February 14th 2025.
This is ridiculous. It's a Friday, we have work to do. And a job.
We'll be going in a minute.
Sam pulled away from Ruby's lips, they had been kissing in the backroom for a while now. "I have to go and your shift is gonna start soon."
"Fine." She pouted for a moment and then rolled her eyes. "Just remember, Samishtara, you better not cause any trouble."
Sam laughed her off. "I promise. No threats to murder the whole population again." He grinned. "Maybe."
"Just get Ava to school, handsome."
Sam waved as he exited the room, near the front door of the diner, Ava was sitting patiently, her backpack sitting on the seat next to her. "Alright, kiddo. School time."
Don't make me regret allowing Red and Granny to get their memories back. This was part of the plan, not an excuse to add more things to the pathetic little life you've made out here. Our life is in the Enchanted Forest.
I'm not adding more things to my life.
And why were you giving her roses on Valentine's Day of all days again? Do I need to remind you what the grossly heartwarming message on that card was?
Not relevant. And those roses were thrown at her, anybody could have chucked those roses at the back of her head. Nobody even signed the card. Not guilty.
Very relevant. So guilty.
When Sam remembered where he was, Ava was already outside, staring at him through the glass. He then stepped outside. "What was taking you so long?"
"Trying to remember what I needed to get done today."
Seriously? Half-truths now? Just tell a fucking lie.
I miss those years when you were much more quiet. It made me forget how difficult it is to get you to approve of anything.
You also were in the system during those years. The cons sound much better than your supposed pros.
"Ruby said you're taking her out for dinner tonight." Ava said.
"Uh, yeah." Sam avoided eye contact, his face warming up with that sickly green hue again.
Ava hadn't noticed the unusual blush as her eyes were focused on what was in front of her. "Does that make her m-" Sam interrupted. "I can't answer that right now."
"Why not?"
"You're a smart kid. List me some reasons."
Ava thought for a moment, her grip on Sam's hand tightening as she did so. "You're not my biological dad." Sam nodded but then quickly mumbled 'which isn't a proper issue but has to be taken into account'. "I already knew my mother and Ruby would be like a replacement." Sam nodded again. "You and Ruby may not last." Sam noticeably grimaced that time but still nodded. "And I haven't long been in your care."
"Exactly. So, that leads to a lot of factors. "Am I a dad? Would you approve? Would Ruby want that kind of responsibility? Will Ruby and I ever actually be a proper thing? Is it too soon for someone to take that mom role?" Sam looked as if he was going to continue listing but stopped instead to say something different. "I'm sorry. Nobody needs to hear that on the school run. Not that I probably haven't scarred you for life already." Sam made a 'tsk' sound with his tongue. "Most smart people are scarred in some way anyway. Especially in literature." Sam giggled to himself as if he just remembered some funny joke he was told ages ago. "Did you know Franz Kafka went to nudist places but refused to take off his lower half? He got the nickname 'The Man in the Swimming Trunks'."
"I didn't. Why did he do that?"
Sam exhaled loudly, but not as a sigh. "He was self-conscious and wasn't happy with his appearance. It's less funny with context. Most things are like that."
"Oh." Ava stopped where she stood, forcing Sam to stop too. She then hugged him. "I don't mind."
"You don't mind that Kafka had body issues?"
"No. About Ruby."
"Right. That makes a lot more sense." They continued moving. "You know my mother once tried traumatising me on my walk to school too."
"I thought you didn't know your mom."
"This was pre-system. Anyway, I was really young, and I was walking to school, because my parents didn't really care if I got taken or got lost. Yet, on one day, since I did have a phone at the time, she called me. When I picked up, she told me she miscarried and was pregnant at the time. She hung up after that. Still don't know why I had to know that. But, it was strange for me. Not the conversation, but that she had gotten pregnant. My mother and father never said a kind word to each other. Yet they tried for another kid. I don't know if they wanted to try and make it work with another kid or they wanted a kid they could raise to go against me, which believe me, is not beneath them. I learnt an important lesson that day. Bad people don't hit rock bottom. There is always another bottom. A new low. A worse thing they could do. You think genocide and then raping each individual corpse is as bad as it could get? You're fucking wrong. Always. And I mean always there is another layer. And bad people will never stop trying to reach it, even if they die trying and thus throw that shitty goal onto their seed instead. Making that kid the next sick fuck trying to break past that supposed bottom layer. Bad people are bad, Ava. Redemption is a bullshit belief of the hopeful. The majority of bad people don't change. That's why good people need to keep the rest of the good people safe." They both were silent for a moment. "Am I getting closer to scarring you yet?"
Ava slowly nodded her head.
"Good. It will make you stronger. And I promise you, as I am a good person, and as you are a good person, I will always keep you safe. And you'll do the same for other good people too. You get what I'm saying?"
"Yeah."
"Great. I love you, kid."
"I love you too."
"And trust me, you may not fully understand this yet, but you'll see what I'm talking about. Today, tomorrow, a year from now. It may take some time but you will."
Ruby was putting cash in the register when Mary Margaret entered the diner, sitting in the table opposite to David. Something they did frequently. David was reading 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy, a book Mary Margaret had lent him. Ruby smirked to herself. They are so into each other. Even cursed they're so much like Snow and Charming. She picked up the nearby coffee jug (that just so happened to be the kind of coffee Mary Margaret ordered) and went around the counter to pour her a cup, leaning forward slightly, her arm blocking Mary Margaret's view of David. "I can push the tables together if you guys-" Mary Margaret interrupted, failing to sound uninterested in the most obvious way. "Oh, no, we're not together."
David started to add. "No, no, it's..." But then quickly gave up on it.
Ruby went back around the counter to pretend like she wasn't going to eavesdrop (which she did a lot because gossip 'annoys' Sam till he becomes too invested in other people's personal lives himself), Emma now having come from out the washing machine room to sit with Mary Margaret. "Hello, David." She greeted.
"Hey." He replied.
"Mary Margaret. So, how's your day going?"
"Henry's fine." Mary Margaret said, getting to the point.
"That's not what I asked you." Emma retaliated, taking after Mary Margaret in the lack of subtlety department.
"You always asked how he was when you first got here out of worry with Regina, just because you've set up a semi-permanent residence here doesn't mean you don't still have these questions, Emma. Even if Regina has mellowed out recently. And it's okay to ask how Henry is, really, it is. You are aware all good mom's are concerned for their kids the majority of the time, right? Not out of a lack of trust but because they want them to be safe."
"I know that. But, I'm not a mom."
"The same way Sam isn't a dad now? Yeah, you two both don't seem to grasp how the parent label works." Mary Margaret smirked. "He's doing fine. Pays attention in class, he's smart, certainly hasn't lost his knack for creative stories. He's been really helpful for Ava too. Good kid. Happy kid. And really, even though you 'asked', I think you already knew that."
Emma begrudgingly nodded. "Thank you." She paused. "Still not what I asked."
"Sure it wasn't." Mary Margaret 'agreed'.
They sat in silence for a second. "You sure?"
"I am around him like six times a day." Mary Margaret reminded.
As they talked, Ashley had entered the diner, Alexandra crying in her arms. Granny who was coming out the back took her for Ashley. She always was good with calming kids. Ashley thanked Granny, also overhearing Emma and Mary Margaret's conversation. "Six hours? You take newborns? 'Cause I would love six hours off."
"Ashley! I didn't even recognise you."
Ashley pulled up a chair to sit with them. "Baby on outside?"
"How's it going?" Emma asked.
"I mean, the baby's great. Sam's been really helpful doing things for me, even brought Ava over to introduce her to Alexandra. Even then, the workload is a mess. Manageable but a mess. Babysitters cost a lot more than you really want in this economy but everything costs more than you want it to cost, y'know? Oh, and first Valentine's Day with a baby, and Sean and I haven't seen or talked to each other since the incident with the mine." Ashley admitted.
"Sounds rough."
"It is. But like I said, manageable. And really, if Sam wasn't such a massive help, I would probably forget to eat. Or have no time for hobbies."
"Sam's always been like that. My brother has to drop everything to help someone, no matter how small the task is. He can't help it. Pretty sure most of the shifts he skips are just to help people shop or cross the street. He's been more sick in the last couple months than he has in all the years I've known him. And that man doesn't get sick. It's kinda freaky."
"Maybe he's got an interest in you, Ash. Ruby might have some competition." Mary Margaret joked.
Ashley chuckled. "Doubt it. I only ever go out for shopping and work, yet I still know all the gossip around town. He treats every word Ruby says like gospel."
Eavesdropping on their conversation and hearing her name twice now, Ruby saw that as an opportunity to enter the conversation herself now. Y'know, just for fun. "Well, I am quite angelic."
"I wouldn't say he's complimented you that highly." Ashley said. "What he calls you wouldn't be suitable for Alexandra to hear."
"He can be rude but he's loving really." Ruby shrugged it off with a smile. "He threw roses at the back of my head this morning."
"Wow, real passionate." Emma rolled her eyes. "Threw roses at your head, next is he gonna spit in your food during a lovely candlelight dinner?"
"No, don't be silly. On Valentine's Day, it's a tradition of mine to get as drunk as possible. Dinners are overrated. He doesn't drink which is good because I'll probably need someone to make sure I don't walk into traffic like I did last year. You girls can come too if you like. It'll be more fun if I have other people to get drunk with. It'll be like a girl's night out. Just with Sam there. And, you're in a bar on Valentine's Day. Nobody gives a crap, you can flirt with whoever looks hot."
"Sure." Ashley agreed. "Babysitter has Alexandra tonight anyway."
"Mary Margaret?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"Emma? You can come if you leave the badge at home."
"I got nothing better to do."
"Speaking of the badge. Sam called me while you were in the back doing laundry. He has a message for ya'".
"Is it stupid?"
"It's Sam."
"So, yes."
"He says to 'Get your fucking ass to work because I'm not working alone on Valentine's Day. That's sad and gross. And if people see just me and Graham on shift together people are going to assume I adopted your fetish for the Irish. Also, Gold's up to more shady shit.' There was more but he got sidetracked by how much he hates the Irish. Which led to how much he hates the British. Then the French. Then the Spanish. Then Americans. Is there a single group of people your brother does like, by the way?"
"First off, I don't have a fetish for the Irish. He needs to stop telling people I do. And yes, there is a single group he tolerates. The Canadians. But my running theory is it's because they produce the most maple syrup and he loves pancakes."
"Sounds about right."
"Best get going then. I'll see you guys later tonight."
Sam and Graham were standing out front the station when Emma arrived.
"Took you long enough." Sam said.
"No need for the comments, little brother." Emma spoke in a mock-demeaning tone.
"Fuck you."
"Fuck you too."
"What's up anyway?" Emma asked. "What did Gold want?"
"Moe French stole from him. We're gonna go check his shop and try to recover his lost items." Graham answered.
"Helping out Gold?" Emma grimaced.
"Don't like it either." Sam admitted. "But, I'm hoping this'll go towards that favor we owe him."
"You ever just think to refuse to go through with this favor?" Graham questioned. "Nobody would be forcing you to do it. It is just a favor after all."
"We made a deal, Graham!" Sam exclaimed. "By the dealmaking laws of somebody we must abide by this and do the favor."
"That's your problem then."
"Yeah, it fucking is."
Emma smirked, having the opportunity to mess with Sam more. "We're having a girls night with Ruby, by the way. She invited me, Ashley and Mary Margaret to drinks tonight."
Sam groaned. "Fuck sake. I am not taking you all home. You especially can walk by yourself...bitch."
"Was that last part really needed?"
"Yes."
Gold limped into the police station, his cane hitting the floor with a slight thud. He found Emma, Sam and Graham around Emma's desk. His retrieved items were sprawled out across it. Where is it? He ran his eyes across the desk once, then twice over. What he truly wanted was still missing. Where the hell is it? And where is he?
"Your welcome." Emma said. "You were right, your man Moe ripped you off. It was all still at his place."
"And the man himself?" Gold inquired.
"Closing in on him."
"So." Gold's words were a harsh and low whisper. "Job well half-done then."
"In less than a day, we got everything back. Is something wrong?"
Not everything. Not what truly matters.
"You've recovered nothing." He begun to limp towards the exit. "There's something missing."
Graham sighed, exasperated. "Nothing, something. It's just one or two things, Gold."
"Are you even gonna take anything we got back?" Sam asked, annoyed.
"Listen Gold, we'll get it when we find it." Emma told him.
I doubt that, Miss Swan.
"Not if I find him first."
Sam loudly scoffed. "I'm impressed you can say that in a police station and in front of three officers of the law, Gold. It's a dangerous game."
"That's my favourite kind of game, Dearie. Keeps things interesting." Gold limped back to the way he came in.
Sam followed, causing Emma to shout. "Sam, what are you doing?!"
"Sam ignored her. "Hey, Gold?!"
Gold stopped where he stood, he smirked but didn't turn back around. "Yes, Deputy Swan?"
"How much do you need that cane?" A gunshot rang out from behind him, he peered down at his cane and almost half of it had been blown off.
Such a shame we're on opposite sides, Dearie. You are so much fun.
Gold turned around, Sam still held his gun at him. "You are an interesting man, Mr. Swan."
"Thanks. Maybe my next book should be about my life. A real inside view on Sam Swan. I'd be happy to send you an exclusive copy." Sam lowered the gun. "Good luck finding Mr. French."
"And you too." Gold looked at Emma and Graham through the corner of his eye. "I won't be pressing charges."
Sam turned his full head to them. "Just gave us a head start. Come on!"
"You are ridiculous, Sam!" Emma exclaimed, Graham behind her as they both rushed past Gold, Sam having already sprinted outside.
"You're lucky I'm not writing you up, Sam." Graham exclaimed.
Sam, Emma and Graham had separated to look for French. He constantly checked his phone, waiting for any of them to call in any moment claiming to have found him. Sam muttered to himself. kicking the dirt in front of him as he walked, creating dust that stuck to his shoes and pant legs. "Is there even anything out here?"
Keep looking.
"I am looking."
There's nowhere else for him to go. Unless, someone is hiding him.
"Doubt it. Mr. French doesn't seem the type to have friends willing to let him hide out somewhere."
I thought the same. Doesn't guarantee anything though.
"Yeah. That's true." Sam admitted with obvious reluctance. "Hey, you see that?"
We have the same eyes, yes I see it.
Sam went in the direction of what looked to be a roof. Pushing past a couple layers of trees, his suspicions were confirmed. A two story building was hiding on the outskirts. Sam looked around and there was a decent view of the town. "Strange place."
Very strange. Scope it out.
Sam went around the sides, peering through the windows. The place looked nice, weirdly nice for a random home in what was practically nowhere. Nothing of note was in the back, looking around the other side and there was a telescope peering out towards the homes. "I really hope that telescope is just on a bad stand and this guy isn't a perv."
If they're a pervert, we can kill them, right?
"You know what? Yeah. We can kill them." Sam pulled his badge out and knocked on the front door. "Hello?!"
Sam waited. Then, after a couple seconds after what sounded like someone running down the stairs, the door slowly creaked open. A man with messy brown hair and big blue eyes poked his head out. He seemed erratic. "Hi, Sheriff Swan. Just wondering if you've seen anything or anyone strange around here? We've had a robbery down in town and we think they're hiding out around here."
The man shook his head. "Uh, no. Not seen anything. Sorry."
He's telling the truth.
"Well, if you do see anything, you know the drill. Let the station know."
"Of course, officer."
You know that feeling of being watched we keep feeling.
Yeah?
I'm feeling it again.
So am I.
Sam squinted his eyes. "Can I have a name? In case we need to get in contact with you again?"
"Jefferson. Jefferson Hightopp."
"Jefferson...Hightopp." Sam repeated, trying it out. "And if I needed to ever write that out, would that be spelt how it sounds?"
"Two P's." Jefferson said.
"Alright, thank you for your time, Mr. Hightopp. Sorry to take time out of your day. Have a good one."
Jefferson smiled politely for a second then hid his head behind the door. "You too, officer." He closed the door.
"Doubt he's a perv."
Agreed.
"We should keep a closer eye on him."
Also agreed.
Sam's phone begun to ring. He picked it up, it was Emma. "Hey, sis."
"We're gonna have to search tomorrow." She said.
"What? Why?!"
"We have girl's night. Also, you have a kid who needs picking up."
"Right. Right."
I told you your personal life would ruin the mission.
Dude. Relax.
"I'll meet you up at the bar."
"Sure thing." Emma hung up.
Ruby, Mary Margaret, Ashley and Sam were all sitting at a table in the centre of the bar. Each of them with an alcoholic beverage of their choice, except Sam who was drinking apple juice. They were all dressed well for the occasion, once again, Sam not included. He had chosen to wear the same outfit he had been wearing all day, and he made it extra messy before coming just for the sake of it. It made him stick out from the group, not that any of them really cared. Ashley was downing her shots one after the other.
"Pace yourself, Ashley." Mary Margaret warned
Come on, Mary Margaret. Let the girl have some fun.
"I am." Ashley replied quickly, placing a freshly finished shot back down onto the table. "This is the first night out since I've had the baby where I could have some real fun. The little breaks when the babysitter takes over is fun and all, but I never really planned anything for me during them. I mostly just slept and when I wasn't doing that, I was watching adults on YouTube build Lego I want but could never afford."
"That feels like most Lego sets. That shit is real expensive." Sam added.
"It is!"
"Well, I don't know if alcohol is a substitute for Lego, but if it is, you've got a whole lot of sets now."
Ruby looked away, having her own drink, she noticed a group of guys by the front of the bar. They look pretty cute. Ruby turned back to them, smirking. "Mhm, Ash, check out those guys."
"Oh, honey. I'm not sure I'm ready to move on from Sean just yet."
"Aw, come on. It'll be fun. And it'll take your mind of him."
"I appreciate it, Ruby. But maybe next time."
"Fine, have fun moping. I'm gonna have some fun." Ruby then grabbed her drink and stood up, leaning in to Sam's ear but not bothering to whisper. "Unless you're jealous?"
"I stopped caring about the conversation the second Lego stopped being the topic. It's Valentines Day, go out there and find your soul mate, or fling, not my problem. Just don't get pregnant. It could be a dangerous omen and I'm not putting my pristine body through pregnancy." Sam said, playing it off. He then followed it up with a exaggerated scoff.
That is not the Samishtara I know and remember. You keep trying to put on a brave face, Handsome, but I know. I know.
"You are so jealous." Ruby joked.
"I still have my gun on me, floozy." Ruby only replied with a wink, walking over to the group of guys and giggling loudly to try and annoy Sam further. As she walked away, Emma passed by her with the drink she just got from the front, sitting down with the rest of their table. She heard Sam say one final thing to Emma before she was out of earshot. "She invited me out. Why even ask if I was gonna be stuck here without her anyway? Man, fuck girls night. This was probably all a con to get me to try alcohol. I'm convinced Ruby's been trying to get me to try it for months now. That bitch is so fucking pushy."
Sam was keeping quiet to himself externally as him and Ruby left the bar, as usual his internal voices were anything but quiet. It had been nearly two hours since Ruby went off to flirt with that group of guys and Sam had had enough. Primarily because of the handsy stuff one of the guys pulled. Ruby let Sam pull her in the direction of the diner. Her words were quick and slurred. "No need to be so rough, handsome. It's no way to treat a lady."
Sam looked around. "Where's the lady? I can't see her."
"You can be such a brute sometimes. I can't believe you interrupted my sparkling conversation with those nice gentlemen."
"He should have talked with his words rather than his hands. And also, it's getting late."
"You're just jealous he got to feel my ass up before you did."
I hate her.
Agreed.
We're still jealous they had her attention though.
Yep.
We're sure she hasn't got some sort of magic.
Positive.
Jealousy feels weird.
We're really agreeing on a lot today.
I don't know whether or not we should be feeling this. This is new to me.
Yeah. Same. Small bursts here and there, never full jealousy though. I feel gross. Are we supposed to feel gross? Are we in the wrong for being jealous? Is it worse if we don't know? Is it worse that I don't feel all bad about what we did?
This woman is a bad influence on us.
"I am not jealous!" Sam exclaimed.
"Right, of course not. You just hit a guy for touching my ass then threatened to shoot him for it for the sake of it." Ruby batted her eyelashes.
"That's nice and all, but it's still late and you need to get home."
"Well, I'm glad to have such a big strong man to help me. I am ever so grateful."
Sam paused, taking a moment to look both ways as they reached a streetlight. Then he spoke. "Sarcasm?"
Ruby smirked, then gave his neck a quick kiss. "Take a guess."
"An educated one or a regular one?"
"You were educated?"
"You lived in a tiny cottage in a forest. If anyone's uneducated, it would be you, floozy."
"Fine, an educated guess then."
Sam didn't really think about it. "Yes to sarcasm?"
"Clever boy."
"Also sarcasm?"
'"Maybe. Maybe not."
"Wow, the alcoholic is a riveting conversationalist. Who'd have guessed?"
"Oh, did I ever tell you about the time I snuck out from Granny's house and went skinny dipping. It was magical."
"You tell me quite frequently, floozy. In excruciating detail too. It was all a lot more detail than I ever, ever needed to know. Didn't need to know what Red did in her free time the first time you told me. Also, nobody just admits that within just two weeks of knowing a guy."
Ruby gently hit Sam's side. "Well I do. So clearly nobody is more like somebody."
"You are impossible."
"Again, more like possible."
"And people say I never shut up."
"You could kiss me. That'd make me quiet." Ruby suggested.
"You know what else could keep you quiet?" Sam asked, a politeness now in his tone.
"What?"
The politeness quickly left for more cynicism. "Pushing you in front of a car."
"You'd try and kill the love of your life?" Ruby looked at the ground and pretended to sob.
"If the mood strikes me." Sam pulled her into the diner. "Which doesn't seem to be right now. You're welcome." When inside the diner, they saw Ava sitting at the counter, Granny opposite her cleaning dirty glasses. "Hey, kid."
"Hey." Ava smiled.
In retrospect we may have been in the wrong for what happened.
Yeah. Maybe.
Still no regrets?
Still no fucking regrets. I'd do it again.
So would I.
Sam spoke to Granny in an obvious tone mixed with tiredness. "She's drunk." He gestured to Ruby who had now sat down in the closest booth. She laid down like it was a bed.
Granny glanced at Sam, then at Ruby, then at Ava. She gave Ava a look that said 'Is he serious?'. She then looked back to Sam. "I noticed."
Sam scoffed. "Really? That's good. Thought maybe your eyesight had withered since last time I saw you. Seems not. Same can't be said for your comedy routine."
"You know they always say 'never be rude to people who serve you your food'."
"What're you gonna do? Spit in it? Seeing how bad the food already is, it might actually improve the taste. Especially that lasagna. Vile."
"You leave the lasagna out of this!"
"Never!" Sam took a long exhale. "I'll be back soon. I gotta help Ashley get home."
Ruby shot up from her resting spot, her brow raised. "Why's that, handsome?"
"She's a drunk mother with nobody else to look after her kid if she gets hurt, or even killed."
"Killed? In Storybrooke?" Ruby rolled her eyes. "You say the weirdest things."
Sam looked annoyed. "I've just been here a couple months, there has been multiple breaking and enterings, a coma patient went missing, the whole thing with Ashley's baby, a dozen different car crashes it feels like, the incident with the mine, blatant abuses of power from Regina, Rum-" Sam paused, remembering Ava was still in the room and attempted to correct himself. "Gold's going through his Godfather phase and thinks he's a mafia boss, today there was a robbery and unchecked children stealing from stores." As he finished the listing, he smirked at that final one. Ava's face going pink. "Probably not even everything either. So, this town is a massive safety hazard. And I don't know, Ashley could be hit by a car or something. Pushed. Rogue traffic. Also, why is there never any traffic in this town? Not the point."
"Fine." Ruby smiled, waving it off. "Go back to being a knight in shining armour."
"I will. I'm not adding another kid to the ranks. I'm no adoption agency, nor am I Batman. That kid will have her mother even if I have to get rid of every car in town to make sure. Trust me, the system is straight ass. This is THE best chance."
"I know, baby. I know." Ruby leaned forward and booped his nose.
Sam felt where he was booped with his index and middle finger together. "You gonna be asleep when I get back?"
Ruby shrugged. "Maybe. Probably. I don't know."
"Really fucking hope so. Have fun, you three." Sam exited.
Once we get Ashley home, can we start looking for French again. Because I refuse to let Rumplestiltskin win this round.
Knowing him, he's already found French, but yeah, we'll keep looking. And we won't stop looking. I refuse to give up. And if we can't find him tonight, we'll try again tomorrow. And then the day after. And then the day after that. We can even have posters be put up. Only issue is, we can't stay out too long. Gotta be back for Ava's bedtime.
Fine. But I'm not happy about this.
That's fine. You're never happy about anything usually anyway.
NOTES:
Had this chapter up on AO3 for two days already. Despite the same being slightly true in a different context for the last chapter, this isnt a running theme of the fic's publication dates. I finally got bothered enough to go and post it on here. My bad. Admittedly, I was lazy (and distracted by helping a friend with some debate stuff. The things you do for friends, right? When you could be writing some random fanfic instead you're having to help with some debate. Smh.) Anyway, hope you enjoyed and have a nice day/night.