#more sympathy about the situation. like he knows house dislikes his dad for A Reason

[elisemeitner]

watching house is a trip but hearing the writers early opinions is so funny "he's not autistic he's just an eccentric jerk" "house isn't in love with wilson they're both straight" not only did you write an autistic bisexual you also gave him adhd and complex ptsd.

#💖.txt #yes the man who avoids eye contact for everything except manipulation and cannot sit still despite massive amounts of chronic pain has #zero autism and adhd. also ik the show /kind of/ suggests he has trauma but man do they handle house's childhood trauma terribly #like maybe its just me but i think getting thrown into an ice bath for disobedience is plenty reason to skip ur dads funeral! #i get other characters not taking house at his word bc. his word means jack shit! but i feel like they easily couldve had wilson express #more sympathy about the situation. like he knows house dislikes his dad for A Reason #he just doesnt know what the reason is #but its so funny how many times writers make an autistic character and then WITHIN CANON reference that they have traits associated #with autism and then go no??? theyre just supposed to be weird :) #anyways no one does baiting like house md. and no one ever will they perfected the art

[harrison-abbott]

IF YOU WERE THEM

 “You’re being a bit quiet today, Louis.”

 “Yeah.”

 “Are you all right?”

 Louis kept looking down at his newspaper. Kirk and he were in the staff room. Kirk kept watching him.

 “Yes, I’m fine,” Louis said.

 “You’re obviously not. The question was, ‘what’s wrong’?”

 Kirk was a friendly, brotherly chap. One of those likeable people that you wished you could be, because everybody would like you if you were them.

 Louis was the opposite of that. He wasn’t dislikeable. He simply had no character and his nondescript person made him hard to like, be noticed. Meh. Louis was no-one. An everyman. A stickman, somebody who has small birthday parties.

 He (Louis) had finished his sandwich and his mug of coffee was half full. He wasn’t really reading the newspaper.

 “What’s up with you, boyo?” Kirk said. “It can’t be so bad, can it? Why the blue face?”

 “Well, actually. One of my old friends died.”

 “Oh.”

 “Yeah. My old mate Nick died.”

 “Ah. I’m so sorry.”

 “He had type one diabetes. And a whole load of other problems. I only just found out last night. So I’m a bit sad about that. Since you ask.”

 “…”

 “Nick was only 28.”

 “Shit.”

 “That’s only one year younger than me.”

 Kirk felt this bemused helplessness in this situation and he did not know how to get out of it cleanly and he wished he hadn’t spoken to weirdo Louis, somebody he’d never understood and saw no reason to hang out with. Louis was such a dreadful bore. And he only challenged him with banter to make his own knack for chitchat seem almighty, because Louis’ was so poor in comparison. Kirk knew that he should feel bad about this Nick person that had died. But, it was not his problem.

 “I’m sorry for asking, Lou, bud,” he said. “I just thought you were a bit under the weather or something.”

 “It’s fine, Kirk. Thanks.”

 “So what’s happening in the news?”

 “Huh?”

 “The paper? What’s new?”

 “Oh. We’re looking at climate catastrophe.”

 “Ha.”

 Kirk finished his mug of coffee, fast. He rinsed it out in the sink. And wished that somebody would walk into the staff room to break the mood. Nobody did.

 “Be well, buddy,” Kirk said. And he clapped Louis on the shoulder. “See you back in the office.”

 And he went back into the main work area, to his computer. And got back to his files. Excel sheets. Numbers, words, electronia.

 Louis came back into the arena a short while later. Kirk noticed him in his peripheral vision. And the figure bothered with him.

 Kirk was ashamed that he hadn’t helped out Louis out earlier with more sympathy because his friend had died. This thought was entirely subconscious. In the conscious mode, he simple found Louis pathetic and irritating. It was like dealing with a drunk, or somebody who was needlessly ill.

 And the worst bit was that Louis needed to use the printer a lot and this was close to Kirk’s desk. So this annoying fucker kept reappearing.

 Over in Louis’ mind, he really wasn’t thinking about Kirk. Was thinking about Nick.

 Not that he was even that close to him. In the past. And they had kinda drifted apart for four years anyway. But he remembered his big jaw and blonde hair and his weird accent; remembered his fancy house and his Mum and Dad and their stupid loveable dog. He remembered hanging out with him in the bars in those silly student days; that time they got the train back from the coast town where they’d played a gig: and they’d both fancied a girl from the night before and Nick had ended up winning with her and not Louis because he got too drunk and made a tit of himself. … Both of them were superb fuck-ups. Just as wasted and damned and useless as any young person. And yet, Nick hadn’t even made it out of his twenties. He wasn’t here anymore and Louis would never see him again.

Louis finished the day in the office and he got the bus home. And he cried the long journey, all the way, back home. He didn’t know whether other people saw him. Blubbery face. It didn’t matter.

 He got into his flat. Made some beans and toast for tea.

 He remembered making beans on toast at Nick’s place when they were younger. He got all weepy again. Then thought he was being a wimp.

 Then he thought about bringing out the guitar again and writing a song for him. Louis had failed as a songwriter a long while back. Nick had once been in his ‘band’ and then he had left it, due to a lack of interest. Shrug.

 So instead, he wrote a little poem for Nick. Wasn’t sure whether it was good or not. He wrote it in his notepad with a Crayola pen and it seemed to flow well with the way the words yomped on the paper. So maybe it was an all right effort. But when he finished the poem he didn’t want anybody else to see it, lest they might think it dull, or poor. So he ripped the slice of paper out of the pad, and folded it in half.

 And took the folded slice outside into the street. This was in November and it was night now, and frosty; the roads were all a-sparkle with rainbow dots. Louis didn’t have a fixed destination. Until the park seemed a viable option. He went through the gates and then he was within a silent arena, hushed, rather, with a blue velvet sheen of fields. Curt grass all huddled up versus the cold. Louis knew the river was close if he followed the path.

 He found the current. Black and inky, oily, ethereal in the night.

 Louis verged on the bankside. He took out the folded poem. And then tossed it into the river’s current. It’s shape dwindled away. With a fairytale nothingness.

 And for a short period he listened to the raging weakness of the water. A vessel which was older than any human alive.

#short story #fiction #prose

[retrorealeyes]

Here’s why I want my parents dead /hj

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE like I know hating your parents if they aren’t overtly abusive (and even if they are it’s only mildly) like bruh, tempted to list out my parents “abuse” here. also like bruh, i’m fine rn, i’ve just been hating them for a while

This isn’t fully everything ever, it’s just an overview and I don’t think it touches the main problems enough (also I don’t give a lot of examples because there’s too many and I don’t have the will to write em all,and i’ve still overviewing everything)

-never respect my wishes if it goes against theirs (e.x. please leave me alone, can i go outside?, can I leave and go upstairs?)

             this is a big one

-don’t respect my privacy (in weird ways too, like my dad opening the door to scare me when i’m changing) and making fun of it too

          plus in normal ways like reading my journals or never knocking no matter how many times i tell them to

-making fun of me on purpose to get me upset, even when i ask them to stop

-getting suddenly and violently angry (dad):

           often unreasonably and quickly

          my dad curses people out under his breath, as a sign he’s going to get violent

          has broken things, SUCH AS MY WHOLE ASS PHONE by throwing it on the ground does punch things, generally not people, e.x. walls, but not that hard. he has punched me

          DOES to people- slap, push (this one especially, just last week he did), throw, scratch

          is destructive to other’s property (e.x. ripping up THEIR papers)

          refuses to listen to suggestions like, in the future, trying to calm down, or writing out his anger instead or seeking therapy

          been like this towards me since i was 6-7 years old

          it can escalate from anything

          will degrade you and insult you, if you ever say anything back (even in a non-angry situation, will grow even angrier/get very angry)

          makes you feel awful

          can last for hours and never accomplishes anything apart from further degrading yourself

          if you don’t give the exact answer he wants, will get even angrier

             I’m obviously terrified of him

               Swears at me, except they censor me so much they could probably kill me if I ever swore so that exacerbates the fear of it

          after the fact continuosly denies it

-my dad also:

           always demands respect

          always plays the victim and complains about how we dislike him

          never admits his mistakes

          is awful to my little sister, randomly, even when she’s being perfectly fine

-my mother and father’s relationship

             they openly and mean to each other. they never display affection and joke about divorcing

             sometimes dad yells at mom for a while, it’s obvious he thinks he’s superior to her and belittles her intelligence

             they are sometimes violent, but not often, and not overtly, more violent towards objects than each other when fighting with each other

             they do get in fights often (see: my dad’s belief in his superiority)

-openess with them

             there is none. they constantly criticize any self expression, make all subjects taboo, get angry over nothing and overall make me terrified of talking to them, then get all sad about “why don’t you tell us“ but if I try to express anything, even if they don’t get angry, they’ll store it in their heads and then later keep using it against me. “You said we were bad parents, do you not want to eat our food?“ “You said you were unmotivated, you don’t even have a reason to be sad.“ (said in an challenging, mean way)

-my self esteem

-my dad, physically (TO BE CLEAR I don’t think my dad in any way in trying to do anything sexual, i’m just saying he never respects my boundaries and here are some things he thinks are “perfectly fine” that he does, also this might be a bit disconnected sounding, i’m just so tired

          commenting on my weight/appearance (mom too)

             commenting on what i’m wearing, especially teasing me if it’s something out of the usual, as if i’m not insecure enough already

             dictating what i wear if they don’t like what i’m wearing

             commenting (negatively) on my mom’s weight a lot (to be fair, they both joke about being old and him balding and a little about him being fat so this one isn’t as bad apart form the fact that i’m skinnier so he “jokes” a lot about how i’m like a skinnier version of her)

                fatso called the girl in the video

             forces me to hug and kiss him, often only giving my phone back or treats luke donuts if I kiss him, even if I’ve expressed i’m uncomfortable (just does this a lot and i hate it)

-the past

             have yelled for me for no reason since i was young

             i don’t remember ever liking my dad (wait, before 6 years of age i remember liking him and before I was 9 i remember not hating him at all times)

             i continously try to trust them again, then they break me

               they were never open with me and taught me to be ashamed of myself which led to bad social relations later, which i’m only now breaking out of

-confiscation and lack of trust

               always taking my stuff so i can’t rely on what they’ll black mail me with, no “excuse” is valid to keep it (ex. I want to communicate w/friends or I LITERALLY HAVE INSOMNIA AND CAN’T SLEEP WITHOUT LISTENING TO MUSIC); during my worst days, when I was really suicidal i remember not having my phone for a long time which led to me being left behind and further isolating myself which, y’know spiralled

               I can go on and on about how they never value my voice but i’m sort of running out of steam

               they also never trust my statements, always cast me as the cause-r of something (luckily they’re fair and don’t punish me for it if I insist I didn’t do it, but the fact i have to really advocate for my innocence and am constantly suspected just is not great, and even jokingly, i hate attention, their attention)

                 There’s more but i think i’m done for now

-constantly bother me (i know this is nitpicking, i’m just trying to get everything out, and some of these have more layers than i’m willing to express)

               intentionally sabotaging

               even if i ask them to go away

               try to annoy me when ever i see them, even if i’ve asked them not too, and really make me avoid everything even more (you have to go through where they usually are to get out and that means y’know what)

               singing

               yelling and stepping loudly (which makes me scared my dad is mad all the time)

               always teasing and judging

-mother dearest

               very aggressive

               VERY controlling

               generally boring

               always invades privacy, more of a nosy person, but, in a way, better than dad

               she can get violent too and screams but it’s less often but can get very intense sometimes, generally it’s more of taking away my stuff and telling me to give up (which, the telling me to give up, my dad does too)

-lack of independence

                THIS ONE IS HUGE. my parents are very controlling and so even a little freedom excites me and they use my lack of experience as a sword against me, and that makes it eve harder for me to do anything when I’m constantly fighting restrictions and my brains can’t distinguish bad restrictions from schoolwork restrictions

-shitty world view

               just a bad biased view of the world, i really don’t want to elaborate, beyond the general sense they deserve to be respected for being parents a conservative-type view, also don’t have basic sense of morality, as in sympathy, for everyone, and instead do the whole us|them thing with their politics, the only problem is that we’re immigrants which is why they vote democrat

-grandparents

                 are visiting, they are also unhygienic, to always be obeyed, generally judgemental, and intentionally old, and taking up both of my rooms, overall i don’t like any of them, my father’s mom is alright though

-generally shaming me

And otherwise everything is generally going to shit, my social life (though I saved it somewhat for ONE person), my mental/emotional health, my exercise, motivation for anything, just the way the house is set up, my grandparents are here, how i’m doing in school.

I should write the thesis and really flesh this out well but I’ll tell you what: ultimately my parents are selfish people who don’t consider me my own entity but more as themselves and my achievements combined. ANd even if you love me, which I don’t doubt, I don’t have to love you back, and that doesn’t excuse your shittiness, dad. I fucking hate you. (yes. i’m grateful for the money, house, generally not obviously abusive childhood, food, stuff, bed, phone, etc. you have provided, but that doesn’t cancel out your misdeeds, it just coexists next to it)

Like is it SO bad for me to blame SOME of my issues with them? BUT NO if I ever bring up how they did x so i did y. I did y ON PURPOSE to UPSET THEM and i can’t hold them accountable, i’m just blaming them, even if I’m genuinely trying to explain my issues the way I understand them.

idr if you can edit tumblr documents, and even if you can, i’m not going to, i’ll just add to this with comments, to preserve the integrity, not that anyone will or should read this, but i’ll probably come back to it

[its-all-ineffable]

TUA 1x01 Review: ‘We Only See Each Other At Weddings & Funerals’

The opening scene got me hooked immediately! Kudos to the young girl at the pool, she’s absolutely brilliant at conveying a sweet, innocent romance and then the fear of suddenly and unexpectedly giving birth! The girl and guy are a very cute couple, and I kinda wanna know more about them. And the concern that the guy shows when the girl doesn’t surface immediately after she’s jumped in the pool is so sweet. Also, those women in the pool are hilarious! They all scream in horror when they see the girl start to give birth in the pool and the next scene they're crowded around her, patting her hair and holding her hand! I do feel sorry for the girl though - I personally headcannon that she’s Vanya’s mother. They’re in Russia, as we can tell because they’re all speaking Russian, and Vanya is a diminutive form of the Russian (among others) name Ivan. It’s just an idea, but I like it!

Pogo’s VO (though of course, we don’t know it’s Pogo at this time) is nice - he’s got the kind of soothing and authoritative voice that makes you feel like everything’s gonna be okay. Nice bit of exposition too! ‘HE GOT SEVEN OF THEM’ hahahahaha!! Love the overdramatic text on-screen! Also, ‘Picture Book’ by The Kinks fits so nicely in this scene, the lyrics are a beautiful juxtaposition for the ‘family’ that they become and all the actors manage to walk perfectly on the beat. The swinging arms from Reginald though - every inch the pompous idiot we love to hate already! Though the nannies have some pomp and swagger too. Imagine how weird it’d be to see the Monoply man walking down the street followed by 7 women in the same outfit with prams though? The small, ridiculous moments make the series!

The intro to the siblings is one of my favourite moments in the entire series! It’s beautifully acted and edited and the music is perfect. When we see Vanya for the first time, the blue lighting she’s framed adds a sense of melancholy too the scene, and perfectly sets her up as a lonely woman and an outsider. Ahh, Tom Hopper! And his butt scratching! Love Luther’s intro, Vanya still playing the slow, melancholy music, emphasising that he’s lonely too. Bless him. As we move to Diego, bass, guitar and drums join the violin, which I love, as it gives the music a more dangerous and frantic edge to showcase what sort of person Diego is. Also, what a badass rip-off Batman with a Robin mask! Go Diego! Then we have Allison, appearing in that frankly stunning dress! The violin gets a solo her, possibly to emphasise her fame? Love how gorgeous and stylish she is. Those paps get on my nerves though, the fucking assholes. The music switches again, to a more sombre violin melody for Klaus, indicating his BAG of trauma. The music changes are very cleverly done. Also, the “I believe in you! You, not so much.” - instantly my fave!! And his outfit is on point! And, I just noticed that when the clinic worker says “Stay sober.”, Klaus just shakes his head! 

Then we go back to a nice, slow violin solo, indicating loneliness. Poor Luther, stranded on the moon all alone. Though, he’s the only one that finds out about Reginald’s death directly?! The others all find out from the TV, or in Allison’s case, the paps! Who’s the favourite son?! Also, those paps? Twats! Insensitive twats! Ugh! Moving on - love the rock version of ‘The Music of the Night’ that starts playing when Klaus gets resuscitated! It works so well with the scene and his manic attitude. The way he high fives the paramedic makes me laugh every time though! I love Klaus, can you tell? A very solid introduction to Klaus’ character, to all of them in fact. The finish with Vanya’s sad sounding solo is a beautiful end to the scene. Also, when the lights go off and we have the establishing shot of the theatre, Vanya looks so small and alone. I just want to wrap her in a hug and tell her that everything will be okay. The way she says “Dad” as well, so soft and sad, gets me. Bless her tiny heart, she’s so cute! Ellen Page is such a brilliant actress, portraying sadness, loneliness and shyness at the same time. 

The way they show the passage of time through the photographs is really clever - a brilliant idea! The way we see 2 pictures, then suddenly one kid is missing and we get shown the solitary painting of Five, then we see 2 more pictures, after being shown Ben’s statute? Cleverly done, and deepens the mystery of the missing numbers! Moving on again - the house is a brilliant set and so well-designed. Mom’s intro, with her staring into nothing is weird, but we know right from the get go that this is weird. Another mystery! And the actress who plays Mom is so pretty! Just had to say that! Love her outfits too! 

The reunion - when everything starts to go to shit, though of course, we don’t know that yet. The way Allison is cloaked in shadow on the stairs as she comes towards Vanya - like she’s a threat? Very clever. Also, the tone that she says “You’re actually here” in, bitchy much? But, siblings I guess! I don’t know, I don’t have any. The hug is nice though, and Allison makes more of an effort to interact with Vanya than the rest of them. FUCK OFF DIEGO, with you’re “You don’t belong here!” Stop being an asshole to tiny, adorable Ellen Page! The beginning of my dislike for Number 2, I’m afraid. Sorry, Diego fans! Not happy with him atm! Allison sasses him though, go Allison! And the way she re-assures Vanya. Bless! 

Luther, WTF are you doing sneaking around? Hmm. Ah, and here comes the tense brotherly banter between #1 and #2. It’s pretty funny, but you can smell the rivalry a mile away! And Luther, just forget the monocle. Forget it! Jeez! Loving Diego’s sass though, very good at low blows isn’t he? And finally, the famous book - I’d read it! Looks interesting. I kinda want to know what she says in it, don’t you? And there’s Pogo! Is it bad that when I first watched this, I wasn’t even surprised to see a walking, talking monkey reach out to hug Vanya? Welp, I feel like that says something about me. I liked him straight away, he’s so kind to Vanya and his voice is very soothing. I don’t know okay, it just is?! 

The backstory isn’t exactly subtle, the whole “How long has it been since Five disappeared?”, but it works. The whole interaction between Vanya and Pogo, when they talk about Five, makes me so sad for Vanya. The way she said “I used to leave the lights on for him” tells me that they had a pretty close bond before Five up and left, even when I first watched the show. It just made me feel for Vanya’s character more, she’s so sweet and she clearly misses Five a whole lot. 

They all seem to wander round the house a lot, don’t they? Memories I suppose. The flashback scene here cemented my hatred for Reginald, it takes 2 seconds to say goodnight to your kids!! Fucking dick! Also, looking at the kids breaks my heart even more - Ben and Five are looking at Reginald all hopeful, Klaus clearly knows Reginald doesn’t give a shit, leaning against the doorframe with a ‘I don’t care’ expression on his face, Vanya hiding in the background, slightly separate from the rest of them. They break my heart. Great acting from the kids btw! And the way Ben looks back at Reginald, still hoping, and Luther guides him away - aww!

And back to the present - “Where’s the cash Dad?” Klaus!! XD The gigantic, adorable smile Klaus has when he sees Allison, and he immediately goes for a hug is so sweet! I get the feeling that Klaus genuinely cares about his siblings, but he masks a lot of his true feelings. That could be interesting to explore in a fic. The hug is very tense though - Allison recoils from him and awkwardly pats his back - as if she’s too good for him? Clearly not sure how to feel about him. Klaus in this scene is great, and was already my favourite at this point when I first watched. Though Allison does snort at his jokes, so perhaps they were close once? I want more Allison and Klaus interaction is Season 2! They could be an amazing duo! 

And then Luther ruins the moment, with his “Get out of his chair.” Jeez, Luther, lighten up? Also, this is the first time you’ve seen them in years and that’s your opening line? Way to go big boy. I do love Robbie in that cropped shirt though, and the coat is awesome! Allison, I see you laughing at Klaus! I see you! Also - how the hell did that box fit in his trousers?! XD I’ll leave you be Luther, ‘cause you’re taking the piss out of Diego and it’s funny. Though I’m slightly uncomfortable. Allison & Luther stare at each other with so much longing, and I just...ugh! Also, I know this whole Patrick & Claire situation is supposed to make us feel sympathy for Allison, but immediately saying “shit” when you hear that he got custody, like - don’t judge? It could be a good thing? Don’t assume that Allison didn’t do anything wrong. Sorry, just, the bias. And so begins my dislike of Luther!

The tense silence in the sitting room. Family’s, am I right? Also, Klaus steals every scene he’s in, especially in that skirt! “And here we go,” Preach Diego! Here comes the family dysfunction. Also, how does no one laugh at Klaus? Can you imagine how many bloopers there must be? C’mon Netflix, give me! The family dysfunction is strong, though. “Sober up.” - it’s not that fucking simple Luther! There’s a long hard road to sobriety, even after withdrawals, so just shut up and leave Klaus the fuck alone, yeah? You are part of the problem, the reason why Klaus is the way he is. Just...can you tell I dislike Luther a bit? 

And here’s Diego, who I also dislike, but at least he actually addresses Klaus like he’s a PERSON! So, I like him slightly more. And Luther totally suspects Diego of killing their father. None of the other siblings, just Diego. You can see it in his face. “I’m just gonna go an murder mom” I love Klaus so much! XD And the way they all file out while Luther stands there like an idiot...

The whole flashback scene, to the bank, is AMAZING, all the kids are great and its a great way of showcasing all their powers (bar Klaus’) and what they had to experience. Also, we get some Five and Ben content! Yay! Five’s sass immediately endeared me too him. Poor Ben “C’mon Ben”, Jeez Luther, do you ever stop being an ass?! And there’s Kenny’s mom, running out the bank! Poor Ben again, he clearly hates his power and using it. And being covered in all that blood. Also, can we talk about Klaus leaning on Five when they get outside?! And Five lets him?! I want more Klaus and Five in Season 2 as well, pretty please? And then here comes Reginald, telling Vanya she’s not special. Great parenting strategy asshat! Also, “six children”, GET FUCKED REGGIE! That reporter made me laugh though, the “Are you concerned about the welfare of the children?” one. Nope, no he is not. Take them away from him please! 

Those posters, in the hallway outside the bedrooms, fuck, they’re disturbing! G is for gouge? Fuck me. And here we are, the ‘A+L’ locket. Slightly weirded out by it. Also, love the symbolism of the siblings being scattered throughout the house all in different rooms. Shows how fractured they are at the moment. 

AND NEED I SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE MASTERPIECE THAT IS THE DANCE SCENE?!

“Daddy?” Klaus, I can’t even...XD What was with the fire extinguisher as well? Darling, I love you, but really? “Yeah, get behind us!” cough*toxic masculinity*cough! Now is not the time to try and be the alpha male Diego. Also, Klaus seems to have the most common sense - “I vote for running!” - yep, great idea! Common sense, folks, from the super high medium! Five’s entrance is pretty great though, but I’ll just say this - if it was my sibling that I hadn’t seen for 17 years? I’d be hugging him so tight, regardless whether he likes touch or not. Just saying. I like how we have Five falling right back into the family as if he were never gone, as if him being 13 isn’t a big deal, the banter is great. I also like how he doesn’t look at his siblings at all, and then he looks up for the first time since being inside, and it’s to compliment Klaus. Such a small yet sweet moment in the series. Underappreciated, I feel. Five doesn't seem like the type to give compliments often. The “Well you would if you were smarter”!XD 2nd favourite sibling, here we come! This whole kitchen scene was a great setup for the sibling dynamics. 

The elusive Ben is finally mentioned again. Creepy statue though. I love the fact that they all have big black umbrellas, and then there’s Klaus, with his little plastic one with pink trim! Diego again with the impeccable comedic timing “He was a monster”. And Mom is adorable, I love her so much. Here we go with Luther & Diego again, I guess. “Who’s the alpha male? I’m the alpha male!” Jeez. AGAIN? You 2 ever even tried being nice to each other? The fight scene is pretty cool though, the choreography is really well done. I love how we see them act more like a family here too, Vanya pulling Mom back and Klaus shoving Five out the way. Adorable! Allison’s got some deadpan! Like it. Diego, why are you such a dick? Especially to Vanya? She was trying, is trying, and you just...I’m so done with you and Luther. And y’all just gonna leave Klaus out there alone? Nice. Predication...

This training scene, reinforcing how AMAZING Reginald Hargreeves is as a parent! The tattoo scene too. Poor tiny little Klaus and Allison huddled together, and Ben, Luther and Five looking so scared/nervous. The way Vanya is left out - again - and draws her own tat. These poor abused kids guys! I just wanna hug ‘em all! Also, watching your kids sleep? Not creepy at all! And back from the flashback, Vanya leaving because she keeps being treated like crap. You know in nature programmes, when the baby animals bully the runt of the litter out? Yep. Loving the way Pogo is looking out for her though, clearly he cares about her a lot. Better Dad than Reggie! And no one notices she’s gone, that’s nice.

Love the entire kitchen interaction between Five, Klaus, Diego and Allison. Family banter again! Oh wait, they did notice Vanya left, they just didn’t care? Brilliant. Great family. Also, does Diego always need to be such a prick to his sisters? Asshole. Though I like the way he treats Klaus - he lets him hitch a ride despite knowing that he could leave without him, and listens to him more than the others do. Though you can see David trying not to laugh at Rob’s ‘hippo’ line in the scene. God, he seems like so much fun! 

The scene at Griddy’s is just, simply awesome. Love Agnes, she’s so sweet. Five’s fake smile has me in hysterics every time though! The tow truck driver is very nice, buying for a ‘weird kid’ he doesn’t know. The fight scene, again, is perfect, and the juxtaposition of the upbeat tune “Istanbul Not Constantinople” in the background, just...chef’s kiss! Poor Five didn’t get his coffee though. The quest for Five to have a decent cup of coffee begins! Aidan is a phenomenal actor too, absolutely brilliant! Love the tightening of his tie as he walks away, the cocky little shit!XD Poor Agnes.

The intro to Ben is funny, and cleverly placed so that it doesn’t feel forced, it just fits with the story of the episode. Also, Diego’s a dramatic bitch. But he cares about Klaus. So, we’ll see, I guess. A nice little interaction between 2 brother (3, sorry Ben!) that love each other. Nice to have a moment of the siblings being, ‘normal’, for want of a better word. Vanya and Five interaction, yay! “Rapists can cimb” - Five, no!XD Funny, but...Anyway, I like the relationship between these two. The way he comes to her and trusts her the most and lets her touch him and clean his wound. I love it. The flashback to Five hurts, because he really was just a kid then and I feel so maternal about that...I’m not the only one, right? Aidan’s phenomenal acting again. I love the cliff hanger of the world ending in 8 days. Got me hooked. Also, Van’s response is perfect - “I’ll put on a pot of coffee.” I love you Vanya! XD

Alright, I know it was long, but it’s over now. Thanks for reading all of it, if you did. I don’t know when I’ll get around to the 2nd episode, but hopefully it’ll be soon. Hope you all enjoyed my ramblings! x

#tua #the umbrella academy #the umbrella academy review #tua episode 1 #review/rant thing #hope you enjoy!

[hufflly-puffs]

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 2: A Peck of Owls

Shouldn’t it be a parliament of owls? (And yes, the English language is weird)

Also, the very first thing we learn about Mundugus Fletcher is that he is unreliable. Which in some ways could be a tragic foretelling of his role in Harry’s departure from Privet Drive in book 7, where Mundugus was in part responsible for Moody’s death. Obviously the more people Dumbledore can gather around to fight on his side the better but I still wonder how Mundugus earned so much trust if you can’t rely on him.

We learn that both Mundugus and Mrs Figg were responsible that day to keep an eye on Harry whenever he leaves the house, and later he is repeatedly told not to leave the house, so I think the protection Privet Drive provides him is really just limited to the house itself. Outside he can still become a target. (That might also be why Uncle Vernon couldn’t strangle Harry, because the house protects Harry in maybe more than just one way.)

So, Mr Tibbles is one of Mrs Figg’s cat, that, as she said, she put on the case, and who informed her that Mundugus had left. But unless Mr Tibbles is an Animagus (which I doubt) how could he? It seems in general that magical pets are much more intelligent than common pets. We saw that with Crookshanks, and basically with every owl, because owls are really stupid in reality (and gave the animal trainers of the movie adaptions a hard time). So is it possible that in a world where humans can be born either with or without magic animals can as well? Not in the way like magical beasts, but common animals like cats. Or maybe not magical but with a broader sense of understanding? In what way does Mr Tibbles communicates with Mr. Figg?

I like that despite being a Squib Mrs Figg is still part of the magical community. She uses a lot of phrases that sound typical for a witch/wizard, so she probably grew up in a wizard household. She does what she can to help, to contribute something in fighting this war. And it is possible that a lot of Squibs become outsiders, isolate themselves, might even leave the Wizarding World behind. But with Mr Filch and Mrs Figg we have two examples of Squibs who found their place in the Magical world thanks to Dumbledore.

“Talk about the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery … this was exactly what Dumbledore was afraid of […]“ – So Dumbledore already suspected the Ministry might use this regulation against Harry, creating a situation where we had to use magic, knowing of course that he already had used magic before in his holidays. What was the goal here? Do discredit Harry publically? To get him expelled from Hogwarts? To get him away from Dumbledore’s influence?

“Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia exchanged looks of utter horror. If their least favourite thing in the world was magic – closely followed by neighbours who cheated more than they did on the hosepipe ban – people who heard voices were definitely in the bottom ten. They obviously thought Dudley was losing his mind.” – It is so telling that people like the Dursleys would fear that one of them might suffer from a mental illness. Because they seem like the kind of people who are unable to understand this kind of illness, who merely think in categories of “crazy” and “sane” and everyone who isn’t like them is other. Then again, despite the repeated trauma Harry has to endure we never see him getting any kind of psychological  help and therapy, so mental illnesses might be stigmatized in the Wizarding World as well.

“But Dudley seemed incapable of saying. He shuddered again and shook his large blond head, and despite the sense of numb dread that had settled on Harry since the arrival of the first owl, he felt a certain curiosity. Dementors caused a person to relive the worst moments of their life. What would spoiled, pampered, bullying Dudley have been forced to hear?” – Harry, in many ways, isn’t very likeable in book 5. He is angry, he acts selfish, he only sees his own suffering. Which is actually in great contrast to book 6, and that is why the two of them complement each other. And Harry’s selfish behaviour isn’t just towards his friends, it is towards people like Dudley as well. Yes, Dudley is a bully, and our sympathy for him is limited. But Harry’s curiosity isn’t born out of empathy or care, but because he looks down on Dudley. What in the world could Dudley see and hear, when his life had been seemingly without so much less pain than Harry’s? Harry never asks, he never tries to reach out, even after he realizes that someone like Dudley has deep settled fears.

“‘I heard – that awful boy – telling her about them – years ago,’ she said jerkily. ‘If you mean my mum and dad, why don’t you use their names?’” – That awful boy that told Lily about Azkaban and Dementors was of course not James, but Snape. It’s a shame really that Harry and Petunia never really talk, how her pain of losing her sister to this other world (in more than one way) closed her off so completely that she could never talk about it, not even with Harry who had a right to know.

“‘Back?’ whispered Aunt Petunia. She was looking at Harry as she had never looked at him before. And all of a sudden, for the very first time in his life, Harry fully appreciated that Aunt Petunia was his mother’s sister. He could not have said why this hit him so very powerfully at this moment. All he knew was that he was not the only person in the room who had an inkling of what Lord Voldemort being back might mean. Aunt Petunia had never in her life looked at him like that before. Her large, pale eyes (so unlike her sister’s) were not narrowed in dislike or anger, they were wide and fearful. The furious pretence that Aunt Petunia had maintained all Harry’s life – that there was no magic and no world other than the world she inhabited with Uncle Vernon – seemed to have fallen away.” – I love that scene. For the longest time the Dursleys were an abstract concept for Harry, in no way related to his parents, despite knowing that Petunia and Lily were sisters. But Petunia never mentions her sister, never even showed Harry a picture of her, nothing. As if she had never existed. It is understandable that Harry never saw her as his mother’s sister. But suddenly he does. Suddenly he understands that he is not the only one who lost someone that night, that Petunia’s fear, her ignorance, her hatred are a result of the terror of that night. And now she has learned that the man responsible for the murder of her sister is back.

“This Lord Voldything’s back, you say.” – You know in book 7 when they can no longer use Voldemort’s name? This is the nickname they should have used.

And here we have Uncle Vernon, who just learned the same thing as his wife, but his reaction is to throw Harry out of the house. He only sees the danger it would cause for his family and doesn’t even think for a minute about his nephew. Harry needs more protection than ever, but his uncle refuses to give him some. It shows you exactly the kind of man Vernon Dursley is.

And then there is of course the Howler Petunia gets, as we later learn from Dumbledore, referring to his last letter (the one he wrote when he left Harry at the Dursleys). We learn later the reason why Harry has to return to his family every year: as long as he can call this place his home it will protect him. And I don’t think Petunia ever told Vernon about it. She finds excuses now why Harry has to stay and she found probably excuses back then to explain to her husband why they had to keep her nephew. Because Vernon made it clear that he doesn’t care about Harry’s safety. However complicated her relationship with her sister was a part of Petunia always loved her sister, mourned her, and couldn’t bear the thought to let the child die that her sister gave her life for. However horrible she treated Harry, she gave him a home, she gave him the bare minimum to survive, and with that she kept Lily’s sacrifice alive.

#Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix #a peck of owls #chapter notes #ootp

[graciebirdie]

The Sun, The Moon, And The Stars Part 3

Oh my god you guys this section/chapter/whatever really kicked my ass. It turned into a crime procedural? Just fyi all the legal stuff is from tv so...

Part one here / part two here

Peter had to admit, he was mildly impressed with Derek’s other two betas. They, at least, had the ability to think on their feet and the common sense not to bring up werewolves when dealing with humans.

He had actually laughed out loud when he realized they were carefully painting Gerard as racist.

The best part was that he could hear their heartbeats and they weren’t even lying. Apparently, Gerard had been less than subtle in the way he interacted with them. Good. That meant that there would be witnesses that would be able to corroborate their stories.

Nobody liked a racist. Especially one that was so blatant he would abduct an underage interracial couple. If this went to trial the jury would definitely side with the kids who were charismatic, believable and, so far, smart liars. The perfect combination as far as Peter was concerned.

Peter waited through Stiles being checked by the paramedics and listened to his heartbeat skitter around like a terrified animal. Stiles was lying through his teeth about his injuries.

Peter was quite confused by Stiles’ behavior. Why didn’t he let them check him completely? Was he afraid of being seen as weak by his father?

No, that couldn’t be it because he was whining loudly about his nose hurting.

Maybe he disliked hospitals? That might be it. Peter could definitely understand, he hated hospitals.

Maybe he was just worried about the cost of going to the hospital. Peter could remember the exorbitant fees when his… He pushed that thought away.

There was something wrong while Stiles. Not just physically. There was something mentally wrong, some reason why he needed to put others before himself.

It sounded to Peter like Stiles was the type to put his only family member above himself and refuse medical attention if it meant he wouldn’t stress out his father.

This new insight into Stiles just reinforced how much Peter wanted him on his side and gave him a better idea of how to do that. If Peter could show Stiles that he could both take care of Stiles and the people Stiles cared about then he would start to trust Peter.

But Stiles’ trust was hard won and he would probably only have one real chance to gain it. If he messed up, Stiles would never trust him and might even kill him, if Stiles thought it would be for the benefit of the pack.

Now Peter just had to figure out how to convince someone who didn’t easily trust that Peter was dependable. And it wouldn’t be easy, Peter had already attacked Stiles and two of the people he cared about.

Peter had a lot of work ahead of him…

***

Once Stiles and his father had driven off without incident Peter felt confident that the Kanima problem had been properly taken care of. He just had to find his nephew to confirm it.

Peter mildly regretted crushing his phone but it had been the best move at the time. He decided a howl would work well enough to find them. He made his way into the woods before throwing his head back and calling for his nephew who was not his alpha. Derek might have done the noble thing, killing Peter to stop him, but Peter would never be able to submit to someone who had killed him.

A shaky and weak howl answered his. Definitely not Derek or Scott. It must have been Derek’s vicious twiggy beta.

He followed it out to the old house.

There was he found a very grumpy looking Derek, an incredibly pleased Scott, a bored looking stick, a crying Lydia, and a very naked Jackson.

He eyed Lydia and Jackson in interest. Blood was smeared across Jackson’s back and Lydia was clinging to his front.

“So, I take it everything went well?” he asked, very interested to see if he had been right about how to defeat the Kanima.

Derek ignored him completely while Scott just glared.

It was Derek’s little bean poll that answered. “Derek and I killed him but he got back up and was all wolfed out.” He shrugged. It didn’t seem like he found the situation very interesting.

“Did Lydia say something to him before hand?” Peter asked, intrigued.

The boy shrugged again. “I guess.”

Well, that was good enough for Peter. He supposed all in all it hadn’t been the worst day. Nobody had died, which was a little unfortunate, but Peter decided it was a very good start to his dedication to turn over a new leaf.

“Well, if anyone’s interested Gerard was arrested.” That certainly got everybody’s attention. At lease there was a lot of exclamations of disbelief.

Derek growled and grabbed the front of Peter’s shirt. “What the hell did you do?”

Peter shoved him away and straightened his shirt. “Just my civic duty, nephew.”

Scott was doing a great impression of a flailing Stiles while Isaac, Lydia, and Jackson looked annoyed.

Derek growled some more. “What did. You do?”

Peter sighed and rolled his eyes. “I found Stiles and called the police.”

Scott squawked in indignation. “You called Stiles’ dad? Stiles is going to kill you!”

“No, I called the police. And they found Stiles and Derek’s two other little betas in Gerard’s basement so the police did their job and arrested him.” Peter was surrounded by idiots.

Isaac looked shocked. “Boyd and Erica? Are they alright?”

“Yes, they’re fine.” Unlike Stiles, but nobody had asked about him yet.

Derek was still growling. It was really starting to get old. “Where are they? How did Gerard even get them in the first place?”

“Oh, I don’t know Derek. Gerard’s a hunter, how does he get anyone?” Scott was still seething. “I can’t believe you called Stiles’ dad! Why didn’t you tell us where they were?”

Peter wondered if Stiles would get mad if he killed Scott. Probably best not to risk it. “Because Stiles is human and his father is the sheriff. It was the best possible way to distract Gerard while the Kanima was being taken care of. And it had the added bonus of making Gerard not our probable anymore.”

Scott still wasn’t getting it. “But you involved Stiles’ dad with this stuff! You can’t do that!”

The temptation to kill Scott was getting harder to resist. Peter was going to have to leave soon. “Scott, Gerard is a human who made to the mistake of kidnapping the sheriff’s son. He was practically begging to be arrested. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go before I kill all of you.”

He turned and stomped off, towards the person who would hopefully understand his motives.

Peter couldn’t believe these people.

Derek was supposed to be an alpha. He should have cared, at least a little bit about a pack-adjacent human.

And Scott. Stiles’ best friend. His only concern was Stiles’ father. Of course, the sheriff was Stiles concern, too. It must have rubbed off onto Scott. But that just made Peter even angrier. Scott should have been able to see what Stiles was doing and taken care of him.

Neither one had asked about Stiles and they had seemed incredibly angry that Peter had managed a peaceful solution to one (or two depending how it was counted) of their problems.

As for Lydia, Jackson, and Isaac, they were nonentities as far as Peter was concerned. He could not care less about them.

Lydia had done her part in bring Peter back from the dead so he had no more use of her. And Stiles would more assuredly get mad if Peter bothered her again, anyway.

Jackson was so used to be in charge he was going to make a terribly uncooperative beta werewolf. Peter didn’t even have any sympathy for Derek. The boy deserved it for acting rashly. He should have learned from Peter’s mistakes with Scott.

Jackson and Stiles despised each other while Lydia pretended Stiles didn’t exist. Until she wanted something from him, that is. Peter knew the way Lydia’s mind worked. If she got her hands Stiles she would chew him up and spit back out someone completely different. Someone that wouldn’t even be Stiles anymore.

And Isaac had managed to both helpful and unhelpful at the same time, a juxtaposition Peter would normally find interesting but he’d gotten the sense that Stiles and Isaac were indifferent to each other so until Stiles told Peter to worry about Isaac Peter was going to ignore him.

Peter didn’t care about Derek and his little pack anymore. He was done with them. They weren’t his pack and he didn’t want them to be.

Actually, Peter was done with packs altogether. His first pack, his family, had been afraid of him because he didn’t mind getting his hands dirty, if it meant keeping them safe.

But they hadn’t been able to understand him or his motives and had always been worried he’d snap and kill them all. Or, at least, that’s what Talia had been afraid of.

His second pack had just been a complete disaster. One accidental beta that hated him and wanted to kill him and his nephew who hated him and had actually killed him.

Yes, Peter was done with packs. He needed to find a way to stop himself becoming an omega without them. Stiles on his own might be enough, once Stiles accepted Peter, but the idea didn’t sit quite right. Peter was very weak still and having no pack would just make him weaker. He needed to be strong if he was going to prove to Stiles that he could take care of him.

Peter needed to be an alpha again. But he didn’t want to kill his nephew even if

Peter wanted nothing to do with him. Committing parricide four times was probably excessive. Plus, he was trying to convince Stiles he was trustworthy. Killing Derek to become an alpha would only make Stiles distrust him more.

He needed some way to become an alpha without killing anyone.

He thought of the sharp boy-wolf-earth-magic smell of Stiles. He thought of a ritual he’d once read. If he could find the book with the ritual and convince Stiles it was a good idea maybe, just maybe he’d be able to become an alpha again and bind Stiles to him at the same time. It was at the very least, worth a try.

*** Peter went to the sheriff’s station first. It was late but the sheriff was probably still working and he would almost definitely be keeping Stiles close by.

Peter settled outside the view of the security cameras and listened.

He heard people moving around and talking about paperwork. He heard people crying. And someone excessively coughing.

He heard the sheriff speaking. “Let me see if I understand this correctly. You want me to not arrest Chris and Allison Argent for the assault and abduction of minors? You do realize I have over whelming evidence and very reliable witness statements, right? Why would I just ignore all of that?”

A man’s voice that Peter didn’t recognize spoke next. “Because Sheriff, my client will be willing to plead guilty to all charges. As long as his son and granddaughter are not charged and Mr. Argent is placed in a medical institution. The man has stage four lung cancer. He wouldn’t live long enough to stand trial.”

Well, wasn’t that an interesting development. Gerard was dying. That would probably explain some of his rasher decisions. Like trying to destroy the sheriff’s station and then killing someone right outside of it. Gerard was going off the rails because he was afraid of his own mortality.

Peter snorted. And then he laughed so hard he doubled over and had to hold his stomach when it started to ache from the laughter.

He tried to get himself back under control because the sheriff was talking again and Peter wanted to hear what he had to say. “I don’t need your client to plead guilty. Like I already told you we have a rock-solid case against him.”

The other man, assumedly Gerard’s lawyer huffed. “By witness do you mean your delinquent son? He would hold up on the stand.”

Peter could tell the sheriff was trying to sound calm when he spoke again. “I personally found your client in his basement with my son’s blood on his fists and two sixteen-year-olds tied up to a machine that was electrocuting them. I have more than enough evidence. I’m not taking a deal.”

The lawyer sighed. “Well, we’ll just have to see what the DA has to say about you having such an obvious personal connection to this that’s clouding your judgment.”

The sheriff actually growled at that. It was even a little impress, for a human. “I guess we will.”

Peter heard a chair scrap across the floor and then a door opening and closing.

There were a few minutes of normal late-night office noises before Peter heard the sheriff speaking again.

“Sorry to be the one to tell you this Jason but your boss just cut a deal. He’s got cancer and he’s throwing you under the bus so he can go to a nice cushy hospital and get free treatment.”

“What?! No, Mr. Argent wouldn’t do that! He doesn’t have cancer! You’re lying!” Presumably Jason was one of the seven heartbeats Peter had heard at the Argent’s house.

“It’s true. You haven’t noticed the way he’s been coughing lately?”

“But he’s just…got a cold?” Peter had to assume this man was a complete idiot.

“How long has he this cold, Jason?” And apparently the sheriff agreed with Peter.

“Look man, Mr. Argent’s been good to me. He wouldn’t just sell me out. He’s loyal.” Peter snorted. An Argent was only loyal to themselves.

The sheriff sighed. “You’re right. You caught me Jason. Gerard didn’t cut a deal-”

“Ah-ha! I knew it!” Jason crowed, interrupting the sheriff.

“You didn’t let me finish. He didn’t make a deal for you. He made a deal to save his son and granddaughter. He told me that this was all your idea. The one that decided to abduct Vernon Boyd and Erica Reyes. And my son.” There was a long moment of silence before the sheriff spoke again. “Now why do you think he’d say that, Jason?”

Jason didn’t say anything so the sheriff kept going.

“You do realize that you’re going to jail for abducting three minors, don’t you?”

Jason suddenly started yelling. “Those three pieces of shit?! How can you care about them when they’re not even human?!”

Peter made a mental note to congratulate the two betas on a job well done. The sheriff didn’t suspect werewolves and the hunters were just talking themselves into a hate crime. It was pretty perfect. Peter could very easily picture the sheriff leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest and satisfied look on his face. “So he’s telling the truth? It was your idea?”

“NO! I wanted to just kill them but Mr. Argent said that it would be better if we used them as-” Jason cut himself off, no doubt starting to realize he’d made a mistake.

“So, you wanted to kill three teenagers but Gerard Argent wanted to use them for something? What did he want to use them for?”

Jason didn’t reply so the sheriff kept talking.

“Jason you have to help yourself here. If you don’t tell me exactly what happened the Argents’ are going to get away with this and you and your friend Todd are going to be left taking all of the blame. Gerard is dying, Allison is seventeen and just lost her mother, and Chris just lost his wife and sister. A jury would find them very sympathetic.”

“Okay…” Jason said slowly. “I’ll tell you what happened.”

“Now Jason, that’s what I like to hear.” The sheriff sounded pleased as punch.

Peter would have happily listened in to a hunter’s censored version of the events but he found himself distracted by the stations front door opening.

Stiles stepped outside, tripped over the door jam, and flailed for a moment. Peter let himself smile a little bit at the sight. Here was his chance to have a privet conversation with Stiles.

*** Peter knew he was grinning. He couldn’t stop himself. The conversation he’d had with Stiles had gone perfectly.

Sure, Stiles had yelled but he’d been surprised to see Peter and understandably so.

Stiles had almost instantly accepted that Peter was alive again and he had been visibly relieved that the Kanima was no longer a threat.

He’d taken Peter’s reassures about the Kanima without demanding corroboration too. Of course, he was probably going to call Scott to get his side of the story but Peter expected nothing less.

He’d even causally touched Peter, something no one else had done since before… Actually, Peter couldn’t remember the last time someone had been so calm around him. Sure, the touches hadn’t been the friendliest but they hadn’t been the least bit painful. And not just because Stiles was human. Stiles had shoved at Peter in mild frustration but it had felt more like Stiles silently telling Peter to just get on with it rather than trying to hurt him.

And Stiles had punched him but it had been so light Peter was tempted to call it a love tap. He knew Stiles had been trying not to hurt his hand on Peter’s face but the touch hadn’t even stung. It had been more playful than threatening.

Peter decided that their conversation had gone perfectly.

Now Peter just had to continue to prove his trustworthiness to Stiles. And he just happened to have the perfect way to start: the sheriff had only arrested five hunters. There was at least a dozen more running around Beacon Hills. None of them were going to be pleased that their bosses had been arrested and none of them had any respect for authority.

The sheriff had a target on his back and he didn’t even know it. But Peter knew and he was going to do everything he could to keep him safe. Because that would bring Peter one step closer to fulfilling his master plan.

Part Four Here

#so there it is #it took forever and I can't tell if it's any good or not #my shit #my fics #the sun the moon and the stars #Steter

[sonoftriton-blog]

Mates and Dates

Kol and Caspian meet up for a coffee and some questions 

@kolthebuilder

Caspian hadn’t expected to be nervous. He sat at Cere’s Coffee House, the same place he had gone with Jason, and to be honest, the only place coffee place he had been to. He shook his leg nervously whilst chewing on a straw he had taken whilst walking in. The table was more or less in the corner of the Cafe, with a good view of the entire Cafe and the street just outside the large glass window. He had planned meeting Kolby for coffee just a few days ago and hadn’t seen the man since, although, he did have an invitation to stay with him if he’d like, something Caspian had originally declined but was now considering. He gazed mindlessly out the window, not noticing the other approach them at all until he had come straight up to the table and stood over him. He got a fright and shoot up, bumping his thigh on the edge of the table, causing it to screech and a whole bunch of ‘action-ready’ demigods to spin round and look at them, ready for any attack that might come their way. “Sorry.” He said sheepishly to Kol and put his hand up apologetically to everyone else.

Kolby was running late – it was his own fault, he’d spent a good 10 minutes looking through all his clothes to find something that didn’t have some sort of oil stain – so when he arrived at the cafe, out of breath and panting after having run the last two blocks, he’d paused outside to catch his breath. As his heart rate has slowed to a normal pace it had given the son of Hephaestus time to look through the coffee houses window and spot the person he was meeting. Kol’s hand shook slightly as he had pushed the door open and he wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or nerves, probably both, he reasoned, but he wasn’t sure why he was nervous. He winced as Caspian shot up from the table, suddenly regretting his decision to not call out a greeting as he made his way over, it a cafe full of Romans, the last thing either of them needed was unwanted attention. “It’s all good people,” Kol gave the other patrons of the place a thumbs up and wide smile as he moved to sit in the unoccupied chair, turning his smile instead to Caspian. “Sorry I’m a little late. Have you ordered?”

Caspian quickly sat back down, rubbing his leg, trying to numb the pain. His cheeks were red, embarrassment flowing through him. “No – No I haven’t, I was waiting for you.” A smile now on his lips, hoping they could forget about his little incident. “We don’t have coffee in Atlantis, so you’re going to have to help me here.” He met the others eyes. “I trust that you won’t make a bad choice.” With all the work Kol did, he was sure that he knew about the good stuff, but he might be wrong. Caspian had bought new clothes for this, black jeans, rolled up a little at the bottom and a smart but casual button-up shirt. He had no idea why he had made the effort, but he needed the clothes anyway. The whole situation reminded him of Trent, the first guy he felt butterflies for, but it wasn’t the same, well, not yet anyway. “Are you hungry? We could get something to eat too?”

“Don’t have coffee? Oh my friend, you have been missing out.” Kolby shook his head a little sadly at him but he couldn’t keep the smile that tugged at his lips off for long. “We should start you off easy. See if you actually like coffee.” In truth, Kol’s taste in coffee was normally whatever was cheapest and had the highest caffeine rate, but this was a special occasion so he thought he’d treat himself to something a little fancier. His eyes scanned the menu, he’d only been here once before and he’d never stopped for food but you couldn’t really go wrong with a sandwich he reasoned. “Food sounds good to me. I’m always hungry. What do you fancy? I might get the ham sandwich, keep is classic y’know. Gotta love a classic ham sarnie.” He was rambling, he could feel himself rambling and wasn’t sure how to stop himself, with a sheepish smile he looked up at Caspian again, “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

Caspian realized that he was staring and looked down at his menu. Why was he staring? The other just seemed so interesting and he couldn’t help himself but be intrigued. “We don’t have coffee no. We actually didn’t have most of the food and beverages you have.” He looked at all the items on the menu, having to read the description for all of them, not that it helped a lot. “You’re not rambling, you’re being yourself. Besides, I like it because then there isn’t awkward silence.” He glanced up from the menu, flashing a smile before diving back in. “I don’t know what any of these things are. Like, what is a burger? And why would I want ‘free range’ beef?” He looked up at the other for guidance. “Maybe you should just order for me?” He felt embarrassed that he was so clueless and it made him feel uncomfortable. He shifted his weight. “I’ve only had like cafeteria meals or meals given to me whilst at camp, I’ve never had to… chose.”

Kol felt his eyes widen slightly at hearing that, he had never really occurred to him that worlds under the water wouldn’t have burgers too, he had just assumed they were a universal thing. “Oh well, I can be counted on to break awkward silences,” he agreed by flashing the other boy a quick smile before skimming the menu again, biting his lip in thought before looking back up. “Okay, a burger and fries, can’t get more American than that.” It was also a safe bet, not many people disliked burgers, and even if he did Kolby had never met someone who disliked fries. Maybe it was the Irish in him, but he was pretty sure potatoes were the best food. Seeing him look so out of his depth stirred some emotions in Kol that had him wanting to just pat the guy on the head and tell him it was fine, but he wasn’t sure that would be appreciated so he settled for saying, “You should just order whatever catches your eye. Best way to find out what you like or not.”

Caspian nodded at the others food suggestion. “I mean, we could have burgers in Atlantis, but maybe they just weren’t called burgers.” He shrugged, most of the underwater quiescence consisted of seafood and kelp. His gaze was now again on Kol. “Yeah, I’ll do that next time, as long as you’re with me so that you could eat it if I don’t like it.” He wasn’t sure what to talk about next, he barely knew the other and perhaps it was time to find some common ground and have some fun at the same time. “I know this is odd, but perhaps we could play ‘truth or dare’, just for fun? We could even stick to mostly truth questions, that way, we can get to know each other.” He pushed the menu to the side now, no longer needing it. “I’ll start, “ he began, not giving the other a chance to say no to his proposal. “What is your favorite pastime?”

“Just using me as a human trash can are you now?” Kol teased, but he wasn’t about to say no to that. Getting to spend more time with him and food? It seemed like a pretty good deal to him. Raising an eyebrow at him Kol got as far as opening his mouth to reply before Caspian went on ahead and asked his first question. “Hm…” Kol out his elbows on the table and cupped his chin in his palm as he thought about his answer. “Probably a little predictable but making stuff. Or hanging out with the dog. Gods I’m boring, aren’t I?” he said with a little laugh and shake of his head. “Okay, my turn. What were you doing in Atlantis before you came here?”

Caspian nodded at his reply, “no no! You’re not boring! You do what you love and that’s the hardest thing to do when you get older.” The other man’s question had caught him off guard a bit, stirring up some memories. “Well, I’m not actually from Atlantis, but I trained to be an Atlantean Guard there, but monsters killed my—,” Caspian hesitated, not sure what to call Trent, “Friend, Trent, and I couldn’t bear to stay so I left again. About a year later, I went on my journey to find my dad and now here I am!” He didn’t want to go into more detail about Trent or Kol’s sympathy, he wanted to move on from his past and into his future. “But it’s okay, there’s no need to apologize, but —“ Caspian was cut off by the arrival of the waitron, who had asked for their drinks. Caspian panicky glanced over at Kol, hoping that he’d order the coffee for the both of them.

“The trick to it is to not get older,” Kolby said with a straight face that softened as he listened to him explain his reasons for leaving. “I’m sorry, about your friend. And that you had to leave your home. I’m sure that’s not much fun.” He gave him a small smile and understood his want to not talk about it, if Kol had been in his place he wasn’t sure he would have wanted to either. “So wait, have you actually like met your dad?” Meeting an actual king of the ocean somehow seemed even cooler than meeting a god to Kolby. “Oh!” He hadn’t noticed the person approach their table until they were waiting expectantly, notepad in hand. “We’ll take… two latte’s please and two glasses of water. Thanks,” Kol gave her his politest smile as she walked off and looked back at Caspian. “Your turn to ask.”

“Yeah, I’ve met him, he’s kind of douchey…” Caspian trailed off, looking down as he fiddled with his own hands. There was a lot about his past that he didn’t feel comfortable talking about, well, at least not yet. He sighed before shaking his head slightly as if waking himself up from a trance and looked up at Kol, eyes sparkling like sunlight on the ocean’s surface. “If you could do anything right now, anything for fun, what would you do?” His pearl white teeth flashing through his smile. “I’d want to take you to Atlantis, but that’s not going to happen just yet!” He leaned on his forearms that were flat on the table, levering his face forward to Kol’s as he anticipated his answer. Caspian was good at changing the subject and hiding his sadness, he’d been doing it for years now. “It can be anything.” He threw in a wink, hoping that he was coming off as playful instead of way too forward.

“Well, at least you got the chance to find out, I guess,” he shrugged, Kol wasn’t exactly bitter about his parental situation but he wasn’t happy about it either. Since the need for a change of subject Kolby let himself be distracted by the question, resting his chin in his hands again and tapping his fingers on his cheek in thought. “What would I do…what would I do…” A lot of things came to mind, but none of them seemed like the right answer and Kol was momentarily distracted by the sight of Caspians smile, he had to blink a few times to regain his thoughts. “I’d go to the Smithsonian in DC, to that air and space museum. I’ve always wanted to see one of those shuttles in person. Space travel just seems so cool, y’know?” There was so much of the world and out of it left to explore, Kol didn’t know what made him more excited. “If we were in Atlantis what would we do? Could you introduce me to Flounder? I loved that guy when I was little!”

Kol’s response threw Caspian into confusion. “I don’t know what the Smithsonian is.” He wasn’t sure he even knew where DC was, or what space travel was. He hated that they were from such different cultures as it made it hard for him to relate. “So when you do go, promise to take me? That way you can teach me all about it.” He leaned back into his seat, hands still on the table. “If we were in Atlantis, I’d show you everything. From the main temple to the core of Atlantis, we could go out partying or we could go to the Atlantean version of a cafe.” He shrugged, “Atlantis is just a city, the ocean and its vastness is where all the fun is.” His face was one of reminiscence, recalling all the adventures he had had. “I don’t know who Flounder is, but we can find a flounder. Is he a demigod? How have you heard of him?”

When talking to him it was easy for Kol to forget that Caspian hadn’t actually lived on land for that long, “It’s like, a collection of museums. They’ve got all this super cool stuff from different periods of history. But this one, the air and space one, is full of like, old planes and rockets.” He wasn’t sure why his cheeks heated up at the others words, but they did and Kol did his best to give a nonchalant shrug as he said, “I promise to take you. It’ll be like a da-” He stopped himself short with a cough, feeling much too close to a presumptuous then he wanted to be right now. “The core? That’s not like a power source is it? An Atlantean cafe sounds pretty cool, feel a bit like Deja Vu of right now,” he grinned before shaking his head slightly. “Oh man. No, no Flounder is a fish from the Little Mermaid film. Oh dude, we’re gonna have to set up a movie night. There’s so much you need to see.”

Caspian nodded at the others explanation and smiled as he noticed their checks get a little redder than before. “Like a date?” He asked, finishing his sentence. “It would be like deja vu except if we went on a date before then it would be different. He liked Kol, he was a cool kid and as curious as Caspian was. “Yeah, it’s like a magical power source, I don’t know much about it though.” He said with a shrug and reached for the salt on the table to fiddle with it. “And a movie is those moving picture things right? Like a really long video?” It’s not that he didn’t know what they were, he just didn’t know the name of them other than the Atlantean one. “We should definitely have a movie night! And you can teach me all the pop culture references! It could be a date.” His eyebrows raising playful at the last word of his own sentence.

Kol could feel himself turning redder at that and had to force himself to raise his eyes up away from the table to reply, “Yeah, I mean, yeah, like a date.” This wasn’t how he had expected the conversation to go, but he knew it was his own fault for bringing it up in the first place. Kolby wasn’t sure why saying it now was such a big deal, he’d been on a date before - sure it hadn’t been anything serious, but there had been several dates  - but here he was, blushing like a schoolboy at the mention of the word. He perked up a bit at the mention of a power source, for somewhere like Atlantis he was pretty sure it would run on some kind of water power, but magic seemed cool too. “That’s so cool!” Kol nodded, feeling his cheeks cool down considerably and his confidence returning some, “Yeah, some of them are like 3 hours long. But we won’t start you off with Lord of the Rings, that’s a bit extreme. But Disney, I think you’d like Disney. They’ve got some pretty cool films.” He thought he was doing well until that pesky little word popped up again and heat returned to his cheeks, shooting Caspian a slight glare Kol shook his head with an only slightly annoyed laugh. “Yeah, it could be a date.”

Caspian was only teasing Kol about the date, but he would really enjoy going on a date with him. “I’m really looking forward to the ‘movies’ though. Even if it wasn’t a date.” He was glad that Kol didn’t react badly towards his forwardness. “Who’s turn is it?” A smile on his lips. He was about to continue when he was interrupted by the presence of the waitron. He watched as they brought their drinks and placed one in front of him. He looked down at the drink that was letting off a ton of steam in the chilly weather. It smelled somewhat bitter and he had no idea if he’d enjoy it or not. “You love this?”, he asked, now looking up to Kol.

“After the movies we’ll have to set you up with some TV show marathons. There’s some pretty cool shows out there,” Kolby said with a grin. He didn’t know whose turn it was to ask a question, he hadn’t really been keeping track but he had one in mind that he wanted to ask, “I think it was me. Okay so, out of everything you’ve done recently, what was your favorite?” He asked, his eyes flashing up the person who put their drinks down and flashing them a smile before pulling his cup closer to himself. With a shrug Kol grabbed a sugar and tore off the top, emptying the contents into the foam and using the spoon to give it a stir, “It’s good for keeping you awake, which came in handy while I was on the streets. But it’s also kinda nice if you like bitter stuff I guess. If you don’t like it we can’t get you something else.”

Caspians mind skirted over the variety of activities he had done in the last couple of days. A few things came to mind, like surfing with Percy and meeting Kol, but instead, he went for a more forward approach. He had the other blushing, there was no reason to stop now. “This. Being here with you.” He realized that it was a corny thing to say as soon as the words had left his lips and cringed internally. He copied Kol, putting sugar into his coffee and stirring it. He then took a sip and tried not to pull a face of dislike. He was determined to grow to like it and tore open another sugar. “Sorry if I’m too forward, I’d just like to get to know you better and flattery is my best weapon at the moment. Although, everything I say is true.” He took another sip of his sweetened coffee, but still reached for another sugar. The bitterness reminded him of a food back home that he really disliked, so sweetening it was his only option. “Who is your favorite person here? I know your puppy comes first, but which person?”

Kol decided there and then that he’d have to talk to someone about how to control his blushing if he was going to keep hanging out with Caspian, which was something he fully intended on doing. With a blush creeping up his cheeks again Kol shook his head at the other as he watched with a raised brow as Caspian added yet another sugar to his drink. He didn’t mind people being forward, even if he wasn’t one of them, he couldn’t deny it helped move conversation along, “It’s okay, I’m sure my cheeks will de-heat soon enough. And it’s clear proof your weapon is working well.” As another sugar went into his coffee Kol couldn’t help but say, “You can get something else if you want. Hot chocolate might be more your thing.” Kol tilted his head to the side a little and took a sip of his own coffee as he thought about his answer, sparing a small smile at the thought of his head, “My favorite person…damn that’s a hard one. Would it be cheating if I said you were quickly making your way up my list?”

Caspian smiled when the other said his weapon was working. He was really enjoying Kols company and everything about him intrigued Caspian. At the mention of getting another drink, he realized that Kol might be into him and started sipping the beverage, acting as if he was enjoying it. “I just need a little of this sweet-salt in my life. It’s not bad.” He took another sip but almost choked when Kol mentioned that he was climbing up his list. He just wasn’t simply expecting that, he was however pleased that he was climbing the friendship ladder. “Sorry.” He let out a sheepish laugh. “I wasn’t expecting that but it’s cute that I am.” He gave a stunning smile that clumsily turned into a sheepish smile. He paused as a question popped into his mind, “uhm. This is a bit awkward I guess but there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” He said putting down the drink and rubbing his hand through his hair. “I was — I was hoping that maybe I could sleep on your couch? I can’t sleep at the place they put me, I’m— I’m not used to the closed walls and emptiness. I can sell my apartment and I can pay rent I guess. It’s just— I can’t stay there. Especially since I can’t sleep in the lake anymore.”

Kolby didn’t comment and just took a sip of his own drink but made a mental note to introduce him to sweet and salted popcorn and anything involving salted caramel. “Just remember that you don’t have to like things just because someone else does, okay?” Kol mentally gave himself a little pat on the back as Caspian choked slightly, it was nice to know he’d got a little payback for all the blushing he’d been doing. He couldn’t help but smile back, everything about this whole thing just felt so easy it was hard to not smile at everything. Noting the change in tone Kol sat a little straighter, his brow furrowing as Caspian asked his question and Kol didn’t even have to give his answer a second thought. Sure it would be a little tight, and he wasn’t sure how comfy his couch actually was, but Kol could understand not feeling comfortable somewhere. “Yeah, yeah of course you can! Might have to get some comfier cushions but yeah. You can move it whenever you’re ready. I’ll get you a key cut sometime tonight too, not that I ever really lock the door but I don’t know maybe you’ll want too…” Kolby trailed off, not realizing he’d leaned forward on the table as he’d rambled on, he gave Caspian a small smile.

Caspian wasn’t expecting such a positive answer and almost jumped to his feet, instead he bounced forward, leaning across the table and almost invading Kols space. He grabbed the other boys hands with a huge grin before realizing what he had done and shot back into his seat, hands withdrawn all the way back to the edge of the table, cheeks red. He wanted to apologize but chose to move on instead. “Dude! That’s so amazing! Thank you so much!!” His grin reappearing. “It would be like a major sleepover and we could watch all the movies and stuff!” His hands slightly fidgeting again. “And don’t worry about comfort, I’m used to worse. It’s just— just as long as I’m not alone.” He slightly pushed his coffee to the side, more than it already was. “If you don’t mind, if I could come back with you now? There’s nothing I own back at the flat. I’ll buy a blanket and pillows.” He paused before sighing, “Thanks so much Kol, you’re amazing!”

Kolby was only a little bit shocked as his hands were suddenly held and only had a moment to think about how much he liked the feeling of holding someone’s hand before Caspian was withdrawing back to his side of the table. Kol kept the grin on his face, though only a little dimmer than the one looking at him. “Oh my gods yes! It’ll be the perfect way to marathon everything, we’ll get you caught up in like no time now.” Deciding not to comment on that for now Kol nodded his head quickly, more than happy to agree to this newfound plan. “Yeah, that’s totally cool with me! I mean I think I’ve got a spare duvet somewhere….but pillows will be needed. As much as I like you man, I like my four pillows on my bed more.” He grinned at him, shrugging off the compliment with only a slight blush this time. “Don’t mention it, it’s what friends do, right?”

#{ para } #c: kol #f&gwriting

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Start of chapter 5

Given how depressed he'd become during his hospital stay and how completely exhausted he was, his mother brought him back home after his heat had passed. It wasn't a permanent thing... more like a "until you can smile again" kind of deal. Needless to say his father wasn't happy at all, but his mother stayed home with him and the pair of them curled up on the sofa together watching movies and insane amounts of junk food. It was probably the most time he'd spent with his mum in years and he honestly didn't want it to end...

It was his 5th day out of hospital that the new suppressants he'd been put on finally began to work and his omega side surrendered dominance of his brain. Because he was so compatible with Levi, he had to take higher doses than before and he had to take them twice a day if he wanted them to stay effective... which sucked because he wasn't the greatest at remembering these things. If he could have gone with injection option, he really would have, but as it was until he saw Levi again he couldn't say how his body was going to react... which lead to the alpha being invited over for dinner on Saturday night, after which Eren would go home with Levi... provided he didn't spontaneously going in to heat again during the evening.

*

Sucking in a deep breath, Levi followed it with an even deeper sigh. It had been 13 days since he'd last seen Eren, and the omega had ended up in hospital due to complications with his heat. When Levi's rut had passed, he'd called Carla to check on how Eren was fairing only for the woman to start crying on the phone. He'd never been great at human emotions, that wasn't to say he was robot or anything, but when Carla said Eren was having complications due to injury to his groin, Levi couldn't deny he was murderous. Any injuries the kid had most likely came form the boy's father, and Eren refused to explain how it had happened. It had taken him the better part of two hours to calm Carla down and assure the woman he hadn't laid a finger on Eren. That's probably why he was now being summoned for dinner... so Carla could make sure he wasn't about to hurt Eren, before he took him home.

After attempting to delay the inevitable for as long as possible, Levi grabbed the two bottles of red wine he'd brought as gift and climbed from the car. Given he'd come straight from work he was still wearing his dress shirt and pants, which would be way too over dressed for the occasion. The street the Yeager's lived on was nice and neat, but it didn't give off the dinner party and high afternoon tea vibe. They were obviously well off, but not too well off to move to the next social bracket. Great. Now he was sounding like Erwin. Shaking his head to silence his inner thoughts, Levi forced himself to the front door.

"Levi, thank you for coming. Though you hardly needed to wear a suit"

Kissing him on the cheek, Carla pulled back with a smile. Obviously the woman hadn't heard of personal space or boundaries, and seemed to think it was completely acceptable... or maybe it was and he was just so far out of touch with society it was him that was in the wrong? Shit. Cursing himself over his own thoughts, he forced a small smile to his lips

"Thank you for inviting me. How's Eren?"

Levi could smell exactly how the boy was. Scared, upset, lonely, happy and exhausted scent tones all reached his nose in only a way Eren could pull off. But compared to the teens scent when they'd first met they were barely evident at all, something his alpha wasn't impressed with at all

"He's... he's doing better. His heat was really rough for him, and he had to be put on new suppressants"

"Omegas definitely get the rough end of all of this"

"As a female omega I can honestly say none of what I went through seemed as bad as it's hit Eren. I do hope you'll be patient with him. He really is a sweet kid"

"Carla, I have no intention of doing anything like... that... to Eren. The way I see it, he has a lot of growing still to do and if I could legally leave him in your care I would. I can't image how scary it must be to trust your only child to a stranger and then for him to be hurt"

Hopefully that sounded alright... or semi-sensible. It wasn't like it wasn't true, but sometimes his words didn't necessarily get the message across in the nicest of ways

"Thank you Levi. Now if you could win my husband over..."

Carla ended her sentence with a laugh that Levi couldn't echo. At least he seemed to have won her over... say yay?

"Anyway, Eren and Grisha are waiting in the dining room. We should probably join them before Eren eats everything"

As expected, the dining room was nothing really fancy and not even a room. It connected to both the living room and kitchen with wide arch ways and was painted a pastel green that didn't really go with either room. As Carla busied herself getting wine glasses, Levi took his seat at the table across from Eren. Carla had said Eren was doing better, but to him the omega still looked exhausted and he definitely looked like he'd lost weight. Catching his eye by accident, Eren's face reddened as he hurried to look down. Yep. He was definitely still a brat.

Coming back with the wine glasses Carla broken the uncomfortable silence as if she hadn't noticed it all

"So Levi, it must be hard being a medical examiner"

"Carla, give the man a break. He probably hears that question all the time"

Grisha's harsh tone only spurred on Levi's dislike for the man

"It is, but it's a lot better than my old job"

"Your old job? You seem far too young to be talking like that"

"I used to be in the armed forces, I joined at the age of 16 with a medical career in mind"

Carla passed Levi his glass of wine

"I can't imagine what those brave men and women go through..."

Nodding as he set his glass down, he gave Carla his full attention

"I honestly had no idea what I would be in for, but watching it first hand... let's just say that dealing with dead people is much easier than trying to put someone back together after they've to hell and back"

"Grisha is a doctor, and for a time I thought I might fancy being a nurse, but it really wasn't for me. So I work as a medical receptionist instead"

Of course Levi already knew this from the paperwork the government has sent him concerning Eren, but as there wasn't anything else to really talk about...

"Eren's completely hopeless, he takes after his mother and has a head full of dreams"

Eren flinched as if he'd been hit and Levi was forced to swallow down his growl as he ground back teeth together

"Now, now, leave him alone. He has his whole future ahead of him"

"It's because you're so lenient on him, he is how he is"

"And how is that exactly?"

"An omega. She's filled his head with silly notions that he will have a life outside of his duty of breeding"

"Honey, really? This is hardly acceptable dinner talk"

Carla's tone was filled with embarrassment and Levi actually felt a prang of sympathy for the woman

"If and when we decide to have children will only be after Eren has finished his education. I am more than happy for him to continue studying and working at the tea store provided he changes his hours to more suitable ones"

Slamming his hands down, Grisha rose with a growl

"You should know better than to encourage such outrageous behaviour from an omega. I will not have you treating my son like that when it's his job to be bred"

Letting out a small whine, Eren pushed his chair back and Carla's attention was instantly on the teen

"Eren..."

"It's fine mum. Dad's right. I'll grab my things and then Levi can take me"

"Eren, your mother went to the trouble of cooking this amazing meal. We'll be staying for dinner"

Eren looked at him like he was crazy, but Carla just nodded

"Thank you Levi. It's nice to see there's at least one alpha in the family who will humour me"

"I am your alpha"

"And you're also being incredibly rude. I know Eren presenting as an omega wasn't what you wanted, but can't we make the most of the situation and get to know our new son?"

Carla seemed to be like the stereotypical mum one might find in some children's book. The woman was strong in her own way, and seemed to have infinite love and patience. Something that he really couldn't understand. Having lost his mother at young age, he'd bounced around the streets for a while before ending up with his uncle... who definitely wasn't a people person. By the time he'd joined the army, he didn't exactly have the best reputation and the army was just about the only place he could go. It was thanks to that that he'd met Erwin, and when the man had left Levi had followed suit, though the night terrors and PTS had already taken a firm hold on him. Even now he was prone to waking up agitated and confused, and more than once he'd accidentally hurt Isabel when she'd woken him mid-nap. That was yet another reason he didn't let anyone close, he didn't want to hurt or even worse kill someone he was supposed to be caring for. But there was no way in hell he was saying any of that in front of Grisha

"Fine, do as you bloody well please. You and Eren always do"

With dinner finally over, Carla wouldn't hear of him helping with the dishes and Levi found himself walking from the Yeager's house with a less than happy Eren. Grisha had stayed quiet for most of the meal, but each time Levi tried to make an attempt to talk to Eren, the alpha promptly replied instead of the teen. So all he really found out about Eren tonight was he was dreamer and his father was even more of an arsehole than he'd imagined possible.

Holding the door open for Eren, the omega slipped inside the apartment almost skittishly. Eren had been silent the whole drive home, but his muted scent told Levi that though the omega was slightly upset, he was also relieved... presumably over the fact he was now free from his father

"Should I freeze these left overs? Or are you going to eat them?"

Lifting the bag of food Carla had forced upon them, Levi scolded himself for using such a weak excuse to get the teen talking

"I'll... I'll eat them tomorrow if that's alright?"

"Of course it's alright. This is your home too now, and if there anything in particular you like eating, let me so I can add it to the shopping list"

Eren frowned at his offer, the boy wrapping his arms around himself as if scared or nervous

"Eren..."

"Sorry. I'll just buy my own food... I don't want you to go out of your way for someone like me"

Sure when Eren was being loud and abrasive it got on Levi nerves, but Eren being meek like this just felt too uncharacteristic of the teen and threw him for a loop

"Look. You're my omega by law, which means I'm obligated to take care of you..."

Shit. That sounded harsher than he meant

"And... I'll just be blunt. I'm not good at feelings and emotions, nor am I any good at letting people into my space, so I will probably end up hurting you without realising it. It's not my intention to though. I am not your father, and honestly I can't stand him. So if I do or say anything you don't like, you need to tell me"

Words... Why was he failing so badly with his words? And why was even trying to explain himself in the first place? Eren would obviously be taken away from him when the government realised their mistake...

"I... I'll think about it. If that's ok?"

Think about what? Oh... what he liked to eat? Shouldn't the kid already know? Shit. What was he supposed to say now? How did normal people respond?

"Sure. I'll just put these in the fridge, you can head to bed if you want"

Eren nodded slowly, the teen chewing on his bottom lip for a moment before looking to his feet and then back up to Levi

"Um... thanks. For you know... listening to mum at dinner and... coming and stuff . Dad isn't always so rude, and I think you listening to mum made her feel better... but you don't have to force yourself so hard"

Fleeing from the room, that was all Eren apparently had to say. Still, his alpha side was wildly appreciative of the honest words, it almost felt as if Eren had sung his praises. Something deep down inside of him felt just that little bit warmer and he hastened to squash down those feelings. Evidently he was fatigued from work, otherwise he wouldn't be happy over such a tiny thing.

*

Being Sunday and having no school, Eren slept late... until 6 am. Waking to feel oddly refreshed, he padded from his bedroom and out to an apartment filled with the aroma of Earl Grey tea. Levi was sitting on the sofa reading, it seemed the corner closest to the front door was the alphas "spot", and he made a mental note not to ever sit there. He was basically an intruder after all

"Good morning"

Jumping at Levi's words despite the fact he was staring at the alpha, Eren managed a nod

"Good morning Levi... um... do you have work today?"

"Not for another two hours. How about you?"

"I need to go in... you said you wanted me to change my hours..."

Levi sighed lightly as he placed his book down on the coffee table

"I do, but only because I know how rough these streets can be. If you change your hours will you be alright getting from school to work?"

Eren swallowed hard, it almost sounded like Levi actually cared... but there was no way that could be true and he was just flattering himself to think so. They were basically strangers after all

"I can catch the bus..."

"Do you need cash?"

Eren blinked at Levi

"No..."

"Ok. Let me know if you do"