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#birthday gift for september woman

httpswritings · 5 months

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We've created an artist — Alexia Putellas x Jenni Hermoso x Child! Reader

Warning: angst, abandonment issues, hitting. avoid reading if you feel uneasy about these topics.

Word count: 1386.

Summary: Alexia and Jenni had a daughter back in 2020. They split up in 2022 and Alexia started dating Olga the same year. In this fic, Jenni and Alexia do not end up together but they do face some challenges coparenting.

A/N: I almost sobbed writing this lol. It's pretty dramatic but it's worth it. 🫶

Through 2023, Alexia began introducing Olga to you. She started to make some comments about “her friend Olga” so you could get used to her name. Then, she gave you some gifts her friend Olga gave you; they made you really excited, as they usually were toys, fluffed animals, cute pieces of clothing from your favorite cartoons, etc. As you got used to Olga being in your mother's life, she eventually introduced her to you.

It went well. Olga was caring, all smiles for you. She was a bit timid, which you thought was wonderful, as you found her to be a delicate and loving woman. Alexia ended up telling you Olga was, in fact, her girlfriend and not her friend. It didn't change anything between the three of you, as your mother, Jenni, was also around, and everything carried on well.

While you were going through the life challenges of a two-year-old, your mother, Jenni, had to explain to you that she was going to be away for some time. It was not an easy, but necessary, decision for her and her football career. Even if you did not understand it, the psychologist your mothers talked to said it was crucial for your well-being to explain to you why Jenni was going to be away for some time, even if it sounded odd. She kept in contact with you through video calls, calls, and gifts she kept sending you and visiting you in Barcelona anytime she could, giving up any opportunity to visit her family in Madrid as you were her priority. The reason she didn't bring you to Mexico is because she didn't have any family there, while Alexia had her whole family near her. You still got to spend some time in Mexico when you visited Jenni with her family, especially your uncle, Jenni's brother, who you always had such a great time with. Because of these trips to Mexico, being far away from your mother, Jenni, wasn't that tough. Of course you missed her, but you saw her every month for a few days.

The World Cup came, and it was the best moment of your life. You got to spend about three months with both of your mothers and their teammates, especially the one who was closer to them. You celebrated your third birthday during your stay in New Zealand, as you were born in July.

September arrived. You started kindergarten when you were already three years old. You had a great start, coming home amused by how much fun you had at school each day. Alexia was the one who picked you up from school most days, but some of them you were greeted by Alexia's family, Olga, or Jenni's family when they came to visit.

It took you almost a month before you started having an issue with Jenni not being able to pick you up from school. Your class was quite diverse, with different kinds of families: with one parent; with two mothers or fathers; with one mother and one father. But you had two mothers in your life; you wanted one of them to pick you up from school, just like you noticed some of your classmates were.

“Where can I go back to Mexico to see Mami?" you asked Alexia as she was picking you up from school. “Where's the «Hello, Mamà»?" she said as she tried to avoid the question. “Hello, Mamà. When am I seeing Mami again?” Alexia smiled at your innocence. “Soon, baby, soon.” You did not keep asking her about it, as you noticed tears threatening to escape your eyes. But that didn't imply that you were taking Jenni's absence well. The videocalls with Jenni kept getting quicker, as you couldn't bear seeing her through the phone for too long.

“What's up to her, Ale? Is everything alright?" Jenni asked one afternoon, when you didn't even spend one minute talking to her. Alexia tried to hold you but snapped back at her, “Leave me; I want to leave.” Afterwards, you went to your room to play with some toys.

Some weeks later, Alexia told you it was time to talk to Jenni, but you refused. “I don't want to talk with her.” “What do you mean you don't want to? Mami is waiting for you, baby. Did something happen?” “No. I'm not talking to her or to you."

Alexia sighed. She was usually calm when it came to you. Whenever something happened with you, she would sit with you and let you express yourself, even if that implied crying out of frustration because you couldn't go to the park. Something not a big deal to her but a huge deal for you at your age.

“What do you need, my love?” She kept asking you questions with a delicate tone. Olga got nearer and caressed your cheek, to which you responded by smiling. Alexia was dealing with some discomfort in her knee, which had her very worried. Still, she managed to keep calm and try to understand you. But you kept quiet. Worryingly quiet. Your mind felt so loud inside that you noticed your sight getting blurry. Images of Jenni came to your mind in a rush. You loved Alexia, but you needed Jenni's gentle and motherly touch.

Alexia began to lose her patience, and you shouted, “I need Mami. I want Mami. I want her now.” Alexia tried to calm you down, but you refused to let her touch you. “No! Don't touch me. I want Mami, not you”, as you got out of her embrace, slightly hitting her on the arm, running to your room, and shutting the door harshly.

It was the first time you did something like that. Getting out of Alexia's embrace the way you did wasn't a big deal for you, but Alexia felt like the whole world was collapsing. Olga rushed to hug Alexia, but her mind was repeating the moment of you hitting her. “Ale, baby, come back, please. Look at me.” Alexia's eyes had no expression overall. "Alexia." Olga said as she made Alexia look at her.

“She doesn't want me, Olga.”

“Yes, she does. Alexia, Y/N adores you. She just needs Jenni here too. She knows she has you here, in the room next to hers, at home. She's going to see you when she wakes up. She's going to have lunch with you. She plays with you at home. You both go on walks. She knows it, baby. But she also knows she can't have all that with Jenni. She doesn't have her other mother with her.” Alexia nodded, trying to understand Olga. “Y/N probably isn't aware of what she has just done. It was her way of expressing it. Later, you can explain to her why she can't hit people, even if she's sad, but right now, let her have some time to go through her anger and calm yourself down before talking to her.” Alexia finally hugged Olga back. “Thank you, Olga. Thank you.”

Half an hour later, Alexia came into your room, finding it empty. She freaked out as she called out your name, but you didn't respond. She went to her room. Still, you were nowhere to be found. “Alexia, she's here." Olga said. Alexia rushed to an empty room in the house, used for nothing in particular. You were sleeping on the floor with a drawing next to you. As Alexia got closer to you, Olga got out of the room to leave you both some time alone. In the paper, you drew yourself, with Alexia and Olga to your left. Olga was dressed with a timid smile and in a dress. Alexia was dressed the same way as you, in a fairy costume. This was enough to make Alexia cry. In the drawing, you also drew Jenni next to your right. She was drawn with a huge smile, emphasizing her dark black hair.

Alexia took a photo of your drawing and sent it to Jenni. “Look, we've created an artist. A very talented girl, Jenni. Talk to you in a couple of hours, as I know it's still pretty early there in México.” Then, she took a photo of you sleeping on the floor and sent it to her too. “Even geniuses need some sleep 😴 ”

#jenni hermoso #jenni hermoso x reader #alexia putellas imagine #alexia putellas #alexia putellas x reader #jenni hermoso imagine #woso #woso imagine #woso x reader

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buttercupjosh · 8 months

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Jump Then Fall (The 4 times everyone else thinks you’re Quinn’s romantic partner and the 1 time you actually are)

(Gif credit to @gabelandeskog)

Word count: 5,045

Genres: strangers to friends to lovers

Warnings: none

A/N: I’ve had this specific idea in my mind for about 2 years but never wrote it out because I decided to write other things first and took certain things from this concept and kinda put it into my other stories but after Quinn was named captain in September 2023, I decided to write it out. (Speaking of my other stories, I did write a Quinn fic in 2022, which you should check out). The title and this story is based off of the song, Jump Then Fall by Taylor Swift. It’s set from this past week (October 7th-14th), with additional fictional elements added. (Yes, I decided to publish it on Quinn's birthday because why not?) It’s written with a female reader in mind because I’m a female of color but the reader doesn’t specifically have to be a POC or a woman and there’s little dialogue. As always, I’m open to any and all feedback, comments or questions; just put them in my inbox or dm me. Thank you so much in advance for reading, I appreciate it😌

(P.S. I have other stories (linked here) that I have written for other players as well if you want to check it out)

“I was enchanted to meet you” -Enchanted by Taylor Swift

Prologue

Losing in a fantasy sports league can come with many different types of punishment, whether it’s being forced to eat a pancake for every wrong player you picked or putting in extra money in the winning jackpot. Your punishment for losing in the fantasy sports league you participated in was wearing a very 2014 Tumblr-esque “lol ur not Quinn Hughes” shirt that your best friend got you as a gag gift for Christmas to a Canucks game. This punishment came at a convenient time when you already planned to be in Vancouver for a work conference. Accepting your fate, you proudly donned the cringey t-shirt at the game, and as expected, people did look at you weirdly. What you didn’t plan at all was that your game seats happened to be located next to where a group of some of the Canucks WAGs were sitting. Lenasia, Ethan Bear’s fiance, noticed your shirt and immediately began talking to you. You explained to her why you were wearing such a thing and that clicked an idea in her brain. Lenasia turned away, began talking again to the other WAGs she was with, and was also frantically texting someone. After a brief period, Lenasia faced back towards you and told you to wait after the game because she had a surprise for you. You had a slight inkling of what that surprise was but silently hoped that it didn’t actually come true.

After the game was completed, Lenasia led you through the tunnels of Rogers Arena and told security that you were with her. It felt weird to hear her say that, considering that you just met her a few hours ago. You stood together outside of the Canucks locker room and the feeling of embarrassment continued to rise within you as the guys filed out, some of them laughed at your shirt and then, you saw him. Quinn was right there, less than 10 feet away from you. Your suspicions were right; you would have just settled for a signed item from him and have no interaction with him but you were actually going to meet him right now. You felt like you were going to pass out but tried your best to maintain your composure. Lenasia introduced you to Quinn and told him the same story of why you were wearing a shirt with his name on it. Quinn didn’t fully quite understand why the shirt was such a big deal but agreed to take the photo with you. He was nice enough to wrap his arm around you with a side hug and being that close together oddly felt natural and comfortable for two people who had just met for the first time. After the photo was finished being taken, Quinn kindly offered to sign your shirt so he inked his signature on your right shoulder. You thanked Quinn and Lenasia again for everything and left to return to your hotel. It was a lot to process but you were rightfully shocked that you started your night fulfilling some silly punishment and ended it by meeting the person whose name is on your shirt.

The following day, you sent the photo of you and Quinn from the night before to your friends and your friends joked in the groupchat that if you played your cards right, you might be next in line to date him. Yes, you posted about it on Instagram and tagged Quinn so everyone knew you actually met him. Since the day after you met was an off day, Quinn had some time to scroll through Instagram and he saw your post. Seeing your post led him to see all of your posts and eventually, he ended up in your DMs.

Do you always look that cute wearing someone’s name?, an Instagram message from a very familiar verified account read. You couldn’t believe it and thought you were somehow dreaming when you read Quinn’s message but it was very much real. You replied back: I guess I always do but I only wear the names of attractive guys and considering this is my only piece that has an athlete’s name, I guess you should consider yourself lucky ;) It felt odd to shamelessly flirt with a famous athlete (considering that most of them wouldn’t give you the time of day anyway) but it wasn’t like you were actually going to date him or be his friend anyway (or so you had thought).

The flirty interaction eventually led to the exchange of numbers and to a long message chain between the two of you that would extend on for months. You did return home from your trip to Vancouver and maintained a long-distance friendship with Quinn. Your friendship with Quinn was great; you trusted each other, shared some secrets, did virtual movie nights together sometimes, sent memes back and forth, told some of your closest friends and family about the other, and communicated on the phone constantly. Once of your favorite things to do with Quinn was that he would always call you during your morning commute to work and on his commute home after his games to decompress after the game. Since you didn’t live in an area where there was an NHL team, your options for seeing Quinn again in person were limited and you weren’t sure if you were going to ever see him again. It felt weird to ask about seeing each other in real life so everything was just kept online until one day, the timing was right to move things offline.

————————————————————

About a year into your friendship, the right opportunity opened up for you to return to Vancouver to see Quinn again. To the delight of many, Quinn was named Captain of the Canucks and he invited you out to his first game as Captain. You were important enough to him that Quinn wanted you to be there to celebrate that amazing accomplishment; you were surprised by the invitation but excited at the prospect of seeing him again. You used some of your remaining vacation time and paid for your plane ticket to and from Vancouver; Quinn wanted to pay for something so he placed you to stay in the nicest hotel that Vancouver has to offer. You were thrilled to spend a week in Vancouver and hopefully make some fun memories with Quinn while you were there.

Your anticipation for seeing him was slightly halted when Quinn revealed that he couldn’t pick you up from the airport because your flight arrived at the same time that he had captain responsibilities to fulfill in the community so you and Quinn agreed to meet to have dinner later on that evening. Emma, Anthony Beauvillier’s girlfriend, picked you up from the airport to take you to the hotel; you had never met or interacted with Emma before but you appreciated her kind favor. The drive from Vancouver International Airport to the hotel (which Quinn did not tell you beforehand because he wanted it to be a surprise) was normally a 30-minute drive, which turned into an hour drive due to traffic. While you and Emma waited in the rush hour traffic, you talked and learned more about her, her relationship with Anthony, what things are like in Quebec, and what it’s like to be a hockey WAG. Emma had a lot of questions about your relationship with Quinn and was curious as to why you, his romantic partner, weren’t around as much before. You corrected Emma by telling her that you and Quinn were just friends and nothing more and you came to support him as your friend.

“Are you sure you and Quinn are just friends because he must really like you a lot to pay for you to stay here?”, Emma asked as you pulled up to the Fairmount Waterfront hotel.

You replied yes, you were just his friend and she handed you over your room keys that were passed to her through the chain of command. You thanked Emma for giving you a ride and you both mentioned wanting to hang out with each other again.

Quinn was not kidding when he told you that you would be staying at the best hotel in Vancouver; your room had spectacular views of the Vancouver Harbor and was very fancy. As you got ready for your dinner with Quinn, you began to reflect on your conversation with Emma about him. You could admit that he was endearingly handsome and had qualities that you were looking for in a boyfriend but you and Quinn never really discussed romantic pursuits and outside of that initial flirty exchange when you first started talking to each other and the occasional compliment, there wasn’t much flirting really going on between you. You had always assumed that Quinn had someone, whether it was someone in Vancouver or in Michigan, waiting in the wings for him. Your thoughts were interrupted when you got a text from Quinn that he was coming up to the room. It was happening; for the first time in over a year, you got to see your internet best friend in person and you were ecstatic. Although he had a copy of the hotel room key, Quinn knocked on your hotel room door and a smile beamed across both of your faces as you recognized who was standing at the doorway. Quinn engulfed you in a long-awaited hug and you rocked back and forth. There were many areas in his life that made him feel delighted but hearing you laugh was one of the best sounds to him and holding you in his arms was the greatest feeling.

After separating, you realized that Quinn was dressed for a night in while you were dressed for a night out. The weather app indicated that a storm was rolling in so Quinn dressed to stay in at the hotel, order food, and have a movie night, while you were willing to brave the rain to try some of Vancouver’s cuisine. Quinn thought that you looked nice and wished that he communicated to you that Vancouver storms were no joke and you looking cute in your rain jacket wasn’t going to push him to go out in such weather either. He also really wanted to spend time with you without the distractions that come from him going out in public. You agreed to order in and changed into more comfy clothes while you waited for the food to arrive. Preseason hockey was over so Quinn decided to treat himself (and you) to some authentic Chinese food from his favorite place. As you and Quinn indulged on the delicious Chinese food, you began catching up with each other on what had occurred in your lives recently. As Quinn shared what had been going on his life lately, you heard all of the words he was saying but the only thing you were thinking about was how you just wanted to be together and you would lose focus sometimes as he spoke. You and Quinn kept talking so much on so many different topics that it was almost midnight before you decided to watch a movie. You settled on watching Ferris Buller’s Day Off before drifting off to sleep.

————————————————————

For Quinn, it felt surreal to wake up the following morning next to you. After being in contact with you for over a year, here you were, right there, sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed. Throughout the night, Quinn was respectful of your boundaries and no lines were crossed, everything was kept PG. You were awoken by the sound of water running coming from the bathroom and waited for Quinn to emerge out. After he came out of the bathroom, you discussed the day’s plan (which there wasn’t really one) and decided to go to breakfast at a very special place. Quinn still had some time off before the first game of the season so you had even more extra time to spend with him.

On the car ride to the restaurant, you began to imagine what it would be like to live in Vancouver. Sure, this wasn’t your first time there but you saw it in a different light as you were gazing outside of the car window with Quinn by your side. You arrived at your destination and Quinn got out and kindly came around to open the door for you; it was a sweet gesture that he didn’t have to do.

The restaurant was the same cafe that Quinn and Petey tended to frequent and the wait staff at the restaurant was so familiar with him, down to the point that they knew his exact order: plain buttermilk waffles topped with whipped cream, strawberries, raspberries, and sides of bacon, potatoes, and guacamole. The waitress, an older woman named Louise, reminded you of an endearing grandmother figure; she even put your meal on the house as a treat. After the meal concluded and you were on the way back to Quinn’s car, a fan was waiting right outside of the restaurant for an opportunity to meet the captain of their favorite team. The fan approached you, Quinn’s romantic partner, to take their photo together. You wanted to correct the fan for being wrong but you also could tell that Quinn wanted to get going so you let it be; besides, Quinn didn’t even hear the fan address you as his lover. Quinn later on apologized for the fan encounter but it wasn’t an issue for you, you understood who he was and the things that came with being a famous athlete and you expected something like that might happen while you were together. You continued on the rest of your spontaneous day, being touristy around Vancouver, visiting Gastown, Stanley Park, and Granville Island with the cutest tour guide.

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Your time in Vancouver coincided with Canadian Thanksgiving. Dinner is usually held at the team captain’s house and since Quinn is the captain, dinner would be held at his place but since his apartment couldn’t quite hold the entire team, Tyler Myers offered to host dinner at his home. It was exciting to celebrate a holiday together and learn more about each other’s Thanksgiving traditions but it also made you feel a little nervous because you would be meeting more of Quinn’s teammates and spending time with their families. The Canucks team’s Thanksgiving dinner was potluck style and everyone had to bring something so you and Quinn offered to bring a dessert. You decided to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and Quinn graciously purchased the ingredients for you and let you use his kitchen. Quinn was a good sous chef; he actually enjoyed baking with you and you both had fun together. You even got into a little squabble over who would wash the dishes before agreeing that you would wash them and Quinn would dry them. After the cookies were done, you both got ready for dinner.

On the car ride over to the Myers house, your mind began to wander, contemplating about the domestic moment you shared earlier with Quinn and how you would want more moments like that with him. Quinn felt the same way but wasn’t sure how to verbally tell you that. Before you knew it, you had arrived at your destination. You casually mixed and mingled with the other Canucks players and their families; as expected, some of the players had kids and the kids were curious to know who you were and you explained to them that you were Quinn’s friend. Tristan, Tyler’s son, asked if you were Quinn’s lover friend and you were going to tell him no but you were interrupted by the message that dinner was about to be served so you let it go.

Despite your initial nervousness about the event, dinner actually went well and your cookies were a hit. The other Canucks players and their wives and girlfriends accepted you well into their group; they liked you for you and they liked you with Quinn. Due to the fact he’s their captain, some of the guys pushed Quinn into giving a speech and he expressed his thankfulness and gratitude on such a special holiday; he even looked at you when he mentioned how glad he was to have the people in the room as a part of his life.

During the post-dinner relaxation time, you and Quinn settled into watching the CFL game that was on before Tristan came up to ask the both of you to play hide and seek with him and his sister, Skylar. The football game wasn’t that interesting to either of you so you both agreed to play. Since you were the guest, the kids had you count first.

As you were looking to see where Quinn and the kids were hiding, you observed around the Myers home and began to think about how this was something that you had desired to have one day; a home full of love, laughter, and children. You checked the guest room closet to see if anyone was hiding in there before greeting Quinn by shouting BOO as soon as you opened the door. Instead of stepping out to help you find Skylar and Tristan, Quinn pulled you back into the closet and shut the door for a quiet moment alone. Quinn’s heart was beating super fast, not just because you inflicted fear into him for a brief second, but also because you were close to each other inside the dark closet. You obviously couldn’t see in the darkness but Quinn kept staring at the presumed outline of your mouth because he wanted pull you closer and kiss you so bad. Quinn almost had his chance to ask but was interrupted by the sound of children’s feet pattering on the ground and the door opening. Tristan quickly corrected you that as the counter, you were not allowed to hide until it was your turn to hide. An all-too-familiar chuckle came out of Quinn and you rolled your eyes at him since he was the one who caused you to break the rules before playing another round of hide and seek with the kids.

When it was time to say goodbye, Tristan and Skylar came over to give you a departing hug and Tristan loudly said that he had fun with you, Quinn’s special friend. It warmed your heart to hear his little voice say that to you. Before dropping you off back at the hotel, you had asked Quinn if he was going to stop and get his annual Thanksgiving apple pie slice from the bakery. He had mentioned his Thanksgiving tradition to you only once but it meant a lot to him that you had remembered that. Due to the fact that you made dessert from scratch, Quinn forgot to pick up the pie beforehand to bring to the party and the bakery with the pie that he enjoyed was already closed, but it was okay. Quinn didn’t mind skipping his tradition because he got to make a new memory with you. You and Quinn had such a good time at the Thanksgiving dinner and you had quietly hoped to get the opportunity to spend more holidays together.

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The Canucks home opener was finally here. It was both exciting and nerve-wracking for Quinn; he knew that this day was coming but it felt a little more surreal that it was actually here. Quinn’s parents, Ellen and Jim, even flew in to watch their son receive his official captaincy before jetting off to go watch Jack and Luke at the Devils home opener the following day. You felt a bit of deja vu being back at Rogers Arena, since that was the place you and Quinn had met over a year ago, but that deja vu feeling came in a good way. It was fun to watch warmups with the other WAGs and you got to see Emma again. As warmups went on, you held J.T. Miller’s son, Owen, in your arms while Natalie Miller held her daughters, Scarlett and Scottlyn, closer to the glass to give them a better view to see their father on the ice. Since the day was very busy for Quinn, the only time he got to see you was for a brief second during warmups. Quinn’s heart swelled up with joy when he saw you at the glass, holding baby Owen and he also thought you looked so stunning and beautiful in your outfit. He wanted to pass you a puck but instead, he gave you a quick wink and passed a puck to a young fan with a sign and continued to skate around.

Warmups were over and the game was about to start soon so you went up to your seats. Instead of having you sit with the other WAGs, Quinn got you a ticket next to his parents. Of course, Quinn wanted you to meet his parents for the first time in a much more formal way but due to the limited time that you all had in Vancouver, it was slightly more convenient for you to meet his parents while at the game. It was a little awkward at first to meet Quinn’s parents because you were just Quinn’s long-distance friend and meeting the parents is a big deal but Jim and Ellen already knew who you were because you were important enough to their son that he had told them about you. Ellen mentioned to you that she suspected you were dating Quinn because he spoke so highly about you, indicating a possible crush but always shut it down by mentioning that you were just friends.

When it was time for Quinn to be introduced as captain, you got delightful goosebumps on your body because you were so proud of him. You already knew he was captain but watching some of the old Canucks captains pass the torch over to one of your best friend’s brought a rush of happiness to you; your heart even skipped a beat as he put on the jersey with the “C” on it. The game itself was amazing; the Canucks beat the Oilers 8 to 1 and Quinn had a 3-point night. Throughout little moments during the game, Jim and Ellen would ask you different questions about yourself and share tidbits about Quinn; it was nice that they were actively engaging and getting to know you. You were worried that Jim and Ellen wouldn’t like you as a person and for their son but it turns out that they enjoyed your presence and it also didn’t hurt that it was really fun to cheer for Quinn alongside his parents.

After the game was over, you, Jim, and Ellen walked down the same tunnels to the Canucks dressing room that you had walked to over a year ago when you met Quinn for the first time but this time, you weren’t as nervous to see him. Still experiencing the high from the evening’s successful game, Quinn was so ecstatic to see you, waiting for him with his beloved parents. When Quinn had invited you to come to his game, he had imagined seeing you again in those familiar halls with his parents in his mind and that moment of imagination came true. In his post-game interview, Quinn had mentioned that he would hold onto the night’s memories forever and you would also hold onto those memories in your own way too.

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Since the Canucks had to leave for a roadtrip after their home opener and you were leaving soon, you had one last day to both celebrate Quinn’s birthday early and also to do something to say farewell to you. Instead of just a big fancy birthday/goodbye dinner, you and Quinn decided to go out for a day on the golf course and out to a casual dinner afterward; you also had to run a few errands because Quinn needed to grab some things before leaving on his upcoming road trip. Quinn picked you up to go with him to drop off his parents at the airport so that you could see them again and he wanted your opinion on some things when he went to IKEA. The car ride over to the airport was fine and Jim and Ellen didn’t mind getting in some extra time with their potential child-in-law. You and Quinn stepped out of the car to help with their bags and give his parents a goodbye hug. While you were giving the Hughes family some space and waiting in the car, Ellen whispered in her son’s ear that you were a keeper. His mother was right and Quinn had known that from the moments that he spent with you, the conversations you shared together and you were everything he ever wanted. Quinn had the keys to unlock your heart but he just needed to use them. Throughout the entire time you were there, Quinn began mentally preparing himself to confess his feelings for you somehow but those plans always fell flat because the anxiety of not being sure if you liked him romantically lingered throughout the air and he was scared to ruin the friendship you shared. He was falling for you hard but he was afraid to take that leap.

With one final wave goodbye, Jim and Ellen left for their flight to New Jersey and you and Quinn continued on the day’s itinerary. Goodbyes were always going to be a bit difficult, no matter who or what you were saying goodbye to. Quinn tried to not wear his heart on his sleeve and be strong but you could tell that Quinn was sad to see his parents go so you reached over and gently placed your hand on top of his. Quinn told you thank you and you shared a quick glance with him before arriving at IKEA. Instead of immediately telling you how he felt, you and Quinn aimlessly wandered around the large store; you had mentioned to Quinn that his apartment was missing a floor lamp in the living room so that he didn’t have to use the overhead ceiling light as much and he took you to IKEA to help him pick one out. Thursday afternoons at IKEA were quiet so it was almost like you and Quinn had the whole store to yourselves. As you walked through the store, you and Quinn looked at the different room setups and asked each other what you liked and disliked about each room setup; you also both began to imagine what it would be like to share a home together. Quinn even absentmindedly grabbed onto your hand and your fingers interlocked together for a brief second before you found the lamps and slipped your hand away to look at them. You picked out a black floor lamp that matched the aesthetic of Quinn’s apartment and continued to wander around the store until you reached the cash register. Quinn didn’t try to hold your hand again and neither of you brought up that moment for the rest of the day. Your time at the golf course was fun; being the self-proclaimed golf expert he was, Quinn did win the game.

Quinn decided that he wanted to have his birthday dinner/last meal with you at Moxie’s. While you waited for your food to arrive, you gave Quinn his birthday gift. It was challenging to get a gift for someone who could afford plenty and rarely mentioned what they wanted so you got Quinn a signed copy of Golf Kitchen, a cookbook that included recipes from some of the most famous golf clubs around the world, and a grill set that looked like golf items; it combined two of his interests: cooking and golf. Quinn was a bit taken aback by your gift because you didn’t have to actually get him anything; your presence and time spent with him was a gift within itself. He had mentioned it before but Quinn was so grateful to have you as a part of his life and he was going to miss you tremendously once you returned home. You would miss him so much and were sad that your great time with Quinn was coming to an end; you still had an extra full day in Vancouver before your flight early Saturday but the Canucks were leaving for Edmonton on Friday after morning skate.

After dinner, Quinn walked you up to your hotel room and you and Quinn continued to soak up all of the time you had left together as much as you could before the inevitable departure came. Before leaving, Quinn passed you a signed warm-up puck from last night’s game, mentioning that he owed it to you. You held the piece of rubber in your hand, smoothing your fingers over his signature.

“So now, you own two things with my name on it”, Quinn cheesily told you.

You were trying to hold back your tears and masquerade your emotions but you began to sob while embracing Quinn for one last time. Quinn felt a bit emotional too and he blurted out that he was in love with you; he decided to be brave and not let the fear take over. You thought your mind was playing a trick on you when you heard him so you looked up at the green eyes that were staring and waiting for a reply from you.

“Did you just say that you’re in love with me?”, you hesitantly asked.

“Um, maybe I should have kept that to myself. I’m sor-”, Quinn rambled.

You cut Quinn off with a kiss, something that he had been waiting a while to experience with you. You repeated that you had loved Quinn back as well. A long wave of relief rushed over the both of you; the jump was worth the fall and you were there to catch him. You didn’t have to say it out loud but Quinn knew that you would always be there for him. Quinn asked if you were available to come back to visit him for Christmas and New Year’s. Maybe losing in a fantasy league wasn’t so bad after all.

#quinn hughes #quinn hughes imagine #Quinn Hughes x reader #quinn hughes fic #vancouver canucks #hockey fic #my writing #hockey writing #hockey imagine #please read my story

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magics-neptunes-things · 3 months

Text

Surprise

Hi guys ♥

Sorry to be a little slower to post those days, I have some change in my personnal life and I need time to adjust, I think.

I still have some request for McFoord, like here, here, and here. And the prompt come from here .

Thank you!

TW : Homesickness I guess, past Ruesha-Katie mentionned

Despite the international break, Caitlin finds herself stuck in London due to a very slight thigh muscle injury. Since these are only friendly matches, the Australian staff decided not to take any risks with the player and leave her at home in London. Caitlin genuinely hesitated to accompany her teammates to Australia to have time with her mother, her sister and her sister-in-law for a few days. But the break falling during Katie’s birthday, the Australian finally decided to stay in London to at least make a FaceTime in the rules of the art with her girlfriend.

Despite the distance, Caitlin has arranged things with a restaurant near the hotel where the Ireland team is, to be able to have a dinner face to face with FaceTime. And she also gave the gift she plans to offer to Katie to Grace, whom she has come to know well since dating Katie. And that Caitlin appreciates a lot.

It’s been three days since Katie and most of their friends left London. And Caitlin’s already a little bored, taking care of Katie’s cat to pass the time. Coopurr had time to get used to the presence of the Australian at her side before, but Caitlin sometimes feels that he misses the presence of the Irish woman too.

The typical September London rain waters London when Caitlin goes home to Katie's after going shopping for her and the cat.

"Bloody hell" Caitlin yells, getting rid of her wet jacket.

Sometimes she really misses Australia.

Taking off her shoes and socks, also wet, the young woman puts on Katie’s slippers to go drop her things in the kitchen. When she puts the last package in the cupboards, her phone starts ringing. Taking a brief glance in the direction of the clock, a smile appears on her face, knowing that it's most certainly Katie.

But her smile turns into a worried look when she sees Grace’s name appear on her phone screen. Why would her girlfriend’s best friend call her? Already imagining the worst, Caitlin hurries to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi mate. It’s Grace"

"Is Katie okay?" Caitlin asks, forgetting any manners.

"Yeah, yeah, she’s fine, don’t worry" Grace quickly replies, suspecting Caitlin’s worry.

"What’s going on?"

"I mean, when I say she’s okay, I’m talking about physical well-being. But I’m not hiding from you that since she came here she seems… I don’t know, sad? I even thought at one point that you had an argument or that you had broken up"

Despite her, Caitlin feels her stomach twist. Everything was fine between them when Katie left and during the various exchanges of messages or calls they had.

"What? No, we’re fine. And she didn’t tell me that something was up when we talked."

And they were talking at least once with FaceTime everyday, in addition of messaging through the day. Frowning, Caitlin sits on the first chair near her. She tries to understand what can bother Katie so much, not really finding answers. What intrigues her is that her girlfriend doesn't seem to have wanted to share her moods with her, whereas normally they talk about everything.

"I tried to talk to her, but you know her. She doesn’t want to say anything." Grace continues

"Does Ruesha give her a hard time?"

There is a few seconds of silence before Grace's answer and Caitiln imagines her perfectly shruging her shoulders after having thought a little while.

"No more than usual. Katie avoids being with her as much as possible but they can’t avoid each other all the time. Rue is Rue but it could be worse tho"

Caitlin gives up a grunt for any answer. Letting Katie go with her ex wasn’t something easy for Caitlin and not just out of jealousy. We can’t say that Ruesha was nice to them.

Persuaded that Katie has cheat with Caitlin even before their breakup, Rue seems to take a malignant pleasure in taking revenge on something that never happened. Despite the multiple explanations from Katie, who finally gave up.

"I think spending her birthday away from you and most of her friends weighs more than usual, because of all that." Grace says.

"Oh…"

Of course, Caitlin would have preferred to spend that day with Katie. She could also have followed Katie to Ireland to spend a few hours with her that day, but the two women made the decision not to do so to avoid any drama with Ruesha precisely.

"Look, I know you both agreed it was better that way, but I really think Katie would like you to come. She needs you. But I don’t mean to put pressure on you, obviously."

"I’ll get someone who can take care of Coopurr and I’ll be there as soon as possible."

It was easier for Caitlin to find a plane ticket to Dublin than to find someone to take care of her girlfriend’s precious cat. It's finally Laura who has custody of it for a few days, after receiving a long list of recommendations from Caitlin who finally became almost as fond of the feline that Katie is.

Caitlin came to Ireland twice, but it was always with Katie and to meet her girlfriend’s family. Learning that Caitlin was coming, Ella and Lauryn, some of Katie's sisters, offered to pick her up at the airport and then take her to Katie’s hotel. Grace is supposed to help Caitlin sneak into Katie’s room while another teammate keeps Katie busy.

"Oh wow" Caitlin says when entering the room she rented.

The decoration she requested for the occasion is already installed and it's even better than what she had imagined. She takes the time to open her suitcase to install the last elements to the decoration, some pictures of them in particular.

Then Caitlin takes a quick shower to cool off after the trip and changes clothes, before heading to the suite lounge to wait for Katie. She voluntarily didn't respond to Katie’s messages as quickly and as long as usual, wishing that the surprise effect for Katie was to the maximum. But she transferred the photos of the cat that Laura sent her in the last few hours, giving her the impression that she is still in London. In her humble opinion, Caitlin will be able to embark on a second career in events when she has to retire from sport.

But these thoughts are quickly pushed back when Caitlin distinctly hears the voice of her girlfriend ringing in the corridor leading to the room. She is grumbling, something based on "I hope it’s worth it Gracie, I just wanted to put my ass in front of Netflix" which amuses the Australian a lot.

Thanks to the double magnetic card that Grace has, she opens the door of the suite on Grumpy Katie.

Her face changes instantly when she sees Caitlin patiently standing in the center of the room.

"What the fuck?!" almost shout the Irish.

Caitlin’s laughter mingles with Grace's in front of Katie’s stupor, who doesn't seem to dare sketch the slightest gesture. The fact that it's two days before her birthday probably plays a little too.

But Katie ends up getting out of her stupor and suddenly rushes inside the room to hug her girlfriend. Grace takes the opportunity to make a discreet exit, delicately closing the door behind her after depositing the card on the cabinet of the entrance.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asks Katie, taking Caitlin’s face in both hands, as if to make sure she’s not dreaming.

"I heard my girlfriend was having a hard time. And I missed her very much too"

"Wait where is Coop?" frowns Katie

"Really? Your damn cat before kissing me?" Caitlin laughs.

A guilty smile on her lips, Katie hurries to put her lips on Caitlin's to properly celebrate their reunion. A tender and delicate kiss and Caitlin would swear she feels Katie’s muscles relax one by one in her arms.

"Hi" smiles Katie after kissing

"Hi" replies Caitlin smiling back, dropping a new kiss on her lips. "Coop is with Laura"

Katie hums simply, sticking herself in the arms of her girlfriend. Grace was right in calling Caitlin, the captain of Ireland has had better times than now. But she obviously wasn’t going to complain to anyone. Understanding the message, Caitlin tightens her arms around her, affectionately stroking her hair by gently rocking her, giving her the confort quietly asked.

"What’s all this?" Katie asks several minutes later, looking at the decoration.

"The second part of the surprise. The first being me, of course"

A smile appears on Katie's face, who becomes aware of the whole decoration, her gaze lingering on each of the photos that Caitlin has installed. Some are recent, some are from last year and some are even older.

"This is the first photo we took together" informs Caitlin pointing to a photo

A smile appears on Katie’s face when she looks more closely.

"We look like babies" Katie smirks

"You do. I still look the same actually"

"You’re right. You’ve always been beautiful"

"You're such a simp"

Caitlin rolls her eyes, unable to retain an amused smile. This is probably not the right time to talk about all her adolescent and young adult complexes. The Australian prefers to focus on the present and her girlfriend. Although they were quickly interrupted by knocks on the door, announcing the arrival of their dinner.

********

"Thanks for coming" whispers Katie, a few hours later.

They enjoyed their meal accompanied by champagne (without alcohol of course), talked and laughed. Katie has honestly not felt as relaxed as she is since arriving at the camps. When Caitlin offered to take a bath, Katie didn't hesitate a single second before accepting. Before, she was not a fan of baths, considering that it was a great waste of time. But if she has the opportunity to add Caitlin naked with her in the hot water, she's suddenly a very big fan.

Sitting in front of her in the bathtub that is about to overflow with foam, Caitlin leaves the foam with which she was playing, to report her eyes on Katie.

"Sure. But next time I’d rather you tell me directly if something’s wrong. You don’t have to pretend with me."

Katie looks thoughtfully at Caitlin for a few seconds, a slight guilt creating in the pit of her stomach.

"I- I just…"

"It’s not dramatic, Puddin" Caitlin says, smiling, taking her hand in hers.

"I just didn’t want to worry you and complicate things"

"It's ok, I’m not angry. You want to talk about it?"

Katie sighs, her hand slowly playing with the foam. When she thinks about it, she feels like she's overreacting or something. That's partly why she didn't talk to Caitlin about it.

"It's nothing really. It's just that everything seems harder here. Without you" she adds, without looking at her. "Rue is an ass and the team's dynamic isn't really the same. It's like every single one of them has to choose their side between me and her, but I never wanted this. It's really weird."

"I'm sorry" mumble Caitlin.

"It's not your fault" frowns Katie, looking at her this time. "It will get better"

Caitlin shrugs and sighs too. If she has the choice, she would pack her bags, put Katie in it and go back to London. But she can't, for obvious reasons.

"I know how much you loved the Irish camps, I just want you to be happy"

"I will kill you if you say other people and they see how much you make me sappy, but I am happy, thanks to you. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy in my life as I have been since we are together. I know I like to play the big guy, but you make me feel cared, safe and loved. There is no stupid competition between us to know which of the two is better. I’ve always looked for someone to push me to be better every day, but you do it and in a much healthier way than I’ve known so far."

Caitlin’s tormented face transforms into tender and Katie barely has time to finish her sentence as the Australian moves to find herself as close to her as possible, sending some hot water and foam on the ground.

"I hope to continue to feel this for a very long time" adds Katie on a whisper, Caitlin’s face a few inches from hers.

"I intend to love you for the rest of my life. And you will have no choice" Caitlin replies with an amused smile.

"Sounds good to me" Katie smirks, before grabbing her girlfriend’s face to kiss her.

#woso imagine #woso fanfics #caitlin foord #caitlin foord imagine #caitlin foord x katie mccabe #katie mccabe x caitlin foord #katie mccabe imagine #katie mccabe #woso one shot #mcfoord

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ducktoonsfanart · 2 months

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Scrooge McDuck and Goldie O'Gilt with their family - Duckverse - Gift for my friend

I know it's been a while, but I'd also like to wish a happy birthday to Glittering Goldie, which is usually March 1st, although she appeared in the Carl Barks comic "Back to the Klondike" written on September 18, 1952, and published on January 23, 1953 . years. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to draw an earlier dedication to Glittering Goldie's anniversary, but I did draw one as a gift for my friend who recently celebrated her birthday.

I drew Goldie O'Gilt as an old woman but wearing an old outfit from when she was a Klondike dancer and to impress Scrooge, I also drew Scrooge shyly looking forward to seeing his old love again. Next to them I drew Scrooge's nephew Donald Duck and his love Daisy Duck as well as Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck who they will see as their "grandma" Goldie, and there is Goldie's granddaughter Dickie, who supports her grandmother to be with Scrooge . Like a good family. And there is also a cake for the love couple Scroldie (Scrooge and Goldie). I mostly combined from Donald Duck comics in my own way. And this is my gift for my friend, dear @goldiejake11, who recently celebrated her birthday and I wish you a happy birthday and sorry for the delay!

Feel free to like and reblog this, and please don't use my same ideas without crediting me! Thank you!

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sailtomarina · 9 months

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Birthday breakfast

“Shhhhh, let her sleep.”

“But it’s time to get up!”

Hermione smiled, eyes still shut and clinging to the vestiges of sleep. She felt wrung out and deliciously sore from when Draco had woken her up at midnight to give her the first birthday gift of the day. She wasn’t sure what time it was now, but considering her heavy eyelids, it was probably still far before noon.

“Scorpius, get back here!”

Slam!

She kept her breathing slow and steady despite the door knocking into the wall and the weight that landed at the base of the bed.

“If she doesn’t wake up, then how can she eat breakfast?”

It took all her willpower to not chuckle at the pout in the little boy’s voice. At eight-years-old, Scorpius reminded her so much of his father, full of demands and seemingly without a concern in the world. Hermione knew better, of course. Her adopted son had experienced grief too early with the loss of his mother. His resilience was a testament to the love lavished on him by Astoria and Draco long before Hermione had come along.

She heard the soft patter of footsteps. A second weight dropped the mattress even further. Hermione knew Draco wasn’t fooled by her little act.

“I suspect she’ll wake up soon, my star. The food will keep until then.” Humor laced his words. Hermione could just imagine Scorpius’ lip jutting out in response.

“But—”

“But,” Draco emphasized, “We could try a spell to help her wake.”

Well, this would be interesting.

“A spell? Please, Dad, show me!” Scorpius bounced in place, sending shockwaves through the bed. Perhaps they should consider casting some permanent stabilization charms.

“Okay, repeat after me: tempus passus!”

Hermione nearly snorted at the fake incantation. Tempus passus, really? That was the best he could come up with?

“Tempus passus!”

“Now wave your wrists like so.”

The bed shook once more with the force of Scorpius’ movements, one of his hands smacking her on the thigh.

“Wait for it…”

Hermione fluttered her lashes, then twitched. With a groan, she rolled over and stretched her arms out.

“It’s working!”

“Scorpius?” She didn’t have to fake the scratchiness in her throat. She could desperately use some coffee.

“Happy birthday, Mum!”

That opened her eyes faster than any bang of the door or jolt to her mattress. The sight of a grinning Scorpius filled her vision, any hints of reservation completely absent.

“Mum”. He’d called her “Mum”.

“Oh, Scorpius, honey—” Her words cut off with the force of the young boy’s skinny arms wrapping around her. Behind him, Draco wore a gentle smile, which she matched with her own.

She hadn’t dared hope for this day. In her mind, Astoria would always be Scorpius’ mother. Hermione loved him, of course, but she knew better than to expect she’d ever take the woman’s place in their hearts. Even though Astoria had passed while Scorpius was barely old enough to remember her, she had already left her impression behind, that of a mother and wife who loved with all her being and regretted nothing but leaving her boys behind. The best Hermione could hope for would be to carve out a place of her own and bring them the joy they deserved.

“Happy birthday, love.” Draco joined them in their embrace, all-encompassing and reassuring in his warmth. She could have stayed like this all morning.

Scorpius had other ideas.

He wiggled and pushed, ending their hug with a cry of “Birthday breakfast!”

“There’d better be coffee,” Hermione teased. They were all too aware of her pre-caffeine grumpiness.

“Here, Mum!” A tray was shoved into her lap, set with steaming coffee, a carafe of pumpkin juice with three glasses, and a full English breakfast several times the size of her usual morning meal.

She raised an inquiring brow, which Draco met with a knowing smirk. “How about a breakfast picnic for three?”

Today, of all days, Hermione set aside her rule against food in bed. There was much to celebrate, least of which being her own birthday.

WC 678

DHRMonth Prompt: Week 3 - Celebrations, September 19 - Birthday

Cross-posted to AO3

I’ve always considered Hermione’s birthday as set at the perfect time of year, just late enough to see the start of my favorite season with its turning colors and color evenings, but still warm enough to only need a light cover in the day’s sunshine. I’m excited to see all the artwork and fics centering on our birthday girl!

#dramionemonth #dramione month #dramione #dhr fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #draco malfoy x hermione granger #hermione granger #draco malfoy #scorpius malfoy

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fullscoreshenanigans · 4 months

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You know, at the beginning of the story, Connie says that she has probably a total bad score to the exams "like always". If she had very bad (or the worse) results since a while, then his shippement days was decided for a while, since she has been shipped two weeks after her birthday. And Isabella knews who will be the next shippement three or four months before it happens. She knew that Connie was the next. She knew, when Connie reached 6, that she had only 2 weeks to live. And then, she took the time to make a plushie for Connie's birthday. And Little Bunny isn't a little plushie, it is kinda big. Isabella created a big toy for a kid who was going to enjoy it for only 15 days.

She wanted to make her happy, to give her joy for the little time that she still had. She wanted Connie to live those days in happiness. And i'm sure that she did that for any kids who was going to be shipped. (a lot of kids receive a gift for their 6 years old, the goods as the bads but maybe it's for cover why the bad scores kids has spoiled this famous day)

It's the biggest proof that she loves all her kids (even Ray, even if she has more mixed feelings toward him). She can't do anything to save them or she would be the next dinner and with no garantee that the woman who will replace her will be as loving then her. She is as much captive than the kids (even more, because she knows and she has the cheap in her heart.)

She had to see them die every time. Clearly she is still here after Connie's death so she has witnessed everything. She has seen so much of her kids diying while being unable to protect them because nothing could have been do, except make their too short lifes as much happy than possible.

(I'm sure that she was suffering with the idea to shipp the Full Score Trio soon (very soon for Ray, some months for Norman and in a little more of half a year for Emma), even Ray, and she was probably in denial about her son)

I think that Norman and Emma were too betrayed and angry to really understand that her affection was geniune and real. It's only thank to the distance, during 2 years, that they were able to think about it. For Ray, i think that a part of him knew that she really loved them but still sees her as the ones who sacrified his siblings. A part of him must have been in denial for a while about it too (like mother, like son).

The distance was good for everyone. The kids were able to understand that Isabella loved them for real, Ray was able to be willing to forgive her and eventually start over (realizing that he loved her too), Isabella realized that she loved her son.

And then came that asshole demon

Obnoxious pedantry but Conny's birthday is the third of September (@just-like-playing-tag put together an invaluable birthday chart here. September is one of the busier months with five birthdays in it.) So she had a bit more time with Little Bunny, but it's negligible in the grand scheme of things. There were two years' worth of low scores sealing her fate.

Based on that, this answer in the mystic code book, and all the toys we see in her hidden office in chapter 17/S1 episode 6, it's a safe bet she either made or had gifts delivered from headquarters for each of the children. The demons wouldn't question it as an easily justifiable and paltry expense to further cultivate a positive environment for the children's development, and with them not caring what became of the presents afterward even if a child packed it with them in their suitcase when they were shipped out, Isabella could keep them as mementos of all the children she raised.

It's the biggest proof that she loves all her kids

This I think depends on an individual's definition of love though, and whether Isabella could truly, fully love her children in such an oppressive framework.

(S1 Episode 8 | S1 Episode 10)

I will always come back to and obsess over the sequences of Isabella silently smiling as Ray struggles against her before locking him in Krone's old room and Ray looking completely disillusioned and despondent as Isabella walks off and smirks that they added into the anime. No one else is around who would be cognizant enough to notice. She doesn't have to put up an act to maintain a sense of calm and normalcy for anyone.

Yet here she is, quietly relishing in having seemingly defeated the children's plan to upset the status quo and her lifestyle. It's entirely for herself.

During this era of the story, she loves the children in her charge, but only to the point that they don’t inconvenience her; only to the point where they don’t impede her goal of survival ("longer than anyone"). It's impossible to live under such an oppressive, violent, monotonous, stagnating system and not have it fundamentally alter your perception of the world around you and how you interact with it to some degree. She even makes the distinction herself in one of her most memorable quotes.

(Chapter 37)

To love them normally, as opposed to the love that would always be tainted as long as it was within the confines of the farm system where she justified walking at least sixty children to their deaths over the course of her tenure to maintain her sense of cognitive dissonance.

To quote @nullaby, who phrases it very poignantly in this post:

for as much as isabella did love her kids, as nice as it would’ve been to just raise them all like a normal mother should, the backbone of her character journey &. ultimate redemption was laid out plain and clear right to ray’s face that everything, including his birth, was all just collateral damage of isabella’s desire to survive in this world as according to the demon’s rules, longer than most ever could, and find some sort of meaning to all this sacrifice in the only option that’d ever been available to cattle like them. the tragedy is that the prioritizing of her own position trumps that love of a mother more times that it ever didn’t, and that’s the mom that ray was left with.

(Chapter 7 | Chapter 16)

Even if she found herself slipping into the illusion that had been crafted throughout the rest of the day, on days where there were no shipments and everything was fine, maybe even great, every night she would be reminded of reality. That she was ultimately a pawn. A caged, useful dog, if you want to have what she says to Ray in chapter 24/S1 episode 8 be her projecting her self-loathing of what she's stooped to onto him (and then going further, making his affirmation of his humanity in choosing his death an incensed retort back at her as much as the demons).

Ray is the living, breathing reminder of one of the worst acts of violence the farm system inflected on her. For a six years, she may have been able to push aside any memories and thoughts of the child she bore, but on his sixth birthday (his false birthday; if she doesn't think of it in the moment, then surely afterward when they're celebrating it at the house), he "robbed Isabella of that easy, blissful delusion," to again quote nullaby. Such potent, aggrieved anger mixed with relishing her dominance over him bleeding into her tone and body language and tinging the framework of this scene; I really love how Cloverworks adapted it with their budgetary constraints.

I think that Norman and Emma were too betrayed and angry to really understand that her affection was genuine and real. It's only thank to the distance, during 2 years, that they were able to think about it. For Ray, i think that a part of him knew that she really loved them but still sees her as the ones who sacrificed his siblings. A part of him must have been in denial for a while about it too (like mother, like son). The distance was good for everyone. The kids were able to understand that Isabella loved them for real, Ray was able to be willing to forgive her and eventually start over (realizing that he loved her too), Isabella realized that she loved her son.

I do agree that being free of the suffocating environment of Grace Field would give everyone different perspectives on their relationship with their mother, with Emma being the most understanding of Isabella's circumstances and accepting her in her totality; the kindness and love she was always capable of just as much as the violence and cruelties she inflicted to maintain the status quo.

For Norman, the utter chaos his nervous system was in as he was walking to the gate, fully believing he was about to die only to be handed off to another cage and subjected to experiments as his mother sent him off with one last gentle hug, would heighten his senses and emotions and in turn make this a visceral core memory for him.

(S2 Episode 8)

He undoubtedly dwelled on it during his fifteen months at Lambda, grappling with coming to logically understanding her circumstances more over time with that distance, his stark morality, and, no matter how much he might try to squash down his feelings to avoid confronting his own vulnerability during such a precarious period, how deeply her betrayal hurt him. I don't know if he'd ever be able to fully let that go, even if his immediate reaction to her death was one of sadness due to how sudden it was and being robbed of the chance to see what kind of relationship with her would be possible.

Similar to Norman, Ray can logically understand her circumstances, and I do believe deep down there was a part of him that desperately desired a normal, loving relationship with her, as much as he also tried to squash it down. It's part of why he's so confident she wouldn't throw him away, why he looks so devastated when she cuts him off,

(S1 Episode 5 | S1 Episode 8)

I was doing a good job. To you, I’m…

(Even after all this time…you still can't find it in your heart to love me as the child you gave birth to. | Chapter 181.1)

and why even after all of that pain and loss, he still hums the lullaby she sang to him in the womb as a way of consoling himself before his attempted suicide (because it's the only way he believes he can atone for what he's done).

Ray's vast library of knowledge comes from his research. His memory is one of his most powerful assets; his blessing and his burden. Isabella had proven time and time again to him that she was willing to sacrifice children for her own survival.

And yet there was still some selfish part of him that hoped maybe, just maybe, she would have carved out a little niche in her heart for him after spending all that time together, after sharing the burden of the secret of the house with him, after finding out about their shared blood. That all of that had to mean something to her.

But tragically all they shared engendered a unique ire toward him instead, born from a deep self-loathing that, once she replaced her own mother as Grandma, she allowed herself to reflect upon more thoroughly and came to deeply regret.

(TPN Light Novel 2: Moms’ Song of Remembrance - “The Starry Sky and Leslie’s List” Chapter 9; Isabella being an unreliable narrator and forcing a mental wedge between her and Ray as both a child in her charge in general and specifically as her biological son. She "held no particular maternal feelings for Ray" being as much a denial of any love for him as being a moment where she tries to place herself above the petty anger and resentment she has for him | Chapter 181.3; the framing of the bottom right panel confirming she did view all the birthday gifts she gave her children as treasures)

The damage was done though, between that and losing Norman, one of the two most precious people in his life he spent six years bearing the pain of loneliness and sorrow for. Even with Norman proving to be alive, like him I think it would be hard for Ray to untangle logically, pragmatically understanding Isabella's circumstances from the abuse he endured.

(Chapter 169; the conflicting feelings he held for her even two years after escaping Grace Field)

People aren't their trauma, but it would be disingenuous to say it didn't shape him. A learned response and association with her etched into his mind that I don't believe would be shed so easily. He wasn't by Isabella's side as she made her two-year journey of redemption as Grandma. He only saw the final result weighed against years of memories of her calculating iron woman persona, of every happy one his siblings had tinged with the knowledge that she would eventually set them up for slaughter.

(Chapter 174)

To quote nullaby for a third time:

there’s a whole big thing about late story isabella, how she interprets ray’s address as forgiveness, but . . . it’s maybe just more speaking to how their worst qualities are the ones that they share. not as much a “ you’re my mom and i forgive you ” as it is a “ i get it, i’m there too, it doesn’t matter anymore anyway, stop feeling sorry for yourself ” and it just. tapers off into something impersonal, something more like just a person speaking to a person than a son to his mother.

He can acknowledge the love she held for her children, acknowledge that she changed and wanted to do better by them, but that doesn't equate to reconciliation and letting go of all those painful memories at the drop of a hat.

(Chapter 177 | Sunny's post)

The mental scars she left on him would be with him for years—potentially forever—and had she lived I don’t think he’d ever have a relationship with her in the way Emma might, but in that moment, he desperately wished for just the opportunity to try, even if it ended in failure or an impasse. And yet again fate left him without any say or control in the situation to determine his own path of healing.

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blue-light-rosie · 6 months

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Wordgirl Villain Birthday Headcanons

Okay so, I'm going into this with the assuumption that the show starts in 2006 since that's when it came out.

Let's start with Tobey since he's the only one with a canon age, also he was my favorite when I was a kid.

Theodore "Tobey" McCallister

Birthday: October 3rd, 1995

Age: 10

Reason: Just strikes me as a fall baby. I think his birthday would be 7 months earlier than Becky's. I headcanon that her earth birthday is the day that the Botsfords found her since they wouldn't know her real birthday and I assume that Lexicon has a different year length and month cycle, so Bob wouldn't be able to translate it to Earth's.

Bonus Headcanon: Tobey's parents are separated. He and Claire left England when he was 4 or 5 while his father remained.

Let's keep the ball rolling with the child villians.

Victoria Best

Birthday: January 1st, 1996

Reason: Of course she would be a New Years baby, it's the ~best~ birthday of course.

Bonus Headcanon: Her and Eileen met at a villian convention and became sort of besties.

Eileen the Birthday Girl

Birthday: Everyday

(Real) Birthday: September 17th, 1995

Reason: It's revealed in one episode that her real birthday is the same as Violet's (this doubles as my Violet birthday headcanon), the season ain't obvious in the episode, but I would say September just cause of ✨️vibes✨️.

Bonus Headcanon: Her last name is O'Neil. Her parents are business people who don't see her often so they substitute real parenting for lavish gifts and a birthday everyday (she gets an extra bonus headcanon because it's her birthday).

Captain Tanget

Birthday: June 15th, 1989

Age: 17

Reason: His wiki says he's a teenager and his behavior backs that up. Summer birthday because that's the best birthday for piracy.

Bonus Headcanon: I saw a fic where they made his government name Connor Read and I like it and think it really fits, so I'm adooting that headcanon too!

Now onto the adult villians!

Amazing Rope Guy

Birthday: April 13th, 1984

Age: 22

Reason: In 1984, April 13th was a Friday! This man got some chronic bad luck so I thought it would be funny.

Bonus Headcanon: He was in marching band in high school and played the Clarinet.

Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy

Birthday: November 3rd, 1981

Age: 25

Reason: November 3rd is Sandwich Day.

Bonus Headcanon: He and Brent share a birthday (Brent's being 5 years earlier) and Chuck HATES it.

The Butcher

Birthday: July 19th, 1960

Age: 46

Reason: Middle aged king, he also says he hasnt even lived 50 years so I assume he was at least in his late 30s. Also July 19th is hotdog day!

Bonus Headcanon: His government name is Butch Agricolo.

Lady Redundant Woman (A.K.A. Beatrice Bixby)

Birthday: March 3rd, 1973

Age: 33

Reason: LDR seems to love doing things in threes so I assume it's her lucky number, and 3/3 makes it redundant.

Bonus Headcanon: She only watches movies that have remakes.

I'm running out of steam, so imma end it with Two-Brains, we're running with Steven's birthday since Squeaky won't tell me his :(

Dr. Two-Brains (Formerly known as Dr. Steven Boxleitner)

Birthday: August 13th, 1971

Age: 35

Reason: It is confirmed that he is middle aged and he also canonically has at least one PhD and a Masters so he'd have to be at least 30. August 13th was a Friday in 1971 and I think it funny that he also has an unlucky birthday.

Bonus Headcanon: He is a Physcist and an Engineer!

That's all for now, folks! I'll do a part 2 eventually for the rest of Fair City's Rougue's Gallery.

#wordgirl #tobey mccallister #victoria best #eileen the birthday girl #captain tangent #amazing rope guy #chuck the evil sandwich making guy #the butcher wordgirl #lady redundant woman #dr two brains #Wordgirl headcanons

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phoenix-manga · 5 months

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Ella Glaciel

CV: Moroboshi Sumire

Biographical Information

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Birthday: September 6

Starsign: Virgo

Height: 165 cm

Eye Color: Mariner

Hair Color: Sea Pink

Professional Status

Dorm: Glastanzerin

School Year: 2nd Year

Class: 2-C | Student no. 12

Occupation: Student | Dorm Leader

Club: Horse Grooming Club

Best Subject: Basic Etiquette | Needlework and Jewelry

Fun Facts

Favorite Food: Cheese Platter

Least Favorite Food: Fish

Dislikes: Too much chores

Hobby: Sewing

Talents: Quick stitching

Idol Stats

Performance: Soft vocals meant for classical songs

Choreography: Displays cute and dainty poses. Also incorporates ballet into her choreography

Styling Jewel Outfits: Classical | Cute

She is incredibly skilled in sewing and even has a fashion brand under her name at DCA. Her family’s clothing apparel is well known in a number of kingdoms. When working, she gets a fiery look in her eyes and will rush to her workspace and make the clothes with the help of magic and some precision with a needle.

Due to her noble upbringing, she carries herself in a lady-like manner. Always keeping her hand folded when she sits, greets with a bow, uses words that are graceful and sweet, and many other things. Which means she is also knowledgeable regarding trends in social circles.

She isn’t really brave nor is she assertive, if faced with someone aggressive she just runs away. And she’s so quick like a mouse that no one can catch up to her. Yelling will cause her to freeze up, it was a habit that never went away after the abuse she suffered under her first stepmother.

Has a skill for marketing, she focuses on what makes the product good and presents it to the client by flattering their style and recommending a set suited for them without offending the person.

Any other topic other than her interests makes her mind blank though, she keeps quiet until the topic is something she knows.

Whenever she changes clothes, she quickly starts with changing stockings as she still feels insecure with her leg scars. She would rather endure the hot weather in stockings rather than show the scars. It sometimes throbs with subtle pain.

Hometown: Glasswork Kingdom

Family Life

Ella spent her early years in a loving embrace of her birth mother and her father. The two often pampered their daughter with plenty of cute gifts and toys but the most treasured gift Ella kept was a jewelry set of baby blue birds made by her mother before she passed. She often gazes upon it to remember her mother.

When her father remarried to Lucille, her life was spent in abuse. Constantly being tormented by her step siblings and getting punished for every little mistake by her step mother. The servants feared Lucille as she would threaten their jobs and flaunting how she has connections that will cause trouble to their families. Until a servant had enough and told the Gaspard of what has been happening while he was away.

Gaspard was ashamed of himself for letting such a terrible woman in to his household to threaten his servants and his precious daughter. He filed for a lawsuit and this was the first time that he wasn’t timid or gentle. His eyes were cold as he stared down the Luciferia family, this was the first time he’s ever felt such anger.

He became protective of Ella and often had background checks on new people he hired and closed himself from any women who he assumed was just aiming for his wealth and title.

Ella slowly recovered but there were still traces of trauma, but she tries her best to be better so she wouldn’t worry her father. She was glad he met another woman who was genuinely caring but she still struggles to open up, yet she hopes to overcome the past to finally be a happy family again.

Childhood Memories

Ella’s memories of her mother are quite few, considering that she was very young when she passed but she wants to keep those memories alive by talking to the servants who worked for her mother, asking her father as well as looking through the photo albums. She feared that forgetting her mother’s memories would be like throwing away a cherished family member.

There was one memory that she always liked to hear about, it was when she was but a toddler in her two’s that she shocked both parents when she dragged some silk onto an unfinished dress and the parents realizing that the color Ella picked looked better. Gaspard always questions how genetically gifted Ella’s talent was for fashion.

During the time where she suffered under the Luciferia family, the fear and trauma was ingrained into her and she would flinch or freeze up if anyone held a stick or something close to that near her. Her father had trusted family doctors, who are sworn to keep the leg scars between them, to look after and help Ella mentally recover.

It took almost a year and a half but Ella was able to act normally again with the help of doctors, though loud yelling and arguments still unnerve her. She can handle herself a bit better.

Ella is a 2nd year Glastanzerin student and is the current dorm leader.

She always admired the story of the Maiden of the Glass Shoe, being sorted into her dream dorm made her so happy. Ella is known in the dorm for her family name as well as skills, she has such a fast and nimble way of sewing using minimal amounts of magic. Not anyone can just replicate her dresses.

She has a lot of commissions in school and every single order has been made with plenty of care and caters to the customer’s taste always.

More often than not, Ella likes to discuss with the dorm students about the latest trends that the girls would keep their ears open whenever Ella gives fashion advice.

There were times that Ella would spend her downtime feeding her mice and other wild animals to unwind. Sometimes even having a tea party consisting of mainly animals, it wasn’t odd to anyone who studies in DCA but to outsiders it may be weird.

The dorm students are quite protective of Ella and will not tolerate any disrespect, Ella has no idea how scary her dorm students get when there is an unpleasant person confronting her.

Ella has quite high grades due to the tutors her father hired. Though her worst subject is PE due to her lack of physical training as well as the fact due to the scars on her legs, she finds it difficult to keep up. She dislikes feeling sweaty after doing exercises, if it was yoga then she’d have no problem however.

School Relationships

Ella gets along with mostly everyone due to her sweet nature and the tendency to provide news on the latest trends. As a noble, she is also decent in academics, her best grades are on dance, music and sewing. PE is her worst subject as she always gets sore after just one class, she also feels uncomfortable when she reeks of sweat from the sun.

Evonie is a big sister figure to her with how she often helps her when she gets anxious or when a confrontation takes place but she was too scared to talk back. She admits that she envies Evonie a little bit with how strong she was along with other girls who aren’t dainty. She wonders if she can be strong like them if she could just get over her fears.

She admires Briar as she has never been face-to-face with a real princess before. Her regal air and beautiful visage prompts her to create inspiring outfits to one day be worn by royalty. Though she can’t help but notice the sorrow in Briar’s eyes which maybe another factor as to why she feels a familiarity with her.

Cerule and Ella’s first meeting has her nearly fainting from excitement at the idea of meeting an actual mermaid. She’s read about them in storybooks but to see one in real life was way better. Cerule thinks Ella is pretty cute like a sea angel. Ella gets a lot of colored pearls and sea glass from Cerule after a dive for treasure.

Perrine won her over when Ella got a whiff of the smell of spices that was cooking in the campus cafeteria. Perrine and Allison’s desserts that are decorated to their tastes would always be a source of new ideas for Ella. She often takes pictures of their food before eating, she eats in small bites to savor the taste.

Bumpkin and Ella get along so well as fans of fashion, though Bumpkin is so adamant about ungodly amounts of glitter. Bumpkin’s form is from Ella’s doll she used to play with in her childhood. It always brought comfort to her during sad days.

Bumpkin acts as a fairy godmother to Ella, always helping her out in her time of need and would fiercely protect her if anyone dares to make her cry.

Mozza

The swiftest mouse who acts as the leader of the group. He does all the talking and negotiating in mouse matters, he is the one who reports to Ella about the latest information and gossip.

Gouda

The food crazy mouse who is the chunkiest of them all. He tends to just lay in one place nibbling on cheese. Often times Ella puts him in her pocket as he snoozes about. He is also quite cowardly, anything that resembles a cat and he freaks out and runs with speed that rivals Mozza’s.

Brie

The pretty mouse who hoards anything shiny like a corvid would. She is the one who assists Ella when she’s sewing the most. A mouse with an eye for detail. She likes riding in Ella’s pockets because dirt makes her fussy.

Parmes

The genius mouse who may seem plain but inside the mouse holes, but he has made layouts for the fastest routes to any place in the building. The inventions are made from lost things such as pins and buttons that are no longer needed among other things.

Pecorin

The youngest mouse of the group, she’s so small that other mice carry her around in a thimble basket made by Parmes. Ella is worried that the poor thing might get squished so she made a fluffy hand bag to carry all five mice in. Pecorin is often found in a dollhouse just enjoying herself.

Dusty

Ella’s horse who is a Rocky Mountain breed. He is friendly and happy-go-lucky, sometimes distracted by shiny things if he sees one in the corner of his eye. He is skilled in doing tricks as well as carrying heavy loads.

Her unique magic is called, “Glacify” this allows her to make anything she wants shimmer like polished glass. No matter what object it is, she can make it shiny. This doesn’t work on living things, though it works on plants oddly.

This magic effect can last until 12 o’ clock, it doesn’t matter if it was AM or PM, and it always disappears when the clock strikes 12.

Ella often uses this to make her fashion presentation pretty but she mostly uses it on the accessories or the lighting mostly. Using it on the dress would be considered cheating in her eyes. Though the process of making the dress uses magic to be quick and efficient.

Gaspard Antoine Glaciel

A soft-hearted, humble man who has a hobby for aromatherapy and indoor gardening. He makes exquisite shoes that the locals sought after. His business was only known in the Glasswork Kingdom until he was finally taking the gamble to set up a shop outside of his home country. He doesn’t take business risks unless he’s convinced that there will be no losses.

He was devastated after his wife passed away, he married Lucille only because of a mutual benefit, and affection wasn’t involved. He thought that she would benefit Ella since she worked as an educator.

He ended up filing a case against her when he found out she was abusing Ella under the guise of “tutoring”. He became more attentive to his daughter after the divorce, but his heart became closed off to any potential bachelorettes for a long time until he met Claudette.

Emellette Glaciel

Ella’s birthmother, an adventurous woman who likes to hunt and go horseback riding. She proposed to Gaspard first, she was always such a bold woman. But Gaspard always loved that about her.

She was known for her beautifully crafted jewelry sets. She and her husband started the business selling their crafts and designs to the people in the kingdom.

She passed away due to an illness when Ella turned 7. Leaving a crafted jewelry set that are based on blue birds for Ella to wear when she turns 18 one day. Ella cherishes this jewelry set the most and makes sure to hide it from Lucille in a secret compartment.

Lucille Luciferia

Ella’s first stepmother who is vain and sought to climb the social ladder by any means necessary. She worked as an educator but was known to be very strict and harsh to students, this includes Ella. Every time Ella did a little thing wrong, she would get hit on the back of her legs with a riding crop. This resulted in Ella getting scars on her legs with how hard she was struck.

She has no shame in wearing jewelry that was owned by Gaspard’s first wife, flaunting it, and being boastful to people whenever they go to gatherings. Pretending to be nice whenever Gaspard was in the house and when he leaves, she drops her façade and torments the servants in the household.

Lucille plays ignorant to her sons’ bullying of Ella, and even tells her that her father won’t believe her if she tries to tattle on them. She ended up being socially disgraced and had to live in her relative’s house along with her sons because she was also fired from the school she works at.

Edwin Luciferia (18)

An egotistic young man who constantly picks on Ella by playing mean pranks as well as destroying her toys and things. He is also narcissistic, he views himself as the best but has an ego as fragile as glass. When someone is better than him or tries to call him out on his bluff, he will retaliate by berating them or even resorting to violence.

He abuses his status as a noble to get what he wants, he is not above spreading false rumors about people who dares to defy him. As such, his classmates avoid him.

He used to have a group of students at his beck and call, they stuck around mostly because of his status and the wealth of his stepfather. But now that his mother was fired, he was left behind by his so-called “loyal followers”. He’s become more aggressive but those who he picked on now gossip about him. To the point where they do it in earshot.

Roman Luciferia (18)

The quiet young man who has a calculating gaze and sharp tongue. His bullying tactics are harsh words he hurls towards Ella. Although the true reason he picks on her was because Edwin doesn’t make him his target now, so his situation is mainly a target directing the negativity onto someone weaker.

However, it doesn’t mean that he isn’t at fault. At school, he was always harsh to those who are below him concerning academics. He thinks of himself as a genius unlike his bonehead brother. But after the divorce of his mother and stepfather, he is struggling to keep up academics now that Edwin is back to targeting him.

Claudette Darlington

Ella’s second stepmother who got married to Gaspard after they fell for each other after being business partners for a while. She works in the tea business, selling an assortment of tea leaves and tea sets. She is a professional in her career but she is also a patient mother. She doesn’t force Ella to trust her since she can tell that the trauma still affects her. She gives Ella her space and time to adjust until she can finally open up to her.

Gaspard at first was professional towards Claudette, slowly she starts to notice how stressed he was an offered some tea to help him. She respected their professional relationship and has heard of the incident that took place years before.

The first time she met Ella was when he had her over to discuss business, she was cautious and took note on her movements so as not to startle the poor child. Ella warmed up to Claudette when she asked about her mother.

She didn’t expect Gaspard to propose to her but at first she told him to talk this out with Ella because her opinion should also be considered.

The character's name, "Ella" is obviously based on Cinderella, with the live action movie revealing that "Ella" is her real name but she was called, "Cinderella" as a form of insult.

Ella's backstory was made with new ideas that came to mind, to give more personality to her.

#twisted wonderland #diamond crown academy #dca #twst #ella glaciel #headcanons #glastanzerin

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thegigilwriter · 15 days

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14 | “Danger & Star, Rooster & Angel” — Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Female Mitchell OC

Summary. 26-year-old Lucy Asa Mitchell did not know what was in store for her when she first bumped into Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw. After an instant mutual connection followed by a sweet whirlwind romance that swept both their feet, Lucy found herself being immersed deeper into Bradley’s world of the Navy, F-14s, and deployments. What she didn’t expect was finding was the answer to an elusive part of her past — the identity of her long-lost father.

Chapter Summary. Bradley and Lucy are invited to one of Francesca’s galleries at the San Diego Museum of Art. Francesca is enamored by a familiar stranger and a foresight into one of Lucy’s birthday surprises is implied.

Masterlist

Keywords/Warnings: Romance, fluff, spice (we’re getting there!), new romances

14 | Picturesque 🖼️

September 15, 2023

“Hey stunner,ˮ Bradley grinned as he came up behind Lucy, encircling his arms around her waist as she applied her pearl earrings. Bradley giggled placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Hey gorgeous,ˮ she whispered, their lips meeting as she turned to face him. Lucy reached for those caramel curls framing his face so handsomely. The clay was sticky on her hands and it exuded a strong scent that paired well with his natural musk. She let his hands wander all over her body — he was admiring the way the fabric hugged her curves — a dress that Francesca said it would. A black, mermaid-style dress with a ruffled cream hem, a sweetheart neckline, a slit on one side, and a delicate off-shoulder strap that draped her arms beautifully.

Her hair was tamed and let down with only the ends curled. Tonight, sh had on Bradleyʼs butterfly necklace and a matching copper-tinted drawstring bag gifted by Francesca. Bradley looked just as breathtaking — and Lucy was sure that hearts were breakingwde open because she was the girl on his arm tonight. Bradley looked like he just stepped out of the Oscarʼs: his black and white suit with matching bow-tie complemented his mature and masculine physicality.

“Are Nat and Bob still coming tonight?ˮ She asked Bradley, his hands still snug on her waist.

“Yep,ˮ he hummed. “Theyʼre meeting us there.ˮ

“They know that itʼs a black and white event, right?ˮ She asked him again. “This gallery is really important to Frankie...ˮ

“Iʼve let them know twice now, Angel.ˮ He kissed her neck, eliciting a giggle from her lips, his mustache tickling the sensitive skin. “Donʼt worry about it.ˮ

“Thank you,ˮ Lucy smiled while remarking: “Youʼre quite the clinger today.ˮ

“Mmmm,ˮ he sighed. “I fucking love this dress...ˮ

Lucy would have to thank Francesca later with her favorite ube ensayamada recipe.

They arrived at the San Diego Museum of Art later in the evening. After Bradley helped Lucy out of his Bronco, he led her towards the entrance where a uniformed chaperone directed them towards the exhibit. The line they had surpassed was quite long so Lucy felt only partly bad when the chaperone took them away. They walked the length down from the entrance, past the restricted and closed areas of the museum, and finally into the featured gallery. Together, they were greeted by servers with fun cocktails, frilly hors d'oeuvres, and the exhibitionʼs magnificent ambience.

The walls were embossed with black, matte paint. Gold motifs were present in the uniforms, cutlery, and frames. They were presented in varying forms — flaked, pasted, or painted in. Lucy looked up and the ceiling was elegantly painted — very akin to the one of the Sistine Chapel. There was something familiar about all the paintings in the room. Though they all emulated classic Renaissance style and technique, upon closer inspection these paintings seem to express a more modern and applicable message — the diverse beauty of women. A painting that mimicked The ‘Birth of Venusʼ by Boticelli was painted as a brown Latina woman with full breasts, tummy tucks, and stretch marks painted in gold. The ‘Mona Lisaʼ by Da Vinci was depicted as an East Asian woman with a golden-colored gap tooth and mono-lid eyes. She also had a singular scar on her lip that was also painted in gold. The ‘Madonna with Child and Two Angelsʼ by Lippi was reinterpreted as a black African woman with her children. Her pimples, acne scars, and pigmentation were too painted in gold. Still — why did all these creations resonate so familiarly with Lucy?

“Baby?ˮ Bradley called to her, himself inspecting a painting. He reached out his arm to her and she happily tucked into it. Bradley pointed to a distinct signature concealed into one of the elements of a painting. “Did Frankie ever tell you that this was her exhibition?ˮ

Lucy carefully studied the loopy penmanship carefully. It was the unique way that the ‘Fʼ was signed that confirmed the creator behind the creation. A single tear balanced itself on the edge of Lucyʼs waterline. Just then Francesca came up to greet them, and without warning, Lucy sensed her presence and enveloped her into a tight embrace.

“You did it!ˮ Lucy half-whispered and half-exclaimed aloud. “You finally did it! Why didnʼt you tell me?ˮ Francesca was laughing, but her eyes glistened just like Lucyʼs.

“I wanted to keep it a surprise,ˮ she finally replied after clearing her throat. “Father finally allowed me to have my own exhibition under the condition that that it would be kept low-profile. If tonight is to be a success — pleasing the critics, some buyers, and whatnot— this exhibition will remain here for the time being and Father will allow me to have more.ˮ

“Well he shouldnʼt doubt you,ˮ Bradley remarked staring at ceiling. “This is fucking amazing, Francesca— and damn anyone who says otherwise.ˮ

“Thank you,ˮ Francesca replied, a smile suddenly lighting up her face. “But you know what? I think I have something both of you will be quite thrilled to see even more. Follow me...ˮ

Bradley and Lucy trailed behind her as Francesca lead her towards the front of the room. Six paintings on golden easels stood side by side, and between all of them was an elegantly designed podium. The first of the six she easily recognized as Francescaʼs mother holding her as an infant— her golden detail were the smile lines in her eyes. The second was Francescaʼs grandmother cooking pasta, her elderly strands golden instead of white. The third was Francescaʼs painter aunt who was presented teaching Frankie how to paint. She has always looked up to and talked about her. Her golden detail were the scars she cut into her arms. The fourth... was Lucy. Lucyʼs hands flew to her mouth.

“Oh Frankie...ˮ Lucy sighed. The painting depicted Lucy with all her body, seated upon a rocky stumble, feet nearly kissing the bright ocean waves. Iridescent cloth covered her breasts and womanhood. Golden blood seemed to seep from her knees and golden light seemed to stream from her chest. The painting was ethereal and magical; and like all other of Francescaʼs paintings, it excellently captured the life and likeness of her subject.

Behind them, someone whistled low. Natasha and Bob appeared in their periphery — the pair of them just as enthralled by Lucyʼs painting.

“You alright, Rooster?ˮ Nat smirked patting his shoulder firmly, instantly tearing his gaze from the painting.

“You made it!ˮ Lucy grinned as she went over to welcome Nat and Bob with a side hug.

“Nat, Bob,ˮ Bradley spoke. “This is Francesca Agosti, Lucyʼs best friend. Francesca — these are my friends. Theyʼre also aviators in the Navy.ˮ

“Itʼs so nice to meet you,ˮ Nat shook her hand. “Your work is beautiful, and we really appreciate the VIP passes.ˮ

“Of course!ˮ Francesca replied. “Any friend of Bradleyʼs is a friend of mine!ˮ

“H-Have you painted for very long?ˮ Bob squeaked, shyly entering the conversation.

“Iʼve painted as soon as I could hold a brush,ˮ she chuckled. “Or so Iʼve been told.ˮ

“Doesnʼt the Agosti family own several galleries and museums across Europe?ˮ Bob asked her. “What made you decide to begin to present your work just now?ˮ

“Iʼm sorry about hi—“ Bradley began apologetically.

“No itʼs okay,ˮ Francesca replied gracefully. “You like art?ˮ

Bob nodded reluctantly, shrinking at the intensity of pretty gray gaze.

“W-Well I picked it up from my mother,ˮ Bob scratched the nape of his neck. “She sculpted and studied art and I learned a few things here and there. I liked how you used old techniques to re-communicate the beauty of the perceived physical insecurities of women in this age. I also appreciate that your paintings doesnʼt conform to the recent trend of the minimalism, cartoonist, and abstractionism of art and instead honors its subjects with applications that are timeless — just like how women are.ˮ

Bradley, Nat, and Lucy stared at Bob with mouths slightly agape.

“Damnnn, Bob!ˮ Nat whispered under her breath. Lucy and Francesca shared a secret smile.

“Wow,ˮ Francesca sighed. “If you donʼt mind, Iʼd love to hear more about your thoughts. Perhaps we should start with one of my paintings at the front? Iʼve had a few mixed reviews about that one.ˮ

Bradley winked in Bobʼs direction.

“O-Of c-course,ˮ Bob adjusted his glasses. “I-Iʼd be happy to.ˮ

The man was as red as a beet as Francesca looped her arm through his and walked the length of the gallery, engaged in hearty conversation — occasionally greeting a guest or two on the way.

“Iʼve been trying to hook this man up at the Deck and all I had to do was to take him to a fucking gallery?!ˮ Nat huffed, her hands on her hips. Bradley laughed, holding Lucyʼs hand.

“The right one just comes Nat,ˮ Bradley smiled at Lucy. She kissed his cheek affectionately.

“Who wouldʼve thought it?ˮ Nat sighed, receiving a Bellini from a server. “Iʼm the fifth wheel.ˮ

The night was in full swing. Bob and Francesca were still attached at the hip, Nat was off somewhere with some bored business associate, and Lucy was admiring one of Frankieʼs pieces as Bradley was getting a couple more Bellinis. The painting she was looking at this time was one that depicted and was inspired by her mother. It was titled “Tala— Star in Service.” She was just as surprised of course — seeing her as a figure of oil and canvas. In it, she was seated and had on multiple IV lines, tended to by children with little nursing hats with crosses. Her mother wore the biggest one with a golden cross. The painting also utilized colors from the Philippine flag — red, yellow, white, and blue thoughtfully.

“Angel?ˮ Bradley spoke, interrupting her train of thoughts. She leaned against his chest, still staring at the painting.

“I really like this one,ˮ Bradley remarked. “Itʼs like… giving back to the hero.ˮ

“Youʼre right,ˮ Lucy whispered. “She wouldʼve liked to have this one — she wonʼt admit it but it really does capture her career....ˮ

A beat.

“Did you know that she didnʼt want to be a nurse in the first place?ˮ

A door with what once had a stuck handle was opening and Bradley let it swing ajar.

“Really?ˮ He said.

“She only became one to please my grandfather. Being a nurse was only a step towards being a doctor — just like he was. She always wanted to be a singer — she wanted to learn opera and travel around the world...ˮ

Lucy smiled sadly, looking up at him.

“Thatʼs the real reason why I learned opera,ˮ she spoke quietly. “She couldnʼt pursue her dreams because of Ford and I, so she pursued them through us. There were times I really hated her, and I donʼt think Iʼve ever let her know that I didnʼt really mean it.ˮ

Bradley kissed her forehead and smoothed her exposed shoulder. He then tipped her chin towards him and beckoned the audience of her eyes for his own.

“You are her dream Angel,ˮ he whispered. “Look how youʼve turn out, look how amazing you are. You have time, and youʼll let her know — even though I think she already does.ˮ

Lucy sighed as Bradley bent down to capture her lips sweetly. “Now letʼs get outta here,ˮ Bradley grinned.

“Wait — where are the Bellinis?ˮ

Bradley and Lucy snuck through lines of red tape and into the closed off exhibitions. It was the dead of night with only the light from the moon and stars illuminating through the tall windows. They giggled and whispered, Lucyʼs heels clacking against the marbled floor and Bradleyʼs laugh breaking through the silence. They eventually found a patio facing seaward. The evening brought forth a cool breeze and Bradley took off his jacket to warm her shoulders. He set Lucy on the marbled ledge of the railing with the ease helped by his strength. He caged her within his arms and kissed her slowly, as her hands ravaged through his arranged locks. His hands then wandered to the flesh of her ass.

“Can I touch you here?ˮ He whispered. Lucy nodded.

“How ‘bout here?ˮ His hand grazed the inside of her thigh peeking from the slit of her dress.

Lucy nodded once more.

“Iʼm all yours Daddy,ˮ she sighed staring into his eyes.

“So good for me Angel,ˮ Bradley smiled as he began to knead her ass with one hand and pulled the back of her knee closer towards him, deepening the kiss. She instinctively clenched her thighs and Bradley chuckled as she began to press soft, little kisses against his neck — taking him in. Her soft moans and little squeals excited him and he rewarded her so — leaving hickeys across expanse of her chest.

As they rested their foreheads together for a breath, Bradley momentarily patted his back pocket — tucking in two receipts whose ends would have previously been visible from behind.

I really loved how this idea came out! Lucy and Bradley are definitely getting closer in their relationship 💞 … I can’t wait for you to read the next few chapters! But first, a really important one: 15 | Seashell by the Seaside.

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kari-go · 5 months

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Well, I have asked you about Marinette's birthday, because I have the dtrong belife the seria would make way more sence if it plays durring 2 years. It would mean 1 season is 3-4 month (2 episodes raffly a weak). And in Ikari Goesen, Marinette mentiones she was born in the year of the snake, while Kagami is in the dragon. Snake following the dragon, meaning they either has 1 year difference... Or the same age, but Kagami was born around the end of Chinese year, while Marinette in the chinese new year. And I also assume Adrien and Kagami were created almost the same time (and Adrien's birthday is at the very beginimg of the seria, so, September).... This would put Marinette more to late January, early February, being the mark of the chinese new year, but yours feels close enought, considering the seria's nonsensical timeline 😅💜

Yeah. Although I didn't really use the clues you just mentioned. I just used Befana. Since it happens on Marinette's birthday, I just went by that. La Befana is an old woman/witch who delivers gifts to children on January 5/6th.

#but if befana hadnt happened #marinettes birhtday would probably in june or july #idk she just has those vibes #also #kagamis birthday is the 9th of february #and i havent decided yet on adriens #but its in fall #ask #miraculous ladybug #miraculous disaster au #marinette dupain cheng

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fang-and-feather · 9 months

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Ikemen Vampire - Sebastian x OC

Written for Sebastian's birthday and for Year of the OTP September prompt: high school sweethearts from @yearoftheotpevent

Sebastian and his ex-girlfriend stop pretending to be strangers to celebrate his birthday, but would it really be only for a day?

I have a love/hate relationship with fics that go beyond the plans. Sometimes they get better for this, sometimes not, but they always get more complicated. This one was supposed to just be a fluffy one-shot, but it's not an one-shot anymore and not entirely fluffy either... So I wanted to write the whole thing before his birthday, but I only finished the first chapter so far. Can't believe it's my first time finishing at least a publishable part of a fic with him either

Next Chapter / IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist / AO3 Version

Sebastian always felt somewhat strange on his birthday, with the others’ attempts at celebrating and especially of taking over his work or even doing other things for him. But he quickly overcame it, because that also provided great opportunities to learn new things about the residents.

Like last year, he wasn’t expecting Napoleon to cook. Napoleon who had been there for a couple of months and had insisted on learning, since he was the only one, besides Sebastian himself, who needed to eat. And he was a fast learner, but even if the food didn’t taste as great as it did, Sebastian considered it an honor - and a little strange - to share a meal prepared by none other than Napoleon Bonaparte.

This year, though, he knew who would insist on cooking and tackling the rest of the mansion’s work on her own.

His new co-worker had come from the future, like him. Same century, same country, but, unlike him, she hadn’t come on purpose and was now trapped in this time and place without knowing for how long.

Sebastian had tried to help her fight her despair when she realized she couldn’t go home and they had become closer than he expected, especially considering how much Amy reminded him of home.

He had always tried to - except for a brief moment on the night she arrived - not to link her directly with his past, though. The name was familiar, and there was something familiar in her eyes a couple of times, but this Amy and his highschool girlfriend were very different people.

The Amy from his past was athletic, had a sharp tongue and new people often mistook her for a guy - and that was one of the reasons he realized he was bisexual, - she was very open-minded and full of unusual ideas and was never seen alone. This Amy was a simple woman, with a simple job, traveling alone, surprised at the idea of time travel, even skeptical at first, and certainly not a bit excited to enjoy the adventure, and looked very feminine and elegant.

But he was just focusing on the differences to pretend not to see. To ignore the life he’d left behind. She didn’t bring it up, and he had hoped it would continue like this until she went back to her time, but if she did, he could act as if he hadn’t recognized her.

When she brought it up, though, it was in a way he couldn’t pretend not to realize. With a letter in her very recognizable handwriting, that accompanied a gift for his birthday, and an invitation for breakfast.

He found her in the garden, with a picnic set up, just like they used to do in high school

That was how he found himself with her in the garden, both laying down side-by-side in the shade of a tree after their picnic.

It felt so nostalgic. An experience just like in their high school times. But that was all. Amy hadn’t brought up anything about the past. Not even why she disappeared. Which she was grateful for.

Not that it was any different from how she’d been acting all this time. Sebastian talked to her as if they knew nothing about each other and she acted in the same fashion. Perfect strangers, who knew almost everything about each other.

Or maybe they didn’t. Maybe they had been apart for so long and changed so much they were like strangers. That was why he found it easier to list all these reasons to believe this was a different Amy.

Sebastian couldn’t even tell if he had still loved her all this time, or if he’d fallen in love all over again. Not that he would ever tell her that. Nothing good could come of her knowing.

“I missed you.” She spoke, suddenly, laying on her side to look at him.

“Are we still talking as friends?”

“I suppose so. You know I always had a hard time telling the difference.” He knew. But the intensity burning in her eyes said something else. It was an alluring look like he’d never seen before. It almost looked hungry, and she didn’t seem aware of that, because it didn’t match her words. “Although I have no right to say that when I was the one who disappeared first. But yeah, I hope we’re at least friends again. Although I was the one who asked for this, the one who brought up our past, it seems fitting that we started anew.”

As she spoke, Amy leaned forward until she was lying on her front, almost closing the whole distance between them. Sebastian sat up, but her gaze followed him.

“I don’t mind reminiscing about the past. As long as you’ll be able to go back home without regrets. You always had difficulty with that.”

“If it will be difficult or not, it won’t be only because of you.” Amy also sat up, almost in front of him, body leaning forward. She had always been a bit touchy, but not like this.

Not that he was feeling any better, with his heart thundering in his ears, all the questions he had for her scattering in his mind as he fought the temptation to admit to his feelings and close the space between them himself. To push her back down into the picnic blanket and…

Better not to finish that thought when his self-control was nearly evaporating already.

The moment was broken when Amy looked to the side, startled, as if she’d heard something, then back at him, smirking now.

“Got you.” She laughed, before crossing the distance between them in one lightning fast movement and giving him a peck on the cheek. “Happy birthday, Aki!”

“What was that?” Sebastian looked into her eyes, but the early flame they held had extinguished, replaced by a mischievous glint.

“Just testing something. You always act like you have the upper hand in everything. I wanted to surprise you. Sorry if I exaggerated.” Amy leaned back again and stretched casually. “Well, I still have a party to organize, among other work. Enjoy the rest of your day off. See you in the afternoon.”

With that, she stood up, blew him a kiss with a wink and ran back into the mansion, leaving him behind, confused.

Was she really just playing with him? It wouldn’t be unusual for her, but it had started so suddenly, like she didn’t even notice until it was too late.

Maybe she acted like that because she felt the same as him, but knew it would be pointless to act on it, although she didn’t know the reason.

Or did she? There was no way, was there? If even Arthur didn’t seem to have found out, Amy wouldn’t be able to, right?

That was unlikely. She would be acting differently if she knew. Worried, trying to come up with all kinds of ways to help. And Amy could get into pretty wild plans, dangerous, even. It was best she never found out.

A part of him wished, though, that they could go back to the old high school days, when they were happy together, without worries.

No. He was just being nostalgic because this reminded him of the past. Amy would keep her promise and everything would go back to normal tomorrow. Right?

IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist

#YOTP 2023 #ikemen vampire #ikevamp sebastian #sebastian x oc #ikevamp #fanfiction #ikevamp fanfic #oc: amy

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auxiliarydetective · 12 days

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OC Masterlist - German media!

Note: Not all of these are actually from Germany, but I've also put fandoms here that I'm likely to post about in German.

As per usual, everyone's age is listed at their introduction

Fandoms featured:

Die Drei ??? (books/audio dramas & early movies, 1964-?)

Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer (movies, 2018-2020

Der Kleine Prinz (cartoon, 2010-2017)

Der Räuber Hotzenplotz (2006 movie)

Die Rosenheim-Cops (2002-?)

Die Vampirschwestern (movies, 2012-2016)

Die Drei ??? (book/audio drama series & early movies; 1964-?)

-> Jelena

(Technically, she isn't an OC but a canon character, but she's a rare canon character that I created an AU version of and made the main focus of my hyperfixation for about a year, so I've decided to grant that AU version OC status)

"Ждать ли чьей-то ручечки, ручки? А кто подаст мне ручку, девочки?" - Manizha, in: RUSSIAN WOMAN

Full name: Jelena Atropos Charkova

Birthday: February 8th (16 years old)

Identity: lesbian but does occasionally fall for boys, cis female

Canon tag: x | Auxiliary!tag: x | Fic: -

Jelena and Justus don't get along. It's a known fact. It's a constant battle of wits that drives them apart. But when they're inevitably stuck together on a trip to South Africa, will they bury the hatchet?

JIM KNOPF (movies; 2018-2020)

-> Helena

"Eine Insel mit zwei Bergen und dem tiefen, weiten Meer, mit vier Tunnels und Geleisen und dem Eisenbahnverkehr - nun wie mag die Insel heißen, rings herum ist schöner Strand? Jeder sollte einmal reisen in das schöne Lummerland." - Michael Ende, in: Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer

Full name: Helena

Birthday: March 29th (14 years old)

Identity: lesbian, cis female

Faceclaim: Holly Earl

Tag: x | Fic: -

Helena is the daughter of steam engine driver Lukas, one day having been brought to the shores of Morrowland by the postman's boat, with her mother nowhere to be found. Unlike her father and her best friend Jim, she's more focused on books, languages and foreign cultures than machinery and mechanics, but she's happy on the little island with its two mountains. But then the king declares that Lukas's beloved steam locomotive Emma has to be removed, and Lukas, Jim, Emma and Helena all leave the island for lands unknown. Promptly, they find themselves setting out to rescue a kidnapped princess, and Helena starts noticing mysterious scaled rashes across her skin.

DER KLEINE PRINZ (originally: Le Petit Prince) (animated tv show) (2010-2017)

-> Sonata

"Und du weißt: Was man auch tut, nur mit dem Herzen sieht man gut." - Der kleine Prinz Intro Theme

Full name: Sonata of the Utopians

Birthday: September 12th (she's a child)

Identity: cis female

Tag: x | Fic: -

Sonata is the sister of the diva Euphonia, who keeps their planet in rhythm with her singing. But without her sister’s voice, the planet falls into chaos, and Sonata’s voice isn’t strong enough to replace her. Using her special gift of imagination that makes her songs come alive, she sends a message into space in search of help – and the Little Prince answers her call.

DER RÄUBER HOTZENPLOTZ (2006 movie)

-> Chryssi

"Tanz kleine Waldfee im rauschenden Blau. Versprühe die Freude, die Nacht ist ganz lau." - Heidemarie Andrea Sattler, in: Kleine Waldfee

Full name: Chrysantheme

Birthday: May 12th (says Chryssi - she actually has no birthday and is a perpetual child)

Identity: ??? (as cis as a supernatural being could be, aroace through lack of a better term)

Faceclaim: ?

Tag: x | Fic: -

A wild nature spirit, Chrysantheme protects the local forest, but she's perpetually bothered by a mean and stupid burglar and an annoying wizard in his stupid castle. However, things change when two boys from the nearby village come to her forest, looking to catch the burglar.

DIE ROSENHEIM-COPS (2002-?)

-> Eva

"Y anque los vientos de la vida soplen fuerte, soy como el junco que se dobla pero siempre sique en pie." - Resistiré 2020

Full name: Kriminalkommissarin (~ Inspector) Eva Gardner Rivero

Birthday: July 9th, 1979 (30 years old)

Identity: pansexual, polyamorous, cis-female

Faceclaim: Ísis Valverde

Tag: x | Fic: -

Eva has been to many places in the world. Originally from Argentina, with an indigenous mother and a German-Canadian father, she studied in the US before moving to Germany and ending up working for the police. But her new positioning in Rosenheim, Bavaria, poses yet more challenges, with far too many murders cases, not one but two really attractive men, and very chatty coworkers.

DIE VAMPIRSCHWESTERN (movies; 2012-2016)

-> Circe

"We're gonna get sky-high and create a new world where somebody might die but nobody gets hurt." - Måneskin, in: HONEY (ARE U COMING?)

Full name: Circe Kairos

Birthday: September 2nd (160 years old)

Identity: bisexual

Faceclaim: Triz Pariz

Tag: x | Fic: -

Circe is a vampire and the younger sister of vampire rockstar Murdo, whom she accompanies to his tours. Things start to grow a little out of control when he falls in love with the half-vampire Dakara - who just so happens to be the daughter of the band manager's arch nemesis. But the world can always use a bit more chaos, right?

#oc masterlist #oc masterlist remake #oc: jelena charkova #oc: helena #oc: sonata #oc: chrysantheme #oc: eva gardner #oc: circe kairos

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wevelocityteampresents-blog · 9 months

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SEPTEMBER 12th

Today was my birthday. I would have gone out somewhere to eat if it weren't for the terribly polluted air. It was rotten a year ago, but things have only gotten worse. (No thanks to those wildfires earlier in July.) I'm sick of this unbreathable air, and the only birthday present I really want is for the air to become clean again.

I was finally able to redesign certain characters. The new designs are far from finished. So you'll have to wait to see which characters got the facelift they needed.

While playing Pokémon Violet, I battled against a few people online and tried to earn marks for some of my newer Pokémon.

If he's that big, why didn't you give him a Jumbo Mark?

After I failed to give my Pokémon any marks, I went to the Pokémon Center to see Nurse Joy congratulate me on my birthday.

The banner was a nice touch.

After studying for a bit, I returned to Pokémon Violet to catch a Pokémon with a Destiny Mark. There were a lot of great candidates. But I eventually chose a Tinkatink.

She's not shiny. But she's good enough for me.

SEPTEMBER 13th

Aside from all the gifts I received yesterday, one of my later ones was a ticket to Kitakami.

Later in the afternoon, I first went to Pokémon HOME to update Umbre's moveset after I heard that Umbreon was able to learn Toxic again. Thankfully, Umbre already knew that move, so I helped him remember it.

Now he can actually stand a chance against Paldea's worst.

I got caught up in battling others with my newly improved Pokémon. It wasn't until after my second match that I remembered to dash off to Uva Academy.

I wouldn't say it was THAT soon. I've only been in this country for half a year.

Jacq tells me that going to Kitakami will allow me to see new Pokémon (who aren't that new as I've already seen them all before) and that I should have fun with it. Another thing he told me was that he already got my mom's permission to come along.

How they never told me about this, I have no idea.

Also, Blueberry Academy has roots in Unova.

There's also a lot of Unova Pokémon in Kitakami too. If that's not a hint at remakes for Black and White, I don't know what is.

Briar presents herself as the descendant of the Violet Book author and shares the completed versions of the pages we saw in Professor Turo's research facilities, proving that my hypothesis was correct.

Sadly, we won't get to see Terapogos for another few months.

Before I knew it, I was finally in Kitakami County.

And I've already made some progress on the new Pokédex. (I'll fill it up some more later.)

Not all was well in this country, as this one girl didn't want me on her turf.

Naturally, I taught her a lesson through a Pokémon battle. (While also learning that, yes, Poltchageist is part-Grass.)

Like every other rival, she acted like a sore loser.

But then again, I was the one who had 5 Pokémon that were at a higher level than hers.

Sometime after I was settled in at the community center, I was given my first assignment while learning abroad.

I wanted to get to the first one. But I was too busy exploring the town for treasure.

This might be the most unenthusiastic Joy I've ever seen. She's like one of those people who act poorly while on the job because they're stuck with it and have nowhere better to look for a paycheck. Which would be reasonable if this weren't a Pokémon Center.

At least she has the courtesy to stay off her cell phone while operating the machine. Speaking of which...

Why didn't they have a feature like this from the beginning? The TM Machine also had new TMs available for creation. But I didn't need them at the moment.

I eventually met this woman named Perrin.

I was going to wonder why someone like her has a Hisuian Growlithe. But considering everyone else fights with Ursaluna and Hisuian Arcanine, I'm just going to forget it and move on.

I'm more careful in real life.

A goal I'm sure will probably take months to complete. (If I didn't have any of those Pokémon in other games.)

SEPTEMBER 15th

I was worried about my performance in school. But my friends told me I was doing a great job and I needed to calm down. I didn't have any school today, which meant I could focus on celebrating the 5th anniversary of Pokémon Pocket Web Comics before getting some sleep.

The air was getting a bit chilly today. It was the perfect sign fall was right around the corner. In a few days, all of my current problems will be no more. (For a while, anyway.)

In Pokémon Violet, I finally made my way to the first signboard. Surprisingly, despite only taking me two days to reach, Kieran didn't beat me to it.

It's almost as if it could be a Pokémon.

It's too bad I didn't get a badge for this photo. This screen feels incomplete without one.

I'm hoping that Miraidon will learn a new technique soon. Also, I haven't heard Pokémon be referred to as Kaiju since the first games were still in development.

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raysofcrosby · 1 year

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CHRISTMAS WITH YOU – k. kaprizov

warning(s): mentions of death and loss, but otherwise just tons of cute holiday cheer, an embarrassing near fall ice skating and just cute holiday fluff.

word count: 17,897

an: this better late than never, fic is my entry for @antoineroussel's winter fic exchange 2k23!! i had the absolutely pleasure of writing for @callsign-denmark who supplied me a list of players she enjoys reading about and got me broaden my horizons outside of my usual hockey men to write about and got me to write about the happy ray of sunshine that is kirill kaprizov!! as a sucker of friends to lovers, this is a friends to lovers fic, sprinkled with some nice christmas spirit and ofc, as a lover of happy endings– this one's got a good one!! i had fun writing this and i hope you enjoy 🥰💙

Tori Holly never understood when people said that Holidays could be some of the loneliest and saddest times in people’s lives. Growing up, she remembered how lively their house always was– filled with music, laughter and the smell of home cooking spreading throughout the house. Especially around Christmas time– that was always the most magical time of the year.

It was when her parents seemed to pull all of their magic together and turn the holiday into every feel good Christmas movie alive. And while both of her parents were only children and her one set of Grandparents that were still alive lived on the west coast– she and her older sister Jess (Jessica only if she was in trouble) never felt like their family of four celebrations were lacking. They were all each other needed and it was always more than enough.

The teaming up on their parents for the gingerbread house building contest, taking turns going shopping with their parents to be able to pick out gifts to buy using some of their saved up money (and in the younger years, their parents money of course). Watching their mom make her mom’s special hot cocoa recipe that she promised to share the recipe with them once they got older “and you two can do the same with your children one day.” Building snowmen, snowball fights, that horrible time Jess convinced Tori to climb into the igloo they tried to build and having it collapse on her (though thankfully it wasn’t a lot of snow and Jess tearfully pulled her sister out by her gloved hand.) Sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace and snuggled up beside their parents as they watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas after begging their parents to let them open just one present on Christmas Eve like they did every year without fail.

No, Tori Holly could never understand how Christmas time more specifically, could be one of the worst times of someone’s life– not until Christmas 2006, when it was going to be the first Christmas and her first birthday without her mom. She was only seven and Jess eleven when their mom got sick. She couldn’t remember a lot of the specifics, but she remembered her mom never looking or acting any differently even after her parents had sat them down on the couch and said “mommy’s doctors say that I’m very sick, but I’m not going to stop fighting.” Sure, her mom was slower around the house, maybe a little more tired– but there wasn’t anything specific that stuck out to her.

In fact, that last Christmas of ‘05, they still did every tradition they’d done in the years prior and she never once saw her mom falter or complain. And by May of ‘06, two months after Jess had turned twelve and only seven months until Tori would turn nine, she had completely forgotten about the “I’m sick” conversation there on the couch. Until right at the end of the September, when she’d gotten called out of class to go to the front office. And when she got there, she saw her Grandma Carol standing there speaking to the woman at the front desk.

“Your dad sent me here to pick you up and Grandpa Dan is going to grab Jess.” She had said it with a smile that Tori couldn’t pinpoint exactly, but instantly recognized it as a softer than her usual big, sunny smile.

She thought maybe they were going to grab ice cream and spend some more time at home with their mom. Seeing as only almost a month into school, their dad let them stay home on Friday’s just so they could spend a little extra time with her. But there was no ice cream and her Grandma didn’t take her home– they were at the hospital. And when she walked down the halls with her Grandma holding her hand and they saw her Dad, Grandpa Dan and a crying Jess, she remembered getting that sinking feeling in her stomach that something was wrong.

And something was wrong. Because it turned out that they were all there to say their last goodbyes to her mom. While she was there, she swore time dragged on– but looking back on it now, she realized just how fast her life had changed in one hour.

They “celebrated” her ninth birthday and Christmas three months later and while their dad tried his hardest to not let the magic their home always held fade, and he really did try, there would always be a mom shaped hole in her childhood home and she wondered whether Christmas would ever be the same.

Luckily though, their dad was a Godsend. A man who was actively grieving the love of his life while adjusting to being a widower and parenting two girls– one of whom was entering her teenage years– Tori never once saw him waver. He was there at every school or after school event they had, he kept up their traditions, and was the shoulder to lean on and cry on whenever they needed one. He never once complained and after she got older, Tori always wondered how he did it. How he managed to parent them, stay strong and be everything they needed all while he was grieving on his own.

But that was just it– he was the hero their broken hearts needed and he helped heal theirs and his own every day of every month, and every birthday and holiday that came and went…he always managed to keep that magic alive.

To the point where Tori and Jess started to love Christmas once again and not see it as a mourning time for those childhood memories they left behind. And while their mom was a key figure missing at their poignant times– first days of school, first boyfriends, proms, first day of college, graduations, Jess’s wedding day to her high school sweetheart Steven and even the birth of their daughter Clara (their mom’s namesake), their dad, Jess and even she, always made sure that their mom was a part of it.

Especially once Jess and Steven had Clara, and on Tori’s 17th birthday, nonetheless, Jess had told Tori that suddenly she understood the kind of love that their parents had for them and how their dad managed to keep the magic.

Even a week later going on to say, “I would go to the end of the earth to make sure she was happy, and she just tore through my vagina like it was nothing, last week.”

And for the longest time after their mom died, life seemed to slowly return back to what their dad had fondly called their new normal. Eventually, Tori had gone to and graduated from college and moved further into the city not too far away from Jess and Steven or their home to work as a social media intern for the Minnesota Wild. A job that she luckily got with some help from her college mentor who helped her apply and wrote quite the recommendation letter for.

The life she was building for herself felt like a dream. Sure, growing up just south of Saint Paul, she and her family had frequented both Vikings and Wild games. But working behind the scenes in social media for the hockey team whose games she grew up attending was a whole different atmosphere. She met great people within the organization and had even found herself on a first name basis with some of the players.

But it was when she moved into her post-grad apartment the season after commuting from her childhood home to Saint Paul that she became better friends with two players on the team. Jordan Greenway, who was going on his third season with the Wild, and Ryan Hartman who had come from the Philadelphia Flyers. The two weren’t roommates, but both coincidentally lived a few doors down on the very same hall that Tori had. And after bumping into each other a few times and also seeing each other at the rink, it was natural that the three formed a good friendship during her first season working for the team.

Things were going great and Tori had felt like she was on a high after that first season interning for the Wild for the 2019-2020 season. Even when Covid struck and things were in such a limbo. And at the end of what was a wild and unknowing what was ahead time, she felt blessed enough to have been invited back as an intern for the 2020-2021 season, even shadowing more on the producer side of players interviews and getting to see more behind the scenes. And with every day she went to work, she felt more and more confident in her job and herself. Moving away from home was scary, but she was starting to form a life for herself in Saint Paul that she knew her mom would’ve been proud of.

Ryan and Jordan both were amongst the first few people to congratulate her when they found out she got the second producer job within the same department in what would be her third year working for the team that 2021-2022 season.

And it was truly as if things couldn’t go wrong. She loved her apartment, she got to see her sister and her family often, and she had made a nice circle of friends in the job she also loved. And as she celebrated New Years Eve with the Wild at a hotel ballroom the organization had booked out for everyone to celebrate before the Winter Classic the next morning where they would host the St. Louis Blues at Target Field in Minneapolis. She invited Jess and Steven as her plus ones, booking them a room in the hotel so they didn’t have to drive the 30 minutes home the next morning and probably hungover.

Tori woke up early the next morning back in her apartment and went through her whole routine before getting dressed and heading out the door to catch her uber that would be taking her to the stadium where she would be getting everything together before heading over to the field to work the game. And it was just before she and her co-workers were heading out of Xcel Energy Center that she got a call from her dad, answering it like it was just any other old phone call and not one that would ultimately change her entire life.

Just like when she was seven, that sinking feeling in her stomach was back, only this time around it was more poignant and felt like it would knock her legs out from beneath her and sink her down to the floor.

There had been an accident an hour earlier on the same street that the hotel where the Wild New Years Eve party had been hosted– a car accident. Jess and Steven had decided to check out early, walking to the cafe down the block from the hotel to grab some coffee and donuts to take with them before they would drive back to her dad’s to pick up Clara– Tori had the text conversation with Jess in her phone to prove it along with a “not as hungover as we thought, but hungover enough for sugary donuts” selfie of Jess and Steven that Jess had sent with her “good morning, we had a great time and I’ll text you when we get home” text.

Only Tori would never receive that text, because Jess and Steven would never make it home to their dad’s to pick up Clara. They would get hit by a drunk driver who ran a red light while they crossed the street in a crosswalk.

In an instant, she had lost her older sister and brother-in-law, while her niece had lost both of her parents— and it was a pain that Tori never, ever wanted her to feel. To add on top of it, in the flurry of grief and ‘what happens next’ endless scenarios, it was revealed in their will that if anything were to happen to either Jess or Steven…then Tori would become the legal guardian of Clara.

She had made the commitment to accept the position as Clara’s Godmother when they had asked her almost two weeks after Clara was born. And now, she knew the best way she could honor both her older sister and a man who was like a brother to her, by dedicating herself to making the best life possible for Clara.

The last eleven months of seeing grief counselors, balancing work, frequent trips to her dad’s house where Clara was staying for the meantime and her new responsibility of taking care of a soon-to-be eight-year-old as a soon-to-be 25-year-old….all of it had finally come down to now.

It was December. The week leading up to Christmas. Five days until their shared birthday and most importantly, six days until what would be Clara’s first Christmas without her parents.

And Tori had her heart set on making it as great as a Christmas it could be for Clara, just like her dad had done for her and Jess after their mom had died.

“Another month?!” Tori gasped, keeping her voice low as she leaned against the hall of her childhood home. “But Andrew, you said I’d be able to move in by tomorrow. I’ve already got friends to help me move everything up to that floor.”

“I know I did Tori, but they were finishing the inspection today and there was more mold in the apartment than we first thought, plus some issues with the kitchen and bathroom areas,” Andrew, one of the landlords of her apartment building said, actually sounding sincere. “I’m not going to let you and your niece move in there and put both of your healths at risk.”

Tori nodded, rubbing her right temple with her free hand. “I understand, Andrew.”

“Barb asked them to start as soon as possible because we know you need this two bedroom. So they’re going to start cleaning everything up tomorrow. The guy said that there might be a chance they finish before a month, but that’s the at most it’ll take, time that he gave her.”

“Thank you, Andrew. I appreciate it, really.” She replied, peeking around the corner into her Dad’s living room to see Clara still kneeling in front of the Christmas tree. “Thank you both for looking out for us, I really appreciate it.”

“You’ve had a really rough year, Tori and you’ve always been a really good tenant. Anything my wife and I can do to help you out, we’re more than happy to.”

Tori took a deep breath and exhaled, nodding again. “Keep me updated if there’s any changes.”

“Of course. Have a good day.”

Once she hung up the call, Tori let her head lean back against the wall once more as she closed her eyes. The moment that she had found out that she was going to be Clara’s guardian, Tori had put in a request for a two bedroom apartment. At the time, there was a six month waitlist, so her dad had agreed to take care of Clara until Tori could secure a two bedroom apartment for them both. It wasn’t like she had just dropped her niece off with her dad and went on with her life. On weekends when she had them free, she would drive back to her hometown and spend the night there, keeping herself as involved with Clara’s life as possible. She would pick her up from school, sometimes take her out of school and take her to lunch. She was just as involved in her niece’s life as her dad was, only she wasn’t sleeping down the hall every single night.

And three weeks ago, Barb, the other landlord of their complex, had called her to ask if she was still interested in the two bedroom apartment. And once she told Tori it was hers, Tori knew there were some steps to go through and she requested that Barb and Andrew have whoever it was doing the cleaning, be very thorough. Being grandparents themselves to kids around Clara’s age, they both agreed without a problem.

Until there was a problem that the hired cleaner had found and reported. Some mold that he thought might be more than a surface problem. Andrew and Barb had brought someone out to inspect…leading to the phone call that Tori had just hung up on. She knew it wouldn’t be a problem with her dad for Clara to live here for a month longer. He loved having Clara around, plus he knew that Tori was trying her best to get everything set up so that Clara would be comfortable and in a safe environment when it came time to move.

The only problem was that her dad was out west in Washington State, taking care of her Grandma Doris, who had fallen down in her apartment in the assisted living complex, broke her hip and needed to get surgery. He left only this morning when she and Clara dropped him off at the airport and his return was up in the air, but at most he said he could be back before or after New Years Eve. So now Tori was tasked with the problem of figuring out how they were going to spend Christmas and the week leading up to it, when she needed to be at work a few days this week and all of Clara’s belongings were here at her dad’s house.

Initially, she figured she’d just pack up her things and move into her dad’s place until he came back. Dealing with the extra commute wouldn’t be that bad and Clara wouldn’t have to relocate her things, more importantly they wouldn’t have to lug the already wrapped Christmas presents over to her apartment. However, the short trial run she did when her Dad had informed her of his trip out west– left her with leaving five minutes to spare before she would be deemed late to work.

Which is why they were over at her dad’s place– grabbing the presents already wrapped for her and Clara beneath the tree and putting them into an old foldable wagon before putting them into her car and driving back into the city.

“Aunt Tori, are we taking Grandpa’s too?” Clara asked, calling out.

Tori put her phone back into her front pocket and walked out from the hall, over towards the decorated Christmas tree. “We can if you want. That way if he’s able to come home earlier, we can have him come over to the apartment and open his presents there.”

Clara looked at her and then back at the tree. “But then Grandpa will have to drive back here with his presents, right?”

“He could always sleep on the couch,” Tori shrugged.

Clara laughed before scrunching her nose. “He’s old though.” She looked back towards the tree and sighed. “We can just drive over here when he comes home, right? So we can be with him when he opens his presents?’

“I think that sounds like a great plan, Clara.”

“Okay, I’ll leave them then,” she said, putting down the present that she’d been holding. “I think I got all of ours though. I’m ready.”

Tori nodded and grabbed onto the handle of the wagon as she let Clara walk ahead of her and they left her childhood home, tugging the Christmas presents that she and her dad had bought Clara, along with some of the presents Clara and her dad had bought for her. Once she helped Clara carry the wagon down the front porch steps, she walked back to the front door and made sure it was locked before walking towards her car to help Clara put her presents into the trunk.

This wasn’t how she expected to be spending Christmas. If anything, she was planning on spending the week here with her dad and Clara at her childhood home, making new memories and reliving old traditions– the three of them opening their presents together on Christmas morning and watching movies on Christmas Eve.

But life had a crazy way of flipping things upside down a lot of the time, and this was just one more hurdle she had to overcome.

“We don’t need that many groceries, Clara. We’re just here for some quick necessities.”

“You have like, nothing in your fridge, Aunt Tori!” Clara whined, hanging onto the end of the cart. “It’s like you’re trying to starve me.”

Tori laughed, shaking her head as she put a carton of eggs into the cart. “I’m pretty sure you can go a week without the betty crocker cake mix. We’re just here to get some breakfast stuff, cookies for Santa, some carrots for the reindeer and then maybe we can find one of those gingerbread house making kits.”

Clara audibly groaned as she leaned her head back, acting more thirteen than she was near eight. Today was supposed to be the day that the four boys down the hall would help Tori and Clara move into their new two bedroom apartment just a floor above where they were staying now– however, seeing that the apartment wasn’t ready for them to move in just yet, it was instead just an errand day, seeing as Tori had already taken off of work. Leaving her with the responsibility of entertaining Clara for the whole day, especially since groceries was the only errand she could come up with.

It didn’t help that Clara had been spewing off a “what are we gonna do later?” question what felt like every fifteen minutes. What she didn’t want to do was keep Clara inside of the house and sit her in front of the tv all day. She wanted to take her to play in the snow, go sledding, maybe even ice skate– do fun things that she could report back to her second grade class once winter break was over. But aside from the rink and the local spot in her childhood neighborhood, Tori couldn’t think of any place they could go ice skating at, especially seeing as driving to and from her old hometown with holiday traffic wasn’t ideal.

“Aunt Tori, I thought you were fun,” Clara groaned, her tone echoing just the same as they were in the grocery store, only now they were standing in the apartment hall, just in front of her door as she fished for her keys from the depths of her purse.

“I am fun,” Tori huffed, digging her hands and moving around all the non important things she had shoved into the crossbody bag.

“That sounds like something someone boring would say.” Clara replied, leaning her right shoulder against the wall.

“Tori? Boring?” They looked down the hall to see Ryan Hartman walking down the hall. “You must have the wrong Tori, squirt.”

“Hi Ryan, Mason, Jordan and Kirill!” Clara smiled, perking up. “Did you guys do anything fun today?”

“Just practice,” Jordan replied, as the group of four came to a stop. “What about you?”

“Just grocery shopping,” Clara replied, looking at Tori. “Where someone wouldn’t buy the Betty Crocker cake mix.”

“You’ll survive,” Tori replied, moving the plastic bag further onto her arm so she could use two hands. “I just need to find the keys–”

“Here, Tori, let me help,” Kirill said, coming up and grabbing the plastic bags from off of her arm, holding them for her as he smiled and nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Well would you look at that boys,” Mason teased, patting Kirill on the shoulders. “What a gentleman.”

Tori tried not to tuck her chin into her chest too much and hoped that her warm cheeks weren’t turning pink as she nodded at Kirill. “Thanks, Kirill. My arm was killing me.”

She quickly found her keys in her purse and grabbed them, unlocking the front door and motioning for Clara to go inside. “Let them get back to their apartments and nap.”

“Oh great,” Clara sighed dramatically. “Now I get to be more bored and watch tv.”

“No plans?” Jordan asked, as Clara walked into the apartment.

“None that I can think of that aren’t back home. I spend every Christmas back there, I don’t know of anything happening around here.”

Jordan laughed, shaking his head. “Did you completely forget about the family skate they’re doing down at the rink later? The one’s for players and staff?”

Tori blinked, looking at the four of them. “Wasn’t that last week?”

“Try today in about two hours, Tor,” Ryan said. “We’re just grabbing lunch and then heading back.”

“CAN WE GO ICE SKATING AUNT TORI? I WANT TO GO!” Clara said, running back towards the door. “Please, please, please, please–”

“I– do you even know how to skate?”

“I can help!” Kirill chimed in, sheepishly smiling once he realized just how loud his interruption had been. “I don’t mind helping.”

“PLEASE AUNT TORI? PLEASSSEEEEEE–”

“Fine, fine,” Tori laughed, shaking her head as she took the bags from Kirill and playfully pointed at him. “But I’m counting on you not to let her fall if she turns out to be a total bambi.”

“I won’t.”

“Alright, so get ready, we’ll swing by in a few to pick you up and we’ll all head over together,” Ryan said, patting both of Kirill’s shoulders before the four men made their way down the hall to their apartments and Tori walked back into hers.

“This is gonna be so much fun, I can’t wait!” Clara squealed, running back to Tori’s bedroom. “I need to grab some thicker socks!”

Tori just sighed, shaking her head as she locked the door behind her and moved the groceries onto the kitchen island, prepared to unpack them before the boys came back.

It was funny. In all of her time working for the Wild, she’d never actually been to one of the family skates as a participant. Maybe once or twice to fill in and capture some stuff for their social media team– but even that was only just there for a few minutes and then she went back home. But now, now she was actively sitting in the bench surrounded by some of the team and staff’s family who were either choosing not to skate or were caring for little ones who weren’t going onto the ice– while the players and the staff who chose to skate with their family members, were out gliding around on the ice ahead of her.

She was leaning against the edge of the bench arena watching out for Clara as Kirill had stuck to his word and stayed with her to make sure that she wouldn’t fall down and hurt herself. Tori knew that Clara had been skating a few times before, but she wasn’t sure how she would be able to handle being out by herself or her skating abilities at all. And Tori would be lying if she said that watching Kirill holding onto Clara’s hands and skating backwards as he pulled her along, didn’t make her weak in the knees. Being the kindhearted guy she knew he was, he was probably telling her words of encouragement as they moved around the rink and every so often when he would let her hands go, he would be cheering her on to catch up to him.

Kirill has always been the kind, gentle guy he is, since she met him his rookie season. And while she hadn’t originally seen herself falling for the brown eyed boy’s nature…she couldn’t help but do so. Anytime they saw each other at the rink, he’d always make sure to say hi and talk to her. Even if they didn’t cross paths, it seemed like he would actively go out of his way to pass by her and Kaia’s office to say hi. In the interviews she got to run, he was always more than eager to play into whatever she had planned– more so than any of the most playful guys on the team.

Perhaps the one thing that hooked her onto him the most, was when there were home games…he’d always meet her at her office or wait for her in the parking garage to get to her car before driving back to their apartment complex with her– just so he could walk her to her door and say goodnight. He was a gentleman, that was for sure. And Tori has been trying so hard not to let herself fall for him, because he was one of her closest friends.

However, it was proving very, very difficult and the only thing keeping her from totally falling for him, was the realization that he had yet to make a move– the confident, kind, hockey player…hadn’t even done as much as try to hold her hand on their walk out of the elevator and down their hall to their respective apartments.

“Hey Tori,” Kirill said, coming to a stop just next to her on the other side of the ice. “Why not come out and skate, hm?”

“What? Did you lose Clara?” She laughed, trying not to let herself melt into his warm and welcoming eyes.

He laughed, shaking his head before looking out onto the ice for a few seconds and then pointing out across the way. “She left me. She’s a lot better of a skater than she said. Fast learner too.”

“And now you need a skating buddy?”

“Mhhm, so come on, what do you say?” He asked, leaning against the boards and smiling. “What’s Clara do? Oh yeah, please, please, please, please–”

Tori covered his mouth as she laughed and shook her head. “Okay, fine, fine, I’ll skate with you.”

He moved slowly down to the bench gate as Tori awkwardly walked on her rented skates and when she reached the open door, Kirill held out his hand for her to take. The small action actually caused her heart to thump against her chest and she stared at his hand before reaching out and grabbing it, allowing him to take her cold hand into his warm one.

“Do I need to teach you too?” He teased, still holding onto her hand as she balanced on the ice and pushed away from the boards.

“Ha ha, no,” she replied, rolling her eyes and not wanting to drop his hand– but also wanting to prove to him that he was just as good a skater. “You might not know this about me, but I did figure skating growing up.”

His eyes widened as he started to quicken his pace to follow her. “Really?”

“No,” she laughed, looking over her shoulder and smiling at him. “But, we did go ice skating sometimes. So I’ve picked up a few things when I was younger.” She turned herself around, slowly starting to skate backwards as she kept up her pace. “See?”

“You’re the best out here,” he laughed. “How’s Christmas shopping going?”

“I think my dad and I have gotten Clara just about everything she asked for,” she replied, turning herself back around and somehow keeping herself balanced. “The only thing I can’t find is this like, DIY living room tent thing? I don’t know, it’s something she saw on youtube and it’s like a cute tent she can put up with some lights and stuff.”

“Is that what she really wants?” He asked, looking concerned.

Tori nodded, bringing out her phone. “Yeah, she had it highlighted under both her birthday list and Christmas list.” She pulled up safari which opened up the link to the tent, handing him her phone. “I’ve looked at just about every retail store, Amazon, their website…and I guess I keep missing the restocks or something because I’ve had no luck.”

Kirill looked at her phone, and he noticed him scrolling, probably trying to read and look at the product. “Want me to help?”

“No, no that’s okay,” she replied, taking her phone as he handed it back and putting it into her front pocket. “I’m sure they’ll restock it after Christmas and I’ll find a way to grab it then.”

“Hi Aunt Tori, hi Kirill, look at me!” Clara smiled, skating by them at a faster pace.

“Please be careful!” Tori called out, her plea falling on deaf ears as she slowly turned herself back to skating backwards. “She’s so cocky, I don’t know where she gets it from.”

“No?” Kirill laughed, raising his eyebrows.

“Totally a lie, she gets it from Jess and I. We were best friends, but we always used to compete at who was the best,” she smiled, starting to freely move backwards and getting a little more comfortable. “Jess could never really get the whole skating backwards thing, but me? Nailed it easily. You can tell too, can’t you?

“You could be on the team,” he smiled, staying close as he skated by her side.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she said, brushing off her shoulder. “Wouldn’t want to take your job–oh!”

She felt her skate hit a ridge, knocking her off balance and sending her falling backwards to the ice. She fully expected to make contact with the cold ice, even preparing herself for trying not to hit her head…but her body never met the cold ground. She looked up to see Kirill standing there…no, holding her– he’d caught her from hitting the ground.

“You okay?” He asked, looking down at her as he had her in his firm and secure grasp.

Tori nodded, trying her best to laugh it off as if her heart wasn’t racing inside of her chest. “I guess I’m still a little bit rusty.”

“Not too bad,” he smiled, helping her hand back up and then standing in front of her. “But maybe I should help you like I helped Clara, yeah?”

He held out both of his hands and Tori found herself thanking the cold environment for hiding the fact that her cheeks weren’t red from the cold, but from the blushing she had going on. She nodded and reached out, grabbing onto both of his hands and smiled. “Yeah, I could use a lot of it. You won’t let go, right?”

Her last comment was meant to be a little teasing, but deep down inside, she was asking him not to let go of her hands because she enjoyed holding them– feeling the callouses from years of playing hockey against her soft palms.

Kirill shook his head, still smiling. “I won’t let you go.”

Tori never expected she’d have to go into the office while the team was on a two game roadie, but there she was, trudging into the office during a snowfall while Clara tagged along, practically bouncing her way down the halls as she took in the sights of the stadium. The one thing that Tori always loved about kids and hockey, was that it was always as if they were seeing the stadium and the halls and the decorative wallpaper with players and history past and present…for the first time. It was also just so magical to them, which reminded her to never lose that spark for her job.

Kaia had come in earlier, which is why Tori knew she needed to. There was some files that Kaia couldn’t locate on her work computer that had to do with their upcoming plans for interviews after the holidays and Tori knew they were on hers– the only problem was that her computer was in her office– not home with her. It was a simple fix, all she’d need to do was grab her laptop, check the files were on there and email them to Kaia before taking her laptop home with her.

Clara wanted to see everything though, because she’d never seen what Tori’s office was like. No one was there, so Tori let her look around the office and then as they were leaving, they passed one of the equipment managers who had stayed home on the trip and once Tori told him she was giving Clara a tour, he offered to let them take a look around the locker room.

It was nothing but excitement once they walked into the decorated locker room, Tori having been in there once or twice before, but never realizing just how huge it was when there were twenty some guys lounging around. Clara went on the search for the lockers of the four men from down the hall, sitting in each one and asking Tori to take a picture so she could send it to them. And when she did, she was greeted with lots of laughing emojis and a few “is she trying to take my job?” comments.

But once they were on their way home, Tori knew that they could relax for the rest of the day. Maybe order in some chinese and watch whatever it was on tv that Clara wanted to watch– Christmas movies or not. Once they parked, Tori felt her pocket vibrate and pulled out her phone to see she had a text from Barb saying that she had a package up at the front desk.

“Quick detour, Clara, we’ve got to pick something up at the front desk first,” Tori said, putting her phone back into her pocket and taking a left in the parking garage towards the door that would lead into the lobby of the apartment building versus the elevator to take them to their floor.

Barb was sitting at the computer behind the counter and immediately greeted them with a smile once she saw them. “Perfect timing,” she said, coming around the corner of the desk. “This just got dropped off about five minutes ago with the rest of the amazon deliveries.”

“Amazon?” Tori asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “I don’t remember ordering anything…”

“Maybe it’s from Grandpa!” Clara smiled. “A last minute present!”

“Maybe,” Tori said, taking the long box and realizing it did have her name on it. “Hm, we’ll just go upstairs and I’ll open it in my room to see what it is. Thanks again, Barb.”

“Of course, you two have a good rest of your day. Warm up a bit, your noses are red.”

“Bye Mrs. Barb,” Clara waved, now carrying Tori’s computer bag over her shoulder as they made their way towards the elevator, Tori trying not to struggle carrying the long box.

“Are you sureeee I can’t look at it?” Clara smiled as the elevator started to move.

“I’m sure,” Tori replied, smiling back. “It’s too close to your birthday and Christmas for you to open anything.”

Clara huffed as the elevator doors opened and they walked out into the hallway, making their way to the apartment door. Once Tori unlocked the door and nudged it open with her foot, Clara walked inside, resting the computer bag onto the island counter. “I’ll be right here, not looking at my present.”

“You do that,” Tori laughed, closing and locking the door behind her before making her way down the hall to her bedroom and locking that door behind her as well. She placed the box onto the floor and walked into her bathroom, grabbing a pair of scissors she had to trim the candles along her bathtub and walking back into the room, kneeling onto the ground.

She had stopped a majority of her Christmas shopping last week, anything she bought now was just some small stuff she figured that Clara would like that could go into her stocking, so she couldn’t imagine what was in this box, because as far as she knew, she didn’t have anything out for delivery. When she lifted the open edges of the box, her jaw dropped…it was the tent she’d been searching for for weeks– the only thing is…she didn’t order it.

But who did?

She grabbed the box and opened her bedroom door, walking out into the living room where Clara was on the couch. “Alright, I’ll let you open this one present before your birthday. But just this one, got it?”

Clara smiled, jumping off of the couch and running over as Tori put the box down onto the ground. She squealed in excitement once she saw what was in the box, throwing the sides open and reaching in to grab it. “Oh my God, Aunt Tori!!!! It’s the tent!!!!” She smiled, looking up at her. “Can we please clear some space so we can open it? Pretty please, please, please, please?”

“Of course,” Tori laughed, helping her take the box out of the amazon box and smiling. “Just give me a minute and we’ll clear out a space for it.”

She walked over to the island counter, resting the box against it when she saw her phone lit up with a text from Kirill.

Kirill 🐻: I see you got the amazon delivery. Was that the right one?

Her eyes widened as she looked over her shoulder to see Clara still admiring the box the tent came in. SHe walked further into the kitchen and kept her back to Clara as she clicked on his contact and opened up a facetime call. It only rang a few times before he answered it, his smiling face appearing on the screen. “Hey–”

“You bought it? But how did you– where did you–” Tori was speechless.

“I remembered you showing it to me at family skate,” he said, laying down in the hotel bed he was at. “I looked for it and I must’ve been lucky because they restocked it on Amazon that night, so I ordered it and paid for express shipping.”

“Kirill, I…” she sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t know how to say thank you, but–”

“You don’t need to,” he replied, shaking his head. “I saw you were stressed about it and I wanted to help. I like seeing you happy…Clara too,” he smiled.

Tori smiled, nodding her head. “Thank you so, so much. You just made her birthday I’m sure.” She looked over her shoulder at Clara. “Clara, come say thank you to Kirill for finding the tent.”

Clara ran over and in an instant, appeared right by Tori’s side and into the frame. “Kirill, you’re the best and you’re my favorite person in the whole entire world!” She squealed, jumping up and down.

Kirill laughed, shaking his head. “Can I see the tent when we get back home?”

“Duh!” Clara smiled. “You’ll be the first guest besides Aunt Tori! Unless you guys want to see it together.”

“Go unpack your text,” Tori replied, rolling her eyes and nudging Clara out of the kitchen. “Kirill, I really can’t express how much this means to her…and to me.”

“You don’t need too, just as long as it makes you both happy,” he said, sitting up in the bed. “I need to go now, got to get ready for the bus ride to the arena.”

“Good luck tonight, score a goal or two, hm?” She smiled, wrapping her left around around her waist.

Kirill laughed, nodding his head. “Make it two, one for you one for Clara.” She felt the butterflies liven in her stomach when he said it, still smiling. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye Kirill, good luck.”

“WAIT,” he said, appearing back in the frame. “Before I go, I wanted to know if um…” he cleared his throat, appearing a little nervous. “If you wanted to be my date for the Christmas Party…or we can go as friends–”

She felt her heart pound against her chest at the mention of that one word– date. She smiled, nodding her head. “A date will be nice,” she spoke softly.

Kirill lit up, his smile big as he nodded. “Okay, great, I’ll talk to you later then! Bye.”

She hung up the phone call, biting onto her bottom lip as she brought her phone up beneath her chin and tried to stop herself from smiling so big. She couldn’t wrap her mind around just how he had been searching for the tent after she told him how she was really wanting to buy it for Clara since it was the thing she wanted most. He didn’t have to do that…but he did, because he wanted Clara to be happy just as much as she did.

“Aunt Tori, come on,” Clara said, standing up in the living room. “I’ve got it unpacked!”

Tori laughed, nodding her head. “Alright, we’ve got a tent to build.”

She went to put her phone down onto the counter, seeing it light up one more time with a text from Kirill.

Kirill 🐻: Can’t wait! 😊

If it was up to Tori, she would bring Clara along with her to the Wild Christmas Party tonight. Clara was a social girl, she seemed to love Ryan, Kirill, Mason and Jordan, and she knew there was no doubt in her mind that she would also get along with the rest of the players and staff she’d meet at the party. However, the party would go pretty late into the evening and keeping her up that late, even though she was on Christmas break didn’t exactly scream ‘I’m a responsible guardian.’ Even though she remembered all the times on holidays where her parents let her and Jess stay up late (and she thought they were great parents), this was something she was new at and she was too scared to mess it up– even over something so incredibly small.

So, she called up Maddie, her old childhood best friend and college roommate who Clara knows well, seeing as Maddie was close to Jess too, and asked if maybe she’d be able to babysit Clara for a few hours while Tori was just minutes down the road in one of the ballrooms at the St. Paul Hotel.

Once the two had left the arena after her brief stop into the office to check her emails, they went out to breakfast and then went shopping. Any and every store that Clara had wanted to stop in, Tori never said no. She wanted the day to be a good one. One where they stopped at Starbucks and got Clara a lemon loaf and a hot chocolate while she got herself a cake pop and a hot chocolate as well. Sipping and snacking on their drinks while they went to target and they took turns pointing out what they hoped Santa would bring for them– Tori taking pictures whenever Clara wasn’t looking so she knew what she could send an order out for tomorrow and have someone swing by and pick it up when she had the chance.

And when they came home, they sat down at the small kitchen table with their to-go lunches they grabbed from a panera down the street and sat down together to eat. Tori listened while Clara talked about which Christmas movies they should watch. How she relived telling her the play-by-play of the day she, Tori and the boys went ice skating three days prior. And when lunch was over, Clara sat in the living room watching Julie and the Phantoms (again) on Netflix while Tori took a quick shower, getting dressed into some light pajamas before walking out and checking on Clara.

“Everything okay here?” She asked, towel drying her hair. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m good,” Clara replied, looking over at her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna do my hair and put on some make-up,” Tori replied, softly squeezing the water out of the ends of her hair.

Clara perked up on the arm of the couch, a small smile on her face. “Can I help?”

Tori smiled, draping her towel over her arm. “You want to?” Clara nodded, pushing herself up onto her knees and Tori just nodded her over. “Alright, let’s go to my bathroom.”

Clara jumped off of the couch and ran over to her brushing by and going down the short hall before making a left into Tori’s bedroom. Tori just laughed as she followed behind, walking into her bedroom and then going into her conjoining bathroom where Clara was leaning against the sink.

“Once I’m done blow drying my hair, what do you think I should do? Curl it or straighten it?” She asked, grabbing her blow dryer and plugging it into an outlet.

“Hm…” Clara squinted as she focused on her. “Straighten! You already have curly hair.”

“I have waves,” Tori laughed, looking down at Clara. “Your mom got the curls from our mom, your Grandma Clara.”

She spoke before she thought about how mentioning Jess might affect Clara. It was just so natural for the words to come out, she couldn’t help it. She felt guilty when she thought she saw a flicker of sadness wash across Clara’s hazel eyes– her father’s eyes– before she just walked over and sat down on the edge of the tub.

“Can I play music on your phone while you dry your hair?” She asked, kicking her feet. Tori nodded and picked up her phone, handing it to Clara after she synced it with her bluetooth speaker that was set up in her bathroom. “Any requests?”

“Whatever your little Christmas loving heart desires,” Tori smiled, getting ready to turn the blow dryer on before turning back towards Clara, pointing the dryer at her. “Except the hippopotamus song, that’s my ultimate crossing the line song.”

“You’re no fun,” Clara replied, rolling her eyes before looking back down at the phone, her small fingers scrolling up the phone screen in search for a song to play.

Tori had to point out that she had a Christmas playlist on Spotify, ultimately finding it for her and then letting Clara pick whatever songs she wanted to play from the list as she blow dried her hair. The two of them sang along to all of the classics even as Tori switched from blow drying her hair to straightening it.

The both of them burst into song with smiles on their faces once Mariah Carey’s classic, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ came on, and though the memories of her and Jess doing the very same thing when they were younger flooded her mind, seeing Clara sing her little heart out, belting the notes at the top of her lungs, was enough to wipe away the sad afterthought just long enough for Tori to finish straightening her hair.

“Are you sure about the gold eyeshadow? You don’t think it’s too much?” Tori asked, looking away from her small portable mirror and turning to face the soon to be eight-year-old.

“I think it brings out your eyes,” Clara replied, swinging her sitting besides Tara on the floor, using the small bathtub carpet to place the make-up she had placed just in front of her to ‘help figure out our options.’ “You guys have pretty eyes…” Clara paused and then looked back down at the make-up containers in front of her. “Had, I guess.”

Tori swallowed the knot in her throat, wanting to comfort the sadness that Clara was feeling, but even her correction into a past tense had been so soft, Tori wandered if acknowledging it was going to be the right thing to do. “Well I think you have the prettiest eyes.”

“They’re alright,” Clara shrugged, picking up a lip pencil. “They’re just brown.”

“They’re hazel,” Tori corrected, putting down the liquid golden eyeshadow after closing the tube. “And even if they were just brown, they’re still beautiful. Brown eyes are like…” she paused, trying not to let herself picture the moment at ice skating when she almost embarrassed herself falling down and Kirill caught her fall. “They’re warm and sometimes when they’re really brown, they’ve got this depth in them…like that person’s got all of the secrets in the world hidden behind their eyes. And when the light catches them? Magical. It’s like they can change a multitude of shades and–”

Clara was smiling, catching Tori off guard. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because you have a crussshhhhh,” Clara sang, handing Tori the pencil. “And it’s on Kirilllllll.”

“I do not,” Tori scoffed, taking the pencil and looking at the shade before uncapping it, shaking her head. “I do not, nope.”

“Yes you do,” Clara giggled, sitting up from her butt and onto the backs of her heels. “And you know how I know? Because he has brown eyes and you went all,” she fluttered her eyelashes and smiled, cupping her hands beneath her face as if she was playing a lovesick girl in a movie. “When talking about brown eyes.”

Tori laughed, turning her focus back to the mirror to apply her lip liner. “Just because he has brown eyes and I romanticized them to make YOU feel better, doesn’t mean I have a crush on Kirill. Now find me a shade of lipstick, my little make-up guru.”

Ever like her mother, Clara rolled her eyes at Tori’s playoff of the all too real situation that she’d brought up. But crushing on the guy just down the hall wasn’t really something she wanted her niece to call her out on. It was bad enough that it had been something Jess had picked up on last year when she and Steven had a date night to a game and met her afterwards.

And it didn’t help that Tori had always been the kind of girl who let the smallest of moments and things turn into the biggest when it came to love and things like it. Thoughts always spent a little extra time in her head and her brain would spin them and turn them into special butterfly inducing memories until her feelings were almost as big as the heart her mom always told her she had and one that “anyone would be lucky to have love them.” The absolute last thing that she needed was for her brain to spin the small moments, big moments, and every funny tik tok, simple text or wave from Kirill, into something butterfly inducing. The absolute, very, very, VERY last thing she needed…was to have feelings for the kindhearted, brown-eyed boy down the hall.

Or, you know, that she needed to acknowledge them. Because she knew deep down that there were feelings there for him, small or large she didn’t know. She didn’t want to allow herself to feel those, when she wasn’t even sure about whether or not him having similar feelings for her were possible.

“Aunt Tori,” Clara said, waving the lipstick in front of her face. “How’s this shade?”

Tori cleared her throat, removing herself from her inner thoughts before looking at the perfect match of a shade of red lipstick and smiling. “It’s perfect. I should just have you do my make-up from now on, that way I can sit back and relax while you do all the work.”

“Only if you boost my allowance up to $10,” she said, standing up and brushing off her pants.

“Only if you actually do your chores,” Tori replied, carefully applying her lipstick onto her top lip before blotting it with the bottom.

Clara extended her hand out, nodding. “Deal.”

Tori laughed and shook her hand before returning back to applying her lipstick, Clara coming over with a folded up piece of toilet paper before she even had to ask. “Do you just watch those beauty youtubers all the time?”

“Mainly tiktok, but sometimes I watch youtube. I’m gonna go get a snack.”

“Okay, I’ll be out there in a bit,” she replied, capping her lipstick and blotting using the toilet paper. She collected the makeup from beside her and put it all back into the storage where it belonged before standing up and putting her make-up all back onto her bathroom counter.

She took a step back from the counter, moving her hair off of her shoulders and towards her back as she took in the job that she and Clara had done together. She was still getting used to the way her curtain bangs were framing her face, knowing that Jess would be right over her shoulder and telling her that she knew she’d second guess getting the hairstyle. That was the thing though, she wasn’t sure if she did second guess getting it…she just liked the idea of being able to hear her older sister tease her in the back of her mind.

Besides, Clara, her dad and Kirill said that they liked her hair. Though perhaps Kirill’s approval was right up there with Clara’s– almost a close second.

Tori turned off the bathroom light and walked into her bedroom, going over to her walk-in closet and opening the door, not even needing to turn on the light to know where her dress for tonight was at. She’d hung it just next to the door the moment after she’d washed it…the same day she bought it. She’s been excited to wear it from the moment she saw it on a random shopping trip during her lunch break with Kaia. It wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was a dress that when she jokingly tried it on…she felt different in it.

She imagined, as she stood there in that dressing room with the lights illuminating her closed stall, that this feeling…whatever it was, was what her mom had talked about when she and Jess were growing up. That one day, when they were engaged and wedding dress shopping, that it would be nothing like shopping for homecoming dresses or prom dresses was going to be. That the dress, would make them feel like they were the most beautiful person in the room. Her mom was right, she and Jess never felt that way shopping for their homecoming or prom dresses– but she knew Jess had felt that moment the day she, after trying on what felt like every dress in the bridal shop, tried on the dress she would wear when she walked down the aisle to Steve.

Granted, Tori hadn’t bought her dress while preparing for her wedding, but the way she suddenly saw herself in a different light as the deep green, sparkly velvet material hugged her body as if it were made just for her. Feeling the soft material cut in an A-line on her chest and flare out into a skater dress just at her mid thigh, she stood there so long in that dressing room admiring the way the dress looked, that Kaia had knocked on the door saying “the dress can’t be that bad.”

And it wasn’t, because the moment Tori walked out of the dressing room, Kaia told her to turn right back around and change because, “you are so buying that dress.”

She grabbed the hanger, bringing the dress out of her closet and then walking towards her bed as she laid it down on top of her comforter. She changed out of her sweatpants and tank top and grabbed the dress, sliding the material off of it’s hanger and stepping into the dress, the material hugging against her body, feeling the velvet against the palms of her hands as she rubbed her hands down the stress, flattening out any wrinkles. Also in her closet, were the shoes she was going to wear tonight as well.

“What, Clara?” She called out, swearing she heard Clara’s voice. She bent down and quickly slid on each heel before making her way out of her bedroom and down the short hallway, eventually coming into her shared living and dining rooms.

“I said, Maddie’s here,” Clara replied, walking over towards the couch and sitting down next to Maddie.

“You answered the door?” Tori asked, eyes wide as she walked over to the small island counter where she had set down the purse she was going to use tonight, was. “I know for a fact that you were taught not to answer the door–”

“For strangers,” Clara replied, shrugging. “I got a chair and looked through the peephole to see who it was. Maddie’s not a stranger, so I answered it.”

Tori sighed, shaking her head. “Okay, technically she’s not a stranger, but you should’ve come back and told me that Maddie was here before opening the door. For all you know she could be on one of her crazy trips and rob us blind.”

Maddie rolled her eyes as she sipped on her Starbucks refresher. “Ha ha, very funny. Mind you, I’m here aren’t I?”

“Yes and thank you for that,” Tori replied, grabbing her small clutch and making sure she had transferred everything over that she’d need for tonight.

“Yeah, yeah, what are besties for, now come over here so we can see the final look.” Maddie said, waving her over. “Full on fashion show like the ones we used to do in fifth grade.”

This time, Tori rolled her eyes as she put the clutch back down onto the island and walked into the living room. “Do I really–”

Maddie held her hand up, shaking her head. “I said, fashion show. So strut.”

Clara laughed, sitting up on her knees in excitement as they both had their eyes on Tori, who was giving into the demands and like when she was a kid, put on her best “supermodel” runway walk and walked into the living room, doing a twirl and then playfully flipping her hair over her shoulder before stopping in front of them and sighing, shrugging her arms. “So? Thoughts?”

Maddie looked at Clara and then leaned over, cupping her ear and whispering as Clara shook her head and then nodded, her face going through a whole slew of emotions before finally nodding again. Maddie sat up straight and the two looked at each other before Clara looked back at Tori and smiled.

“We think you look hot.”

Tori laughed, throwing her head back just barely as she shook her head. “Well thank you, but hot should not be in your vocabulary yet. Wait until you’re like…I don’t know, 18.”

“18?! But that’s forever!” Clara whined, falling back against the couch. “14.”

A knock on the door interrupted what Tori was going to say as she pointed at Clara. “We’ll talk about it later.” She walked towards the door, already knowing who was going to be on the other side since this was about the time that they agreed in their group chat to meet up so they could all travel to the party together.

“Hey guy…oh, hi” she expected to see Ryan, Kirill, Mason and Jordan, along with three of their dates she knew were tagging along. But instead…it was only Kirill standing at her front door, dressed very nice in a black suit that had gold trim, along with a dark gray shirt underneath.

And he was wearing the hell out of the suit.

“Hi,” he spoke, clearing his throat soon after as he pointed his thumb down the hall. “The guys sent me here. We’re ready to go, are you?”

“I am,” she nodded, trying not to focus on the way she could see his eyes taking in her dress. “I just um,” she looked over her shoulder. “Need to grab my purse…come on in.”

“Thanks,” he nodded, sucking in his lips as he kept his hands in his pockets and walked into her apartment, closing the door behind him.

“Hi Kirill!” Clara said, standing up from the couch and walking over. “What’s with the funny suit?”

Kirill smiled as he held out his fist for her to bump. “Funny suit?”

Clara giggled as she shook her head. “You’re just really dressed up! I only ever see you wearing jeans and stuff.”

“Oh,” he replied, looking a little embarrassed as Tori turned around. “A Christmas party. I’m picking up Tori.”

“Mhhm and now we’re getting ready to leave, so please be on your best behavior for Maddie,” Tori said, draping the chain of her clutch purse over her shoulder and pointing to Maddie. “And no obscene amount of sugar after eight.”

“No fun,” Maddie replied, waving at Kirill. “Hey Kirill, take care of our girl tonight please. No shenanigans.”

“Shenanigans?” He asked, looking at Tori, his cheeks tinting pink as he looked for a translation.

“No pranks, practical jokes,” Tori replied, shaking her head. “Ignore her.” She turned back towards Clara bending down to her level and holding out her pinky finger. “Promise to be on your best behavior?”

“You’re leaving?” Clara asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked between Tori and Kirill.

Tori nodded, adjusting her clutch chain, going to kiss the top of Clara’s head. “Just down the street to the team Christmas party. I promise I’ll be back–”

“No!” Clara yelled, backing herself away from the affectionate moment.

The three adults stood there in shock at the way the personable and bubbly, but often quiet, Clara raised her voice so defiantly.

“No, you can’t go!” Tori could see the way Clara’s face began to crumble and knew she was only moments away from crying. “If you go, you won’t come back! My mommy and daddy didn’t!”

Tori stepped towards Clara, ready to comfort the now crying child. “Clara–” Just as she went to get down to her level, Clara spun around on her heels and ran back towards the only bedroom of the apartment– Tori’s– slamming the door shut behind her.

The silence was loud and heavy as she stared down the hall, the most outrageous part expecting her for Clara to come back out laughing– that it was all a joke. But the big part of her, the one that knew Clara was genuinely upset, scared even…that part tugged at her heart, causing an ache so deep that it didn’t take her a second to turn around to face Kirill.

“I’m sorry,” she spoke, shaking her head as she took her clutch off of her shoulder. “I can’t go tonight. I can’t–” she looked back over her shoulder, shaking her head as she looked back at him. “I can’t leave her like this.

She couldn’t tell what exactly it was that he was feeling– confused at what went down, sad that she was bailing, concerned for Clara or maybe even a little scared at the outburst– but like he always did, he put on that small, comforting smile that always gave her the biggest of butterflies, and nodded his head.

“I’ll let the guys know.” He walked back to her door, opening it as she followed behind him. He turned back around, his eyes looking just past her and over her shoulder. “Tell Clara I hope she’s okay.”

Tori leaned against the door, nodding. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Again, I’m sorry. I know–”

“It’s okay, Tori.” He replied, still smiling as she rocked back on his heels. “See you later.”

She waved as she watched him walk back down the hall towards his room most likely to grab the rest of their group before looking back into her apartment and sighing, nodding at Maddie. “You should probably go too.”

Maddie nodded, getting up off of the couch and collecting her things off of the island counter before coming over to Tori, not hesitating a single moment before wrapping her arms around her and hugging her. “It’s not your fault.”

“I didn’t–” Tori paused, as Maddie pulled back and she looked down the hallway. “I should’ve known she’d get upset and I didn’t think about that.” She took a deep breath, exhaling as she looked back at Maddie, feeling the tears burn in her eyes. “Jess would’ve known what to do. She would’ve known–”

“Hey, don’t get down on yourself, Tor,” Maddie said, holding onto Tori’s arms. “This…all of this is new to you, but you’ve done a hell of a job so far. No one expects you to be perfect, okay? You had one slip up and even then…you’re doing your damndest. You’re canceling your plans to make sure that Clara is okay.”

Maddie reached up and cupped her face, gaining her attention as she looked into her eyes. “You’re trying, Tori. You’re trying and you’re learning…and that’s all Jess and Steven both would have wanted.”

Tori nodded, hugging Maddie again before pulling away. “Thank you.”

“You know I’ll always be here for you,” she smiled, walking out of her apartment door. “And send me that receipt for your Target order, I’ll swing by and pick it up tomorrow. Love you Tor.”

“Love you too, Mads,” Tori replied, waiting until she saw Maddie get into the elevator before closing and locking her apartment door for the night.

She took a few deep breaths as she took off her shoes and placed her purse back onto the counter before making her way back down the hall, coming to a stop in front of her bedroom door. She raised her fist, holding it there for a few spare moments before knocking on the door. “Clara?”

Tori pressed her ear against the door, hearing her fan on the other side of the door blowing, but not a peep from Clara. She knocked again, keeping her ear against the door. “Clara, can you come out please? Or let me in?”

Still silence and Tori was starting to feel defeated as she exhaled and let her body fully lean against the door. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about the party. I…I didn’t even think about,” she paused, unsure of how to say the idea that maybe Clara would have some kind of reservations about Tori going to a party, without making it seem as if she wasn’t considering her feelings. “I’m sorry that I made you upset, that’s the last thing I ever want to do.”

“I sent Maddie and Kirill home, so it’s just gonna be me and you tonight.” She crossed her arms, focusing on the sounds from the other side of the door. “And I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of hungry…so I think I’m gonna order a pizza. If you want some, just let me know.”

The one thing that she learned between her Dad and Clara’s therapist, was that she needed to let Clara come to terms with things on her own time. Not to force her to talk about it before she was ready or ignore it when the time came. If she had questions, then it was okay to answer them until Clara either started to look uncomfortable or stop asking questions altogether. So that’s what she was going to do, she held out her olive branch of a pizza offering and was going to sit in the living room and wait until Clara hopefully would leave the room and join her.

Tori had ordered the pizza on her phone and sat down onto the couch, leaning back into the warm material as she stared at the “are you still watching?” Netflix screen. It was only a few minutes after she placed the order for pizza when she heard her bedroom door open from down the hall, Clara appearing at the end of the hall a couple of seconds later.

“You still want to watch Julie and the Phantoms?” Tori asked, nodding towards the tv screen.

Clara nodded, keeping quiet as she slowly made her way over to the couch and sat down right beside Tori, immediately curling herself up against her side. “Why didn’t you go to the Christmas party?”

Tori shrugged, reaching up and brushing Clara’s hair back as she continued to play the show. “You were upset and I didn’t want to leave you behind,” she replied, looking down at her. “Besides, hanging out with you is a lot more fun than going to a fancy Christmas party.”

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” Clara spoke softly, resting her head against Tori’s chest. “I just–”

“Sh, you don’t have to apologize, Clara,” Tori replied, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. “I know.”

They sat there for a relaxed moment before Clara looked up at Tori, pouting. “But now you’re all dressed up and pretty…”

Tori smiled, sitting up straight. “How about we change over into some pj’s, then I can do your hair and make-up and after that, we’ll clean it all up and have a spa night like your mom and I used to have with our mom?”

Clara perked up and nodded, a smile on her face. “Okay!” She scrambled off of the couch and headed towards the hall. “Face masks too?”

“Of course,” Tori scoffed, standing up off of the couch and following behind her, holding onto the hand Clara had outstretched towards her. “We’ll go all out, I promise.”

And they did.

After changing into some comfortable pajamas, Tori rounded up all of the spa stuff she had available in her bathroom and they walked back out into living room area with spa and make-up stuff in hand. Just like when Clara was helping Tori get ready, she had picked out all of the colors she wanted to wear, and Tori would apply it. She opted for having her hair curled and once it came down to make-up. And to no surprise, Clara had handed Tori the golden eyeshadow she had picked out for her earlier in the evening, when Tori had asked what eyeshadow she wanted.

“With as knowledgeable as you are about make-up, I give it until you’re 12 to be better at it than me,” Tori joked, carefully applying the finishing touches on the eyeshadow. “I was never this good at make-up, I only learned a little in high school and then a little more in college.”

Clara kept her eyes closed as Tori shut the eyeshadow pallet and then grabbed the eyeliner. “I like watching youtube and tik toks,” she said, sitting still as Tori began applying the eyeliner. “Plus I really liked watching my mom do her make-up, she looked really pretty.”

Tori smiled softly, nodding her head even though Clara couldn’t see. “Your mom was always very pretty.”

Silence settled over as Tori carefully applied the eyeliner to Clara’s top lid before having her open her eyes so she could apply it to the waterline. Words were none even as she put the eyeliner down and then grabbed the mascara, even more carefully applying it so she didn’t accidentally poke Clara in the eye.

“All right, you’re all done,” she smiled, putting the mascara tube down and grabbing the make-up mirror that she’d brought out from the bathroom and held it in front of Clara. “What do you think?”

Clara scooted closer to the mirror, turning her face side to side as she even played with the curls of her chestnut colored hair. “Do I look like my mom?” She asked, looking up at Tori with a softened expression.

“I–“ a knock on the door interrupted Tori’s reply, signaling that hopefully the pizza was here. “That must be the pizza.”

Tori got up off of the floor and walked over to the front door, peeping through the peephole and seeing the pizza delivery man. She opened the door, making small conversation as she was handed the receipt to sign before finally wishing the delivery man a good night and taking the pizza, closing the door behind her and walking into the kitchen as Clara walked in. They grabbed some plates and each put two slices of pizza and a cheesy breadstick onto their plate before Clara took their plates into the living room while Tori grabbed them each a cup of water to drink.

When they settled back into the living room and sat on the floor, Tori noticed the small silence that was still there as Clara started to eat her pizza and focus on the Hannah Montana episode that was playing on Disney+. She knew it was most likely because she’d never gotten the answer to her question since the pizza had been delivered and so Tori put her pizza back down onto her plate and turned towards Clara.

“You do look like your mom,” she said, watching as her response took a few seconds before it sunk into Clara’s focus that she had said something.

“I do?” Clara asked, her bite of pizza still in her mouth as she quickly chewed it and swallowed. “Or are you just saying that?”

“No, you do,” Tori smiled, nodding her head. “You have her hair, especially now with the curls–“

“But we curled it…”

“Your mom’s hair didn’t get curlier until she was 14, before that, her hair was straight just like yours. You have her nose and her cheeks,” she smiled, scooting closer to Clara. “You have your dad’s eyes and his dimple, but your smile,” she reached out and gently poked right by the outside corner of Clara’s left eye. “You definitely have your mom’s smile, it reaches up into your eyes.”

Clara smiled and just like she said, for a moment, Tori could see a glimpse of Jess just in her smile alone. “Thanks Aunt Tori.” She sighed, picking her pizza up again. “I’m sorry for ruining your date with Kirill.”

Tori laughed, shaking her head. “It wasn’t really a date…I was just his date to the party is all. And besides,” she nudged Clara, smiling. “I think we’re having more fun doing this than I would at a party.”

“Even if it meant you couldn’t go on your date?” She frowned.

Tori nodded. “Even if it meant missing out on tonight. Besides, if Kirill has a problem with me canceling so I can spend more time with you, then he’s not worth it.” She picked up her pizza and looked at Clara. “Boys will come and go Clara, but family is forever.”

Clara smiled and picked her pizza back up to eat and Tori joined in, sneaking a glimpse at her phone to see that she still didn’t have any messages from Kirill. It’s not like she was expecting him to text her throughout the night, because it was, after all, a team Christmas party…but she was also hoping that her hypothetical ‘if he has a problem’ scenario wasn’t real. Because a big part of her, though she would deny it if asked, did care for Kirill.

And she hoped he felt the same way.

It’d been maybe an hour and a half into their night, the make-up was all washed away and the two of them were lounging on the couch in their face masks, complete with some chopped up cucumbers to snack on as they watched The Polar Express, one of their favorite Christmas movies they watched as kids. If it wasn’t so late, Tori might have suggested the two of them bundle up into a jacket and boots and wander down the street to get some ice cream. But, since tomorrow was their birthday, she figured that could be something she treated Clara to during the day.

Because right now, Clara was close to being ready to fall asleep and a sugar rush would only keep her up for a little bit longer.

“Who’s that?” Clara asked, looking towards the front door following the soft knock they heard. “Is Maddie coming back?”

“I’m not sure,” Tori said, getting up off of the couch and keeping her blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She walked over to the door, looking through the peephole and immediately stepping away. “Shit.”

“What? Who is it?”

“It’s Kirill,” she replied, reaching up and touching her dried clay mask. “And my face is completely purple…”

Clara jumped off of the couch and ran by Tori, nudging her out of the way and unlocking the door locks before swinging the door open. “Hi Kirill! Come in!”

“Hi,” he laughed, going along as Clara grabbed onto his coat jacket and tried to tug him in as best as she could. “What are…” he paused and looked between both girls as Clara shut the door. “What’s on your faces?”

“Face masks to help us look young,” Clara chimed in, pointing at the plastic bags he was carrying. “Whatcha got there?”

He looked down at the plastic bag and then held it up. “I brought ice cream.”

“But,” Tori paused, seeing that he was still dressed up in his suit. “What about the party? It doesn’t end for another two and a half hours.”

Kirill smiled and shrugged. “It wasn’t fun and Ryan said he’d tell everyone I wasn’t feeling good.”

“Does this mean we can have ice cream, Aunt Tori?” Clara gasped, turning towards her and grabbing onto her hand, pouting. “It’d make me feel so much better! Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty pleasseeeeee?”

“Yeah Tori, pretty please?” Kirill laughed, looking at her.

More than anything, she just wanted to wash the clay mask off of her face, even though it was looking like Kirill didn’t care that she was wearing it. “Okay,” she nodded, holding her blanket tighter. “We can have ice cream. We’ll just go wipe this stuff off our faces real quick and then–”

“No need!” Clara ran around the counter into the kitchen and grabbed the small stool Tori had for her, moving it in front of the sink and then turning the water on, vigorously rubbing her face with the water until the face mask was off.

Tori just sighed, grabbing a paper towel and ripping it, handing it to Clara. “Wipe around, you’ve got some flakes leftover.” She looked at Kirill and nodded. “I’ll be back.”

She swiftly made her way down the hall to her bedroom, walking in and going to the bathroom to wash the face mask off her face. She tried not to let her racing heart make her nervous at the fact that Kirill had left his own team’s Christmas party hours earlier, just to come by her apartment to make sure that they were okay. And he even brought ice cream. Those were two wins in her book and if she were to text Maddie and Kaia, no doubt in her mind that they would tease her and say that he’s definitely got feelings for her.

But she didn’t want that disappointment, because maybe he was just a friendly guy.

When she wiped her face dry, she walked back out and down the hall, seeing Kirill still standing at the counter, only now he was holding an ice cream scooper in his hand and looking at Clara for approval as he dropped a second scoop into the bowl. “Good?”

“Mm, one more.”

“No, two is good,” Tori laughed, shaking her head. “You need to sleep at some point tonight, because tomorrow is a big day.”

“Our birthday!” Clara smiled, looking at Kirill. “Are you guys coming to my party? It’s just Aunt Tori, Maddie and me right now.”

Kirill laughed as he handed over the bowl of ice cream. “I would love to come.”

“Sweet,” Clara smiled, grabbing her bowl before giving him a hug. “Thanks Kirill, you’re the best.”

She ran off before he could reply and Tori walked over, taking her place at the end of the island. “This was really nice of you to do,” she said, leaning against the counter. “I thought my spa night and pizza was good, but you really took the cake with this ice cream.”

“Took the cake?” He asked, eyebrows furrowed as he dropped a scoop of ice cream into her bowl.

“It means you won,” she smiled, nodding at the ice cream. “Plus, it’s like you have a radar in your head and knew I was craving something sweet.”

Kirill smiled, shrugging his shoulders. “I know you.”

It was a good day– a day to be celebrated in many ways.

It was Christmas Eve and then it was both Clara and Tori’s birthday. A bittersweet day, but also one that needed much celebration in it’s own right. When she woke up this morning, Clara was still fast asleep in the bed beside her, so Tori took the chance to get up and make a phone call to her dad– hoping it wasn’t too early in the morning for him.

The first thing he’d said when she answered, was wishing her and Clara both a happy birthday. And after the polite conversation and questions about how they were doing had come and gone, Tori had asked him the most important question for the day– “how did you do it?”

“How did I do what, Tori?”

“How did you make that first birthday after mom died, so special?”

There was silence on the phone before her dad sighed. “Well, I didn’t shy away from the topic if you wanted to talk about your mom. We did a lot of talking about her and past birthdays. We kept up with those traditions, and just made sure to include mom as much as we could.”

Tori was biting her long sleeve as she stared at the Christmas tree. “I’m just nervous I’ll ruin it,” she whispered, feeling the tears burn in her eyes. “You made that birthday and every one after that so special, even when deep down I was missing mom so much. I– I want to do that for Clara, I don’t want Jess and Steven’s death to overshadow her and make her hate her birthdays every year.”

“As long as you just talk about Jess and Steven when she wants to and you validate those feelings she has, you won’t ruin it, Tori. She loves you and you’ve got a way of making everyone feel special, especially on their birthdays. Just do things you’ll think she’ll enjoy or if she asks to do something, do that too.”

It was her dad’s advice that made her feel a lot less nervous going into the day. First up on the day, she’d made Clara a special breakfast– chocolate chip pancakes complete with whipped cream and some cut up strawberries– a birthday breakfast that their mom had made Tori and Jess every year on their birthday since they could remember. And it was a tradition that Tori knew Jess had kept up with, because when Clara finally woke up and joined her out in the living room, her eyes lit up when she saw the pancakes on the kitchen island– even if the smile wasn’t there.

Tori didn’t remember much about that first birthday without her mom, part of her thinks she probably blocked it out because it was too sad to think about, but watching Clara go through it, she probably experienced the same thing. The sniffles and tears while eating her breakfast, the smile on her face but one that didn’t reach her eyes as she opened the gift Tori’s dad had gotten her. The apologizing for feeling sad and the “it’s okay,” from Tori when she had apologized.

It felt like uncharted territory, even though she’d been in it before. The only thing that had even boosted her mood just a little bit, was when the four boys from down the hall stopped by to wish them both a happy birthday, even giving her some presents.

Kirill’s was the only one that Clara was actually interested in– maybe it was because it was from him or maybe because it was the only one that wasn’t personally signed Minnesota Wild merchandise. It was a Polly Pocket set, one that Tori wasn’t sure whether or not he just saw in a store and thought that she’d like it or if it was something he knew that she wanted. At least not until before they left, Tori had asked him how he knew what to get her and he said– “we're best friends, duh. She said she liked Polly Pockets, so I just went to the store and asked someone for help.”

Once the boys left, they just hung around the apartment, watching whatever Clara wanted to watch. It wasn’t until she started to feel a little antsy that Tori had asked what was wrong. Clara looked at her, a sad look on her face as she played with her hands and said, “I want to go see mommy and daddy…if that’s okay.”

Visiting the cemetery back in her hometown wasn’t exactly what Tori had on the birthday card for today, but she remembered what her dad said about being open to whatever Clara wanted to do and agreed. They had gotten dressed and left the apartment complex, getting to the garage and getting into her car before setting out for the drive back to Saint Paul. Christmas songs were on the radio, but that was the only sound in the car on their drive, especially once they neared the cemetery where her mom, Jess and Steven were all buried in the same section, but only plots away from each other.

They’d stopped at the store, buying some flowers before reaching the cemetery and once they parked off to the side, they got out and walked through the snow, trying their best to find the headstones. They’d found her mom’s first and Tori bent down and wiped off a few extra whisps of snow before placing the red poinsettias into the flowerpot. It wasn’t the first time since her mom had died that Tori had come to the cemetery, but each time was just as emotional as the first time after the funeral.

“Aunt Tori, can I go find mommy and daddy?” Clara asked, pointing just head. “I think they’re eight up.”

“Okay, just stay in view.” Tori nodded, watching as Clara walked just ahead in front of her. She took a deep breath and sighed, staring down at her mom’s engraved name. “I know you told us that even if you weren’t here anymore that you’d always be around…but I really hope that’s true because I feel like I’m out of my league.”

“I hope you’re with Jess and Steven up there, and I hope you guys are looking down at us and show up in times we need you. Dad’s doing good, Clara’s doing as good as you can expect her to…and I think I’m doing okay,” she replied, wiping her running nose. “You and Jess would be glad to know that I finally might’ve found someone I really like, though I’m not sure if the feelings are mutual. And I think you would’ve liked him, his name’s Kirill and he plays for the Wild. Jess has met him and she liked him, so I’m sure she’s told you all about him. He’s everything you always told us we deserved and needed to find in someone, one day.”

Tori laughed, shaking her head. “And honestly, I wouldn’t be all that surprised if you somehow sent him to me.” She looked up to see that Clara was squatting down towards the ground and knew she’d found where Jess and Steven were. “I miss you a lot, mom and I wish you were here all the time, but I know you are just like you said you would be. I love you and I’ll visit again soon, hug Jess and Steven for me.”

Tori quickly wiped her face and calmed herself down before walking away from her mom’s headstone and taking the short walk up to where Clara was at, not getting to close as to not want to interrupt Clara, wanting to give her privacy. When she stood up, Tori walked over and stood next to her, draping her arm over her shoulder. “You okay, Clara?”

Clara sniffled, wiping at her face and shaking her head. “I miss them,” she sobbed. “It’s not fair.”

Tori squatted down to her level and wrapped her in her arms, hugging her as she tried not to cry herself. “I know, I know,” she whispered, cupping the back of her head before leaning back. “But you know what my mom always told your mommy and I when we were little and she got really sick?”

Clara shook her head, sniffling again as she wiped at her nose. “No.”

“She told us, that even if she wasn’t here physically where we could see her and hug her,” she said, reaching up and wiping away the tear stains on Clara’s cheeks. “That she would always be right here in our hearts,” she reached down and patted Clara’s heart. “And that she would never, ever leave there.”

“Can I talk to her there too?” Clara asked, wiping at her face again.

“Always,” Tori whispered, holding onto Clara’s arms. “I was going to wait until tonight to give you this, but I think now might be better.”

“What is it?”

Tori reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out the small red gift box and lifting the lid and the small tissue paper from over it, revealing a small silver locket. “When you were born, your daddy bought this for your mommy. It says, ‘home is where the heart is’ on the front and on the back, it’s got all three of your guys initials,” Tori smiled, showing Clara both sides before opening the locket. “And then inside, they added this picture of the three of you smiling in the hospital room. See? There you are right there in your mommy’s arms.”

Clara leaned down, looking at the locket before looking up at Tori. “I was so small.”

“You were a few hours old,” Tori smiled, pointing to the empty side. “And then right here, if you want…we can add a picture of the three of you from that family photo session we all did together, yeah?”

“Yes please,” she nodded, wiping at her nose. “Can you put it on me?”

Tori nodded, taking the locket out of the box. “I figured you were old enough to have this now, that way you’ll always have your mommy and daddy to look at when you get a little sad and I’m not there to comfort you.”

Once she put the locket around her neck, Tori let it rest against her chest and Clara reached down and held it into her palm with a small smile before looking up at Tori. “I love it Aunt Tori and I love you.”

“I love you too, kiddo,” she smiled, hugging her again, this time just a little tighter.

It was hard trying to decipher whether or not Clara’s trembling lips and body were from her crying or from the harsh cold winter air. So they said one last goodbye to Jess and Steven, Tori saying her own goodbye in her head before they made their way back to their car, staying close to each other and holding hands. When they got back into the car, Tori turned around to make sure Clara was settled before offering her a small smile.

“How about we got get some hot chocolate from the cafe your grandma Clara used to always take your mom and I to when we were kids and we’ll talk about your mom and dad?” Tori suggested, unsure of how Clara would respond.

She sniffled again, wiping at her nose. “Do they have cake pops? Daddy loved cake pops.”

“They do,” Tori laughed, nodding her head. “We’ll get a cake pop too.”

They spent hours in that cafe, ordering hot chocolates and cake pops, nursing them as Tori told stories of Jess when they were younger and answered any questions about her mom and dad that Clara had. By the time it was time for them to start driving home so they could meet Maddie at the apartment for the small dinner and cake they were going to do for Clara, Clara was smiling for the first time that entire day– genuinely smiling.

It wasn’t until they got in the car that Tori saw she had a missed call from Kirill and a voicemail. And when she listened to it first, she smiled. “Kirill called, did you want to hear what he had to say?” She asked, looking over at Clara.

“Yes please!!!” Clara nodded, sitting eagerly in her car seat.

“Hey Tori, I just realized that I forgot to do something when I swung by earlier. I know it’s Clara’s birthday, so I wanted to wish her a happy birthday again and this time, do it the way we always did growing up.” He said something in his native Russian, probably something along the lines of happy birthday and then, the part that made Tori smile, he started to sing the simple tune of happy birthday– still in his native language.

“THAT WAS SO COOL!” Clara smiled, eyes wide. “Next time I see him I’m gonna ask him to teach me russian!”

Tori laughed, putting her phone down and starting her car. The only thing Clara didn’t know was that Tori had ended the voicemail seconds before he went on to say what he did after.

“I know it’s your birthday too, so I wanted to say happy birthday and I’m very happy I met you. You’re doing a great job, Tor.” And then he said something else in russian before translating it for her. “I am the happiest man on earth because I met you, bye.”

She didn’t need Clara teasing her until she was red in the face, but also, she knew that she would never get his voice out of her head– constantly replaying the compliment on their drive home.

The day had come and gone, the sun was set and all around Minnesota, Tori was sure parents had their kids all tucked into bed. But in their small bedroom apartment, Tori, Maddie and Clara were watching ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ like all the Christmas Eve’s before, snacking on some of the leftover cookies they’d made for Santa and just enjoying each other’s presence.

“Did you have a good birthday, kiddo?” Maddie asked, looking over Tori as Clara sat down on the floor, wrapped up in a blanket Maddie had gotten her that was a picture of Clara, Jess and Steven together from last Christmas.

“Yeah, one of the best,” Clara smiled, looking over her shoulder at them. “Thank you guys a lot.”

“You’re welcome, Clara,” Tori smiled, tucking her legs beneath her on the couch. “I’m glad you had a good day.”

“I feel bad though,” Clara frowned, holding the blanket around her. “It’s your birthday too, Aunt Tori and you didn’t get a cake to make a wish or anything.”

Tori smiled, shrugging her shoulders. “That’s okay, I got what I wanted and that was for you to have a good day. I know how hard those firsts can be when you lose someone important to you and all I wanted was to do for you what Grandpa did for me and your mom when we were younger. To make sure you could still have a good day, even if you were a little sad.”

Clara got up and walked over to the couch, leaning over and giving Tori a hug. “I love you Aunt Tori, you’re the best ever.”

“I love you too, Clara,” Tori replied, rubbing her back as she held onto the hug.

A knock on the door interrupted the hug and Clara jumped back, handing her blanket off to Tori. “I’ll get it!”

“What did we say about answering doors?” Tori laughed, holding the blanket in her lap.

“Yeah, Clara,” Maddie smiled, looking at Tori. “I wonder who that could be.”

Tori folded the blanket the best she could before getting up off of the couch, just as Clara opened the door. “GRANDPA!!!!!” Clara squealed, being lifted up moments after as Tori’s dad walked into the apartment, closing the door behind her.

“Dad?” Tori asked, eyes widening. “What are you doing here? I thought you were back with Grandma?”

“Oh no, she got tired of me hovering,” he laughed, shaking his head. “Her surgery went successful and she maybe lasted two days of me staying with her in her little apartment before she told me I needed to come home and be here with you guys. She’s got some good staff looking after her and I told her I’d be on the first flight out if she ever needed anything.”

Tori walked over with a smile, hugging him with one arm as he held Clara. “It’s good to have you here, we missed you.”

“I missed you guys too,” he said, kissing them each on the temple. “And happy birthday to you both. Hi Maddie.”

“Hi Mr. Holly, I’m glad you’re here,” she smiled, sitting up on the couch. “Though you’re not quite who I was expecting.”

Tori’s dad laughed. “If you’re talking about a certain Wild hockey player, he’s still hanging out in the hall. Looks a bit nervous if you ask me.”

“What?” Tori asked, looking at them as her dad put Clara down and Clara started to drag him over to where she had put her Christmas presents down.

“Oh yeah, he’s out there giving himself a pep talk, open the door if you don’t believe me,” her dad laughed, following behind Clara.

Staring at the closed door, she knew that Clara would’ve announced Kirill’s presence if he was out there. She practically adored him just as much as Tori did. But more of a point…why was he out there pacing in the hall? Tori opened the door and didn’t even need to look out into the hall, because there was Kirill, wearing a Christmas sweater and moving himself right into view of her apartment door.

“Kirill,” she said, still surprised even though she was told he was out here. “What are you doing?”

He brought his hands out from behind his back, holding an all too familiar pink bakery box from Tori’s favorite bakery down the street. “I wanted to give you this, it’s your birthday.”

She was speechless as he handed over the box to her and she lifted the lid, seeing her favorite three layered chocolate mousse cake she would always treat herself to a slice or two whenever she stopped by the bakery. On it, was white icing that was written in script that said– look up. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked up at Kirill to see him holding out a small plastic mistletoe decoration with nervous eyes. “What–”

“I know it’s probably lame,” he sighed, dropping his arm by his side. “But I didn’t know what else to do and it’s your birthday and I didn’t want to overlook that. But you’re one of my best friends out here and you’re beautiful and kind and you always make me laugh. I’ve been too nervous to tell you or do anything which is why the guys like to chirp me about you– but I do. I like you a lot, Tori. I like watching movies with you and Clara and ice skating and I’m not good with stuff like this but–”

Tori smiled, before closing the lid on the box and stepping forward, leaning up onto her toes and cupping the left side of his face with her right hand before leaning in and kissing him. She’d always been afraid of making that first move, too nervous about ruining their friendship. Even after they’d spent most of the family skate days earlier, holding hands– playful manor or not. But now, with the cake and his equally adorable rant…she knew that he had feelings for her too and nothing was going to stop her from doing what her hearts been wanting this entire time.

When she pulled away, he looked at her with wide eyes before smiling, holding up the mistletoe. “So it wasn’t cheesy? Because Ryan said it was cheesy and–”

“I loved it, it was very sweet,” she smiled, nodding her head. “Want to come in? We’re just watching a movie.”

He nodded, stuffing the plastic mistletoe into his pocket before walking into the apartment and then coming to a deadstop. She closed the door and turned around, her eyes going wide to see her dad, Clara and Maddie all standing there with smiles on their faces. “Oh…uh…”

“Really guys?” Tori sighed, feeling her cheeks grow hot.

“Took you a while huh, Kirill?” Maddie said, playfully shaking her head. “

He reached up and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I just got nervous. Especially when you walked up, sir.”

“No need to be nervous, I’m a friendly guy,” her dad said, walking over and shaking his hand. “However, why don’t we go sit on the couch and talk about your intentions with my daughter, hm?”

“DAD!” Tori gasped, quickly ushering them away. “All of you go sit in the living room and I’ll cut up the cake.”

“CAKE?” Clara asked, eyes wide as she ran over and lifted the lid to the pink box. “You’ve gotta make your wish first, Aunt Tori!”

“Fine, fine, but you guys go in there and I’ll make my wish in here,” Tori said, as Maddie and her dad went back into the living room while her, Kirill and Clara were in the kitchen. Tori opened a drawer and grabbed the lighter, lighting the two candles.

“Make a wish, Aunt Tori,” Clara smiled, resting her arms on the counter and then her chin on her arms. “Even though I already know what you’re going to wish for.”

“You do?” Kirill asked, playing along.

“You do not,” Tori scoffed.

“Sure I do,” Clara smiled. “For Kirill to be your boyfriend.”

“I guess I did forget something after all,” he laughed, taking the plates from her as she grabbed a knife to cut the cake. “Is that something you want? Because–”

Tori just leaned in, kissing him again before pulling away with a smile, subtly nodding her head. “It’s a yes.”

“Okay, me too,” he nodded, blushing as he motioned towards her cake. “Make another wish.”

Tori blushed, tucking her chin into her chest as she smiled., looking around the room. She had her best friend in the entire world and her dad here, Clara was starting to look more like her old self even after the rough year that she’d been through…and the guy from down the hall she’d been crushing on for almost as long as she’s known him…had finally confirmed what her heart had been telling her all along– that he had liked her too. There wasn’t much more in the world that she could want, but maybe there was, and maybe it was just that she wanted Jess, Steven and her mom to know she was trying her best and she wanted them to be proud of her.

She closed her eyes, making the wish that she hoped all of this would stay– the happiness and the peace that her family had adapted after tragedy, her very new relationship with Kirill…there was nothing more in this world that she wanted than to see Clara’s smile and hear her laugh, or getting to feel Kirill’s hand in hers and experience the fireworks she had when they kissed. After savoring the moment, she blew out the candles and opened her eyes again.

There they were, Clara and Kirill. Clara with her big smile, the one that had the best of both Jess and Steven. And then there was Kirill, smiling just as big and looking at her with a kind of love in his eyes that made her heart patter against her chest.

“Best Christmas Eve and birthday ever.”

#kirill kaprizov writing #kirill kaprizov fic #kirill kaprizov fanfic #kirill kaprizov one shot #minnesota wild fic #minnesota wild writing #minnesota wild one shot #nhl writing #nhl fic #nhl one shot #nhl fanfic #hockey writing #hockey one shot #hockey fic #hockey oneshot #hockey fanfic #kirill kaprizov oneshot #minnesota wild oneshot #nhl oneshot

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