A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys. Haven't been doing too well mentally and my brain fog has gotten really bad. Lately, I've been lucky if I'm able to get in an hour a week of proofreading through the fog. Hence, the long wait. It doesn't help that this chapter and the remaining ones were probably the messiest drafts in this whole fic and just don't work all that well, so ironing them out has been a real trial. The next two especially are kicking my ass so I hope they don't disappoint too much.
Also turns out I made a little bit of a mistake. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I have a lot of memory issues (due to ADHD, trauma and physical health conditions) and this can lead me to mess up in my writing as I often forget a lot of what I've written days or weeks later (and lately even hours later). It's especially hard because I have about 5-6 yumagna fic sequals that I'm working on atm so there's maybe 200,000 words there plus the yumagna fics I've already written, plus the sea mechanic fics that I'm working on and, well, my memory is crying at the overload. I do make a lot of notes to myself to try and keep track of information/key plot points but I can't read all of them very often because it takes too much time. Anyway, so I've realised in the process of writing this next fic that a part of it conflicts with my fic 'Dreaming of You'. It's not a big conflict and I'm not sure many of you will notice but I have gone back and edited 'Dreaming of You' just a little bit so things match up better. I've also had to do some tweaking when it comes to dates/how many weeks or months something took throughout my fics (due to doing the math wrong or because I realise something isn't possible due to legal time limitations/requirements - since I've been doing a lot more research into the exoneration process since I wrote 'if you love me, don't let go'). Anyway, to avoid any similar stuff-ups in the future, I sat down for the last few weeks and made a huge ass table covering Yumiko and Magna's timelines for their entire lives (week by week) so I can make sure that nothing overlaps/conflicts. And now I never want to look at math or dates again. Also trying to make everything fit to the dates of law school starting/ending, holidays, birthdays and Christmases and the days people died really did my head in. And then of course I had to rework a lot of stuff because I forgot that school starts/ends on different months in America compared to Australia lol so that changed the dates of a few important events.
For reference, Magna is about thirteen in this flashback.
[TRIGGER WARNING: reference to past sexual coercion and underage drinking]
Climbing into bed, Yumiko wrapped an arm around the form already nestled inside, sighing when she felt a hand immediately come up to rest over hers.
"I know you gave me a fucking hickey," Magna grumbled.
She'd been waiting for this all day - though Kelly had gambled a newly obtained packet of raw sugar on Magna remaining oblivious forever ('that seems to be her default setting when it comes to you,' she'd justified with a smirk - an, admittedly, highly persuasive argument).
Yumiko kept her tone carefully nonchalant, toying with the hem of Magna's shirt. "Did I? I don't recall."
She turned over, face contorting with disbelief. "Fucking Gabriel told me, Miko!" She shoved her. "Gabriel!"
Yumiko cackled, rolling away with the force of her laughter and the vehemence of the other woman's push.
Oh God, she wished she'd been there for that. Priceless. Utterly priceless.
"Miko!"
Insides quaking, she pursed her lips in an attempt to restrain any more chuckles - they were hard to speak through. "You really need to learn to look in the mirror before stomping off in the morning. There's a reason we have one, after all."
Magna scowled, clearly not appreciating this perfectly helpful advice. "You're such an ass."
Yumiko remained unperturbed. "Consider it payback for the time you gave me one back when we didn't even have mirrors."
Her glare faltered. "Hey, that was an accident."
"How do you accidentally give someone a hickey?"
Magna grinned.
Yumiko smacked her on the arm. "Luke wouldn't look me in the eye for a month after that!"
(it had taken a horde of sickos and the literal destruction of their rig for Luke to overcome this rather significant impediment)
Receiving only an impenitent smirk for her troubles, she rolled her eyes. "God, you're a nightmare."
Magna snickered. "But you love me."
It still made her stomach swoop, to hear that word fall from Magna's lips, even in jest.
Yumiko had to bite her tongue to keep from breaking out into a grin, warmth filling her chest to bursting as she fought to maintain a suitably unimpressed expression. "Mm. Less and less by the second."
Despite having confessed their love for each other over two weeks ago, it remained a tentative space between them that they tended to tiptoe around. She knew that, despite having finally accepted both of their feelings, the acknowledgment of them still made Magna uncomfortable.
But she never would have thrown it into conversation so casually before.
To be honest, Yumiko had never expected her to.
In many ways, Magna accepting that she loved her was more monumental than admitting her own love in return. After all, Yumiko had never needed to hear those words in order to know the truth of them. But she'd spent years coaxing Magna into believing that she was loved - and to not have her flee upon realizing it.
So for her to mention the fact so casually now. . .
Yumiko crossed the space between them, wrapping an arm around the other woman and tugging her close. Magna let out a surprised grunt - earning a chuckle - but went all too willingly into the hold, relaxing against her chest upon contact.
'. . . you love me.'
She did. And one of the greatest reliefs of the past few weeks was that she no longer had to hide the fact. No longer had to fear that those words would send Magna running for the hills, as they almost had the first time she'd uttered them, back when this relationship between them was still so new.
So fragile.
There was nothing fragile about what they had now.
Yumiko smiled, trailing a finger over the curve of Magna's arm and delighting in the few goosebumps that rose in protest.
After the debacle with Luke, being sneaky with hickeys had become something of a game between them - one that had ceased a couple of months ago, along with the easy playfulness that had existed in their relationship before then. This latest round, though, put Yumiko squarely in the lead - something she knew Magna wouldn't let stand for long. Like her, the other woman could be extremely competitive. So. . . Yumiko should probably expect payback to arrive at any moment in the next few weeks. She was unlikely to have to wait any longer than that - whilst Magna might share her competitive streak, she did not possess her patience when it came to playing the long game.
Speaking of games. . .
"Did you find your knife?"
A grunt was her only response and, though she couldn't see Magna, she was sure a deadly scowl was working its way across her face. Yumiko placed a brief kiss to her shoulder, smiling when she felt the muscle melt under contact.
She still couldn't quite believe Daryl's luck in taking that knife.
If he'd been seeking to make an even greater enemy of Magna, he couldn't have chosen a better one.
"I'm sure it'll turn up eventually," Yumiko reassured. Daryl was smart and she was reasonably confident he didn't have a death wish.
Reasonably.
Magna made an unsatisfied noise, clearly not sharing her confidence, and they lapsed into silence for a time, Yumiko counting the few freckles that dusted her girlfriend's neck. An old habit, one that she'd started years ago in lieu of counting sheep, soothing herself to the appearance of each spot until she drifted off to sleep.
Her vision was just starting to grow hazy when Magna's voice snapped her back into awareness.
"How'd your talk with Daryl go?"
Yumiko tensed a little at the question, taking time to decipher her tone. There was a faint hint of reproach there, but mostly curiosity, guarded by a heavy layer of indifference.
She relaxed.
"I'd say it went well." Though she doubted whether Magna actually cared one way or the other.
"You didn't have to do that. I didn't ask you to." Surprisingly, Magna sounded more resigned than irritated over the fact, though there was a trace of bitterness there too. Yumiko could see the muscles beneath her neck growing taut, could feel it in the planes of her body, pressed against hers. But then Magna sighed and the tension bled out of her, replaced by a heavy exhaustion.
It seemed Yumiko wasn't the only one who no longer had the energy - or the will - for conflict. "No. You didn't."
But then you'd never ask.
She thought carefully over what to say next, not wanting the other woman to think that she doubted her ability to handle herself. She didn't. She knew Magna could handle herself, that she didn't need anyone to protect her, but her way of handling things could often be. . . explosive. And Yumiko liked the tentative calm they'd found in their lives too much to risk blowing it to pieces.
She'd also never been capable of standing back and watching the people she loved get hurt.
And Magna had been hurt, whether she was willing to admit it or not.
"I don't like it when people hurt you." Her girlfriend tensed a little at the implication, still - as Yumiko had predicted - uncomfortable with having what she viewed to be weakness laid bare and on display. "If the situation was reversed, would you have been able to stand back and do nothing?"
Magna let out a reluctant sigh. "No."
"Then don't ask me to."
She was quiet for a time but showed no hint of wanting to escape her hold so Yumiko considered the discussion to have been a success.
"What did you tell him?" Magna asked, after little more than a minute had passed.
"Nothing he couldn't have worked out for himself eventually. Though he may have formed some of his own conclusions." Yumiko grimaced a little at the memory. She hadn't predicted that Daryl would put the pieces together quite so easily; she would have given him far fewer - and more complicated - pieces if she had. Magna's history was her own and Yumiko would never want to give it away to someone without her consent.
Trust went both ways.
And even though her own had been broken, she refused to do the same to Magna. Especially not about something as painful as this.
The other woman huffed but settled back down. "Okay."
Yumiko blinked.
Well, that was easier than expected.
Maybe she should give Magna secret hickeys more often.
Yumiko's mouth lifted slightly in a smile as she relaxed her hold, satisfied now that her girlfriend wasn't going anywhere. "Okay?"
"Yeah. Okay." Magna shrugged. "I trust you."
She stilled at the words.
Whilst in her heart Yumiko had known that to be true, there were days she still had her doubts. It was nice to hear, especially after recent events had her doubting whether Magna had ever trusted her - or anyone, for that matter. Yumiko knew that, as nonchalant as the comment had been, it had taken a lot for Magna to let it pass her lips.
"Okay." Lips curving faintly, she combed a hand through the other woman's hair, knowing that the admittance was no small thing.
There'd been a time when Magna considered trust to be a weakness. A mistake that only the naive made - or the stupid. If a person broke your trust, that was on you for being foolish enough to give it up to them in the first place.
Sometimes Yumiko wondered whether she still thought that.
June, 2002
"Gonna run my fingers through your long black hair
Squeeze you tighter than a grizzly bear
Uh-uh-uh
Yes-sir-ee, uh, uh. . ."
Magna didn't bother to hide her grimace as the lyrics assaulted her ears. This was the third time the song had replayed. The fucking third.
She'd never known such torture in her life.
"I'm gonna stick like glue
Stick, because I'm
Stuck on you. . ."
Maisie's guitar teacher was a devotee of the King and it was a love he'd proceeded to pass onto his pupil - unfortunately for Magna. Now she had to listen to that crap playing at home all night and day. Seriously, she'd been forcefed the shit for months now. Last night, her dreams had been filled with tiny little men in white suits chasing after her with glue sticks. Frightening stuff.
Right now, Magna was contemplating murder. The only viable solution.
Did you get time in prison if your victim was the most annoying vinyl on earth?
"You know, Maisie told me that you've been having a bit of a tough time, moneywise."
The statement ripped her attention from the devil's chorus and Magna flushed, ducking her head as her whole chest convulsed with shame.
After years of enduring the feeling, you think she'd be used to it by now.
"Hey." The voice was gentle, the hand on her cheek even moreso, coaxing her to look back up, even as she tried not to stiffen at the contact. "It happens. God knows we had some tough times growing up in our family too. Survived off crackers for a week once."
Magna swallowed, some of the churning in her stomach beginning to abate. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with the topic of conversation but at least this guy seemed to get it. No-one else did. "Yeah."
"Maisie said you're always taking care of her and Morgan. Trying to make sure they have something to eat."
Magna stiffened.
Shit, she hadn't realized Maisie was aware of that, had tried to conceal as much as possible from her, to shelter her. But it seemed she'd dropped the ball. Hell, if the kid was concerned enough to go to her guitar teacher for help then she'd dropped it right off a fucking cliff. She'd failed in her job. The only one she had.
And now this guy knew.
He knew how shit she'd been doing. How she hadn't even been able to keep her cousin and brother fed, despite the fact that their wellbeing was her only priority.
Her only responsibility.
Dude probably pitied the fuck out of them, too.
Pitied her.
Magna's stomach turned at the thought, shame rising higher as a trickle of anger soaked through the edges.
The teacher grimaced slightly, possibly reading Magna's feelings on her face. She'd never been very good at hiding them.
Had the bruises to show for it.
"Don't be mad at her for telling me. She's always going on about you. Constantly. Never shuts up, actually. She's so proud of you and everything you do for her. Thinks you're the sun - and the stars." He smiled a little. "Honestly wish I'd had you growing up as a kid, would have made things a lot easier."
If possible, Magna's cheeks grew even hotter. Her stomach still twisted, but not with shame this time. She wasn't used to receiving compliments. Didn't know what to do with them. Hated it. "Maisie exaggerates."
About everything.
Including how 'great' she thought Magna was.
She was a kid. She couldn't see that the idol she held up on a pedestal was actually riddled with holes. That all the good things she thought were inside her had actually bled out through the cracks a long time ago.
The teacher smiled and Magna realized his hand was still on her cheek, stroking absently. She didn't know if she liked it or not. Magna wasn't used to anyone but Morgan or Maisie touching her in a gentle way - in a way that didn't promise harm. "I don't think so."
She swallowed, narrowing her attention to Elvis' voice, for once a much-desired distraction.
"You can shake an apple off an apple tree
Shake-a, shake-a sugar, but you'll never shake me. . ."
The teacher reached into his pocket with his free hand, pulling out some cash.
Magna frowned. "What-"
"She said things are tight right now and I know you guys already paid for the full year a couple of months ago but I just don't feel comfortable with accepting it."
Magna stared at the fragile papers that lauded so much control over her life and the lives of others. She'd never really understood why they mattered so much. Why they were so pivotal to the fabric of the universe. But she had enough memories to confirm that they were. "We don't want charity."
Magna's hand itched to tear the money from his grasp and throw it in his face. Her stomach stopped turning, started to boil instead.
"It's not charity. Technically this is your money. I'm just giving it back." Magna's eyes widened and he hurried on, "Not all of it. Just a little to tide you over."
She hesitated, teeth sinking into her lip. Her mum would have taken it.
But her mum wasn't here.
Her dad would have pissed on the damn things.
She didn't want to be like her dad.
Maybe. . .
Magna shifted.
She wondered what he would want in return.
Everyone always wanted something.
She'd figured that out back when she was twelve and Tommy Evans from middle school took her to the local cinema - for the price of a half-assed handjob.
(she ended up liking the movie a lot.
Well worth the cost of admission.
Maybe this would be too)
Plus, they'd already accepted far too many handouts from this guy.
Not only was he giving them discounted lessons because he used to be friends with her aunt but he was also currently lending Maisie one of his guitars - and a good one too, not some crappy old piece of junk.
Both of these things, Magna could stomach. They were for Maisie. Had nothing to do with her. Not really. But this was different.
He was offering to help Magna.
Not Maisie. Her.
How could she accept that?
If Magna knew what the cost was, what he'd end up wanting in exchange, then maybe. . .
But she didn't.
And if her thirteenth birthday had taught her anything it was not to accept shit when you couldn't see the price tag attached. To only go into things with your eyes open.
And right now they were nailed fucking shut.
Besides, Magna didn't need his help. Didn't need anyone's help.
She was better than that.
Stronger.
She could more than handle her own shit.
Magna opened her mouth to tell him as much-
"Think of Maisie and your brother. I don't want them going hungry any more than you."
Fuck.
She didn't stand a chance against that. Couldn't fight it. Magna's pride might let her starve, but not them, never them.
Whatever the price was, she could pay it. For Morgan and Maisie, she could pay it.
(she'd paid worse for less)
"Thanks," she mumbled.
Magna forced her hand to reach out and take the cash, relieved to find the limb didn't shake at the stomach-churning demand.
She'd hide it somewhere her aunt and uncle wouldn't find. Over time, Magna had figured out enough places to get by. She'd also replicated the little trick her mother had shown her all those years ago. But she tried not to use that one unless she had to.
Too many memories.
"Don't mention it. And if you ever hit trouble, let me know."
Magna looked away. That hand touched her cheek again and he was closer now. For some odd reason, the proximity didn't make her flinch, didn't make her want to run.
He felt safe.
Everything inside her shuddered at the thought, wanted to revolt.
People weren't safe.
People could never be safe.
Her mum and Maisie were the only ones who even came close. The former was so far out of her reach she might as well be the most dangerous person alive and the latter could still prove a threat to her, in the right circumstances. More than a few of her bruises had been born from those times when Maisie let something slip in front of her parents, not realizing the harm it would cause.
Magna never held it against her. She'd rather take a hundred bruises in one punishment than ever blame Maisie for a single one.
"Shake-a, shake-a sugar, but you'll never shake me. . ."
Apparently, the teacher was not oblivious to her reticence, leaning forward as his expression turned almost pleading. As though it was him who needed the charity and not her. "Hey, I want to help. Let me help. Please."
People weren't safe.
But this guy. . . he didn't seem so bad. He'd always been nice to her and treated Maisie like a princess.
He seemed to . . . care.
Most people didn't.
Swallowing, Magna nodded. "Okay. Thanks."
"I'm going to stick like glue. . ."
He grinned. "You know, the rest of the town has a lot of shit to say about you," she winced, knowing exactly what shit he was talking about, "but they always have shit to say about everyone. Hardly know what they're talking about most of the time. And you. . . they're definitely wrong about you. You're a good person, Magna Carter."
She shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore the way that made her stomach flip.
Good.
What a joke.
This guy must be on drugs.
Magna snorted to hide her discomfit. "I hate it when people use my full name."
He chuckled. "I know. Maisie told me. It's kind of funny."
"It's a lame-ass joke." That only her mother had ever seemed to find amusement in. She'd had a weird sense of humor. Especially when it came to names.
"Maisie's lucky to have you."
Maybe. But Magna knew that she was even luckier to have her. That she probably wouldn't have survived all these years without that little pipsqueak following her around everywhere, demanding her love.
And her care.
Maisie was all she really had in the world.
Things between her and Morgan had always been tense at best. A by-product of the home they'd grown up in. Magna had done all she could to protect him, to take the hits she knew he couldn't, and a part of her had come to resent him for that. Mostly because his love for their father had never wavered, not like it had with her.
That created a divide between them that she'd given up over the years on trying to close.
She had Maisie.
And Maisie was all she needed.
More than she deserved.
No, Magna was the lucky one.
Clearing her throat, she shoved the cash into her pocket, desperate to get it out of her sight, away from her touch, so she might not feel the suffocating weight of kindness. "Thanks again."
He just smiled at her. "Don't mention it."
"Stick, because I'm. . . stuck on you. . ."
Any second now, she was going to break that fucking record player. Who the hell even owned record players anymore?
This dude, apparently.
Her dad had liked Presley too.
Magna could remember sitting on the sofa one night, sipping at a mug of warm milk whilst her parents danced to Hound Dog around the living room, movements interrupted by laughter and joking. It had been one of her dad's good days. They'd had those. Sometimes.
It made the bad days harder to deal with.
Magna swallowed, trying to block out the deep syrupy voice hounding her ears.
She hated it.
Couldn't this guy have had a hard-on for Oasis or Green Day instead?
There was the sound of running footsteps stampeding down the stairs and they both turned to see Maisie skipping towards them with a massive grin on her face. Magna would never understand how she could smile so much - and seem absolutely genuine in every one she gave.
"Okay, I'm ready!" Maisie announced, automatically seizing her hand.
Magna rolled her eyes, relinquishing her limb to the lecherous little goblin. "Sure you packed everything?"
The girl nodded so rapidly Magna feared her head might spring off as she tugged on her hand, dragging her towards the door. "Yep, yep. And I went to the bathroom too, so let's go!"
She huffed and exchanged an amused look with the only other occupant in the room. After over three months of being Maisie's guitar teacher, Brian Lawson had grown more than familiar with her exuberant antics. But he only ever seemed to find her impatient excitement endearing and Magna was glad that they'd picked him to be her teacher. Maisie was too lively to be stifled by an authoritarian hand. She got enough of that at school and church.
"Hide in the kitchen, hide in the hall
Ain't gonna do you no good at all. . ."
It was a good thing the kid had arrived because Magna was seconds away from taking a fist to that fucking record player.
Hopefully, the graduation party she'd been invited to on Friday night would have better music than this. If not, at least there would be free booze.
She reached out to retrieve the guitar case from Maisie, somewhat amazed by the fact that the tiny child had managed to run and bounce around without toppling over with the weight of it - but another hand beat her to the punch.
Narrowing her eyes, Magna felt irritation stir inside her at the grin on Brian's face as he took the guitar. "I promised Maisie I'd take you two to get ice-cream after her session. Hope you don't mind. My treat."
Yes she fucking did mind- mostly because of the 'my treat' part.
The last thing she wanted to do was accept yet more charity.
But Maisie turned to her, eyes wide as a lemur and bottom lip protruding. "Please, Magma, please! Can we?"
She was bouncing in place and Magna rolled her eyes, already knowing that she was powerless against such tools of persuasion.
"Only if you stop calling me Magma." The nickname had come about when Maisie was a toddler and, much to her dismay, had stuck through the years.
The seven-year-old paused, biting her lip as she considered this terrible ultimatum. At last, she landed on a compromise that she deemed to be acceptable. "I'll stop calling you Magma for a week."
"Fine," Magna sighed, already knowing that week would likely transform into half a dozen hours.
She yanked the guitar case out of the teacher's hold because this part, at least, she could control. He looked amused at the action but didn't protest.
Maisie squealed and latched onto her hand, taking Brian's with the other - Magna snorted, feeling a trickle of sympathy for him, knowing how tight and inescapable the girl's grip could be - as she all but dragged them to the door. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
Magna winced at the loud pitch. They hadn't even gotten any sugar in her yet and Maisie was already giving her a migraine.
They were almost to the door when the girl halted abruptly, fast enough to give Magna whiplash.
"Wait, wait."
What the fuck now?
"Stop! Stop everything." Maisie released their hands, holding up her own like a traffic conductor. "We are about to commit a terrible sin against God." She took a breath and dropped her hands - before looking up at Magna expectantly. "I haven't gotten my hug yet."
Oh for fuck's-
She let out a sigh, turning to face the girl. It was her silly - and, oftentimes, mortifying - rule:
No entering or leaving a house without getting at least one hug. It didn't matter if Maisie was the one crossing the threshold or someone else. A hug was always required.
All of Magna's attempts to thwart this in the past had been embarrassingly unsuccessful.
The kid was stubborn.
'A sin against God?' Brian mouthed at her, eyebrows raised.
Magna withheld a sigh. 'Don't ask.'
It wasn't just a wild fib either. When Maisie was five she'd had a dream where 'God' appeared to her with some very specific instructions. Magna wasn't sure what those instructions had been exactly - apparently it was a 'private conversation' - but it was after this that the dreaded hugging rule had come into being.
(Magna was ninety-nine-point-nine percent convinced it had just been the kid's subconscious providing her with an excuse to get in as many hugs during a day as possible)
Magna knew her aunt and uncle thought she'd made the whole thing up for attention, though. Mal Carter found this amusing and, never one for physical affection, nonetheless submitted to Maisie's demands in these instances with a rare smile. His wife was less pleased - 'she can't just use the Lord to get whatever she wants.' Which Magna thought was kind of hypocritical of the woman, considering how often she did the same.
She knew Maisie hadn't made it up, though.
Maisie never lied.
"'Cause once I catch you and the kissing starts
A team of wild horses couldn't tear us apart. . ."
A hand tugged at hers impatiently. "Magna."
"Um. . . " She looked at the guitar in her other hand. Magna couldn't exactly give it back now that she'd made such a point in taking it.
Maybe a one-armed hug would pass muster just this once?
Maisie seemed to understand. "It's okay, Brian gives better ones."
"You just broke my heart."
She wasn't entirely joking.
Maisie giggled before tugging at her teacher's hand and looking at him with beseeching eyes. Brian sighed and sent Magna a 'what can you do?' shrug before caving to the demand. When he opened up his arms, she didn't step forward, she leapt.
Magna winced at the sound of impact as she hit his chest, limbs wrapping around him like-
Well, like a monkey.
She hadn't gotten that nickname just for kicks.
To his credit, Brian only stumbled slightly and soon righted himself, wrapping her in a tight hug.
(Magna did not feel jealous)
"I'm gonna stick like glue, yeah yeah
Because I'm stuck on you. . ."
Maisie sighed happily before lifting her head off his shoulder.
Ah shit, she had her bargaining face on.
"You know, the walk to the ice-cream place is very long. . ."
It was only ten minutes.
"And I'm super tired from my lesson."
Magna snorted. "Oh yeah, you look super tired."
Maisie sagged in Brian's arms for dramatic effect. "So tired." Her eyelids fluttered closed, open and closed, before snapping open one last time as she brightened. "I think I might need a piggyback."
"Well, I'm not offering." Her arm already ached from the weight of the guitar. It was possible Maisie had added a couple of bricks into the case, for whatever reason.
The girl shrugged, wrapping tighter around her hostage. "Brian doesn't mind, do you, Brian?"
The man in question heaved a long-suffering sigh, though his mouth quirked at the end. "Your wish is my command, my lady."
That was all the invitation she needed.
Maisie squealed as he hefted her up onto his shoulders - narrowly avoiding poking his eye out with one of her fairy wings. Magna hid a smile at the large grin on the kid's face as she settled, the shining delight in her eyes.
That was all that mattered.
She could handle coming in second place if it made Maisie happy.
She could handle a lot of things if it made Maisie happy.
"I'm gonna stick like glue, yeah yeah
Because I'm stuck on you."
Except another few months of listening to that fucking asshole.
He had to go.
A/N: I just want to thank everyone who leaves reviews. I've been so down and seeing the comments you guys leave has been one of the few things to make me smile so I really appreciate it :)
Also points to anyone who knows why I decided to include Elvis in this chapter.