a better fit to raise my cousin. With all the money that she was lined up to get, it was almost a sickening free for all for my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. But in the midst of the arguing, it turned out she was genius level smart. Like Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory was literally loosely based off her and she gets royalties off that shit. And after seeing all of the fighting going on over her for no reason, she convinced her dad to write us all off as a toddler. Which he happily did because he does anything his little girl asks him to do. She doesn’t talk to any of the older generations of my family but she talked to must of the cousins occasionally as long as they weren’t asking for money. Which, in the end, basically left me because I just see her as my cousin and not for her money.” Kels nodded his head slowly as Ashleigh parked her car and turned off the ignition. 

“She’s an amazing person that has had one hell of a life because of her circumstances. Picked on for being rich, for being smart… for actually remembering her mother’s death. And it doesn’t help that her dad is in a gang or that he’s in prison for manslaughter or something like that.” Ashleigh shook her head again and grabbed her purse off the back seat to go inside. “She never had a chance. But I love coming up here when I come to town…”

“You better have my love child with you!” You shouted as you headed up the stairs on the side of your house that ran along the edge of the cliff which acted like a giant privacy wall for the left side your property. “Hi, I’m all sandy but still.”

“He’s with me.” Ash giggled as you wiped your hands off on your short jean shorts and stopped for only half a second to kiss her cheek. “I need a favor.”

“This is not favor town, Ash.” You said as you pulled open the back door to coo at your second cousin, Ashton. “This is Auntie love time! Hi munchkin!” 

“(Y/N), this is Colson Baker, AKA Kels, or Machine Gun Kelly.”

“Kels is fine.” Colson said as you tossed Ashton up in the air a few inches to make him laugh.

“Mr. Baker works just as well.” You cooed to your cousin as you put him on your hip and turned to head inside. “Because I’m going to assume that the favor the pair of you need involves him, which leads me to deduce that this is a business transaction of some kind. You may either follow, or stand in my driveway all day, either option is acceptable in the world today. Freedoms and whatnot. Unless you are waiting for a formal invitation in which case, I’d be more than happy to write one up for you.”

“Her social skills with new people aren’t the best either.” Ashleigh whispered as low as she physically possibly could as she slung her bag over her shoulder and followed you toward the wrought iron gate at the entrance of your atrium. “But it’s better when you get to know her…”

“I can hear you talking shit, bitch.” You said evenly as you stopped and held the gate open for your guests. You gave the stranger to you a once over with your eyebrow raised as he passed by you and gave him a slight half nod. “I don’t see the purpose of small talk and sarcasm is the best defense in the world.”

“Small talk is over-rated.” Kels agreed as he, too, checked you out as shamelessly as you had. “Nice ink.”

“Save it.” You huffed with a smirk as you walked through the guest atrium and pushed open your ten foot tall, solid wood, pivot hinge front door to reveal the breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean you had. “What do you need? Yes, I’m putting you down.” You giggled as you set Ashton down on the floor and reached down for his hand to lead him over so he could push the window button, which made the glass panels slide open like doors into the walls so he could play out in the little private yard you had.

“Well… OK, so every year…” Ashleigh started as you helped Ashton into his favorite swing. “…we put on this concert for Christmas called XXmas. It’s fuckin’ crazy and it’s been sold out the last few years easy. It’s a two hour long set and they do some local Cleveland rappers for openers. (Y/N), you gotta see it some time. I mean, the following that Kels has managed to create…”

“The concert is in two days.” Colson interrupted when he noticed the slight hint of annoyance on your face. “And my guitarist broke his arm in a car accident last night. Now, Ash says you’re some kinda musical genius or some shit and you’d be able to help…?”

“I have plans.” You stated evenly as you kept your eyes locked on the toddler in front of you.

“It’s one night.” Ashleigh breathed, pleadingly as she took a step closer to you so you’d almost be forced to look up at her. “One night and I can make sure you are on a plane back that night or early the next morning. I’ll even pay for a private jet out of my own pocket to get you back on time to see your dad for Christmas if I have to.” With an audible sigh, you looked up at your cousin with a small shake of your head.

“Fuck you.”

“I love you, too.” She beamed, knowing that you were never going to say no to helping her out. You rolled your eyes and growled as you continued to push your cousin.

“Alright, play your songs. Which ever ones you want me to know, start playing them before I change my mind.” Colson looked a little stunned and glanced over at Ashleigh, who quickly pulled out her phone and nodded.

“She has an eidetic memory. All she needs to do is hear it once and she can memorize it.”

“Changing my mind over here.” You joked, flatly as you shot her an annoyed glare. “And it’s too close to Christmas to fight with flights so I’ll hire a jet. Hope your tickets are refundable.”

——

You choose to spend the four and a half hour flight sitting in the back of the private jet, with three different head phones in, listening to the full set list on repeat in your right ear, a narrated dissertation of someones research on further exploration of one of your original dissertations about the Milky Way’s cannibalism of surrounding stars in your left, and the feed back from your electric guitar in the head set you had over both ear buds. Your dad always told you you were crazy when you ‘nerded out’ like this, not being able to understand how you were able to have three different forms of audio stimulus going at the same time, nor how you could differentiate and focus on all three simultaneously. Even though you had your eyes closed, you could see the shift in the sun light in front of you and no matter how much you tried to ignore the feeling of eyes boring into your face, you couldn’t.

“This better be good.” You sighed as you pulled off your head set and pulled out both ear buds in an attempt to look civil.

“Three head phones?” Colson asked as you dropped the hardware in your lap and paused the two recordings on your phone.

“Keeping up with a dissertation from a colleague, listening to the set list, and messing around with it on my guitar.” You told him as you pointed to the corresponding head sets.

“Messing around with the set?” He asked as he scooted forward a bit in his chair and looked at the classic honey burst Les Paul on your lap. “Gunna share with the class?”

“Didn’t plan on it.” You responded as you tucked your legs up on the chair and held out one of the headphones. “But I’ll indulge all the same.” He nodded his head and put only one side over his ear while you handed him the other music headphone, put the original one in your ear, and pulled up the next track on the list. Your eyes closed again as the opening cords for ‘Rehab’ started playing, and you jumped right in with the riff that you had wrote in your head more to play for your father when you went to see him for Christmas.

“You wrote that?” Colson asked when you had finished. “You write music, too?!”

“No. No, I don’t.” You said quickly as you took back your headphones from him and put the extra ear bud away. “I… well, I remix songs. For my dad, mostly. When I go and visit… well I have a guitar there, and on nicer days, we sit outside and play name that tune. And I get my competitive side from him so I’ve gotten really good at recreating songs so that he can’t guess them but so they still sound like the original track.”

“So what’s he in for?” He asked innocently, which made you instantly stiffen and throw a wall up.

“Does it matter?” You retorted a little sharply. “He’s in prison.”

“Yo, my bad.” He said quickly as he held his hands up in surrender. “Didn’t know it was a touchy subject.” You nodded your head and glanced down at your lap as you started putting your headphones back in.

“Look, I’m not here to make friends, Mr. Baker. I’m here to help out some family, then I’m going home. That’s all. I don’t need friends…”

“Yea, you fucking got it.” He barked back as he got up from his chair to go back to his friends. With a shake of your head, you started your music and your paper back up, and slipped back into your anti-social bubble for a little bit longer.

——

You had never been an adrenaline junkie in your life, having had enough experiences with the club, but as you stood on the stage, playing through the set, you actually started craving the feeling. The high that the crowd was creating, feeding your soul and the music pouring out of the speakers behind you. You felt like a total rock star and you were glad that this feeling was something that you would remember forever.

It hadn’t taken you long into the set for you to notice Kels either, and not just notice, but really notice him. How sexy he looked in his low slung red pants with his ethika boxers peeking out. You hated that you were turned on by this stupid punk… but fuck if you couldn’t help but want to fuck his brains out. Even if his kid was only a hundred feet away from you, even if you never planned on seeing or speaking to him ever again. You almost needed to be under his sweat drenched body as fast as you could or your head was going to explode.

“She smiles.” Colson teased when the last cords of the last song faded away in the auditorium. You smirked and pulled out your ear phones as you handed off Ace’s guitar to the stage hand.

“Occasionally. Only when I’m having a really good time.” He nodded his head and looked around for a moment before grabbing your arm and turning you toward a side stage door. “Colson…?”

“You… are driving me fucking crazy.” He growled as he locked the door behind him with a shake of his head. “And I want to be pissed off at you for being a bitch for no fucking reason… but fuck I wanna fuck you way to Goddamn bad.”

“Oh, fuck…” You moaned as he pushed you back against a shelving unit and quickly started ripping at your jean shorts button.  “Kels… the crew… your daughter…”

“Guess I’ll just have to be quick then.” You whined at him as he shoved your bottoms off, and lifted you up off the floor by the backs of your thighs. He pushed his boxers and pants down only as far as he needed, and slid into you. Your eyes rolled back and you grabbed on to his shoulder and the shelving unit you were pressed up against. It was short, quick, and dirty, and you both got off within a couple minutes, but it was absolutely worth it… until it wasn’t.

“Thanks for helping out… and not just on stage…” Colson said, almost dismissively as you both pulled up your bottoms. You let out a huff and ran your fingers through your hair.

“Do me a favor and don’t even so much as think my fucking name ever again.” You snapped as you pushed past him and threw the door to the closet open. You walked quickly to the green room, grabbed your bag and your guitar case off the floor and pulled out your phone to call a cab as Ashleigh called out your name from across the room. As a lone tear fell down your cheek, you simply walked away from her, back through the stadium halls, and out the back door, leaving your brief lapse of judgement in the janitors closet behind you.

Part 2

#machine gun kelly x reader #mgk x reader #colson baker x reader #Henry Cavill x Reader #Too Smart for Your Own Good

[mysteryofren]

So happy together part 3 (Ben Solo x Reader au)

Part 2

Note: Thanks for the likes on the last few chapters!! theres not too much ben in this one just a lot of sappy shit with ya gramps. also starting next chapter im gonna start naming them.

______________________________________________________________

  A day had passed and you had heard nothing from Ben. You wondered if he was still on campus or if he was just staying with his uncle until it was time to come back. It's not that you cared, it's that something told you to be worried about the guy. He seemed so defensive. You talked to Elaine about it over the phone. She told you not to worry about him, that he was just another rich kid asshole like everyone else at the school. She also took the time to try and lure you to her house for the week. You happily informed her you wouldn't be spending Christmas alone anymore. 

“See i know your grandpa wouldn't leave you hanging,” she said over the phone, “i just wish you would get over it and call your parents to see what they're doing.” 

  Your parents. You did try. They didn't bother to call back, not even send a text back. You didn't have the heart to tell her though. 

“My parents are actually in Russia for some business so it's hard to get a hold of them, but my pop pop did say he's having people over Christmas day, you want me to see if you can come?”

“I don't think my parents will let me. We usually do our gift exchange the day after remember?” 

“Shit that's right, I forgot. My bad, maybe you can still come over to his house for the exchange.”

“Yeah id love to see him again, besides I haven't seen him since the thing”

  The thing being your grandma's funeral. Mama and pop pop were the idea of what love is. They met young and were together right until her last breath. You were there too. You loved them both to death. They raised you more than your actual parents did so when mama died, you were heartbroken. You stayed with pop pop about 2 weeks after. He drove you to class everyday and picked you up after. You guys spent every moment together for a month after the funeral. The day you said goodbye to her was also the last day you saw your parents. They didn't stay long. Claimed they had a flight. That's when you decided you were done trying to connect with them.

“yeah , i'm sure he misses you. You're basically his other grandchild.” 

You heard someone over the phone call her name. “Hey I've gotta go, dinner time. Talk tomorrow?”

“Of course, have fun. Say hi to mom for me!”

“You know I will! Love you, bye” she shouted as she hung up.

You wondered what it was like eating dinner like a real family.

 A couple days passed and it was finally Christmas eve. You woke up earlier than normal, showered, and got dressed. You played some music while you packed a bag for the night and next day. You looked out your window and saw Ben walking across campus. Probably headed to his uncle's office. You decided to ignore him and kept packing. 20 minutes later you finally get a call from your pop pop telling you he's down stairs waiting. You have a car. You know you could just drive, but you love that he still insists on getting you. You lock your dorm and run downstairs when you run into a wall you were positive was never there before.

  You took a step back and saw the wall was in fact Ben. He turned around and looked at you with an unreadable face. Was he mad? Annoyed? What's with this dude in the first place? He opened his mouth to say something before he shook his head and walked off. After the awkward encounter you skipped out the doors and over to the old truck you were all too familiar with. To put it lightly your family was loaded. Your pop pop especially, but he still found it wasteful to buy a new car when he has one that still works. Even though he's had it since your dad was a kid. 

You threw your bag in the bed and swung the door open. 

“Hello there,” you heard your grandpa say. It was his classic greeting.”I've been looking forward to this since our conversation on the phone.” 

You got in the truck and slid towards him to give him a hug. You always loved his hugs. They were warm and comforting, and made you feel at home. You look at him and notice his hair was a bit longer than when you last saw him. He usually kept it short and simple.

“I missed you so much.” you say as you two separate. 

“We saw each other last month.”

“I know but that's too long to go without seeing you.”

“I know it is my dear, but hurry and get your seat belt on. I've got treats waiting for you at the house.”

You quickly put your buckled up on and looked out the window. That's when you caught another glimpse of Ben. He was walking again, looking at you in the truck. You give him a smile and wave goodbye. He stared at you, as if he was wondering what was wrong with you. Then he looked at the ground and continued walking. That's okay though, it didn't get to you. Almost nothing bothers you when you're with your grandpa.

  The entire ride to his house you guys listened to his old country music. Country wasn't exactly your vibe, but the old CDs in the glove compartments, and his favorite radio station were your entire childhood. You sang along with him as you approached the woods where his house was. Even though they were always business savvy, and spent their time in the city, your grandparents were country folk at heart. They had a condo in the city that they always stayed at from time to time when they had a lot to do in the city, but how for them was the house in the woods. They both took part in designing the whole house. They wanted it to be their perfect home.a place to raise their kids, retire, and take care of their family. It wasn't small, but it wasn't unnecessarily massive like your house was. It was 3 stories, had 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It had a cute little den for your grandparents when it was just them, a bigger living room for when they had company, and  a beautiful dining room. It had a long elegant table and the whole room was nothing but windows looking out towards the hills and forest. It was your favorite part of the house.

  He pulled into the driveway and stopped the car. He got out of the car and rushed over to open the door for you. You stepped out and grabbed your bag from the bed of the truck while he went to open the house. You stopped for a second to take in your surroundings. You listened to the sounds of the trees moving as the wind blew, you heard the animals calling out to each other. You saw the trees sway above the house, and watched the bird fly back and forth between their nests and the ground. You walked to the front door after your grandpa, and headed upstairs to the guest bedroom. You set your stuff down, dug out some pjs, and changed. After that you stopped by a photo of mama in the hallway. You looked at it remembering how beautiful and angelic she was. After a moment you headed back down stairs to see what was planned for the night. 

“Pjs already? You don't waste a single second young lady.” he said as he pulled out pots and pans,”so here's the plan for tonight. We are going to make a super special pancake breakfast, then we're going to watch movies and bake cookies, then for dinner have ingredients for homemade pizza, and we can do presents after my final surprise.”

“Sounds like the things needed for the best Christmas ever,” you exclaimed, “have you heard from mother or father lately?” 

“Last i spoke to them they were packing for a trip. I do wish they would come spend the holidays with us. Your aunt and cousin are on vacation with your uncle's side of the family, so they won't even be able to come” 

“We don't need 'em anyways,” you say playfully, “cause we're already having a better time than them.”

  The day went by fast. Faster than you would have liked it to. Your cookies came out great, although the last batch was a bit burnt. He had bought all your favorite toppings for the pizza too. You guys spent most of the day watching the movies on the little TV he kept on the kitchen table. You funneled through all the classics before it got dark. 

“Okay so gifts, who's going first?” he asked as you two munched on cookies in the den.

“Let me give you yours first,” you said as you stood up and made your way upstairs.

 You opened your bag and dug to the bottom when a flat gift wrapped in regular brown paper was laying. You grabbed it and held it close as you ran back downstairs. 

 “It's not too big. I hope you don't mind,” you handed it over to him. 

  He tore into it with a big smile and looked down at it. His smile dropped as he gazed in awe at it. You had saved up for 2 months to get this for him. It took a lot of money, but it was worth it. He always had a favorite painting of mama when she was younger. He loved it so much, it was the photo he chose to display at her funeral. She was done up pretty formally. Had her make up, and hair done, and was wearing the most beautiful jewelry you could imagine. I had recreated the painting for him but with me in it. I had gotten every little detail, even down to the small beauty mark under her left eye. 

“ you're even more beautiful than her.” he said as tears welled up in his eyes. You were glad he liked it.

 He placed it down and got up to hug you. You stayed in each others arms and quietly talked about how much you both missed her. After the tear fest was over he pulled an envelope out of his pocket. He sat down and handed it over to you. 

“It's not nearly as good as this was, but it'll have to do.” you gently took the envelope from his hands and opened it. Inside were two plane tickets. You looked at the destination. 

“Italy?” 

“Yes I asked Luke and he told me when spring break was so I could plan accordingly,” he said as he searched for a place to put the small painting.”You and I will be spending the week in Italy, seeing what the city has to offer. Were going to explore Florence so we can see all the amazing art in the city, the Venice, Rome and finally Milan” 

Italy was always your dream. It was a beautiful country filled with art, fashion, culture, and history. You adored fashion and art above anything else. He chose the perfect gift. After you helped him find a spot for the painting you hugged him tight. Believe it or not as rich as you were you had never been out of the country. You always figured it was something to do later in life. Now you can actually experience it. 

“Now for my final surprise, follow me.” he walked out of the den and towards the dining room. You followed after wondering what was up. As you walked into the dining room you noticed he had added curtains along the giant windows. You could tell it was to hide whatever he had waiting outside for you. He opened the door leading to the backyard and motioned for you to walk out. You slowly walked towards the door and stepped outside. Sitting in the middle of the yard was a large tent with little lanterns sitting outside of it.

“We used to do this all the time when you were a child. I thought it'd be a nice comfort to do it again.” the memories hit you all at once. Every weekend your nanny would drop you off at their house. You, mama, and pop pop would camp out in the backyard. You would all roast marshmallows, while the sound of their old country records played from inside the house. You all would gather the blankets from the house and lay them out in the tent as cushions to protect you from the cold harsh ground. Every morning the sun would shine through the tent waking you up and you would shake your grandparents awake so you could all watch it rise together. 

  You didn't realize that tears were falling down your face until he wrapped an arm around your shoulder, giving you a good squeeze. You wiped the tears from your cheeks and you turned to hug him. The tears continued to fall when it occurred to you. Nobody could ever love you this much. Not as much as they always did. Nobody would do little things like this to make you happy. Mama was already gone. What were you going to do when pop pop was gone too. 

“I love you,” you said sniffling, as you withdraw yourself from the hug, “I love this.” 

He wiped the tears away and looked like he was going to cry himself, “I love you too my dear.”

  You made your way towards the tent and unzipped the opening. It was exactly how you remember it. All the blankets were spread out. He had included pillows too, and you even noticed an old princess pillow you had left here once when you were a kid. You crawled in and felt at home. He crawled in after and sat down with a grunt.

“I suppose my old body isn't what it used to be.” he huffed out as he pulled a blanket over himself. You two stayed up talking. He told you about everything happening at his company. If you were quite honest you still weren't sure what he did for a living. What type of company did he run? It was something to do with weapons of some sort. It didn't matter though, you still listened. He asked about classes, and he even asked about how Elaine was doing. You seized the opportunity to ask if she could come over the day after Christmas to spend time with you guys, and of course he said yes. You also told him about the friendship you apparently had with Hux, even he was shocked by the news of your friendship. The town you lived in was fairly small, there were 4 main families that dominated and worked together. The Skywalker Family, the Hux family, the Palpatines, and your family, the Kenobis. The Hux family was known best for how professional and uptight they were, your father's words not yours. 

It felt like you two had spoken for an eternity before you eventually drifted off.

#teen!ben solo #ben solo fanfiction #bensoloxreader #ben solo #ben solo x reader #star wars tfa #star wars au #star wars fanfiction #star wars tros #star wars #kenobi!reader #star wars x reader #teen!reader #reader insert #obi wan kenobi #armitage hux

[goldenzingy46]

Chapter 2: Sirius Black, aged 7                   

Sirius Black was sitting in the parlour on a ridiculously expensive chair, feet swinging as he grumbled about his mother cutting his hair. He, apparently, wasn’t respectable-looking enough for the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, which was silly, in his opinion, because Sirius Orion Black was a seven-year-old. Which, of course, meant he was incredibly grown up, but not old and grumpy enough to have to look a certain way for family dinners.

Family dinners! He’d get to see Cousin Andy, who was brilliant. Last time, she brought dungbombs and they let them off at the dinner table, which had been hilarious. His mother had dropped out of her perfect posture and shrieked like a banshee, beautiful hair slipping off her head in cascades, stumbling in her heels and ripping the hem of her gown. It had been hilarious, and, though he had been caught, it had been a riot of an evening he’d never forgot (no, not just because he’d had champagne for the first time! Besides, that was Bellatrix’s fault).

“Alright, Sirius, I think you look gentlemanly now.” Walburga smiled, kissing him on the forehead. “No antics like last year and you’ll be fine. At least with Andromeda, Cygnus can marry her off. You’re our heir apparent.”

“Yes mother,” Sirius groaned, slipping off the chair, looking for an escape from his overbearing mum.

She ruffled his hair, smiling. “Love you, Sirius.”

“Love you too, mum.”

He ran upstairs to get ready, already hearing the guests come in.

“Walburga! Stunning as always, I see,” was his Auntie Druella.

“Druella, my friend!”  which was probably followed up with a hug, kissing on the cheeks and smiling between the two women whom he’d once seen comparing makeup techniques, because the House of Black could never be anything but perfect.

Toujours Pur indeed.

“Reggie! Reggie, come on!” he yelled, dragging his younger brother, Regulus, down the stairs.

Oh, ewwwww.

His father, Orion Black, and his Auntie Druella were deeply in love but married to someone else. Which meant hidden romantic scenes and snogging when nobody was looking, but it was gross.

“Ori,” she whispered, staring deep into his eyes, their hands clutched tightly together.

“Dru,” his father responded, their noses mere inches apart.

“I love you,” Auntie Druella murmured, not giving him time to respond before clutching his face and kissing him like a starving woman, white gloves rumpling on his jawline, lipstick smearing onto his face.

“Ew, ewwww, Reggie don’t look!” Sirius hissed, covering his brother’s eyes, turning away from the sight of his father snogging his aunt.

“I love you too,” he heard his father say, breathlessly, after the kiss.

Regulus shoved Sirius’ hands off his eyes and dragged him downstairs, straight past their father and their aunt, who didn’t even notice them come through.

“My sons! Where were you?” cried Walburga, impeccably dressed as always.

“I’m sure they just got a little… caught up in something,” their Great-Aunt Cassiopeia interrupted, showing her teeth. She knew about the affair between Orion and Druella, but of course she didn’t tell anyone, because she was Cassiopeia Black and she loved chaos.

Grandfather Pollux and Grandmother Irma lurked in the back corner, and Sirius instinctively moved away from them, as both of them were creepy and despised children. Lightly tugging Reggie’s hand, Sirius began to reverse away from their leering grandparents, only to crash backwards into an elderly couple.

“Grandpa Arcturus! Grandma Mel!” Reggie cried, getting smothered in hugs and forehead kisses from Melania.

“How’s my little man these days, huh?” For all she seemed nice, the Black family could team up and be deadly, especially the woman.

“Sirius! Heir apparent! I guess you’re ready for when I finally die so your father can take over, huh?” Arcturus said, shaking Sirius’ hand firmly, his seven-year-old self almost bouncing up and down at the force.

“I- uh… oh look, Reg, there’s Uncle Alphard!” he stuttered, pulling his brother away from their grandma, Arcturus frowning with displeasure as they ran away.

“Sirius!” their Uncle Alphard cried, seeing them come in his direction. “How’s my favourite nephew, then, huh?”

Sirius found his hand sliding out of Reggie’s, and suddenly he was up in the air, too high, way too high, and everything was spinning.

“Uncle- I- urgh,” Sirius spluttered, unable to voice his discomfort. “My brother’s here too!”

He found himself on the ground again, sinking to the floor dizzily.

“Little Regulus! I didn’t see you there!” Alphard said, pinching his cheeks and ruffling his hair. “How’s my lil’ kiddo?”

“Why is everyone calling me little? I am a big boy now! I’m six!” Regulus pouted, looking adorable with big brown eyes and ruffled hair.

“Of course, but you will always be my little kiddo!” Their uncle boomed, sweeping the pair of them into a hug, of which they barely came past his knee. He crouched so he could be at their level, his slightly greasy shoulder length hair swinging in front of their faces. Regulus wrinkled his nose and batted it like a small kitten, to which Alphard let out a hearty laugh and opened his battered leather satchel. “Don’t tell anyone, but I got you each a little gift from my travels,” he whispered, handing Regulus a little ship in a bottle, and Sirius a set of expensive-looking bangles.

“Brother!” Walburga sniffed, elegantly looking down her nose at him, black lace gown sweeping the floor as she marched up beside him. “I haven’t seen you in ages. Come and catch up with us.”

Alphard stood up, dusting off his battered suit, and nodded. On his way to join the women, he winked and Sirius, and murmured, “Give ‘em hell for me, kid.”

With Uncle Alfie gone, the Black brothers looked for another distraction. Without a distraction in sight, however, the middle daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black was stalking through the room, pale skin almost glowing, thick, sleek, black hair swirling loose down her back, a rare luxury for a ten-year-old in the Black family, dark eyes searching the room for prey.

“My favourite cousins! What fun!” Bellatrix yelled, flitting through the room towards them.

“Trix!” Sirius giggled, knowing she hated that nickname.

Bellatrix frowned, and then smiled that nasty smile that ten-year-olds with a cruel streak do, and it was not a nice smile. It was the kind of smile that made Sirius hug his younger brother instinctively, and step in front of him, creating a kind of human shield.

“Kreacher!” she snapped, calling the wrinkled old house elf to her side. “Get us something… fun… to play with.”

Kreacher’s yellowing teeth flashed as he obeyed. “Kreacher bes doing what Young Mistress Black’s wanting.”

She giggled, patting Sirius’ shoulder with a cold hand, to which he recoiled. “It isn’t always I get to play with my little cousins, is it now, Reggie?”

Her eyes flickered to the younger of the two, who was partially hidden behind Sirius, and she had a mask of malice disguising her pretty features. Kreacher popped back in, offering her a dark orb, white streaks of lightning crashing within, and she pulled on her black gloves, straightening the hem by the crook of her elbow, and held the orb out to Sirius.

“Little cousin! Would you like to have a taste of our family’s little treasures?” she hissed, eyes wild and nearly glowing with the power she had over them.

Sirius pulled Reggie back, he had no idea what it was, but it felt ugly, and it radiated an aura of coldness.

“Now, now, don’t be like that! It’s all in good fun! Here, little Reg, you try it!” Bellatrix grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into a tight, one-armed embrace.

“Reggie, no! It feels icky, don’t touch it!” fear clogged his throat as he watched his little brother encircled in the arms of his crazy cousin.

“Come now, just a little brush, that’s all it takes,” Bellatrix coaxed Regulus.

“B-but it feels kinda gross,” Reggie stammered, his hand half out, eyes wide and panicked. “Siri?”

“Reggie, don’t listen to her, don’t touch it! It’s evil!” Sirius cried, watching him but unable to help.

“Don’t be silly, Cousin Sirius, how can an object be evil?” Bellatrix murmured, gloved hand caressing the orb.

“Now, now, Bella,” a soft voice crooned. “Stop toying with our baby cousins, it’s very rude.” Narcissa Black straightened up, dress smooth without a single wrinkle.

“I-I’m not a baby!” Reg complained, defiantly.

“Yes, of course not. Bella, let us go somewhere else.”

“But Cissy…” Bellatrix whined.

“Bella,” Narcissa warned, hands clenching together in a very ladylike manner.

With a dramatic sigh and a grand flourish, Bellatrix relinquished her hold on Regulus, pouting as she swept after her younger sister.

Sirius gently embraced his younger brother, letting Reg cry onto his sleeve. “I’ll always be here for you, Reg,” he whispered. “Always.”

Tears burned his eyes as he hugged Reggie fiercely, never letting go. He would protect his younger brother. Forever and always. Always and forever.

“Hey, little cuz!” Andy called, vaulting over the table to join them. “What’s wrong?”

Sirius glanced up, and muttered, “Bellatrix.”

“Ah, damn. However, I have an idea for a prank…”

Even Regulus looked up at that. Sirius grinned, the mischievous grin that only a seven-year-old can wear. “Let’s hear it.”

Andromeda grinned, and Sirius groaned, knowing that look. “Let’s get you two clean, first..."

#marauders #pro marauders #marauders era #marauders fanfiction #sirius black #black family #regulus black #cassiopeia black #alphard black #pollux black #irma black #walburga black #orion black #arcturus black #melania black #druella black #cygnus black #andromeda black #bellatrix black #narcissa black

[siriuslycollins-blog]

Parenting 101 For Rockstar Dads

Nessa Arceneaux (August 17, 1971- July 15, 1992) - Jared Leto’s first love, childhood best friend, and mother of his daughter Kaela. Originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, she moved to Bossier City as a child where she met the soon-to-be father of her daughter. Their friendship grew for a decade but Nessa and Jared kept losing touch as the latter was always moving around; in the summer of 1989 the reconnected, going from friends to more than friends. In the fall of 1991, Nessa became pregnant with their daughter and died a few days after giving birth. Alive, Nessa was a beautiful black woman with a talent and passion for painting and music, playing the piano in her grandparents’ church. Until her death, Nessa was a student at Southern University at Shreveport, majoring in Early Childhood Development with a minor in Social Work and was a member of the school’s dance team. She was very popular and very involved in her school and community.

The Beginning - Fall 1991

Twenty year old Nessa Arceneaux paced the living room of her apartment as she waited for her boyfriend Jared to get home from work. Every few minutes, she kept pulling out the black and white pictures just to confirm what she thought was a dream: that she was in fact pregnant. Nessa’s heartrate picked up every time she heard a car pass by on the road thinking it was him. Was she ready for this? Were they ready for this?

Nessa was a college student who had just turned twenty two months ago and just started her junior year while Jared was still nineteen and working odd jobs after he dropped out of art school. How were they supposed to take care of a baby? What was Nessa’s family going to say? Nessa put the photos back in her jeans pockets after studying the gray blob that would soon be a baby. She concentrated on cooking dinner, taking extra care to chop up vegetables for the soup she was making; she almost sliced her finger open when she heard Jared’s keys turning in the lock.

“Nessa? Nessa, are you here?” she heard him call out. “In the kitchen!” she yelled back. Jared wrapped his arms around her waist as he pressed kisses to her neck. “What are you doing home so early? I thought you had that study group for midterms.” She turned the heat up on the stove as she dumped the vegetables and dumplings into the broth.

“Turns out half the class is out with the flu, so it’s just independent study.” Jared washed his hands before grabbing a juice box from the fridge. “I hope it isn’t that stomach flu you have. Looks like Shannon is coming down with it too. Baby, you should really see a doctor about that.” Nessa stirred the contents of the pot with a wooden spoon before turning to her boyfriend. “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You should probably sit down for this.”

Jared was confused but sat down at the table anyway. “Okay... what do you wanna talk about?” “I wanted to talk about this,” Nessa answered, reaching into her back pocket for the ultrasound pictures and handed them to him; Jared’s blue eyes widened as he realize what he was looking at. “Nessa. A-are these... what I think they are?” Jared had never given much thought about fatherhood, he was still young but he never saw himself becoming a dad.

He didn’t exactly have the best examples growing up. “Yeah. We’re gonna have a baby. Are you mad at me?” When Jared looked up, she was crying, and he quickly took her in his arms. “Oh baby, why would I be mad?” They pulled back and he wiped her tears away. “I-it’s just t-that we never really talked about it much, so I just assumed that you didn’t want that.”

“Hey, Nessa, look at me. I never thought much about being a dad because I didn’t think I’d be a good one. You know I never had any luck with ‘em.” Jared thought back to his biological father who walked out after he was born; Tony Bryant later remarried and had two more kids before he died when Jared was a kid. Then his mom got remarried to a man named Carl who gave him and his brother Shannon his last name, and Jared finally felt like he had a dad, just like the kids he went to school with; then his mother and Carl got a divorce and he was back to square one, fatherless. “So you really want to keep it?” Nessa asked, sniffling a little.

“Of course I do! That’s my kid!” After the hysterics were out of the way, they talked about how to tell their families that a baby was on the way. “Does anyone else know?” Jared asked as they sat down to dinner. “Well, Jackie knows since she came with me to the appointment, and your mom, but she guessed it before I could tell her.” Nessa had told him about how she went over to Constance’s after her appointment to share the news but the older woman had already figured it out. When Nessa had asked how she knew, Constance only laughed at her and said, “by the time I was your age, I already had two toddlers. I’ve been in your position. Twice.”

Constance had then started crying about how happy she was to be a grandmother. Jared knew how much his mom loved Nessa, even treating her as a daughter and always saying how good she was for him. Before he and Nessa began dating, Jared was always out at all hours of the night after he dropped out of school and getting into trouble with the law. He had turned his life around, getting a job, and growing up to be the man he thought Nessa deserved to be with. Constance hoped that the baby would push them in the direction of the altar.

“How about next weekend we drive down to Lake Charles to tell my family?” If Jared wasn’t nervous about being a father, he was certainly nervous about telling the Arceneaux family. Her family, especially her grandparents, were very old fashioned, the type who believed in going to church every Sunday and didn’t approve of having kids before marriage. They were yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes sir, no sir kind of people, so in an essence, Jared would be their worst nightmare, even though Jared got on well with her parents. It was Nessa’s grandparents he had to impress, specifically her grandmother.

Nessa could see Jared was nervous about meeting her extended family. “Please babe? Fore me?” She gave him the puppy dog face that she knew he couldn’t resist, and saw his resolve cracking. “Okay, fine, you win. You always do.” Nessa smiled her bright white smile and slid herself across his lap. 

“Everything will be fine Jay. My grandparents are stubborn, but I’m sure they’ll love you. And my aunts and uncles and cousins too.” “We’ll see about that,” Jared mumbled against her lips.

@blackreaders-assemble

#parenting 101 for Rockstar dads #jared leto x daughter #jared leto imagine

[cristinablackthornkingson]

Shadowhunters Short Story #34 part 3.

It is a cool Autumn morning in 2031 and 18 year old Cordelia Carstairs has found herself sitting by her daughter’s crib, for the last hour, just gazing at her in awe and love. It had been 2 months since Sofia was born and she was the best thing ever to happen to Cordelia and Rafael, she is such a sweet, happy baby and is totally adored by everyone and spoiled rotten by all her grandparents. 

Cordelia folds her arms over the top of Sofia’s crib and rests her head on her arms, smiling softly as she watches her daughter sleep peacefully. She had no idea love this strong was possible. She thought the love she felt for Rafe was intense and amazing, but it was nothing compared to the love she feels for her daughter, she would do anything for her. Though Cordelia is a bit disappointed she isn’t off on her travel year with her cousins Stephen and George like she planned to be before she got pregnant, she wouldn’t swap spending time with her daughter for anything. 

As Cordelia watches Sofia sleeping, she hears the door to the nursery creek open and padded footsteps approach. 

“Mi amor have you been here all night?” She hears Rafe softly ask. 

“No just for the last hour or so, I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep so I came in to check on Sofia and then I just couldn’t stop looking at her, she’s so perfect Rafe, isn’t she?” Cordelia softly says. 

“Sí, just like mami.” Rafe gently says, slipping an arm around Cordelia’s shoulders. Rafael is absolutely infatuated with his daughter, he loves her so much it hurts and he would do anything for her. Growing up, Rafe had often heard his papa and dad talking about how much they love him and Max and how it is unlike any other love, he had always thought they were just being over dramatic, his papa had a tendency to be dramatic and his dad was an extremely protective, loving person, Rafe had never met anyone like his parents before and until his daughter arrived he simply couldn’t understand how they could say they loved he and his brother more than anyone else. 

“And her papí.” Cordelia quietly says, smiling up at Rafe who grins back and leans down to kiss her. Rafe then reaches into the crib and softly strokes Sofia’s cheek.

“Mí nina bonita, te quiero.” Rafe quietly says. He always speaks to Sofia in Spanish, in the hopes she will pick it up naturally from a young age, she is half Spanish after all and should know the language, that was something both he and Cordelia had agreed on very early on in her pregnancy. 

“You’ll have to help me improve my Spanish before she becomes more fluent than me.” Cordelia says in a light tone. Growing up Cordelia had always had a flare for languages, she mainly spoke English and Mandarin, she has been bi-lingual her whole life, her dad always talked to her in Mandarin as a child and she picked it up very easily, as did Jade and Will. She also speaks French, German and Welsh fluently but isn’t too good at Spanish, Rafe had always tried to teach her when they were growing up, but she could never get the hang of it for some reason. 

“I still don’t understand how you’re fluent in multiple languages including demon languages yet you can’t get a grasp on Spanish.” Rafe says in an amused tone. 

“Me neither but I have to learn it for Sofia, once I finish my studies and my training I can focus on learning Spanish.” Cordelia replies. She has recently slowly started getting back into training, her brother Kit and her cousins Emma and Jace are helping her out mostly, but she also has help from her father and Alec, and not many can say they’re trained by an ex-Silent Brother, a Shadowhunter with Faerie lineage, two of the greatest Shadowhunters of all time and The Consul. 

“How long until you finish?” Rafe asks. 

“Two months, I have 2 written exams in a few weeks and then my final training exam, I’ll have to stay at the Academy for those four days, I’m going to miss you and Sofia so much.” Cordelia quietly says. She is extremely proud of herself and thrilled that she has almost finished all her training and studies just two months after having a baby, but those four days when she will be away from her baby will be awful, it will be the first time she’s left Sofia since she was born.

“We’ll miss you too but we’ll be just fine, we’ll stay the first two nights here and then I’ll take Sofia to New York to stay with my parents for the last two nights, she’ll be spoiled rotten by papa and Max and she already has dad wrapped around her little finger.” Rafe says in an amused tone. While Magnus loves to buy his granddaughter lots of gifts and dress her up in the most stylish outfits, Alec loves to hold her and cuddle her and play with her, often times Rafe has taken her to visit his parents and his dad has dropped everything to spend time with Sofia. 

“I know, it’s just going to be hard for me, especially since I haven’t left her since she was born.” Cordelia says.

“I know mi amor but those 4 days will fly by and at the end of them you will be a fully trained Shadowhunter jut like you always wanted, and Soph and I will be waiting for you with open arms, and of course Kit and Emma are planning a party for you.” Rafe softly says, rubbing Cordelia’s arm comfortingly.

“I love you.” Cordelia softly says, turning to smile up at him. 

“I love you too.” Rafe replies, leaning in to kiss her.

A few hours later, just as it’s coming to the end of Sofia’s afternoon nap, there’s a knock on the front door. Cordelia sets her textbook down and runs to answer it, her heart soaring when she sees who’s at the door.

“Emma!” Cordelia exclaims in a tone of excitement. She hasn’t seen her cousin since she was pregnant, they have both been so busy, Emma and Julian had been on a mission in another country when Sofia was born, and had only recently got back. Cordelia wasn’t expecting to see Emma before her final training session for her final exams, but she is beyond thrilled to see her. 

“Hey Cordy.” Emma softly says, pulling her in for a hug. 

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Cordelia exclaims. “Is Jules with you?” 

“I’m glad I’m here too, no he’s not, I wanted to come spend some one on one time with you, he’ll be around tomorrow.” Emma explains, pulling back from their embrace. “So how are you?” She adds.

“I’m great, I feel great, Sofia is absolutely amazing and perfect, I couldn’t love her more.” Cordelia says in a tone of affection, her heart swelling with love just at the thought of her precious baby girl. 

“Can I meet her? The baby?” Emma asks. 

“Yeah of course, she should be just waking up from her nap now, I’ll go get her.” Cordelia says, ushering Emma in before she rushes upstairs and into Sofia’s nursery. 

When she walks into the nursery she stops in her steps when she sees a tall man dressed in old fashioned clothes with curly black hair, leaning over Sofia’s crib, murmuring to her in Welsh and stroking her cheek. Instantly Cordelia knows who it is. 

“Uncle Will?” Cordelia asks in a tone of excitement. She adores her Uncle Will and loves when he comes to visit.  

Will turns from the crib and grins widely at Cordelia.

“Not in the flesh exactly, but I suppose you could say I’m here in spirit!” Will exclaims. Cordelia giggles and rushes to hug her Uncle, if he is able to touch Sofia then surely Cordelia will be able to touch him. 

“I missed you Uncle Will.” Cordelia quietly says. 

“I missed you too Cariad, I can’t believe your’re a mother now, and I’m a grandfather again!” Will exclaims. He loves Cordelia and her siblings as his own, just as Jem loved James and Lucie as his own and loved their children as his own grandchildren, etc. Will loves little Sofia as much as his other grandchildren and considers himself her grandpa.

“Are you mad I’m dating a Lightworm?” Cordelia asks in a teasing tone. Will chuckles and says

“Well he’s not all Lightworm now is he?” 

“No not exactly, he’s wonderful, I’m so glad he’s Sophie’s dad.” Cordelia says in a loving tone. 

“I’m happy for you sweetheart, you are such a wonderful mother, just like your mum, I am very proud of you.” Will softly says. 

“You have to go soon don’t you?” Cordelia asks in a solemn tone. 

“I’m afraid so Cariad, but you know I’m always here and watching out for you and your daughter.” Will brushes Cordelia’s hair back form her face, before turning back to to the crib and smiling softly at Sofia. “Goodbye beautiful girl, I’ll see you soon, you too my beautiful Cordelia, I love you.” And just like that, he is gone. 

Cordelia softly sighs and lifts Sofia up, her mood instantly lifting when she holds her beautiful baby against her.

When Cordelia arrives back downstairs with Sofia, Emma instantly feels her heart melt for the sweet little girl.

“Oh Cordy, she’s so beautiful.” Emma says in a tone of awe, smiling widely at the baby. 

“I know, I can’t believe I made her.” Cordelia softly says.

“I can, I always knew you would be amazing Cordy, look at you, 18, in a stable healthy relationship, you have a beautiful baby and you’ve almost completed your training, I am so proud of you.” Emma says, squeezing her cousin’s hand gently. 

“Thanks Em, I couldn’t have done it without you, you and Julian were my inspiration for being a young parent, I knew that if you two could basically raise 4 kids from when you were 12, I could raise one baby at eighteen with help from all my family.” Cordelia softly says.

“Well I just hope Sofia has a better life than we all did.” Emma quietly says. She knows Cordelia will continue to be an amazing mother, she just hopes Sofia never has to live through a war or anything awful like that.

“Me too, do you want to hold her?” Cordelia offers. 

“I’d love to! So are you all ready for your final exams?” Emma asks, taking little Sofia into her arms and smiling broadly at the baby. 

“Yeah Kit and Ty are helping me study for my final written exams and dad and Alec have been helping me with my training, Rafe and Jace too.” Cordelia says. 

“Are you going to go join the boys on your travel year when you finish?” Emma asks, lightly bouncing Sofia. Currently Clary and Jace’s eldest son Stephen (who is a year younger than Cordelia) and Isabelle and Simon’s eldest son George (who is 2 months younger than Cordelia) are currently off on their travel year. They left shortly before Sofia was born and Cordelia misses them terribly, she was meant to go with them before she got pregnant and sometimes does wish she were off in France with them, though really she wouldn’t swap a moment with Sofia for anything. 

“No I couldn’t leave Sofia for that long and it would be so difficult to travel around with a little baby and my parents or Rafe’s wouldn’t get to see her again till she’s almost one, I’ll see the boys when they come home and I’ve got Max, Jade, Will, Jessie and Lucy to keep me company.” Cordelia replies. Jessie is Simon and Isabelle’s daughter, who’s a year younger than Jade who’s 16. Lucy is Clary and Jace’s daughter who’s just a year younger than her brother Stephen. Jessie is named after Jessamine Lovelace and Lucy is named after Cordelia’s older sister, and her grandfather, Lucian. 

Emma and Cordelia sit talking and fussing over Sofia for another hour before Emma has to head back and Rafe arrives back from visiting his parents in NY.

Right now Cordelia and Rafe are upstairs in Cordelia’s room playing with Sofia who seems fascinated by her reflection. 

As Rafe sits watching his girlfriend and baby daughter, his heart swells with love and he makes a sudden decision. 

“Cordy, can I ask you something?” Rafe calmly asks, hiding the nervous tremor in his voice. 

“Of course.” Cordelia says, laying Sofia down on her stomach on a blanket and spreading out a few toys in front of her. 

Rafe takes a deep breath and reaches into his jacket pocket before getting down on one knee in front of Cordelia. 

“Rafe, what are you doing?” Cordelia asks in a breathless tone of disbelief. 

“Cordelia I know we have only been dating for a little over a year but we have known each other since we were children, we’ve always been closes and cared so much about each other, I always felt especially close to you and felt that we had a special bond, when you agreed to be my girlfriend, it was one of the best days of my life, and then you told me you were pregnant and I was so, so happy and then Sofia was born and I don’t think I have ever been so happy, you have given me everything Cordy, you made my dreams come true by having my baby, our beautiful baby girl, I could not love you both more and I never want to spend a single day without you, will you marry me?” Tears well in Cordelia’s eyes, she can hardly believe this is happening.

“Yes... yes of course!” Cordelia exclaims in a tight tone, flinging her arms around Rafael. “I love you so much.” She adds. 

“I love you too, more than you could possibly know.” Rafe says, smoothing his hand over her thick dark hair.  When Cordelia pulls back, Rafe slips the ring onto her finger before grinning broadly at Sofia and scooping her up.

“Did you hear that Sof? Mama said yes! She said yes!” He exclaims, kissing her cheek causing her to giggle loudly. 

“Your papa is going to be so thrilled, you know he’s been planning our wedding since we were kids.” Cordelia says, remembering how her Uncle Magnus always talked about how wonderful it would be if Max or Rafe married Cordelia (Jade and Will were and are a lot younger than the boys) so that he and Tessa would officially be family. Even now, at every chance he gets, he tells everyone that he and Tessa share a grandchild, he loves that the Ligthwood-Banes and The Carstairs have now officially become family through Sofia. 

“Oh I know, we aren’t going to have to do any planning at all, all we have to do is choose our suggenes, I think I’m going to ask Max, do you have any idea who you’d like to ask?” Rafe asks. Technically only another Shadowhunter could be a suggenes but Rafe knows his dad will happily let he and his brother break that rule. 

“I think I’ll ask Kit, he’s been one of my biggest supporters since I got pregnant and he’s always been amazing to me, he’s my big brother, my best friend, he’s the ideal person to ask.” Cordelia softly.

“Were you his?” Rafe asks. He hadn’t been able to attend Kit and Ty’s wedding 10 years ago, because he was visiting his home country of Argentina with his Uncle Ragnor, and Kit and Ty’s wedding had been very spur of the moment. 

“No,I was only 8 when he and Ty got married, dad was Kit’s suggenes and Dru was Ty’s.” Cordelia explains. 

“I hope we’ll always be as happy as they are, and as your mom and dad and my dad and papa.” Rafe says. 

“We will be, I know it.” Cordelia firmly says, squeezing his hand before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek.

Rafe and Cordelia decide to wait until after she has finished her training and studies to announce their engagement. 

Before Cordelia knows it it’s time for her to take her final exams, and though she has had excellent tutoring and training all her life, she is still very nervous, mostly about leaving Sofia, even though she will be happy as can be with Rafe and will get to see all four of her grandparents and all her aunts and uncles over the next four days. 

It comes as no shock to anyone when Cordelia passes all her exams with flying colors, scoring some of the highest marks in her year. Everyone is extremely proud of her and Cordelia is extremely proud of herself. So many of her classmates from The Academy said she would never be able to accomplish anything when she got pregnant, but now here she is  just under a year later, engaged, mother to a gorgeous healthy baby girl and one of the top graduates Shadowhunter Academy has ever seen.

Right now Cordelia is sitting in the ballroom of the LA Institute where Kit and Emma have organised for her party to take place. Normally Cordelia would be making her way around the room, stopping to talk to everyone but instead she’s sitting at a small table with just Rafe beside her and Sofia in her lap. She is so glad to be back with her daughter and Rafe, she missed them so much while at The Academy and never wants to be apart from them again.

 A few days ago Rafael and Cordelia agreed that they would announce their engagement at the party, Cordelia is nervous as to how everyone will react, but also very excited to finally be able to share the news with everyone.

“Do you want to tell them now?” Rafe quietly asks Cordelia, absentmindedly stroking her arm. Cordelia nods and says

“Yeah, no time like the present.” Rafe jumps up from his seat and in a loud voice he calls for everyone’s attention. It takes a few attempts but eventually silence falls over the room and everyone has turned to look at Rafe and Cordelia, Kit has come over from his spot by the window and is standing behind Cordelia, one hand placed protectively on her shoulder.

“You’re not pregnant again are you Cordy?” Kit teases in a quiet voice, sensing his sister’s nerves. Cordelia laughs lightly and says

“No way, if I got pregnant again now I’d die.” 

“Yeah because mum and dad would kill you.” Kit says in a teasing tone. Tessa and Jem were extremely understanding about the fact Cordelia and Rafe messed up and didn’t use birth control, they understood that mistakes happen, but Cordelia knew that if it happened a second time they wouldn’t be so understanding, and she wouldn’t blame them.

“Everyone! Cordelia and I need to tell you something.” Rafe announces, reaching down to grasp Cordelia’s hand in his. 

“Really? I thought you just wanted all our attention for no reason.” Ragnor says in a sarcastic tone, grinning at his nephew who has the same dry sense of humor as him. 

“Very funny Uncle Ragnor, just for that we may uninvite you from the wedding.” Rafe jokingly says.

“Wedding?” Catarina asks in a tone of shock. Rafe blushes as he realizes what he just said.

“Yes Aunty Cat, I proposed to Cordelia just before she left for The Academy to take her final exams, and she said yes. Papa, in a few months you and Tessa will officially be family.” Rafe says in a proud tone. He and Cordelia agreed that they wanted to be married sooner rather than later and are hoping to be married before Sofia turns 1. 

“Took you long enough young man!” Magnus teases, linking his hand with Alec’s, hardly able to believe their own engagement had been so long ago, when Max was just a tiny little baby, and now he and his brother were amazing, wonderful young men.

“Cordy I am so happy for you.” Kit softly says, coming around from behind Cordelia and embracing her tightly. 

“Kit I want you to be my suggenes.” Cordelia quietly says, as chatter begins to fill the room once again. Kit pulls back from their embrace and looks at his sister, wide-eyed in disbelief. 

“Really?” He softly asks. He never thought anyone would want him to be their  suggenes, if Dru ever gets married he’s always thought she will ask Ty or Mark or Julian to be her suggenes, and he had never thought about any of his siblings getting married, they were still babies to him, especially Jade and Will who are only 16 and 14.

“Yeah, you’re my best friend Kitty, and the best big brother I could ever have asked for, you’ve always been there for me. When I was scared about getting my first rune, you calmed me down and held my hand when they gave me the mark, every time I fell or stumbled in training, you were right there to pick me up and help me try again. When I found out I was pregnant with Sofia I was so scared, I had no idea what to do, but then you came and sat with me, you held my hand and talked to me and listened to me and made me feel so much better, you have always been beyond amazing to me Kitty, there’s no one else I’d rather be my suggenes.” By the time Cordelia finishes her explanation, tears of joy have welled up in Kit’s eyes and are threatening to spill over.

“Oh Delia, I love you so much, of course I’ll be your suggenes, it would be my honor.” Kit softly says, kissing Cordelia on the forehead, softly.

Over the next few hours, Cordelia and Rafe are bombard with hugs, congratulations and stories of how their aunts and uncles always knew they’d end up together. Tessa and Jem hug their daughter tightly, smoother her in kisses and tell her how proud of her they are and how much they love her. Rafe’s parents do the same to him and tell Cordelia over and over about how they cannot wait to welcome her into the family. Rafe tells Alec about wanting Max to be his suggenes and asks if he’ll be allowed to seeing as he’s a warlock. Alec simply tells him not to worry about it and that he will sort it out. Magnus, Ragnor, Catarina and Lily immediately start planning the wedding, Lily insists they have a night time wedding so she can attended. 

For the last half hour or so Rafe and Cordelia have been left pretty much alone, though that was clearly about to end as Cordelia has just spotted Emma walking toward them.

“Cordy, I have something for you, a graduation gift so to speak.” Emma softly tells her cousin, kneeling down beside her.

“What is it?” Cordelia curiously asks, passing a fussy Sofia to Rafe. Emma takes Cortana from the scabbard at her side and holds it flat across her hands. 

“Hold your hands out.” Emma gently says. Cordelia’s eyes widen, she has always admired Cortana and hoped it would choose her some day, but she tried not to get her hopes up, knowing it could choose Jade or Will either. She shakily holds her hands out in front of her and Emma carefully lowers the sword into her out stretched hands. The moment Cordelia touches the sword, she feels as though it’s singing, she can almost swear she feel it humming and vibrating. 

“I... Emma what’s going on?” Cordelia quietly asks, looking up from the sword to see Emma smiling proudly at her.

“It’s chosen you, it’s yours now for the next eighteen years, then perhaps it will choose Sofia, but for now it has chosen you. It was meant to be your dad’s when he turned 18, but he was a Silent Brother by then, so it got passed to his cousin Cordelia- Who you’re named after-  and so on down the line until it came to my dad and then me.” Emma softly explains. She is so proud of her cousin, she truly deserves to be chosen by Cotrana and Emma knows she will do wonderful things with the sword. 

“I-I don’t know what to say.” Cordelia quietly says. Emma brushes her cousin’s hair back and gently squeezes her hand. 

“You don’t have to say anything, I’m proud of you Cordy and I love you so much.” Emma quietly says. Cordelia smiles weakly and hugs her tightly. 

“I love you too.”

Over the next few weeks with the help of all their friends and family (mainly Magnus) Cordelia and Rafe begin to plan their wedding. They decide that they will get married early in the new year and since they cannot be married in The Hall Of Accords since Idris has been in exile since before Cordelia was born, they settle on getting married in the New York Institute which has a lot of meaning to both their families, Magnus and Alec spent a lot of their early days of their relationship their, and Cordelia’s mother was born in New York before she moved to England when she was 16.

The next few months fly by for Cordelia and Rafael, they are both so busy with wedding planning, being sent on missions and raising Sofia, that before they know it it’s the day of their wedding. Rafael had stayed with his parents the night before the wedding and Cordelia and her family stayed in The Institute. Sofia stayed with Cordelia over night because she’s still nursing, Rafe hated spending the night apart from his daughter but he understands why Cordelia wants to exclusively nurse her.

Currently there is only about half an hour until the wedding, and Cordelia has just finished getting ready with the help of her mother. She chose to wear a traditional golden gown which was ankle length with a long sleeves and a skirt that flowed out at the bottom. Isabelle had helped her with her hair and makeup, twisting her long, thick black hair into a bun and then braiding it along the side. 

“Oh Cordy, you look so beautiful.” Tessa softly says, gazing at her daughter in disbelief. How is her baby almost 19? How is she a mother herself, and how is it her wedding day already? To Tessa it feels like Cordelia was born just yesterday. 

“You look just like your mother.” Jem quietly says, lifting little Sofia and making his way over to his daughter and wife. “With your hair up like that and in that dress you remind me so much of your mother when I first met her.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous Jem, she’s your twin, Jade looks me and Will looks more and more like you everyday.” Tessa lightly says.

“Well either way, you look amazing Delia.” Jem says in a loving tone. 

“Thanks, though I think my Sofia is the most beautiful one here.” Cordelia says in a tone of joy, taking Sofia into her arms and smothering her with kisses. Sofia is dressed in a beautiful yellow dress with white leggings and socks underneath, though no doubt by the end of the day the dress will be covered in slobber because of Sofia’s obsession with chewing on her hands. She won’t take any actual teething rings or toys or anything like that, she just wants to chew on her hands and cause a mess. 

Just then Jace appears in the doorway and smiles at his family.

“Delia, come here I have something for you.” He says, gesturing for her to follow him out into the hallway. Passing Sofia to her mother, Cordelia slips on her shoes and follows her cousin out into the hallway, stopping dead in her tracks when she sees who is standing before her. Side by side in the middle of the hall stand two tall young men, one lean with golden hair and green eyes, the other skinny and lanky with messy black hair and deep black eyes. Cordelia would recognize them anywhere in the world, her cousins. 

“Stevie! Georgie!” She exclaims in delight, running to hug her cousins. They told her they wouldn’t be able to attend her wedding, they said they had been sent on a mission that was set to last at least a few weeks, she had been disappointed that two of her best friends would not be there to see her get married, but she understood. Now she suspects it was all a ruse. 

“Cordy you look amazing.” Stephen softly says, hugging her tightly. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t come.” Cordelia asks in a breathy tone, pulling back from the hug and wiping tears of joy from her eyes.

“We wanted to surprise you so we made up a story about being on a long mission, we portaled in from Thailand last night and stayed with Uncle Magnus and Uncle Alec so you wouldn’t know we’re here until now.” George explains. 

“How long are you staying?” Cordelia asks, hopeful that she will get to spend some more time with her cousins. 

“2 weeks, we want to meet your baby and get to know her, can I be godfather?” Stephen asks. 

“Come on Cordy don’t trust him with your baby, you know what he’s like.” George says in a teasing tone. Cordelia laughs lightly and says

“Sorry boys but she’s already got a godfather, Max.” Stephen and George nod approvingly. 

“Okay but I call cool favorite uncle, like Uncle Alec.” Stephen says. He has always idolized and adored his Uncle Alec, he always thought he was the most amazing person in the whole world and wanted to be just like him, once he finishes his travel year he plans to spend a while studying The Law so he has a chance of becoming Consul too one day. 

“In a few years when Sofia’s a teenager, we’re doing a repeat of our travel year and you’re coming with us this time.” George says, putting an arm around his cousin’s shoulder.

“Yeah so if you and Rafe plan on having another baby do it before or after that, though I still think you should’ve come with us even though you were pregnant, we would’ve taken good care of you!” Stephen exclaims. 

“I did think about it but Brother Enoch said it would be dangerous for the baby to portal so much and I felt like crap when I was pregnant.” Cordelia explains. She had been 7 months pregnant with Sofia when Stephen and George left and couldn’t even bring herself to regret not going with them, because she was so sore and tired and sick. 

“Come on, we better get you to your wedding, Kit’s waiting for you in the chapel.” George says, linking one arm through Cordelia’s while Stephen does the same.

The ceremony is a blur for Cordelia, she can hardly believe it is happening, she stumbles through her vows and cries through Rafael’s, barely even feeling the sting of the stele when Rafe applies the runes. Before she knows it it is all over and she and Rafael are standing alone in a spare bedroom of The Institute, grabbing a few minutes to themselves before the reception begins. 

“I love you Cordelia Lightwood-Bane.” Rafe softly says, resting his forehead against Cordelia’s forehead. Her heart skips about a million beats and swells with love and joy at the sound of her new name. 

“I love you too Rafael Lightwood-Bane.” She quietly says, before Rafael tips his head down and kisses her for the first time as her husband. 

#cordelia carstairs #jessa baby #baby carstairs #jem carstairs #tessa gray #jemxtessa #william herondale #will herondale #kit herondale #kitty #kit x ty #tyxkit #dru blackthorn #julian blackthorn #emma carstairs #emma x julian #jemma #jemma blackstairs #cortana #mark blackthorn #ragnor fell #catarina loss #lily chen #max lightwood-bane #clary fairchild #jace herondale #jace x clary #clary x jace #luke garroway #isabelle lightwood

[raysofcrosby]

the way that my entire family dynamic [including extending family] has totally fucked me up in the way that i allow people close to me or push them away is monumental and that's vv sad.

like pls...i just want to be able to marry a guy who is able to find a way past all the shitty walls i put up and has a nice, warm and loving family bc like...what is this bullshit i got?

except my mom and dad– tho they're both a lil toxic but whose parents arent toxic these days?

anywho, bye<3

#literally like divorced parents has me scared of commitment #my aunts and uncles all ended up in horrible relationships #my cousins are all fucked beyond repair #loving grandparents who like me over my cousins? never heard of em #an aunt who doesnt constantly talk shit about me and spread my business bc my dad cant shut his mouth? wish i had one lol #my poor uncle whos trapped lmao rip my dude

[quaintrelle-on-the-loose]

A Weekend in My Life vol. 3: Spending the Long Weekend at Home!

It was a long weekend in celebration for the All Saint’s Day. Thus, I grabbed this opportunity to go home in the province and spent my long weekend with my family and friends. The commute trip to Pangasinan was so tiring and stressful but it was all worth it when I got home.

Day 1 | My Baby Brother, Yves

Every year, the family always sees to it that we go to the cemetery to visit the grave of our deceased loved ones and relatives. We (Mama, Papa, Jessa and I) first went to Malasiqui to pay some of our relatives a visit at our house there, and went to the cemetery there to visit my grandparents’ grave. We then went back home in Lingayen and the whole family on my mother’s side visited the grave of our Lolo, tita Jocelyn, and my younger brother, Yves.

This is one thing that majority of the people who “know” me doesn’t really know about me — that I had one more younger brother who passed away at the age of 4. Yves had a Down’s syndrome, a syndrome that’s caused by an extra chromosome 21 (thanks to my Bio prof, Sir Aris, who taught this in class on my first year in college lol). I was 6 and was on my first grade in elementary, when he suffered from measles, brought to the hospital, but then passed away due to complications. I was still young when all of those happened but it’s still clear in my memory how I was at home that time when I saw and heard Lola Ba bring the news to our relatives that day --- March 3rd of 2003. I saw how Lola Ba and Tita Ems cried while talking about what happened.

It was hard losing someone. I may have not felt the pain as much as my parents felt it way back, losing a jolly child who brought so much happiness and light in our lives, but I miss him. He loved dancing to music, Jollibee’s spaghetti, sweeping, and he loves Mama so much. He was a very sweet child. And I know that everything happened for a reason. He left us so soon but I know that it was part of God’s plan. The whole family and I know that Yves has served his purpose. He’s now our sweet angel and he will forever be in our hearts.

 Day 2: Long Over Due Jog with Rose

Rose and I have always planned to go on a jog since we were still in college. Every time I go home from Baguio for vacation, we always make a plan to go jogging but we already graduated and all and it never happened until today, November 2 (LOL). I invited her for a jog at Narciso this afternoon. Papa wanted to drop me off so I decided to fetch Rose at their house. When we were on our way, I also informed Clyde just in case he wanted to go and jog, too. He went there too but he just watched us the whole time. He also tricked us. He treated us with a lot of food after our run (so useless din yung itinakbo namin!!!).

Day 3: la vié est belle — the gifts of family and friends

Just like the old and usual bonding that we do in the family, we had a picnic at the beach this morning. After a very long time, I got to enjoy the beach again (for real!). 

Before the day ends, too, an unplanned meetup with the grade school friends happened. What we talked about was to meet and chill at Capitol beachfront but we ended up going to the town proper and ate at McDonalds instead just like the old times. It was a time well spent again with these friends. It’s always a blast (of laughter and mockery) with these people even after a long time of not talking and seeing each other.

Day 4: Blogging Time!

After spending some time with family and friends these past days, I allotted today for my blog. I have to catch up with my pending blog post entries and so I wrote and publish two volumes of my A Weekend in My Life series today.

 A Day in My Life vol. 1: The Girl Who Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeves (plus, Christmas is Here!)

(November 10)

It was a hard and an emotional week for me so chilling out today was what I really needed. I already took the day off from work yesterday because I wasn’t really feeling well and I wasn’t sure if I could still take another crap without snapping out. I needed to breathe and to take a pause (Read on a blog post I wrote entitled, “To The Girl Who Always Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeves” to know more). And that’s what I exactly did today.

Christmas is here!

The plan was to chill at Starbucks to do some journaling and blogging with Jessa and JM. We spent the rest of the afternoon at SB and the night chilling, eating, and listening to the live bands.

Greenfield District’s already ready for Christmas and the ambiance in the whole place made me so happy and relaxed today. Christmas is my favorite season and having to watch the fireworks display, and seeing the Christmas lights and the giant Christmas tree made me so giddy. It was a day well spent!

 A Weekend in My Life vol. 4: A Day at Divisoria (ft. My First MRT Experience Alone) and a Date with the Homies at Greenfield

Nov 17 | Divisoria Day and Riding the MRT by Myself

Today’s the day that Roel and I had set to go to Divisoria to canvass and buy some of the props and costumes that we will be needing for our New Hire’s Presentation. We agreed to meet at Magallanes MRT station so I didn’t have a choice but to ride the MRT alone to get there. It was the third time that I tried riding the MRT but it was the first time that I didn’t have anyone with me. There were a lot of funny and epic fail moments about today but thank goodness, we survived. It was a very tiring day!

Nov 18 | A Date with the Homies

After Jessa and I went to the mall to buy some stuff, we met with Ate Mae and Ynah, our cousins, at Greenfield. They went to Church and wanted to meet with us so we decided to chill at Greenfield. It wasn’t that long since they still had to go home to Cavite and it was starting to get late so we decided to part ways after an hour or so. It was a short date but it was great seeing these homies again.

A Day in My Life Vol. 2: Pizza Night and the Ayala Christmas Lights

(November 22)

Since it was ate Cami’s birthday last August 15th, her squad, surprised her today. I got invited to join them for a Pizza Night at S&R and have decided to see the Ayala lights afterwards too. It was nice watching the lights tonight.

A Weekend in My Life vol. 5: NHP Rehearsal and a Dream Come True

NHP Rehearsal

The group set a practice last November 24, Saturday, since there were only a few days left before the Year-end Party and we still had to polish our choreography and finalize the blockings. I never expected that I would enjoy this thing this much. I’ll miss this crazy bunch afterwards, that’s for sure.

“Teacher Jelyn”: A Dream Come True

This year’s really been about stepping out of my comfort zone. Today, November 25th, it is my first official day as “Teacher Jelyn” in the KIDS Ministry at Church. My heart is very full.

PS. Also tried ZARK’s Burger for the first time today and tasted their Three-pointer.  

The 2018 Year-End Party White Mayhem

Last November 29 was the company’s year-end party. The party was held at the Green Sun hotel. Aside from dressing up, dancing to the music, and having fun with the colleagues, for me, the highlight of the party was really the New Hires Presentation.

Months ago, I remember saying that I was not excited about this whole presentation thing. But guess what? After months of rehearsals and being with my groupmates (Team Queen), surprisingly, I enjoyed the entire process. I enjoyed performing and sharing the stage with these wonderful and amazing people that night. And it was an honor to share the second place-win with the team! Even if we didn’t bring home the title of being this year’s champions, we still feel like “we are the champions of the world.” We did our best, invested our time and efforts on this, had entertained the audience, and made new friendships and these for us are priceless. Team Bon Jovi really deserved the win too!

#monthly highlights

[agent-of-empathy]

Allll the numbers

1. Think of the last person who said I love you, do you think they meant it?

I think so yes

2. Would you date an 18-year-old at the age you are now?

of course

3. When’s the last time you were aggravated and happy at the same time?

whenever I talk to you :P @bi-dracula

4. Would you ever smile at a stranger?

yee

5. Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are?

I ain’t dating anyone sooooo

6. Have you heard a song that reminds you of someone today?

nope

7. What exactly are you wearing right now?

uhjeans and a plain black t-shirt

8. How often do you listen to music?

rarely

9. Do you wear jeans or sweats more?

jeanssssss

10. Do you think your life will change dramatically before 2013?

.......it’s 2017

11. Are you a social or an antisocial person?

in between I guess?

12. Have you ever kissed someone whose name begins with the letter ‘A’?

nope

13. What about ‘R’?

never kissed anyone, stop guessing letters >.>

14. Can you drive a stick shift?

nope

15. Do you care if people talk badly about you?

hahahahahahaha yep

16. Are you going out of town soon?

I mean.... I’m heading to the city right next to mine I guess?

17. When was the last time you cried?

recently but I don’t remember when or why

18. Have you ever told someone you loved them?

yes

19. If you could change your eye color, would you?

probably, as long as I can change as many times as I want and to whatever colour I want

20. Is there a boy who you would do absolutely everything for?

nope

21. Name something you dislike about the day you’re having.

I’m booooooooooooooored

22. Is it cute when guys kiss you on your forehead?

YES I WANT THAT TO HAPPEN SO BAD

23. Are you dating the last person you talked to?

nope

24. What are you sitting on right now?

the side of a little caved-in area of my school’s entrance

25. Does anyone regularly (other than family) tell you they love you?

yissss

26. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have?

hahahaha yep...

27. Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night?

u :3

28. Do you get a lot of colds?

yep

29. Where is the shirt you are wearing from?

idk man... thrift store?

30. Does anyone hate you?

probably lmao

31. Do you have any empty alcohol bottles hidden somewhere in your room?

no

32. Do you like watching scary movies?

NO ;~;

33. Do you want your tongue pierced?

nooooo

34. If you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be?

the year I was born :^)

35. Did you have a dream last night?

yes but I dun remember :c

36. When was the last time you told someone you loved them?

This morning

37. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years?

5? No

38. Do you think someone has feelings for you?

LMAO NOPE

39. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?

no lmao

40. Did you have a good day yesterday?

eh

41. Think back 2 months ago; were you in a relationship?

no

42. In the next 48 hours, will you hang out with a girl?

I mean 90% of my friends are girls so yeah

43. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you?

honestly? No...

well, my dad has a few times

44. What’s the best part about school?

when it ends

45. Do you have any pictures on your Facebook?

ye

46. Do you ever pass notes to your friends in school?

no

47. Do you replay things that have happened in your head?

yee

48. Were you single over the last summer?

yep

49. Is your life anything like it was two years ago?

nope

50. What are you supposed to be doing right now?

nothin’

51. Do you hate the last guy you had a conversation with?

no

52. Are you nice to everyone?

mostly

53. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to?

ye

54. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat?

what the fuck of course???? Who the hell would cheat at all??? Let alone after only 6 months????

55. Are you good at hiding your feelings?

nOPE

56. Do you think you like someone?

maybe

57. Have you kissed someone whose name starts with a ‘J’?

WE’VE BEEN OVER THIS I AIN’T KISSED ANYONE

58. Do you prefer to be friends with girls or boys?

girls

59. Has anyone of your friends ever seen you cry?

no and I ain’t gonna let em

60. Do you hate anyone?

no

61. How’s your heart?

at this point it’s probably just rotten mush

62. Is there something that happened in your past that you hate talking about?

yes

63. Have you ever cried over a guy?

yes

64. Who is probably talking a load of crap about you right now?

lol anyone who knows me

65. Are your toenails painted pink?

no but that’s a good idea o:

66. Will your next kiss be a mistake?

probably tbh

67. Girls love it when boyfriends cry; correct?

depends on why I guess? Idk I’m not a girl

68. Have your pants ever fallen down in public?

.........yes

well they were PULLED down

69. Who was the last person you were on the phone with?

Father

70. How do you look right now?

adorable as always B^)

....is what I’d say if I didn’t have cripplingly low self esteem

71. Do you have someone you can be your complete self around?

ye

72. Can you commit to one person?

of course

73. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to?

yis

74. Have you ever felt replaced?

haha yep

75. Did you wake up cranky?

yepppppp

76. Are you a jealous person?

LMAO YEP

77. Are relationships ever worth it?

of course

78. Anyone you’re giving up on?

yea

79. Currently wanting to see anyone?

definitely

80. Name something you have to do tomorrow?

uhhhhhhh

homework I guess

81. Last person you cried in front of?

Dad

82. Is there someone you will never forget?

ye

83. Do you think the person you have feelings for is protective of you?

idk man

84. If the person you wish to be with were with you, what would you be doing right now?

I don’t want to be with a particular person tho...

85. Are you over your past?

no lmao

86. Have you ever liked one of your best friends of the opposite sex?

yeah

87. Is there anyone you can tell EVERYTHING to?

ye

88. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept?

I mean I’d be pretty shocked considering I don’t have a first true love

89. So, the last person you kissed just happens to arrive at your door at 3AM; do you let them in?

I.... haven’t kissed anyone tho...

90. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated?

ye

91. Will you be in a relationship in 2 months?

doubt it

92. Is there anyone you know with the name Michael?

maybe? Idk

93. Have you ever kissed a Matthew?

I

HAVE

NOT

KISSED 

ANYONE

94. Were you in a relationship in January? How was it going?

no

95. Were you happy with the person you liked in March?

I.... didn’t.... like anyone

96. Don’t tell me lies, is the last person you texted attractive?

idk since he WON’T SHOW ME HIS FACE @bi-dracula >.>

97. Who do you have texts from?

idk

friends

dad

cousins

grandparents

98. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say?

I’d probably jokingly make fun of them and wish them the best

99. Have you ever kissed someone older than you?

no

100. Who’s in your profile picture with you?

no one?

O:A GHOST

101. Ever kissed under fireworks?

no

102. Has anybody ever given you butterflies?

yes

[mysteryofren]

Nice To See You’ve Made A Friend

part 12 of So Happy Together

Note: since i didnt upload for a few days you get 2 in a row!!

part 11: https://mysteryofren.tumblr.com/post/616033575057358848/the-first-order

  The next morning you woke up before the girls. You looked at how Gideon was asleep on El and how Phas was hanging off the air mattress with half her body on the floor. You smiled. These idiots were your friends. You picked your phone up and unlocked it. A message from Hux. 

‘So last night was pretty fun, but we still never discussed what happened.’

‘Yeah im sorry, i should've warned you before hand :/’ 

  You got up and headed to the kitchen. Gideon woke up and followed after you. You gave him his food and mixed his meds in with them. Luckily he was a good boy and took his meds with no fuss so you never had to hide it from him. While he ate you went around the kitchen looking for things you could use to make breakfast. First you made some eggs, then you had decided to make pancakes. As you were taking the ingredients out you heard a car pull up. You went to get the door and you watched your grandfather get out of his car.

“Ahh hello my dear, how are you?”

“I'm good. I hope you don't mind, my friends stayed the night it was late and they wanted to come with me.” 

“Of course not my love,” he walked in the house and put his bag down before hugging you. “Your friends are always welcome here.”

  You hugged him tight and helped him take his bag upstairs. When you reached his room you put his bag down on the bed. 

“There is something i need to discuss with you, but let's go downstairs so i can help you with breakfast.” oh no. up until now you forgot he knew about what you had done at school. You two headed downstairs as he started bringing down bowls to start mixing the ingredients. You brought down pans, and nervously looked at him. 

“I'm not angry. I know you'll have an explanation as to why you had skipped your classes.”

“I'm so sorry pop pop. I just was having a horrible day. I already spoke to Luke, and I explained it to him too, and I apologized. He knows I don't intend to miss class again. “

“I know he let me know he spoke to you. What happened, my love? You've never done something like that and I heard from my friend Mace that your grades had gone down. What's wrong, tell me.”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes. You turned to him and hugged him as they fell down your cheeks.

“It's a long story pop pop.” 

“We have time my dear.” 

 You both started cooking, and you told him about everything. You told him about how Ben had consoled you after the phone call with your parents. How he talked to you and listened to you. How you both had talked for days. How on new years he kissed you, and you two spent the rest of the night glued to each other like you two were in love. Then you talked about how he ignored you, and how you found out he was with Rey. you told him about the good things too. Like how you and Matt became friends. How you guys formed the first order. The lunches on the lawn, the late dinners at Maz’s diner, and the trip to the ice cream shop. The funny conversations and stupid debates. You also talked about the night before. The way you guys all skated and sang along to the music, the games you guys played, and conversations you had. Then you went into how Rey had ruined it. 

“That does sound like quite the story. I'm so sorry that all this has happened to you my love. Do you think that something could have happened with Ben?”

“I don't know, but I don't wanna sit on it. It just makes me more upset.”

“No problem my love. Don't let him and your cousin get to you. You're too beautiful and too smart to dwell on one boy. I know you'll find someone who loves and adores you.”

“I know i will. It's just he's the first guy i've ever felt this way for.”

“You'll feel it again, trust me. Before i met your grandmother i met a woman who i thought i would marry. She broke my heart badly, and I thought that was it for me, but then I met your grandmother.”

   It was weird to think of him loving anyone else. Him and mama had seemed like they were with each other forever. You two had finished cooking when Phasma and El came downstairs. El hugged your grandfather when phas went to him to say hello.

“Phasma i haven't seen you in a while, how have you been?”

“I'm very well sir, how about you?” it's a little weird how quickly she can change from her normal goofy self to an overly formal robot. You guys grabbed plates and served yourself and went out to the backyard to eat. You watched Gideon trot around chasing little bugs, and watching squirrels play. Your heart was so full of love for him. He's probably your new best friend. Your grandfather joined you guys for breakfast. You all ate and listened as your grandfather told stories. He asked about what Phas and Elaine were up to. Elaine had told him about the NYU coach coming to her game. You all talked about it for a moment when he decided to go to the game along with you and the rest of the group.

After you all had finished eating your grandfather announced that he would be having to go back to work in his home office. After he left you three together you decided that you would all go to the dog park with Gideon. As you cleaned after breakfast you received another message from Hux.

‘I agree. Not that i didn't enjoy kissing you, but i was caught off guard. Had i known it as going to happen i would have made it better.’

‘Well next time ill let you know when im gonna do it ;)’ were you really flirting with Hux. Are you really this desperate. No. it's not desperate. It's harmless flirting, you both know there's nothing behind it. 

‘So what are you ladies up to today?’ 

‘Were taking my dog to the dog park, and then we might have lunch at the park but were debating on it’

‘I don't understand how you can handle a dog. Cats are far superior.’ 

‘And how would you know?’ 

Just then he sent you a picture of him. You could tell it was a bit old, but he was in sleep clothes with a tiny ball of orange fur in his lap. 

‘This is Mllicent. I took her on her first day home with me. When I brought her home with me my dorm mate and I agreed to keep her a secret as to not get in trouble.’ another photo came through this time the cat was a bit bigger. She was curled up on a laptop. 

‘HUX SHES BEAUTIFUL!!!!!’ you sent back. 

‘She means everything to me. She's a little ray of sunlight in this dark disgusting school. I plan on bringing her with me to college.’ 

‘I hope they let you, it'd be sad if you had to leave her at home.’ 

 You decided to run upstairs and start getting ready with the girls. You told them about Hux’s cat, but apparently Phas already knew. Once you all finished getting ready you decided you were going to do the picnic. You all made sandwiches and grabbed some extra snacks when you figured you would invite Hux and Matt. you shot em both a text when Hux told you he couldn't, because he had to work on his entrance essay. Matt agreed and asked if you could take his dog. You remembered Ben telling you about Chewie. You agreed and made Matt a sandwich too. 

You all packed the car, and made sure to grab some things for Gideon and Chewy. Before leaving you ran upstairs to say goodbye to your grandfather. You were about to knock on his door when you heard he was talking to someone. 

“Maybe if you called her, you would know she is in fact not okay. She's going through a lot and her father and mother ignoring her is not helping one bit!” he was talking about you but with who? You heard nothing for a moment then you heard him speak again. 

“No don't bother, i've already spoken to her, she's promised it won't happen again and i believe her.”

Another pause. 

“Alden not to be rude, but i think i know her more than you do. Maybe if you took the time to do so you would learn she's quite the woman. She's a good student, a good friend, and she's truthful. She had her reasons as to why she had done it, but i have full confidence that she won't be doing it again.” 

Alden. He was talking to your father. He knew you had skipped. He cared enough to want to know about it, but not enough to call you and ask about it?

“No Alden. I refuse to let you pick and choose when you want to be a parent, now if you will excuse me I have to work to get done before she gets back tonight.” why was he concerned with what you were doing all of a sudden? He's right, your father can't pick and choose when he wants to step in. you waited a few minutes before stepping inside so he wouldn't assume you had heard everything. 

“Alright pop pop were off.” 

“Alright my dear let me know when you get back we have been invited to the Skywalker house once again for dinner.” oh great more Ben. 

“Yes sir!” you gave him a little salute before running down stairs. You got down to the car and told the girls about what your grandfather told you. You all talked about it, and they offered to go with you, but you let them know you would be fine. If Ben went then that meant Matt had to go too. That made you feel a bit better. 

 When you arrived at the dog park you looked around desperately for the mop of blonde that was Matt. You saw him sitting down on a bench throwing a ball for chewie. You all ran over to greet him, and you watched as he interacted with El. they were so cute you wish she would get over her rule and just be with him. They were made for each other you were sure of it. You all spent the day playing with the dogs and laughing together. Gideon and Chewie seemed to really love playing together. Eventually you all got hungry and the dogs were tiring out. You put them on their leashes and went by the woods in the park to eat your lunch. Phas laid out the blanket you had brought while Matt got the dogs to sit down by the blanket. Elaine brought out the food and drinks while you poured water and dog food into bowls for the dogs. You all started to eat when you heard Matt say your name.

“So I heard my grandparents invited you and your grandfather to dinner. If it helps i'm gonna be there too.” 

“That helps a little, but that just means Ben is gonna be there too.” 

“Yeah but, it'll be fun. It'll be you and me against everyone else there.”

 You stayed at the park a few hours before it started getting a little too cold. You all cleaned your area and said your goodbyes to Matt and Chewie. You drove the girls back to the dorms before heading to your grandfathers. You got to the house and ran in with Gideon. He slowly walked in and went straight up to your room to lay down. You went upstairs and started getting ready for the worst night ever. You didn't know if it would be bad or not, but for some reason something in you said it was going to be bad. Very. Bad. you still got ready to go anyways. You figured if there was anything you could do it was look good and happy as a big fuck you to Ben. you were shaking as you got ready. Why was your anxiety so bad right now? Matt was going to be there so everything was going to be fine. If anything did happen between you two you know Matt would step in he did before. Your grandfather would surely raise hell if Ben tried anything. Oh god what if Rey was there with him? Your grandfather would certainly keep her from doing anything like what she did the night before. 

  Your grandfather called you from downstairs. It was time. You went down stairs trying to steady your breathing. When you reached the last step you saw him giving Gideon his medicine. You both got in the car and he drove in silence. Why were you feeling worse? What was happening to you? 

“It's like each time we go to this house you're nervous. You look like you might cry.”

“Yeah i don’t know whats wrong with me. I just feel anxious. It's like some force is telling me not to go.”

“I assure you it will all be fine. Your friend Matt will be in there so you won't even have to interact with Ben. Luke knows about Ben not speaking to you either, but Ben wont say why.”

“Pop pop you told him?!” 

“Ben did. He told him the day before you skipped.” he was ignoring you that day. Great. You pulled into the familiar driveway of Anakin and Padme's house. You stepped out of the car and it felt like you couldn’t breath. Your grandfather held your hand tight as you walked up to the front doors. He knocked on the door and it opened on the other side stood Matt.

“Mr.Kenobi!” he said while shaking his hand. “It's so good to finally meet you sir, im a close friend of Y/N’s.” 

He smiled at Matt’s enthusiasm, as he shook his hand. “You must be Matt, my granddaughter and her best friend speak highly of you. I'm glad to finally meet you in person.” 

  He walked away, you assumed to find Luke when Matt closed the door. 

“So he's here, but lucky for you we can go hang out in my room until Dinner.” you agreed and he took you to his room. You walked in and were surprised. It didn't seem like it would have belonged to him. He had some gaming things by the tv, but he also had some instruments, and music posters. He explained that him and all his brothers play an instrument of some sort. He keeps his at his parents and grandparents house. He had a keyboard on one corner, and a guitar on his bed. He put the guitar in the corner by the keyboard to make room for you. The two of you sat and spoke for about an hour when someone knocked on the door. 

“Dinners ready. Mom saved you and your friend a seat.” it was Ben. so he wasn't even saying your name now?

“Something in me is saying i shouldn't go down there.” you whispered. Matt grabbed your hand. 

“Listen you have me down there. Whatever you think he's gonna do. He's not gonna do it. He already knows not to fuck with my friends.” you both got up and walked down. You saw everyone at the table. Leia and Han were here. There were 2 other people. 2 faces you had hoped you wouldn't have to see for another year. The man stood up as you walked in with Matt. he saw the look on your face and held your hand. The man walked over to you and Matt. 

“Hello Y/N, nice to see you’ve made a friend.”

 You were speechless as you looked over to your grandfather. He looked as shocked as you. It felt like all the blood had drained your body. You knew why you were panicking. Your parents were here.

#ben solo fanfiction #ben solo #bensoloxreader #teen!ben solo #ben solo x reader #ben solo series #star wars tfa #star wars au #star wars fanfiction #star wars tros #star wars #star wars x reader #reader insert #teen!reader #kenobi!reader #obi wan kenobi #leia organa #han solo #matt the radar technician #captain phasma #armitage hux