#the situation is that i planned a whole birthday party for myself and then BECAUSE MY MOM PICKED A HUGE FIGHT WITH ALL OF HER SIBLINGS | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cryptidghostgirl · 2 months

Note

I have another chubby reader for you! I was only gonna ask for one but YOURE SO AMAZING I JUST HAD TO PUT IN ANOTHER REQUEST😞😩 Alastor x chubby!reader, where reader goes out with angel Dust to a party or something wearing a *cough* slutty *cough* outfit and Alastor SEES THEM WEARING IT 👀 and he gets possessive of reader and won't let them leave with angel (whose smirking in the background and fluttering his eyelashes like he's innocent because reader and Alastor are bother emotionally constipated or something and haven't confessed to each other😤) and reader is nervous enough wearing something so revealing already (but they felt good enough in their own skin to wear such an outfit; that confidence is quickly fading when Alastor stops her from leaving with the outfit) so she gets the wrong idea that Alastor thinks she disgusting or body shaming her 🥺 but Alastors just ranting about being ladylike and "dressing like a proper lady" , Angel Dust is now watching this heartbreaking train wreck happen and tries to intervene but then Alastor turns on him about tainting the reader or something but reader has heard enough and just quietly just turns around and walks to her room heartbroken 😭 then angel yells at Alastor and tells him everything *shocked Pikachu face* and goes to reader to fix this misunderstanding, you take it from here????? BUT THEY DO CONFESS

(I LOVE ME SOME HURT/COMFORT AND LOVE CONFESSIONS! YUMM!)

A/N I love your requests and I'm so glad you liked how Sweet turned out. I am actually really proud of that one myself. Of course I will write this. 11/10.

Pretty Bunny (Alastor x Chubby!Rabbit Demon!Reader)

Pairing: Alastor x Reader

Warnings: Hurt/comfort. Body image and weight stuff. I feel like Alastor is a bit ooc but I think this is cute so I don't super care.

Word Count: 2,049

Master Lists:

Master Lists

Hazbin Hotel Master List

“And where exactly is it you two are off to in such a hurry?”

Y/n and Angel froze, Angel's hand resting on the handle to the hotel's door.

"Well?"

Exchanging a covert look, Y/n and Angel turned to face Alastor. Y/n clasped her hands innocently behind her back, looking up at Alastor through her lashes which Angel had done up in silver falsies, and Angel fixed a smile on his face.

"Just out." Y/n hummed.

"Yeah," Angel chimed in, draping one of his lower arms over Y/n's shoulders and bringing her into his side, "little Y/n here deserves a night out on the town and some fun."

Y/n quickly elbowed Angel in the side. The spider demon knew Alastor and his opinions on the night life of Pentagram City. He was tempting fate. Alastor raised his eyebrows.

"You deserve 'some fun,' do you?" Alastor asked, fixing his gaze on the shorter of the pair of demons.

Angel released his grip on Y/n, shoving her forward slightly. She stumbled a bit, shooting him a glare before looking carefully back at Alastor. His scrutinizing gaze traversed her form with care. Angel had insisted on dressing her up and while the outfit he had put her in was a bit out of her comfort zone, Y/n felt incredibly pretty. The little white satin dress hung from her hips, playing gently against her thighs when she walked, and the black knee high platforms made her at least a couple inches taller. Angel had even placed black satin bows around the bases of her rabbit ears to tie the whole thing together.

There were also the chains, thin and dripping off her body. A necklace here, a carefully placed waist chain there, she looked practically angelic. Alastor crossed his arms, tapping his foot menacingly as he impatiently waited for an explanation.

"Well, we've been working so hard to become better people and it's been three months since we've done anything... fun. Besides, it was my birthday last week."

"Uh-huh." Alastor nodded, his lack of amusement with the situation obvious, "And where exactly are you two planning on going?"

"Oh come on, Smiles. It's just a club I know." Angel sighed, "You're starting to sound like Charlie. I thought you wanted to see us fail."

"That is true." was the only response the Radio Demon gave Angel before fixing his attention on Y/n once again.

She was beginning to grow uncomfortable under his piercing stare. Y/n wrapped her arms around herself, her shoulders hunching slightly.

"So what is the issue, Alastor."

The name felt foreign on her tongue. Although she had been a guest of the Hazbin Hotel practically since its creation, she avoided Alastor. At first, it had of course been due to intimidation. Then, as he had slowly begun to reveal his true colors to the residents of the hotel, it had morphed into something entirely other. Y/n thought that the Radio Demon, one of the most feared overlords in all of Hell, was pretty.

Y/n had never been good at dealing with crushes or flirting or anything. She avoided him like the plague. Her tail twitched thoughtlessly with trepidation, shifting her skirt just the slightest bit, revealing just the smallest big more of her thighs.. It was the last straw for Alastor.

"You're not going out in that."

Angel pressed his palm to his forehead, shaking his head. Love was his specialty, the act and the feeling. It was obvious to him Y/n had a thing for the Radio Demon, and not just because she had revealed the information to him in one of their late night talks. He never brought it up with the rabbit demon who had become a dear friend in the time they had known one another, but he was relatively certain Alastor had some interest in her as well. The Radio Demon seemed to constantly be a few steps behind her, entering rooms she had just left, letting his eyes linger on her when they did their group exercises.

At Alastor's words, Y/n's mouth fell slightly open. Her breath caught in her throat, a shiver running through her.

"Oh."

Her voice was strained and Angel could tell she was holding back tears. Y/n turned away from Alastor, her shoulders slouching even further.

"That is no way for a proper lady to dress." Alastor continued, not seeming to notice the effect his words had had as he lectured the smaller demon, "I mean, you're barley wearing anything at all! For goodness sake, your shoes are covering more than that dress an-"

"Alright," Angel cut in, stepping up beside Y/n and pulling her into his arms, "that's enough big guy."

"You're clearly tainting her with your promiscuity." Alastor sighed, "What, you want to bring her to some club so ignorant wimps can drool over her all night? Or maybe that's what she wants to have happen."

Y/n pulled herself from Angel's grip and marched right up to Alastor. Her eyes wet with unshed tears, he looked down at the finger she was jabbing into his chest in mild shock.

"You are mean." she stated, "I can't believe how wrong I was about you. I thought... god!"

She let her finger fall and crossed her arms over her stomach once again.

"You ready to go, sweet cheeks?" Angel asked and she shook her head.

All the fight had gone out of her.

"No, you go ahead without me. I think... I think I'm just gonna go to bed. Thanks for... yeah."

With those parting words, Y/n stormed upstairs. Angel and Alastor watched until she had long since disappeared into the depths of the hotel. Slowly, they turned to face each other once again.

"What." Alastor said in the most deadpan tone Angel had ever heard come from the demon.

"How could you do that?" Angel asked accusatorially, taking a step towards Alastor, "She is the sweetest little menace on the planet!"

"Do what?"

Alastor's brow furrowed in confusion. He didn't think he'd said anything wrong, done anything wrong. Y/n was the one who had over reacted, stepped out of line, right?

"Do you have any idea how long it has taken her to be confident enough to wear something like that? She has worked so hard on her relationship with herself and... and... she felt pretty. Why would you say that shit to her?"

"I... what?"

"She liked you, ya dumbass! She cared about what you thought of her!"

Alastor took the slightest step back, his hand not grasping his microphone raised to his chest, hovering over his heart.

"I am afraid I don't understand you."

Angel sighed, trying to calm himself.

"Look. Y/n has a crush on you and you just told her she wasn't pretty."

"No I didn't. I told her she should be more ladylike. A crush on me?"

"Yeah well, that's not much better. She is who she is and she is wonderful! The way that she dresses doesn't change any of that."

"She has a crush on me?" Alastor asked again, dumbstruck.

"Yes you idiot."

"But she never speaks to me. I thou-"

"That's cause she's nervous. Geeze, you are dense."

Y/n jumped in shock as she caught sight of Alastor using his shadows to teleport into her room through the reflection of the mirror. Her makeup half off, she turned to him.

"The fuck are you doing here?"

Alastor opened his mouth, about to make a comment about her language before thinking better of it and closing it again. Y/n rolled her eyes, her anger and hurt having festered into irritation. She turned back to the mirror, using the cotton pad in her hand to take off the last of her mascara. Alastor watched her face through the mirror as she tossed the cotton pad to the side.

Reaching up, she slowly began to disassemble the sculpture of a hairdo Angel had put her in.

"Why are you here?" she asked again, placing a bobby pin on the table.

"I came to... apologize." he replied, taking a small step forward.

"What, did Angel force ya' to?"

It wasn't often her accent slipped out. Y/n had been raised in Brooklyn but her parents had been insistent she work not to have the accent. People didn't take people who had them seriously, they said. It only ever made an appearance when she was drunk or feeling any emotion to it's extremity, especially anger.

"No, I am here of my own volition."

"Yeah, sure." she scoffed as she pulled the last of the pins from her hair, allowing it to fall freely around her face as she turned back to him over her shoulder, "I totally believe that."

"It was not my intent to make you feel like you weren't... pretty." Alastor carefully said, avoiding her eyes, "Just tha-

"If an apology involves an exception, is it really an apology?"

Alastor had never been good at this. Apologies or any of the other feelings he had been actively suppressing about the rabbit demon since he had come to the hotel. She stood up from her chair, walking over to him.

Y/n knew the clock was ticking, felt the heat of the tears building in her head again.

"What." she asked, throwing her arms out to the sides and looking around the room, "Ya' think I'm ugly? Unladylike? Is that because I let Angel dress me up or because I'm not stick thin?"

"Y/n."

There were tears dripping down her cheeks now. She looked away, crossing her arms tightly across her stomach in protection.

"Just leave, Alastor."

"Y/-"

"Leave!" she commanded, "Get outa here!"

"Y/-"

"I don' wanna talk to you! What don't ya' get about that!"

"Y/n!" Alastor grabbed her shoulder, turning her to face him.

"What!" she yelled back, tears streaming hotly down her face, "What, Alastor."

"I... I think you're beautiful."

The tears stopped, Y/n's eyes wide. Fueled by a sudden wild courage Alastor continued, grabbing her hands in his own.

"I do. You... I don't have the words. You..." he shook his head, "I really don't. You are a wonder."

Her nose twitched subtly, her ears adjusting themselves atop her head.

"But then why... why did you say those things to me?"

"I was jealous." he anxiously admitted, "I never meant to make you cry."

"Jealous?" Y/n repeated with a slight laugh and Alastor nodded.

His cheeks were hot and his heart pounding in his chest but he refused to look away from Y/n. Releasing one of her hands, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a handkerchief. Gently, he raised it to Y/n's face, patting away her tears.

"You were jealous."

He wasn't going to be able to escape this one.

"That some other guy was gonna see you like that? Was going to charm you and hold you in their arms while I did nothing? Of course I was."

"I have a confession to make." Y/n said after a moment.

"And what might that be?" Alastor asked as he took another step closer to Y/n, still holding one of her hands in his.

He tried his best to repress a smile, her bashfulness was so endearing.

"I maybe, kind of sort of... think you're beautiful too?"

She looked up at him through her lashes. He let go of her hands, grabbing her by the waste and pulling her body into his.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." she nodded shyly.

"You know, I might have heard something along those lines from Angel just a bit earlier."

"From... that little bitch! I mean snitch! I mean both actually I guess."

Alastor laughed at her antics.

"So, pretty bunny, what are we to do with this revelation?"

Y/n's ears cocked. Alastor could feel her tail twitch, brushing up against his arm where he held her. A shiver traveled down his spine.

"Oh I don't know." Y/n feigned indecision, her hands finding her way around his waist as well, bringing them even closer together, "Maybe you should ask me on a date? If you're interested."

"Interested?" Alastor laughed, leaning down, "Of course I am."

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 7 months

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this was a lil while ago but it's been on my mind and it was rejected by actual Reddit for containing references to violence lol so it's c&p from back when this happened w a minor update but AITA for saying I'd curbstomp someone for saying the N word??

I, (27NB) attended a murder mystery birthday party back in May for a friend Annie (25F) with our mutual friends (24-28 various genders) (There was 7 of us total). We all had a pretty good time despite a lack of planning for the party and general weird vibes (Annie had been upset all day at something their partner, Sean had done).

Towards the end of the night, myself and a friend we're discussing anagrams, I believe specifically for the word "ginger", I was very drunk and did not hear the letters being spelt properly so I guessed the word was "Rigger". The other party goers conversations were coming to a natural end so they joined in mine and my friend's convo. Upon hearing me say "rigger" and pulling a face when I realised what exacty the bad word was my friend was referencing was, Sean then said "Oh it's (n word)!". Another friend, Betty did not hear what they said and asked them to repeat in, which they did loudly. The whole party stopped for a moment. At this point I think I fucked up because I was immediately shocked and said "You can't say that!" and then they said "what, (n word)?" and repeated it another time. I made a comment saying I believed the only person in the friend group to be racist was Dan. I've since privately apologised to Dan for this comment as I don't think Dan is racist at all, and Dan has accepted that apology.

Pretty much immediately after that everyone started making plans to leave, within five minutes cabs were called. Everyone left the room leaving me and Sean alone. I think this is also where I fucked up, I approached them and said they cannot say that word, it's not theirs to say etc, in which they just kept repeating "I'll use that word if I want to". (edit from months later: apparently Betty's boyfriend was in the room and didnt like do anything and just watched this play out). At this point I was pretty much blackout drunk and threatened to curb stomp them if they carried on. Betty came in and diffused the situation and took me home. Betty says myself and Sean were stood very close to each other but I was visibly drunk and stumbling and clearly was in no shape to carry through with the threat (Sean is also significantly larger than me in height and weight so I don't think even sober I would be able to land a punch, not that I want to).

Betty filled me in on a lot of these details the day after as I didn't remember a lot but apparently afterwards I tried to be extremely friendly to Sean and sort out plans for us to hangout this week, something I obviously won't be following through on. (edit: we haven't spoken to each other at all since this)

I messaged Annie on the sunday to wish her a happy birthday(edit: the party took place on the Friday iirc) and she also told me what happened (she was not present for any of this as she went to bed early at the party, feeling sick) undoubtedly hearing only Sean's side of the story. Knowing it's her birthday and I didn't want to bother her with drama I just said maybe their partner shouldn't of said what they said, and she stated after having a mild go for me for threatening to curb stomp her partner that she can't weigh in. So I stopped speaking about it to her and just forwarded her some videos I took from that night (silly videos, one of her blowing out her birthday candles, etc) and she replied saying thanks.

I've messaged Sean saying we need to talk about what happened and basically said while I'm sorry for it happening in their house during Annie's birthday party, I'm not sorry for calling out thag disgusting behaviour. Betty and another friend, Jack have both said I was well within my right to kick off like that, and that I was clearly not going to follow through with any threats, and Sean was wrong to not only say the words multiple times but then to double down when called out both in front of everyone and privately. But i have doubts since it was a birthday party and perhaps saying I'd curb stomp them is a bit much. I don't recall myself being particularly angry while shouting at them but they've said they definitely felt threatened by me and put off on talking to me.

I also find it odd they feel so threatened by me/find this behaviour of mine odd as I have reacted a similar way (less aggressive) when Annie was also racist in front of me, Betty and Sean. I've also spent the last two weeks meeting with Sean, bankrolling and planning this birthday party with absolutely no issue (i don't think a birthday person should plan/pay for their own party and Sean is unemployed) and we've had fun! We joked around a lot and I feel like I'm pretty open about being too weak to throw a punch but always ready to fight (like a chihuahua). I even came over early to help set up for the party, because I liked spending time with them. So for them to feel threatened by me is such an odd feeling. I also feel uncomfortable in the fact that Annie and Sean feel comfortable saying slurs in front of me. The whole friend group feels weird about this situation, no one really knows what to say.

(edit: ok this is where the original post ended but there's still some drama) so the day after I called Sean(with consent, to talk) but Anne picked up and said she would speak on Sean's behalf and I was on speakerphone. He did not apologise (neither did Anne) and Anne defended his behaviour pretty heavily. her/both of their's resolution was for Sean to just not say the N word around me. I obviously said that's still incredibly fucking racist and I don't want to be friends with racists? I cut them off after the phone call and said I'd like the money back I spent on the party from Sean. Anne ended up paying it back two months later when I politely brought it up at another friend's birthday.

Betty and her boyfriend still hang out with Sean and Anne and seem to be pretty good friends with them. Betty mentions Anne to me fairly often and all I say is why are you friends with a racist and then she goes quiet. Everyone still maintains I'm the asshole that ruined the friend group and I still feel pretty insecure about what happened. I don't think I should've threatened violence but they all say "chat shit get hit". so idk. AITA? sorry for how long this is lmao

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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avatar-anna · 2 years

Text

Better Off

Part Three

part three is here! sorry for the long wait, i've been really busy with work, but i have not forgotten about this fic! enjoy!

Series Masterlist

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

June

I was at an end-of-the-year pool party one of the parent’s in Maddison's class was putting on. I didn’t expect an invitation for myself, but it was the dad that stayed to help with Maddie’s birthday party, and after seeing him more at a couple events and talking amicably with him a few times, I thought we had become somewhat friends, so I decided to go.

What I didn’t realize was that there seemed to be a dress code for this party. I showed up in a bikini, one of my old college t-shirts, and denim cut-offs, but when Michael, the dad who was hosting the party with his wife, led me into the backyard, I realized I was terribly underdressed. Not that I would ever own or wear a patterned kaftan or wedge sandals, but I could’ve at least worn one of the few sundresses that I owned. I tried to ignore some of the looks that I got and focused on getting sunscreen on Maddison so she could swim with the other kids. Once she was all set, I shrugged out of my shirt and stuffed everything into the beach bag I brought with me; because of my work schedule, I didn't get much time in the sun, so I was going to make the most of it, judgemental moms in kaftans be damned.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to make it.”

Pushing my sunglasses up the bridge of my nose, I smiled and pulled Harry in for a hug.

“Yeah, Maddie wanted her polka dot swimsuit, but we couldn’t find it, so we had to scour the whole house for the stupid thing. But we made it.”

In the three months since Harry and I “started over,” we’d actually become good friends. We realized that aside from becoming parents at nineteen and twenty, we had a lot in common. Like me, Harry was incredibly hard working—though I often joked that I didn’t understand what he did the few times he tried to explain it to me—and he loved his son with everything he had. Over these last few months, he’d told me a little about his situation with his ex, but just enough to explain why he’d been late to pick Devon up from Maddison’s birthday party. I told him it wasn’t necessary, but I got the feeling there weren’t very many people he could talk to about it.

“We never did the whole custody thing when we got divorced. Taylor made it seem like I was lucky enough to be in his life at all. And at the time, I agreed with her, so I went along with everything she said.”

Family law wasn’t my specialty, but I knew enough about it to know that while custody battles could be sticky situations, sometimes they were necessary.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “That must’ve been difficult.”

“It was alright at first. He stayed with me every other weekend and for Christmas, but then something happened, and it was like Taylor stopped caring. I came to her house to pick him up for the weekend once and he was in front of the television by himself while she was entertaining some guy by the pool.

“That was when I realized things needed to change. That and the day we were called into the principal’s office. When you told me Devon had been bullying Madison, I couldn’t believe it,” he said, shaking his head a little as he recalled the memory. “I knew that being a mother at twenty wasn’t exactly in her plans, but I never thought it would be this bad. So I’ve been trying to get full custody ever since.”

Hearing Harry’s words made me feel terrible for him and Devon. I never thought there would be a worse boat than Maddison’s dad wanting nothing to do with her and leaving us high and dry the second he found out I was pregnant, but now I wasn't so sure. One thing confused me though.

“But if she doesn’t want to be as involved, why not just let you have custody? Why all the trouble?” I realized that while Harry had opened up to me, he might not want to divulge everything all at once. We were friends, but I wasn’t sure we were that close. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that if you don't want to.”

“It's fine,” he said, but remained quiet as he watched our kids run around the park we decided to meet at. “It’s more her family than Taylor herself. They’re, like, old money rich and very proud. When they found out that their daughter got pregnant from some poor bloke from a small village in England, they weren’t exactly thrilled. But to their credit, they took care of everything—the doctor visits, buying all the necessary stuff, they even bought us a house and set me up with a job at one of the companies they owned.”

“But?” I asked, knowing there was more to the story.

“But,” Harry continued. “Their one stipulation was that we get married. I was alone here in America, my family was on the other side of the world, and I didn’t have anywhere else to go, so it seemed like an okay deal at the time, but it was a disaster from the start.”

Harry didn’t need to tell me the rest to know why it was a disaster. She and Harry were two kids thrust into a life they weren't ready for. I knew the feeling well. I found myself feeling bad for Taylor too, even if she was dropping the ball as far as Devon was concerned. It wasn't easy being a mom in general. Being one while you were still in college was almost impossible. Still, the situation Harry and Devon were in now was not ideal. And whatever Harry’s ex was feeling shouldn’t have been projected onto her son.

“I’m sorry. This can’t be easy for you, especially when your family isn’t here,” I said. Harry hummed, and I got the feeling he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “I know you probably have an excellent lawyer and everything,and it's not exactly my area of expertise, but if you ever want someone to look over anything with you, I’d be happy to.”

Harry turned his head to face me, something in his eyes I couldn't read. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here. And so is Devon, obviously,” Harry said now, adding the last bit as an afterthought. We never talked about how we’d slept together on Halloween or kissed in the restroom at the school’s Valentine's Day carnival, and for the most part, it was fine, but we did have our awkward moments.

I smiled and walked with Harry to where a couple of parents were standing around and talking. He grabbed me a juice pouch from the cooler on the ground and one for himself. He’d learned over time that while I liked to drink and have a good time, I normally didn’t do it when I had to drive Maddison anywhere. I never made him do the same, but Harry just smiled and poured himself a glass of apple juice and clinked his glass with mine the first time I told him about my little rule.

“Cheers,” he said, tapping his juice pouch with mine and taking a sip.

I stayed with Harry for a while, the two of us talking about our plans for this summer. Mine were small and not all that elaborate—Maddison’s dance camp in July and going home to see my parents a couple times. Harry told me he was still trying to finagle a trip for him and Devon to go to England and see his family, but with everything going on, he wasn't sure he could make it happen.

“It’s been so long since he’s seen his grandma, Y/n,” he said, but I could hear what he wasn’t saying. I myself wasn’t very close with my parents, but I couldn’t imagine being away from Javi or Sadie for so long. They were my support system, I needed them.

“Well,” I started, walking towards the deep end of the pool so we were alone but could still keep an eye on our kids. “You have a steady paying job, you’ve stepped up where your ex hasn’t, and you don’t live in a total bachelor pad as far as I can tell.”

“Hey,” Harry said, pushing my shoulder. I laughed and shoved him back.

“What I’m trying to say is that you’re making all the right moves. The judge and the social worker will see that. Just try not to make any drastic, life-altering decisions until after you’ve won your case.”

Harry was quiet for a moment while he considered my words. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close. “Thank you.”

I closed my eyes and smiled, patting him on the knee. When I opened them again, I noticed a couple of the moms at the other end of the pool eyeing us. None of them were ever explicitly rude to me, but I could tell they didn’t like the way I seemed to be closer to Harry than they ever would be. Their obsession with him really put me off, and after spending more time with him, I knew that Harry was uncomfortable with it too, he was just too much of a gentleman to turn them away. I took that mantle upon myself when I could, pulling him away from conversations and diverting his attention from these women. Hopefully he would get a reprieve for a few months until school started back up again.

Still, I often found their narrowed eyes to be unsettling, especially when Harry and I were talking about something serious. Leaning away from him a little, I brought my arms up and with all my might, I pushed him into the pool.

Harry fell in with a yelp and a splash, causing the kids at the shallower end to look over. I quickly got up from my spot sitting at the edge of the pool as I heard fits of giggles erupting from the kids, knowing that Harry would be quick to retaliate. Walking past all the parents, I slipped inside the house in search of a bathroom. When I stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind me, patting dry my hands on my shorts, I ran into Michael.

“There you are,” he said, a smile on his face.

I guess as far as middle-aged dads went, Michael was attractive. He was tall and had what looked like red hair that had slowly lightened with time. He was incredibly nice, always stopping to say hello as he dropped off his daughter and never once looking like he judged me for having a seven year old at my age.

“Here I am,” I said, smiling at him as I walked towards the backyard where everyone else was.

Before I could get very far, Michael placed a hand on my arm. “Did you get a tour of the house yet?”

When I shook my head at him, he pulled me in the opposite direction. Not wanting to be impolite, I followed. I half paid attention as he explained things to me like where this painting came from, or what photographer he hired for that family portrait. At the base of his staircase, he stopped, leaning an arm against the banister. It felt a little odd that we were talking away from everyone else, and the hand he still had on my arm felt a little too friendly for my taste. It never occurred to me that Michael might have had some sort of attraction towards me, but I was usually so caught up in Maddison’s dance classes and cases at work that I hardly paid those things any mind anymore, especially after the fiasco with Harry.

“I should probably get back to watching Maddison,” I said lightly, stepping back and away from Michael. He didn't seem phased by my words, just stepped even closer to me than before.

“Come on, Y/n,” he said, his voice low. I had a feeling he was going for sexy, but it didn't come off that way at all. I felt like I was being chided by some kind of father figure. Barf. “You can't expect me to ignore this thing between us. Not when you look like that.”

I felt like thousands of tiny insects were crawling over my body as he looked me up and down, his gaze lingering on my chest. I felt utterly exposed. Bile rose in my throat as Michael raised a hand like he was going to caress my face or tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I choked it down and raised my hand to catch his wrist before he could touch me and squeezed hard enough for him to wince.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I said to him, trying to ignore the way my voice quivered. “But I would think very carefully about your next move.”

Michael had the audacity to smile at me, and it only made my skin crawl even more. He tried to step closer to me, tried leaning in, but I stepped on his foot and hastily backed away from him. I stumbled back into the bathroom and locked it, trying to catch my breath and steady the rapid beating of my heart. I waited for the sound of Michael's footsteps to pass by before opening the door again, taking one last deep breath as I stepped out.

Finding my way outside where everyone was still having a good time, I started collecting my things. The laughter, the music, and the conversation coming from all directions blended together like white noise buzzing in my ears as I put my shirt back on. I felt a lump form in the back of my throat, but I ignored it to look for Maddison in the sea of bobbing heads in the pool.

“Maddie—” I tried to say, but my voice faltered. Taking a breath, I tried again. “Maddison!”

She looked over to me, and seeing the bright smile on her face brought me some comfort amidst the feeling of utter disgust Michael’s actions brought me. I didn't want to interrupt her fun, but I couldn't stay. I could make it up to her somehow, I just had to leave. “Levántase. Nos vamos.”

I didn't always speak Spanish to Maddison in public, usually just around the house, but it came in handy when I didn't want the people around me to know what I was saying.

Maddie looked upset at having her fun cut short, but she didn't question it. She slowly waded to the steps at the shallowest end of the pool and got out, trudging over to me, her little shoulders slumped and feet making wet footprints on the concrete.

“Rápido, por favor,” I said, slipping a towel over her shoulders. She nodded, the braids I did for her a couple days ago swinging as she moved. As I helped her get into the shirt she was wearing when we got here, I heard the pitter pattering of feet on concrete coming towards us.

“Miss Y/l/n, can Maddie stay longer, pleeease?”

Looking up, I smiled at Devon. While watching Maddison today, I noticed that most of the time it was just the two of them doing their own thing. It made me happy to see them becoming such close friends, and I thought it was adorable the way he asked if Maddie could stay, but I couldn't, and I didn't feel comfortable leaving her here without me.

“We can't, but we'll definitely have a beach day soon. How does that sound?” Devon and Maddison nodded enthusiastically at my suggestion, and I stood up from where I was kneeling in front of them. Maddie and I started saying goodbye when Harry walked over.

“Going so soon?” he asked. He'd taken off the black linen button up he had been wearing, most likely letting it dry somewhere. Now he was just in a pair of white shorts, his tattoos stark black in the hot summer sun.

I smiled weakly at him, trying not to appear as freaked out as I felt. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michael walk over to where his wife was sitting at one of the patio tables. The disgust I felt earlier returned, and I hoisted my bag over my shoulder. “Yeah, um, something came up at work, so I—we have to go.”

Harry immediately knew something was wrong, I could see the realization on his face. But I didn't want questions, and I didn't want his sympathy right now. I just wanted to leave.

“Well then I guess we're out of here too, little man,” Harry said, ruffling Devon's hair. “Why don't I take Maddie and Devon out for ice cream while you handle work?”

“No, really, that's not necessary—” I started to protest, but Harry cut me off.

“Fear not, Y/n. I will have the miscreants home at a decent hour.” Looking in his eyes, I saw the silent message in them. Go take care of you. I got this. Loosening a breath, I nodded, and Maddie and Devon cheered.

Walking over to where all the other parents were, I thanked Michael's wife for having us, ignoring Michael himself with everything I had. She gave me a big smile and said that Maddie and I were welcome anytime. Her kindness made me feel sick, and I was suddenly grateful that Harry was taking Maddison for a little bit so I could freak out without worrying her. Michael had a wife. And there he was, trying to make a pass at me while she was just outside. I didn't pretend to know what their life was like when people weren't around, but she seemed wonderful. I didn't want to get in the way of that, not to mention I didn't see Michael like that at all. With shaking hands, I walked with Harry, Maddie, and Devon outside.

When we got to Harry's car, I kneeled down to give Madison a kiss. “Be on your very best behavior, okay? Remember to say please and thank you, and you listen to Mr. Styles when he tells you to do something.”

Maddie nodded, and I pulled her in for a hug. It was probably more intense than what the situation called for, but having her in my arms brought me comfort like nothing else did. I squeezed her until she started squirming, standing up and fishing my keys out of my bag.

“Thank you,” I told Harry earnestly. Getting my wallet, I pulled a couple bills out to pay for Maddison's ice cream, but he waved me off.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. Knowing him, I knew that this was nonnegotiable, so I put the money back in my wallet. Turning his head around a bit, he saw that Devon and Maddison were far enough where he could whisper to me. “Is everything okay?”

I nodded, even though everything was not okay. “Yep. Everything's just fine. Don't keep her out too late, please.”

I could tell Harry wasn't buying my nonchalance, but he didn't press the issue any further. Once they all got in his car, I started walking to mine. Now that I was alone, the last twenty minutes started to take its toll on me in full. Part of me felt like an idiot for not seeing the signs that Michael felt the way that he did, but we’d never had more than friendly conversation. He was a nice guy who had a daughter that was in the same class as mine, never did I ever think of him in the way he obviously saw me. Not to mention the fact that he had a wife and was considerably older than me. I felt dirty. Even though nothing really happened, I felt like I could still feel his eyes as he looked me over, like I was his for the taking.

As I drove home, my thoughts started to have a mind of their own. Did I lead him on somehow? Was this my fault? I tried to think back to any and all interactions with Michael I could recall, but I didn’t think there was a time where I encouraged his behavior today. When I got home, the house was empty and dark. With Javi out at work and Maddie with Devon and Harry, I had the whole house to myself. While I appreciated Harry taking Maddison out, I kind of wished she was here to distract me from this gross feeling that I couldn’t shake. With my skin still crawling from Michael’s gaze, I decided to hop in the shower. I threw my hair up into a bun and stepped in, trying to wash away today.

And the problem with that was, outside of Michael’s advances, I was actually having a good time. I was happily watching Maddie play with Devon and her other classmates while sipping on juice pouches with Harry. Now any time I would think back on this day, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I got out of the shower feeling a little better, more tired than anything, but I didn’t want to be asleep when Harry dropped Maddison off, so I took a couple of my files from my bedroom to the couch to work on while I had a movie playing in the background. My eyes danced over case files without really paying attention to them, but after about half an hour my mind started to shove thoughts about this afternoon away and focus on the work in front of me. Being upset over what happened today wasn’t going to change anything. Maddie didn’t need a frantic mom, she needed a strong one, and the people I helped at the office needed that from me too.

A while later I was on a roll, taking notes and writing down reminders of phone calls I needed to make later this week. With my highlighter in my mouth and a case file open on my lap, the door opened. “I’m home, Mommy!”

With my highlighter still clutched between my teeth, my head turned to where Maddison, Devon, and Harry walked through the entryway of the house. Removing my file from my lap and capping my highlighter, I stood up to greet everyone. “Hi, mija, did you have fun?”

Maddie nodded and gave me a hug and a kiss before taking Devon outside to play in the backyard, leaving me and Harry alone in the living room. Harry raised two paper bags in his hand. “I felt bad for leaving you with a sugar-crazed kid, so I brought dinner. Hope that’s okay.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I told him, but took the bags from him anyway and set them down on the kitchen counter. Deciding to let our kids play for a little bit before sitting down to eat, I brought Harry over to where I was sitting on the couch a couple minutes ago.

He sat on one side, and I sat on the complete opposite, drawing my knees up to my chest. Harry grinned a little as he teased his bottom lip between his fingers. “Well, it was more for me, really. I was quite hungry.”

I laughed quietly with Harry, watching as his eyes crinkled at the sight of my smile. He was still in his clothes from the pool party, his black button up looking a little wrinkly from getting wet earlier. One thing I noticed that he wasn’t wearing before was a tiny little clip that held up some of his hair away from his face. I found it cute the way it created a little tuft of hair on the top of his head, a little surprising that he owned a hair clip at all, but cute all the same.

“What happened today?” he asked me, making my eyes trail from his hair to his face. Harry looked passive, like he was trying to appear casual, but I could see little traces of concern in his features.

I didn’t answer for a moment, playing with the hem of my shirt as I thought about what I wanted to say. Right now, this afternoon was behind me; I had all of summer to spend with my daughter and away from the parents at her school, Michael included. It was so early into summer that I didn’t want this one incident to put a damper on our two months of freedom. Well, Maddison’s two months, I still had to work, but we were going to make the most of it.

I was also wary of telling Harry about this at all. Anytime I talked about my “friendship” with Michael, he always got moody. He would cross his arms like a little kid and try to change the subject. I wasn’t sure if Harry was just territorial of his friends by nature, or if he was jealous, but I told myself it was the former, mostly because nothing about my interactions with Michael or how I spoke about him indicated I was interested.

Quietly, but not weakly, I spoke to Harry. “Nothing really, Michael was just being an ass, and I didn’t want to be there anymore.”

Harry’s reaction was almost instantaneous. His face became angry, morphing into something I hadn’t seen before, not even when Principal Stevens told him Maddie punched Devon. I wasn’t necessarily worried about Harry’s reaction when I told him, but now I wondered if I should’ve said anything at all. He’d proven himself to be a good friend and person in general, but I didn’t need him to fight my battles for me. I could handle Michael on my own.

“I handled it, so let’s not make a big deal out of it, okay?” I told him, causing his face to soften a little. Harry inched forward carefully, almost like he knew that Michael had done more than just say something to me, even if I didn’t tell him that.

He offered his hand out to me, a question in his eyes. I took it, letting the warmth of his fingers encase mine. What I didn’t expect was to be pulled into his chest. Harry held me close, a little awkwardly because of how I was sitting before, but it still felt nice. His chin rested on top of my head as his hands rubbed soft circles into my back. I couldn’t help the small smile that split my face. Harry really did turn out to be a good friend.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

“Why? You didn’t do anything,” I said, a little confused. Harry wasn’t even there when it happened. “And it’s not like you’re my boyfriend or anything. There wasn’t much you could do.”

I don’t know why I said it. It was a stupid thing to say, especially when Harry was being incredibly kind and comforting. I guess I hadn’t put the frustrations I felt earlier completely behind me. I felt Harry stiffen a little against me, and I immediately felt awful. Pulling away from his embrace, I opened my mouth to apologize, but Harry was already standing up from the couch. Still, I tried anyway.

“Harry, that came out wrong, I’m sorry—”

“No, you’re right, I’m not.” He didn’t turn around, just kept on walking towards the kitchen counter to take out the food he’d brought over.

Sighing, I stood up and followed him into the kitchen. There were things we never talked about since we’d become friends, our feelings for each other being the main one. Despite my best efforts, I really liked him, but I really didn’t want to. My life was so hectic and things were good between us as friends, I didn’t see the need to complicate things further. But that didn’t change the fact that I found him endearing and had grown to love his collection of colorful cardigans and sweaters, or that I would catch him staring at me when he thought I wasn’t looking. It was a weird place to be in, but most days we ignored it, only now I wasn’t so sure how long we were going to be able to do that.

Leaning against the counter, I watched him pull to-go boxes out of the paper bags. I was relieved that he stayed because it meant he wasn’t super pissed at me. He would’ve been gone already if he was. Coming around to where he was standing, I wrapped my arms around his torso. “I’m sorry.”

I felt Harry take a deep breath, my arms rising and falling a little as he inhaled and exhaled. “It’s fine.”

“See, you say that, but then I hear you say it and I see the look on your face, which tells me it’s not,” I said, and maybe I was poking around somewhere I maybe shouldn’t have, but I wanted to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

I removed my arms from his waist so he could move around the kitchen counter, placing sushi pieces on paper plates from my cupboard. I raised an eyebrow at his choice of giving sushi to two seven year olds, but didn’t question it. Harry was a pretty down to earth guy, but he had expensive tastes.

Taking his clip out of his hair, he ran a hand through it and put it back in its place. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Y/n.”

“The truth, preferably,” I said, chancing a little humor.

He rolled his eyes at me, but kept talking anyway. “See, you say that, but I don’t think you really want to hear what I have to say.”

His words scared me a little, but I made this bed, now I had to lie in it. “Try me.”

Harry took another deep breath, his fingers pulling at the paper casing of a set of chopsticks. “I like you. A lot, actually, but you’re afraid of change and letting people in, so I’ve settled for being your friend, which is fine, I just…it’s just difficult to see you get upset over assholes like Michael when—when, you know, I’m here.”

I’d asked for honesty, and that’s what I got. I had an idea that Harry’s feelings went beyond the scope of friendship, but I didn’t know how much. I also took offense to what he said about me, but that was mostly because he was pretty spot on. He was right to say that I didn’t like change and had a hard time letting people in, but history had made me that way, and I was having a hard time changing that.

“Harry,” I said, reaching to grab his hand. He pulled away to continue setting up dinner, but I knew there was more intention behind it than that. It hurt more than I liked to admit to see him blatantly refuse my touch, but I figured it was probably deserved. “I didn’t—I didn’t realize how much…”

“I think about you constantly,” he admitted. He kept his head down as he folded and unfolded napkins, but I could see the nervous tremor in his hands. “I think about the way you laugh at my jokes when no one else does, I think about how good you are to Maddison and how you would do anything for her to make her happy, and I see how much Devon likes you, despite the fact that he’s never taken to strangers so easily before.

“But mostly, I think about that night months ago,” Harry mumbled, like it was a secret. He didn’t need to say which night he was talking about. I knew. “The perfume you wore could’ve gotten me drunk because it was so intoxicating, that red bra-thing you had on was absolutely sinful.”

Harry finally stopped playing with the napkins and walked over to where I was rooted to the floor in the kitchen. Normally I would’ve snorted at him saying “bra-thing,” but I was stunned into silence.

“I think about how soft your hair was in my hands, how soft you were underneath me, on top of me, how you whispered my name like a prayer.” Harry’s lips ghosted the top of my cheekbone, his hands dancing along my shoulders. I felt hot and cold all at once, goosebumps rising underneath the fabric of my shirt. “I think about how right that night felt. Did you feel it too, Y/n? Do you still think of me?”

Lost in the feeling of his closeness, I nodded, revealing the one thing I’d been trying to ignore in order to maintain the friendship we had. I thought about him too, more than he could ever know, but it wasn’t so simple. We had young kids, I shared a bedroom with Maddison, and Harry was struggling to get custody of Devon. There was just too much going on right now, adding a budding relationship to the mix would only add to that.

Harry’s lips brushed over mine, the barest touch sending sparks shooting up my spine. My body involuntarily moved forward to meet his, the way his nose barely brushed against my cheek almost too much, that one bit of contact making me weak in the knees. My movements became hasty and rushed, but Harry remained languid, his lips pressing against mine and focusing on my bottom lip in a way that had my head spinning. My hands were everywhere, but his left remained by his side, his right lightly cupped against my jaw. It was like he was putting all the power in my hands, how far we took this kiss was up to me.

Craving his touch in a way that was a little embarrassing, I took his hands in mine and brought them to my waist and flattened them against where my hips curved. My movements spurred Harry into action, his hands acting on their own as they moved up and down my sides and his lips moving with more purpose as they opened mine, his tongue sliding against my own with a precision that had me melting in his hands. I fisted his black shirt, then reached underneath the unbuttoned bit to lay my hands flush against the smooth skin of his chest. He was impossibly warm, and I could feel the rumbling of his groan as my hands wandered, spurring me on to travel further.

With great difficulty, I detached my lips from his to press lazy kisses to the base of his throat, smiling against him as I felt him take a shuddering breath. I wasn’t sure that taking things between us further was the best idea, but his kiss and gentle touch made me want to try anyway. Maybe down the line, I would come to regret my choice, but I felt like I might come to regret not trying even more. As I kissed along his neck, though, I could still feel some lingering tension where his shoulders rested underneath my hands, like he was unsure of my intentions right now.

“I think about you too,” I whispered as I placed a kiss to where his ear met his jaw. Harry shook his head slightly.

“Don’t,” he breathed. “Don’t say that unless you mean it. Please.”

Pulling away, I brought my hands up to either side of his face. He looked hopeful and ready to face rejection at the same time. Rubbing my thumb along his cheekbone, I kissed his face.

“I like you,” I whispered, kissing one brow. “And I think about you constantly too.” His other brow. “I think about these beautiful eyes of yours.” A kiss to each of his eyelids. “And I think about your smile.” A kiss to the corner of his mouth. “And that dimple that has no right being as cute as it is.” Harry smiled, and I kissed the indentation in his cheek. “That’s the one.”

I moved so that we were nose to nose, my hands still caressing his face. “I’m cautious because my life runs on a very delicate balance, and just one small change could set everything off course.”

Harry nodded, his shoulders slumping the slightest bit, but I pressed a kiss to his forehead. “But I haven’t felt like this for anyone… ever, I don’t think, despite how much you irritate me.”

He chuckled and I smiled at him, butterflies taking flight in my stomach. “What are you saying?”

Pursing my lips, I took his hands in mine. “Let’s just take things slow, see where life takes us this summer.”

It was imperative that I stressed the importance of going slow. Maddison and I were a package deal, and I knew Harry and Devon were the same way. Harry had a lot going on in his personal life, and I didn’t want to get in the way of that. And for the sake of everyone involved, I thought it was best to just take our time. We knew that we both liked each other, and for now, that was enough.

Harry grinned, the same smug one that I’ve had a love-hate relationship with over the last few months. I asked him what had him smiling that way, and it just made him grin even more. “You like me. Like, you like me like me.”

“What are you, twelve?” I asked, taking my hands out of his. I backed away from him and went towards the backyard to call Devon and Maddison inside. Halfway there, I felt a hand on my shoulder spin me around, and before I could even take a breath, Harry’s lips were on mine again. This kiss felt different from before, more hungry and needy than the last, and I could feel the message in it as his tongue tangled with mine. I’m not a boy, he seemed to say. And I won’t let you forget it.

“Alright, alright, I get it. Now can we please feed our children? Remember them? Mine punched yours in the face once?”

Harry tipped his head back, as if he just remembered Devon. “Right, them. I don’t suppose we can just put some kibble and water into bowls and we can have the night all to ourselves?”

I shook my head at him, but talking about Maddie and Devon made me think about how they came into play. I was very conscious of Maddison and what she knew and didn’t know about my meager (until now, I guess) relationships. Maddie already knew Harry, and I didn’t know how to tread this unfamiliar ground.

“What do we tell them?” I asked, my voice taking on a serious tone.

“Well, what do you want to tell them?” He replied, and I opened my mouth to tell him that that was a non-answer, but he spoke again. “And before you say something about how I’m passing this off to you, I just genuinely want to know how you feel. This is important to me too.”

It was a little unsettling the way he seemed to know me as well as he did, but he was my friend, and had become quite good at reading me, despite my efforts from trying to keep him from doing so. But if he wanted the truth, I’d give it to him, the same way he had been open and honest with me. “I don’t think we should say anything. Not yet.”

“I agree,” he said. “And I’m not just saying that. I mean it. I think it’s the right thing to do for now.”

I felt relief wash over me, not even realizing that I was worried he wouldn’t agree with me. It was important for me to see if we were serious about this before saying anything to Maddison. “Okay, so, that means you have to let go of me now.”

Harry frowned, pulling me in for another kiss. “I’ll try to keep my longing glances to a minimum.”

“Ha!” I laughed at his antics. I’d seen a lot of sides to Harry over the last few months, and I wondered what he would be like in a relationship. “Please do, now let’s eat.”

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

july

“Mommy, why didn’t you tell Grandma and Grandpa about Harry?”

In a panic, I whipped my head around to where Maddison was sitting in the backseat. “What are you talking about, kiddo?”

After a month of doing whatever we were doing, Harry and I had yet to say anything to Maddie or Devon. It was still new, and with our constantly conflicting schedules, we’d only gone on a couple dates, if you could call them that. We went out for lunch during work breaks a few times and went out for drinks once when Javi could watch Maddie and Harry’s ex had Devon for the night. It didn’t end the way Halloween did because I had to get Maddison to ballet class early the next morning and then haul my ass to work, but Harry didn’t seem to mind, content to keep taking it day by day.

We were careful around our kids, though. Harry never held my hand while we took them to the park or when we went over to his house for playdates. I didn’t think either of them had caught on, but now I wasn’t so sure, and the constant questioning from my parents didn’t help.

“So, Y/n, anyone new in your life?” my mother asked.

It was the Fourth of July, and Javi, Maddison, and I were at my parents’ house for the holiday. This wasn’t the first time my mother had asked me about my dating life, but this time around, the questions felt more frequent, more incessant. There were many reasons I hardly went home anymore, and while her questions weren’t at the top of the list, they were definitely on there somewhere.

“No, Mom, there isn’t. It’s just me and Maddie against the world right now, isn’t that right, mija?” I said the last part to Maddison, who happily licked on a red and orange popsicle.

She nodded around her popsicle, the edges of her mouth red from her messy eating. My mother, however, didn’t look as pleased by my answer. “You’re getting a little old, don’t you think? Time’s ticking, Y/n.”

“Rosie, that’s enough,” my dad chided, placing a hand on her arm.

“It’s fine, Dad,” I told him. “If that’s how she feels, that’s how she feels. That doesn’t mean I have to listen.”

My mother rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so cross, Y/n. You’re always so defensive with me.”

“Because you’re never satisfied with what I’m doing. I could win a case in the Supreme Court and you would still complain that I don’t have a husband.”

My mom set her glass down with more force than was necessary. Before things could really get ugly, though, my brother returned from where he had gone into the house for a moment.

Ah yes, the favorite child. I loved my brother to death, but there was clear favoritism in our family. I knew it had to do with the fact that I had a child at twenty and he didn’t, but I didn’t really care, I had let that go a while ago. I didn’t need my parents’ approval to be successful or happy.

The rest of the night was tense, but there weren’t any more hiccups or squabbles. I tried not to fight with my parents in front of Maddison, but sometimes my mother really brought it out of me. Looking at my daughter now as I drove her home from dance camp, I wondered what the hell she was talking about.

“Isn’t Harry your boyfriend?” Maddie asked, and I nearly pressed my foot on the breaks.

My eyes flicked to my daughter in the rearview mirror. She didn’t look particularly upset, just as curious as always. “What makes you say that, Maddison?”

“He always stares at you while Devon and I are playing. And you have a heart emoji next to his name in your phone.”

I sighed, pulling into the driveway and turning the car off. Getting out, I opened the backseat and grabbed Maddie’s dance bag. She unbuckled her seatbelt and walked up the front steps with me. “You’re too smart for your own good, you know that?”

Maddie giggled and did a pirouette into the kitchen. “And a great dancer.”

“Oh, that goes without question.”

We hung out in the kitchen together as I fixed her up a sandwich for lunch, and I thought about how I wanted to address Harry and me. Maddison obviously picked up on cues and subtleties more than I gave her credit for. What I didn’t know was how she was really feeling about what I clearly had been trying to keep from her for the last month.

I played some music for us while I made her lunch and put Maddie to work making her get out the peanut butter and jelly, spinning her around the kitchen every now and then. When we finished, I sat down with her at the kitchen table while she munched on her sandwich. Opening up my phone, I sent a quick text to Harry, sighing when I saw the little green heart next to his name. I wasn’t even the one to do that, he was, and now it had come back to bite us in the ass. I asked him if we could talk later or the next time he had a moment. He’d finally managed to get him and Devon to England for two weeks. We’d spoken since, obviously, but it was limited because of the time difference. Switching my phone off, I looked over at Maddie.

“So, I know you think Harry is my boyfriend, but he’s just a really good friend.” Harry and I hadn’t put labels on anything yet, and I had no plans on doing so for the time being. This was the moment I wanted to avoid so much, but it had snuck up on me anyway, despite my best efforts.

“Oh,” Maddie said, licking a little stray peanut butter from her thumb. “Well, does he know that?”

Now that is something I didn't expect. “What do you mean?”

Maddison tilted her head, the little ballerina bun that took an arm and a leg to perfect each morning this week listing to one side. “I don’t know. I just think he really likes you. Devon does too.”

She said it so simply, the only way a seven year old could. In her mind, I suppose it was that easy, but in reality, I knew there was a lot more to consider. These past few weeks with Harry had been great, and I hoped that the coming weeks would also be great, but I still felt like I was walking on a tightrope with this budding relationship. Leaning over, I peppered Maddie’s cheeks with kisses.

“No, Mommy! No more kisses!” she shouted, but I didn’t stop, tickling her sides too.

I finally stopped after a few seconds, pulling her up to her feet. “Okay, kiddo, let’s get you showered and then we can figure out what we’re gonna do the rest of the day.”

I helped Maddie take her shower and get her dressed in more comfortable clothes. We spent the rest of the day around the house, me working and Maddison playing in the living room with her mix of dolls and action figures. It was a mellow summer evening for us. Javi came home early and we all watched a movie on the couch together, Maddie falling asleep on my shoulder halfway through. Javi turned in early and carried Maddison to bed while I stayed on the couch to work a little more and text Sadie in between shuffling documents. Like Harry and Devon, she was also on vacation, so it really was just me and Maddison against the world right now.

I also thought about the conversation I had with Maddie today. I wasn’t sure why I expected her to scream and shout and be completely against the idea of me and Harry together, but I did. Maddie had always been a pretty chill kid, and she liked Harry whenever we got together. I think part of me maybe hoped she would hate us together so I could have an excuse to end things if things went south between Harry and me, like a back door or something. I liked Harry, and I liked the time we spent alone together outside of a playdate with our kids, so I didn’t know why I had a self-sabotaging loophole in the back of my mind. We never really finished our conversation at lunch, but from what I could tell, Maddie was unbothered by Harry and I being more than friends. This is a good thing, I told myself, hoping that saying it over and over in my head would make me believe it.

As my thoughts took me away from my work, my phone rang. Speak of the devil. I nearly forgot that I asked to talk to him earlier. Holding my phone up in front of me, I blew a curl out of my face and answered the phone. “Hey. It’s a little early over there, isn’t—Oh, hello.”

Looking at my phone screen, I saw that it was not Harry looking back at me, nor was it Devon, who sometimes answered Harry’s phone when I called. It was a middle aged woman, her hair dark and eyes a similar shape to Harry’s. I had the urge to hang up because I was ninety nine percent sure that this was his mom, but I managed to control myself.

“Oh, she’s just gorgeous, isn’t she, Harry,” the woman said, and now I really wanted to hang up the phone. She must’ve seen the frantic look in my eyes because she slowly backpedaled. “Heavens, I’ve scared her. Please forgive me, I sometimes forget to shut my mouth. I’ve just heard so much about you.”

I could tell Harry’s mom was trying to make me feel better, but I only felt more flustered. Two days ago, I told my mom that there was no one in my life at the moment, and here was Harry’s mother, talking to me like we were long time friends. Outside my view of the camera, I could hear Harry’s muffled voice.

“Mum, did you call Y/n?” His voice sounded surprised and exasperated at the same time, his face matching it when he popped onto the screen. Reading the expression on my face, Harry worried his lip between his fingers. “I just want you to know that I didn’t say a word to her. She figured it out on her own.”

I was speechless. I thought I was going to talk to Harry about how his day went, the tap dance Maddie learned today, and the fact that Maddison seemed to put together that there was something going on between us. Meeting his mom while I was in my pajamas wasn’t part of that plan. Something about this situation felt unsettling to me. A lot of things didn’t go to plan today, and this was just the icing on the cake.

Forcing a yawn behind my hand, I blinked at the screen. “I was actually just about to go to bed. But I would love to talk later?”

I didn’t want to sound like a complete bitch, but I was tired, and I didn’t like being put on the spot. Harry’s mother seemed to understand, apologizing for keeping me up and saying how excited she was to speak to me another time. Harry, on the other hand, saw right through me. He asked his mom to let him say goodbye alone, and then it was just the two of us.

“You’re upset,” he said the minute we were alone. I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it to him anymore.

“No, I told you, I’m just tired,” I said, but I could tell Harry didn’t buy it at all.

He rubbed a hand across the slight stubble growing on his face. “I’m sorry about my mum. She can be a little overbearing.”

I nodded, but my heart wasn’t in having this conversation. He knew it, I knew it, but neither of us hung up the phone. I missed his stupid face too much. “I miss you.”

His face broke out into a smile, but he hid it behind his hand. “I’ve missed you too. Absolutely dreadful not seeing you and Maddison every day.”

My cheeks warmed, a small smile of my own forming on my lips. I heard Harry mumble, there she is, and it only made my cheeks heat up even more. The truth was, I knew that Harry wasn’t the reason for my sudden change in mood. In fact, he was in the same boat as I was.

“Now, are you going to tell me what’s got you feeling so blue?”

I shook my head, but it was playful. He grinned a little when he saw that I wasn’t as icy as I was a few minutes ago. He kept jokingly needling me for information about my day, and I kept my mouth shut for a little bit, but I eventually broke the news to him. “Maddie knows too. She figured it out.”

Harry was quiet for a few seconds, dumbstruck. “Wow,” he breathed. “We suck at keeping secrets.”

That made me laugh. “Me? Maddie said she caught you staring at me all the time. And you said your mom figured it out when you got home.”

“Alright, so I’m terrible at keeping secrets,” he said, laughter still in his voice. Sobering up, he looked at me with an earnest eye. “Are you okay with that?”

“I mean, it’s not ideal, but she took it better than I thought, so,” I told him, my voice trailing off. At this point, there wasn't anything I could do about it, and Maddie’s positive reaction should’ve had me doing cartwheels around the house instead of moping to Harry. Maybe I was just tired. “Is this okay? I know this means you might have to have a talk with Devon sooner than expected.”

This was also an issue that itched the back of my mind. I liked taking things slow, and I knew Harry did too. Our plans for seeing how things went flew out the window now that our kids knew, or would know in Devon’s case. Harry also had a lot going on in his personal life. He was still battling for full custody of Devon, and by the looks of it, it was going to be ugly to the very end. I didn’t want to be cause for distraction or unnecessary drama in his life.

“Erm,” he started. “Yeah, I mean, I wished I could’ve planned or prepared for it better, but I don’t think it'll be too bad. He’s grown quite fond of you.”

I felt my face flush again at the compliment. Most of my time spent with Devon was when he and Maddie were on a playdate, but I always went out of my way to ask how he was doing or what he was up to that week. Every time I saw him, I thought of how he looked when he got dropped off for Maddison’s birthday party, and how I never wanted him to look as sad as he did that day. He might have been a punk to my daughter at the beginning of the school year, but the more Maddie and I got to know him, the more I realized how much of a lover he was. He was a sweet boy, and I cared about him as much as I did Harry.

Nodding at the camera, I replied to Harry. “Well, the feeling’s mutual. Now tell me how your mom found out about me.”

The camera quality was bad, but I could see a little pink on Harry’s cheeks. Now that I talked to him about it, I didn’t mind as much that more people knew, I just didn’t like being ambushed. He told me that he didn’t breathe a word to his mom, his mum, he said, but that when they got to her house, she could tell something was different.

It was funny to listen to him explain his mother’s odd sixth sense for sussing out personal information from Harry because I was in a similar situation and my mother had no clue about my life or who was in it outside Javi and Maddison. Not that I cared, I preferred that my mother knew nothing about my personal life, especially where Harry was concerned. Things were good because they were easy. We didn’t see each other as much as we might’ve liked, but there weren’t any expectations right now. It was like we were in a delicate bubble floating through the sky, and my mother was the needle that would pop it, causing Harry and me to scramble for purchase where we could find it before we hit the ground.

“And then of course Devon mentioned you and Maddison, and that pretty much told her everything she needed to know,” Harry said, pulling me from my thoughts. I stayed quiet, thinking. I’m sure Harry's mom was a wonderful person and nothing like mine, but I couldn’t help but think that this was somehow going to change the dynamic of our relationship, solidify it more than I was ready to right now. Harry and I had only been seeing each other for about a month, and to me, that wasn’t a lot of time. Harry spoke again, trying to comfort me, but only making my mind scramble even more. “I’ll talk to her today, explain that we’re not really that serious right now.”

I tried not to visibly cringe. We’re not really that serious. As it usually goes with taking things slow, we decided not to label what we were doing just yet, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t serious about Harry. I wouldn’t have said yes to giving us a try if I wasn’t. And I wasn’t seeing anyone else right now either. I got that Harry was trying to ease my mind, but he only made me feel like what we were doing wasn’t important to him.

What’s his mom going to think when he tells her that? I thought. She’s going to think I'm some girl only out for a good time or something equally horrible. I didn’t really want Harry’s mom to know about us in the first place, but now that she did, I didn’t want her to think ill of me.

My mood was worsening, and I didn’t want Harry to see it. I just needed to go to bed and maybe talk to him later. “Tell her whatever you want, Harry. It's late, so I should probably get to bed.”

His face, which had been calm until this point, became concerned. “Did I say something? Don’t just leave, Y/n, let’s talk about this—”

His voice, still calm but steadily becoming irritated seemed to grate on my nerves even more. “I’ll talk to you later. Good night, Harry.”

I hung up the phone and climbed into bed with Maddie, rubbing a thumb across her cheek. Shutting my eyes, I tried to go to sleep, but it would be a while before I actually did.

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

...

so miss girl is a little dramatic, but 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ i am too low-key. anyway, next part should be up in the next few days!

#harry styles #harry styles au #single mom!reader #single dad!harry #harry styles blurb #harry styles x reader #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfic #harry styles oneshot #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles x you #harry styles fluff #harry styles writing #harry styles angst #harry styles one shot #harry styles fic

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liminalpebble · 9 months

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My loves. I find myself in the middle of a real life shitty/angst situation. So I will use it to make creativity lemonade rather than wallowing.

It sucks, but holy shit is it a good prompt and if any of you would like to write about how our beloved fictional men would handle said situation with "reader" I would love to be tagged.

Situation: I was supposed to host my birthday party at a bar this weekend with a very big friend group. This is the kind of group where there's always some kind of drama between some people. I've always stayed out of it. I just decided to invite everyone openly, and they can sort it out like adults amongst themselves.

I've been planning for weeks...putting together games, decorations, party favors, all that, then yesterday shit hit the fan. A friend chewed me out for inviting someone she hates, and said she won't come because of it. (She was a major part of the plans for the day, so there's a bit of both a social and logistical domino effect...lots of things going tits up).

This morning I decided to cancel the whole party, realizing that if it's already this miserable, it's only going to get worse, and I dont want to suffer through it. I did so tactfully, not saying anything about anyone to anyone. Just saying I don't have it in me right now to host.

So today I've been sitting here staring at all the party favors I wrapped, with a knot in my stomach, being mad at myself. I even cried a little, which I usually have trouble doing.

Any ideas how our fictional darlings might cheer me up? I would welcome your words (be they smut, fluff, comfort whatever). Thanks for humoring and distracting me in advance, sweet SAS. 🥰

P.s. if you're comfortable with it, DM me your address/PO BOX, and I'll send a few party favors. 🥳 might as well share the love, otherwise they'll just sit here.

@lokischambermaid @lokisgoodgirl @gigglingtiggerv2 @goblingirlsarah @acidcasualties @mochie85 @smolvenger @ladyofthestayingpower @sunflowerdaydreamer @glitchquake @tripleyeeet @unlucky-number-13 @infinitystoner @peaches1958 @alexakeyloveloki @marcotheflychair @coldnique @thedistractedagglomeration @muddyorbs @thenerdyoldersister @icytrickster17 @loz-3 @jennyggggrrr @littlespaceyelf @love-letters-from-loki @sarahscribbles @lovelysizzlingbluebird @sweetsigyn

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random-ideas-artblog · 3 months

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Just finished watching the first detective Conan movie!

So I just finished it, and I was taking notes as I went through. I’m just going to post them below. It’s pretty rough because I typed while watching so these are real time thoughts. Overall I enjoyed it though.

Conan’s adorable when he gets the letter (blushing is cute)

Can’t believe the dork forgot his own birthday but remembered some Holmes trivia instead lol

Ran is a such a sweetheart omg

Mori really read through the dudes whole Wikipedia page lmao

Never mind I mean biography I forgot this was like 1997

Does this dude have OCD is that supposed to be the implication

Garden party is cool but where are the bombs and skyscrapers what I sup

Damn he can cook wow

I feel like the do everything myself is going to be Important

Ok he’s kind of sinister know idk why

Yo why is he so interested in this teenage girls love life???

Conan you are so screwed

Oh ok I see where the bomb and skyscraper are coming into play now

Grudge against the architect maybe

Wow that was a big explosion

Ok this whole situation is very weird why is he helping Conan

What is the cat the fucking bomb???

There better not be any cat death in this movie I will cry

How did the old woman not notice the bomb???

That old woman and driver are having very tame reactions to this insane kid

Oops and he’s passed out. In the hospital too uh oh

Aw that cute Kogoro is by his bedside

Wow Conan without the glasses really looks like a shinichi copy how has no one noticed

You can’t use phones in hospitals what is this common knowledge I never learned

Ok this looks really bad for Shinichi I pity him a bit lol now Kogoro things he’s scum

Ok I have a theory: For whatever reason architect is bombing stuff for an unknown reason. The guy shown has a beard but that’s probably just a disguise, architect said he likes to do things himself so that’s why I think it’s him. He doesn’t what there to be casualties or just wants someone to stop him.That’s why Shinichi was contacted he’s a well known detective. The password thing was a test for Mori to see if he can replace shinichi, but Conan figured it out and got a tour of the gallery. Which, COINCIDENTALLY, has buildings that have been bombed before (the mansion) and will be bombed (presumably the skyscraper based on info so far). It’s a deliberate clue. That’s also why the bomber is accepting Conan as a legitimate detective because he passed the test, but also giving hints because this js a kid he doesn’t want to kill him. It’s also just occurred to me that the architect was implied to have severe OCD or perfectionism. He could be bombing past builds because he thinks there’s some thing wrong with them and can’t stand to have their design be under his name. Something like that idk. I’m only 36 minutes in so we’ll see

Wait a minute maybe the reason architect was interested in the birthday date was because he wanted to know when and where Shinichi would be so he could plan the bombing around his schedule! Ran provided practically all the details too

That’s cute the kids drew a picture (I know it’s a suspect but still)

He’s happy with it??? Damn Conan can’t draw at all

That was a lot of damage to the car wow

Rare Kudo shinichi appearance I missed you!!! Conan’s cute but shinichi as himself looks pretty cool haha

Damn that’s a strong father son bond

Laughing then hating that’s kinda of funny

Genta is going to shout out the word bombs isn’t he

…I knew it

Wait no ones noticed these kids screaming bomb on the train?

I am so confused by the motivation pretty sure this means my theories are wrong damn

Sick burn Ran lol

Wow this whole diverting sequence is seriously dramatic and I love it

Poor Ran she’s getting stood up

The bridge! The architect doesn’t want to blow up that bridge because he’s actually happy with that work! That would fit with my previous theory

Ok shiratori is being kind of suspicious. Kinda confirms my theory tho

Conan dude that suggestion was not subtle at all

Ok now what Mori has said it’s someone else I’m more convinced than ever it’s the architect

Ok there’s a lot of emphasis being placed on him lighting the pipe same as the beginning

Ok did the dad steal his kids designs or did he steal his dad’s?? Probably the latter

Was I actually on to something with the pipe????

Uh new theory he’d bombing all the architecture that doesn’t fit the New Tama symmetrical city to try and get the building approved after the Mayors arrest

Just saw the architect has a painting of a horse above the fireplace I don’t know why that’s amusing to me

Mori you are so wrong it’s funny as hell

That reaction was funny as hell

It’s kind of creepy how the architect is just standing and staring down

Go after him Shiratori hell yeah

So the skyscraper in the tile only shows up in the last 20 minutes

I was actually right with my theory?? Kind of. I got the reason he wanted Kudo to take the case wrong(it was revenge) but the motivation behind the bombing and who was bombing them was correct.

Ok but now that it’s been proven it had nothing to do with the case, why was he so interested in the date it’s a little bit creepy ngl

Oh damn the bombs actually went off that’s a lot of power

Ok wow this dude is an asshole

Wait he wanted to know about the date so he could plant a huge bomb that would kill Ran and Shinichi wtf

Ok Ran is taking this very well wow she’s cool

I wonder what everyone else in the lobby is thinking right now

Wait did they do it wrong. Wait nvm that’s someplace else

Seeing Kogoro so worried about Ran is kind of heartwarming, although the circumstances aren’t great

Oh god it’s the classic red wire blue wire

My bet is on red wire. It’s Ran’s favorite color and the couples lucky color for the month

Bruh wtf is with this edgy commentary from the architect about love you’re such a loser Christ.I’m getting a bit heated haha 😅

Not the happy Birthday this is really sad

We’ll be together when we die??? What the hell this is depressing but kinda sweet

I just realized I started off a bunch of my comments with ok so. It’s not important or anything I just noticed that while reading through. I’d give this movie a 7/10. There were some interesting parts and it was fun theorizing but there are still some things I’m confused about. Why did he accept Conan as a detective? Why did he provide clues to the bombs??? If the motive was revenge wouldn’t it be better to have Shinichi fail? Maybe I missed something idk.

#detective conan case closed #dcmk #movie review #conan edogawa #shinichi kudo #i really want to see shinichi in the red polo shirt now #I feel like that would clash with his eyes tho lol #Time bombed skyscraper #Movie 1

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gracexthoughts · 30 days

Text

of violent delights chap 7

happy birthday, mia

30 January 1996

Euphemia's POV

The Christmas break seemed to float by. Harry and I stayed at Hogwarts as always, the Weasleys and Hermione staying as well. My first two years at Hogwarts, I went back to the Dursleys' for Christmas, just to see Harry and make sure he was okay. Since Harry started though, we've had no reason to go back. Christmas with each other and our friends has always been far preferable. I'll never forget how excited Harry got his first Christmas morning at Hogwarts.

I love the castle during the holidays. It's decorated to the nines and is quiet and serene for two weeks. I spend most of my time running around the empty halls with the twins, a snowball fight with the Twins and I on one team and Harry, Ron and Hermione on another, and two weeks of no prefect rounds.

Since that night in the broom closet, Mattheo and I haven't spoken of what happened. I've never seen him be so gentle, especially not to me. The way he helped calm me down from panicking, and the way our hostile banter turned playful in the time we spent locked in the closet has plagued my mind in the two months since. I fully expected to arrive in class the next morning with the whole school knowing Euphemia Potter had a panic attack from being stuck in a broom closet with Mattheo Riddle (most girls' dream situation) but no one knew unless I told them. Mattheo hadn't told anyone what happened, or if he did he swore them to secrecy. I tried to thank him for it but I only received a grunt in return, reverting back to the same cold, angry and insufferably superior jerk I've always known him to be. Even so, I can't help but wonder what he was doing over break, why he was so nice to me that night, and why he hasn't tried to use my weakness against me.

Harry has been despondent since Christmas when his new Firebolt was confiscated to be checked for tampering. I hadn't even woken up yet when Harry had come rushing in, yelling thank you over and over again. He'd thought I had bought him the new broom but I hadn't. Well, I'd been planning on it but my plan was to let Harry pick out the broom he wanted rather than choose it myself. But some mystery benefactor had beaten me to it and McGonagall promptly confiscated it, worried about it being cursed or hexed and Hermione has taken the brunt of Harry's anger. Secretly, I'm grateful someone else thought it was strange besides me but i’m sorry Hermione is being shut out for it.

Since term has resumed, and prefect rounds and Quidditch practices along with it, Harry and I have been adding weekly anti- dementor lessons to our schedules. Four lessons in and Harry and I can both produce the shield version of the Patronus Charm. The corporeal form, however, has been a bigger challenge.

"Happy Birthday, Mia!" The door to my dorm is flung open as the Weasley Twins, Angelina, Alicia, Lee, and Harry all flood into my room. The best benefit of being a prefect? I have my own dorm room. Although, my friends have started to use it as their own personal common room so it's ultimately not that private anymore. I sit up, making a noise somewhere between a groan and a laugh as my friends and brother surround my bed. I squint at the clock on my nightstand and balk.

"I love you all so much but it's literally 8AM, I don't get to sleep in on my birthday? It's a Sunday!" I pretend to whine, falling back on my pillows. With Quidditch practice Mondays-Thursdays 4:30-6:30PM, prefect rounds Tuesdays and Thursdays 9-11PM, and extra lessons with Lupin on Wednesdays at 8PM I have barely any time to do my schoolwork, let alone anything else.

"No, because it's not fair for you to shorten the time we get to celebrate you by sleeping," Angelina says, crossing her arms and sitting on the bed next to me.

"You can't sing at breakfast," I say, sitting up with my eyes wide and looking at the Twins. Fred and George love parties, celebrations and taking the mickey out of people they love. When they found out I'd never celebrated a birthday before coming to Hogwarts, they made it their personal mission to make every birthday since absolutely insane.

"We won't," Fred says, a mischievous gleam in his eyes behind his smile.

"I couldn't believe you less," I laugh.

"Oh we're singing! No opting out, Potter!" Lee says, wiggling his eyebrows like a madman.

"C'mon, Mia don't be a spoil sport!" George says, leaning against one of the posts of my bed frame.

"Oi! I am many things but a party pooper is not one," I laugh, "I need you all the leave if you expect me to get dressed though."

"Boo," Fred laughs, heading towards the door with George and Lee. Harry holds back for a moment and leans over the edge of my bed to give me a hug.

"Happy birthday, Mia," he says with a small smile.

"Thanks, Haz," I return his smile, reaching up to ruffle his already unruly hair. He chuckles and shoves my hand away and turns to leave with the rest of the boys, leaving me with Angelina and Alicia.

"Sooo, what do you think Freddie got you for your birthday?" Angelina asks, lay back on my bed.

"The twins better not have gotten me anything. I don't want any presents," I say, pushing off the blankets and tossing them over Angie.

"Not the twins! Fred," Alicia says, sitting on the back of the love seat in front of the fireplace. I furrow my eyebrows as I cross the room to my dresser and begin pulling clothes out for the day.

"Why just Fred?"

"C'mon, Mia. You are not dense," Angie says, rolling onto her stomach and propping herself up on her elbows.

"About what, Ang?" I turn, raising my eyebrows, playing dumb because I know exactly where they are going with this.

"Freddie liiiikes you!" She responds in a sing-song voice, causing me to roll my eyes and throw a sweatshirt at her from across the room.

"Please!" I groan.

"Why are you upset? Fred's cute," Alicia says. Angelina and I raise our eyebrows at our friend, who is very openly lesbian. "That's not a personal opinion! It's just a fact. Fred and George could have any girl in this school they wanted and yet, dear Freddie has been single for more than a year. He likes you, Mia. It's plain as day."

"I look like I could be his sister. Remember first year when half the school thought we were triplets?" I say, pulling a sweater over my head. The Weasley family all have bright and fiery red hair while my hair is a darker red, a weird mix of the dark brown of my father's hair and the bright red my mother had. Never stopped people from asking if we were related though. "I don't like Fred like that."

"You're dumb for that, Phe. Sorry," Angie laughs.

"You date him then if you think he's so great!" I laugh.

"No thanks. I've got dibs on George though," she responds, winking at me. Alicia and I exchange a shocked look before we burst out into laughter.

"You know, Ang, I think that will work out very well for you," I tease. Angelina bolts up to her knees, still on my bed.

"What do you know?"

"A secret!" I wink and duck as Ang throws a pillow at me.

"The three of you and your secrets, I swear!"

"Okay so who do you like? There's gotta be somebody," Alicia pries, and I sigh.

"There's no one. When would I find the time?"

Angelina gasps, jumping up from the bed and rushing over to me, grabbing me by the shoulder. "Don't tell me it's Riddle!"

"ANG!" I groan, pulling out of her grip, moving into the ensuite bathroom but leaving the door open.

"Oh my god, imagine?" Alicia starts cackling on the couch, falling off the back and landing on the cushions on the other side, her feet dangling over the back of the love seat.

"It's like Romeo and Juliette! By that muggle writer you like so much!"

"Romeo and Juliet both die in the end," I call from the bathroom. "I don't really think they are meant to role models."

"Still, he's so hot. And experienced. From what I hear he's amazing in be-"

"Ah! No! Please stop, it's already hard enough to do rounds with him without thinking about his bedroom habits!" I interrupt Angelina, waving my hands begging her to stop. "Let's go get breakfast and you can continue your tirade of embarrassment once I have coffee in my system, deal?"

My day is spent being dragged around by my friends. They take me to Hogsmeade, singing happy birthday again when Rosemerta brings me a cupcake with a small candle stuck in the top and telling every shopkeeper it's my birthday. I think I spend most of the day blushing and trying to hide. When we finally make it back to the castle, I head into my room to put away some stuff I bought in Hogsmeade.

Just as I'm about to leave to rejoin my friends, something catches my eye on my mantle. It's a yellowing piece of parchment paper folded into a square with my name on it written in handwriting I don't recognize. I reach for it and turn it over revealing a dark red wax seal. I study the crest pressed into the dark red wax, feeling like I recognize it but not being able to-- My knees fold below me and I sink to the floor at the realization. I did research on our family history my first year at Hogwarts and this crest was everywhere I looked. The Potter Family crest.

My hands shake as I tear open the letter.

22 October 1981

My darling Mia,

Happy 18th birthday, my beautiful, wonderful daughter. If you're reading this letter, then I am very glad I decided to write this. While I hope your mother and I come out of this war relatively unscathed, I feel it would be irresponsible if I did not put some things in writing for a worst case scenario. So, I have enchanted this letter to appear to you on your birthday on the off chance I am not there to give you a present in person.

As I'm sure you know, my father inherited a fortune, which through his career he grew significantly, and a manor house. A house in which he and my mother raised me, and I spent my life in. My parents, never failing in their generosity, made our home a haven for others, and a place of warmth and joy, not only for our family by blood, but our family through choice as well. It has a proper name I never could be bothered to remember but everyone just called it the Potter Manor anyway. If you are reading this it means I am gone and the house is now yours. You'll find directions to it in this letter as it was hidden by enchantments before we left to go into hiding. What you do with the house and the money, I leave entirely to you and your brother's choosing. I know first hand how quickly the world changes and I believe the age of manor houses and ballrooms, and lavish parties of my parents' life is not in keeping with the world you shall be a young woman.

I also want you to know how loved you are. We may not have expected you but we have never regretted your existence. You and your brother have been the shining star that has guided your mother and me through the dark years that have followed us since leaving Hogwarts. I know you will do incredible things in your life, my darling. Watching you grow these last few years has been the most wonderful experience of my life and being your father is the greatest privilege. Your mother and I love you and Harry more than anything in this world.

I know if you are reading these words, then the worst has happened and I am very sorry I never got to watch you grow into the beautiful young woman I know you will be. Luckily, you have been surrounded by loving friends and family since your birth and I know you and your brother will be well taken care of by your godfathers. Remus and Sirius are my brothers, as well as Peter, and they are some of the only people your mother and I would entrust our children to. Do me a favor? Tell them I love them for me.

Now, I hear your mother calling me for dinner and I must go have a wonderful meal cooked by the woman of my dreams, joined by the two most beautiful and wonderful children to ever exist. What a lucky man I am.

With all my love,

Dad

I can't help as tears fall down my face as I read my fathers words, words he hoped would never reach me, words he might have shown me himself, to which we would laugh at our good fortune and celebrate the 18 years we spent together as a family. I blink back tears and read through the letter again, soaking up the only piece of my father I have.

As I reread his mention of godfathers, a tightness grows in my chest. Sirius, I know, is Harry's godfather but Remus? I sit there, my knees pulled to my chest, for a moment before the realization hits me.

The letter in my hand, I run out of my room and into the halls, furiously walking to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, red clouding my vision as the truth of my life comes more clearly into focus. As I enter the darkened classroom, I see light spilling out from the office door at the back. I throw the door open to see Remus Lupin standing at a record player in the back, music playing softly from the speakers.

"Mia! Are you alright?" He asks, his eyes scanning my face with concern.

"Are you my godfather?" I blurt out, unable to control the anger coursing through my veins. Lupin pails and he nearly drops the record in his hands.

"W-Where did you hear that?" He asks, setting the record down and walking around his desk to face me. I hold out the letter, slightly crumpled from my rush through the halls. Lupin's hands shake as he takes the paper, his face growing somber as he reads the words my father wrote days before his death. The office is silent for a long moment, the only sound is the record player in the corner spinning still even after the music has come to an end. After a long moment, I break the silence again.

"So? Is it true?" Lupin looks up at me, tears shining unshed in his eyes, and nods slowly.

"Yes..." I close my eyes, willing myself not to cry as he hands me back the letter. I wait for him to continue but he doesn't. So I do.

"What, no excuses? No explanation as the where the fuck you've been the last fifteen years? Sirius Black being Harry's godfather is bad enough but you? You seem quite capable. I mean you're alive, seemingly sane and decent and yet I had no idea you existed until 5 months ago. Clearly my father was under the impression you'd have been a good guardian to his children and yet, what? You said no? Disappeared until I was old enough not to be a burden on you? Ran away and left the children of a man who called you brother to the care of their muggle aunt and uncle who made their lives a living hell? I assume you knew the state of my mother's relationship with her sister since you were good enough friends to be her child's godfather!" I rant, barely recognizing my own voice as it's clouded through grief and tears and barely contained anger.

"Mia-" He takes a step towards me, his hand outstretched and shaking but I step back, shaking my head as tears flow freely down my cheeks now.

"How could you have left us there? Without even as much as a letter? A visit? Not even a single sign that we were not entirely alone in the world? Do you have any idea what they were like? Any idea what we lived with for 15 years? How they lied to us about who we were ,who our parents were and how they died, how they locked us in the cupboard under the stairs when we used magic before we even knew magic was real!" I'm yelling now, rage over taking any sense of decency or respect for the man standing in front of me, looking guiltier than a man on trial for murder. All the rage I've stuffed down over the years about the circumstances of my life bubbles up as I realize what Harry and I could have been spared. I rage and I rage and I don't care if it wounds this man. "You know, all this time I've been wrong about you. All year, I've thought that you were good and kind, that you were giving Harry and I lessons out of empathy when really all along it's just been guilt! You claim to have cared about our parents and yet you abandoned the children they sacrificed their lives for... You... You're just as much of a coward as Sirius Black." I say before turning on my heel to leave.

"Mia! I-I tried. I promise you, I tried to take you but... I was told I wasn't fit," Lupin says, his voice breaks on the last word. I close my eyes, for a moment, frozen in my tracks as I stand under the doorframe.

"Then you didn't try hard enough," I say quietly before slamming the door behind me and running out of the classroom.

A/N: I’m sorry Remus, I love you I promise. Also i’m sorry it’s another all Mia chapter but Mattheo’s is next, i promise.

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multi-kpop-fanfics · 1 year

Text

Birthday

pairing: non-idol bf!Seungcheol x fem!reader

genre: fluff, angst, established relationship!AU

warnings: mentions of food, alcohol, mean and insensitive people, cursing

word count: 0.8k

summary: it’s your birthday and noone is invited - except you and your boyfriend.

Author’s note: Happy birthday my beloved Vicky boo @delicatewerewolfsoul 💕 Words cannot describe the gratitude and love I have about you and our friendship and I really hope it will withstand against time🥺 hope you’ll have fun today and you’ll enjoy this teeny tiny piece <3

“So, anything fun planned for tonight?”, your friend asks you with a playful tone. “Well, depends on what you mean by fun, because your definition of fun is quite different from mine”, you give a snarky reply and you roll your eyes when you hear your friend scoff from the other end of the line.

“Well, whether you have plans or not, you’re coming over for your birthday party and we’re gonna drink!”, she happily exclaims and you’re left utterly baffled, because….you had no fucking idea about this.

“I will what?”, “We rented a house and bought drinks for your birthday party!”, “And you didn’t even bother to ask me?”, “But it was meant to be a surprise!”, “Well I have a surprise for you too - I’m not coming”, you deadpan and hear an exasperated gasp. “YOU FUCKING WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”, she screams from the other end of the line.

“I have no intention of at- Cheol, wait!”, you shout as Seungcheol barges in the living room, snatching the phone out of your hand, shushing you with his pointer on his lips, “Hello, this is Choi Seungcheol, is this Y/N’s friend?”, “Yeah, now give me Y/N back, I have to talk to her”, “First of all, Y/N isn’t yours to be given back. Second, when it’s someone’s birthday, they have the right to spend the day however the fuck they want. And if Y/N says she doesn’t want to attend your shitty party, then she won’t”, Seungcheol nearly growls in the phone. “Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?”, “I introduced myself a few seconds ago, not my fault you’re probably deaf”, he laughs, sending you a sly wink.

It’s your turn to snatch the phone out of his hand and take control of the situation.

“Listen to me - The man you were talking to is my boyfriend and I intend to spend my birthday with him, all. Day. Long. Now excuse us, but our couch is waiting. Bye!”, you hang up right on her face, throwing the phone on the couch.

A second of silence passes and the both of you crack up, laughing out loud to the point of tears stinging your eyes.

“Oh my God, I wish I was there to see her face!”, you fan yourself to calm down. “Honestly? Same”, Seungcheol wipes his eyes with his hand, “It would have been hilarious”, he lets out a breathy laugh.

“Okay, enough about that”, you change the topic, “Where were you this whole time?”, “Oh, me? I just went out to do some last minute shopping”, he grins widely. “Last minute shopping, huh”, you narrow your eyes at him. “Yes, and now I would like you to close your eyes and turn around”, he instructs you, “But Cheol-”, “No buts, you’ll do as I say and trust me, you won’t regret it”, “Okay, fine”, you grumble and ultimately do as he says, giving him the chance to do what he has in mind.

It takes him approximately three minutes to put the brownie cake on the table along with two glasses of red wine and light up the candles. You can hear the familiar sound of the lighter and you’re trying to stop yourself from laughing out loud, so you settle for covering your mouth with your hand.

“You can turn around now”, Seungcheol sing songs and you turn around, opening your eyes to see your boyfriend grinning like a fool, urging you to sit down and blow the candles while you make a wish.

“Come on, baby”, “Stop being such an idiot, I wanna make my wish!”, you whine in protest and take your time to make your wish, finally blowing the candles on the cake, Seungcheol clapping and letting out a tiny ‘yay!’.

“You’re such a dumbass”, you laugh and circle the table to reach your boyfriend and hug him, but he decides to lift you and spin you around, carrying you to sit on the couch, taking a seat right next to you.

You pick the fork in front of you and take a bite of the cake, letting out a satisfied sound when the rich chocolate flavor hits your taste buds. “Is it good?”, he asks and you wordlessly hand him over the fork so he can take a bite too.

Seungcheol mirrors your expression as he tries out the brownie, mumbling an ‘oh my God’ with a full mouth. “This is so damn good, fuck”, he almost moans, “I know, right? You made a great choice, babe”, you admit, taking more of the cake. “Easy there, champ”, he laughs and picks up the wine glass, waiting for you.

“A toast?”, he asks, “Thought you’d never say it”, you swallow and pick up your glass.

“Happy birthday to the most beautiful woman in the world”, “God, you’re so cheesy, Cheol!”, you clink your glasses and take a sip of the scarlet red wine.

“For you? Always”.

#svthub #scoups fluff #scoups angst #seungcheol fluff #seungcheol angst #svt scoups #choi seungcheol #svt fluff #svt angst #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #seventeen

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prismuffin · 1 year

Note

OwO Anon, we need to stop sharing the same brain cell. I had it before my shift, did you take it??

Anyways, I noticed some of your tags and stuff about your snake and how crazy things have been for you. I'm not stalking your blog, I swear... I just have notifications on..

Please use this ask box message, to rant/ vent about what you are okay with sharing!

Because, you seem like the type to not bring up shit in conversation, snice you'll feel like an asshole if you took up space in a convo.

- Crow

CROW LMFAO not you calling me out perfectly with that last sentence-

yeah I practically have no one to talk to because of my current situation and I feel bad for ranting whenever but I'll take the invite and rant a bit- so with that in mind, you can ignore everything under the cut but thank you for this vent ask!

But yeah there's just a lot happening right now and it's all making me feel really bad which in turn is making me feel worse because I feel like I have no right to feel bad??

Things are pretty wild with my family right now- for some context my family is pretty big with my parents having 10 kids in total- my mom didn't have all 10 and all of my siblings are half siblings so growing up I was the only one with both of my parents present- the rest of my siblings were only related to my dad or mom. Now that mostly everyone has moved out or is living with their mom/dad they're trying to go into their retirement plan and the only problem with that is I'm still here!

my parents are trying to live in the US for certain parts of the year and in Mexico for the other parts which is totally fine but it's completely uprooting my life and I have no idea what to do. I already dropped out of my school because my depression was worsening (like it got real bad) and I couldn't take it anymore so I left it for college prep (which is online and allows me to control my hours and how much work I do) so I lost contact with most of my friends then and I'm losing time with all my other ones because I'm in a different country for half of the year- and in said country I also have no friends and the one friend I did make is leaving for Portugal so I can't hang out with them anymore.

Me moving countries/traveling often means that I have to sell most of my stuff since I won't always be in a place for too long. I already had to give away my dog and now I'm gonna have to sell my snake as well and it's terrible because I'm very attached to both of my pets. I also have to get rid of all of my clothes and throw practically everything in my room away to make moving easier and once again I'm very attached to all my stuff so it's really stressful.

I don't like to complain about all of this though because I think I sound ungrateful. Like- Wow, you get to travel the world often and at such a young age without having to worry about school? That sounds soooo hard, you're struggling sooo much. I feel like shit for hating the traveling because I know there's people that would do anything to be in my position and to see some super cool places that my parents are planning on living in for a while but the whole thing is really uprooting the comfortable life I built for myself within the comfort of my room with my snake and dog and classes that I could control. In a way it's like they're taking all of my control. I feel like I have none of it and in a way I kinda don't.

The whole thing is making my depression come back in full force- I was going to therapy for a bit but then that stopped.

Then there's the one time I was literally crying at a huge birthday dinner for one of my parents friends and no one noticed at all and at the end of the night I got yelled at in the middle of the street because I just wanted to walk home after the dinner instead of walking to the hosts house to continue the party. Random tangent I know but I think that's the night my depression fully came back and hit in the face.

Writing is a safe thing for me, I enjoy it and I enjoy making content for others and writing for myself even, at times. Recently I haven't been able to do much of that though not only because of school but also my motivation is dropping bit by bit which is why after these requests I might take break from writing while things sort themselves out in my life. I'll still be active on Tumblr and doing asks and such but writing full fics for others might take me some time!

But yeah, that's some of the things that are happening that I'm comfortable talking about. I feel like this post is too long already so I won't get into the other stuff that actually led to my depression worsening but-

thanks Crow! Even if you didn't read this I suppose it's a bit better to get this off of my chest.

#what can I say #Pris got Probs #thanks crow #personal rant #just some extra btw:#I was on my own for a bit and it was fine but then my parents got back and now it's all “get rid of the snake” “have you sold your pc yet?”#theres also some stuff with my ex and her relapsing and me wanting to reach out and help her but not knowing how #the way we ended things make them kinda complicated but hopefully I can get her a gift or smth for when she's out of the ward

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kursed-curtain · 1 year

Text

A Shift In Outlook

A changeling!Graham fic

(featuring @gerbiloftriumph 's, @captmickey 's, and @thewatercolours ' Cracker family hcs mixed in with a few of others & my own)

-+-

Young Graham - one of the newest members of the Cracker family and the one who stood out the most. Not only was he the youngest brother, surrounded by sisters, but he was also considered one of the ones who got into the most trouble.

Sure, his sisters got into their own fair share of situations. When they were younger, Anisette tried to cut her hair by herself, Ginger had fallen off plenty of rocks and short trees, and Madeline took eggs from the cupboard and wrapped them in blankets in hopes they would hatch.

However, Graham's incidents fell under a whole new level of problem, because they were constant. Once, Madeline had discovered that 9-month-old Graham had snuck outside the house and covered himself with mud. She brought him inside, then locked the door. Minutes later, Graham was gone, and Madeline found him again, in the same spot outside, while the door was still locked. Turns out, he climbed up onto a desk, unlatched the window, and crept outside.

They found more strange Graham-related occurrences. He babbled to bugs and animals, yet stayed sad and silent around people. He would hum and sing to himself a song that his family never taught him - in another language too, when he barely spoke Common. He wouldn't eat meats or let others eat meats in front of him - he would throw a tantrum just to get them off the table. He was frequently sick, with no clear sign of a specific illness, and yet never wanted to stay in bed, always sneaking into trees or the family farm.

Graham was concerning, and quite the handful, but Mrs. Cracker had raised a family from the ground up. This was simply an extra challenge.

(Although, part of Rosie suspected this was all part of their plan. It made sense, but she never wanted to view her boy as a life-ruining curse. He was more than that.)

-+-

One sunny morning, Graham leapt out of bed, spry as a feather, and grabbed his day clothes. Today was his day, after all - his birthday!

He struggled more with putting on his tunic, but that was alright, he didn't have time to worry. They were going to have a party, with the whole family, at the restaurant Mom worked at before they settled at home.

He slipped on his oversized cape and plopped on his adventuring cap. The cap fell right onto the floor. Graham tried again, securing the cap by pressing it onto his head. It popped off, falling into his hands.

That was... weird. Graham wandered over to the mirror, to see what was the matter.

He almost fainted at the sight.

-+-

Mrs. Cracker hummed a melody to herself while heating up the butter and the milk. Anisette was standing on her tippy-toes, reaching for the flour on one of the higher shelves.

"Be careful, Annie," Mom chimed.

"I am!" Anisette grabbed a wooden spatula, edging the flour closer and closer to the edge...

...and the room soon clouded with white powder.

Mom fanned away the flour. "Annie, dear, you could have waited for me to be done and I could have helped you,"

Anisette looked down at the mess on the counter. "I wanted to get it myself..."

"And you did, in a very clever way too," Mom patted Anisette on the head. "You just need to figure out when asking for help is needed, because that's just as important as independence."

"Help... In-de-pen-dence... Got it!" Anisette beamed.

Mom rubbed Anisette's shoulder. "Good. Now, go wake the birthday brother! I can clean this up."

Anisette nodded. She rushed to the bedroom and rapped on the door. "Wakey wakey, pancakey bakey!"

...No answer.

Anisette struggled with the doorknob. Huh, locked.

"Graham?"

"I don't wanna." Grumbled a voice from behind the door.

"Why don't you wanna come out?" Annie smirked, "Mom's making choco-chip pancakes for your birthday~"

Graham gasped, but stayed behind the door. "Um...hair..."

"Hair? Oh! Are you having a bad hair day? I can help!"

"Nuh-uh."

Anisette rubbed her neck, recalling her childhood self's very poor lack of bangs. "Yeah, okay, I get that. But still, it's your birthday! You shouldn't let a hairy situation ruin your special day!"

There was a beat of silence, then shuffling of feet and unlocking of the door. Anisette giggled, for Graham had covered himself in a bedsheet.

"You look like a ghost!" Anisette laughed.

Graham's voice shook in fear. "I do??"

"Yeah, you look like a sheet ghost on Halloween!" Anisette tugged on the sheet. Graham pulled it back over himself. "C'mon, Graham, you can't wear this all day!"

Graham trembled, "...I don't want you to be scared."

Anisette's face softened. "Why would I be scared? Of you?"

"I look weird."

"Weird hair is okay, Graham! I've had weirder hair," she rubbed him on the back, "Plus, I'm not afraid of you! I love you a lot, and nothing beats that. Okay?"

Graham hummed, "...Okay." Then slipped off the bedsheet. Anisette promptly screamed.

"You! You're pale as a bedsheet!" Anisette yelled.

Graham cried, "I know!"

"Your hair is silky!"

"I know!"

"You have a tail! Pointy ears! Your pupils are gone!"

Graham choked up. "I-I know... I'm scared..." His voice gained a more prominent echo, getting pingy, like a windchime.

Anisette brought Graham in for a hug, to let him cry into her dress. She noticed how clean his face is - how it didn't get red and puffy when he cried. She wasn't sure *what* he had become, but she was determined to find out. "Hey, we can figure out what is happening if we gather some context behind this all," She rubbed him on the back.

Graham tilted his head. "Con-tex?"

"Oh, um," Anisette tapped her chin. "It's like a clue about what really happened. Like in a mystery story!"

Graham clapped, humming his cheery tune. It was rare to see him smile - usually he simply hummed when he was feeling content, and that was fine with Annie.

She led Graham back into the bedroom, suspecting the first clue must have been around the area. She paced the room, stroking her chin while she pondered the situation. Graham waddled behind, mimicking her chin-stroking. What neither of them noticed was how Graham seemed to be growing in size.

"Have you found anything, Graham?" Anisette turned around, then realized she had to look up to meet... Her own eyes?

"No... I don't see context," Graham said, in Anisette's voice. He covered his mouth.

Annie bounced. "You turned into me! You can change your appearance!"

(She stood back to back, comparing herself to Graham as herself. "You're too tall, though."

"But you are tall."

"Well, compared to you, I'm probably a giant! But sadly I'm not that tall.")

Graham looked at his hands and his golden curls in awe. He was a shape changer!

Meanwhile, Anisette was conjuring up ideas. There were so many possibilities offered by having a shapeshifting brother. Maybe she could become part of a crew finally - even though a ship wouldn't allow anyone under 14 to join. She could have Graham sign for her as a slightly older version of herself - even though he barely knew how to write his alphabet, let alone forge a signature...

A knock on the door. Zards, Annie had forgotten about breakfast.

"Are you two alright? I heard a lot of yelling," said Mom.

"Yes~!" Anisette groaned. She threw the bedsheet back over her brother-shaped-like-herself, then she brushed past Mom to grab two plates of pancakes, only to be stopped on the way back to the room.

"No eating in the bedroom, Annie," Mom chided. "I'll let you eat in the living room, but only if you promise to not leave any crumbs."

Anisette crossed her heart. "It'll be as if I was never there!"

Annie sped to the bedroom, and brought back sheet-ghost Graham. They sat in the living room, with Graham kicking his legs and giggling as he ate pancakes from under a bedsheet.

Mom served Madeline and Ginger - who, unlike their younger siblings, decided to sit in the dining room - then sat down across from Anisette and someone under a blanket.

"Graham, what are you wearing?" Mom beamed, holding back her laughter.

Anisette butted in, "It's his Halloween costume!"

"In... July?"

"Yeah!"

Mrs. Cracker scratched her chin. "Well, I still wanna see the birthday boy's lovely face!"

Annie and Graham jumped. "No, don't! He's having um- A bad face day! He doesn't wanna face his face." Anisette objected.

Mom sighed, smiling. "Good face or bad face, I want to properly greet my boy."

Graham whispered to Anisette, *"I don't know how to change back..."*

*"Um, you have dark hair and freckles and blue eyes. Now, go!"*

Graham waddled up to Mom and let her take off the sheet. At the sight, her jaw dropped, for the child before her didn't look like Graham at all. More like Annie had dyed her hair darker and put on freckles.

Graham saw his mom's face - clearly disappointment - and teared up. "I don't know how to look normal again!"

"Normal?"

"I- I didn't want to scare you. I look like a scary monster. A scary monster that changes shapes." Graham sniffled.

"Yeah, um," Anisette stood behind Graham. "Graham woke up and he was all smooth and shiny and he can change his appearance."

Mom tapped her foot. "Like a changeling..."

"Changeling?" Annie and Graham asked, in unison.

"A type of fae who takes on the appearance of a human," Mom recounted, "Typically, in tales about the fae, they swap stolen human babies with a changeling one. You're different, though-"

Her children gasped. Graham wailed, "Was I swapped??"

Mom held Graham's face. She caressed his cheeks, and he leaned into it with a quiet humming of his tune. "You were never swapped with anyone else. You're my child, and don't let anyone say that you can't be," She assured. "...Want me to tell you a story?"

Graham gasped - a story! - and plopped himself at the foot of his mom. Mrs. Cracker called over Madeline and Ginger, for they would want to hear the story - the truth.

"Once upon a time, before you were born," Mom booped Graham on the nose, "I was on a little walk home through the forest, strolling beside your father. One misstep, however, had me standing in a fairy circle, and face-to-face with a scowling fae."

The sisters gasped, for the dramatic effect. Graham kicked his legs, his smile growing wide.

"We apologized for intruding, simply wanting to get home without any fuss, but the fae wasn't going to have it. They were keeping us there for reasons they wouldn't elaborate on - they simply glared," Mom imitated the face of the fae. "I even commented on it, saying that their face could use some work - no one looks good when they're sneering."

Mom snapped her fingers. "That's what ticked the fae off."

"Zards, can't even take light criticism." Ginger crossed her arms.

"Did the fae make Graham a changeling???" Anisette squealed. Graham held Anisette's hand, his tail swaying.

Mom chuckled. "I'll get to that, Annie. Be patient."

Anisette folded her legs and hugged Graham.

"The fae boomed, 'You dare to mock my beauty with yours? No one shall surpass my charm!'" Mom waved her arms. "'Your bloodline will be disfigured for generations to come. They will be abandoned, outcast, until the end of time!'"

Graham's sisters burst into commotion. "That's terrible!" "Why had I never heard of this??" "That fae is a big meanie!!"

Graham, meanwhile, gazed at the floor. He held Anisette tighter, then buried his face in the crook of her neck. Anisette combed Graham's silky white hair with her fingers, cooing, "What's wrong?"

Graham wriggled in Annie's arms. "...Am I supposed to be outcast? Am I the curse?"

"What? No!" Anisette cried.

Mom tisked, then placed Graham on her lap. "You know... With curses, there's usually some sort of loophole."

Graham wiped away tears. "What does that mean?"

"It means that there was part of the curse that the fae may not have thought about." Mom stroked Graham's flowery antennae. "The fae didn't think about how sweet of a child you would be, about how clever and kind you are. Your charm comes from the inside."

"So..." Graham's tail swayed. "The curse made me scary, but only on the outside?"

"Yes, Cookie, you got it!"

Graham giggled, his smile unnaturally wide, and his laughter like birdsong. His sisters gathered around to give Graham a group hug, unnerved by their brother's appearance.

...Madeline gasped. "We still need to prep for the party!"

Graham frantically bounced in his seat. "I'm um, I'm not normal still!"

Mom pushed back Graham's hair and kissed his forehead. "This is how you are normally. We still love you~"

"Mom, please!" Graham kicked his legs. "How do I turn not-scary for the party?"

Anisette scanned the room, saw Madeline, and Annie's face lit up. She rushed to the bedroom, grabbed a family portrait, and shoved it under Graham's nose.

"Look at your portrait!" Anisette giggles.

Graham idly does, and as he's looking, his face melts and warps into a young boy with dark hair, blue eyes, and a face of freckles.

Ginger grabs a hand mirror, and Graham gasps, "I did it!"

"You did do it, Cookie!" Mrs. Cracker grins.

Graham rushed off, eager to continue prepping for the party. The rest of the Crackers readily pack in balloons and Graham's presents from the each of them, for a birthday to remember.

#- FINALLY!!!! FAMILY!!!!!!#fanfic #changeling au #kings quest #graham kq #@rosie cracker #@anisette cracker #@madeline cracker #@ginger cracker

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