Aww, I thought this chapter was a really sweet idea, though I'm not sure at all how to execute it. I struggle with fluff, I guess. But hey, I figure Julius is the type to write sappy love letters, but then totally chicken out about sending them, but he's such a hopeless romantic that he just stashes them away somewhere in secret instead of tossing them. Which then leads to stuff like this…

Edit: See the bad thing about writing stuff late at night is, you end up contradicting yourself sometimes. So, based on the events in the next chapter, I had to come back and edit these a bit. Sorry for the confusion!

"Mama," Angie inquired, tugging on her mother's skirt, "I look like you more than Papa, right?"

From the pot of stew she was stirring on the stovetop, Candace looked down at her daughter. From the day she was born, it was obvious Angie took after her mother in most ways. She had the same dreamy blue eyes, the same rounded nose, and though she was still young, it was obvious she'd grow up to be the spitting image of Candace. Her personality, as well, was quiet, humble, and gentle like her mother. In fact, the only thing Angie had in common with her father physically was her purple hair.

"And Sophie looks more like Papa than you, right?"

Sophie was the newest edition to their little family, their second daughter, who was every bit her father's daughter in both looks and behavior. In the same bizarre pattern as Angie, the only feature she shared with her mother was the blue hair she inherited. But that was where the similarities stopped. Even at the age of three, she was already showing signs of sharing Julius's fiery personality.

"That's right, sweetie."

Angie's face scrunched up, "But Papa's a boy, and Sophie doesn't look like a boy! And Papa looks like a man now because he's grown up, so does that mean when Sophie grows up she'll look all manly like Papa?"

Candace laughed. "No, Angie! Girls grow up differently than boys, so she won't look like a man."

"Then… then Papa didn't look like a girl when he was a kid?" she asked, trying to wrap her head around it all. How in the world was it possible that her sister and father looked alike, but didn't look alike?

"Um," Candace faltered. Come to think of it, Julius did look feminine as a child, which was where a lot of miscommunications had sprouted from. But was that just because of Candace's own mistake? Hadn't plenty of people known Julius was male, even when they were children? It was all so long ago that she could hardly remember.

"How would you like to see some pictures of Papa from when he was little?"

It might be best to let Angie judge that for herself.

"Let's see now," Candace muttered to herself, "Where did we put the photographs?"

The closet was small, and the small light didn't do much for visibility, but Candace was certain that she had had placed all of their old pictures on this shelf in a blue, floral box after Sophie was born. If she could just find the thing… Nope, it wasn't under the old family albums from her mother's side. It wasn't nestled in with her schooling records, either. It wasn't near either one of her pregnancy scrapbooks. Where in the Harvest Goddess's name did she put that box? Straining to reach the next shelf above it, Candace stretched her fingers as far as they could go. Ah, there was something! She could feel it brushing against her fingertips. If she could just reach a little farther…

"Oh!" she exclaimed, as the box came tumbling down onto the floor, "Oh dear, I can't believe I did that!"

The box had opened, but it wasn't the blue box; it was a smaller one, brown and red. It looked to be years old. Scattered on the ground looked to be numerous papers covered in writing, most of them folded a few times and blossoming open. This had to be something Julius had, even before they'd gotten married.

"What…?" she murmured, picking one of the papers up. It was addressed to… her?!

My Beloved Candace,

With every night we must spend apart, my heart burns for you more and more. What I would give to hold you in my arms, to breathe your name into your ears under a blanket of winter stars! You are my goddess, my sun, my moon, the very air I breathe. Your smile is like a ray of sunlight, basking me in your beauty. I could spend an eternity just gazing upon it. I can't even sleep because I'm kept awake by the sound of your laugh, a siren call in the night. I crave your lips like a dying man thirsts; the softness of your skin like a soldier at war longs for the warmth of a hearth. Those rare moments where our hands touch send shivers down my spine, but I'm in awe of it every time. The sweet poison of my love for you makes me dizzy with ecstasy. I can't bear this separation much longer. I want you. I need you. I can't bear not having every inch of you! I fear I may die of a broken, shriveled heart if I can't have you! Hear how my heart cries out for you and end my suffering!

"I… I… oh my goodness," she squeaked, face scarlet. When in the world had he written this? And why was it sitting here?! She ruffled through the other pages, picking up a few of them and scanning the contents. They were all like this. They were all letters written to her, desperate and longing and honestly, she wasn't sure if she should be flattered or a little concerned for her husband's mental state. Could someone like her really inspire letters like this? Julius had never made it a secret how he felt about her, but this… well this was just another level of intensity. Who knew Julius could write like this? And there were so many of them. He must've been writing these the entire time they were dating, maybe even before then. Had he never shown her them because he was afraid of how she would react? She felt a little guilty; even after marrying Julius, she still wasn't very good at accepting compliments and affection from him. No matter how she tried, she was always shy. In fact, the only time she'd ever been bold was the day she confessed to him. After that, it was like she ran out of steam, and suddenly she found herself being shy all over again. She was forced to accept that while she could have these spurts of spontaneity and affection, she just couldn't be as passionate as he was all the time. But he was always alright with it. He'd always taken it in stride and remained patient with her, eager to take the lead where she fell short but always going at a pace she was comfortable with. She was lucky to have someone so considerate for a husband.

"Mama, did you find Papa's picture?" Angie called.

Candace jumped, scrambling to hide the letters before their daughter could get ahold of them and start asking some very awkward questions. She was a skilled reader despite her young age, and she would probably be able to understand the general meaning of love letters. But she wasn't ready to have such conversations with her daughter, definitely not for a long time.

"Uh, not quite yet, Angie, but I'll come get you when I find them! Why don't you go outside and play for a while?"

It was a lovely day, after all, and children did well with lots of exercise and fresh air. She'd already scoured half the closet, so finding the picture box would be quick and easy when Angie came in for dinner. Meanwhile, Candace could take her time to pour over these in private, before her husband returned from work. And when he did…

Well, maybe she could try being a little bold one more time.

And here in this chapter you can see me trying and failing miserably again at fluff. No matter how much of it I read, I just suck majorly at imitating it… BUT STILL

THIS KILLED ME. I LOST EVERY OUNCE OF DIGNITY I HAD LEFT WRITING THIS GOUGE-YOUR-EYES-OUT-WITH-LOVE-ARROWS PURPLE PROSE. I SLAVED OVER THIS. I HAVE SUBJECTED MYSELF TO PUBLIC HUMILIATION, THAT THIS CAME FROM MY OWN HANDS. I APOLOGIZE TO EVERY READER THAT EXPERIENCED SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT WHILE TRYING NOT TO PUKE AS THEY READ THIS.

Yes, yes, I know it breaks canon a bit, but I always imagined Julius and Candace would have more than just one kid. Actually, I can see Julius having three daughters and loving every second of it! But I'd hate to overload the readers with a bunch of new characters (no matter how briefly they appear), so in this chapter we only see a second daughter.