I still can’t believe that anyone was actually interested in reading my Ever Given meets Queen of Thieves nonsense 99% written before the boat got unstuck, finished now she’s free, so slightly out of date but still fun to finish, especially since I’ve not finished anything in AGES.
Notes - characters all belong to Lovestruck and the below is just a bit of fun. Haven’t implied who MC’s romancing. The part where she says something that’s kinda dumb, is a direct quote from my hubby. Yep. Delighted to fit that in here… I’ve also attached the memes etc where I could find them / links to them again, because they were gold. Oh and most of the cargo is made up, except the really ridiculous stuff, that’s true and there’s newspaper articles proving it
[MORE]
—-
Jett almost spit his drink trying to control his laughter as his phone buzzed again, and again, and again. Nikolai, positioned at the opposite side of the room with a newspaper sprawled across the table, lifted his head and raised one sharp brow,
“Rather ‘tickled’ by something this morning, aren’t we? No doubt I’ll regret asking…?”
Jett’s struggled to rip himself away from the screen to meet Nikolai’s impatient gaze, using the back of his hand to wipe the tears of laughter as he finally composed himself enough to speak,
“Endless memes about this bloody boat, mate: priceless! My phone’s never stopped!”
Nikolai watched him, bemused for a few seconds, “The boat stuck in the Suez?”
Jett’s phone lit up again as he answered,
“Yeah, the Ever Given. Honestly, after all the COVID and quarantine over the past year - it’s amazing having a newsworthy event that doesn’t involve mass pain and suffering! Haven’t you seen any of the memes?? They’re gold!!”
Realising that Nikolai clearly hadn’t indulged in the best of the week’s internet humour, Jett made his way to show him some of the highlights:
A TikTok of two dachshunds in high-viz vests and hardhats digging like crazy to music to free the stricken vessel
‘Disaster Girl’ positioned in front of the cargo ship, with that chilling, knowing look on her not-so-innocent baby face
The GPS mapping of the off-course of the ship before it got stuck, that sort of looked like a penis.
The Austin Powers ‘You had one job!’ TikTok
A ‘steal his look’ meme including a dark green pair of straight leg D&G linens and some self-adhesive wheelie bin stickers
Nikolai half-smirked and rolled his eyes as they worked through, wondering who on earth has the time to waste in creating this sort of thing… What else could they achieve if they redirected their energy…?
Bernie Sanders stared out at them from the Suez, fold-out camp chair, coat, mask, mittens and all
There was a news story about the Ever Given’s sister vessel toppling a container of rubber ducks into the sea some years previously - the Friendly Floatees
A Lego replica had even been built to prevent someone from doing their dishes…
Frowning when they reached one of an elderly, sailor-esque gentleman in front of the boat, captioned ‘Captain finally revealed’, Jett chuckled as he explained to Nikolai that the pensioner was a character in a long-running British TV comedy - a former naval officer who’d sunk every ship he’d ever set foot on.
“Global trade grinding to a halt has really captured international attention, but not in the way I surmised…”
Leon, Remy and Zoe had appeared half-way through the conversation and cheerfully watched the meme-fest on Jett’s phone,
“Memes aside, it’s a pretty big deal - I was reading about it online last night. Roughly 12% of global trade passes through the Suez, boat’s been stuck for three days already.. There’s about 200 ships blocked and waiting to go behind it - well, either that or they have to decide if they want to divert around Africa. It could add two weeks onto their trip, but if that boat is going to be stuck for weeks, it might be faster… ” Pulling her phone out, Zoe tapped the screen until she pulled up a satellite image of the canal covered in coloured dots, “See?”
Leon shook his head in disbelief,
“Crazy. All that cargo… Going nowhere… I wonder what’s in all those containers? Must be costing the companies a fortune?”
Zoe shrugged, pulling up yet more screens as the others watched on,
“It’ll all be covered by insurance… But these reports estimate around $9bn is being held up… There’s some oil tankers, medical equipment, oh damn - a new passenger ferry being transported to Denmark, it’s not even been used yet - can you imagine being stuck on that… There’s a tonne of consumer goods - microwaves, freezers, driers - you know the stuff… Some cars… Sex toys - en route to the Netherlands apparently…”
Leon and Remy interrupted one another as they exclaimed, “Cars?”, and, “Sex toys?”, respectively, causing peals of laughter amongst the group, which had now expanded to include the entire Gilded Poppy; MC and Vivienne both appearing to see what the commotion in the common area was over.
Nikolai peered over Zoe’s shoulder, fielding Remy’s question first, wearing a grin,
“One ship is carrying around 20 containers of vibrators and the likes… According to this article, Dutch sex-shop shelves are bare after Valentine’s Day.”
Jett chuckled,
“See?! You honestly couldn’t make this up. It keeps getting better!”
Nikolai continued, turning his gaze to Leon,
“Another boat has several containers full of Nissan GT-R’s.”
Leon leaned forward in his chair, flushing to the tips of his ears as he enquired,
“Does it say? Are the GT-R’s ‘Nismo’s’?”
Vivienne tilted her head towards Leon,
“That’s the question you’re choosing to go with? Oh, Leon!”
The group continued to chat and crack jokes at the quality content and meme-fodder arising from the ongoing maritime situation, until MC made the comment that descended the group into utter hilarity,
“Imagine if pirates were real and decided to rob them all!”
Jett quirked an eyebrow,
“What do you mean ‘if’ they were real?”
Glancing around the confused faces of her friends, she offered,
“If they were real. As in, not just a fairytale thing. That’s what I mean.”
Remy’s bottom lip disappeared under his teeth as he tried his hardest to keep a straight face,
“Because they only exist in fairy stories?”
MC nodded enthusiastically, clearly unaware of her gaffe,
“Yes, in kids books. Peter Pan, or whatever”
Vivienne, barely able to breath, clutched MC’s arm, exclaiming,
“They’re not a Disney franchise, darling, pirates existed for hundreds of years before they made Johnny Depp into one!”
MC’s face glowed as her friends explained her error and teased her relentlessly,
“Santa Claus - real or not real?” , “Tooth Fairy?”, “What about the Easter Bunny?”, “Ghosts??”
The banter continued until MC floated the question that rendered the thieves silent,
“So if piracy is an actual ‘real thing’, have the Poppy ever heisted anything from a cargo ship before?”
Six pairs of curious eyes landed on her simultaneously, the air buzzing with the sudden realisation that there were over 200 potential treasure-troves bobbing around the Suez Canal like apples at Hallowe’en, just waiting for someone to bite…
—-
A few days of serious planning and awaiting the results of the necessary COVID testing to get themselves into Egyptian airspace, allowed the Poppy enough time to come up with one of the best heists that any of them ever could remember piecing together. Maybe it was having to lay low for so long due to the pandemic, or maybe it was the idea of pulling off such a spectacular heist in the goldfish bowl environment of the global tabloid media’s voyeuristic gaze… Whatever the reason, they all agreed this job was something truly special and if they weren’t already infamous, this was the heist that would propel them to a new height of infamy, on a worldwide scale. There was something for everyone on this heist: a traffic jam of cargo ships filled with treasures untold - unless of course your name was Zoe and you were able to access the shipping manifestos…
Initially there was a line of thought that the Poppy could simply steal the wanted containers from the stricken vessels with Leon using the helicopter to ‘hoist them away’, but that wasn’t exactly inconspicuous no matter how good their distraction techniques were. Nikolai was also quick to point out that disturbing the weight distribution of the containers and where they were placed could put the ship at risk of breaking, and therefore the crew would be in danger, so it was very quickly ruled out. A more subtle approach seemed like the better option; to blend into the rescue and recovery efforts, to provide a little assistance to those stuck through no fault of their own, and in turn, to secure a haul to be proud of!
—-
Zoe had worked tirelessly, with some help from MC, hacking systems to create dummy privileges, forging IDs and documents to allow the Gilded Poppy clearance and access to the various ships of interest caught up in the watery traffic jam. She also worked on a method of creating interference on all nearby video equipment that could capture an image of any of the Poppy, so they couldn’t be identified later… Once everything was in place, their plan rolled into action.
Vivienne nodded sympathetically as she flashed her ID badge with abandon and chatted to the crew on every boat she stepped aboard, posing as Head of Port Liaison Services, working to establish their needs throughout the crisis. For some of those stranded, there was nothing required, but after long days and nights adrift, some were desperate for a specific meal or drink, or for provision of extra toiletries as their own had run out - no one having expected such an extended trip… As she jotted down items like shaving foam, painkillers, fizzy drinks and cellphone top-ups, she noted any potential issues the Poppy would have to work around whilst smoothly guiding the conversation, allowing her to glean as much further information about the cargo onboard as possible: it’s intended destination and the location of the containers of interest on the ships, feeding all information back to Nikolai via a tiny hidden camera Zoe had secured in the Poppy-shaped pin of her smart, red, uniform neck-scarf.
Remy, MC and Leon would later arrive with Vivienne, all wearing similar uniforms. Remy and Vivienne smiled kindly, bringing positivity and care packages to the crew filled with the items they’d requested, plus some extra goodies to help the time pass more quickly, while Leon carried out a ‘security round’ of their boat to help the crew feel comfortable from potential threats whilst stranded. Given his stature, none of the crew were at all suspicious, and simply waved him on his way with MC at his side to look after the paperwork as required by the Port Authorities.
With the staff of each ship wholly distracted by an abundance of food, drinks and treats, Jett was able to sneak on board, follow Nikolai’s instructions via earpiece, to reach the containers Vivienne had defined as containing goods-for-heist! Once he was outside the specific container, Zoe could deactivate any tracking or tamperproof devices, allowing Jett the time he needed to pick the locks on each unit - without raising suspicion - in time for Leon and MC arriving on their rounds… It was all down to Remy and Vivienne to be enchanting and enthrall the crew until such times as the others had offloaded their haul to the small waiting tug boat the ‘Port Liaison Officers’ had arrived on, before resealing the container like nothing had ever happened. This heist was proving to be amongst the Poppy’s most satisfying - it was truly a ‘something for everyone’ heist: a plethora of new tech for Zoe, some shiny new sports cars for Leon - the most challenging items to remove from a floating container ship without anyone noticing mid-theft, enough sex toys to open the Poppy’s own bonafide bondage club - if the resident members wished to do so, dazzling jewels galore destined for the top stores in Europe’s capital cities for Vivienne, an abundance of art supplies for MC, a container filled with fireworks for Jett, and all the satisfaction and notoriety a heist like this could bring for the pickpocketing streetkids who had dreamed up the Poppy over a decade before. Little by little, distraction by distraction, the team were able to offload all the pieces of cargo their hearts desired - taking no more than one or two pieces or crates from each container. Zoe’s expert hacking of the security systems ensured the crew wouldn’t be penalised for anything going astray, and that any anomolies could simply be totted up as an inventory loss or wastage if they were discovered at the other side… The Poppy were very keen to ensure that nobody lost out because of this heist - with the noted exception of the insurance brokers and global capitalism: they figured the various crew members had been through enough!
Back at the hangar they’d made their base, with the last of the stolen items secured in the underbelly of their private plane, champagne flowed, but amongst all the whoops of jubilation from the Poppy, Nikolai was quietly subdued. Pensive. Eventually, frowning, he called Remy aside,
“We can’t leave it like this… It doesn’t sit well with me, these people all still stranded, and for who knows how long. Miserable. Families awaiting their return…”
Green eyes sparkling, Remy teased his oldest friend,
“You are going soft, mon ami… And what do you propose we should do to assist them? They already think Vivienne and I are so wonderful, someone told me we’re the best Port Liaison staff they’ve ever met.”
Nikolai raised his hands in an appealing gesture that said ‘seriously - why has no one else thought of this?’,
“We free them.”
Remy’s laugh filled the space between them as he shrugged and wrapped an arm around his oldest friend,
“D’accord, Niko. Why not?”
—-
Remy had donned a construction worker disguise before marching toward the crew manning the bulldozers on the bank where the golden class megaship had embedded its nose, tapping the pen against his clipboard, a grave expression as he spoke with them. Nikolai was with him claiming to be from HQ, dressed in a sharp-looking suit - the picture of a stressed out management sort - raking his hands through his dark hair and barking instructions at Remy every so often to give the impression that they would both be in very serious trouble were the salvage crew not to do as they were asked. There had already been thousands of tonnes of sand shifted and dredged, but the ship was still firmly wedged: all that Remy was requesting that they take a break - to go home - rest - get some sleep - please. He told them that they’d already been on the job for more hours than allowed in line with health and safety guidance, and another team was on their way to relieve them for a few hours: Remy desperately needed them to buy into the narrative as he needed to get Jett and MC on the scene without raising any suspicions. Once the workers finally accepted that it was time to break from their task, Nikolai vanished and Remy ushered in Jett fully dressed in scuba gear. Jett worked at speed to rig some strategically-placed safe charges under the water line in the silt surrounding the boat’s bulbous beak - the aim was to disrupt the earth without damaging the vessel. Leaving him to prepare the blasts, Remy and MC scaled the Ever Given: Remy gave her a confident nod as he gripped the abseiling ropes tightly in place, allowing her descent down the side of the ship. Jett emerged from the water when everything was in place, unable to stop himself from laughing at the sight of Remy and MC, hundreds of feet above him carrying out a special request from Nikolai. They were almost done. They would have to move quickly now, the excavators would be back onsite soon, they’d already been gone for a couple of hours…
—-
Nikolai, Zoe, Vivienne and Leon listened over their secure comms system as Jett confirmed,
“Remy and MC are on their way back to you now… And we’re all set to blow, in 3, 2, 1…”
Leon closed his eyes, covering his nose and mouth with praying hands, Zoe stayed still as a statue while Nikolai and Vivienne leaned closer to the speaker in anticipation of what would come next. They heard a low, rumbling blast echo, then nothing but interfere with their signal until Jett’s voice crackled back through moments later,
“Bloody hell. I think we’ve done it!”
—-
As Leon prepared to fire the plane’s engines up, the others crowded around the live newsfeed on Zoe’s tablet, watching a bubbly young presenter grin into the camera as touched his earpiece and began to speak,
“We are hearing reports that the salvage and excavation teams, after six days, have finally managed to straighten the course of the Ever Given, stuck here, blocking one of the world’s busiest trade routes: the Suez Canal. She has been refloated after tireless work by Port Authorities here in Egypt, and is set to be on her way. A happy ending to one of the biggest news stories of 2021 thus far. We have some live footage of the 220,000 tonne megaship continuing on her voyage for you now, and… Ohhh… Ohhh!!”
Laughter erupted in the cabin as the Poppy saw MC’s handy-work… They watched on as the refloated ship sailed down the Suez before the eyes of the world’s media, a stream of glitter trailing behind her, bearing the misnomer ‘Ever Gilded’, and underlined by a scrolling golden poppy on a vine.
This is amazing and I love that you included the memes and whatnot. Leon getting excited about the cars and Jett all excited about the sex toys. Of course! You did such a great job explaining their roles for this heist—it all fits so perfectly with the real events! And the ending with the boat renamed and the Poppy’s signature. Brilliant!
This is Part 6 of my fanfic and it’s my version of events once the gang travels to LA to find Tariq. In my version, he refuses to come forward and Riley made a painful decision. In this part, the events leading up to the photo scandal are discussed. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please excuse any typos and/or grammatical errors. PS—my Liam is Asian Liam, and my Riley is tall, like me.
Liam and Riley sat on one end of the sofa in Liam’s study. Hana sat at the other end, and Bertrand sat behind the oversized and imposing desk. Bastien stood in a corner near the window. Drake and Olivia were sitting in plush chairs on one side of the massive desk. They were all waiting for Maxwell to bring Lady Penelope and Lord Tariq. Riley looked around the room, impressed with the staff who had to come and clean up the destruction Liam had left behind before joining her at House Beaumont. God, was that only yesterday?
It had been decided to talk with Penelope and Tariq together, although Bertrand wanted to do it separately so as to minimize Constantine’s involvement in the scandal. He was overruled by everyone else agreeing that the best way to corroborate stories was to have both present. Both sides of the story gave them the full story, and with the full story, a cohesive statement could be crafted.
I loved getting more insight into everyone’s actions that night. But even better, Liam’s reaction as the events are revealed to him. And seeing Maxwell and Drake in a new light, and his suspicions? Ooooh!!!!
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Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three, but no TRH) Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OC Rinda Lykel, Henry Word Count: 1,980
Triggers for COVID-19 topic, reference to speculation of death/at risk populations, family separation when a parent is high-risk because of their career
I realize this is a sensitive topic, and my intention was to treat the COVID-19 pandemic, and the people who have been influenced by it, with respect.
My heart goes out to everyone who has been impacted. My condolences. My love and respect to everyone who sacrifices so much to keep the rest of us safe—especially people who are on the front line like health care professionals, cashiers and shelf stockers, delivery workers, and so many more.
Thank you!
Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. Rinda and Henry with all of their quirks are all mine.
Drabble Summary: This takes place in late winter 2020, when countries were beginning to realize just how serious the coronavirus really is. There’s also a little NSFW.
Promises
Everyone was quiet during the ride home from George and Brigitte’s house. Henry was in the backseat, staring absently out the window as he stroked Ollie’s head. The dog had fallen asleep after a traumatizing day of avoiding the neighbor dog’s attempts to hump him.
Rinda was sitting in the passenger seat, her hand resting on Bastien’s thigh as she alternated between watching Henry and staring at her husband’s profile. He was deep in thought as he drove, his eyes occasionally darting to check his mirrors before turning back to the road in front of him.
“Hey.” Rinda’s voice was low and although Bastien focused on his driving, Rinda knew he was listening. “I know, Tiger. And it’s okay.”
Bastien pursed his lips but didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. When he briefly took his eyes from the road to look at her, Rinda saw it in his eyes. The agony of a father and husband who needed to leave his family so he could protect his country. The agony he would hide as he slipped into his role of Colonel Lykel, the head of the Cordonian National Response Program. The man who would be responsible for enforcing the King’s mandates to close borders and order people to shelter in place.
The career that was meant to keep him safer and closer to home. But no one was safe anymore and it was his sworn duty, and his privilege, to protect his King and Country.
… . .
After Rinda and Bastien tucked Henry into bed, Rinda stepped out so Bastien could say goodbye. “Knuddelbär? I need to work with the King to keep people safe during the coronavirus, and I don’t know how long that will take.”
Henry nodded. “I know.” His voice was very quiet. “We’ve all been watching the news, and mom told me that President Trump already closed U.S. borders to China. And that other countries think he’s being too extreme.”
Bastien nodded. “That’s right. King Liam, Queen Riley and I need to talk about those kinds of things. We want to keep people safe, but we also don’t want to turn people away or close businesses and schools. Those are really big decisions, but if we do have to do that, I’ll be away for a long time. I don’t want to get you and mom sick, so it’s important that I stay at the palace while you stay here where there are less people.”
Henry suddenly scooted away from Bastien and called for Ollie to jump into bed with them. When the dog jumped onto bed Henry made a production of talking to him, asking Ollie about his day, as he scratched his belly. “Who’s the good boy who got humped by a smaller dog? Huh? Is it Ollie? Did Ollie have a ‘RUFF’ day?”
Bastien waited patiently, knowing Henry needed his space. Henry needed to deflect while he compartmentalized his thoughts and worked through the best way to share them. And when he shared them, the really embarrassing or really serious things, he wouldn’t make eye contact. He would quickly, without warning, begin rambling the rest. If you didn’t know how Henry processed things, you’d miss it. Or you’d think it came out of nowhere.
But Bastien knew Henry, and he knew he had to be ready to listen.
And he was.
“Ollie. Will you snug in bed with me tonight? Will you be my guard dog? And we’ll both protect mom together, okay? Just until Bonk comes home. And mom says we will deliver groceries to Mr. Ariti and Mr. Halkais, but we have to be really, really careful because they’re higher risk to get sick. But we can help take care of them.”
Henry was starting to cry, so he laid down in his bed with his head turned from Bastien. He pulled the covers over his head and snuggled into his stuffed animal, Buddy. Henry was embarrassed and retreating into himself. No one could see him like this.
“Henry? I have to leave early in the morning for the palace. We need to figure out what’s going on so we can stop it. I know this is the worst time for me to leave you and your mom, but I’ve already talked to Drake and Laura. They’re going to help you take care of everyone. Mom too. But in the meantime, I need you to stay close to home and not go in public places. Just play outside with friends and be inside before the sun even begins to set. Phillip too, okay?”
Bastien kissed the blanket where it covered Henry’s head. “I promise that I love you and your mom more than anything else in this world. I promise that I want to come home as soon as possible. And I promise that I will do everything I can to stay safe while I do my job so I can come home to you and mom.” Bastien knew he could never make a promise that he’d come home safe. Not to a child who lost his father in the line of duty. He never said it to Drake or Savannah, and he didn’t say it to Henry, either.
But there was more. Bastien always thought he was too practical to be superstitious—or even spiritual. In spite of this, he knew Jackson still protected Drake, Savannah, and their families. He knew Jameson and Grandma Lorinda still protected Henry and Rinda. And every night Bastien would say a few words to each of them, thanking them for helping him keep their family safe.
And this is what he reminded Henry of as he rubbed his back and said goodbye. Jameson and Grandma Lorinda, and Jackson. They were guardian angels who would protect all of them, and they would also help Bastien, Rinda, Drake, and Laura to keep Henry safe. And there would be other people, too. Other people who would work together to keep everyone in Cordonia safe.
Bastien was about to leave, but Henry emerged from his blanket cocoon. “Bonk?”
“Yes, Knuddelbär?”
“Will Mr. Ariti and Mr. Halkais die if they get it? Will you die too?”
“I don’t know. Older people do get really sick, and yes. Right now a lot of them die because we don’t know how to deal with the coronavirus yet. So Mr. Ariti and Mr. Halkais would probably die, and that’s why we’ll all work together to keep them safe. And that means staying away from them and washing our hands a lot. And I’m going to be careful too.” He booped Henry’s nose. “I’m not THAT old, Knuddelbär. But yes, I might get really sick if I get it and need to go to the hospital. And it might take a few weeks for me to be healthy again.”
Bastien locked eyes with Henry. “Make me a promise.”
Henry pulled the covers away from his face and sat up in bed. “I know, Bonk. I promise that I’ll take care of mom.”
Bastien shook his head. “No. Promise that you’ll take care of yourself. Henry. Listen to me. Your safety is the most important thing to me and to your mom. And to your dad.” Bastien paused when Henry turned away. “Henry, you need to look at me.” He waited for Henry to shift his eyes and focus on him again. “Before your mom and I started dating, she told me that she understood the King and Queen’s safety always had to be my top priority. But she made me promise if there was ever a situation where I had to choose between you or her … or if any members of the guard had to choose between you or her, it always had to be you. It’s the promise she and your dad made to each other, and now it’s the promise we made to each other. You know I will take care of you if anything happens to your mom. And you know that Drake and Laura will take care of you if anything happens to me and your mom. You have to live. YOU are the most important thing. So no matter what happens, you have to promise me. You have to promise me that you will live, even if it means staying with someone else if mom and I are in the hospital. Even if it means you can’t see us or visit, because it’s safer to stay at home.”
Rinda heard Henry’s loud sobbing and she came back into the room to see Bastien holding their son, tears in his eyes as he recklessly promised Henry over and over again that it would all be over soon, that they’d all be safe and home together again soon.
He promised.
… . .
Bastien had one more goodbye. He took off his shirt, carefully folded it, and placed it on the dresser. He knew Rinda would need it to help her sleep while he was gone.
Rinda’s eyes were aquamarine, but she smiled bravely for her husband. “Don’t worry about us, promise? You need to focus on figuring this out and keeping yourself safe.”
“Tria …” He cupped her face with his hands. He already knew every detail of her face, from the laugh lines around her eyes, to the beauty mark on her cheek, to the small scar underneath her chin from a childhood sledding accident. But he looked at her again, as if he were seeing her for the first time. His brave, beautiful Tria.
She pulled him closer to kiss him. “Please, promise me.”
“I promise, Tria.” He kissed her again. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too.” She kissed his nose. “I’m going to miss your nose.”
Bastien grinned and kissed her forehead. “And I’m going to miss your forehead.”
Their little game continued as Bastien carried Rinda to their bed, each of them kissing the parts they’d miss. Their ears. Jawline. Neck.
Now lower.
Breasts. Abdomen.
Now silly.
Belly button. Toes.
Now higher.
Calves. The inside of their thighs.
Trailing teasing kisses.
Tongues twirling around the intimate areas they would miss. Rinda gasping Bastien’s name, Bastien groaning hers as they joined. Slowly. Something to be savored, in case it was their last time. It was what they’d both miss most of all.
Being together.
… . .
Bastien spooned against Rinda, pulling her close as his leg sprawled over her hip, his foot tucked between her calves.
Rinda took deep breaths, trying to steady herself. She knew Bastien wouldn’t sleep until she did. She knew he needed his sleep, but her mind raced with all of the “what ifs.” But he felt her shaking and felt her hot tears drip onto his arm. “Shhh, my dearest Tria. Just be here with me, in this moment.” He held her as the tears continued to pool onto his arm. “I’m here right now. I’m with you. Even when I’m gone, I’ll be with you. And I will always, always love you.”
When Rinda woke in the morning, Bastien was already gone. But he left his shirt lying next to her and she held it close, inhaling his scent. She missed him already.
When Rinda got out of bed that morning, she saw a Ziplock bag on the dresser that held another one of Bastien’s shirts. She reached for it with tentative hands, clutching it, careful not to open the bag and release its comforting scent too soon.
And when Rinda collapsed on the floor, clenching the bag tightly as she rocked back and forth, her grief becoming a keening wail that could be heard outside the house.
Bastien already knew that he would be gone for a long time. Longer than Rinda had been ready to admit to herself.
