#siren writes

[gold-gummi]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

"Celeste learns of Snow's most well-kept secret, while continuing to keep one of her own."

-

New partners in crime au fic is up!

[lunarfeathers]

The Scream in the Snow

Wrote a oneshot based on my PMD explorers OCs in a day and I wanna post it here cause I like it! Writing-wise it isn't my best but I'm trying not to concern myself too much with that

This is based on an arc of Team Dawn's story where they start to get clues about Snow's unknown past. This takes place while they're going through Blizzard Island trying to investigate Scizor. So this takes place after Celeste comes back but before any of the Darkrai plot

One more thing, Hisuian Zorua and Zoroark having Snow Cloak is based on the rom hack these characters are based on. Just clarifying in case people think them having Snow Cloak was my idea, cause it wasn't

TW for animal/child death

Word count: 2,911

A shiver ran up Celeste's spine for what must have been the hundredth time as she trudged along behind Snow, feelings of envy growing at how her partner was seemingly unaffected by the cold, frigid air that surrounded them. She would casually brush off any snow or hail that fell in the dungeon, and it appeared that hostile pokemon had a harder time landing a hit on her in those weather conditions. It was like Snow could disappear within the flurry of snowflakes around her, only to reappear where the enemy least expected, readying an attack.

Celeste could only guess it was a result of one of Snow's abilities, one that had never seen any use before now, though it raised the question of why exactly Snow's species, of all pokemon, had an ability that would protect them from the harsh weather conditions of a cold climate.

A memory played out in Celeste's mind then, one only a short time after she had been retrieved from the void of non-existence. Her and Snow had both found they couldn't fall asleep, so they'd just talked, about anything that came to mind really. It was…nice, and something that Celeste hadn't even realized she'd missed so much, for trying to stop the collapse of Temporal Tower left no time for them to relax and talk like they'd used to. The fact that they even could do that again was more than Celeste could ask for, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't eternally grateful for it.

So she and her closest friend had talked, and talked, and then Celeste had asked something, something that had been weighing on her mind for some time, but that she had never gotten the chance to ask.

"Say, Snow…what were you doing before you found me on the beach?"

Snow had given Celeste a quizzical expression, accentuated by a tilt of her head. Celeste didn't miss the very slight tension of her body. "What do you mean?"

"Well…you know all about where I came from, but…I've never heard anything about what your life was like before we met, y'know? Like your old home, your family, all that stuff." It was strange, Celeste thought, that through all their time together and at the guild, Snow never made so much as a passing mention of her life before meeting Celeste. Even now, there was so much about her best friend that Celeste had no idea about.

Snow didn't reply immediately, and in fact, she averted her gaze to look down at her bed of straw, an almost shameful look in her eyes. Celeste immediately regretted asking the question upon seeing how clearly uncomfortable it had made her friend, and she quickly tried to backpedal.

"You, uh, don't have to say anything about it if you don't want to!" she said, waving her paw around, trying to look casual. "It's not, um, that big of a deal—or, uh…"

(Okay, maybe you should just stop talking; you're only making it worse.)

"No, no, it's okay, Celeste!" Snow replied, her golden eyes meeting Celeste's again, a rare visible smile on her face, albeit one that looked forced. "I guess it's just that, um…I don't really have that much to say about my life before we met…"

Celeste let herself relax a little, though she could still tell her best friend seemed a little upset.

Snow continued, breathing in a deep sigh before speaking in a quiet voice. "I don't really…remember much of anything from before meeting you."

Celeste's eyes widened. "Wait…what?"

Snow averted her gaze once again, looking out beyond the cliff edge of their home and out towards the crashing waves of the ocean below them. "I woke up on the beach…a little while before you did, actually, and I…don't remember anything from before then...No family, no friends, no home…I don't even know what kind of pokemon I really am." She looked back at Celeste. "You've seen what other Zorua look like, right?"

Celeste nodded. Of course, there was the occasional job with a Zorua client, and even one time they had to deal with a Zorua outlaw. And…those Zorua looked nothing like Snow did. Their fur was dark, not the pale gray of Snow's, and where Snow had the strange, red wisps of ghostly fur, other Zorua had typical fluff, and bright sky-blue eyes that always appeared to hold more mischief and playfulness than Snow's timid golden ones.

Looking back, Celeste could now recall how those Zorua clients would give Snow strange looks, even if they never commented on her appearance, and how uncomfortable Snow looked to be meeting with them in turn…as if she were conscious of the fact that, compared to others of her species, she looked…wrong.

"I've never seen another Zorua that looks like me, and I don't think anyone else has either," Snow continued. "When Mister—um, Dusknoir was here, I even tried asking him if he knew anything about what kind of pokemon I was, and even he didn't know…"

Silence filled the air after that, perhaps some tension from Dusknoir being brought up, and Celeste quickly tried to break it. "So…you were a lot like me…" she murmured.

Snow let out a humorless chuckle. "I guess so…"

Celeste couldn't believe it. She'd attached herself to Snow so easily upon meeting her at the beach, the fox pokemon providing assistance in navigating this unfamiliar world and body Celeste had suddenly found herself in…and that whole time, Snow was really just like her: a pokemon who'd suddenly woken up there without a clue of where she'd come from, where to go, or even what she really was.

How selfless she must have been, having so many questions about her own past go unanswered, but only concerning herself with the pokemon she'd just found washed up on the beach.

"Have you ever thought of trying to figure out where you came from?" Celeste asked.

"Sometimes I do, but…after you and I became part of the guild, it never really occurred to me. It just wasn't as important to me after I met you and everyone at the guild. You and everyone else never gave me weird looks or questioned me about what kind of pokemon I was, so…I didn't give it much thought."

Celeste smiled. "That's what's important, isn't it? That you were able to find other pokemon who didn't care about what you were, who could accept you, no matter what?"

Snow looked taken aback, before she smiled, this one much more genuine. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Right now, my past doesn't concern me…I'd much rather focus on the present."

Celeste nodded. "Yeah, that's the spirit! Although…if there ever comes a time where you do want to try and find out where you came from, Snow, know that I'll be there to help you every step of the way."

Snow's eyes widened. "You mean it?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I? And besides…after all you've done to help me, it's only natural I'd help return the favor."

Snow's eyes sparkled, as they always did when she was overjoyed, and she giggled sweetly. "Thank you, Celeste…" she murmured.

Celeste was brought back to the present as Snow suddenly stopped in front of her, causing Celeste to nearly bump into her. Her friend's golden eyes looked back at her with concern.

"Are you doing okay, Celeste?" she asked. "That hail's getting pretty rough, huh?"

"I-I can manage…" Celeste grumbled, shaking some stray hail shards out of her fur. She grew warm with embarrassment as the sight just made Snow giggle.

"I did tell you that bringing a Weather Band would probably be a good idea, didn't I?" Snow said smugly. If that sentence and expression combination came out of anyone else, Celeste would have gladly liked to wipe it away with a Psychic.

"Yeah, yeah, the extra power from the Special Band will always be more important than a little setback from hail," Celeste replied flippantly.

Snow rolled her eyes playfully. "Whatever you say. Anyway, I think I see the stairs up ahead, so hopefully the weather will be more clear on the next floor!"

The two of them continued on through the icy corridor, Celeste trying her best not to make contact with the cold walls as she continued to shiver from the falling hail. Once they reached the entrance to the next room, Snow took a couple steps in, before suddenly freezing in place, her fur standing on end.

"Snow? Is something wrong?" Celeste asked as she squeezed her way past Snow, flinching slightly from having to brush past one of the icy walls. Upon entering the room and seeing what pokemon stood before them, Celeste also couldn't help but look on in shock.

Standing right next to the stairs was a tall, fox-like pokemon, covered in gray fur, with white, wispy hair that had ghostly purple ends. Matching purple sores covered its body, and it looked on at Celeste and Snow with piercing yellow eyes that seemed to hold an animalistic savagery behind them.

There was absolutely no mistaking it; this was a Zoroark…a Zoroark that looked just like Snow.

"That's…" Snow breathed, still frozen in her spot right outside of the corridor as she looked on at the Zoroark, the very first sight of a pokemon that was just like her.

A deep growl rumbled in the Zoroark's throat, and then, without warning, it started charging right towards them.

Celeste yelped as she just barely managed to dodge a swipe of the Zoroark's claws, causing it to leave deep scratch marks in the snow where Celeste had just stood.

With no hesitation, the Zoroark attempted to strike at Celeste again, leaving Celeste to try her very best to avoid its attacks as she attempted to land one of her own. To her frustration, however, the Zoroark, clearly being an evolved form of Snow's species, appeared to share her Snow Cloak ability. The hail pelting Celeste's fur only served to keep the Zoroark hidden as she tried again and again to attack it, with the Zoroark's attacks in turn becoming more violent.

In fact, this Zoroark was notably much more aggressive than any other pokemon Celeste and Snow had faced in these dungeons. Feelings of rage and bitterness seemed to motivate its attacks, its constant swings having no forethought behind them besides a desire to just hurt.

And soon enough, hurt it did, for Celeste had no time to react before the Zoroark once again reappeared from the cover of the hail, dark ghostly energy surrounding one of its arms. The Shadow Claw attack struck Celeste right in the side and sent her tumbling across the snow, stopping as she hit one of the icy walls of the room.

Though it didn't knock her unconscious, it left her in an unbearable amount of pain. She grit her teeth as she attempted to get back up, and opened her mouth in preparation to call out to Snow.

And then…a feeling of dizziness fell over her, one that Celeste knew fairly well at this point, so well that she knew that it was not the result of the Zoroark's attack, nor from having hit the wall as hard as she did.

No…this was…!

Celeste's vision started to darken, and she grit her teeth once again as her head started to pound, a feeling that she also knew well, and that she hadn't exactly missed. It had been some time since her Dimensional Scream had activated, for she had been trying hard to learn how to control when it happened. It had certainly never happened during a mission before, and that was perhaps one of the worst times one could happen…

Celeste shut her eyes tight, praying that the vision be short and to the point so she could get back to battle as quickly as possible.

————

"Shade! Shade, where are you!? Shade!"

Celeste saw a Zoroark, though not the same kind that she had just been fighting. This one, with dark, fluffy fur, was much more like the ones that Celeste was familiar with, though this one's fur was accented with purple rather than the usual red.

The Zoroark was looking for someone, her golden eyes frantically scanning her surroundings, which was a snowy mountain contained within an intense blizzard, not unlike the mountain that Celeste and Snow were currently climbing. The Zoroark endlessly shivered and shook snow off of her fur, but that didn't stop her as she trudged through the snow, calling out to someone named "Shade" above the howling wind.

Celeste watched the Zoroark continue to wander through the blizzard and call out Shade's name, until eventually, she spotted a lump of something dark laying in the snow, partially buried. The Zoroark immediately ran toward it, frantically digging it out of the snow with her claws, and once she finally uncovered what was buried under the snow, the sight made Celeste's heart drop to her stomach.

A Zorua laid motionless, its small body completely frozen, white snow piled onto its dark fur. Its eyes were closed, and Celeste desperately tried to see if it was breathing…

"Shade! Shade, please, I'm here, I'm here…" the Zoroark pleaded as she frantically tried to shake the Zorua—Shade—awake. But the small fox pokemon gave no reaction, no indication that it had heard her…that it was even alive…

"Shade…?" The Zoroark paused as she appeared to come to the same realization, her body going limp as she stared down at the Zorua in front of her, glazed eyes wide in disbelief.

Tears fell that quickly froze on her face, and her sobs gave way to a loud wail into the sky.

————

"…Celeste…? Celeste, come on, wake up…!"

As the vision faded and Celeste returned to the present, she heard a familiar voice saying her name, and felt two paws trying to shake her awake. Celeste groaned as she opened her eyes and met the worried ones of Snow, who immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're awake! Oh, thank goodness…After that attack, I really thought…"

"Snow…?" Celeste murmured as she tried to sit up, her body still weak from the Zoroark's attack, and her head still pounding from the Dimensional Scream. She blearily looked around to see that it was now only the two of them in the room, the Zoroark nowhere to be found. "What happened to the…?"

"Oh, the Zoroark…After it attacked you, I was able to drive it off. Well…I really didn't do much of anything, really; the moment I stood in front of you, the Zoroark just…stopped attacking and fled…" Snow turned around to quickly dig through their bag, pulling out an Oran Berry and nudging the blue fruit over to Celeste.

As Celeste took a bite of the Oran Berry, immediately feeling strength return to her body, she saw Snow's ears droop. "I-I'm sorry that I just stood there while you fought the Zoroark…It was only after it attacked you that I finally felt like I could move again, but I should have…"

Celeste shook her head. "It's alright, Snow. I mean, I can see why you were shocked…"

Snow nodded, staring off at one of the room's exits. "That Zoroark…was like me. There…there really are other pokemon like me out there…" she said breathlessly.

Celeste stood back up on her feet, her body no longer in as much pain, but with a dull headache still pounding in her head. But that didn't concern her; the headaches from Dimensional Screams always went away timely. "Do you think…if that Zoroark's here, then maybe this place has to do with your past?" Celeste asked.

Snow didn't respond immediately, still looking off at where the Zoroark had fled, if Celeste had to guess. Soon, she looked back and gave a small shake of her head. "I-it's…not important right now. That's not why we're here, after all."

"Snow…"

"You think you can go on?" Snow asked, swiftly trying to change the topic.

Celeste nodded, opting not to continue bothering Snow about it. It was clearly making her uncomfortable. "Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better. Besides, I have a feeling we'll reach the top soon."

"Yeah, so do I! Let's get going, then!"

With that, Celeste followed behind Snow as they made their way towards the stairs that led to the next floor, feeling more of her strength return to her as she got her body moving again.

The vision that Celeste had experienced continued to play out in her mind, of a Zoroark lost in the snow, desperately looking for someone important to her, only to be too late…That had to have been a memory of the same Zoroark that had attacked them, but if that was the case…why had her appearance changed so drastically? What had brought her here, to Blizzard Island's mystery dungeon?

What did all of this say about Snow…?

…

For a moment, Celeste thought about telling Snow about her vision…but then she decided against it. Snow was right, after all; that wasn't what they were currently here for, and Celeste didn't want to hold them back any more than she already was.

Telling Snow about the vision could wait until a later time.

[siren-mic]

Note to self: Do not say "exhaustion" three times in two hundred words.

[just-a-random-anime-simp]

Sebastian with a S/O who dyes their hair a lot

Sebastian x reader

A/n:this is set in modern times

At first he’ll be like “why in the world would you do that to your lovely hair”

You’ll have to explain that you really love dying your hair t all sorts of crazy colors,after you explain to him he’ll look at it from your perspective and actually kind of like your hair

He may even offer to help dye your hair for you

And when he does dye your hair it feels so nice. His hands scratching your scalpe,massaging your hair,and your body in the warm water of the bath tub

If you were a servant in the phantomhive manor,all the servants(and if ciel is in a good mood maybe him too) would have a competition to see what hair color you would dye your hair.

(I’m pretty sure none of them have won)

But overall ,Sebastian is neutral!

(But he would really like it if you just dyed your hair back to your natural hair color)

-Siren

[siren1song]

Until You’re Okay

Fandom: DSMP

Pairing: Schlatt/Quackity

Warnings: Minor mentions of alcoholism

Word Count: 1,190

Summary: Schlatt has a splitting headache because he neglected to take care of himself and it takes Quackity seeing the state he's in to do something about it.

Notes: 1. Some healthy schlatt/quackity (schlackity? i think?) content!! 2. I actually posted this over a month ago on ao3 but I’m pretty sure I forgot to post it here sdklfgshdf

Ao3 Link

Schlatt had a headache.

He wasn’t entirely sure why, he’d been sober for months (totally not because the way Tubbo looked at him when he finally broke down made him believe he could actually be a better person for a moment,) so he wasn’t hungover.

Whatever the cause was, it was making focusing on what he was doing fucking difficult as hell. He had important president shit to do, why did God or whatever the hell was watching decide to do this to him?

“Fuck,” he groaned, letting his head fall to his desk, feeling the cool temperature that seeped from the wood, through the paper separating his skin from it, and easing the pain just behind his eyes ever so slightly.

It was nice, and honestly Schlatt could fall asleep like this if the fucking headache didn’t throb every time he tried to relax his shoulders.

There was a knock, and Schlatt grunted in response with the hope whoever it was would just go away.

“You look like shit, babe.”

“You’re a piece of shit, babe,” Schlatt snapped back, wincing at himself and the silence that followed before he lifted his to look at Quackity with a grimace.

“Sorry.”

Quackity hummed, looking over Schlatt’s face. His eyes trailed to his shoulders, then to the paperwork Schlatt had been struggling to do for the last hour.

His eyes scanned the desk, probably looking to make sure Schlatt was still clinging to sobriety, before he walked back out of the room.

Fuck.

Schlatt rubbed a hand over his eyes, resisting the urge to groan again.

For someone supposedly head over heels he sure didn’t know how to act around Quackity sometimes. Not that he ever knew, it was even worse when he was drunk, but at least now he should know better than to fucking insult the man.

The paper that was in front of him was pulled away and the sudden lack of the glaring white with tiny text made the pain in his head ease just a bit.

“The hell?”

“Lean back for me,” Quackity said, gently pulling on his shoulders to get Schlatt to lean back in his chair.

He did, blinking in confusion as he strained his neck to look at his vice president, wincing at the fluorescent lights that hung above the two of them.

Quackity didn’t say anything, just huffed an exasperated laugh and gently moved his head forward again before pulling his hands away.

Schlatt kind of wanted his hands back on him, if he was being honest with himself. Not in sexual way, not really, but they were so warm and it felt nice to be touched as softly as Quackity was handling him right now.

“Take off your jacket for me?”

The question took Schlatt off guard, and as he did what Quackity asked he couldn’t really help but wonder what was going on because that was way too soft for this to be like any of their previous fucks.

Plus, Schlatt was hoping it wasn’t a fuck anyway, his head was pounding and that was the only thing he could really handle doing that right now.

“Thanks, let me know if anything hurts too much.”

“What?”

And then Quackity’s hands were on his shoulders, thumbs digging into the muscle of his back gently but with enough pressure to make Schlatt groan in relief as he relaxed.

The moment was quiet, Schlatt’s eyes half closed while Quackity stood behind him working out the knots in his shoulders and neck.

It was honestly perfect, Schlatt hadn’t had anyone take care of him like this in a long time and yeah it wasn’t helping his feelings for the man behind him any but it was perfect so he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Quackity’s hands stopped digging into his shoulders, but instead of pulling away like Schlatt expected, they slid down the front of his chest in a loose hug from behind and Quackity’s chin was resting on the top of his head.

“When was the last time you slept?”

Schlatt hummed, not processing the question because he was still soaking up the contact and praying it wouldn’t end soon.

“Hey,” Quackity said, patting Schlatt’s chest where his hand rested, “I asked a question hombre guapo, I’d like an answer.”

Unable to help himself, Schlatt leaned his head back to look up at Quackity and admire him a bit.

“You’re pretty too,” he mumbled, earning a soft laugh and light dusting of pink decorating pretty cheeks that wore the best smile Schlatt had ever seen.

“That is not the question I asked, but thanks. C’mon, when’d you last sleep?”

Schlatt hummed in thought.

“Outside of when you woke me up this morning?”

Quackity let out a sigh, and no, Schlatt didn’t want that. Quackity was beautiful when he smiled, Schlatt didn’t want to be the reason he stopped doing that.

“Falling asleep at your desk because you pushed yourself to get a ridiculous amount of paperwork done doesn’t count, Schlatt.”

Lifting a hand, Schlatt cupped Quackity’s face as gently as he could, pulling away soon after because he really shouldn’t be touching something that perfect.

Quackity’s face flushed red, and it took Schlatt a moment to realize he’d said that last bit out loud.

“Wow, I’m really fucking tired, huh?”

There was a beat of silence, and then Quackity let out a laugh before circling Schlatt’s chair to pull him out of it.

“Let’s fix it then, come on.”

Schlatt followed him easily, yawning as Quackity pulled on his hand to lead him towards his room.

God, falling into his bed has never been better if Schlatt was being honest with himself. His headache was starting to fade and it took his energy to stay awake with it.

He was about to pass out then before Quackity started leaving, his hand falling from Schlatt’s in a way that made his heart drop.

“Wait no—”

Quackity stopped, looking back at him with a raised eyebrow before his eyes fell to where Schlatt still had his hand out.

“What?”

“Don’t go?”

Schlatt didn’t know what had gotten into him, yeah he was exhausted and his head had been hurting for hours but he didn’t usually let himself get this vulnerable with anyone.

Quackity sighed, but it felt fond and given the smile Schlatt saw before he turned to close the door he was pretty sure it was fond and not just wishful thinking.

“Alright, but you can’t tell anyone we cuddled because you had a headache.”

“If anyone finds out about this, I’m killing whoever snitched,” Schlatt agreed, “now c’mere.”

A laugh, a fucking beautiful laugh that had Schlatt melting as Quackity climbed into the bed with him, and Schlatt decided that this was the best day ever actually.

He wrapped his arms around Quackity, burying his face in the others hair. The beanie was already slipping off, but Schlatt was too preoccupied with the feeling of tangling their legs together and Quackity’s breath against his collarbone to bother teasing him for it.

Right now was too perfect for Schlatt to even consider fucking it up.

[melodicsiren]

current plotbunnies that have taken my brain hostage

yes, all at once. the daydreams will actually interrupt each other; Vote for which one I should actually try and write!!

Genshin Impact: 1) Aether, Razor, and Bennet are planning to head to Dragonspine and Childe’s Big Brother Mode activates so he takes them winter clothes shopping. Oneshot. 2)Bennet falls in water on Dragonspine and hurt/comfort happens. Oneshot. 3)Mona tells Diluc that Kaeya’s on a path to self-destruction, and he’s the only one who can do anything about it. Oneshot or multichap??? 4)Kaeya and Albedo bond over their mutual fear of hurting the people they care about- also featuring hurt/comfort. Oneshot. 5)The Adventures of Denden the Ditzy Dendro Abyss Mage. Likely a lot of short chapters. My OC. How to Keep a Mummy vibes. Very cute!  Saiki: Saiki/Toritsuka hurt/comfort two-shot, because previously flirty or pervy characters falling in actual love and getting all flustered over it is FUN Doki Doki Precure/Glitter Force Doki Doki: canon divergent Regina and Ira becoming like siblings and dealing with or avoiding emotions by hanging out on earth when they can’t sleep. hurt/comfort but also goofy fun times! Regina/Maya and Ira/RachelRikka hinted at  

[beautiful-fiscal-siren]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Fandom: Fruits Basket Another, Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Summary:

Mitoma Sawa grows up, deals with her manipulative mother, meets the elder Sohmas, and watches with some alarm as Shiki keeps getting taller.

More chapters on the way!

[typewriting-angel]

Uncle Jim

A/N: This is the first installment of my Star Trek obsession, but don't worry, I'mma still write Star Wars. I just gotta broaden my horizons...

Word Count: 647

Warnings: It's fluffy fluff, but it's possibly really terrible.

Tags: none

You walked down the halls of the USS Enterprise with your seven month old daughter in your arms. She was the light of the whole crew’s life, especially her godfather, the captain. Jim had agreed to take her for an hour while you did the botany department’s yearly personnel review. You would have had your husband take Ophelia, but he was working the Beta shift today.

The little star started to wriggle in your grip, notifying you that she was in need of a nap. Ophelia spit out her pacifier and became vocal. Her nonsense babble was accompanied by a little bit of drool falling onto the spotless floor. “How interesting, starlight.” You replied as the bridge doors slid open.

A small squeal filled the main control room of the ship, provided by the mini human you were holding. All the attention was brought to baby Ophelia, who was immediately smothered in love by Uhura and her Uncle Jimmy. “Hi starshine! Oh, look at you!” Uhura took her from you, soaking up all the baby time she could get.

You handed Jim the papoose to hold her in, “Thank you so much. I owe you a lot, Captain. She just needs a nap, if anything happens, I have my comm.” Out of the side of your eye, you saw Spock caressing her strawberry blonde locks.

Jim smiled and pulled on the contraption, “No need to thank me, I should be thanking you, Y/N. I can finally get some time with my little star. And I think Uhura might steal your girl.” He laughed as you walked away to retrieve the mini human.

You could breathe easy for just a few minutes before you had to tackle the hell storm that was the botany team. Everything would be fine, your daughter was in the hands of the most capable captain in all of Starfleet and the command crew.

Everything was not fine. The one thing James Tiberius Kirk didn't know how to deal with was a crying baby, especially the baby of his chief botany officer. He tried taking her out and bouncing her for a while, that didn't work. Walking around bridge didn't help, it just agitated the poor baby. She didn't need a diaper change and wouldn't take a replicated bottle. Jim was out of ideas and was about to just take the baby down to her father when she started to crawl.

The bridge became quiet and watched as Ophelia wormed her way around. Her cries turned to incoherent murmurs that Jim responded to. He slowly followed her as she explored, making sure she didn't bite anyone's ankles. But soon enough, the Enterprise's star became tuckered out and rubbed her hazel eyes.

Uncle Jim put her in the papoose, holding her close to his heart. He found himself paying attention not to Chekov’s words, but to the amazing little thing he was proud to called his goddaughter. He always loved his women, but this was a gift. The blond man noticed she was wearing a miniature version of his uniform, a golden onesie with “Captain’s Boss” scrawled on the front. He chuckled and kissed her little head.

“Captain, are you with us?” Chekov asked before he spun around and saw the special bonding moment. “I'm going to take that as a no.”

What brought the captain to his senses was the mother of his most prized crew member coming back into the bridge. You were going to exchange the PADD in your hand for your baby, but you doubted Jim was going to give her up anytime soon. It was endearing to see the captain so captivated by such a small thing. He was going to spoil the hell out of Ophelia and love her with his whole being. He might be Uncle Jim to her, but she had just become his whole world.