romanxdrake

[romanxdrake]

[romanxdrake]

he wasn't going to raise his voice. if these were the last moments they spent together he wasn't going to shout at her no matter how badly he needed her to get with the picture. this was it, final act, curtains drawn. he'd savor every fucking breath as the sand in death's hourglass counted down his final moments. "baby..." roman pleaded with her, voice thick with grief. the arm that abby bit had started going numb and he wasn't sure he could lift it if he tried. tension strained his body as roman attempted to keep some small amount of distance between them. charlie grappled closer with every movement making his efforts a moot point.

how long did he have? 50 seconds? 40?

something was happening inside of him. something that didn't feel right. "baby, please.." roman's voice was quite, bordering on powerless. his head hurt. he continued to push the knife into her hand. "........you gotta keep our baby safe charlie."

his eyelids strained as the time between blinks grew. roman looked into charlie's face with confusion, no longer than man she knew but instead a little boy who had been struck with mono so bad his brain nearly fried ( it was the only time his mother ever held him, the only time he ever felt genuine love in her touch ).

her words drew roman back from the precipice of death he was clinging to. roman's eyes opened but there was little to be seen with darkness dancing at the edges of his vision. "i've loved you for so long." he cried. he prayed. his words were a weak whine. "please don't let me hurt you charlie."

She biting him. She was biting him! The sight sent panic tearing absolutely through her, just as blinding as the pain from the exposed bone on her shoulder.

Before she'd even been able to claw her way up from the floor he was there, hovering over her and pressing a knife into her hand. "No...." Shaking her head as she pushed it away with a groan of agony from deep in her belly, she gathered him up in her arms and pulled him down into her, uncaring of the mixing of their blood together. They'd already done that with the baby growing inside of her.

"Stop it... don't... don't say those things, please." She could swat zombie bats, she could cut off Val's arm, but what she couldn't ever bring herself to do was to kill the man she loved, the father of her baby. "Please... just-...just hang on. Val can-.... Val can test you again, maybe you're actually immune..." Or at least delayed. Something.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner that I loved you." Brushing his hair from his head as she clung him to her, the pair pressed into the corner next to the office door in a growing puddle of blood from them both. Despite how desperately painful it was, she was still doing her best to press her hands onto his wounds to at least stem the bleeding as much as she could.

"I've loved you since the moment you walked through that diner door... did you know that?" Whispering the words to him, their foreheads pressed together, she couldn't tell their tears apart anymore than she could their blood. "Please just hang on, okay? For me?"

[romanxdrake]

The Three Musketeers - Part II: Milady (2023)

[romanxdrake]

@pxtitxrosx @postapocalypsemalone

[romanxdrake]

freed from his previous entanglement with mr. jenkins roman was now hovering over abby and her current target. despite putting all his strength into pulling the writhing body off of his girl his efforts were in vain when he heard charlie's scream of pain ( he heard her scream he heard her scream ). eyes bulging with panic, all sense of logic and self-preservation drained from him as he freed one hand from his grip and shoved it into abby's face. his forearm came to rest in her mouth as he used it to yank her back and away from charlie with a sickening crunch that must have been vertebrae in her neck breaking. he used the impromptu chokehold to lift her fully off of charlie, ignoring the flesh that was actively being gnawed into, searing, tearing, bleeding.

pulling abby off of charlie had knocked the pair of them to the floor and caused her to loose hold of his forearm ( not without taking a good chunk of flesh with her ). roman scrambled backwards towards charlie and kicked at abby but the action seemed unnecessary as the creature's attention had already turned back to oscar.

it's okay. it's okay. charlie's gonna be okay.

his body was practically on top of hers as he crawled close to examine the wound on her shoulder. it wasn't lethal--fucking painful, no doubt, but she'd live. charlie was immune and she would live.

but he wouldn't.

with his left hand roman was able to go for the large knife he'd previously been unable to unsheath. he forced it into charlie's hand and looked her in the eyes. "you're gonna be okay." he nodded along to the words, as if trying to convince himself as much as her. charlie's face was wet. was she crying? "you're gonna," he choked out a sob, "be a great mom."

Who: @romanxdrakeWhere: Rosie's Diner When: April 8th

This time, Charlie had no frying pan, nothing but the tray she'd been using to clean off the tables, and even that had been knocked from her hands as Abby Jenkins first was launched from one of the men in the booths and onto Emily. There was hardly time to react, there was hardly even time to register that the woman was dead, before she was on top of Charlie was well.

Doing her best to knock the much larger woman off her, kicking out at her, small fists doing their best to keep her face from her own. But Abby was ferocious and their size different was too large to be overcome, teeth digging deep into the skin over her shoulder cap, teeth scraping against bone and ripping an ear piercing screech from Charlie even as the woman's blond head was ripped away from her. Groaning as her free hand lifted to fold the skin back over her exposed shoulder cap and curling into a ball, it took her a moment to realize that it had been Roman who'd pulled Abby off her, seemingly tossing her to the side. Now putting himself between her and danger as Abby's focus seemed to shift back to who she barely registered was Oscar.

[romanxdrake]

although roman and miah had been quick to jump to their feet and launch towards the balcony door, by the time it finally opened the only things left to greet them on the other side were the wexley's freshly infected former residents. it should've been obvious that this was a lost cause, this was a bad fucking call. the pair of men had been gifted a front row seat to the horror show and if watching abby's teeth slide away from her husband's forearm with a mouthful of meat hadn't been enough of a bad omen then surely watching the broken remains of what had previously been tony's face gurgling blood should have been.

oh fuck they were dumb.

by the time he was moving to react bob had already rushed well past roman's grasp. he managed to grab abby by the back of her hair and held onto the fistful of blond locks for fucking life. the thing that had once been mrs jenkins was barely slowed by roman's grasp and continued to rush towards the rest of the room. he could feel his grip on her quickly loosening and looked down in disgust as the flesh began to tear from her scalp, chunks of it coming to rest in his hand as she freed herself and continued the charge for her prey.

roman dropped the hair and pushed himself into a sudden dive as he watched bob's head snap towards charlie. the creature's intentions were clear. roman managed to catch bob by the heel of his boot and forced him off balance. bob joined roman on the floor with a heavy thud but he was not phased as roman had been from falling on his healing ribs. bob's teeth in his flesh didn't matter, the clawing against his lip didn't matter, the hot hot stench of decay suffocating every breath he took didn't matter.

he just had to get to charlie.

who: @romanxdrake

where: the w

when: april 8th, morning

it was strange how quickly jeremiah and roman could shut off whatever fucking tension would come between them and jump into action together. like soldiers that had trained together for years but had never been in the military. hell, the two would've been on opposing sides if they'd been in the same city. hot shot criminals never did mix well with the law, after all. but there they were, side-by-side, ramming at the door of the w the minute the thud and the scream sounded out. in that moment roman wasn't an ex-cop and he certainly wasn't the man fucking his baby sister. he was a partner, assistance in helping with whatever they were about to find on the other side of the w's doors.

when they finally gave way jeremiah could already feel a dangerous rage bubbling up in him, one he'd been trying hard to contain since he left the raider camp and it was only proving to get worse the more he shoved it down and with every day, every new situation, it proved to worsen. he tossed chomper mr. rogers out of the way when he rushed toward them. "eric!" he called out giving him a heads up, knowing he was close behind. he honestly thought that was going to be the only issue, and he was greeted with the shrieking they'd heard in the form of a very fast and feral mrs. rogers. "what the fuck?" he was in action though and his head whipped over to find roman ( followed by the pulling of his gun ). "roman, get charlie!" he could already see abby veering in the direction he'd last spotted his sister.

it was mr. wexley that had jeremiah hesitate. "jesus, mr. w—" and honestly, miah knew better. he knew never to hesitate and fuck if it had been a long time since he'd felt the need to. but for some reason, the milky white eyes of a man who showed a young jeremiah rose kindness when he was nothing better than a deliquent was something he didn't anticipate affecting him. caught off guard and that was long enough for mr. wexley to lunge at him. jeremiah felt the teeth sink into his neck at the same time he'd gotten the gun to mr. wexley's head and pulled the trigger. "fuck—" he shouted, the word loud and guttural and still it did nothing to ease the pain or the emotion that accompanied the situation. jeremiah never was great with the emotional side of things.

[romanxdrake]

he was a reasonable man. roman repeated it in his head like a mantra as he lifted june from the sink and helped her to her feet. he was a reasonable man and despite the anger burning so bright that he could barely see right now, roman was not going to be the one to escalate this. as soon as she seemed stable on her feet roman put a hand on her back and urged her towards the door. she struggled against him, squirming, mostly attempting to talk to him but whatever she was saying fell on silent ears. with the door open he was able to verify the sight of birdie several feet away. roman gave june a gently pinch of reassurance on her shoulder before scooting her past the threshold. "ice, right? then you can probably con rosie or emily into finding you a popsicle or something."

roman shut the door behind her and looked at jeremiah stoically. after a moment of building silence roman absentmindedly rubbed at the growing beard on his face. "maybe we can start with questions instead of assumptions. and after.. if you're still so inclined to kick my ass... then whatever." he could take a punch.

the chaos in the apartment was still ringing in jeremiah's ears as he descended the stairs and re-entered the party. there was one person he was looking for and his patience was all used up so waiting was not on the table. apparently the first person he asked sensed that he wasn't in the mood either as they pointed him toward the bathroom. likely prompted by the huge blowout in the atrium he missed earlier.

jeremiah entered the bathroom and let out an immediate sigh. of course he was with his fucking daughter. once again, jeremiah was going to be the asshole of the situation unless he invoked levels of fucks he severely lacked at the moment. he stood still staring at roman and worked his jaw instead of answering, fingers tapping at his belt while he conjured a plan as to how he'd like this to go.

"hey junebug," miah chose to address his daughter first, crouching down to a bit while roman worked on stopping the nosebleed. "auntie birdie is right outside talking to her friend. i bet she'll take you to go get some ice and maybe one of those rainbow cookies in the diner." jeremiah smiled sweetly, his tone a higher octave to promote trust. it wasn't his first rodeo. "can you do me a favor and go out there with her? me and your daddy need to have a little chat." he straightened up at the end and met roman's gaze.

[romanxdrake]

he frowned at her question. it made him reconsider his reaction to the events from last night--if he'd been wrong to keep his distance and allow her the chance to settle things without his appearance causing the tension to finally snap into full blown havoc.

though he'd tried not to make it too obvious roman's attention had been on charlie nearly the entire night. of course he saw jp's tantrum; but he'd also seen ashton and malone standing steadfast in their intent to protect and mediate for charlie. they had been the only thing keeping roman from abandoning common sense and knocking john-paul rose to the floor for talking to his little sister that way.

his fingers twitched around hers. "baby i've been waiting for that shoe to drop since your brothers made it back to the wexley." roman's expression eased as he tried to assure her that he could handle whatever was heading his way. "i already talked to jer and when jp's ready he'll probably find his way to me too." his tone was casual, coming from someone who had grown up dealing with the same intense personalities in his own family.

"i wanna show you something." he gently tugged her arm in the direction of the apartment's extra bedroom.

Who: @romanxdrake Where: The Media Room When: April 2nd, before morning rations

Before even going to the diner to start prep for morning rations Charlie found herself outside their his door, breathing in the familiar quiet of the early morning on the third floor before ever so gently knocking a few times. With everything that had gone on the night before, and just how explosive the revelation of everything had been, he definitely deserved as heads up.

The moment the door opened, she'd slipped inside reaching down to link together their fingers with just the tips of their fingers pressed together, knowing he probably expected that she was there to sleep despite the looming breakfast hour. Drinking in his touch, she let the feather light touch sink into her, a grounding force. "I'm not here for a nap, I promise... I just... I don't know if you heard about what happened at the party?"

[romanxdrake]

Apt #303 @pxtitxrosx

[romanxdrake]

there were a dozen reasons he'd never mentioned his family around ruth but the biggest was how good it felt to pretend he wasn't a product of their influence. to be anyone other than a drake. he wasn't sure why he was ruining that fantasy for himself now by dropping broken puzzle pieces of the past he hated being connected to but his mouth still formed the words. "more like al capone's bastard son." she could take it as a joke if she wanted. that would probably be better.

"i don't do seafood. one too many chances taken on gas station sushi." his face took on a queasy pallor at the memory. a hand rose to scratch at the growing scruff on his face as he looked for an answer that seemed strangely intimate despite the blood he's spilled on her couch over the years. "people get hurt every day. i can't.. do anything about that. i come in after the fact." after someone's already lost their daughter to sex trafficking or their grandfather to a home invasion. he forced himself to look her in the eyes with sincerity. "but you have to be there when people are fighting to hold on, when they're broken into pieces that don't feel like they'll ever go back together."

"barred?" the statement catches her off guard, a laugh turning the last syllable up. she can think of what sorts of things someone has to do to get banned from a casino, but the whole state was another thing entirely. "am i with al capone?" but she doesn't press the issue. as with every conversation she and roman have, it's always seemed easier to stay on the surface. involving a few drinks didn't change much— well, maybe it made things a little funnier.

"you wanted to donate money to trauma research?" the words alone spark a little bit life, as though she could walk back into the building and slide on her lab coat once more. his time and his willingness to let her work with him had always been more than enough "or were you hoping to sample to oyster bar they put out?"

[romanxdrake]

his answer didn't surprise roman much. charlie, as usual, had been determined to make tonight happen no matter how much of the work she had to personally shoulder. it made him appreciate ashton's presence that much more. "thanks for not letting her." he replied sincerely before taking a swig of the beer. the bitter cold of it soothed an ache somewhere deep inside of him.

roman nodded to ashton's preference of being out of the crowd. it wasn't hard to imagine why a man like him would be uncomfortable pressed into the writhing mass of bodies with bass reverberating inside of his skull. overstimulation, he remembered one of his therapist's calling it. felt more like suffocation to roman. "it's a little much.." he agreed quietly.

ashton's words left roman squinting in confusion as he tried to decide if he'd misread the other man's lips. "what's wrong with the jellybeans?"

his face smoothed and he took another swill of the beer. "last i've heard they're best best friends for ever, which is a pretty big deal." he couldn't hide the amusement in his tone. the enjoyment roman took in the moments of normalcy the girls had crafted together. "i think june was trying to convince hannah to let them borrow paint for some super secret project."

Roman had been sitting by the bar for awhile now, having made greeting glances but he didn't seem to want a drink and so Ash left him alone, at least until he indicated he wanted company. Ash hasn't really spoken to Roman since their return, since he told Charlie to speak with him, since everything changed with the pregnancy. He just didn't know how to approach him, especially still not knowing where Charlie stood with the other man yet. But it was no secret that amongst all the people close to Charlie, he had given Roman more grace than most for his actions.

So when Roman shifted closer to the center of the bar prompting his question, Ash nodded to the order, pulling out a cold beer matching his own and crack open the lid. He handed Roman he before clinking his own to it, "yeah, pretty much. Charlie was gonna run the bar otherwise so, wasn't gonna let her do it, so she could rest." He wasn't sure if he should've mentioned Charlie but it slipped past so quickly before he could even realise it himself. Too late to take it back. He wasn't even sure if Roman knew that he knew about the pregnancy. " 'sides, I prefer it here than out there," he gestured with his beer bottle towards the general party past the bar. Despite the music, there was sort of a slice of peace here, for him and anyone than came by to visit the bar. He had an excuse to not party himself while still being here. Even some of the annoying people of Sada and Judah could only bother him for so long before they get bored.

"June having fun with Maisie?" Ash asked curiously, he could only assume the girls were enjoying each other's company of having a friend their age. And guess there weren't many reasons for Roman to be alone without the girl tonight. "Remind her not to eat the jellybeans."

[romanxdrake]

@pxtitxrosx

to love someone is firstly to confess: i'm prepared to be devastated by you. by A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt

[romanxdrake]

he wasn't sure what charlie being here with mal tonight meant but roman had decided against letting it upset him. there was enough negativity circling around him that he was already choking on it. roman's eyes narrowed in observation as he watched charlie's gaze linger on mal as if contemplating a decision.

he thought that there would be a sense of relief at her words but nothing came. his feet jostled awkwardly as he adjusted his stance to take her hand and close the small space between them in one soft motion. at least her touch, her presence this close to him, melted some of the tension that had come to live in his shoulders and chest these days. "you look so beautiful," roman's words were sincere and spoken with a since of dumbstruck awe. "...i'm glad you're having fun tonight."

the most time they seemed to spend together since charlie took the pregnancy test was when she desperately needed sleep, but there was no rhyme or reason to her timing. her appearance in the apartment they once shared was sporadic, sometimes in the late hours of the evening and sometimes in the middle of the day. when she could no longer push back the threat of exhausted, he assumed.

he squeezed her hand and offered her an easy smile. "can i twist? of course i can twist." no--he could not, should not, twist. apart from his recently broken ribs his lack of rhythm was enough of a reason to abstain. but for charlie he'd twist until he broke.

Turning to find herself face to face with a smiling Roman, nearly on the very spot where they'd shared their first kiss beneath the mistletoe, Charlie couldn't help the warm smile that crawled it's way onto her face. "You look amazing." He always had cleaned up so well.

Glancing over her shoulder at Mal who was chatting with some others, Charlie shook her head and held out a hand for Roman to take, her fingers surprisingly aching to feel his own. She truly missed him, so desperately.

"I'd love a dance." Though considering Ria was currently singing away at 'Love Shack' she figured she'd get to see him do a shimmy. "I bet you can't do the twist." A playful challenge, just to ensure she did.

[romanxdrake]

♮ Roman & Charlie

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

a song that represents our muses in general. cathedrals - jump little children

a song that represents what roman thinks of charlie. i caught myself - paramore

a song that represents what charlie thinks of roman. jesus christ - brand new

their theme song if they ever fell in love/became friends. nothing's gonna hurt you baby - cigarettes after sex

their theme song if they are enemies or were to become enemies. don't wanna be your girl - wet

what my muse would sing or play at your muses funeral. home - daughter

[romanxdrake]

"yeah... blood loss usually puts me in the mood to stay in," he offered as a lame excuse in his own defense. roman had eventually learned to pick up on ruth's hints--as painfully vague as they were--but there'd always been a reason to play dumb and gloss over it. aside from concern over someone catching him with her in public and it putting her safety at risk, ruth had never seen enthusiastic about roman joining her. he figured she just wanted somebody; and she was better off finding someone who wouldn't be potentially putting her life in danger for a fling. "and you're about 20 years too late for the casinos. i'm pretty much barred from nevada these days."

"now that... i'm sad to have missed." he would've liked to see her talk about something she was passionate about. ruth got this look in her eyes like nothing else mattered when she talked about medicine.

that made some sense. the line of work for a private detective. training came from somewhere, and there wasn't always a school so clearly demarcated. "i've been inviting you to concerts," at least in her mind, giving vague plans and dates was almost the same as saying, so long as you should join me was added. "and you could have taken me to a casino." she doesn't press the issue though, there's hardly a point given their current situation, situations.

"to talk about my work." not just hers, the university's really. but something about the donors all needing to see the tangible good their work was doing was embedded in the evenings. she'd volunteered more often than not, if just for the chance to eat something that wasn't ramen and drink a glass of champagne. "it inspires scholarship and research funding." something that wasn't palpable now, but given the right drink and the glow of ballroom light, she had been charming enough to pull off. "still not as much money as your casinos, i bet."

[romanxdrake]

roman

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

a song that represents our muses in general: viva las vegas, elvis presley

a song that represents what birdie thinks of roman: the wanderer, dion

a song that represents what roman thinks of birdie: pick yourself up, nat king cole

their theme song if they ever became friends: c'mon everybody, eddie cochran

their theme song if they were to become enemies: crying, roy orbison

what my muse would sing or play at your muses funeral: come fly with me, frank sinatra

[romanxdrake]

♮ruth :)

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

a song that represents our muses in general. landslide - fleetwood mac

a song that represents what roman thinks of ruth. mad at me - kiana lede

a song that represents what ruth thinks of roman. in the room where you sleep - dead man's bones

their theme song if they ever fell in love/became friends. new perspective - panic! at the disco

their theme song if they are enemies or were to become enemies. burn your village - kiki rockwell

what my muse would sing or play at your muses funeral. cups (when im gone) - anna kendrick