he shifts back, looking down at his beloved five year old daughter. she's become a talker, having gone from staying quiet to chatting everyone's ears off just like her mother. he remembers leaving her a few weeks after her second birthday. sarada runs faster than he remembers. a flash to a three year old. clinging to her mother's apron. a four year old. she's slightly scared of him now, a bit forgetful of sasuke's presence. (it stings more than he wishes to admit. but he has to do it.) he's lucky to have naruto, a friend in high places always him this reprieve, offers sarada and sakura protection. this time, sasuke stays long enough to spend weeks with them, memories of his own mother and father painting the same mornings that he spends running with sarada as sakura laughs. it's blissful. it's all he ever wanted. but a scroll comes, a mission calls. he has to protect his family. he has to protect her. sasuke crouches down, meeting her at eye level. of course. she thinks she'll go with him — naturally his daughter is an expert at fighting, likely to be a great hokage one day. a great ally to him. but not yet. ❝ sarada, you can't come with me. ❞ his fingers quickly brush her cheek, trying. he's not gentle by nature, he's learning. picking up actions from sakura, picking up the love sarada and sakura have left her. ❝ i need you to stay here, to take care of your mother. ❞

liz is fighting for her life in kirk.wall

a flush sinks into edwina’s cheeks, her arm linked comfortably in his as they stroll through the back gardens of the grand palace. large brown eyes look down at her feet as she feels herself growing a bit shy, but a laugh still falls past her lips easily.  ❝  and what makes you assume i am interested in marrying you, your highness?  ❞  edwina teases, finally gaining a bit more courage as she looks back up to meet his gaze.  ❝  i simply assumed you take every woman to see your home.  ❞

                         COMLINK   CONNECTION   MADE   :   @soaringstill​

with   the   first   snow   of   the   winter   came   a   wake - up   call   from   lucy   ——   she   jumped   and   jumped   on   his   bed,   calling   him   to   come   outside.   turned   out   she’d   done   the   same   to   edmund   and   susan   after   him   ——   no   sooner   than   he’d   properly   dressed   and   walked   to   the   courtyard,   his   three   siblings   stumbled   out   too.   lucy   and   edmund   push   their   way   past   the   older   two,   gleefully   squealing   as   they   dance   around   under   the   fluffy   white   powder   that   falls   from   the   sky.    “   winter   already,   su?   ”    peter   grins,   arms   crossed   as   he   makes   his   way   out   into   the   courtyard.   there   was   barely   any   collected   snow   on   the   ground,   but   the   high   king   still   bends   down   and   gathers   some   of   the   precipitation,   barely   enough   to   make   a   snowball   ——   and   throws   it   at   his   sister.    “   think   you   can   catch   me?   i   bet   you   can’t.   ”

                      ❛          that last one got you good,   huh?          ❜       more a concerned observation than a prod at his ego;   as she speaks,   she pulls a first-aid kit out from under one of the many cupboards behind the bar,   timeworn from the look of it.   with a simple click of the clasp holding it shut  (   though that,   too,   is barely hanging on   ),   she sets before him an array of ointments and bandages and wraps:   a secret stash for just-in-case.   it’s not long before she’s leaning across the bar herself,   head canted,   brow furrowed,   trying to get a better look at the battle scar he’s earned —   a bit of a split lip,   a bit of bruising,   but nothing tifa couldn’t fix.                    ❛              — sorry.   i should’ve warned you about johnny.   he gets a little ... ...   rowdy,   in the right company.          ❜                    or wrong company,   depending on how he looked at it.                     ❛              you okay?          ❜                      |        @soaringstill​  ,     you know what this is .     

❝  i  know  you’re  not  a  kid  anymore.  ❞     she  reaches  out,  pats  solara  on  the  shoulder.  if  she  sounds  stern,  it’s  only  because  she  cares.     ❝  but  you’re  still  my  kid,  you  got  that?  so  stop  taking  after  me  and  start  taking  care  of  yourself.  ❞