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raeisgrayte · 3 years

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Must Be Fa(e)te~ Chapter One

There was a fable my mother used to tell me all the time when I was a little girl. It was about a regal queen, a noble monarch who lead her people with pride, though I always thought the princess was my favorite character. She was a warrior who fought in the great war against the human realm. She was someone who stood up for what she thought was right, like fighting against the humans polluting the beautiful springs that the merfolk of Wellspring lived in. The best part about the princess though, was her rainbow wings. My mother told of how the princess only used them when absolutely necessary. She was more of a walking girl, she liked taking walks through the forest's abundant beauty. She was magical, too magical. That's how I knew my mom was making this up as she went.

I only wish it were true, then maybe I could actually blame a real life person for making me the homosexual I am today. Instead when people ask about my "awakening" I have to tell them I fell in love with a made-up fairy princess when I was 3. Usually they giggle and agree that they knew it at a young age too, but some want to know more about the story. I always tell them, it's a good story after all. It leaves my lips turned up in a smile afterwards, thinking about magic and gay shit.

God how I yearn for some excitement around this town. We all just walk around with somewhere to go. I never saw someone stop by to smell the roses unless they were with a loved one. I let out a large sigh, putting my left hand on the wooden counter in my grandfather's pop up flower shop, Love You Florever. It was a play on the word floral, but I think everyone I tell about the flower shop understands, I just want to make sure. There are the people who give me a strange look and then those who seem genuinely happy that my grandfather was such a punster. I miss him.

I hear the ding of the bell before I can go into one of those really sad moments where I start thinking about all the lovely memories I had with my grandad. I will not be having a sad montage in my head today! Not after what happened last time. I'm still stuck in my thoughts, trying to be funny, when I hear someone clear their throat. I cringe at how awkward I must look right now laughing at my own jokes, inside my head. "Ahaha, heyyyyyy, welcome to Love You Florever! Would you like to-" My brain short circuits when I finally meet the gaze of the goddess who has stepped foot into the shop. Oh lawdy I'm about to faint. She has beautiful almond brown eyes with a mole under her left eye. I'm drawn to the envious length of her lashes and how they brush gently against her cheeks as she blinks. She has short ebony hair that shimmers in the setting sunlight. Her lips curve up in a smile and she tilts her head curiously.

"Would I like to what?" She teases, a small laugh leaving her mouth. That's it, I give up. If there is a God I'm coming to visit you real soon. This girl was beautiful and her voice is so smooth I thought my brain was oozing out of my ears. I feel my face start to flush from embarrassment.

"Oh-um, sorry. I have trouble thinking sometimes." I laugh and scratch the back of my neck nervously.

"Like a medical thing?" She questions, her eyes flashing with concern like she had offended me. My eyes go wide and I shoot out my hand shaking it in a 'no' manor.

"No no no no, oh god no! You're fine, I mean like my brain just-" I hit my head softly to insinuate that I'm just a dumb gay bitch, "you know, doesn't work? Especially around pretty women- I mean," I drag my hand down my face. "Fuck." I whisper through gritted teeth. This makes her laugh loudly, so much that she wipes her eyes. She lays a hand down on the counter and grins at me.

"Thank you and I totally get the whole brain malfunction thing." She smirks as her eyes search my face. I feel like she's trying to indirectly tell me something. After an awkward amount of silence she bends her other hand at the wrist in the viral tik-tok "hey I'm gay" gesture. If this were a movie I'd look into the camera as everything pauses and I'd say oh my god, a gay.

I shake my head in understanding now. "Ah." I squeeze my eyes shut and let out a small chuckle. "I'm so sorry, um, would you like to buy anything?" I ask with a smile. I was running the store after all. I had to try to make some money. Her lips lift in a big smile and she suddenly looks nervous.

"Well, actually I came in here because you were the only flower I saw in here." First off, rude. She covers her face as a blush starts to form. Second of all, awww. I didn't really know what to say. I mean I could tell she was trying to hit on me, but her game was a little off. We'd just met and I don't know if she's a killer or something- oh who am I kidding?

"Oh really? That sounds about right to me." I smile as her face lights up.

"Oh gosh! I was so nervous but also confident that you weren't straight. I was so scared that I had misjudged you and there would be this whole thing-" Bo Burnham's Welcome to the Internet starts playing and I scramble to find my phone. I look at her apologetically as I finally find my phone buzzing in my back pocket. I see that it's my mom calling me, she knows I'm working the store today. I instantly answer it and turn away from the girl.

"Ello stinky, what are you doing calling me at work?" I ask in a posh British accent. I wait for my mom to reply, but all I hear is silence. Oh my goodness, did she butt dial me? "Mom? Are you there?" A whisper of anxiety drips into my stomach.

"Oralee, did you use my shampoo?" The sound of her voice calms the panic and I roll my eyes simultaneously. Funny how that works. Her shampoo?

"Are you talking about when I took a shower this morning? The strawberry stuff?" I question. I can almost hear my mother's annoyed groan.

"Yes the strawberry stuff, you know I'm going on a date tonight. My hair has to smell like strawberries! You know this." I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

"I didn't know you were going on a date tonight. When did that happen? I thought you were done with men and no I didn't use your shampoo." I reply curtly. I hear some shuffling around in the background and then it clears.

"Listen you know I haven't been getting any-"

"Mom! Oh my god! Shut up shut up!" I yell into the phone. I shudder with disgust at the thought of my mom speaking like she was a teen again. I hear her laughing at my pain and I almost hang up. "I cannot believe you, what is wrong with you!?"

"Hey nothing is wrong with me okay? I'm just a bisexual mother who needs two or three people to comfort me in the ways of the b o d y." She whispers the last part and I feel my whole body want to shrivel up and die.

"I cannot believe you. You're a tyrant." I hiss.

"But you love me." She quips.

"Yeah, I do. Now I have to go mom, I have a customer." I smile as I turn around.

"Ooou! Tell me all about her when you get home! Love you!" She yells and before I can ask her how she knew it was a girl she hangs up. I finally look up but the girl that was there before is now gone. I close my eyes and groan. There's goes any hope at living a happy life with a beautiful wife and a dog. I flop down in my swivel chair and continue to watch all the people walk past my beautiful flowers. Everyone was too busy getting somewhere, but I knew one day they'd rush in through my doors wanting some romantic flowers. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. Yeah, that day will come.

+ + + + +

"Lee do you like this one?" My mother holds up a small red dress with a low v-neck. Her eyebrows wiggle and I can tell she really likes this one.

"Well, let's see it on." I grin as she giddily runs into her ensuite bathroom and shuts the door. I lay back on her bed wishing I had asked that girl to wait for me to finish my phone call. Oh well, I guess it wasn't meant to be. Like most situations with girls, it never ended well for me. There was that time I had a major crush on the barista that worked in the Starbucks across the street from the shop. I convinced myself she had to be gay with how many rings and piercings she had. Turns out that was just how she liked to express herself and I learned quickly that assuming makes an ass out of you and me. You should never place feelings or sexualities on someone you don't know. You shouldn't even do that to someone you do know. Such as myself, I don't like to label myself as bisexual or lesbian, I'm more off the grid I guess. I like men okay, but then some days I will literally vomit at the thought of the male touch. It changes with the breeze to be honest. I just enjoy people's company and if something happens then I guess it does. Though, it never has. My mom has told me the day will come when I want to go serious with someone, but I'm pretty sure she was drunk when she told me that. Honestly I wish I was drunk when she told me that because then I wouldn't have to think that I'm such a failure at this romance shit.

"So? What do we think?" Mom spins out of the bathroom and into the last bit of sunlight shining through her window. Wow, she looks absolutely gorgeous. I can't help but cover my mouth to hide the smile I have. The dress brushes at her knees and curves up her hips to support her larger than average chest.

"You look gross." I purse my lips and put on my best mean girl face on. She laughs and pushes my shoulder.

"Thanks Lee, I'll be heading out soon. Make sure you take care of Mirage, you know how she likes to let us know when we didn't feed her." I nod and watch as she goes to get ready for a night out. I didn't really care if she went out, I was used to being alone. In fact I appreciated some alone time here and there like everyone else. It was comforting to just be able to scream musical songs without the fear my mom would come join me.

"I'm going to head into my room!" I call into the bathroom. I hear her hum in acknowledgement so I turn on my heel and head towards her door. Mirage, our ragdoll cat purrs as she wraps her body around my legs, nearly tripping me. I grin and bend down to pet her. "Hey girl, you saying bye to mom too? She's going out to find some relief. She's been stressed lately for some reason, but we're going to behave and be nice to her. Right?" Mirage mews at me and I can tell there is nothing behind those eyes. She was just happy to be here. I chuckle and stroke her head. I decide to pick her up and take her with me into my room. I struggle to open my bedroom door with Mirage in my arms, but manage finally to swing open the door. I sigh as I smell the mango air freshener. I set Mirage down on my pink comforter that has a white swirling pattern. Mirage plops down with her muzzle burrowed under the blanket. I smile to myself, it's been a pretty nice Saturday.

I was about to sit down in my desk chair to chill and play some Minecraft, but I realize that I need to close my curtains or else I'm going to forget it all together and I know I'll curse myself in the morning if I don't do it now. I sigh and walk over to my two windows. The purple curtains flutter in the ac gracefully, almost like they're dancing. I grab hold of one of them ready to shut, but as I happen to look out of my window I start to notice someone in the middle of the road. A chill runs down my spin, it was creepy for someone to just be standing there. They could be waiting for someone I guess, but why in the middle of the road? There's a low feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I can't help the peak of curiosity I also feel. After all, my mother was about to go out, I want to make sure she'll be safe. It was a wonderful yet horrible thing that my curiosity would get the best of me every time. I'd so be the first one in a horror movie to just open a random door and get shanked. Anyway, that's not what we should be thinking about right now.

I pear out the glass to try and get a better look at this mystery person. I study their frame, noticing that their back is to me. I tilt my head to try and get a better look, but my eyes widen when I see what looks like them turning their head to look right at me. I audibly gasp as I stumble backwards and trip over the corner of my desk. I thud to the ground and curse under my breath. I rub my back where I hit it on my desk chair. What the fuck was that? I must be so tired I'm starting to see things. I sigh and then laugh at myself. Oralee Turner you cannot just manifest some person in the middle of the road looking right at you. Those are not good vibes. Plus you're not the main character girly, calm down. I mean sure you could be a main character if you put in a little effort but come on let's be real. You'd need to really work on the woe is me mentality. I brought out of my thoughts when I hear my mother's soothing voice behind me.

"Are you okay sweetie? I heard a noise." My mom appears in the doorway and I giggle at her frantic look. This makes her look even more worried. It's fine mom I didn't hit my head.

"Yeah I'm all good, I just need to go to bed I guess. I'm so tired I guess I forgot objects can trip me." I nod my head towards my desk. She clicks her tongue in empathy.

"Did you hurt yourself?" She leans into the room looking for any sign of injury. I shake my head slowly.

"I just bumped my back into the legs of my chair." I grimace as my back throbs.

"Oh hon, I can stay home and put some ice on that? I'll cancel my plans and we can watch a movie together." Her eyes frantically search my face for an answer.

"Mom I'm 18 years old, I think I can ice my own back, but thank you." I smile to try and calm her nerves. I want her to go out and have some fun. She deserved it. She sighs loudly and just when I think she's going to let it go there's a knock on our door. Mirage perks up and mom and I make eye contact. "Door to door service?" I smirk mischievously. I can tell she wants to say something more about our previous conversation, but another knock at the door calls her attention elsewhere.

"We'll talk more when I get home Lee." She turns to walk away but as if she has one last thing to say, she turns back. "Also, she seems like the kind of gal to walk me to her car and such. That's something you should want in someone. A lot of people don't do that now a days you just need to-"

"Mom, oh my gosh just go." I shake my head and try to shoo her away with a hand motion. She rolls her eyes but does as I suggest. I hear a distant voice and debate on meeting this mystery woman, but decide against it. I don't want to ruin the whole thing my mom probably has going. I also don't want this woman to think my mom is a- oh god- a milf. Before I can fold in on myself I hear a notification sound from my phone, which lays forgotten on my bed. "Hey Mirage would you mind growing a human hand to hand me my phone?" Mirage looks me in my eyes and as if directly telling me to fuck off, she hops off my bed and pads over to my closet. "Bitch." I grumble.

I heave myself off the ground with a grunt, only to flop myself down onto my bed. I somehow manage to grab my phone from under my leg. I wonder who would've texted me. I curiously unlock the phone and see a message from my best friend Tabitha.

Tabby: Hey! Let me know if you can make it to the party nerd!

I close my eyes and groan into my pillow. Social interactions in this day and age? No thank you. I'd rather go outside and touch some grass.

Buttface: I'm not sure if Phelo will let me :(

Tabby: You could just go anyway >:( Come on! I'll even drive you!

Buttface: I don't know Tabs, I just feel like it's going to be like last time all over again. You'll be the only one I know and you'll try to set me up with the one lesbian that'll be there. And before you say anything, no- I don't want to loose my virginty to some rando. That's not something cool I want to do.

Tabby: Oh come on that was one time and I said I was sorry :((( She won't even be here this time so you don't have to worry about spilling a drink on her again lol.

Buttface: I will kill you if you mention that once more :} Also fine, since you're a needy bitch I guess I'll stop in. When and where is it again?

Tabby: Don't worry about it, remember I said I'll pick you up! Just be ready around 6 tomorrow :)

Buttface: A Sunday night party? Really? We'll have school the next day.

Tabby: :)

God I wish she was the one with anxiety instead of me. I purse my lips as I remember how many things Tabitha has gotten me into. Like that one time she and I were walking in the park and someone yelled out that we were lesbians and she started to cry. I mean, who does that? Kind of scared me to be honest, I never want to walk with a girl anywhere ever again. Well, no that'd be a lie since women are goddesses and I am a simp.

It's then that I hear another buzz come from my phone. I almost don't look at it, I don't want Tabitha to have sent me something weird. When I look at my screen it's a message from an unknown number. I knit my brows together as I tap the message.

(xxx)xxx-xxxx: Hi, I hope this is Oralee Turner, if not that'd be awkward. You can just delete my message if you aren't her. If you are though, please respond with verification of your identity.

Verification? Who was this? How'd they get my number? This better not be another Tabitha set up. I swear one day I'm going to lock that girl in a room with some random guy I find on the street. I will actually not be doing that because men are scary, especially those who you don't know. I'm about to set my phone down and ignore this obvious scammer message, but for some very odd reason I text them back.

Oralee: Hi? This is she, I don't have your number saved in my phone. Who is this if you don't mind me asking? I don't feel comfortable sharing any information with a complete stranger :( Have to make sure you're not a scammer.

(xxx)xxx-xxxx: I understand completely! Of course you'd be cautious of an unknown number! Let me share some things that might make you a little more comfortable with who I am :) My name is Zandra Dominika and I'm 19 years old. I have your number because of your mother, Phelo Turner! I promise I'm not trying to scam you lol, just reaching out to see how your doing!

I think once I know someone is a female I instantly feel safer. It's... not the best feeling to acknowledge that, but then again it's good to still be aware of your surroundings. This person could still try to hurt me, plus they know my mom's name! That's absolutely fucked. I can't trust them right now. Why would I give them any personal information when they are most likely lying to me right now? Though the name Zandra did sound weirdly familiar. Like I knew it from a distant memory or something. Maybe I had seen it in my mom's memory book? I'd have to go check that out later.

(xxx)xxx-xxxx: I know you're probably taking so much time because you still think I'm a scammer, which is good! It shows that you're careful and smart! I'm glad you're not willing to send birthdates and shit to some rando. I'm not sure how I could prove to you that I'm not a scammer. I also know that I most likely scared you off with how I knew your mom. I could explain that if you'd be willing to listen?

Listen? I mean... I could do that, but no! This could be a ploy to get more information from my phone...or... they could be telling the truth. Damn it! I frown to myself, moving my thumbs to make the number a contact.

Oralee: It seems you know a lot about how I'm feeling and already have some information about me. I think this is all the recognition you need, but my curiosity does always get the best of me. Go ahead, tell me how you know my mother's name and how you got my number.

Zandra the randa: Okay... well I just knew how I would feel if someone randomly messaged me asking all these questions and knowing all these things lol. Anyways, I know your mom because she simply knows my mother. They go way back, like further than you're probably thinking right now. We've actually met before but I think you forgot lmao. We were really close actually, we didn't want to leave each other's side. Your mom is still in contact with mine so obviously I was curious how you were and asked for your number. I do think this is Oralee now so no recognition is needed anymore. I... uh... missed you a lot. It's lonely here.

I have to set my phone down for a second. What? I have a long lost friend? I really didn't see that one coming. I usually wasn't the one for making friends. I guess that gives me some explanation as to why I thought her name was so familiar. I'm going to ask mom to help me find that memory book when she gets home. That brings me back to what Zandra had last said. It's lonely here. What did she mean by that? Did she not live in our state? I wonder where she lives, maybe Montana? I'm going to ask her.

Oralee: So we used to know each other... I'm sorry I don't remember that at all honestly, but when my mom gets home I'm going to try and find some pictures if we have any. Maybe that'll help strike a cord in my brain. I do have a question though, where do you live? You make it sound like we're really far away :(

I straighten myself out on my bed, waiting patiently for a response, but one never seems to come. I wait for a good 10 minutes before deciding to do something other than just waiting. It wasn't healthy to get attached so quickly. I bite my lip. I wonder what she looks like. No, Lee there's no time to be gay now. Mom will be home soon and then you can look in the memory book.

I hope she's hot. You know, there are some days I wish I could just shut my thoughts off, especially the horny ones. She's got to at least be into DND, you know? If she can't enjoy be chaotic while being a mythical creature, I don't want it. DND was a way I could believe in small amounts that fairies are real. I smirk to myself as I think about all the times I tried to seduce something in our campaign.

"Lee? Are you awake? Honey I'm coming up!" I feel my body jolt from the sudden rush of adrenalin. Jesus, I guess my mom is home now. I didn't even hear the door open or a car pull up.

"Yeah I'm awake mom! I'll meet you in the hall." I hoist myself off the bed and shake my head. Shit, I didn't even know what time it was. It's nearly midnight and I have a shift tomorrow at the shop. I'm so fucked. I walk to my door and open it swiftly. I'm met with my mother leaned up against the wall across from it. She smiles sweetly at me, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"I missed you Lee." She holds her arms open for a hug and I instantly accept it.

"You too stinky. I hope you had a good night." I enjoy the smell of my mother, how it calms down my senses. It makes me want to cuddle with her all night watching movies, almost like what she suggested earlier. Shit! I never iced my back! That's going to hurt in the morning!

"Oh I did, it was long." I feel my body tense and I back away from her. My face scrunches up in disgust.

"Mom! God I don't want to hear about your night in that much detail!" I plug my ears like a child and shake my head vigorously.

"Meh, your loss." She shrugs and I can tell she wants to go to sleep. Her eyes are half lidded and she looks very loopy.

"If you're done, I do have a question. Where is that memory book you made when I was little? I got a text tonight from someone named Zandra Dominika. Do you know her?" I question, motioning towards her. She seems to suddenly wake up. Her eyes widen slightly as she processes what I just told her.

"Did you say Zandra finally reached out to you? Well thank fucking god, took her long enough. She's had your number for like 4 years. I thought ya'll would start where you left off, but I can see by your vacant expression that you don't know what I'm talking about." She smiles with a small chuckle. "Well, how about we talk about it tomorrow night okay? You and I can have some finger foods and maybe even some drinks. Talk for a while. I'll explain things to you clearly." She grins and gestures to my room. "Now, what do you say we get some sleep?" She nods and shuffles towards her room.

Well...how am I going to be two places at once? Do I want to go to a party or sit and veg out with my mom. Definitely the latter, but I have to go to the party, I promised Tabs. I'm just going to have to make both work!

+ + + + +

It was Sunday afternoon before I could think of an excuse to miss Tabitha's party. Ugh, why'd she have to be such a good friend. Yeah she's made plenty of mistakes in our friendship, but so have I. I've known her forever, I can't just let her down by telling her I'd come to her party and then not going. I know it shouldn't matter, but I just don't want to deal with her mad at me on top of trying to figure out who the hell Zandra was. My mom seemed to like her enough I guess, but was that just a mom thing? Was I really close to this girl or is my mom trying to get me a girlfriend? I purse my lips as I give that a little more thought. Nah, my mom isn't the type to do that, she's not that desperate to please her gay daughter. She knows relationships, especially those of the gay variety have to take time. They have to happen naturally, not by some silly match making friend. It makes both parties feel very uncomfortable.

"Miss? I'd like to buy those now." I hear someone say. It was a guy about my age who looked pretty nervous. He had that all time popular floofy hair and had sun kissed skin. His eyes were an emerald green, like how you'd see algae in a pond. His face looks like someone took brown paint and scattered freckles all over it. I smile in my customer satisfaction smile.

"Of course! Sorry I was just lost in thought about something going on." I laugh lightly to try and make this situation less awkward.

"Yeah I totally get it! I'm not sure what flowers she'll like, so I'm sort of freaking out about it." He looks up to meet my gaze, his emerald eyes lighting up. "Hey do you think a mysterious type of girl who doesn't really like flowers would like these?" He holds up black nemophilas. I smirk to myself. Did he really have to pick such a literal meaning for a flower? I think this guy is way over his head. He shouldn't be buying flowers for this girl, he should be taking her to watch the stars. She seems like the kind of girl to like that.

"Well, those flowers have a secret meaning, you wanna know what it is?" I raise my brows like I'm about to whisk this guy into a crazy story about how these flowers got their name. He nods his head frantically. "Those are black Nemophilas, they usually are small beautiful flowers, but can bloom in all white, pink, white with some purple, or like what you have there. They're called black Nemophilas but they actually look purple with white around the edges of the petals right? Although it's cooler to think that they bloomed black. They're mostly grown as a houseplant because of their resistance to freezing temperatures." I grin widely. I get so happy talking about flowers. I meet his eyes again and he looks extremely happy.

"Shit. Thank you so much. I'm sure she'll love these." He smiles kindly and for the first time in a while, I see him lift the buds to his nose. He takes a small whiff in and a grin spreads across his face. "It smells like sweat." He laughs.

"I-uh... yeah, they're not known for smelling too nice." I stumble over my words, still shocked that someone actually stopped to smell a flower in my shop. They were always too busy buying the flowers to care about what they smelled like. It seemed like the first time someone had cared enough to take time out of their day to smell the flowers. Instead of picking up the prettiest rose and whisking it away without a second glance my way.

I gulp in, not knowing why him smelling a flower got to me so much. "Uh, yeah if you'll just set them down here I'll get them prepared for you to take." I nod curtly and whisk around to the preparation counter. It has scissors, shears, a spray bottle, and some other gardening things. Get it together Lee.

"Thanks so much for this by the way. Pretty sure she's going to fall in love with me because of the sweaty flowers. My name is Elijah, I think we go to school together." I feel my back tense. Great, he goes to my school.

"Yeah?" I say over my shoulder. "What grade are you in?" I ask. Lee why are you continuing the conversation? You don't even like to talk to your cat most of the time.

"I'm a junior, struggling in Mrs. Groution's English class." I can almost hear the smile in his voice. "You're a senior right?" He prods. Dear lord he has seen me around school.

"Yup!" I reply politely. "I'm just ready to get out of here and graduate you know? I have the case of senioritis bad." What I said was honest. I didn't like my high school. It was filled with fake kids and even more fake adults. We had a "zero tolerance" for bullying, yet some of my friends can tell me stories they've heard that says otherwise. It was just an overall distaste for the whole putting on looks situation. A school wasn't supposed to use kids like that, I absolutely hated it. His voice takes me out of thought and back to the situation at hand. I was having an interaction, I needed to focus on that, no matter how much I wanted to hide from it. There were days like this, the ones where I didn't want to be around people at all, but other days it's better to be around them so I can thrive off of some energy people give off.

"You seem a bit lost in though, I'm sorry I can just get out of your hair." He laughs, but I can tell he's a little hurt by the fact I'm so lost in thought. I feel bad even though I barely know the guy.

"Nah, I'm just a deep thinker you know? I get lost in thought very easily. I'm not the best in social situations face to face." I turn to give him a genuine smile. I see his eyes light up again. Good, he feels better.

"Oh no I totally get how that feels. I hate how our school does this whole," he instantly puts on a fake posh accent, "We have the smartest and happiest kids." He lets out a chuckle afterwards. "Little do they know that half of us are depressed and the other half are too busy peaking in high school to be bothered by their sadness." I turn to look him in the eyes, mine growing wider by the second. We make eye contact and then suddenly burst into laughter. My word, he does get it. Shame on me for assuming Elijah and I would have nothing in common. After a bit I can finally breathe again from laughing so hard. I wipe my eyes still giggling lightly.

"Here are your flowers Elijah, good luck." I smile as he graciously takes the flowers and waves enthusiastically to me as he leaves. The smile stayed on my lips for the rest of my work day. Then it was time for me to get ready for Tabitha's party. Joy to the world.

+ + + + +

I ended up wearing something comfortable over cute. If anyone had issue with it, I'd just tell them to fuck off. Well, not actually, I'd just think it. I was in some black sweats with a stretchy maroon shirt. I slipped my off brand crocs I got from a farmers market with my mom a couple years ago and a cute anklet. I pull my hair up in a pony to keep it mostly out of my face. I had normal blonde hair that was naturally pretty curly, but I had a Great Aunt who would give me perms every once in a while. Noting this, I pull some curly strands to frame my face so it didn't look so round. I put on a dangly bracelet and my chain necklace. I'm overall happy with my look, but I'm sure Tabitha will have something to say about it. I decide to put on some gold rings to match the chain in hopes that they'll suffice for her.

I stuff my phone and some earbuds in my pocket and then grab a few dollars out of my wallet. I could need some cash for food later, not sure. I do a once over of myself in the mirror and pat my pudgy stomach. "Oh yeah Oralee Turner you are looking sexy tonight." I give myself finger guns in the mirror and head out my door, grinning to myself like an idiot. I hop down the stairs and towards the front door. Mom hadn't come home yet from errands so I write her a quick note to let her know I'll be back a little later than midnight, seeing as it was getting close to 6 already. Speaking of the time, where the hell is Tabitha? She said was going to pick me up right? I cram my hand into my pocket to find my phone. I unlock it only to find Tabitha had texted me a couple minutes earlier.

Tabby: Hey, I can't pick you up tonight! :( I have to meet up with someone pretty soon so you're going to have to drive yourself!! Sorry babes!

I groan and turn my phone off. This was a great start to the night, because not only did I not like driving, but I was definitely not okay with my car going to a party. I angrily grab my keys from the bowl in the halltree and rush out to my car. I want to be one of the firsts ones there so I can find a good place to sit and an escape route. I start my small car and am met with my comfort station of old rock songs. Okay, maybe this wouldn't be so bad. I pull out of the driveway and roll my window down. The fresh nigh air whips the tendrils of hair I pulled out around my face, it's slightly annoying, but I like the fresh air. It smells like rain and it was such a cool night. It's about a couple minutes into driving when I realize Tabitha didn't tell me where this party was being held. Damn it why am I still even trying to go to this thing? It's like I felt some kind of pull to go and I hated that Tabitha could just pull on my heart strings like that. I pull over into an abandoned parking lot and pull out my phone.

Buttface: where the fuck is this party again?

The reply is almost instant.

Tabby: Ah, it's at this jock's house. 1987 Elmore North, I think his name is Elijah, come on get here girl!!

My eyes widen and a grin spreads across my lips. You sneaky son of a bitch. Did Elijah buy those flowers for Tabs? Maybe this is why I felt such a pull to go to the party. I can get to know Elijah more and if he's that cool then maybe the people he invited are pretty cool too. I feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off my shoulders as I set my phone down in one of the cup holders. His house was a short drive from where I was now, it would only take me about 2 minutes to get there and his neighborhood is rather large, meaning big houses, meaning there's bound to be a dog to pet. Count me truly ready to party now.

I make it to his house and hop out of my car. I feel lucky that not a lot of cars are there yet and that I can see Tabitha's. Should I have brought something? No, I did help him pick out those flowers. I subconsciously put my hands in my pockets, walking up to the backyard gate which is open. There are outside lights set up and small campfire flickering in a stone firepit. There's a deck with a grill and below ground pool near the fence line of the property. It's a pretty nice backyard, but I only see a couple people out here and none of them are anyone I know. I hurry up and spot the glass sliding door to the inside. Of course it's a glass sliding door. I clumsily wander over to the door and slide it open. I'm hit with warm air and a yelling voice coming from deeper in the house. I glance back to the group outside which consists of 2 boys and 3 girls all chatting about an English assignment. I definitely don't want to try to join in on their conversation so I step inside and shut the door from behind me.

"I thought we had something Tabby!" I hear a familiar voice yell.

"Well you don't know shit! And don't call me that! I should have never come here! Damn it!" Once I hear my friend's name I'm on my way to find her, when I do find her, I find Elijah with her. Tabitha has the flowers clutched in her hands, breaking the stems. Elijah breaks his angry stare from Tabitha when he spots me. He looks almost shocked to see me, but his demeanor changes when he puts it together that I'm not here to be on his side. "What took you so long Lee? I was waiting for you!" Tabitha stares at me with pleading eyes, her grip on the flowers hardening, I can tell by the way they droop even lower to the ground.

"I-I had to drive myself and I didn't know where I w-was going at first." I look between the two of them. "What's going on?" I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have come here. Why did I come here? I take a few steps backwards.

"This fucker thought flowers where his way into my pants." Tabitha hisses and tosses the flowers to the ground. I wince. I get that she was upset, but the flowers didn't do anything. They had a nice life after all, I cut and prepared them. Someone actually stopped to smell them. I got to share facts about them! I never get to do that! "Well fuck that." Before I can think she stomps the flowers into the hardwood floor. Her boot cuts into their stems and when she's done it's a mess of petals and leaves.

"I wasn't trying to get into your pants!" Elijah finally shouts. "I actually just wanted to be a gentleman because so many fucking guys out here are disgusting!" I can tell he's upset about her stepping on the flowers and her words by the way his voice wobbles and his eyes flit between the crumpled petals. I'm upset now too. I can't really tell why I'm so upset but I meet Tabitha's eyes with tears in my own. My brows are drawn into an angry expression as I glance down at the mess by her feet.

"I-they-you- those flowers had no part in this... why'd you do that? You know how I feel about flowers Tabs. They have lives too." I meet her gaze again. I want her to apologize but all she does is roll her eyes.

"They're not alive Lee, don't be such a pansy. For fuck's sake can we focus on my problems here?" She hisses. A chill runs through my body. I can feel my blood boil and freeze almost simultaneously. Elijah stares at her in disbelief.

"Fuck you." I hiss and squeeze my eyes shut. The tears finally break over the barrier and fall down my cheeks. I rush out the way I came, a sick feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.

She knows how I feel about them! She knows how much they meant to my grandad. How much shit he had to go through to keep the shop going. He raised me, teaching me about the different effects flowers could have. Flowers were a language not spoken by many.

"Lee! Lee wait I'm sorry! I was angry! Lee-" I run. I run until I'm outside and shutting the door. Why'd I come here? Why'd I do it? God I was so stupid? Stupid. That's me. No no no no, fuck! I ball my fists and wipe at my face. I realize the group outside is looking my way and I curse under my breath. I turn on my heel and fast walk the fuck out of there. I try to make the tears stop falling, but they keep streaming down my face.

"Fuck, fuck, shit." I curse, then suddenly I knock shoulders with someone who grunts because of the impact. I stop in my tracks, I may be upset but my mother taught me manners. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" I finally look up to see who I bumped into. A tall girl about my age stands in front of me. She has pink hair tied into space buns and heart shaped glasses on. Her earrings are also in the shape of hearts as well as the choker she's wearing. She has high-waisted jeans on with a flowy blouse to match. She was absolutely stunning. She even had a beauty mark under her eye that stood out in the moonlight.

"It's okay," She pauses as she gets a better look at me. "A-are you okay?" Her brows instantly knit in concern. Shit, has she noticed I'm not mentally stable already?

"I-uh... yeah I'm fine." I decide to answer. "I... I'm actually going." I sigh. She purses her lips and then frowns.

"That's too bad, you seemed cool. I was hoping to talk some more." She grins. I nod in agreement.

"I am pretty cool, but I should really get going." I jab my thumb towards where my car is.

"Lee?" I whisk around to see Tabitha at the gate.

"Shit." I hiss. "See ya, I gotta go!" I yell and practically Olympic sprint to my car. I unlock my car as fast as I can and hop in. I turn the key and start to back out when I see Tabitha waving wildly in front of me. Yeah, I'm never going to another one of her 'fun' parties. I shake my head and wipe at my face. Pansy? I tense as I speed towards home. Never again.

I get home around 8:45pm and to my surprise my mom is home. I pull in behind her car and put mine in park. I don't think this night can get any worse. I get out of my car, lock it, spin my keys around my fingers a couple times, and then head towards my front door. Before I can open it, it's opened for me. "Evening sweetie, what brings you home so early?" My mother stands in the doorway with a frown on her face. I sigh and lightly push past her into the house.

"Oh you know, just too cool for the party life." I give her a fake smile and she clicks her tongue.

"That bad?" She questions. I nod and flop down on the couch. It's then that I notice the memory book on the coffee table. Her eyes light up. "Oh yes! Miss Zandra, you wanted to see a picture of her right? Now, since you're home so early we're going to have lots of time to look at pictures and discuss, but I need you to have an open mind." She gives me a stern look. I roll my eyes.

"Mom, I'm a gay teen, I have to keep an open mind at all times." I fire back. She pauses for a moment then nods her head in agreement. She flops down next to me grabbing one of the books. I snuggle up next to her, loving her comforting scent.

"Ah here's a good one, it's of you guys when you were little." She flips the book for me to see the picture. It's little me with that appears to be strap on fairy wings on my back, same for who I'm assuming is Zandra.

"That's her?" I point to the other little girl. She nods and coos about how cute we look. Zandra has the same sparkly dress up wings on. I chuckle at how cheap they look. Mom flips a couple pages and gasps.

"Oh and here's a more recent picture of her!" She taps the page excitedly. My eyes widen as I scan the photo in front of me. Pink hair tied back in regal braids, a white dress with gold accents trailing up the bodice, her slender arms folded in front of her, and those same sparkling wings on her back, only about four times the size. I gasp as my eyes follow what seems to be a swirling pattern in them.

"I-is she into fantasy shoots or something?" I choke over my words. She was beautiful. It takes me a moment to finally notice the glimmering gold crown around her head. It has a hanging purple jewel dangling in the middle of her forehead. My eyes trail down her face and land on a beauty mark under her eye. If my eyes could widen any more I think they did at that moment.

"Um, well not exactly sweetie, there's been something I've needed to tell you for a while now."

Of course.

#lgbtq #comedy #fashion #fairytaleliving #gay #dance #Author #love story #original story #fairies #fantasy #funny #romance #gay teen #teen #flowers #simp #bisexaul #lesbian #queen #fairytale #fandom

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nightshade-minho · 4 years

Text

-Blue Book- (3)

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: Chan being an ass.

Over the next two days, Chan found himself spending nearly all of his time with you. You had warmed up to him a lot, but was still a little cautious. He had to build up trust...somehow.

Spending time with you was excruciatingly boring. All you seemed to do was draw, and sitting next to you while you did was getting tiring.

However, whenever he would come close to giving up, something would happen to put him right back on track- whether it was Miyoung smiling at him from across the hallway, tucking her hair behind her ear like she always did...or Minho, shamelessly asking her out for a fucking date. Right in front of his salad.

No, literally.

He watched in horror as Minho chuckled, speaking to her on the phone in that raspy voice of his that was the fakest shit Chan had ever heard.

"Yeah, okay, babe. Bye~" Minho cooed, cutting the call and putting his phone down, resuming his meal as he dug into his chicken nonchalantly.

"Babe?" Changbin asked, smirking from the opposite end of the table.

"Hmm, yeah. Got a problem with that?" Minho asked, seemingly replying to Changbin but staring right at Chan as he said it.

"No." Chan lied, voice a little shaky.

"Oh, but don't embarrass him like this, Minho. He's only been wanting to ask her out for like, two years...yet you did it in five minutes." Hyunjin said, laughing.

Chan's grip on his fork tightened. He prided himself in being a patient person, more or less...yet these two definitely had the potential to turn him into a cold-blooded murderer.

"Where are you taking her?" Jisung asked, mouth full.

"To the carnival, tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to win her one of those giant plushies. I've always been good at those games."

"How romantic~" Jisung smiled. "You know we'll be there too though, right?"

"Uh huh." Minho grinned at Chan. "Don't worry! I won't leave my best friends for a girl. We'll be right there with you, the whole time."

"Sounds great. Don't know if Chan will like that idea, though..."

Minho tilted his head, tutting.

"Channiee~ you know I'll back off if you get the book, right?"

That was it. Chan stood up, spoon and fork clattering onto his plate as he left the table, fuming. His stomach growled with hunger as he pushed open the café door, walking out onto the street with his bag slung over his shoulder.

He'd just have his dinner at home.

***

"Wow. You really pissed him off." Jeongin noted.

Minho rolled his eyes, stabbing his chicken with the fork. "I swear, he has such bland taste in girls. Miyoung is the most brainless creature I've ever met."

"Why would you put up with that, then? And why do you seem so intent on irritating him lately?" Felix asked, frowning.

"I'm not really putting up with anything. She's hot, and she has a smoking body. Brains don't matter when you look like that."

"You know Chan likes Miyoung for more than her appearance. Although I can't, for the life of me, imagine what that might be..."

"Whatever."

"You didn't answer my question."

Minho sighed, raising an eyebrow at Felix.

"I just don't like the way he's been lording over us all lately. He acts like he's our 'leader' or something. I feel like I can barely breathe around him- at least this gets him out of the way."

"See? It's a battle of the alphas, after all." Jisung guffawed, high-fiving Hyunjin.

"So this is all just some power struggle?" Felix asked, disbelief lacing his tone. "Why the fuck did you drag an innocent girl into it, then? She has nothing to do with any of it-"

"Eh, she just gets on my nerves. Two birds with one stone." He shrugged.

Felix shook his head. "You're an asshole."

He smirked. "I know."

***

Chan knew exactly where to find you.

True to form, you were on the same park bench as always, legs crossed as you listened to music with your eyes closed.

"Hey..."

You opened one eye slightly as you realized who it was. Taking the earbuds out, you smiled.

"Oh hey...I didn't expect to see you again until tomorrow morning."

"Yeah well, I kinda knew you would be here."

You patted the spot next to you, and Chan hesitantly sat down.

"Where's your book? You're not drawing?"

"It's too dark for that." You pointed out, a lopsided smile gracing your face.

"Why are you here then?"

"My mom and her date went to this fancy restaurant." You explained. "And I didn't want to be all alone at home, so I just came out here."

"Ah. This place is just as pretty at night..."

"Mmhmm."

Chan sighed as he watched you play with your hair. It was kind of cute, how you tried to mask your nervousness by occupying your hands with meaningless actions.

"So what will you be having for dinner, then?"

"Probably ramen out of a packet. I hope we still have some left..."

Chan pressed his lips together. "Would you...um, would you like to come join me for dinner? At my house?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Oh..." You blushed, looking down. "I mean, yeah, sure-"

"Great!" You looked up, the smile on Chan's face so kind that you almost teared up.

God, Y/n, get yourself together...

You had no idea why he was being so nice to you at first, and had been wary initially...but the last few days had changed that. He seemed to enjoy spending time with you, and that was somewhat of a novelty- a person showing interest in you, that is.

Chan grinned at you, grabbing your wrist as he pulled you up. "Let's go!~"

***

"This is my room."

You gasped. "Wow, it's so big!"

"Yeah." He chuckled. "It used to be a gym, I think...but my parents let me change it up."

"That's so cool." You went over to the posterboard, smiling as your eyes ran over all the polaroids and memorabilia Chan had collected over the years.

"My room isn't as personalized as yours...but this makes me want to give it a makeover." You smiled, going over to the window and marvelling at the size of it.

"Wow...you must get a lot of sunlight in the mornings..." You said in awe, pressing your nose up against the glass as you looked down.

"I do." He said, mind blank as he watched you fangirl over his room. You were so overly enthusiastic about everything...he wished he could be the same.

You turned around, that wide smile ever-present on your face. As you opened your mouth to say something else, you were interrupted by the sound of your stomach growling.

"Ah, I almost forgot. I brought you here to feed you." He winked, opening his door as he stepped back out.

"Come on, we can visit my bedroom some other time~" Your cheeks heated up at his words as he went back downstairs.

"Wait for me!" You followed him quickly as he made his way to the dinner table.

"Where are your parents?" You asked as you sat at the table.

"They're on a business trip, princess, and my siblings are at their friends'. So...we have the house all to ourselves." He winked again, and you quickly looked back down at your empty plate.

You thanked the maid as she served the food. It was pasta, and your stomach growled again as soon as you laid eyes on it.

"Wow, you're hungry, huh? Sounds like there's a baby bear living in your stomach~" He teased. You giggled, shaking your head as you took a bite.

"Oh wow, it's delicious."

"It better be, my parents don't pay her for nothing." He said, starting to eat.

There was silence for a while as the two of you filled your empty stomachs...but somehow, it wasn't awkward. Chan looked up at you from time to time, chuckling at how fast you ate.

"Slow down, babygirl."

Your eyes widened as you looked up at him. That pet name, fuck.

Chan raised an eyebrow, picking up on how affected you were by it.

"Hmm, you like that name?"

You shook your head vehemently, going back to your meal- but your cheeks never stopped burning.

He hadn't expected to see you so flustered, when he'd literally just called you a name.

Wrapped around his finger, indeed.

***

"It feels weird hanging out without Chan." Jeongin sighed, adjusting the pillow under his chin as he lay on the mattress in Felix's basement, watching as Changbin and Jisung faced off in Call of Duty.

"Yeah? I feel like it's better. I don't feel like I have to walk on eggshells." Hyunjin shrugged, prompting Minho to smile widely.

"See? He gets it."

"I don't know, Chan being here sure keeps these guys in line." Seungmin flicked his thumb towards Changbin and Jisung (the two of them mock-wrestling as the latter suspected that the former had cheated), not looking up from his book.

Changbin looked up from the headlock Jisung had him in.

"Oh shut up. Guys, I don't really understand why we pick on some random girl in school when we have our very own nerd right here." He sneered.

"There's a difference between being a nerd and having brains...something which you clearly don't know much about. I'll cut you some slack." Seungmin smirked.

"For fuck's sake, stop fighting." Jisung said as he poked Changbin's side, squeezing harder.

"Oh, the irony." Jeongin groaned, rubbing his forehead as he watched the two roll around on the floor.

Felix sighed as he buried his head in his hands, too tired to follow the conversation anymore.

What had happened to them?

***

"You should come over again."

"Yeah...I will. Some other time. My mom's expecting me, unfortunately." You said apologetically.

"At least let me walk you home?"

You paused, smiling slowly. "Alright."

The two of you walked side by side, the cool night breeze ruffling your hair.

"What are your hobbies?" You asked after some minutes of silence, curiously.

"Well. I like swimming, and also football." He paused, wondering if he should tell you more or not.

"I...I also like making music."

"Woah. That's amazing. Next time, you should show me some of your songs."

"Uh, yeah, sure. Some of them are kinda private, though..."

"That's okay. You only need to show me what you're comfortable with letting me hear." You said.

Chan smiled softly, nodding. For a second, it crossed his mind how you were willing to respect his privacy...and yet here he was, trying to violate yours by attempting to steal something that was clearly precious to you.

Miyoung. Think of Miyoung, He reminded himself.

You suddenly stopped, turning to him with a grin.

"We're here. Thanks for walking me home!"

"No problem..."

"See you later~" You waved as you walked backwards, turning around to open the gate.

"Wait-"

"Hm?" You twisted your neck to look at him questioningly.

"Uh...I was wondering, would you want to come with me to the carnival tomorrow? It'll be fun-"

"Yes! Sure!" You said, a little too eagerly.

"Great. It's a date."

"D-date?"

"Yeah." He smirked. "See you then, babygirl."

With that, he walked away, the image of your flustered face in his mind.

Miyoung would be his in no time.

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idkthisisjustforfanfic · 4 years

Photo

C A L L M E C A T, chapter nine

January 2017

We had time off near the holidays, space for all of us was good. The rush of our record deal and newfound fame was suffocating in moments, exhilarating in others.

Niall journeyed back to Ireland and Miles back up north to Massachusetts. Jules’ parents were only in Connecticut, and Harry had already made the trip back to the UK to see his family.

By the time the New Year came, I was sick of being in Florida with no friends and minimal interaction from my parents. Our last night together as a band was the night of my drunken exit, something that we all knew was awkward and tense but didn’t dare to mention the next morning.

Being around my parents made me drink less just because I feared becoming them. Which was probably good for both my liver and my mind, but bad for my emotional state. It had been a few weeks since I’d spoken to Miles or Harry. Jules would check in just to make sure I hadn’t murdered my parents yet, Niall sent pictures of his nephew and the pints he was drinking back home.

I sat on the back patio a few days into 2017, sunglasses on to block the sun and hoping to get a bit of a glow on the unseasonably warm day. My phone buzzed beside me and pulled my attention back to the pool in front of me, my parents were both at work and I finally had a minute without them to gather my thoughts.

Nothing about the sunshine state made me want to stay, especially not the locked door down the hall that had been untouched since 2011. The bed was likely unmade and I was sure dust had collected on the trophies that lined his shelves.

I picked up my phone and read the message that had just come through, one that made me want to abandon my home state more than I already did.

Harry Styles (1:03pm): Random question, are you still in Florida?

I looked around the backyard, boats buzzed by on the water and the waves glimmered in the sun.

Cat Fonder (1:04pm): Unfortunately

Harry Styles (1:04pm): Me too.

I pulled up the phone and read it twice before I pressed the phone icon near his name. It rang once before he answered.

“Hi!”

“What are you doing in Florida?”

“Well--bit of an airline issue, so I ended up on a flight here instead of New York. I’m stuck here overnight.”

“That sucks,” I admitted, turning on my side on the pool lounge chair. “What are you going to do?”

“Well,” he took a pause, but I could tell he’d already decided. “You’re going to come get me at the airport.”

“What makes you think that?”

He laughed on the other end of the phone. “I mean, you wouldn’t let me sleep overnight in the Miami airport would you?” I let out a groan for him to hear, laughed a little when he threw in: “I know you have enough bedrooms at your parents house.”

Marta, our longtime housekeeper and an adopted member of our family, slid open the door to the living room. “Do you want lunch?”

“In a few!” I called back to her. “Harry--you can Uber here if you want.”

“Oh just come pick me up--how far do you live from the airport?”

“From Miami? Like an hour and a half!”

“Which is exactly why I’m not paying for an Uber, Catherine.”

I exhaled through my nose, licked at my lips, already regretting the decision to take one of my dad’s cars into a Miami afternoon. The air was sticky and the climb in my heartbeat made me feel stupid and childish. Harry’s chastising on the other end didn’t help.

“Did you hang up on me? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Cause I’m trying to think of a plan to be in a car with you and not kill you.”

He let out a belly laugh at this, noise from the busy airport terminal was seeping through the speaker and into my ears. “I’ll make sure we don’t lay any hands on each other.”

Goosebumps rose on my skin, his voice almost melodic when he said see you soon!

I grabbed the keys and took a sandwich for the road from Marta, prayed to some type of higher power that I didn’t rear end someone or fuck up my dad’s Mercedes. He drove the Tesla to work, which was good, honestly, because I wouldn’t even know how to turn that one on.

It took me only an hour and fifteen, which didn’t seem like a result of my timid driving but more the lack of traffic and time of day. When I rolled up to the baggage claim and saw him standing on the curb with sunglasses pushed up and a hood over his head, I rolled the window down.

“How’s the disguise working?”

He made a face at me, stuffed his suitcase in the backseat and climbed in front. “You joke, but there were girls who literally cried when they saw me. And a few photographers, I think--which is really weird.”

“Really?” I looked over my shoulder and put on my blinker, hoping to merge effortlessly over three lanes to get out of the hellhole that was Miami International.

“Yeah--don’t know why but people apparently like our band in Florida. Hometown pride, maybe.”

He had a point--apparently my name had been one of the most searched google phrases in the state at the end of 2016. But we weren’t really paparazzi level yet, once or twice in New York or LA when we’d do shows, but they’d yet to really follow us around.

“Okay, well you might have to be silent the rest of the ride if you want to get to Palm Beach in one piece.”

He turned towards me with an amused look. “Do you suck at driving?”

“No,” I said, looking over at him quickly, a car merged in front of me and made me swerve to the side a little bit when I took my eyes off the road.

“Jesus fuck!” He laughed, “oh god--you would be absolutely rubbish at driving. This is actually extremely on brand for you.”

“I’m not rubbish at driving,” I twisted my face. “I’m just out of practice.”

We made it four miles away from the airport before he demanded that I get out and let him drive, arguing that even if the steering wheel was on the other side and we drove on the wrong side of the road, he’d be a safer bet.

He got a coffee at a gas station and took a picture of me with the girl behind the register, more pleasant than I’d ever seen him be. He put the windows down and played me the songs he’d been listening to over the holidays and laughed when he pointed at my hands. “You got a manicure!”

I hid my face, embarrassed at the sellout I’d become. Thirteen whole days in town and my mother had convinced me to sit beside her, watch daytime talk shows while the spa ladies buffed and snipped our cuticles.

She made me, I laughed. You might end up with one too before you leave.

We rolled up to Island Drive right before my parents got home from work and Harry leaned towards the window to get a better view of the house. His mouth hung open when we turned into the shrub-lined driveway. “Jesus, Cat. What do your parents do again?”

“Work too much,” I told him. “Mom’s a dentist and my dad’s a financial advisor. They’re super obnoxious so please try to interact with them at a minimum like Marta and I do.”

“Marta?”

“Housekeeper, my old nanny--she’s part of the family.”

He nodded, still taking in the fountain and manicured lawn when I pulled his suitcase from the backseat. Harry had known that my parents were wealthy--mainly from the time that Miles made me sound like an obnoxious rich kid when we wrote at their apartment. But Harry was apparently surprised by the level of wealth that was held in Palm Beach. His lips parted when I brought him in the front door, views of the water over the crest of the lawn and the pool, eyes landing on mine after a few seconds.

“And you moved to New York, why?”

I kept my voice quiet, didn’t want Marta to hear my bluntness from the other room. “To get out of here.”

But soon she smiled and rushed over, eager to take Harry’s suitcase and bring it to the guest room. She offered him tea and coffee and all of the snacks that he joked he would have held out for if he knew she was here and waiting.

I brought him upstairs to show him the room he could sleep in, around the corner from mine, a view of the side yard and the gardens that a landscaping company tended to every Saturday morning. I laid the ground rules: no mentioning our partying, no mentioning times when I’ve been too drunk. If he wanted a free place to sleep with good food and a king-sized bed, he needed to keep his mouth shut about that stuff.

He saluted me and stifled a laugh. “Yes ma’am.”

“I’m serious,” I told him. “Just be quiet, don’t give them a reason to ask you any questions.”

“Alright--I mean, come on, they can’t be that bad.”

As if on cue--as if Harry showing up in Florida wasn’t enough bad karma for one day--the alarm beeped downstairs letting me know one of them was home. Lorna first, she came in with big sunglasses and greeted Harry with a smile, her hand outstretched for her afternoon glass of Chardonnay before Marta could even hang her keys up by the door.

Frank strolled in a little after six pm, dinner was almost ready when Harry excused himself to the bathroom and I took it as my opportunity to corner my mother before she was too drunk to remember it.

I knocked on her office door twice, waited for her to look up from her computer before I took a few steps inside. “Hi, dear,” she said, a small smile before she looked back to the papers on her desk.

“Hi--I just wanted to uh, ask you a favor, actually.” I approached her with my hands on my hips, unsure if I’d get her full attention or if I’d have to snap my fingers to get her eyes back on me. I sat down in the chair across from her, a formal chess move to let her know I was serious.

“What’s that?” She leaned back in her chair and waited for me to spit it out. Her direct eye contact made me nervous, I stammered over my words and tried to sway her by bringing my dad into it.

“I, uh, just asked dad the same thing--he said it was fine.”

“Just spit it out, Catherine.”

“Can we not talk about Cameron in front of Harry?”

She set down her glasses at this, watched me for a second before she tilted her head to the side. “Okay.”

“Like, at all. Okay? Not even once.”

She sighed, almost as if my request was painful for her to consider. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

Maybe she’d tone it down with a stranger in the house. Maybe not talking about Cameron for someone else’s benefit would make her respect the limit more than she had in the past.

I had hoped for so long that one day it’d stop, one day she’d forget his name or leave it out of conversation even if just for my sake. But my mother was too selfish for that--always forgetting that while she was grieving a son, I was grieving my other half.

I should have known she couldn’t help herself--she had to relive the moment over and over, desperate to keep herself alive in the past as if it was safer than the present. His name slipped out of her mouth like she didn’t even realize it, I nearly choked on my asparagus at the dinner table when she said it.

Harry was busy making small talk about our upcoming album, the studio sessions we’d be heading into once we flew back to the city. “Our manager said it’ll be good timing to release an album, makes us eligible for award season the following year.”

She pretended to be interested, pretended to care for a second about our careers, but then she did it. “Reminds me of the time Cameron won that award--”

“Mom,” I said it quick, my hands falling to the table with a thud, fork and knife in my grasp when I cut her off. “Don’t.”

The noise startled Harry, but the genuine smile on his face only faltered a little. “No, I’d love to hear the story,” he didn’t even have a clue to the fire he was igniting.

“We talked about it mom,” I gave her a death glare--which I could tell threw her off. She was frozen, torn between pleasing her dinner guest and pissing off her daughter, two of her favorite past times.

She gestured at Harry. “Well I don’t want to be rude, Catherine.”

“Dad,” I looked over to see him on his phone, my voice pleading for him to intervene.

“Lorna, leave it alone,” he said, disinterested, phone screen still lit up like he was begging for a distraction.

“Oh,” she sighed, sarcasm threaded in her words. “Right--we don’t go there.”

Harry was across from me, mid-bite of his steak. He looked from me and to my mom, then back, while he chewed. He had no clue what was happening but he could tell he’d said the wrong thing.

My mom picked up her wine glass, brought it to her lips and offered a sweet smile in Harry’s direction. “Nevermind, dear--don’t want to upset Catherine.”

I rolled my eyes and stood from the table, “Harry, do you want to go for a walk?”

He was caught off guard, still uncomfortably in the middle when he nodded quickly, stood from the table and thanked both of my parents for letting him stay the night as I headed for the front door. He hurried out behind me, his voice barely a whisper in the hallway. “Did I do that? Did I fuck up?”

“No,” I said, calling to Marta over my shoulder. “Dinner was delicious, Marta! We’ll be back!”

“What even happened in there?” He asked, still a few steps behind me once we walked out onto the moonlit driveway.

I stopped short and turned around, the anger in my chest was threatening to spill out and onto the concrete. “Nothing--my mother is just fucking stupid and selfish.”

“So the intimidating level of rage coming off of you is not my fault?”

“What? No.”

I spun around again and headed for the street, a left turn towards the familiar route that I’d escape to when something like this happened. He walked beside me on the tree-line street, silent and steady until the neighborhood opened up. The same empty field at the end of the road that gave access to the lagoon, the same location I’d come to so many times after storming away from dinner as a kid. Doing it at 22 felt no different than at 15.

He shoved his hands in his pockets when we stepped onto the grass. “What is this place?”

“I don’t know--an empty field at the end of my street.”

“Is this your ponder spot?”

I looked over my shoulder, his face was lit up by the glow of the streetlights. “Ponder spot?”

He nodded and offered a shrug, “you know, the place you run off to when you need space.”

I bit back a laugh, embarrassed that his words couldn’t have been more accurate. He took my silence as confirmation, followed me over to a picnic table that sat close to the end of the water.

I threw a leg over the bench and let my head rest on top, a groan escaping my lips once I felt his weight shift the structure.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head but didn’t lift it, so he let me sit in silence for a little while. A breeze blew my hair around and after a few minutes, he sighed, like he already knew the answer but wanted to ask anyway. “Do you want to tell me who Cameron is?”

That got me to raise my head. “Definitely not.”

He smirked a little, a tiny nod as if to tell me he wouldn’t push it. He reached a hand over and patted my thigh, chin in his hand as he watched people cruise by on their boats.

For the first time I felt comfortable with him--not pressured or panicked. He brought his eyes over to me and then fished into the pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a small joint, a dimple appeared on his cheek when he said: “I found this in the guest room.”

“Shut up,” I laughed, pulling it from him and sniffing it to inspect. “Did you really?”

He nodded, “which one of your parents is the stoner?”

“Well my mom is too high strung, so--must be Frank.”

He pulled out a lighter and held it up, watched when I placed it between my lips and then inhaled. I passed it over to him, thankful for a buffer between us now aside from the moon and the breeze.

Smoke escaped my lips and floated towards the stars, he drummed his fingers on the table before I passed it to him. “Do you feel overwhelmed ever?”

“Ever?” He laughed at my question, licked his lips and then looked out over the water.

“I mean by the music stuff lately.”

He shrugged. “Excited mostly. Why? Do you?”

I nodded, unafraid to admit that being home brought a different layer of complexity to life. “My parents will just never get it.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re not successful.”

I looked down at the faded wood and the fresh coat of polish on my nails. “It kind of feels that way, though--you know, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did it really happen?”

He stared at me for a second, sure that I was joking. “You’re mental,” he said. “The tree is down on the ground, of course it fell. Who fucking cares if they were around to hear it or not?”

I nodded, took the joint back from him and took another inhale, reminded of the first time we did this type of thing.

He passed it to me, watched as I let smoke dance through the chilly air before he asked: “Why do you go by Cat?”

Another shrug, how I answered most questions these days. Do you have nightmares about it? Do you think about him all the time? Do you feel easily agitated?

“Just don’t like Catherine. Too formal.”

I didn’t want to get into it. My mother calls me that, my brother called me that, all good reasons to pack up and leave behind in the childhood bedroom that held bad memories.

“I like Catherine,” he admitted. “S’pretty.”

I let my eyes sweep over to him, the moon reflected in his eyes, curls of hair poked out from the beanie on his head. “Just--don’t call me that, please.”

He laughed, completely unaware of the way it made my chest heave in the shower or the way it sent a shiver down my spine when my mom had to cut herself off--Catherine and Cameron--no, just Catherine.

I had to correct her now too. Catherine felt like it needed to be followed by something, another name, the one that had been linked to mine since birth, born two minutes apart.

“I think you’re pretty fucking successful, you know.”

I glanced over at him. “Yeah?”

A single nod. His short hair was still something to get used to, it bent in the wind and blocked his eyes when he turned to look at me. “I will never admit I said this, but, we’d be nothing without you.”

“Well, we only got big once you came along.”

He smirked, “so you’re aware of that?”

I gave him a shove, shaking my head at his stupid ego. His eyes lingered on mine for a second, his knee knocked against mine when he flicked the joint and then he let out a sigh.

I wanted to lean in and kiss him, and I probably would have if it weren’t for Lila. As far as I knew she was home in New York, maybe in Jersey with her parents or siblings, but certainly an obstacle to whatever kind of intoxicated hook up could have happened between us.

I cleared my throat and looked up at the sky. “Do you want to go write a song?”

He smiled, a soft one, nodded a few times and patted me on the thigh again before he stood up and offered me a hand. “I’d love to.”

He followed me back to the house, up the stairs to my bedroom and stared at the ceiling while I plucked at the guitar.

I don’t know where I wanna go,

But it’s far away from here

Don’t know what I’m running from

If it’s you or me, my dear

He watched, listened, nodded along while it poured out of me, more of a witness than a participant.

It’s good, Cat, he said, keep going.

Everybody’s talking now

But no one seems to say a thing

I do my best to drown them out

I just wish that I could be

Somewhere far away from here

Back to myself, back where I could see clear

Somewhere far away from here

Won’t somebody take me far away from here?

Sleep was heavy on my eyelids, Harry down the hall and a rough version already sent off in an email to Niall before I realized he’d said it. Four and a half years of begging him to say it, call me Cat, hoping one day he’d just give in and go along with it. All this time I thought fighting him and pushing him away would make it happen.

It was fitting, I guess, that it was the exact opposite that finally got me what I wanted.

Niall was excited that Harry had accidentally landed himself in Miami, and he was even more excited when he learned that I told him he could stay with me an extra few days before I was due to return to Manhattan and the responsibilities of work.

He was eager to see my town, made me drive him by the high school and the parking lot where I learned--or failed, according to him--to parallel park. He swam in the pool and spit water in my face, completely deconstructing the wall I had managed to build over the last few years with a single glance in my direction.

He promised he stayed because he was having fun, not just because flying home with me meant a first class seat.

It was rare, these days, too, that I found myself on a boat. A few times since the accident, maybe three or four. But his excitement and delight was contagious when he learned my parents still had one--the same one--and it was down on a dock off the backyard.

I let the motor hum to life, pinks and purples splashed over the sky on our last night when he popped a bottle of champagne. I wondered if Lila knew he was here--he seemed undisturbed by his phone and altogether disconnected and unplugged.

I drove us out to the middle of the lagoon, dropped anchor and told him about the time I learned to swim off the back. I was three or four, always in a life vest and completely unaware of the irony that my life was accumulating.

Cam would jump off first, his floaties on his arms as he swam over to my dad who’d be in the water already. My mom would clap and snap pictures, throw us a noodle or two and then wrap us in towels back on board the boat.

Harry was treading water beside me, though, hair dripping wet after he’d pulled off his shirt and shorts.

I laughed when he dared me to jump in after him, said he hoped my swimming skills were better than they were back then. He splashed enough water at me on the boat before I gave in, promised he wouldn’t watch me undress and wouldn’t tell a soul that we’d been this cliché, swimming in our underwear and conversation laced with champagne giggles. So I tossed my shirt to the side and shimmied out of my shorts before I let myself sink under the surface.

When I came up, he was watching me.

“What?”

“Nothing--just--s’been nice to hang out with you.”

I twisted my face at his kindness, crinkled my nose at the friendship that had suddenly blossomed in the cool Florida weather.

The laughter from another boat floated over the waves, a big splash is what did it.

I looked over, searched for the person only a hundred yards away, desperate for their head to emerge from the water, unlike his. My heartbeat was in my ears, throat tight and shoulders tense.

“Where are they?” I asked, my head turning frantically. “Do you see them? Did they come up?”

“What?” Harry followed my gaze and the smile faded from his lips. “What are you talking about?”

A man popped back up, a group of people on the boat cheered for him and sang along the music that hummed from their speakers. Harry could tell something was wrong, I tried my best to slow my breathing when I realized what was happening.

I swam over to the boat, hands clutching the ladder as I pulled myself up. My breathing was sporadic, the images flashing through my head with no option to pause. Allie’s voice, Will’s voice, the feeling in my chest when I knew he was dead and we couldn’t do anything about it.

But I was acutely aware of the moment around me, Harry climbed up to the boat behind me and had a terrified look on his face, green eyes searching the floor for a towel before he draped it over my shoulders.

“You’re alright--Cat, you’re alright, it’s okay,” his arms were around me when a sob slipped out, eyes stung from a mix of salt water and tears. I couldn’t do this, it couldn’t happen here and now.

The waves from that day couldn’t show up, drag me under until I couldn’t breathe like he couldn’t. Not in front of Harry.

“Hey,” he said, moving my shoulders to force me to sit down, his knees across from mine when he looked me in the eyes. “You’re alright, nothing’s happening.”

I nodded, licked at my lips and wiped at my eyes with the towel when I blinked a few times. Feet on the boat, hands around the towel, I could see blue and white and the keys in the ignition. “Okay,” I said, more grounded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he repeated, hands on my knees now to keep them from shaking.

Silence for a minute when I looked back at the other boat. They were fine. No one was drowning. I wasn’t drowning. I was on the boat and Harry was on the boat.

The sun had sunk lower now, almost meeting the horizon when I met his eyes again.

“When did he die?”

“What?”

“Your brother.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He plucked at his lower lip, he dropped my gaze for a second and then sighed. “It’s okay, Cat.”

I felt the water in my eyes at that, let my head swivel side to side to argue his claim. “No,” I said. “It’s not okay. This is why I don’t talk about it.”

“Maybe that’s why this is happening, then. Maybe you get like this because you refuse to talk about it.”

I pulled away from him, angry at his accusation and the way he sounded like he knew me better than he did.

“Unless the two ten-year-olds in the frame above the guest bath are just random people,” he shrugged. “That’s Cameron, right?”

I was caught--unsure where to go and stuck on a boat with him. I didn’t look at him, kept my eyes on the floor and nodded slowly.

He repeated his original question. “When did he die?”

“The summer before senior year of high school. He drowned.”

A breath of air escaped from his lips, like he’d expected a different answer. Cancer, maybe. A terminal illness or something less violent and avoidable.

“Were you--with him when it happened?”

I wiped at my eyes, wishing the tears would stop and the memories would, too. “In the boat--we were drunk.”

He nodded, his focus solely on me when he leaned forward. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“You weren’t there,” I said quickly, defensively. “You have no clue what happened.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t. But I know it’s not your fault.”

I cried harder at that, vision blurred when I nodded. “It was, Harry--I didn’t realize how long he’d been underwater. I was too drunk.”

“It’s called an accident for a reason.”

“You’re not supposed to know any of this,” I reminded, eyeing him skeptically when I pulled the towel up to cover myself more. “Niall doesn’t know. Miles doesn’t know. No one knows.”

“Does Jules?”

I nodded. “Cause I’m a fucking moron and got too drunk one night.”

He laughed a little. “Why’ve you been hiding it?”

“Cause college was the first time I was just me. Not Catherine and Cameron, not one of two. I was just me for the first time and it was okay--it wasn’t sad or tragic that I was just me. I wanted it to be normal.”

He nodded in understanding, offered to drive us back to the dock if I showed him how. My parents were upstairs for the night, enough space for us to sit at the counter and heat up leftovers that Marta had made while we were out. He listened when I talked about the nightmares and the flashbacks, followed me up the stairs and nodded solemnly when I made him promise to not tell the others.

He echoed his sentiment on the boat: it’s not your fault. He brushed a piece of hair behind my ear before he leaned in and kissed me outside my bedroom door, softer than before, and most importantly, sober.

He followed me over to the bed, his touch gentle and warm when we slipped under the sheets. It was easy--slow and careful, not like the time before. He made me feel grounded, actually in the moment for the first time in a long time. He didn’t know it, but he made me feel seen.

Something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

It felt different to wake up beside him, knowing he knew and knowing he still thought I was a decent human. I looked over to see him, eyelids fluttered against his cheek when I stirred.

A buzzing on the nightstand grabbed my attention, though, his phone vibrating with an incoming call when the morning sun crept in. A stomach dropping worse than ever, a shiver down my spine when I saw her name, a picture of the two of them side by side.

Incoming call: Lila DiPretto

table of contents | join the tag list + talk to me | the playlist

author’s note: wowowowowowoooooww! A doozy of a chapter I hope none of you hate me too much for all of the emotion in this one! Things are heating up and now Harry knows Cat’s secret.....shit can only get weirder from here!

taglist: @mellamolayla @meganlikesfandoms @afterstylesmadeit @sing-me-a-song-harry @harryinsweatersandbandanas @stylesfics-xx @shawnsblue @avipshamitra @a-secretyoucankeep @groovybaybee @nearbyou @blueviiolence @kiwicherryharry @thurhomish @bopbopstyles @live-at-the-forum @ajayque @mleestiles @ashbabao @anssu-amry @odetostep @bemib @caritocp @ursogoldenshan @rainbowbutterflyboy @bubblegumstyles7 @1142590m @winter-soldier-007 @beingsolonely @sloanferg @ivanacats @mumplans @wastedsweetcreature @harryssugarhigh @wanderlustiing @sunflowers-styles @g0bl1nqueen @stepping-into-the-light @kara-246 @stilljosiegrossie @harrys-cherrry

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chachkayes · 3 years

Text

The Journey to ‘I Do’ - Mer x Hayes

Wow. Okay. The 4th fic I was talking abt yesterday. Life kind of got in the way and really prevented me from finishing this one yesterday night like I’d wanted. This one is going to need a keep reading line because it is officially the longest fic I have literally ever written. It’s 4.2k words. 4.2k words of pure and utter love and fluff. This is the last fic you’ll be getting from me (aside from the Christmas fic on Christmas day) for awhile, because I go back to work this week and it’s Christmas week and also the week my final is due, which means I will be a busy bee over the next little while. I really hope you all like this fic, it’s one of my favourite ones I’ve ever written and I hope it gives you all as many feels as it did for me while I wrote it. And just a disclaimer, YES, I know they probably won’t get married on the show. But AU’s are fun to write, and everything I write is usually just for fun and to fulfill my own or someone else’s headcannons and hopes that are fun to think about. Okay, that’s all, enjoy :)

“A small wedding, Maggie. Please. That’s it.” Meredith begged her sister as she walked out of her house, heading to work. Maggie had been pestering Meredith to let her plan a more grandiose wedding since she’d been told that she could even plan the wedding at all. Mer and Hayes had been adamant about a small wedding right from the beginning, although Meredith more than Hayes. He would never admit it to anyone, but his boys had quickly warmed him up to the idea of a larger wedding that their friends and family from the hospital were invited to. He couldn’t decipher if it was just because Liam wanted a reason to party or if he genuinely cared, but he couldn’t help but entertain the idea as he lay next to his fiancée in bed at night.

Maggie smirked and turned to Amelia, who was laughing to herself as she listened in on Maggie and Meredith’s conversation. “You’re not gonna plan just a ‘small wedding’, are you?” She inquired. Maggie smirked at Amelia. “How well do you think Cristina Yang can keep a secret?” Maggie said, confirming Amelia’s suspicions. “Do you want me to talk to Jackson today when I go into work?” Amelia asked Maggie, officially hopping on board the crew of people who were working on the surprise wedding plans for Meredith and Hayes. Maggie’s eyes lit up. “Oh my god, could you? That’d be amazing!” Maggie exclaimed as she flung open her laptop and added Amelia and Jackson’s name to the list of people who’d be helping out. The list already included the likes of Bailey, Richard, Jo, Link, Winston, Owen, and Teddy.

As Amelia got into work, she quickly found and cornered Jackson. “Avery!” She yelled, diverting his attention away from his conversation with another staff member. “I- we, we need your help.” Jackson looked at Amelia, confused. “You need me for a consult or something?” He said, after excusing himself from his previous conversation. “No. Maggie and I. We, uh-“ She paused, looking around to make sure neither Hayes nor Meredith were around. “We’re hoping you could help us with a surprise for the wedding.” Jackson nodded in understanding. “Yeah, sure. What do you need?” He said as he crossed his arms and backed into a more private space for him and Amelia to talk about the wedding, knowing she wouldn’t want Meredith or Hayes to overhear. “We wanted to know if you could get in touch with Cristina. Get her over here for the wedding somehow.” Jackson raised his eyebrows at Amelia’s request. “I haven’t talked to Yang in a few months. But I’m sure I could make it happen. Okay, yeah, count me in.” He decided. Amelia grinned and gave Jackson a high-five. “Thank you!” Amelia squealed as she left the scan room.

“Oh, hey Avery. What’s up?” Cristina said as she answered the unexpected phone call from her friend and former colleague. “How well do you think you could keep a secret from Meredith and Hayes?” He asked, cutting right to the chase. “Probably pretty well. Why? What are you hooligans planning now?” She asked with a slight amusement in her voice. “We were hoping to fly you out so you could be there for their wedding. But we don’t want either of them to know.” Jackson explained. Cristina smiled behind the phone, intrigued at the idea of surprising her best friends at their wedding after she helped Hayes plan the engagement. “Wait, Meredith and Hayes are letting you guys plan a wedding for more people than just the two of them?” Cristina quipped back, knowing full well that Meredith was never a fan of having a wedding of her own. “No. Mer’s been unsurprisingly pretty adamant about having a small wedding. But she left the planning up to Maggie, and now half the hospital’s involved and neither of them know.” Cristina smirked. “Well in that case, absolutely. Just let me know a date and I’ll be there.” She told Jackson. “Great. Listen, I have to go now, but I’ll talk to you later and give you more details later.” He said as he received a page on his phone. From Meredith. ‘Great timing, Mer.’ He thought to himself. “Alright, bye Avery.” “Bye, Yang.”

Wedding dress shopping. The thing Meredith was admittedly looking forward to the least. However, her daughters wanted to see their mom get all dressed up in pretty dresses. And Jo, Amelia, and Maggie had begged her to try dresses on like starving puppies begging for food. How could she say no? She’d deprived them of the big friends and family wedding that they wanted, she couldn’t rid them of everything they were excited about. “Okay, before we go in, what did I say again?” Meredith said as she turned on her heel and stood to face her entourage, arms crossed. “Nothing expensive.” Maggie said. “Nothing poofy.” Amelia said. “And most of all, no sparkles.” Zola piped up with a smile. Mer nodded her head at the girls and turned back around, entering the bridal shop. ‘Here goes nothing.’ She thought to herself.

An hour into her dress appointment, Meredith had yet to find anything she really loved. And she was not one to be known for settling. Ellis decided to run off into the dress racks, worrying Meredith. She was still little and young, so it was likely that she could pull a dress off the rack and have it been the complete opposite of what she wanted. She didn’t though. She, with the help of Amelia, brought over a stunning, form fitting, white halter dress with a satin sash across her waist that came with no sparkles, fit her like a glove, wasn’t expensive, and looked stunning on her. “Wow, Ellie, this dress is beautiful.” Meredith said as she stepped out of the fitting room. She looked in the mirror and smoothed the dress over her as the girls behind her fawned over the dress and she slowly fell in love with the gown she was wearing. “Meredith… you look stunning.” Jo gawked over her friend. “Yeah. Wow.” Amelia and Maggie said simultaneously. “Momma, is this what you’re gonna wear to marry Hayes??” Zola asked enthusiastically. “I think it is.” Meredith said, smiling at her daughters, sisters, and Jo, who were all beaming with pride.

Next up on Maggie’s list of secret wedding things to accumulate was the dresses for the bridesmaids and the flower girls. She knew this excursion was going to be trickier than the one for getting Meredith a dress, because she had to find dresses for herself, Amelia, Jo, as well as Cristina, along with dresses for Ellis and Zola. This was where Teddy and Owen came in. They generously agreed to hide all of the dresses at their house so Meredith wouldn’t get suspicious, then transport them to Richard and Catherine’s house the morning of the wedding. And so, off went Amelia, Jo, Maggie, Zola, and Ellis to try on pretty dresses for themselves. After hours of searching in several different stores, they’d finally agreed on these beautiful V-neck, olive green, A-line dresses with short, ruffled sleeves. One by one, things began to fall in to place. Sweet and simple gray lacy dresses were bought for Ellis and Zola. Jo dropped all 6 dresses off at Teddy and Owen’s and the gang moved on to phase 3 of planning.

Decorations was what Maggie dreaded planning the most. She knew that her sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law would hate an overly decorated wedding for themselves. If she was being honest with herself, she didn’t exactly have an idea for what to do. So, she went to Pinterest. This may or may not have been a great idea. Pinterest became a complete and utter black hole of ideas for Maggie. She bought string lights – and lots of them. Fairy lights, and white Christmas lights mainly. She bought chiffon drapes to hang on a homemade wooden alter. She bought fake vines and a few flowers. She rented tables, and chairs. Once she was finished with her Pinterest spiral, she consulted with Richard as to how they would decorate his backyard – that was his contribution and involvement in Maggie’s scheme for a wedding that would satisfy the wants of attendants, as well as Meredith and Hayes. Hopefully. He owned this beautiful, large home, with a backyard big enough to fit the people invited.

Bailey’s involvement in the wedding was much more sentimental. She was officiating the wedding. This was quite literally the only detail of Maggie’s wedding plans that Meredith and Hayes had been consulted on. Mainly because Bailey demanded that she hear it from Meredith herself that she wanted her to officiate. They all loved the idea. Bailey encouraged them to write vows and thank god she did, because Maggie had been stressing about how she was going to convince Mer and Hayes to write sentimental crap without it seeming suspicious. Bailey’s idea for them to write vows reprieved her of that worry completely.

As it got down to the final few days before the wedding, duties were given out whenever the participants of the scheming could find time completely away from both Meredith and Hayes, which had not been an easy task in the weeks leading up to the big day. It seemed like Meredith was always there whenever Maggie turned a corner. Meredith and Hayes had both got the day off work, so Maggie paged and gathered the group into one room. “Alright everyone, you know why we’re all here - we have a wedding in 2 days. Final tasks. Jackson, Cristina’s flight lands tomorrow at 5pm. You’re picking her up from the airport and taking her to Bailey’s place. Bailey, Jackson and Cristina should be arriving at your place for 6:30/ 7:00pm, give or take. Link, Winston – you’re in charge of the groom. You guys have to have him dressed and ready to go to Richard’s for 4pm on Saturday. Find a way to keep him away from Meredith for the night before and day of the wedding. Richard – Jackson, Owen, and Teddy will be over bright and early Saturday morning to help set up all the decorations. Amelia, Jo, and I will be getting ourselves, the children, and the bride ready. Ceremony starts at 5:30pm. The goal is to have Meredith and Hayes walk together to the front, as I can’t see my sister wanting to walk down an aisle. Alright. Everyone know what they’re doing?” Maggie finished. Choruses of “Yep” and “Uh huh” along with nods of acknowledgement circled the room. “Great! Okay. Disperse.” Maggie finished, and everyone did just that.

Wedding day. Chaos ensuing. Jackson had successfully picked up Cristina from the airport and dropped her off at Bailey’s undetected. Link and Winston had also been successful in their recruits to get Hayes away for a bachelor’s night. They phrased it as ‘guy’s night’ though, knowing how their best friend felt about the term ‘bachelor’s party’. He’d been ardently against the idea that it was his last night as a single man. He wasn’t single, he was in a serious relationship with a woman he loves, and they’d made a commitment to each other when they began dating. The marriage was only an extension of that commitment. But for Hayes, the proposed idea of getting drunk with his two closest guy friends while watching things like soccer and crappy TV shows was too tempting an offer for him to turn down. Meredith also told him to go and spend the night with them, so he didn’t really have any other option.

“Meredith! We’re ready to go when you are!” Maggie yelled from the main floor, up to the upstairs floor. It was 3:30pm, and while Meredith also knew the wedding was going to be hosted at Richard’s, in fact she was the one that suggested that’s where it be held, but she was unaware of the extent to which the place had been decorated and just how many people were actually invited. Meredith placed her earrings and bracelet in the little jewellery box, and headed downstairs. Her makeup and hair had been done at the house, as did Amelia, Maggie and Jo, who brushed off the excessiveness as ‘just wanting to look nice in pictures’. Maggie could feel herself getting more and more giddy as she got closer to Richard and Catherine’s place. Bailey had arrived with Cristina an hour earlier and had gotten the both of them plus Teddy ready in the meantime. Liam had agreed to drive himself, Austin, Zola, Bailey, and Ellis over to the house since Maggie’s car was going to be packed between Meredith’s dress and shoes, and all 4 of the women.

Meredith and Hayes arrived at Richard’s at the same time. The vehicles pulled into the driveway almost simultaneously. Hayes got out of the car first, then Winston, and Link. Meredith quickly exited Maggie’s car once she parked, and went to catch up with Hayes, who was standing frozen in the doorway. She placed her hand on his back. “Hey, what’s go-“ She said before looking into the house and realizing exactly why he was standing so frozen. “Cristina.” Meredith’s jaw dropped at the sight of her best friend. Cristina beamed at her friends as they stood in the doorway of Richard’s house. Bailey watched from the stairway like a proud mama. “Are you going to give me a hug or what?” Cristina said, prompting Meredith to laugh, step inside, and give her a much overdue hug. When they finally pulled back from the hug, Meredith looked around at her friends who were all smiling and watching her and Cristina. “Wait, so how did you get here? And how did I not know?” Meredith asked as Cristina hugged Hayes. Maggie, Amelia and Jackson grinned sheepishly at Meredith. “I might have had Amelia and Jackson conspire to get her here.” Maggie finally admitted. Meredith hugged her sister. “Thank you.”

Everyone moved inside as Link and Amelia brought in Meredith’s dress and all the tuxes. “Let me guess, no ‘peppy maid of honour’ thing again?” Meredith chuckled at her friend. “No, absolutely not – your only job today is to-“ “Kick your guys’ ass down the aisle?” Cristina interrupted her, and Meredith choked back a laugh. “Yeah, pretty much.”

For the next hour and a half, the finishing touches were put on everyone’s hair and makeup, dresses were steamed, and Meredith quickly figured out that this wedding was not going to be as small as she’d hoped. However, she overlooked it, because Cristina was there, Hayes seemed genuinely excited, and she knew that only her friends would be showing up. She had her person back, even if it was just for a few days. The girls helped each other into their dresses, and Ellis and Zola fawned over their mom and aunts. A few more guests showed up as everyone finished getting ready, including Bokhee, Tom, Levi, Nico, Parker, and Helm, along with their friends from Station 19, Robert and Andy, Vic and Travis, Dean, Maya and Carina, Emmett, and Jack.

Finally, 5:30 came. The sun began to set and the lights that had been hung from poles in the yard illuminated the sky perfectly. Everyone was waiting excitedly in their chairs, conversing among themselves as they waited for the wedding to start. Cristina had persuaded Meredith to let Richard walk her down the aisle, so Hayes was waiting patiently at the front of the arch with Link, Winston, Liam, Austin, and Bailey. Inside the house, Cristina, Maggie and Amelia were giving Meredith the pre-marriage pep talk that Meredith had given all of them before their respective weddings to Owen (once for Cristina and once for Amelia), Link, and Winston. Finally, the music started, and the guests in attendance immediately stopped chatting and turned their heads towards the back doors. The doors opened and Ellis and Zola walked out, flinging white petals all over the ground. Then Jo walked out, Amelia, then Maggie, followed by Cristina. Richard looked over at Meredith. “You ready?” He asked as she slipped her arm through his. “Yeah, I am.” She said with a smile and walked out into the backyard and down the makeshift aisle.

“Friends and family alike, we are gathered today to celebrate. To celebrate the love shared between two people who found each other in the midst of unimaginable grief. Who know better than most of us that the tomorrows with the people we love are never promised, so we have to make the most of it. Meredith, Hayes, I have had the joy of watching your relationship develop and watch the both of your flourish in your happiness, separately and with each other. You guys are about to enter into a journey together, one that you both know the meaning behind very well. You know that marriage takes a lot of work, that there will be ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and that above all communication is the most important thing to make a marriage work. I don’t need to tell you this. The love shared between you guys is something admirable, and I for one, am so honoured that you asked me to marry the two of you today. When you guys first reported your relationship to me and HR, I remember thinking to myself, ‘Who would have thought?’ But now, as I look back on your friendship, I really should have seen this coming from a mile away. There’s something magnetic between two equals, who share such similar life experiences and never expect anything more from the other than their authentic selves. Plus, you guys spent a very odd amount of time in OR’s together. And as fate may have it, Cristina Yang, or whatever you guys want to believe, you found each other. And it has been beautiful to see. I have to stop myself before I ramble even more about how proud I am of the both of you. I know you both have written your own vows, so I invite you to exchange them now. Meredith?” Bailey opened the wedding, and there was already some audible sniffling from a couple of the bridesmaids.

“Hayes…” Meredith started, laughing with tears in her eyes as she read over her vows. He laughed with her and wiped the tear from her face. “I had many firsts before I met you. And though part of me wishes I could take them back and had them all with you, I know that each and every one of those firsts was what lead me to you. And in a way, you are my biggest firsts. My first long-term relationship. You’re the first man I said ‘I’m in love with you’ to. The first person who understood me fully, who matched my every turn and never had to navigate major differences with. And you’re the only person I imagined myself having a future with. You are imperfectly perfect. You are everything I never knew I needed. You complete me. You’re my other half. My equal, my partner in work and in life. A while ago, I’d told Alex that I didn’t want to fall in love again unless it felt like family. And that’s you. I love you, and I love your boys. I love our family. I love how you never push any boundaries with my kids, but still love them like your own. And as I stand here today, in front of a bunch of friends and family that neither of us thought would be coming, I promise to love you unconditionally. I promise to always communicate with you about everything. To never be anything less than myself around you. I promise to always talk with you about Derek and Abigail, who I know are watching from heaven and cheering for us. I promise to defend you and stick by you through thick and thin. I have been and always will be your biggest supporter on earth. I love you.” Hayes smiled at Meredith through tears and began to lean in to kiss her on instinct, before he felt Bailey’s hand push him back. “Not. Yet.” She said sternly, prompting laughter from the guests and wedding party.

“Grey, before I met you, I didn’t want to love again. There was no one I could even think about being with after having Abby ripped away from me so slowly and cruelly. That was until I met you. You understood exactly what I was going through. You never pushed or prodded, and always let me talk about Abby if I was comfortable with it. Of course, I always was, knowing you’d probably done the same thing, or at least something very similar. Every day since I met you, I’ve found something new about you that amazes me. You amaze me. And there is no one else on the face of this earth I could have imagined myself going through all those firsts with. You taught me to love again. My goal in our relationship is to always make you feel loved, seen, and wanted. You truly are my equal in this part of my life. And I love everything about you, about our family. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about how lucky I am to have met you, to know what it’s like to experience your loyalty and love. You know full well that I don’t take promises lightly. I promise to always stand by you, no matter what. I promise to know when to fall back and let you handle things, versus when to step up and step in to defend you. I promise to bring you coffee in the morning and check in on you when you’re working in the lab on your next award-winning medical breakthrough. I promise to always page you for surgeries that require general surgery, and I promise to watch the kids when you’ve had a long day so you can get some rest. I even promise to dance with you whenever you want to. Above all though, I promise to make us my priority. I love you.” Hayes finished. After the both of their vows, there wasn’t a dry eye in Richard’s backyard. Quite literally everyone was crying. Including both Meredith and Hayes.

“Link, the rings?” Bailey said, looking over at Link. He gave Scout the thumbs up, to which Scout toddled over to the front and handed Hayes and Meredith their rings. “Now, do you, Cormac Hayes, take Meredith Grey to be your wife?”

“I do.” He said, wearing a bright smile on his face, placing Meredith’s ring on her finger.

“And Meredith, do you take Cormac Hayes to be your husband?” Bailey said, looking at Meredith.

“I do.” She said, smiling back at Hayes with tears in her eyes as she placed the ring on his finger.

“By the power vested in me from the internet, and by the grace of God, I pronounce you two husband and wife. Hayes, you may kiss your bride.” Bailey said with a smile as she stepped back from the couple. “Finally,” Hayes said as he wrapped his arms around Meredith’s waist and pulled her in for their first kiss as a married couple. Their biggest first together. Everyone clapped and cheered for the newlyweds, and they pulled back, still holding onto each other, as they looked around at their friends and family, all smiles.

The whole reception was lively. People mingled and caught up with old friends. Meredith and Hayes made sure to go around before dinner started inside and say hi to everyone who’d shown up and thank them for coming. Meredith had to admit that she was glad she got to share this day with all her friends. Then during dinner came the speeches. Meredith and Hayes both gave short speeches that they came up with on the fly. Maggie and Amelia both made touching tributes, thanking Hayes for making their sister so happy again, and for loving her in the way she deserves to be loved. Richard, Jackson, and Link also all made speeches. The final speech came from none other than Meredith’s person, Cristina Yang. “Meredith, Hayes, I love you both. I’m so happy you two found each other. You’re welcome, by the way. I take full credit for this.” Laughter erupted from around the house. Leave it to Cristina to steal the show in two sentences.

They ate dinner, mingled, laughed, and loved. The first dance was touching, as their song played over the speaker and they slow danced, whispering sweet words into each other’s ears, kissing and loving each other like no one was watching. After the first dance, the music picked up and everyone joined in the celebrations. This night was a perfect representation of what the rest of their lives looked like; filled with love, laughter, family, friendship, and lots of music and happiness. After having their happiness ripped away from them in horrifying ways, they’d finally found it again. And it was truly beautiful.

#grey x hayes #hayes x grey #meredith x hayes #meredith x cormac #hayes x meredith #cormac x meredith #merhayes #grayes #merwidow

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transdonaldduck · 5 years

Note

Does Mason know who Della is when she returns? Did Donald ever tell Mason about her?

(word count: 2500ish)

Jessica parks the car across the driveway instead of next toe the garage like usual, destruction blocking her usual path, astroturf and dirt ripped up and torn, gouges dug into the earth by mighty hands. The remnants of the gilded man were strung out across the lawn, a great Goliath felled by sound, and Mason stared with wide eyes at the carnage.

Her mom stares at the sight too, “...the boys did say everyone was alright, yes?”

“Yeah.” Mason nods, checking her phone again for posterity's sake, “They just said something big happened, and we should come over. Didn’t specify what, though- this must have been it.”

“Maybe Dr. Gearloose tried his hand at another helpful AI?” Jessica suggests, finally flipping off the engines and hopping out of the car.

“No, that's the gilded man from El Dorado,” unbuckling her seatbelt, mason grabs her backpack and follows after her mom, “Dad told me a little about that adventure, I thought he had been destroyed a long time ago, though. Maybe he wasn't quite as broken as they thought.”

Jessica climbs the stairs, not bothering to knock before she opens the front door, “Remind me why I let you stay here?” she teases.

“Pft, dad’s not into adventuring anymore, the most wild thing we do is play scrabble with Great Uncle Scrooge.”

Fake shuddering, Jessica shakes her head as if remembering something particularly traumatizing, “Don’t remind me of that night.”

“Um? Hello?” A voice says sharply and Jessica and Mason jump, looking up- and standing at the very top of the stairs is Della Duck, staring down at them with her hands oh her hips and her eyes narrowed.

Masons jaw drops, and she sees her Mom’s do the same out of the corner of her eye. They both stand there in stunned silence, gawking at the woman who’d everyone assumed had died over a decade ago- she was taller than Mason would have thought, and she had her hair cut into a sharp and short bob at her jawline, bangs hanging across her forehead messily. Her jaw was set, and her eyes were narrowed in suspicion, which only seemed to grow the longer they just looked at her.

Jessica opened and closed her mouth like a fish before finally spitting out an eloquent, “Are you- you’re Della Duck!” She pointed out dumbly.

“Yeah?” There was a long pause as Della raises both her eyebrows expectantly.

“Oh!” Jessica slaps her forehead, coming back down to earth, “This- I’m Jessica Quackmire, and this is my daughter Mason!” Her mom flashes a warm smile, stepping forward, “Sorry about that it’s just… quite a shock, to see you!”

Della descends the rest of the stairs, slightly more at ease now that Jessica has introduced them but still vaguely wary of strangers in her home, “I get that a lot.” She smiles thinly, holding her hand out for Jessica to shake, “So… are you friends of the family?”

“Mason!” A voice interrupts loudly, Dewey swinging around the railing of the stairs to beam at her before spinning around to literally yell up the stairs, “Mason is here!”

Dewey bounds down the stairs and skids to a stop in front of her, pointing excitedly at Della, “Didn’t I tell you something big happened?! My mom came back!”

Huey and Webby appear, following their brother down the stairs to greet her, “Hi Mason!” Webby waved, a bit more subdued than Dewey but still her excitable self.

“I leave you all alone for two days and I miss out on all the fun!” Mason laughs, setting her backpack aside and pulling Dewey into a hug and spinning his around playfully, barely managing not to trip forward when Webby decides she wants to join in and leaps up on her back.

“It’s not like we could plan this sort of thing.” Huey points out jokingly, gratefully accepting a fist bump rather than a full on hug.

Looking around, Mason tucks Dewey under one arm, holding him up by his stomach with one hand and transferring Webby from her back so she can hold her the same way, “Hey, where’s Louie?”

“Probably sleeping,” Dewey hums, squirming so he can look at her, “You know how he is about adventuring and excitement, it tires him! and considering he almost got crushed by the gilded man i’d say he’s out cold.”

“Almost crushed-!” Jessica brought her hand up to touch the edge of her beak, a nervous habit, “What happened? Is everyone alright?”

“No one got seriously injured.” Della reassured her instantly, puffing up a little in pride, “My boys and I managed to stop the Gilded man before he could cause much damage.”

“Granny got hit,” Webby pipes up, her excitable nature quieting with her words, “She’s fine, just a little sore. She’s resting right now.”

“Oh, poor Mrs. Beakley!” shaking her head, Jessica furrowed her brow as if thinking something over, “Doesn’t she usually make your lunch? Have you eaten?”

Huey scratches his head, “No, we haven't had the chance.”

“Okay, that settles it then!” Jessica claps her hands together, “I’m gonna go check on Mrs. Beakley and make sure she’s still feeling alright, and then I'll get started on lunch. I’ll have to see what you have in the way of ingredients before I can decide what we’ll be having though.”

Webby flips herself forward and out of Masons grasp, catching herself easily and popping up, “Can I do anything?” She asks pleadingly, “I want to help Granny too!”

Fishing out her keys, Jessica passes them off to webby, “I have my go-bag from the hospital with me, it’s got my stethoscope and a few other items I might need to check over your grandma, and it’s out in my car. If you want, you can go grab it for me-” webby grabs the keys from her hand and races out the door, “It’s the red bag!” She calls after her.

Mason shifts Dewey out from under her arm, swinging him around by his armpits to stand him up properly, “If you’re getting lunch started soon, we should go wake up Louie.” she points out.

“So, are you like, Uncle Scrooge’s personal nurse or something?” Della asks suddenly, features puzzled.

Jessica stalls, frowning at her openly, and Huey winces, “We… might have… forgotten to mention you two.”

“Sorry!” Dewey says immediately, “it’s just with all the excitement and everything- there was so much happening! Huey threw up!” he pointed an accusing finger at the boy.

“Hey!”

“Boys!” Jessica says, firm yet warm still (in what Mason secretly considered her mom-voice) and they both fell quiet, “It’s okay, we understand.”

“No worries.” Mason backs her up instantly, nodding.

Turning back to Della, Jessica flashes her an apologetic smile, “Sorry, it didn’t click that you had no idea who we are. As I said before, I’m Jessica and this is Mason,” She smooths a strand of hair behind the edge of her beak, barely hesitating before barrelling on, “...and your brother Donald is Mason's father.”

Dellas eyebrows disappeared into her hair, jaw dropping open, and now it's her turn to gawk at Mason. She smiles at the older woman, “Hi!”

“I… how old are you?” Della blurts out.

“Fifteen.” Mason offers.

“When…?” She asks, dumbfounded.

“Donald and his band played at a bar my college friends and I used to visit, and… well, y’know, one thing led to another…” She ducks her head a little.

Webby burst back through the door holding the red bag triumphantly, “I got it!” She announces, hoisting it above her head.

Jessuca brightens, taking the heavy bag from her, “Thank you Webby! Now, your grandma likes mint tea, right? Why don’t you and Huey go make her some? I bet that will make her feel a lot better.”

Looking almost visibly relieved, Webby nods enthusiastically and grabs Hueys hand, dragging him out of the room.

Della shakes her head as if just coming out of her stupor, “Wait- are you sure it’s a good idea to have them using the stove unsupervised?”

“Webby’s worried about her grandma, she’s got a lot of pent up nervous energy right now. She needed to be doing something to help to settle her nerves.” Jessica explains, poking around in the bag to make sure she has everything she needs, “And they’re both incredibly self sufficient and for the most part responsible, but that why I had huey tag along. We had a discussion about using the stove without permission, so he knows to warm up the water in the microwave.”

Mason makes a face, “Microwave?”

Jessica sticks her tongue out at her playfully, “It’s just water, Mason. It tastes the same.”

“I can’t believe we’re related!” Mason jokes, turning to Dewey, “Hey, I'm gonna help my mom with Mrs. B, why don’t you go get Louie up?”

Dewey nods, giving her a thumbs up, “Good idea dear sister of mine! We all know how Louie can sleep like a rock.” He takes off up the stairs on all fours.

Jessica starts to follow after him, branching off to go up the opposite side of the stairs towards Mrs. Beakleys room, Mason follows at a brisk pace. Della starts, scrambling to follow after them, seeming to cling to their footsteps so she doesn’t get lost, looking almost out of place in the manors halls. Jessica is rubbing her chin thoughtfully, eyebrows furrowed as she considers what questions to ask when she gets to see her patient- and there an excited glint in her eye, a chance to flex her new skill set putting a little spring in her step, despite the circumstances.

There’s almost no time to think before Jessica stops and reaches up to rap at a seemingly random door, “Betina? It’s Jessica. The kids told me what happened, would you mind if I looked you over?”

There's a pause, barely a sound, and then the door swings open. Mrs. Beakley looks… perfectly fine. There’s not a hair out of place, her clothes are perfectly pressed, and she’s even in her apron. There’s the slightest upturn of her bill, “I was wondering when I should expect a visit from you, but there’s no need to worry, it’s just a few bruises. I’m feeling fine.”

Jessica takes one long, scrutinizing look at the housekeeper before sighing, “And you look it, too, but would you let me check anyway? Just for peace of mind.”

Mrs. Beakley considers the request, “...for webby?” She assumes.

“She’s worried,” Jessica winces, “I want to help put her at ease.”

She opens up the door a little bit, “Come in... though I would prefer without an audience.”

Della frowns, eyebrows drawing in.

“Just here in case mom needs anything, Mrs. B!” Mason assures her, “I’ll hang out right outside the door with…” Her voice fails her as she looks up at Della uncertainty, unsure of what to call her, “Ms. Della.” She settles on with a smile.

“Thank you Honey bee!” her mom flashes her a warm grin, “I’ll only be a few minutes! Be sure to keep you sibling out for Mrs. Beakleys privacy okay?” At Masons thumbs up, Jessica shuts the door.

There’s a no quite awkward pause before Della shuffles her feet nervously, “So…” She starts, unsure, “You’re my niece, huh?”

“Yup.” Mason nods for a bit too long, looking away from Dellas expectant face to stare awkwardly anywhere else. As the silence stretches she can feel her face tighten, absently rocking back and forth on her heels for something to do.

“You look a lot like my brother.” Della offers, wincing as how the sentence seems to end too abruptly.

“Thanks, I get that a lot.” She smiles, “... um, do you… like any TV shows?”

“I’ve been on the moon for the past ten years, so… y’know, there’s not. Cable up there.” She forces a laugh, and it’s clear she's distinctly uncomfortable and Mason feels a bit of sympathy for the older woman.

“Yeah.” the conversation is dead, and Mason is sure she just killed it- but how are you supposed to respond to that!?

There’s another long pause.

“I’m sorry-” Della claps a hand over her face, drawing it down with a frustrated frown, “-This should be easy, but it’s like I don’t know what to say! I just-” She curls her hands into fists, face twisting like shes tasted something particularly sour.

“Hey, look, it’s cool.” Taking a step back, mason holds up her hands placatingly, “You’ve been away for a really long time, you don't have to have it all figured out right now.”

Immediately the frustration slides off Dellas shoulders, and she looks at Mason guiltily, “Oh, Mason, i’m sorry sweetie, I didn’t mean to unload on you like that.” She takes a deep breath, centering herself, “It’s… I had a lot of time on the moon to think about all the things I would say to the boys… and any situation outside of that is hard for me because I was alone for a very long time. I didn’t mean to explode like that, I may still be adjusting but I am also an adult, and you don’t need to carry my baggage.” she explains carefully.

Dropping her hands back to her side, Mason offers her a genuine smile, “It’s okay, really. I’m glad you’re back, Mrs. Della.”

“You can call me Aunt Della, if you want.” She says carefully, looking a little hopeful.

“...Aunt Della.” Mason tests with a smile, “I think I like the sound of that.”

Della hesitantly hold open her arms and Mason closes the gap between them, hugging her lightly. Mason was looking forward to learning more about her aunt. Dad had already told her some of the more mild stories from their time adventuring, but she was under the impression Della had quite a few more fun stories up her sleeve she was eager to hear about.

“I got the tea!” Webby announces, coming down the hallway.

Mason pulls away, “Mom’s still in there looking Mrs. B over.”

The door opens as if on cue and Jessica comes out, trailed by Mrs. beakley herself, “Other than a few bruises, she’s got a clean bill of health! Some rest and a day or two of light work and you’ll be back to normal, doctors orders!” she jokes when Mrs. Beakley goes to protest.

“I made you some tea, Granny.” Webby holds out the saucer, looking incredibly pleased with herself, “I’m glad you’re okay!”

“Thank you, I think I'm going to drink it in my room. A little more rest doesn’t sound half bad.” She admits, accepting the cup.

“I’ll get started on lunch, then!” nodding decisively, Jessica picks up her bag once more, she places a hand on Webbys shoulder, “Let’s give your grandma some peace and quiet so she can take a nap, okay?”

Webby nods dutifully, racing off back down the hall to find her siblings.

“I should actually go say hi to Louie,” Mason announces, watching her sister run off, “He’ll be upset if I wait much longer.”

Decision made, Mason breaks into a light jog after webby- her steps stutter a little bit and she turns around at the first corner, “See you later, Aunt Della!”

Della waves, smiling at her brightly.

#della duck #mason duck #jessica quackmire #this like barely hints at dellas beef w jessica kdjdaskfdasj #my writing #Anonymous

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p-artsypants · 5 years

Text

Longest Night (12) -Investigating

The day started out sucky to begin with. Her crush ousted to the class and Adrien. Lila taking pride in exacting her revenge. But by the time patrol was over, a young man was dead, and Ladybug's identity was at risk. Lila was the least of her concerns. Good thing Adrien was taking it all like a champ. Whump!Fic

Ao3 | FF.net

Rena Rouge and Carapace take the spotlight!

—

Alya and Nino, now both dressed and ready for the day, rode to school in the Agreste car.

“This is what it must feel like for Adrien, on the way to school.” Alya said softly.

The ride was quiet, as the Gorilla was a silent man.

“Yeah...got any tunes?” Asked Nino.

The man grunted, but reached over and tapped a preset on the console.

Jagged Stone started playing.

“Yep, this is Adrien’s ride.” Nino laughed a little.

At school, the Gorilla dropped them off, and then went to go park.

Students milling around all noticed the Agreste car arrive, and stopped to look with curiosity. Seeing Alya and Nino exit just made sense, and they carried on without another thought.

Hand in hand, Alya and Nino went into the school and to their lockers. Their classmates weren’t hanging out in the commons, so it was a guess that they were all together in the classroom, probably taking Mr. Agreste’s advice to heart.

As they put their backpacks away, there was a soft clearing of the throat from Alya’s pocket.

Trixx was peaking out, and then gestured his head outside.

Oh yeah! They had their Miraculous!

Surely the teacher would understand if they didn’t show up to class right away, right?

—

Rena Rouge and Carapace crouched on a roof, across the street, careful to keep out of sight of the pedestrians.

“So, where do we start?” Asked Carapace. “Do we want to get Chloe?”

“Not yet. We haven’t talked to her at all to see what state she’s in…No, I think we should go to Montparnasse and check in with the detective.”

“Do you think he’s trustworthy?”

“I’m…not sure. I think so. I hope so.”

“Well, he said the coordinates led over to Montparnasse, right? Let’s go and see if we can stalk them! If they’re on our side, then we can help them out.”

Rena Rouge was quiet, thinking.

He took her silence as hesitation. “No?”

“I mean, yeah, we should.” She clarified. “It’s just...being Rena Rouge was fun. Fighting side by side with my hero, fighting ridiculous villains. But this...this is sobering. These aren’t wacky villains that control pigeons or turn people into ice cream. These are evil humans that like to kill and are good at it. It’s just...scary.”

“Like that scene in the Incredibles.” Carapace said.

“What?”

“The scene where they’re in the cave? And the mom says something like, ‘these aren’t like the bad guys from your cartoons. They won’t hesitate to kill you just because you’re children.’”

“Yeah,” she laughed hollowly. “Exactly like that.”

“Well, Dash and Violet joined the fight anyway.”

“Yeah but…we don’t actually have superpowers. Just…suits with a charge. A charge that can run out.” She clenched her eyes shut. “If Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn’t beat this woman, what chance do we have?”

Carapace took her hands. “Babe. Look at me.”

She did.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir had no idea she was after them. But Salo has no idea that we’re after her.”

That did ease her mind, at least a little.

“Aren’t you scared?” She asked.

“Oh I’m petrified!” Carapace laughed. “And if it was anyone other than you on this roof, I would be gone. Home. Under my covers.”

She snickered.

“But…I have you. My partner. And…I suddenly remembered that scene from Wonder Woman, where they’re in the trenches? She literally goes up against machine guns with a shield. She wasn’t fighting crazy supervillians with wacky powers. Just…trained men with guns. And—and Captain America! He was fighting Nazis!”

Strength came back into her limbs, and she sat up a little straighter.

“You have my shelter, my shield. I will protect you.” He kissed her lips gently. “Now, are you ready to save our best friends?”

Rena Rouge smiled wildly. “Absolutely.”

—

The run to Montparnasse wasn’t too long, considering they were leaping across rooftops.

Despite Fu’s warning to lay low, they were spotted by civilians pretty quickly.

“Look! It’s Rena Rouge and Carapace!”

“They must be looking for Ladybug and Chat Noir!”

“Go team go!”

It was nice to have people cheering them on, and Alya felt a little stronger.

They closer they drew to Montparnasse, the more stealth they tried to practice. It would be awful if Salo found out they were nearby and looking. Their entire plan of action would be ruined.

“Look!” Rena pointed out three black utility vans driving together towards the north end of the district. “That’s either Europol or more of Salo’s men, I’m sure of it.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Fox intuition.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“Let’s just follow and see!”

Sure enough, the vans all came to stop outside a dilapidated apartment building. Though the rest of the buildings were nice enough, this one was just a little grungy. The windows were either painted, or boarded up. The door was covered with a sign that simply said ‘condemned’.

A needle in a haystack.

Men exited the vans, dressed in bullet proof vests and all black. They all kind of looked similar, but one stood out among them, a man with an eye-patch.

“Secure the perimeter, make sure no one can come in or out unnoticed.”

So they got to work, blocking off the streets from by standers and surrounding the building.

“Okay,” said Carapace, “I feel like we can trust them now.”

“You didn’t before?”

“It was the whole eye-patch thing that threw me off. Only villains have eye-patches.”

“That’s rude. My uncle has an eye-patch.”

“He’s also in prison.”

“Other uncle.”

“Your point?”

“Didn’t you hear? Salo’s the reason he has that patch in the first place.”

“What? How do you know?”

“She was widowed four times, after she stabbed her first husband in the eye with a butter knife!”

“How do you know he was talking about himself?!”

“Fox intuition!”

“That’s not a thing!”

“Hey!” A voice shouted up to them. “What are you two doing up there?!” It was the detective.

“Whoops.” Said Carapace. He and Rena descended to the street, approaching the group of officers. They stood tall, and tried to appear as authoritative as possible.

“Detective Bertony?” Rena Rouge asked.

The man became defensive, frowning. “How did you know my name?”

“I’m Rena Rouge, and this is Carapace.”

“Yes, the auxiliary heroes for Ladybug and Chat Noir. It’s hard to forget you.”

“Alya Cesaire, author of the Ladyblog, told us what you discovered, and we’re here to help.”

The detective groaned, “told them not to tell—“ then he sighed. “No, you know what? It’s fine. We can use the extra help. And...I can assume you’re trustworthy. Given your affiliation with the victims.”

Hearing Adrien and Marinette referred to as ‘victims’ was like a punch to the gut.

“Ladybug wouldn’t have entrusted us with Miraculous if we weren’t.” Carapace said firmly.

The detective breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, I’ll bite. Here’s a radio, would you two be willing to go in first? We can get bullet vests for you too, if you need it.”

Rena smiled sheepishly. “I’ll take a vest. I haven’t tested to see if the suit bullet proof, and I’m not keen on finding out today.”

“Radio us if you find anything. Anything at all.”

Rena nodded, securing the vest and putting the radio in her front pocket.

He rested a hand on her arm. “You’re being extremely brave, but please, call for back up. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you too.”

“We’ll be careful.” She assured. “Ready partner?”

He nodded once and they headed to the door.

With their super strength, it too nothing to break the door down, dust on the floor flying up in the action.

Rena turned on her lapel flashlight, since it was so dark.

The building was a mess. Trash littered the floor, the labels on cans and chip bags looked dated, like from the 90’s. There were holes in the walls, where the dry wall had crumbled and only wooden slats remained.

They paused and listened, straining to hear any noise.

There was nothing.

“Work our way up?” Asked Rena.

“Sounds as good of a plan as any other.”

Carefully and quietly, they made their way through the building. Some rooms had gross furniture, some were completely bare. But there was a healthy spread of burnt spoons, used syringes, and razor blades.

“A drug den,” said Rena simply. She turned on the radio, and stated, “we finished our sweep of the first floor. There’s a lot of drug paraphernalia. No sign of anyone being here recently.”

“Copy that, move onto the next floor.”

“Roger dodger.”

“Wait,” Said Carapace, nodding at a grisly door under the stairs. “Let’s check the basement.”

She shuttered, “yeah, just stay close.”

The stairs creaked madly with each step, giving up any semblance of stealth they had. It was only a few steps before they came to the bottom. It was totally dark, cold, and stank like mold.

“How are your allergies?” Asked Rena.

“I’m probably going to have hives everywhere, but I’m not worried about that right now.”

They wandered their way further in, Alya’s light landing on the heavily graffitied walls, stained mattresses, and used condoms.

“This isn’t right,” she said suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“Can you pull up the site on your phone?”

Having turned into the turtle, Nino’s phone had merged into his shield, and he was able to pull up the stream. Adrien and Marinette were still suspended from chains. Rena pointed at the background. “Look at the walls. They’re made of concrete, old concrete. But there’s no graffiti. They’re totally bare. All the walls we’ve passed have been spray painted somehow.”

“Maybe…there’s a room that was off limits to the artists?” He asked hopefully.

She shown her light in the last few rooms, noting much of the same. A drug den from some 20 odd years ago. “Let’s go back up.” She spoke into her radio, “basement is clear. Graffitied walls, and dirty mattresses.”

“Nothing looks like it’s being used?”

“Not by people, rats maybe.” As she said that, a little black blob ran by her feet and she shrieked.

“Rena Rouge! Come in! What is it?”

“Sorry! Sorry! It was just a rat!”

She heard some chuckling from the other end, like the other officers were laughing at her expense.

“You still alright?” The detective asked.

“Fine, fine. We’re going upstairs now.”

They returned to the first floor, and then travelled the steps to the second floor. A door closed on the end of the stairwell, with a padlock in place.

“I got this,” Said Carapace, driving his shield into the door.

Luckily the hinges were so old the whole door came off the frame with a clatter, again, shattering the element of surprise.

This hallway was much, much different from the floor below. Cables ran every which way, along the floors, over boxes, even some stringing across the hall.

Rena turned on her radio. “We found something on the second floor. Lots of cables…not sure what else.”

“Copy. We’ll move in.”

“You know,” said Carapace, walking slowly down the hall, to where all the cables were leading. “I’m thinking of another movie right now.”

“What’s that?”

“Incredibles 2, when Elastigal finds that old apartment building with all the cables in it from the evil computer guy?”

“Yeah…?”

“And it turns out it was just a decoy?”

Rena stopped. “What…what makes you think that?”

“Turtle intuition?”

“Shut up.”

They reached the end of the hall, standing on either side of the door.

“Ready? On three…one…two…three!”

Carapace busted down the door, while Rena shouted behind him. “Freeze!”

There was no one in the room.

No one anymore, at least.

But there were dozens of computers lined up along the walls. Website servers. Huge fans were blowing on them, but the room was still incredibly hot.

In the middle of them all was a large antenna.

“What!” Rena shouted in anger.

“This must be the website hub. They’d need this many servers with the amount of traffic they get.”

“Okay, so it’s a clue! But I didn’t want a clue! I wanted my best friend! I want—“ Rena clenched her fists as the sound of footsteps clambered up the steps.

Men flooded into the room, already getting to work inspecting the equipment and plugging in.

Rena ghosted past all of them and into a room down the hall that was less crowded with equipment. Carapace was quick to follow.

“Alya—“

“It was supposed to be over by now! It’s been…24 hours.” She shook her head. “A full day. How many more are our friends going to have to suffer through in that—that hell!?”

“Al…”

“We slept in a bed last night! We had coffee and croissants…I got to take a shower and I got to use a very nice toilet! What about them!? When was the last thing they ate? Drank? Where do they sleep?!”

Carapace laid his hands on her shoulders, gripping her tightly. “Al. I get it.” By the hoarseness in his voice, she couldn’t doubt him. “I’m worried about them too.” Then he pulled her into a sure hug, holding her while she fought to keep the tears at bay.

She was Rena Rouge right now. She couldn’t cry.

They didn’t know how long they had been holding each other until there was a knock at the door. “Sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Rena wiped under her eye. “No…just…just expressing some disappointment.”

“Well, the good news is that this is where that call came from. This is also the server for their website.”

“…what’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is that the call was sent through wifi. And the website is updated through an FTP client. After trying to trace the IP address, we found thousands of them that could be potential matches. Our best guess is that they’re using a VPN. It’s…it’s not likely that we’ll be able to track them from here.”

Rena shut her eyes tight, bringing her fist up to her mouth. Anger? Grief? Blackened rage? She was a whirlwind of emotion. Finally, she spoke, “So, what? This was all a waste?”

“I wouldn’t call it a waste. We might not find anything right away, but we’ll monitor their activity. They’ll make a mistake. And if the server goes down, they’ll have to come back and fix it. We’ll be here waiting. This is a good lead.”

Rena didn’t know if she should bare to hope. “Okay.” She breathed, “we…we have to go now.”

“I understand. I’ll be sure to update our mutual acquaintance when I have more information for you.”

Without another word, they left. Hearts heavy, and hope draining.

—

My knowledge of how websites work is pretty sad. Don’t grill me.

We may be going back to the Adrien and Marinette next chapter. But I haven’t decided yet.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #fanfiction #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #longest night #rena rouge #carapace #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe

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you-get-to-exhale-now-cyrus · 5 years

Text

Cyrus’ Dictionary

1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10

Summary: Cyrus has always been good with words; there’s a reason English is his favorite subject. But with TJ, he seems to be at a loss for words. When they get paired up for a summer assignment, Cyrus slowly starts to build a new dictionary. One that involves TJ and everything they do together. Along the way, maybe he’ll find the words to tell him how he feels.

Chapter 10: Naz

Word Count: 3292

Read on AO3

Buffy paced around her room, waiting for the ringing on the phone to stop.

“Hello?” came Cyrus’ voice from the other end.

“We have a problem,” she muttered, plopping down on her bed.

“Oh? Is everything okay?” Cyrus asked, his brows furrowing together.

“Marty told me he loves me,”

Cyrus nearly choked on his own spit. “He did?”

Buffy nodded, even though Cyrus couldn’t see her. “And it was totally out of the blue, like we were literally playing Mario Kart,” she explained, “and I was just so shocked and taken aback. So I just left,”

“Yikes,” Cyrus mumbled, much to the displease of Buffy.

“Not helping. What do I do?” she asked, playing with a lock of her hair.

“Well, do you love him?”

Buffy paused, and Cyrus almost thought that she’d hung up. “I-I don’t know. I’m not sure,”

“Tell him that,” he offered her, “feelings can be really hard and silence can be worse than the truth,”

“You’re probably right,” she said, “so, you and TJ?” she asked, quickly changing the subject.

Cyrus froze, inhaling sharply. “What are you talking about?”

“Your text seemed off,” she stated.

“Nah, things are good, I’m good, we’re good,” he rambled, his face scrunching up as he spoke.

“Oo, you gonna hang out with him again?” she cooed, and even though Cyrus couldn’t see her, he knew she was smirking.

“Yeah, we’re going to the fair in town,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “Not sure how that’s gonna go with his mom,”

“What do you mean?”

“Long story. I’ll talk to you later?” Cyrus offered.

“Talk to me after your date,” Buffy chuckled, grinning widely.

“I love you and I hate you,” he said, hanging up and putting his phone in his pocket.

“Stay still, I’m gonna screw it up!” Walker insisted, pouting.

“But it tickles,” Jonah countered, looking up at him with a big grin. He put his hands under his legs, trying to keep himself from squirming and ruining Walker’s face paint job.

“Bi the way, you look great with this,” Walker joked, to which Jonah replied with finger-guns.

“And you look pan-tastic. . .that was awful, I’m sorry,” he shook his head, peering in the mirror to admire Walker’s work, “it’s so pretty! I love it,”

Walker beamed, taking Jonah’s hand and rushing down the stairs. “Mom, we’re ready to go!”

Walker’s mom hurried into the room. “Well don’t you boys look lovely,” she remarked, ushering them out the door, “you know if anything happens to call me, right?”

“Right, we will,” Walker promised, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, “love you!”

The couple walked down the street, hand in hand, until they saw the big arch of rainbow balloons. Flags in every size and color danced in the wind, people threw confetti everywhere, and the whole environment looked a little hectic, but loving nonetheless.

“You ever been to pride before?” Walker asked, squeezing through the crowd to try and get a better view for the parade.

Jonah shook his head. “Never, what’s it like?”

“It’s like someone threw up the world’s biggest rainbow, then doused it in glitter,” he joked, “it’s really great,”

The parade was up and running by the time they got there. There was a bi float, to which Jonah screamed at the top of his lungs about. Someone on the float tossed him a little pin that said ‘I like my men how I like my women’. Sure, they were getting jostled and bumped around, but Jonah wouldn’t trade that feeling for anything in the world. Confetti filled the air, as did whoops of applause, when a proposal took place on one of the floats, and everyone collectively lost their minds.

“This is so great!” Walker cheered, turning towards Jonah, who had a small, telling smile on his face, “what?”

“. . .I love you,” he said softly, thinking the words would get lost in the cacophony of the parade.

Walker grinned, tears brimming from his eyes. “I love you too, you know. I was . . .gonna tell you, but I was afraid you were gonna freak out,”

Jonah cupped Walker’s face, bringing their noses together. “You absolute dork,” he mumbled, pecking his lips. People around them joined in with a chorus of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, a few clapping the boys on the back and telling them they were adorable together. Everything was going so well.

Until a certain middle-aged woman was walking down the street and was able to pick out her son from the crowd.

“Jonah!” a shrill voice stood out from all the others, “Jonah what are you doing here?”

His blood ran cold. He felt like he was going to faint or cry or throw up or all three. Luckily, Walker was there holding his hand, and telling him things were going to be okay. People around Jonah and Walker stared at the woman.

“C’mon, let’s go,” she said, holding out her hand.

Jonah opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. By this point, more and more people had gathered around him, whispers and murmurs tearing through the crowd.

“With all due respect, Mrs. Beck,” Walker piped up, ever the brave one, “he’s gonna stay with me. I really care about him and,” he looked at Jonah, smiling softly, “I know he really cares about me,”

“But. . .you’re both boys?” she hesitated, all of a sudden feeling quite uncomfortable in her situation.

“Good catch, lady,” someone from the crowd called out, earning a few ‘woos’ and applause.

“So?” Jonah said, trying to stand his ground, “Mom, I love him. Isn’t that all that matters?”

Jonah’s mom looked at Walker, conflicted, as if trying to ask him for answers, but his face read ‘don’t look at me’.

“Wouldn’t you rather have a happy son who loves a boy rather than a sad one who pretends to love a girl?” said someone else, offering some advice.

She took a few steps forward, parting through the crowd to get to her son. “Jonah,” she started, putting her hands on his shoulder, “I love you no matter what, you know that right?”

And at that, Jonah collapsed into her arms and started to cry. Happy tears, sad tears, all the tears. Cheers and applause ensued, but all Jonah could think about was how happy he was to finally have this weight lifted off of his chest.

When his mom pulled away, she looked at Walker. “So, you’re the artist?”

Walker ducked his head, trying to hide the ever-growing blush on his cheeks. “How do you know?”

“Jonah has a drawing you did in his room,” she supplied, to which Jonah groaned of embarrassment, “and that’s my cue to leave. I’ll catch you boys later,” she said, walking off.

“You have a drawing I did in your room?” Walker asked, a soft smile gracing his face.

Jonah nodded. “The one you did of me in the park that day. It’s always been my favorite,”

Walker grinned, slinging an arm around him. He opened his mouth to say something, but then what seemed like a pound of glitter rained down on them.

“Happy pride, you’re never getting the glitter out of your hair,” Walker chuckled.

“Worth it,” Jonah assured him, grinning like an idiot.

“Yes!” TJ pumped his fist in the air, after he’d sunk the last basket.

“Surprise, surprise, ladies and gents, TJ Kippen can shoot basketballs,” Cyrus teased, poking his shoulder.

TJ ignored him, pointing to the plush dinosaur behind the man. “For you,”

Cyrus looked from the stuffed animal to TJ. “Really?”

TJ nodded. “Of course. You love dinosaurs, so it only makes sense that I’d give it to you,”

“It’s also a stuffed animal and I’m 16 years old,”

“I can easily take that away from you. I will turn this prize around,” he threatened with mock authority, crossing his arms.

Cyrus sighed, tucking the dino under his arm. “Thanks,” he muttered, kicking the ground.

TJ frowned, trying to meet his gaze. “Do you not like it? I can pick something else,”

Cyrus shook his head. “No, it’s not that. I just. . .I wish I could win you something, but my lack of hand-eye coordination impedes that desire,”

TJ rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, most of these games are probably math driven,” he insisted, peering at the booths, “darts?”

“Sure, we’ll just end up in the ER when I inevitably forget which direction to throw it in,” Cyrus mused, following TJ.

“I’ll help you,” he offered, handing the lady behind the booth a few tickets, and getting a few darts in return, “take the first shot. I’ll hold your beloved dinosaur,”

Cyrus picked up one of the darts with extreme caution. He shut one eye, trying to gauge where he should throw it. After a few intense moments of concentration, he threw it, and it hit the board and landed on the ground.

“Help?” TJ offered, setting the plush animal aside and coming up beside him, holding the dart in both their hands, “so, just pinch it like this,” he said, moving Cyrus’ fingers in the right position, electricity zipping through him with each touch.

Cyrus felt like he almost couldn’t breathe, and he didn’t even know why. Was there something in the air? Was it some weird summer curse? Either way, the next thing he knew was that the dart had left his hands and the balloon popped.

“Hey, you did it!” TJ cheered, ruffling his hair gently, “told you,”

Cyrus pointed to a small, plush basketball, thanking the lady. “For you,”

TJ beamed, picking it up like it was his own child. “I love it, thank you,”

Cyrus shrugged, grabbing his dinosaur as they walked. “Doesn’t begin to compare to this, but I’m glad you like it,”

“Cyrus?” a voice called, followed by a slew of excited squeals.

“Amber, hey!” he greeted, “ and Andi. What are you guys doing?”

“We’re going to recreate Love, Simon,” Andi said, pointing to the ferris wheel.

“Ah,” TJ nodded sagely, “round and round the lesbians go, where they stop, nobody knows,”

Cyrus chuckled, holding out his dino. “Look what TJ won for me!”

Amber raised her brows, giving her brother a knowing look. “Wow, that’s really special. He must have really known you’d like that,”

“Well look at what Cyrus got me,” TJ said through gritted teeth, “it’s a basketball because he knows I love it,”

Andi looked between the two Kippens, trying to figure out what was going on. “Should we head towards the ferris wheel? Recreate that iconic scene,” she said, taking Amber’s hand and running to the line.

“I want that,” Cyrus sighed, hugging the dino to his chest sweetly.

“To go on the ferris wheel?” TJ nearly squeaks out, “yeah, let’s do it,” he says with the least amount of confidence possible.

Cyrus grabs TJ’s hand, tugging him along and catching up to Amber and Andi. The girls and Cyrus talked about the movie for a little while, Cyrus gushing about the lighting and the cinematography, while Amber just kept repeating the word ‘gay’ over and over.

When they got towards the front of the line, Cyrus handed the man tickets for him and TJ, and they both took their seats, their respective prizes on the outside of the seats. The man started the ride, and the boys weren’t even three feet on the ground when TJ squeezed his eyes shut.

“Would this be a bad time to tell you I’m afraid of heights?” he muttered, feeling something gentle rest on his hand that was gripping the bar for dear life.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Cyrus assured him, “open your eyes. You don’t have to look down, just look at me,”

TJ slowly fluttered his eyes open, the first thing he saw being Cyrus’ hand on his. His gaze trailed up to his face, meeting his eyes; gosh, he could drown in those.

“Hey,” Cyrus whispered, scooting a little closer to TJ.

“Hey,” TJ said back, heart pounding, his breath coming in quick breaths, not because of the ferris wheel. He’d forgotten that he was so high above the ground. “I’m kinda weak, aren’t I,” he chuckled, shaking his head.

Cyrus frowned. “You know I’d love you no matter what,” he said, biting his tongue, “I mean, you know like, I-I love all my friends, like how friends love each other,” he stammered, exhaling.

“Oh. Yeah. Me too,” TJ replied, suddenly remembering he was on the ride, and clenching the bar a little tighter.

When they reached the bottom, TJ grabbed his basketball and flew off the seat. Cyrus took his dino, and walked off calmly, laughing as he caught up to TJ; the kind of laugh that made you dizzy with excitement. While TJ took a moment to catch his breath, Cyrus pulled out his phone and googled:

being loved no matter what

He opened his notes, and jotted down the word quickly so he wouldn’t forget.

naz: the pride that comes with knowing that you are loved no matter what you do

Amber and Andi stumbled off the ferris wheel, both laughing and smiling like two idiots.

“You two okay?” TJ asked, having regained his sense of safety.

“We’re good, just gay,” Amber supplied, squeezing Andi’s hand, “and also kind of tired and ready to go home,”

TJ nodded, turning to Cyrus. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Cyrus agreed, walking in the opposite direction with Andi, as Amber and TJ headed home.

“So how was your date?” Amber cooed, batting her lashes at her brother.

TJ pushed her, making her stumble a little. “It wasn’t a date,”

Amber stopped dead in her tracks, grabbing TJ by the wrist. “It was literally Love, Simon, you dumbass gay disaster,”

TJ rolled his eyes, tugging his arm away from her. “So, how was your date?”

Amber shrugged, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. “It was a sort-of date. We both like each other but are trying to keep this under wraps, you know?”

TJ nodded. “Yeah, I know. . .mom stuff,”

“Speaking of which, what did you tell her about this ordeal?” Amber asked, the two of them rounding the corner and walking down the street.

“I said we were going to the fair, just you and me,” he supplied.

“We need a selfie to prove it,” Amber decided, “my phone’s dead,”

“Fine, fine, I guess we can use mine,” he mumbled, unlocking it and clicking through. He accidentally selected photos instead of camera, and the picture of him and Cyrus in the Christmas shop popping up. Just his luck.

Amber’s jaw dropped, making incoherent noises as TJ tried to close the image, but Amber was holding onto his phone like death. “Oh my gosh, you guys are literally so cute,” she finally said, nearly fangirling over the picture.

“I mean I already know that Cyrus is adorable so,” TJ shrugged, giving into the fact that Amber was never going to let this go.

“No, like, you guys are legitimate couple goals,”

“Not a couple,”

“Yet,” Amber replied, not missing a beat.

“So,” Andi started, plucking a fry from the basket, “you and TJ?”

Cyrus groaned, bringing his forehead down onto the table. “Why does everyone phrase it like that, like we’re dating! We’re not!”

Andi was taken aback, chewing on her fries in confusion. “I just meant that you guys were having a fun time here, but dating, okay, let’s go there,”

“Let’s not,” Cyrus pleaded, picking his head up.

“Too late,” Andi chuckled.

Cyrus pouted, crossing his arms. “I don’t wanna talk about ‘us’,” he groaned, using air quotes.

“I’m, like ninety-nine percent sure he likes you, Cy,” Andi insisted, drumming her fingers on the table, “have you seen the way he looks at you?”

“. . .yeah, right, whatever,” Cyrus mumbled, taking another fry from the basket.

“I’m serious,”

“Hush,”

“But do you like him?”

And there it was; the loaded question that was there lurking in the shadows, but now it was on full display. He really didn’t want to answer, because heck, he didn’t even know how to answer it. So he stayed silent.

“Aha! So you do like him!” Andi clapped her hands together.

“I never said that! TJ’s my best friend,” Cyrus defended, taking the last fry in defiance.

“Cyrus, be honest. You don’t think that there could be something more there?” she asked, searching his face for some sort of answer.

“. . .no,” Cyrus said meekly, almost like he was disappointed, but not quite. His voice didn’t wobble, and he said it with as much confidence as he could.

Andi shrugged, tossing the empty basket into the trash can. “Whatever you say,” she chirped, getting up from her seat, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Cy,”

He gave her a wave as a good-bye, and turned his attention back to the ferris wheel, watching people go around and around. Couples, kids, parents with their little ones, all smiling and laughing. He sighed, silently hoping that one day he’d get to do that with someone special.

6/25

Today Cyrus and I went to the fair, and it was so much fun! I played a basketball game and won him a dinosaur, and he played a dart game and gave me the stuffed basketball he won. Well, in truth I helped him a little bit, but his face when I said ‘you did it!’ was priceless. We ran into Amber and Andi, and we all went on the ferris wheel. Admittedly, I’m afraid of heights, but Cyrus was there with me, telling me that things were okay, and to just look at him, which helped. I was worried he’d think I’m weak, but he said he’d love me no matter what. You know, like friends do.

TJ sighed, shutting his journal and setting it on his nightstand. That little moment had meant everything to him, and even if he wanted it to go further or mean something more, deep down, he knew it didn’t. It was just a thing friends said to each other, like when Amber would text Cyrus and end the conversation with ‘love you!’.

[Underdog <3: so for tmrw, there’s free painting classes where the art gallery was that day! do you wanna come?]

TJ smiled, butterflies erupting in his stomach no matter how hard he tried to quell them.

[Me: totally! when is it?]

[Underdog <3: around noon, sound good?]

[Me: i’m there]

TJ turned off the lamp on his nightstand, shutting his eyes and trying to go to sleep. But even though it was late, and he was relatively tired, he couldn’t stop thinking. Thinking of Cyrus. Thinking about what they ‘were’. Friends, he supposed. Best friends.

6/25

TJ and I went to the fair today and it was so much fun! He won me this giant dinosaur stuffed animal and I love it! It’s sitting in my chair in my room right now. I tried to win him a stuffed basketball with a game of darts, but he helped me so much that he basically won it. We saw Amber and Andi there, and then all four of us went on the ferris wheel and it was so much fun! It was kinda dark when we were at the top, but I could still see TJ’s green eyes. They’re pretty nice.

And there it was again; Cyrus focusing on TJ’s eyes. “It’s a normal thing,” he told himself, flipping to the back and jotting down the notes he’d written in his phone. Naz. What a lovely word to describe him and TJ. They would love each other no matter what. Love, like friends do, of course. Because that’s what they were.

Friends.

Tag List: @shortstackofpeaches || @seanna313 || @geekingbeautytx || @heavenlybyers || @ginnychrises|| @wlwandimack || @giocondasstuff || @lemonboytyrus || @adorejrizzle || @swingsetboys || @ifellintotyrushell || @idk-dude-17 || @rbf-lesbian || @marianara-sauce || @kaptainjinxz || @alex-poster-pizz || @quietmarvel || @blueberry-my-hero-macadamia || @broadwayitbitch || @tjsmuffin || @tjthekippen || @idpleasesir || @hi-hello-hey-there || @bingewatchingenthusiast|| @booklove-2 || @illbeyourreasonwhy || @birdiesandflowers || @whistlepunk || @phinallyjackie || @thedampjofangirl || @tyrus4eva || @tj-is-a-lemony-boy || @tj-goodman-bittersweet-boy || @dis-app-oin-tme-nt || @nessarinthegay || @breadisticks || @typewriter-riz || @gobletofash || @bluemuffinboy || @sofuuh || @cheesystars || @tjmuffin || @multifandom-bxitch || @allylovessadie || @hithatsmyname || @tyrusinarush || @tyrus-lookback ||

#andi mack #tyrus #tyrus fic #tj kippen #cyrus goodman #muffy #wonah #ambi #cyrus' dictionary #my fics

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futurewriter2000 · 3 years

Text

"Here's a question!" he smiled, throwing himself on the bench and swinging back and forward.

"Go away, Snow." she sniffled and hugged her legs closer to her chest. She laid her head on them and turned it away from him, her eyes drowning in her own tears. She couldn't even look at him. She didn't even want to try. She just knew that there was this empty feeling in her chest and it was sucking everything into it- like a black hole.

He looked at her wild hair, resting on her back. No bun, no ponytail, not clipped to the back... Nothing but natural hair. He could see how sad she was and for a moment he was quiet... For a moment...

"Come on. Just answer it." he shuffled a bit in his seat and looked at the stars. "What happens when life beats you down?"

"What a horrible question..."

"Humor me."

"You curl into a ball of blankets and you cry until you fall asleep." she said in a low, raspy voice. She stared down on the distance and felt his hand touch her shoulder. She moved away from it. "Don't touch me."

He let go of her. His hand hoovered above her shoulder and he couldn't believe she was not even slightest of bit happy. You know? Even when she was sad she could manage to bottle it up and smile. I guess, it was selfish of him to expect that once again because he was uncomfortable with comforting her.

"Not really..." he answered. "I thought of more; you get back up and you show the world what you're made of." he let out a soft chuckle, yet he wasn't his bright-self as he was in the beginning.

"Is that what you did?" she finally turned her head to him, glaring at him as she was about to sentence him to a death penalty. "When life got you down, you got back up and showed what you're made of? Or did you push everybody and everything out of your way, hid yourself into that shitty apartment and never thought of us again!" she started to speak louder, re-gaining her strength. She pushed her finger to his chest and shoved him away. "You... you... you..." she tried to speak but the ocean in her eyes finally started to pour its tears down her cheeks and her voice began to shake. "You left us! You left me!" she stood up and ran her hands through her hair. "ME! And then you think you can just give me a smile and I'll pretend that I'm happy?! No! You fucked it up! You fucked all of us but mostly you fucked up what we had! How could you tell me all of that stuff and promise me things and make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world and then just disappear like nothing ever mattered! Like I never mattered, Snow! How could you have just leave! How could you had told me I was beautiful and amazing and that you miss us and... and... and..." she started to get lost with words, quieting herself down and taking a moment to breathe.

He was shamefully looking away. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry..." she let out a laugh. "I don't think sorry can make up for the things I did for you, for the effort I put into us, fighting for us, putting my pride and ego and my dignity for you. Sorry doesn't cut out for the nights I kept asking myself what could I have done to make you leave me. For the nights that I was crying and crying and crying and all I wanted was to stop crying because I was nothing to you but you were everything to me. I felt so pathetic and I cried even more. I cried like... like... like a baby! For you! YOU!"

"You're not path-"

"And you know I felt the worst of myself. I told you how many people left me without saying goodbye. I trusted you with something I had never trusted anybody with. I forgave you for all of the bad things you did for me because I loved you. I didn't care about your flaws. I didn't care for your looks. I just loved you for who you are and after all the nights we spent together, all the conversations, all the adventures I deserved literal shit from you! I didn't deserve a proper goodbye or even a reply back .YOU IGNORED ME! Even after what you said your ex of three years did to you! It was what you did to me. You just cut me off. Just like that." she snapped her fingers, feeling everything coming out to the surface. "People kept telling me you're weird and rude and such an asshole... people kept judging you and saying shit about you but my dumbass protected you, even after everything you did to me, I felt the need to protect and love you. I couldn't wish a single bad thing to you. I still can't. I wish I could say that you deserve what you did to me but nobody deserves that! Because I felt like shit! I felt worthless and thrown aside... after everything... after everything..." she kept repeating to herself.

"I know what I did. I know it but don't for a moment think it was easy for me. I missed you all the time-"

"Don't do this to me, Snow. Don't say you missed me and think that excuses you from anything."

"I'm not looking for an excuse! I want you to hear me out."

"Hear you out?! Hear. You. Out? You've had months to tell me this!"

"I was in some deep shit! Okay?! I was in this deep shit that you don't even know! I didn't want to drag you into it!"

"No." she shook her head angrily. "Don't say you had ghosted me, left me, treated me with such disrespect just because you didn't want to drag me into the deep shit you were in! I am not some innocent, helpless little girl, who cannot take some shit in her life. You don't even know what I went through! You don't know! You think that you scared me? That whatever you were in would scare me?! What the hell do you think I am? I can handle everything!"

"Clearly not this."

"I think I'm handling this pretty well. Telling you what I should have told you a long time ago."

"So you admit you had wanted to tell me this too."

"I do admit but you wouldn't hear it from me back then, so why the hell do you think you deserve the right for me to hear shit from you? What makes you think I deserve to hear you out when you hadn't taken a moment of your time to hear me out?" she stared at him and this time he was unprepared to answer. It wasn't something he had planned on hearing from you. You had guts... more than he thought.

"You're right..." he whispered, rubbing his eyeballs and turning away. "I don't deserve for you to hear me out and you don't have to tell me twice about how shitty I was towards you. I know, I was and don't you think it doesn't eat me inside knowing that but you want to know why it took me so long to realise this?" he paused for a moment, waiting for an answer from you that never came. "I found out that I love you. I found out that you were one of the best things that ever happened in my life. Every day I was hanging out with my friends was fun but even if it was, something was always missing. You were missing. Your talks about the moon and the stars and your stupid rants... God, when you walked into the room, everything was lighter. I just loved being around you for some weird reason and you made me laugh... all the time you would crack a stupid joke and I'd just laugh and we'd laugh together and I miss your laugh. God knows what I would do to hear your laugh, your gorgeous laugh, your amazing, joyful laugh..." he started to smile and approach her but she was still only staring at him by now, speechless. "I could not look at the moon and not think of you. Of course, I pretended that everything was okay. I even deceived myself but you were the one that was always on my mind. You were. You were so... beautiful in my head and I'd imagine stuff with you- things we would do together but I was so afraid of you because you read me so well and you just knew what I was thinking and you did something to me that made me confused and... and... I don't know... I just didn't like who I was becoming with you. I was so foreign to myself but when I cut you off and I was back with my friends... I didn't like who I was with them either because you pulled out the best of parts of myself and I didn't like it. I didn't like to be responsible and... and grown up and most definitely, I didn't want you to remind me of it."

"Yeah..." she rolled her eyes. "Because I was the serious, boring, mom friend."

"No." he let out a laugh. "You cared... for all of us and not a lot of people are used to being taken care of. I am always so ready to do all the things by myself but... the feeling of doing it with you is much better than doing it by myself... all alone... and sometimes I have these wack thoughts and you're the first person I want to share them with..."

She was quiet. He was close to her and she was furious at him but all she wanted to do was hug him and cry into his shoulder. But she didn't do that because she didn't want to show him that she's easy to get deceived again.

"I don't know if I can trust you, Snow..." she backed away a bit.

"I'm willing to work on us..."

"No..."she started to back away. "I don't think you understand..." she looked at him and the hopeful smile on his face, quickly disappeared. "You broke me... from all the people that broke me, you broke me the most... even when I was at my strongest, you managed to break me and I don't like that... I don't like the kind of power you have over me." she shut her eyes close and let those tears fall before she could say those final words. "You had so much time... so long I waited for you and now that you came, I realised that it's too late. I'd love to go back to you but I just can't trust you anymore... I don't trust you and I don't love you anymore...and, Snow?" she looked at him deep into his eyes. "I'm not sorry for that."

0 notes

three-drink-amy · 7 years

Text

First Day Jitters

So I wrote this tiny fic a couple months back about Jake and Amy as single parents. And I couldn’t get it out of my head. So with encouragement from @startofamoment, it became a full fledged fic!

Just FYI: it’s long...

Jake was fretting over the first day of school. He prided himself on being a good dad. He was a much better dad to John than Jake’s dad was to him. Still though, the panic of the first day of kindergarten was getting to him. John had asked him the night before why he had to go to school. It had taken everything in Jake not to put it off for another year. Instead, he talked up school and how fun it was and how many friends he’d make.

As Jake walked his son into school, he was pretty sure that he was more nervous than the child. He looked for the kindergarten classroom and directed his son there. They were nearing the door when Jake bumped into another parent. A mother taking her son into the same classroom. “Sorry,” he apologized profusely, still holding John’s hand. She waved him off silently. Jake was pretty sure he noted tears in her eyes. He gestured for her and her son to enter the room before him and John. She nodded gratefully.

Jake walked in and squatted down in front of his son. “Okay, John, this is your classroom. You met your teacher, Miss Miller last week. She is really nice. And there are plenty of kids here to be friends with. Just have a good time and try to learn all you can, okay?” John nodded stiffly. He stumbled forward, throwing his arms around Jake’s neck. Jake could feel tears in his eyes. He wrapped his arms tightly around his son. “You’re gonna have so much fun, Bud.”

“I’m gonna miss you today, Daddy,” John said through his sniffles.

Jake squeezed him before ending the hug and looking at his son. “I’ll miss you too. But in just a matter of hours, I’ll pick you up and we can go to the park and you can tell me all about your day. How does that sound?”

“That sounds fun!” John yelled.

“You just have to make it through the day,” Jake explained. Standing up, he motioned his son toward the rest of the kids. “Now go have fun!” John hugged his leg before running toward the other kids. Jake willed the tears in his eyes not to fall.

“I didn’t really think it would be this hard,” Jake heard someone say. He looked over and it was the mom he’d bumped into.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m a single dad. This is hitting me like a truck.”

She chuckled dryly. “I know what you mean. I’m a single mom. I cried all night last night. My eyes would barely open this morning when Sam was jumping on my bed because he was so excited for school.”

“Ahh the single parenthood,” Jake mused. “Glad I’m not alone.”

She smiled at him. “I’m Amy Santiago.”

“Jake Peralta,” he replied.

“I didn’t notice earlier, which one is yours?” she asked.

“Black Nets t-shirt with the Die Hard back pack,” he pointed out. She looked at him skeptically. “It was my back pack as a kid. He hasn’t seen it,” he assured her. “Well, not yet. He’ll see it someday because it’s the best movie ever.” Amy laughed. “Which one is yours?”

Amy pointed to the boy right next to John. “Sam’s the one in the red checked shirt and slacks giving yours a friendship sticker.” Jake looked over at her with an amused expression. “I may have given him some pointers on making friends. It mainly involved stickers.”

The teacher asked the parents to leave so they could start class. Jake bid goodbye to John as Amy did the same with Sam. Jake couldn’t help but smile as he noticed the two boys sitting down next to each other. Jake couldn’t wait to hear all about his son’s day.

As they walked out of the school, Jake dug out his keys, unsure of where he was going to go. “I took today off because I figured I’d be too much of a mess at work. Now I have no clue what I should do. I tend to think the secretary won’t want me hanging out in the office.”

Amy laughed and nodded. “I did the same thing. I took a sick day.”

“Listen, single parent to single parent,” Jake began nervously, “how would you feel about getting coffee and talking about how much we miss our kids?”

Amy smiled brightly. “I think that sounds great. Maybe some Irish coffee?”

“Ooh, I like that idea,” Jake agreed with a grin. “How early do you think bars open?”

“I’m game,” Amy replied with a laugh. “This could be fun.”

Jake nodded excitedly before he gestured toward the parking lot. “After you, m’lady!”

They found themselves at a small coffeehouse not far from the school. As they sat down, Jake realized that it almost had the feeling of a date. He shook his head, ignoring the crazy notion. They both took a sip of their drinks before either of them started talking. “Is it bad that I’m wondering what they’re doing now?” Jake asked. “Am I too obsessed with my kid?”

Amy laughed. “I don’t think that’s a thing. I mean at least between parents. Some of my friends probably think I’m too obsessed with Sam.”

Jake smirked. “Yeah, I remember when John was a baby and I was fawning all over him and my friend Gina made some comment about how he only smiled because he farted. I was horrified and offended.”

“Exactly,” Amy agreed. “I have some friends like that too.” She shook her head with a laugh as she took another drink. “So what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a detective.” Amy’s mouth dropped open. Jake leaned back slightly. “What’s wrong with that?”

Amy shook her head quickly. “Nothing at all. I’m just surprised. I’m also a detective.”

“What? No way! Which precinct?” Jake asked, very intrigued.

“The 99th. You?”

“The 78th.” They both stared at each other for a beat. “How bizarre,” Jake mused with a small shake of his head.

Amy smirked into her coffee mug. “Good to know I’m in good company.”

They chatted for a while about the job. Soon talk turned back to their children. Before they knew it, they’d been there for at least a couple hours, just chatting amiably.

Amy seemed to tense a little as she posed her next question. “Probably not my place to ask, but where’s John’s mom?”

A serious expression replaced the smile that had graced Jake’s face for most of the time they’d been together. “That’s a good question. I think somewhere here in New York. I’m not really sure though.” Amy started to nod. Jake could tell she wasn’t going to ask any more questions, so he volunteered the information. “We were dating, not super seriously, when she got pregnant. She was a defense attorney.” Amy’s mouth opened in horror. “Yeah I know,” Jake said with a laugh. “Big mistake. Anyway, she was more dedicated to her job than literally anything else. I told her that I would be willing to go along with whatever she wanted to do. I mean I was excited at the prospect of having a kid, but she wasn’t really one to try and force your opinion on. So anyway, I think she knew I was excited about it so she decided we’d keep it.”

Jake paused, reliving it all. “I can still remember the day that I thought something was off. She came home from her baby shower with all this amazing stuff. I was so excited about it all. I was looking through everything and freaking out over it like a total nerd. And she sat on the couch staring at it with an almost horrified look on her face. I thought she was just overwhelmed. I mean having a baby is a big deal. But no, she was dreading it. Apparently her lawyer friends had said all these things about how being a mom was going to be her new career. And she’d freaked out because her job was her real baby. Which I knew. And I’d always accepted that I came second to her job. I just didn’t figure she’d have gone through with the pregnancy if she was so scared of it affecting her career.”

“I remember that,” Amy interjected. “People telling me my career ambitions were now over because I was having a baby. It can be scary. But I actually wanted Sam. I’m guessing from your story, that’s not actually the case?”

Jake wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, not exactly. So she never said anything to me about not wanting the baby. I could tell that something was off, but I figured she was tired or overwhelmed being so far into her pregnancy plus work. She was really busy. I tried to be home every night in case she needed me. She never did. Then, ten days before her due date, she was in court and I got a call at work to go to the hospital. I was freaking out. So I drove to the hospital and I walk to find the nurse who called me and she takes me to the window of the nursery and points at a particular baby and tells me that’s my son.”

“Wait,” Amy stopped him, a disgusted look on her face. “You didn’t –”

“Yeah,” Jake confirmed. “I missed the birth of my child because she wouldn’t leave court and gave birth in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.” He nods at the sad look on Amy’s face. “So one of Sophia’s friends finds me in the hospital and tells me the baby’s mine. Sophia doesn’t want to see me or him. Her other friends were already getting her stuff from my apartment and I didn’t need to worry about that. So two days later I took my kid home and they’d done a good job of removing any aspect of Sophia from my home. I mean she didn’t even name him, I did. I haven’t seen her since the night before she gave birth. And John’s never seen his mother.”

“Wow.”

Jake shrugged. “I mean we’ve been okay. My Captain was amazing and gave me paternity leave and I got used to being a single dad. But you know, I can’t imagine my life without John. For all the drama of his arrival and how crazy my life became, I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Jake concluded with a smile.

Amy matched his smile. “Yeah I definitely get that.”

“So how did you end up a single mom?” He asked.

Amy shook her head and rolled her eyes as she geared up to tell her story. “It had been a month since I’d gotten engaged to my boyfriend of a year when I found out we were going to have a baby. I was really excited. In hindsight, I think he faked his excitement. Anyway, so we pushed back the wedding to focus on the baby and somehow along the way things started to fizzle. Teddy wasn’t as good at feigning his excitement as he thought he was. I, of course, didn’t think the way he was acting was about the baby, I thought it was about me. So I got a lot clingier and that didn’t help matters. We had very similar interests which was what drew us together, but it was then that I realized that at our cores we were very different people.”

“That’s a great time to find that out,” Jake joked.

Amy chuckled. “Yeah. So Sam came and it was about two months later that Teddy couldn’t take it anymore and moved out. I mean I was devastated, but I chose to focus on Sam and on being the best mom I could be. I mean we just fell apart. It certainly doesn’t hold a candle to your story,” Amy said with a laugh.

“I don’t think you’d really want it to,” Jake offered.

Amy shrugged. “That’s fair. But you’ll like this part. Teddy’s mom made him reach out for a custody agreement. She thought he needed to be a part of Sam’s life. I informed her that unless Teddy wanted to be a part of Sam’s life, he didn’t need to be. So Teddy gets Sam for a weekend every two weeks.”

“And you get no help in the meantime?”

“I’ve learned how to get by without it,” Amy said with a shrug. “I have friends who help me when I really need it. What about you?”

“Yeah, I have some good friends who help me out when I can’t get off work. And a really good babysitter,” Jake laughed. “Plus when Sophia left me with a baby to raise all alone, my mom moved into the city. She said it was to be there whenever I needed her, but I think she just wanted to be as close to her only grandson as she could.”

They both laughed before they sat in silence for a moment. “And now they’re in school…” Amy said in a small voice, trailing off.

“I can’t believe it.”

“I mean we got them this far right?” Amy wondered aloud.

Jake chuckled. “So you’re saying the hard part is over?”

Amy snorted. “If only. At least you have a son. I am already dreading having to raise a teenage boy on my own,” Amy joked, covering her face with her hands.

Jake laughed heartily. “I wish I could say it’s not that bad…”

Amy dropped her face from her hands. “Oh I grew up with seven brothers. I know precisely how terrible it is.”

Jake gaped at her. “You have seven brothers?” Amy nodded. “Damn.”

“Yeah, growing up was crazy. But it was helpful to have all that family when Teddy bailed.”

Jake nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I bet.”

“I gotta say it’s interesting meeting someone who was basically going through one of the hardest parts of their life at the same time you were going through yours,” Amy mused.

Jake’s eyebrows raised in thought. “Wow that’s a good point. If only there had been a support group five years ago before we got into the swing of things.”

“Nah,” Amy disagreed. “It’s probably better we figured it out on our own.” Jake nodded.

They sat there in a comfortable silence for a beat. They both checked their phones to see if there was anything important they’d missed in the time they’d been chatting.

Amy put her phone down. “You know, I think this is the closest thing to a date that I’ve been on in five years.” Jake nodded. “I mean I don’t have to tell you that dating as a single parent is hard.”

“That’s true,” Jake agreed. He looked at Amy. He’d really enjoyed the time they’d spent together. It was incredible to meet someone in the same position as him. Plus she was a cop too. He decided to risk it. “That being said though, how would you feel about doing this again sometime…?” he asked hesitantly.

Amy looked at him with a questioning expression. Suddenly a smile broke through the façade, her eyes shining. “I’d like that.”

Jake was swinging with his son as John told him all about his first day of school. “It was so fun, Daddy!” John cried. “We played outside and we had center time and we got to play with play dough!”

“That does sound like fun!” Jake agreed, smiling from ear to ear at the sight of his child so happy. “So do you like your classmates?”

“Yeah,” John informed him.

“Did you make any friends?”

“Yeah! Aaron was nice. He shared his crayons with me,” John explained.

“That was nice of him.”

“And Max picked me for his team when we played tag.”

“Wait, you’re already doing all that picking teams stuff?” Jake asked, feeling horrified that his young son was already subjected to that.

“And Sam gave me a sticker this morning and asked me to be his friend. So we’re best friends.”

Jake couldn’t help but smirk. Kids were so easy to win over. “Well I’m glad. I met Sam’s mom today.”

“Is she pretty?” John asked.

Jake looked curiously over at his son on the swing next to him. “Why?” John just shrugged. They kept talking about his day at school, though now Jake wondered what his son could be thinking.

Amy was tucking Sam into bed when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out quickly to see Jake was calling her. She put her phone back in her pocket, noting that she would call him back.

“Mommy?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, Sweetie?” Amy replied, pushing his hair back from his forehead gently.

“Do I really have to go see him tomorrow?”

Amy sighed. She set aside the book she’d pulled out for them to read and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Sam, you know it’s your weekend with your dad. I’m sure he wants to hear all about how much you love school.”

“No he doesn’t,” Sam insisted. “He doesn’t like me.”

Amy wanted to cry. They’d had this conversation before and each time it still hurt. She didn’t know why Teddy couldn’t fake it more when he spent time with his child. She didn’t know why everything else in Teddy’s life had to come before Sam. “Yes, he does like you. I promise. He just has a different way of showing it.”

“Aaron’s dad coaches his soccer team,” Sam rattled off. “And John’s dad takes him to the park all the time. Why can’t my dad be like that?”

Amy sped past the accidental mention of Jake in order to try and comfort her son. “Sweetie, I know that you would rather spend time with me this weekend, but I’m just going to clean all weekend. Wouldn’t you rather see your dad than have me make you clean?”

“No, I like helping you clean,” Sam insisted. Amy laughed to herself. Of course that had rubbed off on her child.

“Look, how about this,” Amy negotiated, “If you go to your dad’s and you try to have fun with him, and I mean really try, we can go out for ice cream when I pick you up from school on Monday. How does that sound?”

Sam looked like he was thinking it over. “Okay.” He looked down at the book next to Amy’s hand. “Can we still read some?”

Amy smirked, kissing her son on the forehead. “I think we have time for one chapter.” She opened up to where they’d ended the night before and began to read to him. “Malfoy couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful,” Amy read aloud to her eager son. Amy hadn’t been able to resist passing on her love of Harry Potter to her child. Still, it had been a long week and Sam was asleep before the troll even left the dungeons. She pulled his blankets up tighter around him, kissed him one more time, and turned the lamp off next to his bed.

Amy strolled into her room and threw herself down on her bed. She always felt so guilty sending Sam to Teddy’s. She knew that Teddy only took Sam two weekends a month because he felt obligated. And she knew that Sam was always miserable when he was there. But that was the custody agreement they’d reached and she knew if she tried to change it now that Teddy’s parents would riot.

She was flipped over and laid on her back. That was when she felt her phone in her back pocket. Suddenly she remembered that Jake had called her. Quickly she pulled her phone out to call him back. She caught herself smiling as she tapped his number on the screen. Admittedly, she liked Jake. They hadn’t seen each other since their coffee outing other than picking up the boys at school. They always chatted a little bit until the boys dragged them off, ready to head home. Sometimes, especially recently, they’d text each other back and forth, discussing the life of a single parent/detective. Even just over text messaging, Jake made her laugh. And it had been a long time since a man had consistently made Amy laugh like that.

She fought the smile forming on her face as she heard the ringing on the other end. It rang twice before Jake picked up. “Hey!” He greeted cheerily.

“Hi! Sorry I missed your call earlier. It was bedtime and we were reading Harry Potter,” she explained.

“What?” Jake asked with a laugh. “You’re reading Harry Potter to your five year old?”

Amy felt defensive. “We’re only on the first one. We just read a little bit each night. What’s so bad about that?”

“I don’t know. I guess I would just think it was scary for a five year old,” Jake wondered. “I don’t know though because I’ve never read them.”

“What?” Amy cried. “You should! They’re so good!”

Jake laughed. “All right, I’ll take your word for it.”

“I mean it, you should read them,” Amy insisted. She could hear Jake still laughing on the other end. “Anyway, what’s up?” “Oh right, I called you first,” Jake remembered. “So my mom called me tonight insisting that she wants a weekend with just John. She said I look tired or something. Anyway, so she’s going to have him this weekend which made me wonder if you would want to get dinner or something.”

“Are you asking me out?” Amy joked.

“Yeah, I thought that was pretty obvious,” Jake retorted.

“Fair enough,” Amy chuckled.

“So…”

“Uh, yeah! Your timing is actually pretty good because Sam is spending the weekend with Teddy. So I’m free too,” Amy informed him.

“Wow, that is good timing. Imagine two single parents actually having free time on the same weekend. What are the odds of that?” Jake wondered aloud.

“Must be fate,” Amy mused with a laugh.

“I guess so,” Jake agreed. “So how does Saturday sound?”

“That sounds great!”

“Great!”

Amy expected Jake to hang up but he asked her about work and an hour later they were still talking. Amy couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as they spoke. She couldn’t really remember the last time she’d felt so light just talking to someone. Amy eyed her closet from where she laid on her bed, already trying to decide what she should wear on Saturday.

“I’m not saying you should be a crappy dad,” Amy argued, “I’m just saying my kid is jealous of your kid.”

Jake placed his hand over his heart. “I am truly so touched by that.”

Amy glared at him, smacking him on the arm. “Seriously?”

“Okay but think about it from my perspective,” Jake reasoned, “I have gotten ‘Billy has a dad and a mom, why don’t I?’ So hearing that one of my kid’s friends is jealous because I take him to the park after school sometimes makes me feel pretty great. Though I am obviously sorry that Sam feels jealous of John and that Sam has a crappy dad.”

Amy sighed and shook her head. “Okay, I guess I see your point.”

The hostess approached them. “You’re table is right this way.” They followed her, Jake placing his hand on Amy’s back for her to go ahead of him.

“So tell me about Sam,” Jake asked once they were seated and perusing the menus.

“He is five years old,” Amy joked.

Jake rolled his eyes at her. “I obviously knew that. I mean I hear about him from a kid’s perspective. But what’s he like?”

Amy smiled broadly. She was so touched Jake asked. There had been very few people who’d ever asked her about her son in that way. “Uh, he’s great! I mean, I’m pretty biased, but he really is. He likes to play “Kitchen.” I’m hoping that will form into an actual hobby of liking to cook from a young age because I’m a dreadful cook,” she said with a laugh. “But he’s smart. I swear he’s like this close to reading.”

“No!” Jake yelled, maybe a bit too loudly, but it made Amy laugh. “You can’t be that parent. Your kid’s already reading? Come on! Give the rest of us a break!”

Amy laughed heartily. “I can’t help it. I passed my nerdiness on to him. He has liked having me read him books since he was a baby. He used to just lay there and stare up at me as I read him stories. It was awesome.”

Jake smiled brightly. “It sounds awesome. Also, unrelated, but once John gets home from my mom’s tomorrow, I’m starting an intensive reading camp for him every single night. It will end when he can read proficiently.”

“Oh great,” Amy said with a laugh, “You’re doing both of us a favor. You’re gonna get John to read and Sam will stop being jealous of you because all John is going to do is complain about his daddy making him learn to read nonstop.”

Jake lifted his hands up dramatically. “See? I’m benefitting everyone.”

“So what’s John like?”

Jake smiled thoughtfully. “I would also have to say that he’s great. I don’t really know how with just having me, but he is. He’s funny. He constantly makes me laugh. He likes to make up jokes to make me laugh. For a five year old, I’d say he’s pretty witty.” Jake broke off at the sight of Amy staring at him with a smile on her face. “I don’t know, he just loves to have fun. He loves being outside and running around. And he loves to wear me out. I swear, chasing him around is harder than chasing perps.”

Amy leaned her head back in laughter. “Yes! Why is chasing a five year old more exhausting than being a cop?”

“I don’t know, but it’s so true!”

They both laughed, smiling at each other in the silence that followed. “So why did you become a cop?” Jake asked.

As much as Amy loved talking about her son, she really appreciated Jake asking about her. She liked Jake and she wanted them to get to know each other more than just as the parents of their child’s friend. So Amy talked all about her dad being a cop and his dad being a cop. And Jake talked about watching Die Hard and wanting to become a cop. And before she knew it the conversation steered away from their mutual work as well. They were just talking about their lives and their interests. And Amy couldn’t help it, but she felt smitten.

Since Amy lived a few blocks from the restaurant, Jake volunteered to walk her home. It was a beautiful September evening and it just added to the way Amy was feeling. She doubted herself and wondered if she only liked Jake because he was one of the first people in over five years to show her actual interest. When he genuinely laughed at a joke she made, she couldn’t deny the butterflies in her stomach. When he grabbed her hand to shuffle around some people on the sidewalk, she couldn’t deny the warmth she felt just from holding his hand.

Soon enough, they were at her stoop. She wished the night didn’t have to end, but it was far too soon to invite him up. Given the way she felt around him, she didn’t trust herself. “Thanks for tonight,” she said kindly. “This was really nice.”

Jake smiled brightly. “I agree.”

“Maybe sometime soon we can find the time in our crazy lives to do so again?” Amy ventured.

Jake nodded. “I certainly hope so.” He stepped a bit closer to her. “I had a really good time tonight.”

Amy smiled. “Yeah, I did too.”

Slowly Jake raised his hand, cupping the side of Amy’s face. He only had to lean in part way before Amy met him for the kiss. He kissed her gently, bringing his other hand to her back. She wrapped both arms around him, eagerly returning the kiss. Too soon for her liking, Jake released her with a smile. “Goodnight, Amy.”

She leaned in for another quick kiss. “Goodnight, Jake.”

He stayed there as she walked up to the door of her building. With a wave, she disappeared inside the door. She stood, leaning against the door, a smile plastered across her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this intensely happy.

As time went on, the nightly calls to each other became more common. Texting each other throughout the day was pretty much a given. And dates somehow became slightly more regular. It was still hard to find a time when both of them didn’t feel like they were abandoning their kids. After a month and a half, they’d been on a handful of dates.

Jake felt like he knew Amy really well though. They may not see each other as much as they’d both like to, but they talked a lot and it helped form the closeness they shared. Jake couldn’t help but marvel at how perfectly it had come together. What were the odds that he’d meet such an amazing woman and she would be the mom of his son’s best friend? He wasn’t a gambler, but he’d bet that those odds were slim. And yet, he was so happy with Amy. She was the only other person he knew who he felt got it.

He was sitting at his desk in the middle of November when his desk phone rang. “Detective Peralta,” he answered.

“Jake! Hey, it’s Amy!”

“Hey!” he greeted. “What’s up? Why are you calling me on my work phone?”

“Because I’m supposed to be working and no one would be suspicious of me calling another precinct.”

Jake chuckled. “Good thinking.”

“Anyway, I have a huge favor to ask of you,” Amy informed him.

“Ask away.”

“Is your babysitter picking up John today?”

“No, I am.”

“Oh,” she said softly.

“Amy, what’s up?” Jake prodded.

Amy sighed over the phone. “I was supposed to pick up Sam today too but now I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away. Would it be way too much of me to ask if you could pick him up?”

“Not at all. Why would that be too much to ask?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. We haven’t told the boys anything is going on. And it’s not like you’ve spent any time with Sam. I don’t want you to feel like I’m asking this ridiculous thing of you,” Amy rambled.

“Ames,” Jake said in a soothing voice. “For all they’ll think, I’m taking them to have a play date or whatever. They’ll just be excited to spend the afternoon together. It’ll be fine. I can absolutely pick up Sam.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Jake replied confidently. “I mean I’m gonna have to spend time with your son eventually, right?”

Amy chuckled through the phone. “I suppose so. I just imagined I’d be there.”

“Well, sure.”

“Thank you, Jake. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Jake assured her.

“You’re the best,” she replied.

“I know,” Jake said with a laugh. “Now you should get back to work so you aren’t there all night.”

“Good idea. I’ll see you later!”

“I can’t wait!” Jake answered before hanging up the phone.

Charles walked over to Jake’s desk a bit later in the day. “So are you still good for me coming over tonight to consult you on what meal I should cook for Genevieve for the first time?”

Jake looked up at him curiously until he remembered what Charles was talking about. “Oh shoot. That was tonight?” Charles nodded. “I can’t, Buddy, I’m sorry. I promised Amy I’d pick up Sam and bring him home with me to hang out with John tonight.”

“Wait, so you’re spending time alone with Amy’s kid?”

Jake replied hesitantly. “Yes.”

“Oh my God, this is huge!”

Jake groaned. “No it’s not, Charles. Please don’t make this a big deal.”

“But it is!” Jake opened his mouth to negate him, but Charles continued. “Listen, Jake, you like this kid’s mother. A lot. You don’t think it’s a big deal that this kid likes you? You don’t think it’ll help if he goes home talking about how much fun he had with John’s dad? Because this is the last piece of the puzzle. You and Amy like each other. And your kids like each other. But what if Sam doesn’t like you? Or what if John doesn’t like Amy?”

“Please, John will love Amy,” Jake argued, too unsure to argue whether Sam would love him.

“Okay. I’m just saying, don’t play this off as nothing, Jake. You like Amy so you are bound to be nervous about whether her son likes you,” Charles maintained.

“Fine, I might be a little nervous. But I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I am now that you’ve gone on about it for ten minutes,” Jake retorted.

“Don’t worry, what’s not to love about you, Jakey?”

Jake rolled his eyes, trying to get back to his work. Not sensing this, Charles sat down in the chair next to Jake’s desk. “So things are getting pretty serious with Amy, huh?”

Jake looked over at him. “Why do you say that?”

“You’re nervous about meeting her kid. She’s letting you pick up her kid. She wouldn’t do that if things weren’t getting serious between you,” Charles insisted.

“I mean I guess maybe they are. It feels weird saying that though. We’ve only been on like six dates.”

“But don’t you talk like all the time?” Charles interrogated.

Jake nodded, secretly wishing Charles would leave him to evaluate his relationship on his own. “Yeah. We talk almost every night on the phone after the boys are in bed.”

Charles beamed at him. “That’s beautiful.”

Jake rolled his eyes and pointed back to Charles’s desk. “Okay, you can go now.”

“Okay, but I’ll be here if you need advice,” Charles nearly crooned. Jake shook his head and tried to get back to work. He tried not to spend the rest of the day thinking about what he’d do with the boys. Or better yet, the way things were progressing with Amy. He really did have strong feelings for her. And as much as he wanted Charles to be wrong, it did matter how it went with Sam.

“Daddy!” John called as he ran across the room to Jake. Jake squatted down and hugged his son.

“How was your day?”

“Good!” John exclaimed.

“How would you feel if your friend Sam got to come home and play with us?” Jake asked, already knowing the answer.

John gasped and Jake smiled. “Can he?” As if he knew they were talking about him, Sam ran over to John and Jake. “Sam, my dad said you can come home and play with me!”

“Really?” Sam asked excitedly. Jake marveled at how excited the boys were.

“Yeah, I talked to your mom earlier. You’re gonna come hang out with us for a while tonight. How does that sound?” Jake asked.

“Good!” Sam yelled. The boys started talking excitedly to each other.

Jake looked over at Miss Miller. “Did Amy call earlier about me taking Sam home?”

“Yep!” she replied, “And they’re free to go!”

“Thanks!” Jake said before turning back to the boys. “You boys ready to go?”

“Yeah!” they both yelled. Jake laughed and grabbed both of their hands, leading them out of the school and to his car.

They’d played at the park for a while, gotten ice cream on the way back to Jake’s apartment, and the boys were happily playing in John’s room as Jake prepared dinner for them. Even though he was down the hall, he could hear them laughing and yelling as they played. He smiled to himself, thinking on how the day actually went pretty well.

Jake set out bowls of his best macaroni and cheese on the table and called the boys down to eat. They thundered down the hall toward the kitchen. Both of them were about to sit down when Sam stopped. “Wait,” he said, holding out his hand to John, “we should wash our hands before we eat.”

Jake choked back a laugh. “Yes, you should,” he agreed. “Good idea, Sam!”

After they’d both washed their hands, and possibly made a huge mess in the bathroom, they came and sat down at the table with Jake. All it took was one bite of the mac and cheese for Sam to compliment Jake. “Wow, Mr. Peralta, this is really good!”

“Thank you, Sam.”

“My mom’s isn’t this good,” Sam said as he shoveled more in his mouth. Jake once again choked back a laugh, while noting that he should definitely rub it in Amy’s face later. He listened as the boys talked about school. Conversations with five year olds weren’t exactly the most scintillating, but Jake was thoroughly enjoying it. A knock at the door signaled Amy’s likely arrival.

“That’s probably your mom, Sam,” Jake informed them. “You two keep eating. I’ll get the door.” Jake walked down to the front door and opened it to see a haggard Amy standing there. “Hey,” he greeted.

“Hi,” she said miserably. “Thank you so much for getting Sam.”

Jake just shrugged and gestured for her to come in. “It was really no problem Amy.”

“Work just got so bungled. I had no way of leaving earlier than I did. I really appreciate it, Jake, whether it was no problem or not,” she said, leaning in and hugging him quickly.

“It was fun. We all had a pretty fun time today. We played at the park, given what you mentioned to me, and we had some ice cream. Don’t give me that look. And then we came back here. They played and now they’re eating. I’d say overall it was a large success,” Jake mused.

Amy shook her head with a grin. “Well I’m glad.”

“Mommy!” Sam yelled. Jake turned around to see him running from the kitchen towards Amy. She leaned down and hugged him tightly. “Mommy, we’re having mac and cheese!”

“You are?”

“Yeah. Mr. Peralta’s mac and cheese is better than yours!” Sam yelled, as he ran back to the kitchen.

Amy gave Jake a questioning glare. “I swear I didn’t put him up to that. He just volunteered that,” Jake promised. Amy shook her head. “Have you eaten? I have plenty.”

“I suppose I can eat some of your betrayal mac and cheese,” Amy sighed, walking toward the kitchen. Jake laughed as he walked behind her. Jake filled a bowl as she sat down in the empty seat next to John. “You must be John. I’ve heard a lot about you from Sam.”

John was experiencing his rare shyness and very quietly replied, “Yeah.” Amy just smiled and patted him on the back as Jake gave her the bowl of food. John’s shyness disappeared quickly. “Are you Sam’s mom?”

“I am,” Amy replied happily.

John looked over at Jake, “Dad, she is pretty.”

Amy burst out laughing and looked over at Jake whose face suddenly felt very warm. He just shook his head at his son amusedly. “I guess child betrayal is just the theme for tonight,” Jake mused.

Amy took a bite of her mac and cheese and groaned slightly. She looked at Jake with an expression of betrayal. “Crap, he’s right. This is better than mine. How terrible is this for me?”

Jake laughed heartily. “I don’t think it’s any worse than any other kind of mac and cheese.”

“Daddy, we’re done,” John informed Jake. “Can we go play?”

Jake looked over at Amy quickly and she shrugged. “Sure!” They both jumped up. “Ah, John, what should you do first?”

John turned back to the table and grabbed his plate, walking it over to the sink. Sam quickly followed his lead. “Thank you for dinner, Mr. Peralta,” Sam said as he walked out of the kitchen past Jake.

Jake looked over at Amy with a dopey grin on his face. “Amy, he is so precious.”

Amy smiled widely. “Thanks. I agree.”

They had cleaned up after dinner, despite Jake insisting Amy didn’t need to help and Amy helping anyway. “I hate to say it, but I’m kinda glad your work went crazy,” Jake said with a shy grin.

“Why’s that?” Amy asked, stepping closer to him.

“Because then I got to see you sooner than I thought I would,” Jake reasoned.

Amy smiled and leaned up to kiss him quickly. “Well I guess I’m glad for that reason too then.” She sighed. “I should probably take Sam home so he can get to bed.”

Jake nodded and they walked down the hall toward John’s room. Amy held out her hand to stop Jake using police signals. Jake almost laughed out loud. But she was trying to listen to something Sam was saying. Jake leaned closer to hear too.

“Do you like your mom?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know my mom,” John replied. Jake felt his heart sink. He was waiting for the very statement he’d feared of hearing for five years. Amy turned around and looked at Jake sympathetically. “But it’s okay,” John said. “I like my dad. And he says that we’re just enough.” Amy smiled and grabbed Jake’s hand with a squeeze.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Sam asked. Amy looked at Jake with a concerned expression. “I don’t like my dad,” Sam said sadly. Jake squeezed Amy’s hand in his as he saw her face fall. “He doesn’t do anything fun with me like your dad does with you. We never go play at the park.”

“That’s okay,” John answered. “You can play with me and my dad.”

“Okay, I want to,” Sam replied cheerily.

Jake shook his head with a low chuckle. Amy smiled at him. “I guess today went pretty well.”

He shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Maybe sometime soon I can repay the favor and pick up the boys. Get to spend some time with John,” Amy offered.

Jake smiled. “I think he’d like that.”

They shook off the big moment between them and walked into John’s bedroom. “You ready to go, Sam?” Amy asked.

“No! Can’t I just stay?” Sam whined.

“Sorry, Sweetie, but your bed is at home,” Amy reminded him. “Besides, I think we’ve intruded enough for the night. And you’ll see John tomorrow at school.” Begrudgingly, Sam got up and said goodbye to John. John was walking to the front door with him. Jake and Amy were walking toward the door when Amy ducked in the kitchen. Confused, Jake followed her. “Hey, what do you think your chances would be of getting a babysitter this weekend?” Amy asked.

Jake shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably good. What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know, just that I’d like to see you,” Amy replied. “How would Friday work?”

“So soon,” Jake teased. “I think that sounds perfect.”

“Great!” Amy exclaimed. She leaned in, kissing him deeply. Jake wrapped his arms around her tightly, reciprocating the kiss. Amy started to run her fingers through his hair. Jake was getting lost in their kiss. It wasn’t until they heard a loud laugh from the hall that they broke apart, remembering the children waiting for them. They flashed each other guilty looks and walked back to the door.

“Well we had lots of fun today, Sam,” Jake said to the five year old. “You are welcome to come play with John anytime.”

Amy mouthed “thank you” to him as she saw the thrilled look on Sam’s face. “Really?” Sam asked excitedly.

“Of course, Buddy!”

“Thank you, Mr. Peralta!” Sam yelled, running over and giving Jake a hug around the legs. Jake bent down and returned the hug. He didn’t miss the look on Amy’s face as he stood back up. They all bid each other goodbye and after enough time, Amy and Sam left, leaving Jake to feel like the apartment was emptier somehow. He shook his head. It was much too early for thoughts like that.

Jake had tucked John into bed and was laying on his own bed watching some late night show when his phone started buzzing. He laughed when he looked at the screen and saw Amy was calling. “Hello?”

“Today was a mistake,” Amy replied without even saying hello.

Jake’s stomach sank. “Why?”

“Because if I have to hear one more time about how much Sam wants to go play at John’s or go to the park with John and his dad, I’m going to lose it!” She said a bit shrilly.

Jake felt relief as he laid his head back on the pillow, laughing. “Oh thank God. I thought you were gonna say something else.”

“No. He loved you. He had so much fun today,” Amy reassured. “Which I’m glad he did, but at the same time, I’d like to talk about something else.”

Jake was still laughing. “I’m sorry that your kid is so obsessed with me.”

“Mhmm…I’m sure you are.” Jake couldn’t see Amy, but he could picture the face she was making. After a brief pause, Amy said in a small voice, “I’m excited for Friday.”

Friday came and Jake had managed to find a babysitter. Charles agreed that he and Genevieve would watch John as “practice.” Jake didn’t care as long as they agreed to watch him. He trusted them with his son, so he felt comfortable leaving for the night.

They met at a bar of Amy’s choosing. They hadn’t been there too long before Amy spotted him. She stood up quickly and stormed over to the bar. She noticed Jake following quickly in her stride.

“Teddy?” She asked as she looked upon the face of her ex-fiancé.

“Amy, what are you doing here?” he asked.

Amy gaped at him. “I should ask you the same thing. Where is our son?”

Teddy shook his head. “Don’t worry, he’s with his babysitter.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? You think I’d just leave him at home alone?” Teddy asked with a scoff.

“My question is more, why are you here when it is your weekend with him?” Amy asked pointedly.

“A buddy was going through something so I said I’d be here. I forgot I was supposed to have the kid but I found a sitter. My old lady neighbor is great with kids.”

Amy was so close to blowing up on him. “You know, this is why he hates coming to stay with you. This is why he begs me to let him stay with me instead. You get two weekends a month with your son. Why don’t you actually spend time with him?”

Teddy glared at her. “Listen, I don’t tell you what to do with your time, hanging all over some guy in a bar like a –” Amy’s glare cut him off. “So don’t feel like you can tell me what to do with my time.”

Amy had a million retorts spinning around in her head. She’d seen this Teddy before though. A pilsner in hand, a glassy look in his eye, a scowl upon his face. This was not a Teddy that you could win against. Everything you did was wrong. And Amy wasn’t having it tonight. She’d been really excited to see Jake and spend time with him. She wasn’t about to let Teddy ruin that. She shook her head and turned around, walking away from Teddy. Jake followed her back to their table.

“What do you want to do?” Jake asked hesitantly. “Do you want to go somewhere else? Do you want to go home? Do you want to beat him up? I’ll help. Do you want to go get Sam?”

Amy looked up at Jake and smiled. He was so understanding. “Do I want to beat him up? Yes, definitely. But we’re both cops so I don’t see that ending well.”

“What about Sam?”

Amy shrugged. “As much as it pisses me off, I have to leave Sam with his babysitter and his crappy dad.”

“Why? I mean why even give him visitation? He clearly doesn’t value it,” Jake asked.

A sad looked crossed Amy’s face. “It’s his parents. They’d fight me if I didn’t give him time with Sam. And they’re the type of people who would get sway and win. And I’d lose my son to someone who doesn’t even want him.”

Jake gaped at her. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “So what do you want to do?”

Amy leaned her head into Jake’s hand. “We could go somewhere else.” Jake nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. Once they were out of the bar, Amy turned to Jake on the sidewalk. “Okay, this may sound super lame. Tell me if it is. But we could always just grab takeout and go back to my place. I have beer.”

Jake smirked. “I think that sounds great. Way better than some noisy bar with annoying people.”

By the time they’d gotten back to Amy’s, they were getting close to being starving. Amy put on a movie as Jake got out takeout boxes and set them across her coffee table. “Wait,” Jake said, pointing at the TV and stopping her in her tracks, “is any of this animated?”

Amy grinned. “No.”

“Is it rated above G?”

Still grinning, Amy said, “Yes.”

Jake fist pumped the air. “Yes! What a change of pace!”

Amy laughed as she sat down next to him, reaching for her food. She cuddled up against him, eating her Chinese out of the container. Every now and then, they’d pick bits from each other’s containers. The movie played on in the background as they talked. It kept playing as Amy kissed Jake’s jaw and as that little kiss turned into them making out heavily on her couch. It played on as Jake worked at the buttons on Amy’s shirt and she undid the button of his jeans. They didn’t take the time to stop the movie as they tripped and stumbled while kissing on their way to Amy’s bedroom, their clothes leaving a trail behind them.

A bit later, Amy laid curled up against Jake’s body, leaving little kisses along his neck. “Holy crap,” she panted.

“Yeah,” Jake agreed breathily.

“I wish you didn’t have to go home,” Amy said regretfully.

Jake looked down at her. “I don’t have to be home for a while,” he reminded her with a sinful look on his face. He leaned back in, kissing her deeply. Amy responded equally, though both were too spent to do much more than kiss.

Eventually though, Jake did have to go home. He kissed her passionately against the door, blocking his exit. Pulling back, he laid his forehead against hers. “I had a really great time tonight.”

Amy smiled broadly. “You and me both.”

“Let’s do this again soon,” Jake said. His eyes went wide. “I mean this like a date, not this like –”

Amy laid her hand on his chest. “I knew what you meant. Although I’d be fine with both,” she added with a suggestive grin.

“Me too,” Jake smirked, leaning in to kiss her again. He broke the kiss quickly. “Okay, now I really have to go.” Amy stepped out of the way of the door. He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight, Amy.”

“Goodnight,” she replied with a smile. He couldn’t resist kissing her one more time before he left.

It took a while for their next date to line up. Between the holidays approaching, and just the general craziness of work and single parenting, it wasn’t happening as fast as either of them would like. Talking on the phone started happening every night after the boys’ bedtimes. Sometimes it got a bit steamier than usual. Amy still felt as close to Jake as she had before, despite the weeks it had been since they’d spent time alone. They conveniently ran into each other when picking up their sons. They got little times here and there when they actually got to see each other and both of them admitted that they were grateful for it.

So safe to say, by the time the end of December rolled around and they’d actually found the time to schedule a date, Amy was pretty amped up for it. Her parents had blessedly requested all grandchildren stay at their house after Christmas for a few extra days. It was a nice little gift (to them and to her). That meant she could have some time to herself, but also some time with Jake.

The plan was a nice dinner and something else afterward that Jake wouldn’t tell her. She was to the point where she was giddy to be spending time alone with him. Amy was ready to go half an hour before he was set to pick her up. Seven o’clock came and Jake wasn’t there. She figured there could be traffic, so she didn’t freak yet. When seven thirty hit and she didn’t even have a text from him, she started to get skeptical. At eight o’clock, Amy just got mad. She threw her coat back on and stormed out the door. There had to be some reason why Jake just flaked on their date. Maybe he wasn’t as excited for it as she was, but still, she deserved an explanation.

Stomping up to his door, Amy didn’t even consider anything else that could be wrong. If anything was seriously wrong, he’d have let her know. She had no idea what this could be. Amy beat on his door, ready to figure out why he’d stood her up. Jake opened the door looking harried, a sleeping John curled around him like a reversed backpack. She saw his surprised expression fall as he took in her appearance. He held one finger over his lips, to let her know they should be quiet, but he stood back and gestured her to come in.

Amy walked in, seeing things strewn across the apartment. She had no idea what could have happened. She’d been to Jake’s place before, and though he said he could be messy, she’d never seen it like this. Jake was sitting down on the couch, trying not to wake his son. Amy sat down gently next to him.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I completely forgot. It’s been kind of insane around here today.”

Amy shrugged. For all the anger that had built up in her over the last hour or more, she deflated at the sight of Jake looking like a mess. “What happened?” Amy asked softly.

Jake rubbed his hand up and down John’s back. “Sophia came by today.”

Amy gaped at him. “What?” Had it not been for the sleeping child, she’d have had a much louder reaction.

“Yeah,” Jake confirmed. “She apparently wants some amount of custody now. And John didn’t even know who she was, but he heard some woman saying she was going to take him from me and he broke down. He finally cried himself to sleep on my shoulder about an hour and a half ago.” Amy stared at him in shock. “I’m really sorry. I should have at least texted you.”

Amy shook her head. “Jake, don’t be sorry. That sounds like a disaster. I’m the last thing you should be worrying about.”

Jake smiled at her. “I’m still sorry to have ruined our date. It’s been a month.”

Amy rubbed her hand up and down Jake’s arm. “I think we’ll be okay.” She leaned over and kissed his shoulder. He looked at her with a sad smile. “So what does Sophia want?”

“Custody,” Jake confirmed. “I don’t know how much or what. She just came by and said she’d thought a lot about it and she wanted to be a part of her son’s life and she was willing to fight me in court for custody.”

Amy shook her head. “Jake, I’m so sorry. That’s ridiculous.”

She could see tears building in Jake’s eyes. “I know it is. I’m just…what if she wins? What if she decides she wants full custody of him and she wins? I can’t lose him. He’s my son. I have been there for everything. He’s the most important thing in my life. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him.” His tears spilled over his cheeks. Amy reached up to wipe them before they fell down onto John.

“Everything you just said is why you aren’t going to lose him, Jake,” Amy reassured. “You’re an amazing dad. Anyone who’s ever seen you with him can attest to that. We’ll get you a great lawyer who can battle anyone Sophia’s gonna hire. And we’ll make damn sure John doesn’t go anywhere.”

“We?” Jake asked hesitantly.

“You’d think I’d ditch you?” Amy asked, a pointed look on her face.

“No,” Jake stated. “But this is big.”

“Yeah, but so is the way I feel about you,” Amy admitted. “And your son.”

Jake’s face broke out in a small smile. “Thank you, Amy.” She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly. She saw his eyes flutter a little. “I don’t really even know where to start,” Jake admitted. “I never thought this would happen.”

“Well why would you?” Amy asked. “She left.” Amy pinned Jake with a meaningful look. “We’ll find the best way to beat her, I promise Jake. John isn’t going anywhere.”

Jake looked at Amy with a grateful expression. “Amy, I…” he trailed off, his face contorting. Finally, he smiled at her. “I appreciate you. I don’t know what I’d do without you either.”

Amy smiled, running her fingers back through his hair. “Well you don’t have to worry about that either.”

“Oh my God,” Amy muttered a week later. “Jake! Jake, I found it!” Amy yelled across his apartment. She could hear the boys playing obliviously in the other room as Jake ran into the living room.

“What did you find?” Jake panted.

“You said you wanted to know why she suddenly wanted him back,” Amy reminded. “And I just found that reason. She’s running for mayor of New York City. It hasn’t even been announced yet. My guess is she wants all her ducks in a row before she announces and that’s why she wants John.” Jake threw himself down on the couch. “I’m guessing it will lose some people’s votes if it got out that she had a child and abandoned it. So now she’s trying to look like a present mother.”

Jake shook his head with a faraway glare on his face. “I can’t believe her,” he muttered to himself. He looked up at Amy. “We are not voting for her.”

Amy laughed, getting up and sitting next to him on the couch. “At least we have a good idea of why she’d do this.” Amy patted Jake’s leg comfortingly. “I mean, what messed up judge would take a kid from his amazing father and give him to the mother who only wants him so she can win an election. What is she going to do if she wins? Toss him back to you? Give him off to her arm candy husband?”

“Husband?” Jake asked, looking at Amy. She walked over and got her computer, showing the picture of them to Jake. “Oh my God,” Jake gasped. “She married him?”

“Who is it?”

“This slimeball she used to work with,” Jake explained. “We had a number of fights about him. I told her several times that he wanted to sleep with her. She always denied it. Well guess who was right?” Jake shook his head. “No, no way am I letting that dick anywhere near my son.”

“Have you heard back from your lawyer?” Amy asked.

“Yeah, we meet tomorrow afternoon,” Jake replied. “Speaking of which, can yo-”

“Yes, I can get the boys,” Amy assured him with a smile.

Jake let out a sigh. He leaned in and kissed the side of her head. “Thank you, Amy.”

“I’m just picking up my kid and getting one more, it’s not that big a deal,” Amy laughed.

“I didn’t mean just that,” Jake insisted. “I mean for everything. You’ve been my rock for the last week and I…I really don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ve been calming me down right and left. And I mean we aren’t even to court yet.”

Amy put her computer down and grabbed Jake’s hand in both of hers. “I know for a fact that if Teddy made some crazy play for Sam, you would do the exact same thing. You have nothing to thank me for. That little boy deserves to be here in his home. With his dad who he loves. And I can testify to that if need be.”

Jake just smiled and shook his head at her in awe.

Amy was making dinner for the boys at her home the next day when John wandered into the kitchen. She was sad that Jake was in the situation he was in, but she was secretly happy to get to spend more time with John. She’d seen the immediate effect Jake had had on Sam. She only hoped she could rub off on John that well.

“Miss Amy?” John asked, calling attention to his arrival in the room.

Amy spun around at her name. She’d told John he could call her that when he was confused that her last name wasn’t Wells like Sam. “Yes, John?” Amy asked, walking over towards him.

“Can I ask you something?”

Amy knelt down in front of him. “Honey, you can ask me anything.”

“Is my dad coming back?”

Amy felt her stomach sink. She reached out and placed her hands on John’s shoulders. “Of course he is, John. He’s just in a meeting. He asked if I could pick you up so you could play with Sam.”

He nodded slightly. “But what about the lady who wants to take me away?”

Amy sat down in one of her kitchen chairs and pulled John onto her lap. “Listen, no one is going to take you away from your dad. He’s fighting really hard to make sure that doesn’t happen, okay? Because your dad, he loves you more than anything. And he isn’t going to let anyone take you away from him.” John sniffled and nodded. “And you know what? Sam and I won’t let anyone take you away either. We love you too.”

John smiled and threw both his arms around Amy in a hug. She felt tears springing in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around John. John ended the hug and looked at Amy. “And you’ll make sure no one takes me away?”

Amy nodded sincerely. “I promise.”

“Thank you, Miss Amy,” he said, climbing down off her lap. Amy nodded at him in reply. He turned to go back to Sam’s room. Suddenly, he turned back. “I like you, Miss Amy.”

Amy smiled widely. “Thank you, John. I like you too.”

John smiled and ran off to play with Sam.

For almost two months, Jake and Amy had been doing everything they could to be prepared for a custody hearing. The date was still pending. Jake’s lawyer informed him that sometimes it can take a while to get a court date. So in the meantime, they found anything that would help prove that Sophia shouldn’t get custody and all the good reasons that Jake should keep John. Amy had been coming over to Jake’s apartment with Sam pretty much every day after work or school. The boys seemed content to play together and spend plenty of time hanging out. Jake sometimes couldn’t help but stare at Amy in awe. She’d thrown herself into this mess without a second thought. He’d said it before and he’d meant it; he didn’t know what he’d do without her. He loved her, but he had no idea how to tell her while his life was such a mess.

Amy was out with the boys picking up dinner for them all when Jake got a call from his lawyer. Apparently a court date had been set suddenly. They were meeting in a week. Jake threw his phone on the couch and paced up and down his living room. A knock at the door jolted Jake out of his fury. It couldn’t be Amy. She had a key.

He walked over and opened the door to see Sophia standing there. He glared at her. “Jake, hi,” she said casually. “So we have a court date set for a week from today.”

“Yes, I heard,” Jake replied in a low voice.

“Great,” Sophia responded sweetly, smiling at Jake. “However, you know we could just use a mediator and not have to go to court. I know a good mediator that would be willing to meet with us at our earliest convenience.”

Jake stared at her skeptically. “You really think I’m going to use one of your friends as a mediator? Where’s the objectivity in that?” Sophia rolled her eyes and strolled past Jake into the apartment. “Yeah, sure, come right on in,” he commented sarcastically.

“I don’t know why you won’t work with me?” Sophia yelled.

Jake laughed dryly. “Gee, I don’t know, because you abandoned him five years ago and showed zero remorse until you had a big election coming up that you wanted to look good in.”

Sophia looked shocked. “How do you know about that?”

“I’m a detective. Remember?”

Sophia shook her head. “Jake, I don’t get why you’re acting this way. I’m his mother.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like you’ve been his mother since you gave birth to him,” Jake retorted. Sophia rolled her eyes. “Sophia, you know nothing about him. You didn’t even know his name until you looked me up to find me again. I didn’t judge you for putting your career first. I always expected you to. That was why I was surprised when you wanted to go through with the pregnancy. I never judged you for trying to save your career since I knew how important it was to you. But I did judge you for how you did so. You just left him. And you didn’t even call me to tell me you were in labor. You just ghosted. We had solid plans for how we were going to raise our baby and then you left and I had to figure everything out by myself.”

Sophia’s face was blank. Jake had no indication of how his words were affecting her. “I don’t get why you’re so resistant to me being a part of my son’s life.”

“I’m resistant to you taking him.”

“God, it’s not like I’m kidnapping him, Jake,” Sophia argued. “I’m his mother. It is my right to be a part of his life.”

“It’s not a right. It is a privilege. And one you tossed away with him right after he was born,” Jake defended. “Sophia, you don’t even know him. You want to be a part of his life, start small. Don’t come running in again after five years waving custody papers. You really think he’s going to want to spend half his time with the woman who took him from his dad? Because that’s how he sees it. He doesn’t know who you are. And you’re going about this for you not for him. If you really cared about being his mother, you’d think about what was best for him and his well-being. And having you strut in and demand we all work with you so you can look like a mother and win your damn election is not what is in his best interest.”

Sophia stared at him with a furious look on her face. “I’m his mother,” she repeated.

“Biologically. But there are a lot of people who’ve been a better mother to him in the last five years. The years that he remembers,” Jake argued. “My mom, his teachers, Charles, his babysitters, my girlfriend,” Jake listed. He grimaced slightly. He hadn’t intended to ever mention Amy to Sophia. He knew she’d go after anyone she could.

Sophia’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Well, all I’m saying is you could have done this the easy way.”

Jake shook his head at her. “Said like a true politician. And nothing like a mother.” Jake heard the key in the lock seconds before it opened.

“Hey, we’re home!” Amy called before she spotted Jake in a heated standoff with Sophia. Jake could tell when she processed what was happening. “Boys, go wash your hands. Now.”

The boys ran off to the bathroom chattering about something. Amy sat the food down delicately on the table by the door. She turned to the door before looking back at Jake. “Should I leave the door open? Should I close it…?”

“Oh you can leave it open,” Jake answered. “She’s leaving.”

“No I’m not,” Sophia argued. “My son is here. I’d like to spend some time with him. Isn’t that what you wanted me to do before the hearing?”

“I believe I said instead of a hearing,” Jake reminded her.

“Whatever, I want to see him.”

“Well I hope you’re prepared for head lice then,” Amy interrupted. Jake looked over at her but she was staring at Sophia.

“Head lice?” Sophia asked, horror dripping from her tone.

“Yep, you get enough kids together and it’ll spread like wildfire. Both boys came home with it today,” Amy informed her.

“Well then I suppose I’ll see him soon enough,” Sophia replied, straightening her blazer. “And I’ll see you in court.”

“Can’t wait,” Jake said sarcastically. He shut the door heavily behind her. Turning to Amy, he looked at her skeptically. “Head lice? I picked up the boys today and Miss Miller didn’t say anything about it.”

Amy grinned deviously. “I know. But I figured with her nice looking suit and her expensive looking blowout, the last thing she’d want is some bugs jumping through her hair. I figured it would be enough to keep her away from John.”

Jake stared at her in awe. He brought her in for a hug. “You’re amazing. Did you know that?”

Amy pulled her head back and looked at him. “I’ve had an inkling.” Jake shook his head with a grin before he leaned in and kissed her quickly.

They were headed to the kitchen with dinner when Jake stopped Amy. “Oh by the way, the hearing is in one week.”

“How is it that fast?”

“I guess she knows people. And wants this to have died down by the time she announces her campaign,” Jake figured. Amy rolled her eyes and wrapped her arm around Jake’s waist, heading for the kitchen.

The custody hearing was a draining affair. It wasn’t until Jake and Amy met with Jake’s lawyer that morning that they found out that Sophia had changed her terms to full custody. Jake was near tears in anger. “I guess that’s what she meant by saying I could have done it the easy way.” Jake looked up at Amy and saw that she was seething.

“Jake, this is bullshit. There’s no way they’ll give him to her,” Amy insisted. “I mean yeah she has the mother title, but she gave him up. And you’re an amazing dad.”

Jake nodded solemnly, hoping against hope that Amy was right.

He appreciated all the people that had turned up to testify on Jake’s behalf. Charles gave a tearful testimony about how Jake struggled to adjust to being a single dad and then triumphed and became the best dad there was. Even his captain testified, saying that his upstanding work performance didn’t hold a candle to his parenting abilities. And while Jake was touched by all the other testimonies, Amy’s was the one that really hit him.

Jake’s lawyer started the questioning. “You’re Mr. Peralta’s girlfriend?” Amy nodded. “How long have you known Mr. Peralta?”

“I met Jake the day that our boys started kindergarten.”

“And how would you say that he is as a parent?”

Amy paused and looked at Jake. “I could tell from the moment that I met him that his child was his whole life. And after spending time with them together, it is obvious how easily the role of father fits him. He is patient with him and he does silly things just to make his son happy. He does more than just the feeding and clothing him and keeping a roof over his head that’s required of a parent. But Jake goes beyond that. He loves his son more than anything else. And it’s obvious. He is the only person who knows his son so well. Who knows his little eccentricities, who knows exactly how to hide vegetables in his food so he won’t know they’re there, who knows what’s wrong when he’s crying. You can say that Sophia is John’s mother. But for John’s whole life, Jake has been not only his dad, but also his mom. He’s done everything. And he loves it. He is such a good father to his son that my own son has expressed his jealousy over it. That’s what Jake is like as a parent.”

Jake could feel tears in his eyes as Amy made eye contact with him from the stand. Amy finished her testimony and walked down from the stand to sit back behind Jake. He felt her hand gently squeeze his shoulder. For a moment, he felt better.

And then he had to listen to Sophia’s side talk about how he was preventing her from being a mother and correcting a five year old mistake. He watched as they dragged out every dumb thing he’d ever done and cited it as him being capable of being a bad father. He had to hear them talk about how he told Sophia that she didn’t have to keep it, completely ignoring how he’d told her it was her legal right to choose. But apparently that didn’t matter when he was being smeared in court. As Sophia’s lawyers praised her, Jake became actually concerned that he might lose his child. Turning to his lawyer, he expressed an interest to be put on the stand.

They’d already heard Sophia’s tearful testimony about her mistakes and how she just wanted to be a mom. Jake had initially decided he didn’t want to testify on his own behalf. He was worried that he would get angry and say something he shouldn’t. But he couldn’t let them smear his name without sharing his side. Jake was the final person to testify before a decision would be reached.

“Mr. Peralta, why do you believe that you are the better parent for your son?”

“I’ll keep this short,” Jake began, “I’m the better parent for my son because I’m actually his parent. Parenting is more than DNA. It’s hard. It’s having your kid say that they hate you because you wouldn’t let them have ice cream after dinner. It’s holding them while they cry about something completely insignificant. It’s getting up in the middle of the night after you worked all day because your son had a nightmare and he’s inconsolable. It’s more than biology. I’m the better parent for my son because I want my son. I love my son and the reason that I want to keep custody of him is because I care for him and I have his best interest at heart. I’m not trying to gain custody because I have mayoral ambitions and having a full family will win me voters.”

He could see Sophia’s scandalized face out of the corner of his eye. But he kept going. “I am the only person my son knows as a parent. To take him from me would damage him emotionally. It is not in his best interest to go to his mother. And I certainly hope that’s what the court cares about here. About the child’s best interest.” So maybe he hadn’t kept it short, but based on his lawyer’s reaction to his testimony, Jake seemed to think he’d made a convincing argument.

The judge dismissed the court as a decision was being made. Jake waited on a bench just outside the door with Amy sitting next to him. Charles stood across from them, talking to their captain. Amy gripped Jake’s hand tightly in hers. He squeezed her hand, needing her support more than ever.

He was all but shaking as they were called back in to the courtroom. He saw Sophia with her husband behind her. She had a confident look on her face. Jake nervously stood for the judge.

“I’ve heard a lot of compelling arguments here today as to why both of you should have custody of your child,” the judge began. “And since the paperwork now reflects full custody, that is what I have to grant. Keeping the child’s best interest in mind, I am granting custody rights to the father, Jacob Peralta.”

Jake felt tears of joy streaming down his face. He closed his eyes and smiled, his knees almost giving out beneath him. Before he opened his eyes, he felt another body slam into his and their arms wrap around him. He wrapped his arms around Amy tightly. She pulled back and looked at him, tears streaming down her face too. “I knew they couldn’t take him from you.” He kissed her quickly before he turned to shake hands with his lawyer.

Jake and Amy picked up the boys from his mom’s house. Amy took Sam outside so Jake could have a moment of privacy with John. He explained to his son that they were going home and that no one was ever going to take him away. John threw his arms around Jake’s neck and hugged him tightly. Jake stood up, clutching his son to him as fresh tears filled his eyes.

They’d spent the day with their kids, letting them play and have dinner at John’s favorite place to eat. Amy kept insisting that she and Sam could go home and let them celebrate just the two of them. Every time, Jake waved her off and told her she was crazy. That they were important too.

Jake and Amy were sitting on his couch later that night, John asleep on him, Sam asleep on Amy. They were still watching the end of Aladdin since they’d put it on for the boys. Jake smiled as John snuggled further into his arms. He’d spent the rest of the day more thankful than ever for his son.

And as he looked over at Amy, he also felt incredibly thankful for her. He figured he’d have been much more of a wreck during the whole process if it hadn’t been for Amy’s support. Finally it seemed like after a couple months, his life was back on track. He reached over and grabbed her hand where it lay on the couch. She looked up and smiled at him. Finally the words that he hadn’t been able to say felt right.

“Amy,” he said softly. She looked over at him. “I love you.”

She smiled broadly, squeezing his hand in hers. “I love you too.”

Jake and Amy both started to lean in a little until the boys started to shift. They laughed quietly and sat back in their original spots, not wanting to wake their sons. Jake raised their joined hands and kissed the back of hers as she giggled.

Looking down at the sleeping boys, Amy wondered aloud, “Do you think maybe it’s time we tell them?”

Jake chuckled at the thought of explaining dating to two five year olds. “Yeah, we probably should.”

It was three years since they’d met. It was two years and six months since the custody hearing. It was a year and eight months since Jake had proposed to Amy with John and Sam holding up a sign they’d helped him paint. It was four months since the wedding when John had walked Jake down the aisle and Sam had walked Amy. It was three months since they’d started adoption proceedings for Amy to officially adopt John and Jake to officially adopt Sam (Teddy had apparently signed over his parental rights pretty easily).

Jake was reading something on his phone when Amy walked out of the bathroom. “The nightmares all taken care of?”

Jake smirked, looking up at her as she climbed in bed next to him. “Yes, I got in there and John was already out of bed, telling Sam it was just a bad dream.”

Amy laughed. “See, it’s like I said. This whole brothers thing is going to really cut down on our responsibilities. They’ll just take care of each other.”

Jake laughed with her. “We still have to feed and clothe them. I don’t think they’re to that level yet. Although, Sam was helping John with his math homework tonight. So you may have a point.”

Jake put his phone down on his bedside table and slid further down into the bed. “Hey, I have a question for you,” Amy asked. He looked up at her, nodding for her to continue as his eyes grew heavy. “How do you think the boys would feel about a sibling?”

Jake’s eyes were closed as his head rested on his pillow. “I’m sure they’ll just take it and trash the house with it as usual.” Suddenly his eyes sprang open and he stared at Amy. Her eyes were wide and she was wearing a grin. “Wait, are you saying…?” he trailed off.

Amy nodded excitedly. “I think so. I just took a test and it was positive. I mean it could be false, but…”

Jake shot up, crawling closer to Amy. “We’re having a baby?” Amy nodded. Jake grabbed her and kissed her all over her face before finally kissing her lips. He held his hands on either side of her head, staring into her eyes. “I can’t believe we’re having a baby.”

Amy smiled at Jake, tears in her eyes. He laid his hand on her stomach and she laid a hand over his. “I guess our little family is growing.”

Jake looked back up at Amy, kissing her again. “I think the boys are going to be thrilled.”

Posted on AO3 as well!

#sorry this is so damn long #but brevity is not my skill #i really liked writing this and now i want to see jake and amy with kids #my writing #b99 fanfiction #b99 #brooklyn 99 #jake x amy #peraltiago

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