Chapter Text
“Da, da, I’ll be home in like five minutes, tell Mama to chill.” A blonde girl spoke on the phone while she walked down the street. “Okay yeah I have to hurry up now, I’m gonna be late.” she said as she ran down an alleyway, making her way to the big house with white painted walls. She opened the door and kicked her shoes off as she walked into the kitchen.
“Kiki, Draga moja, you’re finally home, help your mother with lunch?” The older brunette woman said as she smiled. “On it boss” Kiki smiled and started cutting some vegetables that were on the counter. “Oh, you’re finally home” a voice behind her said. “Told you i’d be home in five, i have to talk to you two about something after lunch by the way.” The blonde said as she finished with the vegetables and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. “You can tell us now while we’re making food,” the taller woman says.
Kiki was a 22 year old girl, living with her two loving moms, Bella and Lana, in a small town in Croatia, seaside by the way. She’s a music producer, she’s made music with a lot of Croatian artists but her dream is to travel the world and work with some of the biggest artists. She’s originally from Pennsylvania but her family moved to Croatia when she was young.
“You know how you never want to talk about your family mom? Well, I want to meet my aunt, is she still in Pennsylvania? Do I have cousins I don’t know about?” Kiki asked as she leaned on the doorway. “Kiki, you know I haven’t spoken to my sister in years. I don’t know anything about her life now.” Bella said as she sighed. “I know she wasn’t the best person but I still want to meet her! It sucks not having any family here” Kiki says as she pouts.
“It would be impossible to track her down, plus I don’t want her around me or my family.” Lana said. “If I somehow manage to find her, could I reach out? Maybe go meet her?” Kiki asked. “I don’t know ljubavi, we can talk about it, just don’t do something stupid.” Bella said as she moved around the kitchen. “Okay, that’s fair, I’ll leave it alone,” Kiki said.
She did not leave it alone. That night she went on a deep internet search for any information she could find. She didn’t have much luck. “Ugh there is literally no trace of her online!! This is so annoying!” She said as she threw her head back dramatically. She decided to search city by city all the way from Pennsylvania to L.A. Los Angeles, that was it! She clicked on an article about a L.A dispatcher who was kidnapped and almost died by a serial killer.
“Maddie Buckley-Han.” Kiki read out the name on the article. “Same last name..” Kiki said as she looked more into this Maddie girl. After thirty minutes of digging she ended up finding her Instagram. Part of her bio read “Mom of two, L.A dispatcher, from Pennsylvania.” Okay that couldn’t be a coincidence. Even though her moms told her to leave it alone, not to do anything stupid, she clicked the message button.
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INSTAGRAM PRIVATE MESSAGE THREAD
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Hello! I’m sorry for the random message, I know you don’t know me but uh I have something weird to tell you, i guess? I mean it is weird coming from a stranger but I don’t expect a reply anyway, if you see this feel free to message me any time :)
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The message was sent, now all she had to do was wait. It was already one in the morning here, Kiki closed her laptop and scrolled through tiktok. She was planning on pulling an all-nighter since she had nothing planned tomorrow. After thirty minutes of scrolling on tiktok, she put her phone down on her bed and went to the bathroom. When she came back, she had an Instagram notification. “No way.” she said as she opened it.
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@maddie_buckley : Hello! Sorry for not responding earlier, I don’t mind the message, it’s not every day that a stranger says they have something weird to tell me, Usually I’d think you’re a spam account but you seem real and I’m really intrigued.
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Wow okay, I didn’t think you’d actually respond, okay! Just to make sure, you’re from Pennsylvania?
@maddie_buckley : Yep, born and raised!
@strawberryflavoredkiki : And your last name is Buckley?
@maddie_buckley : My maiden name is Buckley, yeah, why?
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Sorry I swear I'm getting to the point, Is your mothers name Margaret?
@maddie_buckley : Yeah, it is, I’m super confused right now.
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Okay, uhm. My name is Kiki and this is going to sound crazy but I’m pretty sure you’re my cousin.
@maddie_buckley : I don’t have any cousins, my mom doesn’t have siblings
@strawberryflavoredkiki : About that! I might have some old pictures that prove that she does, give me a second, had to steal these from my moms phone.
@strawberryflavoredkiki has attached three images !
@strawberryflavoredkiki : This is my mom and your mom on an old christmas family picture, and two pictures i managed to find of just the two of them
@maddie_buckley : This is crazy, that is 100% my mother. I’ve seen that picture before. She just had part of it ripped….
@maddie_buckley : My god. Of course she has a secret sister she didn’t tell us about, why am I even surprised???
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Uh, who's us?
@maddie_buckley : Right, I have a younger brother, sorry should’ve said that.
@strawberryflavoredkiki : So I have two cousins? AWESOME!
@maddie_buckley : Okay, I am still a bit.. Surprised but I’m happy you reached out, I never would’ve known you existed if you didn’t
@strawberryflavoredkiki : My original plan was to find aunt Margaret but i had no luck, so i went to search our last name city by city and found you through an article! My moms said I should leave it alone but now I’m glad I didn’t listen to them!
@maddie_buckley : Moms? You have two moms?
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Yeah! They’ve been together for yearssss
@maddie_buckley : That could explain why I haven’t heard of your mom before.. My mother is not that supportive of the LGBTQ+.. Though she’s making progress, I think with two bisexual kids she kind of has too.
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Oh i know, she apparently outed my mom to our entire family and stopped talking to her, not cool..
@strawberryflavoredkiki : I’m actually pansexual myself, I think it’s funny how we’re all a little gay
@maddie_buckley : It kind of is, okay, Do you live in L.A? I would love to meet up and chat some more!
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Uhm, that’s the thing, I’m kind of on the other side of the globe.. I live in Croatia..
@strawberryflavoredkiki : BUT! I can be on the next flight to L.A tomorrow!
@maddie_buckley : Croatia? Jesus that is far. No, you don’t have to, I’m sure it’d be expensive and a really long flight.
@strawberryflavoredkiki : No, no, I don’t mind! I have money saved and free time! I’d just need to be picked up from the airport, if that’s possible?
@maddie_buckley : I’ll figure something out if you’re sure, you can stay at me and my husbands place so you don’t have to get a hotel
@strawberryflavoredkiki : AH, thank you so so much, i need to start packing and maybe get some sleep, I’ll let you know when i land!
@maddie_buckley : Okay! I’ll have food ready when you arrive, you’re gonna be starving.
@strawberryflavoredkiki hearted a message !
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“I know it’s crazy but I already bought my plane ticket! I’m going!” Kiki said as she sat in the living room. “Kiki, Dušo, are you sure this is safe?” Lana asked. “Yeah mom, Maddie is really sweet, she’s letting me stay at her house! I’ll text you every five minutes if needed!” Kiki said as she looked at the clock. “Okay i have to be at the airport in an hour, I promise I'll stay safe, don’t worry about me okay?” she said as she hugged them both. “Okay. I’ll drive you, come on lets go” Bella said grabbing her car keys as her wife helped Kiki carry her suitcase.
Twenty minutes later they arrived at the airport, Kiki hugged both her moms goodbye as she headed on her flight. God how she hated security checks at the airport. After a sufferingly long ten minutes she was boarding her plane, finding her seat and strapping in. This was going to be fun.
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INSTAGRAM PRIVATE MESSAGE THREAD
@strawberryflavoredkiki : I have landed in L.A! I am exhausted.
@maddie_buckley : Ordering you a cab right now! I would’ve had my husband pick you up but he’s at work right now
@strawberryflavoredkiki : A cab is fine, Don’t worry. I’ll be there soon, can’t wait to meet you!!!!
@maddie_buckley has hearted a message !
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L.A was a really beautiful city, well from what Kiki could see from the windows of the cab. A couple of minutes later she arrived at Maddie’s, the cab driver helped her get her suitcase out from the trunk as she practically skipped to the door. She knocked three times and the door opened instantly.
“You’re here! Hi!” Maddie said as she gave Kiki a big hug. “Hi!! You look so beautiful by the way. And this house is huge..” Kiki said as she smiled. “Thank you, come in!” Maddie said as she let Kiki into the house. Kiki stood next to the now closed door and took her shoes off. “Oh, you didn’t have to take your shoes off,” Maddie said. “Sorry, force of habit!” Kiki said as she laughed. “Let me get you some slippers and leave your stuff in our guest room” Maddie said as she walked off. Kiki looked around the house, it was really nice. It had a family vibe to it. “I think these should fit you, now do you want some food?” Maddie asked. “Yes please, the food on the plane was gross. Do you have any wine?” Kiki asked. “Oh I like you already.” Maddie said as she laughed and guided Kiki to the kitchen.
“Thank you for making me food, and letting me stay with you,” Kiki said. “Of course, that’s what family’s for right?” Maddie said with a smile. “Oh, you’ll meet my daughter later, she’s at a playdate right now, my husband will pick her up later, and my son’s asleep right now so we have to be a little quiet,” she added. “We should probably talk about our moms situation,” Kiki said. “Yeah, I’m curious, tell me everything” Maddie said, Kiki started explaining the whole story of how their moms stopped speaking, and a little bit about her childhood.
“And then I got on the next plane and now I’m here!” Kiki said. “Wow. I knew my mother kept secrets but not this big of a secret..” Maddie said. “I actually don’t know how to explain this to my brother,” she added. “I can help if you want?” Kiki suggested. “I’ll tell Chimney to bring him over here after their shift.” Maddie said as she got her phone out. “They work together?” Kiki asked. “Yeah, their firefighters, both on the same crew” Maddie explained as she put her phone back down. “Also chimney says he’ll tell Buck that I need to see him” Maddie says.
“I’m sorry your brother's name is Buck?” Kiki asked. “It’s his nickname, his actual name is Evan but everyone calls him Buck.” Maddie explained. “Here i thought i wasn’t the only one with a weird name, I’m named after a candy by the way, hence my instagram username.” Kiki says. “It suits you, you are very sweet,” Maddie says with a smile.” If you live in Croatia, are you fluent in Croatian?” Maddie asks. “Yeah I am! I can teach you some words sometime!! Now please tell me more about your side of the story, I want all the tea.” Kiki says as she listens to Maddie talk.
They talk for hours about Maddie’s life, her job, her kids, Kiki’s job and her plans for the future. They’re sitting on the couch laughing at a picture of Jee that Maddie was showing her as the door knob turned. “That must be the guys, stay here, i’ll be right back” Maddie smiles. Kiki stays on the couch nervously fidgeting with her fingers, It’s a habit she picked up from her mom. As Maddie comes back to the couch. “Chim’s just changing really quickly and Buck’s outside with Jee, hold on.” Maddie says as she walks closer to the door and yells out for Buck to get in the house. “Jeez, you don’t have to yell at me Mads.” A tall dirty blonde man says as the little girl next to him runs up to Kiki. “Hey there” Kiki says as she smiles.
“Okay! Buck, Sit down, Chim. next to him please. Jee go play in your room okay?” Jee nods as she runs off. “So, why is there a random girl in our living room, honey?” Chim asks. “Don’t be rude. She’s not a random girl, Chim, meet Kiki. She’s me and Buck’s cousin.” Maddie says as she sits down next to Kiki.
“Our what now?” Buck asked. “Turns out mom has a sister named Bella, I’ll fill you in on the whole story later” Maddie says. “I know this is really really weird but it’s nice to meet you!” Kiki says. “It’s definitely weird but I don’t know if I'm surprised that Mom kept a whole human hidden from us.” Buck says. “It’s nice to meet you too, My names Evan but you can call me Buck” He says as he smiles. “I better be filled in too, this is crazy, even for your parents” Chim says. “Yeah ,I know, I’ll explain everything later, for now Kiki and Buck should get to know each other," Maddie says.
“I like your tattoos, do they mean anything?” Buck asks. “Thank you, yeah, they all have a special meaning, except for my music note tattoo, that’s just a reference to my job” Kiki says. “You work with music?” Buck asked. “Yeah, I’m a music producer! Mostly smaller croatian artists though, I have not gone worldwide yet” Kiki says as she laughs. “That’s actually really cool, I have some tattoos myself, I think they're pretty cool” Buck says.
“Maddie told me you’re a firefighter? That’s fucking awesome!” Kiki says. “Yeah, I work with the best crew in Los Angeles,” Buck says. “The job has to be dangerous though” Kiki says. “It is, I once got struck by lightning and was dead for three minutes and seventeen seconds” Buck says. “WHAT?? THAT IS INSANE?” Kiki says in shock. “And oddly specific.” she adds. “I’ve been hurt a lot too, I think I’m just unlucky or something.” Buck explains. “You should come to the firehouse, I will give you the cousin exclusive tour” he said as he smiled. “Hell yeah, count me in.” Kiki said.
They talked for a bit before Maddie came back and started explaining the whole cousin situation. After that, Buck left, Maddie and Chim showed Kiki the room she’ll be sleeping in and said good night. Kiki stayed on her phone for a while before going to sleep though, she had to update her online friend, maybe a better word for it is situationship, about everything that happened.
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INSTAGRAM PRIVATE MESSAGE THREAD
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Hey soph, sorry I didn't text you earlier. I was kind of on a flight! I’m in L.A right now!!
@sophtserveicecream : NO WAY!! You know my brother that I keep telling you about?
@strawberryflavoredkiki : yeah, the very very closeted one, what about him?
@sophtserveicecream : He lives in L.A with my nephew!! I wonder if you’ll meet him somewhere.. If you do, put some sense into that man's head. He kept texting me and Adri about his “best friend” again.
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Will do! I doubt I’ll run into him, L.A is a big place you know?
@sophtserveicecream : Well still, I hope you have fun and send lots of pictures, especially of you pleaseeee
@strawberryflavoredkiki : You are a simp.
@sophtserveicecream : Only for you
@strawberryflavoredkiki : Okay, I am going to sleep now, you flirt, good night soph
@sophtserveicecream : Good night Kiki!
Kiki puts her phone on the charger next to the bed and falls asleep in about two minutes.