#no tai yet I’m never happy with the outfits I give him :( just imagine he is somewhere cheering while summer and raven make out | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jadekitty777 · 4 years

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Who Needs Genetics When We Have Family?

We’re now at the final stretch for this Golden Hummingbird adventure. I thank the few people who have stuck around for this ride, as it was a great joy to write. There’s one more chapter that will be up in a few days, and it’s absolutely my favorite of them all!

Word Count: 7,200

Pairing: Summer/Tai/Qrow

Ao3 Link: Who Needs Genetics When We Have Family?

Summary: While going through her mom's old clothes, Ruby discovers an old scrap book that reveals she may have one additional parent she never knew about. Now questioning everything from how the trio ended up together down to her very identity, Tai and Qrow find themselves with a lot to answer for.[Takes place Post-Canon]

Dust shook from the rafters as Ruby stomped about the attic, ducking under spider webs and zigzagging around the clutter of old things her packrat of a father just couldn’t bear to get rid of. Her only source of light filtered in from the small circular window, mites dancing in the beam. Though it was still early spring, the air in the highest level of the house was stifling, and she had to keep wiping sweat from her brow.

“Anything?” Yang called from where she was perched on the attic steps, only her head and top half of her torso visible.

“I don’t see it!” She replied. She pat the railing of her old baby crib as she passed it. “We really need to tell dad to get rid of some of this old junk.”

“Ruby, of all the battles I will happily jump into, telling dad to do spring cleaning is not one of them.” Her sister said in a tone more suited for a mortician.

“You’re so dramatic.” She replied. She mostly ignored the indignant response that earned her, busying herself with shining her scroll’s flashlight at the tower of boxes in one corner of the room. “Oh, I see it!”

“Yeah?” Yang climbed the rest of the way up.

While she made her way over, Ruby balanced her scroll on the armrest of an old rocking chair, making sure the flashlight was pointed towards the black luggage trunk that made up the base of the box pyramid. “Figures it’d be at the bottom.”

“Yeah but I’ll have it out in no time.” Her sister boasted, already reaching up to bring down the first box.

Ruby winced when she almost conked herself on the head with it. “Please don’t give yourself a concussion.”

“I got it!” Yang carefully brought it down to grip it more securely before setting it to the side. It would be one of many as she brought one after another down from the tower, creating smaller piles on either side of herself until it looked like a collection of cardboard skyscrapers. It wasn’t long before she was placing the last one, running a hand over her face. “Alright, that’s it. Stand back a bit, I got to drag this out.”

Ruby quickly backed up a few steps, rocking on her heels while her sister pulled out the trunk between the miniature city by the handle. With more room to move, she was able to sidle around to the opposite side and grab the other handle. Together, they carried it back to the hatch, Yang going down first while Ruby angled it down towards her, not letting go until she had a secure grip on it and could put it on the floor.

Ruby started to climb down, saying, “You know, it just occurred to me we probably should have checked to make sure we got the right one.”

“Well, then let’s check now.” There was a series of snaps as Yang undid the latches and opened the top. “Yep, that’s a lot of frills alright.”

“It’s tactical camouflage!” She argued even as she nearly tripped over herself to get a look, unable to help the squeal as she saw the many folded up skirts, dresses and blouses packed into the trunk. One that particularly caught her eye was a red and black corset top with bows tied into the sides. She snatched it up, speeding down the hall in a flurry of petals. “I’m gonna try on this one first!”

“Wait! What about the rest!?” Yang yelled after her.

“Can’t talk, gotta dress!” Ruby shouted back, already standing in the middle of their bedroom. She unraveled the fabric of her cape from around her collar, tossing it onto the bed. She was shimmying into the new corset by the time her sister was coming in, trunk in tow.

“You’re the worst.” Yang told her, dropping the load in the middle of their room.

“And you’re the best!” She chirped right back, whirling to face her. “So, what do you think?”

Her sister gave her a once over, humming. “Well it’s cute but I don’t think it’s first date material.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause it’s basically the same thing you always wear. You should go for something with more color.”

Ruby crossed her arms, grumbling, “Red’s a color.”

Yang was already back in the trunk, pulling out more clothes. “You know what I mean. Something different, flashier. Really dazzle him.”

She pulled at the little bows mournfully, but she knew her sister was right – probably. She’d certainly gone on more dates than her at least. Not that it was hard to compete with a number of zero. Still, she didn’t want to mess this up and if that meant being a little more girly for a night, she could handle that. She’d even wear heels!

…Maybe.

“So what are you thinking?” She asked, resigned to her fate of being Yang’s dress up doll. This was starting to feel like their pre-teen years all over again.

“Well, first we need to organize all this. Then we can see what looks good on you. You should put the skirts and dresses on your bed.” Yang suggested while dropping an armful into her hands.

Ruby huffed but did so, straightening them out side by side so they could see them all while Yang did the same on her own bed with the blouses. Most everything was just blacks upon blacks with splashes of color to them - unassuming and quiet. It made her think of her mother’s picture in the photo with her team and how she was off to the side, as if she were trying to hide.

“You think it’s weird that me and mom have the same style?” Ruby asked as she pulled out another one of her mom’s skirts, instantly falling in love with the lace roses sewn into the petticoat. She was keeping this one.

“Not really.” Yang shrugged, glancing back at her. “You never got to know her. It’s probably normal that you’d want to try and emulate her somehow.”

“Dunno if I’d call that normal.” Ruby reached into the trunk again, using her arm as a clothesline to layer the outfits. As she drew closer to the bottom though, something pure white peeking between the folds of fabric caught her eye. Her heart jumped. But as she dropped the pile onto the floor so she could unearth it, she found it wasn’t the cloak she knew her mother always wore, but another dress. She instantly knew it was special, because it was unlike anything else in the trunk and more on par with something she could imagine Weiss owning.

The material was soft but shimmery and definitely expensive. Satin, she was pretty sure. The bodice was simple but elegant with its off-shoulder straps and delicate lacework overlaid on top in branching, flowery designs. The entire dress was so long she imagined it must have trailed the floor when her mother walked in it, yet also had a lot body around the flounce like a traditional ball gown. Like many of the other clothes, there was only a small bit of color combating its primary shade – but on all the white, the yellow and black flowers that circled the waistline like a belt were instantly eye-catching; loud and wanting to be seen.

She knew the yellow was for dad – it was tradition to wear the husband’s colors on the wedding dress. They were even shaped like sunflowers. But she wasn’t sure why her mom had chosen black dahlias instead of roses. The blotches of dark in-between all the sunny brightness felt out of place, like a bad omen.

“Whoa.” Yang breathed as she came over to get a better look. “It’s gorgeous.”

Ruby couldn’t help but agree. It didn’t seem right to just toss it aside while they kept looking. “Maybe we could hang this one up for now?”

Her sister nodded, heading to their closet to fetch a spare hanger. It wasn’t long before they had the dress hanging over the edge of their closet door. In the light coming from the window, it really seemed to make the fabric shine. It felt a shame that its only future was to wrinkle away in the corner of their attic.

But Ruby also knew it was no mistake that it had been at the bottom of the trunk to begin with.

Maybe that was why she found something else hiding away in there just a few minutes after.

The burgundy red, leather-bound book was tucked away at the bottom, face down. Ruby reached for it, finding it surprisingly heavy as she plopped down onto the ground and flipped it over.

Yang joined her moments later. “What’d you find now?”

“I think it’s a photo album.” Ruby said, looking down at the picture in the window embedded into front cover of her mom, her dad and Uncle Qrow. Mom stood between them, an arm around either of them and waving peace signs over their shoulders. Dad stood to the left, laughing while his own arm reached around behind them to muss up Qrow’s hair, who was on the right. It was her uncle’s grinning expression that gave Ruby pause.

She wouldn’t say her uncle was never happy but, she was more accustomed to seeing the gentle, reserved smiles he’d give when he was proud of something she’d done or was just in a comfortable atmosphere. Only when he was drunk did he ever seem that enthused – but something told her he was anything but during the time this picture was taken. She wondered how young he was.

“Hey, it’s dad’s lullaby.”

“Huh?” Completely derailed from her thoughts, she glanced at Yang in confusion only to look at where her metallic finger was pointing. So distracted by the photo, she hadn’t noticed the words scripted around it. ‘I know that when I’m with you’ it said above the picture, and underneath it finished the lyric with ‘I’m at home’. She could practically hear her dad’s soft cadence echoing in her ear, just as it had when she was small.

It was a song about family and love – and the reminder made her realize that someone else was suspiciously missing from the cover. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t still hidden within its pages.

“Come on, open it!” Yang urged.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be looking at this.” She deflected.

She was unfortunately not as sly as she hoped she was as her sister quickly waved her off. “If she’s in there, it’s fine. I can handle it.”

Ruby eyed her, those words not exactly instilling her with confidence when the years’ worth of arguments between her and dad still seemed to echo down their halls. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” Yang met her gaze. “Don’t worry so much, okay? The way I see it, she’s the one who missed out. She never got to see all the things I accomplished or be a part of our awesome family. That’s her loss, not mine.”

Ruby felt the oddest sense of sadness overcome her. Not because her sister had seemed to of made peace with Raven’s abandonment, but that she hadn’t seen it happen. “When did you start thinking like that?”

“Around the time we, uh, ‘met’ Weiss’ family.”

She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought. They had been a bundle of fun alright. While Winter was bearable, if a little cold, Whitley was a lot like Weiss had been, a spoiled brat with a ‘better than thou’ attitude, except dialed to eleven. Her mother, Willow, was a worse drunk than Qrow, to the point the woman almost seemed in a permanent state of catatonic inebriation. And Jacques was…

Well, Ruby didn’t really have any non-swear related words to attach to a man who really should never have been allowed to procreate, let alone raise three kids.

What she did have was a desire to turn back time and drag Weiss back to her own home for a do-over on her childhood. To let her experience what it was like to have a dad who would pin her grades to the fridge and bandage her scraps when they hurt. To have an uncle that was comfortable to act like a kid right along with her and who never got impatient even if she asked him to tell the same story for the fifth time. To have siblings to build pillows forts together with and sneak downstairs late at night so they could share one more cookie from the jar. To have a family that had rowdy dinners full of laughter, vacations focused on nothing but fun, and holidays that made everyone feel just a little more together then before.

Yang continued on, “Seeing how Weiss handled things back then, I couldn’t help but admire her strength. It felt like she spent her entire life surrounded by people who didn’t want her. And yet, instead of letting that get to her, she acted like it was their fault. And it is. Because, Weiss is great. She’s practically another sister to me, and I can’t imagine her not being part of my life. Anyone who can reject her so easily isn’t worth her time.” She placed a hand on her chest, “And the whole thing just kind of gave me a reality check, you know? It made me think: if Weiss can do it, then I can too.” Her fingers curled into a fist over her heart. “So, I decided from that day on, I would. Raven may not have wanted me, but that’s fine, because I have plenty of people who do, and those are the people who matter.”

Ruby couldn’t help it – she hugged her.

Though confused, Yang responded in kind. “What’s this all about?”

“I’m just happy for you.” She told her.

For as poor an explanation as it was, her sister smiled like she’d never heard a better reason. “Thanks sis.” When they pulled apart, she tapped the album again. “So, we gonna look at it or what?”

“Oh, right!” She settled back, adjusted the book so that it was laid more properly in her lap, and opened it.

As it turned out, her worries were completely invalid. For the book – which turned out not to be a photo album but a scrap book – was almost definitely not going to showcase Raven.

It was impossible to imagine it would, what with the hand-written script ‘To my boys whom I love with all my heart’ written around the picture of Uncle Qrow kissing their dad on the cheek.

“Well.” Yang said, tone as shell-shocked as Ruby felt. “That’s new.”

Tai hummed a bouncy tune as he poured the cups of tea, body bopping gently to the rhythm.

“You seem to be in a good mood.” Qrow observed from where he sat at the dining table.

He unscrewed the jar of honey, spooning some out. “Suppose I am. It’s just been so calm lately.”

“DAD!”

The shout startled him, the spoon falling from his hand and clattering to the floor, splattering honey everywhere. He gave it a mournful look as Zwei eagerly padded over to lap it up.

“You were saying?” Qrow said, a teasing lilt in his tone.

Tai huffed his way, before turning his head towards the doorway where a flutter of petals was just fading around his youngest daughter. “Hey now, what did I say about semblances in the house?”

Ruby didn’t bother to answer and the sound of Yang’s thunderous steps coming down the stairs only seemed to enunciate her dark expression.

“Uh, honey? What’s wrong?” He asked, going from mildly perturbed to intensely worried as he started to cross the room.

Her hand jerked upwards, showing him what she was holding. “Care to explain this?”

He froze mid-step, his throat closing up at the sight of the old scrapbook Summer had gifted him and Qrow on their first anniversary.

Oh.

Oh shit.

Qrow’s own eyes doubled in size as he jumped up from his seat. “Where did you find that?”

“It was in mom’s trunk.” Yang answered as she finally made it to the room.

It was hard to pin down whether Qrow was being accusatory or not in the too-casual way he turned to him and said, “Figured you’d thrown it out.”

“I don’t throw out anything.” Tai replied numbly, finding it slightly easier to focus on him then Ruby’s unnerving glare. “Especially not anything of Sums.”

“But it was mine too, you could have given it to me.”

“I- Look!” He ran an agitated hand through his hair. “People do weird stuff when they’re depressed, okay?!”

“Guys!” Ruby cried shrilly. “Missing. The. Point!” She started waving the book at them, making him concerned for its life expectancy. “What does this mean? That you two were dating? With mom?!”

“Er.” Qrow hesitated, then revealed, “We were quite a bit more than that, kiddo.”

“WHAT?”

Tai withheld a sigh.

And it had started out as such a nice day too.

Ruby stared down at the dining room table, certain her thought process had shut down from the nuclear explosion that had gone off inside her brain cells because she just didn’t know how to comprehend what she was just told. Maybe it had a limit on how much unbelievable stuff it could take. Magic glowy eyes that disintegrated Grimm? Weird, but not too out of the bounds of reality. Magical maidens that controlled the weather? Pretty crazy, but alright. Relics created by the Gods and a magical witch that couldn’t die? Now things are getting a little out of hand but she could deal.

Her dad and Uncle Qrow being married to her mom at the same time? Okay now she had to be in an alternate reality.

Maybe she had just switched places with Yang for the day, because her normally hot-tempered sister sounded rather calm as she spoke up, “I don’t get it. Why don’t I remember any of this?”

“You were really young, Yang. And losing Summer had been traumatic for all of us.” Her dad replied. “It’s probably normal to block some stuff out.”

Qrow snorted, amusement coloring his tone. “You used to be a little bragger though.”

“I was?”

“Yeah, you kept going to all the other kids on the playground and telling them how you had two daddies to read you bedtime stories and a mom who made the world’s best cookies every night. And then you pushed them down when they called you a liar.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Their dad rubbed his temple as if recalling the old headaches, but his smile was fond. “We got so many angry phone calls from the other parents.”

“I really did that?” Yang asked. “I don’t remember that.”

“’Course you don’t. You hadn’t even started school yet, Firecracker. And boy were we not looking forward to it when you did. We were sure you were gonna end up in the principal’s office the first day.” Qrow laughed.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence!” Yang said, huffing a bit.

Ruby listened and seethed. Why were they laughing? And making jokes? None of this was funny!

Dad must have noticed, because he asked softly, “Sweetheart, you doing okay?”

“No!” She exploded, slamming her hands on the table. “Of course I’m not okay! Why didn’t you guys say anything? Why is everything some big secret in this damn house?!”

Her outburst soured the mood instantly, but she couldn’t find it in herself to feel bad.

Her dad shifted in his seat, crossing his arms along the table. “Believe me, this wasn’t a secret we intended to keep.”

“So then why did you?” She muttered, slumping down in her own chair and glaring at the table corner.

There was a soft sigh and an even softer admittance, “Because we were scared.”

The words caught her by surprise because she’d never seen her dad as anything but brave – yet here he was, telling her she was wrong. She glanced through her bangs at him, “’Bout what?”

“Everything, really.” He said. “Before we lost your mom, it really wasn’t a problem. We just figured you’d grow up knowing you had three parents and it would just be normal. But after she passed and things just fell apart between Qrow and I, everything got swept under the rug.”

“We talked about it.” Her uncle tacked on. “How and when and all that. We figured we’d tell you both at the same time. About Raven. About us. But…” His gaze shifted to Yang. “When you found out about Rae and didn’t handle it so well, we thought: ‘Well shit, we can’t do that to Ruby too!’ And so, we just kept pushing it off.” He gestured as he spoke, his tone having the inflection of a narrator from an animated movie, “At first we said ‘we’ll tell her when she’s ten!’ And then she was and we were all ‘No it’s too soon, maybe when she’s thirteen!’ And then year after year passed and…” He deflated, hand falling to the table. “We just, never knew when the right time was.”

“So, it’s my fault.” Yang spoke up.

“No, of course not!” Her dad quickly assured. “It was an accident you found out that early, nothing more. But Qrow and I could see how badly it affected you and because we had the power to choose to spare Ruby from the same thing… we took it.”

“We didn’t know what we’d do if we had two kids going through an identity crisis.” Her uncle lamented.

That’s when it hit her harder than Nora’s hammer to the gut.

“Wait.” Ruby sat up straight, looking between them. “Then, which one of you is my dad?”

They froze, sharing a look.

“Well…” Qrow spoke first, waving towards Tai. “Legally, he is.”

That didn’t sound like an answer. “What does that mean?”

Tai explained, “He means as far as your birth certificate is concerned, you’re mine. But as for who, uh-”

“Knocked up your mom.” Qrow intoned helpfully.

“Qrow!” Tai smacked his arm.

“What?! They’re adults. They can handle it!”

She really couldn’t.

Tai pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “As for who impregnated your mother… we don’t know.”

“You don’t know?!” Ruby echoed, unable to believe this. “How can you not know? Don’t they have tests for these things?”

“Well, yes, but, uh,” Tai floundered a bit.

Qrow spoke up instead (She never really noticed how often they did that), “Vale has a lot of legality restrictions when it comes to kids. Oz pushed a lot of those regimens with the council, because he wanted to make sure kids who lost their families were still taken care of, so we got a lot of advice from him. And the smartest thing to do was make Tai your dad, since he was the one staying at home. That way if anything happened to Summer and I at the same time, he wouldn’t have to fight the protection services to keep the family together.”

“But the kingdoms don’t share medical records.” Tai continued, “So, we figured when you kids were older and we could afford it, we could take a trip to Mistral or Atlas. Have the test done then, if that’s what you wanted.”

“What I wanted?” She frowned. “You guys didn’t want to know? It doesn’t bother you?”

“I did, at one point.” Qrow admitted. “But, then I held you for the first time, and I realized it didn’t matter. I loved you more than anything; learning which of us actually donated his DNA wasn’t going to change that.”

“It was the same feeling for me. I grew up in Vacuo. A lot of communities there live on the philosophy that family has nothing to do with blood and everything to do with heart.” Tai said, his smile kind and warm. The familiarity was odd when she felt like her whole world had flipped upside down. Wasn’t everything different now? Or was she just the one acting weird?

“Well then,” She scrambled, pointing towards Qrow. “Then why do I call you uncle? Shouldn’t I call you dad too or something?” The sudden burst of laughter from everyone made her rethink what she just said. “Oh my gods, be serious! Dad also.”

Qrow was the first to get ahold of himself. “We tried, at first. But no matter what we did, you just kept imitating your sister. We kind of realized by accident it probably made things easier on you kids, and on us too. If you called both of us dad, we’d never know who you were asking for. We figured eventually you’d come to understand it like Yang did.” He rubbed the back of his neck, the somberness veiling back over his expression. “But then things changed and here we are.”

“Why did it change?” Yang asked cautiously, as if she didn’t really want to hear the answer. “Did you two fall out of love?”

“No. It was the opposite really.” Tai said, sharing a look with him. The gaze they shared was a silent conversation all their own, and the slightest nod from Qrow spurred him onwards and he turned back to them. “Losing Summer was immeasurably hard. We were both grieving in our own ways, and we loved each other enough to know neither of us were doing anything but hurting each other. Qrow’s drinking was out of hand and I - back then I,” He trailed off, taking a deep breath. “Let’s just say depression is a very scary disease that can twist your thoughts in ways you never thought you could think of yourself. Until I got help, I wasn’t good for anyone.”

Ruby heard her sister shift uncomfortably beside her. She didn’t really have many memories of back then; mostly she remembered her dad being absent a lot of the time, but she’d reasoned it was because he was at work. It was only after Blake had questioned her shortly before the Vytal Dance about her family life and revealed to her the story Yang had shared with her, that she began to question if the happy home life she always perceived she’d had, had more cracks in it then she was aware of.

Uncle Qrow reached out, curling his hand over one of dad’s. As if that was normal. As if they’d done it a million times before. It was weirding her out.

“Point is,” He said, completely unaware of her internal screaming, “We were wrecks. Tai was sick and I spent more time blacking out in alleyways than at home. Neither of us could support each other the way we needed too, so we called an end to it. We decided we wouldn’t try again until things were okay.”

“But you never did try again.” Yang was frowning. Ruby guessed she was probably worrying about herself and Blake.

“Uh. Well. That’s not entirely true.” Their dad said.

Qrow suddenly grinned. “Actually, had you two been a bit older, you probably would have figured it out. Remember that time you girls were bowling down the hallway and the ball went into Tai’s room? And when you went to get it, you found me in his bed and I told you girls I was getting over a hangover? I wasn’t.”

“Wait, what? Why were you still in my room?”

“Because I couldn’t walk!”

“Oh, gross.” Ruby groaned. Her sister made some equally distressed noises while her dad turned a ripe shade of tomato red. Qrow just laughed uproariously at them all.

Yang shuddered. “I could have gone my whole life without knowing that.”

“And I could have gone my whole life without you girls hearing that.” Dad agreed, shoving Qrow’s shoulder. “Stop laughing already. You sound like a donkey.”

“Tai, they’re over eighteen. You can call me a jackass now.”

“I just happen to have some class, unlike you.” Ignoring the childish faces their uncle started making his way, he continued on, “As I was saying, we did try – more than a few times, really. But we kept it hidden from you girls, until we knew things between us would work out. It was important to us that we show you two what a healthy and positive relationship was like so that when you got older, you’d hopefully take our example and find the right person for yourselves. We just, never got that far. It was… complicated.”

“Pff. It was not.” Qrow rolled his eyes. “You got better, I didn’t. Seems pretty straightforward to me.”

“It was so much more than your drinking and you know it. And anyways, you’re way better on that than you were.” Dad refuted.

“Ha! Then don’t let me tell you about Argus.”

His eyes narrowed. “What about Argus?”

“Uh-” He looked towards the clock on the wall. “Whoa, look at the time! Ruby don’t you have a date tonight or something?”

Her sister looked too, then jumped to her feet. “It’s almost 6? Come on Ruby, we haven’t even chosen an outfit!”

“What?” She jerked around. “Are you crazy? How am I supposed to go on a date after all this?”

“Well you can’t cancel the first date!”

“That’s not a rule!” When her sister only rose an eyebrow, she backpedaled, “I-Is it?”

“Ruby.” Her dad’s voice had her turning back to him. “If you really don’t think you’re up to going anymore, you don’t have to. If this guy’s a good one, he’ll understand. Then, we can talk all night if you want. But, those answers aren’t on a time limit either.”

Her uncle nodded. “Yeah. It ain’t like we’re gonna clam up come tomorrow. And we kind of hit you with a lot just now; letting some of that sink in for a few hours isn’t the worst thing you can do.”

Ruby chewed her lip, not wanting to admit how undeniably tempting the offer was. “I just don’t get why all this had to be kept a secret. Didn’t I have the right to know?”

“Of course you did.” Her dad answered. “And I’m sorry we kept it from you as long as we did. We were just so focused on trying to make things feel stable and safe for you girls, that the idea of deliberately throwing another wrench in the mix never seemed like a good idea.”

“Yeah okay,” She said in a tone that implied it was definitely not okay.

The two men shared a worried glance, before Qrow sighed, placing his elbows on the table as he lent forward, “Look kiddo, this was never easy on us either. Kids aren’t born with manuals. And yeah, we definitely screwed up at times. Just ‘cause we’re trying to raise you doesn’t mean we’re suddenly perfect adults. Least of all me.” He rolled his eyes as he said this, as if even he was exasperated with himself. “But you got to trust me when I say any decision we made for you,” He glanced at Yang, “Or you, was always done with the reason that we love you both.”

“I know that! I just-!” She couldn’t stay still anymore. She jumped to her feet, pacing around the length of the kitchen. “I don’t know, I feel like I’m the crazy one here! Why is everyone so calm about this?”

“Ruby-”

Ignoring her dad’s attempt to placate her, she whirled on her sister. “I figured at the very least, you’d be with me on this! Why aren’t you upset?”

“I mean, I guess I am a little?”

“A little?! Don’t you get it? We might not even be sisters!”

Yang stared, her eyebrows rising with understanding. She crossed over to her, saying, “Is that what’s bothering you?”

“Well, yeah!” Ruby said, feeling absolutely silly that she wanted to cry.

She stopped in front of her, placing her hands on her shoulders. “Ruby, say you do go and do this test. And say Uncle Qrow is your dad… why does that have to change anything?”

“I-I don’t,” She sniffled, rubbing away at some tears. “Shouldn’t it?”

“Why? I don’t care what that test says, you’re my little sister. Always. So why do you need to think differently?” Yang urged. “Things only have to change if you want them too. Do you want them to?”

“No!”

“So then what’s the problem?”

She blinked rapidly, giving a watery laugh. “Well when you say it like that, it makes me feel kind of stupid.”

“I prefer slow on the uptake.” Yang joked, tugging her into a too tight hug.

Around her bending ribs, she squawked, “You’re the worst.”

“And you’re the best!” Was the proud chirp before she pulled back, heading for the living room. “Come on, you got a big night ahead of you.”

She nodded, wiping away the rest of her tears. She glanced over at her dad and uncle, who had stood from their own chairs at some point during her mini breakdown, but hadn’t gotten further then around the table. They looked about as uncertain as she felt; but they were still her uncle and dad – even if biologically that may be the other way around. Things hadn’t really changed for them either, had they?

Her dad was still the man who sat with her after school and helped her with her homework or taught her how to focus her aura so she could unlock it for the first time. Someone who had been in the crowd of all her school events, taking pictures as she won awards or got her diploma, and had seen her off at the airstrip the day she left for Beacon. The one she depended on to take care of her when she was ill or walk with her to the cliff on those sad, sad days she missed mom the most. Was still and always her guide, the person who taught her right from wrong and who always encouraged her to be the greatest she that she could be.

Her uncle was still the guy who spent hours with her showing her how to shoot at targets 500 meters away and snuck into her welding class to help her forge Crescent Rose. The one she could count on to take her out for ice cream if she had a bad day or play video games with her all night if she was bored. Knew that even if he had to be away a long time, that he’d write or call when he could, and come back with a gift or two for her and Yang from some cool town or big city he’d gotten to visit. Was still and always her hero, the person she’d tell everyone she wanted to be just like when she grew up.

Neither of them were perfect; that was something she was seeing more and more of as she grew older. But they were here, raising her, watching over her, loving her. That was never going to change. That’s what mattered most.

She hurried over to them, throwing her arms around them both. “We’ll talk tomorrow?”

Her dad’s arm was strong and steady as it encircled her. “Of course. Anytime you want.”

“Go have fun.” Qrow told her, ruffling her hair. “Knock ‘em dead. And if he gets too handsy, take that advice literally.”

“Qrow!”

She giggled stepping back so she could prepare for a quick escape. “Thank you. I love you.”

“We love you too sweetie.” Tai told her fondly – only to immediately shout after her retreating petals, “And no semblances in the house!”

With the sun’s descent, quiet also seemed to descend their home. Ruby was out of the house for the evening and with it being morning in Menagerie, Yang was holed up in her room on Skyria, video-chatting with Blake. It left the first floor to themselves; but the calmness and normalcy was not something Qrow found to be undesirable these days.

The spoon clanked against the tea cup as the last teaspoon of honey was added, before he dropped the utensil in the sink. He grabbed the two cups, heading over to the couch in the living room, handing one to its only occupant.

“Thanks.” Tai gladly took a sip. As Qrow sat beside him, he said, “Ruby handled that way better than I thought she would. Maybe you were right and we should have told her sooner.”

He lent back into the cushions, propping his feet onto the coffee table. “Or fighting magical maidens and immortal witches builds up an intolerance to these kinds of things, and waiting was the right call. We’ll never get the ‘what if’ answer.”

“Guess not.” Tai set his cup aside, before going back to flipping through the scrap book propped in his lap.

Truthfully, after traveling with her from one end of Remnant to the other, Qrow hadn’t expected anything less from Ruby. He wasn’t sure where she got her fortitude from, but her ability to push through even the most adverse of conditions was her most admirable quality. Perhaps it was just that, or maybe the other shoe was just waiting to drop, but he had a feeling things would be back to the status quo before they knew it.

No, it was Yang he was more impressed by. He was certain it would be her yelling at the top of her lungs – especially when it was just another secret being kept from her – but instead, she’d handled it with a rationality he’d never really seen before. He knew, in part, it was because she was striving hard to reign in her quick temper. Not for herself, but for her girlfriend, whose sketchy past romantic relationships made it hard for her to deal with the shouting matches Yang was prone too. All on her own, Yang decided she didn’t want to be a reminder of that past. That’s how he caught her, in a library of one of the towns they had stayed in during their travels, reading up on anger management. When he confronted her, she told him that it was only fair that if Blake was working on her tendency to back down, then she would work on improving herself for her too.

Firecracker was turning into more of a Fire Dud these days, but it was a welcome improvement and today just proved how far she’d come. He was insanely proud of her.

He was also immensely jealous.

Because if she could fix something about herself with only one reason, why did he keep giving up when he had three?

Tai’s sudden laughter shook away his thoughts. “Oh, you remember this day?”

Qrow’s eyes darted towards the entry he was indicating, an amused chuckle bubbling almost instantly. “Yeah.”

The page was decorated with various stickers of smiling fruits and flowers set in patterns that matched well with the photos glued to the pages of them on a picnic. It had been Tai’s birthday and as he tended to want simple things and with it being right at the tail-end of summertime, he had requested a day out with the family. So, they made up a little basket of food, got Yang in her little flower dress, and headed out. Despite being plumper than the watermelon they’d brought along, Summer probably took about three dozen pictures that day – but the four she’d chosen seemed to perfectly highlight the timeline of disaster they were in for.

The first was a posed picture with them all standing together, the backdrop a field of wildflowers they’d chosen to have their picnic in.

The one underneath was a more candid shot of Tai and him stretched out on the blanket, empty plates strewn around them. Qrow had Yang in his hands and was lifting her upwards, making the infant feel like she was an airplane.

The third was one he took. Summer, Tai and Yang were in the flowers, the little girl trying to toddle her way after some butterflies. It would have been nothing more than another charming family photo, if not for the hint of grey clouds inching their way over the tree line behind them.

The last was of him and Tai standing at the top steps of the porch, looking like a pair of wet sheepdogs with the way their hair hung over their eyes. Sheets of rain was coming down behind them, and just to the left was a blur of yellow bounding forward – Yang, seconds away from ruining her dress and splattering mud all across their backs.

Taiyang must have been looking at that one too because he said, “Gods, Yang was such a mess. Summer had to wash her in the sink! I don’t think we ever managed to save her dress, did we?”

“No. I don’t think we did.” Qrow replied distractedly, his mind lost in the past.

It should have been an awful day; but instead, there was nothing but laughter over how ridiculous they all looked or the rush to clean themselves up and put Yang down for her nap. There were kisses shared under a warm shower. The coziness of the three of them wrapped up together in an afghan, sipping hot tea and watching the storm from the bench on the patio.

He could almost smell the rain again. Or feel the weight of Summer leaning against his side as she dozed, tired from the day. Or how his breath caught a little bit when he looked over at Tai, and found himself so caught by how gorgeous he looked at that moment, that all he could do was stare.

Just as he was now.

He traced his eyes over Tai’s gentle visage, from the faint freckles that valiantly held onto some of his youth to the slope of his blue eyes that made him appear so kind and the brightness of his smile as he turned to another page. There were signs of his age of course, in the wrinkles around his eyes, the dimming color of his hair, but his beauty had aged with him. Or maybe Qrow was still just that captivated by him that he’d find him so no matter what he looked like.

Warmth bloomed in his chest, burning like an overheated flame, the love that had once been so prominent in his life warring with the sorrow of everything he’d lost since then. It was hard to bear, and he found that he was tired of feeling it. And perhaps it was that that finally led him to ask, “Do you ever miss us?”

Tai paused, gazing at him searchingly for a few long moments. It felt an eternity before he finally murmured back, “All the time.”

“Me too.” Hope tentatively pulled the next question from him, “Could we try again?”

A hand reached out, larger fingers slipping between his own, brushing against the three wedding rings he wore. Tai lent in close, until their foreheads brushed together and all they could see was each other. “I thought you’d never ask.”

#qrow branwen #taiyang xiao long #ruby rose #yang xiao long #Summer Rose #golden hummingbird #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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writersrealmbts · 6 years

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Endangered Species Trilogy Part 3

Part 1 Part 2

Description: Hybrid!JiminXReader: You’re considered medically perfect for hybrids, as a mate. And you fetch quite the pretty price at auction, where you’re purchased by the kindest person you’ve ever crossed paths with.

Warnings: I guess some of it might be triggering but I really don’t know.

Posted: 9/02/2018

Tags: Jimin, Hybrid Jimin, Human Reader

Angst with little fluffs: 2,663 words

A/N: It’s not exactly how I wanted it to turn out but it’s good enough for something I hadn’t planned on writing. I hope you guys like it as much as the other two parts.

The grounds were as extensive as the house. You relished the freedom that running around the yard gave you. The grass soft on your feet, the sun kissing your skin, and the wind blowing your hair. It was your favorite part of your home.

You glanced to your left, trying to decide which way to go. He caught you from the right with a playful growl. “Caught you,” He said, playfully biting your ear. You giggled, letting him kiss, lick, and bite your neck, ears, and face. He loved to playfully hunt you, specifically catching you, because you let him taste you. He loved the taste of your skin. “Such easy prey,” He teased, hands feeling your body. “So tasty. I’m going to eat well today.” You let your head drop back onto his shoulder. “You are.” He tensed, hands gripping yours a little tighter, his gaze searching your face, as if to gauge your sincerity. A car horn disrupted the fragile moment (you had a lot of moments like this, you loved moments). You looked toward the house. “I guess someone is here.” He looked grumpy, but then his eyes lit up. “Oh! That must be V-RM!” He ran toward the house, and you followed more slowly. You entered the house cautiously, peering in the entryway at the men and the strange racks with plastic that Jimin was helping them bring in. Both men were handsome and well dressed. Jimin saw you and waved for you to come over. You darted to his side and hid slightly behind him. “Y/n, this is Taehyung and Namjoon, with V-RM Fashions. I can’t take you to stores, so I brought the best fashion has to offer to you. They’re also old friends. Taehyung was in school with me and Namjoon used to tutor me. And I sort of work for them.” “He models for us,” the (barely) shorter one said with a grin. “For our top line. It’s nice to meet you, Y/n!” His fluffy tail swished happily. Jimin tried to encourage you to come out from behind him, but you shook your head, gaze flicking back and forth. “I’m Namjoon,” The taller one said, giving you a smile. “I think you’ll like the clothes we brought you. Jimin said you like softer fabrics.” You straightened a little and nodded, but you still weren’t sure it was safe to come out from behind Jimin yet. Hoseok was one matter. You two had figured out how to be around each other, and it usually involved you wearing one of Jimin’s sweatshirts that you swam in because it hid your body. Right now you were wearing a dress Jimin had given you earlier that week, one that definitely didn’t hide your body. “Jimin wasn’t lying, you really are beautiful. I’ve never seen anyone like you.” Taehyung’s gaze was on you again. Jimin turned to you. “Is this okay?” He was asking you if getting you clothes this way was okay, and if you were okay with him bringing two friends into the house. So you nodded, because you were okay with that part. It was them seeing you that you weren’t sure about. Jimin hooked his arm around your waist and turned back to the boys. “Why don’t you grab what you think will look good on her for now and she’ll try them on. You’ve seen her coloring.” “Size,” Namjoon said, eying you. Jimin let go of you, stepping slightly away so that they could see you. Taehyung’s eyes widened. Namjoon bit his lip, glancing up and down your body, assessing you. “Got it.” “Has she ever tried on clothes before?” Taehyung asked, licking his lips. “Uh…she’s never been shopping before, so probably not. And they didn’t exactly give her much in the way of clothing.” Jimin’s eyes flashed with anger and hatred, something that often appeared in his features when discussing your past. You’d learned a lot about your own past from telling him about your life, and though much of it was just normal to you, he went into a rage over some of it and wouldn’t let you out of his arms for a whole day. Namjoon’s jaw jutted out, a similar look on his face. “She…you must have been treated a little better, as a human.” You nodded while Jimin shook his head. “That wasn’t better, y/n,” Jimin growled lowly. “Physically it was,” You murmured, not looking at him. You still didn’t like disagreeing with him, but you had learned it was necessary. It was silent after your comment. Jimin’s hand took yours. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” His voice sounded strained, but gently and soft. “Come on, they’re going to grab some clothes for you to try on upstairs.” You didn’t look up, but you went with him. “I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Jimin murmured, pulling you into his arms at the top of the stairs and tilting your chin up so you were looking at his face. “Forgive me?” You nodded and went on your tiptoes, placing a kiss on his lips. “So, what am I doing?” “They’re going to give you clothing, you go change into it, then come out and show us and they check the fit and you tell us if you like it or not.” He opened the door to one of the guest rooms. “Is that okay?” You nodded. Taehyung and Namjoon came up the stairs with clothing on hangers. You tried on many different clothes, unsure what it was they were looking at because you thought you looked the same in all of them. Like someone wearing clothing that they weren’t supposed to. The first outfit you really liked was extremely soft, and warm. You got cold easily, often cuddling up with Jimin just to keep warm and if you had outfits like this then you wouldn’t have to bug him as much. The idea made you happy, thinking you’d be less of a burden to him, and you told him as much. Jimin frowned. “I don’t like it.” You felt your shoulders drop and you looked down at the outfit, confused. Taehyung and Namjoon were looking at each other as if trying to figure out if they should comment on the outfit or not. “Try on the next outfit.” Jimin folded his arms, tail lashing. “Do I look ugly in this?” You asked in a small voice, trying to understand what he didn’t like. He flinched and his expression wavered. “Of course you don’t, y/n. You look gorgeous in everything,” Namjoon quickly said, smiling at you. Jimin nodded. “I could never find you ugly, y/n.” “He just doesn’t want to give up cuddles,” Taehyung said, suppressing a smile as his tail wagged furiously. Jimin glared at him. You blinked a couple times. “What if I only wore it when you weren’t here?” He tilted his head, considering it. “Promise?” You nodded emphatically. He sighed and nodded. “Fine. But I lose one moment with you because of that outfit and it burns.” You grinned and hugged him, rubbing your face into his shoulder in the way that always made him smile, or at least purr. It did both this time, and he kissed your forehead. “So cute.” Taehyung made a sound of agreement with an exaggerated and elongated version of the word. Namjoon looked slightly embarrassed, but he cleared his throat. “Uh, I think we should pick this up another time, Jimin-ssi.” “Right, thanks for coming, hyung. Thanks, Taehyung.” Jimin went over and hugged them. “I’ll see you guys out. Why don’t you take your clothes to your closet, baby?” You nodded, then smiled at the men. “Thank you for bringing clothing here.” They both were wide-eyed, and managed to nod. You noticed Taehyung swallow hard and lick his lips again. Namjoon and Jimin quickly pulled Taehyung out, though Namjoon also glanced back a few times. You shrugged and waited until you could hear them talking together on the stairs before gathering up the clothes that you had gotten and lugging them to your space. It was still fairly blank, just a chair and blankets in one corner, a picture of you with Jimin, a couple pictures of just Jimin, your hand-drawn maps of both the house and the grounds, and your current book of choice—a book of fairy-tales which had you imagining Jimin as the good male characters. Then you quickly changed out of the outfit that he didn’t want you wearing when he was home and into some pajamas he had brought home with him earlier that day. You would definitely freeze in these, you darted to the bedroom and dove onto the bed, wiggling under the covers with your book. He came in a while later. “In bed already?” “The pajamas you got me are not warm,” you informed him in a false-pout. He grinned. “Let me see.” He licked his lips, that smirk on his face that said he would pounce and kiss you soon. You got up, hoping he wouldn’t make you stay in the cold air long. His gaze slowly dropped down your body, then flicked back up to your face as he bit his lip and got a strange look on his face. “You look like the perfect piece of prey.” Your face burned, but a smile tugged at your mouth despite yourself. You side-stepped a little. His tail swished once, then he tackled you onto the bed, gently biting your neck. “Do you realize how attractive you are? Are you trying to drive me crazy? You must be a daring girl to go smiling like that at other men.” You slid your fingers through his hair, enjoying the growling purr that emanated from his throat and into your skin. “Jimin?” “Hmm?” “How will you know when I’m ready if I don’t know what you classify as me being ready?” He pushed up onto his elbows, a confused expression on his face. “Huh?” “Well, you said we wouldn’t move forward or do anything unless I was ready but I don’t know what that means, so how can you know if I’m ready if I don’t know what I’m supposed to be ready for or what being ready means? I mean, I fully expected you to—” “Yeah.” “—on the first night. It’s all I’ve really been taught.” You rubbed your nose against his. His tail flicked idly on the sheets beside your hand and you absently ran your hand over it. He chuffed, then buried his face in your neck. “I want to be careful with you. What we have…I want it to last.” “You don’t think it will?” You asked, looking away from him. “I don’t want you to have any regrets. We’re both endangered species, y/n. That’s one of things so appealing about you, that you’re as rare as I am. But…even if we mate, even if we have kits, they’ll be hybrids. Not humans. Shouldn’t…wouldn’t it be better for you to have a human mate?” He murmured, sounding uncertain. “I don’t care. Maybe I should, but I don’t. Besides, if you don’t have kids with me you would have to have kids with another human, right?” He nodded slowly into your neck, holding you tightly. “I’d kill her,” You muttered, surprised at how dark your tone came out of your mouth. He pushed off of you so that he could look at you with wide eyes. “Kill her?” You hesitated, then nodded. “You’re mine.” He stared for a moment, then grinned and started laughing, falling off of you and holding his stomach. “Come on. Put on a robe and lets go eat dinner. The pizzas should be here any minute.” He got up and walked out as if nothing had happened. You sat there, confused for a moment. You supposed it was funny to him that you would threaten to kill someone who didn’t exist, especially being a weak little human. You sighed in frustration and put on his robe since it smelled like him and was bigger and warmer. You went downstairs, where he had already brought the pizza into the kitchen. “Was it that funny?” “You’re a nice girl,” He murmured, an extremely alluring look on his face as he gazed at you. “What was funny was that I underestimated how possessive you were. Here I thought I was the possessive one and it’s actually both of us. You would really kill another human?” “Human, hybrid, neither can have you. You bought me. You’re stuck with me. Besides, you probably just bumped up the value of all humans.” “You’re special, and you know it. I mean, you were advertised as perfect and I can’t even call it false advertising.” Jimin ate half a slice in what looked like one bit. “I mean, Hoseok is wrapped around your finger and even with the precautions you two cooked up he struggles to resist you. It’ll be easier after we mate, but still. You’re hard for any hybrid to resist.” “I did notice Taehyung and Namjoon staring a couple times.” You fiddled with the paper plates, finally getting one to separate from the others. “Yeah. Hey, after we do mate, would it be okay with you if I invited all of the guys over for a game night or something?” “It’s your—” He growled lightly. You carefully rethought your words. “It’s your choice. I can hide away in my room for the night if you want to invite them over since we’re apparently not mating until I’m ready. Whatever that means.” You dropped a piece of pizza on your plate. “Don’t get huffy,” He teased, kissing your cheek. You smiled a little, then grinned as he placed some tickling kisses on your neck before taking a little nibble. He sighed softly, his warm breath on your neck tickling as well. “Besides, I already know you’re ready.” You turned your head toward him, eyes widening slightly. He met your gaze as he ran a hand through his hair. “Eat well, y/n, you don’t want me to starve, do you?” You shook your head, hurrying to eat at the table. He followed more slowly, and how he made eating into such an attractive act was beyond you. He ate slowly, deliberately, his eyes flicking to you every now and then. He was testing you, your patience. Ten minutes passed, and you kept yourself from getting impatient the same way you would pass time when you were in your cage. You counted. You counted seconds, and minutes, carefully eating your pizza. He started to squirm after fifteen minutes. You kept counting, looking up at him every two minutes to gauge whether he was pleased with your patience or not. After half an hour he suddenly started laughing. “I should have known I wasn’t as patient as you. You’ve waited your whole life. You shouldn’t have to wait anymore.” He came over and pushed your empty plate away, tail curling around your waist. “Arms.” You looked up at him and then held out your arms. He slid the robe off of your shoulders and arms, then picked you up. “I’ll never make you wait again, y/n. From here on out, we’re together. You’re mine, I’m yours, and the rest is—” “Ours?” You guessed, immediately thinking of the movie. He purred deeply. “I’m going to love you until you never doubt it again. And when the time comes, everyone is going to think we’re crazy for having so many kids.” You pressed your lips to his. “I can’t believe how scared I was of you.” “I can’t believe anyone could look at you and put you in an auction. I think it’s time for cuddles.” “I think it’s time for more than just cuddles,” You whispered in his ear. He grinned and hefted you closer. “Sounds good to me.”

Masterlist. Part 1. Part 2. Epilogue.

@jiminslye

#readerxbts #hybrid!bts #bts fic #bts #hybrid!jimin #park jimin #jimin x reader

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blazerina · 7 years

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With Any Luck... (Sean x MC)

Author’s Note: This is 100% the brainchild of Mercedes aka @zaddysloan. She came up with this idea and I just put it “on paper.” So major props and shout out to her. This whole thing would not exist without her encouragement and her brain. She’s fabulous, wonderful, creative, sincere, freakin’ amazing and I love her dearly. I really hope I did her wonderful idea justice!

P.S. We’ve had so much angst and drama and sadness lately in this fandom, I think it’s the perfect time for some FLUFF. Know what I’m sayin’?

Summary: Before they left The Celestial, Taylor & Sean have the opportunity to experience the first date they never got at Hartfeld.

The evening was alive with noises. In the distance, animals could be heard rustling through the trees. Bugs were buzzing along the flora and fauna of the jungle as waves lapped constantly against the shore; in and out, in and out, as steady and as calm as the heartbeat she was listening to.

Even though sounds filled the nighttime air, it was quiet and still. The hammock swayed back and forth in rhythm with the waves. The quiet creak of ropes, as it swung ever so slightly, brought a sense of peace to her. She rested. Her eyes closed, her breathing steadied; she felt safe. There was so much pressure, so much confusion, so much fighting and drama, it was impossible to ever really feel at ease during the day.

The weight of the responsibility that she had taken on in La Huerta was unbearable at times. She didn't ask for all this to be placed upon her shoulders. Lately she felt like every decision, every plan, the choice to live or die, was left up to her. Taylor. This little college girl with hardly any real life experience.

It's all up to me. She told herself as her heart and her mind fought each other over her thoughts. For whatever reason, I've been brought here by the universe. This is no longer a strange coincidence. My soul is one with this island somehow. Not just the island, but the inhabitants as well. The visions. The dreams. The ability to understand and communicate with the Watchers. I didn't know who I was before I came to this island and I still don't know who I am now that I'm here…

“Taylor.” Sean whispered sweetly as he tightened his grasp on her. His arms surrounded her as she laid on his chest.

“Taaaaayyyy-loooorrrr….” He sing-songed, running his hand up and down her back, trying to stir her from her thoughts.

“Are you asleep?” He tried to pull away long enough to look down at her face, to see if her eyes were closed.

“Hey.” She smiled, not opening her eyes. “I’m awake…just…don’t…want to…move…” She mumbled slightly as she buried her head further into the space between Sean’s chin and shoulder.

“I can tell you were thinking about something.” He continued to run his fingertips absentmindedly along her spine. “You were still, but then tensed up fast. You ok?”

“Mmhmm.” She sighed, wishing she could sleep without thinking about everything. “Did you sleep at all?” Taylor pulled her head up off his chest and looked at him.

“Nah.” Sean answered, frowning. “It was more important you rested tonight. Someone has to keep their eyes open out here.” He kissed her forehead and smiled at her.

It was hard to find time to spend together out on the island. Nighttime was really the only opportunity they had to be alone and away from the eyes of the rest of the group. Other eyes were most likely on them wherever they went, but they tried to pretend it didn’t bother them. When they could, they would take a hammock and walk down to the beach. There they would start a fire, find a tree and post up for the night; taking turns sleeping.

Both of them being the responsible, take-care-of-everyone leaders that they were, felt incredible pressure to make sure their friends survived La Huerta. Taylor and Sean were going to make sure the entire group made it off the island together, no matter what.

That sense of loyalty is what initially drew them to one another. Had it not been for the trip to the island, they most likely would not have met, even at Hartfeld. But in one another they had found a companion; someone who truly understood how the other felt; someone to make them feel safe and secure; which was foreign to them, as they were both usually the ones working to make sure others were okay and well taken care of.

“Thank you for letting me rest.” She exhaled, as she laid down again. “We probably should head back soon.”

“We have some time. Try to go back to sleep.” Sean urged. He was worried about her and growing more and more concerned about how she was handling it all.

Taylor couldn’t close her eyes. She knew her brief moment of rest was over. There would be no chance of sleeping now. Her mind was on overdrive and she couldn’t slow it down.

“I know this is an incredibly cheesy question…but what are you thinking about?” Sean almost winced as he finished that sentence. “You can talk to me, you know…”

“Do you ever think about what it might be like if we were together in a more normal place?” Taylor asked, unexpectedly. “What if our life right now could all be normal? What if we met under different circumstances, not ones where we were fighting for our lives all the time?”

“Well, first of all, there’s no such thing as normal…” Sean laughed, elbowing her in the side. “But I know what you mean. I think about that a lot too. But what if we had never met? What if our paths hadn’t crossed in all our years together at Hartfeld? I can’t even imagine that now…my life without you…”

“With any luck, you won’t ever have to.” Taylor rolled over to face him and pressed her chest against his as she kissed him tenderly. “I know our circumstances aren’t ideal, but it’s all we got. And we’re going to make the most of this time together.” She smiled, kissing him quickly again and then sitting up as she swung her legs over the side of the hammock.

They began to pack up their makeshift campsite while the sun began to peak out from the horizon. Sean folded up the hammock and put it in his backpack, as Taylor stomped out the small campfire and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

“I don’t want to go baaaaaack!” She whined, as she grabbed Sean’s hand.

“I don’t either.” Sean muttered, staring off into the distance. They began to walk down the beach hand in hand, when suddenly he stopped in his tracks.

“You know what?” He beamed, the light in his eyes indicating he had an idea. “We’ve never even been on a real first date!”

Taylor grinned. “It’s cute when you’re excited about something.” They started to walk again, slowly, with their hands swinging back and forth.

“That’s very true,” Taylor continued, “…but it’s not like there’s any way a real first date could happen here. Besides, we’ve been able to make it okay without dates – don’t you think?” She searched his eyes, hoping he was truly happy with her and the time they had spent together so far.

“I’m gonna make this happen, Tay. You deserve a real, old-fashioned, traditional first date. When we get back to the hotel, we’ll work towards finding a way off this god-forsaken place like normal…but then, at 7 pm – I’m picking you up from your room. It’s a date.”

“This is ridiculous.” Taylor said to herself, as she looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror. “Why am I nervous?!” She tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. After pinching her cheeks and applying a finishing touch of lip gloss, she took one final look at herself and sighed.

She didn’t have anything fancy to wear. Truthfully, even if they had been home she wouldn’t have had many options, either. Quinn had been nice enough to let her borrow a white sundress with light blue flowers patterned all over it. The spaghetti straps tied in cute little bows at the top of her shoulders.

For once, she decided to wear her hair up, but it didn’t look finished. Taylor had never been able to style her hair, so she threw it up quickly in a messy bun with a few stray strands that fell and framed her face.

She knew she could have asked one of the other girls for help, but the only one who’s style she really envied was Michelle…and she felt weird about asking her to help for a date with her old boyfriend. Thinking about that whole relationship made her nervous. Michelle hadn’t come up in conversation with Sean as of yet, but she wondered when it would happen, how it would happen and what he would say.

She tried to physically shake the thoughts of Sean and Michelle out of her head, and stared down at her feet. Her shoes didn’t quite match the outfit, but flip-flops were at least comfortable and a far cry from the tennis shoes and hiking boots she had become accustomed to wearing every day.

Sighing heavily one more time, and muttering, “This is as good as it’s going to get.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and stared out the large glass window, looking out over the island, waiting for Sean to arrive.

“Sean. Get your head in the game.” He was shirtless and leaning over the sink in his bathroom, trying to give himself a pep talk.

It had been a while since he had taken anyone out on a first date, and this wasn’t just anyone. His feelings had come on so fast and so strong for Taylor, that he was all of a sudden nervous.

He opened up his closet and chose another blue and white shirt, but this one was a checked pattern button down, not his standard polo.

“The guys have your back. Your team is behind you.” He whispered as he put one arm through the sleeve and then the other. He quickly finished buttoning his shirt and checked out himself in the mirror one more time.

“You can’t do it all. Rely on these guys to come through for you. Just like coach told me.” He stood up straight and focused on his goal: giving Taylor the best first date ever.

Sean knocked at the door at exactly 7:00 pm. He arrived at Taylor’s room at 6:58, but assumed she’d be running a little late, and he didn’t want to rush her. After checking his phone to make sure it was 7, he knocked lightly, two times and waited for her to answer.

Taylor smiled when she looked at the clock in her room and saw it was exactly 7 pm when she heard a soft knock on the door. As she opened it, she could barely contain her excitement. She couldn’t believe they were actually doing this and she was genuinely thrilled to see Sean standing there.

“Oh! It’s you? This is awkward…I was expecting Jake…” she joked, holding the door open.

“Very funny.” Sean rolled his eyes, chuckling slightly. “These are for you.” He handed her a homemade bouquet of pink, purple and blue flowers he picked from the side of the path leading up to the volcano.

“Wow!” Taylor squealed. “Wait – do you think these are still radioactive?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow as she took them from his hands.

“Grace said she thinks once they’re cut off from their life-source they cease to glow.” He explained, impersonating Grace’s voice. “Also, just say thank you and stop worrying about everything. Tonight is about us. Nothing else.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, while she encircled hers around his neck. With the flowers still in her hand, she stepped up on her toes and kissed him, trying hard to relax and take in the moment.

Sean pulled away from her, smiling, taking her in. “You look incredible.”

“Thank you.” She responded. “So do you!” As she put the flowers in a glass of water, she turned around and held his hand for a moment, before they walked out the door.

“And thank you for this…all of this…even just being with you, like this, whatever we do, whatever you have planned. I know I’m going to love it. I’ve actually never been on a real first date before.” Taylor looked up at him, biting her lower lip.

Sean kissed her sweetly, one more time, and led her to the hallway. “First stop. The restaurant.”

The elevator doors opened and hand in hand, Sean and Taylor made their way to the restaurant. A large table in the corner was set for two, with lit candles. Glasses of champagne were already poured and waiting for the couple. A piece of paper was folded in half and resting on the table with the word “RESERVED” scrawled in manly handwriting across it.

Sean pulled out Taylor’s chair for her and she took a seat, while Sean sat down himself. “How is this going to work?” Taylor asked, looking around, noticing no one else was there.

“Well – there’s supposed to be…” Sean was craning his neck looking back towards the kitchen where the faint noise of banging pots and pans could be heard. “Just a minute…” Sean sighed, jogging lightly towards the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Sean resurfaced and joined Taylor again at the table. Soon thereafter, Craig, dressed in a black t-shirt arrived at the table with a pencil behind his ear and a spiral notebook in his hands. “Dude – like there’s already champagne and everything on the table, so why did you need me?” he sighed, clearly frustrated.

“Hey Taylor.” He nodded in her direction. “’Sup?”

“Craig – be cool.” Sean instructed. “Could we have some water?”

“Yeah, but I mean the soda machine is like right there…” Sean glared at Craig and Craig’s eyes grew wide as he nodded and went back to the kitchen.

“Sean!” Taylor giggled. “You’re making him wait on our table?”

“I thought at the time it was a good idea.” He responded, clasping his hands together on the table and staring down at them. “I may be regretting it later.”

As he finished, Craig returned holding two glasses of water. “For you made-zell and mistoor.” He delivered the waters while practicing his French. Sean and Taylor stifled a laugh as they looked down at the table.

“Thank you, Craig.” Taylor said, politely. “What are we having tonight?”

Craig made a face, then looked up to the ceiling, thinking very hard. “Hmmmm I can’t really remember, tbh. But I’ll bring it out right away!”

He disappeared again, yelling as he walked into the kitchen.

“Sorry.” Sean mumbled, reaching out for Taylor’s hand. “Believe it or not, it’s the best I could do.”

“I love it.” Taylor squeezed his hand. “It’s perfect.”

A loud crash came from the kitchen, making Taylor and Sean wince. “Should we check on him?” She asked, worried.

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Sean responded, then a moment later he added, “Actually, I’m not sure…just a sec…”

As Sean entered the kitchen, he found Craig holding onto a chair, while Raj carefully balanced on top of the chair, on one leg, reaching for something on a very high shelf. Raj’s tongue was hanging out of his mouth as he tried to will the bottle of whatever it was, into his hands.

“Al…most…got…it…” He was chanting to himself as he flailed his hand about on the shelf to try to grab the object he wanted.

“You guys okay?” Sean asked.

“We got this, bro! You got this, Raj!” Craig was intensely watching Raj; beads of sweat were forming on his forehead as he focused on his friend.

The kitchen was a mess. Pots and pans were scattered all over the place, food and other ingredients were spread out all over the counter. Sean sighed and pinched the area where his nose and forehead met.

“WOO HOO!” Sean whirled around upon hearing Craig and Raj high-fiving and celebrating. “Got it, dude!”

Raj was smiling ear to ear as he held some sort of expensive alcohol in his hands. “This is exactly what I need.” He was clearly very proud of himself.

“Guys.” Sean interjected. “I don’t want to be a downer, but is there actually a meal being prepared in here or…?” He gestured to the messy kitchen.

“You’re gonna love it! It’s my grandmother’s recipe. Take a whiff.” Raj said, inhaling the air around him and wafting with his hands. “Doesn’t it smell delish?”

“It does smell pretty good. I just wanted to make sure everything was moving along. I have a pretty lady at the table out there that I want to impress tonight.” Sean smiled, heading towards the door.

“I…uh…Sean?” Craig said, nervously jogging after him to catch up. “I spilled a little, salt…in Raj’s meal…but he fixed it so it should be okay right?” Clearly, he was worried.

“I’m sure it’s fine, Craig.” Sean said, patting him on the shoulder. “Just bring it out soon, alright? We need to move to phase two of the plan, pretty quick.”

Sean left the kitchen and returned to the table, where he found Taylor staring out the window, into the ocean. “Hey.” She smiled softly, as Sean took his seat.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Craig returned with two plates of what resembled chicken parmigiana.

“Your food is here!” He presented the plates and smiled, smugly.

“Can’t forget the drinks!” Raj brought out two drinks in martini glasses that looked a dark purple, almost black color.

“This one is on the house!” He grinned. “Obviously…” he chuckled at his own joke.

“This is our featured drink tonight. I call it ‘The S-aylor.’ Kind of appropriate given we’re out in the middle of the ocean, don’t you think?”

“Oh! Wow! Uh, thank you, so much…” Taylor took the drink from Raj’s hands, exchanging a quick and somewhat worried look with Sean.

“It’s so dark and exotic looking…” Sean added, trying to find the right words for the situation.

“A toast to the happy couple!” Craig smiled, holding up his hand as if he had a glass himself.

“S-aylor forever!” Raj cheered while taking a bow.

“Eat up, enjoy and drink up too for that matter!” He was jolly and clearly happy to be sharing his love of hospitality, with his friends. He walked away from the table, humming to himself and slapping Craig on the back.

“We did it bro! We did it!” Craig was yelling as if he had just scored a touchdown and tried to jump up into the air for a shoulder bump with Raj, but Raj paused and stared at him in bewilderment.

“What was that?” He asked, confused at Craig’s behavior.

“Dude! You left me hanging! You can’t do that…when I jump, you jump too…”

Their conversation faded farther and farther into the distance as Taylor and Sean smiled at one another, then down at their food. “This looks amazing, Sean. I’m still just so shocked that you did all this…for me…”

“Taylor.” Sean reached for her hand from across the table. “You’re worth all of this and more. And when we get back home, I want to treat you to this, and things like this, nights like this, all the time.” He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles.

“That will be nice.” She nodded.

“Now, let’s eat! I’m starving.” Sean grabbed his fork and knife, diving into the meal before him.

After dinner, Sean and Taylor strolled hand and hand along the beach. The night was quiet, even for an island crawling with animals, bugs, watchers and humans. The stars were out and the peaceful hum of the ocean waves made it exceptionally romantic.

“Sean…” Taylor started, leaning into him. “I really just can’t thank you enough for this incredible night. And the fact that you got our friends to help…it’s all so perfect. Really…I just can’t even find the words…”her eyes began to fill with tears. As much as she didn’t want to show emotion, she was too overwhelmed to hold them back.

“C’mere.” Sean pulled her in for a tight hug, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on top of her head.

Taylor pulled herself together as Sean held her out at arm’s length and looked into her eyes. “The night’s been far from perfect. The meal was SUPER salty and that drink Raj created? The thought was nice but damn, the taste was not.” He joked as Taylor smiled in agreement.

“But – have no fear. Our night’s not even over yet. We need to head back to the pool.”

“What?!” She responded, genuinely surprised. “There’s more?”

Sean was grinning as they came up to the pool back at The Celestial. A white sheet hung against the cement wall that served as the side of the storage building where pool accessories and cleaning supplies were housed.

Two beach chairs were covered with pillows, situated next to each other, with more glasses of Raj’s “S-aylor” drink, and a bowl of popcorn. An extension cord was running from a laptop to another box, facing the sheet.

“A movie?!” Taylor almost screamed. “Best night EVER!” She squealed, jumping up and down. “I cannot believe this!” She squeezed Sean’s hand before she ran to the seats that had been set up.

“Excuse me, miss, may I see your ticket?” Diego asked, appearing out of nowhere with a huge smile on his face.

“Diego!” Taylor threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “You did all this? For me?!”

“Well, it was Sean’s idea so I can’t take all the credit…but I did pull out all the stops for your movie watching experience.” He straightened his posture and stood proudly.

“Diego told me you LOVE to mix M&Ms with your popcorn, so I sent him on special assignment.” Sean explained, arriving at the chairs and standing behind Taylor.

“I successfully picked all the M&Ms out of my bag of trail mix and raided some snack machines I found on the odd levels of the hotel so you could have your favorite movie treat.” Taylor was speechless as she watched Diego, walk to the bar at the pool and return with a huge metal bowl, full of popcorn with dashes of colored M&Ms mixed in.

“I am so excited for this – so so excited!” She shrieked as she slid off her shoes and fell backwards into the assortment of pillows on the pool chair. Sean smiled and laughed lightly as he snuggled up next to her. He was happy that she was happy. That was all he had wanted their evening to be.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the pool, Zahra was leaning against a palm tree, sneering at the scene she was watching unfold before her.

“This is stupid. Like really? Who does this?” She muttered out loud, to no one in particular.

“Z! Z! Check this out!” Craig came running up to her, jolting her from her thoughts.

“What do you want now?” She sighed, annoyed.

“I can tie a cherry stem into a knot WITH MY TONGUE.” He clapped his hands in excitement. “Here. Watch this…” As his brow furrowed in concentration, Zahra rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the happy couple.

“Diego Theaters proudly presents, our feature film for the evening…” Diego dramatically introduced the movie before pressing play on the laptop and makeshift projector.

“CASTAWAY!”

Taylor and Sean exchanged a look, then looked at Diego, then back to each other before bursting with laughter.

“No way!” Taylor playfully shoved Sean. “Tell me where in the world you got this – of all the movies – this?!”

Sean couldn’t stop laughing. Taylor loved his smile. It was so bright. His eyes changed color when he was truly happy. She wasn’t even sure she had seen him like this before…after all, she really hadn’t known him that long yet.

“I know – it’s ridiculous, but I brought it with me. I planned to watch it on the plane…before…well, anyway – it’s sick. It’s twisted. I know it is. But this movie was calling my name and I grabbed it from my collection before I left for the airport. Plus…I love Tom Hanks.”

“Thomas Jeffrey Hanks is a national treasure.” Diego chimed in as the movie began to play.

“This is incredible. I love this! All of this.” Taylor snuggled in again, sighing happily next to Sean.

“I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll be in the lobby if you need anything – fingers crossed this works. Lila knew nothing. You’d think since she works here, she’d be some kind of assistance with these things…” Diego started rambling.

“Thanks, D.” Sean waved him off.

“Right. I’ll really go now. Taylor – make good choices!” He winked and then playfully ran off.

“This is amazing, Sean. You’re setting the bar VERY HIGH for any future dates, just want you to know that.” She beamed, looking up at him while snuggling into him again.

“I’d do anything for you, Tay. I know it’s crazy because we just met, but this is different. I can feel it.” He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes, trying to breathe in the moment and force it to leave an imprint on his brain.

“I can’t believe we’re really gonna watch this movie.” She playfully tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

“You’re my Wilson.” Sean shrugged. “What can I say?”

“You’re my Wilson?” Zahra repeated, still watching from the other side of the pool. “How…lame…but, I guess the whole thing is kinda sweet.” She smiled a little, then looked over her shoulder at Craig who was coughing.

“How’s that cherry stem treatin’ ya?” She clapped hard on his back while he grasped his throat with both his hands.

“Fine! Fine. I’m fine. I swear I did it a minute ago though….” He defended himself, putting his hands up as if he were under arrest.

“Come on, ya big dummy. Let’s find some food.” She slowly walked back towards the hotel with him as he continued to explain, “I think I’m gonna try it with like a twist tie or something – you know for flexibility…we can find one of those in the kitchen, right?”

Back in the pool chairs, Sean and Taylor were truly content, watching the movie and enjoying one another’s company.

“I’ll never have another first date as good as this one.” She admitted, as the movie finished and the credits began to roll on the screen.

“My thoughts exactly.” Sean winked at her, leaning in for a kiss. Just millimeters away from her lips, he whispered, “With any luck, you’ll never go on another first date with anyone else ever again.”

THE END.

#endless summer #sean x mc #sean gayle #sean marcus gayle #choices fanfiction #play choices #choices stories you play #blazerina babbles

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