#cheese taking care of the old lady at the hospital and then going around town with big to 'hunt bad guys' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theretirementstory · 5 months

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Good morning, it’s Christmas Eve and it’s a cloudy 7c here this morning. Who cares? It will soon be Christmas Day when you can eat your body weight in chocolates before breakfast (with any luck 😂😂).

The amount of baking that has been done in this house lately, you would think I was going to be feeding the five thousand, but no, I have been preparing to give homemade food gifts to friends and neighbours this year.

After the open invitation I received last week, to visit a friend in a nearby village, I received a message from the friend in town where I spent “Réveillon” four years ago. She said that her daughter was coming from Nancy to spend time this Christmas and that there would be 11 at the table she was sorry that she couldn’t invite me. She did say that when her daughter leaves (27 December) I can go to eat with her and her sister. I did reply saying that as I still have low immunity I am wearing my mask and being very careful and avoiding large groups. I guess going to her home with just two people there could be ok but of course they will have been with nine other people themselves. Well we will wait and see.

It has been mince pie making, date stuffing, peppermint cream making, cake decorating, meringue making, baking other cakes and a first attempt at making sage and onion stuffing balls. I am still not finished, I need to marinate goats cheese to have with endives, pears and walnuts as my starter tomorrow. Monday I will be making another “first attempt” this time it will be bread sauce, I can but try these items which in the UK are readily available in a packet and only require the addition of water or milk in the case of bread sauce.

Monique came to visit and forgot the glycerine! She brought it down the following morning, unfortunately I was out shopping so she left the bottle on my kitchen window sill. In the afternoon I went to meet Claudine at the stained glass workshop to collect the bottle of glycerine she had bought at a pharmacy. One thing is certain I have plenty of glycerine I will probably be making Xmas cakes regularly to use it all up!

I went to the cinema with Pauline again, we saw “La Tresse” (The Braid), what a moving story, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Pauline is leaving this morning to go to Lille to spend Christmas with friends. We will meet up after Christmas. She has been visiting McDo in the afternoons (it’s quiet then) and she said they have been selling two macarons and a coffee for €2,90.

I went to see my friends Marlene and Manu on Friday taking foodie gifts for them. I came back with a beautiful Christmas card and a homemade gift with chocolates. I also received the most heartwarming message when I got home, not just thanking me for the gifts.

The cleaner was ill on Monday so didn’t come to work she was better for Thursday and I had a present for her. She asked if she could open it and was so moved by the gift that she hugged and kissed me. Well I didn’t see that coming!

Had a video call on Thursday evening with a friend in America. We have both been receiving treatment for cancer, she is still receiving the treatment so most of our conversation was around treatments however as her home is actually in Bar-sur-Aube she likes to catch up on activities in town.

I messaged Josette, a lady from the old knitting group. She had moved from Urville to Troyes a few years ago as her husband was on dialysis and they moved nearer to the hospital. Sadly she lost her husband back in May. She said she is finding it hard to adjust and will be spending her Christmas with her children.

It is so funny that when I was coming to France one of my criteria was to be in a town with few English people as I wanted to integrate with French people. When I arrived I believed I was the only English person in the town, I have since heard that there is an English man married to a French lady who has lived here for a lot of years, however, I have never come into contact with him. What a surprise though to now have among my friends, Portuguese , Finnish, American, Dutch, Afghan, Romanian, Turks, Georgians, Nigerians and Syrians, as well as French! The doctor I had when I first arrived was Equadorian now that was a first for me 😂.

I have decided that my taste in music is quite eclectic, so let’s have a look at my choices this week. The first one is back to 1971, it is “Tap Turns On The Water” by C.C.S. It always brings to mind my Godmothers house that I had known from being a very young girl.

The second song is “Trapped” by Colonel Abrams which dates back to 1985. Memories of this song are from dancing the night away in “La Grotte” disco in Sousse Tunisia.

“The Photographer” messaged me last night saying the bar he was in had a bottle of champagne which came from very close to me. The champagne was £64 per bottle in the bar. Turns out it was a bottle of Drappier Champagne. the champagne house is 4.5 miles from where I live, situated in the village of Urville. I wonder how much that bottle would cost here?

“The Trainee Solicitor” has finished work for a break over the Xmas period, he said he will be “popping in” to catch up on things. Well I hope he is going to take some time to rest up as he has been feeling “not too good”.

“The Ex-Graduate” has been working her socks off and the work doesn’t ease off over Xmas for her. She has the Bank holidays off but then is working 5 days/nights in a row including New Years Eve! Roll on a start date for the full-time job in her chosen profession.

I imagine that my gorgeous grandchildren are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. They are celebrating their Xmas Day with Daddy on the 26th December. What fun, two Xmas Days 😁, hopefully there will be time for a video call with Grand-mere in France not on their Xmas Day but one day that they are with Daddy.

So now, when Pauline is preparing to travel to Lille for Xmas, Anie is safely ensconced in Indonesia, Darcy is ready to enjoy Christmas in Florida, I am ready to enjoy my Christmas here in my home. I have chosen a bottle of champagne, it is a rose and is my last bottle of Cudel. There won’t be anymore of that for me as the champagne house was sold a few years ago. Never mind I may have a bottle of Drappier another year, who knows!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, hopefully catch you again before the New Year.

#barsuraube #Urville #Drappier champagne #photography #baking #70’s music #80’s music #cudelchampagne #christmas #santa claus #friends

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agustdakasuga · 4 years

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A Place Called Home | Chapter 13

Genre: Hybrid!AU, Poly!AU?, Soulmate AU, romance, fluff, humour

Pairing: OT7 x Reader

Characters: vet!reader, Arcticfox!Seokjin, Panther!Yoongi, Goldenretriever!Hoseok, Wolf!Namjoon, Calicocat!Jimin, Tiger!Taehyung, Rabbit!Jungkook

Summary: Having saved your own injured hybrid, you were determined to try and help any other hybrid that crossed your path who needed saving. But being a vet in a small hospital wasn’t enough for you. You wanted to do more, you wanted to make a difference. You wanted to give them a home.

Hoseok finally understands why his brother can’t open up and get comfortable in the house. But as Jungkook begins to crumble, you assure him that you will always be there for him.

3 am...

“Finally home.” You closed the door behind you and sighed. Looking at the living room, you noticed that Yoongi and Jimin had fallen asleep under the heating lamp, the younger curling into the older’s side like a mother cat and her kitten. You removed your coat and silently went upstairs.

“Tae?” You were surprised when you turned on the lights and saw the tiger on your bed, hugging your pillow, fast asleep.

“(y/n)?” Taehyung opened one eye.

“Hey, baby. What are you doing here? Why aren’t you sleeping in your own room?” You asked quietly, stroking his head.

“I had a nightmare and wanted to wait for you. But your pillow smelt so good.” He yawned. You smiled softly and leaned in to kiss his forehead. As he fell back asleep, you went to take a quick shower. You had 3 hours to sleep before you had to go to the farmer’s market with Hoseok.

The only reason why you were going to get hotdogs so early in the morning was because Hoseok said they sell out really quickly because of how popular and authentic they were.

*sniff sniff*

“Yes, Tae?” You groaned with your eyes still closed.

“You smell nice.” He tossed the pillow he was holding behind him, letting it fall to the ground with a thud. He proceeded to scoot closer to you, wrapping his arms, legs and tail around you comfortably.

As Taehyung held you, he knew something was wrong. He felt something stirring in his gut.

Your alarm rang again a few hours later, signalling that it was time to get up. Your limbs and back were aching but you pushed yourself to sit up, letting Taehyung’s arms fall to your waist. Being winter, the sky was dark despite it approaching 7am. You brushed your teeth and changed, grabbing your outing bag and heading downstairs.

“Morning...” Hoseok greeted, followed by a yawn.

“Sorry that you had to get up so early, Hoseok.” You said apologetically, rubbing the fur of his flopped ears.

“No, if anything, you should be resting. I know you came back late last night.” He smiled. You shook your head and saw Jimin coming down the stairs, dressed in a familiar looking purple cardigan and beanie.

“This cardigan looks familiar, hmm?” You teased, helping him adjust his hair under the beanie.

“Yoongi hyung said I could borrow it.” He blushed. You laughed and nodded, patting his head. You weren’t going to tease him about what you saw when you can home. No, that teasing was for Yoongi. There were more footsteps and you looked up to see Namjoon coming down as well, dressed in his outing clothes.

“You’re coming too?”

“I couldn’t sleep so might as well tag along. It’s a long drive there so we could take turns if you want.” Namjoon smiled.

“Thank you, Joon.” You tip toed and kissed his cheek. As he wrapped an arm around you to hug you, Namjoon stiffened and you noticed it.

“Something wrong?”

“Not with me. Are you feeling alright?” He frowned. You looked down at your body before nodding up at him. Namjoon nodded, convinced for now. As everyone climbed into the car, you insisted on driving the way there.

“Wow, it’s really far.” Jimin said as he looked out the window.

“Yeah, it is on the other side of town Chim.” Namjoon ruffled his hair. Hoseok sat in the front seat, next to you, in case you needed instructions on where to go and where to park later.

After a 2 hour drive, you finally arrived. The farmer’s market was bustling with people and vendors. You took your shopping bags, handing the boys their own before you headed in. Jimin held your hand, not feeling the most comfortable with the big crowd.

“If you need to take a breather, let me know, alright? We can step aside.” You assured and he nodded his head.

“It’s the stall there!” Hoseok pointed and ran forward.

“Even in the early mornings, his energy levels are still an all time high.” You chuckled and followed him. There were two young males running the stall. They greeted you kindly.

“Hoseok?” They recognised the golden retriever.

“Hello! It’s been a while.” Hoseok greeted. They watched as Hoseok pointed out menu items to you. Of course, they were surprised to see Hoseok with a stranger and not his regular owner.

“You pick which one you and Jungkook likes. Let’s order two for him. Pick something for the rest too.” You passed the plastic menu for Jimin and Namjoon to glance at and pick what they wanted. After talking to the owners, you learnt that they were actually students in Chicago and fell in love with the hotdogs there that they decided to open a stall here.

“Are you Hoseok and Jungkook’s new owner?” The stall vendor asked.

“Oh, umm... Yeah. Fostering for now.” You smiled. The two males nodded their heads and handed you the bag of food.

“Let me.” Namjoon took the bag from you.

“Thank you. Hope you sell a lot.” You bowed your head to the vendors and carried on. Being at the farmer’s market, you decided to buy some fresh produce like eggs, cheese, vegetables and fruits.

“Can we get strawberries?” Jimin asked.

“Of course we can.” You took 4 pints of strawberries and handed them over to the stall owner. As you counted the money, your vision blurred slightly. You closed your eyes and opened them again, giving the amount to the old lady. Jimin helped carry his strawberries.

“(y/n).” Namjoon grasped your forearm.

“Hmm?” You looked up at him.

“You’re sick. That was why your scent was different this morning.” He placed a hand on your head. Your head suddenly felt so heavy that you needed to lean it against Namjoon’s.

“We should go. I don’t want you to faint and freak Jimin out.” Namjoon said. He felt bad for using Jimin to guilt trip you into leaving the market but he knew it was the only way for you to actually listen to him and leave. You let out a small whimper of discomfort and nodded your head.

“Chim, Hoseok. Let’s go home. (y/n) needs to rest. We can come back again.” Namjoon supported you with his arm.

“Is (y/n) alright?” Hoseok asked. Jimin stuffed the last piece of mandarin into his mouth, given to him for free by the kind fruit vendor, and rushed over to your side. He had a look of worry on his face.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.” You assured with a force smile.

“Let’s go, Chim. Namjoon has (y/n).” Hoseok held Jimin’s hand, leading the way back to the car. Your eyes closed as you leaned against Namjoon.

“(y/n)?” Jimin called out to you as Namjoon carried you into the backseat, strapping your seatbelt over you.

“Shh, let her rest. She’s be alright.” Namjoon stroked Jimin’s head, calming him down. Jimin nodded but grasped your hand in his worriedly. Namjoon and Hoseok put all the shopping in the trunk before Namjoon drove home. Hoseok used the phone you gave him to send a message to the others to let them know you were unwell.

When Namjoon pulled up, Taehyung, Yoongi and Jin were already standing by the door, their tails moving swaying nervously.

“Tae, help Jimin and Hoseok carry the shopping in.” Namjoon instructed. Jin opened the door on your side to see you completely out cold.

“She’s running a fever. Her lips are almost blue.” Jin frowned.

“Let’s get her in.” Yoongi said and Jin nodded, slipping his arms under you to hoist you up and out of the car. They brought you straight to your room. Yoongi closed the door, leaving only those mated to you in the room for privacy. He began to slowly remove your jacket and outing clothes.

“Here.” Jin handed him your long sleeve shirt and winter pants.

“Does she always get cold easily?” Namjoon asked as Yoongi changed you, noting how you were still shivering. Yoongi pulled off his owner sweater and put it over your shirt.

“Not really. But she does fall ill quickly if she’s over exhausted.” Yoongi said, adjusting the pillow under your head.

“Should we bring her to the hospital?” He turned back to the oldest. Jin felt your pulse, remembering the small medical things that he learnt while you were studying for your tests.

“No, she’s fine. She just needs sleep and some medication when she wakes up. I’ll make her some porridge to eat.” Jin shook his head as he pulled away from you. Namjoon went downstairs to help Jin while Yoongi stayed by your side to keep you warm with his own body heat.

“Pabo. You act all tough with your doctor image when you don’t even take care of your own health properly. Yoongi scoffed as he brushed your hair behind your ear. You huffed in your sleep, as if annoyed by him.

“Sleep well.” He kissed your forehead.

Jimin insisted on helping Jin make porridge for you. He wanted to help make you feel better.

“Is she going to be alright?” Hoseok asked.

“Yeah. She’ll be fine. Just caught a little cold and exhaustion.” Jin assured with a smile. Taehyung stationed himself right outside your door. He sat down and stared up at it. He remembered this morning, when he smelled that something was wrong with you. If he said something and stopped you from going out, maybe you wouldn’t be so ill.

“What are you doing?” Jungkook raised an eyebrow.

“(y/n)’s sick.” Taehyung frowned, not taking his eyes off the wooden door.

“Okay?” Jungkook shrugged and walked past the tiger. He was internally relieved that you weren’t downstairs. That way, he wouldn’t have to face you or talk to you.

“You’re up early.” Jungkook said to Hoseok. That was when his nose picked up a familiar scent.

“Is that...?” He quickly peeked into all the brown bags on the counter. Finally, he found them. Chicago hotdogs, one of if not, his most favourite food.

“Hyung, when did you get Chicago dogs?! Aren’t they at the farmer’s market across town?” Jungkook couldn’t even hide the big grin that spread across his face as he held up one of them.

“They are. (y/n) heard that they’re your favourite and we drove there early this morning to get them for you.” Hoseok smiled softly at his brother. Hearing that, Jungkook’s smile grew a little smaller as he put the hot dog down. Why did you do that for him?

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?” Hoseok tilted his head.

“Why did she do that? She didn’t need to. I’m not going to be bought over just because she got me these.” Jungkook looked down.

“How could you say that?” Taehyung appeared from behind. Jungkook turned around to look at him.

“How could you even say that? She comes back from work at 3 am, only gets 3 hours of sleep because she has to drive across town for 2 hours just to get these dumb hot dogs for you and even gets sick to the point that she faints. Yet, that’s all you can say about her.” Taehyung growled.

“It’s not my fault.”

“Yes, it is! It’s because of you!” Taehyung pointed with tears in his eyes. Namjoon and Jin are about to step in when Yoongi enters.

“(y/n)’s going to wake up because of all your shouting.” Yoongi states monotonously.

“Hyung-”

“I really don’t care. My priority now is my sick and unconscious mate.” Yoongi grabbed a glass of water and heads back upstairs. He looks down at your peaceful form and slides under the covers next to you.

“Kookie, let’s talk.” Hoseok knows that this has gone on for a long enough and he has to step in and discipline Jungkook as his older brother. Jungkook follows Hoseok to their shared bedroom. Hoseok locks the door behind him gestures for Jungkook to sit.

“Do you really hate it here that much?” Hoseok asks.

“We’re outsiders, hyung. We will always be.” Jungkook sighed. Hoseok sat down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s not true, Kookie. (y/n) and her hybrids have been nothing but kind to us. She has never forced us to do anything we didn’t want to do. They never expect anything from us.” Hoseok pointed out.

“I know...” Jungkook’s head hung low.

“What’s really wrong, Kookie?”

“I don’t want to be abandoned again.” Jungkook finally confesses in a whisper, looking away to stop the tears from falling. Hoseok’s heart broke. He knew that Jungkook took it hard when their previous owner abandoned them. There were just wounds that can possibly never heal.

“Oh, Kook.” Hoseok stroked his head.

“She’s nice, understanding, patient and caring. I want to stay with her forever but I don’t want to start trusting her and then one day, she gets sick of us and leaves.” Jungkook cried.

“(y/n)’s different. You know that.” Hoseok hummed.

“How do you know?” Jungkook sniffles and wipes his tears with his sleeve. Hoseok reaches out to catch the tears he missed.

“Do you see how she jumped to protect you last week? I’ve never seen another owner react like that and we aren’t even her hybrids. She was really upset.” Hoseok reminded.

“What Taehyung hyung said-”

“Every word of what he said is true. She came back from a 16 hour shift at 3 am and we drove to the farmer’s market because she wanted you to have the hot dogs after I told her how much you like them. We planned this last week because she wanted you to be happy and comfortable living here. She even lectured her hybrids about fighting with you.” Hoseok said.

“But they didn’t even do anything wrong. It was me...” Jungkook was in shock. He knew it was wrong of him to fight with Yoongi and Jin as they were the oldest in the house.

“Well, I’m glad you know that they weren’t the ones in the wrong.” Hoseok said with a small smile and Jungkook nodded.

“She knows that you’re not ready to open up yet. She reminded everyone to be understanding and respect your boundaries, to not be forceful.” Hoseok added.

“I’m scared. hyung.” Jungkook whimpered.

“I am too but (y/n) is a chance I am willing to take.” Hoseok shrugged. Jungkook felt the same.

Hoseok left the room, giving Jungkook some space and time alone to think. Sniffling, Jungkook thoughtlessly went to your room. Yoongi had left briefly because of a phone call regarding his piano recital. Jungkook kneeled down beside your bed.

“Jungkook?” You were woken up by him grasping your hand. Seeing the bunny’s tears, you immediately sat up.

“Hey. what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” You panicked.

“Did you not like the hot dogs?” You asked. He shook his head and held his arms up to you like a small child. You wrapped your arms around him and pulled him up on the bed. Jungkook could feel your warm temperature.

“It’s okay, Jungkook.” You hushed as he cried into your chest. Yoongi came in and froze when he saw what was going on.

‘Out.’ You mouthed, pointing to the door. He held his hands up in defence and exited the room. You continued to softly comfort Jungkook, hushing him and humming to calm him down.

“Are you feeling alright?” You asked. He shook his head.

“Are you sick?” You asked again. He repeated the same action as before. You weren’t going to force him to tell you what was wrong but mentally, you just prayed that he didn’t get into another fight with the others. Jungkook was reduced to sniffles and occasional whimpers.

“It’s alright, Jungkook. You will be just fine, don’t worry.” You cooed assuringly. Your words made Jungkook feel worse. How could you still be so kind to him when he has been nothing but trouble for you?

“You probably hate me and don’t want me anymore. I’m so horrible and all I do is cause trouble.” He rubbed his eyes.

“Now, where did you hear that? You’re not horrible, Jungkook. Trust me, I’ve met horrible people and you’re not one of them.” You giggled.

“Really?” Jungkook looked up at you, his big eyes filled with tears.

“Of course.” You smiled, wiping his tears.

“And don’t think I’ll ever hate you or not want you. If I hate you, I wouldn’t have gone across town just to get your favourite hot dogs.” You stroked his head. He leaned in for you to hug him again.

“She didn’t want us anymore, she threw us away. She left us.” He whispered.

“I promise you’ll never have to go through that again. That should never happen to anyone. But I don’t want you to think that it’s because of you or that you did something wrong that made her leave. It’s not your fault. She shouldn’t have left you and Hoseok. You don’t abandon family. Ever.” You said firmly. Jungkook nodded in agreement.

He wanted to apologise but he just couldn’t force it out. You knew his sentiment was there and hoped that this meant Jungkook would start opening up a little more.

“Stop crying, alright? No one hates you. If they are, you let me know and I’ll talk to them.” You joked and he gave you a small smile.

“Are you feeling better?” He asked.

“Yes. Don’t blame yourself because I’m sick alright? It has nothing to do with you. I should be taking better care of my health.” You smiled.

“Go eat your hot dogs before they get too soggy.” You ruffled his hair. He nodded his head.

“Umm... Can you come with me?” He picked the nonexistent lint on his sweater. You nodded and went to the bathroom to wash your face first. Holding his hand, you brought him down. Safe to say, all the hybrids grew quiet when they saw your connected hands.

“How are you feeling? You should be resting.” Namjoon cupped your cheeks to feel your temperature.

“I’m feeling fine. Don’t worry. I’m sorry for worrying you guys.” You smiled sheepishly. Jin came over and pulled you against his chest, kissing your forehead.

“Oh, don’t say sorry to us now.” Yoongi smirked. You turned to face him and tilted your head in confusion.

“Yoongi hyung called head nurse Park to tell her you were sick. She said you shouldn’t come in for the next 2 days.” Taehyung informed. You groaned, knowing that head nurse Park was going to lecture you again.

“Gee, thanks Yoongs.” You smiled bitterly.

“You’re welcome, kitten.” He returned the sweet smile. Hoseok scooped you a bowl of porridge and you slid into your seat. Jungkook took Jimin’s seat beside you. Jimin just sat in Jungkook’s seat without a complain. You took a hot dog out and placed it in front of Jungkook.

“Eat up.” You said encouragingly.

“I’ll feed you.” Jin took the seat on your other side. The boys always took advantage of you when you were sick to treat you like a baby.

“I can eat on my own, Jinnie.” You said, coughing to hide your embarrassment. He shook his head with insistence.

“Here.” He blew the porridge and held it up to you. Blushing madly, you slowly opened your mouth and ate the food off the spoon. From the corner of your eye, you saw Namjoon and Yoongi smirking at you.

“You two wipe your smirks off your face before I do it for you.” You threatened.

“Kitten’s got some claws.” Yoongi said with raised eyebrows., obviously not threatened by you.

“Jinnie, stop them.” You whined.

“Alright, knock it off you two.” Jin turned to them with a serious look. They stopped after the oldest’s chiding and you stuck your tongue out at them with a triumph smile. One thing about Jin feeding you was that he made sure that you finished all your food, not allowing you to sneak some to Jimin or Taehyung like you usually do.

“Have your medicine.” Jimin gave you a glass of water.

“Thank you, Chim.” You smiled and put the pills in your mouth, gulping it down with the water.

“I’m going back to nap.” You yawned. Taehyung followed you this time, wanting to cuddle with you. You faced hm and he shot you his boxy smile. Taehyung gently cradled you as your eyes started to droop and you let the sleepiness wash over you.

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sadgssdg · 3 years

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Just be careful and always have both hands free

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caribou-stories · 3 years

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Ni-ka-wi (My Mom)

Today is Mother’s day and I will be honouring and celebrating my late “nikawi” with a meal and traditional hand drum song. It has been 3 years since nikawi travelled back to the spirit world. During the month of May and leading up to, I am reminded of her power and sacredness. Sometimes it hurts a little too much, but I revere her memory to the best of my ability. She loved it when I sang particular songs at home, so that’s what I continue to take care of my spirit. The grief around losing your first home is unexplainable. You have to lose it to understand it.

The influence she has been in my life so far has been humbling. She raised me to be loving, free, and gifted in wealth. She catered to the artist that dwells inside of me, and so have the matriarchs before her. I remember one summer trip we took up in the Timmins area. We were living in Sudbury with my grandparents John and Sarah at that time. The drive up to Timmins, Matheson onto Kirkland Lake was memorable to say the least. I must have been about 13 years old and our original plan was to go to one of our first Sundance lodges that came to Northern Ontario, so we can visit relatives visiting from being away for so long. The highway was peaceful and we enjoyed ourselves, listening to Def Leppard and laughing the entire way along. Once we arrived to Matheson, which is a very small town, we were greeted by a vast dark sky and some casual lamp posts here and there. We were a little shook that there wasn’t anyone really in sight, except a few workers from abroad at a small motel. Nikawi drove up to these folks and began asking, “do you guys know where Nitaskinan is? It’s a place where we have ceremonies”. She was so spunky and had a good set of interpersonal skills. When she worked at a hot food deli, she never cheap-ed out on the wing sauce or cheese on the pizzas for her customers. Everyone remembers her for her wit and charm. Now days, I have a good chuckle revisiting that time she asked some non-indigenous folks for directions to our ceremonial grounds because although they has not the slightest idea of where to point us, one of the ladies kindly guided us to the OPP station nearby for some help. I guess she wanted to exude the same kindness nikawi approached her with. But, we were too shy so we decided we would be back, and kept driving onward to Kirkland Lake. Turns out we had relatives staying at an elders’ home there since the hospital in Attawapiskat flooded. Nikawi’s now late aunt Maniashin (Angela) and late uncle Eli, along with one more elder I cannot recall, were there and we were going to go visit them.

Upon our arrival that late evening, we almost did not find a place to stay. Luckily, there were two hotels in town and we managed to get a room. I remember feeling unsure of the situation we found ourselves in but, very safe in nikawi’s care and protection. In the morning, we got some Mcdonald’s and proceeded to check out where the elders’ home was. She asked me to navigate some directions by mapping a way there while we had some free wifi. Once we found the right place, I remember arriving onto the floor with my mom, being mindful of the hospital like finishes on the railings and wallpapers. It was nice, well kempt. It was a small floor but nice, very intimate and homey. Nikawi bee-lined to the nurses station and asked where we could find Angela and Eli. I followed her to their room and saw a face resembling my Gookum Sarah very much. Her light hazel or blue eyes, matched with a light grey haircut that fell to her shoulders. With her cute button nose, and ever warming smile, I met my great-aunt Maniashin (Angela) who was my Gookum (Grandmother) Sarah’s older sister, and Eli their older brother. I was named after my Gookum Sarah (my mom’s mom). I listened to their conversations during that afternoon, enjoying our beautiful language. I’ve never felt more safe than around my grandparents who only speak ininimoowan (Cree). These days, I can keep up with conversations but less than I could as a child. I wish I could converse in proper ininimoowan.

After a bit, Eli and nikawi went somewhere he needed her assistance. I sat with Maniashin for a few moments until she began asking me things about myself. When she asked if I make anything with my hands, and I said eh heh (yes). Her eyes lit up and smiled a beautiful grin. I told her I made gloves, beadwork, slippers, and other artistic crafts. She then began to share, once you’ve been making these things for so long, you won’t be able to do it anymore. Your grandmothers and I cannot do these things anymore because of our bones. You need to carry this tradition on, just like all of your grandmothers (Angela, Sarah, Madeline, and Pauline, all sisters and my maternal grandmothers). You’re young and you’re able to do it, so keep doing it. Don’t forget about what you have now. Over the years, I’ve begun to understand how important that means, like really means, not just to me. Nikawi always nurtured my artistic abilities by always providing me with crafts like markers, paper, paint, crayons, and then a miniature sewing machine, small pieces of fabric, and then more onto beads, leather, and good scissors. Since I had grown up in the care of Nikawi and my Mooshum and Gookum (Grandfather and Grandmother), I was very fortunate that I could spend moments of my childhood watching and learning about what Gookum was making. She was often crafting up nibagan (goose down blanket) bags made out of heavy duty canvas and doubled down straps, or hemming a pair of goose-beaded moccasins bigger for my younger cousin who’s now at a staggering 6′8′’.

My Gookum Sarah has always played a big role in passing along knowledge and skill to me. I remember when I was making my first pair of gloves. I used Gookum’s beadwork and based my work off Maniashin (Angela’s) semi-completed glove. The leather pieces were complete except the lining and fur. All the materials were given to me by my Gookum. I had such a hard, testing time with the lining. Little did I know, Gookum advised Nikawi not to try to help me because getting frustrated is a part of the learning. I would figure it out, and I did (to the best of my abilities!). I must have put a few solid days of work into these gloves. Upon completion, I showed my grandparents and mom my first pair of gloves. I was rained with kisses, hugs, and excited laughter. Gookum taught me how to braid the 4 strand yarn strings for the gloves, something that a lot of Omushkego folks have on their gloves or mitts so they can hang off the shoulders. I was especially excited to learn how to make the signature pom-pom tassels. Ever since that day, I always showcase my completed projects to somebody.

My Gookum Sarah wearing the gloves I just completed assembling.

Rounding back to the story, we stayed in Kirkland Lake for 2 days and it was a powerful experience to watch my mom be with our elders. During our time with our elders, nikawi took care of their needs. There was no hesitance, she just did what she needed to do. She fed our elder relative her food, and made her tea while she conversed with Eli and Maniashin. The lunch hour was full of laughter, head nodding, and sitting together. One last elder we payed a brief visit on our way out, was an elder nikawi held in high reverence. I cannot recall which elder this was. She described him as this influential, outspoken leader-man she had grown up looking up to. When she would describe him, I imagine how he looked like as a young man while we were in the elevator. Strong, tall, lean, wearing a weathered outdoorsmen coat, beaver pelt hat, matched with jeans or tough twill, and footed with traditional winter moccasins that wrap around the ankles and shins. When we arrived on his floor, we saw him sitting in a chair and nikawi began to greet Mooshum. He was very elderly now. I watched and smiled, then she began to shed some tears. He comforted her and held her hand. It was a powerful exchange to witness.

Nikawi was a Personal Support Worker in Fort Albany, so she spent a lot of time taking care of elders for years. She still worked while she was pregnant with me and she told me that the elders loved to greet me and acknowledge the journey I was making into this world. Her gift as a care taker was out of this world. Our departure from the Elder’s home was bittersweet as that was the last time we saw Maniashin. We attended her funeral a few years later. Eli then passed years on later. I’m grateful to Nikawi for bringing me to visit them with her. Afterwards, we trailed our way back to Matheson to find the Sundance grounds, and we did. During the last day of the ceremony, we enjoyed time with our relatives and spent some time in the lodge. We received healing from the Horse and Contraries. The following years, I would return to the grounds to be with family and the lodges.

All in all, I will always miss Nikawi, my mother, my first home. I will always be grateful for all the things she did to help me find my path as a young person. And, I’m grateful for those elders who shaped her to be the fierce mother she was to me. The resilience she had fostered within me is incredible, regardless of how challenging and painstaking the lessons near the end of her life were, she still taught me the rawness of love and caretaking. The story of Nikawi’s passing will wait until a later time; I’m lucky to have chosen her to be my Mother, even if it was for a short time. She still visits me in my dreams, and I miss her.

Nikawi wearing her purple sweater from her sister, Maniashin (Angela) wearing a blue cardigan, and our elder relative in the bottom left of the photo.

Eli and Nikawi speaking about land in ininimoowan. When Eli passed, I imagined him flying in the sky with the stars.

Nisakihetin dushineh mama.

Kindly,

#mother's day #remembering our moms #elders #wisdom #unconditional love #traditional crafts #matriarchs

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complicatedandstained · 5 years

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The Other Day at Hot Topic: Kingdom of Isolation

Xion’s plan had been to get to the mall early. And not just the regular kind of early. The ridiculous, what-the-heck-was-I-even-thinking-?, now I have to go buy a coffee and scroll through my Instagram feed twelve times kind of early.

The plan had been to surprise Roxas. Roxas being her college roomie and favorite human bean and best friend since they split a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich in fifth grade.

“Hey bestie, I got a job next door to you and now we can hang out on our breaks and Christmas shop together and gossip about your SEXY NEW GINGER CRUSH and give each other rides home and chit chat and stuff.”

Just, you know. Something along those lines, maybe.

Except Xion does not get to the mall early.

She was going to leave on time—really, she was—but then she started watching the second half of this Hallmark Christmas movie that she couldn’t remember if she had seen before or not. And then, it was time to leave, but the movie wasn’t quite over yet.

And Xion needed to know if the middle-aged, big city celebrity chef lady was going to stay with the smexy, small town cookie baker with the heart of gold that she used to date in high school, and thereby rediscover the magic of Christmas, or if she was going to go back to the gorgeous, but kind of boring, but definitely more financially secure, attorney she had been seeing back in NYC, who, footnote, plays the prince in a different Hallmark Christmas movie.

Also, Xion was all curled up on the couch of her parents’ condo, nested in pillows and blankets, and her chubby black cat, Pete, was sitting on her lap, and he looked so peaceful, she didn’t have it in her heart to disturb him.

Also, she hadn’t quite finished her mug of tea.

So, by the time that the celebrity chef lady and the small town cookie baker had their tasteful yet disgustingly romantic first kiss during the first snowfall of the season, just after they had won the town’s annual baking competition and donated the prize money to the local children’s hospital, and Pete the Cat had deigned to move on to another part of the loveseat, and her tea was gone, it was well past when Xion should have left if she wanted to be the regular kind of on-time.

The best part of running late is that, because Xion is literally running, she does not have to exert as much effort as she usually does to force herself not to go into Hot Topic and buy half of the inventory.

The worst part of running late is, of course, the actual running, which is making itself known as the air enters her lungs with an unusual sharpness, and sweat glues her long-sleeved white blouse to the small of her back and the inside of her elbows.

The second worst part of running late is that she does not get to surprise Roxas.

And the third worst part of running late is that when she skids to a halt in the entrance of Claire’s, her black combat boots squeaking like rubber ducks, and her breaths a bit heavy, nobody actually notices.

Xion lifts her phone from one of the pockets of her black denim overall mini-dress by its pink bunny ear attachment and checks the time.

Five minutes early.

“Fuck,” Xion mumbles, and then slaps a hand over her mouth as a five-year-old trying to fit an entire candy cane in his mouth jostles her knee.

The new woman’s wearing sheer black hose with black combat boots, under a short black dress with overall straps and a long-sleeved white blouse. Looped around her arm is a black handbag shaped like the head of a cat, with three yellow eyes. Her own dark eye make-up makes her eyes enormous.

She’s nodding gently to a kiddo with half a candy cane in its mouth, who is animatedly explaining to her what kind of dinosaur it wants to be when it grows up.

Sizing the new young woman up as he, Larxene, and Marly approach, Axel can’t help but think Saïx will be a little disappointed Hot Topic didn’t nab her first. She’s so on-brand, it hurts a little. Axel’s half waiting for her to welcome him to Night Vale.

Then again, he sees why Marly called dibs.

Aside from a short, choppy black bob that would have looked more at home in the flapper era, she is every inch Kairi 3.0.

She has, objectively speaking, the world’s softest smile. She’s short and slender, her face too thin and heart-shaped, her skin the kind of pale that doesn’t tan. Although, unlike Kairi’s 1 and 2, he can still see a smear of hastily applied sunscreen thumbed across one cheek.

“I’d want to be an Apatosaurus,” the new employee replies in a soft voice to the kid without prompting. “Maybe we could be herbivore friends, is—” She pauses, eye catching on someone in the crowd. “Is that your mommy looking for you?”

The Claire’s newbie turns the child by the shoulder.

A relieved looking woman with another two kids hanging on either arm, alongside at least four shopping bags, hustles over to corral the third one, offering Newbie a grateful smile.

Think I just met your soulmate, Axel will text Naminé later that day. How’d you feel about a pastel goth? Naminé will send back seventeen question marks in response and not receive a reply.

“Over here.”

Marly waves Newbie over to Axel and Larxene. They have paused near Axel’s piercing station, just beside the shop window, only a few feet away from the mouth of Claire’s, so that Marly can continue to monitor the traffic trickling in and out while they chat.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Larxene mutters to Axel as she catches sight of the approaching Newbie. Larxene’s obviously seeing what Axel saw because her eyes get bigger and her lips twitch—whether in disdain or amusement, he can’t tell.

Axel nods his reluctant agreement. “Think you’re outdone yourself this time, Marly.”

“Her hair is completely different than Kairi’s…” Marly argues, scowling as Larxene playfully swats his arm.

“That’s the only thing.” Larxene takes another long look at Newbie. “What are you and Vexen growing these things in a lab or something?”

The heavy electronic beat of the club overtakes the hum of Christmas music, and Axel’s nostrils fill with the sickening sweetness of e-cigarette smoke instead of vanilla bean.

The gaunt face of the med student with his pin-straight, platinum blond hair materializes in Axel’s mind’s eye, his pale, narrow lips curling up as if at the tail end of yet another condescending remark.

Axel winces, hisses, “Larxene, really?” His gaze shifts to Marly, concerned. It’s difficult to imagine what’s whirling through his head. Axel’s not sure if Marly never told Larxene what happened between him and Vexen; if it slipped her mind; or if she’s just 100% that bitch.

Marly’s own smile has evaporated, but not his composure. His posture remains sure and confident as ever, though his arms cross with an air of impatience. “Now’s hardly the time for this conversation.”

Axel makes yet another mental note to ask Marly when he last went out with somebody. Axel and Marly aren’t exactly best friends. In fact, he’s not sure Marly would bless him with basic human interaction at all if Marly and Saïx weren’t so close, and they are so close—a gardening club of two, high-end fashion snobs, closet The Bachelor addicts.

Axel and Marly, not so much. So, ordinarily, Axel would mind his own, but under the circumstances, he might be the only man for the job.

If Larxene doesn’t know what happened between Marly and Vexen, and Saïx definitely doesn’t know what happened… that just leaves him. He’s not exactly Mr. Matchmaker, but he supposes he could give it a whirl.

Larxene doesn’t miss the tension that passes between her two favorite coworkers, and she rolls her eyes. “Axel needs to get over it already.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Axel counters, tone gone hard, cold, hoping she’ll drop it, if she realizes the wound is still fresh. Which it is—it’s just not him bleeding.

“Everybody knows, Axel.” Larxene plants her hands on her hips. She leans closer, in his face. “You and Saïx and Marly and Vexen went out and drank too much. You flirted with Marly’s date all night long and then got pissed when he made a pass at you. Saïx found out, so you blamed everything on Vexen, and now he’s fired. How’m I doing?”

She reaches out to rap her knuckles against Axel’s chest. “Because if you’re not careful, you’re going to wind up doing the same damn thing to your new buddy boy.”

Axel grits his teeth, something burning in his chest. Months. It’s been months. He thought the worst of this was done with. Leave it to Larxene to dredge it up.

No wonder she’d gotten in such a snit about Roxas.

“Well, you seem to know what you’re talking about.” Axel’s just as tempted to tell her everything as he is to tell her off. She’d feel like shit if she knew. She would understand.

But it’s not his place.

This isn’t the response she’d been expecting. Her confidence slips for a second. “Am I wrong?”

Marly steps between them. He places a hand on Larxene’s shoulder, “Shut,” a hand on Axel’s, “up.”

Marly doesn’t look like he’s hurting, there’s no pout to his lip, no wild, injured animal wideness to his eyes, but the command in his voice is sharp and the grip on Axel’s arm is firm and insistent. Hurt doesn’t always look the same on everybody.

The message is clear. Keep your mouth shut, Axel. You promised you would.

Axel can’t help but glare at Marly, Marly stares back, wearily. Realizing how misdirected his anger is, Axel’s expression softens. He covers Marly’s hand with his own, and smirks at Larxene. “None of your business, babe.”

Ordinarily, this would make her absolutely explode, but with Marly grounding her shoulder and the approaching Newbie stopping just in front of her, Larxene becomes painfully aware that she’s standing in the middle of Claire’s in a goddamn flower crown.

Larxene blinks at Axel, the kind of calm that’s too calm, the eye of a storm. “Fine. Sorry I brought it up.”

Marly’s hand loosens on Axel’s shoulder. There’s something in his nod like gratitude. Axel wishes it made him feel better. Doing the right thing really sucks.

They shift their attention to the new recruit whose wide blue eyes scream: SOS. What the fuck did I sign on to?

Which honestly sounds about right to Axel. God, forget Kairi. This is Roxas all over again.

“I’m so sorry if I’m interrupting…!” Newbie exclaims too quickly in her quiet voice. Her lips halt in an apologetic pout and her hands clutch tightly at the strap of her alien cat head handbag.

Axel and Larxene both sigh and ease out of their locked glares, but the air still feels a bit thick, almost staticky with tension. Frozen’s “Let It Go” seems to be playing six times as loud as it should be.

“Not at all,” Marly says, but it doesn’t come out sincere enough for anybody’s taste.

Xion had certain expectations about what her coworkers at Claire’s would be like: bubbly, chatty, smiley females, maybe a little shallow, maybe a little dumb. Maybe she had been stereotyping. Maybe she had watched one too many Christmas movies. Maybe she’s jumping to conclusions.

Watching the trio in front of her, flower crowns settled in their vibrant hair, bickering in quiet tones dripping with sarcasm, almost launching into a full on, fist-clenched argument as Queen Elsa belts her heart out overhead, Xion is not sure whether she wants to laugh or cry.

But then the crazy tall one with his wild red mane and the well-dressed, The Rock level muscle-y one with the pink hair that had seemed so nice and pleasant when he interviewed her and talked to her earlier—Marluxia—seem to come to some kind of abruptly tender understanding. So, the angry blonde chick seems to reign in her temper.

And that makes Xion feel just a smidge better about things. She’s a sucker for a happy ending.

And at least they didn’t realize she was late.

But then all three of them turn, these expressive, snide, emotionally-charged Claire’s people, and they are looking right at her, their neatly manicured brows raised in question.

Xion feels a little bit like she had day one, back in the middle school cafeteria, before Roxas had offered her a seat and a half of his grilled cheese sandwich, looking out at the strangers, wondering which sharks to throw herself to. The strangers looking back up at her, wondering what the hell the new kid who hadn’t said a word all day was going to do now.

Fuck.

#kingdom hearts #xion #marluxia #axel #Larxene #Vexen #Saix #akuroku #akusai #organization xiii #tw: abuse #tw: language #my writing #the other day at hot topic #frozen #roxas #kairi #namine #namixi

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lovemesomesurveys · 5 years

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What do you usually eat for breakfast? Scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese. And coffee, duh. When was the last time you seen your best friend? I see my mom everyday, all the time since we live together. What was the last good movie you watched? I recently rewatched Endgame and Aladdin (the new live action one), both of which are really good. Especially Endgame. Still gets me in the feels. Do you rent movies at a store or on your tv? We sometimes rent from Redbox (the red box thingies with DVDs at grocery stores. I think there’s also Bluebox, too, in some places), but usually we watch on Netflix or rent from Amazon Prime. Have you ever thought about getting Netflix? We’ve had it for years. What do you order on your sundae? I haven’t had a sundae in years, but I liked to just get vanilla ice cream with strawberry syrup. I don’t care for sprinkles. Do you like whipped cream and nuts on it? I like whipped cream and some nuts in general, but I didn’t put either one on my sundaes. *shrug* I’m a simple gal.

How often does your family have cookouts? We did them a lot when I was a kid. My dad used to BBQ quite a bit during the summer and my extended family all got together for BBQs quite often as well. We haven’t done that in years, though. Does anybody in your family have cancer? My papa and one of my cousins both had skin cancer, but they’re fortunately both in remission. What is one genre of music you refuse to listen too? I don’t outright refuse any, but I don’t like techno/EDM/Clubhouse music type stuff. Who is your favorite singer? I don’t have one particular favorite. There are many artists and bands that I enjoy. What is the title of the last book you read? It’s still Burying the Honeysuckle Girls by Emily Carpenter, which has been my answer for months now. I keep meaning to start reading again, but it hasn’t happened, yet. I go through phases where I read a lot and knockout several books and then go awhile without reading at all. I love to read, so I don’t know what my issue is. Do you even read? I do, I just haven’t the last few months. Is your Bzoink account profile decorated? I don’t have one. If so, what’s the backround of? Do you drink Mcdonalds sweet tea? I used to. I haven’t had it in probably almost 10 years, though. Do you like melted cheese on your eggs? Yessss. What do you eat on your popcorn? Butter and salt are absolute musts. Also, this one theater I go to has garlic parm seasoning stuff that is SO good. What do you do on a sunny day? I don’t do anything different, I just do them while complaining about being hot and feeling miserable from the heat. I’m not a summer or outdoorsy person. Do you moisturize everyday? No, but I really should. How long does it take you to get ready for your day? If I’m going somewhere then I just fix my hair (or throw on a hat), brush my teeth, change my clothes, put on deodorant, and put on my shoes. Bam. Done. I very, very rarely bother with makeup anymore or doing anything with my hair other than braid it, put it in a pony tail, throw a hat/beanie on. Do you ever have lazy days? Everyday? But honestly, it’s more that I don’t have energy or motivation to do much of anything. I own up to the fact that I can be lazy, but that’s not the main reason. It seems like laziness on the surface, but it’s deeper than that. Is your bedroom clean right now? It’s a little cluttery right now and it’s driving me nuts. I need to find the energy and motivation to clean up a bit and get rid of some stuff. That’s my main issue with my room I just have too much stuff and not enough space for it. What is one simple word that you usually can never spell? I don’t know if it’s considered “simple”, but for some reason I can’t ever get “omnepoenia” on the first try. <<< That’s my attempt and it’s way off lol. “Onomatopoeia“ is how you spell it. I don’t know why I can’t seem to remember that. I guess maybe because it’s a word I never use except for when I’m asked this question, ha. Do you flip the pillow over for the cold side? Yeah. Do you always have to sleep with a blanket? I haven’t used a blanket most of this summer. What are some things you do before you go to bed? Listen to ASMR and do some surveys. Do you like late night phone conversations? I don’t like talking on the phone at all. Does your room have a blacklight? No. What color are your walls? White. Do you heat up your syrup when you have pancakes or do you like it cold? I just pour it right from the bottle. It doesn’t taste cold to me, but maybe that’s cause the pancakes are the warm. What do ever add anything to your pancakes/waffles? Just butter and syrup. What is your favorite candle scent? Autumnal ones. Are you on any types of medication right now? Just a pain medication. Have you ever suffered from depression? I do suffer from depression and have since I was about 12 or 13. It’s definitely been at its absolute worst these past 4 years. On average, how many surveys do you think you take a day? A lot. haha. Ya’ll already know. Does your town have flea markets? Yeah. What is your favorite sport? None. Do you like to talk on the phone? Nope. Who do you text the most? I rarely text at all, but when I do it’s with one of my parents or my brother. Are you out of school yet? I graduated college back in 2015. Are you watching anybody graduate this year? No. What are your school colors? What makes you smile more than anything? My doggo. If you could change one thing about the past, what would you change? So many things... If you could only eat one thing every single day what would it be? I’ve had a sandwich everyday for lunch for the past 3 months. Do you like spicy things? I used to be obsessed, but I can’t eat spicy foods anymore. D: Do you ever go to Starbucks? Yeah, pretty often. What is the most expensive thing you own? My laptop. What kind of car do you drive? I don’t drive. How long have you had your license? I don’t have my license. What grades do you usually get? I got As and Bs. Do you swim or lay out when your at the beach? I just relax and soak it all in. I love just looking out at the ocean or closing my eyes while listening to the waves crash in. Do you ever get drunk with friends? I used to. I don’t drink anymore, though. It’s been 6 years since the last time. What was the craziest moment of your life? There’s been a few of those moments I’d say. Have you ever spent the night in a hospital? Yeah. I’ve had to stay a few months in the hospital. Is love really that hard to explain? I have a hard time really explaining it. It’s just something I know and feel, but have a hard time putting into words. Describe what your wearing tomorrow: Probably the same thing I’m wearing now, ha. Describe the weather right now. It’s currently 75 F with 12mph winds. If you were having a baby boy, what would you name him? I’m not having children. What is your favorite cuss word? I don’t have a favorite. Do you have a mannnnn? Nope. If so, what’s hiiiis name? Oh by the way, what’s yours? Stephanie. What is on your feet right now? Socks. Do you hate your feet or are they cute? I don’t like them. What does your room look like? It’s a bit cluttery right now. There’s also a lot of giraffe stuffed animals around the room, ha. Do you ever stick your leg out of the blanket when you sleep? I do that with my arms. Do you have any tattoos? Nope. Are you patient or impatient? I’m very impatient. Everybody has that one friend who really isnt there friend, who is yours? I don’t have any friends. Do you ever hang out with somebody just for a ride? No. What time do you wake up in the morning usually? Lately it’s been 10ish, sometimes 11. What is the first thing you do when you wake up? Check the time. Do you eat right away or do you have to wait awhile? No it takes like an hour for me to finally drag myself outta bed for coffee. Then I like to just drink my coffee, read my daily devotional, and check social media for awhile first before I eat. Who makes you smile, no matter what? My doggo. What do you do when your sad? So what do I do everyday: Tumblr, surveys, watch TV, watch YouTube, check social media, sleep... Reading, coloring, listening to music, and playing my Nintendo Switch get thrown into the mix sometimes as well. Where do you spend most of your time? In my room on my bed. Do you ever watch scary movies by yourself? Yeah. It’s so funny because a few short years ago I would never. Like, I wasn’t even really into scary movies because I was a big scardy cat. That changed in recent years; though, and now I love ‘em. Do you drink energy drinks? Just Starbucks Doubleshot. Describe what’s on your floor right now. A stack of some medical supplies. Do you have any pets? Yes, I have a doggo. If so, what are they doing right now? She’s sleeping on her couch. Is there anybody in the room with you? Nope. Do you like chicken snack wraps from Mcdonalds? I’ve never had one. Do you drink coffee fraps? [yuck] I like frappes, but it’s been awhile since I’ve had one. Where are you from? California. Have you ever moved? To a different city for a short time when I was a baby, but that’s it. If you mean houses, then I’ve moved like 4 or 5 times, but only once that I’m old enough to remember. What is your favorite youtube video? I have a lot. ok, 90 questions .. is that enough? Sure. Siiiiike, I foooled you - Can you take a joke? I’m not bothered by the fact there’s not 90 questions so yeah I don’t care. What is your favorite song from the 90’s? I have many. If you could meet any celeb who would it be? Alexander Skarsgard. Which celeb would you like to smack in the face? I don’t want to smack anyone. Lady Gaga : creep or badass Why would she be considered a creep? lol. Anyway, I like some of her music and she seems pretty cool. Do you have a poker face? In certain situations. Have you ever played texas hold em - If so, did you like it? I’ve never played. What do you do to pass the time when your bored? I’ve already listed recently all the things I do each day and it’s the same whether I’m bored or not. Are you ever bored or are you easily entertained? I get bored, but generally I’m content doing my usual things I do each day. Somedays; though, even those things just don’t cut it and the days seem to drag extra slow and I’m not in the mood to do anything at all. Which friend is most like you? I don’t have any friends. Do you have a lot of things hanging on your wall? I have a few things. Do you think your pretty or ugly? rate yourself 1-10. I think I’m pretty ugly. ha. Because, you know every guy is looking for a dime piece, right? Not every guy is only concerned with looks. Was you a ugly kid back then but banging now? I thought I was a cute kid until middle school. HA, I’m definitely not “banging” now. Are you a rude bitter person? I can certainly be bitter. Sometimes I do get short or snippy when I’m in my moody moods, but I wouldn’t say I’m a rude person in general. What color is your house phone? One is white and the other is black. Do you have a answering machine if so, what does it say? Yeah. It’s just one of the automated ones that was already programmed on there. How do you like your toast? Browned, but not burnt, with butter. How many candles are in the room that your in? 4. That’s a lot for someone who never lights candles lol. Does your bedroom have a computer in it? Yep, this laptop right here that I’m on. What color is the computer your using right now? It’s silver with a rose gold protective case. What is your favorite muffin? Banana (without the nut), blueberry, and lemon poppyseed.

Do you ever drink kool-aid? I did when I was a kid. Do you consider yourself healthy? No. Do you take all your vitamins daily? No. I’m supposed to... What is something you use everyday besides a bathtub etc? My laptop. How many times do you brush your teeth a day? Once. Do you think you have a pretty smile? No. Are you confident? No. Well, I am pretty confident and this survey is over :) Okay.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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lucasxxbrown-blog · 4 years

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Desire, Pain and Ponies.

A non-fictional short story by Lucas Brown.

Light at the end of the dock? The statue? The bald bird? Was this my American Dream?

It did feel like a dream...

In April of 2019, my father was invited by NASA to photograph the launch of a rocket to resupply the ISS station. It all happened on an island called Chincoteague. (Chink-o-teeg).

It’s referred to as “Pony island”, apparently. The island is well known for two things; the Wallops flight facility that lies adjacent across the bay, and being home to a community of wild ponies. I didn’t know much about the island before I left. I had scanned satellite imagery before embarking and, to my luck, realized a massive wildlife reserve encompassed northern portion of the island. I wanted to go off into those woods the moment I saw them.

My father, brother and I drove about five hours from Portland, Maine, until we reached New York City. We stopped for lunch, pulling into “Liberty Diner”, a joint closeby to the Statue of Liberty. I decided to have a chicken and cheese sandwich (not the best idea). After eating, we drove to nearby Flag Plaza so my father could photograph the big green lady herself. I was indifferent to the photo op, and stayed in the car.

A few more hours of driving passed. While passing through Washington D.C, the roads and surrounding landscaped plateaued. We veered off of the main road as the sun loomed above the horizon. We drove through tall grass and old houses, on a winding road, while the mango-orange light of the sun blanketed the atmosphere. I put on Frank Ocean. It was a quaint, relaxing calm before the storm.

The sun, as well as the light, disappeared with a different corner. A barbed-wire topped fence, to my left, ran alongside a field of satellite dishes. We had made it. Our rental SUV took us over a long, relatively straight bridge that gapped the channel. The minute I saw the little downtown of Chincoteague, I knew I was just another mouse in the tourist trap.

It wasn’t anything big, or particularly special. Out of a string of 2-star seaside motels, one became our temporary home. The first night, I stepped out and smoked a joint. It was cool, and the wind howled. The entire hotel was composed of outdoor, wooden walkways, all organized in a rectangular manner. I wandered around, until the ground level deck lead me to a connected dock. It was T-Shaped, and sat in the velvet midnight, surrounded by fast-moving water. Yellow orbs, lanterns, poked along the perimeter. Stoned, I walked down the dimly lit corridor. The wind was at my back, pushing me to continue my journey. I was in awe.

At the far left end of the dock, I stood and stared into the immense darkness. Out of nothingness, I began to sing a song in a language I didn’t know, a language that didn’t really exist. Humming, murmuring it until it grew louder; channeling the depth of my subconscious. I was born a gemini, an air sign. I knew that this moment, this place and time, was exactly what I was supposed to be experiencing. I felt my connection to the Gaian spirit, as the gale sang softly through me intuitively. I had never felt anything like it before. An initiation.

The next morning, I puked up every bit of my stomach. It was the damn chicken and cheese from the day before. Even though my stomach was empty afterwards, I didn’t feel hungry. My brother asked if I wanted to go longboarding around the island. I figured this would be the only chance I had, until the launch the next day, to go off into the woods. Taking my camera bag, I said yes.

We skated three miles until my brother decided to go back to the motel. I continued on. It was an odd little beachside town. Not a lot of money in the area, only scattered (and run down) small businesses. But the colors were bright, that I enjoyed. I skated another two miles until reaching the reserve.

The reserve was quiet. Filled with tall, lush and green trees. I was exploring an area filled with other people, and I wanted to be completely alone. I continued to skate north, until I had to walk. I walked another mile, along a dirt path, parallel to the coastline. I went about a mile, and was searching for a sign to tell me it was time to stop. I kept going… until a bald eagle swooped down from a tree branch only ten feet in front and above me. I stepped off the path and found a lone tree. I wish I knew its species.

I sat under the tree and smoked a joint. I reached into my camera bag and opened a container of chocolate dusted cheerios. The chocolate was infused with THC. I ate the entire (big) bag, and two medical grade (THC infused) chocolates. All without knowing their THC content. All on an empty stomach.

I’ve always been one to push myself, to find new challenges. Been one for trying to kill, or dissolve, my ego (the enemy, it seems). One always open to change, especially that of my consciousness. For me, in the moment, this was it. What better way to open another doorway of metaphysical realms but to open the next door of 11-hydroxy metabolite, the most potent form psychoactive cannabis? I was ready to learn. To see. To be taught, to grow and develop from what I was doing to myself. I didn’t care about having a good time, or enjoying anything whatsoever. This was not about pleasure. In fact, it was the opposite. It was a mental masochistic choice.

After consuming my copious dose, I left. Walked back down the dirt path, and skated once I hit concrete. Once I neared the motel, the sychinicities in space-time began to pile up. I walked up the stairs, unlocked our door, and thought about what to do. I was immensely baked, even though it was a short time from when I had dosed. I wanted to be outside, so I stepped onto the porch. I wanted to be inside, so I went inside. Then, my high became uncomfortable. I wanted to be inside… but also outside. So I laid on the floor, on the brink of the doorway, and listened to the myriad of ocean birds squalling and squawking.

My concept of time was completely blown. The only conscious idea I was in was the moment. My father and brother returned simultaneously. I was now in my bed, trying to keep calm, trying to hold onto any drop of sanity. Miraculously, I held a conversation. They told me I looked sick, that I had a “greenish” coloration of my skin. I was asked if I wanted to join them driving mopeds around the island. I was worried I would ruin their fun if I said no. That they really wanted me to come, and that staying in the hotel “sick” would ruin the trip. So I agreed.

After leaving the motel room, the first few steps down the stairs were a complete weightless energy vortex. I was barley connected to my nervous system, let alone the physical components attached to it. Right then and there, I should have turned around and gone back inside. I was still on an empty stomach. I hadn’t consumed any water, even though I tried, my mental state wouldn’t let me. I had tried to chew a granola bar, but my mouth was so dry I couldn’t do it. But I had convinced myself that I could walk it off. So walk we did.

We walked about a mile until reaching the moped rental store. I was quiet the whole time. Upon arrival, it hadn’t worn off. But it had leveled down, so I thought I could fight through. We stood inside the store. It was hot, bright, and cramped. I pointed out the moped I wanted. My brother and father were standing in front of me, with the attendant at the desk. I began to feel nervous, and further away from my body than I had ever been. I was hungry, thirsty, and only functioning off THC ladent cheerios.

This is from what my father told me afterwards, as I don’t remember much. Standing in front of me and looking back, he asked me a question. I didn’t (couldn’t) respond. I gave a blank stare. He asked again, confused. I proceeded to pass out and fall to the ground. I fell hard. The moment I hit the floor I instant relief and immense fatigue. Apparently I almost took out a merchandising rack on the way down. Kind of would have been funnier if I did.

My brother bent down to my aid. He told me it “looked like I was having a seizure”, that my “eyes were rolling in the back of my head.” Still on the floor, my eyes half open and shut, I heard the ocean birds cawing, as if they were flying in circles above my head. There were no birds.

I can’t remember how long it took me, but I got up. The man working in the store was quite friendly. They helped me outside and he brought a chair for me to sit in. My father took off running, ran back to the motel where the car was parked. I hadn’t said anything yet. While waiting, I tried to think. About where I was, what I was doing. What was going on. But nothing came to mind. I was still present tense, the blessing and curse that it was. Higher than I have ever been. My brother stood next to me. He was relatively content. He tried asking questions, but I couldn’t muster to say much. We watched cars go by. Finally, my father arrived. When I entered the car, he told me we were going to a “quick care” unit on the island. I protested, but I was in no state to make any decisions.

He asked me what I had took. At this point, he knew of my cannabis use. He knew that I would occasionally take edibles, and that this might be something along those lines. I told him it was “CBD gummies” that must have been bad. When we got to the hospital, he forced me to take a urine test. I don’t remember peeing in a cup, which is weird. As we were waiting for the results, I told him I had accidentally taken THC gummies instead of CBD. I wasn’t sure how to explain to my dad what I had eaten, that I had no idea what milligram they were, that nothing I told him would make sense. I was still baked and out of it.

So I just said “I took nine.”

He wasn’t very happy with that. Or any of the decisions I made. He later found the other two joints I had and flushed them down the toilet. Kept going on and on about how I could have passed out on the moped. He was right. But something, some metaphysical force, kept me off those mopeds, and with the birds instead. After the hospital, we went back to the motel. I threw up again, and thankfully afterwards managed to eat. My dad was considering going home right then and there, but I assured him I just needed rest.

The next morning, thankfully, my dad decided to stay. He let my brother and I go to a different moped rental store, and only let me rent a tricycle so I “wouldn’t tip over.” My brother and I scooted around the island while my father prepared for the launch. At 3, or maybe 4, we got on the boat that would take us out to see the launch. Only it took us to the far, beachy end of the wildlife reserve. I sat between limbs of wood, both belonging to the land and the sea. I took my shoes off and stared at the pulsing shore. I still wasn’t sure how to feel. The other spectators in our group began to get louder, and I looked up. The massive rocket took off over the baby blue on dark blue horizon. And then we went back.

I wish I could say we just drove home, but my purgatory wasn’t over yet. There isn’t really any point getting into what happened between then and when I got home. But I didn’t enjoy myself, mostly due to my bodies own issues, and issues with the food I was consuming. In one piece, though, I made it home.

If I had decided to not eat what I had, I wouldn’t be writing this. We would have rented mopeds that day, and the second day. Still would have got on the boat and seen the launch. Still would have gone to Washington D.C on our way home. But all of that would have come and gone and been eventually forgotten. It would have been without a story or potent memory to hold onto… if I didn’t eat those cheerios.

Although at some level I regret what happened, I don’t wish it any other way. I did exactly what I set out to do. I reset my consciousness as fully as I had anticipated. It definitely could have gone better if I had chosen to stay in the motel. I may have had consequences, may have had to throw myself through the ringer… but pain is growth.

Also, I hate ponies now.

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hopeduckling13 · 5 years

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Find My Way Back To You: Chapter 33

Summary: Hope Swan-Jones is the product of the product of true love and her true love, so her having very powerful magic was always in the cards. Luckily she lives in a town where everyone is very familiar with magic, so nothing can go wrong, can it?

Or so everyone thought, but then one day as a newborn Hope accidently travels back in time with her mother Emma.

How will the past population of Storybrooke react to their Savior having another kid and being married? And more importantly will the Savior and her baby daughter find a way back home to all of their loved ones?

- - -

Catch Up:

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14857127/chapters/34395467

FF.NET: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12964592/1/Find-My-Way-Back-To-You

Tumblr: [Prologue] [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] [Chapter 16] [Chapter 17] [Chapter 18] [Chapter 19] [Chapter 20] [Chapter 21] [Chapter 22] [Chapter 23] [Chapter 24] [Chapter 25] [Chapter 26] [Chapter 27] [Chapter 28] [Chapter 29] [Chapter 30] [Chapter 31] [Chapter 32]

Reblog to be tagged in future chapters

Taglist: @capswantrue @captainoffantasy @momontheice @youlxlshit

~~~ EMMA’S POV ~~~

When Hook joined me at Granny’s earlier, I never would’ve thought he’d order my favorite food for himself. Usually, he just pulls a face at my meals and mentions a million times how unhealthy it all is.

I’m sure that’s still going to happen.

Ruby really needs to hurry up with his order, I’m sure it’ll be interesting and funny once it arrives. I’m really looking forward to it.

Or maybe the three-hundred years old pirate, sitting across from me will actually enjoy modern food. Who knows? He is full of surprises sometimes after all. I never imagined that we’d be friends either. Back when my future self told me, that we will be, I was really shocked and didn’t want to believe her. But she is right. We do get along well - once we sort of got to know each other anyway.

He isn’t that bad, really, if you can see past the constant innuendoes and flirtations. It’s not like he’s being serious after all. It’s just how he acts with everyone, and once I realized that I was okay with it.

Knowing that he’s not in love with me at all helped me accept him as a friend. We’re not awkward around each other any longer ever since I figured out that piece of information.

Ruby suddenly arrives back at our table and sets down Hook’s food and hot cocoa in front of him, effectively drowning out all of my thoughts. The fun’s about to start!

Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s curious here, seeing as Ruby doesn’t leave once she set down the food. She stays right next to our table, looking at Hook with a smirk. He smiles at her for a moment. “Thank you, lass.”

I don’t know what’s happening, but suddenly my blood runs cold and I can’t help but think back to that time Hook was in the hospital. He flirted with Ruby back there, too. The only difference is, that this time she doesn’t roll her eyes. Is there something going on here?

A moment passes until Ruby smirks once more and walks away. “Enjoy the food, captain.”

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to me. They both are the biggest flirts this town has to offer. Of course, they would eventually end up flirting with each other. It only makes sense.

The only thing that does not make any sense is, that I feel a clench in my heart. Why does this seem to bother me? I don’t care what they do in their spare time. I should be glad right? Hook being interested in Ruby means he really doesn’t have feelings for me. That’s a good thing.

I should be happy about it, but somehow I’m not.

~~~ HOOK’S POV ~~~

The wolf girl brings my food out - if you can actually call this junk, food. Why did I decide to order it again? Ah, right. Because it’s Swan’s favorite. This woman will be the bloody death of me.

I raise my head up from the plate to glance at Emma, when I notice Ruby is still standing there, looking at me in amusement.

“Thank you, lass.” I tell her, hoping she’ll take the clue and leave. I can’t risk her saying anything to Swan about me ordering this meal just because I want to bond with her.

Luckily, the wolf girl takes the hint and smirks at me one last time before she eventually walks back to the counter.

I move my gaze back to Swan and am surprised to see her all stiff and pale. What the bloody hell is going on? Is she sick? Is she okay?

“Everything alright, Swan?” I try hard to keep the worry out of my voice, but I’m not sure it really works that well. Let’s just hope Swan doesn’t catch on to it. It would surely send her running once again. I can’t let that happen. We’re just getting along. I can’t lose her again, especially not, if I want to help my sweet baby daughter get home. She’s counting on me and I won’t let her down. Not ever.

Something in her shifts as sudden as a lightning strike. Emma relaxes again. She gives me a soft smile and a nod. I can tell that the smile is fake. She is an open book after all. At least to me. But I don’t comment on it, no matter how much I wish I could. I won’t push my luck. That’s not a good idea when it to my Swan.

She is easily freaked, but who could really blame her? She had to go through so much, and she was all alone for the first 28 years of her life. And still, unlike me, she never gave in to darkness. She stayed true to herself.

She’s the strongest person, that I know.

“So, how’s the food.” She motions her head towards my untouched plate. I give her a smile and pick up an onion ring. I put it into my mouth and as I chew, I must admit that it doesn’t taste half as bad as I thought. I then take a bite from the grilled cheese.

Swan was right. This does taste pretty good. How could I have ever doubted her?

“It’s good.” I say to her with a bright smile on my face. I can’t believe we have this in common, too. I always just assumed that we bond easily because of our similar pasts, but looks like we have more things in common than I thought.

“Just ‘good’?” Emma raises an eyebrow - or tries to do so. But both of her eyebrows just raise up in the process. Was she trying to do my infamous eyebrow-raise?

“Very good, Swan. I love it.” Not as much as I love you, but that was to be expected. Nothing could ever compare to my love for Emma Swan, to be completely honest.

She smiles brightly at that and we continue to eat our meal in silence.

Once both our plates and cups are empty, Swan gives me another small smile. “I gotta get back to work. Cora won’t turn up on her own, I fear.”

“Then, I won’t keep you any longer from it.” I say.

Emma seems to be lost in her thoughts for a moment before she continues speaking. “Actually, why don’t you join me on patrol? Driving around town isn’t the most exciting thing to do. Some company would be nice and you know Cora, so you might be able to help. Only if you want to, of course.”

“I’m in.”

I can’t believe Swan just invited me to spend more time with her. Am I already making progress?

I get up and put down some doubloons to cover our meal. Swan surprisingly doesn’t complain about me paying for both of our meals.

Then, we both walk towards the door and leave the diner. In the doorway, we run into her mother.

“Emma! I was just picking up some food for your father and I. Do you want anything?” She looks at her daughter with a smile.

“Oh, no it’s fine. Hook and I already ate. We’re going on patrol now.” Swan answers. That also seems to be the moment her mother first realizes I’m here. She looks over to me and her eyes narrow.

“Since when do you go on patrol with Hook?” I can tell she tries to remain calm, but her cold voice betrays her. It seems the lady Snow doesn’t approve of me spending time with Emma. It’s probably the whole pirate thing, but maybe if I help them find Cora, they’ll realize that I’m not just a pirate, but also someone who is willing to become a better man for Emma. Someone who is worthy of her love.

“He knows Cora, so he could be helpful.” Emma says, also rather coldly. “If you excuse us now. We gotta get back to work.”

#captain swan #cs #find my way back to you #emma swan #killian jones #hope swan jones #captain hook #hook #fanfic #fanfiction #time travel

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yanjuniverse · 6 years

Text

Girls Like You - Epilogue

(prev) masterlist [a/n: SURPRISE!]

Justin shakily walks into the room, nervous and scared. Chengcheng chuckles and squeezes his hand. The loud cries of the baby are heard as soon as he walks inside. He gasps, his eyes landing on the baby in his sister’s arms.

“You’re here,” he breathes out thankfully. “You’re finally here.” The baby continues to cry as Justin walks closer. “You’re beautiful, Meimei.” His eyes water as he reaches out and caresses her cheek. “I’m the uncle and godfather to the most beautiful girl in the whole entire world.”

“Would you like to hold her?” YN asks. Justin nods excitedly, moving to sit next to his sister. He’s held babies before and yet, he still feels nervous to hold this one. He doesn’t want to break her. “Nice and gentle,” his sister whispers as she places the crying baby into his arms.

Justin feels his eyes water. She’s crying but the moment she looks up at Justin’s face, she starts to settle a bit. He chuckles. “Stars shining bright above you. Night breezes seem to whisper, I love you,” he sings quietly to the baby. He’s not the best singer in the world but for the past nine months, Justin has been laying next to his sister and singing this same song to her stomach. The words reach the baby’s ears and she settles down a bit, staring up at Justin. He goes to tickle her chin and is caught off guard when she grabs on to his finger instead. “Whoa there,” he laughs. “Strong one, aren’t you? It’s in your blood. Your mom is the stronger person I know.” She smiles and presses a soft kiss to his cheek.

“You two smile,” Xukun says as he moves in front of the bed to take pictures. Justin notes how red and blotchy his face still is. Xukun had been waiting for this day and now, it’s finally here. Justin and his sister smile for the camera just as Xukun says “Cheese!” They review it and ask for more while Chengcheng whines that he wants to hold the baby too.

The three boys spend the night in the hospital with her. She’s released three days later.

She’s not cut out for this.

It’s one thing to raise Justin, a tiny human with the help of others. But this is a baby. A baby who is depending on her to make sure she stays alive.

She’s barely had any sleep. How could she when the baby continues to cry? Justin and Xukun were in town with Ziyi and Yanjun to set up the final touches on the dance studio. Her and the baby have been home all day by themselves. She’s tried everything, feeding her, changing her and she even carried her all around the house. The more the baby cries, the more YN feels hopeless.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her voice breaking. “I’m sorry.” Meimei continues to cry, her screams getting louder and louder. It causes the girl to shake her head and fall to her knees on the floor, holding the baby close to her chest as tears leave her eyes as well.

Just then, a pair of arms wrap around her. She gasps and looks behind her to see Xukun. “What happened?” he whispers.

“The baby won’t stop crying because I’m just a sucky mom who isn’t ready to be a mom,” she rants. “I’m just a kid. What do I know about raising a baby?” Xukun can’t help but chuckle at how pouty she was being. He takes the baby from her arms and wipes the tears of his girlfriend before pressing a soft kiss to her nose.

“Go rest. I’ll tell Ziyi and Yanjun that I’m staying here. Justin can help them take care of everything else.”

“No, Xukun-“

“You’ve worked hard today,” he tells her. “This parenting thing is new. But it’s only going to work if we become a team,” he says, looking her in her arms as he rocks the baby. “Parenting is about team work. Isn’t that what we learned from the little old ladies in town? Parenting is all about working together, making mistakes and learning. You and I are still so young and I know a baby isn’t something ideal for people our age but it doesn’t make you any less of a parent.” She sighs sadly at him.

“This is scary,” she says. “Kun, what if we mess her up? What if she ends up hating us or something?”

“We won’t mess her up,” he rolls his eyes. “You and I are good people. We’ll raise a good person. Meimei is going to grow up with a huge heart because of the abundance of love we all have to give her. Not only will it be us to raise her but Minghao too. Ziyi and Yanjun will be here during the summers and she’ll learn from them. She’ll have Zhengting, Chengcheng and Bingbing and Linong and Zhangjing and Linkai. But most importantly, she’ll have you, darling. She’ll get to watch you grow up and make mistakes. She’ll get to grow up and watch you correct your wrongs. She’ll get to grow up knowing she has the best mother in the entire world.”

“Xukun, shut up,” she snaps as she fees tears sting her eyes.

“I’m just speaking the truth,” he whispers, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Now get up and rest.” She gives him a hesitant look as the baby continues to fuss in his arms. “Hey. I’m a parent too,” he says as he pulls her up from the floor carefully. “Let me try to be one.” She sighs but nods nonetheless and lets Xukun lead her to the bed. He smiles softly at her. “Rest,” he tells her. Xukun leaves the room after that, shutting it behind him quietly.

Xukun takes Meimei to the front yard where Zhengting had built a porch swing for them over the summer. He takes a seat, the small breeze brushing past them. He pushes the baby’s hair back, “Why did you give your mommy such a hard time? Huh? You missed your daddy that much?” he asks her. Her fussing slowly subsides as Xukun continues to talk to her. “I knew something was wrong so I came back to check on you guys,” he explains as he puts a pacifier he had picked up into her mouth. “Meimei, you need to take it easy on your mom. She doesn’t like to tell me when she needs help, you know? So you gotta take it easy on her when it’s just the two of you.” Meimei blinks up at him. “She’s very stubborn, you know. She still wants to take care of you and forgets that she needs to be taken care of as well. So, for daddy, could you please take it a little easier on her when me or Uncle Hao aren’t home?”

Meimei can only cuddle into his side, making him smile. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

That evening, the three other boys come home. Xukun is still sitting on the porch. He hushes them as they come up the driveway. He tells them that YN is sleeping finally and sends them back into town to buy food. Justin stays behind and sits in front of Xukun, singing and playing with the baby.

“Meimei, hurry and grow up so that you can come dance with your dad and Uncle Hao!” he jokes. “You’re going to become a world class dancer like your mom almost was!”

“If she wants to,” Xukun adds on.

Justin nods, “If you want to.” He smiles at the girl and cocks his head to the side. “I love you.”

Ziyi and Yanjun return home just as YN wakes up. She panicks for a second, looking around for the baby only to remember that Xukun had taken her. She sighs and stretches her muscles out before heading into the bathroom and turning on the water.

Just as she’s starting to undress, a figure slips in through the door.

“Where’s Meimei?” she asks.

“Minghao and Yanjun are watching her,” Xukun answers. “You okay?” She nods and continues to undress. He bites his lip and lets his fingers wrap around her waist.

“You better get the fuck away from me, Kun. I can barely handle one,” she smacks his hand away, giggling. He pouts and presses a kiss to her lips. “Hey, I know what you’re doing!” she warns.

“Common,” he frowns. “Just wanna kiss you.” He presses his lips against her neck.

She rolls her eyes and tugs at the hem of his shirt, bringing it over his head. He smiles and gets undressed himself before pulling them both under the spray of the water.

He cherishes every moment alone they get together. Since Meimei sleeps in their room and in their bed, Xukun never really gets to kiss her like this anymore. They never get a moment alone anymore. And again, they’re both only twenty - almost twenty-one. Could you blame Xukun if he just wanted a moment to let his hands roam and appreciate every dip and curve of her body?

They’re giggling, letting the water run down their bodies as they continue to kiss when someone bangs on the door. “BABY’S HUNGRY AND JEALOUS THAT THERE MIGHT BE ANOTHER ON THE WAY!” Ziyi jokes before he walks out of the room.

Xukun sighs. “Fun while it lasted,” he frowns as she steps out of the shower. “I’ll think of you!” he says dramatically as she wraps a towel around her body.

“I know you will,” she smirks, eyes wandering down then snapping back up. She pecks him once more before leaving the bathroom and changing.

When Xukun enters the living room twenty minutes later, he sees that they’ve already begun to eat. He pouts and takes a slice of pizza before sitting next to his girlfriend and Meimei on the couch.

“You eat?” he asks, taking a bite.

“I’ll wait for Meimei,” she explains as she continues to breastfeed the child.

“Nonesense,” Xukun grins as he brings his slice up to her mouth. “Double task it, babe!” he giggles. She rolls her eyes and takes a bite out of fhe slice, laughing when Xukun coos at her. “My girls are so beautiful,” he says. “I love you both.” He rests his arm around her and grins widely. “I love you both so much.”

It goes on like this for the next three years.

Meimei slowly grows. She goes from crawling to toddling to walking to running. She starts to say names like “Mama” or “Dada” but her favorite is “HAO!” which they find the baby screaming all the time just to get his attention.

Meimei quietly moves in with Justin. She falls asleep in his bed more often than not and Justin doesn’t mind. He tells Xukun he likes Meimei most when she’s asleep after the baby scratches his face for the third time this week. Xukun laughs and brings her blanket to him that night but it’s too late, they’re already fast asleep under Justin’s warm covers.

Justin and Meimei spend a lot of time together. He brings her into town with him. He doesn’t want her to stay in the house all of the time so whenever he leaves, she goes with him. Armed with some juice and a backpack full of diapers and wipes, the two of them spend their days playing with the other children of the town. Some days, they splash around in the shallow pond and catching tadpoles. Other days, Justin teaches her to play hopscotch and jump rope. The entire town knows Meimei by now and whenever Justin walks past, they always search for the little girl that likes to babble about nonesense at his side.

Justin falls more and more in love with Meimei every day. When she’s sick, he tends to her every needs. He sings her to sleep every single night. He wakes up when she does. He bathes her, smothers her in kisses and does all of the things his sister had done for him growing up. It’s only fair.

One day, Justin goes into town with Meimei. His sister needs to clean the house before Yanjun, Ziyi and Chengcheng come for their annual visit (even though they tell her she doesn’t have to do that). He tells his sister that he and Meimei are going to go skip rocks and holds her hand down the road.

Justin takes her to their usual spot by the pond. He tells Meimei to stay right where she is while he finds them some good rocks. Meimei agrees and stares at a butterfly. Justin runs as fast as he can around the dirt to find as many rocks as he can before Meimei gets bored and wanders off (a bad habit Xukun has been trying to fix). He’s found a few when he turns to check on her and sees someone talking to her. His eyes widen and he runs back over.

“Meimei,” he says sternly, squatting down next to her. “We don’t talk to strangers. What are you doing?” he whispers, not even glancing at the girl.

“Look Hao!” she points.

Justin looks up and finally catches a glimpse of the girl. He inhales sharply as he looks at her.

“Would you like to hold it?” the girl asks Meimei. Justin looks down and sees a the same butterfly that the baby had been looking at on her finger. Meimei nods and slowly, the girl lets the butterfly crawl onto her palm. Angelic, he thinks. “You’re the first person around my age I’ve seen. What’s your name?” she smiles.

“Minghao,” he squeaks. “But my friends call me Justin.”

She nods, “Hyojong. But my friends call me Lucy.” Justin continues to stare at her, causing her to blush. “Hey, listen...I have to go back now but I’m visiting my grandparents for the summer so maybe you’d like to show me around a little?” she asks.

“Uh, okay. Yeah. Meet you here tomorrow?” he smiles. “Around this time?”

“Only if you bring Meimei,” she winks. Justin blushes and nods. “Great. See you tomorrow, Justin! Meimei, lets catch a lot of butterflies tomorrow, okay?” Lucy smiles. She waves them off then runs away.

As soon as Justin is sure she can’t hear anymore, he falls onto his butt and lets go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Meimei,” he smiles, “I gotta call Chengcheng. I think I just saw an angel.”

“Justin seemed happy today,” Xukun mentions as he lays down in bed. Tonight, Meimei’s sleeping with them. Not that they mind but Justin requested that he sleep alone tonight. They hear his voice faintly bouncing off the walls. He’s shouting about something, they’re not really sure but they know he’s probably on the phone with Chengcheng. He’ll be fine. They trust him.

“Who knows?” she whispers as she sets a sleeping Meimei onto the bed. Xukun throws the blanket over her. She crawls in carefully next to her and gets under the covers herself. “We’ll know in the morning when Chengcheng gets here.”

Xukun nods.

He’s quiet for a while. He watches her card her fingers through the baby’s hair. He loves how she looks just like the perfect mix of the both of them. He can’t believe that his baby is three now. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun.

Xukun has done a lot in three years. He’s laughed, cried, gotten angry, felt like he was on cloud nine. Ziyi has made him the head of the dance studio and many of the town children attend his classes. Justin has even gotten to teach classes alongside him. During the summer, Zhengting, Chengcheng, Yanjun and Ziyi all come back to help with summer dance camps. This year, they’re planning on having Zhangjing, Linkai and Linong all join them for the summer activities.

Xukun looks at the girls across from him and smiles. His heart fills with joy. YN has grown up so much. The two have them have sort of gotten the hang of this parenting thing. Both of them think that part of the reason why is because they have a help like Justin around. Without him, they would’ve ripped their hair out. Xukun is grateful for him. Since the four years he’s lived here, he’s grown so much. He’s gotten so much healthier. His nightmares that used to haunt him are no longer heard of. He’s learned to cope with things better. Xukun is silently proud of him.

And his girls. God, his girls.

He sees YN slowly drift to sleep and his mind drifts to how he’s going to get to see this for the rest of his life. “I want to marry you,” he whispers to her as she sleeps. He knows marriage won’t change their relationship. It won’t change the endless amount of love he has for his girls. It won’t change the way they live. In his opinion, the only thing that would change was the fact that she’d have the same last name as him. He wants Meimei to carry his name too and they could probably take care of that on the day of the wedding too. He already has it all planned out.

Justin will be the one to give her away. Ziyi is his best man. Yanjun is in the wedding too and playfully object their wedding. Chengcheng is in charge of the rings. Zhangjing helps with catering. His little Linong can sing, Linkai can DJ. Zhengting will probably organize and coordinate all of the details that go into it. Meimei would look adorable as his flower girl.

He sighs happily as he thinks about it before turning over in bed. He reaches into the drawer next to his side of the bed and pulls out the ring that Zhengting had given to him all those years ago. He smiles and slips it on his pinky - the perfect fit.

He turns back to his sleeping girlfriend. He’s not sure why but he shakes her awake. Her eyes slowly flutter open and she looks pissed when she sees it’s still night time.

“What?” she spits at him.

“I wanna ask you something,” he whispers.

“It couldn’t wait until morning,” she hisses.

Xukun shakes his head. “If I wait until morning, I might lose all my courage to ask again.” She frowns and follows him as he sits up in bed, careful not to wake up Meimei.

She looks at him expectantly. “Well?” He stares at her. God, how did a boy like him end up with a girl like her? He brushes a hair back from her face and then pecks her on the lips. She smiles into his kiss but pushes him away just as quickly. “Xukun, what do you want?”

“What do I want?” he repeats. “What do I want?” Xukun shakes his head and smiles at her, “I want this. I want to be able to do this everyday for the rest of my life. I want to be able to wake up and see your face first every day. I want to be able to kiss your lipes every day. I want to be able to hold your hand every day. I want to be able to call you mine every day. I want to be able to sing, dance around, cook, clean, laugh, cry, argue, grow, learn, sleep, eat, love you every single day for the rest of my life, YN. That’s what I want.”

“You already have that,” she smiles.

He leans in close, nodding to himself. “Yeah, I do,” he says as he brushes his lips against her’s. “Marry me, Huang YN.”

“What?” she pulls back, looking at him.

“Marry me. Let’s go out and get married. We can do it tomorrow, next week, next month, two years from now. I don’t care. I just want you to marry me,” he explains, smiling at her. “Do you want to marry me too?”

“No,” she scoffs. “Why would I want to marry you?”

He blushes, mouth slightly gaping in shock. “Okay, wow. You could’ve let me down easier,” he groans, standing up.

“Where are you going?” she frowns.

“To the porch. I’m embarrassed now and I kind of don’t wanna be in here because you’re going to keep teasing me for being pouty like you always do,” he say.

“Xukun,” she rolls her eyes. “Come back here.” He crosses his arms and comes back, sitting next to her this time. She grabs one of his hands and smiles. “Do you really want me to marry you?”

“Of course I do. Maybe I can finally shut Chengcheng and Yanjun up,” he jokes. “But you know you don’t have to say yes. If you say no then nothing changes. I won’t love you any less.”

“And if I say yes?”

“Then you get my last name,” he shrugs. “That’s it.”

“Doesn’t sound like a very good idea,” she clicks her tongue. “This seems to only benefit you.”

“Well, Meimei gets my last name too,” he shrugs.

“And?”

He takes his hand away and crosses his arms, turning his back to her. “You’re right. This is a stupid idea. Go back to sleep.”

She can’t help but laugh. “Xukun,” she giggles, hugging him from behind. “Of course I’ll marry you.” She watched him turn back to her, a giant cheesy grin on his face. She laughs and pecks his lips.

“You will?” he asks. She nods her head. “Do you really? You’re not just agreeing to make me happy? Because you really don’t have to marry me if you don’t want to but-“

“I want to, Xukun,” she smiles. “I want this forever too, you know. I’ve been waiting for you to pop the damn question for like a year now. Me and the others even started to place bets.”

“You placed bets on how long it would take me to propose?!” he whisper yells. She pecks his lips, trying to steer his thoughts away but Xukun pushes her away. “Did you at least win?” he asks. When she makes a face, he groans to himself. “You’re so lucky that I’m in love with you,” he says as he lays them back down.

Xukun falls asleep with the biggest smile on his face that night. All he could think of was how lucky he was to end up with a girl like YN. He can’t wait to see what life has in store for the both of them.

[a/n: it’s finally over! this story was honestly one of the hardest stories i ever wrote. i’m so glad to see that many of you liked it. i’m so sad to see this one go but there’s always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! be sure to keep checking in to see updates about my next ziyi story! the finalized version will be posted soon! thank you all again for reading. i love you all! thank you!]

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justagirlwritingherlilheartout · 7 years

Text

Ride or die (Chibs-Sons of Anarchy)

Request: Could you write a Chibs imagine where you get kidnapped by some other club (the irish i guess) and they give you the same scars as your old man, so like a fluffy af story please

Hope you like it, I tried to make it as fluffy as possible without making it look like a Cheesy romance novel. Thank you for your request! This was an awesome idea and i really enjoyed witting it. :) <3

"So, Chibs, wanna tell me how you got those scars?" Y/N said in her best (which was still pretty bad) Joker impression to the man on the other side of the bar.

"It's a long story darling." He said taking a sip of his beer. He has been coming to the bar where she worked for a couple of weeks now. And they talked about this and that. It was a safe heaven for him. She took his mind off all the bullshit going on with the Sons.

"I've got time." She said leaning forward on her elbows after looking around the almost empty bar.

"Alright." He said smiling at how innocent the girl in front of him looked. She didn't seem like she belonged here. She talked in a proper manner, she always heals her head high, always had on perfect make up, and no one has seen her hair look anything but perfect. And yet, there she was. In a bar close to the Edge of town. Where truckers and bikers came to waist their time. She has told him that she has finished uni last Spring. She wanted to be a lawyer. And she would of made a great one if she had the chance. She believed she will, but great things take time. And right now it was her time to be a waitress for the charming man in front of her.

"And i still await the day when i will be able to sink my know a in to that Irish bastards face, to make him feel what i felt." He finished telling her the story about how he got his scars, after which he also got his nickname, Chibs.

"I bet he could never make it look as good as you tho." She said, reaching over the bar to gently cup his cheek, running her thumb over the right scar, making him Relax in to her touch. "Noon could."

Months have passed since Y/N and Chibs got together. They were unseparable. Her elegance and compassion paired with his roughness and protectiveness made them the perfect pair.

Everyone knew she was his old lady and everyone adored her.

They lived a happy life, well as happy as a gang member and a lawyer who worked as a bartender could. Everything was great, except the Times that Y/N was left alone with the the old ladies, due to the Sons having to go on their runs.

Today was one of those days. The day of another run. Y/N woke up before Chibs, like always. She got up, took a shower and walked in to the kitchen. She started making Eggs and tomatoes for her and Bacon, Eggs, cheese, salami and toast for him. They have been together for so long now, but she was still blown away by how much that man could eat.

"G'morning, darlin'." A deep sleepy voice greeted her just as she set her and his plate on the table.

"Good Morning." She faked a smile as he kissed her shoulder before sitting down on his usual spot at the table.

"Everything a'right?" He asked her, knowing her better than anyone else.

"Yeah." She nodded her head and took as sip of her coffee. "It's just.. do you have to go on this run?"

"You know i do." He sighed taking a bite if his breakfast.

"I know, i just have a bad feeling."

"About what?" He asked as he ate, his Eyes Studying her. He always did that, she noticed. Every time, before a run, he would study her, like he was trying to memories her. He told her once that if he dies, he wants her to be the last night he sees. And that scared her. She didn't want to even think about hurt, let alone dead.

"The run. I feel like something bad is going to happen." She said, feeling sick to her stomach. She couldn't even eat breakfast today.

"I'll be fine. The other guys will be with me. Don't worry darling." He said, knowing how much she worried about him.

"You better, or you'll have to answer to me." She joked, trying to lighten the Mood.

"With a threat like that, i don't think i have much choice but to come home alive and well." He laughed as he finished his breakfast.

Y/N stood up and started to clean the table just before he stood up as well and walked over to her.

"I have to get ready." He kissed her. "Everything will be okay."

"Yeah." She nodded, wanting to kiss him again, to hug him, and never let him go.

About an hour later both Y/N and Chibs were at the bike shop. Everyone was saying goodbye to their loved ones.

"Be careful!" She said,letting a tear run down her cheek as they stood by his bike, his hands around her waist and her hands around his neck.

He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his Eyes. "I promises, I'll be."

"Good." She let out a shaky laugh before stepping on her tip toes and kissing him.

"I love you." He said after they pulled away, his hands still on her waist.

"i love you too."

And with that he pressed one more quick but passionate kiss on her lips, before letting go of her and getting on his bike, driving off after the rest of the guys.

"I'm hearing to the grocery store, do any of you need anything?" Y/N said about 5 hours after the guys left and she was left alone with Gemma and Tara at the bike shop.

"A pack of Marlboro." Gemma said not even looking up from her work.

"Alright." And with that she sat in her red Beatle and drove off.

Finally getting out of the grocery store, which was packed, she sat in her car And let out a shaky breath.

She took a second to collection her thoughts before starting the engine and driving off.

"What the-?" Her car was acting weirdly. But she kept driving, hoping it was nothing to serious and that the prospects at the bike shop would be able to fix it for her.

However as soon as she got a bit out of town the car started to act even weirder. "That's it." She decided to pull over and call Gemma, to ask her to send one of the prospects to pick her and her car up.

She pulled up and started to Search for her phone "where did i put it?" She said to herself, trying to find it.

Someone knocked on the Window making her jump.

"Hey." She said turning around and opening the door.

"Hello, i noticed you have ab empty tire, so i decided to stop and see if you're alright." A blue Eyes man said in a polite manner, an Irish accent dripping from every Word.

"Oh really?" She asked stepping out if the car. "Seems like you're right." She said as she noticed her front and back tired emptied out. 'Weird.' She thought to herself. "Thank you." She said, slowly Walking back to her car. "I'm really bad with cars." She smiled, reaching for her purse. "Good thing that i know a good mechanic." She tied to sound calm and collected.

"You're right, that is a good thing." He said, right before throwing a strong punch at her stomach, making her tumble back, not being able to breath. "Such a good thing." He said again before kicking her in her leg. She let out a eat deafening scream. She was sure he broke her leg.

"Boys!" Was all she heard before someone hit her with something hard and cold from the back.

And then darkness.

***

"Jax, you need to come home." Gemma said in to her phone.

"What? Why?" The voice on the other end asked, concern dripping from his voice.

"It's Y/N." Gemma said, her Eyes watery as she looked down on the unconscious girl lying in a hospital bed in front of her. "The Irish, they attacked her."

"What? Is she okay?"

"She's alive. But..."Was all that Gemma needed to say.

"We're on our way." Jax said hanging up the phone.

Gemma threw her phone on the couch behind her, walking over to the girl in front if her. "Oh Y/N," she said taking one of the girls hands in hers. "What have they done to you?" Gemma couldn't believe her Eyes. The once beautiful girl, with ambition, with a constant smile on her face, a positive thought for everyone, laying here, unrecognizable.

***

"Chibs!" Jax called out and waves the older man over to him.

"What is it, Jacke boy?" The Scott asked Walking over to him.

"It's Y/N... she has been attacked." Jax said and saw Chibs face fall instantly. "She's alive, but she is in bad condition."

Chibs didn't want to hear anything else. He Tunes around, ran to his bike and hot on. He didn't care about anything anymore. His love needed him.

As he Rode his thoughts went back to that Morning. She told him not to go. She told him she had a bad telling. She knew. She always knows.

Why didn't he listen to her? Why was he so stupid?

The thoughts overflowing his mind.

He drove Faster than he has ever driven. And he got back to charming in half the time it took them to get out of it. Soon he was parked outside the hospital. He got off his bike, not caring where he left it, or if it was even still standing. He ran inside.

"Y/N, I'm here to see Y/N Y/L." He said At the information desk.

"Room 105." The lady said and he ran, past all the patients past all the doctors until he stood outside room 105.

He opened the door and the first thing he was was Gemma. Sitting by a hospital bed.

She quickly looked up. "Chibs.." she didn't know what to say.

Chibs walked over to the bed only to come face to face with someone he didn't recognize. If it weren't for her long/short Y/H/C, that he loved so much, he would of been sure this was the wrong room.

"My darling.." he couldn't believe his Eyes. The woman before him. Beaten, stabbed, tortured, was the love if his life, and he had no idea how to help her.

He keeled by her bed and gently took one of her hands in his and pressed it to his lips.

"I'm sorry. My love. I'm so sorry." He said against her hand. Tears running down his face.

He looked at her, he just looked at her. She had the same cuts as he had on his face. He knew the bruises would heal and her perfect skin would be back, but the scars, the scars will stay. And for that he had no idea what to do.

"Come back to me, my love, please, come back."

A day has passed and Chibs hasn't moved from his spot next to his old lady's bed.

The Sun has just came in to the hospital room trough the Window Waking the man who had fallen asleep on the chair next to the bed.

"Good Morning sunshine." he said to the sleeping girl next to him. He always called her that, because she was as warm and as positive as sunshine.

"I love you so much." He whispered.

"I love you too." A weak, bearably there, voice said back making Chibs jump up. Happiness and worry All over his face.

"My love, you're awake!" He said leaning forward to give her a kiss but decided against it, not wanting to hurt her. So he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"I hurt." She said, talking as little as possible after figuring out that talking is causing her pain.

"Give me a second darling, I'll get you a doctor." He said before running out and quickly coming back with a doctor.

A month has passed. And it was Time for Y/N to finally get her band ages off.

"You ready darling?" Chibs asked as he offered her his hand which she Gladly took as they walked in to the hospital.

"Yeah." She said. She could feel him being nervous. She was nervous as well but she knew he loved her no matter what (and no, not only because he has told her that every day for the past moth).

"I love you." He said as they sat down, waiting for the doctor to call her in.

"I love you too." She said squeezing his hand.

"Y/N Y/L?" A nurse said making Y/N and Chibs stand up.

"Here." Chibs said and the two followed the nurse to the doctors Office.

"Good Morning Y/N, how are you feeling?" The doctor asked Walking over to the girl who just lifted two Thumbs up, making the doctor laugh.

"You've got a warrior over here." He doctor said looking at Chibs, as he started to undo her bandages.

About a minute later the doctor has finished unwrapping the girls cheeks and has been looks at her with a impressed expression on his face.

"Y/N, the scars are still visible. But they have already healed more than we could ever hoped for."

"Can i see?" The girl said, trying not to be nervous.

Chibs walked over to her with a mirror. "You are beautiful, darling. Inside and out."

The girl took the mirror from his hands and looked at her reflection. "Hmm" she turned her face, So she could see herself from different angles.

"I was wrong." She said looking at Chibs.

"About what?" He asked worried.

"I once told you, no one could pull this scares off better than you." She said, "i feel like, no offense, i pull it off twice as well as you." She said sending him a Wink making him laugh.

"You're so right darling." Chibs said grabbing her face, gently and kissing her.

"Always am." She said before thinking the doctor and Walking out.

"You know.. I'm pretty sure we are the most bad ass Couple in charming." She said. "Fuck the matching tattoos, we have matching scars." She said making him look down at her with pure love and admiration "now I'm the definition of ride or die." She said as they reached his bike.

"You're most Defiantly the definition of ride or die. And i couldn't love you any more than i do." He said leaning down for a kiss which she Gladly returned.

Request here!

Masterlist here!

AN: Hey! Wow this ended up longer than expected! Hope i did your request justice! Please if you have any more i would be more than happy to get them 😊

#Chibs #soa chibs #soa #sons of anarchy #soa imagine #sons of anarchy imagine #request #imagine #one shot #fluff #fan fiction #fan fic #fanfiction #jax teller #jax #Gemma #tara

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stunudo · 7 years

Photo

That Got Away: A Criminal Minds Fan-fiction Part 10

Inspired by: Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away”

Union Pulse’s “Better Days”

Featuring: Spencer Reid x Reader Setting: Season 4 Rating: Teen

A/N: My poor characters! xoxo Stu Warnings: Violence

I do not own the characters from the show, images or lyrics.

Part 1 Part 8 Part 9

“Finally, you have caught on, Dr. Reid.” Miriam Y/L/N responded over the line. “Now, if you look to the monitor on your right, you will find the thorn in my side. You will also see my “errand girl” as you called her.”

Spencer spun in the security desk’s chair, watching the basement room that was holding Y/N. Another woman had enter the stonewalled room, she was practically prancing toward Y/N. Spencer could see his lover’s mouth speaking to the unsub, the recognition blatant on her features. His stomach felt like it was digesting itself. “Now that you lost JJ, you don’t need to threaten Y/N. Miriam?” Spencer started. “I will come quietly.”

“Oh, I know you will, Dr. Reid.” Miriam mused. “No, this is for your team. They need to learn that deals should not be disrespected.”

The mail carrier unsub approached Y/N, slapping her across her already bruised face. The devilish woman grabbed Y/N’s hair, pulling her up so her eyes peered into the camera hidden high in the rafters. The woman’s dark hair and cruel eyes shone back at the BAU, a clear, “Say Cheese!” on her lips. Spencer swallowed. The unsub wrenched Y/N right arm behind her back, shoving her back to the floor.

JJ ground her teeth and pushed against the barrier above the ladder. The grating of stone on metal muted the sounds of her strained breathing, the mechanical whirling and the distant chatter. It was the size and shape of a man hole cover, but JJ could tell it wasn’t leading to the street.

With an extra boost of effort, she lifted and slid the capstone aside. A rubber mat shifted with the stone, masking it from view. Her strong arms pulled her body over the threshold, on to the next floor. She was in a service closet, only 16 square feet of floor space. JJ tried the rectangular door handle, it was graciously unlocked. Upon exiting, she knew exactly where she was. She stared at the central elevators, just off the hotel lobby. She was free!

She ran to the concierge desk to get to a phone to call somebody down. Once she reached the desk, she heard Emily’s voice.

“Yeah, Morgan, the leader of the team is the aunt. Apparently, the plane ticket purchased for tomorrow was part of their ruse.”

“Emily!” JJ called, stumbling around the desk toward her friend. Prentiss caught JJ as she spun in surprise.

“Morgan, JJs here. I’ve got her.”

By now I've seen what I had not before Love's just like any drug, you need more and more It starts with a rush, then it slows to a drag

And before too long we all just pack our bags

“But it’s so unfair!” Y/N whined into the phone. “Sir-sir, please say you’ll write to me, like last year, but all the mushy stuff this time.”

He could hear she was holding back tears by making absurdly obvious requests. Spencer was oddly quiet on his end of the line. He was cooking dinner, while his mom was holed up in her room. Luckily the phone cord gave him enough length to pivot around the kitchen.

“Was he angry with you, Y/N? Did he yell at you? Because I never wanted you to get in trouble.” Spencer clarified, overthinking and assuming her experience of the conversation with Dr. Y/L/N must have been worse than his; more punishment and threatening than slight shame and gentle authority.

“No, he was serious, but he wasn’t mad at all.” Y/N pouted. “He was civil and logical, it was infuriating.”

Spencer actually laughed, “Yes, well leave it to Graham to be to the point. And naturally your temper was ignited instead of sound counterarguments.” His fondness for their family was only hindered by this impending parting. His understanding of their personalities and small family unit an enthralling account of the social interactionist perspective. Also, a warped mirror image of his own small family. While Y/N had stability and authority with her father, Spencer had uncertainty and a reverse care giving scenario with his mother.

“When can I see you?” Spencer whispered, knowing this was shortening their rattling conversation.

“I don’t know.” She admitted, “He took my keys, so I can’t drive the Volkswagen, just pack it up. I don’t think it is a good idea for you to come over, though I want you, here, I mean.” She was rambling and oversharing, Spencer could picture the embarrassment on her face.

“Alright, call me when he gets back,” Spencer sighed. “I will try to stop over tonight, but my mom gets worse as the day goes on.”

“Sir-sir, just come, okay?” She was sniffling audibly now.

“I will do my best.” Spencer vowed. “Later, Y/N/N.”

“Bye, mon chevalier.”

The force with which your face hit the floor, blurred your vision. You knew a concussion was in store, but were not sure if Michelle was done with you yet. After a few minutes laying there and taking the beating, you decided to try and fight back. Though you had absolutely no idea how to fight. Swinging wildly, you punched her in the stomach. She easily dodged your obvious attack, palming your forehead and pushing you back to the cold ground.

The vertigo was sending waves of nausea through your dehydrated body. You tried to stand, but leaned back on to the wall in temporary defeat. You attempted to calm your breathing to fight back against the bile. Your heart rate accelerated as it anticipated another attack.

“Why?” You gasped. “Why are you helping her, Michelle?!”

There stood your old friend: all five feet eight inches of tri- athletic muscle and pure mental instability. You hadn’t seen her in at least seven years, but by the way her mouth curled at your question; she wasn’t having one of her “good” days.

But in another life I would be your girl We'd keep all our promises Be us against the world

You had called Spencer three times. The phone kept ringing and after your second message on their generic machine, you had given up. He had warned you that his mom was bad at night. You knew he had way more to deal with than just your leaving town. Your mind knew all these clear and sound explanations. Yet all hope of a romantic send off from your first love was vanishing like the Athena Parthenos.

You moped through a few games of Backgammon with your dad. You finished the laundry you had started after your tantrum the night before. You forced yourself to go through the motions of preparations, but your mind always settled on a bony boy who had too many thoughts in his head.

You fell asleep with the windows open, just in case he thought to sneak into the yard and be all Leo as Romeo romantic. Spencer probably hadn’t seen the seminal Baz Luhrman adaptation, but your love-laced heart still could dream.

You were woken by the smell of sausages on the griddle. Breakfast was in progress and morning had arrived. No Spencer. No sad goodbye. Just no.

Spencer was completely focused on the ordeal that her aunt was putting Y/N through. The younger female unsub was beating her, leaving her staggering around the small box of cement they held her inside. His brown eyes were scrunched, his hand flitting between his neck and his chin as he held the phone to his ear determinedly.

“Miriam, that is enough. We are all very much aware what you two are capable of.” Spencer’s voice cracked as his tone leveled. “Where shall I meet you?”

Hotch stood in front of the panel of screens, blocking Spencer from view of the cells. One empty, one very occupied. “Out of the question, Reid.”

“Dr. Reid, I believe Agent Jareau can show you the way down. No weapons. No tricks and no wires. Understood young man?” Miriam barked her conditions haughtily.

“You forget we don’t have JJ,” Spencer spat back, closing his eyes in annoyance.

“No, Dr. Reid, Agent Prentiss is coddling her as we speak.” Miriam tutted. “I’ll be seeing you shortly.”

Like any love song, he won't soon forget He just might take his time paying off the debt

Spencer was asleep between two cushion-less hospital chairs. His mother had a violent episode the night before and had managed to mangle his bike into some bushes. The E.R. doctors had let him stay with her as her injuries were minor. They held her for observation, awaiting her doctor’s evaluation that morning.

When the morning nurse came in to check on Diana, Spence awoke, falling all over himself and on to the floor. After gracelessly standing, he listened as the nurse quietly soothed Diana’s alarm at Spencer’s fall. “I’m fine Mom,” Spencer’s eyes held hers. He scratched the back of his head when he noticed the clock on the wall. 8:23am. Y/N was already gone. He had missed her.

Spencer sat down and cried in frustration. His life never felt more unfair than it did that sunny morning in August.

The entire team had retreated to the conference room where Derek had been assigned to much of the day. Hotch had Detective Chang manning the security desk and Y/N’s prison footage. The evidence boards were up and thorough, considering Morgan’s limited access to the previous boards held at Pasadena PD. JJ was guzzling water and refusing paramedics. Rossi had already ordered room service to be delivered for the whole team. The idea of a last meal crossed through Spencer’s mind, but his confidence in himself and the team remained intact.

“JJ, where were you being held?” Hotch began once the chaos of her return had subsided.

JJ sighed, “Literally below ground. I climbed up into the custodian’s closet across from the main elevators. I am guessing whoever set this up knows the building or the surrounding ones better than we do.”

“The Unsub is Miriam Y/L/N, Y/N’s aunt.” Spencer confided in his resilient friend.

“What?!” JJ balked, “I tackled the aunt? What does she have against Y/N? And you for that matter?”

“We still don’t know.” Rossi admitted, walking to the evidence boards. “We still have no Kurt Hansen. The mail-lady is also muscle as Reid and Hotch witnessed her rough up Y/N just now. Miriam Y/L/N is a wealthy, sixty-year-old, retired teacher. What pushed them to commit murder and a double kidnapping?”

Spencer crossed the room to his messenger bag, rifling through his notes from the station. He paused as his fingers caressed the soft lace of Y/N’s panties. In his rush to get her into the shower that morning he had forgotten them in her hiding spot. Her mischievousness made him ache for her, a hollowness encased his chest.

Spencer cleared his throat, returning to the case. “I believe the other woman is Michelle Braxton. She was contacted about the funeral shortly after Miriam was, as they were in the same area code.”

“So who is she, Reid?” Morgan held his hands apart waiting for the explanation.

“She grew up next door to Y/N’s aunt and the two of them became close the summer of ‘99″ Spencer explained.

“Wasn’t Y/N in Pasadena that summer,” Morgan verified. “With you?”

Spencer shook his head at Morgan, exasperated. “It doesn’t matter why she was in San Francisco, it just matters that Michelle Braxton had all the markers for a resentful stalker, then. Just imagine what she is capable of, now.”

“If the kids goes down there, we have nothing they want. They have all the cards.” Rossi looks to Hotch.

“That’s why I am not giving him clearance to go.” Hotch agreed.

“Hotch, I am not going to stand here and watch them torture Y/N.” Spencer’s voice raised. “Not when I can do something about it.”

The room reeked of tension and testosterone. Emily’s concerned face floated its gaze from one team member to the other. “JJ, is there any other way we can get SWAT down there?”

“Not without the unsubs hearing them coming, besides there was only one way in and no doorknob on this side of the door. Breaking it down would give them plenty notice.”

“There has to be another way in though,” Rossi countered. “Didn’t Garcia say Kurt Hansen used a luggage trolley to move JJ and Y/N from the penthouse?”

Morgan nodded. “There has to be elevator access.”

Part 11

@sparkle-dinosaur, @dontshootmespence @reiding-and-writing @speedreiding @reid-my-fortune @sapphire1727 @holagubler @cherry-loves-fanfic @lookingforgalifrey @miss-gleek-freak-geek @criminal-minds-fanfiction @reidbyers @sortaathief @imagicana @milkandcookies528

#Criminal Minds #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fanfictions #spencer reid #spencer x reader #spencer imagine #teen angst #stu #poor y/n #union pulse #sorry james #katy perry #vw #ouch my heart #am i going too fast?

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ahloveisboo · 7 years

Text

Long Forgotten Sons | pt 1

Pairing: OT7 Genre: Zombie!AU, mature (includes violence, gore, death, explicit language, future major character death) Word count: 4.6k

***

Crouched behind a wall just tall enough to hide his figure, he pensively cocked his gun. His heart beat mercilessly against his ribcage as he scanned the area for intruders and his warm breath fogged the plastic over his eyes, making it difficult to see down the middle. The helmet he had stolen off some dead security guard he found lying beneath a pile of rubble a moment ago. It’s not like the guy would need it anymore, anyway. With no one in sight, he slowly made his way from behind the brick wall, aiming his gun at the empty ruins in front of him. “Come on, you bastards,” he muttered, slowly turning on his heels. “Show me your pretty faces so I can blow them right off.” The sound of a rifle reloading broke the silence and as he spun around to fire in defense, a bullet pierced him through the neck. Collapsing to his knees, the screen went black.

“Fuck!” Jungkook screamed, throwing his controller across the bed in frustration. “I can’t believe I keep fucking this one up.” He’d been stuck on the same level for 3 days now, unable to penetrate the abandoned hospital that kept one of his character’s main targets.

Jungkook’s parents were out of town, giving him the liberty to hide behind his PlayStation all week and only leaving his room to take care of food and personal hygiene. None of his friends had made the effort to call, so neither had he. At this point, he may as well have been dead to the outside world. Jungkook didn’t mind, though. In fact, he liked the solitude, since a little alone time was considered a luxury in his household.

Jungkook had bought the new video game he was playing right before his parents left on vacation. A perfect way to waste time he probably should have been spending on the list of chores pinned to the fridge by said parents. This was their first camping trip without Jungkook, and they had no shame in taking advantage of his abundance of free time.

He’d make sure to get them all done by the time his parents returned. A last minute effort to appear the perfect son.

During the rare moments he wasn’t submerged in his game, Jungkook blared his music through the headphones stuck to his head. They might as well had merged into his skull by now, since he never bothered to take them off Not even during the five hours he forced himself to sleep every night. They were great noise blockers, after all, making it easier for him to get some actual rest.

Jungkook lived in a relatively quiet neighbourhood but lately, the place had been overrun with stray cats. No one had any clue of where they came from or what they were doing here of all places, but the peaceful nights were now filled with shrieking catfights and the clanking of trash cans being pushed over. Jungkook didn’t mind much, though. Secretly, he liked leaving food out for them, even if his parents kept telling him off for it.

A low rumble resonated through the air, prompting Jungkook to rub his stomach. He hadn’t had anything to eat but canned fruits, rice, and snacks since his parents took off. He wasn’t a great cook— or just couldn’t be bothered to try. The memory of his mum’s homemade kimchi and duck stew briefly made his mouth water.

At the lack of better options, Jungkook took the last mac and cheese out of the freezer. As he turned on the stove, something in his peripheral caught his eye. Thick, black smoke was circling from the neighbouring house. His eyes widened as it dawned on him, panic rising up in his throat and grabbing a hold of him. Before he could talk himself out of it, his feet had moved into the garden. Only a few seconds later, Jungkook skid to a stop, staring at the back door blankly. His mind was racing, scattered by a mess of thoughts. Should he jump the fence and go in? Should he yell to warn them? Should he scream for help? Why wasn’t anyone doing anything? Where they even home right now? Jungkook faintly remembered they had a dog, but it appeared to be making no sound to indicate it was there.

Clumsily, Jungkook grabbed the phone from his pocket. The device nearly slipped through his fingers as he dialed the emergency number with trembling hands. The dial tone on the other end seemed to last forever, soon enough he realised no one was going to answer. Slightly panicked, he ran back into the house; straight through the kitchen, the hallway, and out the front door until he found himself on the front lawn, eyes wandering the streets.

Empty, he realised. Full of dread, he punched in his parents’ number. He spun on his heels, movements frantic as he mumbled into the phone, “Come on, pick up. Pick up, pick up, pick up”, trying to find any signs of life around him. Instead, all he saw were cars with smashed out windows, beat down letterboxes, broken homes staring at him with empty eye sockets. The dial tone cut out, leaving Jungkook with nothing but the sound of his racing heart beating in his ears. He swallowed and tried to steady his hands, still trembling as he spotted a walking figure in the distance. They walked funny, like they were suffering from a limp that was on the brink of healing. Scuffling, their eyes were trained on nothing in particular in front of them as if their senses were dulled and their mind a blank. As if they were running from something they were unsure whether to be afraid of.

As the figure approached, Jungkook was relieved to find it was his old math teacher, Mr. Kwon. His heart flipped at the sight of someone familiar, and as soon as he caught his breath, his feet moved of their own volition. Mr. Kwon’s eyes were wide and distraught, staring at Jungkook without the faintest sign of recognition. “Mr. Kw-”, Jungkook started, his voice rough from exertion. As soon as he spoke, the man snapped from his trancelike state, roughly grabbing Jungkook by the arm in a reflex motion. His fingers dug deep and hard, causing Jungkook to wince in pain. “Shit, Mr. Kwon, ah- stop! You’re hurti-”

“It’s not safe,” Mr. Kwon whispered, eyes darting wildly, unable to look Jungkook in the eye. He threw a frightened look over his shoulder, pulling Jungkook closer as he hissed, “It's not safe here. I have to run. I have to-, run if you want to live, boy.”

His words were so muffled by his heavy breathing that Jungkook barely understood him. He leaned in closer, trying to catch what he was saying as he noticed his teacher’s bloodshot eyes and cracked lips. He recoiled a little, suddenly wanting nothing more than to distance himself from the man. “Mr. Kwon, what happened to you? What's going on? I don't understand. Please, let go of m-" his voice cracked as he pleaded, trying to pry his arm from Mr. Kwon's iron grip. "Where is everyone? What the fuck is happening? Let me g-go!”

The man didn’t seem to hear. He stared right past him, as he kept repeating the words. Over and over. “Not safe. Run.”

He finally released Jungkook from his hold, roughly pushing him aside to continue his mindless wander through the deserted neighbourhood. Jungkook stared after him, at a loss for words. Nothing made sense. He forced himself to breathe, recollecting his thoughts and considering his options. The simple option was to go back inside, lock the doors, and wait for his parents to return. If they'll ever return, he thought to himself as he scanned the empty streets again. Whatever this was, it must be bad enough for people to leave their homes. But Jungkook didn't consider himself a coward who sits around and waits for someone else to rescue him.

The other option was to take Mr. Kwon's advice and run. But where to? Anywhere but here is an upgrade, he decided, and he ran back to the house, not even bothering to close the front door.

Pulling his duffel bag from under his bed, Jungkook stuffed it with anything within reach. T-shirts, iPod, books, underwear, food, his PlayStation controller,- until the bag felt full and heavy on his shoulder. All his worldly possessions in tow, he dropped the bag on the sofa, turning away to get more things he figured he'd need. It bumped the TV remote, turning on his television and sending the news channel flashing brightly across the screen. Headlines filled the bottom and the anchor lady looked more terrified than he had ever seen anyone read the prompter.

He turned up the volume as the chaste images caught his eye. Clips of people running, screaming, a building with its side stripped bare. Rubble, amidst chaos and dust.

“-six days since the explosion took place. Hudson Corp. is doing everything they can to minimize the damage, but it seems the infection has started to spread rapidly. How the virus is carrying itself further than the highly secured walls of the medical facility and quarantined zone, is still a mystery. The virus was created to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, trying to reverse the deterioration of the brain. Anyone living in the Seoul area is urged to contact the authorities to update them on their location, in order to map the remaining civilians who have yet to be evacuated.”

“Six days? A virus?” Jungkook’s head was spinning. He found himself gaping at his television, telling himself it couldn’t have been six days. Six days of madness and I was too busy trying to get past level 3 of that goddamn game? He blinked, taking in the images, processing the information he just received. Everyone in his neighbourhood had been evacuated, or so the map they showed at the end of the broadcast told him. Jungkook was stunned. They left me.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the shuffling behind him. A hand reached out and touched his shoulder, a rotting stench penetrating his nostrils. Jungkook whirled, hair on end at the rattling sound behind him. His eyes widened as he froze in terror, staring at the thing in front of him. It had an uncanny resemblance to his elderly neighbour, Mrs. Bae. Pale skin, empty eyes, her clothes torn and breath ragged. She had a chunk of flesh torn from her shoulder, dried blood spilled over the front of her baby blue flower patterned blouse and coating one side of her face.

“Mrs. Bae?” Jungkook’s voice shook. “What are yo-”

With that, the woman leaped forward, throwing her full weight at Jungkook and causing him to stumble and fall. His head hit the side of the sofa, leaving him dazed for a short moment. His reflexes kept the woman at bay, arms pushing her off by her chest and neck.

Jungkook began to panic. Using his free hand to find anything within reach, he only found his heavy duffel bag, dragging it down beside him. He cursed out loud as she snapped her teeth at him and scratched at his face, reaching for the first thing he could get his hands on. His fingers closed around the PlayStation controller and with a deep breath, he swung it towards Mrs. Bae’s face. He hit her right on the temple, causing her to yelp; an inhumane sound that went straight through his bones, leaving him choking for air. She fell to the side, still heaving as she clutched his left arm. Jungkook raised the controller again, putting all his weight behind it. This time he struck her full in the face. It produced a sickening crunch that made his stomach churn, but he didn’t stop.

Jungkook slammed the controller down again. And again. And again. And again. Until she stopped moving.

A long moment passed before Jungkook sat up and realized what he’d done. His stomach dropped, and he scurried away from the heap of bones and skin. His back bumped into the wall, as he allowed himself to lean against the cold, granite liquor cabinet. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from what used to be the sweetest woman in the world, and he was left wondering if it – because it was hardly human anymore - was going to move again. He pressed his back into the dark gray walls, wishing they would just swallow him whole on the spot. His chest started to rise and fall with increasing speed as panic washed over him in merciless waves, tightening his throat, making him suffocate.

He didn’t move for what felt like hours. With steady breaths, he raised his hands. They were covered in dark crimson, crusty where the blood had already dried up. His gaze fell once more to the person who had been Mrs. Bae and the puddle of blood darkening the dirty white carpet beneath her. His throat felt dry. His legs were shaking, but he had to get up. Had to leave this place. Right now.

Without a second thought, he hauled himself to his feet. He grabbed his duffel bag off the floor and swung it over his shoulder, not caring about the weight and how the books prodded into his shoulder blades. Jungkook knew the food he had just packed was all there was. He also knew it would last him maybe three days. Four if he rationed it well. Breaking into a jog, he left his childhood home.

And didn’t look back.

The news mentioned his entire neighbourhood evacuating. If he was lucky, they left most of their food in a hurry. Slowing down, Jungkook surveyed his surroundings. Partly scouting for potential danger, partly to assess the situation he found himself in.

Like a reflex, his feet dragged him towards the house across the street. Jungkook eyed it up, most of its wooden skeleton still intact. He had spent innumerable days in this house as a child. He couldn’t help but wonder if the inside was still as he remembered it. Whereas the Jeons had always been on the modern side of decorating, the family across the street had a more traditional style. Cosy, warm coloured walls, wooden furniture. He’d always loved how it felt like a home.

The familiar smell of the Kim house engulfed him as soon as he opened the door. A sudden desire to just stay here and not care made Jungkook stop and flutter his eyes shit. He allowed himself a moment of savouring the safe feeling before opening them again. Surprisingly, the place still looked exactly the same as he remembered. The walls had been painted over, a once warm red brown now covered by an olive green. Jungkook felt himself nod in approval.

The kitchen was left untouched. Dishes scattered everywhere, appliances still plugged in, and, lucky for him, fridge still running. It didn’t look like they left in a hurry but still, there was that lingering sense of panic. Chaos.

Jungkook opened the fridge to find it half full. Relatively fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, and leftovers from the last meal they had shared. Cabinets were loaded with rice, instant ramen, spices he’d never heard of, and canned beans. He scrunched his nose at the thought of having to eat beans for the rest of his life, but it was better than dust. Silently thanking gods he didn’t believe in, Jungkook yanked his duffel bag from his shoulder.

Puffing his hair from his face, Jungkook peered at the bag from below his eyelashes. As he was rummaging through its content, he heard a shuffling noise from the hall to his left. A faint voice carried towards the kitchen. Jungkook couldn’t quite make out any words, but it made the initial panic from hearing the noise subside. The rattling sound of Mrs. Bae’s breath was still fresh in his mind, and Jungkook knew the voice he heard had to be human. “M-mum?” the voice called, sounding nervous. “Dad? Is that you?”

The voice grew louder, laced with desperation and fear. Jungkook stood upright, stretching his legs, and letting his eyes search the living room. Curiosity took over, and he padded back into the next room, footsteps soft and deliberate.

“D-dad, please. Anybody. Please.”

The voice was pleading, weakly pounding on a door that Jungkook recognized as the one leading to the basement. He froze mid-step. He'd recognize that low, velvet voice anywhere. Jungkook used to play with its owner every day for nearly 13 years. They used to be inseparable.

With three large strides, he was in front of the door. One hand on its frame and the other hand on the knob, twisting firmly only to find it locked tight. “Tae?” Jungkook called. “Taehyung, is that you?”

His hand was flat to the door’s surface, as though trying to reach beyond. Silence fell on the other side. “K-kookie?” The word came out strangled as if his old friend was holding back a sob of relief. “Jungkook, please tell me that’s really you.”

“It’s me, Tae. It’s me. Listen, I’m going to get you out of there.” Jungkook tried to make his voice sound reassuring since Taehyung sounded like he was on the verge of a panic attack. He used to get them all the time when he was a kid. He’d learned to control them better as they got older, but Jungkook never forgot the fear he’d felt when he first saw his friend go through one and he had learned to spot the signs ever since.

Jungkook yanked the doorknob, each pull more aggressive than the last. “Tae- Fucking hell, why is this door locked?!” He heard the boy on the other side counting his breaths, trying to pull himself together enough to tell him what to do.

“My parents, they- they thought it would be safer for me in here.” His breathing was loud, shallow in the confined space. “The key is on the key holder in the living room. The thing that looks like a bird’s nest. It should be long and thin. Silver.”

It didn’t take Jungkook long to find it, crossing hurriedly back to the door separating him from Taehyung. The door swung open with a bang. A tall, brown-haired boy with chocolate-coloured eyes came into view. His otherwise caramel skin was drained of all colour, his hair stuck to his face in sweaty patches.

“Tae.” The word had left Jungkook’s mouth before he realized, and he pulled the boy from the staircase with a shaking arm. Taehyung looked weak- vulnerable.

Taehyung grinned at the younger boy. “It’s ok. I’m alright.”

“You don’t look alright. How long have you been in there? What the hell happened?” Jungkook sat Taehyung down on the coffee coloured sofa, running to the kitchen as soon as the older boy opened his mouth.

“A day or two, three? My parents went to get food, and they thought it’d be safer for me locked inside the basement. Just in case those things got inside and they weren’t here to protect me,” he scoffed. “They left but never returned. There’s barely any food down there. They really thought it was safe for- ah, thanks.” Gratefully, Taehyung accepted the banana and can of coke Jungkook pushed into his hands.

“Don’t eat too fast. You’ll get cramps.”

Taehyung slowed down his chewing. “I feel better already,” he smiled.

Jungkook allowed himself to calm down, sitting down beside Taehyung on the sofa. He ran his hand over his face, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Taehyung peered up at him from the rim of his coke can. “What?” he asked, after gulping down half the can’s content. Jungkook shook his head, letting his eyes wander to the window.

“Quite a mess we’ve gotten ourselves into, isn’t it?”

Taehyung followed his gaze. Jungkook half expected them to widen, but then he realized that Taehyung must have been here to see it happen. While he had been locked inside his own room, Taehyung must have seen it all unfold.

“What happened?” Jungkook whispered, more to himself than at Taehyung.

The latter answered him anyways. “You know that big ass medical testing facility in Yangcheonggu? A couple of days ago, there was a huge explosion. No one knows why or how, but it blew out half the building and released some of the shit they’d been working on. It was supposed to be quarantined, but I guess something went wrong because suddenly people in the area started losing their minds. Literally. They got ill. Nausea, high fever. They forgot who they were, how to talk, started attacking other people for no reason.”

Jungkook tore his gaze from the window.

“It spread pretty fast. The government began evacuation protocol immediately. They got out most of the neighbours but for some reason, my parents didn’t want to leave all this-” he said, gesturing towards the house. “behind. So we stayed. We watched everyone else get infected. No idea how or why. It was mayhem,” Taehyung trailed off, remembering. “Maybe my parents got scared and took off. Left me behind. I didn’t have my phone down there so I haven’t been able to contact them.” He leaned back against the hard sofa, absentmindedly playing with the banana peels.

“You know all those zombie movies we used to sneak into my room and watch when my parents were out?” Taehyung waited for Jungkook to nod before continuing. “Well. I think we might just be in the middle of one now.”

As he took another swig from his coke, Jungkook couldn’t help but notice his sudden calmness. Colour had returned to his cheeks, and his eyes had regained some sparkle. “You don’t sound worried,” he noted.

Taehyung avoided his eyes as he got up from the sofa. “I’ve been locked in a basement for god knows how many days. My parents are out there and I have no clue if they’re even alive. Or… worse.” Taehyung blinked, tears stinging the back of his eyes.

When he met his friend’s gaze, Jungkook was surprised to find hardness within. “To tell you the truth, I was ready to die in there until you came along. Because frankly, is it even still worth it?”

Jungkook was taken aback by this. Though this whole situation was new to him, the thought had never crossed his mind. “What do you mean? Is it worth what?”

“Being alive.”

Suddenly the air felt too thick for Jungkook to breathe. He got up as Taehyung continued talking. “For all we know, we’re the only ones left in the Seoul area.”

“We can’t think like that,” Jungkook countered, shaking his head. “I can’t think like that, Tae! My parents are out there somewhere. I need to believe they are okay.”

“Even if they are,” Taehyung said, gaze hard, “They’re not coming back. They won’t allow it. This is a quarantined zone now.”

Jungkook knew he was right, and fuck– had this room always been so small? Trying to keep himself from pacing, Jungkook stalked back towards the kitchen. He wanted to punch something, and he wanted to make sure that something wasn’t Taehyung’s face.

His hand found a stray plate next to the sink and before Jungkook could stop himself, he’d swung it at the wall. The plain piece of china shattered into pieces, shards bouncing off the kitchen tiles. He almost started screaming.

And then he was.

The sound filled the empty house. Angry. Desperate.

A hand closed around his wrist when he grabbed for another plate. “Kookie.” It was barely a whisper. Jungkook allowed himself to lock eyes with the brown-haired boy, not saying anything. His chest felt tight, and by the look Taehyung was giving him, he knew he felt the same.

“What do we do?”

Taehyung let go of his wrist. Taking a step back, he leaned against the countertop. “I honestly don’t know,” he sighed. “We could go look for help. But we may run into some unwanted wanderers.” Taehyung folded his arms over his chest. “Or we could stay here. Wait for someone with a car to get us out of here.”

“Why do I feel like you’ve already dismissed option one?”

Taehyung grimaced. “Do I look like I can fight off those things? The only weapon I ever learned to handle is my bow and arrow.”

“You picked up archery?” Jungkook asked, almost smiling. “God, you are such a nerd.”

The tightness in his chest eased a little, as he suddenly remembered why Tae and he became friends in the first place. Just because their parents ran in the same circle, didn’t mean the kids would get along. Jungkook and Taehyung certainly didn’t at first.

Taehyung was two years older than Jungkook, a lot more outgoing and engaging than Jungkook was. Jungkook was the shy kid, always on his own. Even as a child he enjoyed the silence and comfort of solitude, letting his mind wander to places only he could go. Taehyung wasn’t like that. He loved to intrude, trying to tempt Jungkook to play with him and enter his world.

As annoying as Jungkook found the older boy to be, he soon appreciated the fact that Taehyung truly wanted to be in his company. He started letting him in. They ran to magical lands, mystical forests, and blood-soaked battlefields together. Played pretend sword fights while they rescued damsels in distress. As they grew older those forests turned into not so imaginary parking lots with football matches, bedrooms where they listened to the latest album Jungkook’s dad got him. Trying out the new video game Taehyung had shoplifted. They bonded over comics and crushes and rival sports teams.

Until one day they got into a fight. Jungkook couldn’t even remember what it was about, but it had been bad. They didn’t talk for an entire week. When they did, it was just screaming until there was nothing left to scream about. And that was it. End of a friendship. The two of them changed schools and all Jungkook knew about Taehyung now was whatever his parents told him after they went across the street for their monthly dinners.

Taehyung had graduated at some point and was now majoring in Liberal Arts Studies, whereas Jungkook was about to start uni. He was thinking an IT-based education would suit him well.

“Nothing wrong with archery, you asshole,” Taehyung countered. “Anyways. Since you asked, I do believe staying put is the best option until something better comes along. Unless you have one in mind?”

Jungkook shook his head. “Unfortunately, no.”

“So that’s settled then. We stay.” Taehyung pushed himself off the countertop.

Jungkook watched his retreating form enter the living room. “Do you really think someone will come looking for us?”

Taehyung halted at his words, not bothering to turn and face his old friend. “No. But I can hope.”

At that, a thought flashed across Jungkook’s mind. “Hey Tae, do you guys still have those obnoxious Christmas lights lying around?”

The Kims were known for their abundant and dramatic Christmas decorating during the holidays. Reindeers on the front lawn and flashing lights included. This grabbed Taehyung’s attention. He whirled, staring at the black haired boy in bemusement. “We do. They’re in the attic. Why?”

“Show me,” Jungkook said without further explanation. He gestured for Taehyung to lead him onwards.

When Jungkook saw the treasure trove of lights, he grinned. “These are perfect, Tae. Grab any leftover blankets you can find, preferably white, so they catch people’s attention. We’re going to decorate the roof.” Still grinning, Jungkook held several cords of coloured lights in the palm of his hand. As soon as Taehyung realised what the younger meant, he grinned back, rushing down to search his parents’ bedroom.

Climbing through Taehyung’s bedroom window, they managed to get to the roof with little problem. From up here, the devastation and ruins were painfully visible. They took a moment to take in the view, neither saying a word.

Then they got to work. Without completely covering the black tiled roof, they pinned the lights strategically on bits and pieces of sheets. Creating just enough contrast to draw attention from passing air crafts in the vicinity. Jungkook made sure the coloured lights spelled out HELP in letters as big as the cords would let him. After not so elegantly crawling back into the house, he plugged them all in and stuck his head out of the window. “Status?” he yelled, leaning on the window sill.

Taehyung’s head popped into sight, smirking. “Never thought I’d be this happy at the sight of my parents’ Christmas light atrocities.”

After Jungkook had crawled back on the roof to join him, they sat there a little while longer than needed. Taehyung leaned back on his elbows, staring over at Jungkook beside him. The faint green and red glow of Christmas lights illuminated his features. “Do you think the walkers will notice the lights, too?” Taehyung asked.

“Oh, they’re called walkers now?” Jungkook snorted in reply. The sun was already starting to set, marking the end of a very long day.

“Why not?” Taehyung shrugged. “That’s what they’re called on that popular TV show.” Tearing his gaze away, he started into the sunset. “What else do we call them? Zombies?”

His voice was softer now, as though afraid to face the horrible reality. Jungkook looked away as well, laying down beside Taehyung. He listened to the steady breathing of his friend slow down, calming him. Suddenly he felt sleepy.

“Let’s hope they don’t notice.”

A/N: I’ve been wanting to post this for the longest time and I’m glad it’s finally out there. Sorry about it only being two of the boys but the others will follow soon! I would really, really appreciate some feedback on this as this will be my first series and the first time writing something that doesn’t include fluff. Thank you to @transaflanticism for spending hours brainstorming with me on the theme and storyline, and @the-princejinyoung for being my editor in chief. I love you both lots.

#long forgotten sons #noonanet #bts fanfiction #zombie au bts #bangtan #bts au #bangtan au #bts series

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swapnagangadharan · 5 years

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Waking up around 4.30 am, we made our way to the bus stand saying our goodbyes to the caretaker.

After waiting for an hour, we got into the bus. Slowly we would get used to the rhythm and system of the buses. First, getting a nice seat to sit down and stuffing our backpacks wherever we could and most importantly adjusting other passengers and their luggage into it. We would also experience the generosity and kindness of the pahadis during our entire journey.

It was a 10-12 hour ride and we were geared up for it. The bus made its way out of Simla before the place woke up and we saw the sun rise. Crossing small towns, the mountains were slowly making its appearance, the Kinnaur Kailash range peaking in and out. It was lush greenery interspersed with rains.

The beautiful strong Himachali women carrying children on their back, wrapped tightly with blankets to protect them from the cold was a sight for sore eyes. Their shining eyes and strength shone through carrying babies, luggage, getting in and out of the bus. The driver and bus conductor were ever so gracious stopping the bus whenever anyone flagged them on the road.

If you want to see India, the true India that is known for kindness, helping each other, a sense of community and caring, come to the mountains. The people there will remove every shred of pessimism, conflict and bitterness in you. Riding in buses give you a complete perspective of this country, it’s culture and it’s people in every way.

We were into our journey when a young Himachali woman got in, carrying a 1 year old boy and another son who was 4-5 years old, she was struggling. She found a seat as Bhim and I kept observing her.

We noticed the 1 year old had motion sickness and she was going towards the steps and making him throw up out of the door side window. Couple of times she almost fell as Bhim and I caught her. Then Bhim got up from his seat and exchanged and I made her sit near the window so she could be more comfortable.

Right then she gave me her baby to hold on to and she put her head out. The poor lady too had motion sickness and was throwing up continuously. The older son was being taken care of by others who made him comfortable. And I tell you this, considering how city kids are with their tantrums.

These kids didn’t make a sound, the older boy silently sat with the others while the baby boy sat comfortably on my lap. They were already adjusted to so many things. This is life, plus the kindness of other passengers together in this silently. Bhim couldn’t resist and clicked a pic of the baby boy on my lap and to me this is the most precious picture of the journey, It embodies India.

On such bus rides there are always breaks. Be that breakfast, nature calls and the conductor always stops when one requests for it. I know am writing this in detail because one starts valuing this so much. In our busy lives we don’t stop to think about another human except our immediately family and here everyone becomes one big family somehow.

Just before noon, we reached Rampur, there was a one hour break. It was hot now so we got down and sat near the building steps and waited. Just as we got into the bus, a Sardarji walked in and advertised about a ‘Magnetic Mala’ supposedly curing people of almost every ailment from heart to blood pressure to whatnot. I got it because it was pretty and I wanted something to remember from this moment. Paying 50 Rs I wore the ‘ Mala’. Bhim said let’s see what it does! Well we didn’t realise then what other elements/ people it would attract! We believe the Magnetic Mala added to our adventures 😊

During a stopover for lunch we asked the driver and conductor about buses from Reckong Peo for the next day, they told us there would be just one bus and we would have to check once we reach there. Let me tell you we were the only tourists. I realised other travellers going to Spiti hired vehicles/cabs or rode bikes, both expensive options. So it did feel good we were the only ones trying this option. Two South Indians standing out like Chalk and Cheese! 😊

Around 5 pm we reached Reckong Peo and right before we entered the small town we saw a road diversion leading to Kalpa. Once we got down at the bus stand we checked out the bus for tomorrow, the bus going to the next destination, Tabo was at 8.30 am. Now where do we stay?

Right opposite the bus stand was a small guesthouse with rooms. It seemed expensive for us because we were on a pretty tight budget. Here is where the hospitality and kindness of people comes in.

One local man who was in the bus asked us if we wanted to join him to Kalpa, taking a taxi ride and sharing would be cheap but how would we get back to Reckong Peo tomorrow morning? There were no buses from Kalpa so we told him we decided to stay back here. We were looking out for a place for the night but a cheap one as we couldn’t afford more.

He immediately called out to that guesthouse man, told him, ‘ Yeh mere dost hai, apne log thoda adjust karo’( These are my friends, give them a room at a lesser price) He negotiated for us, made sure we were comfortable and left for Kalpa. If not for him, the price would have been more. What can I say? We would experience this throughout.

After having chai, we made our way down into the market. With nothing to do, we strolled around this quaint small town surrounded by Kinnaur Kailash mountains. It was Sunday so this side was very quiet.

We found a small place that had Momos, yup another staple we would encounter during our Spiti trip. Over hot coffee we planned our next destination. Tabo it was. Known for its 1000 year old monastery, it would be good to stay there for a night and explore. We decided we would go according to the bus schedule and if nothing works we could hitchhike. The kindness of the people here showed us that was another option if nothing was available.

On another note, let me add that going solo to Spiti on a budget is difficult because it gets expensive both in travel and stay. Every room/bed is on a sharing basis as it’s run by the people who use their homes as Homestays. It’s mostly dormitories, so if you have a problem sharing a bed/room with another stranger, especially as a woman, then get a friend along. I needed to say this out now itself. It’s a no glamour trip and don’t do this just for ‘picture perfect Instagram/Facebook pics’. Spiti is very raw and very unpredictable. There, disclaimer done!

It was time to retire for the night and face another day tomorrow. Question Swami and Bengalan Aunty would make their appearance! Who you say?? Wait for it!

A long bus ride and Reckong Peo.. – Part V Waking up around 4.30 am, we made our way to the bus stand saying our goodbyes to the caretaker.

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boggytalking-blog · 5 years

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Grandpa Abe

A short story all about addiction, gardening, and progress.

-Step one, get a shovel.

That same rusted shovel grandpa Abe used to bury my cat, my dog, my next cat, and that bird I somehow convinced my ma to buy. That damn shovel that always seemed to slip out of my hands and the jagged plastic grip cut up my fingers. The shovel that spoke more in its scratches and dirt than my grandfather Abe could…. Most grandfathers tell stories of adventure and wisdom and wise lessons to their grandchildren. Yet, Abe taught me to garden – or tried to teach me that is. I named it and Abe was planting it: Lily of the Incas, Amaryllis, Anemones, Rose, Daisies, Daffodils, Chrysanthemum, and a hundred other ones I can’t begin to name. After grandma Sue “uprooted” as Abe started to call it; he had been religious in his gardening. I think in some sense he felt he could he could replant his fleeting memories of her.

-Step two, find his house.

This little ranch style house with more garden than there were guards at Buckingham. The story goes that once grandma Sue had her cancer go into remission, she wanted to start something that not even cancer could kill: a garden. So, she set out spending social security checks on trowels, seeds, various mulches, and probably this damn shovel… She went to work redesigning their entire front lawn, and then the entire side lawns, finally even the back lawn, the window sills, the indoor planters, even planting flowers around the mailbox! Grandma Sue couldn’t stop! She made her self a little gardening club with some of the other local ladies and even got herself a tab setup at the towns gardening shop. She had been talk of the town when her cancer had flared up, talk of the town when she beat its ass, talk of town when her garden grew larger than life, and talk of the town when the cancer came back…

-Step three, make sure it’s the shovel.

I scanned it over, its got that same stink of poor quality present from before I was born. “That there was hand-made by a war friend of mine over in Switzerland; the Swiss make two good things…” Abe would trail off while sinking into his La-Z-Boy. “What two thin—” I could barely ask and Abe started back from his tangent of silence, “…CHEESE! Cheese and Axes! The Swiss are good at two things: Cheese and Axes…” and off he trailed… Lost in a swamp of memories; like one big brain of alphabet soup with phrases forming and fading as the broth rolled. The same plastic handle chipped and scarred all the hell. Probably still splatters of blood from when I forgot to wear gloves around this monster of consumerism. Abe didn’t get this axe from a Swiss friend… I know this cause on the inside of the handle, if I looked real close, I can just make out a white sticker with black font that reads, “MADE IN CHINA.” In fact, grandpa was never even in a war… His father did serve in World War II. Abe was born in 1930 at the start of the Great Depression, he was only around 15 by the time the war ended, and his father never came back.

-Step four, find the tree with the carving.

Just behind their quaint ranch house sat this lumbering oak tree. Easily forty maybe fifty feet tall with a trunk so large you had to use two tape measures. Grandpa Abe and grandma Sue had apparently started dating after he carved their initials into the tree back when you could wrap your arms around its trunk. “Abe + Sue” engrained in the very bark from years ago. This tree had silently seen their entire friendship, relationship, and hardship. Now It was about to watch their grandson commit something pathetic… It’s not like I want to be here doing this, but I need to. In the same way Abe mumbled. “I need to garden…” He just fell off the deep end. He was playing on the precipice of the drop into full dementia and Sues “uprooting, she just uprooted…, I can replant her…” he lost himself. He tried so hard to replant her via all those flowers, he didn’t even maintain the ones he planted. They would die, and he would just plant new ones on top. He couldn’t seem to replant his own memories. Even the tree and the carving weren’t enough for Abe to replant those memories. After awhile he stopped even referencing grandma Sue just saying, “plant, need them planted.” He started rambling about roots and the, “intricacies of root structures.”

-Step five, 10 paces towards the shed

. “One… two… three…” Abe would count out the seeds for each species. Always ending on “…ten.” “Ten is a powerful number, Jeremy…” again trailing off as he said my name. People usually called me J. I’m not sure why… There were tons of nicknames, J, JJ, Jerm… I liked Jeremy and I’ve never been sure why people didn’t just call me by that… Grandpa Abe’s old shed housed a slew of gardening supplies; all chaotically organized. In fanatic fashion he would dash from shed to plot and back. That’s why there’s no grass in front of the shed or in much of the yard. After forgetting how to walk normally, Abe’s cinderblock stride would carve dirt paths all in the grass. Surprisingly straight lines spread out from the sheds opening; practically all 90-degree angles because complex curves got to be too much for him. Living in part of the Great Depression Abe learned from his mother to, “never trust them bankers, Abraham.” Long before any dementia or issues with Sue he had started burying his money in the back yard. One spot I knew of was ten paces from the oak tree to the shed.

-Step six, dig.

I drove the shovel straight into the ground, sure not to lose my grip and have it attack me again. Scoop after scoop of the earth I was manic; digging away in the same fashion Abe did after Sue “uprooted.” I had to get this money, I needed this money, I need to get this fast. The house sat silent and empty of thoughts. Reminiscent of grandpa Abe in his last moments. I got so upset. When he was finally hospitalized, they thought they could explain it all to me in simple terms. Saying, “J, grandpa Abe is going to take a long time and he’s going to sit really quiet. He’s in a vegetative state.” This infuriated me, I yelled and had a fit, I thought they were mocking him calling him a “vegetable.” I couldn’t understand. All I remembered was the previous summer Abe told me something; stopping all his frantic gardening he slowly walked over to me and got on one knee. “Jeremy, make me a garden…” with tears Abe trailed off and never spoke coherently to me again. I was in shock, it took me years to realize that I watched the last signs of my grandpa leave his body.

-Step seven, dig further

. “Where is it, its got to be here, there’s no way he dug it up” was all I could mumble as I kept digging. Deeper and deeper into the hard soil I stopped. “Where, where, WHERE!” I screamed under my breath as the dying garden seemed to watch me. I stopped for a moment and was out of breath. I never had been a very athletic kid but even this hole was nothing for me… I scratched my neck and my arm and then repeated. I was getting uneasy. I needed to find this money and faster than ever.

-Step eight, jackpot.

Albeit not recognizable, there was a sound nothing like metal on earth – the sound of metal on a mason jar. It was worth it. There had to still be something left in this. Abe always talked bout how he needed to hide his money from the bank incase another depression hit. “I’ll be prepared this time, isn’t nothing going to take my money, no sir” was a favorite motto from Abe. I had always seen him planting these mason jars, yet he never let me help. From my memory, there has to be at least 10 or… 10… of course… of course there’s 10 of these fucking jars. As I clawed this one from the dirt my nails grew clogged with soil and clay. But there it was; a silver topped glass mason jar barely lit by moonlight passing through the leaves of that mighty oak.

-Step nine, regret.

It’s dirt. I opened the jar and its dirt. That’s not true – its dirt and seeds. 10 seeds to be exact. All of them were. All 10 of these fucking jars are dirt. Now I can’t go and get my fix… What am I going to do…? I’m behind on that payment and the center is going to notice I’m not in my bed… Oh no… Why dirt and seeds… He always said he was burying for the future... I can’t do this, I’m too tired...

-Step ten, fix your roots.

In my frenzy I wore my body out. So, there I sat leaned up against old shed with that horrid shovel going into detox. I cried out, I spasmed, and I sweat in the cold night. But I cried out for grandpa Abe; and whether or not you believe me he came. I watched him confidently step down the back steps from inside the house and stride over to me. “Oh, Jeremy… what’s happened?” he solemnly Abe asked of me, like a bird with a broken wing. Grinding my teeth, I tried to make a coherent sentence, “I…I … needed to … money… I had to get some…. I’ve got an addict… tion. Grandpa…” He stared at me with such care and compassion after all I had done, “Oh no… Jeremy what happened to the yard…?” I couldn’t help it, maybe it was the withdrawal, but I just broke down, “The mason ... jars I … needed the … money…” How ironic that now I was the one trailing off and grandpa Abe was healthy and shining. As I shivered and cried out to grandpa Abe, he bent down to me and whispered in my ear as he handed me 10 seeds one by one. And just as prideful as he had come, he was gone.

-Step eleven, find help.

I woke up the very next morning. All I could do was sit there, the trees flowed with whispering among themselves, the weeds stretched and clamored among the decrepit gardens, and the old house slanted to one side almost like it was tired and leaning up against a wall. As I tried to move my body felt like rust. My veins burned and boiled as I tried to start sitting up. In my left hand were 10 seeds. I knew what I had to do now. I made it to my parent’s house and after profusely apologizing as one has to after skipping rehab… again… I told them about Abe’s house. They said once he passed, he had left it to me! Yet, they were saving the deed for when I got clean. I lied and claimed that was why I came here and had left the rehab center – to get clean out fixing up his house and living out in the forest a bit. They were skeptical up until I took my clay covered paws and placed 10 seeds on the bar. My mother broke down, “Where did you get those?” She was ecstatic like she was a little girl again. Apparently, these seeds are for growing Black-Eyed Susan’s. My Mom seemingly accepted this as payment and apology all at once.

-Step twelve, grow a garden.

That was 6 years ago. I’m 25 now, living in my grandpa’s old house out in the forest growing flowers, fruits, and vegetables all day. I’ve got a steady business of selling flowers and crops when I can. I even have a new shovel! I didn’t get rid of the old one – just hung it up in the shed. The house is still being renovated but is pretty close to being done. The big oak is still growing and there’s a smaller heart that says “Jeremy + Taylor.” And soon Taylor and I are going to be adding a heart just by that one that has the name “Susan.” She’s due here sometime in the spring and we can’t wait. I never will be able to create a garden as amazing as my grandma Sue did or my grandpa Abe tried to. I will never be able to forget or forgive my past. I will make sure the lessons I learned from my grandparents never go unforgotten. Just out front of the house is one new thing. I small black pot filled with the best soil I could get and watered first before any other. A single magnificent Black-Eyed Susan sprouts from the middle of the soil and shines more than any other flower. On the front of the pot is a small mantra I heard on the worst night of my life, “Sow Seeds; Not Sadness. – Abraham Scott.”

*This was a piece for my ENGL 360 Creative Writing course. The ending to me feels rushed as I was nearing a word cap.*

#grandpa abe #short story

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