《Flatmates》48
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Our first week as parents flew by in a mass of visits, nappies, feeds and sleep deprivation.
By the time we arrived home from the hospital, all of the sidemen had already made themselves comfortable at our apartment ready to meet Arlo. They were fantastic with him, taking it in turns to have cuddles and take photos.
The two Cals were amazing all week too - changing nappies and making bottles, feeding and winding or just walking up and down the hallway bouncing Arlo when he wouldn't stop crying.
Harry was the most amazing of all. Not once had he allowed me to get out of bed in the middle of the night when Arlo cried, insisting on doing all of the night feeds. Even when Arlo didn't sleep a wink all night, screaming the building down. Harry bundle him up in his pram and took him for a walk, both to settle Arlo and to let Freezy and Lux get some sleep.
By the end of our second week, we had settled into some form of a routine, both finding time to work and relax whilst making sure Arlo was taken care of. If Harry was out filming, Freezy or Lux would often take Arlo from me and tell me to go and have a hot bubble bath or a nap, not taking no for an answer. It was almost like Arlo had three dads instead of one.
And by the end of our first month, my business was back up and running from the dining room - with a stack of new designs ready to be launched. Two per month, limited edition was the plan. Just t-shirts, hoodies and phone cases.
***
'Cal, do you know where I put the spare label paper?' I called as I fired up my laptop and took a sip of my coffee. 'I am completely out in here.' Freezy appeared in the doorway, Arlo in one arm, and a stack of label paper in the other. 'Thank you, you are a star.'
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Harry was out at meetings all day and the first designs had been launched the night before, so Cal had insisted on taking Arlo for the day to allow me to work.
'Right, we are off. Enjoy the peace and quiet' Cal said as he poked his head around the door a few minutes later.
'Where are you off to?' I asked as I slipped a phone case into a packing bag, sealing it and then sticking an address label to the front.
'Going to see Will and Mia, she is dying for cuddles!'
'Enjoy.'
***
Over two hundred orders packaged and placed in sacks ready to be collected by the courier the next day, I called it a day and slipped off to our ensuite to run a bath. I made myself a coffee, the novelty of being able to drink it hot not lost on me, and slipped into the hot bubbles. It was pure bliss. I love Arlo more than words could ever say, but I really didn't realise how much hard work it had been the past month until this first day alone.
Once out of the bath, I put on my fluffiest pyjamas and ordered a takeaway to be delivered when Harry was due home.
Parental life was the most rewarding thing ever known to man, but it was also the hardest and most tiring. I wouldn't change it for the world.
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The Solar Towers: Telilro
In my youth, I found what I thought was a new source of power. A strain of energy, part of simple sunlight, that had been blocked by our ozone. I called it Sunsoul. The moment I discovered it, I knew I would change the world. Once I finally realized what it actually was... ...I already had. — V. B. Fontaine, PhD
8 86The Sorceress of San Antonio
Your world isn't supposed to go completely sideways on your seventeenth birthday. Most girls are hoping for a car, Victoria is hoping her dad comes home from the hospital and maybe a date for the spring formal. What she gets is an offer she can't refuse a beautiful blue box swimming in front of her eyes. Happy 17th birthday! You have 24 hours to complete set up and registration, or the system will initialize with default settings. Again Happy birthday! Somedays you change the world and others it changes you.
8 176Immortal World
Born into a world of magic, it is a right of passage to join the ranks of adventurers, for a time. Eighteen is the age we all must choose where we begin. All paths wind and branch with every choice we make. Adventure and intrigue follow as we learn what it really means to be immortal. Aster Datura is excited to begin his journey into a world of magic and reconnect with his friends, after a tumultuous final year of education. Graduation, though turns out not what he or his friends expect, throwing everything he once believed into question, including his standing with his friends. Minds still spinning, he and his team travel to the city of An La Notre, to pick there classes that will follow them forever. Uncertain, of what to do, Aster picks a class that isolates him even further, though he feels it is what he could do best to help his team. Even if he has to do it from the shadows. The shadows, it turns out, hide many more secrets. He is just begging to scratch the surface.
8 322Through the Vortex
It all started when Howard walked in on a top secret meeting between the government and his childhood ‘friend’. This was the last thing he had expected, especially since he had just walked into his own house! The next thing Howard knew he was dragged along to an adventure he wanted nothing to do with, and even forced to play an important part. It was a simple deal. The gathered criminals, and Howard, would go out to space, take readings on a strange anomaly, and come back with their names cleared. All fun and games before they went through the vortex. (This fiction will be participating in the Royal Road Writathon Challenge)
8 159Immortalis
I sought death more than anyone else. But the gods decided to give me a fate more terrible than that. I reincarnated in an immortal body, unable to free myself from my past, and my fate...
8 140The Faceless Minion
In a world of superheroes, the great mastermind behind it all is...that faceless minion over there?! Enter into a world of superheroes...and supervillains. A world of chaos and action, of battle and glory, of plots and danger. Watch as heroes rise, villains fall, and the normal people strive to live their lives in between. But... Behind it all... Deep within the shadows... There is one who stands above all others. A master manipulator. The one who holds the fate of nations in his hands. The one who plays with the course of history as he pleases. Neither hero nor villain can withstand him. No one can put a stop to his plans. His name is... ... Um, what was his name again? ... What do you mean we don't know the name?! Why didn't you tell me?! What do you mean I never asked?! Go find out what his name is, you stupid minion! I shouldn't assume he's a he if I don't know who he is? I don't care, you useless twap! Just get me a name! Don't you know we're live now!? ... Gah, now this intro is ruined. All because of that stupid faceless minion. An expansion of my response to https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/tokpk6/wp_you_are_the_worlds_most_successful/ [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] And finisher!
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