angst demon is out tonight so
mcshep: unlovable
Mixed Bag of Words Meme
It spins around him like a cacophony, like a song he doesn't know the lyrics to and a movie he's never seen.
Christmas at the Millers, and John sits quietly on the couch observing, like the outsider he supposed he was.
Madison is being chased by Kaleb, a tilted Santa hat on his head. Jeannie is arguing with Rodney about…something John is sure he should understand because it's something he lived in Pegasus, but they're in the Milky Way and it's Christmas and Canada is cold.
He checks his phone, a nice luxury to have while back on Earth, but nothing from Dave. Not a "Merry Christmas", not even a "how are you", but John expects nothing less and still receives a defecit.
Maybe you're just unlovable, Nancy had once thrown at his back when he tried to walk out of a fight, and it was something that stuck to the bottom of his stomach whenever he was in situations like this - surrounded by a family, celebrating a holiday in a fashion he never got to experience, and he feels a loss.
Maybe he wants to be unlovable, because it's easier that way; it's easier to be the cold Air Force pilot with his shields up both mentally and metaphorically, because then the Canadian cold wouldn't reach the bottom of his organs where these ugly thoughts live.
He makes eye contact suddenly with Rodney, who's face softens visibly, a small smile pulling at the edges of his lips. This causes Jeannie to turn and give them both a knowing look, before a jumble of limbs that resemble Madison appears in his lap.
"Uncle John, Santa is chasing me!"
"Oh no!" John fakes panic, scooping up the tiny, squirming package of a human into his arms and standing up to ready their escape from Evil-Kaleb-Santa. "To the secret hidey-place!"
Madison leans forward and grasps his neck, squealing with laughter as they tumble behind a pile of beanbags. John catches Rodney's eyes again, there's that look, and -
Maybe. Maybe he wasn't unlovable, he hadn't lost his way - just found it a little later than expected.
29 notes
·
View notes
Picture day! | No parings! Joel, Tommy, and kid Sarah | Fluff
Warnings and notes: cursing
Today Joel had gotten up extra early for one soul reason: today was picture day at Sarah's school. He knew his young daughter never said anything about the generic hairstyles he would put her in. Ponytails, low buns, hair loose, and if he had the extra time, top buns.
But he knew that she was tired of them. So he promised his 7 year old daughter (and himself) that he was going to wake up early and do her hair any way she wanted. That made her smile over her bowl of Mac and cheese.
He had called Tommy before putting Sarah to sleep, asking if he could buy those pink and purple butterfly hair clips that Sarah's always talking about. His younger brother agrees, wanting to see his niece happy.
So, on that day Joel goes to Sarah's room and finds her still asleep. It was 6 in the morning, for heavens sake, too early for his little girl. He steps over to the low bed and kneels down, resting an arm on the bed as his other hand goes and rubs Sarah's back.
"Mornin', babygirl. Time to wake up." Joel's voice rings in Sarah's ears, making her groan. "Come on, baby. I gotta do your hair for picture day." At that Sarah slowly rises from her slumber.
She sits up and rubs her eyes, her hair a mess and her movements groggy. "Uncle Tommy is out in the store gettin' you the pins I promised. You go pick out your clothes for today while I shower." Sarah opens her eyes slowly, looking at her father.
She nods and yawns. "Ok, daddy." She sighs as her feet swing over the bed. Joel smiles and kisses her forehead before walking out of the room and stepping into the bathroom. "And don't fall asleep again!" He shouts out before closing the bathroom door.
After his shower he gets dressed and knocks on Sarah's door. "You dressed, babygirl?" "Yup!" He goes in and smiles. Sarah wears a lilac t-shirt with jean overalls on top. Her white sneakers lined up against her closet door.
Joel picks his daughter up and takes her sneakers. Sarah giggles as she holds on to her dad and puts her head on his shoulder. "What do you want for breakfast, baby?" "Waffles!" Joel sighs and sets her down on one of the kitchen tables and looks through the cabinets. "How about pancakes?" "Ok!" She smiles, just happy that she's getting something sweet for breakfast.
"Go brush your teeth while I cook, hun." Sarah nods and slips off the chair before running up the stairs and going to the bathroom. While Joel makes the batter for the pancakes her decides to call Tommy. He dials his brothers number and waits. "Yeah?" "Where the hell are you?"
"Theres traffic, Joel! I can't move if I'm stuck." "I know that, but I don't want you or us to be late. And I promised her these pins." "Shit...I-I know. I won't be long." Joel sighs and then shakes her head. He hangs up and gets to making the pancakes.
By the time Joel is done cooking and serves the pancakes, Tommy still isn't there and it's already 7: 14. Joel is stressed, to say the least. He just decides on brushing Sarah's hair and getting the bobby pins and hair ties out.
"What do you want me to do for your hair, baby?" "Space buns!" Joel purses his lips when he hears those words come out of Sarah's mouth. He's a bit clueless. "What are space buns, honey?" "It's two buns in your hair. I asked Angelica about them and it's like where bunny ears are but instead of bunny ears it's buns." Sarah rambles as she drowns her pancakes in syrup.
Joel nods, knowing what she means now. He takes one of the brushes and drags it gently over Sarah's scalp, dividing her hair in two sections (One of the mothers had shown him how to do it and he will forever be grateful of that woman) and focusing on one section first.
Joel is done with the first bun and doing the second one and he's pretty proud of himself. Sarah is on her second big pancake and is enjoying every bit of it. There will be an occasional 'ow' from her when Joel pulls too hard on her strands but he apologizes quickly.
Now Joel is done with both buns and Tommy still isn't here. He's panicking silently as he watches Sarah eat, not feeling any hunger himself, his coffee being the only thing keeping him sane.
"Daddy, where are myf pifns?" Sarah asks with her mouth half full and a bit of syrup on her cheek. He steps closer and wipes the syrup off of her face. "Don't talk with your mouth full, baby-" "I'm here!"
Tommy barges into his brothers house with a slightly crazy and energetic smile, pins in hand. He comes into the kitchen like a tornado, still fresh faced and with lots of hope in his heart. That's Tommy.
He smirks at his brother and bends down to kiss Sarah's forehead. "Mornin', sunshine." Tommy's Texas twang slips through as he greets his niece. "Uncle Tommy!" She beams at seeing her uncle and wiggles a bit in her seat.
Joel pats his brother's back as a silent 'thank you' to which Tommy respond with a nod. Joel shows Sarah the pink and purple butterfly pins and she giggles, knowing already what her father's stare means. "Thank you, Uncle Tommy." "Aw, don't mention it, sunshine." Tommy acts bashful as he puts his hands in his pockets.
Joel chuckles at his brother's antics and pops off a few pins from the carton and puts them in Sarah's hair. After he's done she smiles up at both of them. The two men can feel their hearts melt at the sight of Sarah, all cute and adorable.
"Alright, go get your school bag. We'll be in Uncle Tommy's truck." Joel says as he takes his own bag and keys. Sarah runs up the stairs once again and then zooms out the door, not too far behind Joel and Tommy.
After they pile into Tommy's brick-red truck the engine starts. "Ok, everyone ready?" Tommy asks as he checks Sarah through the rearview mirror. "Yep, we've got-" "WAIT!" Sarah shouts which makes both men panic and turn around.
"You gotta have this." She pouts as she snaps off two pins, one pink and one purple. She puts the pink one into Joel's hair and the purple one onto Tommy's. "Now we are!" She giggles. The brothers look at each other for a second.
"I think purple looks better on me." Joel deadpans. "Oh, shut up, you're just jealous that I'm wearing Sarah's color." Tommy teases before they rush off for picture day.
8 notes
·
View notes
Closed starter for @bbyxsplice based on this
It had been three days since he saw it. Waiting in line at the grocery store, he didn’t think when the familiar chime sounded from his jeans pocket. Snaps from his princess were always goofy or adorable; little pick-me-ups to get Bal through another slog of a workday. Why would he have to worry about where he was when he opened a message like that? The spring semester had just ended; maybe she was excited about her grades coming out. He thumbed the volume down to its lowest before tapping the notification. And the bottom dropped out of his stomach... That was his daughter? The shutter-click was barely a whisper as he tapped the screenshot icon. His wife would kill Hannah if he told her...
Knuckles rapped at her bedroom door. There was no one else home; they had hours of privacy to hash this out. Bal had planned everything out this morning over breakfast. He could do this. “Princess?” he called, turning the knob without a response. Poking his head through the opening, his voice turned stern. “We need to talk.”
9 notes
·
View notes