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moondancediner · 23 days

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Be My Escape - Chapter 4: The Tell

Masterlist

Warnings: Mentions of blood, mentions of drug use

Pairing: Stiles Stilinski x OC

Word Count: 4,259

A/N: This one's a bit shorter and much more of a filler but I hope you still enjoy it :)

updated 4/6/2024

<-3 || 5->

darling, i'm not interested

in flowers or lust

offer me a bouquet

of empathy and trust

- Michaela Angemeer

---

Monday morning rolled around and Penny was dreading it. Her alarm went off around six am - and by her alarm she meant Scott banging on her bathroom door. Penny rolled her eyes and pulled her comforter over her head to shield her from her cousin and the outside world.

Scott had been banging on her door first thing in the morning - and every other chance he got throughout the day - the past two days and Penny was holding out strong. She hasn’t spoken to Scott or Stiles all weekend despite the countless text messages, phone calls, and door assaults. She stayed in her room all day, only leaving when she knew for certain the coast was clear.

Dinner was awkward, especially since she couldn’t tell her aunt that she was mad at her best friend and cousin because they lied to her about said cousin being a werewolf for almost three weeks and just thought she wouldn’t eventually catch on.

She couldn’t tell Lydia or Allison what happened either for the same reasons, and she couldn’t go out with them because she didn’t know how to pretend like all of this wasn’t happening. So all Penny could do was sit in her room with her headphones on full blast trying to figure out how she was going to get through school on Monday.

Penny honestly didn’t know what to do. She trusted Scott and Stiles and to find out they were lying to her since she got here was heartbreaking. She didn’t have many people in her life that she could lean on and getting over the hurdle of lies was harder than she expected. It should have been fine, she should have been able to rationalize that they were just trying to protect her and keep her safely away from whatever trouble they were in, but she couldn’t because that was dumb and they were dumb and all of this was dumb.

Scott finally left for school on his bike after 30 minutes of non stop pestering, and Penny was finally able to leave the house. She straightened her hair and parted it down the middle. Opting for simple and small gold hoop earrings and her usual mascara, she didn’t feel like putting much effort into her look today - something she knew Lydia was going to question her about at some point in the day, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. She grabbed a flannel out of her closet and paired it with a plain gray V-neck tank top and her favorite ultra high rise skinny jeans that covered enough of her stomach so she wouldn’t get in trouble.

One last check in the mirror and a deep breath to calm her anxiety and she was ready to leave. That was, of course, until she got outside and tried to start her car. Penny completely forgot about her starter issue and slammed her head against her steering wheel a few times before she pulled out her phone and started texting Lydia and Allison to see if one of them would come pick her up.

It was short lived though, because before she could send out a text, someone knocked on her car window, nearly scaring the life out of her. She jumped at the sound and stopped her phone somewhere into her car’s abyss. She placed her hand over her beating heart and looked to the window to see a smiling Stiles, trying to contain his laughter. Penny rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat, thanking the universe for her very poor luck today.

Stiles opened the car door, and bent at the waist to be more eye level with the brunette, who was now ignoring him again.

“Come on Pen, let me drive you to school.” She continued to stare straight ahead, ignoring her friend’s pleading. Of course he would remember that she had no ride to school. “Fine then,” Stiles caved and plopped himself down on the ground, flipping to lean his back against the car Penny was currently sitting in. “I’ll just wait here, for whenever you’re ready to forgive me for being the biggest idiot in the world… you know it wasn’t my idea to keep this from you… totally all Scott’s fault. I wanted to tell you right away, you know? I figured out that your cousin got turned into a werewolf and the only person I could think to call was you and-”

“Really?” Penny interrupted. Her and Stiles used to be thick as thieves when she lived here and even when she came for visits during the summer. They were practically inseparable. But they hadn’t seen or talked to each other in three years at least so the idea that she was the first person on Stiles’ call list for something this huge, threw her a little.

“Well, yeah. You always believed me, even when we were kids. So can we please just agree to be mad at Scott and you can start talking to me again because I have so much to tell you and it’s driving me kinda nuts. You’ll never believe what happened last night, and all the research I’ve done. It’s-“

“Are you done monologuing?” Penelope asked, looking down at Stiles.

“Depends,” Stiles replied, he leaned his head back, looking up at her through his long eyelashes.

“On..?”

“Are you done being mad at me?” Stiles turned so he was facing the interior of the car, and now that he was, he could see the small smile on her face, solidifying his victory.

“I’m like, 50% not mad at you anymore.”

“That’s a win for me.” Stiles gave a fist pump and then hopped up from his spot on the ground. Once he was fully standing and dusted off, he reached a hand out which she took to hoist herself out of her car.

“My poor baby,” Penny commented once she was out of the car and the door was shut. She patted the exterior twice before finally walking away.

“How much is a new starter?” Stiles asked, leading the way to his own baby.

“It’s only like 60 bucks which isn’t too bad, but if it’s not just the starter that’s broken I could be opening a very expensive can of worms.” One that she for sure didn’t want to open or deal with right now, but also the idea of throwing away or selling one of the last things of her dad’s that she owned was not something she was ready to face. They got themselves situated in Roscoe and Stiles started driving towards the school, a few minutes down the road she decided to break the silence. “So are you going to tell me what happened last night or do I have to read your mind?” Penny joked.

Stiles got very excited, completely forgetting about all the things he needed to tell her. “I don’t even know where to begin,” Which was a lie because he totally did. Stiles dove into his adventure last night with his dad, seeing another dead body, dropping a few theories on who he thinks the alpha is, and Jackson’s temper tantrum.

“Wait, so did Lydia see something?” Penny interrupted, her own brain working a million miles a minute.

Her cousin is a werewolf, there’s a giant murderous Alpha out there trying to get him to be part of his lame pack, and on top of it all her mom was still missing. Oh, and she was seeing things that weren’t there. A whole bag of fun.

“I have no idea, I gotta try and find her at school today and ask her in a way that doesn’t sound crazy.” Stiles said, shaking his head at his own idea.

She really wanted to tell Stiles about what she went through at the game the other night - because none of that was making any sense - but they pulled into the school parking lot and she lost her chance. But, before she lost her nerve she decided to at least tell him she needed to tell him something. “Hey, can we hang out after school? I gotta tell you about something, but I don’t wanna do it here.” She grabbed her backpack from him, who got it from the back of his seat for her, but avoided eye contact with him.

“Pen,” Stiles said, bobbing his head down to find her dark, chocolate brown eyes. “You can tell me anything, anytime.” He gave her a lopsided grin that made her heart want to stop, and she smiled back, forever grateful to have a friend like him. A realization then crossed Stiles’ mind and he couldn’t stop himself from asking. “Is that my flannel?”

“What? No, it’s mine.” Penny looked down at herself, wondering how one of his flannels would have even ended up in her closet? She hadn’t been here that long.

“I’m like 90% sure that’s mine.” Without thinking Stiles reached behind Penny, pushing her hair and head out of the way to grab the tag.

“Woah! Stiles!”

“Yeah, S for Stiles, see?”

“I can’t really see what’s behind me, Sty,” She looked at him, head tilted sideways and hair all in her face, with her eyebrows raised in that adorable sassy way that made Stiles want to just kiss her.

“Well you’re just gonna have to take my word for it, smalls.” Stiles replied in the same tone. “How did you not notice, that thing is like three sizes too big for you.”

“I don’t know, sometimes I buy things oversized,” She shrugged but otherwise tried to drop the subject because her face was starting to get hot with all the touching and close contact.

—-

Penny flipped through her chem notes while Mr. Harris droned on about parent teacher conferences. She thought for sure she was going to have to go, being the new girl and all but her grades so far have been passable enough to get her out of this one.

“Has anyone seen Scott McCall?” He asked, stopping at the table Penny and Stiles were sitting at, looking to them for answers they did not have. Scott had been MIA since he left for school this morning. Allison too, now that Penny thought about it. Her and Lydia spent the morning putting balloons and decorations in Allison’s locker for her birthday, but they hadn’t heard anything from her all morning.

Stiles was slowly highlighting the entire text book yellow and it was quickly killing Penny on the inside that he was wasting such a beautiful tool. He finally slowed down a little, looking up at Mr. Harris just as Jackson strolled into class looking a little worse for wear. Harris walked over to him once he took his seat and had a cute favoritism moment before continuing to the front of the class, completely forgetting - or just ignoring - the Scott situation.

“Hey, do you think Jackson looks a little pale?” Penny whispered, leaning across the table to where Stiles was. She also tried to steal the highlighter away but he dodged her attempt. Instead, he nodded, highlighter cap still in his mouth, eyes bouncing from Penny to Jackson.

Penny was in no way Jackson’s number one fan, but that didn’t mean she wanted the guy to die either.

“Everyone, start reading chapter nine.” Ah, the good old I’m not teaching today, so you all teach yourself methodology. “Mr. Stilinski, try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs, it’s chemistry, not a coloring book.”

Stiles quickly looked at Penny who was wearing a ‘oh, what a dick’ face before looking back to the front, launching the cap above his head, and catching it without looking. 10 points for Gryffindor.

“Hey Danny, can I ask you a question?” Stiles asked, leaning across the aisle. Danny didn’t even stop reading and just replied with a simple no that had Penny looking down at her textbook, trying to hold back a laugh. It didn’t seem to deter Stiles though because he let Danny know that he was going to anyway. “Did Lydia show up in your home room today?”

Danny sighed, clearly annoyed but still answered another simple, yet effective “no”. Stiles paused for a moment, quickly looking back at Penny for moral support. She gave a quick shrug in reply and he continued on his quest.

“Can I ask you another question?” Stiles asked once he was turned back around and leaning even closer to Danny.

“Answers still no,” Danny replied.

“Does anyone know what happened to her and Jackson last night?” Stiles continued anyway.

“He wouldn’t tell me,” Danny replied after a little pause, keeping his head down.

“But, he’s your best friend.” Stiles helpfully pointed out. Danny didn’t answer that one, just shrugged his shoulders and went back to reading. “One more question?”

“What?” Danny asked, fed up with the 20 question game Stiles was playing.

“Do you find me attractive?” Stiles asked, leaning forward until he fell off his stool and Penny had to slap her hand over her mouth to keep from busting out laughing.

——

Stiles and Penny exited the classroom after the longest hour of their lives. Both of them tried texting Scott but he was either ignoring them or dead. Penny hoped for his sake it was the latter. When Scott turned into a dead end she tried Allison, but she was a no-go also, hopefully also dead in a ditch with her cousin.

“Finally! Have you been getting any of our texts?” Stiles asked, once Scott finally answered a phone call. Penny was too short to hear any of what Scott was saying but from Stiles’ responses it wasn’t going well. “Do you have any idea what’s going on? Lydia is totally M-I-A, Jackson looks like he’s got a time bomb inserted into his face, another random guys’ dead and you have to do something about it…. Something.” After another short pause, waiting for Scott’s reply, Stiles shook his head and put his phone away, clearly annoyed that his friend just hung up on him.

“Well, looks like it’s just you and me, detective.” Penny commented, following Stiles down the hall.

----

After school, Penny and Stiles drove over to Lydia’s house, hoping to find her there and get some answers as to what she saw the previous night. When they arrived, Ms. Martin answered the door and showed them up to her daughter's room, where she was laying on the bed looking dazed and playing with her fingers.

“Honey, there’s a Penny and a Stiles here to see you,”

“What the hell, is a ‘Stiles’” Lydia responded, not bothering to look in their direction. She sounded high as a kite, and looked it too.

“She took a little something to ease her nerves, you can go in.”

“Thanks,” Stiles replied. Ms. Martin gave one last look at her daughter before walking out, leaving the door open. Lydia turned then, placing a hand on her barely covered hip and looking at the pair. Her blue teddy was hardly holding it all in and Penny noticed Stiles noticing.

“What are you doing here?” Lydia asked, clearly on some heavy medication.

“We wanted to make sure you were okay.” Penny answered, moving closer to her purple bedspread. She made a noise of content, turning back to assess her cuticles again before deciding she needed more clarity.

“Why?” She asked, patting the bed as an invite for the two to sit down.

“Uh,” Stiles nervously laughed, but moved to sit on the bed, “we were worried about you today. How are you feeling?” Penny followed his moves, sitting pretty close to him to fit all three of them on the bed. She knew that he had a crush on Lydia, it was painfully obvious, so when she put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed his bicep Penny was sure he was freaking out. And when she sat up, and told him how she was feeling, Penny was sure he might pass out.

It was then that Penelope noticed the drugs on her nightstand, and reached over Stiles to grab them. “Woah,” after reading the label on Lydia’s tranquilizers, she passed them off to Stiles, who shared her reaction. Penny was surprised she was even awake right now, let alone able to form a sentence.

“Bet you can’t say ‘I saw Suzie sittin’ in a shoeshine shop’ ten times fast,'' Stiles asked, now amused. Lydia took his challenge with gusto, Penny gave her credit for that but the words coming out of her mouth certainly didn’t line up with what was going on in that pretty brain of hers.

“I saw Shuzy… I shaw…” Lydia tried. Stiles laughed, moving to put the meds back where Penny found them. “I saw..” She drifted off, and Penny thought she might have looked a little terrified, or as terrified as she could look with as high as she was right now.

“What, Lydia, what did you see?” Stiles asked, it seemed like they might get some answers today after all.

“Something.” Lydia responded, zoning off into nothing. Penny moved closer to Stiles, trying to figure out where he was going with this.

“Something like… like a mountain lion?” He asked.

“A mountain lion.” Lydia responded, just repeating what she had been told by authorities.

“Are you sure you saw a mountain lion? Or are you just saying that because that’s what the police told you?” Stiles asked.

“A mountain lion.” She repeated, still staring off into nothing. Penny got off the bed and reached for the giraffe being used as a pill bottle holder on Lydia’s bedside table.

“What’s this?” The brunette asked, kneeling down in front of her new friend so she could clearly see the stuffed animal.

“A mountain lion.” Lydia responded confidently.

“Yeah, I think we lost her Sty,” Penny stated, placing the animal back in its home. But Stiles was otherwise occupied when the strawberry blonde placed her hand on Stiles’ thigh and laid her head down on it. He froze for a few seconds, eyes wide, before quickly standing up and brushing the girl off of him, nearly knocking Penny down on his way.

“Well, I think we should go.” Stiles said, reaching for Penelope’s hand to help her off the ground and drag her away from this place, “Gonna let you get back to the whole, post-traumatic stress thing.” The door was almost shut when Lydia made one final request.

“Stay.” One small word made Stiles stop in his tracks and made Penny wonder if she should give them some alone time. He turned, hand still in Penny’s, and looked to the hallway, then back in the room. He quickly pulled them back into the room, shutting the door.

“Me? Stay? You want me to stay?” He asked, leaving his friend completely in the dust. Lydia sat up, seducing Stiles over to the bed, which he totally fell for, sliding right back to the spot he previously occupied. Penny felt awkward, watching the exchange from the door. This was not something she ever wanted to watch, really. Lydia put her hand on Stiles’ face, asking him again to stay, a request he was powerless to deny but when she said Jackson’s name, all hope was lost. “And, we’re done here.”

Lydia flopped down on her bed, the drugs in her system taking full effect and knocking her out cold. Stiles looked back at Penny, who was still standing near the door and was trying really hard not to crack a smile at what just happened. He was about to say something to her when Lydia’s phone emitted a jingle to let her know she just received a text.

“You want me to get that?” Stiles asked, reaching for her phone anyway. Penny got a text from Allison a few seconds later, thanking her for the balloons and card. She was about to respond when Stiles was suddenly in her face and dragging her out of the house.

“Woah, Stiles slow down, what’s going on?” Penny frantically tried to get her short legs to move faster down the stairs.

“I’ll show you at my house.” They made it downstairs without injury and were out the door and in Stiles’ car before Penny could blink.

Once in the car, Stiles threw a phone at her, which she instantly recognized as Lydia’s. “You stole Lydia’s phone?!” She asked, now looking at Stiles like he was crazy.

“Yes, don’t look at me like that, just watch the video she took.” Stiles answered, throwing the Jeep in reverse and racing out of the Martin’s driveway. Penny buckled herself in and opened the phone, which was already open to a nightmare inducing video of a giant something busting out of the video store window. Stiles should have grabbed the tranquilizers on his way out too because Penny did not know how she was going to sleep tonight knowing that thing was out there.

“What the hell is that?” She asked.

“I think that’s the alpha.”

---

“Hey it’s me again, look I found something-”

“We”

“We found something and I don’t know what to do, okay? So, if you could turn your phone on right now that’d be great. Or else I’ll kill you. Do you understand me? I’m gonna kill you. And I’m too upset to come up with a witty description about how exactly I’m going to do it, okay? I’m gonna… ugh! Goodbye.” Stiles hung up the phone and chucked it haphazardly onto the bed where Penny was currently lounging, reading her history textbook and notes from the day.

“Deep breaths Sty,” Penny commented, not looking up from her textbook. Was she freaking out on the inside? Of course, but at this moment there wasn’t much to do without Scott. And she had a test tomorrow, so… precedence and all that. Stiles finished wearing a hole in his floor and sat on his chair, crossing his arms over the back and laying his head on them. Not even a second later though, his dad came knocking on the door.

“Hey, Mr. S,” Penny greeted.

“Hi, sweetheart,” He smiled at her, “Please tell me I’m gonna hear good news at this parent- teacher thing tonight.”

“Depends on how you define ‘good news’” Came Stiles’ reply.

“I define it as you getting straight A’s with no behavioral issues.” The sheriff answered, rolling the sleeves on his nice button up shirt.

“You might wanna rethink that definition.” Stiles replied, fidgeting with whatever he could get his hands on.

“Enough said.” His dad replied, smiling once more at the two of them before heading out. Stiles sighed again, laying his head back down.

“We’ll figure it out, Sty.” Penny told him once she knew the sheriff was out of hearing distance.

“I gotta delete it.” He said. Losing his inner battle to wait for Scott or not. But his best friend was letting him down in the moment he needed him the most. Penny was going to respond but she saw the turmoil in his face and decided to let him do whatever he felt he needed. She knew that they couldn’t let that video be on Lydia’s phone, if she saw that and sent it around it could end up in the wrong hands. Penny saw him delete the video and then throw the phone back down on his desk.

“You okay?” She asked, closing her history book and putting her things back in her backpack. He whipped his head back, forgetting she was even there for a second.

“Yeah,” he replied, giving her a small smile. “Yeah, I’m good. Hey, wasn’t there something you wanted to tell me?” Stiles asked, looking for any excuse to change the subject but also concerned about what was going on with Penny.

“Ugh.” Came her reply. She forgot about her problems. “You’re gonna think I’m crazy.” She shook her head, now sitting up on Stiles’ bed, legs crossed, looking down.

“That’s the last thing I would think about you, Pen.” He replied, swiveling his chair around to face her. When she didn’t respond to him he pushed off the ground to move closer to her. “Whenever you’re ready to talk about it I’ll be here, doesn’t have to be today. Though it would be nice if it was today because this will just drive me crazy until you tell me.” She laughed at him, something that brought a genuine smile to his face.

“Fine, um… wow, how do I even start this.” She fidgeted with her long sleeve before diving in, “remember at the game when you looked at me and then I closed my eyes and looked away?” Stiles nodded, he thought she got some kind of headache but wasn’t a hundred percent sure. “I felt like, a really intense migraine coming on, and everything around me got super loud, and then all at once it got quiet. Like deadly silent. So I opened my eyes and…” she trailed off, not sure what to say at all. All this time she was able to tell herself that it didn’t really happen because nobody else knew about it, but saying it out loud meant admitting to herself that it did happen, that she was crazy, and that maybe she was going to end up like her mom.

“Did you see something?” He asked, he reached out for her hands. She was picking at the skin around her nails, and Stiles was afraid she might make herself bleed if she didn’t stop.

“I saw… Everyone around me, dead. And not just like, flopped over, eyes closed. No, like blood everywhere, eyes open staring right at me. Aunt Mel was covered head to toe in blood, and you- you had huge gashes across your stomach, and then I looked up and Scott was just standing in the middle of the field, staring off into the woods. So when I looked over to see what he was looking at, I just saw two red eyes staring directly at Scott. I didn’t even realize I had stood up until I felt a hand on my arm and when I looked down at my aunt everything was back to normal.”

Stiles didn’t answer, just looked at her trying to figure out what exactly to say about something like that.

“See, I told you it was crazy.” Penny said, looking down at her lap and increasing her grip on Stiles’ hands.

“I don’t think you’re crazy Pen, I just- I don’t know.” He shook his head, trying to say something that would make her not feel crazy. “Whatever this is, we’ll figure it out. Together. Alright?”

“Yeah. Together.” Penny said, looking up in his eyes.

She would end worlds for those eyes.

---

<-CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 5->

Thanks so much for reading!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Teen Wolf

These characters, with the exception of Penelope Delgado, aren’t mine but this fanfiction is.

#updated #be my escape #teen wolf #season 1 #stiles stilinski fanfiction #stiles stilinski x oc #stiles fanfiction #stiles stilinski #stiles x oc #stiles x y/n #stiles stilinksi imagine #stiles x reader #stiles stilinksi x reader #teen wolf stiles #teen wolf season 1 #teen wolf oc #teen wolf rewrite #series rewrite

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moondancediner · 26 days

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Boyfriend reveal!!

#and I’ve been saying that #not enough love for my man Emmett #twilight #Sunflower

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moondancediner · 26 days

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I wasn’t tagged but I love these

Rules: go to Pinterest, type [your name] + core to show your aesthetic then post the first 6 images

Anyone who wants to do this please join in🩷✨🌸

Thank you @thecreelhouse for the tag! 😘

Rules: go to pinterest, type [your name] + core to show your aesthetic then post the first 6 images.

No pressure tags: @starksbabie @southerngothicchic @teen--marvel @rafescurtainbangz @theamunsonsworld @bunnyhargrove @stevesxyellowxsweater and if course anyone else who would like to join! 😘

#Pinterest #I’m so glad Pinterest is like back in style #I love that app #tag game

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moondancediner · 1 month

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Sunflower

Chapter 2: Open Wound

updated: 3/20/2024

Masterlist

Warnings: Talks of suicide, death, cancer, and brain tumors.

Pairing: Emmett Cullen x OC Elizabeth Swan

Word Count: 4,225

A/N:

*IMPORTANT*

Please know that from here on out this story will have a very heavy focus on death, suicide, giving up, and cancer/brain tumors.

If this is a sensitive subject for you I strongly encourage you to think before continuing on.

Here is a list of hotlines and phone numbers you can call, as well as chat rooms where you can talk to someone if you need to. (Includes more than just American numbers).

You're worth it and you are loved, always.

<-CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 3->

I know that we're both afraid

We both made the same mistakes

An open heart is an open wound to you

-Christina Perri, the words

---

When Ellie woke up it was dark outside and way past the time she usually took her end-of-day meds. It was really stupid that she had to take these medications. She was dying whether she took them or not, and all they did was make her nauseous and tired - though she supposed they did help with the headaches most days. But she headed downstairs anyway, after grabbing her medicine organizer, to grab a glass of water to wash them all down with.

She quickly changed into comfy sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt and then headed down, where she found Bella sitting on the couch, the TV was on but the volume was turned down all the way, and she was reading a book.

“Hey,” Ellie said, walking into the kitchen and pulling a glass out of the cabinet. Bella didn’t see or hear her apparently because she jumped a little bit and shut her book like she was watching porn. Ellie laughed quietly at her sister, they were so opposite of each other, sometimes she really did wonder how they came from the same parents.

“Hey.” Bella said, getting up and walking to the kitchen. Ellie started popping pills, two at a time to cut down on how long it took. “How many of those do you have to take?”

“I got them to cut it down to six, it used to be a lot more - and we had to try out a few different anti-seizure medications to find the right one.” Ell took the last two pills, wincing when one felt like it got caught in her throat. She saw Bella flinch a little at her words. It was such casual conversation at this point, she forgot how everyone else wasn’t used to talking about seizures and brain tumors all the time.

“How was your little runaway date with Emmett?” Bella asked, taking a seat at the table and smiling slyly at her little sister. She watched the two of them dance around each other from the moment they met, and part of her wished she would fall for Emmett the same way she fell for Edward, and she wouldn’t have to say goodbye to her entire family. She knew that Ellie was not the same as her though, choosing to explore the world and be young and dumb rather than settle down like Bella always wanted. Bella was interested in seeing the world like most people were, but she always saw herself as a young bride, a young mother, as finding herself in those roles rather than the party monster she knew her sister could be.

Bella found joy in her sister. She found her excitement and exuberance for life to be a breath of fresh air. She loved that Ellie pushed her outside her comfort zone but also respected her boundaries.

“It was not a date.” Ellie rolled her eyes, finishing off her water and proceeding to drop her glass in the sink. “He did ask me some weird questions though.” She walked over to the table, after grabbing an apple off the counter, she wasn’t really hungry but she also knew that not eating would make her way more nauseous than if she forced herself to eat something.

“What did he ask you?” Bella asked. Ellie knew right away that her sister knew what Emmett asked her, she was probably the worst liar in the world - but Ellie played along anyway.

“He asked me if I ever noticed anything different about his family.” She decided to leave out the part where he said he could fix her problems - she didn’t want to get her sisters hopes up too.

“Well… have you?” The question surprised Ellie, she didn’t know what she was expecting but that definitely wasn’t it.

“I mean… yeah but… I would never say that to them… have you ever noticed something different about them?” Bella laughed a little at her question, which only confused Ellie more.

“Do you remember those stories that Billy Black would tell us at the bonfires over the summer?” Ell just nodded, her mind going back to the place it was at earlier in the day.

“What does that have to do with the Cullens?”

“What if they were true?” Bella asked after a moments pause. Ellie could tell she was hesitant to ask, like she was spilling a secret someone had sworn her to keep.

“That’s impossible.” Ellie deadpanned. She couldn’t believe her sister - her serious, no time for such childish endeavors, sister - was trying to convince her that men can transform into wolves and that vampires were real. Bella didn’t answer, just looked at her in a way that told her she was not kidding in the slightest.

Ellie took a moment to process. Mostly convinced that the medication hit her really hard and that none of what was happening right now was even real.

Or the coma thing. That was still a viable option.

“I don’t understand… Are you trying to mess with me? Is this some kind of cruel joke?” Ellie was looking at the table below her, and decided to focus on her hands, counting each finger until she got to ten, then repeating until she believed that this was not in fact a dream. Vampires.

Bella was talking to her then, but Ellie wasn’t listening.

If Bella knows this then how long has she known this?

It has to be Edward… which means his whole family is too?

Which is probably what Emmett was trying to get her to realize earlier today - or yesterday… What day was it?

If Bella and Edward have been together for almost two years… has she known the whole time? Has her sister been keeping this secret for that long?

Does Charlie know??

And why does Emmett want her to know now? Was it because she was dying? Maybe he was just trying to clear his conscience, or…

Ellie couldn’t think of a logical reason for this being dumped on her now.

Without a word she stood up from the table and hastily walked to the stairs.

“Ell, please.” Bella begged. But Ellie couldn’t find it in her to care at that moment. Her feet didn’t falter as she walked up the stairs and into her room, where she closed the door and haphazardly laid on her bed, not even bothering to get under the covers.

She stared at the blank, white ceiling, waiting for answers that she knew would never come, and succumbed to the drug induced sleep that was begging behind her eyelids.

----

The next morning was one she had dreamed of for a while, and not for the same reasons she had always thought she would.

When you’re young, you dream of turning 18 because you think that’s when life really starts. That’s when you can move out of your parents house, go off to college, start your real life.

But on the morning of her 18th birthday, Elizabeth Swan had one thing on her mind.

She woke up, got dressed quietly, and headed down the creaky stairs as swiftly as her frail, failing body would allow.

When she first heard that she was being shipped to Washington earlier than she planned, she was pissed. Hated the controlling nature that her life had swiftly shifted into, her wandering spirit was not used to being tied down or being told what to do and when.

But revelations came across her desk that unintentionally made her more excited to go to the Pacific coast than just her sister's wedding.

And she was even more excited that her big sister got a brand new - quiet - car that wouldn’t wake up the entire state when she snuck out of the house.

Ellie grabbed the keys off the post next to the front door, next to their dad’s gun belt, and walked out the front door. Once the car was started she backed out quickly and drove down the windy roads, through the small town, and into the parking lot of the tiny hospital.

The hospital smelled like every other hospital Ell had ever been in - she wondered if they all bought the exact same cleaning products on purpose, so that no matter what hospital you woke up in, you would automatically know where you were - comforting and terrifying.

“Hi,” She greeted the smiling front desk worker, “I’m looking for Dr. Cullen.”

“Elizabeth.” The smooth baritone voice came from behind her, but didn’t startle her - it was amazing. She turned to greet Carlisle.

“Dr. Cullen -”

“How many times have I told you to call me Carlisle,” He smiled. He was holding a clipboard in his perfect hands, white lab coat pressed and gleaming under the fluorescent lights. She smiled politely back at him.

“Can we talk?”

---

His office was just what she expected, a wall of books that look like they’ve never been touched, let alone read. She sat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk, where everything was put in its place, nothing off center or turned even a degree of an angle in the wrong direction. It was off-putting how perfect it all was.

“So, what can I help you with?” He took a seat in the chair next to her, instead of behind his desk - he was trying too hard to be personable with her, she’d seen it from other doctors before. Ellie fiddled with her hands in her lap, mind swirling with how to approach this topic. “Elizabeth,”

“You know, you’re the only person I let call me that… I don’t know why, it just always felt right when you used my full name, but it sounded wrong coming from everyone else... You know my sister told me something crazy about your family last night, and all I wanted to do was call Emmett and ask him if she was being crazy or if she was telling me the truth.” She looked up at him, but his face showed no emotions so she looked back at her hands. “Part of me doesn’t want to know... if she’s telling me the truth or not, because I don’t think it will change my mind… or I don’t want it too… I’m not sure yet, because I’ve thought about this for a long time - since I got my diagnosis - and I don’t know if you know this about me, but I can be quite stubborn when I want to be, and I decided to be stubborn about my life, how I want it to go, and how I want it to end.

“My whole life I’ve come in second to Bella, lived in her shadow, and I don’t mind. I really don’t, it allowed me to be my own person without the burden of having to answer to other people, or have everyone expect so much from me.

And it let’s me have the time to think about things before I do them… well, most of the time anyway. Emmett… he - I forget about the world when he’s around. I think it’s why I really didn’t want to tell Bella about the brain tumor, because then Edward would know, and then Emmett would know, and then I would have to stop him from trying to save me… because I knew he would find a way to save me. And I know there’s no way to save me.” Ellie looked back up at Carlisle’s unwavering face. “Which is why I wanted to ask you for a birthday present, and I wanted to ask on my birthday so you couldn’t say no.”

“What is it, Elizabeth?” He asked, though his tone made her believe he already knew what she was about to ask. Or it was just her projecting what she wanted to hear.

“I want to die. And I want to do it my way, on my terms.”

-----

When Ellie finally returned to her fathers house she was exhausted. She wandered into the house, and dropped Bella’s keys on the table before she collapsed onto the worn out couch and let her eyes close.

It didn’t last long, however, because her big sister had a bone to pick and needed to do it right away apparently.

“Where were you?”

“Not now Bella, please.” Ellie begged, not bothering to move from her spot on the couch. She knew her sister was about to start lecturing her about stealing her car and disappearing for hours without telling anyone, but a very well timed knock came to the door to interrupt. Ell didn’t budge from her spot, an arm dramatically draped over her eyes to shield out the light.

“Emmett?”

Her eyes popped open at the name, she dropped her arm and sat up too quickly to see just that person standing in her doorway.

“Em? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Ellie asked. There was a darkness behind his bright golden eyes that was normally reserved for one of his brothers during a fight.

“Can we talk?” His voice was low and controlled, something that he never was around Ellie or Bella. She nodded, standing from the couch and slowly made her way to the front door. She took the light jacket from Bella’s outstretched hand, keeping her eyes on Emmett, who seemed stiller than usual. She wanted to stick a hand out and poke or push him, just to see if he was even real, or just some statue someone expertly carved and dropped at their front door.

Before she could get too close, he turned and walked down the steps. Ellie followed, tucking the jacket tightly around her ever shrinking body, even in the presence of summertime, Forks always had a slight chill in the air. Emmett walked until he was at the edge of the woods, and Ellie had a distinct memory pop up.

Charlie’s frantic call right after she had gotten back home for school, letting her know that Bella went missing in the woods, and asking her if she knew of anywhere her big sister could be. That was the summer of Bella and Edward though, and she would often watch the pair go off into the woods for hours without returning, and Bella would never share their secret hiding spots.

“Emmett, what’s going on?” She stopped, not wanting to get too close to the tree line.

“I told you I could help you. I could fix it.” Was all he said, turning to look back at her.

“You said you could fix it and then changed the subject to your family. And even if you didn’t, you can’t fix this, nobody can.” Her voice quivered, and she fought back her tired eyes’ urge to cry. Why was he torturing her like this?

“Why did you ask Carlisle to do that?”

Ellie’s whole body froze. How did he know what she asked Carlisle? It hadn’t even been an hour since she spoke to him.

“How did you…” she trailed off, looking off into the woods and hoping the trees would come alive and swallow her whole. Nobody was supposed to know about this. Maybe it was selfish and horrible, but she wasn’t about to ruin her entire family's lives by dragging this on, or telling them that she was planning on killing herself. And while she hasn’t hammered out all the details, telling Emmett was not at the top of the list of things to prepare for.

She was hoping to write people letters, let them know how much they meant to her, and give them something - a piece of her - that they could hold on to forever.

“Alice saw you and then Edward found out and I made him tell me.”

“Alice was at the hospital?” Ellie asked. She didn’t remember seeing her there, and unless she was in the room with her and Carlisle, she wouldn’t have known what they talked about.

“Didn’t Bella talk to you last night?” He stopped his pacing to look right at her.

“Oh… Emmett, please, not this shit again. I’m so tired.” She placed her head in her hands, the ever-growing headache pounding away behind her ears. All the sudden all anybody wants to talk about is the Cullens and Vampires and her brain didn’t want to go there. It was already firing at minimum capacity, there was no way it could handle this shit on top of all the other shit.

“You don’t believe her?”

“Why would I believe a fairy tale I was told as a kid to scare me from wandering into the woods alone?” Her hands fell from her eyes and moved along with her words. It was one of Emmett’s favorite things about her. He knew she was excited or passionate about something when her hands danced without care, to the tune of her voice.

“Bella believed it pretty quickly.” Emmett told her, coming to a stop at the foot of the woods. Ellie was always afraid of the woods, even before Billy Black told her nightmarish stories about what went bump in the night. The wall of Washington trees let it little light, and was a daunting feat for even the toughest of hikers.

It didn’t surprise Ellie that her older sister believed in vampires. As much as everyone viewed her as the level headed, mature one, she was also the one with her head in the clouds, wishing and wanting a prince charming to come and sweep her off her feet and take her away from this miserable existence she was so plagued with. They had few similarities, her and Bella, and most of them ended at their physicality. They shared the same nose, had the same strong bow in their upper lips, and their body shapes were pretty much identical - all courtesy of Renee. But everything else about them was different.

Everywhere that Bella was smooth and relaxed, Ellie was sharp and jagged. Her face and cheek bones stuck out where Bella’s faded into her skin. Ellie embodied Renee’s free spirit while Bella stayed true to their fathers quiet lifestyle.

“I was born in 1915.”

“Emmett.”

“I was born in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.”

“Em.”

“I was attacked by a bear when I was 20 years old.”

“Em, please.” She was near tears.

“I’ll prove it to you, I’ll show you everything, I’ll fix all of this.” He walked the short distance between them and held out a hand. Ellie stared at it for a moment, a million things floating through her mind. “Trust me?”

She looked back at the house, half expecting to see Bella peeking through a window, but found nothing out of place. When she looked back at Emmett, he hadn’t moved an inch, he stood as still as a statue with his arm outstretched, looking like a marble carving of a Greek God.

“I’ll walk.” She didn’t know where they were going, but it seemed like Emmett was planning on carrying her there, and that didn’t seem like something she was keen on doing right now.

“You have no shoes on.”

A quick peek down confirmed that she did not have shoes on. Weird, she didn’t remember taking them off. Did she go to the hospital this morning without shoes on?

“You had shoes this morning at the hospital.” Emmett told her, calmly. The look she gave him must have been hilarious because he let out a booming laugh, one that warmed her from the inside out. “I may not be able to read minds, but I can read yours.”

“Where are we going?”

“The woods.” Emmett knew better than to give vague ‘you’ll see when we get there’ answers with her. They never got him very far. She glanced down at her feet again, then up to him, before finally uncrossing her arms to hold out her own hand.

Before she could blink, her feet were off the ground and she was on Emmett’s back. It was something that could have been very normal, but what wasn’t normal was the speed he accomplished this task at. Ellie branched her arms around his neck to steady her head that was still spinning from the too-sudden movements.

“Close your eyes.” He told her in a gentle voice. She did what he told her to do and shut them tightly, and suddenly they were moving at speeds too fast for her to comprehend. Even with her eyes closed she knew they were going faster than any human was supposed to be able to travel on foot, but before she could peek her eyes open, they stopped moving, and then she was too afraid to open her eyes. Too afraid to see where they were, too afraid that she would pass out as soon as her hopeless brain caught up to what was happening.

Her best friend is a Vampire.

“You can open your eyes now.”

But his voice sounded too far away for her to be able to do that.

“I don’t think I can.” She whispered, eyes glued shut.

“That’s okay, I can wait.”

And he did. Ellie wasn’t sure how long it took for her stomach to settle or her head to stop spinning, but they eventually did, and Emmett stood completely still the entire time. He didn’t move a muscle or try to adjust his grip, or even twitch one time. She wondered briefly if he had died during his run and had now entered rigor mortis.

“Okay. You can put me down now.”

“Are you sure?” There was a slight amount of amusement in his voice that Ellie chose to ignore, and after she didn’t respond he lowered her off his back as gently as he could.

Once her bare feet touched grass her eyes opened slowly, only seeing the white wall of Emmett’s shirt in front of her at first, and then slowly realizing they were on the edge of a cliff. She looked around and noticed a clearing, shaped like a half-moon by the tree’s - something that would have to be man made out in these uncontrollable woods.

“Where are we?” Her feet took her towards the edge of the cliff, the winds picking her blonde hair out of her ponytail as she got closer.

“Somewhere near Ozette.”

“Ozette?” She turned to look at him - maybe a tad too fast - “That’s like…” Hours away. Ozette was hours from Forks. And Emmett ran for maybe 5 minutes. She took a couple steps back towards him, leaning forward until her hands found the plush, untouched grass to support her on her way to a seated position. The ocean crashed against the rocks miles below while her mouth hung slightly open, and her brain tried to process all the new information.

Vampires.

Her best friend is a vampire.

Which meant his entire family was composed of vampires.

Her sister was about to marry a vampire.

The wall of flesh that made up Emmett interrupted her vision as he sat in front of her, the usual happy go lucky boy she knew so well was replaced by a man who only seemed to worry since she came back to Forks.

“Why did you tell Carlisle that you wanted to die?” He asked, so softly she almost didn’t hear.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a vampire?” She countered.

“I wasn’t allowed. I’m still not allowed, but I couldn’t… I had to.”

“Not allowed?”

“It’s complicated.”

“It’s not that I want to die.” Ellie admitted after a calculated pause. “I just can’t keep living like this… and it’s gonna happen eventually anyway.” She didn’t hide when she spoke, she looked right in his strange golden eyes, and it was something else that Emmett loved about her. She spoke her truth, always.

“I can fix this.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“For me or for you?” She asked. The tears were back, and she shoved them away, swallowed them down, refusing to break. Everyone in her life wouldn’t have wished something like this upon their worst enemies, and after going through the process of having a growing brain tumor that was trying to fight its way out of her skull, Ellie wouldn’t wish this fate on the evilest of souls. But as much as they cared, the majority of it came from a selfish place. They didn’t want to lose her, didn’t want her to die because of all the pain it would cause them. When her mom dragged her from doctor to doctor, kicking and screaming, she was doing it because she was trying to avoid the pain of losing a daughter, and she wasn’t thinking about all the extra pain her daughter was now being forced to endure.

She’d seen movies and shows where the cancer child sits there and fights a losing fight, just to make everyone around them happy. Just to ease the burden of their grieving family members. And for what? Just to die anyway? Ellie was tired of being selfless, she didn’t want to fight for one or two extra months of the most painful existence just so her family could get the extra time to get themselves in order, to say their tearful goodbyes.

It was her turn to be selfish.

Emmett grabbed her hand, lacing his cold fingers through hers to stop her from picking a bald spot into the cliffside.

“For you. It’s always for you.”

---

<-CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 3->

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Twilight

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These characters, with the exception of Elizabeth Swan, aren’t mine but this fanfiction is.

#updated #sunflower #emmett cullen x original character #emmett x oc #emmett cullen x oc #emmett cullen #twilight #twilight rewrite #emmett cullen x reader #emmett cullen x you #edward cullen #bella swan #the twilight saga

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moondancediner · 1 month

Text

Sunflower

Chapter 1: Coming Home

updated: 3/19/2024

Masterlist

Warnings: Mentions of death, brain tumor trigger warning

Pairing: Emmett Cullen x OC Elizabeth Swan

Word Count: 6,522

A/N: Does anyone even care about Twilight anymore?

Anyway, I kinda snapped on this, so let me know if you even like it cause I will write more. I don't have this series finished or even outlined but Emmett Cullen has and always will be my number one. Also, this fic has been sitting in my WIP folder for so long I decided to let her see the sun for once.

Also, Rosalie Hale does not exist in this series and nothing has changed because of it.

Life’s trials will test you, and shape you, but don’t let them change who you are - Aaron Lauritsen

—-

Pain.

It’s such a small word that encompasses so many emotions, thoughts, and feelings.

How can a word bring back memories?

How can a word make you feel forgotten emotions?

It’s all-consuming… pain is. Parent’s try to avoid it, try to shelter their children from it for as long as they can. Well, the good one’s do, anyway.

But that’s the thing about pain, isn’t it? It’s unavoidable.

A bleeding knee after a fall to the concrete sidewalk, the loss of a childhood pet, a debilitating headache that seems to last forever, that first heartbreak.

Your sister getting married and not telling you.

That last one was more disappointment, but Elizabeth supposed she couldn’t expect much from someone she barely saw anymore.

Bella was a model big sister her whole life. She mothered when it was needed, she was a friend, a tutor, a free ride, and a confidant. Bella always did what was best for others, while Ellie was given the luxury of getting to choose herself, and she usually did. She didn’t see a reason not to.

The ivory invitation came in the mail on an average Tuesday, something so extravagant looking on such a bland day. Ellie opened it up, trying to find a semblance of happiness or joy for her eighteen year old sister, but all she could catch onto was disappointment. And a touch of anger.

She turned, walking back into her Florida home, and dropped the invitation onto the kitchen table before taking her seat and finishing her breakfast. Phil picked it up, still finishing his morning coffee, and called out to her mom, the sound was muddled and fuzzy to her ears. A sign of another headache coming on.

Brain tumors were no joke.

Elizabeth supposed she was being petty about her morals. Not telling your sister about your impending death was way worse than not telling your sister about your engagement, or including her in any of the wedding planning. But Ellie knew she would be ruining her sister’s life. Her overprotective older sister would drop everything to come save her, but there was nothing left to save, and she had come to terms with that. And besides, she guessed the moment Edward walked through those doors a few months prior that an engagement was on the horizon.

Renee fought hard for a while, and Ellie let her, she supposed she didn’t want to accept the facts at the time, but after a dozen doctors and countless road trips and phone calls, Elizabeth and her family were forced to accept her fate, death was imminent. Her life expectancy was cut down from years to months.

Death came around eventually, for everyone, it would wrap its boney fingers around everyone’s string of fate and pull you to the depths. Some just sooner than others. And there was nothing anybody could do about it. Ellie had accepted that, she found a strange calm in death, a peacefulness that she had never experienced before. Everyone thought she was nuts.

Maybe it was the tumor talking.

Her family had not accepted her choices at all, and she was still a minor so the constant doctor’s trips lasted for a long time until she finally put her stubborn foot down, demanding that she did not want any more extreme measures taken. Her mom fought her, hard, but Ellie fought back, insisting that it was her life and she was allowed to live it how she wanted. Renee’s “hippie” way of mothering bit her on the ass on that one.

“Ell?” Elizabeth’s eyes focused on her mothers worried face. “You okay?” Ellie could tell she was concerned, but her mom tried to hide it as best she could. Ellie took a deep breath, smiling at her mom to let her know she was okay.

“How long was I out?” She asked, the room coming back into blurring clarity.

“Only a few seconds, but it seems to be happening more often.” Renee rubbed her daughter’s cheeks with her thumbs, soothing any residual worry away.

Ellie started getting absent seizures about a month ago, - a side effect of the mass currently renting out space in her cranium - she would zone out but not remember anything while they were happening.

“You need to tell her,” Renee chastised, standing up from her crouching position in front of her daughter, making her way into the kitchen for another fill up.

“I’ll do it after the wedding.” Ellie responded. At first the argument was after she got an official diagnosis, then after they tried some radiation, then after the side effects wore off, then after Bella’s graduation. The two of them have had this conversation multiple times, Ellie didn’t want to ruin her sister’s life, her sister who had just gotten her shit together, found someone she loves, and is now getting married. She would move back to Florida to take care of her helpless little sister, and throw her life away. Ellie couldn’t live with that on her conscience, not along with all the other baggage she was carrying.

“She’s leaving for her honeymoon right after, you won’t get a chance.” Renee was now angrily washing dishes, throwing things in the sudsy water, sending bubbles up in the air around her.

“I’m not going to ruin her wedding, mom.” Elizabeth answered, annoyed now.

“Well, I’m buying you a plane ticket to go early so you can spend some time with her, you’re not going to be able to keep it a secret… and your dad is certainly not going to be able to keep it quiet.”

Poor Charlie. Ellie loved her dad, he really was the best, and she loved going up to spend summers with him, but she had friends and a life down in Arizona - and now Florida -, and when Bella went to live with their dad full time, Ellie chose to stay home, her best friend at the time lived next door and her mom was content on checking in and letting El stay with them while her and Phil traveled around. When they picked a more permanent spot in Florida, Ellie was happy to make the move to the sunshine state.

It took Charlie a bit of time to understand why she didn’t want to move up north, but he came around eventually and they talked on the phone constantly, especially when Bella was going through her depression after Edward left. The bastard.

“Why am I going early!?” She was yelling now, something she never used to do to her mother. The rage was new and appeared at the drop of a hat - literally one time she was set into a rage after dropping a hat. It was tough to cope with and Renee loved to compare it to her postpartum rage she had after she had both Bella and Ellie, which did not help Ellie’s rage at all. It felt like a slap in the face to compare Renee’s giving life to that of the one currently being taken away.

“So you can spend your birthday with your dad, he’s really excited about it so you can’t cancel.” Renee responded, matter-of-factly. She threw the dish towel down and stormed out of the room, not willing to finish this argument.

Elizabeth took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes and trying to calm the rage building inside of her. It was even harder to calm herself when she realized that meant her parents had been scheming behind her back. She hated when they made decisions for her without talking to her first.

“She’s right, you know.” Phil said from over the newspaper in his hands. Ellie combed both hands through her dirty blonde hair, calming her rage. She always found it hard to be mad at Phil, he was just always so nice and calm.

“I know.” She replied plainly. She knew it was the right thing to do, everyone knew about her tumor except Bella. She asked her own father to keep it a secret and she knew her older sister was going to be mad at everyone else for not telling her instead of being angry at Ellie for making them keep the secret in the first place.

----

Ellie begrudgingly made her way through the airport, the flight she just got off of was way too long and stuffy - when did they stop running the air before people boarded the flight? - and her mom had tipped off the flight attendants somehow so they checked on her every 15 minutes like clockwork.

She didn’t have any issues on the flight, her episodes only really occurred when she was tired - which was pretty much all the time now - but she felt strangely refreshed today. Must be something with the new meds.

She made her way outside, looking for the familiar red truck in the waiting docks, but when no such truck was spotted, Ellie got a little worried - her sister was never late. She dug her phone out and began dialing her sister’s phone number when a horn honked, startling her slightly and drawing her attention to a few feet in front of where she stood, where a familiar figure was getting out of a black Mercades.

“Bella?” Ellie slowly made her way over to the car, where her sister was opening the trunk for her to put her bag into. When Ellie reached the car she heaved her bag into it and turned to her sister, who looked uncomfortable, but otherwise exactly the same as a year ago. Bella went in for a hug, noticing that her little sister felt skinnier, but didn’t want to comment on the fact for fear of bringing up an unnecessary fight.

“It’s weird, right?” Bella asked, still hugging her sister.

“So weird,” Ellie laughed. The younger of the two pulled back first, avoiding eye contact and making her way over to the passenger’s side door. The door was heavy, and Ellie really had to put her body weight behind it to get it open.

“It was an engagement gift from Edward.” Bella stated, putting the car in drive and taking off towards home.

“A brand new car as an engagement gift?” Ellie questioned, looking around at the expensive interior. There was no way this car would cost less than $100k. “Is Emmett still single?” They laughed at her joke - though, both knew it was a more serious question than the younger one wanted to admit -, and El noted that even in a car that was meant to go fast, her sister still obeyed all traffic laws to a T. Elizabeth was sure that if she got behind the wheel she would waste no time getting this thing to 100mph.

“So… got anything planned for the week before the big day?” She asked after a few minutes of silence. She was used to her sister’s quiet demeanor, but her nerves were on edge.

“Um, no, not really, Edward’s going camping with his brothers but I don’t have anything planned.” She admitted. Ellie really shouldn’t have been shocked by this, her sister was a homebody by nature, but last time she was here Bella had friends and seemed to be branching out a bit, even if it was just Alice.

“No Bachelorette party?” Ellie asked, now fidgeting with the buttons on the center console.

“God no,” her older sister laughed, clearly uncomfortable with the idea. “Alice tried to plan something but I told her no.”

Ellie laughed at that, “How in the world did you tell Alice no? That’s like asking a shark to walk on land.” They both laughed at the statement, Alice was a force to be reckoned with, which is one of the reasons Ellie liked her so much. She had always liked the Cullens, she met Edward after Bella’s accident last year, and decided pretty quickly that she was not the biggest fan of her big sister’s boyfriend. Edward was always nice and polite, sure, but he seemed to always be hurting her more than helping her - at least from the stories that Ellie was being told.

She met the rest of the Cullen clan soon after, on her next visit to see her dad and sister, and was quickly - forcibly - integrated into their family. Alice was chatty and sweet and always giving her clothes she insisted she purchased in the wrong size or color, though Ellie picked up pretty quickly that Alice simply did not make mistakes. Her partner, Jasper, was quiet and a little off putting, but never gave her any reason not to like him. Esme and Carlisle were as nice as it got, always going above and beyond to make sure Ellie was comfortable in their home and always making sure she had something to eat or drink at all times. Ellie found their home to be more like a museum than a home, so immaculately designed and polished, it looked more like a model home, like those HGTV homes of the year that you could enter a contest and win. It never seemed to her like four teenagers lived there.

She met Emmett last. He was just returning from a camping trip with Jasper, who she had met a couple days before when he and Alice came over to talk with Bella about something she couldn’t remember now. She heard Emmett before she saw him, his booming laugh surrounded and washed over her like a warm breeze. He walked through the front door and looked at her immediately. Ellie didn’t think she would ever forget how golden his eyes were that day.

“I had to compromise, she’s planning the entire wedding.” Bella explained, pulling her out of the memory.

“That makes sense.” Ellie responded, nodding her head.

“We do have to go there before we go home, Alice needs to fit you for your dress.” Bella said, keeping her eyes on the road ahead of her, hands always at a solid 10 and 2. The idea of going to the Cullen’s house before going to Charlie’s made her a little uneasy, she thought about how she was going to tell her sister about her tumor and wanted to have her dad there as backup - but she also wanted to do it as soon as possible, because the guilt was eating at her a lot quicker than she thought it would be.

“Oh, fun.” Ellie hoped Bella couldn’t sense the anxiety and hesitation in her voice.

----

When they finally arrived at the Cullen’s McMansion in the woods, Ellie was feeling the tolls of travel. Her vision was blurring a little around the edges and she was tired from being up so early that morning to catch her flight. She did a mental check when she saw the time, she would have to take her meds soon, which was going to raise questions from her sister. It wasn’t even like it was one pill either, it was a good handful.

They walked up to the front door together, where Alice was already waiting for them, with a welcoming smile. Ellie smiled back, forgetting about her fatigue and becoming excited to see the Cullen’s again.

“Ellie! It’s so good to see you again.” Alice said, pulling the younger Swan in for a brief hug, Ellie flinched for a second, always forgetting how cold and solid she was. “I can’t wait for you to see your dress!” Alice immediately started pulling Ellie into the house, never letting go of her one hand, not even giving her a chance to get reacquainted with her surroundings, making her a little dizzy, but Alice kept on moving, probably not even noticing her slight wobble.

They made it to one of the rooms adjacent to the kitchen where Alice had a pedestal, a coat rack, and mirrors for her fitting. Alice quickly moved to the rack, immediately pulling out a dress and putting it in Ellie’s hands. “Bathroom’s right through that door, go get changed, oh and make sure you take everything off.” Alice winked a little, her golden eyes sparkling a little more than usual.

“Everything?” Ellie questioned, wondering why on earth she would need to take her underwear off for a dress fitting.

“Yes, everything.” Alice rolled her eyes a little, shoving her towards the bathroom door. Elizabeth rolled her eyes right back, but walked into the bathroom anyway.

When she got into the spacious room, she took a second to gather herself, taking a deep breath, steadying her hands on the counter, and looking at herself in the ornate mirror. Her dark blue eyes were sunken, and dull, her skin was paler than it had ever been, even though she spent most of her spare time laying in the sun trying to regain some color and energy. Her hair lacked the luster it normally had, now just laid like a flat mop on her head no matter how much extra product she put in it. The small amount of chemo and radiation that she tried to get through thinned out her body and her hair and Ellie was still attempting to regrow it, though her attempts seemed futile. She looked in the mirror and didn’t see herself anymore. She saw a shell of a human, a leech who latched onto anything alive and took dragging pulls just to live another day.

She stripped down, noting how her rib cage was starting to show through her skin. Her appetite had taken a hard turn once she started taking all the medications, and the amount of weight she lost from the chemo would probably never get a chance to come back. She took off her bra and then grabbed the dress off the toilet, turning away from the mirror so she didn’t have to look at her body anymore. Once she had the dress on she turned again, admiring the low cut, form fitted lilac dress. The back was completely open, held together only by a set of strings that would need to be laced through like a corset. She quickly realized why underwear would be a problem in this, its thin silk fabric would not allow any secrets to be hidden. Her heart raced slightly at the thought of everyone at Bella’s wedding being able to see how skinny she was getting.

Ellie thought briefly about ditching the whole thing. Dropping the dress, getting dressed, and just walking out the door. Bella was with Edward somewhere - she had ditched her as soon as they walked through the door - so it would take her a while to even realize she was gone. And maybe she could stop Alice from saying anything, she could just lie and say she needed some fresh air. The way to Charlie’s is just a straight walk down one road, albeit a long road and someone would probably find her before she reached her final destination but she could come up with a different excuse by the time someone reached her.

“Everything okay?” Alice knocked on the door, startling Ellie. “Don’t worry about tying up the back, I’ll do it when you get out here.” Well, there goes her plan. Ellie took a half a second to compose herself and dropped her thong before she could second guess herself, then gathered up the bottom of the dress and made her way out of the lavish bathroom. She stepped out of the room, and went straight to the podium.

Alice started working immediately and Ellie tried not to look at herself in the mirrors in front of her. Alice was talking a million miles a minute, but Ellie wasn’t listening. She felt a pressure behind her eyes and closed them for a second to try and push the pain down, and the sinking feeling that what she knew was about to happen, would happen.

Elizabeth heard someone call her name before she passed out.

-----

Ellie knew exactly where she was when she woke up. She could hear the beeping of the monitors before she opened her eyes and the unmistakable smell of the hospital immediately dried out her throat. She opened her eyes, looking around to hopefully see her dad, but all she saw was Bella standing at her doorway, talking to someone she couldn’t see.

“Bells?” Her voice was coarse and she could feel the oxygen tubes in her nostrils, drying out her throat and nose more. She ripped them out, attempting to sit up, but Bella reached her before she could, placing the oxygen back in her nose and pushing her back down to the bed. “Where’s dad?”

“He’s on his way.” She paused for a second, taking a seat at the chair next to her bed. There was a pregnant pause and Ellie tried to look anywhere but at her sister. “How long have you known?” Bella whispered, looking at her hands in her lap, fidgeting them around each other.

“Since May.” Elizabeth replied, voice still hoarse and scratchy.

“That’s why you didn’t come to visit this summer.” It wasn’t a question, Ellie knew Bella was just putting the pieces together now.

“I didn’t know how to tell you.” She was crying now, the guilt and pressure finally releasing and removing a small amount of the weight on her shoulders. Bella sniffled, and took a breath, trying to compose herself. The last thing she wanted to do was yell at her little sister for something so out of anyone’s control, but she felt so confused and hurt that her sister and mom would keep such a secret from her.

“Does dad know?” Ellie just nodded in response, not trusting her voice enough to actually answer. “Does everyone but me know?” Bella was getting a little louder now, the tone in her voice shifted quickly and Ellie flinched unwillingly.

“Bella-“

“Hey,” Charlie walked in then, interrupting Ellie’s train of thought that honestly wasn’t going anywhere to begin with. “Sorry, I got here as fast as I could.”

“It’s okay dad, can you just get me out of here?” Ellie asked, her saving grace finally arriving to set her free from this hell hole.

“Get out of here?” Bella asked, looking to Charlie for some confirmation that her little sister hadn’t just completely lost her marbles.

“Yeah, Bella I’m not staying here I’m going home.” Ellie explained, getting agitated.

“You can’t go home you need help, Carlisle said if you go home you’ll die-”

“I’m not staying here!” Ellie exploded, cutting off her older sister. She didn’t look to see the hurt that she knew was in Bella’s or her dad’s eyes, that was too much to bear. It was then that Carlisle walked in, clipboard in hand, looking as handsome as ever.

“I’m sure you already know what I’m about to tell you.” He said, looking right at her.

“Grade four gliosarcoma, extremely rare and even more rare in people my age, inoperable, a 12 to 18 month life expectancy depending on how fast the tumor grows. If it grows outside of my skull - which with how fast my symptoms are progressing it most likely will - then I’ve got maybe four months. Even with surgery. Did I get all that right Doc?” Ellie looked at Carlisle while she talked but she was really talking to Bella. And maybe even her dad, he had never heard all this from her before - only from Renee and she’s a bit scatterbrained on a good day. “If you want I can have my mom call my doctor in Arizona and have them send over all my files and scans, but it’s probably pointless. I know I’m getting worse, sometimes I can’t hold a fork anymore.” Ellie hated how blunt she was being but she couldn’t find it in her to actually stop. She had heard the same shit over and over again from every doctor who claimed they knew what they were doing and that they were the best there’s ever been but none of them are and none of them will be.

“Dad, you can’t let her do this.” Bella pleaded, looking for any way to save her baby sister from making a mistake.

“She’s made up her mind, Bells, we’ve been through this with her already.” The chief sighed, hands on his hips, jaw tense and set.

“This is insane, Carlisle, tell me there’s something you can do.” Bella looked to the doctor now, but Ellie swore she saw a little more in her eyes, like she was really asking for something else. Carlisle only shook his head, solidifying what Ellie already knew.

“Charlie, if you’re okay with it I’ll go get her discharge papers.” Dr. Cullen walked out after the chief gave him a quick, curt nod, and Bella took off quickly after him, probably to berate him into doing what she asked. Charlie paused for a second, walking over to his daughter and giving her a kiss on the head before following the doctor out of the room and down the hall.

Ellie was only alone for a few seconds when a broad shouldered giant walked into her room.

“Hey stranger,” Emmett greeted, walking in and going straight for the chair Bella had just occupied.

“Hey Em,” Ellie smiled, suddenly very conscious of the cannula still stuck in her nose and about how terrible her hair must look right now. She pulled the cannula out, tired of how it was drying out her nose and throat. Emmett reached over her, helping her so the tubes wouldn’t get caught in her now short honey hair.

“You cut your hair.” Emmett commented, and Ellie was just grateful that he wasn’t talking about where they were right now.

“Yeah, it started thinning out so I decided to go a little shorter.” She had actually cut about half of it off, and since then it had grown out right past her shoulders. Emmett stared at her for a few more seconds before making up his mind and standing up. “Where are you going?” She asked, alerted that he was leaving after just getting here.

“You don’t wanna be here, and I hate the smell of hospitals so let’s go,” he walked over to her left side, where he gingerly pulled the IV needle out of her arm, barely leaving a drop of blood in its wake. She smiled up at him and took his outstretched hand, where he carefully pulled her out of the hospital bed. “Bella brought your clothes, they’re in the bathroom.” He winked and she scurried off to the door nearest to her - making sure to pinch off the back of her gown - grinning ear to ear and finding all the clothes she was wearing earlier neatly folded on the nurses cart next to the sink. Bra and underwear included.

Ellie quickly got changed, slipping on her shoes as she stumbled out the door.

“Come on.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room, she honestly had no idea where she was going but also knew that Emmett would guide her if she went the wrong way. It always shocked her how cold Emmett was, even after encountering Alice earlier that day, it still made her worry about their circulation - she also supposed that the fact that they always had every available window open in their house didn’t help.

When they arrived outside Ellie immediately spotted Emmett’s jeep, in all its glory and headed straight for it, opening the passenger door that was always unlocked. She climbed in and Emmett shut her door behind her once she was settled before walking over to the driver's side.

They didn’t talk and Emmett just drove and she just loved him for this.

Ellie had no idea where he was driving, and she didn’t care.

Emmett was always her favorite Cullen. They always seemed to have some kind of unspoken bond, always comfortable around each other and he never treated her like Bella’s little sister. Ell loved Alice and Jasper - when he wasn’t being so painfully quiet - and Carlisle and Esme always treated her like a part of the family, but underneath it all she always felt like she was just Bella’s annoying little sister who was tolerated, not wanted. Especially surrounding her relationship with Edward.

He was always cordial and never rude or disrespectful to her but there was something off about him - really the whole family, she just couldn’t put her finger on it - but around him it was all Bella all the time.

That’s how Emmett made her feel. Like he cared about her and only her. She thought about moving up to Forks but Emmett had graduated high school and was going off to college so he was only home for the summers, just like her.

He was adventurous which she craved, and funny in a way that she always had a smile on her face when he was around. He didn’t like going to the beach though, and that always bummed her out. Any time the weather got good he and his brothers would go out camping, a trip she was desperate to join in on one day but was always denied because of the dangers of the Washington forests, something she apparently needed to take a class on.

But he would always come swing by Charlie’s as soon as he got back and would pick her up to go driving around.

He provided a comfort, a sense of calm she only ever experienced from her dad. But he was also light and jovial in a child-like way and she loved that he didn’t take life so seriously.

When the Jeep stopped Ellie looked up and realized they were in a large open field, which might have been pretty if everything wasn’t the same shade of green and the sun was out.

Emmett put the car in park and looked over to Ellie.

“You wanna talk about it?” He asked.

“Are you gonna try and change my mind?” Ellie asked, looking ahead and not at him.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Man, she had a crush on him.

“I wanted to do so much.” She began, still looking straight ahead out of the windshield. “I wanted to go to other countries and explore more than three states my entire life, and learn about new cultures, get married, have kids… and it all got taken away from me, Em.” Emmett didn’t respond, he just reached over and placed a large hand over her smaller one. “I accepted it though, you know? I guess that’s part of the reason why I didn’t want to tell Bella, because I knew she would try and fix it, instead of just enjoying whatever amount of time together that we have left.”

“It’s hard.” He finally said after what felt like an hour of silence.

“I feel so morbid about it.” Ellie laughed a little, “I’ve completely accepted my death, and now I’m asking everyone who loves me to do the same.” She paused again, collecting her thoughts and feelings for a second longer. “I get it, I shouldn’t be asking people to accept my death and move on with their lives… it feels like I’m planning my own suicide and telling everyone about it… but I can’t go through all of that pain for a couple extra months just so everyone can be more comfortable… just because it’s what everyone else does, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.”

Emmett didn’t respond for a while, clearly having some kind of internal debate that Ellie was sure she didn’t want to hear. Everyone had to come to terms with her decisions on their own time, but she was not about to compromise her comfort and her life just so everyone around her could be more comfortable. She’s the one dying, nobody gets to make decisions for her anymore.

“What if I could fix it?” He finally said.

“Em-”

“No, really, what if I could fix it?”

“How?” Ellie asked, feeling a little hurt by the tiny ping of hopefulness she felt in her chest at his confident tone. He hesitated again, and Ellie could tell he wasn’t sure what to say exactly.

Before he could respond, though, his phone started ringing in his pocket, Ellie couldn’t see who it was but by the look on Emmett’s face it was probably a sibling of his. He removed his cold hand from the top of hers, and Ell felt a strange moment of detachment.

“Yeah?” His voice was quiet, and irritated and she could tell that he didn’t really want her to hear what was about to be said. “I need to.” was the next thing she heard him say - a strange thing to say if you asked her. “What did Alice say?” Okay, so he wasn’t talking to Alice. Ellie didn’t hear the ending of their conversation because even though they were in such close proximity he talked too low and too quick for her, apparently, slow brain to understand. Without another word Emmett put the Jeep in drive and started driving into the woods, presumably in the direction they came from but Ellie couldn’t remember.

“Where are we going?” A question Ellie normally wouldn’t ask him, but she was getting a little concerned.

“Have you ever noticed something different about us?” He asked, completely ignoring her question and instead posing his own.

“Different how?” She asked. She grabbed onto the oh shit handles when Emmett hit a particularly big rock at a not safe speed, and almost had to yell to hear herself talking over the loud engine.

“Me, my family, have you ever noticed anything about us that feels different?” Ellie thought about it for a minute. Of course she noticed stuff about them. They were cold, and their skin was hard as a rock, and she often thought about how she’s never seen any of them in sunlight, and they either had very strict beauty routines or they all looked exactly the same every time she saw them. Even over the years they never changed, they all looked the same and never seemed to age. And their eyes, such a strange shade of gold that they all seemed to share despite not being related. They were inviting to be around, but something in her always tried to tell her to run, get to safety and away from these strangely beautiful creatures.

But she would never say any of that. None of that was alarming or life changing information. It was just how they were. She had asked Bella about it after the first summer she was there, and her big sister explained all of these questions away, so Ellie never felt the need to bring them up again.

“You know.” Emmett said, breaking her out of her thought bubble.

“Why did you leave?” Was the only thing she could think to ask. Her sister’s depression was one of the hardest times in her life - and they never offered an explanation. They were just here one day and gone the next, and after all the drama of Bella traveling to Italy to retrieve her lover, everything just went back to normal - everyone just acted like nothing ever happened.

“Edward didn’t think it was safe for Bella.” Safe? Why would Bella be unsafe with Edward? None of this was adding up or making sense and her head hurt and all she wanted to do now was take a nap.

Emmett always drove fast but they arrived at Charlie's house in record time. Bella’s fancy new car wasn’t in the driveway and neither was her dad��s cruiser, which made Ellie believe they weren’t gone as long as she thought.

They sat in silence for a minute longer, and she tried to gather her thoughts. “What’s going on Em?” She asked quietly, keeping her eyes forward. Everything that just happened confused her more than she wanted to think about right now. What was he talking about? Why would he ask her something to get her hopes up and then completely change the subject?

“Talk to Bella when she gets home,” He reached his hand over again, finding hers in the small space and she looked over at him, meeting his golden eyes. She trusted him, she never had a reason not to - and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t slightly in love with him. But she knew he didn’t feel the same way, he only viewed her as a friend, because who would go years without saying something to someone you liked?

“Fine.” She sighed, pulling away from him, opening up the car door and dropping out, but stayed holding onto the door until she gained her own balance.

She walked inside without a second thought, or a glance behind her. Her emotions were all over the place and she felt like crap. She often forgot she had a brain tumor - as hard as that was - but it reminded her of its presence any time she forgot. She went straight upstairs, and into her room that her 12-year-old self had decorated what felt like forever ago. The walls were a light shade of pink that matched the comforter on her twin bed, which looked like the most inviting surface on the planet right now. She plopped face down into her pillows, noting that her backpack and suitcase had made their way into her room.

Ell rolled over onto her side so she could breathe, and started thinking about what Emmett said. The whole conversation was weird - and Emmett never made her feel weird or uncomfortable before. They had also never talked about such a morbid topic before. But why would he get her hopes up like that? Ellie knew there was no hope, she had been living the past couple months of her life like there was no hope, because that’s what she had come to accept. And now he was going to act like he could just fix everything? Just like that.

What made it worse was that Emmett had never lied to her before - not that she knew of anyway - so why would he lie to her about something like this? Why would he say he could fix the unfixable with such certainty and then all in the same breath change the subject to his family and just drop her off at home to figure out her life for herself. It all made no sense and Ellie was almost 99% certain that she was going crazy and this wasn’t her real life at all - maybe she was just in some kind of fever dream coma that the tumor had put her in.

Dumbass tumor. Ruining everything.

Hell, maybe if this was a fever dream she could finally just live her life. Disappear to another country and live out the rest of her days exploring places she’s always wanted to see. Live a life she’s always wanted to live.

But she wasn’t fully convinced she was living a coma dream right now. Not yet anyway.

And what the hell was Emmett talking about? Did she notice anything different about him and his family? Yeah, of course, where does one even start on that topic? Gold eyes that get lighter and darker, pale white almost identical skin tones, cold lifeless skin. Emmett could drive without even looking at the road, she had seen him do it multiple times and it freaked her the fuck out, but he also seemed like he was so in control nothing could possibly ever happen to him.

Emmett was also very… careful, especially around her. He took almost a gentle approach if he ever touched her, like he was afraid he could break her.

Ellie was intuitive, she could pick up on people’s emotions fairly quickly, and thought herself to be somewhat of an emotional chameleon. She could match people’s moods, and often fed off of them, so of course she noticed something off about all the Cullen’s when she met them, but she chalked it up to the fact that they were all adopted, which she figured came with it’s fair share of emotional baggage that could make people seem a bit weird and off-putting.

Then there was another part of them that seemed… inhuman. The thought made her second guess everything. There was no way they could be anything but human, what the hell else could they possibly be.

That old story of the wolves and cold ones that she heard as a child came to the forefront of her mind just then. Billy Black would tell scary campfire stories at the beach over the summers about men who could transform into wolves to protect their tribe from the cold ones who threatened their way of life.

But they were just that. Stories. Childhood fables meant to keep the kids out of the woods.

Right?

—-

CHAPTER 2->

*I DO NOT TAG* If you would like to be notified when I post please follow my Library blog!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Twilight

Do not copy and paste my writing anywhere without my consent. This work is property of @marvelbirbs on AO3 & @moondancediner on Tumblr.com

These characters, with the exception of Elizabeth Swan, aren’t mine but this fanfiction is.

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moondancediner · 1 month

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Bradley Bradshaw

Masterlist

*Series || •One-Shot/Drabble

*Daydreaming pt.ii pt.iii- Bradley Bradshaw x OC Tess Mitchell [angst, fluff, childhood friends to lovers, more idiots in love]

•that first kiss - daydreaming one-shot [fluff, first kiss]

#updated #eat your heart out #sorry idk why i said that #Bradley bradshaw #rooster

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moondancediner · 2 months

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#I don’t #it sends me into orbit when people do #my husbands entire family does I don’t get it

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moondancediner · 2 months

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ITS MARCH YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS

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moondancediner · 2 months

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Dylan O'Brien with Hair and Makeup Artist Anne Sellery behind the scenes on the set of “Twinless” in Portland, Oregon. (2024)

🎥©: annesellery on Instagram ❝Dylan O’Brien: you so completely rocked it. You just get it. Dog Jaw!❞

#I love him I love him I love him I love him I love him #dylan o'brien

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moondancediner · 2 months

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I need some writing prompts anyone wanna send me some??

#writing prompts #writing #fanfic #send who you want me to write about too #I need a good challenge

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moondancediner · 2 months

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Lidia Cervos pulling off the rescue of the century, killing a member of the triarii in the process, while simultaneously taking out the supply lines of the Asteri in the biggest hit to their infrastructure ever! All in a matter of minutes! She is an icon, a legend. She is the moment!

#THIS #she had my favorite storyline #she has my heart #long live lidia cervos #lidia cervos #hofas #house of flame and shadow #hofas spoilers #crescent city

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moondancediner · 2 months

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You’re so so sweet thank you so much for reading this!! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

daydreaming - pt.iii

summary: Tess figures out what Rooster wants from her, it ends well.

bradley bradshaw x tess mitchell

word count: 3k

warnings: angst with a happy ending, alcohol, cursing, daddy issues, best friends to lovers and it's not complicated anymore, small age gap, minor editing, roosters an idiot but we love him

a/n: thank you all SO much for all the love on this fic, i'm so happy you all liked it, i love tess mitchell so much and i'm so sad to be leaving her, but also so happy with how this turned out.

the last part is finally here <3 but if you want more of tess and rooster pls lmk i love them a lot

italics are flashback, regular text is about one year after the mission

pt iii is brought to you once again by Shania Twain everyone go thank that woman

masterlist || pt.i || pt.ii

stay until the morning

'cause, baby, loving you's the real thing

---

A week. It had been almost a week - five days, fourteen hours, but who was counting - with nothing. Not a text, or a phone call, or a late-night stop into the bar while she was closing up. No smiles, no laughs, no lame dad jokes to break up her monotonous days.

And Tess thought her anxiety was bad before.

She was sure she hadn’t gotten more than one consecutive hour of sleep since the day she walked away from him, and it was that thought - the thought that she’d been the one to walk away, that kept her up the most. Tess cursed every syllable that left her lips that day, every word that pushed him farther and farther away, even if it was only one question. One statement: what the hell do you want from me?

She was almost determined to hunt him down, scream in his face for all he was putting her through, and then tell him to never speak to her again, just for good measure. But every time she got the courage to do it, every time the anger in her gut rose to her chest and lit the fire she needed to get the words out, it would extinguish. Like a bucket of cold water was dumped over her head, she would go numb to the feeling and be right back at the beginning of this never ending cycle.

Why the fuck did she have to open her big mouth?

“Kid,” Penny said, taking the cleaning rag out of her hand, “go home. I got this.”

“No, no, I’m fine.” Tess insisted, trying to grab the rag out of Penny’s grasp.

“You’ve been wiping the same spot for over twenty minutes.” She deadpanned, motioning to the spot on the wooden bartop Tess was taking all her frustration out on.

Sure enough, Tess looked down and realized she hadn’t moved an inch since she picked up the stained cleaning rag. She let out a groan, and dropped her tired head into her pine-scented hands.

“Go home, get some rest.” The older woman walked away before Tess could get in her rebuttal.

The idea of going back to Penny’s house sent a cold chill through her body, like a ghost just passed through. The idea of going to that room where her and Rooster shared so many fresh memories had that sick taste spreading up the back of her throat like butter on a hot knife.

Tess had half a mind to pick a spot on the floor and camp out there until all her problems vanished. The hardwood floor would no doubt leave her back in shambles, but she was sure she would get in a better nap in Penny’s office than back at that house.

She also thought about going back to the house, packing up everything she owned and leaving. Pick a spot on the map and take off where nobody would be able to fly in and find her.

Right then, they both seemed like viable options.

Until Maverick walked into the bar.

Tess’s estranged relationship with Pete Mitchell had gotten… better. He visited every day since he arrived, and while she was sure in the beginning that it was only to see Penny, the day after the blow up with Rooster, he sat in Tess’s section until closing, eye’s never leaving her for longer than a minute. And when she closed out her checks for the night, ripped her apron off and booked it for the back door, he followed, sat next to her in the sand and held her while she sobbed.

Things had gotten easier after that. At least, where he was concerned. Just knowing he was on her side was something she didn’t know she needed, and those small gaps in their relationship didn’t seem to matter so much anymore. Tess knew it was just because she was too tired to fight, too tired to push him away, too tired to care that he left her high and dry again and would most likely do it again.

Deep down, foolishly, she was hoping that things would be different this time.

It was late, long after the last call, The Hard Deck was closed while the girls cleaned and prepped for the next day, so Tess was thankful nobody else was in the room when her father walked in in his dress Whites.

The air rushed out of her chest. Cold, hard fear gripping and squeezing her lungs so tight she thought she may never take another breath.

He didn’t need to say anything. His eyes said it all - Tess wondered for a moment if her’s did the same, if it was why Rooster always seemed to be able to read her thoughts. He wasn’t supposed to fly this one, just coach, lead, train, but there was nobody better in this kind of situation than Maverick. He was flying. And he was taking Bradley with him.

She was outside in the sand without realizing it, feet carrying her around the bar, past a frozen-still Penny, and to the cooling beach on their own accord.

They weren’t supposed to come back from this one. None of them were supposed to survive this. It would be a miracle if they all came home.

She shook despite the warm air, arms coming around her chest, holding herself together before she fell apart into little pieces that would blow away in the breeze.

Hold it together. Hold it together. Hold it-

“Hey, kid.”

Tess didn’t hear the sound of the back door open or close but suddenly Maverick was there, holding his covers under his arm, looking at her.

“We’re heading out soon.”

Tess nodded at the ocean. Everything she’d ever wanted to say disappeared from her brain, like the soft breeze somehow swept between her ears, and carried her thoughts away with it. She could only think about how they would all be out there soon, somewhere in the middle of an ocean and all that anger that had been cresting at the shores of her chest all these days suddenly crashed over her, and turned into solid, ice-cold fear.

He wasn’t coming.

“Promise me,” she pushed out, voice cracking as she fought back the tears.

“Tess-”

“You bring him back.”

She looked at him then, all the fear and hurt and love and pain bubbling up and escaping through her eyes and Pete would have given her the world in that moment, would’ve given her anything she wanted just to make that look in her eyes go away.

“Okay.”

Tess watched him nod slowly. He kept his distance while she schooled her face back to a neutral expression.

“Don’t you dare send him back to me alone.”

Her green eyes shone as bright as the moon. Those green eyes that Pete always thought were his, but really, now he could finally see that they were all her. His perfect clone, and yet so wholly different from him in every possible way.

Maverick didn’t have words, he could only pull her close, savoring the moment, searing it into his memory. His little girl.

The back door opened and closed once again and Maverick forced himself to pull back, placed a lingering kiss on the top of her head before he held her at arm’s length, turning her into Bradley.

Tess didn’t fight it when he pulled her into his body. His scent calmed her immediately and she once again had to fight back tears while he held onto her for dear life. Her own grip was just as tight, hoping that if she just held on tight enough that this wouldn’t be real. She would wake up in her bed to Bradley getting ready for his day of training before the sun was even up, his long legs and arms fumbling and tripping around her small room to find his discarded clothes from the night before, while she scolded at him not to wake up Amelia, holding back a laugh.

“I’m so sorry sweetheart.” His voice sent a chill down her spine. “I’m sorry I’m such a fucking idiot, I’m so fucking sorry.” His words mumbed into her neck, leaving a warmth in their wake and Tess could hear the tears in his voice as he held them back.

Tess couldn’t help but laugh. It was a sad little huff of air that pushed out of her nose, all she could muster up.

Bradley didn’t want to, but he pulled away, only enough to put his hands on her cheeks, not at all willing to let her get too far away, needing to see those eyes he loved so much. Those eyes that held her soul - everything she was on a silver platter - and his heart.

Tess looked back at him, never one to back down from a challenge, meeting his searing gaze with the ferocity of her own. She studied his face, a face she knew better than her own, a face that launched a million daydreams. His disheveled eyebrows, the slight wave of his hair, his almond eyes that turned down a little at the ends. His top lip was almost completely hidden now, but it was always the fullness of the bottom one that caught her eye anyway, and the dimple in his chin that kept her attention there. She traced a thumb over the lines of scars that lay there, remembering the visit to the hospital the night his buddy rolled his car, with Bradley in the passenger seat. Tess thought then that it was the scariest night of her life.

“I love you, Tess Mitchell… I’m in love with you and I’m sorry it took me so long to say it. I’m sorry I’m such a fucking moron and I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

The tears were free falling down her cheeks, cascading over his thumbs and he moved them just enough to lean down and kiss the salt water away.

He looked devastatingly handsome in his uniform, so handsome, Tess had to close her eyes to allow any coherent thought to process in her mind. He wasn’t saying goodbye. He wasn’t just saying I’m sorry. He was saying he loved her.

“I love you so much,” she whispered finally, eyes staying closed even as she felt him press his forehead to her own.

“Marry me,”

“What!?” Tess’s eyes sprung open and she tried to take a step back, but Bradley’s arms kept her from pulling away. She must have looked funny because he smiled and laughed, and Tess could think of no other reason for him to be laughing right now other than some strange contusion of her face. She was stunned. Flabbergasted even. What the hell was wrong with this man!?

“I love you.” He said it through a chuckle, like it explained everything, like it was the answer to any question anyone’s ever had.

“Bradley Nicholas Bradshaw, what the hell is wrong with you?” She said it slowly, hoping to get it through his thick skull that she was not on the same page as him right now. Hell, they were on opposite sides of the library, and he was screaming something in another language through a plexiglass wall.

“Don’t answer right now. Wait until I get back. Think about it.” He placed a kiss on her stunned lips. “I just… I love you, and I’m done waiting. You’re my best friend in the whole world and the most amazing person I’ve ever met and even if you say no I’m not going anywhere because you’ve always been there for me, no matter what, no matter where I am… and I never want to lose you again. Not for another minute.”

Tess didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her mouth was physically incapable of forming words.

“Rooster,” Maverick’s voice was miles away, Tess could only see Bradley’s profile as he looked at his captain, ripped out of their bubble with excruciating force. It was time for them to go. There was nothing left to do but say goodbye.

The idea of saying that word sent a panic through every nerve on her body. She felt each one get pricked with the ice-cold feeling before going completely numb.

The hands that rested on his broad shoulders landed on his cheeks, bringing his attention back to her. She wanted so desperately to say everything she’d been thinking the past five days, to yell and scream and cry and laugh and kiss him until she ran out of breath; but there was no time for that.

“I love you, more than anything, I love you, and I’ll never leave your side.”

Tess thought about the words that fell so easily from her lips hours later while she sat on Penny’s couch, staring but not seeing the TV in front of her. Amelia had gone to bed long ago, all that was left was the sounds of Penny cleaning the kitchen after their late night dinner. She mulled over the look on his face before he pressed a sickly sweet kiss on her lips, the way her heart thudded off beat in her chest, and the look of the ocean after he walked away.

It didn’t look the same after he left, as if when he walked away he took a piece of it with him. Even the sounds of the waves building and crashing on the sandy shore didn’t sound right. There were only seven oceans, but Tess had seen a hundred of them, all beautiful and unique in their own right, all with their own story to tell, and she knew the beaches of Fightertown the best, but that night they were unrecognizable. The rhythm was off, the salty air smelled different, the sand clinging to her toes was rougher.

Penny interrupted her thoughts for the second time that night, only this time it included a glass of wine.

“I would ask if you’re okay, but I know that’s a stupid question.” She took a seat on the chair to Tess’s left, feet curling under her legs while she balanced another glass in her right hand. Tess admired how expertly and effortlessly at ease she was.

“I don’t know why it’s so different this time. He’s left before.” Tess studied the wine in her glass, swirling it once before taking a sip of the pale yellow liquid, relishing in the rich burn it sent down her throat. It brought her back down a notch, brought her feet a little closer to the ground, so she took another sip, and then another, waiting for her body to land back on Earth.

“I’d guess it’s got something to do with all the kissing I saw earlier.” Penny said, smiling over the rim of her glass. Tess couldn’t fight her grin, as she too remembered all the kissing that happened earlier.

The smiles disappeared all at once, though as she remembered what else happened. A breath came into her body as she prepared to tell Penny what he said - not asked, because as Tess thought about it more and more, he did not ask - but the words stopped dead in their tracks, half way up her throat. How does one explain that they might be engaged?

“I think…” Her eyes danced around, head cocked to the side, searching for the right words. “I think I’m engaged.”

“Alright birthday girl, I think it’s time to go.” Rooster’s arm found its way around Tess’s waist, pulling her gently down from the bar stool she was attempting to climb on top of. It was getting close to closing time anyway, and only a select few friends remained, still drinking and dancing, playing pool and throwing darts, and Bradley was sure they would’ve stayed until the sun came up if nobody cut them off.

“Aww baby no, please, one more drink.” She pouted, arms bracing on his shoulders while he slowly let her body slide down his own. He almost laughed, she’d been saying that for hours, eyes half open, words slurring. Rooster cut himself off about two hours ago, slowly nursing a beer while keeping a close eye on his wife.

“My sweet love, the bar’s closing.”

Her feet touched the ground but he kept her body pressed to his, the tank top she wore rose up, exposing most of her stomach, and while he knew she wouldn’t have cared about anyone seeing the sun-kissed expanse of skin, he minded greatly; especially with all the drunk wandering eyes that were still around.

“Plus,” he lowered his voice, brought his lips down to her ear, “I still haven’t given you your present yet.”

Tess was far gone enough that Rooster knew the only thing they were doing when they got home was getting into bed and going to sleep, but he also knew she was far gone enough that the promise of sex would get her out of the bar the fastest. She would try when they got through the door, would probably get all of her and his clothes off before they got upstairs, but she wouldn’t make it past that, which meant he was just going to have to wake her up with her birthday gift in the morning. Or late afternoon.

It was a surefire way to cure a hangover, after all.

Tess pouted, but agreed. It took them another thirty minutes to get out of the bar, and the rest of the night went just how Bradley predicted. He landed in his bed naked, bite marks littering his collarbones and chest, next to his equally naked, gorgeous wife, whispering his love and affections in her ear until she was snoring on his chest, forever thankful for her constancy in his life. His hand traced from her spine, up her arm, and to her hand that laid on his chest. His fingers threaded through hers and he placed a kiss to the inside of her wrist, over the words that were tattooed there not too long ago: no matter where, his matching one no matter what tingled on his own wrist as he placed her hand gently back down.

---

thnks for reading, i love you a whole lot

if you liked this, please consider reblogging 🫶🏻

#daydreaming #I just reread this #and yall #not to toot my own horn but…#god damn this is good!#top gun maverick #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw #bradley x oc #bradley bradshaw x reader

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moondancediner · 2 months

Text

🥹 thank you so much for reading!! I hope you love the other parts just as much 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

daydreaming - i

summary: it's hard to run away from your past when your ghosts keep walking through the front door - and Tess Mitchell is no stranger to ghosts

bradley bradshaw x tess mitchell

word count: 3.5k

warnings: swearing, chaotic lovers, small age gap (around 5-6 years), daddy issues, best friends to lovers but it's complicated af and no i will not be apologizing, cliffhanger?

a/n: okay wow this was gonna be a cute little quick thing and it turned into a multiple parter? question mark question mark... idk how many parts but this hoe got away from me real fast she's almost at 10k already...

This was going to be a reader-insert but the character bloomed before my eyes and here's Tess Mitchell she's my fav we love her.

Italics are flashbacks, regular text is present day

Also, Rooster is an ass man you can't change my mind.

masterlist || pt.II

you know, i'll be gone for so long,

so give me all of your love, give me something to dream about

“Rooster,” she whined, turning her back to the pool table and leaning a wobbly hip on its wooden edge to look for her husband, her lips turning slightly downward. She spotted him right away, like a moth to flame it was never hard to miss him.

“Yeah, baby?” The beer bottle dropped from his lips as he looked at her, heart nearly stopping at the sight.

“I need help,” she drunkenly pouted.

“With what, sweetheart?” He hadn’t moved from his spot, the both of them raising their voices across the crowd of friends.

“I forgot how to play pool,” she shrugged, pool stick in hand, the same one she’d been losing with for a good twenty minutes now, “I need you to show me,” and Rooster nearly choked on his beer. He loved drunk Tess.

“Well, it just so happens that I’m a master pool player, my love,”

“Is that so?” She asked, looking up at him. He towered over her, all six delicious feet of him, his own body locking her into her spot.

“Oh, absolutely,” his sly wink sent shivers down her spine. He downed what remained of his beer, setting it on the nearest table before turning back to assess her. “Alright. Righty or lefty?”

“I’m ambidextrous,” it was her turn to wink now.

“Jesus, woman, you’re tryna kill me, you know that?” He placed his hands on her hips while she laughed, turning her around then taking the pool cue out of her hand. “Alright, so put your right hand here, and your left hand here… and then you line up…” His right arm left the cue, circling around her waist, thumb hooking in the belt loop of her shorts as he leaned them both over the table, sweaty bodies gluing together.

The pool table under her body was gone. The people around them were gone. Phoenix, rolling her eyes at the other end of the table, patiently awaiting her turn - gone. All she could think about was his mouth whispering against the shell of her ear.

“Now,” another shiver racked her spine, “are you stripes or solids?” He lowered his voice and it took everything Tess had not to lose her clothes right then and there.

“I… really couldn’t tell you,” because all she could think about was that every inch of him was pressed against every inch of her back and his arm was keeping her ass anchored to his crotch, pinning her between the table and himself. His laugh in her ear was sinful. He stood up straight and she followed him, not willing to risk the loss of contact.

“Phoenix, help me out here,” he asked the girl across the table. Phoenix rolled her eyes, but told him; stripes, and will you hurry up, please? “Alright, baby, here we go,” he leaned the both of them back over, lining up the shot to the correct ball this time, “whenever you’re ready Hotshot,”

The sound of her callsign brought her back to that first night. When he walked through those bar doors, clad in his dad’s Hawaiian shirt not unlike the one he wore tonight.

Tess did a double take when Rooster walked into the bar. She had never met Goose, was born after he died and never had the honor, but from all the pictures she’s seen of him throughout her life, it might as well have been him walking through those doors. Hawaiian shirt, aviator sunglasses, and a smile that screamed trouble.

She thought she’d had enough shock for one day when her father walked through those same doors not too long ago, but here this was.

Her heart nearly stopped. Tess Mitchell was a planner. Things did not simply happen to her. Her life had been out of control for as long as she could remember. Pete Mitchell did not follow anyones rules or schedules, so Tess made her own. He was the only wild card in her life because she allowed him to be. She went to college in a town with no military affiliation, nowhere near a base or a landing strip. And even though she bounced around from town to town, state to state, it was never hard to find a teaching job. Until schools stopped hiring new teachers, and started firing them instead.

Losing her teaching job was a wild card she’d never anticipated - last one hired, first one fired turned out to be more than a cautionary tale- but lucky for her, her dad's old friend Penny Benjamin owned a bar in Miramar and was looking for a new bartender.

And even luckier for her, she didn’t know any naval aviators in the area.

Until now of course.

She knew where Rooster was all the time, kept track of him because nobody else was. And he was not supposed to be here. He was supposed to be overseas, not in Miramar California. Not walking into this bar. Not about to go on whatever dangerous mission Maverick was going to be taking him on.

He rounded the bar, not seeing her, heading straight for the uniformed pilots hanging around the pool table. She noticed Maverick turning his own head away, avoiding Bradley’s eyes and the history that lay there. Their tension settled into Tess’s bones, rattling them further.

“Hey, Hotshot,” Hangman’s voice broke Tess’s trance, “four more on the old timer,” he said, chin nodding towards Maverick across the bar.

She pulled the four bottles out of the fridge, holding them to her chest with one arm before popping all the tops off with the bottle opener in her other hand in quick succession, setting them on the counter in front of the blonde.

“Now I know why they call you Hotshot,” Hangman winked, clearly eyeing her now damp white tank. Tess internally groaned at her choice of outfit, but laundry day and hot weather only left her with so many options.

“Keep dreaming, Hangman,” Tess sent him a wink of her own. He was hot - she wasn’t blind, Jake Seresin was practically a walking Greek god, sculpted by caring, detailed hands - but his ego was far too big for her liking.

And besides, the other half of her heart just walked through those doors.

“They still call you that?” Maverick asked when she had made her way over to his side of the bar again. Tess never joined the Navy or any other branch of the military, but growing up as Pete Mitchell’s daughter meant she learned how to fly a plane at probably a too young age and that she earned a few things she never necessarily wanted. A callsign was practically included in the package.

“I’ll take ‘things you would know if you stayed in contact with your daughter’ for 200 please, Alex,” he had the nerve to laugh at her remark as she swept by him, pouring two shots, handing them to waiting hands and then coming back down to wipe the bar clean. It was unnerving, having him just sitting there as if he hadn’t completely ignored her for almost a year.

“You remember why we started calling you that?”

“Cause I like to show off,” she said cooly, straight faced, still bustling about.

Maverick smiled. He vividly remembered the first time he called her that, nearly lost his mind because she was visiting and he took her to the hangar to see all the aircraft. Turned around for two seconds and she was gone.

He found her quickly, like father like daughter she was drawn to his F/A-14 with all the curiosity a six-year-old could muster. When Mav finally caught up with her she was half way up the ladder to the box, ready to take a ride with her dad. ‘Slow down there, Hotshot.’ He laughed about it with her mom on the phone later that night, after she called to say goodnight, and the nickname just stuck.

“They know you’re teaching?” She asked once she was once again in ear-shot of him, head jerking in the direction of the oblivious naval aviators in the back while she pulled her long black hair into a low ponytail, eyes searching for more of those damn souvenir mugs. Pete noticed how light it had gotten since the last time he saw her - much more of a dark brown than the black it had been for most of her life - and wondered how long she had been hiding out here in the California sun. “Penny! We have any more boxes of those mugs up here?” She called over a shoulder.

“How’d you know I was teaching?”

She smiled. “A woman never reveals her sources.” Tess didn’t need to tell him that a strong pour in the right hands usually got her the answers she was looking for, and then some she wasn’t looking for. She knew about the mission (well, she knew about the vague details she was able to squeeze out of Cyclone), she just didn’t think they were crazy enough to call her father in to lead it.

“How long have you been here?”

Tess smirked. “How was it going Mach 10?”

Maverick’s smile dropped completely. “How did you-“

“I think the rest are in the basement, peach cheeks,” Penny called from the other end of the bar, interrupting her father.

“Aw, damnit,” Tess groaned, looking up to the ceiling, beyond the comical number of model planes and jets and anything else that flew were more souvenir mugs. The bar was decorated with them, but they were just that, decorations… Well, they were supposed to be anyway. She weighed her options and decided that the bar was far too packed for her to make her way to the basement and back in a timely manner.

She couldn’t just leave poor Penny up here by herself, now could she?

“Did she just call you peach cheeks?” Maverick asked, eyeing his old flame, the confusion evident in the way his brows creased slightly in the middle and Tess didn’t know if it was from her question or Penny’s words. Tess stopped for the first time since he’d arrived that night, a half-smile that reminded him so much of his own, and braced both arms on the bartop in front of him.

“About two months ago some drunk creep told me my ass looked like a peach, whatever the fuck that means,” she rolled her green eyes and Pete cursed himself for how much she looked like him right now, “anyway, he ended up paying for a round but now Penny calls me peach cheeks whenever she feels like she wants to annoy me.”

It was the first straight answer she’d given him all night, and he had a feeling it would be the last.

Tess turned, looking to the ceiling again like the light gray mugs were just going to start raining down on her, and when they didn’t she took a minor running start - really it was just a couple steps across the wide end of the bar - and hoisted herself to the top. Black sneakers landed in a spot nobody was occupying at the time and she stood tall - all five feet and four inches of her - before she started grabbing cups from where they hung above her head.

She received a couple whistles for her efforts, but her hands were already too full to flip any of them off, and she was concentrating too hard on not falling when the bell rang again, a little harder than the first time. She paused her movements to watch Hangman and two others she didn’t learn the names of yet walk over to Maverick to toss him out into the sand with a smile.

“Tess?” She whipped around at the sound of his voice, aviators pulled down his nose, eyebrows drawn in in disbelief.

“Hey, Bradshaw,” her smile nearly blinded him.

“Tess Mitchell! What did I tell you about climbing on top of my bar?”

Like the snap of a finger she was that ten year old kid again, getting yelled at for hanging upside down on the monkey bars at the park his mom used to take them too on the weekends and Rooster couldn’t help but smile at the look that came across her face when she was caught red-handed.

“Sorry, Pen, I’ll replace them later, I promise,”

Rooster didn’t waste another second, feet moving to the bartop where she was now sitting. She was at the perfect height for him to slot himself into her body, arms circling her waist, her own arms going around his neck while her legs secured around his hips, squeezing him tight.

He still smelled the same as she remembered, his minty aftershave clouding her every thought and judgment. She wanted to keep her face buried in his neck for the rest of time.

“Hey, Hotshot,” he said the words quietly enough that only she could hear, crushing her body into his. “Damn, how long’s it been?”

“Too long,” Tess pulled away only so she could see him up close and he gently set her down on her feet, keeping his hands on her body. She took his sunglasses off, hanging them on the front of her tank top before putting her hands on either side of his face, inspecting his dark eyes and golden, sun-kissed skin for any more scars than the ones that already riddled his face. “I like the stach,” she nodded her approval and his smile grew impossibly bigger.

“Yeah? Took me two years to grow,”

Her belly laugh had him smiling even bigger. “Shit, I missed you,” Rooster could only shake his head at her, amazed that she was even standing in front of him right now. But the amazement was short lived when the joy in her green eyes turned a dangerous shade of dark he hated being on the receiving end of.

“You idiot,” she landed a firm smack on the side of his head.

“Ow!” He brought a hand up to rub the spot that was sure to be sore in the morning, and he could’ve sworn he heard a few snickering laughs from behind him. “What the hell T?”

“Why didn’t you call me,” it wasn’t a question, it was a stern statement and Bradley couldn’t help but put his hands on her cheeks, mirroring the position she just had him in, a small smile creeping over his lips.

“I just got in, I was going to call you first thing in the morning.”

The sincerity in his voice, the honesty in his eyes nearly melted Tess into a puddle on the dirty bar floor.

“We have one rule, Bradshaw.”

When he lands, he calls. That’s their rule.

“I know, I know, I should’ve called,” his golden eyes danced between her sharp green while they softened. “But, to be fair you didn’t tell me you were working here.”

She simply shrugged, “I told you I was in the area.”

He could only smile.

“What’s your boss's name?” He asked, that little glint of trouble shining through his eyes.

“Penny Benjamin.”

The realization of who she was flashed across his already amused face but he tucked that nugget of information in his back pocket for another day because Tess Mitchell was standing in front of him and he wasn’t stupid enough to waste her time.

“Penny!” He called, ripping his eyes away from her face, “I’m stealing your bartender!”

“Have her back in fifteen!” And that was all he needed to squat down, throw Tess over his shoulder, and carry her away.

“Rooster!” She screeched, hands gripping his shirt as if that would save her if he dared to drop her. “Put me down you big idiot!” But he didn’t listen, and she felt his laugh vibrate on her chest and she tried really hard to think of anything other than the fact that his hand was impossibly close to her ass, clamping down on her bare thighs. And that she was one wrong move away from flashing half the building.

He walked over to the Jukebox, squatted down - which Tess tried, and failed, to not be impressed with - and ripped the cord out of the wall. The crowd voiced their disdain but he didn’t slow down. He sat her down on the bench in front of the piano, stole his sunglasses back and swung his leg around so he was seated behind her.

The bench was small enough that she felt every inch of him behind her, and when he started playing Great Balls of Fire, his fellow pilots all crowding around to sing, Tess leaned back into him, singing along with her whole heart that belonged fully to him.

“Hell yeah, baby, that’s what I’m talking about!” Rooster stood and Tess turned around, high fiving his hand in high before slamming her hand down on his hard ass, him doing the exact same.

“Hmm..” She hummed, looking around her direct area after their celebration, “it appears I have no drink.”

“Well we can’t have that, can we?” Bradley took the cue from her hand, passing it off to Bob before holding out his arm for her to take, “this way my lady.”

“Why thank you kind sir,” Tess looped her arm into his, chin pointed to the sky but his laugh had her breaking and a giggling mess by the time they made it to the bar. Her husband took the chance to once again pin her against his body, both arms coming around to lean on the sticky countertop in front of her, caging her into him.

Tess leaned back into his strong arms, let the back of her head connect with his chest and fall to the side until it hit his shoulder, and his mouth was like a magnet to her skin, finding it, leaving a trail of hot, scratchy kisses down her neck, turning her body into a putty for his hands. His low moans in her ear had her ready to head for the door.

“Come on, let’s just go home,” he whined against her skull, right at the base of her jaw, reading her mind. Everything in her vibrated and hummed in response to him.

“I can’t leave my own birthday party early,” she countered, turning so she could place a kiss on his waiting lips. And then another. And then another.

“What can I get for the birthday girl?” Penny appeared, yelling over the crowd of people.

“Two shots of tequila!” Tess yelled, she turned back to the bar, raising an arm above her head with two fingers held up. Penny quickly looked over her shoulder, confirming with Rooster, who nodded, one quick move of his chin downward - as if he could ever say no to her.

“I’m in for a wild night,” he commented with a smile, remembering the last time she got drunk off Tequila. It didn’t happen often, but when it did the only thing he could do was sit back and enjoy the ride.

“Make it three, Penny,” Maverick appeared next to them, clad in his usual leather jacket.

“Dad!” Tess screamed, ducking under Bradley’s arm so she could hug him, “you made it!”

“Of course, like I’m gonna miss my best girl’s birthday?” He hugged her tight, remembering a time when he couldn’t do such a thing. Too afraid of his own mortality to get close to the best thing to ever happen in his life.

“Here you go guys,” Penny was gone as soon as she arrived, dropping the shots and disappearing. Normally, Tess would be working with her on such a busy Friday night, but apparently there’s a rule around here about working on birthdays - a rule that didn’t exist last year, but Tess knew that was an argument she wouldn’t win.

“Cheers fellas,”

“Cheers my love,” Rooster held up his glass to hers and Mav’s.

“Cheers sweetheart,” Maverick said, clinking their glasses and then tossing his back. Tess was quick to swallow hers down, and even quicker to shove a slice of lime in her mouth, grimacing against the burn down her throat. Tequila was really great until you had to actually do a shot of it. Bradley leaned down to swipe the lime out of her mouth with his own and sucked down whatever juice was left, leaving Tess staring at his mouth in a not-so-subtle way.

“I’m gonna go say hi to everyone,” Mav yelled over the crowd, placing a quick kiss on his daughter's cheek before disappearing into the mass of people, aiming for the rowdy group in the back.

Tess’s eyes found their way back to her husbands face, the way his golden skin glowed in the dim lighting of the bar, sunglasses dripping down his nose, that carefree and confident air he had about him left her breathless on a normal day, but with the alcohol buzzing through her system she was about ready to take his clothes off in the middle of this bar. It’s how he’d always been, ever since she could remember. Cool, calm, collected. Her rock in the middle of a storm.

And so damn good looking. Leaning against the side of the bar, one arm resting on the counter, the other hand tucked securely in her back pocket, keeping her close, eyes roaming the room. She noticed that he did that every couple minutes, checked the perimeter for any disturbances, a habit she was sure he picked up from flying.

“You’re staring,” the left corner of his mouth hiked up an inch and his eyes found their way back to hers. She could only smile back. Caught red handed.

“Do you remember the first time you told me you loved me?” He laughed at her words, remembering exactly the first time those words slipped from his lips.

---

thnks for reading, i love you a whole lot

want more? all you gotta do is ask babes

#daydreaming #bradley bradshaw #rooster #top gun maverick

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