lovxrslane

[lovxrslane]

HEARTSTOPPER (2022 - ) I 3.06 - Body

[lovxrslane]

lane couldn't help but to smile back at ember's infectious elation. she was right; this was a happy reunion. as confusing and heavy as lane's feelings towards the wexley's had been since coming to new york, ember at least had managed to worm her way into lane's tiny icy heart somewhere along the way. lane felt protective of ember in a way that had been entirely foreign to them. the lines between employee and employer had been muddy since the beginning of their relationship ( at least partially thanks to ember's lack of boundaries ). lane had recognized that what existed between them was more intimate than a simple friendship but had been left clueless as to what that meant.

it was only in the past several days that lane had been able to put a word to how she truly felt about ember: sister.

"you're going a mile a minute love," lane recognized the signs of ember being worked up and she knew if they were standing ember would be pacing back and forth right now. "the world outside isn't going anywhere. why don't you fill me in on what i've missed here? seems like you've been up to some shenanigans tonight." any excuse to put off talking about the inevitable.

Ember, blood warm with alcohol and the argument with Ivy, had told Val that she'd be right back, and given into her impulse to see her oldest friend quarantine or not. Leaning a little on the wall of the elevator as she fixed up her hair in the mirrored walls, Ember couldn't help but be excited. Lane was more like her sibling than Maggie or Toby had ever been, and she'd realized that more than ever when all three hadn't come back and Ember had missed Lane most of all. Maybe even over her own mother.

It felt like forever before she'd finally found herself in front of the door, knocking incessantly and calling out her "Psst Lane"s up against it. The moment that she saw their face Ember had nearly thrown her arms around them, but stopped herself short at the reminder, unable to hold back her pout at not getting to hug them.

Lowering down so she was sitting against the hallway wall across from them, Ember's face was split entirely in two, eyes welling up with happy tears. "I can't believe you're here! Do you know how many times I've talked to you just... into the air. I knew you were out there somewhere, being all badass and stuff. You have come back from the dead for us, it's like a miracle, okay? Oh hush you, we don't throw away anything around here, and besides, now you can like have your own suite. I know Daddy will give you any one that you want, and it's my job now... to help you decorate it."

[lovxrslane]

@emberwexley

lane had known who was standing outside of the quarantine suite from the rhythmic knocking alone. the metallic jingling of bracelets only further confirmed the identity of who was waiting for them on the other side of the heavy door.

they wrung their hands together nervously as they contemplated opening the door or simply ignoring it—but when ember’s voice spoke their name lane’s heart tugged them towards a decision. she opened the door slowly and looked at the familiar face with a tired smile. “no hugs, miss wexley.” lane reminded her knowing that she was already breaking protocol by opening the door.

“i think we can get away with a few minutes of chatting though.” she didn’t want to send ember away. lane had been surprised at the comfort seeing her had brought. “maybe just step back a few feet your side and i’ll do the same, yeah?”

lane kept the door open and did as she suggested, stepping back until she felt the wall of the suites entryway against their back. lane slid to the floor and sat criss cross applesauce.

“kind of feels like coming back from the dead.” lane admitted, about being back after so long. after a minute their face contorted to mock upset and they cocked their head, “you better not have tossed my stuff or i’ll be right annoyed.”

[lovxrslane]

👥Zach

Lane got them a cake when their snapchat streak reached 420 days. It was supposed to be shaped like a pot leaf but the bakery messed up and made a palm tree. She was going to try again when they reached 666 and go for a pitchfork.

Has made several memes about Zach's games that grew in insane popularity on twitter. Not all of them were positive.. but they were funny and Lane figured Zach would appreciate their objectiveness with his work.

Runs an anonymous Instagram where people submit their NSFW head canons about characters from Zach's games. Lane always tags him because he's been one of the few developers from his studio that's pretty active on social media and willing to interact with fans (his mistake).

Lane always kept an ear open when the Wexleys were meeting with blokes from the tech industry. Sometimes she collected interesting bits of info--stuff about new platforms, new programs, studios about to go bankrupt--and pass it along to Zach.

Before meeting Doom Lane had avoided dogs for a majority of her life. She'd had a bad experience as a child and had needed stiches to keep her ear attached. Lane had been very hesitant around Doom but he slowly won her over and it was thanks to their relationship she was comfortable enough around Lady to bring her home to the Wexley for a reunion with Hannah and June.

@rioreeve

[lovxrslane]

♮ Zach

Send ♮ and I will place my music player on shuffle to make a playlist to represent each of the following listed below. @rioreeve

a song that represents our muses in general. typical story - hobo johnson

a song that represents what lane thinks of zach. evening wear - mindless self indulgence

a song that represents what zach thinks of lane. empty - olivia o'brien

their theme song if they ever fell in love/became friends. heatwaves - glass animals

their theme song if they are enemies or were to become enemies. son lux - easy

what my muse would sing or play at your muses funeral. without you - oh wonder

[lovxrslane]

“He’s not your father.” Constance says definitively as Lane’s body shakes from adrenaline. They’re kneeling at her bedside, face contorted in confusion and hurt and anger but Constance holds up a manicured finger. “But your mother wasn’t lying.”

Lane had no idea what to make of this information, scared of where her search for the truth may have taken them. “Tell me.” Lane pleads, trying not to rip the bedsheet she’s gripping onto.

Constance Wexley had always kept her composure. Some people had resting bitch face but she had a resting poker face. Maybe it was a product of being in the public eye, her every reaction scrutinized and picked over for the slightest hint of weakness. In the several years Lane had worked for the family she could count the times she’d seen that poker face break on one hand, this very moment included. Something close to softness crept across Constance’s face and the foreign expression was almost unsettling on her. “It was one of Tobias’ brothers. Edgar Wexley.”

The name rang hollow in Lane’s ears. A man she’d never even heard of was responsible for two generations of trauma.

“Your mother wasn’t the only woman either.. The Wexley’s privately disowned him and cut him off. He moved to Spain, probably a decade after his encounter with your mother.”

Encounter. “When he raped her, you mean?” Lane spit out.

“…Yes.”

Lane released their grip on the bedsheets and leaned back, resting their weight on the balls of their feet as they sat dumb struck at Constance’s bedside. “Where is he?”

“Dead. A heart attack six years ago.”

That was it then. Whatever they’d hoped to gain by coming to New York—closure, revenge—this was as close as they’d get.

And it felt… unfulfilling.

Lane began to untangle their long legs to stand but was stopped by a tight grip on their forearm. They began to pull away but Constance’s hand only tightened further.

“I had my suspicions when you first came to us. I thought about looking into your background or telling Tobias. I thought you came here to extort us, blackmail us.” The softness had long since left her expression and Constance was sharp despite her physical state. “But you just… did your job. And you were good at it.”

Yes. Lane had been good at it. Shaping the chaos of the Wexley’s lives into some semblance of order had provided a distraction to the disarray of her own. She stopped fighting Constance’s grip and in return the fingers around her released.

“I decided to wait and see what you did. Eventually it became clear that money wasn’t what you were after. I figured you’d ask for the truth when you were ready to hear it.” The color was gone from Constance’s face and now she looked sickly pale. She was dying and had accepted that the moment Lane elected to cut her leg off to prevent infection. She didn’t agree with Lanes choice to amputate and had made that abundantly clear in the few moments between being bitten by Dalton and Lane swinging the ax. But she didn’t hold it against the younger survivor. Peace would be all she held onto as she died.

“And you let me… play house with you? Like an idiot? Like a fucking joke?” Lane had to hold on to her anger because if it was gone she wasn’t sure what more would be left of her. It was also she’d known for so long. “For months I was terrified that your husband raped my mom. I thought about slitting his throat in his sleep.” Lane confessed, seething.

“I’m sure you did. I’m sure you thought about killing all of us.” Constance could very well imagine what someone who’d been hurt as deeply as Lane was capable of. She coughed, blood appearing to color her dry lips.

“But would you have believed me if I tried to tell you before now?”

-

[lovxrslane]

©

[lovxrslane]

december 25th.

lane watched the sleeping form of the older woman, eyes lingering for any signs of distress with each rise and fall of her chest. the dorm room was bordering on claustrophobic and having the drapes drawn only made it feel that much smaller. had she signed their death warrants coming here? it'd been a bad idea, there was no denying that, but had there been any other choice?

she'd had it handled.

when the armed survivors showed at the warehouse and the group scattered like mice to find cover, lane ending up alone and without a weapon and bleeding from a wound they didn't have time to stop and examine. she could handle that--it hadn't been a problem.

but then she'd found dalton (and constance, but that was of less interest) if lane was the wexley's left hand, dalton was the right, and together they were devoted to the smooth sailing of both the building and the family responsible for it. she couldn't do it without him--it simply wasn't possible. the idea of going back to the wexley without dalton was incomprehensible. there was no wexley without him.

so against better judgment, lane had came to his aid.

and as in all situations where you act selflessly, in lane's experience, the gesture tremendously backfired. dalton was dead, constance was bitten, and lane was shot. they say it comes in threes.

-

the university was a death trap. she saw no way out of it, even as lane carried constance over her shoulder and rushed through the halls to find somewhere to hide. lane had taken out one of the survivors and the rest were out for blood--hiding among the infected had seemed like the best option.

but that had been nearly 36 hours ago and now they were locked in a small room with constance wexley dying of sepsis because lane had to cut off her fucking leg and they could hear the undead shuffling the halls of the dormitory looking for them and their stomach was hurting with hunger and the prospect of dying here with constance wexley was some terrible cosmic irony.

what had she done so wrong? so she got a job with the wexley's under false pretenses. and maybe sometimes she was cold and moody to them. but she always did her job--she always went above and beyond.

fists balled tightly, lane barely resisted the urge to scream in frustration until the voice of her companion caught her attention.

"tamberlane shelley, if you don't ask soon you'll never get the chance again. i think it's time to decide if you really want your answers or not."

[lovxrslane]

Lane nodded in thoughtful agreement about Rhet's likeability. She could be timid as a church mouse but even that had a charm about it. It was hard to hate Margaret, to see her as anything other than a scared little girl who was never going to be given the chance to grow up. The more time Lane had spent around the family, the more she understood that the various ailments and sickness' Rhet suffered were the least of her problems. Her attachment with Toby on the other hand.. that was would end up killing her. Not at all once. Maybe not even intentionally.

He was suffocating her. Did her parents even notice?

"Distrust is a natural product of our situation." Tobias had handled things as best as he knew how to up until this point. Could any of them have done better? Unlikely. "Just do what you've always done, be transparent." He'd done a good job keeping the building upwind of their situation. Instead of hiding bad news he'd chosen to be upfront about their situation. That had earned him respect from the residents, no doubt. They smiled awkwardly in response to the compliment before moving on with their thoughts. "Make sure they know if they have ideas you're willing to hear them." Lane suggested, before adding with a more sincere smile, "--Even if they're right stupid ideas."

"You're definitely right about that." Had breakfast rations ended and people had headed upstairs, not only would Mr. Bane have died, but countless others as well. "I never thought about it like that. Us vs Them." How he hadn't seen it before, maybe so used to it being how it was it had slipped his notice, he wasn't entirely sure but inwardly he couldn't help but scold himself for the oversight. "Toby comes off cold on a good day, so... I'm not surprised, but if he lets people actually talk to her, I know they'd all fall in love with Margaret." With her sweet nature, he knew for a fact she'd endear herself to them without any problem.

Swallowing back the large mouthful in his glass, there was little hesitation in refilling it, only this time he held the cool glass to his temple, rather than scarfing it's contents back immediately.

"I worry that it's me they'll start to distrust. So much going wrong, one after the other. The outbreak, the power outage, Ms. Song, and now this. It's like a landslide I don't know how to stop before it grows bigger and bigger until it's unstoppable, plowing over everything in it's path. I just want to keep our people safe... at the very least."

Sighing from deep in his chest as he finally set down the glass and pushed it away, returning his attention to his long time employee. "I can't express to you, Lane, how much I appreciate you. Continuing to work so hard after everything you went through out there."

[lovxrslane]

Lane blinked at Tobias Sr's words. Was that doubt she sensed? Interesting. "Of course it's going to be fine." She reassured, leaning against the sturdy wooden desk with an air of nonchalance. "Charlie finding Skyler helped raise the alarm bell before it was too late. It could've been a lot worse." Lane may have her moments of eccentricity but she tended to straighten up around Mr. Wexley. Didn't want him to notice any cracks in her armor and not just because he was her employer; but that nasty little question that was always dancing in the back of her head. Was he her father?

"I think having the family downstairs with everyone else will help things....Push back against the 'us vs them' notion." It would be good for the residents to see the Wexley's out of their ivory tower and slumming with the masses. Lane took the glass and swirled the liquid around until watching it began to make them dizzy. "Ember's going to be okay, but Toby and Rhet are still outsiders. No one trusts them." Lane spoke bluntly as they usually did to their boss.

Who; @lovxrslane

Where: The W's Office

When: Dec 16, 10:30am

"It's all going to be fine. Just fine." Somehow even the weight of just the glass of whiskey in his hand felt substantial, pressure that bared down on his shoulders enough that it was physically visible in his posture, making it feel like gravity had tripled. "The kids... they'll survive. Ember already wants to turn it into a giant slumber party and Toby'll have his hands full with Margaret I just... My wife isn't thrilled, of course, but... It's starting to feel like we just can't win."

Reaching over to fill another glass, he slid it across the bar manager's desk to his long time housekeeper, a nod of his chin bidding Lane to partake as well. "You know, just when things were starting to look up, with the tests... now this. It's a wonder there hasn't been a mutiny yet."

[lovxrslane]

📸 Mr W

[lovxrslane]

"Maybe I can speak with Rosie and Charlie to see what can be done about her diet." Like litter, cat food was pretty much out of the question. Right now there was enough food to ensure that the furry residents of the Wexley had table scraps to get them through, but maybe if Lane worked with the girls in the diner they could come up with a more efficient plan. Lane liked efficient. "She's gotten lucky that most people refuse to eat the canned chicken but we're getting down to the last few cans of that too."

Lane was already making a plan. Use Meosie's weight to calculate her needed protein intake. Then figure out how to get her vitamins, omegas. Something to keep her little tummy healthy and her coat soft.

This was a problem Lane could solve and that brought a small sense of relief.

She gave a half smile at Lolly's reply. "The nerd squad already knows. If you aren't ready... You don't have to look." She'd find out sooner or later if she decided to leave the building and then had to follow quarantine protocols for whatever immunity status she had. Lane gave a nonchalent shrug at Lolly's inquiry. "Not immune. Not bothered, either. I figure if you end up close enough to a zombie to get bit there's a good chance you're not making it out of there anyway."

"Fingers crossed." Although there was scepticism in Dolores' voice. The more she thought about the letter in her hand the more she dreaded opening it and facing the truth — that she wasn't special. That'd mean if there was a genetic link her family would also not be special. And as somebody who associated that with survival the thought was too much to consider.

"It's.... working. Kinda of a scoop straight away kind of deal but it beats the magazine method." Even the thought of that attempt made Dolores' nose scrunch. "She's friendly. Nothing but a spoiled princess so she loves the attention." Emphasis on the love as she draws it out, turning so that the arm supporting her cat's head was closer to indicate that it was ok to pet.

"I'm waiting." For what? she's not sure. The courage? For a time that seems right? For when she's back in her apartment and no one can see her reaction? Maybe all three. "Have you opened yours? I wanna be nosey or is that, like, private information."

[lovxrslane]

@postapocalypsemalone Dec. 15th // Wexley Interior

Lane appeared at the caregiver's side, relieved to have finally tracked Mal down after urgently searching half the building while trying to seem as it everything was totally fine and dandy and that they had not just discovered a very aggressively leaking pipe in an empty apartment on the 4th floor.

"So news. Bad news, yeah, uh not great." Their words spilled in a mess of concern, unsure how to fix this problem. Lane didn't like encountering problems they didn't know how to fix. It was out of the ordinary. Made them feel like what little control they usually had over their life had slipped right through their fingers. "A pipe burst on the 4th floor and it's already flooded the bathroom bad. Looks like it might reach the apartment under it soon." If it hadn't already.

She stared at Mal expectantly. "Um, how do we fix this? Quickly and discreetly, yeah?" Best to keep this on the DL.

[lovxrslane]

"Hmm. Freaky." They pondered the thought of all the cities little critters devolving into something nefarious. It was sad. Lane didn't like this line of thought and it shook their body with a visible chill. So much for man's best friend. Lane lowered their eyes to meet Doom's and gave him a look of playful suspicion as she attempted to telepathically message him: Friend, not food.

Maybe they needed to get Doom some doggy shoes and goggles for the next time he ventured into the city. Would it provide some additional protection? If not from the zombies, maybe the various debris that now littered the city? The last thing Zach would need while running from a horde of the undead was to see Doom start limping with a bloody paw after stepping on glass. "At least he still has us." Unlike too many others pets and animals that had been abandoned by choice or circumstance. So many probably died alone and locked in their own homes, wondering where their humans went. Or worse... they weren't alone.. and their last thoughts were of confusion while their owners chased them down with hunger.

A combination of curiosity and boredom had Lane leaning over the table in an attempt to peek at Zach's screen. "What has you so focused..." Not that it was unusual for Zach to be zeroed into his screen. Honestly, that was sort of his default state.

Zach propped his head on his arm, scrolling down the first folder. It looked familiar, so he must have seen these files in a printed form, back on the ship. He closed this one and moved on to another, looking over at Lane, pondering their question. Now that a living person walking the streets was a rarity, the city's animals must have noticed free apple cores, pizza slices, and even breadcrumbs were gone, which also meant they had to start looking for food elsewhere. Lucky for them, all the stores, bodegas, and restaurants still had plenty of those. He had seen a few stray cats feasting in a butchery nearby, and they all hissed at him even though he hadn't come close to them. Zach looked at his pet. How long would it take Doom to figure out how to survive on his own, or to learn that zombies didn't want to pet him? At least he already seemed to have figured out the latter.

"Too soon – for the loved and pampered ones, at least." Since when was he an expert on feral animals? "Like... The Chernobyl dogs," he muttered, eyes on the screen again. "Many need love and attention and have learned that human visitors equal food, despite scarce contact. Rats or cats are more independent and known to go feral quicker than other domestic animals." Zach sighed, furrowing his brows a little. "Unlike friendly puppies from Chernobyl, the New York animals will soon learn the infected are a threat. And then they will start avoiding humans altogether. If nothing changes, one generation and we're their enemies."

Smiling a little as they both found some comfort in Doom and his carefree demeanor, Zach hummed in agreement at Lane's question. "Yeah... I think he knows something weird is going on. At least he stays close when we go out, but I shouldn't take him on longer trips. I don't want him to learn that running into people means escape or attack." There was so much room for a joke about Zach's introverted ass there. He only stopped petting the dog when Doom decided it was Lane's turn and it was time to bother them now.

Zach unplugged the flash drive and tried another one, even though he was sure he wouldn't find anything new there. Snorting at the question, he shook his head in amusement. "The city is not out of electric blue, and Ember knows which hair salons are worth checking out. But thanks for the offer."

[lovxrslane]

Lane squinted and gave a look of mock judgment. "Bit hypocritical Charlie." After all, she had been the one to bring up Hawthorn and Ember's sordid sex life, and although it made up for the current lack of reality television even Lane had to draw a line somewhere--Probably between seeing Hawthorn trotting around in what she was sure was Ember's thong and Ember asking for advice on how to do 'that grapefruit trick'.

She pulled at a loose thread on her sweater, letting Charlie work through her frequent pauses until she finally reached whatever point she was attempting to make. "Yeah, I figured you had more of a Bridgeton vibe." Courting and romance and devotion. Nothing wrong with that... just.. a little unrealistic in today's dating pool, even before the zombies. "Did you never have sleepovers with your mates? Talk about crushes and practice kissing?" And whoever had the most sexual experience would share their knowledge while everyone called her a slut but secretly took notes.

"Oh my goodness, Lane!" Like stoplight her face lit up scarlet so quickly it almost hurt, a gasp falling off on the end of her word as she playfully slapped at the air in the housekeeper's general direction. "Stop that! We didn't... do any of this." Waving the book around she couldn't help the nervous laughter that lilted her words. "But we did... have a moment, and it was... amazing." It was kind of nice to have someone to talk about this kind of stuff with. Rosie was her boss, her brothers were... well her brothers, Ashton was a no go, and Skyler wouldn't want to hear about it, either.

"Oh! Gladiator! Because he's Roman! I just got that, it's clever." The pun had finally sunk in once her brain had connected the dots between all of them. "I might have to steal that one from you, he'd probably get a kick out of it. "I just get nervous that like... I can't be like... well... this." Giving the book one more little shake, she shook her head and flipped through the pages without really even seeing them. "I'm still... kind of... you know... I've never really.... you know." Just the thought of saying the words out loud made her face light up scarlet once more.

[lovxrslane]

📸 Zach (or Doom or both or I'm indecisive)

[lovxrslane]

@romanxdrake @valeriixchen @justaprick

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