𝑺𝑰𝑹𝑿𝑳𝑳𝑨

You lay there on the couch watching him hum lines and play your acoustic guitar, something he rarely played but recently started to use more cause your daughter loves it. Thankfully, the five year old was sound asleep in her room; she's not Eddie's, but he's been here her whole life, so neither of them act like there's a difference.

"You're kinda amazing with that thing. I bought it before Ella but never got around to learning it cause you know, the whole pregnancy thing."

"Yeah, I totally couldn't tell it was incredibly out of tune." He smiles your way and moves his hair out of his face, putting it up only halfway so it's not in his face anymore. "You wanna learn or just watch your very handsome boyfriend who's hit a wall with this song? I can show you if you'd like."

You hesitate just cause it's a bit nerve wracking but decide to do it anyway, moving over to Eddie who's sat across the small living room. He takes his notebook and puts it on the coffee table, moving the guitar to the side so you can sit in his lap.

Once sat, he kisses your throat, his chest warming your back as he pulls the guitar up to show you how to hold it, his hands gently resting over yours. "Come on, Loosen your grip, it's not gonna run away from you, Gorgeous." He comments, causing your face to turn a bit red, but if he noticed it, he didn't make it a big deal.

"So press down like this...it's gonna feel a bit weird till your fingers get used to it. Just like that. Use the pick to strum the- Look at that, you're a natural." He's so patient and kind about it, each mistake being a learning lesson rather than a detrimental failure.

Eddie had been with you nearly five years, unbeknownst to you, you'd been a few weeks pregnant when you went on your first date together. He was weird, charming, and so unbelievably funny. A few weeks had passed, and you hadn't called, so he called you. He found out, and instead of running as most men would, he stayed there through it all, the morning sickness, the mood swings, and your weird need for pickles and peanut butter.

You'd squeezed his hand so hard, giving birth to Ella, that he had to get his hand looked at by the doctors afterwards, which thankfully just needed to be iced. His face had turned red and everything, but he didn't mention it til way after Ella was softly bundled against your chest.

The way Eddie had been exhausted after getting back from his tour, but he took the time to show Ella how to ride her bike because she wouldn't even touch it if both of you weren't there to watch, the first time she called him Daddy and not Eddie. Eddie's face was priceless, no evening had topped her birth besides maybe this and the day you both met, but this was close.

"Hey, you spacing out on me, Beauty?" He asks as he kisses your throat gently to bring you back to now instead of what you're thinking about.

"No, I just- I was thinking about us. How you could've run, and you stayed with me like I deserved it or something." Your eyes are watering a bit, and your words get a little sad in their tone.

"You do deserve it. From the moment that first date ended, I knew I was a goner. You argued with me over which DND class was better for an hour. I think I just melted at every single thing you said, regardless of the topic. I felt insanely happy, and I knew it was never gonna get better than you." He rubs your back as he speaks, careful with you since you're now crying. Eddie carefully sets down the guitar again, moving you to turn around and face him in his lap, and before you know it, you're wrapped up in his warm arms tightly.

"I just don't know what I'd've done without you, the pregnancy and the endless nights after she was born and the terrible twos. I just can't ever repay you for any of that."

"You repay me with that by choosing me everyday, Baby. And even if one day you don't or she doesn't, I'll still be here. No matter where I am, Chicago, California, Kansas, another galaxy, anywhere I am my heart still stays here with you both. Always." He runs his fingers through your hair carefully, listening to you cry into his shoulder; there's no place he'd rather be. This is it for him, you, him, and your sleeping little girl in the other room.

Clark was in Metropolis, beating up some gigantic threat to humankind as usual, sending you on a flight to stay with Ma and Pa for a while since it's much safer. The weather radio had been going off like crazy today, just nonstop alerts from the National Weather Service, which Clark knew about and had quickly texted you to be safe and that he loves you. You replied with a brief "I will, but you have to as well, My Love. xxx" to which he gave the message a thumbs up and went back to doing what he does best.

You woke to the crash of lightning, which caused you to jolt out of your bed, but you didn't really think anything of it, as thunderstorms are common in Kansas. Checked your phone to see if Clark texted at all and went back to sleep but not thirty minutes later, you woke up again to the smell of smoke, a fire.

Standing up, you grabbed your phone and your glasses that you only recently had to get because Clark convinced you to go to the eye doctor cause of how much squinting you've been doing. They almost looked identical to his, which of course melted his Kryptonian heart quite a bit and caused his cheeks to turn bright red. You grabbed a shirt from the corner and covered your mouth and nose to be able to breathe; the whole house was pitch black, not to mention scalding hot.

It took a while, but you got outside, and you saw Pa standing there, realizing Ma wasn't with him, and before he could think about heading back in, you did. "Ma! Ma?! Ma, call out?! Martha!" You carefully went room to room searching for her in the blazing inferno. "Ma?! Ma..." You found hr on the kitchen floor unconscious, and you began dragging her towards the backdoor when the ceiling came down, a pipe in it landing on your left shoulder, burning it as well as your cheek, causing a scream to leave your lips, but you persevered and got her outside even as the spots on your skin felt like they're boiling.

You temporarily fainted and woke to a paramedic helping you up as it continued to rain, holding onto them to help steady yourself. "Clark'll be here soon...Thank you for getting her out, I thought she was right behind me. I don't know how to thank you."

Your eyes flutter, and you shake your head even as it throbs and pounds, "Mmm, no, it's nothing."

"Let's get you sat down, Ma'am. That was very brave of you." The paramedic speaks as he cleans the burn on your face. He's got a gentle hand, but every single touch feels like he's peeling off skin, so you jerk your head back.

Before you know it, the buildings are no longer on fire. "Superman," of all people, is here helping the firefighters by using his cooling breath to put out the fire. He's worried for his childhood home, of course, but that takes a back seat when it comes to his parents and you.

"Whoa, is that Superman?" The paramedic cleaning your burns turns to look and accidentally presses harder than he should.

"I think I'll be fine." You tell the man as you get up. It's great and all; he's excited to see Superman, but hurting you out of failing to pay attention is not great.

"How's the True Hero here?" Clark comes over, still having to make up appearances as Superman. The paramedic is freezing, thinking Clark's talking about him, but you and him both know he's talking about you; you're the one who's hurt, you're the one who saved his mom. Not saying Clark doesn't think paramedics and firefighters aren't heroes, but none of them ran back in with no gear and saved his mom. But being the nice man Clark is, he gives the man a nod before speaking, "I'll take it from here, Sir. She's in good hands."

"Ye- Yeah, Of- Of course, Mr. Superman." The man moves to the side to give you space to get to Clark, and you immediately go to him, hugging him, feeling much more relaxed in his arms even if your cheek feels like hell.

Clark got you and his family a hotel, separate rooms, of course. Ma and Pa would call the insurance tomorrow and probably stay with you both for a little while in Metropolis unless they'd rather stay in Kansas with one of the people in Smallville.

You'd stripped down into your panties, some socks, and a shirt you had in your car. Clark carefully kneeled down infront of you on the hotel room floor. "Lemme see it, My Love."

"It's not that bad, Clark." Turning your face away from him, you just wanted to go back to sleep so you didn't have to deal with the pain, but he carefully grabs your face and blows on it and your shoulder carefully before applying a couple things he got downstairs at the reception gift shop area. He applies a large hydrocolloid patch to both burns, helping you into bed, so glad not only that it saved Ma but that you are also okay. It scares him to think he could've lost everything so he climbs in bed behind you and kisses your temple keeping you pressed to his chest all night and part of the morning working from "home" today aka letting you sleep in while he types up yet another report on "Superman" and he emails Bruce to see if he doesn't know any way to get the insurance rolling quicker than usual since its his parents livelyhood, little does he know Bruce just gonna donate the money to help Clark and his family out.

"So Claudia here mentions a woman by the name of-" Daniel says as he lowers his glasses to look down at the diary, the mentions of a woman that stood beside Armand in Paris and many years before that. A woman both Louis and Armand shared for a time being, that woman being you.

"No. I will not speak of her." His golden eyes vibrate a bit as his jaw clenches, wanting to crush Daniel's throat into powder. He'd missed a page; you aren't for display in a book you didn't consent to be in.

"Claudia wrote about her. It seems only fair we-" Louis speaks gently to Armand, wanting to paint the whole picture to Daniel about Claudia and the way you were like a mother to her in certain ways.

"I agree, it seems only fitting; she seems to have love towards her." Daniel adds, seeming to try to get Armand to agree via peer pressure as he reads the one page Armand didn't rip out again.

"I WILL NOT HAVE HER EXPLOITED TO THE WORLD LIKE SOME CHEAP EXCERPT!" He crushes the cup he was drinking blood from, causing his hand to bleed, but he doesn't notice it. Armand walks off with anger, thinking of you, how he's essentially lost you the night of the trial when he wrote that play.

~ 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔, 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆: 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 1945 ~

The War had come to an end roughly six months ago, which meant Paris was full of hope not only in the humans but the vampires alike; it had reignited the spark between you and Armand, like newlyweds again after being together for nearly two hundred years. The Coven was so very suffocating when it came to yours and Armand's romantic evenings; so often Armand and you would purposely go out of your way to explore Paris entirely, the city above and the catacombs below, laughing like you both hadn't in so long. The catacombs definitely saw more noise from you both than the mining and the war combined.

On a trip back hand in hand, you and Armand had seen the young teenager and an older man about yours and Armand's age, two vampires that clearly lacked any vampiric etiquette; they didn't introduce themselves, but both of you were immediately taken with the dark skinned man with emerald eyes like a luna moth's wings. It became that of a habit, watching the two vampires out of protecting the coven but also fascination; Armand couldn't see it yet, but you'd become protective of the young female vampire with pink eyes. Armand had known vaguely of your human past and how you'd tried so hard to be a mother, but he'd never guess you'd attach yourself to the girl as much as the man.

~ 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔, 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆: 𝑴𝒂𝒚 1946 ~

You both had introduced yourselves to the couple of American vampires just a month ago. Claudia had become such an integral piece of the theatre, and part of it bothered Armand but also made him happy to see you happy, the way you were fascinated with her. It hadn't been a few months, and Louis had slowly started finding a place with not only you but Armand as well, it's not like you and Armand didn't occasionally have thirds but this felt like something so much more.

The three of you would rent hotels because of how much you'd destroy the apartment making love to eachother. Louis would take pictures of you more than Armand because he didn't even remotely like his picture taken, even with you naked and begging in bed with a cigarette between your lips.

"But you're so handsome, Mes étoiles. (My Stars)" You rolled over in the sheets, barely wrapped around your naked body as Louis again snapped another picture of you staring at Armand, the love in your eyes and the smoke leaving your lips, like love and lust beautifully personified in just a single image.

"Non, ne me tente pas, Ma Soleil" (No, don't tempt me, My Sun.) He clenched his jaw, annoyed with Louis' camera, but he says nothing else as he looks out the window at the stars, stark naked, smoking a cigarette of his own. If you looked like a dream, then he looked like a whole constellation.

~ 𝑫𝒖𝒃𝒂𝒊, 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑨𝒓𝒂𝒃 𝑬𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔: 𝑵𝒐𝒘 ~

Armand's breath catches as he sees the past, the way you looked, the smell of you, the way you'd love on him and Louis equally. The way you're out there somewhere right at this moment without him, you both had argued about it away from Louis. You could've popped the bubble for Louis, but between your grief and your love for Armand, you'd never have done that even if it was the right thing to do.

It was a few years after the incident when Louis tried to kill himself that you'd found out how it was Lestat that saved Louis, not Armand, from a mysterious message with no return address. You'd left quietly in shock and anger, Armand had followed, begging for you to "Please come home." and "It had been so long ago." He could almost scream at himself for orchestrating the play, for letting Claudia and Madaline die, for almost letting Louis die.

"If I come home, I will tell him, Armand. I know you, and I have been together so long, but I cannot stand there and look Louis in the face everyday and pretend everything is okay! I cannot sleep beside you both knowing you killed the closest thing I ever had to a daughter!" You screamed at him as red tears flooded your cheeks like a sliced artery, pouring down your face. Armand hadn't ever seen you like this, he had been so wrapped up in himself and his coven that he didn't ever see your pain nor Louis', he didn't see how you'd finally felt like you'd had a family, and he had nearly ripped every piece from you. How if Lestat hadn't saved Louis, how you'd've lost nearly everything. He sees in your eyes how he's already lost you, and as much as he wants to fight it, he won't hold you here, he'd truly learned to love you more in the way Louis does and he'd learned that loving someone means not always controlling them, which surprised you both.

Tears well in his face as he sits in the cool hallway in their tall building here in Dubai. He should've told Louis a long time ago, he hadn't told him why you left or what actually happened, but now he realizes how disrespectful he's been to Louis and to you. The way you'd stood by his side for almost three hundred years, the trust that he'd pulled from your feet.

Standing up, he plans to tell Daniel and Louis the real reason you left, the whole story, even if it leaves him with nothing, because in the end you're out there with nothing. You let him have those seventy seven good years with Louis, even if he didn't deserve it after what he'd done.

He walks out to Daniel and Louis, interrupting them. He speaks, "Yes, she was important to the story. She saw Claudia like a daughter; she loved Louis as much as myself. Her name was..."

𝑫𝑰𝑪𝑲: BOOM! Someone next door lit off fireworks, not even caring that they live next door to a cop. You bolted into the bedroom where Dick had just gone to get something with tears in your eyes, causing Dick to fill with anger, but even still, he speaks gently with you. "Put your headphones on, Darling. Stay in here; I'll go have a word with our neighbors."

Dick storms outside angrier than he usually ever is with anyone. "Do you wanna be arrested?!"

"It's just a little fun, officer, for my kids."

"Kids or not, it's against the law in city limits, and my wife is scared to death after Joker blew up the building next to her work, and you know that, David! So you can either hand over the fireworks or I write you a hefty ticket when I go into work tomorrow."

"Yeah, like what a fifty bucks?"

"More like five hundred and possible jail time."

"Oh." David says, realizing how bad this could possibly get over fireworks and realizes it isn't worth it.

"Keep the sparklers, the smoke bombs and the fountains for the kids since they don't make noise, just make sure you put used fireworks into water to keep fires from starting. The best way to teach them to be responsible is to do it yourself. Have a good night." Dick states as he takes any of the fireworks that make noise, leaving the rest of them for David's kids since he isn't heartless, he's just worried about you.

He sets the fireworks on the ground near the front door before returning to you who's desperately holding your headphones to your ears so you don't have to hear the bangs as you watch your movie. Dick grabs his laptop and sits beside you, typing with one hand as the other massages yours to help you relax.

𝑱𝑨𝑺𝑶𝑵: He's got his earbuds in and his face buried in your chest as you run your fingers through his hair, it's heartbreaking to see how much this still effects him. Usually one large bang isn't enough to set it off but so many back to back never gives him the time to relax and as soon as he does another goes off starting the process all over again.

Jason clings to you like a child, he intially founds it a embarressing how scared he was the first year you were together but he's open up to you so much and you've made it possible for him to be comfortable even when being vulnerable. Three o'clock comes around and finally everyones stopped shooting them off so he can finally get some rest after the constant noise has mentally drained him and his senses.

"I love you." You whisper into his hair even though he can't hear you now that he's asleep, you're just glad he trusts you the way he does to be so vulnerable. Glad to be his safe space when when he's scared.