You have your place and I have mine (PAFP, bxg)

In a world where people with elemental powers exist, there are nine elements that every person would be gifted one of at birth. Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Darkness, Electricity, Energy, Ice, and Light, some rare, some common. It was always passed down genetically and if two parents had different elements, only one would be passed on. Kids develop their powers around the age of four and are often starting to be trained at home by parents by then, and normally had to wear bracelets that kept their power in check in public.

Muse A and B were teenage sweethearts. It was love at first sight except that they avoided their feelings until they finally made it official in eleventh grade and continued up to senior year. They even made a little hideout in one of the forests near the outskirts of towns so they wouldn’t be bothered. Muse A is a person gifted with a rare element (you can choose), who grew up alongside Muse B, who is gifted with the earth elemental. However Muse A decided that this small town wasn’t enough for him and decided to move to a big city where he could make something of himself and his rare element certainly helped him. He didn’t really consider Muse B, who didn’t want to leave everything she knew, and they had a devastating break-up. Fast forward to four years later and he actually did it! He became something (You choose) and as a mini vacation he decides to come back home for a while.

He finally comes home, and on the first day while he’s out getting coffee who does he run into? Muse B, who still lives there and is just as beautiful as ever except… she’s got two four year olds latched onto her leg. Of course he automatically assumes the children are Muse B's, and of course he’s right. When he asks who's the father, she panicked and mentions a man, specifically her current roommate. Meanwhile Muse B knows they’re his children but after their fall out she couldn’t bring herself to tell him. One of the twins came out with his power after all and his element was rare in their town.

Muse B normally goes to train them at their old hideout in high school, though she is only really able to fully help one of the twins while trying her best to teach the other what she saw Muse A do. One night, Muse B is there trying to train the twins when Muse A comes across them, wanting to visit the hideout for memories sake.

Plot ideas:

• If the element is destructive, i might make it so the kid ends up injuring her on accident so Muse A will have to help take care of the kids
• Muse A has to struggle with either leaving them or staying due to his job calling him back

Rules:

• You will be Muse A
• Three paragraphs at least please
• Just say if you don't want to continue the thread, I’ll understand
• I’ll have the first post up after someone replies

--

thanks! once your form is up, I’ll start on the first post~

ok that’s perfectly fine and I’ll get us started

Ah, the weekend. She could sleep in with the two kids and they were just happy to be out of daycare and with their mother. They normally didn’t see her much during the day due to her work schedule, which just made the weekend so much more valuable for the family. Ryan also got a break, he worked from home and he took care of the kids while Amber worked so he normally spent these days on date nights with his boyfriend. He was a blessing as well, she knew she couldn’t keep going without him. Waking up with a yawn and her babies in her arms, she glanced at the clock. It was noon, Amber was surprised not one of the four year olds were up or had woken her up. Though, when she peaked over to check on them, she noticed Justin looking at her and smiled a bit at him.

“How long have you been awake, baby? You must be hungry.” She cooed softly as she sat up and pulled Justin on her lap. “No... April’s bracelet fell off last night. Shadows were scary so I put it back on her. I had to make sure it didn’t fall off again, she would get scared if she saw them.” The little boy explained softly. Ah, Justin. The little protector of the household. April inherited her father’s element, darkness, but she was scared of it. She didn’t have enough power or training for it to be harmful but it’d mess with the shadows of the room at night, sometimes causing her to wake up and get frightened, so she normally kept her bracelet on during the night. Justin, on the other hand, was scared of them too, but he would always try to protect his family and keep an eye on April at night.

“Really...? Well tonight, we’ll go train again, hows that sound? I got something that might help her this time. But that will be later, now we’ll go get breakfast- or brunch.” She promised with a smile and gently shook April awake. “Hey baby... time to get up. You two need breakfast and we’ll be going to that cafe that you two love.” She murmured with calming voice as the little girl finally started to open her eyes. “Really...?” April said with a small yawn as she rubbed her eyes. “Yep! Now let’s get you two dressed. We can’t all go in our PJs.” Amber teased, eliciting two giggles from them.

===

After everyone was dressed and cleaned, Amber made sure they both had their bracelets on and that they were tightened just enough so it was comfortable but they wouldn’t come off. “So what are you two gonna get this fine evening?” Amber asked with a grin as she led the two little ones out of the house and towards the little cafe. “A Muffin!” “A Cookie!” Came the response, both made her laugh a bit. “I’ll tell you what. If you two get a sandwich and finish most of it, I’ll get you two whatever you want. I promise.” She laughed as she opened the door to the coffee shop.

“Go see what you two want, I’ll stay in line.” She urged gently, watching the two go to display case that showed off various foods the cafe offered. It wasn’t long before the two ran back and tackled her legs. “I wanna ham sandwich!” “Well, I want Peanut Jelly sandwich!” They called, adorable as hell but when they grabbed on to her legs, she had to step back and bumped into someone behind her. “Ah, sorry about that,” Amber said, looking back to see who she bumped into.

The moment Amber turned around, she recognized the man looking back at her. She held her breath a bit, surprised that he was here. She couldn’t tell if it was a good surprise or not, but a small knot formed in her stomach. “Knox...” She responded as she quickly stood up straight. He looked a bit better than when she last saw him. Still pretty good considering she hadn’t seen him in the last few years. That was good, it just meant she had done the right thing.

Meanwhile the twins stared up at the stranger. “Mommy... Stranger danger.” Justin warned tugging at her sleeve as April stood behind the two, looking up at Knox shyly. “Oh... Uh... Kids, this is Knox, an old friend of mine.” She introduced a bit aloof, picking April up to give her some comfort and so she could better see Knox and get comfortable. “Um... Knox, this is April and the little man, Justin.” She introduced a bit awkwardly, clearly never imagining herself in this situation. Meanwhile, April gave a shy wave and Justin stuck his tiny hand out to give him a handshake, something Ryan had taught him jokingly only for him to stick with it.

The kids, luckily, got most of their looks from their mother so it wasn’t a dead giveaway. But she wasn’t off the hook yet. Why was he here? She knew that news of rare elements spread fast but April always kept her bracelet on so her powers wouldn’t leak out and Ryan was the only other person in town who knew of April’s power. He couldn’t have found out could he? No, it was impossible. “So... Why are you back in town..? I just... didn’t think you’d ever be back in town...” She stammered, a bit hesitantly. She had to be careful now. There wasn’t any obvious sign these were his kids but she couldn’t let her guard down. She didn’t know how he would react and she long ago accepted that he wasn’t going to be in these kids lives.

“Next!” The lady at the counter called, leading to Amber putting April down. “Justin, April, go pick out a booth. I’ll get your food.” She promised before turning to Knox. “Ah.. excuse me.” She said with a polite smile, before heading to the counter. She kept the twins in the corner of her eye as she ordered what they wanted and her own order of a sandwich and coffee, before stepping aside to pay and wait for their food.

Ah, Maria. Maria never liked her and in return she didn’t care for her either. It got worse once Knox left, as most people believed Amber got pregnant with his child. Rumors spread and she eventually announced the father; it was a random guy after Knox left as a drunken mistake. Needless to say, she cut ties with a lot of people and word spread of her supposed story of pettiness. Maria knew but probably never told him because it would upset him. Ryan and his boyfriend were the only ones supportive of her left. Funny, most claimed she got pregnant as a sign of vengeance when it was mostly the opposite. She loved and lost him, she didn’t even realize she was pregnant until after he left. She wanted to be supportive rather than tie him down with kids. Of course she got a little bit of revenge by keeping them away, she admitted that at least. She loved her kids dearly and though there was some guilt, he just couldn’t be in the picture.

Snapping out of her thoughts as he suggested having breakfast with them, she nodded a bit. It was hard to say no for no reason. “Uh yeah... though don’t let the kids push you around to much. They don’t look like it but they’ll run you ragged if you let them. Also... They both started developing their elements though the topics a little sensitive right now. April’s a bit... behind in learning so try not to bring it up if you can help it.” She asked with a small smile as she tried her best not to tell too many lies. She just had to be careful and make sure no one spilled out anything about April’s element. That would’ve been a dead give away to who it was. Ironically Amber knew, eventually she would have to leave the town when the kids were old enough to show off their powers in public or school. Her secret would be out once people saw the element April inherited. But that would be when they would around age 10. For now, she would save up all her spare money until then.

Once she got her and her kids tray of food, she nodded for him to follow her to the table. She took the seat next to April, a protective but seemingly innocent move on her part leaving the spot next to Justin open. “So, Knox, how have you been..? It’s definitely been a while.” She asked softly as she distributed the sandwiches to her kids respectively and glasses of milk to each kid before grabbing her own food to eat.

Amber listened to him as she took a bit of her own sandwich. That was good; he didn’t seem to have a lot of regrets. Neither should she. She was glad he seemed well though, he was a bit skinnier than when she last saw him. She smiled a bit as he spoke about her life and that he assumed she had achieved a lot. It wasn’t comparable to what he’s done but she’d take the compliment. Her greatest joy was her kids after all. “I got these two bundles of joy, and that’s all I need.” She said before pausing a bit. Honestly it was hard to go into details of her average life; she really ever saw her kids on the weekends, working close to 13-16 hours in a week day to keep herself and the kid’s afloat. Ryan helped too but he couldn’t live with her forever. He had a boyfriend and soon, he’d probably move in with him. And she didn’t blame him. Deciding to leave most parts out, she continued, “I work in a bakery now. You know my sweet tooth has always been a big part of me.”

“Mommy also does construction! She took us to work one day and I saw mommy help move the ground!” Justin piped up with a mouth full of food. Admittedly, construction was a bit out of character for Amber considering her carefree attitude in high school. But it was good money and her element made the job easier. “Either eat or speak, don’t talk with a mouth full of food Justin, it’s rude.” She scolded gently, trying to change up the topic a bit. Her life was busy and rushed, but she didn’t want Knox to think she was struggling with the two jobs. “Ryan normally works at home with the kids,” She said with a small smile at Knox, not putting a lot of thought into what she said.

“Mr. Knox, I have a question,” April said sheepishly raising her hand a bit, something she learned from daycare. “Are you really a singer?” She asked with wide curious eyes looking up at him. Amber smiled a bit at her daughter though the next question made it drop a little. “Are you any good?” She asked, childishly blunt with her question. “April! Sorry, she’s a little straight forward...” Amber said with a small blush.

She paused a bit more as mentioned two parents; Did he think Ryan was...? She blushed a bit at the thought. Ryan, though a saving grace, was not even close to her type asides from being gay and in a relationship. It was a bit embarrassing to even think about. “Yeah, we try to keep it well balanced.” She said, trying her best to keep a neutral face. Meanwhile, April watched him curiously and smiled excitedly at his answers. “Really? That’s so cool!” She squealed looking up at him thankfully she was really only interested in the singer part rather than the performance part, and even Justin was looking up at him in amazement.

“You bet not be bluffing! I wanna see you sing one day!” April cheered looking at him with amazement. Despite how dangerously close they were, Amber smiled a little at her children. They were energetic despite the fact they both were normally more reserved around others. It was cute; though Amber knew this wouldn’t last for long, it was wholesome to think this is what they would interact like as an actual family. Of course, she quickly swiped away those thoughts. Who knew what would happen if he actually found out. Who knew what choice he’d pick, his dream or his family. So she wasn’t going to let him even be aware of the choice or give him one.

Once again she was snapped out of her thoughts, she paused again as he mentioned Ryan. She was really hoping to stick with the same story as high school but this lie seemed better. It showed her as a happy wife who was in love. None was true but he didn’t need to know that. “Ryan... we met soon after you left... he was good to me and treats me well. He went to school with us and found me at a library.” She said softly. She was telling most of the truth. Ryan had found her at her worst. She was broken back then and he helped her pick up the pieces. He talked her through everything, even postpartum depression after the twins were born which she still struggled with every now and again but it had lessened over the years.

Amber frowned a bit sympathetic as she listened to how he described the city. It was sad but it didn’t surprise her. Small towns had always seemed more genuine than cities were, just another reason she had refused going with him when he left. “Nice to meet you again too.” She said with a soft smile and glanced her kids as he said goodbye to them. “Goodbye Mr. Knox!” They said with wave to him. Glancing back over as he gave her his number, she picked it up. “Thank you...” She said, admittedly surprised he would give her his number. Not that she would use it if she needed it. As much as this little interaction made her happy, she couldn’t risk getting too close to him. So, she and the twins went about her day as if nothing happened.

——

“You’re getting better, April. I promise we’ll get a little farther tonight,” Amber assured softly as she led them through the trail to get to the place she took them to train. It was a little out of the way but it kept anyone from finding out about April. The place was a little clearing near a little makeshift club house of dirt and a tarp for a roof she had help made with Knox in high school. “Mommy, it’s still scary...” the little girl said softly, squeezing her hand. “Don’t worry, I will protect you and if it gets too scary, I’ll take care of it.” Her mother added as they passed the clubhouse, clearly unaware of Knox’s presence.

She put down the small book bag she was holding and kneeled down to Justin, unclamping the bracelet around his wrist. “Okay buddy, you just start on making little hills in the dirt. You’re really good at pulling up, blocks so try make something similar to an ant hill.” She encouraged, giving him a small kiss on the head. “Okay!” He said with a smile. She watched him for a bit, making sure it would keep him focused before she pulled a few books out of the book bag. They talked about the darkness element and though they weren’t exactly ‘how to’ books, hopefully they’d give some help that Amber couldn’t.

She led April to a patch of shade and set her close to it, but not in it. “Okay, you can push and pull the shadows shape, right?” She asked gently, sitting next to her more for her comfort. “Practice that, I’m going to see if these books have anything helpful. Just relax and Mommy will help you. If you get scared, squeeze my hand.” She said gently, kissing her forehead. “You can do it, even if you can’t do it right now.” Amber added before unclasping her bracelet. April gave a hesitant nod before looking at the shaded area. As if she were taking blanket and manipulating it, she did the same with the shadow though it looked a bit awkward. She couldn’t raise the shadow in to the air but she manipulated the shape of it on the ground and any other surface it appeared on. Amber smiled a bit before grabbing a book and started to skim through the pages for any thing useful.

Amber, trying to find anything, helpful paused as a figure appeared materialized a few feet away and quickly she looked over. It was... Knox?! Her eyes widened as she noticed his eyes and quickly picked up April, and was about to grab Justin. But his voice stopped him. “Okay... Kids, stay here and practice. Mommy has something to do.” She said quietly, putting April down. “I’ll be back, stay with Justin and run to the car if I’m not back soon.” She murmured softly, placing a kiss on her cheek before looking up at him with a glare, in her own form of protective mother mode.

She followed him, though at a distance. She had never seen him like this before and it scared her. When he stopped, so did she but she never met his gaze. “Fuck you... I begged you to stay just as much as you fought with me to come with you! You made your choice and a week later, I found out I was pregnant! What the hell was I supposed to do? Call you up and say, ‘I know you just left but now I’m going to drag you back to the town you hate and crush all your dreams because I’m pregnant?’?! We were both 18-19 god dammit. We both didn’t know what the hell we were doing.” She sniffled before quickly creating a couple of walls surrounding her so he couldn’t get closer and he didn’t see her break.

“After you left I became the dumb teenage whore that got knocked up out of revenge for her boyfriend leaving her. It’s a small fucking town, Knox. News spreads fast, Rumors even more so. My parents kicked me out saying, ‘if you’re grown enough to get pregnant, you’re grown enough to leave.’ I used whatever money I was saving up for college for the apartment I’m in now and things for the kids. I work a 13-15 work day, I barely see the kids myself unless it’s nighttime or on the weekends. The only person left here who goes out of their way to help me and the kids, is Ryan, his boyfriend, and that’s it. He’s the only decent person left and once he gets married to his boyfriend, I’m gonna leave this God forsaken town with the kids.” She cried softly leaning against the walls she made. She was biting back sobs, not wanting to let this moment break her but it was.

“... I don’t want you in their lives. I don’t want anything from you. You got your damn dream. I don’t resent you for it, you can keep doing whatever you’re doing, in fact I encourage it. I wanted everyone to be happy, you got your damn dream and the kids are happy even if it’s not a two parent, balanced household. But you have no fucking right to judge everything I have done. The amount of shit I’m drowning in to keep everyone fucking happy and healthy while keeping myself from going insane or getting too depressed. You’re their father but only by blood. They’re the only ones left who love me so I’m gonna pick up the responsibilities and bear with them. You don’t need to do anything but leave again. Goodbye, Knox. You know the truth. You happy?” She asked, her voice icy cold but in tatters before dropping the wall that was facing the way the came and started walking back to her kids, tears in her eyes and a hand to her mouth to silence any sobs.

Amber left and took her kids, and everything else she brought. She tried to keep calm, for the twins sake. They had questions but she couldn’t answer any one of them properly. She was scared, sad, and angry. When she got home, she asked Ryan to watch take the kids to his boyfriends place for a sleepover. She was going to break soon and Ryan could see it. He agreed and help packed the kids things for the overnight trip and left. The moment they were gone, she cried. She cried so hard. Regrets, fears, anger, sadness, the works. She wanted to do something, anything, but for now she cried, letting out years worth of pushed down shit.

At some point, she had fallen asleep in her fit of sadness. She looked like a mess. Her hair, her tear stained face, everything. She picked herself up, instantly thinking it was him. “Knox, I don’t want to talk about anything anymore. Go away! I just.... I just can’t talk about them now.” She cried softly, her voice hoarse and too scared to open the door. “I don’t care that you left and I would never use the kids against you, so go live your dream. Don’t worry.” She added, trying give off an authoritative tone but it just sounded broken.

“I just... wanted everyone to be happy...” She sobbed, opening the door a little bit before planning to look him in the eye for the first time. But to her surprise, it was Maria. “M-Maria...” She stammered softly taking a shaky step back. She didn’t expect to see her. Which either meant she was going to yell at her or for another reason. “Please... if it’s to yell at me, I got it from your brother already... I can’t take it anymore.” She sniffled, trying to compose herself.