I decided to make a few self-promo posts on my older fics, starting with the ones centered on KnightRook! All are short one shots or drabbles, but they’re worth a little promo after all this time. They’re in a list of older ones first.
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Missing Knight | T, 2.4k words, written 16 Oct 2017 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Speculative fic about Detective Rogers meeting the girl who, unbeknownst to him, is his own daughter.
I wrote this a little after 7x02 aired, before we knew anything more about Killian’s daughter. I was completely off with it, but I’m still quite happy with it.
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A Young Tempest | G, 1.3k words, written 20 Oct 2017 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Killian Jones raises his daughter and learns things along with her.
Another speculative fic about Killian’s history with his daughter. Once again, completely off, but it’s one of my favourite stuff I’ve written.
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A Song for Goodnight | G, 1.8k words, written 28 Nov 2017 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Alice Jones I sings a lullaby to her son. A long time later, Killian Jones sings the same lullaby to his daughter.
Warnings: Canon character death in the past.
I have feels about Killian singing his mother’s lullaby to his daughter. Some of these made it into this fic.
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Untitled ficlet of Killian thinking about the white elephant he gave Ella | Tumblr link
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A Family by Choice | G, 3.3k words, written 04 Feb 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: The curse is broken, everyone’s memories are back, and Roni with Weaver find a way to remove the poison from Rogers’ heart. But it’s not easy nor perfectly safe, and it might just as well pull that family apart again rather than bring it back together.
This one is a little sad, as usual with me. But again, lots of feels.
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The First Rain | G, 590 words, written 25 Mar 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Alice is finally free and gets to explore how being under the rain feels.
This one includes only Alice, but it’s got a lot of focus on KnightRook.
(If you thought you’d find happy stuff on my fic, you thought wrong. KnightRook was brimming with angst and I milked the hecc out of it)
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Mother’s Day | G, 650 words, written 14 May 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Modern AU. Alice makes something for her papa for Mother's Day.
I felt that Killian deserved a little more love and appreciation for raising such a kind human as Alice all on his own. Father’s day doesn’t get as much appreciation as Mother’s day, especially considering it’s usually after school starts summer break. So I felt that in a modern setting, Alice would choose to celebrate her father and their love for each other on Mother's Day at some point.
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Poor Old Man | G, 530 words, written 12 Mar 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: While in the tower, Killian realizes he's growing old. But not alone.
There’s a sea shanty with the same name, but only the title has a reference to the story. I just thought that it would be interesting to see Killian, who’d spent his centuries in Neverland not expecting to survive his revenge mission, realize that he’s not only actually growing old, but that he’s also got someone to love and love him back as he does.
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Sad drabble of “What if Killian hadn’t managed to save Alice from being pulled into her worst nightmare in the finale?” Like, really sad. | Tumblr link
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Sad Old Hook drabble in direct response to the fic above, because he did end up old and alone. Be sad with me, people. | Tumblr link
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Marks | T, 1k words, written 15 June 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Little Alice wonders why she doesn’t have any marks on her back, like her papa does.
Warnings: Mentions of past physical abuse of a teenager
If you know me, you know I headcanon Killian having multiple scars on his body, many particularly from the time he was a indentured servant as a kid/teen. Being the only one who Alice sees in her first years, she thinks that she’ll grow to have such marks on her body. This is a bit of a melancholic take on Killian trying to explain it to her.
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Untitled ficlet about Old Hook “fusing” with OG Hook, becoming one with him. | Tumblr link
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A New Experience | G, 1.3 words, written 19 July 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Killian makes a re-imagining of a storm in the tower for Alice.
Humans have more senses than vision. In this story, Killian does his best to create an experience for Alice by invoking her other senses. (Also nerding out for my music knowledge by adding an ocean drum)
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Sad drabble about how Killian seeing his daughter pull away out of fear of hurting him sometimes hurts worse than the curse in his heart. | Tumblr link
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Under the Weather | G, 2.2 words, written 12 Nov 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Young Alice gets very ill and Killian tries to help her.
Don’t let my habit for angst worry you, this has a happy ending. The medicine techniques are probably inaccurate, but I wanted to focus on a scenario of Killian trying to heal Alice with the very very limited sources he has.
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Remembering Alice | G, 424 words, written 04 Dec 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: After Lucy's birth, Killian can't help feeling sad as he remembers how his daughter is forced to live away from him.
It is what it is. A short angsty thing. Only Killian appears here, but the focus is on KnightRook.
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A Merry Little Christmas | G, 1.6 words, written 24 Dec 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: This year, Rogers and Tilly won’t spend Christmas Day on their own.
I don’t participate on Secret Santa and similar events, cause they stress me out over producing a specific kind of content at a specific time. However, all the love people gave to that year's KnightRook Secret Santa inspired me to write a kinda independent contribution, which came out as this. It may not be Christmas yet but the warm, fuzzy feelings are the same!
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Untitled ficlet about re-awakened Killian thinking how his true self conflicted with Rogers’ memories and original goals. | Tumblr link
I barely remember writing this one, lol. I think, it may have started as a meta post, then it took a fanfic route on its own. Fics be doing that. I’ll probably post it on AO3 at some point, too.
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Outward-Bound | T, 2.5 words, written 20 Mar 2019 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Old, dishevelled, broken-hearted Hook is drowning his sorrows in alcohol, when he happens upon a familiar face, someone he never imagined he’d see again.
Warnings: Depiction of alcoholism
Oh, this be sad! Again, only Killian appears, but the KnightRook feels are prominent.
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Sad (shocking, I know) drabble about Killian being taken away in the ambulance in 7x20 | Tumblr link
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The Dreams That Won’t Come True | G, 2.1k words, written 14 Sep 2019 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: Killian and Alice find a way to be together through their dreams... but it doesn't end up being what they expected.
That made me sad. Almost made me cry when I first wrote it, and I’m very hard to cry.
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Bonus Fics!
Untitled ficlet with Robyn and Killian; three moments between them | Tumblr link
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Accepting Happiness | G, 1k words, written 26 Nov 2018 | AO3 link | Tumblr link
Summary: A little after reuniting with Alice, Killian takes a moment to try and let everything sink in. Hooked Queen, open to your interpretation.
Some introspective thoughts on how Killian and Regina would feel, right after the climactic ending of the finale, the one set before the final scene. Only Killian and Regina appear, but KnightRook is in focus.
The Fourth Annual Rogers Christmas Eve Sculpting Competition and Candy Eating Party
A/N: Hello, @queen-mabs-revenge ! It's been a pleasure being your KRSS this year, even though I'm pretty sure tumblr ate most of my messages! It's still Christmas here, so I'm not technically late-- but here it is!
It's 300% canon non-compliant, since Liam's present, I sort of refuse to acknowledge any sort of timeline, and I take many, many more liberties with it. The Brothers Rogers have been given the cursed first names "James" (Liam) and "Matthew" (Killian) after J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, and of Captain Hook. Forgive me, it's just a big ole mess, but they're competitive and family and celebrating Christmas, what else do you want from me???
Summary:
It's that time of year again, time for the Rogers Christmas Eve Sculpting Competition and Candy Eating Party, a competition for the ages. But unlike the past three years, Margot is coming, sitting in with James as one of the “official” judges. What kind of shenanigans will ensue this year?
Rated G for general happiness, competition, and celebration - 2.5K words
Written for @knightrooksecretsanta
Also on AO3!
It’s been a tradition for three years now, the annual Rogers Christmas Eve Sculpting Competition and Candy Eating Party. It started as innocent gingerbread house building, but because they are both incredibly competitive, it quickly became much more. The first year, they were just houses— extravagant, meticulously decorated houses.
The next year, they were mansions, built in different rooms so they couldn’t see what the other was doing, items exchanged and requested strictly through James, able to go back and forth between the rooms and watch their technique. (Even though he has no idea what’s going on most of the time— there’s not an artistic bone in his body.)
It only went up from there.
Last year, Tilly built a landscape that came straight from her imagination. And Matthew continued on with mansions, building not only the house, but the entire property, complete with a pool full of vanilla icing dyed blue and little candy ducks.
He won that year.
And he knows exactly what he is going to make this year, and has been sure to buy enough rope-like candies to make it perfect. He's planned it all out, has drawn the blueprint out in his head one too many times (he can’t put it on paper, because then someone is bound to find it and realize his plan.)
He just needs it to work.
James shows up first, boxes piled in his arms that he sets down on the table.
"Thanks, brother, I really appreciate it."
His brother just smiles, shaking his head, then turns on his heels to get the rest of the boxes out of the car. By the time he makes it back up the steps, Matthew has started to dig through the boxes, finding the specific items he requested: pull-apart Twizzlers, bubble gum tape rolls, a bag of gummy bears, planks of chocolate molded to have wood grain, plus his share of the boxes of graham crackers and gingerbread that will be the main foundation of his piece.
Smiling, he pulls out his secret weapon, a special molded chocolate piece that he ordered on the internet. He hopes it's enough.
Tilly was not nervous. Absolutely not, no way.
She was a lot of other things-- excited, overwhelmed, thrilled, elated…
But nervous? Nope. Uh-uh.
Why would she be nervous? She's celebrated Christmas before.
So why is this year any different?
Looking down at her hand, her attention is caught by the sparkle of the multicolored lights strung around the doorway as they reflect in the bright diamond of the ring on her finger.
Right, that's why.
This isn't her first Christmas, her first holiday celebration. But it's her first holiday celebration that she's actually celebrating with Margot. Her first Christmas as a fiancee. The first Christmas where Margot will be celebrating not just with her, but with the Rogers brothers, too.
No, she is absolutely, definitely, positively not nervous.
That's probably why her hands are shaking so badly that the scissors slip out of her grip as they glide across the wrapping paper, somehow managing to spin around on the top of the table and slice open the pad of her thumb.
Great, just what she needs. Another injury, and on a night when she needs everything she has, a night when she has to beat Matthew.
After covering the cut with a band-aid to prevent the blood seeping from it from getting everywhere, Tilly adds the present to the box next to her.
She looks up at the clock: 3 o'clock, it reads. Margot will be home any minute, and then they can head to the Rogers' apartment. With her newly bandaged finger, she finishes wrapping the last of her presents and wedges them into the box.
Smiling, she turns towards one of the drawers in the kitchen, taking out the last things she needs for the competition tonight. She asked James for all of the basics: the boxes of graham crackers, a vat of vanilla icing and food coloring to make all the colors she needs. Edible grass. Crazy colored candy canes. Gummy worms. She even trusted him enough to ask for a deck of chocolate cards.
But the gummy mushrooms and little tiny white chocolate flower arrangement that she ordered off the internet? She would trust the Rogers brothers with her life— has done so in the past— but with the secrets of her plan for this year’s Sculpting Competition?
That might be going a little too far.
It came to her in a dream just before thanksgiving, as weird as that all sounds. She had just finished reading Alice in Wonderland and Margot insisted that they watch the Disney animated movie.
It amazed her. So much different than the book, but it was beautiful. So many things stood out to her: the hookah-smoking caterpillar, the singing flowers, the bread-and-butterflies, the Queen of Hearts and her men as the deck of cards.
And then, that night, she had the dream: all of her favorite parts of the movie, recreated with graham crackers and candy.
It’s perfect. And exactly what she needs to beat Matthew this year, after that whole mansion landscape from last year. She needs to win, not only for herself, but for Margot. It’s more than enough for her that Margot actually wants to be with her, a miracle that she loves her as much as Tilly does. Has accepted her for who she is, quirks and all, and the weird little family that she’s built herself with James and Matthew.
It’s absolutely crazy, thinking that Margot might love her more if she wins tonight. But that doesn’t change the fact that she still wants to.
She’s standing in the kitchen, staring down at her engagement ring again when Margot comes through the door, tossing her backpack onto the chair next to the door.
“Merry Christmas eve!” Margot greets her, quickly taking the few steps between the door and the kitchen to press a kiss to her cheek.
“Merry Christmas eve!” Tilly says back, a smile spread across her face.
“Just give me a minute to change, and then we can head to the Rogers’, okay?”
Still smiling as Margot heads back towards the bedroom, Tilly decides that whether she wins tonight or not, she’ll still be happy. Nothing could ruin the happiness that she feels in this moment, finally able to celebrate Christmas with all of her favorite people.
But, of course, winning would help.
Matthew is practically bouncing off the walls by the time Tilly and Margot arrive, far too much tea and adrenaline running through his veins.
Sure, he’s a cop, deals with adrenaline all the time, but the excitement that comes from the Christmas Eve Competition is different than anything he experiences at work the rest of the year. That doesn’t stop him from wrapping his arms around Tilly in a tight hug, then Margot once she sets down the box of presents, and James does the same.
Then, once everyone is greeted and set, Matthew sets Margot and James at the counter, going over the guidelines with them all. Matthew gets the kitchen, Tilly gets the dining room. Absolutely no going between rooms for the two of them. If somehow, they’ve missed a supply they need, Margot and James are the only ones to go back and forth between the rooms. They start as soon as they’re ready, but there’s no strict ending time— they’ve never gone past 8, but this year might be the year that they have to.
The two of them start to separate their supplies, James handing back the lists they gave him three weeks before, and the distribution begins.
This year, it takes five hours, the longest one yet. The last piece Matthew puts in place is the chocolate helm, the focal point of his masterpiece for this year: a ship , complete with a full set of correct riggings and tissue paper sails. Sure, he might be playing to the judge: he knows his brother and the love for ships that runs through both of their veins, but he heard about this town that decorates model pirate ships for Christmas.
And he knew. He knew what he was going to do this year.
James walks back through the doorway, laughing at Matthew as he dips the paintbrush to put the name on the other side.
“Where did the name come from, little brother?”
“ Younger ,” Matthew says between gritted teeth, focused on the cursive letters on the chocolate. “And it just… I don’t know, came to me the other night. I wasn’t even planning on giving her a name, but I discovered this one, and it just clicked.”
Taking a step back, he licks the rest of the icing off the end of the paintbrush, then smiles over his creation at his brother.
The Jewel of the Realm.
“Very regal. I like it, though.”
Margot leans back against the doorway, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “Well, it's interesting, to say the least,” she says with a smile.
“But… impressive?” Matthew asks, poking for some kind of compliment.
Margot and James both lean back, arms crossed over their chests, and stare at the ship in front of them for a few moments.
“It is actually pretty cool,” Margot says, but James just smiles, shakes his head, and leaves the room.
For the perfection in the detail and execution of Matthew's Jewel of the Realm , Tilly's Wonderland scene has eye-catching color and interesting creativity that it somehow lacks. Both James and Margot have spent much of the past five hours watching her rotate between brushes and different forms of icing in rainbows of color, painting each different piece with the same eye for perfection that Matthew has, from the delicate flowers to the half-painted white chocolate rose bushes held by some of the playing cards.
It really is awe-inspiring, the amount of thought and detail she put into the entire scene to make it as close to the animated movie as she could possibly make it. The last piece she adds, just after Matthew finishes the cursive lettering on the side of his ship, is the mushroom topped with the brightly-colored caterpillar.
Then, also just as Matthew did, she holds her hands up, taking a step away from the table as she raises her eyes to the judges, smiling widely.
“Finished?” James asks, slowly walking around the table with Margot to take in the whole scene that she has laid out.
“Yes!”
“Excellent,” he replies, then, without taking his eyes off the table, he calls out, “Matthew, she's finished!”
Wiping his freshly-washed hands on his apron, Matthew strides through the curtain they hung over the doorway, but stops dead in his tracks when he sees what lies before him on the dining room table.
“Bloody hell,” he mumbles, eyes wide. “Tilly, love, this is incredible.”
Though she probably wouldn't have believed it possible, Matthew's compliment makes her smile grow wider.
“Thank you!”
They all take a few minutes to try to take in everything in Tilly's creation, their silence only broken by one of them asking a question or whispering some kind of exclamation under their breath. Margot notices the small hedgehog used as the croquet ball. James is incredibly impressed that all of the little flowers have even smaller faces.
Then, once they've all circled the table at least a dozen times, James leads them into the kitchen, giving Matthew's ship the same treatment. Margot asks if all the rigging is completely correct, and Matthew says it is, backed up by James’ agreement. She seems incredibly impressed. James notices the Jolly Roger drawn on one of the smaller tissue paper sails and lets out a soft chuckle.
“We have to decide on a winner,” James says, cocking his head back towards the dining room, and Margot follows him into the next room.
“Your detail here is exquisite, Matthew,” Tilly says after a few moments, leaning in closer to the side of the ship as she softly runs her fingers across the wood grain in the chocolate.
“Thanks, love,” he says, a nervous smile on his face. “Did you paint those flowers yourself?”
Tilly's smile is far from nervous. “Yes, I did. I've been studying pictures of those flowers since Thanksgiving, trying to dedicate them to memory.”
“They're perfect. The colors were fantastic.”
“And all of these ropes are… are where they're supposed to be?”
“Aye, they are. I thought I was going to run out of Twizzlers near the end, but somehow I made it.”
“That's incredible, truly. It looks to realistic.”
Matthew walks over to the tea kettle, pouring more water into his cup of tea, then stirring it before taking a careful sip of the water.
Another few moments of silence pass between them before James and Margot come back through the curtains, and both Matthew and Tilly turn quickly towards them.
“So, there's a first this year,” James says, the words coming out slow.
“And it's all my fault,” Margot adds.
“The judges couldn't come to a decision.”
Amazed by the turn of events playing out in front of them— not to mention what it means— Matthew and Tilly turn towards each other, eyes wide.
“So you're… You're both winners.”
“And it never would have happened with just one judge,” James says, smiling at Margot as he wraps his arm around her shoulders.
“And Tilly, just so you know, without your fiance here, you would have won.”
All three of them turn towards Margot, whose face turns bright red faster than she can try to hide it with her hands.
“You voted against me?” Tilly asks, her jaw dropping, but a smile spreads across Matthew's face.
“You voted for me?”
Margot drops her hands, then gestures towards Matthew's ship sitting on the counter. “Look at it!” she yells. “It's perfect! It doesn't even look like it's made out of chocolate!”
Matthew smiles at her compliment, not for the first time tonight, but then snaps his head towards his brother.
“You voted against me? Your own brother?”
James’ response is much less emotional than Margot's. “Yes, I did. Her entire creation was impeccable. Yours was excellent, as well, but hers… it's perfect.”
Matthew turns around to face the fridge and leans his forehead against it.
“What do we do when we both win?” Tilly asks, taking one of the extra candy canes on the small table and unwrapping it.
James just shrugs, a smile spreading across his face. “Well, if it were up to me, we would just eat candy, forget about this, and open our presents.”
Matthew lets out a loud sigh, making sure everyone knows how he feels about the subject. Beating Tilly was apparently more important to him than he thought.
But once Tilly and Margot both agree with James, grabbing a few pieces of candy off the pile and following him into the living room, there's not much left that he can do. So, he grabs his flask out of the cabinet above the fridge, pours a generous dose in his mug with his tea, and, with another heaving sign and one last look back at The Jewel of the Realm, he follows them into the living room to continue on with their Christmas Eve celebration.
Destined to Always Be - For @knight-rook-a-history
A/N: Set in 7x08 after Alice tries to reunite with her Papa. This got away from me when it came to this month’s theme of fear, but I think it still fits. I blame my csrr fic for tempting me with explorations into madness. Credit to Danny Alexander for the quote.
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The pretty witch said they were cured. She promised the nightmare was over. So, why couldn’t Alice wake up from it?
She’d hurt him again.
Perhaps, nearly killed him this time.
In her panic she’d run back here. Wonderland. Where it was a wonder if you could ever leave the land without losing yourself to the madness that permeated every breath a wanderer took.
She’d lost herself her once. Fell head first down the rabbit hole. Sipped tea with a Hatter, a Hare, and a Haggard door mouse. Hedged through mazes, shuffled with cards, faced fearsome foes who’d claimed she was nothing more than a mad girl because she saw the world differently.
She’d wallowed here. Separated from her beloved Papa and desperate to find a cure. That desperation had made her crazed, but it also kept her sane.
Now she feared sanity was just another illusion. Just another ripple in the fun house mirrors. Another stripe on the Cheshire Cat’s back, fading in and out of existence and leaving behind a smile of twisted mocking.
Like the pretty witch’s smile. Alice could see it now. The falsity hidden beneath pink stained lips. She should have recognized it sooner, then her Papa wouldn’t be suffering.
His external appearance might once again be young and virile, but Alice knew he was still a frail crumbling man beneath that magicked shell. Each moment in her presence chipped away his vitality, eroded his endurance, and deteriorated the connective tissues tethering him to life itself.
How much longer could they go on like this? Could he go on like this?
Perhaps she was mad after all? Mad to think she’d ever find a way to cure him. Mad to think she could best the magic she’d fought against her entire life. First to be free of the tower, and now to be freed from an existence of loneliness and despair.
She’d traveled through madness once before. Traveled through madness to find herself, only to find herself alone. Now she’d have to travel through the fear that alone was what she was destined to always be.
Since I haven't been able to get KnightRook off my mind at all (or Curious Archer), I had to write a thing. Still cursed memories in Hyperion heights, but also lots of Hamilton feels. (Someone did a gifset that I saw before I caught up, and I need to find that again.)
Rated G, just under 1k words. On Ao3 if that’s more your speed.
He honestly doesn't know why he likes Hamilton so much, why it resonates with him the way it does. He doesn't care for hip-hop or musicals, and he doesn't normally give into trends. But he supposes that even he could get swept up in lyrical masterpieces when the entire city was going crazy for it, what with the upcoming visit of the tour.
So Alex Rogers listens to Hamilton. He listens, he feels, and he weeps (silently, privately, but he's not ashamed.) It's a sad soul who isn't moved by Dear Theodosia or It's Quiet Uptown.
To his disappointment, Rogers can't manage to get tickets. His detective's salary, while adequate for living his life comfortably, doesn't exactly cover the exorbitant prices for the touring production at the Paramount.
So he doesn't go, and truthfully, he doesn't think about it much at that point, because his life has gone insane.
In the space of a couple of months, he's made detective, watched his partner get shot, found Eloise Gardner, found Victoria Belfrey, and started investigating a cult and whoever is trying to murder its members.
All while protecting Tilly.
Tilly is...a lot. He's heard people talk about her--Crazy Tilly, a bit of a loon, they call her. Kinder people don't treat her like she's dangerous, but they still talk about her like she'd odd.
And maybe she is, but her outlook is unique. Special, really. She sees things that others don't, and Rogers appreciates that.
He can't help it--he feels protective of her. There's something about her, how vulnerable she is, that rouses his protective instincts. Sometimes he's wrong about people (Eloise Gardener and his growing wariness toward her spring to mind), but he knows he isn't this time.
He trusts Tilly. The only danger she presents is likely to the organization of his apartment, now that he's offered her his spare room. And perhaps to the sanctity of his routines. And definitely his jam budget.
It's a couple of weeks into their new living situation when he has a chance to have an evening in (one where he isn't summoned to wingman for Henry Mills, that is). Tilly is there, too, and she's more down-to-earth than he can remember her being for a while.
It seems like she has something on her mind, and he's more than willing to talk it over with her. He suggests a game of chess, so Tilly can share without feeling put on the spot.
She agrees, and the game begins. So does their talk--it turns out Tilly has a crush, one that might well be reciprocated. Rogers feels very out of his depths, but quells his protective instincts as he encourages her to follow her heart in her flirtation with Margot.
Tilly is thoughtful, contemplative. She decides to put on some music while they sit puzzling over their moves on the chess board and outside the warmth of the apartment.
She picks Hamilton. She's never heard it before, but the cover looks fun, she says.
And she loves it. She laughs her way through the first act, dancing around his living room, and Rogers can't help but laugh with her.
The second act begins, and Tilly, of course, picks up on the tonal shift immediately. It isn't until after It's Quiet Uptown that she notices the tears in his eyes, his heart heavier today as he listens to it than it ever has been before.
For a moment, it looks like she's going to leave it, though she looks similarly affected by the song. Then she seems to come to a decision and her jaw tightens, a motion that is oddly familiar to him. “Detective? Is...is everything all right?”
He debates blowing her off, he really does. But she deserves his honesty, his vulnerability, especially when she has trusted him with so much. “I--I think so, Tilly. Just this song, you know? I don't quite know why it affects me so.”
“Well, it's quite good. Besides, I know what you mean. It has something, doesn't it?”
“Aye, love, I reckon it does.” He tries for a smile, and he must succeed, because she returns it.
There's another pause before Tilly speaks again. “You would make a good dad, you know. Have you ever thought about--?”
His heart twists at her unfinished question. He can't remember ever considering it, so caught up he's been in his work, but it feels right, like a piece of his identity he's been struggling to find. He moves his knight.
He starts, realizing he hasn't answered her. “Not particularly. I'm not against it, it just...it hasn't come up.”
“Hmm. Well, thank you for taking me in. And for listening today, about Margot. I dunno, it's just--it's good to share,” she says, staring at the board. Then in an unexpected and genius move, she uses her rook and her own knight and checkmates him, grinning broadly. “And thanks for that opening, too.”
He groans, but laughs. “Well, clearly my taking you in hasn't made you merciful in chess.”
“There's no mercy in chess, dad,” she says teasingly.
His heart gives that odd pang again, but he shakes his head, smirking. “Off to bed with you, young one. If you're going to beat me, at least let me rest and recuperate.”
Tilly is grinning in earnest, and begins to head down the hall to her room. But she stops in the doorway, and turns back in a flash. Before he knows it, she's hugging him. It's a quick, fierce hug, and he only has a second to return it before she's back down the hall, whistling a familiar tune.
A lump rises in his throat, but in that moment, everything is perfect.
