Song: First Day of My Life by Anna Scouten (PLEASE LOOK THIS UP AND LISTEN TO THIS, IT GOES SO WELL WITH THE FLUFF IN THIS CHAPTER)

~Time skip two months~

"Wait for it...wait for it...YES! YOU DID IT!" Tom yelled at the top of his lungs and pumped his fist into the air, while Rosie and I only giggled. She caught her first fish from the little pond near the wizards castle, something she's been trying to do for awhile. Toms been giving her fishing lessons, but in all honesty he is terrible at fishing. He couldn't even bait a hook right. I was the one who had to teach her that.

"Poppy, what kind is it?" She held up the small fish by the line, her blue and brown eyes gazing at it in wonder.

"I think it's a rainbow trout. You wanna keep him or throw him back in? He looks a little uncomfy." I pointed towards the hook in its mouth, and she giggled a little. She giggles so much, its contagious.

"I think...I wanna throw 'em back in!" She exclaimed, a hint of a British accent mixed in her voice. I smiled when I heard it. She's so much like Tom, it's adorable.

"Alrighty, lets set him free." I took the line from her gloved hand and took the hook off the fishes mouth, throwing him back into the pond. I don't understand how the pond isn't frozen right now, considering it's 32 degrees outside.
That's right. 32 degrees. And you're probably wondering why the weather changed so drastically in a matter of two months, and all I can really say is this. Botan Kikoku.

The weather patterns in the past few weeks have been insane, from tornados to floods to earthquakes and now it's snowing. The wizards poofed us up some clothes though, so I didn't really mind. We've been staying in their little town for two months, hiding from Botan. They still haven't found him yet, but we know he's in the area. No more nightly incidents have happened since the last one with Mot, thank the gods. I've been training with Mot and the wizards every day, trying to learn to fight and use my powers properly. I think I'm getting better. I can at least not kill every small creature around me when I'm in a bad mood.

Another thing that's been happening in the last few weeks: Rosie has grown almost three feet. She now has black curly hair, with bushy eye brows and bigger dimples. And even though her hair is beautiful and long and gorgeous, it's almost impossible to tame. I can't brush it without breaking the comb or accidentally hurting her by combing too hard. Tom just told me to let it be how it is, since it's simply flawless without any help anyways, so I went along with it. It's getting a bit difficult to help her with the whole body health thing, since Tom and I are both guys and everyone she lives with are guys, it's just really hard to not cringe everytime she asks us about something female health related. Thankfully Sonja came over a week or two ago and sort of helped us out in that cringy area, and Rosie had been so happy to have a girl to play with (considering she's completely surrounded by guys). She also cut Rosie some bangs, and they look really pretty on her. I don't think she likes them though, since she's always brushing them out of her eyes or pinning them back with bobby pins. I think now she's looks about 5 or 6 years old. It's so crazy how fast she's growing in such little time, scary even.

She tugged on Tom coat sleeve and pointed at the big snow bank next to our house. "Daddy, can we make snow angels?" She pleaded.

A grin spread across Toms face. "I don't make snow angels, I make snow devils!" Tom cackled and swooped her off her feet, making her squeal in surprise. He ran over to the snow bank and tossed her in the soft snow, and she screamed in surprise as she sunk into the deep white ice. I couldn't help but get a little nervous at the roughness. Wouldn't any parent get concerned if their partner threw their daughter into a snow bank?

But along with Rosie's looks, she's also inherited Toms way of thinking. Which is revenge.

She grabbed his arm and tugged him hard, making him fall in too. They both laughed, brushing the snow out of their clothes. I love them both so much.

Tom noticed me staring from the pond and waved me over. "Come on pops, into the snow!"

"I think I'm good, thank you though." I don't really like snow. Or cold things. Or wet things. I don't like the winter time.

"Poppy come play!" Rosie shouted, though I couldn't see her from the large pile of snow she was sunk into. I didn't want to get snow in every crease of my body, or get any colder than I was right now, but how am I supposed to deny her anything? She's my baby girl.

I gave in and sighed. "Alright." I jogged over to the bank and stood in front of it, not really knowing what to do. Tom fixed that problem. His arm shot out and grabbed me by the waist, pulling me into his lap that was filled with cold wet snow. Ugh.

"Hey there handsome." He purred. I slapped him on the cheek and nervously looked over to Rosie, worried she might have heard his weird pick up line, but she hadn't been paying attention. She was staring at a ground squirrel far away from us, standing upright on its hind legs watching her. Has she ever seen a squirrel before? I don't think she has.

"Poppy, what's that?" She pointed at the squirrel, who was still staring at her.

"That's a ground squirrel, sweetie. And I think he likes you."

She cocked her at at the small creature, studying it with curious eyes. "Can I have him?"

Oh god, no more pets. We already have Franklin and Terrence living in our house now, after Matt retrieved them for us, and we really don't need another animal. But I guess Franklin and Terrence aren't really pets...they don't require food or anything regular animals need. They usually just sit on our bed and cuddle against our feet while we're sleeping.

Tom laughed at her question. "I mean, if you can catch him then sure. But I wouldn't get my hopes up-"

"Come here Mr. Ground squirrel!" She held out her small gloved hand, and the squirrel walked right up into the palm of her hand. My jaw dropped. She can summon animals now?!

"Wh-...you know what, I'm not even gonna question it. I've seen too much at this point to ask questions." Tom shook his head in amazement. He was right, I'm too numb to shock by now. We've seen pretty much everything.

"Well um...what are you gonna name him Rose?" I asked awkwardly.

"Chip!" She announced, lightly letting Chip on the head with her finger, making the little squirrel squeak happily.

Tom only grinned. "Alright we'll call him Chip then. You ready to go inside? It's gettin' too cold out here."

"Wait, can we go see Matty? I wanna show him Chip!"

"I don't know. It's getting pretty late Rose." I know mobs don't spawn here, but still...Botan might be lurking around. And Matts probably busy anyway. Lately he's been spending every moment with Rosie, and I think maybe he might be getting a bit tired of her. But she loves him more than anything surprisingly. I personally thought she'd like Phil more, but she always wants to go see Matt and talk to Matt and show Matt her new things. He was like a big brother to her I guess.

"Nah it's okay, we got a few minutes. Lets go bug Matty." Tom scooped her up again and put her on his shoulders, and she smiled giddily as she clung to his neck. He's such a softie around her, always bending the rules just to make her happy. I didn't mind, but I did worry occasionally. I guess I'm the overprotective parent who's super strict and hates fun...yay.

We reached the wizard tower, and Tom gently sat down Rosie near the door. She had to stand on her tip toes to reach the doorbell, but she did it, smiling widely as she did.

Phil answered the door awhile later, holding an ice pack to his head with a grumpy expression on his face. He made an attempt to smile when he saw Rosie though, trying to seem happy. What happened to him? He had a huge knot on his head. It looked painful by the way he was wincing.

Rosie believed the fake smile though, excitedly bouncing as she stared up at Phil. "Hi Philly! Can I talk to Matty?"

"Hi Rosie...uh Matty isn't feeling that well right now, I'm not sure if he's up for a visit. Come back in the morning, I'm sure he will feel better by then."

Rosie's smile faded and a long frown replaced it. "What's wrong with Matty?"

Phil opened his mouth to say, but closed it after thinking for a moment. Maybe he's trying to think of a gentle way to tell her he didn't want to play with her. "Mattys just...he's just having a bad time right now." His voice cracked in the middle of the sentence, but he quickly cleared his throat soon after. What's wrong with them? Did something happen today we don't know about?

Rosie's eyes friend distant and sad as she stared into the tower, trying to look for Matt. "...can I give him a hug? Please?"
I didn't want her to bug the irritated Phil any longer, so I tried to gently tell her we needed to leave. "Rosie sweetie, let's just leave Matt and come back-"

"No no, it's fine. Um, come in, but please hurry. I think he's wanting to get some rest soon." Phil opened the door wider, and Rosie skipped in, going immediately up to Matts room. I followed behind her just to make sure she didn't bother him too much.

When we made it up the stairs to Matts room, Rosie knocked lightly on the door and put her ear to the wood, listening for Matt. He didn't answer for a long time, and when he did it was pretty unexpected what he said.

"If you have even a strip of common sense in your entire idiotic body, then I suggest you leave before I snap you like a twig." He growled from the inside. What the hell? He had no right to talk to Rosie like that! She's a baby!

"Matty it's Rosie! I came to give you hugs!" Rosie seemed completely unfazed by his words, still smiling giddily with her ear pressed against the door.

The door opened immediately, almost causing Rosie to fall, but Matt caught her before she could. Matt...didn't look good. He had his mask off, which was unusual for him, and his eyes looked even more red than usual. His shoulders were slumped, and tear stains on his cheeks. What the heck? He was fine two days ago! What happened to him?

He raised an eyebrow at the small little girl in front of him. "Rosie? What are you doing up here?"

Rosie tackled his leg with a hug. "I love you Matty. I hope you feel better soon."

Matt looked taken aback by her words, but he hugged her nonetheless. "Oh...well I love you too, Rosie. You came all the way here to tell me that?"

"I wanted to show you Chip! Look, he's a squirrel!" She pointed at her shoulder, where a small squirrel sat perched on her shoulder. How did I not notice that? This squirrel must be really invested in following her around.

"Well nice to meet you Chip, I am Matt." Matt smiled weakly at the small animal.

Something is definitely up with him. He wouldn't be so boring and blunt with her like this. He acts so happy and cheerful around her, even if he's having a bad day.

"Matty what's wrong? You look sad." Rosie pouted and hugged his leg again.

"I...I'm just having some sibling trouble I suppose. It's nothing for you to worry about. You focus on snow and hot chocolate, and I will handle the serious things." He have her an unconvincing half hearted smile, but she was not buying it. She may be extremely young, but she has my genes and I'm not someone you can fool easily.

"Did you get in a fight with Philly and Tommy?" She asked softly, giving him puppy dog eyes to make him tell the truth. I stood by and smirked as she pried information out of Matt, much like Tom would with me. He used puppy dog eyes and they always worked on me.

He sighed quietly, bending down to meet her gaze. "Not a fight...just a small argument. But I promise it will be okay. I still love Philly and Tommy very much and I always will."

Huh. I wonder what they got in a argument about. They never disagree with eachother, unless it's regarding mortal stuff. Could they have been arguing about us? I hope not. I kinda feel bad for living in their compound for two months, even though they've said multiple times it's no big deal. They've even went out of their way to get us supplies and new dresses and toys for Rosie.

Rosie still wasn't about to let the subject go. "What did they say Matty?"

Matt nervously flickered his eyes to me for a moment, before focusing back on Rosie with an even more distraught look on his face. "It's...it's not really for me to say Rosie." Not really for him to say? What does that mean?

"Please? Please please please? I won't tell nobody. I promise." She held out her pinky, as if that'd convince him further to give in and say what happened. And it seemed to do just that.

I watched him visibly swallow and look down at the floor, suddenly unable to look directly at her. "Sometimes I'm not very strong...and sometimes that affects my ability to protect you and your poppy and daddy and your uncle Mot. And it makes Philly and Tommy get a little frustrated with me. They may yell at me or say some rude things...but I know they still love me, just like I love them. Do you understand?"

Rosie nodded at his question, enveloping him in a hug. "I think you're strong Matty. I love you so much," She whispered into his ear.

The look on his face just from hearing those few words was priceless. He hugged Rosie back, stroking her hair lovingly. "That means so much to me, Rosie. It really does."

~

"I'm worried." Tom stated randomly as we laid beside eachother, cuddled up under a big pile of warm blankets. It gets super cold in these houses, so we've sleeping with three piled on top of us every night. We gave Rosie five because...well she might get cold easier. She seems to be completely warm blooded though, she's never once said in her entire life that she was cold. She even pouts sometimes when we tell her to put on some warm clothes before going outside, claiming it wasn't cold. I wonder if she even feels temperature. She's still kind of a mystery to us, and we're trying understand her more as she grows but...jeez she changes so much each day, it's hard to keep up.

"Worried about what?" I absentmindedly traced a finger down his bare chest, trying to distract myself from sleep. He doesn't like sleeping with shirts anymore, saying that all the shirts the wizards poof up are scratchy and uncomfortable. I think his actual reasoning behind it is because he wants me to see him shirtless. But hey, I'm not complaining. I like shirtless Tom pretty well, even though I chastise him all the time it's too cold for it.

He big his lip nervously, his brown eyes staring at the wall in thought. "Matt...he's really close to Rosie. Like, ridiculously close to her."

I rolled my eyes at his thought. So what if they're close? Rosie needs best friends, and since she can't really leave the compound, the wizards are really all she has. Besides Mot, who's still staying here after the whole possession thing. He said it was because it would be easier to train me, but really I think the actual reason is because he's scared to go back home. I wouldn't blame him, that had to be absolutely terrifying being possessed. "Tom. She's fine."

"I know that! I just...the way he looks at her-"

"Tom she's not even three months old, he doesn't think of her like that. He's like a big brother to her, and that's all. Don't look in to it so much." Although I was kinda doubting the words myself. Matt did look at Rosie a little bit differently than anyone else did. The way he was just entranced by her all the time was kind of creepy, but cute I guess.

"Sparklez you've seen the way he looks at her. It's weird...I don't like it. Don't tell me you're not just a bit uncomfortable when he does that?"

It was a little unnerving, trying to figure out what Matt was thinking about my daughter while he was with her, but that was no reason to suspect he was a pedophile or something...we're over thinking this. Matt just loves her like we do, family love. We should be able to trust him.

"It's weird, but I'm not upset about it. Maybe one day when she's older they might actually fall in lo-"

"No! No, we are not talking about this. I don't want her dating any boys until she's at least thirty. No, forty. No, until I'm dead."

I laughed at his protectiveness. "Well, what if she wanted to date a girl instead?"

"It's the same, no dating anyone until shes at least forty or I'm dead. After that, she can date as many girls and boys as she wants."

"So you wouldn't mind if she wanted to date girls?" I knew it was a stupid question as soon as I asked it, but it was too late to take it back.

"Of course not. If you haven't noticed Sparklez, we're both gay, our best friends are gay too, my god and my frenemy are gay, and our other best friends are basically bisexual. At this point, I don't care. Sexuality doesn't matter as long as she's happy." I smiled to myself at how accepting he was. He's going to be a great dad, I'm sure of it. I'm just a bit worried if I'm going to be a great dad. I feel like I'm gonna be one of those naggy parents who hate fun. "Age however, I am very concerned with. Isn't Matt over three thousand years old?"

"Yeah, he is. And he's the youngest of the wizards." I laughed.

"So basically she's gonna be dating an old man? That's just great." He sounded upset, but I could see in the dark the small smile on his face.

"If it really bothers you that much, I'll talk to Matt about it tomorrow if he's feeling any better. Today he looked flat out miserable and exhausted." I felt bad for not asking him flat out what his brothers said to him, but I didn't want to pry. He looked pretty upset though, like he'd been crying before we'd gotten there. Poor Matt.

"Thank you. Be sure to tell him my restrictions, until I'm dead or she's forty. Yeah?" He asked to be sure I understood.

"Yeah I got it. Goodnight Tom." I yawned loudly and snuggled into his bare chest, resting my head under his chin. He chuckled at my clinginess and responded with a kiss to my head.

"Goodnight my little love leech."

~~~~~VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ~~~~~

I'm. So. Stressed. WHY DOES SCHOOL EXIST IN THE WORLD.

But anyway, hello lovelies! I'm currently trying to juggle school work, tests, books, friends, anxiety, depression, weight loss, an existential crisis and boy crushes all at once!

And to be completely honest, I have gone into overload.

I think I'm gonna take a break for a little while guys, just for a few days. I'll post again Tuesday when I'm caught up and I can actually think straight. I'm sorry I don't want to do this, but this really isn't healthy for me to be this stressed all the time and I think I need a break. I might come back from this break earlier than expected, and if I do I will post on that day. Until then, please be patient! Work on your contest entries in the meantime and make them the best they can be! I can't wait to announce the winner on the 10th, and I hope you guys are just as excited as I am!

If you enjoyed this chapter, pretty please leave me a favorite or a comment! They really help me out and every single one makes my day! Thank you!

- Lee