Miss Iris Davis, a 19-year-old from Clapham, London recovering cats from the debris of a bombed house with the aid of a 'lasso'. She rescued over 600 feline strays. ca. 1940
When J Cody first arrived at his grandmothers house, it wasn’t alone. It was with you, the girl Julia took in some 13 years ago- his adopted sister. When Pope comes home, something about the two of you pulls you into the others orbit. Slowburn. Sorts fauxcest in other people’s eyes? Big age gap, reader is 19.
Series Master list here
Credit to @littlest-dark-age , this was her idea.
Julia might not have been the best mom. But in her defense she did try. Really. Smurf might disagree, lot of people might, but she tried.
She wasn’t actually your mom after all. Maybe that’s why you gave her so much grace. When your dad dumped you with his on again off again girlfriend to- surprise no one,- fuck off up the coast and look for more drugs and less people he owed debts, she let you stay without having to ask. Fed you. Never held your dad against you. Never asked for a dime for rent. Let you borrow her clothes and taught you how to do your makeup. She took good care of you. You were her kid, end of the story. Despite her disease, she did her best by you two. She loved you and that’s what counts.
She was sick, but she did love you. Loved you as much as J. You knew that.
So it was hard when she died on you. Really hard. The only mom you ever knew. You couldn’t blame your own for leaving your dad… but fuck, she could have taken you with her. Didn’t matter. Never mattered. You had Julia. But now you didn’t. So now… now you were alone in the world except for your brother.
J said he’d call his grandma after the paramedics took your mommy out in a body bag.
You got nervous.
Whoever this woman was, would she let you come too? Would you be out on your own now?
But Smurf, as you’d later learned she was called, showed up, and asked who you were saccharine sweet- as time went on, you’d know just how fake that sweetener was-, and cupped your cheek and said, oh, of corse you can stay with me, baby. You’re family. Like it was an absurd question.
So Smurf was nice enough to help you pack your things up- not that you had much- and brought you back to her massive house. Massive didn’t cover the sheer scale of things. Her pool itself could fit your old apartment. The cars in her driveway could pay a years tuition at UCSD. Smurf Introduced you to her… three maladapted adult sons, Js uncles, who had some questions about who the fuck you are, two of which sparing you leering glances up and down.
With a pointed look at the oldest with the beady eyes, she said “family isn’t just blood, is it?” And told you they were your uncles too, baby. That they better “look out for you.”
Three uncles… Baz, Derran, and Craig. An absence of the only brother Julia ever talked about though.
You swallowed, afraid to ask. Maybe it was best not to know.
She led you both to a room. “I wish I had the room to spare, but I’m afraid this is the only room we’ve got left.” She explained opening the door. “Oh, we’re used to sharing it’s okay, really. I’m just so thankful, really” you insisted.
And J didn’t look half bothered either, shrugging mindlessly. You’d shared beds a million times before. You’d been in each others lives since 5 and 6, you couldn’t imagine a time in your life before your baby brother was in it, really.
You both knew far worse than a queen size bed, too. You knew cold apartments in the dead of winter, and car backseats that didn’t lock, and dark alleys where old men offered your bother a few dollars for you, and weeks of empty stomachs and angry dealers banging down the door.
And J didn’t even snore. You could share, really.
“Oh, you’ve barely got anything do you honey? We’ll have to go shopping later. Just for the essentials” Smurf mused watching you and J unpack. Unpack was a strong word. You flushed in shame. “Nothing to worry about baby” she insisted. “I’m gonna make dinner in a minute. Anything else I can get you kids?”
“Can I uh, take a shower?” J asked first. “Of corse sweetie. You can borrow your uncles things, bathroom is right across the hall. Anything for you Y/N?”
“No thank you. I’ll uh. I’m gonna change then I can help with dinner.”
“Oh, aren’t you sweet.”
Smurf left the room and you were now left alone. To finally take off the clothes you’d been wearing since the night before- clothes you called 911 in, clothes you attempted CPR in-. To take in the room. It was a nice room. Clean. Organized, almost without any character. But it didn’t exactly strike you as a guest room per se.
You listened to the conversation in the hallway where J seems to have been stopped by his uncles about hi shoes on the way to the shower, sounded like they gave him money for better shoes. That was nice. They had a TV for you, apparently, which J told them to leave in the hall. That you were charging. They asked about you, now that you werent there. As if you wouldn’t hear. About if he “actually liked you” whatever the fuck that meant. You assumed if they had to put up with you. And he shrugged. You knew he shrugged, you always hear it in his vocie. “She’s my sister. I love her. I don’t know man. Y/N goes where I go.”
You looked around. Didn’t quite snoop but looked around. Someone’s skateboard in a closet. Some general household storage in the dresser- Christmas lights included. There was a small amount of men’s clothing in a drawer. Not much, just a couple changes of clothes. You wondered what brother they belonged to- maybe the owner of this room. Sliding door to the backyard- a feature that might prove convenient with your work schedule, but you knew would make you nervous. You feared you’d keep J up all night checking it.
-Shit. Work. You were totally not in walking distance from the diner now. You’d have to find the bus schedules out here. You hoped J wouldn’t have to change schools. His mom died, he moved, moved in with estranged relatives he hadn’t seen since you were knee high to a grasshopper- he didn’t need more change. Speaking of. You still had to change.
You changed quickly, despite the lock, you always did in such a… unconventional household as you’d grown up in.
You made quick work of it. Shorts off new shorts on, bra changed under your shirt before you pulled one off to pull on a new one. And now you were living with four strangers- 3 strange grown men. Julia had flaws, many. But she didn’t bring weird men around you and J. That was for sure. You hated to doubt Js uncles like that, but you truly didn’t know the guys from Adam.
J came back, and passed right out. As was expected, really. So you traded places, letting him rest as you helped Smurf with dinner.
And that’s how it began.
The first few days at Smurfs house went calmly. Very calm by what would become your understanding of Cody standards. About as calmly as things can in a damn near frat house, really. She bought you guys things you needed. You figured out the bus schedule- even though you took the week off on account of your mom dying at your managers insistence while you got settled in your new place, too. Craig was a lot. Loud and coked up and always fucking someone new. Derran was cagey and quiet but polite. Baz was… somehow a father. But something about the way he looks at you and J made you uncomfortable. Like J was a threat. Like you were a puzzle to solve. A problem to fix. And a problem he maybe wanted to fuck.
His kid was cute though. Sweet.
If Baz looked at you weird, Cath looked at you like a landmine, though.
You worked into an easy schedule with the Cody’s. You figured out when to shower to work around the boys, you got used to helping Smurf cook, you helped J figure out who he needed to reach out to about Julia. You grieved the hole she left behind. The space she left across your life. You didn’t live in J’s head, couldn’t say what he was thinking, but you knew why you were thinking. You kept having to fight the urge to tell her various things. Funny videos you saw, confirm how dumb her brothers were. Kept staring at the pans on the stove thinking Julia would like that. I should have some for Julia. Julia doesn’t like shrimp. And then remembering. It was hard. It was reflex. Your throat tightened every time.
Despite his coked up presence and constant parade of chicks barely older than you he was screwing, Craig was the only brother who spoke to you like you weren’t a landmine or a puzzle or a problem. J seemed uneasy with it but he did for the most part seem harmless.
You hadn’t really been sleeping much since you got here, admittedly. Sure, J wasn’t the worst bed-mate but after everything … your sleep schedule was fucked. Your mind kept racing. Kept worrying about your future- both here and in a general sense. Your life was always a big question mark but you’d always assumed despite her weaknesses, you’d have Julia to fall back onto.
Now you had no one.
One afternoon, you were in bed attempting a short nap.
That was when things really changed, if you were to pinpoint the exact minute. J had left, off to see Nikki for the first time since it all happened. You yourself were half awake half under the covers trying to catch some Zs before dinner. You had to make it up now- you’d be back to work tomorrow. Despite the random large bills Smurf generously threw at you, you needed money, needed your own, needed to earn. Maybe this was the little girl in an ice cold 15 year old Altima talking, but you never knew when this gig would be up.
And the sliding door slid open. That damn door you checked 4 times last night. You only perked up half awake, maybe you’d gotten too comfortable here already.
“Smurf?” You slurred.
You shot up when you opened your eyes.
Not Smurf. A man.
A man you’d never see before. Not Craig or Baz or Derran.
Your heart jumped into your throat as your body shot up.
“Who are you?”
He beat you to it, huh?
“Y-Y/N”
“What’s that supposed to mean to me?”
“I- I’m Julia’s kid.”
He looked confused. “When did Julia have a daughter?”
“She uh. Didn’t. I’m her exes kid. She took me in when he took off.”
“…wait, Julia’s here?”
He asked with the optimism of a man who’d been gone too long and didn’t know what had changed in his absence. And carried an optimism regarding that.
You watched as his face perked up, like the sun had shone on him. Like Julia finally came back home.
That was how you knew. That was exactly when you knew.
“You’re Andrew.”
“She’s here?” He repeated.
He stared at you in anticipation.
Wherever he’d been, he was holding this hope all over his face. A hope that Julia got better. That Julia came home. That Julia and Smurf reconciled in his absence. That everything was better now. Oh. This was going to hurt. Poor Andrew- wherever he’s been. He didn’t have a clue.
“I’m really sorry to be the one to tell you, Andrew. Julia- Julia passed away.”
You watched. Watched that poor man’s face crumble. Air knocked out of him. It was crushing. “When? How?”
“She’s overdosed. Heroin. A- a week ago now maybe.”
His face was heart breaking. He had no poker face, not here. Not about this.
He looked like the rug was pulled out from under him. Like a man cheated by fate. Poor thing.
“You should sit down.” You suggested.
He nodded numbly, stumbling onto the bed- his bed, you suppose- beside you.
“No one told you?”.
He shook his head. “Didn’t get the chance, I guess.”
“Where have you been? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Prison.” He answered casual and numb.
“Oh. I guess not.”
His twin sister had died, a week before he got out of prison.
He was a man cheated by fate, you agreed.
Your hands went to his shoulders, a reflex to comfort and soothe the stranger before you taking over.
He wasn’t all that much of a stranger, you supposed. Julia spoke about him plenty. Her twin. Andrew. Had his problems, she said. A little awkward a little stiff a little anxious, but big heart. Sweet anything, always protected her. She carried a mix of guilt and anger. That he didn’t help her the one time she needed it most, but know she’d broken his heart taking up with-
Oh. That’s why you knew Baz’s name. Right.
You felt rock hard tense muscle under your hands, but he didn’t budge an inch, nor did he soften to touch. Just stayed solid beneath your palms as you smoothed over his shoulders.
He didn’t resist, though.
“Did you have a funeral yet?”.
You shook your head. “You’re home just in time” you confirmed. He nodded. “You lived with her for a while?”
“Since I was 6. So. 13 years.”
He nodded. “She’s got a son”
“Yeah. My little brother J. Josh.”
He nodded again. Man of few words.
“How’d he turn out?”
“Really good. Really smart.”
“Is he nice to you?”
“Very” you confirmed.
“We should give you your bedroom back” you realized, looking around.
“We?”
“J and I. We’re both in here.”
Pope cocked his head. “Smurf doesn’t have two rooms to spare?”
You shrugged. “I don’t think so. She said she didn’t, so. I wasn’t complaining.”
Pope looked unsettled. He mumbled something close to “A girl needs her own bed”.
“You guys don’t gotta move on my account. I don’t really sleep.” He decided on.
You nodded again. “I uh. I should apologize I stole one of your sweatshirts I think the other night. I’ll wash it.”
He snorted. “Thanks.”
That was when the door opened.
“Y/N, baby, I’m about to start dinner if you want to help me- pope?”
“Oh. Shit. You ruined my surprise.”
You could hear the TV hum, and see the reflections of it as you walked down the hall.
Animal planet, or something you thought. Talking about the Florida ecosystem. The invasive scourge of iguanas.
Who was up?
When you entered the living room, it was Andrew. Who snapped his head up at your footsteps.
Andrew. That’s what Julia called him atleast. Pope, you’d learned, everyone else did. After Smurf found the two of you in Popes room, began an impromptu homecoming party.
If you thought Cath looked at you weird, shit, compared to Pope she seemed delighted by your presence.
Infact eveyones reactions to pope made their feelings about you seem pleasant.
He was board stiff on the couch, not different than he was on the bed earlier. You had to assume that was just how he sat, at this point. Fine.
He wasn’t even laying down. Wasn’t even trying to sleep.
“you okay?”.
You froze.
“Yeah. Can’t sleep.”
He hummed. “Yeah.”
“You wanna?-“
He gestured besides himself on the couch.
With no where else to go, you joined him.
Smurf had a hell of a couch.
You sat beside him trying not to be awkward.
He didn’t seem remotely uneased. “You like this kinda stuff?“ you wondered. He hummed. “Yeah. Better than MTV”.
You snorted. “Sure man. Not into real housewife’s?”
“Fuck no.”
You nodded again, settling beside him.
The process was gradual.
First, in your exhaustion, your head rolled onto his shoulder.
You barely noticed.
And then you passed out.
Pope pulled a blanket around you, and lowered the volume on the TV. You weren’t sleeping well, you said. You needed the sleep, very much.
Then you slipped further down his body as you fell deeper into your sleep. With one heavy breath, you were snoring, head on his lap, feet now tucked behind you on the couch.
But you were sleeping.
He’d seen the bags under your eyes. They don’t fit a girl so young. A girl so pretty.
Now you were resting though.
At some point in your sleep, you clung to his thigh with both hands as if you were scared he would leave.
Him. Like you wanted him of all people to stay. Like you were scared he’d leave you. His heart thudded. You were like a little kid, clinging to him like this.
He himself didn’t sleep. he just watched. Watched you move positions, watched you snore, watched you whimper at a bad dream, watched you cling to him.
March 23, 2024 - “I’m feeding the ones who are not eating.”
In a video posted online, a Palestinian boy in Gaza was seen feeding stray cats. When asked if he had food for himself, the boy said “no.” [video]
Plaster mold gets colored slip applied for the details.
The casting slip (white, but looks gray now) is poured in and rolled around, held for a few minutes, then dumped out.
After 5-10 minutes, the shell is dried and the lil bud can be popped out! The excess gets trimmed, then the seam is compressed and smoothed. They're awaiting their trip to the kiln!
