𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑵, 𝑾𝑬 𝑯𝑨𝑽𝑬 𝑨 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑩𝑳𝑬𝑴

𝑺𝑶𝑵𝑮𝑺 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑭𝑳𝑶𝑾𝑬𝑹𝑺

𝘚𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘐𝘕𝘚𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛 𝘖𝘕 𝘝𝘐𝘖𝘓𝘌𝘛'𝘚 𝘙𝘌𝘓𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘗 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘊𝘈𝘙𝘔𝘌𝘕

𝘙𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘏𝘌𝘙!𝘝𝘐𝘖𝘓𝘌𝘛 𝘟 𝘍𝘈𝘙𝘔 𝘖𝘞𝘕𝘌𝘙!𝘖𝘊

𝘊𝘞: 𝘔𝘖𝘋𝘌𝘙𝘕 𝘈𝘜, 𝘖𝘊 𝘐𝘚 𝘉𝘓𝘈𝘊𝘒, 𝘕 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘜𝘚𝘌 (𝘪'𝘮 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦), 𝘐𝘕𝘍𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘓𝘐𝘛𝘠 (𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘤), 𝘚𝘔𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘚𝘛, 𝘚𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘚𝘜𝘎𝘎𝘌𝘚𝘛𝘐𝘝𝘌 𝘓𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘜𝘈𝘎𝘌, 𝘍𝘓𝘜𝘍𝘍, 𝘖𝘊 𝘏𝘈𝘚 𝘛𝘞𝘖 𝘒𝘐𝘋𝘚

𝘞𝘊: 1,374

𝘔.𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛

✧ carmen was married and pregnant when she met violet for the first time.

✧ her husband, joseph, had hired a few ranch hands to help out on their in-the-middle-of-nowhere farm after their son was born.

✧ carmen didn’t interact with violet much, seeing as the farm was joseph’s territory and she focused more on the garden in her front yard.

✧ they had a routine:

“good morning, violet.”

✧ carmen would sit on her porch every morning and get some fresh air. after her youngest was born, she would do her first feeding of the day there.

“morning, doll. told ya you can call me vi.”

✧ and that was that.

✧ when violet and loris first started tending to the animals, carmen offered to prepare lunch for them. joseph they said it was unnecessary.

✧ everything was relatively simple and easy going until carmen found out joseph had cheated on her.

✧ tbh saying he cheated is putting it lightly. that man had a whole other family in the city. two girls around the same age as her sons with some woman carmen had never even heard of.

✧ the divorce was quick and easy, what with the irrefutable evidence.

✧ afterwards, the relationship between carmen and violet bloomed fairly quickly.

✧ violet and loris took carmen up on the lunch. home cooked meals on top of the paycheck? yes please!

✧ carmen’s boys spent a lot of time outside with the horses. joshua, at eight years old, had just started learning to ride. two year old charlie just liked to follow his big brother around.

✧ with joshua and charlie spending so much time with violet and uncle ‘oris, as he’d affectionately been dubbed, carmen started joining them.

✧ there was one time in particular when carmen was braiding joshua’s hair on the back of their wraparound porch. violet was rinsing her hands at the water hose when charlie toddled up to her, asking if she’d braid his hair.

“i don’t know if your mama would be okay with me messing with your hair, little man, plus i-”

“oh no, you’re fine. just wash your hands first.”

“… i’m actually not much of a braider. my sister learned, but i’m no good.”

✧ the genuine heartbreak plastered on charlie’s face felt like a punch to violet’s gut. she left work that day and asked her friend mel to teach her how to braid.

✧ almost everyday, violet could feel carmen’s deep brown eyes staring at her at some point. initially she thought she’d done something to upset her employer, but whenever she turned to catch the woman’s eye, karmen would turn away, almost hiding.

✧ and that oh, i've fucked up turned into oh, she’s totally into me.

✧ violet had always been attracted to carmen. it wasn’t just her deep brown skin or her coily hair. it wasn’t the curve of her hips or the swell of her breasts. it wasn’t even her ass.

✧ while she appreciated all of those things, it was carmen’s gentle personality that did it for violet. it was her maternal instinct. her soft voice, her laugh, even her grimace when loris let the family dog lick him in the face.

✧ as time passed, violet began to test the waters.

✧ a pet name here, a brush past her waist there. not enough to get her fired, but just enough to gauge carmen’s reaction.

✧ almost a year after carmen’s divorce, she and violet were outside drinking from a bottle of wine when the tension came to a head.

“violet, i-”

“told you to call me vi, doll.”

“… vi. i have a question.”

“shoot.”

“have you ever… been with a woman?”

✧ violet smirked.

“emotionally or physically?”

✧ carmen, thrown off guard by the vulgar implication of the question, was stuck opening and closing her mouth like a fish. at her reaction, violet laughed.

“honey, have you met me? that’s like asking does a fish need water!”

✧ carmen turned away as she felt her face heat up. the numerous pert names had been a thing for a while but they still got to her.

“so, yes then?”

“yes, carmen. i’ve been with a woman before. have you?” she could hear the smugness in violet’s voice. she shook her head no.

“do you wanna be?”

✧ carmen looked up, eyes wide. bold much?

✧ long story short, carmen ended up with a girlfriend after that.

✧ for a while, she was so stuck on the fact that she was dating someone who was working for her.

“it feels like i’m paying you to be with me, vi.”

“baby, listen to me. you and i both know what i’m being paid for. us being together doesn’t change my work schedule, and it doesn’t change my pay rate. it doesn’t change anything.”

✧ and even though it made sense logically, carmen couldn’t shake the nagging.

✧ violet’s only solution was find another job. and while it upset carmen to not get to see violet as much, she felt it was the best thing to ease her conscience.

✧ for a few months, the two women were in their honeymoon phase.

✧ one weekend, while the boys were visiting their dad and sisters (there’s three now), carmen was preparing dinner while she waited for violet to come over when she got a call from her ex husband.

“hello?”

“why the fuck is my son telling me you laying up with somebody around my kids?”

“i don’t know, but you need to watch how you talk to me-”

“nah, because you got me fucked up if you think you finna have some nigga in my kids’ face.”

“and you got me fucked up if you think you’re gonna call my phone and talk to me like you’re crazy. what i do in my house is my business, and if you must know, i’m not laying up with any nigga.”

“then who the fu… wait. you telling me you fucking on some bitch? you a dyke now?”

“joseph, i’m only saying this once. i am a grown woman living in my own house paying my own bills. you don’t get to cheat on me and have not one but two babies on me, and then criticize what i do after i leave you. i deal with you because you are my sons’ father. our relationship doesn’t go beyond that. i didn’t call you showing my ass when joshua told me that girl was living in your house or that she was having another baby because i trust you to do right by your kids. you need to trust me to do the same. now, if you would like to talk civilly about my partner’s presence around my sons, then feel free to talk to me about that. if not, you have no reason to call me unless it has to do with the wellbeing of our children,” and then she hung up.

✧ when violet showed up that night, she didn’t expect to find carmen bawling her eyes out on her couch.

✧ violet sat carmen on her lap and listened to all of her woes. personally, she had always been comfortable with who she was and if anyone had anything bad to say, fuck them. however, she understood that carmen was coming from a different place, one violet had never been in.

“there’s always gonna be someone with something to say, love. that doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong and it doesn’t mean you need to change for anyone. not your family, not your friends, not your ex, not me. only change for yourself.”

✧ after a year, violet moved in with carmen and her kids. the boys, now ten and four, were ecstatic.

“so is this like getting another mama? do we call you mama, too?”

“yay! mama vi!”

“… you boys can call me whatever you feel comfortable with.”

✧ for the next few years, they had a steady routine. carmen would make breakfast, everyone would get ready for the day, violet would get started on taking care of the animals (she quit her janky job after she moved into the house), and once the day was over, carmen and violet would make sure the boys’ hair was ready for the next day.

✧ nothing changed much over the years except for the diamond ring that sat on carmen’s left hand.

𝘰𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘵 𝘪 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘶𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘪 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴. 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺: 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘴4 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘣𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘪 (≧∇≦)/

— 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘢

choosing to not finish jujutsu kaisen bc satoru gojo can’t stay dead DENILE IS A RIVER IN EGYPT

this mf is supposed to be immortal wdym.

AND DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON CHOSO FUCKING KAMO.

channeling my inner maddie bc im literally gonna get violent.

in conclusion, fuck you gege.

— 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘢

YAWNNNNSSSS like a greedy bitch

I get that Miguel O’Hara is hot hunk but can you y’all like tone down the smut a bit? I’m not saying that they’re bad but i just wanna see more grumpy x sunshine trope between Miguel and The Reader. Maybe something wholesome would be nice.

crying a little more than usual at 10 in the morning :P

fr and he’s not even my bias

I scroll through the Jongho tag on tiktok and start chewing on my hand and scratching on the walls

𝑾𝑨𝑰𝑻, 𝑾𝑯𝑨𝑻?

𝘔𝘐𝘡𝘜 𝘙𝘌𝘛𝘜𝘙𝘕𝘚 𝘛𝘖 𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘏𝘌𝘈𝘙𝘛

𝘔𝘐𝘡𝘜 𝘟 𝘖𝘊

𝘊𝘞: 𝘚𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘊𝘈𝘕𝘖𝘕 𝘛𝘠𝘗𝘐𝘊𝘈𝘓 𝘝𝘐𝘖𝘓𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌, 𝘛𝘌𝘌𝘕𝘠 𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘠 𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘚𝘛, 𝘍𝘓𝘜𝘍𝘍, 𝘙𝘌𝘍𝘌𝘙𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌𝘋 𝘏𝘖𝘔𝘖𝘗𝘏𝘖𝘉𝘐𝘈, 𝘓𝘐𝘓 𝘉𝘐𝘛 𝘖𝘍 𝘋𝘝, 𝘖𝘊 𝘐𝘚 𝘈 𝘠𝘌𝘈𝘙 𝘖𝘓𝘋𝘌𝘙 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘕 𝘔𝘐𝘡𝘜, 𝘏𝘌/𝘏𝘐𝘔 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘕𝘖𝘜𝘕𝘚 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘔𝘐𝘡𝘜 𝘜𝘚𝘌𝘋 𝘓𝘐𝘒𝘌 𝘖𝘕𝘊𝘌, 𝘔𝘐𝘡𝘜'𝘚 𝘈 𝘓𝘐𝘛𝘛𝘓𝘌 𝘊𝘖𝘕𝘍𝘜𝘚𝘌𝘋, 𝘙𝘌𝘍𝘌𝘙𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌𝘋 𝘔𝘐𝘒𝘐𝘖

𝘞𝘊: 1,419

𝘔.𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛

mizu had been away in london for two and a half years. with the help of abijah fowler, she’d located the other two men she spent so much time looking for. the last two men that could have potentially put her on this godforsaken earth.

she killed all three of them in one fell swoop.

as she stood on the boat taking her home, she couldn’t help but think about what awaited her. how was everyone doing? did akemi and taigen ever work it out? where was ringo? how was swordfather holding up? how was yui?

as yui came to mind, mizu felt her stomach drop slowly but surely.

yui.

mizu’s closest friend. her longest friend. the reason mizu spent so many nights of this four year journey restless. yui plagued the woman’s mind like death.

the two met shortly after mizu began living with master eiji. yui would periodically bring fresh fruits and vegetables for the old man to have. yui, only seven at the time, was so fascinated by the kid, she couldn’t help but want to be around all the time.

now, she was twenty-six. mizu left right after yui turned twenty-two, being twenty-one herself. compared to the fifteen years they’d known each other beforehand, four years wasn’t long, and they saw each other briefly just before mizu’s impromptu trip to find the white men. to be apart from someone you’d grown up with, though, someone who’d been like an extension of you, was like missing a part of you.

if nothing else, i hope she’s happy… wherever she is.

the journey was long, but after five and a half months at sea and three weeks of land travel, mizu stood in front of the small hut she grew up in.

dressed in her very old kimono and very tattered pants, her hair tied back in her typical ponytail, mizu felt stuck in place.

what if no one’s home?

what if they turn me away?

what if something happened to them?

it wasn’t the first time she had these thoughts, but it was the first time they hit her this fierce.

with bated breath and a hand on the blade at her waist, mizu stepped forward and walked inside.

the first thing she noticed was the lack of fire, swordfather nowhere in sight. her heart beat roughly against her chest at the thought of where he could be, but the shallow breathing quickly pushed that thought aside.

wait, what?

as she turned, ignoring the whiplash, mizu spotted a shorter figure tucked away in the corner. the lighting was bad, but if she squinted, she could make out the wide eyes of the woman who’d unknowingly stolen her heart.

she didn’t look much different. same pretty eyes, same pretty nose, same pretty lips…

…accompanied by some swelling, bruising, and a small cut.

wait. what?

“mizu? is that you?” yui’s voice was so small, you almost couldn’t hear it.

“what happened to you?” mizu responded, taking long strides to wrap her friend in her arms, almost shielding her from the world.

“you… you’re here? i’m not dreaming?” yui’s hands shook as they came to mizu’s face, one holding a damp cloth. the samurai took that very hand in her own.

“i’m here, yui. tell me what happened. who hurt you?” her voice was soft, and yet the malice was clear as day.

“i- i can’t believe you’re here. i prayed everyday for you to come back to me. you look so tired and- and thin,” as yui rambled, tears welled in her eyes. there was so much concern in her voice, and mizu wanted to draw blood.

you beautiful angel. you’re hurt and worrying about me.

“yui, look at me. who hurt you?”

the blubbering woman blinked a few times. mizu grabbed her flushed cheeks to keep eye contact.

“i- you don’t need to worry about me, mizu. are you hungry? let me get you some food,” yui tried to pulled away.

“yui.”

she stopped walking. with a drop of her head and a trembling sigh, yui turned back around.

“… my parents married me off a year ago-“

“what’s his name?”

“mizu, this is why i didn’t want to tell you! you don’t need to do anything, i’m fine!”

the samurai, in the middle of storming out, stopped herself.

when did i become this… protective?

she didn’t get to think on it too much before yui grabbed her from behind, pulling mizu’s back to her front.

“he only hit me a few times. a few days ago he got really drunk and he was upset about something and he just… we ran into taigen in kohama the day after. taigen told him to stay away from me and then brought me here. mizu, i promise i’m okay. don’t leave me… not again.”

as the sun came down, two sat huddled by the fire. swordfather, ringo, and even taigen surprisingly welcomed her home with open arms.

"ya know, master, taigen really gave yui a run for her money missing you."

"what the hell are you talking about, ringo? i did not miss him. i only spent so much time here because there needed to be a man to take care of the house with this idiot was getting his blood revenge or whatever. we seriously thought you were dead."

"i'm sorry for worrying you all. and thank you, taigen, for taking care of yui and swordfather."

taigen didn't have a retort for that, and it was silent save for master eiji's "hmmm."

as the hours ticked away, it got quieter, taigen and ringo leaving for their own homes and master eiji retiring for the night.

mizu and yui were still sat together by the small fire.

i'm gonna do it. she deserves to know.

"yui, I..." she started.

"yes?" the aforementioned woman looked up to mizu, eyes wide with innocence and happiness.

"uhm...i-"

"i’m so in love you, mizu. did you know that?"

wait... what?

"i- i'm not a... man," mizu had to force it out. she expected the joy in yui's face to dissipate, but the eyes staring at her didn't flash with any anger, distrust, or confusion.

"i know that, mizu," yui's lips curved in a small smile. mizu stood in shock.

"wait, but how? did you see me naked? you can't be in love with me, yui. i lied to you. for years."

yui giggled at her before grimacing softly.

"i guess that means the feeling isn't mutual then, huh?" her tone was light, but the hurt was written all over her face.

"no, mizu started, cradling the soft skin of yui's face, "no, no, no, yui. i love you more than anything in this world. i live and breathe for you."

"then how can you sit here and tell me that i can't love you and then turn around and tell me you love me?"

mizu sighed. she's never been good at this whole being in love thing.

"it's just... i've been in love before and it didn't turn out all that great. i just don't understand how you could... when did you... have you always liked women?"

now it was yui's turn to sigh, "why do you think i fought with my parents so much when we were teenagers? 'yui, you must stop with this foolishness, you will marry a man and bare me grandchildren!' 'but mama, i don't like boys! i like-" she cut herself off with a loud slap to the back of her hand. despite the seriousness of what she just told mizu, that smile was back on yui's face.

"what... what do we do now?" mizu had an inkling of a feeling as to what, but she still wanted to be sure.

"well," yui sounded cheeky, "it'd be really nice if you would kiss me."

and with a bright red face, mizu did just that.

after kissing for several minutes (not nearly long enough if you asked mizu), the two prepared to sleep. mizu snuck her futon out of the room she shared with master eiji and yui layered a couple of old blankets on top. as the pair laid together, mizu couldn't think of anything other than how happy she felt in that moment. and then she had a thought.

"you didn't tell me how you knew i wasn't a man, yui." as she snuggled closer to mizu, yui chuckled lightly.

"oh, my love, i've always known."

"yes, but ho-"

she was silenced with a kiss.

“sleep, mizu.”

𝘔𝘐𝘡𝘜𝘜𝘜𝘜 (♡_♡) 𝘺'𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪 𝘢𝘮. 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘪 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘢'𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘣𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘪 (≧∇≦)/

— 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘢

i really forgot mha is my favorite anime

the plot, the characters, the art, it’s all so

the only problem is the fandom :/

— 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘢

𝑴𝑨𝑴𝑨 || 𝟎𝟎

𝘏𝘖𝘞 𝘐𝘛 𝘊𝘈𝘔𝘌 𝘛𝘖 𝘉𝘌

𝘎𝘐𝘙𝘓𝘍𝘙𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘋!𝘚𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘒𝘈 𝘟 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘕𝘎𝘌𝘙!𝘔𝘊

𝘊𝘞: 𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘚𝘛, 𝘊𝘏𝘐𝘓𝘋 𝘕𝘌𝘎𝘓𝘌𝘊𝘛, 𝘏𝘖𝘚𝘗𝘐𝘛𝘈𝘓 𝘝𝘐𝘚𝘐𝘛𝘚, 𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘌 𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘚𝘛, 𝘐𝘕𝘈𝘊𝘊𝘜𝘙𝘈𝘛𝘌 𝘓𝘌𝘎𝘈𝘓 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘔𝘌𝘋𝘐𝘊𝘈𝘓 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘊𝘌𝘚𝘚𝘌𝘚, 𝘚𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘒𝘈 𝘐𝘚 35, 𝘔𝘊 𝘐𝘚 26, 𝘝𝘐𝘒𝘈'𝘚 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘚𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘛𝘐𝘊 𝘐𝘚𝘕'𝘛 𝘈𝘚 𝘊𝘖𝘖𝘓 𝘈𝘚 𝘊𝘈𝘕𝘖𝘕

𝘞𝘊: 1,739

𝘔.𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛

around nine o’clock, she woke up from an impromptu nap. the first thing she did was check her phone. there wasn’t much but a text from her sister two hours ago.

hey, can you come over when you’re free and watch noah for me? i’m going out for the night.

she tried calling her sister to see if she still needed to come over but got no response.

odd.

ten minutes later, she was out the door. promptly sending her girlfriend a text letting her know she probably wouldn’t be home until morning, she set off to see her nephew.

the drive was short. the whole way there, she wondered why her sister didn’t answer the phone. had she already left? if so, did she have someone else to watch noah? if she did, why didn’t she say something?

as she pulled onto her sister’s street, she was able to see the police cars and the ambulance in her sister’s driveway.

as she came to an abrupt stop in front of her sister’s house, she all but jumped out of her car and ran towards the paramedic carrying her crying nephew.

noah spotted his aunt from where he cried in the man’s arms, his own reached out for her.

the paramedics turned to her as she approached them, stretching an arm out to prevent her from getting any closer.

“are you his mother?” one of them asked.

she had to talk over the crying boy she desperately wanted to console. she explained that she was his aunt, and that her sister had asked her a few hours to come over to watch him, but she was asleep and unable to see the message.

“we’ve been trying to calm him down so he could talk to us, but he’s been inconsolable.”

“he doesn’t talk much anyways. my sister was supposed to ask if he’s having, ya know, developmental problems, but she keeps pushing the appointment back. what’s wrong? where are you taking him?”

“he’s dehydrated, likely underfed, lord knows what else. we need to get him to the hospital.”

her heart dropped as she climbed onto the gurney, arms reached out to take hold of her nephew. once he was in her arms, he gripped onto her shirt tightly and continued to cry in her ear.

“oh, i know, baby. you must be so scared. everything’s gonna be okay, i promise. where’s your mama, huh?”

sevika looked down at her phone as it rang.

22:47

Honey

she put down the cloth she was using to clean her prosthetic and picked up her phone to answer the incoming call.

“hello?”

“hey, you home?”

sevika could hear the upset in her lover’s voice, and she didn’t like it one bit.

“yep. sitting here, missing you. you okay?”

there was a beat of silence before sniffles came from the other end of the line.

“what’s wrong, baby? are you hurt? is noah?”

“it’s noah… they- they’re keeping him overnight, vika.”

“who, honey?”

“the hospital. the hospital’s keeping him and i don’t know where the hell my sister is and i don’t have anything! he doesn’t have his blanket, or- or his rat, or his pacifier! and he’s been so upset so i can’t leave him by himself-”

“what do you need me to do?” sevika, as she moved to put shoes on, spoke with a firm voice. it wasn’t too often that her girlfriend needed a rock to lean on, but on the occasion that she did, sevika always came through.

“um, could you go to my sister’s and get some of his things? i don’t know if police are still there, but i don’t want you to have to come here to get my keys and then go there just to come back here.”

“you don’t need to worry about that. i’ll take care of everything. you just sit tight with noah, okay?”

“i appreciate you so much, vika. thank you.”

“no need. you know i’m always here for anything you need. just make sure you take care of yourself for me.”

“i will. i love you so much, sevika.”

“love you too, honey.”

it was well after midnight when sevika walked into the hospital room after getting some of noah’s things. the halls were mostly empty as she walked through the pediatric unit with one of her duffle bags over her left shoulder and noah’s diaper bag on her right.

as she quietly entered noah’s room, her eyes naturally shifted to the bed where the boy and his aunt laid sleeping.

sevika walked through the room, sitting the bags at the foot of the bed before moving the chair near the window. as she slouched into it, she heard movement coming from the bed.

“you’re back.”

the woman laying down spoke softly, her voice raspy with emotion.

“yeah. i got his blanket, a few pair of pajamas, some soft pants, a couple t-shirts, some socks. grabbed a few pacifiers, too.”

“what about-“

“yes, i got the funny looking rat. i don’t know why he loves that thing so much,” sevika mumbled the last bit to herself. a laugh sounded from the other side of the room.

“because you got it for him, sevi. and he loves everything that has to do with you.”

“yeah, yeah.”

sevika watched as her girlfriend ran her fingers through the curls on noah’s head. there was so much love and concern in her eyes as she looked down at her nephew.

“how is he?” sevika asked gently. it took a before she got a response.

“as well as he can be. this is the longest he’s been asleep. he keeps waking up upset about the iv. kept trying to take it out, and then he’d cry when i wouldn’t let him. i felt so bad.”

“you shouldn’t feel bad about that, honey. he needs the iv,” sevika tried to offer comfort.

“ya know the doctors said there was absolutely no food in his stomach? and- and the police said the neighbor told them she hadn’t seen my sister in days. multiple. she just left home by himself. a two year old, vika. i just talked to her yesterday! how could he be completely alone, helpless for days and his mom isn’t somewhere dead? i’m literally a phone call, a text, a fucking email away! he’s- he’s just a baby.”

sevika stood from her seated position and moved to console the woman who’d began to tear up.

“we’re gonna make sure he’s okay, honey, i promise. and when we find your sister, we’re gonna get some answers.”

it was on day two of noah’s hospital stay that two police officers and a social worker showed up to the boy’s room.

the policemen to let the women know noah’s mom had been found (in a restaurant trash enclosure of all places) and was being charged with child neglect, child abuse, and drug possession.

the social worker to tell them noah was officially a ward of the state as his mother was unfit and his father was unwilling.

“so what do we need to do?”

“well, seeing as he has family nearby, we usually check to see if there’s someone willing and appropriate to be the legal guardian before-”

“yes. yes, i’m willing. whatever i need to do, i’ll do it.”

after ten days in the hospital, noah was discharged. sevika got the boy changed out of his hospital attire and into some of the clothes she packed for him.

as they exited the hospital, sevika noticed how quiet her partner was. it wasn’t until they reached their apartment that she found out why.

“talk to me, mama. what’s going on in that head of yours?”

“… you know that evaluation they did on him?”

the pair were perched on the couch. noah sat on the floor in front of them gripping his blanket firmly in one hand, his stuffed rat in the other.

“yeah. all the tests and shit. what about it?”

“well… i looked at the paperwork today…”

“what’d it say?”

the woman sighed heavily before continuing.

“well for starters, he was born prematurely with neonatal abstinence syndrome and fetal alcohol sydrome. they think that’s why his development is so off. they also think he’s gonna develop some kind of anxiety after all this and suggest some kind of animal companion.”

“what, like a service dog?” sevika questioned. if it was what’s best for the little guy, she’d do it. but the thought of a mut tearing all her furniture up was not a happy one. her girlfriend nodded.

“hm. okay. i’ll look into it. now what else is there? because i can see it in your face; there’s something you aren’t telling me.”

“… nonverbal autism.”

sevika was speechless for a minute.

“they think he might have it?” her voice was low as she asked the question.

“they know he has it. vika, how could he have been suffering all this time and i didn’t know?”

sevika brought the woman closer with her right arm as her emotions welled up.

“none of this is on you in any way, alright? up until now, you didn’t have any legal obligation to know any of this stuff. now that we know, we’ll make sure he’s taken care of. he’ll be okay.”

as if the boy new they were talking about him, noah turned around and looked at the adults on the couch. his eyes were wide and the pacifier in his mouth bobbed up and down as he suckled on it.

his aunt smiled softly as she reached down to lift him up and place him in her lap.

“what are you looking at, huh, baby?” she smiled at the little boy in her arms. instead of verbally responding, noah cocked his head to side ever so slightly and laughed at her. her smile widened.

sevika watched the interaction take place before leaning in and pressing her lips to the side of her lover’s temple. a pressure on her prosthetic pointer finger pulled her attention away.

she watched as noah squeezed the metal appendage and only intervened when he took out his pacifier and moved to replace it with the finger in his hand.

“that’s gonna be a no, little man,” sevika gently pulled her hand from him. the boy pouted at her in return and laid down on his aunt’s chest.

yeah. he’s gonna be just fine.

𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘗 𝘐 𝘋𝘖𝘕'𝘛 𝘒𝘕𝘖𝘞 𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘛𝘖 𝘊𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘝𝘐𝘒𝘈'𝘚 𝘎𝘐𝘙𝘓𝘍𝘙𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘋. 𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘶𝘴𝘦 "𝘺𝘰𝘶" 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦 "𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺?" 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦? 𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬? 𝘪 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘢𝘩. 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘪 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘣𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘪 (≧∇≦)/

— 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘢

tbh

Hmm if old enough to be my dad, why sexy?