family over everything

open starter ; @astoriastarter·. location ; donut hole in ashville. time ; mid afternoon  ▬  february 27th.

There was little Wilhelmina hated more than being called by her full name, but on that afternoon, she decided that the crowded bakery surely did up one on it. She was in the line for… well, she really didn’t know how long and by the time it was her turn to order, they were all out of her favorite creme bruleé doughnut and it would be about ten minutes wait for them to get her a regular glazed one. Coffee was the one thing they didn’t make her wait for, which meant that she had to order about three of those. One for the wait, one for the food and one for her nerves. She sighed and smiled at the lady behind the counter, absolutely never finding in her to be rude to anyone, even when she was feeling so deeply frustrated. She turned around with one coffee in hand to look at her second challenge of the day▬ find a seating place when all the tables were occupied. With pursed lips she perused the place until her eyes finally laid upon a table occupied, but with a free chair. Swallowing thickly (she hated to be a bother), she approached, clearing her throat when she was at ear’s length. “Excuse me? So sorry to bother you, but you think you can maybe spare me this seat? If no one is there? I have to wait a while for my order and there are literally no available sitting in the house▬” she pressed her lips together before she rambled more, looking at the person expectantly.

— ◈ —

While it wasn’t a past time she wanted to deal with over the weekend, MJ was spending her afternoon grading assignments. It wasn’t until she was a third of the way done that she realized that doing so at the Donut Hole hadn’t been the greatest choice considering how packed it was slowly becoming. But the moment she packed up to head home or somewhere else, she doubted she’d want to continue grading, so begrudgingly she continued on. Scribbling a comment on one of the papers, her gaze shifted up as someone spoke after approaching her table. She blinked in confusion for a second before the other person’s words registered in her head. “Oh, no--I mean, yes, you can sit,” she said, nodding. She shuffled some of the papers together into a neater pile on the table. “Sorry, a little scattered here. But yes, feel free to sit while you wait. I don’t mind.”

—

“Pretty much anyone?” Although, granted, Leon’s list of people he hated was much longer than MJ’s could ever be. “You should at least try and hate your kids’ parents a little? Aren’t they supposed to be a pain in the ass?” Or so he heard, but then again, the only time he had to deal with students, was during his masters classes, but thankfully, he’d never really wanted to follow a career in the academy, so that was good. “Maybe you just need to get used to it. Or not—if you don’t like it, you can always find something else to do. A different sport or something, you know? The important thing is to keep yourself active.”

— ◈ —

She shrugged. “I don’t see parents as often since they’re teenagers,” she pointed out. “And aside from parents that want their kids to win some kind of art contest, there aren’t too many that bother with little ol’ me.” Which was perfectly fine by her as well. The few parents she did get to know were never as annoying as some of the parents horror stories she’d hear from any of the other core subjects. “Definitely can’t pretend it’s a student either, because that seems very unhealthy,” she admitted with a small laugh. “Maybe.” She threw another punch. “Sports generally aren’t my thing to begin with which is why I’ve stuck to running or hiking. Maybe we should try a Zumba class together instead,” MJ smiled jokingly at him. "What else do you usually do? Maybe you will spark an idea for me or motivation to try something else anyway."

― ― ―

“MJ~! My longest friend~!” Skye whined softly, now fully laying across the table to gaze up at her friend. “You’re not entirely sure, which means you may just have a little somethin’ somethin’ to tell me, mm?” Fluttered lashes and a pout that was still worn as Skye slowly rose into a sitting position. “Interesting. A blur. Went entirely too fast for my liking but what else is new–” It was usually the same every weekend. This one, in turn, seemed to drag without having Kaleidoscope to pass the time. Bartending there was a social outing in itself for her. “What’re you offering?” She smirked, head tilting as she did consider MJ’s offer, wondering what she’d want. “I’d love it if my bed could be summoned here, and everyone cleared out to let me nap.” The fantasy was nice to daydream on, but Skye knew that if she wanted sleep she’d have to head all the way back home, and she was not in the mood for that. “I’m hungry, if you are?” 

— ◈ —

A sheepish smile formed on her lips. With half the population disappearing at one point, it wasn’t that difficult to make most of the days feel special enough. She chuckled lightly and shrugged a shoulder at Skye. “So nothing too different then?” MJ teased. “Or is this somehow worse than usual?” Considering the other woman was speaking and had perked back up, she was going to take it as a good sign though. Her eyes rolled slightly at her friend’s suggestion before letting out a small laugh. “Well I was offering food if you wanted. Or for me to get you some kind of pain reliever if you’re not feeling the best. But yes, I can definitely do food. What would you like?” 

Location: Myriad Cafe, early afternoon With: OPEN @astoriastarter·

Despite Valentine’s Day having been on a Sunday, Kaleidoscope would’ve done very well for itself the entire weekend if it’d been opened, but as a result Skye had free time to let loose and caused the weekend to fly by way too fast. A blur of red and pink and white, Stupid Cupid or something to that degree. Or that was just Skye’s drunken alter ego talking–aching and full of regret. Practically clutching the piping hot mug of coffee in her hands, struggling to stay awake and not give into the temptation of just slumping across the table and taking a nap. Only gave in just a bit to cradle her head gingerly against her fingertips while waiting for the caffeine to take over her system. The scraping of chair against the floor was grating on her nerves, like grinding teeth. But Skye perked up just barely from her fingertips to say, “If you had a successful Valentine’s Day weekend I want to hear all the dirty details right after I chug this cup of coffee.”

Grabbing her coffee from off the counter, she turned to find an open table. Spotting Skye, she smiled and stepped towards the other woman. As she approached, MJ noticed that her friend didn’t seem to be in the best shape and held her happy greeting as she pulled the chair beside the other. She winced as the chair scraped the floor, seeming to have a negative reaction on Skye, so she tried to sit quickly after. “Sorry,” she uttered out sheepishly and set her coffee on the table. At the other woman’s word, MJ smiled once more and tried to stifle her small laugh. “Not entirely sure if I’ll have an entertaining story to tell though. It seems like you had a rather interesting weekend though." She looked over her friend's face, trying not to overly worry. "Are you okay? Should I go get something else for you?” 

—

At his friend’s reply, Leon furrowed his brows. While he could definitely understand MJ’s choices and wanting not to bother others, he couldn’t understand why it was so hard for the shapeshifter to relax. “So what if it’s Zoey’s place? It’s not like she’ll get mad at you for not being good at boxing, you know?” At least, Leon couldn’t understand why that would be a thing. “Are you working extra hours at Worryville again?” Again, Leon teased. “Just relax. You don’t have to be good at everything. And you should definitely start hating people. It’s good for the soul.” He winked, to show that he was merely joking with her yet again. “C’mon. Put your back into it. Give me your best punch.”

— ◈ —

While MJ knew he had a point, it didn’t complete shut down the little voice of worry in her head. At least she could say it happened less, but it wasn’t completely gone either. “Maybe just a little bit,” she admitted to Leon. She sighed, chewing on her bottom lip and attempted to focus. Upon hearing what he said, a short laugh left her lips. “And who exactly would I be hating?” Even with little annoyances she found in some people, it was never enough for her to hate someone. The idea of hating anyone sounded rather foreign to her anyway. She threw another punch, fist connecting to the punching bag. And then a few more while maintaining the stance Leon had assisted her with. “I guess that feels more like something than what I was doing before.” 

—

Although the boxing gym wasn’t exactly the place Leon worked out, he didn’t mind joining MJ in an experimental class if it meant doing something with his best friend. Despite not speaking as frequently as they used to, he was happy things hadn’t truly changed between them. Maybe that just meant he was learning to rely solely on her and was beginning to trust himself more, like his therapist said the other day. “You need to put less strength on your shoulders.” Leon advised, then letting go of the punching bag he was holding out for MJ, then settling behind her, placing his hands on her hips to guide her. “Here. Your hips also move when you punch. Like this.” He then stepped back to watch her repeat the movements, before going to his place of origin behind the bag. “You know it’s perfectly fine not to get the movements right when you’re learning, right?” Leon teased her. “Just pretend you’re punching someone you hate. Even if it’s me when we fight.”

— ◈ —

“Okay...” Aside from running and rather basic floor exercises, this was certainly different than what she was used to. But she’d done plenty of things the previous year that was out of her usual comfort zone, and so mixing it up didn’t seem as horrible as it might’ve been for her. At the remark, she feigned a glare in Leon’s direction and she attempted to hit it again after his pointers. “I know,” she huffed. MJ was only partially serious as she continued. “But this is Zoey’s place and I would hate to see her again and say I don’t understand how to use her gym to work out. Or to let her see that I’m horribly awkward at this.” She rolled her eyes and hit the punching bag. “I don’t hate anyone. Including you even if we’re fighting, so that seems like a moot point.”

when: saturday morning

status: closed | @minmoon-ji​

               — He hadn’t come home until late last night and it was starting to become the norm instead of exceptions. Lucky for him, MJ hadn’t complained about not seeing him enough yet, even though there wasn’t much he could do about it. Work was work, and sometimes he needed to stay in until later than he wanted to. The following morning, however, Santiago took advantage of the fact that his girlfriend seemed to be enjoying to sleep in, combined with the fact that he didn’t sleep much, and he ended up leaving the bed to make them a simple breakfast in bed. “Hey… good morning.” He smiled, nuzzling her cheek to wake her up. “I made breakfast. And maybe we could take the puppy for a walk later? It’s–only sort of cold for you two.”

— ◈ —

Her eyes opened slightly, feeling Santi against her cheek. She smiled seeing him. “Good morning,” MJ yawned, rubbing at her eyes. “You did? That is awfully sweet of you.” Feeling more awake at his words, she sat up in bed. “Thank you.” Continuing to smile, she kissed him. MJ nodded. “A walk sounds good. I am sure Nellie would appreciate it too since it’s the weekend and now she’ll get a longer walk.” Her afternoon walks with her after getting back from work had quickly become one of her favorite things, especially since the puppy was still so excited to explore the neighborhood. “How was your night? You must’ve gotten home late, I don’t think I remember you even getting back.” 

Going for something other than a run to work out wasn’t too unusual, but she couldn’t say she often went to the gym. Nor could she say she often went to places like this with Leon, though it was nice all the same to hang out with him. The only thing she wasn’t entirely sure about trying out was sparring. Hitting and kicking a punching bag was no problem though aside from not having much of a form for it. “Am I even doing this right?” she asked, glancing at Leon as she punched the bag in front of her again. MJ laughed lightly, feeling slight embarrassment. “I feel like I am doing this wrong and therefore not actually working out correctly.”

The pair walked around the market, occasionally stopping at the stalls to check something out. MJ didn’t often head to the market, but since moving in with Santi, she’d been getting back into cooking. If anything, it had made her mom happy whenever she called her asking for help with something. “We should all have dinner sometime,” she said, smiling at the other woman. “I’ve been wanting to cook something, but it feeds like six people and I don’t think it’d be the best idea to have so many leftovers in the fridge.” 

—

Despite having had different relationships throughout his adult life, Santiago was happy that at this moment, he had been able to find someone like Moonji. Not that he would spend time thinking about who would and who wouldn’t understand what he was going through, but he was glad that she could. Moonji, in her own way, had dealt with death before and, although the cut in the bonds among pack members seemed to hurt on a different level, he would not and he could not undermine what she’d felt when she’d lost her brother. “Just being you and being here helps.” He replied as his hands cupped her heart-shaped face and he brushed his lips against hers, gently caressing that soft spot, before diving into a kiss, to show how appreciative he was of her. He nudged the tip of her nose with the tip of his own and let go of her, so he could fill in the tub outside and turn the jacuzzi on, then grabbed the phone to ask for a bottle of champagne and glasses. “I–realized I didn’t really ask you this… but how are you feeling now that your friend is back?”

— ◈ —

At least she could do that for him. Even if she didn't understand exactly what he was going through, being there was better than doing nothing. Having her loved ones around had been the only thing that had kept her afloat when Bin had passed. MJ smiled into the kiss, resting her hands against his chest. When they parted, she went over to her bags to change into a swimsuit and grab them some towels. Towel wrapped around her, she stepped out of the room and back towards Santiago. "Better," she answered after a beat. "I'm just glad he's okay. I don't know what I'd have done if something happened to him." If anything she felt horrible for not noticing sooner, but she had just thought he had been busy with Andy or school.

` closed for @minmoon-ji ‘ location: the streets of Ashville.

     She didn’t know what was happening, first she’d accidentally turned into that guy earlier, then she’d bent to pet a dog that had come to sniff her(his?) leg and suddenly she was running around on all fours, confused and scared at the uncontrollable transformations.      She wasn’t used to this kind of form, Rowan wasn’t entirely fond of changing into animals that didn’t have working hands (it’s why she loved raccoons so much!), and the assault on her senses was proving to be a difficult thing to manage. She darted across a road, hearing the screech of tires and the honking of a horn as she dashed under cover of a low awning, trembling and whimpering as she hunkered low to the ground, wondering what the hell was going on and how she was gonna get back home.      A voice caught her attention, and she looked to see a friendly looking guy nearby, she growled at them unconsciously, her fear and worry getting the better of her in the moment.

— ◈ —

The moment she had become Santiago, MJ should have just stayed home. And while she had wanted to help out Leon, that had definitely been a headache. Mostly because she didn't leave her friend's apartment sporting her boyfriend's face anymore. It was up in the air as to what was worse: shifting into Santi or into Leon. Deciding it was better to now go home rather than risk another shift, she kept herself very aware of her surroundings. As she walked, MJ spotted a dog. "Hi, puppy," she said, only realizing after having taken a step towards them that she couldn't pet the dog. Though as it growled at her, she reckoned that was probably a good thing. "Don't worry. I won't pet you," she sighed, knowing the dog wouldn't understand her anyway. "I've already shifted into a cat and I'd prefer not to become a dog next."

If she hadn't promised Leon she'd help him with his moving, MJ would've just stayed home. The last thing she thought would happen that morning was shifting into Santiago after having kissing him. And while it wasn't the worst thing in the world, it was still weird looking in the mirror and not seeing her own face. That and she didn't shapeshift much in general. Sighing as she approached Leon's door, she knocked rather than letting herself in--she didn't exactly want to freak out her friend. There was a deep frown on her face when he answered. "This full moons sucks. Also I'm not Santi--It's MJ--so please get your jokes out of the way now since I was this close," she held her finger barely apart, "to not coming to help because this is just all weird."

— Santiago knew he hadn’t been the best of boyfriends after Blake’s death. He’d gotten quiet and somewhat distant and he knew none of this was fair to MJ, so, despite feeling like he was failing his pack by choosing his mental health for once, when his girlfriend approached him with a weekend trip to a resort in the mountains, away from everything and everyone, Santiago accepted the offer. Now, staring at the darkness outside, covered in a thick layer of snow, he was letting his mind wander off once again… lucky for him, MJ’s arms around his middle came to his rescue. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head against hers and sighed while his hands caressed her arms. It took him a few seconds, but Santiago turned around to face her. His hands cupped her heart-shaped face and he pressed his lips to hers. “I’m sorry… I know this hasn’t been easy on you either. But thank you for your patience with me. Of course I’m happy to be here. A little guilty, yes, but happy.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and forced a smile to appear on his lips. “Are you tired? How about I turn on the outside jacuzzi for us, order some champagne?”

— ◈ —

MJ offered a soft smile in return. "You don't have to be. I understand." It wasn't as if she was on top of anything when her brother had passed either. Everyone processed their grief differently and she didn't mind given Santi space if that's what he needed. She just hoped being around was helpful in some small way. Squeezing him tight for a second, MJ kissed him again. "Well if there's anything I can do to help, let me know," she said. Looking over his expression, she smiled at him again. She would've been perfectly fine doing nothing at all if that's what he wanted to do. It was why she had brought along her sketchbook in case he wanted a quiet night in. His suggestion had her brighten though. "Okay, that sounds nice."

― 

           “I’ll take whatever moment I can get. Or whatever moment I can make happen for the pack because they deserve a break,” she replied softly, glancing at her own nails and noticed how bright they looked compared to what she normally got but it wasn’t terrible. Actually she might enjoy them, if she didn’t ruin them before the next full moon. There was no telling what she might be called to do between now and then. “I think they’re both glad that the two of you are getting on better than anyone could have imagined, but everyone wanted.” Zoey was teasing her friend, smiling over at the other in an effort to not focus on the pack which was constantly a weight in the back of her mind. “Maybe they’ll let you two take it at your own speed but if you do ever end up there, then they’ll both be overprepared.”

— ◈ —

The color she had chosen looked nice. Now it was just a matter of how long before she inevitably chipped the color during one of her art classes. She smiled over at Zoey. "At least I can say I am happy about that too," she chuckled. Even if things hadn't worked out between them, though she was glad that wasn't the case, it wasn't as if that would've deterred her mom from continuing to play matchmaker. "True. And I guess even if they are spending all their time planning, that doesn't mean we have to do anything about it." It wasn't as if she was in a rush about anything like that. The way things were going between them was good. The two fell into silence for a bit as the nail technicians finished off their nails. MJ smiled once they were done and showed them off to the other woman. "Okay so I think maybe we should still attempt to squeeze in a massage since you haven't gotten called out yet," she smiled, letting another attendant lead them elsewhere. Hopefully Zoey wouldn't hear anything for at least an hour.

—

“I guess it depends on what I’m in the mood for.” Sara replied with a minor shrug as she looked over at her sister. Sometimes, she was in the mood for shoes, others, she wanted to keep building up her sweater collection, now she had to shop for Binnie, too. “We could look around Ikea once we’re done here, but I’m sure this is something you’d want to do with Mr. Werewolf, right?” A light chuckle escaped her lips, before she stopped moving and tilted her head to the side, a sly smirk appearing on her lips. “Well, I would be wearing nothing, because anything I’d buy, I’d like it to be ruined by whoever I’ve just moved in with, but my second guess would be nice lingerie? It doesn’t have to be too revealing or anything–I don’t know what you’re comfortable with, but definitely something pretty. We can start by heading this way—” Sara pointed with her thumb over her shoulder, turning around to double check if she was right, then turning back to face her sister. “Yep, that way. Agent Provocateur and Victoria’s Secret are that way.”

— ◈ —

Her sister's nickname for Santi always made her laugh. "Probably, but I don't really think I need anything Ikea worthy." There weren't too many things she felt like she needed to bring into his place. Well now their place. It wasn't really any different than before, but it made her happy nonetheless for it to be official. A flash of embarrassment climbed over her neck, but at least the moment didn't last for very long. "I don't think I've ever really owned nice lingerie. So I may have to defer to your opinion on it." It wasn't really something she thought about and she doubted her boyfriend cared either way. They headed in the direction that Sara had pointed out. "I am going to say I probably don't want anything too crazy--even if the plan isn't to wear it for too long."

With everything that happened during the last full moon, it was nice having a reason to get out of Astoria for a bit. Mostly she just hoped this would help Santi get his mind off of his pack too. Setting her bag down in the bedroom, MJ went back into the other room to look for her boyfriend. Upon seeing him, she smiled and walked over to hug him around his middle. With his back turned to her, she rested her chin on his shoulder and tilted her face to look up at him. “So still happy we came out here or should we have just stayed home?” she asked, teasing lightly. 

location: silkwood mall

status: closed | @minmoon-ji​

— Her arms were linked to MJ’s from the moment they stepped out of the car. Now that Sara had found a nice AirBnB for her parents to stay until the end of the year, which, was something she had foreseen and had started looking even before her mother reached out, saying they’d be extending their stay… anyways, now that this was out of the way, Sara could dedicate herself to MJ and her own life. They had agreed to go hiking more often and to go shopping, and out of the two, only the hiking had happened. Now they were here and Sara was ready to spend some money on cute sweaters–also lingerie to wear underneath them. 

“Where would you like to go first?”

— ◈ —

MJ thought about what stores were in the mall. The last time she’d been here, she’d been shopping for Binnie. It was very rare for her to go shopping for herself--she never could talk herself into treating herself on different things. But that was why she wanted Sara’s company since there was no way her sister would let her come out of the mall empty-handed. “Um... Hm... I’m not entirely sure. What stores have you gone to that you like?” Getting some clothes for the winter season would be nice, and while she doubted Santiago cared what she wore, she thought it might be nice to get something nice to wear for him. “What’s a good outfit to wear for a ‘Hooray, we moved in together’?”