#<- putting this in the daniel tag actually cause people need to see it

[blamemma]

Heeyyyy this is mainly for the anons earlier who weren’t sure if they’re to listen to RBR on Checo’s seat being safe or nah or if they should be worried about Christian pulling the rug on the Danny seat dreams. Twitter provided the receipts.

Added to what you so eloquently pointed out about the hellhole that was last year with ZB and Seidl waxing poetic about Danny’s seat was ‘safe’ and then they pulled the rug out.

Nothing Christian said so far is concerning. They need to keep the peace and keep Checo happy enough. They’re not planning on replacing him or putting Daniel in the car…yet. Because at this current moment that these questions are being answered, they probably aren’t. They’re probably waiting until the test to evaluate if they should consider.

Danny is unproven in the car, and that changes on Tuesday. So they’re not gonna like commit to anything publicly until they evaluate from ALL sides. And that means they have to wait for Dan to jump in the car and tick whatever boxes they still need ticked.

They have to use the media to their favour and not against it. And RBR knows this. They remember the fallout of Pierre. And there’s contracts at play here too, you can’t just say anything.

Anyhoo, so sorry for like hijacking 😅 I saw the tweets and wanted to send them over and then got carried the fuck away.

the way i just gagged at this...i dont have anything to add...i really truly dont....u said let me point evidence explain....you said let me provide some fun and fruity sources....i'm gagged....i'm shocked (but also not because exactly!!!!! everything is good until it isnt and then ur TP drops you!!!!!).....the way i am quaking in my boots....the way i am screaming into a pillow....no one contact me on tuesday i will not be a sane woman....

#daniel ricciardo #<- putting this in the daniel tag actually cause people need to see it #yeah i will be ANNOYING so what #i aint gunna lie if you'd sent this to alyssa she would have given you a much better comprehensive answer than what i've just put there #but thats my raw unedited response #LITERALLY #everything is fine!!!!!! until its not!!!!!!!!! #fuck me silly season is here.... #onboardsorasora #asks #tbs #<- its even going in the to be saved tag!!! the most important tag of them all!!! #a* to u #you've passed with flying colours no stone left unturned

[atonalginger]

Snippet Sunday

thanks for the tag and reminder @therealgchu! It's been quite the week as I recover from last week and....just everything...but I did get some writing done on Reclaiming Home and so I have a snippet to share. I'm in the home stretch with this fic, and then it's off to...whichever fic I have juice for...probably back to RatD but who knows? Only time will tell...

Anyway this is a chunk from the next chapter in RH

--

Sam’s comms buzzed in his pocket and his posture deflated like a disappointed balloon. He dragged it out and stared at the cover display, a sour expression on his face.

“It’s Gramps, isn’t it?” Cora asked, “Don’t deny it, I know that look.”

His expression softened slightly, “can’t get anything by you.” Sam flipped open the comms and answered the call, laying down the device on the table so everyone could hear, “I had heard you were in town.”

“Yes, it wasn’t a secret,” Jacob said. The sounds of songbirds and moving water indicated he was outside, likely near the lakeside in the Embassy district, “I was asked to help with some negotiations, nothing special.”

“Here I thought you were retired,” Sam glanced across the table at Jamie.

She could see him yearning for her to be closer. She reached her right leg out under the table and rubbed his leg with her foot. He smiled and reached down, touching her calf and rubbing up her leg before letting it drop.

“I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t consult.” Jacob paused and the sounds of nature got quieter, “Look I know you’re wondering why I’m calling so I’ll cut to the chase: I heard about what happened out in Alpha Andraste with Lillian. Everything. Daniel is understandably trying to keep it under wraps but he looped me in because this will likely get uglier.”

Jamie saw Cora’s expression shift, a fire burning in those soft brown eyes. She was keeping quiet, clearly not wanting to cause more drama with the call, but the wheels were turning. She reached out to the young teen and offered her a hand to hold.

“Uglier how?” Sam asked.

“Lillian mentioned parental alienation to Daniel. Claims she’s at wits end because you won’t let her see Cora. I told him that was bullshit, I know about the past few missed meetings and let him in on them. But that’s the story she’s going with right now. She swore to him that she wasn’t going to plant the contraband, despite how Diego found her, and her digging through the cargo manifest was her searching for anything to pin on you two. And she seems to think she has something too: she says she found a concerning amount of hallucinogens onboard in cargo. Daniel thinks she’s going to try and take you to family court, Sam.”

Sam was quiet, just staring at the empty tray of cinnamon rolls. He rubbed his face with both hands and mumbled, “great.”

“Don’t stress too much, I have people preparing for it as we speak,” Jacob said calmly, “and I requested a copy of Jamie’s cargo manifest from the spaceport. The concerning amounts line up with standards set by MAST for survey collections, which makes sense considering my understanding is you three were doing a planetary survey?”

“Where did you hear that?” Sam asked.

“I spoke with Julien this morning,” Jacob replied, “I asked him to meet with Daniel, give him his account of what happened. So it’s in records if she actually follows through. He was receptive to the idea.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Sam said quietly.

“That woman picked the wrong family to fuck with,” Jacob said. “I will not sit idly by while her tantrums put you three at risk.”

“Us three?” Sam raised an eyebrow, “Cora told us about your message to her this morning and it only included her and Jamie.”

“I planned on calling you so I didn’t see the need to include you there,” Jacob explained. Everyone at the table could hear a touch of embarrassment in his tone as he spoke, “and maybe I didn’t want to worry her. I know you try to wear a brave face for her, I didn’t need her questioning whether you could handle it.”

Jamie and Cora shared a look as Jacob spoke, both surprised by his admission.

Jacob continued, “But since we’re talking about it, how are you holding up? And don’t feed me a ‘I’m managing’ or ‘I’m fine’, be honest with me, Sam.”

Cora started to scoot from her chair, trying not to disturb anything as she picked up the empty tray and plates, and moved for the door. Jamie tried not to laugh at the teen’s awkward retreat because the action was thoughtful and selfless. She knew Cora would love to know the answer but her dad would never open up with her sitting right there. So she gave him space to speak freely.

Once she was gone Sam sighed and replied, “I’ve had better days. I’ve had worse days too but…it’s been better. It wasn’t just the message she sent to the ship or the fact that she appeared to be trying to set us up, it was the petty jabs she tossed at Jamie, the way she made Cora fume and wail during the encounter. If she felt she was being alienated she could have just gone to the courts, she didn’t need to do all that.”

“You and I both know that’s a lie she’s selling to cover her absence, Sam.” Jacob said with a gentleness that further surprised Jamie. She’d never heard him speak so kindly toward his son.

“I know,” Sam sighed again, “Cora told me last night she thinks Lillian just wanted to disrupt us because if the three of us are seen happy and doing well it’ll make her look bad.”

“That’s our Cora, smart as a whip,” Jacob chuckled, “Do you need anything, Sam? Any of you? I’m done with business so I’m available to help in any way I can.”

#starfield #sam coe #starfield fanfiction #fanfic #coemancer #the coemancer crew #atonalginger writes #snippet sunday #DocCoe #Reclaiming Home #Cora Coe #Jacob Coe #Jacob? being a dad? it's more likely than you think #like he's not great at it but he can pull through in a pinch #in this universe at least

[cinematicnomad]

not to expound on the tags in my last reblog re:buckley v diaz parents, but i am going to do just that lol

when i look at the buckley parents i see a pair of people who were traumatized by the death of their child and their reaction to that trauma was actively harmful. they were emotionally negligent of maddie and buck, they parentified maddie and left it to her to raise buck, and they tried to bury the existence of daniel because they were so unequipped to deal with their grief and a byproduct of that was further traumatizing maddie, who had no outlet for her grief and was taught to hide it instead, and harmed buck by creating this giant gulf in his own family narrative by which he fundamentally could not connect with his parents or understand their actions.

things i saw in the other tags and posts that i disagree with: i don't think they blamed buck for failing to save daniel—that is not something we see them doing nor is it something we hear maddie and/or buck accusing them of. buck certainly FEELS like he's at fault when he finds out the truth, but that's because of the fact that it was hidden from him for so long. if anything, you could argue that part of their faulty rationalization when hiding daniel's existence was to protect buck from that feeling. i am not arguing that that logic is sound or defensible, just merely stating a position that would imply they are not blaming buck.

i also, just, don't blame them for having buck to save daniel? there are certainly ethical quandaries to be had about parents having a savior baby and all that entails. but i also don't fault a set of parents for doing whatever was necessary and grabbing at every opportunity to try and save their son's life even if, yes, it meant having another child. now, CLEARLY they weren't mentally or emotionally equipped to raise that child after daniel died, and it's obvious that they did not consider this outcome when they decided to have buck because of the actions they eventually take, but i also don't fault them for the initial decision.

the other thing i would argue about is in regards to if the buckley parents love their children. i think we can answer that based on what we see of them in canon. we learn that the whole reason buck developed a reckless streak was because it was learned behavior as a child. he realized that when he put himself in danger, or injured himself, or was sick, he received the love and affection he craved from his parents. that is MONUMENTALLY fucked up. they SHOULD have been able to show him that love at all times. they caused him lifelong emotional damage that he needs to heal on his own because they could not access their own emotions except for in situations of extreme fear and concern. was it enough? no. does the fact that they showed him love and care in these moments make up for the times they withheld it from him? of course not. but i think it's evidence that the love was, fundamentally, still there. similarly, in regards to maddie, their concern about her relationship with doug was telling.

it's obvious to me, at least, that for the buckley's they’re so emotionally numbed that the only times their emotions are actually let out is when triggered by extreme fear for their children's safety. that is not healthy. that is not okay. but it is informed by their trauma surrounding daniel's death, and it is something i can understand even if i find it harmful.

basically, i really do think that canon got it right when maddie said they were good people but bad parents. i think it's generalizing it a bit, but fundamentally i think that's a pretty insightful read on them. they are people who underwent an extreme trauma and it changed them for the rest of their life to the point that they could not parent their children and that is not okay. but when i look at the two sets of parents discussed in the post, i can understand the reasons for one's actions, and i cannot understand the others.

#i'm not even tagging this with anything lol #why did i type all this out oh my god #i will probably delete this

[asvterias]

𝖡𝖾𝗁𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖢𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋 (𝟤) ~ 𝖧𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝖬𝗂𝗄𝖺𝖾𝗅𝗌𝗈𝗇

Part 1

Warnings: Major Angst, Main Character Death, Mentions of Dead Parents, Dead Siblings, Past Trauma, Mentions of Dismembered Limbs & Suicidal Thoughts

Pairings: No Humanity!Hope Mikaelson x Black!Female!Human!Reader

Summary:

Tag List: @clarkegriffinslever @queen-bunny @carolslittleslut @harmonyverendez @ilovehopemikaelsonn

Word Count: 3,201

Author’s Note: Kol will be played by Daniel Sharman.

*gif is not mine*

After spending one month and a half with Hope, she started to fall for you. Yes, yes, she still knows that her humanity is off but she'll do tiny – very tiny gestures to show that she appreciates you.

As you and Hope's relationship progressed, you soon realized that you started to fall for the emotionless tribrid. You know that it was wrong and unrequited but love happens in mysterious ways, do they not?

Right now, you were getting dressed for a Mikaelson dinner and jitters in your stomach on how this dinner would pan out. Will the Mikaelsons actually be successful in turning back on Hope's humanity or will it be a disaster waiting to happen?

Lightly brushing off the negative thoughts as you finalize your red ruby lipstick on your plump brown lips. Now looking at yourself in the mirror, you were impressed with your reflection.

Walking out of the bedroom and Hope immediately made eye contact with your clothing. At first, she checked you out cause it was impossible not to.

“You're not wearing that.” She spoke.

“Excuse me, I'll wear whatever I please.” You responded, folding your arms.

“Fine, but put on my leather jacket. Don't want you freezing your ass off.” Hope remarks back, quickly taking off her black leather jacket and leaving the apartment.

Yeah, there's nothing like sweet hospitality. You didn't need a fortune teller to know the outcome of this Mikaelson family reunion. This family dinner was going to be a full disaster and somehow you'll be trapped right in the middle.

You didn't know just how right you would be.

“Who is the extra plate for?” Hope questioned, “Elijah?”

“Maybe we should hear them out,” You suggested to the tribid. Suddenly her eyes meet yours in a sharp glare, “Why are you taking their side?”

“Just trying to see both sides.”

“Oh, I know what you were trying to do. You're nothing to me.” Hope seethes, halting at you, “You were nothing and never will be anything to me. You're just a measly weak little human who whores around other people for attention.”

You tried to not let it get to you. Keyword: tried. But when the words start to eat away at your soul, it's hard to let them go so soon.

“Hope, it's not her fault. We bargained with her, let us suffer the consequences not her.” Freya tried to persuade her niece.

“No! She deserves this, she lead me on — made me feel happy that I was emotionless.” Within seconds, you were slammed against the wall, her hand clamped around your neck.

“It's a shame, that I have to kill you. You were getting so interesting.” Hope nonchalantly states before snapping your neck. Blurry visions and sounds started to succumb all around you with one ease, she twisted your neck.

Black. Pitch black, that was all that surround you now. Is this what death feels like? Drowning into your worst fears for the rest of eternity. If so, you'd be finally free away from all of your problems. Maybe, you'd meet your cousin Camille now in the afterlife.

Appearing under a dim light, you took place of your surroundings to notice that you were at an abandoned train station. Your heart started to rise as flashbacks went through your brain. The sounds of an invisible runaway train loudly rumbled moving its way along the tracks.

There you saw your twin brother in front of you. You felt like crying at the scene of his body state. His insides were ripped open, hanging out of his body, a vampire bite visible on the left of his neck.

“[Name]. Why didn't you warn me?” You started to back, already pleading for your life. His footsteps getting louder, “I'm dead because of you!” He shouted at you, menacingly stalking closer to you. “It should have been you instead!”

“No, I'm sorry.”

“You're sorry!” He asked incredulously, “I'm dead and you're still alive.”

“No! No! You're not real, I'm just going slowly crazy, that's all.” You covered your arms between your legs, rocking back and forth, hearing the voices getting louder. The screaming and shouting all became deafening to you as an ear-piercing echo vibrated around the abandoned train station.

Instinctively, you tried to cover your ears as best as you could but it was no use. You didn't even realize the change of setting and found yourself in a moving car.

“Mom? Dad?” You shakily said as your mom turned towards you with a small smile.

“Look who's finally up.” She greeted you.

Before you could even comprehend further, the scenery flickered simultaneously glitching like when a tv had losts its connection. “Hubert watch out!” Your mother shouted to her husband.

The sound of a truck horn was the last thing that you heard of before it all went black. Few seconds later, you jolted awake by the smell of smoke so you began to cough trying to inhale fresh air. Your mind was still hazy as you tried to fix your thoughts.

“[Name], wake up!” Your brother harshly shakes you. Instantly, you jerked your hand back at the sensation feeling a numbness in your arm.

“Wait, we can't leave mom and dad.” You leaned forward and touched her neck to try to look for a pulse. Unfortunately, her pulse was no longer there meaning that she had died from the impact.

“Get her out of here Caleb.” Your dad commands your brother, wheezing slightly at his urging words.

“[Name], let's go.”

“Like hell we are?!” You started to yell, “We need to help dad.”

With all of his might, he dragged you out of the car to remove any further damage. Once you were a good few feet away from the car, it blew up, the heat radiating off of your face. Making it back on your legs you hissed as soon as you stood up, gazing down at the gash on your right leg which started to ooze out blood.

Paying no mind to your injury as fury filled your eyes. “This is all your fault!” You blamed your brother, “If you would have listened to me, none of this would have happened. I hate you. I hate you!” You started to hit him but it didn't seem to take effect on him.

Forcefully he grabbed your hands and pulled you into a hug, “I had to, to protect you.” Evidently, his soothing words were enough to calm you down. “Let’s take a look at your leg.”

Thinking that you had lost all faith until you saw a bright flashing light at the end of the tunnel. You squinted your eyes at the sudden light and Camille appeared from it. “It's not your time yet, [name].”

Having nothing else to lose, you reached out for it, and you were pulled into it by an unknown source.

Abruptly opening your eyes, your face was broken out into a cold sweat. Backing away instinctively from the many hands that were swarmed around you. They got the message and backed away from you, though it seemed like one didn't obtain the memo.

“Get away from me!” You cried out, voice seeping into cracks.

“[Name], it's me. Hope.” The auburn tried to reassure you.

“Yeah, I know who you are and you killed me!” You screamed before you backtracked.  “Wait, how am I still alive, I should be dead.”

Pausing for a second as you looked up at Rebekah who shared the same confused face as you. Hope gazed up at you, “My vampire blood.” In shock, you reached to your neck, searching for the bite mark but it was gone.

You didn't want to believe what was happening. You were transitioning to a vampire. One of the most despicable creatures to ever cross the earth.

“No, no, I'm not a vampire.” You denied, letting Kol and Marcel help you up off the floor and towards the table, letting you sit down.

“Darling, you're gonna have to feed.” Rebekah told you.

The blonde vampire hands you a blood bag with a reassuring pat on the back, “Don't down it one go.” Your senses became heightened, the smell of the fresh blood overcoming your sense of smell. You felt the tingles crawling underneath your eyes as your fangs started to make way. The newly fangs protruded from your upper teeth making you flinch in distress.

You hadn't even opened the bag yet and here you were being controlled by blood. Wasting no time, your fangs burst through the bag and began to drink the contents. Closing your eyes in satisfaction, blood smeared across your mouth as the tingles formed underneath your eyes again.

“It felt like I was reliving my nightmare again.” You trembled, placing the empty blood bag on the table.

“What was the nightmare about?” Kol asked.

“Umm...my twin died when we were 13 then it shifted to my parent's death.” You explained, shifting your feet arrangement due to discomfort. You hadn't revealed that secret to anyone other than Camille.

“Does this happen often?”

“No, not to my knowledge.” Freya shook her head but then came to realization before walking somewhere to get her grimoire. Her eyes skimmed through the spell book, gawking for answers to your recent experience.

“Whenever a human turns into a vampire, they can relive their worst fear before their transition.” She reads, giving you a pitiful look. “It mainly happens if the vampire and human had a strong connection before the transition.”

You were downright furious but pushed that feeling down for the time being. So with one inhale, you started to speak. “You made me into a monster.”

“I–I, that wasn't me, I swear. I was in a bad place at the time and I thought shutting my humanity off would repair things but it doesn't. I was just trying to escape real-life and that’s when I met you and you restored me.” Hope stammers, her eyes red from the immediate crying, “I know that doesn't lessen things but I'll try. Please tell me what can I do to restore your trust.”

“Restore my trust?!! Hope, you turned me into a human leech!” You said, before taking a deep exhale, “You'll do anything?” Nodding in response as you held a deep breath in, “How about you stay the fuck away from me!”

You brushed past marcel and stormed out of the door.

Hope's legs betrayed her and she fell to the ground sobbing, Freya immediately came to her aid. Rebekah gave her husband a pointed look and he soon sped out after you, hoping to reassure your perspective of your new adapted life.

“Please stay away from me from marcel.”

“Relax, kid. I just came to talk.” He reasoned with you, holding up his hands in surrender.

“Hey, don't forget. Hope's humanity was off, you know, she went through so much at such a young age. No child should have ever experienced that.”

“Well, guess that means we have a lot in common.” You sniffle, hearing the black vampire chuckle.

“You know, you're smart, I can tell you that. Had the oldest family alive fooled even? [Name] [Lastname] or is it [Name] O'Connell?”

“How did you find out?”

“Cami wrote about you in diaries.” He started, “and a jillion of pictures of you was a dead giveaway.”

“I don't know if I can ever forgive Hope for what she did.”

“Listen, you don't have to forgive her right now, give it a few weeks tops. Clear your mind and think about this clearly, call me if you need help with anything.” He advised. “Let me get you a taxi home.” Marcel offered.

“Thanks marcel.” You warmly smiled at the man as he opened the door for you.

“No problem, kiddo. Always remember that Hope wasn't in her right state of mind.” Marcel gave you that last piece of advice to think about. He shut the door and ushered the driver to drive away.

Now his words stuck in your brain, repaying constantly. Did you really choose the right choice or did you just simply overreact a bit?

“I didn't mean to hurt her, aunt Freya. I swear I didn't mean to hurt her, I care about her. So much!” Hope lets her tears fall onto her aunt's top. “It's like I'm a danger magnet to everyone I love. Y-you know, my dad died trying to protect me and so did my mom and uncle elijah. [Name] was just trying to protect me and I killed her in cold-blood.” She wailed.

“It's gonna okay, hope.”

“What if it doesn't?!” Hope snapped forcefully pulling away from the hug, “What if she completely despises me?”

“Well, we can only anticipate for the best.”

It's been about a week and a half since that argument happened. Here you were in the apartment, mindlessly looking at the wooden stake in your hand, wondering if you should actually go through with it. Most people think that suicide is a free way to escape your real-life problems but it's really not.

You wanted to be furious with Hope but you couldn't, not when she made you the most happier than you ever felt. She pulled you out of your depressed stage.

Could you ever forgive her for what she has done to you? Making you into a monster that you despised the most — the creature that ruined your life by killing your family.

Maybe today was the day that you would finally accept yourself as a vampire. Absentmindedly, playing with the ring that Freya had gifted you prior a few days earlier.

Should you visit her? You know just to see how she's doing. Would she even want to see you? Your mind goes back to the argument, her words hitting sharper than usual.

You had the decency to at least hear her out after all. You didn't even try to be in her shoes because you were so insensitive during the fight.

Today was going to change. You were going to visit Hope and try to forgive her for her reckless actions.

Currently, Hope was locked up in her bedroom, away from her prying family members. She refused to eat or even interact with her relatives after the argument.

How could she even eat? She ruined your life all while still loving you. Suddenly there was a rapid knock on her door, the tribrid let out a soft sniffle, excepting it to be her aunt.

Her voice came out as hoarse, “Go away aunt Freya!”

Instead of a defeated sigh, a short chuckle erupted from the other side of the door to which Hope froze at for a moment, “Guess again, hopey.”

“[Name]?!” The auburn shot out of her bed, not excepting you.

“Yes, it's me can you open the door, please?”

The tribid scrambled towards the door but tripped in the process which ensued in a loud thud. Paying no attention to her fall, she managed to open the door to reveal you, in all of your magnificent glory.

She didn't even know whether to smile or to frown. You somehow felt guilty about her current state. Her bloodshot red eyes and many dried-up tears. The dry mascara ran down her beautiful cheeks. Besides, Freya had advised you that Hope hadn’t eat so she sent you up with breakfast.

“Do you mind if I come in?” You ask, holding a tray of food.

“Yea-sure.” She moved aside, allowing you to enter her room.

After you walked in, Hope sighed and closed the door behind her, locking it as well, not preferring any interruptions from her relatives.

Planting yourself on her bed, you shoved the tray in front of her as your eyes beckoned her to eat. Like a lost puppy, she followed your silent instructions, delicately munching on the food as if it would run away from her.

“So what are you doing here?”

“How are you holding up?” Your sentences synchronized with the other.

“Sorry,” you apologized, “You can go first.”

She gulped down her bite. “How are you holding up?” Hope asked, “You know adjusting to your vampire life.”

“It wasn't as bad as I would think.” You replied, “yeah, I can compel other humans to do my bidding.” She lightly chuckles at your statement before downing her drink.

Once Hope finished her food, she discarded the empty tray behind her. She began to speak, “I am truly sorry for what I did to you.”

“I forgive you, Hope.” You reached out for her hands and she accepted them.

“Y-you do?” She asked unsure of your answer. It felt like a trap to her. A very deceiving trap.

“Yes, I do, even though it took me some time to develop.”

“I'm so happy that I could kiss you right now!” Hope exclaimed before she realized her last words and put on an awkward smile when she noticed your questionable gaze, “Only if you want me to. It's okay if you don't want to.”

“Of course, I want you to.” The auburn backtracked at this. You wanted to kiss her. The phenomenon felt different likewise from all those times that you hooked up.

Biting your lower lip in response as you waited for the young mikaelson to make the first move. Smiling in satisfaction as you saw her making the first initiation of leaning in. This kiss wasn't fueled by lust instead, it was restored with adoration. Her lips remained soft as you recalled, the kiss was slow and non-sexual. Giggling into the kiss as Hope wrapped her fingers into the two front belt loops of your jeans, pulling you in closer.

Once the auburn pulled away from the passionate kiss, she let out a dopey smile. “I know this might sound too forward but do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“I think that we both know the question to that answer.”

“Should we celebrate?” Hope nibbled on her lower lip with a raised eyebrow. It took you a few seconds to even realize what she meant.

“But first, you need to hit the showers, you stink.” Scrunching up your nose in pure disgust. You might be happy that you solved your conflict but the stench was becoming unbearable.

“Would you like to join me?”

“Maybe later.” You suggested with a wink, enjoying how her face turns beet red, “I'll see you outside.”

It's safe to say that bygones will be bygones according to your situation with Hope. Maybe it was all gonna be at peace between the tribrid and her beloved sire. Who knows? Only time can tell for the new couple. Just two idiots hopelessly in love with each other, what could possibly go wrong?

© asvterias, 2022. please do not plagiarize any of my works.

#legacies 4 #legacies 4 oneshot #legacies 4 angsty + fluffy oneshot #hope mikaelson #hope mikaelson x reader #hope mikaelson x fem!reader #hope mikaelson x black!reader #hope mikaelson x fem!black!reader #no humanity hope x reader #no humanity hope x fem!reader

[eerna]

I love Danielle Gilligan as much as the next person, but after reading that article you linked I’m once again pretty pissed off they didn’t hire a plus sized actress for the role. I was pissed when the casting was announced but I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. But after everything is laid out on the table, with Jesper being given lighter skin as well as his portrayal as a bisexual man, and Kaz not being played by an disabled actor, and the erasure of Inej’s trauma it really shows they don’t actually give a shit about representing the canon characters. Everything that article points out really hits home and like the cast seems so cool and nice but there’s so many things fundamentally wrong with the adaptation that it’s really not enough anymore. The show needs the “out of character tag” because Jesus Christ they’re such watered down versions of the book it’s pretty insulting as a reader. Anyways thank you for answering asks about this stuff because it’s nice to see people looking at it with a critical eye instead of “Freddy Carter hot”

Okay a disclaimer: I think the article is wrong on quite a few accounts, and casting Danielle is one of them. Leigh Bardugo said she never specified Nina's size beyond "fat" because she wanted all large girls to relate to her, which means saying "Nina is canonically stated as plus-sized and can only be played by a plus-sized actress" is wrong. Also, calling s1 Danielle "skinny" simply because she isn't plus-sized is shitty and reductive of body diversity. At the moment of her casting, Danielle WAS accurate for Nina, because she was fat (on the smaller end of fat, but absolutely NOT skinny or medium). Danielle has gone on record to explain how badly it hurt to be rejected for her size in the industry, and then finally land a role only to have fans claim her body is wrong once again, and I am totally convinced that's a part of why she lost so much weight in the past 3 years. Kaz' casting is the same: Kaz gets up to so much inappropriate things that he says his disability got way worse after the events of the books, and putting a disabled actor through long filming days of an action show just doesn't sound viable to me. CGI and body doubles for every other scene aren't cheap, and also mean the character will NOT be played by the disabled actor most of the time, so we're back to square 1. Yes, disabled characters can be played by disabled actors, but maybe Kaz Brekker is not the best example of that. Jesper's casting, however, is absolutely unacceptable (especially when you take into account that Netflix does this all the time) and I still can't believe people just forgot about it. Same for Inej. I liked the paragraph in the article that pointed out how the show is only interested in scoring as many diversity points as possible, as quickly as possible, without making sure their tokens are treated as well written characters. It explained so well why Wesper was written the way it was. Ugh. Tokenism.

And no problem ahah, I totally get that people need to vent and finding fellow SaB haters is difficult. Maybe my freedom of thought is caused by the fact that Freddy Carter isn't hot to me. Guess we'll never know

#pixelnights #eernask #eernask talk grishaverse #TI BE CLEAR: i am not criticizing the person who sent the ask bc they couldn't know the article is deliberately ignoring certain nuances #of the story. i am criticizing the article #tw weight mention

[thebonerpit]

Idk if anyone follows my posts enough to even notice this but you may have seen me talking about a lot of new things I've watched so far this year, both tv and film. I kind of made a mini resolution to do this because I found, especially at the end of 2023, that I was stuck in a rut of either rewatching old things or mindlessly flipping through YouTube videos I had little to no interest in. There's so much media out there I'm interested in and now I feel almost reinvigorated to go through it and I've been having a blast.

Most of the time I'll probably just reblog a gifset or two with thoughts in the tags but I finally watched the Interview with the Vampire tv show and I have FEELINGS (mostly good)! Spoilers for season one and I do talk about book things that eventually happen so beware in case you don't know and want to continue the show completely blind...

So I kinda put off watching this at first because the Vampire Chronicles books are some of my favourites, and while it did have its own issues, the 1994 film holds a special place in my heart. I was like... do we really need anything else? But I'm glad I gave it a chance because the show was able to go so much further in so many aspects and also now we have a chance to actually see even more of the book events take place!

I'm gonna say up front that almost every character felt very different from how they are in the book except for Lestat. Lestat was actual perfection and I cannot BELIEVE someone did a (dare I say) even better job than Tom Cruise who gave the performance of his life in the film. Sam Reid's Lestat is unhinged and dramatic and terrifying and sad and cringe and yet also loveable and it was a masterpiece of acting. For the majority of the other characters I really didn't mind the differences and in some instances I thought they were actually improved. Daniel Molloy, for example, who is basically Anthony Bourdain? Perfection. Louis who is yes kind of pathetic and dramatic like the book, but also is volatile and complicated which Lestat is drawn to right from the beginning instead of only after having his little breakdown caused by his brother's death? Excellent. Armand who is older and looks nothing like the Armand described in the books but I can see without any problem how Marius fell madly deeply insanely in love with him because he's GORGEOUS and has this unsettling serenity about him? Give. Me. MORE.

The only issue I really had was with Claudia. I see people praising her all over the place so I'm sure this is an unpopular opinion but I hated that they aged her up so much. The most compelling thing about Claudia as a character is that she is an adult woman trapped in the body of a literal CHILD. A pre-pubescent child. Not a teenager. It's absolutely horrifying and it should be horrifying. Now, I will say, I saw an article where they talked about part of the reason behind this choice being that they needed the actor to work longer hours and it was impossible for a kid to do that, plus the very intense material, and I fully FULLY support any protections for child actors because the industry is insane. But it does make me sad and I wish there was some way they could have worked around it. I get what they tried to do with teenage Claudia but it just fell flat for me. And also the actress really looks her age (I think she's 20?) so like the few times where people were making fun of her for "playing dress up" or whatever I'm like... she fully looks like an older teen at LEAST what are you talking about lol. Also I thought her accent was kind of bad.

But honestly, that was really the only problem I had with the whole series. I absolutely loved how they went full-on explicit with the Lestat/Louis romance and the chemistry between the two of them was... WOOF. I was actually really interested in the modern portions too, mostly because Anthony Bour-- I mean Daniel Molloy was so entertaining lol. I loved how he pushed and pushed at Louis and their whole back and forth was brilliant. Although putting on my archivist's hat for a second to be outraged at Daniel consenting to wearing the cotton gloves to handle the diaries but then eating a fucking sandwich right beside the book???? Absolutely not lol. It was so much fun to see the Armand reveal (which I was spoiled for somehow but that's ok) especially knowing that Armand eventually turns Daniel and boy oh boy I hope they go long enough to get to that. I loved the continued references to Lestat's love of music which makes me hope they're planting seeds to make rock star Lestat a little more believable lol (god can you even imagine?? And we don't talk about the Queen of the Damned movie ok).

As for S2, I'm so excited for Paris and the Théâtre des Vampires and HELLO Ben Daniels as Santiago!!! Omg so hype for that. And it's going to be so interesting to see the Armand/Louis relationship as well because I mean it's always going to be Lestat/Louis and Armand/Marius for me so Louis being like "he's the love of my life"... girl. (And speaking of Armand/Marius please GOD give us some flashbacks because they are my Vampire Chronicles OTP and I need to see that whole story including my girl Bianca thank youuuuu).

Yeah so overall I'm quite positive about the whole thing and sincerely hope that they get many more seasons because there's so many interesting stories in those books and we've only ever gotten a TINY portion on screen.

#tbptalks #interview with the vampire #in addition to watching new things i'm apparently also reverting to my livejournal days and writing long rambly posts about media lol #i like throwing my opinions into the void ok sometimes i just need to get them out there #and when i have a lot to say i don't like using the tags on someone else's post

[sleepyowlwrites]

find the word tag CCCXVII

you know, it only took me like two years, but I've finally learned how to let reblogs sit on my main blog - this one - without needing to delete them after a day. I'm still more comfortable reblogging longer stuff with copious tags to sleepylovesyou, but I used to hate having writing adjacent posts reblogged here. my brain just did not like it. but that made things pretty sparse and boring, so it's nice to have mostly gotten over that dislike. @spacetimewraithwrites

forever (dirt in the doing)

There’s a hand on each of his cheeks. Jet puts his own up to grab at them, but with tremendous self-control, just keeps them there instead of pushing them away. Copper relents and just holds his hands instead, a grounding contact.

“I don’t actually love seeing people so clearly, you know.” Copper sounds resigned, but still very firm. “I’ve always loved knowing you, and I’ll never stop loving it, or loving you, regardless of how far into the negative spaces you are. I’ll come down for you. I’ll be with you. But I can’t decide how you’re going to get out, or how you’re going to react to anyone who joins you were you are.”

“You should’ve seen me when I first met Hawk. Yarrow called me volatile, said I was dangerous to look at. He was right.” Jet looks at their hands because it’s easier. “I don’t always know how I’m going to react. I-, I shouldn’t love the anger, but I kind of do. It’s simpler, logical. I don’t want that to be what I react with forever, though.”

“You seem to be making steps in that direction,” Copper notes.

Jet huffs a little. “Yeah. Sure. I make steps and I take them back. I am volatile, Copper.”

“You were angry just now and you held yourself back.” Of course Copper would notice that.

“You’re my brother. I don’t ever want to hurt you.”

level (unfortunately, we are living on the ground, 2020)

try boiling words in acid and perhaps you can summarize

the disgust with which we experience delight

on a surreal level

combining the unpleasant taste of

joy well earned

and bitterness that someone else

left behind

game (youth story supplemental)

“They don’t hurt anymore. I just was concentrating on the texture.”

“They wouldn’t have hurt at all if you had phased.” Daniel still held one of Nyks’ hands and used it to pull him over to the card game. “And you can sense texture without causing yourself pain.”

“I wasn’t!” But Nyks had gone even quieter, holding tightly to Daniel as he followed him. “I didn’t have anybody around. I’ll phase next time, okay? I’m just trying really hard to stay solid.”

Cal pat the carpet next to him and Nyks plopped down, promptly attaching himself to Cal’s side. “I know you’re trying to stay solid, but you can let go a little and then re-corporealize when you find one of us. We’ll always lend you energy.”

Daniel looked at Nyks expectantly and he hid his face in Cal’s sweater, mumbling something into the fabric.

inside (previous lives and premonitions)

The scene was so noisy now and Arin had to be careful where he stepped with the mess everywhere. He skirted the debris where he could, Toby’s hand in his, which had happened, at some point. Devin pointed and shouted in a direction and they moved that way, finding Rose knocking on the window of the car that had met with the truck, clearly trying to help the person inside.

“Wait for paramedics,” Devin said to her, but Rose was already leaning through the passenger’s side window saying, “Get out of there, the car is going to burn!”

Other people arrived and took over worrying about the person in the car, so Arin grabbed Rose’s arm. “Let’s get away, come on!”

Rose wasn’t moving and Toby was, was crying? Arin didn’t know when the car was supposed to start burning, but he wanted all of them away from this horrible scene so he shoved his bag at Toby and lifted Rose into his arms. Devin made a way for them through the crowd and safely back across the street.

front (dirt in the doing)

Shadow flings an arm around Jet’s shoulders in that careful way of his. “Ready to go?”

Jet flicks Shadow’s arm but doesn’t shove it off, instead letting it sit there while they leave the garage. It’s a comforting weight, not that Jet would tell that to Shadow.

“We’re picking up alcohol, too, right?”

Yarrow does a little spin in front of them and nearly falls on his face. Unfazed, he starts walking backward. “Of course! You’ll be grumpy otherwise. Well, grumpier.”

Jet kicks a stone in Yarrow’s direction. It doesn’t hit him, and the bright sounds of Yarrow’s laughter make Jet want to join in. Shadow is laughing too, his hand gripping Jet’s shoulder to keep his balance.

it occurs to me that as long as Timespace and I are doing tagbacks, we'll never run out of tags. TAGBACK. @papercutsunset @enchanted-lightning-aes @lanawritesalittle @e-lisard @mr-writes @vellichor-virgo OR ANYBODY for sigh, swallow, smooth, sound. BONUS: shiny, shield.

#find the word tag #searching circle #alliteration agency

[letsgivethisonemoreshot]

BruiserMates

Word Count: 4,644 (it's a long one)

Warnings: Sexual Situations, banter, there's some fluff in there somewhere.

Summary: The British Bruiserweight is more grumpy than usual. But his friends and a co-worker think they just might know a way to fix it. (Also, I tried to make an attempt to keep true with accents for the first time. So I apologize if it's horrible!)

The lukewarm water rushed out of a shower head in the back of the arena. The water pressure in these showers were never that good, but it was early and Lauren had the whole locker room to herself. She had the curtain drawn for privacy, just in case anyone else arrived early. Mostly because she was in the men’s showers. And just as she was rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, she heard several voices from the locker room echo into the bathroom.

"You could've stopped to get breakfast first." A British accent rang out.

"They 'ad food at the hotel." The familiar accent of Pete filled the room.

"Not anything for a vegan. And ya know that." Another voice argued.

"I don't know every damn vegan place in tha country." Pete spat back.

"Uh guys, just so you know you're not alone in here." Lauren informed them.

"Who in the bloody hell is that?"

"Lauren. I'm a backstage interviewer here. I really needed a shower after my workout before I got ready to work and they were cleaning in the women's locker room when I got there. No one was in here so I ran in. I'll be quick." She explained.

"Pete?"

"Yeah, she works here." He vouched, recognizing her voice.

"Ah. Alright then love. As long as you work here. I'm Tyler by the way."

"Trent." The other voice rang out.

"You guys are here from NXT UK for the tag tournament, right?" Lauren asked.

"You got it love." Trent answered as he turned on a shower on the opposite side of where Lauren was. "And you don't 'av to rush. We don't mind if you don't."

"As long as you stay on that side of the curtain." Lauren responded in a joking but friendly way.

"Great." Pete murmured.

"What's wrong with you?" Trent asked him.

"He's still sore about his girlfriend messin' around on him." Tyler answered getting ready to get a shower himself.

"Tell my business to the whole locker room, why don't ya." Pete said annoyed.

"She's the only otha one in here. And she sees ya more than us. I'm sure she's noticed you're grumpy."

"No more than usual." Lauren said as she conditioned her hair.

"Aw piss off all of ya."

"See? He's always this pleasant."

"I thought you said you were gonna be quick." Pete pointed out.

"I was, until Trent was nice enough to tell me I didn't have to. So now I'm taking my time."

Pete let out an aggravated grunt. "I can't shower with 'er in here."

"Relax Pete, I'm almost done. What brings you guys in here so early anyway?"

"Time change. Kind of has us messed up. And Pete just doesn't sleep." Tyler replied. "What about you? And working out nonetheless. I’d think you’d moreso be off writing questions."

"How else am I supposed to fit myself into those tiny dresses they want me to wear?" Lauren partially joked, causing two of the englishmen to chuckle. "I have a few interviews I have to do for some social media shows before the actual show tonight. This was the only time I could fit in a work out. I was going to shower real quick then get to work, but the women’s bathroom was closed, so I that brought me here. I guess it’s just bad timing.”

"Ah, I wouldn't say that love." Trent said.

"Well maybe not on my part. Anybody could walk in here. So many people have probably had fantasies that start like this. But apparently, it’s bad timing for some of you.”

"Would any of those fantasies include any of us by any chance?" Trent asked in a joking tone.

“Trent, ya can’t just ask a woman ya just met something like that.” Tyler chastised.

“Why not? I’m just joking.”

"Hm, some just might." Lauren answered.

"For fucks sake…"

"Jesus Pete calm down, I'm done. I'll be out of your hair in a minute." Lauren said as she turned off the water and wrapped her towel around herself.

"Yeah relax mate. We're just messin' around." Trent said to his friend.

"You need to get laid." Lauren stated.

"Excuse me?" Pete asked, sounding offended.

"We've been telling him that the last two weeks love." Tyler said to her.

She pulled open the curtain and stepped out of the shower stall. "Take it from someone who pushed away a lot of her friends by being a negative mope after going through a rough breakup. If she's gonna fuck around, then so can you. Try smiling, go get laid, and live. See ya later boys. I believe I'll be the one interviewing you later!" Lauren called out before walking away.

Lauren left them alone in the men's locker room and walked back to the women's which was thankfully now able to be occupied. She walked quicker than she planned seeing as how she couldn't get dressed there with the guys there. So she was running around in just a towel. No one had really showed up to get ready yet, but she still had to go over interview questions, get dressed, and was expected by the stylists soon. She was rummaging through her bag when there was a lock at the door. She dropped what was in her hands and curiously walked over to the door. Upon opening it she saw an annoyed Pete Dunne standing there. He was still in his trousers, nice button down shirt, and vest. His hair pulled back. Obviously he still hadn't gotten into the shower yet.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from you? Miss me already?"

Pete held out a plastic bag with tiny bottles inside. "Ya left your crap in the shower."

"And you're such a gentleman you brought it back to me?" Lauren joked.

"I drew the short straw."

"You sure it doesn't have anything to do with what I said?" She asked as she took the plastic bag from him. “Because my fantasies about you usually start with me still dressed and you ripping my clothes off me, but if this is how it happens I’ll take it.”

“No, it’s because I was the only one who was still dre…wait, what?”

Lauren smiled "Thanks for bringing my stuff back Pete. I forgot it in all the conversation. And if you’re just here to drop it off, I really need to finish getting ready. I need to be in make-up soon. I’ll see you around later.”

She closed the door, leaving Pete standing there dumbfounded at the interaction he just had.

Lauren had gotten dressed and was sitting in the make-up chair. She had decided on a short black off the shoulder dress. Even though the shoulders were bare, the dress had long sleeves, making a bit more acceptable in the workplace. The strappy heels that she had on also made it a bit less casual. She already had her hair done. She chose to leave it down since it was only shoulder length, but add some waves to it. Pete had wandered over to the area as Lauren was laughing while the make-up artist applied the dusty pink lipstick. Lauren was deep in conversation with the artist. She got along with everyone. Well, mostly everyone. She was easy to talk to and calming, which was a plus with her job. The interviews always flowed nicely and never seemed forced. She never really had any real problems with anyone she worked with. Pete leaned against a wall off to the side watching her talk. He had his wrestling gear on now, and had his long hair dangling down over half of his face.

"Alright, all set. How's it look?" The make-up artist asked as she held up a mirror.

"It looks great! Thanks Rachel!"

"Awesome. If you need a touch up just let me know."

"I will. Thanks!"

Lauren checked in the mirror one last time, pursing her lips together, before jumping out of the make-up chair and leaving it for someone else. She walked away from the styling area and right passed where Pete was brooding.

"Lauren."

"Hey Pete." Lauren replied as she walked by.

"Hey, hold up."

"What's up?" She asked as she stopped and turned to him.

"You tell me." Pete stated.

"Is this about what I said earlier? I’m sorry for getting involved in your business. And I never would have said anything had we not already been in the middle of a conversation. But I’ve been there, and I didn’t want you to end up pushing your friends away with your bad attitude like I did.” She explained.

"Not that. After. At the locker room." Pete said in a much lower voice.

Lauren smiled and crossed her arms. "What is this? When is Pete Dunne so timid?"

Pete rolled his eyes. "F'get it."

"No I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself." Lauren said reaching out to grab his arm. "I'll be good. What did you want?"

"You to stop being intimidating for a moment would be good."

"I've heard that once or twice before, but not from anyone like you."

"What you said earlier, did you mean it?" Pete asked changing the subject.

"That you need a good lay to forget about her? Absolutely. Your friends seemed to agree."

"No. That you've 'ad fantasies about me." He said as he took a step closer to her.

"Maybe a few times." She answered, surprising him by the serious tone in her voice. He stood there not quite sure how to follow up while Lauren opened the small bag she had with her and looked through it. "Listen, I really have to go and interview Daniel Bryan. But if you want to take my advice, I would love to be the girl that gets under you to get over her. Room 308 if you're interested."

She slipped her spare hotel key into his hand before turning around and continuing to walk down the hallway. Later on that night Pete sat in the back watching the show on a t.v. He was watching Lauren interview his two best friends while he spun the hotel key around in his fingers while being lost in thought. He pulled it together to go out and put on a good show, like he always did. All of his cockiness and aggression was on display. Lauren had been watching his match extra closely that night.

After the show Lauren was sitting alone in her hotel room. She hadn't made any plans for the night in case Pete decided to show up. After about an hour of waiting, she decided to change her clothes and get comfortable. She had the television on and was laying down in the bed, trying to relax, but she found herself not paying attention to it and trying to figure out what reasons Pete could have for not showing up. After driving herself crazy for some time, around 11:30 she realized she was being silly. His good friends whom he hadn't seen in months were in the country for a bit, so he was going to be spending time with them. Plus with all the joking around that she had done with him that day he probably didn't even think she was serious. Or maybe he just wasn’t interested and didn’t know how to tell her in a nice way. Lauren grabbed her phone and laid down on her bed to play some games until she got tired. Only a few minutes after she relaxed herself for the night, there was a knock at her door.

Lauren put her phone down and got out of bed. She walked over to the door curious of who could be there this time of night, especially without texting her first. She looked through the peephole and saw Pete standing on the other side. She quickly opened the door.

"You do realize I gave you a key so you wouldn't have to knock and wait in the hallway, right?"

"I didn't feel right usin' it." Pete told her.

Lauren opened the door wider and stepped aside inviting him in. He stood near her as she closed the door.

"I see you stayed dressed for me." Pete joked as he looked at her in her pink tank top and black yoga pants.

"I could say the same for you." Lauren retorted noticing Pete was in grey sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"It's not m' job to look pretty." Pete stated.

"Good thing I'm off the clock then."

They hadn't really talked much before now, other than just a hello or exchanging pleasantries. Maybe being involved in the same conversation as a group of people. Mostly that was because Pete kept to himself or only really talked with the people he was close to, where as Lauren would talk with everyone and insert herself into others conversations. But Pete definitely took notice today that not many people were able to throw back at him the way that she did, and he liked it.

"So did you just come here to criticize my clothes or…" Lauren trailed off.

"Actually, I wanted to talk." He answered.

"Oh, uh okay."

Lauren definitely hadn't been expecting that. She lead him into the room a little bit more and she sat down on the edge of the bed. Pete took one of the seats that were in the room and placed it in front of her before sitting down as well.

"So?"

"I've been thinking about what ya said. And you're right. If she's gonna bang a bunch of guys and not care, then I should too. Well, ya know."

"So what's the hold up?" Lauren asked.

"I don't want pity sex with someone just because they feel sorry fa' me. Especially if it's someone I 'av to work with."

"I can understand that. I'm not really one for random hook ups either." Lauren agreed.

"But then why did you…"

"I like you Pete." Lauren told him.

"Why? I'm kind of a bastard." Pete asked confused.

Lauren laughed. "Yeah, most of the time. I've watched you. You're grumpy face and your angry promos. But I've also seen the way you joke around with your friends. I've seen how interact with kids. I know how much you care about animals. There's a sweet guy behind that whole bruiserweight thing."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Your best friends. Those goofballs wouldn't waste their time with a complete asshole." Lauren answered with a smile. She reached out and placed her hand over top of his. "I'll be honest. I've had the hots for you since you started coming around. And then when I actually learned things about you I had a crush on you. And seeing you laugh with your friends, I've wondered what it would have been like if we had that kind of relationship."

Pete couldn't help but flash a genuine smile that he usually kept hidden. "Why didn't ya eva say anything?"

"You had a girlfriend, remember?"

"Right. Right. Forgot about that."

"Well that was the plan." Lauren giggled.

"So girls really dig the whole aggressive arse thing huh?" Pete asked amused.

"Oh yeah. There's something wired wrong in our brains. And the accent doesn't hurt either.”

Pete leaned back slightly in his chair and chuckled.

"Did I just make Pete Dunne laugh?" Pete didn't even try to hide it this time after she pointed it out. "Up until now I think I've only made you scowl."

"Yeah yeah, just don't spread it around."

"Don't wanna ruin your unlovable reputation, huh?"

They both sat in awkward silence for a few moments, neither knowing what to say next. Pete fidgeted in his chair slightly before standing up. Lauren promptly stood up along with him. He reached out and pulled her to him so her body was flushed with his, wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug. The act took her by surprise.

"Thanks." He said into her ear.

Lauren put her arms around her torso returning the hug. But her senses perked up. He was still holding her, his head down and his nose grazing her neck. The thought of his mouth that close to her, with his history of biting, sent an electric wave through her nerves. She tried to push those thoughts out of her head and hugged him tighter.

"Anytime Pete." She said lightly.

Pete broke the hug and stepped aside looking down at her smiling. She gave him a half hearted smile. She was glad that she was able to be there for him, and it seemed like there was a friendship forming between them. But she was a little disappointed that it wasn't going further. And embarrassed that she told him how she felt, and now she had to deal with him at work all the time with him knowing that. She didn't say anything as she followed him as he walked to the door.

"I'll see ya around, alright?" Pete said as he put his hand on the doorknob.

Lauren nodded with a smile. She closed the door behind him and leaned it against it sighing. She felt like an idiot. She was just hoping he wouldn't make a big deal about it at work. She began walking back to her bed. When she was a few steps away, she heard the door click. She turned around and saw the knob turning. It pushed open and Pete walked back inside.

"Hey. Everything okay?" She asked confused.

He slammed the door behind him and walked towards Lauren, throwing the room key onto the bed as he passed it. He made it to where she was and placed his bands on her hips and pushed her up against the wall crashing his lips down onto hers. Lauren put her hands up on his shoulders, bracing herself at his actions. He moved his hands from her hips up to her sides all while continuing kissing her neck. He traced along the top of her tank top before grabbing it with both hands and ripping it down the middle. Lauren gasped into his mouth. Pete didn't give her any time to adjust to what he was doing before his hands traveled back down her body and behind her thighs picking her up and pressing her against the wall. He tore his lips away from hers to slowly lick down her chest until stopping at her partially exposed breast. He lightly licked around her nipple a few times before taking it into his mouth. Lauren ran her fingers through Pete's hair, softly moaning. When he lightly bit down she moaned deeper and arched her back off of the wall. Pushing herself even further into him, she became even more aware that her legs were spread around him and she could feel herself getting wetter every time he nibbled.

Pete pulled her away from the wall and carried her over to the bed. Lauren laid on the bed looking up at him trying to catch her breath. He was looking down at her with his signature cocky smirk. He reached out and lightly grabbed the waistband of her pants before yanking them off and crawling on top of her. Pete nuzzled into her neck kiss and biting causing her to arch her hips up and feel the large bulge in his sweatpants. Lauren slid her hands under his shirt and scraped her fingers down his chest bringing a low growl from him.

"You are wearing entirely too many clothes." Lauren informed him.

Pete chuckled, but it wasn't the light hearted one from earlier, there was a deeper tone to it. There was something sexy in that chuckle. He leaned up onto his knees and peeled his shirt off.

Lauren took the moment to just look at him, kneeling in front of her with his hair hanging down partially in his face. Watching his eyes in the light. He could see her eyes glancing up and down his body.

"Is this what ya wanted?" He asked.

"Fuck yes." Lauren answered out loud, instead of in her head like she planned. "But this was supposed to be for you."

"Does it seem like I'm not enjoyin' it?"

"Well yeah, but what is it you want?" Lauren asked.

"Haven't been asked that in a long time. Honestly?" Lauren nodded. "I want someone to want to be with me. Not just use me ta get off and pass out. Someone who enjoys being with me. To feel loved."

Lauren leaned up so she was sitting up in bed facing him. "Really?"

"Yeah. Sounds stupid. I guess when ya with someone for so long those things kind of become lost."

"No Pete, they don't." Lauren said as she placed her hand on his face. "That's what happens when people stop caring."

The words hurt Pete, but deep down he knew she was right.

"Lay down." She told him.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Take your pants off and lay down. Let me take care of you." She said it in such a calming tone, you'd forget they were just dry humping each other.

He complied with what she asked. Lauren removed her underwear and straddled him. He rubbed his hands on her thighs She pulled off what was left of her shirt. Pete unknowingly bit his lower lip upon seeing her naked in front of him.

"Like what ya see?" She asked with a coy smirk

"Damn love."

"You sure you wanna do this?" She asked him.

"Love if you don't get on me right now I'm going to push you down and get back on top of you."

Lauren smiled and moved to slide herself down onto his dick. She gasped as she slid down. She could have guessed the size of it based on what he wore in the ring, but she didn't think it was as thick as it was. Pete hissed as she began riding him.

"Fuck babe. You're so tight." He commented.

"Yeah, it's been a while." She replied as she rolled her hips.

"You're so wet." He stated.

"I told you, I like you. Now are you gonna do commentary the whole time or just enjoy it?"

"Oh I'm enjoying it love." Pete said as his hands slid up her legs. He groaned as he saw her bouncing on him, her breasts bouncing along with her. He ran his hand along her body and brushed his finger onto her clit causing her to yelp. He liked the sound that she made and continued to rub along her clit as she rode him.

"Fuck Pete if you keep that up I'm not gonna last long." She warned him.

"You keep makin' those sounds I won't eithea."

Lauren pushed his hand out of the way and brought her upper body down so she could kiss him before moving to his neck. She began kissing and sucking on his neck like he had been doing to her earlier. Pete reached around with both hands to grab her ass. She was moving at a slow and steady pace, keeping with his grunts of pleasure. She would bite down on his neck every once in a while hoping to catch him off guard. He would squeeze his grip tighter pushing her at a different pace causing her to moan.

"Wait, Lauren stop." Pete said suddenly.

Lauren stopped and sat up. "What's wrong?"

"I wanna be on top." He told her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Lauren wanted to stay on top and take care of him, but it's what he said he wanted to she switched positions with him. She had to admit having Pete in between her legs staring her down was something she had thought about several times. He began placing kisses down her collar bone as she ran her fingers through his hair again.

"Mmmm Pete, please." Lauren begged bringing a smile to his lips.

"Please what?" Pete asked as he ran his length along her entrance, teasing her.

"I know I'm being selfish at the moment but please, I need you." She moaned as she tried to push herself closer to him.

"Baby, I love hearing you beg." He said as he entered her starting slow at first.

"Pete, faster please."

Pete grunted before speeding up, loving the feeling of her needing him, He began to thrust harder as he sped up. Lauren wrapped his leg up around his waist to give him better access.

"Oh God Pete, I'm so close." Lauren said as she scratched her nails down his back.

"Let go for me love." He rasped into her ear.

Lauren grabbed onto Pete's face to pull him into a passionate kiss as she came. Pete finished shortly after her before collapsing next to her. Their session was relatively quick, but emotional and intense. They laid next to each other trying to catch their breath.

"Well, that was unexpected." Pete stated.

"Yeah, definitely didn't think that was gonna happen when I woke up this morning." Lauren agreed as she laid next to him.

"I'm sorry it wasn't really what ya wanted." Pete apologize.

"What do you mean?"

"Ya said you wanted aggressive, and ripping clothes off, and all that."

Lauren leaned up on her elbow and turned to face him. "That's one of the things I've thought about, but I really just wanted you Pete."

He responded by lightly placing his hand on her head and pulling it down to rest on his chest. Lauren laid there cuddling on Pete, which is something she never would have expected from him, and soon found herself falling asleep.

Around three in the morning Lauren jerked awake. She didn't mean to fall asleep. She didn't even realize she was that worn out. Or maybe just comfortable. The room was now all dark, Pete must have turned the lights out. She couldn't see anything but she felt over to the other side of the bed and it was empty. Of course it was. He came for what she said she'd give him and then left. He wasn't looking for anything beyond that. Lauren knew that when she offered him to come to her too, but she didn't think it would hurt that much when he was gone. She laid back down in her beg and pulled the covers up feeling pretty stupid. Just then she heard the toilet in her bathroom flush and the door open. Pete walked out of the bathroom and back over to the bed.

"Pete?" Lauren asked.

"Hm." He replied.

"I thought you left."

"Why tha hell would I do that?" He asked as he pulled up the covers and got back into bed next to her.

"You were gone. I thought you got what you wanted and left. Especially after I fell asleep on you."

"I believe you're tha one that wanted this love." He reminded her. "You’re the one that offered."

"Well, yeah…"

Pete wrapped his arm around her waist and held her hand, lacing his fingers in with hers. He nuzzled his nose into the back of her neck.

"I'm pretty glad you did though." He admitted. This was the most love he had felt in a long time. He really felt like the person he was with wanted him, needed him. That she was focused on him, and it made him want to be focused on her. He felt an actual connection, which is something that he had been missing.

"I'm not goin anywhere for awhile love." He said as he squeezed her into hug, pulling her body to his. "I loved those sounds I heard earlier. They drove me crazy. I look forward ta havin' ya make more."

Lauren giggled as Pete kissed the back of her neck. Neither knew what the future would hold, but right now they were both enjoying the moment.

#pete dunne #pete dunne one shot #pete dunne fanfic #pete dunne imagine #wwe fanfic #wwe fanfiction #mustache mountain

[my-fragment-of-peace]

Was inspired to do this earlier, but hypothetically, if Formula 1 cars were all created equally with minimal differences that didn't really affect overall performance (similar to Indycar), I think the lineup of top drivers would (mostly) look very different. I've put my opinion of who I think the top 5 drivers would be below the cut (it actually ended up being top 9 though because I couldn't decide who to pick for #5 lmao). I just like the idea of F1 eventually having a level playing field and considering what that might look like. I do think the sport will eventually get to that point, but I don't see it happening in the near future, unfortunately. (Also feel free to add on your opinions too, because I think this is a really cool concept with a lot of potential and I'm interested to see what other fans of the sport think would happen.)

1. Lewis Hamilton. I genuinely think he's just the best driver on the grid. This past season alone, he managed to overcome multiple place penalties to win races in a car that was great but not always the best, create time gaps of up to 20 seconds between himself and the car following him, and just control the hell out of it. He's the goat for a reason, and I think if it was a level playing field, he'd still be the goat.

2. Sebastian Vettel. A driver with plenty of experience in various cars. He's very skilled and controlled in his driving - he knows when to hold back and when to send it. Also he's the overtaking champion, so clearly he could just overtake everyone and fight for that wdc.

3. This one might surprise some people, but Checo Perez. I've made note of this before in the tags, but I really think he's one of the most technically skilled drivers on the grid. He has experience with multiple cars and he's fantastic at wheel-to-wheel racing. I could see him being a wdc contender for sure.

4. Carlos Sainz. I wouldn't have put him here before, but after seeing what he did this past season and listening to him speak on strategy, he understands how to race. Like he gets the logistics of it, so in terms of strategizing, I think he'd have the upper hand over others who are maybe not as skilled in strategy. He might not always overtake everyone, but he races cleanly and he's progressively improved over time.

5. I actually cannot decide who this spot would go to between like 5 drivers, so they all get this spot because I think they could all earn it but with different areas of skill and experience. Charles Leclerc, Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris, Valtteri Bottas, and Pierre Gasly. Charles is obviously skilled in that he will send that little car and push it to its absolute limits. He'd for sure be a frontrunner, but sometimes he chooses to send it a bit too far and that can backfire which we've seen in the past. Sometimes the risks pay off, sometimes they don't. The way he races is admirable and he's one of my faves, but it can be a bit riskier than others at times. Daniel is another incredibly experienced driver. I think being pushed to the second seat position at rbr and then jumping from team to team has caused him to get inside his own mind a bit, but he is a technically skilled driver and knows what he's doing. He has the potential to win in the sport as it stands now. I think he'd do very well in the scenario of a level playing field, but it'd be a process and he needs to gain back that confidence. Lando is another driver who's willing to push his little car to its absolute limits. I think he'd do exceptionally well on a level playing field, but maybe needs to improve strategizing a bit. I think he'll one day be a wdc contender for sure, but in a level playing field, I do think he'd get there a bit quicker. Valtteri is an absolute star. He can race for days, but he tends to race very safely (most of the time). It's not necessarily a bad thing, but he doesn't always go for the full send when he could (and perhaps this has been due to his responsibilities at merc, so we'll see what happens at ar in 2022). Pierre has proven time and time again he can take that questionable little car and make it to the front of the grid. He does exceptionally well during qualifying, and given a level playing field, I really think he'd consistently be a wdc contender.

#these are just my ramblings about how much better the sport could be #imagine if we had 9 people all fighting for the wdc at once #but cleanly #could you imagine the chaos? #anyway i'm looking forward to the 2022 regs as they are a bit closer #so i think it will create a slightly more level playing field #but still not to this extent #could you imagine how pissed the team managers would be finding out they could no longer buy the best car? #that they'd have to be on par with everyone else? #i'd love to see it #f1 #formula 1

[vintagedolan]

mixtape | track twelve

| masterlist | faceclaims | playlist |

Indy wondered why people in her life seemed to fixate on sunshine, as if it somehow fixed things. When she and Charlie were small and the sun was out, her parents were ushering them outside to get some fresh air, telling them it was good for them. Her first day of high school, when she was nauseous in the passenger seat at the thought of a new place with a new class schedule, her dad had said ‘at least it’s warm today’. The day of Nicole’s funeral, between the sympathetic smiles and awkward glances, Indy had lost count of the amount of people who commented on the beautiful sunshine outside that her mother wasn’t there to see. It grated on Indiana’s nerves, and she found herself enjoying the rainy days more in the years after her mother’s death, when the clouds were heavy and wet, booming with thunder she could feel shaking her floor. She sat at her windows and watched it fall, watched the world have to shift to accommodate a change in the sky, change in a way that it never did for her when she needed it to. 

The week before Bekah died, it rained every day. 

Monday marked seven days without treatment, and the effects were starting to show. Bekah had lost more weight, which Indy wasn’t even sure was possible. She kept her blankets on her at all times, the Christmas and Halloween ones layers on top of each other. 

She still shivered.

The rain fell outside the window, and Indy sat on the sill, thankful for the cold glass against her arm. It kept her in the moment, kept her mind in the room instead of in Los Angeles, wondering what was going through Grayson’s head that made him continue to ignore her calls. She didn’t have the energy to be pissed at him for leaving her abandoned - instead she was just worried, worried about the guilt she knew would overtake him when she finally was able to get ahold of him. 

Indiana’s schedule was PRN - meaning they only called her into the hospital when she was needed. She couldn’t tell if they actually did need her and were too nice to say, or if they were fully staffed, but they didn’t call her. Patrick had put his foot down with her hours at Jet’s too, and said he’d keep her on payroll as long as he could so she kept her benefits, but that he wasn’t putting her on the schedule either. 

So she put her skills to use for Bekah, and Bekah alone. Anything she needed, Indy knew where to get it on the floor. She funneled every ounce of energy into the girl in front of her, trying to take any of the burden off the Newcombs that she could. If Bekah needed ice chips, she was at the nurses station. In the supply closet to get fresh linens, the laundry to get clean hospital gowns. She helped her get changed, get showered as best she could - it was less mortifying for Bekah to have Indiana help her than her parents, who were nervous enough they would hurt her as it was. 

When Bekah was awake, she was trying. Putting on her brightest smile, doing her best to perk up for her parents and Indiana. But when her parents would leave, which wasn’t often - only to go get fresh clothes, or grab dinner in the cafe - Bekah would deflate. She’d sigh and lean back against her pillows and try to catch her breath. They went home that night to eat a real dinner with promises to bring some back for Bekah, and as soon as they kissed her goodbye, she relaxed back and closed her eyes. Indiana watched her for a moment, and reached out to hold her hand.

“It’s okay Beks. They know you’re tired, you’re allowed to show it.”

“Says you,” she muttered. “Haven’t seen you sleep since I went off meds.”

Indy swallowed. “I sleep when you sleep.”

“Liar.” 

“How do you feel?” She changed the subject.

“Like I’m dying.”

Indy choked, and Bekah laughed dryly. “C’mon, that was a good one. And don’t say it isn’t, cause you know I’m right.” 

It took all of Indy’s strength not to try to coat it all in some toxic positivity, tell her it wasn’t that bad, that she would feel better, that she would get better - the things she’d been telling her all the years she’d known her. 

They weren’t true, and she had to be okay with that.

“I really do think it’ll be this week,” Bekah said, picking at balls of lint on her blanket. 

“Why do you think that?” Indy kept her tone as neutral as she could.

“I feel it. Feels… different. I want to go in my sleep, if I can. Think it’ll be easier for everyone that way. Is there a way to make that happen?” 

Indy put on her hospital smile. “That’s usually how it goes babe, when you let someone go naturally. Your body gets tired, and you sleep, and then you go.”

She pondered on that for a moment, sat with it, and then she nodded, firm and confident.

“Okay. Good. That’ll be good.”

Indy hoped that one day she could have half the bravery of the girl sitting in front of her, with her thin arms and her purple head scarf, her small smile and stern gaze. 

“Can we have milkshakes? And watch some of Grayson’s videos before my parents get back?”

Indy swallowed. “Of course. I’ll go get them, you rest.”

She was glad she could pull strings - the kitchen was usually closed to requests after dinner, but Daniel downstairs was always nice when she called. Sure enough, by the time she’d swiped through all the doors and made it to the kitchen, he had two vanilla milkshakes with extra whipped cream, and sprinkles on Bekah’s. 

“Thanks D!” 

“You’re welcome other D,” Daniel smiled. The hole in Indy’s chest rubbed raw, and she turned quickly before he could think he did something wrong. She breathed, timed her inhales with her steps as she traversed the halls.

It didn’t help, because when she walked into Bekah’s room she heard him.

Only this time, we’re getting sinus surgery

“Ooo, sprinkles!” Beks smiled and reached out a hand, waiting for Indy to pass her the milkshake. 

She did, and she settled next to her on the bed with her own, leaning just far enough back so that Bekah couldn’t see her face.

The videos were always harder. He was still all over her social media, pictures and screenshots and people tagging the two of them on tea pages. He was still in her phone too - the outgoing calls, the photos in her camera roll. But the videos were the worst, because it was him. His mannerisms, his eyebrows that curved when he talked, his tongue that peeked through his smile when he laughed just hard enough. 

She watched anyways, let the ache fester and make her feel something. She stared at his sunburnt nose, and listened to him talk about his once deviated septum that they didn’t actually fix - he still snored loud enough to wake her up some nights. She missed it. 

Bekah laughed at every funny comment the boys made under their anesthesia in the video, and it was music to Indy’s ears, heartwarming enough for her to be able to stomach watching. By 15 minutes in, Bekah had abandoned her milkshake, the whipped cream dissolving down into the ice cream as her head lulled onto Indy’s shoulder and she fell asleep. 

With a shaky hand, Indy checked her pulse. 

Slow, but steady. 

She turned off the TV.

In California, the fight didn’t start until Tuesday night. The house had been full of tension for almost a week, and the usual LA sunshine didn’t help to lighten the mood.

Grayson had become a recluse. He’d fallen back on the earlier method of locking his phone in a box in an attempt to save his sanity, which was even more fragile from the doom scrolling he’d found himself doing as people speculated every single detail of his life online. The black metal cube sat on a table in the living room, and he only saw it on the few occasions that he ventured out to the kitchen for food. 

Even in his limited excursions, he felt the awkward energy radiating from his twin and Eden. They’d had their spats in the past, just like any couple, but there was something different about this one that had Grayson glad he was out of the room when Eden finally cleared her throat and looked at her boyfriend.

“Are we gonna talk about this?”

Ethan picked at a scab on his forearm - he’d been longboarding again as an excuse to get out of the house. 

“Talk about what?”

“Talk about why we aren’t talking,” she huffed. “You’re mad at me.” 

“Correct,” Ethan said. 

“Tell me why then.”

He looked at her incredulously. “You have to ask?” 

Eden swallowed down her anger, knowing it wouldn’t help anything. She waited. They sat in stalemate for a moment and she watched it boil up in Ethan before he sighed and turned in his chair towards her.

“Being hateful to me when you’re upset is one thing, because I signed up for that. But to my brother? When he’s doing pretty much as bad as I’ve ever seen him? Not okay. At all.” 

“Ethan-”

“And I’m all for the tough love approach or whatever, but that was fucked up. He was just starting to do a little bit better and now look at him.” 

“Better? You thought that was better?” 

“He was eating at least, and still trying to work a little bit. Now, he’s barely able to do the podcast, much less anything else.”

“You all were already going to cut the main channel, that’s not because of this,” she argued.

“I’m talking everything else Eden. The businesses. Figuring out what the fuck we’re gonna do. He said the other day we could split time between here and Jersey, which really means here and New York if we only do the podcast.”

“And he didn’t think of that as an option before he broke up with Indiana? Makes sense.”

Ethan ignored her and kept going.

“At least he’s thinking about the future, which is better than before. I need him. But I need him, and you yelling at him set him back to square one.”

“If you thought he was even close to out of square one you’re blind.”

“Don’t act like you know my fucking twin better than I do,” Ethan snapped, and if it wasn’t for the protective nature in his tone, Eden would have lost it. 

“Ethan.” She waited until he looked up at her, and she saw some of the anger leave his eyes when they met her. “He wasn’t getting better, because he was holding on. Fuck, he still is!”

“Telling him to let go isn’t going to make him let go! Have you met him? He’s the most stubborn fucking person on the face of this fucking earth! He already wants to go back, he’s not gonna let go!”

She could think of one person that could rival him for the title, but she kept it to herself. 

“He’ll do it if he thinks he’s doing it for her,” Eden explained. “Don’t you see that? That’s why he did all of this. In his head, somehow, he thinks he’s doing what’s best for Indy. But he fucked her over, royally.”

“He knows that,” Ethan said. 

“Okay, great! But he has to let go of her, because she won’t. Indy is an optimist if I’ve ever fucking met one, and she will always hope that he’s gonna come back, so he can’t do anything to feed into it. That’s torture, for both of them. And they both deserve better than that.”

Ethan couldn’t find a grip hold for an argument - one of the many reasons he hated arguing with Eden. So he sat in silence for a moment and accepted his defeat.

“You didn’t have to call him a moron,” he added.

“Anyone who let’s Indiana Cross slip through their fingers is a moron,” she muttered, shoulders relaxing as she realized the fight was over. “But yeah, that was probably a little harsh. I’ll apologize for that one.” She sighed, glad that everything was out on the table for the time being, smiling when Ethan patted his thigh once for her to sit on. She climbed up and nuzzled into his neck - she’d missed being so close to him the last few days. She soaked in the moment, running her fingers over the neck of his henley. 

“Is it weird that I miss her? I mean, I know I haven’t known her very long, but she really felt like part of the family.”

“I miss her too,” Ethan sighed, pressing a kiss to Eden’s temple. 

She pondered her apology to Grayson as she relaxed into his arms, but it was futile.

Grayson had been listening, standing in the hallway outside his door.  

There were no tears; just an overwhelming numbness that had settled over him in the last few days. Eden’s words were the final nail in the coffin - he couldn’t reach out to Indy, though it got more and more tempting each day. He’d promised not to hurt her more than he already had, and he was going to stick to his word. Someone important had taught him that. 

He retreated to his room and sat on the edge of the bed before he spoke. 

“Hey dad.” 

He always waited, just for a moment. Just in case. The silence was always loud, but it was deafening as he curled in on himself, staring down at the grains of wood in the floor.

“Dad I think I really fucked up this time,” he whispered. He willed the tears, but they didn’t come, though his eyes still burned. “I wish you were here. I wish you could have met her.” 

As he sat, he remembered what his dad had said in those last few days, in the few hours that he was awake, when he fought off the pain and the fatigue to be there for his kids and his wife. I’ll always be there, you can always talk to me. Just say whatever you would if I was right there beside you, cause I will be.

So he did. He spoke as if he could feel the weight of his dad on the bed beside him, feel his arm around his shoulder. 

Grayson sat on the edge of his bed and told Sean everything about the girl that he still loved. Her intelligence, her laugh, her smile, the way he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to love someone else. He lost track of how long he talked, run on sentences and gestures that only made it more obvious that his dad wasn’t there to tell him to slow down and take a breath before he talked himself into a pump from his inhaler. When he ran out of words, he did the only thing he knew to do when all else went wrong; turned his shower on as hot as he could stand it, sat down on the bench so the water ran over him, and thought of Indy. 

The storm rolled into the city on Wednesday - unprecedented and angry, snarling the clouds in swirls of dark, heavy gray and dumping down over the skyscrapers of New York. 

Indiana was watching the monitors. Her eyes jumped with each pulse of Bekah’s heart, which was beating faster than her usual. Her blood pressure was low, her breathing more irregular. Indy could see the textbook page in her head - actively dying. She’d learned the vital signs to look for, and how to fix them, what medicines to push. 

But she wasn’t supposed to be making Bekah better, and that was the hardest part.

Thunder shook the room, and Bekah shivered. Mrs. Newcomb wrung her hands, and her husband ran a hand along her shoulders. 

“She hasn’t woken up all day,” she murmured. 

“She’s resting baby, it’s okay.” 

Bekah’s monitors began to beep a bit faster. Her heart rate slowly rose - 82, then 85, then 90. Indy watched, her nerves prickling, eyes darting to the clipboard at the end of her bed, with DNR in bright red block letters - do not resuscitate. Bekah whimpered, her head turning into her pillow as her breathing got quicker, her heart working in overtime to try to keep her body afloat.

Mrs. Newcomb rushed to her daughter’s side, running a hand over her cheek as she began to cry.

“Bekah, sweetheart breathe, just breathe baby, don’t go yet, don’t go,” she pleaded, and Indy bit back her cries. Two nurses showed up in the doorway, waiting. There was nothing they could do but watch, and answer questions if they were asked.

Bekah’s father turned to the corner.

“Indiana, Indiana what’s happening to my baby?” He cried. It was enough to break Indy out of her trance, and she moved over to the bedside, resting a hand on Bekah’s leg. 

“Her body is trying to decide what to do. It’s tired, and with her blood pressure going down, her heart is work harder to move her blood around. That’s why it’s faster,” she explained. “She’s not in pain right now, her medicine should still be working. It probably just feels a bit scary.” 

Mr. Newcomb took her hand, and squeezed. Indy looked back to the monitors, unable to bear looking down at Bekah. She watched the blips on the monitor start to regulate again, sinus rhythm reappearing, allowing both of them to breathe easier. Bekah groaned a bit and settled into her covers, and a broken sob made its way out of Mrs. Newcomb’s throat. 

“I need a minute,” she said, and then she was headed for the door with a hand over her mouth. It was the second time she was sick that day. Mr. Newcomb took her to the cafeteria to get a Sprite, and Indy took her usual spot, perched on the edge of Bekah’s bed. She took her hand, tensing a bit with how cold it was. She rubbed it, bringing it up to her lips to blow warmth into her palm as best she could.

Bekah stirred, and her eyes opened for the first time in many hours.

“Hey,” Indy said quietly, not wanting to startle her.

“What was all that noise?” Bekah’s voice was croaky, but she shook her head when Indy offered her a drink of water.

“Your monitors. They’re loud aren’t they?”

“Yeah. Annoying as hell,” she mumbled, then opened her eyes a bit wider, scanning the room for her mother. 

“Language,” Indy teased. 

“Why were they going off?” 

It took all of Indy’s strength not to lie.

“Your heart rate picked up because your blood pressure went down. That’s something that happens…”

“Oh. It means it’s getting close isn’t it.”

Indy nodded and squeezed her hand. Bekah took a moment to process, and then she turned her head back to her friend.

“Is Grayson here yet?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Well, he better come soon if he wants to see me. Tell him to hurry, since I’m dying and shit.”

“Language,” Indy whispered it so her voice didn’t crack. Bekah played with the edge of her blanket.

“Am I supposed to be scared?”

“There’s no right or wrong way to be right now Beks. You just do what you need and feel how you feel, and we’ll be here the whole time, okay? We’re right here.” 

“You need to not be here,” Bekah said, and Indy’s breath caught in her throat. 

“Oh.”

“You need sleep, and a shower. I won’t die while you’re gone if I can help it. Promise.” She wrapped her pinky around Indy’s as best she could.

Before she could refuse, the Newcombs appeared back through the door, delighted to see their daughter awake. She sat up a bit straighter in bed and put on her best smile, Indy’s heart tightening at the sight. 

“Go,” Bekah whispered through her smile. She squeezed her hand one more time, and then let go, walking up to Mrs. Newcomb.

“I’m gonna go get freshened up and grab some clean clothes, but will you text me if anything changes? I live right down the street, so I can be back here really quick,” she explained, trying to ignore the growing look of pity in her eyes. 

“Of course dear. But you go home for the night, we’ll be alright. I’ll call you if anything changes, you need your rest. You’ve been here so long, have a night of normalcy at home and come back fresh tomorrow, okay?”

Indy nodded - it was all she could do. She blew Bekah a kiss and walked out the door, pausing when she noticed something had changed. 

A small blue heart had been placed by her room number - a signal that made Indy’s heart sink. Bekah was officially dying, and it was there for every nurse and visitor on the unit to see, to signify they needed to respect privacy and be quiet when they were close by. 

It made no sense, for that to be her breaking point. She’d known. She’d seen it, in her vitals and her demeanor and the fact that just their conversation was enough to have her ready to sleep for another 8 hours. 

But that little blue heart was her undoing, and she clutched her chest for the entire walk out of the hospital, down the stairs and out into the pouring rain. The thought of her empty apartment, with no Grayson and no Charlie and no Devin was too much - instead, she found herself running down the sidewalk past the lobby to the parking garage, shoes sloshing with water by the time she made it under the concrete. 

The valet didn’t ask questions when she passed over her key, shivering as she waited for him to bring her car out. As soon as she climbed in she hit the gas, ready to drive somewhere, anywhere, that wasn’t her home. The road was blurry despite the rapid back and forth of her windshield wipers, but she trudged on, just coherent enough to keep her tires between the white lines as she fled the city. The river was swollen when she drove over the bridge into Jersey, and she let herself zone out, let her mind take her wherever it wanted to go. 

She knew where she would end up.

The crunch of gravel was familiar under her tires when she turned off the winding road. It was a comforting sound, though it was muffled by the rain, and it wasn’t until she was close enough to the white house to see that the kitchen light was on that she realized what she was doing.

She put the car in park, ready to shift it to reverse until a small figure appeared on the front porch, waving her inside. 

Her earlier words rang in her ears. My door is always open.

She hoped it was true as she flung her car door open and bolted for the protection of the porch. 

Lisa was waiting for her, standing in her pajamas with worry written all over her face.

“Indiana? Sweetheart, are you okay?”

All Indy could do was sob. She hated it, and the voice in her head berated her over and over, reminded her she had no place there anymore, that she was putting Lisa in a terrible position. But the feeling of a mother’s arms around her wasn’t something she could fight against, and she crumpled into her and let herself be held. 

“Shhh. Shhh, you’re okay,” she hummed, running a hand over Indy’s blonde hair that was soaking wet. “Let’s get you inside and get warmed up.”

Indy let herself be led in, shoulders relaxing a bit at the familiarity of where she was until she spotted Grayson’s work boots in the corner and recoiled back. Lisa sat her down in a chair in the kitchen and squatted down until they were eye level.

“Are you hurt?”

Indy shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Is everything okay?” Her tone gave away that she already knew the answer, but Indy shook her head again anyways. Lisa patted her leg and sighed quietly, reaching up to brush some of her hair back.

“Does Grayson know you’re here?”

The squeak that escaped Indy’s lips was the only warning before she let out a sob so loud that Gizmo yelled in shock. 

“I’m s-s-s-orry,” she choked, crumpling with her face in her hands.

“No, no no shhh, it’s okay sweetheart. It’s alright, you’re okay.” Lisa pulled her to her as best she could, rocking just barely as she held her. 

“No, I shouldn’t have come, I don’t want to make things difficult for you with - him.” Indy couldn’t get herself to say his name and Lisa just shook her head. 

“Babe I told you that I would be here for you no matter what, and I meant it, okay? I won’t tell him you’re here unless I need to. You can stay as long as you need, you hear me?” She used her thumbs to wipe at Indy’s tears, frowning at the dark circles she found.

“Sweetheart, when was the last time you got a good night’s sleep?”

Indy’s silence was enough. 

“Well, it’s late, and I think sleep is the first thing you need. We can talk tomorrow, but right now, you go up and climb into bed okay? They’re all made up, you can sleep wherever you’d like. Do you need anything, or do you remember where everything is.”

“I remember,” Indy whispered, taking in a shaky breath. “Thank you Li.”

“Of course. You’re a part of this family, always. Now, get some rest. You know where I am if you need me.”

She kissed her forehead and disappeared up the stairs. Indy wasn’t sure how long it took to get herself together and muster the energy to climb those same stairs, take a left into the room she’d been in so many times before. 

It still smelled a bit like him, and she couldn’t help but to take a few deep breaths, closing her eyes and pretending he was right there, sprawled out in bed with the blanket held up for her like the first time she’d slept over. It was the same blanket when she opened her eyes again, and the thought of climbing into it without him waiting for her made her sick to her stomach. She couldn’t look at the bed any longer, so she turned to the closet, sighing when she saw all the warm clothes that were far too much fabric for LA, even in the winter. It was almost unconscious, the way she found herself in front of his shirts, running her fingers over the various fabric until she landed on a familiar flannel. Checkered, with blue, white and black squares. Thick and warm, he’d worn it once when they went out to check on the progress of the tiny homes, and she’d woven her arms underneath it when she reached around him to hold on as he drove them through the trees. 

Before she could stop herself, she snatched it off the hanger and pushed her arms through the sleeves, eyes prickling at the realization that she felt close to him for the first time in weeks, yet he was still so far away. She retreated back to the bedroom, grabbing one of the pillows and carrying it downstairs, all the way to the couch in the living room. The blankets were still in the basket in the corner, and she grabbed her favorite one before she curled up under it on the cold leather, pulling the flannel fabric up around her chin and closing her eyes. 

In the kitchen, Gizmo turned on her perch and cocked her head.

“Dee,” she said, but Indiana was already asleep.

It was the best sleep she had in weeks - the peace of knowing that she wasn’t truly alone enough for her body to force her to catch up. Lisa was surprised to see her still curled up on the couch at 9:30 the next morning when she got ready for work as the rain continued outside. She watched her sleep for a few moments, heart tight at the way her eyebrows were still furrowed and her face buried in the collar of a shirt she was sure was her son’s. 

She didn’t know the details, but she knew Grayson well enough to put together the pieces. But she also knew he wouldn’t let Indiana suffer this much if he truly knew how she was doing. It had to be bad if Indiana even considered coming out to the house, and it gave Lisa a level of mom anxiety she hadn’t had since the boys had picked up longboarding again. She wondered how he’d let it go on so long in the first place, and after a moment of debating, she scribbled down a note for Indy, went out to her car as quietly as she could, and called her son. 

His phone sent her straight to voicemail. She tried again. Voicemail. With the third dial tone she couldn’t help the pit that grew in her stomach, an automatic mom reflex when your child is unreachable. 

Instead, she called Ethan. It rang four times and then she heard a muffled groan and rustling before his voice came through the line.

“Ma, it’s 6:30 in the morning,” he grumbled, voice raspy and dry. “You okay?”

“Why isn’t your brother answering his phone? Are you two okay?”

Ethan sighed, annoyed. “He’s fine Mom, he’s just doing a detox from his phone. People were being shitty. He’s asleep down the hall, not dead in a ditch somewhere,” Ethan chuckled. Lisa wasn’t amused.

“Well, wake him up and un-detox him. He needs to call Indiana. Now.” 

Ethan sat up in bed.

“Indy? Why, what’s wrong?”

“That’s for him to figure out. All I know is, she’s not doing well and he needs to call her. Now.” 

“What happened?”

“Just make sure he calls her, alright? I’ve gotta get to work, I love you.”

“Alright, love you too.”

As soon as he hung up, he was on his feet, rushing down the hallway and throwing Grayson’s door open. He ran to the edge of his bed, shaking his shoulder until he groaned and opened his eyes. 

“The fuck do you want,” he grumbled.

“You need to call Indiana, I just got off the phone with Ma. Something’s wrong.”

Grayson felt sick. 

“What happened? Is she safe, is she okay?”

“I don’t know, you just need to call her.”

“You don’t know? You don’t know? The fuck do you mean you don’t know Ethan?” Grayson was yelling, but he was on his feet as he spoke, headed down the hallway in search of the lock box. He rummaged through the kitchen drawer until he found the key, hands so shaky it took three tries to unlock the metal contraption. 

His phone was dead when he pulled it out, and it took all his willpower to keep from chucking it at the glass doors.

“Yours, give me yours.”

Ethan was a step ahead of him, already having Indiana’s contact pulled up. Grayson snatched it and hit the call button, heart pounding in his ears as he waited for her to answer.

Indy woke up to the buzzing of her phone against her arm where she’d tucked it the night before. Her eyes flew open - it must be Mrs. Newcomb, calling to tell her that Bekah had gotten worse. She sat up, rubbing at her eyes until she could read the name on her screen.

Ethan.

Her heart sank. She’d thought to call him more times than she wanted to admit, but she figured calling your ex's twin when said ex didn’t want to talk to you was crossing some moral line. Though as she sat on his mother’s couch, she figured it was time to get over the morals and do what she needed to do.

She swiped to answer. 

“Dee? Are you okay? Are you safe?”

She couldn’t breathe. Her mouth opened and closed again as she tried to find something to say to the only person she’d wanted to talk to in almost three weeks. She hadn’t had time to prep herself, to give her heart a warning.

“Baby talk to me, tell me you’re okay,” he pleaded, and the pain in his voice was enough to snap her out of it. 

“Grayson?” was all she could say.

“Yeah, it’s me. What’s wrong, are you hurt?”

“No, no I’m okay, I’m fine.”

Grayson took a breath for the first time since she picked up the phone. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure what to say, the panic dissipating and leaving his brain blank. Luckily, she spoke.

“I’ve been trying to call you,” she said. 

“I know. Indiana I’m sor-”

“It’s Beks.” 

His heart skipped a beat, and the silence rang in his ears as he clutched onto the back of the couch. Ethan, who had been eavesdropping from the kitchen, moved closer. Grayson waited for her to speak, to say it so he didn’t have to ask. 

“Is she-”

“No.” Indy’s voice broke. “But…”

“Oh god. Fuck. Fuck Indy.” His knees wobbled beneath him. 

“She isn’t in any pain, we’ve been keeping her comfortable. But it’s probably gonna be in the next few days,” she whispered between sniffles, her voice squeaky and small as she fought to get the words out.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to have to tell you over the phone but... “ she trailed off. “She asked when you were coming to see her, and I didn’t know what to say.”

The tears were burning as they slid down his cheeks. He squeezed his eyes closed, fighting the imagery of Bekah in her hospital bed, calling out for him.

“Indy-”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know what to say so I just said you’d be there soon. If you can’t come she probably won’t remember, but I just wanted you to know, in case you wanted to be here. To see her, before…”

“I’m coming. I’ll be right there okay? I’m going to the airport now, I’ll be right there.” 

Indy was silent for a moment, her eyes flickering to the rain outside. 

“Fly safe. It’s storming here.”

“I will. I’ll see you soon okay? Just hold on, I’ll be there.” 

“Okay.”

That sat in silence for a moment until Indiana finally hung up.

“I’m going with you,” Ethan said. He didn’t need context - all he knew is his brother needed him. Grayson nodded once, passed him his phone and headed straight for his room. He packed blindly, throwing things into his suitcase without bothering to fold them, just desperate to get on the road to the airport and get back to New York. Ethan was two steps behind him when he finally made it to the door, his phone pressed to his ear as he tried to explain the situation as best he could to a very worried Eden. Grayson loaded the bags as Ethan climbed into the driver’s seat, leaving the charger open for Grayson’s still dead phone. Ethan practically peeled out of the driveway towards LAX, the cab filled with silence apart from the hum of the engine and the quiet sniffles from Gray when his phone turned back on and he saw all the missed texts and calls from Indiana who had been trying so desperately to reach him. The guilt made him queasy, and Ethan’s driving didn’t help as he hopped lanes and sped on, praying no cops were on the road. 

Grayson’s knee bounced impatiently as they waited in the line for parking, paying an astronomical amount seeing that they didn’t know when they would be back. Then they were running, dragging their bags behind them on the asphalt and beelining for the front desk. The attendants eyes went wide when they requested the next flight to New York at the exact same time. It wasn’t taking off for three more hours, much to their dismay, but they accepted it and headed towards security with their heads low and phones in hand.

The next flight doesn’t leave until around 10 but we’ll be on it. I’m sorry.

He watched the bubbles appear and disappear three times over, and then her response came.

nothing to be sorry for. I’m back at the hospital with her, she’s resting. I’ll keep you updated. the storm is still really bad here, please be careful

He wished he could reach out and hold her hand, ease her anxiety about his flight. He couldn’t imagine the emotion of that on top of everything else, so he said all he could think to.

I’ll be safe, and I’ll be there soon. 

He typed I love you and deleted it before he sent it. 

And then, it was a waiting game. The boys kept their hoods up and their heads down in hopes they wouldn’t be recognized. It seemed the universe was in their favor for the time being, no one bothering them while they waited, but it took a turn when their flight was delayed for weather not once, but twice, pushing their departure time to 2pm instead. He apologized again, agonizing over the thought of Indy sitting in the hospital by herself, but her response was the same.

she’s still resting, it’s okay. just be safe.

“We’re doing everything we can,” Ethan tried to reassure him, but he knew it was futile.

“I should have been there. I should have never left her in the first place Ethan, I’m an idiot.”

“You couldn’t have known this was going to happen. You told me she was getting better.”

He thought his brother was still talking about Bekah, and the queasiness returned. 

“She was.” 

They sat in silence as the hours crawled by. Ethan bought them lunch from a vegan salad shop down the terminal, even got his brother one of the protein coffee drinks he liked. Grayson picked at the lettuce and left it abandoned for his twin to finish. His only solace was his headphones that he kept pressed far into his ears with a constant stream of Cudi to keep him sane. After what felt like an eternity, they called for boarding. He texted her again to let her know he was on his way, and in a cruel play of the universe or whatever it was, Teleport 2 Me Jamie began to play. 

His eyes were blurry as he followed Ethan to their seats, climbing in by the window and readjusting his hood so it folded around his face as much as it could, hiding. Ethan leaned forward and acted like he was reading the SkyMagazine he found in the back of his seat, shielding his brother from view as best he could. 

They’d been on a flight like this before. January of 2019 - it had been raining that day too, but they had both been crying that day. So he stayed strong for his brother as best he could, got him a gingerale when the flight attendant passed by, and left Grayson alone. 

Indy wished someone would talk to her. She wished Bekah would wake up again - it had been hours of silence apart from the beeps of her monitor and the footsteps of the nurses outside the door. It was never truly silent in a hospital after all. But she was glad that she slept despite the loneliness. She hoped it would mean that she had energy for when Grayson made it to the hospital.

Grayson.

Her brain didn’t have the space to process that he would be there in the next six hours. His text that said he had boarded barely even registered in her mind, but her body was aware. Her anxiety picked up ten fold, her leg bouncing until it cramped, her lungs tight and fingernails bit down to the nail beds. The rain was relentless, as if the city were drowning already and it decided to add more for the fun of it, to watch the humans run around like ants in their multicolored raincoats. The universe was sick that way. 

Mr. Newcomb returned from the nurses station where he’d insisted on dropping off some cookies he’d bought at the store. He was quiet as he came into the room, eyes on his daughter until he finally peeled them away to look at Indy. 

“Do you think she’ll be asleep a little while longer? We were hoping to take some of her clothes home and wash them, so she has her choice from all her favorites for the next few days.”

“I think so. My… friend is coming later. Her other buddy, from the program. We’ll keep her company if you guys need to eat and get some sleep for a few hours. I can text you if anything changes.”

“I’ll see if I can convince Martina to get some shut eye I will,” he laughed, giving Indy a grateful smile and taking one more glance at his girl before he gathered her laundry and left. It only hit Indiana when he stepped out that she had never known Martina’s name until then. Bekah’s father was named Tarin, she knew that much. But she’d never even gotten to a first name basis with Martina. In all the years they’d known each other, and all the hours in hospital rooms and tears shared, she’d never been anything but Bekah’s mom to Indy. It wasn’t uncommon for Indiana to keep mom’s at an arm’s length from her. A protective mechanism she’d never consciously implemented, but it prevailed nonetheless. 

She wondered if Bekah would have wanted to be a mom someday. When she was 13 she’d insisted that men were trash and that she’d never get married even if she made it through all her cancer, but as she’d gotten a bit older she loved to talk about all her celebrity crushes. Indy looked in her side drawer and smiled when she found the little picture of Harry Styles she’d given her during her last round of treatment - she’d taken it with her to every room since. 

Indy paced the room, her anxiety to high to allow her to sit. She thought of Grayson on a plane somewhere, the metal tube rocking in the sky, cutting through the clouds. When she would get to the window she’d look up, hoping to see the lights from the wing of a plane somewhere, hoping it was his and that it was coming down safely. 

She paced for two more hours before her phone buzzed. 

Landed. I should be there in about 40. She still asleep?

Indy took in her first deep breath in hours.

yeah, she’s still out. I’ll meet you in the ocean hallway so you don’t have to buzz in, just text me when you’re close.

Will do.

Ma is picking us up so as soon as we get out we’ll head straight there

Ethan is with me but he’s just gonna go home with her for now

sounds good 

She didn’t have much to say, her stomach fluttering against her will. Her emotions were too unbalanced for her to even know what was happening. Excitement, and fear and grief and anxiety and anger and confusion, all at once somehow. She wrapped her arms around herself to try to hold it together and went back to pacing.

Grayson was soaked by the time he made it into Lisa’s car, scurrying into the backseat and barking out directions harsher than he meant to.

“I already have it in the GPS. Calm down,” Lisa said, giving Ethan a side eye in the passenger seat. 

“Sorry,” Grayson muttered, ringing his hands.

“S’alright babe,” Lisa sighed, reaching an arm back to pat his leg where she could reach. They drove in silence, listening to the rain smack against the roof and the windshield until Ethan spoke up.

“Did Indy call you? Is that how you knew something was wrong?” He asked Lisa. He hadn’t said anything, but he was worried too. 

Lisa debated it for a moment, and then she sighed. 

“She was upset, and she needed to get in touch with Grayson,” was all she said. “The rest of it, she can tell you.”

Gray didn’t have the energy to be annoyed. Every ounce he had was involved in the visuals flipping through his mind like a viewfinder; Indy in the ocean hallway, Bekah and her halloween blanket, the tiny homes, Indy’s tears in the airport. He hadn’t imagined that the next time he saw her would be like this. He wanted it to be different. Better. He wanted everything to be better. 

When they finally made it to the hospital, Lisa pulled to the curb and turned to her youngest son with a serious look.

“You take care of her, but you take care of you too, okay? I love you.”

Grayson’s nose burned and he nodded once before he ducked out into the rain. 

Indy stopped walking, and breathing, when her phone buzzed again. 

Here. Omw up

She liked the message, fixed Bekah’s blankets and headed out into the hallway and through the doors. The smiles of the marine life were haunting as she waited for any sign that he was close. 

Her head whipped up when she heard the familiar clammer of the far doors being pushed open.

He was wearing his yellow Cudi hoodie, but it was the wrong color. The fabric was darker than she remembered, darker than the picture she had of him in it, the one she’d taken in Jet’s once. It didn’t process that it was because it was wet until he was halfway down the hall. His hair was a bit longer than it had been, without Lisa there to trim it up. And his beard was full and scruffy and dark, hiding away his jaw line. She could still tell that his teeth were clenched though, his nerves palpable as he got closer and closer to her.

His shoe squeaked when he stopped in front of her. Neither of them breathed for a moment. They just stared at each other. He shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets to keep himself from hugging her, from crossing a boundary that he wished he’d never set. 

“Hi,” he said. 

Breathe in. Breathe out.

“Hey. How was your flight?”

“Long, but not too bumpy.”

Another painful beat of silence.

“How is she?”

“She’s still asleep, but we can wake her up. Meds are coming soon, just stuff to keep her comfortable. Her vitals are still okay, she’s just a bit groggy. But she’s excited to see you.” Indy offered him a small smile, and it had his knees ready to give out beneath him.

“And you? Are you okay?” He asked. 

Indy’s smile faded, and she looked at the jellyfish.

“That doesn’t matter right now. C’mon, let’s go see her.”

Indy used her badge to swipe into the door, but Grayson’s throat was too tight to ask her about it. Instead he just followed her down the familiar hallway, trying to avoid the looks of pity from the nurses who recognized him. 

Indy caught his wrist before he walked into the room.

“I didn’t… she doesn’t know about… us. I didn’t want to upset her, and it never really came up. I’m sorry,” she whispered. She sounded ashamed, but all Grayson could focus on was the feeling of her hand on his skin again, even if it was just a few fingers.

“Okay. That’s okay.”

“Okay.”

Indy walked into the room, the most hesitant that Grayson had ever seen her.

Beks looked cold. Even cuddled under her blankets she looked like she was freezing, and Grayson had trouble breathing. Indy went to the side of her bed, ran her thumb across her cheek and over to her shoulder where she squeezed gently.

“Beks, hey. Bekah,” she used her most gentle voice until the youngster stirred. “Someone’s here to see you.”

Grayson pulled it together in the last moment before Bekah opened her eyes.

“Earrings,” she sighed, a small smile on her lips. It was the most expression Indy had seen all day. “You made it.”

“Of course I did sweet girl,” he chuckled to hide his pain, moving beside Indy and crouching down so Bekah could see him easier. “Sorry it took me so long.”

“S’okay. We all know you’re slow,” she teased. “Hey, no tears. No crying in Bekah’s room.”

He hadn’t even realized he was until she said it, and he used his hoodie to wipe his eyes.

“Sorry Beks. Just missed you is all.”

“Yeah, well we missed you too. Did you convince my parents to go home?”

“Yeah,” Indy answered. “They’re getting some rest and bringing you some clean clothes.”

“Mmm, good. I think that black hoodie is a good one to die in,” she said, body shaking just barely with a laugh that turned into a cough.

“Pardon the death jokes, you’ll get used to them,” Bekah smiled at Grayson and the shock on his face once her throat cleared enough.

He thought of Sean, how he had pretended everything was fine until the very end, and he smiled. 

“Don’t you think a black death hoodie is a little on the nose?” He said, and Bekah laughed. It sounded the most like her real one since she’d been off her treatment, and it warmed Indy’s soul.

“Fair point. Maybe I should go with blue. You think someone will let me into heaven if I’m in blue or will I just blend in with the sky?”

“I don’t think anyone has to let you in,” Indy said with a laugh, crouching down next to Grayson. Their knees bumped together. “Pretty sure you just end up there.”

“I hope so. There’s no one there to find me anyways.” The playful edge was gone from her voice, and Grayson frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m the first one. I mean, I guess my grandma is up there but I never knew her. Everybody always talks about how their family will be there, when they go.” She paused, taking a few deep breaths to get her energy back. She hadn’t talked so much in days, and her heart rate was rising from the exertion of it. The pair waited patiently, giving her the time she needed to finish her thought. 

“I don’t have anyone to die for, anybody waiting on me. I gotta find my way in there alone.”

The innocence of it was enough to rip Indy’s heart in half, and she couldn’t find the comforting words that she wanted to give. But Grayson cleared his throat.

“You won’t be alone. I know of at least two people who will be right there waiting for you.”

She perked up a bit, eyes opening wider from where they’d started to close. “Really?”

“Yeah. My dad. He looks kinda like me, but shorter, with a better beard. His name is Sean.”

Bekah smiled. “Whose the other one?”

“A tall blonde lady named Nicole. Indy’s mom. Looks just like her, you won’t be able to miss her. They’ll help you, and keep you safe.” The sincerity in his voice was enough for Indy to realize he desperately wanted it to be true. She turned her head to hide her tears, clinging onto the bed rail to keep herself steady. 

“That sounds nice,” Bekah breathed, her eyes slowly closing. “You all want me to tell them anything, when I get there?”

It was Grayson’s turn to lose his voice.

“No babe. We can tell them when we get up there.” Indy answered after a moment too long.

“That better not be for a long time. I gotta have some entertainment. Watch you all grow up and get married and have kids. You better name one after me too,” she sighed, her voice getting quieter as her heart sped up. 

“You bet,” Grayson said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead as her breathing slowed and evened out again. It was slower than it should be, and Grayson realized his own breathing was fast… too fast. He brought a hand to his chest, then his other to cover his mouth and keep himself quiet.

“Shh, shhh hey, you’re okay, here, c’mon, you’re okay.” Indy’s voice was in his ear, her arms under his to try and guide him up to his feet, then out to the hallway. She held his arm and pulled him over into a supply closet that she swiped into, letting the door shut behind them.

“Breathe Grayson. It’s okay, just breathe.”

He fell to pieces in her arms, his back curled painfully so he could bury his face in the crook of her neck and sob. They were ugly sounds, wet and snotty and raw and she didn’t care. She just held him together as best she could with her small hands, let him relax into her and get it out of his system. His shoulders stilled eventually, but his arms stayed locked around her like a vice.

Neither of them moved until the motion sensor light clicked off, covering them in darkness. 

They didn’t speak. They untangled themselves and let the light turn back on before they headed back into the hallway as if nothing had happened, back into Bekahs room. Her heart rate was perpetually high now, fighting to keep the blood pumping.

Another sign that the end was coming soon. 

Indiana and Grayson sat down on the couch beside each other, just close enough for their shoulders to graze occasionally when they shifted. Indy watched the monitors and Grayson watched her, reading her expressions as best he could over what felt like an eternity. He looked at all the things he’d missed - the freckle by her ear, and the baby hairs that sat by her temple and never seemed to grow. 

It could have been minutes, or hours. No one was sure. But eventually Indy’s posture slumped slightly, and with a final sigh she leaned over to the left, her head resting on Grayson’s shoulder. 

He stopped breathing, only allowing himself shallow inhales that left his torso perfectly still so she could rest. He didn’t know how to feel, and against his will his eyes prickled at the realization that despite the fucked up situation they were in, she was there, leaned against him. Beside him. Something he wasn’t sure he was ever going to get ever again. The way she shifted and mumbled in her sleep let him know she wasn’t comfortable, but he let himself be selfish for a few minutes and soothed her back down so she stayed, relished in the weight of her on him and resisting the urge to wrap his arm around her shoulders. 

He moved as carefully as he ever had to press a tiny kiss to her hair.

She sighed and settled down further in her seat, moving her head onto the back of the couch and freeing him. 

The angle of her neck looked painful, and he scanned the room, noticing that they’d brought in two recliners, presumably for her parents. He stood up carefully and dragged the chairs away from the wall, lining them up like he had in his dad’s room. He hunted down a few extra pillows from the nurses, blankets too, and brought them in, making little makeshift beds for the two of them. 

He felt guilt waking Indy up, but he didn’t want to pick her up without permission. Instead, he shook her shoulder gently until she stirred, panicking for a moment until she realized everything was okay. Her heart fluttered at the realization that Grayson was still there. 

“Sleep over here, it’ll save your neck.” He nodded towards the chair and she stood up slowly, groggily moving over into one of them. She sighed as she settled in, exhaustion taking over. Grayson liked to think that she felt peaceful enough, safe enough to sleep because he was there, but he didn’t let himself believe it. So he simply moved her blanket up over her torso before he climbed into his own chair that faced the other way so they could see each other. 

He watched her sleep for a moment, and then her hand moved just far enough down the arm rest. She wiggled her fingers until he got the message, slipping his hand into hers before he too fell asleep. 

When they awoke the next morning, their hands were still intertwined, and Bekah’s parents were coming in the doorway. Indy woke up first, sitting up straight and squeezing Grayson’s hand.

“Grayson. Gray, hey, wake up.”

He grumbled until he was able to open his eyes, wiping his mouth with his hoodie sleeve as he came to and realized where he was. He was quick to stand, to introduce himself to Bekah’s parents with firm handshakes. His hair was a mess, and Indy bit her fingernails to keep from reaching out to smooth it out. 

The day went by, measured by the heart rate monitor beeps that got quicker and quicker, and the rattling of Bekah’s breath as the fluid settled in her lungs. Martina and Indy changed her into her blue hoodie, and fixed her favorite scarf - one with tiny blue lightning bolts - over her head. 

Indy and Gray didn’t have the energy or stamina to try to figure out where they stood, so they chose together, for the time being. She kept her arm wrapped around his, the way she used to when he walked her down the street. He traced over her fingers where she held onto him, chewing her lip while she watched her vitals grow worse and worse, all the red flags she would be trying to fix if that was the goal. Around 3pm, the nurse came into the room. The way Indy tensed was enough for Grayson to know something was happening.

“We’re gonna give her a bit more sedation to keep her comfortable. With the current levels of her vitals, it might slow her down enough to let her pass peacefully. There are no guarantees, but it is possible.” 

Martina began to cry into her husband’s shoulder. 

“So we should say our goodbyes then?” Tarin asked through a tight throat. The nurse nodded.

“We’ll administer it and then give you guys some privacy.”

“She won’t be in any pain, right?”

“No sir. It’ll just be like falling asleep.”

Indy watched as she set up her IV and stepped out of the room. 

Grayson and Indy followed her out quietly, giving Bekah and her parents the moment that they needed. Indy’s breath was shaky, and she held tighter to Grayson as they waited in the hallway. He looked up towards the light in an attempt to stop the tears, and a few moments later, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

It was Martina, her eyes red and cheeks blotchy.

“You all are family. She would want you here with her.”

Grayson’s feet wouldn’t move until Indy guided him back into the room. 

Bekah’s parents stayed on either side of her bed and held her hands while Indy and Grayson stood at the foot of her bed and watched her take her last breath. 

Indy didn’t cry. She stood watch, only moving when the nurses came in to confirm time of death. She went and turned the monitors off, cutting the monotonous tone out abruptly as they removed Bekah’s IV. Grayson’s quiet sniffled and muffled sobs were almost enough to tip her over the edge, but she held it together. She hugged Martina, then Tarin, and then retreated into Grayson’s side yet again. 

There wasn’t a signal, or anyone that told them it was time to go. But they found themselves outside in the hallway eventually, and they walked arm and arm. They signed out at the desk for the last time and walked out the doors of the pediatric oncology ward, through the ocean hallway and down the stairs.

The rain had stopped.

They walked the streets in silence, holding onto each other tightly as people passed them on the sidewalk, completely unaware of what had just happened to them. The world continued to turn, the city continued to bustle, and they continued to walk, one foot in front of the other until they made it to the elevator of her building.

Indy watched the numbers go by as it climbed. She didn’t say a word when they got to her floor, or through her door or over to her couch. Grayson sat down beside her and took his shoes off. She stared over his shoulder out the windows, an overwhelming numbness settling over her entirety. 

“Indy, why don’t you take your shoes off,” Grayson whispered. 

She didn’t look at him.

“Indy?”

He waited. The blues in her eyes were dark, and his heart sank. He knelt down and untied her shoes, sliding them off her feet gently. He took her socks off too - she hated sleeping in socks. 

“I’ve got you. You’re safe, it’s okay,” he said, brushing some of her hair behind her ear. She swallowed hard, and that was enough for Grayson to justify picking her up and carrying her into her room. He sat her down and pulled her covers back before he got her into bed. 

Once she was settled he stood up, waiting for just a moment before he spoke. 

“I’ll be on the couch if you need me okay? I’ll be right here.”

Indy blinked hard, and then she shook her head.

Grayson went to his knees beside her in an instant, ready to do whatever she needed. 

“Stay.”

That was all he needed. He circled around the bed and climbed in behind her, coiling his arm around her torso and crushing her back against him, pressing her into him everywhere he could. He willed himself to shield her, from the pain and the reality of what had just happened. He pressed a kiss to her hair and closed his eyes and he held his girl until morning.

#some of yall bout to be real mad at me #oop #PLS LEMME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK :D #mixtape #grayson dolan #grayson dolan fanfiction #dolan twins #dolan twins fanfiction

[scuttling]

Silent Treatment

Fandom: Criminal Minds Pairing: Aaron Hotchner/Latina OFC Word Count: 3,160 Tags: 18+, NSFW, Anger, Fights, Dom/Sub, Vaginal fingering, Unprotected sex, Daddy kink, Established relationship Summary: The biggest, ugliest fight of Aaron and Sophie’s relationship actually begins at work, in the field—go figure. Note: This is a previously published, reformatted work. Link to A03 or read below! The biggest, ugliest fight of Aaron and Sophie’s relationship actually begins at work, in the field—go figure.

They are back at the local precinct after apprehending one of two unsubs when the shouting match portion of the fight occurs; in order to apprehend that unsub, Sophie went against a direct order to vacate an active shooter scene, could have gotten herself killed, and Aaron has been fuming about it since they got in the car.

“Morgan and Rossi are canvassing the neighborhood to see if we can get any new information on the second unsub. You two,” he gestures to Prentiss and Reid, “can interview Daniels. JJ and I will go to the store where the guns were purchased, see if we can get surveillance footage, any information they might have about Daniels and his partner.”

“What about me?” Sophie asks, her body tense, like she already knows what his answer will be.

“You’re staying here. You disobeyed me,” he says, low, because he really doesn’t want to get into it in the conference room, with their peers. It seems she doesn’t quite share the sentiment.

“You can’t bench me because I did something you didn’t like, Hotch,” she protests, crossing her arms, and Prentiss looks awkwardly around the room like she would rather be anywhere else at the moment. Aaron can’t help but agree, can feel his blood boiling, wants to make fists of his hands and punch something.

“I am in charge here, I can do whatever I want.”

“Oh, grow up,” Sophie replies, eyes hard on his. “What I did was smart. Who knows how many more people Daniels would have killed if I hadn’t stopped him. You would have done the same if you were me.”

“What you did was insubordination. You’re lucky I’m not suspending you.” She huffs a harsh laugh and steps toward him with fire in her eyes.

“You can’t suspend me, and you know it,” she grits out, finger pointed in his direction, and he sees red; he reaches up and grabs her wrist, hard, leans in close so there’s no mistaking the order this time.

“Find a ride back to the hotel. You’re done.”

“But I—”

“This is not up for debate.” He doesn’t yell, but he raises his voice enough that Sophie exhales in surprise, swallows hard. He instantly feels bad, feels his face soften, but she just yanks her arm out of this grasp and walks out of the room. Reid shoots him an uncertain look and goes after her.

They wrap up the case that evening, without her help, and the ride home on the jet is tense, silent. Sophie hasn’t spoken a word to him since she stalked out of the conference room to find a cop to drive her back to the hotel, and he’s at the point where he’s starting to wallow a little.

Maybe he was too hard on her. She did apprehend the first unsub, who was vital in locating the second unsub, and people would almost certainly have died if she hadn’t done that. She made a decision in the moment, using the tactical training that was part of the reason he hired her in the first place. And most importantly, she was right: he’d have done the exact same thing in her shoes.

When the plane lands, he reaches overhead and takes down her bag first; he turns to pass it to her, something of a peace offering, but she grabs it out of his hands and heads for the parking lot without a word to anyone.

“Good luck,” Prentiss says with a sad smile when she passes him, and he closes his eyes with a sigh.

He’s definitely going to need it.

About halfway to their apartment, Sophie surprises him by looking over at him with a softer gaze than he’s seen all day. He keeps his eyes on the road, but peeks at her out of the corner, doesn’t want to speak too soon and cause her to retreat back into that angry, hurt state of mind.

He’ll give her time. He knows he owes her that.

He parks the car outside their building, and he can tell she wants to make a run for it, so he covers the buckle of her seat belt with his hand—gently, nothing she couldn’t brush aside if she truly didn’t want to stay there with him. It’s not his intention to hold her against her will.

“We need to talk,” he says matter-of-factly, making eye contact with her for the first time since they got off the plane. She sits rigid in her seat, arms folded in her lap.

“I don’t want to talk right now.” Her voice is raspy from disuse, and he brings a tentative hand to her cheek, brushes it with his fingers.

“Are you still angry? I’m willing to give you time to sort out what you want to say, but you can’t shut down on me.” She grits her teeth, exhales through her nose.

“Of course I’m angry, Aaron. You took me off the case for something Reid or Morgan would have gotten away with. That’s bias.”

“Reid or Morgan never would have ignored my order to get back to safety. What you did was smart, but it was also incredibly reckless.” She throws up her hands, as much as she can in the confined space of the car.

“Sometimes we have to do reckless things to get the job done. We’ve all been there.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, because it feels like they’re going in circles, like he’s beating his head off a brick wall.

“The fact of the matter is, I told you no, and you didn’t listen.”

“And if I had listened, and more people died? Do you think that’s going to affect your conscience, or mine?”

His phone rings—Rossi’s name lights up the screen—and he sighs, presses the button on her seat belt, releasing the latch. “Go inside, get undressed, and wait on the bed for me. I’ll be right up.” She studies him a moment, with uncertain eyes, climbs out of the car and slams her door behind her.

When the call is over and he steps into the kitchen, Sophie has the refrigerator door open and she’s rifling through the vegetable drawer, pulling out things that are in her way and throwing them down on the counter behind her. He closes his eyes, exhales long, and reaches out a hand to slam the door shut, startling her.

“What are you doing?” he asks, voice calm as he looks down at her. She swallows under his gaze, sets down the bag of broccoli in her hand.

“Making dinner.” She looks over his shoulder, won’t make eye contact, and he sighs deeply. It’s starting to become a thing.

“I told you to get undressed and wait on the bed for me.” She doesn’t reply, and he catches her chin hard between his thumb and forefinger, tips it so she’s looking up into his eyes. Their chests are both heaving, and he knows that his face is a stony, impassive mask he’s never used at home before. “Do as I say.”

“But—”

“You know what words to say if this is truly not something you want. Right?” She grits her teeth, and her eyes are fiery, jaw clenched.

“Yes.”

“Do you want to say those words?” He wants to hold his breath, because there’s a part of him that believes she might say yes, take the out that he’s always given her, that she’s never used. She strings him along, takes a full thirty seconds to say one word.

“No.” He tries not to look as relieved as he feels, just squeezes her chin a bit tighter between his fingers and leans down, so he’s only inches from her face.

“Then do as I say.” She stares him down for a moment, looking like she wants to fight him on it, but she just jerks her head to the side, making him lose his grip, and stalks toward the bedroom.

She is, thankfully, sitting naked on the bed by the time he puts everything she took out of the fridge away. He’s not sure what he would have done if she hadn’t been.

She looks tightly wound, but not nervous, and that almost makes him smile; even after this fucking awful day, this stupid fight, she knows he will take care of her, never make her do something uncomfortable or that would hurt in a way she doesn’t want. He takes off his jacket, his shirt and tie, his pants, but stays in his undershirt and boxers so she knows he’s not planning to get off for a while.

“On your stomach,” he instructs, and she turns without argument, stretches out with her ass up, legs spread a little. It’s so inviting, makes him want to just shove his cock in and take her, but that won’t solve their problem, so he holds himself back.

He crawls over her and presses his lips to her ear, her shoulder, trails them down her back, and she’s breathing heavy, eyes closed, face turned to the side. It’s a good sign. He kisses her butt, her thighs, her calves and ankles, and then gets off the bed and walks around to his bedside table, pulling out a bottle of lube. Drizzling it over her pussy makes her shiver, but she says nothing, does nothing but pant when he rubs her with his fingers.

He’s surprised to feel that she’s already wet, would have thought it would take some time to warm her up when she’s been so angry with him all day, but then, he’s been hard for some time now, so it makes sense. It just moves up the timeline of his plan, a little, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

He reaches down around her belly to place a finger on her clit, slowly teasing it, massaging it, and he can see her struggling to contain a moan.

If that’s how she wants to be, that’s fine with him.

His other hand rubs the lube against her opening, two fingers pressing in slow and steady. She is tight, maybe not as soaked and ready as she usually is, but turned on enough that she clenches around him when he’s in as far as he can go, when she can feel his other knuckles against her ass. He fingers her slowly, quietly, rubbing her clit with a wet fingertip, and he sighs contentedly, because it’s Friday night and he’s got all the time in the world to coax his girl back to him.

Five minutes pass by, then ten, before she finally makes a sound, and it’s gorgeous, a whimper of need that goes straight to his dick. He responds by fucking his fingers in faster, leaning down to press his lips to her back in a loving kiss.

“There you are. Do you want to come with my fingers in you?” She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even register that she heard him, but he knows she’s not asleep. “Can you reach back and touch me, please, if you want to come?” It takes a moment, but she lifts her arm and reaches for him, grabs a bit of his shirt in her hands. “Good girl. Thank you, baby.” He presses in quick and deep, glides two fingers over her clit in time with his thrusts, and the combination has her clenching around him, coming, nearly silently, and he kind of hates it. When he pulls his fingers out, they’re pruny from working on her for so long, and that, he kind of likes.

He kisses up and down the length of her body again, gets as close as her cheek, can feel her warm breath, but she’s still tense and angry, that much is clear. He gets up, goes to the bathroom, and washes his hands; when he returns, she hasn’t moved, except to make her arms more comfortable.

“My turn,” he murmurs in her ear, and he takes off his clothes, gets behind her on the bed on his knees; her pussy is shiny with lube and her own juices, and he hums at the sight of it, achingly hard.

His legs are spread, and he puts his hands on her hips and pulls her body toward him, opens her legs so they’re spread as well, her knees hooked around his. She is soft, willing, pliant, and it’s easy to line the head of his dick up at her entrance and pull her back onto it; the moan he gets in return for the little bit of manhandling puts the ghost of a smile on his face.

“Baby girl, it’s time for you to do as I say. Are you ready to behave?” She says nothing, but reaches a hand back to touch his thigh. He supposes he’ll take it. “I want you to fuck me, make me come in you. I’m not going to move at all, so you have to do it for me, okay?” She groans a little, but squeezes his thigh, and he covers the hand with his; she lets him, for a moment, before pulling away.

She takes his order seriously, fists her fingers into the sheets and rocks back and forth on him, her whole body working, her gorgeous ass bouncing against him. She is so beautiful as she moves, the muscles of her back visible, and her thighs, all that golden skin on display, and he has to exert so much control to not just put his hands on her shoulders and pound her until she’s senseless.

“There you go. Such a good girl for daddy,” he coos, and he does palm her ass, squeeze it, just because he wants to. “My good girl, smart girl. So well behaved. Keep fucking me, baby.” He can see that she works harder at his words, and it sounds so good—she’s so drenched in lube and slick that soft, wet noises echo in their bedroom—but she won’t speak, barely makes a sound, and he hates it and he’s just so fucking done with the day.

Then, like the sweet little miracle she is, Sophie starts moaning, loudly, pure, desperate, eager moaning, like music to his goddamn ears. She’s changed the angle of her hips, and he bets her clit is rubbing against the bedding, maybe her nipples too, and all that sensation has her too blissed out to stay angry—which, with the help of a little blatant domination, is maybe what he was looking for all along. He hums, rubs his hands over her hips, and she breathes a sigh.

“I’m fucking you, daddy. I’m… behaving,” she gasps, slamming her ass hard against him. “Are you gonna come, daddy? Please come, daddy, I promise I’ll listen. I promise I’ll be good.”

God, he missed that mouth.

“I’ll come if you make me, sweet girl. Are you going to make me?”

“Yeah,” she pants, rubbing against the sheets, humping back against him furiously, and he is close, but he likes the frenzy she’s worked herself into. “Yeah, you can come in me, daddy, you can trust me. Promise. I can do it.”

“Oh, I know you can, baby.” Giving in, he plants his hands hard on her hips, squeezing tight, and he comes, feels wrung dry by her frantic, unrelenting thrusts. “Your turn, sweetheart,” he groans, a little sensitive, but no way he pulls out until she’s finished, not now. “Let go, let go for me.” He can see a light sheen of sweat on her back, her neck, and she arches, shudders, and whines, bites the sheets when she comes.

He doesn’t slip out of her until she’s panting, trembling, and even then he just turns her around and kisses her for so long he gets dizzy from it. She clings to his arms, nuzzles against his throat, and he sighs in relief for the first time that day.

They cuddle and kiss for a while after that, probably too long, considering they’d gotten home around ten and still hadn’t eaten dinner or done anything but fight. Still, he can’t find it in him to be anywhere but in her arms after everything that happened. She rubs her nose against his, sweet, presses her lips there.

“I’m sorry. You were right. Whether or not I thought I was doing the right thing—I don’t make the calls on this team. You do. I have to trust that you weigh all the consequences before you give an order, and I didn’t do that today. I really am sorry.” He brushes her hair back behind her ear, kisses her mouth, gazes softly down at her. His heart aches with love.

“You were right, too. When I knew there was a guy out there with a semiautomatic looking for cops, my first thought wasn’t about Morgan or Reid or anyone but you. I was a little biased, and I was harder on you because of my own shortcomings. Not yours. I’m sorry.” He kisses her again, slower, kisses her nose so she’ll smile, so he can tease her a bit. “Not sure I deserved the silent treatment, though...” To her credit, she does look a little sheepish, and she pulls him close for another kiss.

“It was childish, I know. But then once you got me on the bed, it wasn’t a choice anymore. It became real, and I couldn’t figure out how to get back to you. You were so patient,” she praises, brushing fingers over his forehead, his hair out of his face.

“Because I love you,” he replies, resting his head on her chest; she scratches at the nape of his neck, and it feels so good he lets his eyes drift shut. “Don’t jab your finger at me again, though, you brat,” he teases after a moment; she looks down at him, and he opens one eye and laughs.

“I was pissed,” she explains, laughing with him, and she shoves at his shoulder. “And you get grabby, which you know only makes me more angry.” They settle back against the pillows, even though they both know they need to get up, get showered, get food. “You are hot when you’re mad, I’ll give you that.”

“Well you’re fucking impossible.” She rolls her eyes playfully and pushes him off of her, climbs off the bed.

“Yeah, well you love me, so. Deal with it.” He watches her as she heads for the bathroom, all perfect body and lovely hair and goodness, and she throws a look over her shoulder that makes it look like she thinks he’s an idiot. He really missed that look. “You coming?”

“I’m coming—wait, we should order dinner first. Indian?”

“Thai,” her voice echoes from the bathroom, and he sighs.

At least she’s not silent, anymore.

#aaron hotchner x original female character #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfic #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x female reader #hotch x female reader #hotch x reader

[thorne93]

History Repeats (Part 1)

Prompt: Life’s hard, right? Well throw in a not so great job, a broken heart, and chasing a pipe dream in LA. But could someone come along to make all the bad shit disappear? Or is he just another heartbreak waiting around the bend?

Warnings: language, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, angst/heartbreak

Word Count: 1562

Note: Aesthetic made by @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo because she’s absolutely amazing Beta’d by @like-a-bag-of-potatoes and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo . Brainstorming from @carryonmyswansong

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“I wanted a room with two queens and an east facing window!” the woman with short, curled hair informed for the tenth time, her face already beet red as she yelled at you.

“Ma’am, I am sorry. I see we booked you with two queens and you’ll be on our seventh floor, with a south facing window,” you started to explain calmly.

“Does south sound like east to you? Jesus Christ, where do they hire you lazy brats?” she asked. 

Your poker face didn’t waiver though. You didn’t close your eyes, or take a deep breath, or shake your head slightly. You continued to smile and apologize. 

“You’re absolutely right, ma’am. But with the awards in the city and the influx of visitors for the winter--”

“I don’t care if all of Europe is here, I booked this trip over three months ago! My room should be available to me now!” she shouted, causing other patrons in the nearly full lobby to stare at the two of you. 

That was the good and bad thing about being a hotel right outside the city center, just on the outskirts. You didn’t get entirely booked a lot, but on rare occasions you did, it meant something.

You had been asked to step in for your coworker Danielle, when the woman found out she wasn’t on an east facing window. You’d been going back and forth with her for over twenty minutes now, her screaming in your face. This wasn’t super atypical as a hotel manager. Angry patrons of the hotel, confused guests, exhausted tourists, frustrated honeymooners...It was your job to ensure every stay here was a pleasant one, and you did want that. Why wouldn't you? But on some days, people like Mrs. Taucht here really wore on your nerves. Why did people have to be so cruel and mean when all you were doing was trying to provide them with excellent service? 

Smiling your best customer smile, you offered sweetly, “I am terribly sorry. I can refund you some of your money and perhaps you could take the south facing room, and as soon as an east facing room is available I’ll inform you.”

“Some?! Some of my money?” she shrieked, shaking her head. “I want all of my money back and free room service! This is absolutely ridiculous.” She turned to look to another guest waiting to check in. “Do you believe this?” she asked him, and you’d been so preoccupied focusing on her, you hadn’t noticed that the lobby was so getting backed up. You quickly turned to Danielle. 

“Open up check in five, and start taking everyone from this line immediately. Check everyone in as fast as you can,” you quietly spoke to her as Mrs. Taucht ranted to the man in the line behind her. 

Danielle nodded and waved everyone over from your line, telling them that she could help them at the end of the counter, while Todd, Eric, and Trish helped as quickly as they could on their lanes. 

“Actually, I can,” the man with golden hair responded politely. “I’ve been to this city many times and you wouldn’t believe how crowded it can get and how fast,” he informed.

“But I made these reservation months ago,” she reiterated.

“Well, with all respect, ma’am, you do have a room,” the guest retorted. “It’s just not the one you wanted. If I were you, I would ask for a full refund of your room, take that, and go the room they have booked for you. I would prefer any room, to standing here in the lobby, shouting at the manager…But that’s just me.”

Mrs. Taucht stared at the man, then turned back to you slowly. “What he said,” she sighed. “Can you give me the full refund and forget the room?”

“Absolutely, ma’am. It was our mistake, and I do apologize. I will throw in free breakfast every day for your stay, for your patience and understanding. Is that alright?”

She nodded her head side to side. “I would say that’s fair. Thank you.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I will get to work on this refund for you, and it’ll be settled when you leave, okay?” you sweetly said.

“Alright.”

At that, she took her things and left, heading for the elevators to the rooms. You wanted to take a deep breath, but refrained, trying to keep composure for the nice guest that was next. 

“Just a moment, sir, let me enter some notes for her account,” you said politely before clacking in all the notes for you to finish later tonight. “I deeply apologize for that. I know you’ve been waiting and now you’re about to wait more.” You let a small laugh out, hoping to lighten the mood.

“I’m in no rush, besides, you’ve got your hands full,” he said with a sideways grin. He was rather handsome, now that he was closer. Warm, brown eyes, dark blonde hair, a reserved smile...But something about him seemed familiar. He had said he stayed in the city a lot. Maybe he’d checked in once before. But...his face didn’t look like one you’d forget. 

“You noticed that, hmm?” you asked with a bigger laugh. 

“Hard to miss,” he remarked.

“Too true. Thank you, for putting in a good word for me, there, by the way,” you said. This random man had no  reason to stick up for you or make your job or day easier. 

“Oh it was nothing. I was just trying to get her to move so I could get checked in,” he said evenly.

The humor whisked away from you as you nodded, realizing he wasn’t really helping you.

“Right,” you concurred, as you finished up the notes, your eyes shooting down to the computer screen. 

He leaned forward and smiled at you. “I’m joking. I was happy to help.”

Your eyes flitted back up to him as a giant grin spread across your face. This was new for you, unusual. People didn’t really go out of their way to help you. You were a bit of a wallflower all your life. Not an outcast, but not the brightest star. You were the girl that no one picked out of a crowd. You were the girl that was overlooked, rather than looked over. It wasn’t so much your looks, you’d always felt you looked average. But that was the problem: you were average. Average looks, average grades, average car, average education. Nothing about you was stellar.

Maybe that’s why Jason had left. Your boyfriend of two years had decided to dump you five days ago, just after the new year. What a way to kick it off…

“Well thank you, again. What name is your reservation under?” you asked as you queued to the page to look up check ins.

“Hayden...Christensen,” he warmly informed, seeming to hesitate though.

You smiled and nodded. “Ah. Found you. Two queens, sixth floor, room 602. Is that alright?”

“As long as it has a bed and a TV, I could care less,” he said with a shrug and a smile. 

“Simple man?” you lightly inquired as you got out his room keys and began to scan the code to them.

“Relatively,” he replied with another shrug. “You? Simple woman?” he asked. 

“In some ways, yeah, I’d like to think so,” you said, contemplating. 

“And in others?” he inquires.

“Well...none of us are simple, are we?” you questioned, a bit of ominimity in your voice. 

He nodded slightly. “I suppose that’s true.” 

You stared at him a moment longer, not exactly realizing you were staring until it became awkward and you realized you needed to hand him the room keys and information. 

“Ah! Here are your keys, here is a brochure to the spa, restaurants, and room service. Here is the number to the concierge, the manager--me, and the hotel operator,” you said, pointing at everything with a pen.

“Thank you very much,” he said, taking his cards and the pamphlet. 

“Any time, sir. I’m Y/N if you need anything, or if you need a manager, feel free to give me a call at any time,” you said warmly. Typically, you didn’t lay on that extra charm unless a customer was overtly rude or incredibly nice, and in this case he was incredibly nice, very handsome, and you still had this gnawing feeling that you’d seen him somewhere before. Therefore, if he was a returning patron to the hotel, you wanted to make him feel extra special.

“Will do. Thanks,” he said as he grabbed his bags, waved to you, and took off toward the elevators.

Once he was out of sight, you dealt with the new family coming up to check in and your day continued as usual. The rest of the shift, you were racking your brain trying to remember where you’d seen him from. You couldn’t place it at all, and that bothered you because typically you didn’t forget a face. After awhile though, you shrugged it off, figuring it would come to you later.

In your down time, after verifying the room service orders were fulfilled, requests were taken care of, and the kitchen staff was on schedule, you sat down and began playing around with some music, scribbling down some lyrics in your ratty notebook that you carried with you everywhere.

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Forever Tag: 

@essie1876

@magpiegirl80

@letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked

@marvel-imagines-yes-please

@missinstantgratification

@thejemersoninferno

@rda1989

@munlis

@thefridgeismybestie

@bubblyanarocks3

@igiveupicantthinkofausername

@kaliforniacoastalteens

@feelmyroarrrr

@kaeling

@friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo 

@damalseer

@heyitscam99

@yknott81​

@sorryimacrapwriter

@glitterquadricorn

@bittersweetunicorm

@alyssaj23 

@alyssaj23

@princess76179

@thisismysecrethappyplace

@sarahp879

@malfoysqueen14

@ellallheart

@breezy1415

@marvelmayo

@lyniboy

@paintballkid711

@pandacookieowo

History Repeats/Hayden

@haydens-moles

#history repeats #hayden christensen x reader #hayden christensen fic #hayden christensen

[goodfish-bowl]

Dead to the World

So, I’ve seen that prompt floating around a couple times, the one about Danny waking up at his own funeral, and have decided its mine now. 

Can read it here on AO3, or below the cut. 

Also, how the heck should I tag this on AO3, I’m still a bit unfamiliar with what tags I’m supposed to use, especially for this, suggestions?

Extras:

Snippet 1: Alone

                     Danny remembered exactly what happened after he tripped inside of the portal. He remembered that moment of whirring electricity before he had felt it. A hum in the air before everything fell apart. When it came, it came in full. It had torn and ripped him apart with such ferocity and animosity you’d think he’d done something to offend it. Well, Danny supposed he had been the one to turn it on. It raced and burned through him, a wicked arch starting in his hand and then spreading to the rest of him, like a limb falling asleep, but also getting set on fire. It tore apart his ability to feel in seconds, or at least it felt like seconds.

           Danny’s vision blurred out, unfocused, on anything but white, green, red, and black. He could no longer see. His lungs ceased to function, and his throat felt raw and torn apart, had he been screaming? Danny felt like someone had set him on fire, or one of the ecto-weapons had shot him, except it was his entire body, raw and sensitive. But it also felt like he’d been dumped into a frozen river. His senses were shot, and he could barely feel the pain, that awful boring and numbness and cold, but he could no longer feel himself either. Where were his arms and legs? Was he still standing? He couldn’t feel the ground beneath him at all. There was awful strain in his chest, as something tried to continue working before it gave out.

           Then it stopped. He was no longer in pain whatsoever, like he had never been hurt in the first place. His mind cleared up and he could focus on something other than the pain, just for that moment. Hadn’t Tucker and Sam been outside the portal when it turned on? Well, this probably wasn’t the most pleasant thing for them to experience. Wow, Mom and Dad weren’t going to be happy he was messing around in the lab, they’d probably be furious, and Jazz would be a mess, lecturing him after his parents were done fussing over him. He wasn’t looking forward to that at all. He was just hurt, right? He’d come out just fine, and then he’d get the lecture and fussing-over of his life.  

           The lights and pain were gone now, but Danny still couldn’t feel anything. Maybe he was just in shock? He tried to get up, to let out a weak laugh, and imagine the pain he had experienced away, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t feel his limbs. He wasn’t breathing. Danny so desperately tried to take a breath, to at least get the air into the lungs he could no longer feel. Then he felt something. He felt cold and hollow, and the blackness closed around not just around his sight, but his mind as well. He fought against it as hard as he could, because he knew what was coming. He didn’t want to die. Well, he supposed very few people did. Danny fought and struggled against the darkness with everything he had in him, or whatever was left, but it wasn’t enough. The darkness came, and it devoured him whole.

           Daniel Fenton had died, days after his 14th birthday, due to electrocution in his parent’s basement.  

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

         Sam knew she was never going to forget the moment the portal had turned on. She wasn’t going to forget how the darkness and the strange, too-bright, green lighting had reflected off of the white and black hazmat suit Danny had put on before steeping inside. She wasn’t going to forget the expression on Danny’s face as he tripped over some loose wiring on the floor of the portal. He had been surprised, his eyes had widened just a fraction and he had let out a small, a rather unmanly yelp before his hand connected to the wall to steady himself. She wasn’t going to forget how that expression shifted as the portal powered on, humming with electricity like an old appliance before it unleashed all of its fury at once. She wasn’t going to forget how she had called out his name in warning second too late, as the bright green white of the portal had roared to life, blinding her, and only overcome by one noise. Sam wasn’t ever going to forget how Danny shrieked in agony as it reduced him to a smoking corpse, sizzling and twitching in the blackened metal of the portal, within a fraction of a second. The sound was going to echo through her mind and nightmares no matter what she would tell herself. Sam was never going to forget that she was the one who had killed her best friend.

         She and Tucker had sat there for minutes, too shocked to move, just waiting. They were waiting for Danny to take an unsteady breath, then laugh, maybe limp his way out. They were waiting for anything. Any indicator that the glue in their friendship was alright. Any indicator that Danny was alive. But he didn’t move, and the twitching stopped seconds after the portal had shut itself off, and the power had gone out, probably causing an outage on the whole block. With a groan, a back-up generator had kicked on, bathing the lab in subtle, blue-green light, turning all the metal in the lab to ice, just like the blood in her veins.  

       The power going out had been enough to draw attention to the lab from all the Fentons, the remaining ones at least. Sam refused to believe Danny was dead. He couldn’t be. Yeah, he was just knocked out, unconscious. Why wasn’t she going over there to make sure he was ok? Probably because she knew that if she did, she would know for sure that she had killed her best friend.

       Jazz was the first one to enter the lab quickly followed by Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. Jazz quickly took in the situation, demanding to her parents to stop whatever they had done to make the power go out, only to find Sam and Tucker frozen in the middle of the lab and Danny d-… passed out in the portal. Jack Fenton was quick to go by his daughter’s side to where Danny lay. Maddie Fenton, on the other hand, quietly asked what had happened.

      Something inside Sam broke then. What had happened? It had been so fast; she couldn’t really wrap her head around it. She tried to tell Mrs. Fenton, she really did, but she choked up. She couldn’t say a thing. Sam, who had always been so vocal and outspoken was rendered mute, Danny’s scream echoing between her ears.

      Jazz let out a pained cry from the portal, and Danny was gently gathered into his father’s arms. Mr. Fenton looked pale and horrified; Jazz was on the verge of hysterics. Neither expression suited their respective wearer.  

        Some words were exchanged, but Sam didn’t hear them, only focused on Danny’s limp form in Mr. Fenton’s arms, he looked like he was asleep, if only it weren’t for his ashen skin, and electrical burns covering most of his body revealed where the hazmat suit had been torn off, exposing the blackened skin underneath. Sam could smell his burnt skin and the scent of burnt up electronics from the portal. She did her best to avoid hurling or even associating the two together. It had been all her fault.

         At some point, the authorities had been called, and her parents had come to pick her up. She didn’t refuse the hug from her parents as she was loaded into some unbelievably expensive car and toted off back home, a place she always tried to stay away from except as a place to sleep and eat. She didn’t push them away as they embraced her in the living room, whispering sweet nothings to her, as she finally broke and cried out in anguish at what she had done.

       Danny had died and it was all her fault.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Tucker was faring just about as well as Sam was, to be honest, except he never broke down. It probably wasn’t healthy, to keep everything locked up, but all he could see behind the lenses of his glasses was Danny, charred and burnt in his Dad’s arms. He remembered the sound of the portal coming to life as it took Danny’s. He had been fascinated at the time, with all of the technology that the Fentons created, he had wanted to see the impossible machine for himself and had completely disregarded the danger Danny was in as soon as he agreed to Sam’s stupid, stupid dare to go inside the damn thing.

           Tucker had electrocuted and burned himself on electronics countless times while messing with his oh-so-precious technology, so he knew how it felt, but just couldn’t imagine what Danny had gone through in his last moments. Electrocution was not a way he wanted to go. But now his best friend, one of the only ones that he actually knew, a friend that wasn’t behind a computer screen, but a physical, tangible person, one he had known for most of his life, was dead.

           Tucker looked over at the lonesome PDA sitting on his computer littered desk amongst the trash and miscellaneous tech-parts he had been messing with or intending to mess with after school. He let out a lonesome sigh, unwilling to leave his place in bed to retrieve it, in fact, the thought filled him with disdain. He envied the Fentons’ for their skill in technology, now he wasn’t so sure. The very tech he loved and worshipped so dearly had taken his one tangible friend from him. He wasn’t even sure he could call the people he had met through the internet friends, since he knew practically nothing about them outside of whatever he had connected with them over in the first place.

           There was still Sam, he supposed, but he currently wanted nothing to do with her. She probably needed to be alone right now anyway. If she hadn’t dared Danny to go inside, he would still be alive. But yet again, Tucker hadn’t tried to dissuade her or stop Danny from going in in the first place.  Yes, he blamed Sam for Danny’s death, but he wasn’t innocent either. He never would’ve gone near it if he hadn’t been so fascinated with the tech required to pierce through entire realities in the first place. He was to blame for Danny’s death too.

            Tucker looked at the PDA and assortment of computer parts on his table with a scornful looked, the whirring of the portal powering up overcoming any sense of self-doubt he had in what he was about to do. He mustered up the will and half-dragged himself to his desk, glancing over every detail of his beloved collection and part of his contribution to the future as a “techno geek”. He pulled the trashcan out from under his desk and with a sweep of his arm, cleared the entire desk inside. Something broke in the bin, but he refused to even acknowledge it. For the first time in ages, he saw the clean surface of his desk. His heart panged at what he had done, but it didn’t last for long. Tech could always be replaced, people couldn’t. Tucker unlocked his door, set the full trashcan right outside for his mom to find, then closed and relocked the door. He trudged back into bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. After a moment, he took off his beanie and glasses, setting them on his nightstand.

           Tucker had no idea where he was supposed to go from here. Should he cry, break down, trash his room? Instead, he just felt hollow, and he refused to seek comfort in the online discourse and disconnect from everything around him like he always did. He refused to do anything, even think. He just sat there, empty and hollow, blank and empty like a wiped hard drive. Tucker didn’t know how he was supposed to mourn his best friend, he didn’t know if he could. He didn’t know if he would ever find anything, he could use to fix himself. Computers could be fixed and modified to work how someone wanted them to, but not people.

           Electronics were replaceable, but people weren’t, and that fact left Tucker hollow.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                         Daniel James Fenton’s funeral was planned three days after his death. His body had been whisked off to the morgue while his family desperately tried to figure out what had happened. Madeline Fenton had tried to get either of the kids to tell her, but both had been practically catatonic with shock, they had witnessed it, after all. Maddie was near hysterics herself, but she couldn’t yet. She had to make sure her boy got a proper burial first, then she could break down. She had three days.  

           Jack had wanted to have Danny cremated, but Maddie had vehemently refused. It was a tradition in his family line, not hers. She wanted to have a grave she could visit and mourn over. The funeral was a simple one, just friends and family, no matter how hard the news reporters pushed to come.

          That had been another thing Maddie had to deal with, the news. It wasn’t every day a boy as young as Danny died in such a tragic way, and journalists did love tragedies. They had been getting so much unwanted criticism lately. A more opinionate journalist claimed it was their fault Danny had died in the lab because they had failed to put proper safety measures in place to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Another journalist questioned their decision to have a lab in general, claiming that the “science” they did was bogus, and if they really needed a lab, they should’ve rented a warehouse or office, away from the home and their children.

          Maddie refused to admit to herself that they were right and moving the lab had been a frequent argument between her and Jack. It was a decision between safety and leaving the kids home alone. A warehouse would’ve also given them much more space to work with rather than the cramped basement. But that decision had been made for them, Maddie and Jack no longer had any disagreements about what was going to happen concerning the lab.

          It had been a long and solemn conversation between her and Jack, but they decided the lab had to go, completely. Their science had not only taken their son from them but had also taken away most of the time they should’ve used raising their children. Maddie regretted it deeply that she hadn’t spent as much time with Danny as she should’ve, more fixated on her work rather than her children. Jack and Maddie had decided together that they were dismantling the lab and the portal along with it. They were giving up their search for ghosts, then searching for new jobs to supplement the income they earned from their numerous patents.  They were no longer going to be ghost hunters, just the Fentons.

          The funeral was closed casket, held in one of the smaller halls Amity had available to rent. Collapsible chairs were lined up in neat rows, parted in the middle, enough to seat 50, but only half were actually being used. Maddie had invited both Sam and Tuckers families, and then the little family she and Jack had left. Alicia, Maddie’s sister, had booked a flight as soon as the news reached her. Jack’s family was unsurprisingly unreachable as always. But what had been surprising was when an old college friend of theirs, Vlad Masters, had reached out to them and offered to come. Vlad had come up with a fortune since their college days and had snatched away most of the bills for the funeral, even helping her plan.

          When people began to arrive, everyone was dressed in black, apart from one person. Sam Manson was in blue. She wore a long, deep navy dress, the bottom decorated with silver rhinestones, making the bottom half resemble the night sky Danny had loved enough to reach for. Tucker was dressed in black, beanie missing. He wasn’t wearing or carrying a singular piece of technology that day, no matter how much he used to cling to it. Their families seemed to fade into the background, taking seats a row back with Alicia, while the Fentons, Sam, Tucker, and Vlad Masters sat in the first row.

          The casket Maddie had managed to find for Danny was a simple one, but that was enough. It was made of a simple oak, strong enough to withstand the tests of time, meaning it wouldn’t collapse when buried underground. The inside was a soft, silky, black cloth, padded as much as any cot or thin mattress could be. Maddie didn’t have the wits at the moment to be incredibly picky, but she still wanted to get something of quality. Inside, Danny had been changed out of the burned hazmat suit into something else. Maddie had given the morticians in his favorite outfit, his NASA hoodie and a torn up pair of jeans. Jazz had been the one to joke about how Danny would be buried in that hoodie, and now he was. A colorful array of flowers in a variety of cool colors was piled up on top of the casket and around it, courtesy of Vlad, who had ordered the massive arrangement only a day prior, and had it rushed at a massive fee.

          Another five minutes after everyone settled down, it was time to begin. Maddie pulled herself out of her chair and steeled herself. She could do this. It had been three days, and she only had to get through this, then she could grieve herself. Maddie walked up to the mic stand and began the funeral.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          After the black was gone, there was green. Danny didn’t know where he was, he wasn’t sure if he was really any place at all. It was green, and that green flowed through him like he wasn’t even there. But he could feel it, it was the only thing he could feel outside of his own thoughts, which were convoluted and confused, too many questions, so he preferred not to think. It poured over him like water, swirled inside of him for a moment, then left on its merry way. He couldn’t speak, and he didn’t have arms or legs, he was just a speck of dust in the wind, a small green blob amongst the rest of the green, given eyes to see and nothing else.

           Danny, (if he was Danny, he couldn’t remember), floated through the green, wandering through it, a small sense of wonder and curiosity being his only motivation.  The green swirled in the distance, forming endless spirals and twists in a continuous pattern Danny would never have been able to replicate on paper. There were occasional masses of black, islands that seemed to disobey all laws of physics as they sat suspended in space. Sometimes there were building on them, and sometimes there were people too. They were odd beings, with strangely colored skin and weird clothes, some looked human while others didn’t. They usually ignored him or couldn’t see him as he wandered about the endless expanse of green before him.

          One place looked like a medieval kingdom, peasants going about their daily business, living(?) lives that seemed absolutely miserable. The low lived in filth, toiling away while barely reaping any reward for their labor, suffering, and existing for no other purpose than to be taken advantage of. There were knights and nobles here too, but they only took from the peasants before returning to the great castle that took up most of this floating island. The castle was lavish, covered in draconic symbols and displays of power. Danny didn’t dare go near the throne, only peaked through to see a cruel king on a cruel throne. He wandered through the castle a bit more, finding small nooks and crannies to explore, not tiring as he went. Up in the tallest tower, there was a woman, or at least she looked like a woman, peering down on the miserable little village just outside the wall of the great and terrible castle. She looked just as miserable as the peasants, if not more. She looked a bit like the cruel king, but she was kind, and also locked away. She was sad. He floated around her for a bit, and she looked at him, not through him. He revealed in the fact that someone(?) could see him, and she gave a small smile at his joy, poking him with a finger.

          “Thank you, little one, but I think you have a better place to be than here,” she said. Danny didn’t know, but he decided she was probably right. He had somewhere he was supposed to be going, so he left the kingdom with its miserable peasants, cruel king, and sad princess behind.

          Another island(?) was covered with forestry, and a river running through it. Some strange animal-like creatures wandered through there, some regarding him passively before leaving. But they were afraid, and it seemed like they had every right to be. Moments after, a large, metal man came bursting through the tree, equipped with all sorts of blasters and rockets, pursuing the animals with a lustful, gleeful fury. Danny decided to hide, slipping easily into small crannies and under bushes, away from the eyes of the hunter. He didn’t dare go near the large skull-like structure at the peak of the island, it gave him a bad feeling. He left that island without discovering much more than that it was a scary, bad place to be, and that it wasn’t where he was supposed to be going.

          The final place he went through was a library, large enough that it became its own labyrinth, full of so many books their titles blurred together in his mind. There were so many books, some looked fresh off the press while others looked like they had been saved seconds from turning to ashes, or barely kept from turning to dust, tomes snatched away seconds before their destruction. (Jazz would’ve loved this place). He didn’t care to try and read one of the many books that were splayed open across the numerous library tables. He couldn’t seem to grasp the words for more than a few seconds before they slipped carelessly from his mind. There was only one person(?) in the entire library, mumbling incoherently as he typed away on a strange keyboard, the words themselves incomprehensible, or in some other language Danny didn’t understand. They didn’t acknowledge him, but they knew he was there, since the writer gave him half a glance, then huffed and returned to his writing. The library seemed to be so lonely, full of knowledge yet no one to read it, only the writer who continued to make books without anyone there to take in the story. Danny left this place too, because he felt like this wasn’t the place he was supposed to be going.  

          There, Danny decided, that’s where he was supposed to be going. Large, black gears floated haphazardly around the green, surrounding what seemed to be a clock tower. A large pendulum, like a grandfather clock, swung lethargically in the center of it, internal gears visible through the glass. A large set of wooden doors were open just wide enough for him to slip through, so he did. The inside matched the outside perfectly, exposed gears working walls and barriers in-between spaces, with a set of stairs ascending to somewhere above. Clocks covered every available wall space, clocks ticking seemingly at random, some fast some slow, others broken and not moving at all. There were screens too, shows places Danny didn’t recognize and scenes he couldn’t make sense of.  

          “It seems you’ve found the place you’re supposed to be, Danny,” the being said.

           They were blue with solid red eyes, a large scar going across the right one. A purple cloak covered his(?) shoulders and he lacked feet, a trailing tail taking their place. His chest was the inside of a grandfather clock, the pendulum swinging away as if it wasn’t part of a person. The being carried a staff of sorts, the top pronging out into a crescent with something that looked like a stopwatch suspended in the middle. Danny didn’t know how he knew his name, (if his name was, in fact, ‘Danny’), but that meant he was in the right place. He wasn’t scared of this being either, he knew he would’ve hurt him. He was supposed to be here after all.

           “Now let's get you home,” he hummed, taking Danny from the air and cupping him in his hands.

          Danny was brought over to a green circle, it swirled more definitely than the green outside. It went someplace. Danny looked up at the being, who smiled down at him reassuringly. He was given a small toss and thrown through the green disk, vanishing within it.

          “All is as it should be.”

          And then the green was replaced with black once more.    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          Danny’s bloodless body rested beneath the cool, dark wood, engulfed in dark the dark, silky cloth that made up the interior of the casket, hidden away from the world. He had become a pale, hollow vessel, void of life in any form. And then he wasn’t.

           A small green entity emerged from a portal no bigger than a fist, directly into Danny’s chest cavity, then froze solid, right next to what had once been his heart. It shifted from a small green blob to a crystalline structure, emitting a soft light that would’ve been visibly through the skin, then it seeped out green.

           The green slowly filed out what had once been veins, turning what had been red into green, fixing things as it spread. Burns and scars faded away, melting to the skin until they were barely visible lines, only seen when inspected closely. It flooded muscles that had since ceased up and massaged them back into working condition. A finger twitched. The green went upwards, preserving the mind and all the memories it once and will hold. It fixed and reconnected nerves that had been severed and damaged, restoring feeling to every part of the body. And then, once everything else was as it was supposed to be, the green seized his heart, flooding it with a burst of energy. Danny’s heart burst to life once more, as if it hadn’t stopped beating in three days.  

             Danny’s eyes burst wide open, still alight with green energy as he gasped in musty, still air. He gasped and panted, reclaiming feeling over his own body, confused and disoriented. He glanced around in a panic, who turned out the lights!? After catching his breath, nose wrinkling at the odd smell of his surroundings, Danny reached out an arm, only to hit something solid inches from his nose. He tried a different direction, only to be met with the same result. He was boxed in.

           Danny couldn’t remember how he got here, the last thing he remembered was… He thought for a moment. The last thing he remembered was stepping into the portal, then pain, and then green. The first event was perfectly clear in his mind. Sam had dared him to go check it out, and he had, only to trip, and then the portal had turned on. He… he had gotten hurt really bad… right? And the memory of green must’ve come from the inside of the portal… His mind throbbed in exhaustion and pain, unable to make sense of his situation or the hazy memories between then and now. Why was he lying down in a box?

           Danny pushed upwards, but the top wouldn’t budge. There was barely enough room inside for him to fit, he couldn’t properly attempt to lift it. Was Jazz sitting on top of it or something? Was this a prank for passing out in the portal? Didn’t Sam and Tucker know he could suffocate in here?!

           Danny began to pound on the surface and cry out for help. His voice was course and his throat dry, causing him to cough as soon as he tried to cry out. Why was he so thirsty? Did he sleep with his mouth open or something? Despite the pain, he continued to cry out, pounding weakly on the lid for help. He couldn’t hear anything outside of the box, not even a snicker, and hopelessly wondered if they could hear him.

           Suddenly the lid of the box lifted, or at least half of it was, and Danny was blinded by the light that assaulted his eyes. Strong, unfamiliar hands lifted him into a sitting position while his eyes slowly readjusted, wincing as his stiff legs and body were forced to move, it felt like he had cramps everywhere. The green flickered away from his eyes as the lights from the ceiling slowly filtered in and Danny saw a small crowd of people, most he recognized, one he didn’t, the man who pulled him out of the dark box. Danny’s mind could barely make sense of what he was seeing. The looks he was getting from his friends and family, horrified, confused, shock, awe didn’t make sense in his tired and exhausted state. He didn’t like what his mind concluded, somehow making much less sense than any prank he could’ve imaged.

           Daniel Fenton had woken up at his own funeral.  

#Danny Phantom #danny fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #maddie fenton #clockwork #goodfish writes #help me i don't know what i'm doing #might've put a bit much angst in there but it be like that #fanfic

[pixie88]

Christmas Shopping

Chapter 3 - Addicted to you.  

A/N: It felt so weird writing/editing this chapter in the middle of summer, but that’s how their timeline worked out! I can’t remember the last time I released a H&L chapter or wrote one to be fair, I think after this I have 2 more in drafts. Better get back to it! I hope you like it 😘  

Tagging those who asked to be tagged but if you want to be added let me know!

Read previous chapters HERE!

Warnings: Fluff & NSFW

Songs: Kelly Rowland - Commander, Rihanna - Only girl, Magic - Rude & Wyclef Jean - Perfect gentleman.

Word Count: 2673

Pairings: Laila x Harry

Enjoy! 😘  

A couple days later.

"So what are you going to get Harry for Christmas?" Nikki asks her as they had taken a break from shopping to have some lunch. "I have no idea what to get him!" she sighs. "I'm sure he'll be happy with you in some sexy lingerie," Nikki winks at her Laila lets out a loud laugh making people turn to look at her. "Or you can get him a Santa costume?" she laughs.

"What are you getting Stu?" Laila changes the subject. "He wants a new aftershave, I can't remember what he normally wears. What does Harry wear?" Laila has a think "Erm...a few different ones really Paco Rabanne One Million, Davidoff cool water, Boss Bottle that one what's his face is in the advert....the guy that plays Thor. Is one he smelt recently and liked but he didn't get it because they sold out and only had the sample bottle."

"You can get him that! I might have a sniff to see if it's something Stu would wear too!"

After lunch, they are walking through the shopping centre, Nikki ended up getting Stu some aftershave. Laila was still unsure what to get Harry, so Nikki drags her into Ann Summers. "What about these??" Nikki holds up some fluffy handcuff, Laila snorts. "We already have some, but without the fluff!" Nikki puts down the cuffs "What about cock ring? Closest Harry will get to sticking a ring on it!"

"We have that too," Laila blushes. "Crotch less knickers?" Laila nods signalling she has those. "Weighted love ball?" she asks and Laila again nods. "Feather tickler?" nod, "Blind fold? Riding crop?" Laila again nods, "Jeez, it would be easier to ask what you haven't got!" the pair laugh, "What? It has been eight years remember!" Laila winks at her.

"What about anal beads or ball gag?" Laila pulls a disgusted face "Finally! What about nipple clamps?" Laila laughs, "Only if they're being used on him!" she laughs. "God! Just think 6 months ago you were a born again virgin...now look at you! Getting more action than all of us put together!" Nikki giggles "Just over 7 months actually!" Laila corrects her.

Laila's phone Pings.

"Nikki! Look what Harry has done to Mabel!" she hands her the phone. "Awwww! Laila how adorable do she look!" the pair coo over the photo. "Has she met her new dog walker yet?" Nikki asks as she hands back the phone "She's met her, she's actually taking her out today." she smiles.

They ended up leaving the shop with some Christmas theme lingerie.

Later.

Laila arrives home all the lights are out "Harry?" Laila calls out. "I'm in the living room!" he calls back, she hangs up her coat and makes her way across the hall. When she opens the living room door the room is lit with tea and fairy lights, there are blankets and cushions on the floor in front of the coffee table. On the coffee table there is a chocolate fondue with fruit and marshmallows next to it "Aww Bear! What's all this?" she wanders over to him on the floor. "Where's Mabel?" she looks round the room as she sits next to him.

"She's gone to bed, Nessa took her for a 2 mile walk today!" he cups her face pulling her in for a soft kiss. "Aww, are they getting on OK?" he smiles, "Yeah, I've booked her in for Monday to Friday this week coming about lunchtime, so you'll met her this week."

"Right, enough about this dog walker. Are you going to let me feed you?" she winks, he leans forward grabbing a strawberry and hands it to her. She dips it into the chocolate and guilds it towards his lips, he's just about to take a bite when she redirects it to her mouth and takes a bite. He laughs and reaches over and pulls her lips to his. His tongue swirls with hers tasting the chocolate covered strawberry, he pulls away "That was amazing!" he grins at her.

She grabs another strawberry covers it in chocolate and traces it against his pulse line. Her tongue follows the same path, he groans and his breathing hitches as she pulls away she places the strawberry against his lips, he takes a bite. His lips brush over her finger tips making her every nerve ending stand on end. He knows the affect he has on her "How was that?" 

"Tasty!" he grins and winks at her "Your turn." he picks up a marshmallow covers it in chocolate holds it out for her to bite into it. "Hmmm..!" she smiles at him "Did you get all your shopping done?"

"I need to order a couple of bits online, but after that..I'm done."

"Christmas day, what are we doing?" he asks.

She sighs, "I don't know how we are going to split between them all!" she leans against him and his arm comes around her. "I have an idea....as it's our first Christmas together, what if we did Christmas day just me, you and Mabel? In bed in our PJ's? I'll cook us Christmas dinner. Then Boxing day we do a buffet for both families?" she sits up to look at him "So, a lazy Christmas day? In bed?"

"Yeah...PJ's, snuggles in bed and a Harry Taylor roast. What more could a girl ask for?!" he winks waiting for her answer. "I love it!" his face lights up "Really?!" he questions her. "Yeah, Christmas day in bed with my hunky boyfriend, but I have one alteration....no pajamas!" He raises a brow to her, "Noted!" he jokes. "Instead Christmas jumpers!!!" this wasn't the answer he was expecting.

She giggles "Your face! But I want matching Christmas pajamas!" He chuckles "OK, but no photos my brothers will rip into me!" she sighs "Oh! Come on, one photo? Just to make me happy?" she pouts. "Fine, if it makes you happy." she claps getting her own way, "I think you owe it to Mabel after today!"

He chuckles "She looked cute!" "She did! Oh are you working Saturday?" she asks. "I don't think so?" he questions. "Every Christmas we do a friends Christmas party, kinda like a blow out before the family stuff. Nikki has planned it for Friday night and she has found somewhere that is having a 90's to 2020's night"

"Sounds good, who's going?" he asks. "Remy, Alec, Nikki, Stu, Alene, Daniel and now us!" she smiles. "I'm guessing we get completely smashed then?" she laughs.

Friday evening.

They arrive at the club Nikki found, Laila and Harry are the last to arrive.

Laila notices Stu and Nikki at the bar, she sneaks up behind her Stu spy's her, but Laila puts her index finger to her lips signalling him not to say anything. As she reaches Nikki, she wraps her arms around waist, making Nikki whip round with a face like thunder until she realises it was her friend "Laila, I was just about to...whatever. Glad you guys are here." she shouts over the music.

"Sorry, Mabel's walker got back late. Where are the others?" Laila calls back, Nikki points over to a table where the rest of the group are sat. Harry leans in, "Shall we get a drink first?" Laila nods "What you guys having?" Stu asks. "I know Laila's drink, Harry what ya having?" Nikki asks.

After they make their way over to the others "Hey!!" Laila call out as she takes a seat next to Alec, who hugs her and Harry. They are sat for a few minutes when Kelly Rowland - Commander begins to play Nikki jumps up, grabbing Laila's hand dragging her to the dance floor.

Nikki starts to sing along.

"From here on out

I'll be your commander (I'll be your commander)

No fear no doubt

I'll provide the answer

Right now I command you to dance"

She points to Laila, who starts to sing along with her. The pair are dancing on the edge of the dance floor in view of the table, laughing, their bodies swaying to the music the pair attract a couple of strangers, who slowly move closer to them waiting to make their move to become their unwanted dance partners.

Completely oblivious to the unwanted strangers, the song switches to Rihanna - Only Girl they continue to dance. Suddenly both girls feel someone behind them as they turn they saw Stu and Harry, Laila looks up at him confused "I thought you don't dance?" she laughs. He wraps his hands round her, swaying her as he leans in, "I don't, but those blokes behind me were inches away from trying to dance with you two."

She looks behind him "Oh, you didn't want me dancing with a stranger?" she laughs, he shook his head and they continued dancing away.

The next song was Magic - Rude as it starts up Laila starts singing it to Harry when she gets to the chorus he joins in.....

"Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life?

Say yes, say yes, 'cause I need to know

You say I'll never get your blessing till the day I die

'Tough luck, my friend, but the answer is no!'

Why you gotta be so Rude?

Don't you know I'm human too?

Why you gotta be so Rude?

I'm gonna marry her anyway

Marry that girl, marry her anyway

Marry that girl, yeah, no matter what you say

Marry that girl, and we'll be a family

Why you gotta be so Rude?"

Both grinning and smiling, he cups her face pulling her in for a kiss.

A little later back at the table "Laila, Boxing day....is it OK to bring Melissa?" Alene asks, Laila looks over to Rem. "Is Rem OK with that?" she looks to Alene who nods "If it's OK with Rem it's OK with me." when she looks up Rem mouths "Thank you." to her.

Daniel comes over from the bar with a tray of drinks "Sex on the beach anyone?" he passes them around the group. "Damn Daniel at least buy a girl a drink first!" Alene teases him "Sorry Len, but you aren't my type!" he winks at her, the group laugh.

A little later Perfect Gentleman - Wyclef Jean starts playing a tipsy Harry pulls Laila away from the bar and onto the dance floor. He spins her before pulling her close to him swaying them together. "Hey, you are a liar!! You can dance!" Laila giggles as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"My moo....ves only get bet...ter after I've add....a few." his words are slurred, his hips move with hers. He spins her round again, her body collides with his "I think you need to get drunk at every party or night out if it improves your dance moves!" he smirks before claiming her lips. As they sway with their lips locked, Laila can feel him begin to stiffen against her hips "Hmmm....someone seems to be enjoy themselves a little to much!" She winks.

He looks round checking no one is near, his lips brush against her ear "Can we head home? I got some other kinda moves I want to show you!" she giggles and bites her lip, "Let's go!" they say their goodbyes and head for the tube.

10 Minutes later.

Their underground train arrives empty, he sits and pulls her onto his lap. He captures her lips, the kiss becomes heated, Harry pulls off his coat and places it on her lap. His hand creeps under his coat snaking into her jeans "Bear, not here!" she whispers, he smirks against her lips continuing his trail. He lets out a soft growl. He reaches her hidden jewel, her head rolls back as his lip pepper down her neck.

She bites back a moan as he works between her slick slits.

Through the speaker they hear the next station is their stop, they both groan with disappointment. "Come on, we can continue this at home!" she gets up as the train pulls into their station.

2 Weeks later.

It's the day before Christmas Eve, Laila has just finished her last day until the new year, she wanders into the kitchen, "Oh, Harry! You're home early!" she was sure he mentioned he was training Stu tonight.

He's leaning against the kitchen counter with a whiskey in his hand, he looks over to her "I canceled Stu's PT session....Laila, there's something I need to tell you..."

He looks as if what he's about to tell her is tearing him up inside, her minds goes into overdrive....Was history repeating itself?

"Bear?" she looks at him concerned, he takes a deep breath "When I came back today to take Mabel for a walk at lunch....I bumped into Nessa." she laughs, "What is she annoyed we didn't get her to take Mabel out today?" he silently chuckles, but it quickly fades. "She was walking another client's dog, she asked if she could join Mabel as I was taking her over to the fields. We were just sat on a bench talking...she asked me about work and us. Then this afternoon she turned up at my work for a PT session, I didn't even know she booked. I was giving her a tour of the gym and she tried to kiss me..."

Laila's cheeks burn, but soon drain cold "What?!" was all she could conjure up from her lips. "Laila, I promise you as soon as she leaned in I stepped back. I was just as confused as you are, I asked her to leave after that." she can see he's just as shocked as she is "Laila? Please say something!" he softly pleads with her.

She sighs, making her way over to him cupping his face "Looks like we need to find a new dog walker." she laughs, he rolls his eyes at her. "Hey, It's not the first and probably won't be the last time a client tries to make a move on you....I remember a client making some more steamier moves on you about 7 months ago," she grins at him. He laughs, "Those were wanted moves!" he reminds her. "More than wanted...just look at what happened that night...but I'm glad you told me about Nessa." she pushes up on her tiptoes to kiss his nose.

"I've never given another woman a tour of the changing rooms since." he laughs before continuing "That is how and why we work because we are honest with one another!" he kisses her nose. "OK, can I be really honest..Bear?" he nods, "You stink!! Did you not shower before coming home?" Laila baits him. "Oh, I do? Do I?" he raises a brow to her.

With that he throws her over his shoulder "Harry?! Put me down!" she screams between her laughter. "Sorry, my love that's a no!"  his hand strikes her arse cheek as he begins to climb the stairs with her over his shoulder. "Harry!!"

Later.

Cuddled up on the sofa watching a film "Bear?" he hums in response. "Can I be the one to sack Nessa?" she giggle, he starts searching her hair, "Harry, what are you doing?" she asks. "Looking for your devil horns," he chuckles, "But if it makes you happy...Yes, you can sack her.... to be fair, it means I don't have to deal with her," he starts to stroke her hair back down "Now how to do it? Mwahahaha!!" she fakes an evil laugh, "You really are the devil!" he smiles at her "Oh, you've seen nothing yet, Bear!" she winks.

@aussieez​ @secretaryunpaid​ @lem-20​ @irisofpurple​ @khoicesbyk​ @txemrn​ @wombatsxkookaburras​ @beautifuluknownvoid​

He pulls her onto his lap, so she's straddling him, he cups her face "Why don't you show me?" his lips crash to hers.

Chapter 4

#aty #Addicted to You #harry x laila #ATB #Original Work #original writing #original character #pixie88 original #original story #@pixie88

[darrowsrising]

Red Rising and New Adult Standards:

At the time that Red Rising was released, every publisher marketed books as YA, especially if they were dystopias.

Of course, it was what the market demanded, but it also caused some mess. You can still see it everytime you go to a bookshop where sci-fi and fantasy are basically on the same shelf in random orders under the all-encompassing Young Adult tag.

We must also take into consideration the fact that New Adult was probably in its infancy at that time. Even now it's not really a genre tjat bookshops and publishers consider.

There is nothing wrong with the YA genre, just like every other genre there is, it can be extremely well done or not, depending on the book. What I am trying to say is that Red Rising, the first book in the series, is not YA. At most, it's a blend of New Adult with Young Adult elements. So I believe that it should be juged by New Adult standards as well.

I have read books marketed as YA, when they were NA all day - The Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. The fact that NA is more and more acknowledged as a genre, is a good thing, especially from this perspective. I read that book when I was a teen and I loved it. It obviously had its flaws, glaring ones that even at that time gave me red flags, but I still very much enjoyed it. The reason was because I had no idea what YA even meant at that time. It had Young Adult on the spine, so I thought that this is what it means - violence, fantasy, fast-paced, mystery, adventure. By reading this book and then some popular YA books, I realized that there is a glaring difference between them. Not only that, but the popular books were scrutinized much harsher by the fandom. I told myself that if this was this bad for you, Prince of Thorns is basically a horror story.

As I joined book communities of various ages and genres, I discovered the NA crowd and realized that they usually critique a book based on the usual things: plot, prose, characters, diversity etc. The YA crowd has a much longer list of things.

I just wish people will stop shitting on Red Rising from an YA lense. That book is not perfect, alright? It's nice, even good for a debut. It's not the greatest thing since toast, but not horrible at all, it has very gripping elements. But, if people were to read something like The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, which is better than Red Rising on a lot on fronts, they would understand that most of the criticism they bring to Red Rising...have no standing, as they can be explained by text.

The Fifth Season has a dystopic world with an intricate world-building that is linked not to some opressive government, but opressive elements of nature. They don't have slavery, but the social system is basically just that and it gets by as imposed by circumstances - but even those are extremely wrong and the very nature that forces the social system needs fixing. An aspect that RR has as well is that there are characters that have normalized their awful behaviour, their biases and prejudices, because they are socially acceptable - and they also have to learn the hard way how wrong they are.

And there is so, so much more to it. It's hard for me to put into words just how amazing that book is - it's part of a trilogy that won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for every book, the only trilogy to ever manage that, the only author to ever win that award three times consecutively. Let's just say the entire trilogy deserves those awards!

Thing is, if one can understand that book, at least as far as world-building goes, as it reflects upon the charcters themselves - I just feel like so many illogical, unfair and untrue debates about the RR series would just stop existing. Neither book is trying to justify the bad things or promote bad things as good, for fuck's sake.

I watched Daniel Greene's review of Morning Star on youtube and as a person who didn't like the first book that much, he absolutely adored the Red Rising Trilogy (he will continue the series) and nominated it for 1st spot in his top 10 sci-fi/fantasy books of all time.

Red Rising is not the greatest book, but I am sick of seeing it trashed for made-up reasons. You can obviously dislike it, but dislike it for something...legitimate. Daniel Greene actually makes interesting arguments about why he disliked it. As I said, this book is not the greatest, by far, but it's not half as bad as people make it out to be, honestly. More than half of the arguments against is either misunderstanding of the world-building (and no, I don't mean lore) on the reader's part or some complaint for not being sufficiently YA - not cheking all the boxes on the never-ending YA standards list.

Howl on!

#red rising trilogy #iron gold trilogy #pierce brown

[waywardfamilywrites]

Second Scent

Title: Second Scent

Author: Themis // Beta & Header by Epione // Divider by @firefly-graphics​

Word Count: 1604

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: Alpha!Fem!Reader x Castiel

Rating: Explicit

Tags/Warnings: 18+, smut, p in v, unprotected sex, ABO dynamics, unpresented angel

Summary: You’re an alpha. You meet someone who has no secondary presentation. When you start to fall for him, will the complications be too much or will you figure it out? A/N: This is my first piece for WFW and my first ABO dynamics. I hope it lives up to your expectations, anon!

It was hard being an alpha female. Omega women were scared of me and alpha men weren’t trusting. Even betas steered clear for the most part. Except one.

Castiel. He was a special case, though. Cas was an angel on earth -- literally. Wings, halo, powers. An actual angel. You guessed it wasn’t fair to consider him a beta since he didn’t really ‘present’ like the rest of humankind. His vessel was a male primary sex, but no secondary traits. He didn’t smell alpha, omega, or beta. He just smelled like Cas. That’s what caught your attention for the first time.

You were walking home from work one evening when this dark haired, blue eyed man started walking next to you.

“Don’t freak out,” he told me, “But there are some men following you. I can sense they have ill intentions.” He continued walking beside you and you turned your head to look at him. 

“I smelled them a couple of blocks back,” you replied, sniffing deeply. “They’re also not exactly quiet. I do appreciate the gesture, but I’m an alpha. It wouldn’t be a fair fight with the two betas back there.”

“Oh.” The man looked sheepish as he walked next to you with his hands in his trench coat pocket. 

“What, exactly, are you?” you asked. “I can’t smell a secondary sex on you.”

“I’m an angel of the Lord.” He responded so quickly and so confidently that for a moment you thought he was joking. However, when you looked at him, his face was deadly serious and his blue eyes were shining with electricity.

“An angel. A real, honest-to-Jack angel?” As confident as he was, you weren’t exactly a believer.

“How do you know the Lord’s name is Jack?” he questioned, cocking his head to the side and looking at you intently.

“Um, I didn’t. I was talking about the liquor.” He looked even more confused when you told him that so you attempted to clarify. “Jack Daniels?”

“Does Jack Daniels make you honest?”

“Yes. Yes it does,” you confirmed with a chuckle. The pair of you walked along in silence for a few blocks before you spoke again. “What’s an angel of the Lord doing here anyway?”

“I’m attempting to take care of a threat to humankind. I got distracted when I suspected you could be in danger.” His confident words were at odds with his nervous fidgeting as you walked.

“Wait, I distracted an angel of the Lord?” You stopped and put your hand on his arm, causing him to stop and turn towards you. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be hyper-focused?”

The angel chuckled. “That’s not true. We don’t feel the things that humans do but we do still get distracted by beautiful people.”

“Smooth. So is there something else I can call you? Angel sounds a little...intimate for someone I’ve just met.” 

“Castiel. My name is Castiel,” the angel told you with a close-lipped smile. 

Cas kept showing up when you were walking alone. Sometimes he would pass it off as a coincidence but other times he would admit that he was waiting for you. Instead of being creepy, you found it endearing, somehow. After a few weeks of this, you asked him to dinner.

“Angels don’t eat, Y/N. Dinner would be impractical,” he told you.

“Okay, maybe I can rephrase that. Would you like to go on a date with me sometime?” You hoped that being plain in your meaning would entice him to confirm, or deny, that he felt some kind of connection to you.

The confused tilt of his head led you to understand that he still had no idea what you meant. You chuckled at his squinted eyes and furrowed brow and tried to explain further.

“Castiel, I feel like there’s a connection between the two of us. I’d like to spend some time together exploring that connection,” you told him.

“Oh. I suppose there is something. I enjoy spending time with you but I want you to know that there are no sexual urges. I haven’t felt the need for sex since I returned to this plane of existence,” he replied. 

“Noted. Shall we continue our walk then?” You were hopeful that his confirmation that there was something was….something. 

You and Cas dated for several weeks but he still hadn’t given you a straight yes or no on feelings. You, however, were falling for him. Hard. One night, you decided you couldn’t take it anymore.

“Cas?” you called, getting the attention of the blue-eyed angel. 

“Yes, Y/N?” he responded, stepping closer until he was right in front of you. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you lifted your head and pressed your lips to his. He was surprised, but you felt his lips move against yours, his hand wrapping around your neck while his other arm snaked around your waist. 

You slipped your arms around his neck, your fingers playing with the hair on the back of his neck. When you couldn’t wait for breath any longer, you pulled back, slowly fluttering your eyes open to see Cas gazing at you with a soft smile.

“I couldn’t wait any longer. I think I’m in love with you, Castiel,” you whispered, hoping that he wouldn’t be scared off. The idea that he could reciprocate your feelings, however, was just a dull speck of hope. You’d settle for anything, as long as he’d stick around.

“Y/N, I…” he started, trailing off, trying to find the right words.

You loosened your arms from his neck and tried to step back. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-” 

You were cut off by Cas pressing his lips back to yours, effectively stopping you from talking. He pulled back after a moment, his gaze still soft, the smile still on his face. “I was going to say that you’ve reawakened urges and feelings that I’ve long since accepted as dead. I believe there is a high probability that I’m falling in love with you. But I have concerns about your alpha presentation.”

“Cas, I don’t want pups. Ever. I couldn’t be happier that you haven’t presented as an omega, or even a beta. It wouldn’t matter anyway because even if I did want those things, I’d want them with you.” You smiled at your angel boyfriend as you pulled him down into another kiss. This time, you ran your tongue across his lips and he parted them, allowing you to slip inside his mouth.

You moaned into his mouth and pushed him backwards towards your couch. He sat back with a huff and you straddled his lap. You wrapped your fingers into his hair and tipped his head backwards. Your lips met with his in a heated, passionate kiss, your tongues exploring each others’ mouths, his hands trailing down your sides lightly to rest on your waist.

You ground your hips against his, making him groan into your mouth. Detaching your lips from his, you kissed your way down his neck, your hands making their way to the buttons of his shirt and loosening them. As soon as the buttons were free, you slid his shirt from his shoulders. He looked up at you with hooded eyes, pupils blown with lust, lips parted. His hands slipped under your shirt and lifted it over your head. 

Your hands trailed down Cas’s chest to his belt, making quick work of the buckle and unbuttoning his pants as his hands fumbled to remove your bra. You yanked his pants and boxers down his thighs and quickly removed your own as well before settling back on his lap, your knees on each side of his thighs.

“Cas, are you sure about this?” you asked him. “I don’t want to push you to do something you don’t really want.”

“No, Y/N. You’re in my life for a reason. If that reason is to reignite feelings in this vessel that I didn’t think I could feel anymore, then I’m happy with that.” Cas licked his lips and pulled you down towards him. “I want you. All of you.” He pressed his lips to yours and wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you closer.

You rose up on your knees and lined his cock up with your dripping entrance and sank down, slowly filling yourself with his dick. Cas’s eyes fluttered shut and his mouth hung open at the sensation of your wet heat surrounding his cock. You stilled once you had taken his entire length. 

Placing your hands on his shoulders, you slowly lifted along his shaft until just the tip remained inside. You slid back down, rolling your hips to grind your clit against his pelvis. You set a steady pace, alternating bouncing and grinding, the tip of his cock hitting your g-spot just right with every thrust. 

Your climax built quickly and you could feel your knot swelling. “Cas,” you panted, “Want you to come with me.” 

“‘M close,” he gasped.

“Take my knot, Cas.” You felt him respond to your words, his seed filling you up as your release triggered your knot. You cried out, throwing your head back in ecstasy, and stilled. You rested your head on Cas’s shoulder and panted as you both came down from your highs.

Cas wrapped his arms around you and held you close. You could feel his pulse under your cheek, your hearts pounding with the same rhythm. 

You spoke first, sitting back onto his lap and looking into his eyes, your foreheads pressed against each other. “I love you, Castiel.”

“I love you, too, Y/N.” 

#written by themis #beta by epione #anon request #send them in