How about more wildfire au? Maybe something tense?
Gil watched with a scowl. Two trucks, five men in total. He wasn't sure what they were doing here, but no one ever found his cabin 'by accident', it had to be said.
And Thena was in there.
They had gotten to a point where he could radio in and ask how she was doing without her telling him to shove it up his ass. He considered that a win! Every once in a while he would radio while she was in the shower or having a nap, and the worry that would consume was probably best kept to himself.
The five men walked calmly, looking around them and at what surrounded the cabin in its little clearing. They didn't seem to be here for any trouble, but Gil didn't want to rule anything out. They went up the stairs and knocked on the door.
Gil tensed, gripping his hatchet in his hand.
As soon as the door budged the men flooded into the cabin, their larger bodies obscuring Thena's tiny frame completely.
Gil ran from where he was hiding and up the driveway, almost slipping a few times in his hurry. "Thena!"
There were loud shouts coming from inside the cabin, the door left wide open.
"Thena!" Gil repeated as he slid over, hatchet raised, ready to defend his temporary and cranky roommate. "Get away from-"
"White Wolf! White Wolf! White Wolf!"
Thena laughed as they hoisted her above their heads, cheering her name. She patted their heads, pushing at their faces while she was seated on their shoulders. "Okay, boys, that's enough!"
"Well goddamn, Thee, we had to go through a hell of a lot of trouble to find this place!" More than one of them jostled her in a friendly matter as they set her on her feet again. They pushed and shoved, squeezed her shoulders and ruffled her hair. And each gesture would be reciprocated in the form of a punch on the arm. "When you hide away you hide the fuck away!"
"Hey Thee," the tallest one bent over to get closer to her face, "where's my welcome kiss?"
"Who the fuck are you?!"
Six heads turned as Gil tossed his hatchet aside loudly and pulled his own damn front door closed. The men traded looks, already looking agitated, "we could ask you that, buddy."
"Boys!"
Gil had to admit, he was impressed when one word from Thena had the men's backs straighter than a lightning rod. He watched as Thena parted the sea of meatheads and moved closer to him, as if to shield him from her little wolf pack.
"Leave him be," she said more quietly, but she obviously didn't need to shout to get her point across.
"But Thee-" Gil didn't like their nickname for her.
"Gil's been good to me, that's all you need to know," she said with some finality to it. She stared down each of them, "and it's his property you're barging into here."
The men - her boys, as it were - all looked at him. Gil didn't even blink, not willing to let any weakness show to the pack of wild animals with him. He shrugged a little, "it is my cabin."
The men nodded between themselves. Obviously their concern was with Thena, and Gil probably couldn't blame them for being wary of some guy who had suddenly offered her a home out in the middle of bum-fuck-nowhere while she was injured.
"So, you're the boyfriend?"
Thena positively smoked the big guy in his smallest ribs, hard enough for him to double over. "He's not some boyfriend."
"Okay," he wheezed, trying to catch his breath after the bony little rocket of a punch.
Gil wasn't sure if he should be grateful for her defense or offended by the vehemence of it. "Yeah, I'm just...a patrol fighter."
The most softly spoken one gestured among them, "we're Thee's old search and rescue team. Some of us have even been with her since the Montana fires a couple years back."
Gil nodded. They were more than just a work team. Out in the wilderness, even the most unwilling had no choice but to trust their crew. But these guys...they truly and deeply were bonded.
"Boys," Thena took a more stern tone and nodded her head between them. She looked back at Gil, and he really thought she looked at him a little differently from how she looked at them. But what did he know. "Gil. Gil--boys."
"Uh, hey," Gil greeted, although he didn't feel the need to move away from Thena to shake anyone's hand.
"Hey man," the tallest - the inappropriate one - nodded his head at him, as did the rest. "Sorry to, uh, bust in like this."
"We didn't expect to get word from Thee until she was on the move again. She said she was holed up in some cabin and..." the soft spoken one shrugged, "this is the only one for miles."
He supposed they had a point. Thena had basically gone completely off the grid, but obviously the bond with her team hadn't suffered from whatever made her leave in the first place. They were here for her, not for any trouble. He swallowed the lump in his throat which had crawled its way out of his twisted stomach, "no hard feelings."
Thena, however, crossed her arms at them, "still not a single fucking manner between the lot of you."
The quieter one shrugged, sliding away from his rowdier comrades. He was leaving them to the slaughter.
"Aw c'mon, Thee, we said we're sorry," the big guy practically whined at her. "How 'bout I...make it up to you?"
Thena herself gave him a pat on the cheek (maybe more like a gentle slap). "You keep asking that but I'd sooner fuck a wild bear than let you cop a feel."
Gil blushed.
"Why's the boyfriend allowed to!"
The gentle slap turned into a harder one. "Not the boyfriend!"
"Then why're you wearing his sweater?"
Gil blinked, but they were right, she was wearing his sweater. It was just a thick knit sweater he liked to wear around the house, but she had it on over her long sleeves and yoga pants.
She looked cute in it.
"Okay boys," she declared, skipping over the sweater comment entirely. "Patrol's in ten, party's over, say goodnight."
"Fine," the big guy grumbled but gave Thena an undeniably gentle pat on the shoulder, "glad you're okay, Wolf."
Gil stood back as the team gave Thena their well wishes and then filed out in an orderly fashion. He gave them all the same uncomfortable half-smile he would give a stranger at the gas station.
"Take care of yourself, Thee," the quiet one said, although between looking at her and looking at Gil, it felt a little like he was saying it more to him than her. "See y'around."
Gil nodded to him; at least the quiet one hadn't made any sex jokes.
Thena inhaled once the door closed behind them. She watched them pile into the two trucks again and slowly make their way back to the main road. "Sorry."
Gil blinked, surprised not only at the apology but at the quiet tone of it. She toyed with the sleeves of his sweater, obviously and hilariously long on her.
"I didn't exactly invite them in, but I guess they were a little worked up when I radioed the station to check in with them."
Gil shrugged easily, as if he hadn't been ready to fight every single one of them if they hadn't been on Thena's good side. "That's okay, they're happy to see you. I was a little surprised when I saw them pull up, but no harm done."
Thena still looked a little annoyed by it all. "I was always telling them not to traipse in places uninvited. They barged into my room enough times before I had to start beating it into them. Roughhousing is the only language most of them speak."
Gil rolled his eyes but chose to skip over the barging into her room comment. It technically wasn't his business--since he wasn't a boyfriend or anything. "Well, they could have wiped their feet, but that's okay. They're all search and rescue, right?"
Thena nodded as Gil moved inside properly, kicking off his boots and slipping on the birkenstocks he wore around the house as slippers. "Some of them were jumpers with me back in the day, too."
Gil chuckled, "then I can't be too mad at them if they're like your family, right?"
Thena smiled at him gently, maybe still energized from the reunion as she hovered close to him, "I guess they are. You can still be mad at them, though."
"Deal," Gil laughed as he sat down in his chair with a groan. It had been a long day, and the adrenaline draining out of him was pulling him deeper into the seat.
"Are you okay?"
He would be lying if he said he wasn't charmed by her softly asked question. So, they were becoming closer. He smiled, "I'm okay."
He had been completely terrified that something might happen to Thena in his absence. Not that she was helpless by any means, but it was hard not to feel protective of the woman who slept in his bed, shared his food, whom he heard trembling after her nightmares in the dark. Muttering about what made her quit search and rescue in the first place.
Thena shifted in her chair, angling herself away and changing her smile to a more playful one. "It was sweet of you to come charging in, all knight in shining armour."
Gil blushed, but also employed rolling his eyes as a means to avoid the feeling behind it, "okay, ha-ha, funny. I was worried, I'll have you know."
"I know." She was up and out of the chair before he could look at her. She moved behind him, and he almost felt as if she had put her hand on his shoulder, but maybe he had imagined it. "I'll put some coffee on."
Gil turned himself to try and look at her, "kinda late for coffee, ain't it? What about tea?"
"I'm not making your fucking leaf water, it's coffee or nothing."
Gil chuckled. That was more like the White Wolf he was used to. "Hey, Thee?"
"Don't call me that."
"Thena?" he tried again, and she did poke her head out of the kitchenette to look at him. He grinned, "that sweater looks good on you."
"I changed my mind, make the coffee yourself."
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“Good morning, sleepy head.” for Ray/Rose!
Work had been chaotic, between three shoots that had all been rebooked on the same day, an editing emergency that had kept him up two nights in a row, and a potential client who could not make up their mind between A Professional and Cousin Kyle Who Will Do It For Free and wanted to 'compromise' by Ray doing thousands of dollars worth of work for a hundred bucks and would not take no for an answer.
So he was incredibly glad it was Sunday, and he got to sleep in. Rose had spoiled him a little last night, letting him take a long bath, even bringing him a glass of wine. She hadn't even made fun of him that he was in bed at nine, barely able to keep his eyes open long enough to kiss her goodnight before she went back downstairs.
He slept like a log. He hadn't woken up when Rose had come to bed, but he had in the early morning light of dawn, wrapped around her, nose buried in her curls. He'd sighed happily, reveling in the warmth, in how lucky he was that she was still there after all they'd been through. And then he'd dozed right back off to sleep.
The next time he woke, the clock read ten fifteen, which felt obscenely late even for a Sunday. He stretched out, reveling in how well-rested he felt, before getting up and using the bathroom, getting in a quick shave, and putting on some comfortable jeans and a Henley.
He was just about to head downstairs when Rose intercepted him at the top of the stairs, her arm catching his waist as she pressed a kiss to his lips. "Good morning, sleepy head," she said, teasing and warm and bright.
"Good morning," he said, all thoughts of coffee temporarily forgotten as she peppered kisses along his jaw. Well, there was a reason he'd shaved. He inhaled happily, wrapping his arms around his wife. "Thanks for letting me sleep in."
Then, he inhaled again. Deeply.
"Why do I smell pancakes?" he asked. "Who broke something?"
"Nothing broke!" Rose said, but she said it so quickly that it just confirmed his suspicions that these were Bribery Pancakes. Or at the very least Buttering Up pancakes.
"Rose..."
"So you know how we always talked about how we wanted a big family?" Rose started, which was not where Ray thought this was going. He thought they were softening him up for another crazy DIY project he was going to regret halfway through.
"I do," he said. Though they'd also had a long conversation when Carlos was one, about how two small children were kind of enough for both of them, but maybe they could foster or adopt when the kids were older.
There was commotion downstairs, and some very familiar voices hushing each other, and suddenly, everything clicked. "Which one?" he asked.
"Which one what?" Rose asked, trying to go for innocence and landing solidly in 'shifty' instead.
"Which one of Julie's friends did you adopt while I was sleeping?"
It wasn't like they hadn't talked about it before. How they wanted to be a safe place for Julie's band members to go to if things got bad at home. They'd both been worried about Reggie and the way he flinched at loud noises. Ray had sat him down once and told him he was always welcome to stay with them if he didn't feel safe at home.
Luke constantly fought with his mother about music, and had run away to the Molina's garage to spend the night and cool down more than once. And Alex... well, after he came out, they made sure to let him know that there were adults in his life that loved him for who he was, and would keep loving him no matter what.
Rose didn't say anything, just entwined their fingers together and pulled him down the stairs. The amount of bags in the hall were a bit concerning. Then, when they turned and came into the kitchen, he became even more concerned.
Reggie's black eye was the first thing that stood out. But Alex looked like he'd been crying for hours, his eyes red and puffy, his face blotchy. Luke sprang away from where he and Julie had been wrapped around each other. Which was usually funny, but now was a little heartbreaking, considering how upset he looked. He was even wearing sleeves, the big cozy flannel he wore when things got really bad.
"Hi Ray," Reggie whispered awkwardly, giving a little wave.
He strode into the kitchen, pulling all three boys into a hug. Reggie went willingly, plastering himself against Ray's side. Luke quickly followed, and Alex tensed up before sinking into the hug with a sniffle.
"Pancakes first," he said, after a long while, looking over their heads at his wife. "And then I want to know how you managed to pull all this off."
Rose shrugged. "I had help," she said, and oh, that was either a very good thing (Victoria) or a very illegal thing (the Petal Pushers), and maybe Ray didn't want to know after all. Oh well, he had spousal immunity, he wouldn't have to testify against his wife.
"And then," he said, looking down at the boys as he let go. Alex fidgeted, and Luke drifted back to Julie, but Reggie stayed close, so he kept an arm wrapped around his shoulder. "I think we need to go to Ikea and gets some bunk beds, or something."
Alex let out a great big sigh of relief. Luke sagged against Julie, while she grinned and hugged him. Carlos gave a little cheer, high-fiving Reggie.
And Rose? Rose just smiled at him, like she'd known all along that he didn't really need pancakes to butter him up. Because Rose knew him, knew how much he loved these boys. And knew that even if he did have misgivings, he'd follow her no matter what anyway.
Together, they'd get through anything.
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10 and 15 for Maria and Fenris 🥺👉👈
Thank you for asking!! c:
Also: A MUSIC QUESTION?! the doors are already locked, my friend.
(Ship Ask Game)
10. Do they share any hobbies or interests? How do these things bring them together?
Reading, actually!
Maria was a ravenous book fiend growing up (she'd do half her chores with her nose in a book) and she didn't have time or books to read when she first moved to Kirkwall, so teaching Fenris how to read reignited that love for her. I like to think that he takes to reading very strongly, because I think 1) he'd read everything he could get his hands on out of spite for the years he couldn't, and 2) Fenris likes to think about why and how things work. Reading gives him the freedom to explore that for himself.
After everything that happened in Act 2, one of the things that brings them back together is a shared love of books. It's a relatively neutral thing to discuss that doesn't stray too close to anything private, and gradually it's how they start being comfortable with talking candidly again. When they get together, they frequently snuggle up in bed or on the couch while each reads their own thing, occasionally reading passages aloud to share with each other. They also have friendly debates about what does/n't work in certain prose or plot, which is delightful for Maria because she will die on any hill and she likes making up afterward (since, really, none of it is very serious).
15. What songs remind you of their relationship?
Thank you for asking me about music <3 I totally don't have any strong opinions about it haha.
Playlist below but I will add my favorite lyrics for my top five:
"I want to make some space underneath my skin/ Cut me open I can let you in/ Should I let myself be torn in two?/ And will you give into that side of you?" ---Touch by July Talk (the growliness of the singer's voice in this one is especially *chef's kiss*)
"The difference between wanting something and waiting for nothing/The moment you can't stop your feet from running" ---Astronaut by San Fermin
"I've never held my breath for quite this long/And I don't take it back, I did what I had to do/ It's not too late/ Either way, I lose you in these silent days/ It wasn't right/ But it was right on time" ---Right on Time by Brandi Carlile
"You're clawing at the corner of my heart, I/ Can't afford to lose you any longer/Holding you like hot tea/ You, me, only/ Holding on and on" ---Hot Tea by half alive
"I've seen the bright sides my whole lovely life...Talk me up and talk me down/ Talk too long, I'll stick around/ Talk me into following you somewhere far/ Like I'm sure that you're the northern star" ---Northern Star by Dom Fera
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