AN: Not a ton of 'em this week but I hope y'all enjoy regardless!
Questions (Carl, Machias)
Carl takes in the sight of his son walking through the door – a few rips in his clothes, a scrape here or there, an odd mix between embarrassment and pride on his face – and slowly sets down his cup of coffee.
"Father."
"Machias," Carl replies, barely managing to keep from smiling. "You had an eventful day, I take it?"
He nods once but holds his head high, bracing himself for the oncoming inquisition.
Carl knows better.
"I trust your judgment," he says, deliberately ignoring the widening eyes. "Just pick your battles carefully, and please don't let this become a habit."
Fluster (Machias/Emma)
It'd been so easy to ignore in the heat of the moment.
One minute she and Laura had been steeling themselves to confront a monster out of legend, and the next Rean and their classmates had rushed in to fight alongside them. Her ARCUS flared brilliantly, making her smile when a familiar storm of swirling instinct meshed with her own, and when she and Machias readied themselves, they did so as one.
Only later – much later – did Emma permit herself to think back, to allow a moment to wonder.
"When," she'd thought with flushed cheeks, "had he gotten so tall?"
Candy (Linde)
"… It's not gonna hurt a lot, is it?"
Linde smiled as she rolled up the girl's sleeve. "Not a lot, no. It'll feel like a little pinch more than anything else – have you ever been pinched before?"
A timid nod.
"And did it hurt a lot?"
"Nuh uh." She looked at Linde, unsure but slowly warming to the idea. "Is it true that I can have a lollipop after? The lady at the front said so."
"Of course you can! You can even pick your flavor," she whispered gently, as if it were a secret meant just for them.