#(also I haven’t seen the finale yet I have to wait for Tyler to wake up ����😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

[bodythieves]

reading TVL it’s very interesting how in IWTV basically everything he told Louis not to do was based on his own mistakes LOL (like Renaud’s Theatre / FairPlay casino parallels) and also Lestat is so funny for scolding Louis in S1 about how much he was upset over Claudia leaving …

Meanwhile in his autobiography bro is literally crying all the time (so far I think I’ve bookmarked at LEAST 30 times Lestat has just started fucking crying. I’m only just before part 3.) LMFAO just because he’s a vampire and he loves things for the most part??? Like is that not what you want??? 😭 WHAT IS THIS MANS PROBLEM??

[davidlikesguys02]

We Interrupt This Program

M/n= Male Name 

Bold- Means its on a tv screen. 

GIF Not mine

Word count: 2,932

“No, I can't leave Monica.” “mom? It's ok, I can stay with grandma and…” “I can't leave” “maybe I'll build a spaceship. I wanna be an aircraft pilot.” “when they were handing out kids they gave her the toughest one. Lieutenant trouble.” Monica wakes up breathing heavily and hearing crashing and people screaming as she makes her way towards the door and walks out. “Excuse me….” “they're all coming back. We don't have the capacity” the doctor tells her

“Excuse me. I'm looking for a patient. In room 104…” she asks a nurse “who, my wife? Do you have a phone?” “no” “i have to call my wife.” she makes her way towards the front desk “watch out” she bumps into a man, they both fall backwards grunting “let me help you. Are you ok? You ok?” “I got him. I got him.” “Are you ok?” she asks as she gets up groaning. She turns to the lady in the front desk.

“Excuse me. I'm looking for a patient in room number 104.” “I don't know what to tell you” she starts looking around her “Monica?” “oh, Dr. Highland, thank god!” “I can't believe it, where did you go?” “well, in her room since she came back from the surgery. I mean, I might have fallen asleep, but no longer than 20 minutes. Dr. Highland, where's my mom?” “your mom, she died honey” “what? No, no, no, no you're mistaken. My mother...the procedure went well. You said so yourself. Clean margins. You’re discharging her today”

“The cancer came back.” “Okay, stop, stop. No youre...my mom is Maria Rambeau. Look it up. I mean look it up. Maria Rambeau.” “Monica, I don't understand what's happening, but you need to listen to me Marian died three years ago.” “three? No. no. no…” “which was two years after you…” “after i what? After what?” “after you disappeared.”

Monica is walking towards big metal doors. She takes out her keycards but it beeps so she tries again but it beeped again “Ma’am? Over here please” she walked over to him smiling “hi, good morning. I work here. And…” “if you did, your badge would work, wouldn't it?” “right um… I have a meeting with…” “hey. You know who this is?” “..this guy” “Captain Monica Rambeau.” “Director Tyler Hayward”

“Acting Director. You haven't aged a day” “and you look old as hell” Tyler chuckles “come on, let's catch you up. It's been three weeks and you're the first to report. Cant say I'm surprised captain.” “How are the numbers for the astronaut training program?” “ Dismal. Lost half my personnel in The Blip and half of those remaining have lost their nerve. The program hasn't been the same since you've been up there, Rambeau. We shifted away from manned missions and refocused on robotics, nanotech, AI. Sentient Weapons, like it says on the door.”

“It also says observation and response on that door, not creation” “worlds not the same as you left it. Space is now full of unexpected threats” “always was full of threats. And allies” “Listen, Monica, I just wanna acknowledge the awkwardness of the situation. I know S.W.O.R.D.'s your home. Your mom built this place from the ground up. You grew up here. You should've been here to help name the replacement.” “you were the obvious choice”

“I was the only choice.” “I wasn't gonna say it. Look, Tyler, you know the job you have to do. I'm here to do mine.” ”Let's get you back out there.” he takes out his keycard and opens the door to his office. “The FBI is in a tizzy over missing persons case up in Jersey…” “missing persons?” “I know. But they have requested use of one of our imaging drones, and I need a chaperone.”

“Tyler, drones usually chaperone me.” “i get it” “look, if this is because of...you don't have to worry about me. I'm good.” “There's no easy way to say this, but you're grounded.” Monica chuckles “you're kidding. For how long? Who whose protocol is this?” “Your mother's. She implemented guidelines in the event vanished personnel ever returned. Look, I know it's a raw deal, but there is one positive takeaway.” “what's that?” “she believed you'd come back. You'd be doing me a big favor with this FBI thing, but if you need more time…”

“No. no. I'm good to go” “excellent. Keep me updated, captain.” Monica finally arrived at Westview “James E. Woo, FBI” “Monica Rambeau, S.W.O.R.D. what's the story here, agent woo?” “I've got a witness setup down the road in Westview, and this morning, it looked like he flew the coop?” “Your missing person is in the witness protection program?”

“I have contacted known associates, relatives…” “and let me guess, none of them have seen him either?” “No. None of them have ever heard of him. Something seemed hanky to me, so I took the first flight out of Oakland to interface with local law enforcement, which is when I encountered a new wrinkle.” “what's that?” “Pardon me, Sheriff. Would you mind repeating your claim about Westview to my colleague here?” “no such place” “you're saying the town of Westview, New Jersey, does not exist?”

“It's what I keep telling your G-man here, but he won't listen.” “I see. and , um, I'm sorry, what town are you from?” “Eastview” “Thank you, Sheriff. I'll reach out if we need any further assistance. I, uh, pulled phone numbers for all the residents. I'm only through the D’s, but so far I got Diddly Squat.” “So you can't reach anyone inside and everyone on the outside has some sort of selective amnesia?”

“This isn't a missing person's case, Captain Rambeau, it's a missing town. Population: 3,892.” “Why haven't you gone inside to investigate?” “Cause it doesn't want me to. You can feel it too, can't you? Nobody's supposed to go in.” Monica walks over to her car and pulls out a drone. “What about you?” “Me? Well, I'm from Bakersfield, originally. Growing up, other kids had Michael Jordan posters on their walls, but I had Eliot Ness.”

“No, no, no, no. I mean, why is it that you have an awareness of Westview? Or me, for that matter? Is it because we are outside of a certain radius, or maybe because we don't have a personal connection?” She looks at the screen but the drone malfunctions. She looks up and it's gone “Wait, where'd it go?” “It was right there.” she walk towards the town but stops as she hears electricity bussing “whoa..”

“What is it?” “some sort of energy field” “Careful, Rambeau. Captain Rambeau! Watch it. Rambeau! Captain Rambeau! Captain Rambeau!” she sticks her hand in and it pulls her in and she disappears.

24 Hours Later

“Hey. What's your field?” “We're not supposed to talk to each other.” “hmm? Boy scout leader. Got it. And you” Darcy asked a woman next to the boy scout leader. “Nuclear biology” “artificial intelligence” “astrophysics. We got the full clown car. It means whatever the threat is, S.W.O.R.D. clearly has no idea what they're dealing with.” “I'm a chemical engineer” “no one cares”

“Alright grab your gear.” Darcy walks around the S.W.O.R.D. camp. “Ms. Lewis?” “Dr.Lewis” “we have your gear set up inside.” the man walks Darcy inside a tent “those drones you're sending in, what kind of data are you getting?” “I'm afraid that is highly classified.” “You can't see anything? FBI, Army. I saw the Air Force Office of Special Investigations out there. Research Lab, Space Command, too. A bona fide, joint, multi-service response. Really looking forward to the commemorative T-shirt. Is there somewhere a lady could get a cup of coffee? You guys look like you might get down with those little pod things. Horrendous for the environment…”

“Make your assessment, please” “whoa… I mean, whoa..” “what are you getting?” “a colossal amount of CMBR” “CM…” “Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.” “we've been told the radiation is within a safe limit” “uh, it is… for now” “wait what do you mean” Darcy shushes the man “there's are longer wavelength superimposed over the noise here” she looks under the desk and struggles to get something “I got it”

“I need a TV. an old one. Like, not flat.” After a few hours it started raining. “Are you good to go?” Hayward asked an agent “yes, sir” “these sewers will take you straight into town. Try to find anything you can on Rambeau” “copy that” “keep me updated” Hayward says as he walks away. “Director Hayward, between you, me, and the bedpost, I am not confident about this mission.” “Thanks for the feedback, Jimmy. If only my drones were as forthcoming.”

“There's no reason to suspect the perimeter doesn't extend subterraneous.” “There's no reason to suspect it does.” Jimmy sighs “We don't know enough about the nature of the threat to send in another agent when the first is yet to return.” “Someone must really miss you back in Quantico.” “No, sir. Softball season's over, sir.” “what do we have up?” Hayward asked agent Rodriguez “Radar, sonar, infrared” “cycle through. Will someone get me a useful visual, dammit?”

Everyone hears a studio audience laughing in the tent “what is that?” “Can I see you in the kitchen for a moment, sweetheart?” “Who is doing that?” “Who are those people?” “What are you wearing?” “Why are they here?” “Well, it's our anniversary!” “our anniversary of what?” “Well, if you don't know, I'm not going to tell you!” “is that..” “ yeah, it looks like him.” “you move at the speed of sound and i can make a pen float through the air, who needs to abbreviate?”

“Look , I know it's been a crazy few years on this planet, but he's dead, right? Not blipped, dead.” “excellent plan. Where's the tenderizer” “what am I looking at? You? What is that? Where's this coming from?” “out there” “you didn’t answer the back door. For your upside-down cake. oh hi, I” “is it authentic?” “I'm not sure how to answer that” “is it happening in real time? Is it recorded, fabricated?” “I don't know. I don't know. And I don't know” “what do you know?” Hayward said annoyed “My equipment registered an extremely high level of CMBR. That's…”

“Relic radiation dating back to the Big Bang.” “Yeah, entwined was a broadcast frequency. So I had your goons pick me up a sweet vintage TV. And when I plug this bad boy in, voilà, sound and picture.” “Dinner is served” “So you're saying the universe created a sitcom starring two Avengers?” Jimmy asked, confused “It's a working theory” “Get me a transport back to headquarters now. Are we recording this?”

“Never stopped.” Darcy says “I need immediate analysis. Now, people. Let's go!” “He’s a charmer.” “great work” “hey, thanks, maybe I could get that cup of coffee now? Or not. It's cool.” ”Aw” Darcy turns to the screen to see you and Vision kissing “Aw”

“First and foremost, our main objective is to get any intel on Captain Rambeau, but originally, this case was a missing person, so we're going to start there. We've successfully identified two individuals inside the Westview anomaly. Let's keep going.” Jimmy says as he puts two pictures up of you and Vision. “This guest is leaving your home” “yes, thank you for coming” “Mr. and Mrs. Hart. played by Todd and Sharon Davis.”

“Computational forms. And no one can process the data quite like you do, pal.” “Agent Woo” “you're like a walking computer.” “Abilash Tandon is Norm” “Harold Proctor is Jones” “we got Isabel Matsueida cast as Beverly” “John Collins as Herb.” Darcy gasps, dropping her Noodle cup and calls Jimmy over “Really?” “Does she seem okay to you?” “Well, she doesn't appear to be harmed in any way, but that is definitely not the boss lady I met yesterday.”

“So what, deep cover? Monica has to play along?” “With whom? Or else, what? All right. Brass tacks, Dr. Lewis. What are we looking at here? Is it an alternate reality? Time travel? Some cockamamie social experiment?” “It's a sitcom. A 1950s sitcom.” “But why?”

“Hey, man, we're working with the same scarcity of intel. But, listen, I do have an idea. So, you've seen that radio in M/n’s kitchen counter, right? The next time he's washing dishes, which, by my count, happens about once an episode, barf, we'll shoot a signal to that little guy. This transmitter will mimic the frequency of the broadcast, and if my theory is right, allow us to speak directly to her. This is totally gonna work. Don't touch that.”

“Agent Woo.” agent Rodrigues hands Jimmy a folder inside the folder there's a colored image of a retro S.W.O.R.D. drone “Is this from the current episode?” “aired about two minutes ago.” “What is it?” Darcy asks “what does it look like to you?” “like a retro version of a S.W.OR.D. drone?” “bingo” “but how did it change and why” “uh, to go with the production design” “or render it useless”

“why‘d you colorize it?” “I didn't” Darcy heads back to the tent. “Let's get this show on the road. Jimmy, you ready?” Darcy asks through an earpiece. “Ready” “bigger and better every season” “uh, Jimmy, Monica is talking to M/n. she's got a speaking part now.” “what is she saying?” “those jeans are peachy keen” “she likes M/n’s jeans” “we only have a few hours” “M/n’s at some sort of swim club. We've never been here before.”

“Is it the 60’s still?” “uh, uh, M/n’s with another character.” “real person?” “ohh, uh, radio on the side table. start talking.” “M/n. M/n, can you read me over?” “I don't...” “Can he hear me?” “I don't think so, keep trying.” “M/n?” “M/n?” “M/n. Who is doing this to you, M/n? M/n? Can you hear me? I'm here to help” “please give us a…” “pop quiz M/n how does a housewife or in this case househusband get a bloodstain out of white linen?”

“Wait” “what?” “I don't know” “by doing it yourself” “that's weird” “what was?” “Nothing, it's over. Mission failure” “it was worth a try. Good effort, doctor.” “yeah come in”

Both Jimmy and Darcy are watching you and Vision on TV “darling, do you think it's time to..” “call the doctor?” “yeah” “yes, I do dear” “1950s, 1960s, and now the '70s. Why does it keep switching time periods? It can't be purely for my enjoyment, can it?” “I cant believe M/n and Vision are having a baby” “you want any?” Jimmy chuckles

“Heck, I thought about it for sure. A little Jimmy Woo. Get him a tiny little FBI badge. Oh, you... Chip? Sure.” “you're doing great. You're doing great. Look at me. Look at me.” “The jig is up” you scream. After a few minutes you hear the baby cry “hi, oh, he's perfect” “what a twist.” Darcy says as she's tearing up “What? I'm invested” “he was killed by Ultron, wasn't he?” “Did she just say the name Ultron? Has that ever happened before? A reference to our reality.”

“No never” “hey I'll take a shift rocking the babies” “no I think you should leave” “oh, M/n, don't be like that” “who are you?” “M/n” “wow this is different” The Tv cuts and Monica is gone “what happened? Where she go?” “god not again” Darcy replays the footage back “who are you?” “M/n” “there's nothing here. One second, Monica is standing right there, and the next she isn’t. Someone is censoring the broadcast.”

“But where's Rambeau?” they suddenly both hear the alarm “Alert! Boundary has been breached! Alert! Boundary has been breached!”

Inside Westview

“Who are you?” “I don't..” you walk closer to her “who are you?” “M/n i'm just your neighbor.” “Then how did you know about Ultron?” you start to see the familiar red glow around your hands “You're not my neighbor. And you're definitely not my friend. You are a stranger and an outsider. And right now, you are trespassing here. And I want you to leave.”

Your familiar red glow wraps around Monica Sending her back through every wall and fence. You gulp “I… I…” you raise your hands and start to fix the hole on the wall as if it never happened. You walk over to your babies hearing them “M/n?” Vision comes in through the door turning back to his synthezoid form “where is Geraldine?” “oh she left honey. She had to rush home”

You turn around to look at Vision and you gasp making you look down “what? What is it? What's wrong?” Vision asks you concerned “Uh..” you slowly look up at him and see that he looks normal again “we don't have to stay here. We could go wherever we want” Vision tells you “no, we can't. This is our home” you move your hand to crease his cheek and he holds onto your hand “are you use”

“oh, don't worry darling. I have everything under control.” you walk over and grab Tommy “oh hi” you turn to Vision smiling “what should we watch tonight?” you walk over to the sofa, Vision sits next to you. He puts an arm around you.

Outside of Westview

“Monica, are you okay?” “it's M/n. its all M/n”

[hearteyesemergency]

TK Accidentally Takes Carlos Home While His Dad’s There

Request: TK forgets he’s living with his Dad, and takes Carlos home and they get caught?

A/N: This has been on my mind recently. Semi-established Tarlos for this fic. It got a lot longer than I expected, but I really wanted to show some of smitten/pining TK that we haven’t seen much of yet in this canon slow burn. And I really wanted to keep this canon Carlos who gives TK the space to breathe and heal.

Summary: Considering how close TK is to his Dad, it‘s astounding to anyone that he forgot they lived together. After a pretty successful dancing date, TK takes Carlos home with him, and scar’s Owen with the sight of them all over each other once barely inside the door. TK could die of embarrassment, and Carlos just really wants Owen to like him.

Warnings: Course language, Mild sexual themes.

TK stumbled backward into his home, not worried about the key that slipped from his fingertips and landed somewhere on the floor beneath their feet. All he cared about was Carlos’ lips on his, and how somehow they made him feel so incredibly wanted.

They weren’t even together, not officially anyway, they hadn’t had that chat yet, but Tyler didn’t know any word other than ‘loved’ to describe the way Carlos made him feel. TK had rarely felt worthy of anything as powerful as that, and yet here Carlos was, making him feel like he was drowning in it.

It grew this need in Tyler to have Carlos closer. Like, impossibly close, limbs tangled, body to body, even a thin shirt between them was too much. All TK wanted was to get the clothes gone, he just needed to feel Carlos.

He had gotten far too invested lately in the fleeting power trip that came with lost buttons on Carlos’ shirt when he tore it off the man. So far, Carlos had lost four button-ups and counting. TK had only managed the top half of this shirt when someone cleared their throat in the next room.

TK sprung back with a gasp. In the kitchen stood Owen, glass of milk in hand. He looked tired, wrapped in a sweater over his pyjamas and socks on his feet. Another half hour, and he’d probably have been in bed. Just Tyler’s luck that his Dad finds him with kiss swollen lips, trying to rip the shirt off a man who may as well have been their colleague.

“Hi boy’s,”

“Dad,”

“Uh, hi, Mr Strand,”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you can call me Owen,”

“To be honest, Sir, right now, I don’t think that I can,”

Owen shrugged understandingly.

TK couldn’t look at either of them, a blush settled on his cheeks. How the fuck he forgot that he lived with his father, he wasn’t sure.

“So, fun night?” Owen guessed,

“Uh, yeah... I mean, we just went dancing at the bar- TK only drank water,”

“I know,” Owen nodded, “I trust him, and you’re a good influence,”

Carlos sighed in relief through a smile, “thank you, Sir.”

Owen grinned back.

“Well, this has been sufficiently awkward,” TK finally piped up, “good night.”

TK took Carlos by the hand and lead him to the stairs. Now was not the time for his Dad and the guy he was seeing to bond. They were halfway up when he heard his Dad at the bottom.

“TK!”

He sighed, “Yeah, Dad,”

“Door open,”

He whirled around, “You’re joking, right?”

“No, I’m not joking. I’m literally in the bedroom next door. Door open.”

TK pulled a face.

As if your Dad interrupting a hot make out session with the guy you’re seeing wasn’t a turn off enough, him being in the next bedroom, in a house that had possibly the thinnest walls in Texas- THAT was an even bigger turn off.

TK couldn’t lock himself and Carlos behind his bedroom door fast enough after that. He took a moment to rest his head against the wood, composing himself as he left Carlos to make himself comfortable in the room.

At this point, he didn’t care if Carlos looked around, what he’d see was now officially the least embarrassing thing TK could face that night.

He had no reason to be concerned though, the police officer cared more about gently pulling Tyler out of his dramatics, and away from the door. He sat TK down on the bed before he flicked the lock back, and opened up the room once again.

“But-“

“I want your Dad to like me, TK. I don’t want him thinking I’m encouraging you to disobey his rules in his house,”

“Okay, first of all, he loves you. Second of all, I’m a grown man-“

“Who still lives with his Dad, which means we respect his rules. And your Dad loves me as a cop, he doesn’t know me as his sons boyfriend, or whatever this is,”

“...we could call it a boyfriend thing,” TK shrugged, though didn’t meet Carlos’ eyes,

“Yeah?”

TK nodded.

Though he still didn’t look, he felt Carlos come crouch down in front of him, taking the firefighters face in his hands. Reluctantly, TK turned to make eye contact with the man, and found a soft smile waiting just for him. Carlos caressed his cheek for a moment, before he kissed him.

Not like earlier, no, this kiss was soft and sweet, there was no lust in it at all. TK may have literally whimpered into it. Carlos had a way of making TK seem like he was breakable, not in a bad way, in a good way. Like he was precious, and invaluable. Like it would be the worst thing in the world if something were to hurt him.

TK let himself collapse forward against Carlos, foreheads together as he took in the man’s scent. It calmed him, not that he had been nervous or anything, he was just generally a little chaotic, and Carlos had a good affect on him in that respect. He was once again coming to love the super intimate moments in a relationship. The staring, the feeling, the silence, and it was all thanks to the man right in front of him.

“You really think your Dad’s cool if I stay the night?”

“Are you joking?” TK pulled back and looked at his boyfriend, “you’re going to wake up to a cooked three course breakfast,”

Carlos chuckled, “you sound sure,”

“I am sure, I can see it in his eyes- he really likes you,”

“I hope so,” Carlos caressed TK’s cheek,

“I know so... Now get up here and give me cuddles since you’re playing by my fathers boring game of innocence.”

Carlos rolled his eyes, though complied anyway. He borrowed a pair of sweats from TK’s dresser as they both changed out of their date attire, though didn’t bother with a shirt, he didn’t want to stretch anything out. TK watched as the man crawled into his bed for the very first time, and was certain that he could absolutely get used to this.

When Carlos was comfortable, TK sat up and faced him, so that he could look at him and admire the man that had taken things so slow with him to get to this point. He couldn’t help but run a hand through Carlos’ hair, it was usually the other man who was so gentle and understanding with him, somehow able to draw out TK’s most vulnerable side, and help him accept and grow with all his past traumas and flaws.

Carlos grinned up at him, and it was nice there like that. They fell into a soft conversation, talking about nothing and absolutely everything. TK sat against the policeman’s hip, enjoying the warmth that radiated from the bare skin. Their hands tangled or explored the others soft skin, never still. It was very possibly the most intimate situation TK had ever been in. Intimacy far beyond sex, something he was not in the slightest experienced with.

Carlos was certainly his most grown up relationship, and he put every other boyfriend TK had ever had to complete shame. TK understood why his Dad liked Carlos, everyone liked Carlos, but his Dad especially, because he didn’t have to worry as much with Carlos around. He had a strong head on his shoulders, and he wasn’t afraid to pull TK in line when he needed it, but was equally as understanding and there through the hard times as well.

“Good night.”

TK looked back over his shoulder to his father at the door, and smiled, “good night, Dad,”

“How do you like your eggs in the morning, Carlos?”

TK chuckled, and gave his boyfriend one of those ‘I told you so’ looks.

“I’ll cook,” Carlos countered, “my Mum used to make our breakfast every day... you have to try it,”

“I won’t say no to that,” the Cap agreed, “good night, boys.”

Owen switched the light off as he left, and TK couldn’t help but relish in how fucking domestic this was. It was like when you live in a different city, and you and the husband go home to visit the father who calls every other day because he misses you, and would do anything to have you home.

In the darkness, TK laid back down beside Carlos, leg thrown over the other man’s hip, arm around his waist as he nuzzled his face in Carlos’ shoulder.

“Is it weird that I don’t find any of this awkward?” Carlos wondered,

“My Dad has that affect on people.”

TK didn’t elaborate on the fact that he knew his father had never been this relaxed and instantly accepting with any other guy TK had dated. It was too much too soon to say out loud. For now, both Carlos and his Dad knew where his feelings stood, and that was enough.

Carlos made him feel light, and safe, and fuck he hoped this time it worked out.

If Carlos was bothered by how much TK would toss and turn during the night, he didn’t let it on. TK figured he knew the struggles with shift work body clock himself. Despite his inability to stay asleep, TK felt like the hours that he did get in had been the best he’d had in years. He also enjoyed the times when he was awake, when he could stare at how peaceful and perfect Carlos was.

TK couldn’t think of a single thing he had done to deserve the man beside him, but he knew damn well he wouldn’t give up their rollercoaster ride for anything. He’d rather spend one hard day with Carlos than infinite ‘easy’ days with anyone else.

It was around 4am when TK had last laid awake, staring at the back of Carlos, fingers gently trailing absentmindedly up and down the officers back.

“You think awfully loudly,” Carlos whispered, though it was enough to startle TK,

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” TK reclaimed his hands,

“Wanna tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Carlos rolled onto his back and looked across to TK,

“I was just thinking about how happy I am... and I really mean that.”

It was too dark either of them to really see each other, but they stared anyway. A moment later, Carlos grabbed a hold of TK, and drew him into his chest before rolling back to the other side. Now TK was practically cocooned in Carlos’ arms, snuggled in his chest and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Be cute in the morning, I’m trying to sleep,” Carlos’ voice was light,

“You and I both know I’m not this good with feelings in the light of day...“

“You don’t give yourself enough credit... you’ve come so far since I met you. I’m so proud of you.”

To TK, those words meant more than ‘I love you.’ Anyone can love another person, but to make someone proud, especially with the parts of yourself you hate the most... that was something else.

TK closed his eyes and sighed contently, “you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me... thank you. For everything,”

“Ride or die.”

TK couldn’t help but laugh at that, and he didn’t care how loud he was. He wondered who the fuck taught Carlos that, because Lord knew that he didn’t figure out that was a ‘thing’ on his own.

With one last kiss to Carlos’ neck, TK willed himself to go back to sleep, a much easier task when he could count to the beats of Carlos’ heart.

It was morning when he woke up, after eight, and he knew that his Dad would be out on his morning run. His back was to Carlos now, the man’s arm only loosely around TK’s waist. He could tell from the awkward placement that Carlos was still asleep, and if he wasn’t afraid to wake him by moving- probably far too late- he would’ve wrapped the police officer up in his own arms and returned the favour.

A small glimmer caught TK’s eye on the night stand, and he looked over to find three blue buttons sat neatly in a row. TK couldn’t help but smile like an idiot. Sometimes, he was sure he and his father were too close, way too close, though he still wouldn’t change it for the world, and he was so glad that his Dad liked Carlos, because TK was fairly certain one day they’d walk down to isle to Carlos waiting at the end. At least he hoped so.

[starrysky-whumpfics]

4. Break The Ice

Whump Advent Calender

@whump-advent-calendar

Tyler grabbed Ozzie’s hand and helped them up to stand.

“Come on, we got to get going or we’ll get caught again.” Tyler whispered before suddenly being pushed forward, straight onto the icy lake. Their attacker had been closer than they thought. An arm was wrapped around Ozzie, the knife held to his throat. Ozzie noticed the thin ice cracking beneath Tyler’s feet.

“Tyler!” He shouted, trying to run forward to them only to just be held firmly in place.

“You stay right where you are, both of you. No one is going to move.” Their attacker instructed, he looked ridiculous in his oversized Santa suit. Tyler almost laughed now that they had a good look at how it fully appeared.

“Tyler can’t swim…if the ice breaks they’ll drown…we’ll both go with you, we promise. No fighting back this time.” Ozzie pleaded.

“Tyler will stay right where they are, if they drown they drown, but if they hold absolutely still the ice, they might stand a chance at not breaking it.”

Tyler looked down through the ice and took a deep breath, trying to keep as still as possible. Doing so was clearly giving them a headache, their whole body began itching and their legs were tired of the position Tyler had decided on, hands frozen on the ice. Maybe if they could stand up it would be better, but probably not.

The attacker started to walk away with Ozzie, dragging him along. Tyler instinctively stood up to run after him but almost immediately the ice cracked, sending them falling through.

“No! Let me go! I’ll swim for them, just get off of me!” Ozzie yelled, fighting against their attacker. He stepped on the bottom of the massive Santa suit, successfully tripping the attacker to the ground. Ozzie picked up the knife from him and contemplated using it, staring at the knife then back at the ice. Ozzie took a deep breath and used the handle of the knife to knock out the attacker. He limped over to the ice and dove in, the shock of the water nearly causing them to pass out before they grabbed hold of Tyler’s hand, trying to float them to the surface.

“Tyler…please wake up, I need help…I can’t get you all the way up…” Ozzie said crying as they reached the surface, trying to stay afloat. He hit at Tyler’s face weakly. Tyler slowly came to, clearly shivering but adrenaline was kicked in and ready. They grabbed onto a floating piece of ice and swam with Ozzie to the shore, pulling both of them up onto the snow bank. They took a moment to catch their breaths before standing up slowly and hurrying off into the forest together.

“This is the worst Christmas ever…” Ozzie complained through tears.

“Don’t say that. It’s not even Christmas yet technically. Christmas is going to be the best day ever, I promise.” Tyler said smiling. They kept walking until they reached what looked like a cave opening, going inside and working to get a fire going once again after collecting some wood sticks and leaves.

“If that cabin is there, then that means there should be like a road or something nearby. We’ll wait it out and then see sometime tomorrow if we can find our way to a road and then try to see if we can hitchhike with someone.” Tyler decided. “Maybe even just look for an empty cabin to find food and supplies.”

“My mom might help us if I could find a way to call her—“ Ozzie suggested. Tyler looked down defeated.

“That’s not happening. She won’t come, and even if she did then she would kill both of us eventually. She never even bothered to give you a name and she did terrible things to you and I don’t get why you’re still so loyal to her.”

“She’s my mother that’s why. She’s supposed to take care of me and supposed to love me, a part of her has to care, there can’t just be nothing there, I don’t want to believe that I have nothing.” Ozzie admitted.

“She should care for you, she shouldn’t have treated you that way but she did. Not every mom is going to be perfect, yours just happens to be way way less than perfect. You don’t have nothing, you have me remember?”

“I don’t even know what we are! You say we’re not friends, we’re not brothers because I’ve kissed you, but you also say we’re not dating either so I’m just confused.”

“I don’t knew either, I just know we’re more than all of that. We’re not even soulmates because whatever we have still feels more than that. We’re just…Ozzie and Tyler I guess. We’re whatever we want to be and we do whatever we want to do. We’re inseparable and meant to be and a lot of other cheesy stuff like that. I don’t want a label to it, I just want you.” Tyler said, looking straight into Ozzie’s eyes.

Ozzie’s face blushed, a soft smile spreading on his face. “How many Hallmark movies have you been watching?” He asked laughing.

“Hallmark movies?” Tyler asked confused. They had grown up in a family that had banned televisions, phones, and any other media. Only after they had gotten kicked out a year ago did they finally get to experience technology, mostly fascinated by race car videos on YouTube.

“Right, forget you haven’t seen anything that doesn’t include a race car in it.” Ozzie said laughing.

Tyler laughed as well. “We should get a race car…that would be a cool Christmas present.”

“If we survive this, then sure. We’ll get a race car.” Ozzie said sarcastically.

“Wait, really?”

“No not really, we’re like fifteen. We can’t drive!” Ozzie said back laughing harder.

Both of them laid down next to the fire, holding onto each other for warmth. They were both feverish from being in the ice cold water and ready to get some sleep.

“We’ll be okay, I promise. Love you.” Tyler muttered.

“Love you too…” Ozzie mumbled back before falling asleep.

[willel]

So, the official writing team is going to post movies they’ve discussed for season 4 once a week. For the funsies, I guess I’ll look at each movie and see what it’s about. 

So let’s get started. I’m sorry if this looks bad on tumblr mobile, but it;s their fault for messing up the indented paragraphs

The Peanut Butter Solution

Ghosts restore a boy's (Mathew Mackay) hair when it falls out from fright, but then it won't stop growing.

Michael Baskin is an average 11-year-old boy. His father, Billy Baskin, is a struggling artist and temporary sole caregiver of the children while his wife attends to the needs of her recently deceased father in Australia. Upon hearing the news that an abandoned mansion has recently burned down, Michael and his friend Connie decide to explore the remains. Outside the mansion, Connie dares Michael to take a look inside, leading to a frightening encounter with the ghosts of its homeless inhabitants who had died in the fire. Michael does not know this yet, but his fearsome run in with the ghosts has given him a mysterious illness simply known as "The Fright". Michael wakes up the next morning to find out that "The Fright" has made him lose all of his hair. After a failed attempt with a wig (his wig was pulled off by an older boy during a fight in a soccer game), the ghosts visit Michael in his sleep and give him the recipe of a magical formula for hair growth, the main ingredient of which is peanut butter. Michael's first attempt to make the formula is thwarted when his father and sister think he is making something to ingest (rather than use topically) and dispose of it.

A short summary of this movie. It goes on to explain that Michael successfully makes the formula and grows his hair back, but an evil teacher fired from his school discovers his hair growing ability, kidnaps him, uses his hair to make magical paint brushes before he’s finally caught and everyone gets a happy ending. 

.... Gonna be honest. NO idea how this is gonna work in. lol. Will’s bowl cut??? The beginning part there had me thinking about Joyce. The exploring the hunted house with a friend had me thinking of Will and El. But everything else? Pfff. 

The Fisher King

After shock jock Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) inadvertently provokes a caller into murdering a group of innocent people in a Manhattan bar, he grows depressed and turns to booze. As he's about to hit rock bottom, Lucas meets a homeless man named Parry (Robin Williams), whose wife was killed by the caller Lucas pushed to the brink. Mentally scarred by his loss, Parry spends his days searching for the Holy Grail. Lucas, feeling culpable for the poor man's plight, pledges to help him in his quest.

Nope, no idea. I really got nothing except.... maybe Kali?????? Ok wait, I read a bit more, mostly the ending bits. The homeless man, Parry, is beat senseless and is in a coma/catatonic state. The hero of the movie must steal a Holy Grail to wake him up, which he does.

Another part, the hero had previously broken up with his lover (out of guilt I guess???) reunites with her. She slaps him and then they kiss and make up. Or something.

Kinda... Hopper and Joyce like I guess. 

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

Amiable slackers Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are once again roped into a fantastical adventure when De Nomolos (Joss Ackland), a villain from the future, sends evil robot duplicates of the two lads to terminate and replace them. The robot doubles actually succeed in killing Bill and Ted, but the two are determined to escape the afterlife, challenging the Grim Reaper (William Sadler) to a series of games in order to return to the land of the living.

As much as I love Keanu, this does not make me happy. The only beneficial thing I can think of is two best friends doing stuff together to solve a mystery (Will and El). Maybe Will will get Keanu’s hair

You’ve Got Mail

Struggling boutique bookseller Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) hates Joe Fox (Tom Hanks), the owner of a corporate Foxbooks chain store that just moved in across the street. When they meet online, however, they begin an intense and anonymous Internet romance, oblivious of each other's true identity. Eventually Joe learns that the enchanting woman he's involved with is actually his business rival. He must now struggle to reconcile his real-life dislike for her with the cyber love he's come to feel.

.... What? No idea how this is going to happen.... maybe Joyce gets a mysterious pen pal and it’s secretly Hopper. Or, maybe Joyce will become a librarian/book seller

Ordinary People

Tormented by guilt following the death of his older brother, Buck, in a sailing accident, alienated teenager Conrad Jarrett (Timothy Hutton) attempts suicide. Returning home following an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital, Conrad tries to deal with his mental anguish and also reconnect with his mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore), who has grown cold and angry, and his emotionally wounded father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland), with the help of his psychiatrist, Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsch).

Ok THIS IS MORE LIKE IT. YES. I probably haven’t seen the movie, but this summary gets me hyped. Let me check out the plot....

“The Jarretts are an upper-middle-class family in suburban Chicago trying to return to normal life after the accidental death of their older teenage son, Buck, and the attempted suicide of their younger and surviving son, Conrad. “

Chicago huh? Hmmmmmm

“ Conrad, who has recently returned home from a four-month stay in a psychiatric hospital, feels alienated from his friends and family and begins seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger. Berger learns that Conrad was involved in the sailing accident that took the life of Buck, whom everyone idolized. Conrad now deals with post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor's guilt. “

This screams Will to me because of the whole alienation of friends and family (plus Will was going to doctors and psychiatrists for a while). BUT, the survivor's guilt thing could be El too. She told him she could fight (she didn’t know she couldn’t at the time she said that) and let him and Joyce go into the danger all alone. But Joyce would never send off her kids to a psychiatrist or ward. And she might not take them to counselors either, she’s been there done that.

“Mother and son often argue while Calvin tries to referee, generally taking Conrad's side for fear of pushing him over the edge again. Things come to a climax near Christmas, when Conrad becomes furious at Beth for not wanting to take a photo with him, swearing at her in front of his grandparents. “

Ooof, well. This movie does not have a particularly happy ending. Basically, Conrad is struggling with guilt and alienation most of the time. He even starts dating someone but it only helps a little. His mother is basically steely faced and refuses to express emotion. She totally blames her younger child for her older child’s death. She’s confronted by her husband who asks her “If she’s capable of loving anyone” and she leaves the family, only leaving father and son to heal together. 

The Byers don’t have that kind of stuff going on, not exactly. But.... yes. I can see some good material in here. Let’s hope there’s more of this and less of Bill and Ted’s adventures yeah?

[blurry-fics]

When The Party’s Over

Pairing: Josh Dun x Reader

Warnings: Alcohol use, drunken shenanigans, tiny bit of angst?

Word Count: 3894

Request: Bed sharing fic with Josh? I'll leave all the creativity up to you!!!! -Anonymous

Author’s Note: Yes, this fic title is based on a Billie Eilish song, but it isn’t a song request! I was just listening to the song when I got the idea for this request so I thought it would be fitting to name it after the song. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one! :) (picture credit)

A slight drizzle of rain started to coat the driveway as you stood on your porch, watching the last few party guests make their way back to the cars. Some of them were stumbling, but all of them had someone sober to drive them home. You had made sure to check with everyone before they left to make sure that nobody was driving home unsafely.

When the doors of the car were closed and the headlights of the car had turned on, you finally turned and walked back inside. Only a few people were left in your living room: some of your childhood friends who had come in from out of town and Josh Dun, also known as the boy you had been in love with since you first moved to Columbus. Or, as he was more commonly referred to, your best friend. It hadn’t been Josh’s intention to spend the night at your place since he lived close by, but after a few too many drinks he had ended up being too sick and way too drunk to get himself home safely, so you offered up your room for him to stay in.

“We should get up to bed, shouldn’t we?” one of your friends mumbled.

“Probably not a bad idea,” her husband answered.

You waited until the two of them had gotten up the stairs before turning your attention to Josh. He was passed out on your couch, one arm resting over his stomach and the other hanging over the side, his mouth partially open. Not wanting to disturb his rest just yet, you started to collect some of the discarded cups that had been left on your coffee table. You didn’t want your house guests to wake up to filth and, if you were being honest, you didn’t really want to either.

“Y/N?” a muffled voice carried over from the other room.

You quickly set down the bowl you were washing and hastily wiped your hands on your jeans as you walked into the living room. Josh was awake now, though the expression on his face indicated that he would rather still be asleep. After his eyes landed on you, he collapsed back into the couch cushions.

“Where am I?” he asked. His eyes slowly fluttered closed again.

“You’re at my house. You said you were feeling sick earlier so I offered to let you stay here. I can take you home, if you want.”

Josh quickly shook his head, only leading to a pained expression. A frown tugged at the corner of your lips. Although he had technically brought this upon himself, you hated to see him in this state.

“Here,” he mumbled, rolling onto his side.

“Alright. Let me finish cleaning some stuff up and then we can get you into bed.”

You waited a moment for Josh’s response, but you were only met with snores. With a sigh, you made your way back to the kitchen to finish washing the last few plates.

Josh was still fast asleep when you finally finished cleaning everything to your liking. From the looks of it, he hadn’t moved an inch since he initially passed out. You took a moment to admire how peaceful he looked, knowing that in just a moment you would end it and force him to deal with his drunken state once again.

“Josh,” you called softly, hoping that it would be enough to wake him up. As should have been expected, Josh didn’t even stir. Even with a slight increase in volume, he showed no acknowledgment that you were even in the room with him. It wasn’t until you reached forward and started to lightly shake his shoulder that he finally blinked his eyes open.

“What?” he asked. His eyes were wide as he rolled onto his back to look up at you. 

“Hey, it’s ok,” you said, letting your hand linger on his shoulder in hopes that it would provide some comfort. “You just need to get up to bed.”

“Where am I staying? The guest room?”

“No, I have guests. You’re going to sleep in my bed.”

“Where are you going to sleep?” he asked, rubbing at one of his eyes.

“Down here on the couch.”

“No, you’re not. I’m not going to steal your bed.”

“Josh, you feel sick. I’m not going to make you stay down here while you feel awful.”

“I’m fine,” he frowned, crossing his arms across his chest for emphasis. “I can sleep down here.”

“Joshua Dun, I am not going to let you sleep down here and I really don’t feel like putting up a fight right now.”

Josh studied for your face for a minute, though you couldn’t be sure if it was because he was shocked or trying to form a coherent answer. Just as you were about to say something else, he slowly started to get himself up into a sitting position and off the couch.

“Thank you,” you mumbled, already walking around the couch in case Josh went stumbling headfirst into the coffee table.

“I got it,” Josh said, holding a hand out towards you when you started to reach for him.

“Are you sure?”

“Mmmhmm.”

“Ok.”

You followed Josh up the stairs towards your room. He collapsed down on your bed the second that it was in his sights, immediately burying his face in the covers.

“Sorry it isn’t made,” you said. “I didn’t really expect anyone but me to be sleeping in it.”

“You mean you didn’t expect to have a sexy guy spending the night?” he mumbled from beneath the blankets. Even with his face hidden, you could perfectly picture the smug smile on his face.

“You’re lucky I’m tired or you would be getting roasted right now. Also don’t look over here, I’m changing into pajamas.”

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, Y/N/N.”

“Yeah, because somebody doesn’t know how to knock before entering rooms.”

“It was one time!”

“And look at what the consequences were.”

“I play shirtless in front of people all the time. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that you choose you play shirtless in front of people. I was just trying to change my clothes!”

You tossed your dirty clothes into the hamper and shut the closet door. Josh seemed to be feeling better - or at least, more sober - based on the back and forth you two were having. It was a nice change from earlier when he was passed out on the couch, hardly able to say more than a few words at a time. Not to mention that having some alone time with him was nice after a whole night of being separated despite being at the same party.

“And I look good while doing it.”

“Hey, do you want something more comfortable to sleep in?” you asked, redirecting your conversation.

“Do you have something for me to wear?”

“I think I have some old clothes of yours that you’ve left here at one point or another. Let me check.”

Josh pushed himself up to a sitting position while you rifled through your dresser. You eventually came across a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt that looked more like something of Tyler’s than Josh’s, but it would have to do. 

“Try these,” you said, tossing them in his direction.

“Ok.”

Josh immediately started unbuttoning his top, making you turn around in embarrassment. As badly as you wanted to take a look, there was no way you were risking Josh seeing the flushed color of your cheeks. Instead, you made a quick excuse about brushing your teeth and slipped into the bathroom so that he could finish getting changed.

Josh was staring at the ceiling when you emerged from the bathroom, now wearing the pajamas you had provided him with. The shirt you had given him was a little tight, meaning that your assumption it belonged to Tyler had most likely been right. His previous clothes were sitting in a messy heap towards the end of the bed.

“You’re back,” he smiled.

“I was only in the bathroom,” you laughed.

“Yeah, but I missed you.”

You swallowed hard and tried not to think too much into his words. Despite him being a little more sober now, he was still way too drunk for his own good, which meant that he was also most likely too drunk to really think about what he was saying. This conversation would be a fuzzy memory, if that, in the morning.

“Do you need anything else before I go downstairs? Some water or something?”

“I think I’ll be ok. I’d rather not put anything else in my stomach.”

“Ok. I’ll see you in the morning, Josh.”

“Wait.” Josh said it just as you reached the door to your room. Your fingers had just barely brushed the handle when his words made you stop dead in your tracks.

“Yeah?”

“Can you stay here? Just for a little while longer? I still feel kinda sick.”

Your hand immediately dropped away from the handle. Even if he hadn’t been sick, you would have stayed just because he asked.

“Yeah, I can stay.”

Your heart fluttered as you took a seat on your bed. Josh was still sprawled out on the other half, though he shifted a little as you joined him, giving you a little more space. You leaned back against the headboard, making sure to keep yourself upright so you weren’t tempted to fall asleep next to him.

“Thanks,” he said softly.

“For?”

“Not leaving.”

“I’m not going to leave you when you feel sick.”

“No, I mean,” he paused to swallow. “Not leaving for good. I know I haven’t exactly been the best friend to you over the years, so it means a lot that you never gave up on me.”

A sad smile tugged on your lips. You and Josh had been through your fair share of arguments over the years, but you knew you loved him too much to ever fully let him go. It wasn’t uncommon for you to wonder if holding onto him so tightly was the right decision or not.

“I’m never going to give up on you, Josh. You’re my best friend.”

“Just your best friend?”

“Well, yeah,” you said. Your fingers began to play with the hem of your sleep shirt, which just so happened to be an oversized Twenty One Pilots shirt from the early days of their career. “What else would you be?”

Josh blinked a couple times at the ceiling, letting the silence between you steadily grow. You were beginning to think that he had fallen asleep with his eyes open when he spoke again.

“I don’t know. Your neighbor or something,” he laughed.

“Right,” you joined his quiet laughter, feeling the tension release from your shoulders.

Josh’s eyes squeezed shut for a moment as he brought another hand up to his stomach. You scooted forward so that you were a little closer to him.

“Are you ok, Josh?”

“Yeah, I just- another pang of nausea,” he said, pushing his head a little further back into the bed.

You reached out and placed a hand on his bicep, rubbing your thumb in small circles. “Are you going to puke? Should I grab a trash can?”

“No, no. I’ll be ok as long as I don’t move. You’re still staying here, right?”

“Of course. I won’t leave until you want me to.”

Josh opened his eyes for a moment and looked at you, “Then you’re staying here forever.”

“I have to sleep at some point.”

“Who says you can’t fall asleep next to me?”

“A lot of people. Or rules. I don’t know,” you said, scrambling for an excuse. He was just drunk and wanted comfort from someone. You weren’t about to let yourself fall asleep next to him and make something out of it that didn’t really exist.

Josh reached over and grabbed your wrist with his free hand. His touch was gentle, but you could still feel every callous on the palm of his hand. “Please.”

There was a pause, quiet enough for you to hear your shaky intake of breath.

“Ok.”

“You should get comfortable.”

“Not until you start feeling better. If I get comfortable, it’s just going to be that much harder for me to get up and grab you something to throw up into.”

“But you’re not leaving?”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Good.”

You expected Josh to pull his hand away from you, but he kept it wrapped gently around your wrist. His other hand was still resting gingerly on his stomach, as if it would somehow make the nausea go away.

“You’re the best person in the world. Did you know that, Y/N/N?”

“Thanks, Josh.”

“I mean it. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

You brushed a couple pink strands of hair out of his face. His eyes watched you as you did so.

“You would find someone else to take my place.”

And it wouldn’t be the first time, either.

“Nobody could take your place.”

You held back a laugh. Why were you even having this conversation right now, anyway?

“People have before and I’m sure they will again.”

“They didn’t take your place. Not really.”

“You’re just saying that.”

Josh’s eyebrows furrowed, “I don’t ‘just say’ things.”

Not wanting to start an argument, you decided to redirect the conversation. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. I think I can move now.”

Josh finally let go of your arm and moved to a normal position on the bed, You followed suit and started to get comfortable on your side of the bed, but a hand reached out and rested gently on your upper arm.

“You’re not going to lay that far away, are you?”

You rolled more onto your back, allowing you to look over your shoulder. Josh was on his side, facing you.

“I was giving you space.”

“I don’t want space. I want you close to me.”

You wanted to allow your heart to flutter at his words, but each time it started to you reminded yourself that he was just a drunk person seeking comfort and you were readily available.

“I’ll come a little closer,” you said, rolling so that you were now facing him and moving a few inches forward.

“Closer,” he pouted, reaching out to rest a hand on your hip.

“Josh,” you sighed, grabbing his hand and moving it away from you. “I’m not going to cuddle with you.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re drunk and you want to be close to someone and I just so happen to be here. I’m not going to let this night mean something to me when it’s something you’ll barely remember in the morning.”

“I’m not as drunk anymore,” he protested.

“But you’re still drunk.”

“Not too drunk to know I’m in love with you.”

All the air in your lungs was gone in an instant. A million things began to piece themselves together in your mind, but you could only focus on Josh. His expression was sincere as he looked at you, quietly waiting for some kind of reaction.

“Josh, I love you too but… I need to hear it from you when you’re sober. Just to know that you mean it.”

“I just said I’m sober enough to know how I feel.”

“I know you did, but I need you to do this for me.”

Josh was quiet. The air between you smelled of alcohol, reminding you why you needed to do this. There was still a chance that this whole ordeal would be forgotten in the morning.

“Can I at least kiss you?” he asked. His voice was hardly more than a whisper.

“In the morning, Josh, if you still feel the same.”

“I’m always going to feel the same.”

“Then it won’t be a big deal to wait.”

“Ok.” 

You paused for a moment, waiting to see if he would say anything else. When he remained quiet, you asked, “Are you going to be able to sleep ok? Or are you still sick?”

“I think I’ll be ok.”

You reached forward until you found his arm, then let your fingers run along it until you found his hand. Gently, you interlaced your fingers with his and rested it in a place that was comfortable for both of you. His mouth curled up into a small smile.

“Goodnight, Josh,” you said, giving his hand a light squeeze.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

*     *     *

You were the first one to wake up the next morning. Sunlight was pouring in through the windows and the clock on the bedside table read 10:30, much later than you usually woke up. That wouldn’t have been a huge concern if it hadn’t been for your guests, who you silently hoped had slept in later than you so that you still had time to make breakfast for them.

You started to stretch, but were stopped when your back pressed up against something firm. Shortly after, you became aware of the weight that was pressing into your waist and feeling of fingers interlaced with your own. Panic flowed through your body as you recognized the colors of an all-too-familiar tattoo. Slowly, you began to unravel yourself from where your limbs were tangled with Josh’s without waking him up. Memories from the night before began to flood your mind, both making your heart flutter and filling your stomach with dread.

Once you were out of Josh’s arms, you quickly slipped into the bathroom and shut the door behind you. Your chest was heaving, so you took a moment to steady your breaths before doing anything else. It was just one night of being cuddled up together; that was far from the worst thing you two had done together.

You took your time washing your face and getting ready for the day, trying to stall as much as you could before you had to walk back into the bedroom and face Josh, if he was even awake. There was no telling how much of the night that he would remember and you weren’t entirely willing to find out.

Eventually, you ran out of things to do to get ready and decided to make your way back into the bedroom. You slowly opened the door and started to tiptoe into the room, but when you looked up you realized Josh was already awake and staring at the ceiling. His eyes snapped to you as soon as he heard the door open.

“You’re awake,” you said plainly, dropping your feet so they were resting firmly on the ground. “How are you feeling?”

“About how you’d expect,” Josh laughed, running a hand through his hair. “My head is killing me.”

“That makes sense. You were pretty out of it last night.”

“Yeah. Everything is fuzzy, but stuff is slowly coming back to me.”

Equal parts relief and panic flowed through you at his statement. You avoided eye contact as you shuffled over towards the closet to look for something clean to wear.

“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked.

“I’m ok. Tired, I guess, but not hungover like most people will be.”

“I’m jealous.”

“We can get you some medicine when we’re downstairs to help the headache. And breakfast will help, once I get around to making that.”

“You don’t have to do that. I live just down the street and I already feel like I’ve overstayed my welcome.”

“It’s fine, Josh, I swear. I’m making breakfast for my friends, anyway, so you might as well stay and let someone take care of you.”

“You know I’m not very good at that.”

You looked at him over your shoulder, raising one eyebrow, “I think drunk Josh would beg to differ.”

“Was I a pain last night?”

“In a lot of pain is more like it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Last night was… well, it wasn’t the worst night we’ve spent together.”

Josh didn’t say anything else, so you waved at him to close his eyes while you got dressed. He made some comment about you stepping into the bathroom to change, but you simply laughed and told him that you had done more than enough for him so he could cover his eyes for the sake of you not having to go back in the bathroom again.

“Do you want me to see if I have any more of your spare clothes?” you asked. “Or are you going to wear the old stuff?”

“I’ll probably just wear the old stuff, but I’m sticking with the pajamas now because they don’t reek of alcohol.”

“Good call.”

“Um, can I ask you something kind of weird?”

You finally fully turned around to look at Josh. “Weird, how?”

“Personal, I guess.”

“Sure.”

“Did I, um… confess anything last night?”

“What do you mean?”

Josh rubbed a hand along the side of his face, once again squeezing his eyes shut. “Like, I don’t know. You know what type of things people usually confess.”

“Like your feelings for someone?”

Josh bit down on his lip and slowly released it from between his teeth. “Yes.”

“You might have mentioned something.”

He sighed and leaned back into the headboard, “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” you said. You made your way over to the bed and sat down, keeping a considerable amount of space between you and Josh. “I guess, to keep things fair, I should remind you that I said I felt the same.”

“You did?”

“Do you not remember?”

“I remember bits and pieces, but it’s fuzzy. Do you mind, um, running me through it?”

You explained to Josh what happened the night before, from him asking you to stay upstairs with him to asking you for a kiss. His ears continued to grow more red as you walked him through the details.

“I’m really sorry that I was acting like that,” he sighed. “That’s… wow.”

“It’s fine, Josh. Like I said, not the worst night we’ve had together.”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “But, I guess what we should focus on here, you feel the same?”

You broke eye contact and looked down at your bed. “Yeah, I do.”

“Does that embarrass you?”

“I guess,” you shrugged. “I mean, you were obviously drunk last night and I’m not entirely sure you meant what you said. I just thought you deserved to know since I told you all the things you said to me. Now we can both be embarrassed.”

You continued to stare at the bed, but Josh reached out and hooked a finger under your chin, bringing your eyes up to meet his. 

“What’s embarrassing about two people being in love with one another?”

“You mean, what you said… you meant it?”

“Every word.”

You hesitantly started to move forward, but Josh caught your cheek and quickly closed the space between you. His free hand came to your hip, guiding you closer to him until you were straddling his lap. Your kisses were eager, but you had no intention of taking this any further. Not yet, anyway.

“I told you I would kiss you if you still felt the same in the morning,” you said, smiling against Josh’s lips.

“And I told you I would always feel the same, right?”

You nodded before pressing your lips to his again.

[addytheheartbreaker]

Blind Memory

Chapter 8: Know your name (part 1)

Its been weeks today, Joen's thoughts emptied into nothingness for a disturbing reason. He didn't feel like going to sleep during daily routine inside the asylum, but when he go to sleep with his brothers at night, it gave him a blank dream and nothing else. No school place, no light like morning, not feeling of excitement, and most importantly he haven't seen his doll friend at his dreams at all. Something went wrong here....

He didn't know how long and he had forgotten when was the day he first met Doll from the dreamscape. Looking at the calendar, he believed that the rabbit man has known the doll girl for just 3 months, its March today and it is almost turning April this year of 2016. He felt empty inside today, waking up saying morning in a monotone tone, he felt nothing himself as if he became pathetic. This isn't feel right....

He had finished cleaning himself along with his brothers. They all waited for the metal door to open at the right time of strike 6 am.

Nothing happen.... What?

Its already pass 6 o'clock and the Rabbit brothers could heard their stomachs growling in hunger, waiting patiently to watch the metal door to finally open. This day got any worse into letting the group brothers to starved, especially Helios, the big guy who is sweating because of his hunger growling loudly that his younger brothers could heard him. What is going on?

Jason: I'll check outside to see if any guards are passing by.

They all nodded the leader as they went in their separate ways. The gray rabbit lean in the window of the metal door to see anybody outside, Helios sits down and huddled himself trying to stop himself over thinking to giving him an hallucinations of starvation, as for the brown rabbit, Jacob comb his long locks of his hair with a brush. Leon however, the black rabbit cuddle a pillow who is still sleepy himself. The white rabbit stands there doing nothing, Joen doesn't know what to do to himself but waiting. Sitting back to his bed, he almost sit on his pillow with something hard right beside his thigh. He pulled it out to be a key with key chains of an eye ball and a name tag written a cars name plate.

He remembered that day before. Its been a long time ago.

His old classmate came in to visit to this horrid place for a reason. Tyler Jack or TJ, one of the witnesses from that accident from his old school, he suddenly changed since the last time he saw him before his brothers being expelled. TJ came to visit Joen because he had wanted to apologized for not knowing the Rabbit and his brothers suffering such fate, not knowing that his parents 'disappeared' with no trace and learned about the wild rabbit's actions and crimes with the Rabbit and his brothers involved to that wild rabbit.

He didn't deserved such terrible relative from his family. The huge monster told the rabbit man that if he needed something the most if anything horrible happened the young bunny should had told the young monster to let him and his other bunnies to stay at his place instead of staying at the amusement park with the older wild rabbit around. That of course surprises the Rabbit with such offer coming from the Monster. Joen doesn't want him to bother it but very grateful on his generosity and kindness to a monster man himself.

Before the Monster leave because his time is about to times up, TJ gave him something for him that one day if himself or one of his brothers to reach their released. TJ gave Joen the key to his car with a name tag to know where his car plate is then drive it. He explained it to his brothers then started studying the basics and instruction of driving a car, even though they didn't have a license.

Holding the key tightly, feeling the hands of his old friend's offer, flashing back the memory as he place it in his chest gratefully for that. Him or either of his brothers one day be free from this wretched place, waiting for that moment to start themselves to find a way to fix their family's legacy to be known again. They all worked their own songs and music to themselves together, even making an album which is not yet accomplished, they needed to bring the music center to have their album official. Its their own effort by mind and heart over the years of stuck up inside this box.

Its already 7 am today. What is taking so long? The Rabbit brothers are trying not to let hunger to craze them too much. They have been waiting for almost 1 hour and they could wait for another hour to make them impatient.

Helios: ugh! What is taking so long?! Gray, found anyone?

Jason: I did big brother, but I could see guards and doctors rushing into something on my left. I could also see our inmates still inside their boxes too.

Jacob: what? What is going here?

Before anything, an loud alarm echoed through the halls then through the building itself. What is going on here? Foot steps became heavy and a scream could be heard there. The Rabbit brothers alarmed of the sudden scream at the distance outside the halls. The gray young rabbit back away from the door almost like he had suddenly felt scared for a reason, the metal doors are unlock for them. They are finally free ready to run their way to the cafeteria, unfortunately... They could all heard the insane inmates screaming and laughing maniacally and the sounds of destruction somewhere. They all remain inside in disbelief and hesitation. They are all confused what is going on out there, they all believed that an inmate has escaped like it always do, however it wasn't at all.

Something cold entering inside the room, too afraid to open up and see it to themselves. A figure looking at their window as another figure who is shorted then the first figure behind the window as the metal door opened widely to met a girl wearing a white dress, black hair tied up in pigtails, a ball jointed doll girl whose eyes are covered in bandages as she raised her hand directly to the white rabbit.

Addy: Come on Rabbit!

To be continue....

[itsalliepg]

Two Weeks – Zig X Scarlett (MC)(Part 3 of The Sweetest Thing Series)

SUMMARY: The day after Scarlett (MC) and Zack’s talk, Zig also talks to Chris about his feelings for her.

PAIRING: Zig X Scarlett (MC)

RATING: Teen

WORDS: 1948

NOTE: Hey guys! Now it’s time to see Zig’s POV! I tried to add some aspects of his friendship with Chris, my BrOTP!  English isn’t my native language. I write to practice and learn, so please sorry any mistakes. I hope you like it, and if you do, I’d appreciate if you like/comment/reblog!

Click here to read Part 1 Part 2

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I could see it as you turned to stone Still clearly I can hear you say Don't leave, don't give up on me Two weeks and you run away I remember don't lie to me You couldn't see that it was not that way Swear I never gave up on you

(Two Weeks – All That Remains)

On Friday, Zig was trying to focus on his classes. Trying, because during those two weeks, there wasn’t a single minute he didn’t think about Scarlett. Even while at work, every time a costumer ordered a chocolate caramel latte, her favorite. He has never seen her since he leaving the apartment that day. She never went to the coffee again. When one of their friends ordered an extra cup, he knew it was to her. And he asked them about her. The answer was the same: she was miserable, remorseful, exactly what he imagined and feared. It seemed she was the one who suffered the most, but the truth was he was as destroyed as she was. But she was always better at demonstrating this than he was. No one knew, but Zig cried every night, missing the feeling of falling asleep with Scarlett cuddled with him. He was still upset at her attitudes, but knowing she was so sorrowed hurt him too. She didn’t deserve this, and he shouldn’t be treating her like that. Zig blamed her for that break, but he could have acted differently. After class, he decided to drive around town to clear his mind, but he ended up in a place which was special for both of them.

               _Hey, Zig – Chris greeted when Zig entered his apartment.

               _Hey, Chris – he answered, his head down, and sat beside Chris on the couch.

               _What’s up? – Chris set his homework on the coffee table and turned to him. He and Zack planned to talk to Zig and Scarlett separately and do their best to make them express their feelings. That was the opportunity Chris was waiting for. Zig was hard to get to, but he and Chris had been best friends since last year, after Zig joined in the football team.

               _After my classes ended today, I drove for a while, and then I realized I was in front of the place I took Scarlett when James was leaving, I think I told you – Chris nodded – that place is really special for us, because that’s where I felt closest to her, to her anguish, and I promised – he breathed in unsteadily – I promised to be there for her every time she needed it, and I broke that promise again. I abandoned her after that argument at Kaitlyn’s show and now again – the tears came easily – now she saw who I really am. Despite all that we’ve been through together, and how much she has helped me change, deep down, I’m the same rude guy she met two years ago. She must be disappointed with me and it’s all my fault. I’m sure she hates me now, and she has every right to it.

               _Zig, Scarlett doesn’t hate you – Chris wrapped an arm around his shoulders – she must be upset, but I know she loves you, and that hasn’t change. And hey, you’re nothing close to who you were when we met you, Zig. If I could see your change, Scarlett can see it even more – Zig wiped his tears.

               _I’m an idiot. This isn’t the kind of thing I learned about treating a girlfriend. That’s the kind of thing my dad would do, not me… - he sobbed – even my mom’s mad at me. She adores Scarlett and remembered me when she said Scarlett should be treated like a queen… - Chris let out his arm, to turn to face him.

               _So, in this case, I need to ask: why are you treating her like this? – Zig rubbed his face in embarrassment.

               _I think I was very focused on what I was feeling, my anger and my sadness of what she did that I ignored everything else. I accused her of being selfish, but so was I. As I asked to her, she respected my decision of this break. And maybe I hurt her more than she hurt me.

               _So, you’re not so mad at her anymore? – Chris noticed Zig shifting uncomfortably – Zig, you can tell me these things. We always talk about personal issues, like our families. What are best friends for? – Zig remembered when he told about his record, and Chris talked to him after that. He told Chris about his family before  he even told Scarlett.

               _Okay, you’re right – Zig sighed – things are cool now, I guess. I’m still upset that she hid things from me and I’ve always been sincere with her, but I don’t know, maybe I’d do the same if I was in her shoes. Those guys are a bunch of sociopaths, you saw what they did with Tyler.

               _Yeah, I still can’t believe Tyler chose their side. Now he’s one of the Alphas.

               _Ugh, I feel nauseous just hearing that name. And for everything they did to her. If that Beau is still thinking about posting the video, he'll have to face me first – he frowned and snorted.

               _You still love her, don’t you? – Chris asked, smiling a little.

               _Chris, I… - Zig buried his face in his hands – all this time hasn’t changed the fact that I love her more than anything – some tears formed again in the corners of his eyes – you know, after my prison, I have nightmares sometimes. I dream of my sister screaming and begging me to stop beating her ex, my mother’s look of despair when I was sentenced, my loneliness in the juvie, things like that. A few weeks ago, I had one of those nightmares and I woke up in the middle of night, scared. I looked to the side and saw Scarlett sleeping. Serene, beautiful, perfect. She was even smiling –tears left his eyes – and at that moment I thought “This is the woman I want to have by my side when I wake up after a bad dream from now on” – he wiped away the tears, but others fell – and not only that, she’s the one I want to be Mrs. Ortega, the mother of my children, and growing old with me – his voice has become clumsy – that day, I started saving to buy a ring, and propose to her after graduation, if I could hold myself there – Chris smiled and squeezed Zig’s shoulder – but now I don’t know if I can do that.

               _Of course you can, Zig! Nothing is lost yet! I know you can talk again now and sort things out – Zig didn’t look too convinced – look, I know you haven’t searched the college dorms yet, and I know it’s because you still hope you can go back to the apartment, right? – he raised an eyebrow and Zig sighed.

               _Yeah, you’re right, Chris. Damn, I’m like Abbie last year at your house, aren’t I?

               _Hey, Zig, don’t worry. You’re my friend, and you can stay here as long as you need. To be honest, I was missing a roommate – they laughed slightly – but Scarlett’s also my friend and I know she’s suffering as much as you. And it’s curious that you mentioned Abbie. I remember when she came to our house, you were there too, and you told her something about how much she and Tyler cared about each other and it’s worth fighting. I can see the same with you and Scarlett.

               _I advised the couple who are separated now. And the problems they had were the kind of problems Scarlett and I have sometimes and five minutes later we’re okay. What happened between us is much worse, Chris. I’m afraid we have the same fate.

               _I’ll be honest with you, Zig. I always thought you and Scarlett are a lot more mellowed than Tyler and Abbie. You can solve for yourself the issues that they couldn’t. And thanks to your maturity, you can solve that too and don’t let external factors interfere with your relationship, like Tyler did – Zig’s glare finally faded away.

               _I was an idiot with her – he repeated, sadly – I accused her of cheating on me with that Nathan from the Alphas, and I didn’t believe her.

               _About it, you don’t have to worry, because since you started dating, she has no eyes for anyone else. Better, since she met you. I noticed how she looked at you even before she knew your name, she was enchanted, just like today – Zig beamed, remembering their early days, the flirtating, and everything they had lived together.

               _I don’t have eyes for anyone else either. She’s my whole world, and I’d do everything for her.

               _I know she’d do that too. She made a mistake by hiding the truth from us, especially you, but you can’t accuse her of acting with second intentions. She did what she thought was right. Actually, I think she was really brave, trusting both herself and her ability to solve it all. Of course, she didn’t have to do that and risked her life in the process. But I think we both know that the brave decisions aren’t always are the smartest or the safest – Chris nudged Zig, and he smiled a little.

               _You’re right. I was a hypocrite with Scarlett too – Zig rubbed his forehead – and so unfair…when I remember her face when I threw all that bunch of insults, I want to slap myself. And I refused to listen to her, and believe her. The woman of my life didn’t deserve that treatment.

               _So…maybe it’s time to talk to her? – Chris grinned.

               _Yes, it’s time to talk to her. I almost lost her once because of my stubbornness and my rough manners, I won’t make the same mistake twice – Zig smiled – I’ll get my girl back. I just hope she accepts my apology.

               _That’s what like to hear, Ortega! – Chris shoved his arm playfully and they laughed – I’m sure she will accept. She wants it as much as you do.

               _I have to work now – he glanced at the clock on his phone – but I’ll compose everything I want to say in my mind, then text her to set a place and a time where we can talk.

               _Sounds like a plan that can work.

               _I’m confident this will work – Zig turned to Chris – thank you so much, Chris – they hugged each other – for everything, let me stay here all these days, talk to me and help me to see what I was doing. You’re really my best friend.

               _I always had the feeling you’d be my best friend since we talked that day at Kappa’s house, Zig. And I know you’d do the same to me. You can always count on me.

               _Thanks, so do you –they pulled back, smiling, and got up of the couch – well, now I’ll get ready to work – suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket – it’s Kaitlyn? – he found it strange. Kaitlyn always had a habit of texting, not calling – hey, Kaitlyn, what’s up?...w-what?...is she okay? – Chris looked at him, concerned – I’ll be there, thanks, Kaitlyn.

               _What happened? – Chris asked, his eyes widening. Zig was shaking, his mouth agape.

               _Scarlett…she… - he stammered, looking at the floor – Kaitlyn said a car ran over her…Zack and Kaitlyn are in the hospital…

               _Oh, my God… - Chris didn’t believe.

               _I need to see her – Zig turned to Chris – would you go with me? I don’t know if I can drive…

               _Sure, Zig! Let’s go! – they left the apartment, while Zig called to his boss, explaining what happened.

[ohprettyweeper-moved]

Caught on Fire

Part 13

Summary: The wait to see what will happen next is almost unbearable.   Pairing: Josh Dun x Reader Word Count: 1695 Warnings: Serious injury, hospital setting, mentions of surgery.     

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Deanna let you wait it out in the break room until her shift was done. You felt bad not being at the hospital, but you were suddenly scared to go back. Nicole texted you several times, but you ignored it. In your mind, if you didn’t go back to the hospital, Josh would stay alive and you had nothing to worry about. 

“All right, dear, let’s get you home. You’ll shower, I’ll make you a bite to eat, then we’ll get you back to the hospital.”

“What if I don’t go?” you asked quietly. “What if I just wait until there’s news?”

Deanna stopped you in your tracks. She set her hand gently under your chin and forced you to look up at her. 

“If you wait until there’s news, Y/N, and it’s bad news, you’ll never forgive yourself. You won’t.” Deanna took a deep breath and dropped her hands down to yours. “I was blessed that Tom was never in a serious accident. Some scrapes here and there, but I know that fear of every phone call, every car that stops in front of your house. And I know, without a doubt, if something had happened to Tom, and I wasn’t there — if I wasn’t there to hold his hand, to tell him everything was going to be okay, I would regret that for the rest of my life.”

“I love him so much,” you said, crying for what felt like the millionth time, “I can’t watch him die.”

“Then don’t. Go back to the hospital and remind him he’s got you to live for.”

You nodded and followed her to her car. You would figure out how to get yours later. 

* * * * *

“What the hell happened to you?” Nicole demanded when you finally showed back up at the hospital. You had a coffee in one hand, and handed her a hot chocolate. 

You swallowed down some of your coffee. “I got scared. I was afraid if I was here and something happened …”

Nicole’s chin quivered and her eyes lit up. “I wasn’t supposed to be here, Y/N! I was at home with my husband, enjoying the holiday, and getting excited about watching fireworks with our baby next year. He wasn’t supposed to be working, but that fire got so big, they called him in. I have everything to lose, but I’m here, because that’s what you do when you love someone. You love Josh, but you left, and you stayed away. Maybe you should really think about what your answer’s gonna be if he makes it through this.”

You stared at her in disbelief. She had never spoken to you that way; she had always been on your side. She shoved the hot chocolate back in your hand. 

“I have to go back to Tyler’s room. They took Josh back into surgery. His parents are in the waiting room.”

She stalked off to Tyler’s room then, leaving you in the wake of her outburst. You knew that you deserved every bit of her anger and frustration, but her words still hurt. Taking a deep breath to stop yourself from yet another bout of crying, you ventured to the waiting room to find Josh’s parents and get an update on what had sent him back into surgery. Fortunately, they were far more understanding about the fear that had kept you away from the hospital. 

“Nicole is pregnant, emotional, and probably scared herself,” Laura said, patting your arm. “I’ve known both of these boys for a long time. They’ll pull through — they both will.”

She made the statement with such certainty, it was impossible not to believe that she was right. Hoping that her positivity would hit you somewhere in the middle of all of your own uncertainty, you sat back with your coffee and waited for news. 

* * * * *

“As you know,” Dr. Roberts, the neurosurgeon on Josh’s case, began, “we took Josh back into surgery to relieve a bleed on his brain that had a delayed presentation. The surgery went very well, and I’m fairly confident that Josh will wake up.”

“When?” you couldn’t help but ask. Immediately, you gave his parents an apologetic look, but Bill waved it off, and Laura patted your arm again. 

Dr. Roberts winced. “I wish I could give you a time frame. For now, until we see where his vitals land as he recovers, we’re going to keep him sedated. As he grows stronger, we can wean off that sedation, get him to wake up on his own.”

You nodded; this wasn’t news, really. You were a nurse, after all. You knew how medically induced comas worked, but you needed to hear the doctor say all of that anyway. You weren’t a nurse right now; you were the scared loved one of a patient. An overwhelming role reversal, to say the least. 

“You’re welcome to go in and see him, if you’d like. Visiting hours are over, but I’ve told the nursing staff to give you all some time, seeing as how he just came out of surgery.”

Bill and Laura got up to follow the doctor, but you stayed behind. You promised to follow in a couple of minutes, to give them some time alone with their son. You didn’t say it out loud, but the delay would also give you time to prepare yourself for what you were going to see when you walked into that room. 

The machines and wires you expected. The bandage on Josh’s head from his most recent surgery, the set bones you had already seen earlier. The bruises and the scrapes. You hadn’t prepared yourself for Josh’s skin to be so ghostly white. You hadn’t prepared yourself for the bruising that had developed around his right eye, or the swelling of the cut on his lip. 

“Do you mind if I — can I stay here with him tonight?” you blurted out as you left the room with Bill and Laura a while later. “I feel like I need to make up for the time I wasn’t here earlier.”

The older couple simply smiled at each other. Laura came over and kissed you on the cheek. “I knew he picked right when he picked you.”

With a quick hug, she and Bill were waving goodbye to you and setting off for home for the night. You went to the nurse’s station for a pillow and a couple of blankets, so you could hunker down in the uncomfortable recliner in Josh’s hospital room. 

* * * * *

After two more days, Josh seemed to be coming out of the woods. He was breathing on his own, and his baseline vitals were strong and holding steady. Dr. Roberts ordered the sedation to be reversed. All you could do was wait with everyone else, to see if Josh would wake up. If or when he did, the next question would be, would he be the Josh you all knew?

You never left the hospital. You kept your family and Deanna updated via text message, had food delivered up from the cafeteria. You showered and changed in the nurse’s locker room used by the ER staff. The guilt over leaving when Josh was first hurt was far more than you could take if you took the chance of leaving again. 

Someone softly saying your name startled you awake that day. You blinked a few times, trying to get your eyes to focus. Finally, you realized it was Nicole who had woken you. She had a coffee in her outstretched hand. 

“Thanks,” you yawned. “Morning.”

“Good morning,” she returned. “I wanted to apologize, Y/N, for going off on you the way I did the other day. I was really scared and — there was no excuse, honestly. I’m sorry, too, that I haven’t been here for you since all of this started.”

You gave her a sleepy smile. “Thank you for that. I probably deserved it, really, taking off the way I did. We were all scared, things happened. It’s past now.”

“You’re right,” she agreed, taking a seat nearby. “How is he?”

You tilted your head back and forth as you drank your coffee. “They’ve got him off the sedation. Just waiting to see if he’s gonna wake up on his own.”

“When he’s gonna wake up,” Nicole corrected. 

“When. Yes.” You took another sip of the delicious coffee. “How’s Tyler?”

“Going home today, finally,” Nicole sighed. “Those Joseph boys know how to give everyone a good scare, that’s for sure. Poor Kelly is gonna be campaigning for them to find a new career before too long, I’d imagine.”

“I’m sure,” you smiled. 

Movement from the hospital bed caught both your attention and Nicole’s. You exchanged a glance with her before setting your coffee to the side, throwing back the blankets, and moving to Josh’s bedside. 

“Will you call his parents, please?” 

Nicole nodded and stepped into the hallway with her phone. You took Josh’s hand in both of yours; he squeezed your hand. 

“Josh,” you whispered, fighting that lump in your throat again. “It’s me, sweetie. I’m here.” 

He squeezed your hands again and drew in a deep breath. You watched, holding your own breath, mentally willing his eyes to open. Please, you thought to yourself, please wake up and be you. 

Josh’s forehead creased into a small frown. It seemed to take some effort, but only a moment later, you were looking into a pair of very familiar, brown eyes — eyes you had not seen in too long. 

The longer you stared, though, so did Josh. He looked confused; at first you thought it might be waking up in the hospital after being out for so long, but when you repeated his name, Josh only looked at you all the more confused. 

Fear gripped every fiber of your being. Amnesia wasn’t abnormal for a patient with a brain injury, or even one who had recently gone through a trauma, or some sort of surgery. Josh had recently experienced all three. With bated breath, you waited to see if recognition would cross over Josh’s handsome features, or if the battle against the injuries from his accident had only begun. 

[purplesurveys]

629

What color is your bedspread? Blue and yellow. Pick up the nearest book to you, turn to page 25 and read the first sentence. I’m on the rooftop and there isn’t a book anywhere near me at the moment. How many candles are in the room you are in? No candles, just two faint beams coming from our rooftop lights. What was your first word when you were a baby? My parents didn’t give much thought to stuff like that so they didn’t keep track of my first word, whatever it was. It was most likely either mommy or daddy though. How old were you in 1996? I was...somewhere in the universe, floating around lmao.

How old will you be in 2016? I turned 18 in 2016. How long until your birthday? A little less than three months before I turn 22. How many siblings do you have? Two.  Are they older or younger than you? My sister is two years younger, my brother is five years younger. Are your grandparents still alive? I have three out of four. I lost my maternal grandfather in 2015. How many orange objects are there in the room you are in? The lights we have on our rooftop emit a yellow-orange hue.   Have you ever run a stoplight? Never. I’ve seen enough car crash videos to know what could possibly happen if I was that impatient/if I drove too fast to brake. Do you have any children? Nope. Maybe by the end of the decade. Saying that and knowing that it isn’t 100% bullshit feels WILD. How was your first kiss? It was mostly her. I was too overwhelmed and shaking too much to remember. That whole time I was just in disbelief that I was already having my first kiss lol. Have you completed high school yet? Yeah, almost four years ago. I’m about to complete university/college this year. Do you have any relatives in the military currently? As far as I know, no. The only person I know who’s in the military is Angela’s uncle, who she’s told me about but we’ve never met each other. I also know Kate’s brother is attending military school instead of attending a ~traditional academic university, so to speak. Who got married at the last wedding you went to? Oh my, the last wedding I was in was in 2007, and it was between my uncle (my mom’s youngest brother) and my now-aunt. The new batch of weddings I’m going to be invited to now is definitely gonna be my friends’ and I’m STOKED. What time did you get up today? I first woke up at 6 AM, but I wanted to sleep in so I officially got up at around 9. When was the last time you stayed up all night? I haven’t had an all-nighter in around three years, but I did stay up until 4 AM partying with my friends a couple of months ago. We got back to Rita’s place by 5 AM, but I guess this still kinda counts as staying up all night. How long have you had a myspace, facebook, or whatever you use? I’ve had a Facebook since 2013 (I only made one since my English teacher in freshman year required us to make an account, but I technically wasn’t allowed by my parents so I had to sign up in secret). I made a Twitter three years before that, because it was a website that my parents didn’t know about yet so it was easier to sneak in and make an account for it. Who was the last person of the opposite sex you hung out with? My cousin, Jereth. We exchanged stories and played the Switch while waiting for 2020 to hit. Person of the same sex? Gabie. She came over last Friday. What color are your eyes? They are dark brown but appear to be black most days. Do you like them? Sure, it’s not like Filipinos have a choice lolol. Have you ever had braces? Yes, I had them for a year and a half in high school. I eventually lost my retainers and never got to buy another set, so everything that the braces did was to no avail since my teeth just went back to how they looked like pre-braces. :( Turn on your mp3, cd player, radio, etc. What song is playing? Khalid’s Talk just started playing on my Spotify. What was the last thing you drank? My second cup of barako coffee is keeping me company up on the rooftop right now.

Are you better at math or art? Math. I never accomplished anything presentable in art classes. Science or History? Oooooh, ya got me. I love both, but nothing replaces my love for history. Who was your 4th grade teacher? Ms. Belen, who is actually Satan in a middle-aged woman’s body. I won’t deny that I’ve wished for her death several times; she had her favorites and made her non-favorites know that she hated them. She was just that awful. Who was your best friend in 7th grade? Gabie! We actually met in the seventh grade and she’s been my best friend ever since then. Where did you go to pre-school, if you went at all? I went to the same school from preschool to high school, which we’ll hide under the name AA. We don’t have schools divided into primary, secondary, high school and whatever else y’all have in America. Who was the last person to call you? It was my mom. We went to the mall so I can spend time in Starbucks while she was looking for fancy china (we were going to have guests the next day), and she called to tell me she was gonna drive to another mall cos she couldn’t find any good plates in the mall we were currently in.

Did you smile in your driver's license picture? Yes. They told me I was allowed to smile, so I gave a hearty grin. Apparently that’s an unusual thing to do cos most people just give a closed-mouth smile or don’t smile at all, and the people at the LTO were very amused when my license was finally printed out hahaha. Do you have a job? Not yet, but that’s my goal by the end of the year. AHHHHHHHH WILD What is your favorite smell? Curry being cooked or cookies being baked. What's your favorite brand of gum? Bazooka is classic bubblegum flavor, so I’ll go with that. Have you ever dated someone & then dated their sibling? Nope. I think I’d find that super awkward, especially in my case because I see Gab’s sisters as my little sisters too lol. Who was your crush in 5th grade? My science teacher lmaoooo. We don’t talk about that era. Who was your first bf/gf? Gab. What color is the shirt you are wearing? Brown and black. What do you think of the 1980's? Pop music, big hair, Madonna, Michael Jackson. Have you ever dated someone more than 2 years older than you? I haven’t. How about 2 years younger? Nope. I’ve only dated one person and they’re the same age as me, so I don’t really know how I feel about age gaps in relationships. What brand of shampoo do you use? Dove. How long is your hair? It’s super long now that I hadn’t had it cut AT ALL in 2019. I want to have it long for my grad pic shoot so I’m probably not having it trimmed until February. If I lean my head a bit back, it already reaches my hips. If you could change one thing about yourself physically, what would it be? I’d have my teeth fixed. Is there a box of tissues in the room you are in right now? Nope, I’m out in the rooftop and there’s no reason to keep tissue in here lol. What time is it? 10:27 PM. Is their anything living (plant, animal, etc) in your room right now? We have plants on each corner of the rooftop. What color are the walls in your kitchen? White. All our walls are white, except for my brother’s bedroom which used to be the balcony until we had it renovated. His walls are creamish. Have you ever had a car accident? Mild ones. I’ve never been in a major crash where a car was totally destroyed or where someone was hurt. Do you have any major plans for today? There’s like half an hour left before the day officially ends, so I think I’m good. What kind of deoderant do you use? A...normal one? If you mean brands, I have a Dove one. What color is your toothbrush? Maroon and white. Do you own a digital camera? Nope. I stopped using those around seven or eight years ago. How old is the cellphone you have right now? It’s almost two years old. What are your initials, using the last letter of each of your names? NELZ. Do you know anyone named Tyler? I know a high school classmate’s stepbrother is named Tyler, but I don’t know anyone personally with that name. How about Reese? Katreen’s younger sister is named Reese. Diana? No. I know several Diannes, though. Shelby? That’s a no for me. Have you ever kissed someone who's name started with "C"? Negative. How about "L"? Also no. "E"? I haven’t. "B"? Andddddd nope. Are both your parents still living? Yep. What was the last thing you cooked? Nothing. How many times have you moved in your life? That I remember? Two. Do you live within 20 miles of your birthplace? Yeah, I think Manila counts as being pretty close to where I am now. Can you do a handstand? I can’t. I tried many times as a kid though (and hurt myself several times in the process). Is it after 11am? Well after, in fact. What day is it? Thursday, but it’s soon going to turn to Friday. What's the longest time you've ever spent on the phone? I was once on a Viber call for around eight hours straight with Gab back in like the early months of our relationship. That was insane. We never did it again after that lolol. How many pairs of brown shoes do you own? Just the one pair of brown heels. Are you on any prescribed medications? Nopes. What was the date 2 weeks ago from today? December 19th. If you aren't already married, do you expect to be married within 5 years? No. I’m giving myself between 7-10 years. How about 2 years? That’s an even bigger no. How many funerals have you been to in your lifetime? I’ve never been to a funeral, just wakes. I don’t think I’d like funerals, so I want to stay as unaware as I am now. Have you ever been far away from home on your birthday? Yeah. I was in Batangas for my 20th. I also went on a cruise around East Asia for my 18th birthday, but I was back in the Philippines by the day of my actual birthday. The cruise took place in the days leading up to it. Have you ever had a pet fish? Yes. My first pets were goldfish. Do you have any tattoos? Nope. Would you ever or do you have a nose piercing? Probably not. I wanted one as a teenager though. If you only had 30 days to live, what would you do? That’s pretty dark, but uhhhhhhhh I guess I’d spend all my money, party as much as I want, drink as much as I want, look for new owner/s for my dog, drive as far as I can, spend most of the time with my girlfriend.

[wintersxsoul]

Fire Meets Gasoline (6)

Summary: You leave your city to start over in your best friend’s town, oblivious to the fact that you have an unexpected roommate. What will happen when fire meets gasoline?

Pairing: Loki x Female!Reader

Word Count: 1.5k-ish?

Warnings: I don’t really know, none I guess,

A/N: PLEASE SEND ME ASKS TO BE TAGGED, I AM A MESS AND I REALLY DON’T READ ALL THE COMMENTS CAUSE I DON’T HAVE TIME SKSKKS.

“I loved it! But I only have one question. They couldn’t find rats so they used armadillos?” Loki asked confused. Of course you knew the answer, when you first watched the movie and saw the armadillos, you did your research.

“Well, apparently in the 20s and 30s, armadillos weren’t very common, so moviemakers would use them as a creepy, “demonic” animal.” He stared at you with a weird expression, and you started to panic, thinking that maybe you were being too much.

“I’m sorry, I just...I don’t know.” Loki saw the shift in your expression and the excitement glint in your eyes disappear. He couldn’t understand why you were apologizing but as soon as he studied in detail your body language, it clicked.

“How can you know that?” He wanted you to regain the enthusiasm you had while watching the movie and explaining to him the facts you knew. He looked at you, expectant, waiting for an answer.

“I was as shocked as you when I first saw it, so I did some digging.” You shrugged and remembered another fact. “Dracula also has a Jerusalem cricket as a pet, with its tiny little coffin and all.” You said in a laugh. You really loved knowing small facts about so many movies.

Loki’s phone buzzed on the small table in front of you. He stared at you a little longer, even though you weren’t speaking, and grabbed his phone.

“Hello?” He answered frowning but as soon as the other person spoke, his face lit up. You moved to stand up but he grabbed your wrist and stopped you. You looked at him confused.

“Yes, I know...Yes, she’s here...Right now?” Loki nodded and pressed the FaceTime button, showing Thor and Jane on the screen. You moved closer to Loki when he made a small movement with his head for you to get in the call.

“Hello Y/n!!” Both Jane and Thor said, waving at you enthusiastically. You smiled at them widely.

“Hello guys! How is everything going?” You asked, excited to finally being able to see your best friend after such a long time. Jane was talking about a project she was working on for NASA and Thor was just standing next to her, looking at her like she held the whole universe in her eyes. You felt your heart swell in your chest, happy tears for your friends threatening to fall.

“Enough of us. How are you two?” You shared a look with Loki, neither of you knowing what you could answer. After the conversation you had today, you knew things were going to be different, but you weren’t friends yet so you both just shrugged in order to answer.

“We are okay I guess? We haven’t killed each other, which is a great improvement, seeing how everything started.” You looked at Loki for his approval and you found him already looking at you, smiling in a friendly way.

“Well, isn't that oportune, babe?” Thor winked at Jane, both of them smiling widely. You looked at Loki to see his expression, but he was as clueless as you. If “????” could be spoken, Loki and you would probably be shouting it.

​”Guys, what the fuck is going on?” Loki finally asked, since Thor and Jane were just giggling, not able to speak.

“We are getting married!” Thor said as Jane raised her left hand to show her engagement ring. You stared at the screen in awe, tears rolling through your cheeks.

Loki was looking at you, knowing he was out of sight of Thor and Jane, spilling happy tears for his brother.

“And we want you to be the groomsman and the bridesmaid.” You spoke on the phone with them a little longer until they had to hang up.

You couldn’t believe you had to go to Norway with Loki. The wedding was 1 year away but knowing how you two were around each other, could you actually trust nothing bad was going to happen?

A couple of days after Thor’s call, you were laying in your bed half asleep, when your alarm went off. Your vacations were over and you had to go back to your insane routine. You dragged your feet to the kitchen to brew some coffee and as you waited for it to be ready, a message popped in.

Unknown number: Hello Y/n, it’s me, Eric. I don’t know what happened to you, but I tried to call you and I even went to your house, but your parents told me you left and changed your phone number.

I really miss you and all the things we used to do together. I miss my friend. Do you remember when we used to fuck all day long? I really do.

I just wanted to remind you that whenever you want to come back or just have sex, I’ll be here.

A sob escaped your lips, breaking the silence of the room. You couldn’t believe what  your eyes just read. After he used you, played with your feelings and made you fall in love with him through manipulation, put all your group of friends against you by lying, he had the fucking audacity to talk to you and ask you to basically have sex again with him. He told all your friends you were talking shit behind their backs, when in reality, it was him who did that. You explained yourself but they all rejected you, so you left, with a broken heart. You lost a fake love you thought it was real and friendships that you thought they were going to last forever. Eric was still oblivious to all the pain he’d caused and you were just a coward who couldn’t confront the truth, which was that he never cared for you, not in the slightest, he just cared about him and his dick.

You decided not to answer and block the number, so he couldn’t text you or call you again. You got dressed, wearing a cute floral shirt and high waisted black jeans, your hair up in a messy bun and a dark red lipstick. You were ready to face the night with a newfound strength.

The Blood Moon was full, the usual customers already drunk as fuck, half asleep on the overused leather barstools. Loki was around the bar as well, flirting with a redhead. You shook your head, smiling at the sight of your friend being a total flirt. You were so happy you fixed things with him a couple of weeks ago and now got to call him friend, happy to finally have someone to talk at night about everything and watching your favorite movies together. The last movie you had seen together was one of your absolute favorite ones, called Only Lovers Left Alive, and he loved it so much he even suggested to watch it once a month. After all your failed friendships, you believed you finally had a second chance with Val, Thor and Loki.

“What is a girl like you, doing in a place like this?” You turned around rolling your eyes at the comment but letting out a chuckle.

“Waiting for someone like you, of course.” You winked at Loki while you poured his favorite mix in a tall glass and handing him a free shot.

“Are you coming home tonight?” He asked, probably trying to avoid having sex with someone while you were there with someone else as well. You shrugged and answered.

“Haven’t found my prey yet. I’ll text you to let you know, okay?” He nodded and smiled at you, pointing with his head at the redhead and moving through the sea of people to reach her.

A couple hours later, a few shots and a new arm to cling to, you texted Loki to let him know you were headed home and be there in 20 minutes.

Loki: Cool, she’s already asleep so no prob. I will use my noise cancelling headphones. Have a good night.

-

“Hey...hey?” You shook Tyler’s arm, trying to wake him up so he could leave.

“Tyler?” You tried again and again, but nothing woke him. You sighed and left your room, wrapped in a blanket with your cozy socks, ready to sleep on the couch.

You entered the living room silently, trying not to wake up everyone else.

“Hello?” you asked, as you heard someone in the room.

“Hey, it’s just me.” Loki said as he sat down on the couch with a book on his hands. You plopped down next to him and wrapped the blanket closer to your body.

“Can’t sleep?” You kind of whispered him. He nodded and opened the book. He was reading... Shakespeare??!!

“What about you?” He asked, not even looking up from his book. He was wearing glasses, a black shirt and grey sweats, his hair in a very messy braid.

“The jerk fell asleep and I can’t wake him up, so I was planning on sleeping on the couch.” You shrugged, trying to play the matter down, but it didn’t work.

“And you can’t sleep there?” You shook your head and began explaining him why.

“That’s why you panicked when we slept together?” You nodded, embarrassed. “I’m so sorry I was such an ass, I didn’t know it held so much meaning to you.”

“It’s fine, you didn’t know it and it was unintentional.” You told him, really meaning it.  

[theladyfangs]

Reflections/The Other Part 12

(Dear God...this is the last time I upload a story of this length to tumblr. This is starting to feel like the fic that never ends...but I swear it’s starting to wrap here in a bit).

I’d Rather Go Blind

“Admiral,” Lorca greets her as he comes on the bridge. “This is…unexpected.”

Katrina eyes him up and down, critically. Uniform immaculate as always. His hair slightly mussed, as if he were sleeping, but when he gets close, she catches a whiff and frowns, knowing that smell. She’s known Gabriel too long to be fooled. His default when shit goes awry, when he’s stressed to the point where he can’t deal. And she senses something else too—the way he’s standing, slightly back from her, guarded, and…she gets to his face, noting the blue in his eyes, the slightly withdrawn look: he’s hiding something.

“Conference room, Captain.”

Tell. Don’t ask.

They go, leaving Tyler with Saru.

Once the doors shut, she turns on him.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Katrina snaps. “Attacking in Klingon space. Are you crazy? We could have lost this ship and her tech!”

“But we didn’t lose the ship or the tech,” Lorca says measuredly, not wanting to antagonize her further. “We came back. Got the job done.”

“And WHAT, exactly, was the job? The impetus? We were moving the needle.”

“It wasn’t moving fast enough,” he defends.

“Shut up right there.”

Lorca massages his temple, feeling his patience beginning to wear thin—he’s annoyed that she’s talking to him like this, but he’s letting her—knowing her anger is probably due to a hell of a lot more than just a mission she disagreed with. Katrina charges on.

“YOU jeopardized this ship. This crew. All for what? Your ego? Your glory?”

“It’s NOT my ego!” He finally snaps, venting the extent of pent-up frustration. “Your people screwed up. Had Terral listened to Michael we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. YOU, Admiral, punish her for violating ‘Starfleet directives’, THEN you’re fucking surprised we’re getting our asses kicked halfway to Sunday!

“Who decided to only defend the colonies and leave the arrays undefended? Who decided to de-militarize the Federation? Hell, I get it. Peace in the fucking galaxy, but WHEN will you guys wake up and accept SOME responsibility for this? YOU and your ilk, Katrina—the old guard is gone. This is YOUR fault. Accept it. I jumped into Klingon space to send a message—that the Federation ISN’T passive. That it WILL do more than just defend itself. That it’s just as willing as they are to fight—and from what I’m seeing—it’s working. Hell, you won’t even tell the others what we’re doing—so which one of us is being the coward-- me, or you?”

Only after Lorca’s done does the rest slowly sink in.

“You’re accusing me,” she starts slowly, “of allowing the invasion? Do you KNOW how you sound right now? We’ve lost tens of thousands of people, Gabriel. And you’re saying it’s wrong to want for peace—what do you propose? Constant war? Humanity tried that for centuries, and I know you know history.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, Katrina.”

Lorca sits back down, realizing he’s been standing the past few minutes ranting.

“It doesn’t matter, now. What matters is getting you to see why we did what we did. Why Michael and I made the decision to go on offence. Can you at least admit it’s got them nervous? I know you get the transmission logs.”

She does. And she has seen, through Tyler, the amount of confusion the strike has caused among Klingon forces. But still…

“There are rules, Gabriel.”

“Rules are for admirals in back offices,” he retorts.

“Pick that up from over there?” She snaps back, eyes narrow, standing now and circling him. “You haven’t been the same since you came back. You sound like him.”

Like him.

“Then maybe he was right about a few things,” Lorca tells her, to Kat’s surprise. A shudder runs through her.

“What did you lose over there, Gabriel? What happened to your humanity?”

But he won’t answer. Instead, “Are we done, Admiral?”

“No, we’re not. How many crew did you lose?”

Thanks to Saru, she’s seen the reports about the boarding.

“Five.”

“Were their lives worth it?”

“To end a war? You said yourself, tens of thousands have died already. My people died with dignity. Honour. Trying to save the Federation. That’s all I’m doing. Trying to save us. Because we’re fighting an enemy that doesn’t play by the rules, Katrina. And I think you know that. And I also think you know,” he leans closer now, “that we will lose our way of life if we don’t come up with a better way.”

“Tell me why I shouldn’t bust you down and send Burnham to the nearest prison colony?” She refuses the bait.

But at the word ‘Burnham’, there’s something different in Gabriel’s face. It disappears just as quickly—but it sure as hell looked like…panic?

“You wouldn’t.” He tells her. “We’re your best for bringing this thing to an end. You hate what we’re doing, but condoning it. And you left Michael here for a reason.”

Katrina catches it once more. Not Specialist. Not Burnham. Michael.  The collective, “we”.

Another glance at Gabriel. He’s giving her the blank stare of indifference, but his shoulders are tense. Still as a statue. She knows his bluffs. His hedges. His ticks and his quirks. Katrina eyes him critically, takes a longer look at the man she used to love…still loves…

It comes out of nowhere. Like a shock to her system. She doesn’t know what prompts it. What makes her say it. Maybe it’s stress. Maybe it’s worry. Some unresolved something from deep down that rears up in the moment. But the words that escape, she can’t take back, and the truth reveals itself in the look on his face when she asks, point-blank…  

“Are you sleeping with her?”

.

.

Tyler II

It’s early, but he wants to see her. To show her that he’s…better now. That in these months apart, he’s found something to hold on too, that he’s not the person that attacked her and that he’s worked hard to be better. For her.

Tyler retraces the familiar path toward the quarters Michael shares with Tilly, feeling anxious, but wanting to resolve this. Resolve them, convince her he’s changed, learned. That he’s a better man, can be a better man. For her.

The chime of the call is faint, inside. He waits, hoping Michael will come to the door.

“Tilly?”

“Ash?”

She rubs her eyes sleepily and blinks a few times, puzzled at his appearance, a mess of red curls adorning her head. Tilly’s hair has always been impressive, wild, nearly un-tamable and she’s complained of it more than a few times—but the hair is part of her, its own character and personality separate and apart from its owner.

“What are you doing here? It’s…” she glances behind her and back at him.

“0527?”

“Yeah. I came in with Admiral Cornwell.”

Tilly nods, becoming more awake as they talk. She’s not moved from the doorway, and he casts a few looks over her head, trying to peek inside. Tilly catches it.

“So…what brings you…here?” She asks, knowing but trying to stall.

Michael rarely sleeps in their room anymore. And she hasn’t been here in…weeks really. But Ash doesn’t know that. And she doesn’t want to be the one to have to say it.

“Is Michael here?”

“Um…no, I think, she…uh…maybe left a little earlier?”

Sylvia isn’t a good liar. It’s in the way her eyes dart away nervously. The chewing of her lip. The shifting of the feet. It’s so…human, he thinks snidely, but stops, realizing those are Voq’s thoughts, not his.

“You’re lying,” Ash says drily. “Where is she, Tilly?”

“Um….engineering?”

“At 0530 in the morning?”

“You know she likes to get an early start, sometimes.”

Sylvia tries for a smile, but Ash doesn’t buy it.

“You don’t have to lie, Tilly. It’s okay. It’s what I get for stopping by, unannounced.” He leaves, and the door closes, but midway down the hall, there’s a computer, and he goes there—knowing the officer badges carry location data.

“Computer, location of Michael Burnham.”

“Michael Burnham is in room 2-1-1-2.”

The number sounds familiar, but he can’t quite place it, so he takes the lift up to the level and steps off. The corridor is empty. Just a few rooms, but as soon as he starts walking and comes to the door, he stops. Seeing the name inscribed on a panel. Lorca, G.

Captain Lorca’s quarters.

And Michael is here.

He’s mildly amused that he should be surprised at this discovery.

Still, Tyler is not a coward. He came for resolution, and resolution he is determined to get.

So he presses the chime.

.

.

The sound is soft, yet insistent, lulling her out of sleep and at first, it’s difficult to place, as she slowly wakes to find the space beside her empty.

It’s 0616.

The chime again—someone at the door and Michael is confused as to why it would be ringing.

She rises, still in uniform from the night before, and makes her way to the door.

It opens and she’s shocked. And shook, there’s no hiding it—all over her face as she freezes, seeing Ash standing there, looking at her with distrust, and hurt.

“Thought I’d find you here,” he says. “Let’s talk.”

.

.

Deer in headlights, he thinks, staring into Michael’s big brown eyes. Those were the first things he noticed about her—how wide they were, beautiful and almond shaped, with long lashes and an innocent, yet tired expression—somewhat sad, somewhat guarded. He was captivated in the moment, thought she was beautiful, even if she herself could have cared less about how she appeared to others.

It was the stiff formality that caught him and the sudden, revealing moment of weakness when she collapsed in pain on the mess hall floor, appearing injured. He thought of her as doe-like, elegant, slender limbs and something made him want to reach out and try to protect her in the moment, never thinking that in the end, she’d be the one to protect him. She’d reminded him of the animal, skittish around him at first, and he’d thought her somewhat naïve, but endearing, slightly socially awkward but attractive, admiring that she could go through so much and still maintain her decency. At least, he’d thought her decent. Thought her innocent, too.

Maybe she wasn’t always so innocent. Maybe she wasn’t so decent. Maybe it was all in his confused, trauma-induced mind. Maybe it was what he wanted to believe, needed to believe—that someone could love him when he was still struggling to reconcile images and memories he wasn’t sure were real or imagined; to find a way to love himself after losing himself to the darkness that was his former tormentor and jailor, his Klingon lover, L’Rell. If Michael became his light, L’Rell was his shadow.

Maybe this particular angel was always out of reach.

Maybe he would have done better to leave well enough alone.

Gabriel, the usurper, had warned him.

He’d ignored Gabriel.

Now, here he stands, looking at her, in the quarters of the man he’d tried to steal her from.

“So this is why you wanted me gone?” he asks. “This is why you let me go?”

“I let you go because you lied to me.” Michael’s voice is level. But her face is filled with concern.

“I don’t want your pity.”

“You don’t have it.”

“Why him?” It’s jealous.

Her steely gaze never leaves his, lips pursed into a tight line.

The non-answer is the reply, and Tyler remarks, “so you lied to me, too.”

“And to myself.”

It’s all he needs to walk away, knowing she was never his to begin with. The thought gives him pause. The sense of possession that comes with it. Again, not him. Voq. He knows well you can’t own or possess another person. But Voq feels an entirely different way. And Tyler knows then he will always be trapped in this particular form of hell. That he’s better, but not quite. That he will always struggle between two people forced into one body. And Michael is just the cusp of it.

  Lorca II

“Are you sleeping with her?”

Of course, Katrina would know.

“And if I was?” he defends.

“You know better.”

It comes out before he can stop himself. “So did you, when you decided to sleep with him.”

Neither of them have ever fought fair. They know where to poke. Where to jab. How to hurt. And there’s been plenty of it to go around of late. They’ve never stood on even, solid ground. Part of their attraction. Part of their repulsion. Lorca takes the low road.

Katrina’s pupils expand and darken. She visibly draws back, and he’s immediately ashamed of himself. “Kat, I--” he reaches out, but she slaps him. Hard. So hard, it makes his head snap to the right, and he brings a hand up to the burning, stinging side of his face. That’s going to leave a mark. Not the hand itself, but the ring on the middle finger. It’s been there for more than two decades. Promises made. Promises broken.

A welt is quickly forming on the broken skin.

“You’re what? Sorry?” She scoffs. “I’ve heard that one before.”

Oh yes, she has. Many, many times. Lorca works his mouth but nothing comes out. The words don’t form.  Because he’s not sorry for it. What he’s sorry for are all the other things. What he’s really sorry for is how he ruined them. And he’s sorry it took him more than two decades to realize that he was the poison in their relationship. But how to tell her this? How to explain it, without sounding like he’s making excuses?

“So this is what we are now,” he says, rubbing the side of his face warily, remembering that Katrina is heavy-handed. “You’re mad at me for something I didn’t do.”

It’s not about him sleeping with Michael. Lorca knows it. Katrina does too. What got him slapped is what he said. About her. About the other him.

“You hate me,” Lorca says slowly, “because I look like him.”

“And talk like him. And act like him.” Katrina finishes, slumping down into a chair, her fury beginning to wane, and tiredness starting to take over. It’s been a long war. It’s been a long two years. It’s been a long, six months. So much between them, stacked up like a monument to failure on both sides.

He takes a chair opposite, rubbing his temples.

“He tricked me,” she says so softly, he almost misses it.

Almost. But he knows to stay quiet. To listen, not talk.

“He tricked me, and I wanted so badly to believe it was you. I just couldn’t face it. So I let myself be tricked. Anything, to believe for a little longer that I hadn’t lost you when I did.”

“Eighteen months, Kat.”

They’re not looking at one another.

“Eighteen months I scraped and I fought and I killed, and I was tortured, and I tortured—anything I could do to survive—and the only thing that saved me, kept me even remotely sane,” he swallows, voice growing thicker, darker, “was making it back to you. I was trying my damnedest to get to Tahoe. And when I finally make it, you--”

Beat him. Yelled at him. Slapped him. Railed at him. Twenty-five years of fury unleashed when he least expected it, when his own body and soul were damaged nearly to the point of disrepair and he was still barely clinging to the fact that he wasn’t dreaming, that he was back, and to see her, standing there—gun drawn, ready to shoot him. And then later, when she did. Not with a phaser, but with her words. She’d killed what he thought was left of his humanity when she did that.

No tether.

No anchor.

“You left me to suffer,” he tells her. “I’ve suffered every single day for more than two years, and you act like I left on purpose. That I did this intentionally. That it’s my fault—what happened when I was gone. I never left you, Trina,” he says, using the nickname reserved between them, “but as soon as I stepped off that platform, you’d already made up your mind.”

She let him go. Let him drift.

It’s the first time they’re being completely honest with each other.

“Tahoe was a pipe dream for us,” she says quietly, remembering the night they fought over her promotion. How angry she was that he wasn’t more supportive. How angry he was that she could even consider it.

“You were never really there.”

She’s bringing back years. He can’t argue with her there. “I thought we promised to try again. We swore that to each other.”

“Maybe I never believed you could keep a promise,” she tells him. “So many of those you broke.”

Exactly what he told Michael, he did.

This was never one for him to win. He knows it. And he’ll let her have it.

“So what do you want to do with me, Katrina? Does it make you feel better to know what I’ve suffered too? Does it make you feel better to know karma actually works?” A harsh, dry laugh. “Are we finally, even now?”

He looks at her, those eyes ever sharper, the blue deeper, and in them, all she sees is grief and pain. And it cuts her.

A man too proud to beg. Too strong to be broken. Physical pain has never bothered Gabriel—she knows its emotional stuff he can’t handle. The reason why he ran. Ran until he couldn’t anymore. She knew what she had a long time ago—and if she’s real with herself, she also knows it’s not his fault. Not all his fault. It takes two. Two to fight, two to love. There’s blame on her too. Because she pressured him to stay when she knew he wanted to go. Tried to force him to settle down when she knew it wasn’t his nature. And the pregnancy—a last-ditch effort when she felt she was losing him. She used his love to her advantage—but caged birds always find a way out—and that’s what he did. Neither of them were perfect, but…

“I’m sorry, ‘Trina.”

“For what?” Her breath is hitched. Almost afraid to hear what he’s going to say next. He doesn’t. Just gets up and comes to her chair to stand before her.

“For Jeremy.”

One tear. A traitor to its master, slipping from its stony prison to make an escape down her cheek. Jeremy. The name they chose for a child they wouldn’t get to see.

“I’m sorry about Anthony.” The husband she lost because Anthony knew her heart wasn’t in it. A marriage built on splintered glass. Settling for something because nothing wasn’t an option.

“And I’m sorry for Tahoe.” Their house on the edge of the lake. The retirement plan. The one promise they swore to each other they’d keep. The one destroyed by war.

“I do love you, Katrina,” Lorca tells her. “And I am so, so sorry it was never enough.”

Not then. And after everything else, not now.

“I’m sorry too.”

The voice is far softer. More resigned. Accepting. No more struggle here. No more fighting—they both see the writing on the wall.

She tells him what she knows. That she’s always known the kind of man he is.

“But…I tried,” he says, weakly.

Katrina stands to touch to the side of his face. Her fingers slide down the welt. Red, angry, a thin crimson streak of red down the middle, but it doesn’t bleed.

“I know you did. I’m glad you did.”

Because they both know it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. No matter the bad…there was always so much more good there.

A soft smile graces her face.

“I love you, Gabriel.”

“Trina.” He comes to hug her, and this time, she doesn’t flinch from his touch, just wraps her arms around him, and rests her head against his chest, feeling his warmth, drawing strength from his surety of presence. It feels like going home. Like the friends they are, even now.

“I love you too.”

They do, and they always will. He’s in her bones, and she’s in his. Yet they’re old enough and wise enough to have finally learned the difference, between loving, and being in love.

Loving suits them just fine.

[aresaphrodites]

Hey but sorry to bother u but could give me those book recs? Relying on u girl

of course!! sorry bout the long wait, dear x

you said you preferred trilogies or series’ (which i don’t read much of tbh) so here are a few of my favorites: (( some of these will have full on summaries and some… not so much, i got lazy lol ))

The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout : Meet Katy and Daemon! Katy is a funny, down-to-earth book blogger who has just moved to West Virginia. And Daemon? Well, he’s her hot and arrogant next-door neighbor. He’s also an alien. This one is cheesy, yeah, but it’s so FUN! Follow along as Katy and Daemon try to figure out what they mean to each other while trying not to get killed by the Arum; the Lumen’s enemy. In this world, the DOD is well aware that aliens exist and that they live on Earth. However, they are unaware that the aliens known as Luxen actually possess powers that make them.. well… powerful beyond means. This isn’t just a romance story; it focuses on family and friendships and it has a bunch of kick ass action and the entire plot with the DOD is so interesting. 

The Pine Deep Series by Jonathan Maberry ; I’m only on the first book but this one is a bit more mature in terms of horror and things like that. If you like scary books or feel like being spooky in time for Halloween, you should definitely check this one out! 

The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare : I’m sure you know about this one, but if you don’t! Angels, demons, warlocks, vampires, faeries, werewolves? What more could you want? When Clary Fray discovers she’s actually a Shadowhunter; an appointed warrior of the Angel Raziel and has angel blood coursing through her veins, her life is about to change forever. Join her and the rest of the Shadowhunter gang (and even a few others) as they team up to rescue her mom and stop an all out war from happening. 

The Darkest Minds Series by Alexandra Bracken ; I’m only on the first book but I absolutely love it! It’s an intense read that has me on the edge of my seat constantly. I adore Ruby and she’s easily become one of my favorite female characters of all time. 

Dorothy Must Die Series by Danielle Paige ; Okay. I know, I know. Really? Dorothy Must Die? Hear me out! This book is FUN. Trashy? Perhaps, but fun! The first book is really fast paced and honestly? I am living for a world where Dorothy is evil. So basically our main character is named Amy and she is the other girl from Kansas. She’s sent to Oz to save it from Dorothy Gale who has become power hungry and is now pure evil along with the Tin-Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow. The rest of the series doesn’t really live up to the first book, but I would say you should read the first one anyway. It’s a lot of fun. 

Did I Mention I Love You Series by Estelle Maskame: Sixteen-year-old Eden Munro decides to spend the summer with her father in Santa Monica as her parents are divorced now. Once there, she meets her father’s new family and that includes Tyler Bruce; her new asshole step brother with a short temper and a huge ego but as she gets to learn more about him, she finds herself falling for him. This trope isn’t for everyone and I know the whole step sibling thing is super taboo but this series is awesome and I read it during a huge reading slump and it really helped me get though it. 

Perfect Chemistry Series by Simone Elkeles: When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she’s worked so hard for―her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. (Each book in this series focuses on a different Fuentes brother.)

Fighting to Be Free Series by Kirsty Moseley: Jamie Cole has just been released from juvenile detention. Determined to go straight, he tries to cut ties with crime boss Brett Reyes - but Brett has no intention of letting him go. Jamie’s life is already more complicated than it needs to be, yet it’s when he meets a beautiful stranger at a bar that Jamie knows he’s really in over his head. Ellie Pearce has just come out of a terrible relationship and isn’t looking for anything serious; until she meets Jamie. Their attraction is overwhelming and intense - she can’t seem to shake her growing feelings for him, even though she’s trying to keep it casual. But when fate goes horribly wrong and Jamie’s family is faced with ruin, he’s forced to strike a deal with Brett. Despite his struggles, he wants nothing more than a future with Ellie. That’s until Ellie finds out that he’s been hiding more from her than she could ever imagine. 

Mind if I drop in a few stand alone’s? I’m trying to read more series’ but I’ve always been more of a stand alone kind of girl, so here are some of my current favs: 

#MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil : WELCOME TO THE NEAR FUTURE, where good and honest citizens can enjoy watching the executions of society’s most infamous convicted felons, streaming live on The Postman app from the suburbanized prison island Alcatraz 2.0. When seventeen-year-old Dee Guerrera wakes up in a haze, lying on the ground of a dimly lit warehouse, she realizes she’s about to be the next victim of the app. Knowing hardened criminals are getting a taste of their own medicine in this place is one thing, but Dee refuses to roll over and die for a heinous crime she didn’t commit. Can Dee and her newly formed posse, the Death Row Breakfast Club, prove she’s innocent before she ends up wrongfully murdered for the world to see? Or will The Postman’s cast of executioners kill them off one by one?

One Small Thing by Erin Watt : Meet Beth and Chase. Beth is entering her senior year and is still trying to move on from the death of her older sister three years ago. In a small town with parents who have suddenly become her wardens; that seems nearly impossible. And then she meets the mysterious and hot Chase who immediately draws her in. Their attraction is instant and he’s the first person who makes her feel like Beth Jones and not Lizzie; the young girl who lost a sister and is somehow broken by it. But as she falls harder for Chase, she’s hit with the reality of the part he played in her sister’s death. It’s about forgiveness, love, and moving on. It’s sad and sweet and such a fun, quick read. Definitely good for trying to get out of a slump! 

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren :  Fangirl meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this funny and poignant coming-of-age novel from New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren about two boys who fall in love in a writing class—one from a progressive family and the other from a conservative religious community. If you read one book off of this list, PLEASE let it be this one. This book is so… amazing. It’s been months and I still think about it constantly. 

Fault Line by C. Desir : Trigger WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS A RAPE. It is not shown, but it’s the main conflict in the book. Over the years I have struggled with if I liked this book because it was good or if I liked it because of how much it fucked me up. I read this book in one sitting and when I finished, I sat in my bed for a good hour and just…. didn’t move or do anything. You will NOT be rooting for the main couple. The narrator is unlikable and you will HATE all the characters in this book. The ending is NOT happy and I don’t know why I’m recommending this but GOD. This book, after so many years, just stuck with me because of how fucked up it was. It deals with the whole “recovery” process in such a dark way that we normally don’t see in YA fiction and I think that’s what makes it stand out so much. If you want something darker, read this. But read it with caution. If this isn’t something you like then please, don’t bother reading it. It’s not happy and it’s sure as shit not fluffy. Summary : Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl—sarcastic free-spirit Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want. But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone. Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame? Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero : If you like Scooby-Doo or Archie’s Weird Mysteries this book is probably for you. 1990. The teen detectives once known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club are all grown up and haven’t seen each other since their fateful, final case in 1977. Andy, the tomboy, is twenty-five and on the run, wanted in at least two states. Kerri, one-time kid genius and budding biologist, is bartending in New York, working on a serious drinking problem. At least she’s got Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the team. Nate, the horror nerd, has spent the last thirteen years in and out of mental health institutions, and currently resides in an asylum in Arhkam, Massachusetts. The only friend he still sees is Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star. The problem is, Peter’s been dead for years.The time has come to uncover the source of their nightmares and return to where it all began in 1977. This time, it better not be a man in a mask. The real monsters are waiting. 

Fatal Throne by Candace Fleming ; A book about Henry VIII and his six wives. If you like historical fiction then this book might be for you! It’s told through the perspective of his six wives (and even Henry himself) and it’s a really fascinating read. 

Okay, I think I’m going to stop here. Let me know if none of these speak to you and I’ll give you some more recs! I didn’t know what kind of genres you liked, so I tried to throw in a little bit of everything.

[asteriuszenith]

Title: Sleeping In the Rocks Summary: You always had the terrible habit of sleeping in the weirdest places. It’s a source of an unending amusement and worry for your friends especially when anybody could literally take advantage of your position. Relationships: Maybe some hinted Actor!Mark/District Attorney, Hinted Damien/District Attorney - Mostly platonic though Characters: Teamiplier, Mark Fischbach (Also known as Actor!Mark for me in my AU), District Attorney/Van!Camera Person Note:  *In my AU, the District Attorney and their incarnation are named Charlie Emerson. But generally, you could still put your name in that place.

0-0-0-0-0

First Spot: Meeting Room

“Charlie, Charlie are you here?*” Ethan called out sarcastically as he and the rest of Teamiplier was going through their daily ritual of searching for you.

They’ve been filming for the Markiplier TV video when all of them separated a bit for lunch. When they’ve reconvened, the entire Teamiplier remembered that you had the habit of having siestas during lunch after eating.

You’ve always had the terrible habit of sleeping in the oddest locations. Couple that with the fact that you sleep like the dead, it was always a source of panic and frustration for the people around you. When you were a child, you’ve lost track of how many times you nearly caused your parents a heart attack and raised blood pressure when you slept in places like the darkest corners in the attic (you’ve always wondered how you never got sick from that because damn that place was dusty), under covered tables, behind the couches and even inside the closet.

The first time you succumbed to your sleeping habits when you began living with Mark, he nearly called the emergency line when he couldn’t find you. Thankfully, he literally stumbled upon you while he’d been pacing back and forth in the living room. He tripped on your curled up body behind the couch and yet, despite having another person fall on you, you didn’t wake up and kept on sleeping like a baby.

So now, they were looking for you all over the place, asking people if they’ve seen you.

“Are you implying they’re an evil ghost?” Mark snickered as he looked under the computer table.

How many times did he find you sleeping underneath his computer table? Well… it was common enough that he actually left a pillow and a small blanket under there.

“We found them under the table in the meeting room!” They heard Kathryn yell from another room. Then there was heavily stifled giggles and snickering coming from the ladies.

The boys looked at one another before Tyler made a grand gesture towards the door.

“That’s your cue, Markimoo.” He said with a mocking tone.

Mark snorted at the nickname before making his way towards the meeting room. He saw both of the ladies crouching and looking underneath the wide tables. When he reached their positions, he leaned down and couldn’t help the smile that inched up his lips.

He saw you curled up like a rolled up armadillo, sleeping peacefully as if there was nothing wrong in the world. The small fond smile turned into a devious grin as he whispered the plan to the girls who grinned and nodded, raising their hands and wiggling their fingers.

Mark continued on smirking as he took out the air horn that he’d been holding onto. He held out the horn towards you, plugging one of his ears with one of his hands.

“Wakey wakey, eggsy bakey!” Mark sang as he firmly pressed the button on the air horn.

A massive noise erupted from it and you nearly jumped out of your skin. The girls were waiting for that and they jumped on you, fingers digging into your sides, making a laugh erupt out of your mouth. You begged for mercy but none came. Amy and Kathryn kept on torturing you for a few more seconds before finally releasing you from their clutches.

You kept on gasping for breath underneath the table, your face red from lack of breath and from laughing too much. Mark snickered and poked you on your cheek. He smirked at the deathly glare you sent his way.

“Come on then little armadillo, we still got a few more scenes to shoot.” Mark held out a hand for you to take.

You grumbled but took his assistance and he pulled you up.

“You have a lot of nerve to be calling somebody else small, Fischbach.” You snidely said.

Mark laughed deeply and then tauntingly placed a hand on top of your head.

“Still not as small as you, sweetheart.” He smirked.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Second Spot: Under the Computer Table

Mark walked into his recording room, holding a steaming cup of coffee. He left you sleeping in for a bit while he went on through his daily activities. You were up the entire evening helping him finalize some of the final edits in some of the newest videos. He knew you were a workaholic and you would have worked until the early hours of morning if he didn’t step in and make you sleep.

The two of you did make some good progress yesterday so you deserved to sleep in for a little bit. Besides, he was just going to record some gameplay so he didn’t exactly need your assistance for this process.

Just as he was about get comfortable in his seat, his foot came into contact with a warm, breathing body.

He didn’t scream a high-pitched shrill scream. He did not. Shut up.

Breathing quite heavily (from the manly scream), he clutched his chest where his heart was beating violently against it. He crouched a bit and heaved a sigh when he saw who was slumbering quite peacefully, cuddling none too safely the many computer wires down there. It was a miracle that you weren’t completely tangled up underneath there.

“You silly goose, I can’t believe you could sleep under there.” Mark murmured before carefully hooking his arms behind your back and underneath your knees. “Well, up and at you go!”

He grunted as he stood up while carrying your conked out body in his arms. He huffed amusedly when you merely turned your head and buried your face in his chest. He walked out of the room and headed towards your room. He nudged open your door and then began walking towards your bed. He placed you on top of it and reached down to tuck you into the blankets. He was both fondly amused and worried at how you didn’t even stir from him carrying you from his recording room and your room. The two of you really have to talk about that.

It could get seriously dangerous for you in the future especially around strangers who could take advantage of your sleeping habit.

But for now, he’ll let it go. You haven’t been sleeping far too well lately with all the nightmares. It was even a miracle that you managed to sleep yesterday. It did take him cuddling you a bit since you felt so safe and secure with him that it chased the nightmares away.

“Sweet dreams, little monster.” Mark murmured, brushing away some of the stray strands of hair from your face.

With that, he stood straight and got back to work.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Third Spot: Inside the Van

You slowly woke up to the sound of somebody cursing the hell out of the aircon. Groggily, you sat up from the admittedly hot spot that you had been sleeping on. You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes and blinked at Mark who was slapping the aircon. You were sweating. In fact, Mark looked like he was sweating out an ocean.

Chica pounced on you energetically from the behind. She was panting loudly and heavily.

“How on Satan’s hot asshole did you manage to sleep in this hell that is this van? Actually, why are you even sleeping in here? I’m pretty sure I watched you go into your bedroom last night?” The questions barraged you in your still sleep hazed mind.

You blinked, absent mindedly patting Chica who laid herself across your lap. You were also confused since you were pretty sure that you slept in your bedroom last night.

“I don’t know,” you admitted, Mark stopped bitch slapping the headboard of the van and looked at you worriedly, “I’m pretty sure I slept in my bed last night.”

“This is the first time you sleepwalked out of the house, buddy. This is getting quite dangerous.” Mark said and you agreed with him.

“I know… But it could just be a one off. Let’s just lock the doors next time.” You said but Mark didn’t look convinced. “Really Markimoo, I’ll be fine. This van is just so comfy that I can’t help it in my sleep.”

You inserted a joke in order to ease some of your motherhen friend’s worries. Mark gave you another look but finally allowed the subject to drop.

“What are you talking about? It’s hot as balls in here and you think that it’s a creepy van.” Mark finally said and then turned back to whatever he was doing before.

You laughed as you watched him curse the hell out of the aircon and the sun. You dragged the worries that you had into the back of your mind.

There was nothing to worry about. After all, you just had the tendency to sleep in the weirdest places. That’s all that there is to this event.

0-0-0-0-0-0

??? Spot: A Glimpse Into the Past

Damien was striding towards Mark who was surrounded by a bunch of his fellow acquaintances. The people parted from the confident and determined aura surrounding Damien. Mark saw him and waved away his group, greeting Damien with a wide smile.

“Ah Damien! How can I help you today?” Then he looked behind his friend as if searching for somebody else, “It appears that our dear friend is not with you today?”

“Yes, about that… I went to their room earlier on since I haven’t seen them in class today. But their roommate said that they didn’t get back yesterday night.” Damien’s words made the easygoing smile on Mark’s face fade away into a concerned frown. “I’m worried about that. Our dear friend can be quite absentminded especially when they are concentrating on something.”

Mark hummed in thought as his eyes quickly flitted around while his mind worked through the possible places that you could have been.

“Did anybody tell you where they were last seen?” Mark asked his old friend who nodded.

“Their roommate told me that they said that they were going to study.” Damien said, “But I already looked into the courtyard and nobody saw them in there.”

An idea entered into Mark’s mind when he heard that statement and he clapped his hands together.

“They could be in the library. I remember meeting them there in the most amusing position.” Mark’s concern finally disappeared as the idea looked much more likely, he began walking towards the library. “If I’m right then they probably returned to their old habit.”

Damien walked alongside Mark, making small chat. He finally relaxed now that Mark didn’t seem too worried.

The library in the university was a large place with lots of dark corners where some of the more promiscuous students took advantage of. Mark waved over to one of the library assistants who grinned and waved back at him. The assistant approached them, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

“Are you searching for your friend? They’re back in their old spot. The old lady couldn’t kick them out since they looked so peaceful she didn’t have the heart to disturb them.” The assistant said with a hushed voice. Damien hastily thanked him and followed his old friend.

Mark ducked into one of the shelves with confidence and made his way towards the end. When Mark stopped, his stance communicating entirely of amusement. Damien saw the countless books that was placed on the floor in front of Mark as he approached the same spot. When he stopped beside Mark, he finally realized what has Mark so amused.

You were leaned back on the dusty wall of the library, head lolled to the side and your mouth opened slightly as you snored quietly. You were loosely holding into a quill pen with a book and a notebook filled with your own written notes laying on your lap. Books regarding laws and politics were surrounding your body. You were completely unaware of the two people who were watching you sleep.

“They probably studied late into the night and fell asleep in here.” Mark murmured, his eyes dancing with laughter. “The first time I met them was when I saw them in that position here. I thought that I had discovered a dead body!”

Damien crouched beside you and began shaking you awake. But you kept on slumbering and even frowned, leaning away from his touch in your sleep. Mark snorted and then began nudging your feet.

“They’re not going to wake up that easily especially if they look like they haven’t slept for the past few days.” Mark said as he looked at his wrist watch. “I could stay here with them. You still have a class left after lunch right?”

Damien groaned as he also realized the time. He looked conflicted between leaving you, knowing that you were going to miss a class and him going to class by himself. Mark snorted at his face before shooing him.

“You know that they can handle missing one day of classes. The two of you are literally the top scorers of them. Leave them to me. Just go to your class and find out what homework they could miss if you’re that worried about them.” After a few more minutes of quietly arguing, Mark finally convinced Damien to go to class while he was left beside you who slept through the entire arguing.

Granted they were just whispering but anybody could have woken up at that. Mark stood up and browsed through the novel section of the library for something to pass the time and went back to his position.

He plucked the pen out of your hands and settled it on top of the nearest book tower that you had been building. After a few adjustments of moving some of the books to the side, he was seated right next to you. He placed your head on top of his shoulder and immersed himself into the world of the novel that he was reading.

…

There were quiet murmurings around you as you slowly came back into the waking world. You tensed for a bit before relaxing when you recognized the voices. A small yawn broke out of your lips and you hazily opened your eyes. The murmurs stop for a few seconds before a chuckle disturbed the silence. You began rubbing your eyes to help yourself wake up even further and finally remembered that you were in the library.

You’ve been studying nonstop lately for a test that was about to come up at the end of the week. While you knew that you could ace it, the professor had the talent of making a simple case sound completely complicated. He also had the senses of a bloodhound for finding out the weak spots in your arguments so you have to refresh yourself on everything so that you wouldn’t be caught off guard.

“Finally awake now, little monster?” Mark’s chipper voice knocked you out of your thoughts and you just realized that you were completely leaning on him.

Not that it’s a strange thing since Mark could be affectionate and handsy with those that he was close with but you’re not the physical affectionate person type when you’re completely awake. Since you’re still sleepy, you don’t mind the closeness. Damien was also sitting on the ground in front of you. He laid his legs on top of your own quite comfortably.

“Wait, don’t we have classes right now?” You jerked awake, your eyes wide with realization. But Mark placed a hand on your shoulder and tugged you down before you could stand up.

“Calm down, you slept through the whole day. Damien acted as a gentleman and listed down all of the notes and homework that you missed.” Mark drawled while placing an arm around your shoulder. “Do not work yourself up into a panic.”

Damien gave you that charming reassuring smile as he nodded. He held out a notebook which you knew held all the stuff that they discussed in the classes that you missed for sleeping through. You finally relaxed and gave the two of them a toothy grin.

“Aw… Thanks you guys. You always have my back when I need it.” You bashfully said. Your heart was completely warmed from their kind actions.

You knew that Mark wasn’t really fond of this position with all the dustiness and the smell from the old books. But he still kept you company on the floor and even allowed you to lay your head on his shoulder, saving you from an aching neck from sleeping in an awkward position. Damien also didn’t have to note down the work that you missed from the classes but he considerately did it for you. The two of you were tied for the top positions in class and he could have not offered you his notes so that he could have a higher score. It would allow him to have some space from his overbearing parents. He confessed to you one night that they’ve been nagging at him for not having the top position to himself. But he still did it for you because he cared about you.

Not only that, they stayed here with you. No doubt they were probably worried about your vulnerable position. Mark always nagged at you for sleeping in the library so you kept your library nightly sessions to a minimum these past weeks so that he wouldn’t worry so much.

You really couldn’t help your sleeping habits. You knew that anyone could have taken advantage of your position and hurt you, especially those who hates you for being so close to Mark and Damien, two of the most popular men in the entire university.

“Why wouldn’t we? You know that we’ll always have your back from today until eternity.” Mark promised, his eyes gleaming determinedly.

“If I don’t keep my future district attorney safe, then I never really deserved you didn’t I?” Damien joked but he was sincere with his words.

You couldn’t help but pull the two of them into an awkward hug. You were happy that these two wonderful men decided to make you one of their closest friends. You knew that Mark was the prickly type towards making anyone a close companion and Damien had always been wary of people who would only use him for his name and his riches, but somehow they decided that you were worth it.

“Still, thanks guys. Here’s to an eternity of friendship yeah?” You will deny to your dying day that you were a bit choked up and had tears springing up your eyes from the tender moment that the three of you shared.

“To an eternity of friendship.” Damien agreed, hugging you just as tightly.

“May we never tire of each other,” Mark said as he gave the two of you a bear hug.

The three friends basked in the warmth of their love and affection for one another. This was one of the brightest moments of their life which they will carry in their hearts until eternity ends.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

It is also one of the memories that will light them through their trying times in the future when the three of them will be separated by fear, hatred, sadness and despair.

[fatesinthenight]

Dark's Heart (part 8)

Mark holds his head in his hands. He doesn't know what to say or what to do. Amy sits next to him rubbing his back. Tyler is walking around the waiting room trying to not fall in a slump. Kathryn fiddles with the hem of her shirt looking down. Ethan is the first one to say something, "Mark it wasn't his fault..."

Mark looks at Ethan. "But he made (Y/N) walk out and clearly hurt their feelings. If he didn't they wouldn't have left and this wouldn't have happened..." Mark doesn't know what to think of Dark right now.

The officers called him and told him that Dark said if they had to call someone for hi it was Mark. They told him there was a little fight and that you were shoved away but because you were so close to the street you fell into the street as a car was going by. The injures were not life threatening but you still had to have surgery for some broken ribs, an arm, and leg then you were hit bad on the head and had a concussion.

"Mark you were there. You saw the look on his face..." Amy said softly.

Once Mark got the call he drove to the scene fast to find a huge black void around the area. Everyone looked knocked out and like time has stopped in that area. Mark saw a single dark area that was swirling in mist and sparks or red and blue coming off everywhere. The closer he got to it the more he felt the aura get to him, it was the feeling of complete dread. "Dark its me... you need to stop this..." Mark slowly stepped to the dark area shrouded in a black mist. Finally the mist subsided to reveal Dark on his knees clutching you to his chest. Mark goes wide eyed, you are covered in bruises and your outfit had ribs in it. Dark holds your head to his chest and he has some blood on his hand. You have a tear still on your cheek and a drop of blood from your lip going down your chin. 

Mark kneels infront of Dark slowly. "Dark... You need to let (Y/N) go. They need to see a doctor now..." 

Dark is so still. "Then have doc come here..." His voice sounds empty.

"(Y/N) needs more than Doc to help them. You need to give then to the ambulance and release everyone here." Mark takes as calmly as possible but even he is terrified. He has never seen Dark like this.

"No... I need to hold them... If I keep this state then they will still be here with me..." Dark holds you tighter. He is actually shaking.

"Dark the officer said that they will be fine and the hit was not that bad to be life threatening. Please..." Mark puts his hand on Dark's shoulder. "(Y/N) need to go to the hospital now and you know that. For (Y/N)."

Dark doesn't look up at Mark but slowly stands up and carries you to the stretcher. He places you so gently on it afraid to hurt you even more. He lingers over you and he grips the sides of the stretcher. He then leans in and kisses you. He knows you cant feel it and he will not feel you kiss back but he still needed to do it. Mark watches this in awe never realizing that he would ever see Dark like this. And when Dark stops kissing you and backs away he stops beside Mark. "I did this... I did this..." He finally looks up. Dark has actual tears streaming down his face. He was breathing hard and couldn't stop. He walks away and once he is gone everyone starts moving and the ambulance takes you to the hospital.

"Mark I know Dark isn't the best person in the world but he is hurting bad. can you give him that." Tyler stops walking around and looks at Mark.

"He's right. Dark actually cares about someone other than himself. He needs some help." Kathryn saids.

"You guys don't know... He already told me he knows what he has to do." Mark sits up and looks at everyone. "Im upset (Y/N) got hurt.. but im also upset at what Dark thinks what he has to do it the right thing. And it is only right for him..."

"What is he going to do?" Amy looks at Mark worried.

Dark is in your room. He listens to the heart monitor beep. You have a cast on your leg arm and on your right leg. You have a bandage on your head and an I.V drop in your arm and one for blood. He created another void around the hospital only everyone else in the hospital but you and Mark with the team. Dark runs his hand through your hair softly. It has been three days since the accident and you haven't woken up yet. Dark never left your side and when other people came to visit he hid on the shadows. This was the last time he told himself. He kisses your head and presses his head to yours.

Then he hears a sound from you and leans back. Your hand is moving and your eyes flitter open. "... Dark..." You try to move up but get gently pushed back down.

"Don't move... you need to rest." Dark's hands are gentle on you.

You look up at him and a smile plays on your lips. "Rest? Isnt that what I have been getting since I knocked out? I think I slept enough." You chuckle softly but it hurts and you wince.

"What hurts? How bad is it? Do you need more medicine?" Dark is already cupping your face looking at you worried.

"Im fine. Just a bit sore that's all." You sigh. "What happened while I was out?"

"The police took in those people who were bothering you. They will get charged but I wanted to do so much more to them..." Dark was getting mad just thinking about it.

"Hey don't get any ideas... I don't think you will look good in an orange jumpsuit." You smile at him, that's your Dark.

"Who said I will get caught?" Dark smirks at you. He looks at you seriously. "I thought I lost you... I saw you fall... and that car hit the brakes to late and the sound..."

You move your good hand and take his. "It's not your fault. It just happened."

"No. It was my fault. If I dint snap at you. You would have never left and still be ok." Dark takes your hand and rubs his thumb over it. "I did this to you."

"Wow. I'm witnessing history. Darkiplier apologizing..." You tilt your head. "But you didn't do anything wrong. I shouldn't have said those things at you to make you mad."

"You had every right to think that way. It is me. I don't blame you." Dark saids softly.

"No. Dark i mean it. Im sorry i hurt your feelings." You take a deep breath. "I was just scared of giving in to someone again... But this time it was different because i really wanted to make it work. I didn't want to lose what we had going on." You have a tear coming down. "But i messed up... and i hurt you. And im lying here still hurting you." You look into Dark's eyes. "I like you Dark... Im so sorry i hurt you... I-"

Dark cuts you off by crushing his lips to yours. He doesn't give you time to think. He kisses you deeply and tries his best to still gentle in your state. His lips are cold but then feel hot against yours. They feel soft and your heart skips a beat when he pulls back only to tug your bottom lip with his teeth softly. He looks up at you, both of you trying to catch your breath. Then he comes back again only more softer. He stops and leans his head with yours, "Im sorry..."

Dark kisses you again slowly but it feels different somehow. You feel your head is getting heavy. Then you see it, a memory of Dark being torn up. You move away from Dark. "What are you doing?" But he only pleans in again to kiss you and another memory snaps away. "No.. Dark stop!" He comes back again crushing his lips to your again but his hand holds your head in place so you wouldn't move.

Snap* another memory gets cut off.

Snap Snap* when you are watching him play piano.

Snap Snap* when you text him silly things and he replies with a "why"

Snap Snap Snap* when he was in your room

Snap Snap Snap* The day you first met him

The last memory was of his smile on your date and it slowly cracks like glass then shatters. Dark stops kissing you and you are knocked out. you have a tear in your eye and he wipes it off. He turns off the void and leaves your room not looking back. A nurse watches him leave and walks into your room where you wake up again.

"O my your awake. Do you want me to get your boyfriend to come back?" The nurse saids.

"Boyfriend?" You look confused.

"Yes. The young man that has been seeing you since you got here. He is very handsome but he has this dark feeling about him i cant shake off. He always has on a suit." The nurse tells you softly.

You look at the nurse puzzled. "I don't know anyone like that..."

Dark walks past the waiting room. Mark gets up and runs to him. "Dark... did you..."

"It was for the best." Dark saids professionally with his hands behind his back.

"For them or for you..." Mark saids.

"They would have only suffered being with me. It would have never worked out. Im sparing them pain." Dark saids and he starts walking away.

"Dark! (Y/N) loves you!!" Mark yells at Dark.

Dark doesn't look back at him. "That was their mistake.." And with that he was gone. Dark goes to his office and locks himself in. He stands there now feeling everything come down on him. He lets out a painful yell. He throws everything off his desk and throws over his bookshelf. His shell is broken and he begins glitching madly red and blue. He completely looses it and he stops when he sees the piano. He isn't calm but sits on the bench and looks at the sheet music on display.

 He picks it up and his hand shakes. It is the song he wrote when you left the house. He looks at it and puts his head in his hand. "You should name your songs" he remembers you telling him. He looks at the name he wrote on the top of the sheet. He goes back to when he talked to the waiter when you were eating.

"Play this for us over the sound system for the room please." Dark hands over a disc.

"Of course sir. Might i ask what this is?" The waiter looks at the disc curiously.

"It is a song i wrote for my darling there." He takes a peek at you happily eating. "It is our song. And i want to dance to it with them."

"O how lovely sir what is it called?" The waiter asks.

Dark looks at the sheet music. The song title is your name. Dark plays once key of the song. "I love you..."

Dark stares at the photo of you from his computer. There is a new picture of you in your room titled getting ready for the wedding. He lingers at it looking at your smile. "You don't smile the same. I made you smile better."

He leans in his chair and closes his eyes. He thinks for a while and then takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes and stands up. "Fuck it."

Dark leaves his office and storms off to the garage. "Ummm Dark what are you doing?" Dark turns to see all the egos looking at him. Willford was the one who spoke up.

"Why do you care? Cant you all mind your own business." Dark is irritated.

"Its just that i noticed you just searched up a chapel and i know that your not a religious one so..." Google hesitates.

"What kind of business do you of all people have at a chapel?" Ed saids straight out.

"If your trying to confess or something i suggest getting the pope for help." Silver saids.

"Host also recommends to make many appointments because Dark has many confessions to make..." Host saids carefully.

"I don't know maybe he finally lost it? Dark do you need me to write you to a psychiatrist you may need professional help for your sudden change of character." Dr. Iplier questions Darks sanity.

"Ummm guys maybe we shouldn't overstep.." Bim saids softly.

Dark's shell is cracking and he is very annoyed. Everyone braces for what is to come then it subsides instantly. He takes a deep breath. "I need to do something now. Don't wait up." He leaves. The egos hear his car speed off. 

"You guys are dumb." The egos turn to see Bim's date looking at them.

"Do you know whats going on flower?" Bimg goes to his date and holds their hands.

"Isnt it obvious?" The date looks at everyone who shakes their head. "Someone is going to crash a wedding."

[blurry-fics]

First Date

Pairing: Tyler Joseph x Reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1885

Author’s Note: This goes along with the same story line from Vows & Worth It! Also there’s some super exciting announcements coming tomorrow, so stay tuned for those!

You stared down at your phone sitting on the coffee table as you nervously picked at your jeans. Tyler was supposed to be getting here at any moment and you were anxiously awaiting the text telling you that he was downstairs.

Your phone buzzed and you nearly jumped off the couch. You reached for it and scanned the message, but it only turned out to be one of your friends. The pit in your stomach immediately disappeared as you typed out a response.

Y/F/N: Excited for today?

Y/N: Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting for this date for months!

Just as you were about to lock your phone and toss it back onto the table, another text appeared at the top of your screen.

Tyler: I’m outside! I just hope I got the building right…

You bit down on your lip to keep from smiling too much and got off the couch. All of the stuff you needed was already sitting by the door, ready for you to grab and head straight downstairs. You took the stairs down two at a time, unwilling to wait for the slow elevator.

Tyler was standing outside the door, facing the street. His hands were buried deep in the pockets of his jeans.

“You haven’t been here long, have you?” you asked as you stepped out the door.

He turned to face you, a smile already appearing on his face.

“Longer than I’d like to admit,” he laughed, holding out his arms. “How have you been? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I’ve been good!” you said as he pulled you into a hug. “I’m excited to see you though.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve been counting down the days until I had a break to finally take you on this date.”

“Speaking of this date, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?” you asked as he let go of you.

Tyler had been super secretive about where he was taking you on this date and it was killing you. He would give you hints every now and again, but you had still yet to piece together where you were going.

“You’ll see,” he grinned, taking hold of your hand and leading you down the sidewalk.

“Will you at least tell me how far away we have to walk?”

“Just to the car right now.”

You groaned, but it was impossible to keep the smile off of your face. It really didn’t matter where he was taking you; you were just happy to finally be spending time with Tyler.

You immediately checked the backseat for clues as soon as you hopped into the passenger seat of the car.

“Did you really think I was going to leave an obvious clue in the backseat?” Tyler laughed as he shut his door.

“I can hope,” you smiled as you turned to him.

He started the car and pulled away from the curb. You tapped your fingers against your legs and tried to think of something interesting to ask him about.

“How long of a drive is it?” you asked.

“Not long,” he answered, his eyes never leaving the road. You sighed and began to pick at your jeans, hoping that it would help take the edge off. Tyler reached over and placed a hand on your knee, “You’re going to have fun, Y/N. Just relax.”

You laughed nervously, “Sorry, I always get nervous about stuff like this. When you add in the fact that you’re Tyler Joseph, it just makes me that much more nervous.”

He smiled at that. “Trust me, I’m just as nervous as you.”

That was hard for you to believe, but you decided there was no point in causing a debate about it. You took a deep breath and just tried to live in the moment. After all, it wasn’t every day that you got to go on a date with a musician that you had admired for months.

Tyler pulled into a small parking lot about fifteen minutes after you left your apartment building. The two of you had spent most of the drive discussing things that you had yet to learn about one another: your favorite bands, hobbies you had, and any other random facts you could think of. It helped you keep your mind off of where Tyler was taking you.

“Is this it?” you asked as Tyler shut off the car.

“This is it.”

You got out of the car and began to look around. Something about the area seemed familiar, although you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. Tyler had walked around to the back of the car and was beginning to open the trunk. A picnic basket and blanket were shoved in the back among various pieces of music equipment.

“I knew I should have checked the trunk,” you laughed.

Tyler smiled and handed you the picnic basket, “I was hoping the mess would deter you from doing that.”

“I guess it worked.”

“Alright, it’s just a little bit more of a walk.”

You fell into step with Tyler as he started down a nearby path. Sun was shining down between the leaves, casting shadows across the cement. It was a nice day and you were glad that you had the opportunity to spend it with Tyler.

The path eventually opened up to a large clearing. Dozens of other people were walking around, either enjoying the sunshine or spending time with their families. There were even a few dogs running around as their owners threw a ball around for them.

“Where do you want to sit?” Tyler asked.

“I don’t know,” you answered, unable to keep the smile off of your face. “This is beautiful, Tyler.”

He was also smiling when you turned to look at him. “Here, let’s go sit under that tree. That way we’ll have some shade.”

You helped Tyler set up the blanket before sitting down. He took the picnic basket from you and began to lay out all the food he had brought, which just so happened to be most of your favorites.

“So this is why you kept asking me what foods I liked last week,” you smiled.

“Yeah, I’m not the best at being sneaky,” he said as he pulled out drinks. “I really hope that you like the whole picnic idea. I know it isn’t the most traditional first date.”

“No, this is perfect! It’s way better than dinner and a movie. How did you find this place, anyway?”

“I looked up the prettiest parks in this area,” Tyler laughed.

You shook your head, “Of course you did.”

“Hey, I’m not from around here. How was I supposed to know what parks looked the best?”

“Alright, you have a point.”

“Honestly, I can hardly believe that we’re on this date right now. When I saw you in the crowd for the first time, there was no way I thought I would be having a picnic in a park with you two months later. I just thought you were this gorgeous girl in the crowd that I would never have a chance to see again.”

You knew you were probably blushing profusely, but you didn’t care if Tyler saw. Just the thought of him thinking you were pretty was enough to make you giddy.

“If someone had told me before I walked into that venue that you would ask for my number by the end of the night, I would have told them that they were insane.”

“And after jumping a fence, no less.”

You began to giggle as you remembered what had happened that night. It was a rare occurrence that you told someone that story without them thinking that it was some kind of joke.

“That was crazy.”

Tyler was looking at you with a smile on his face. It seemed a bit odd, so you raised an eyebrow at him.

“Sorry,” he said, casting his gaze down towards the blanket. “You just have one of the prettiest laughs that I’ve ever heard.”

You rolled your eyes, “I beg to differ, but thank you.”

“Honestly!” he said, meeting your eyes once again. “It makes me want to keep telling jokes so that you’ll laugh again.”

This, of course, caused you to giggle again. Tyler smiled and tossed a grape into the air, only for it to hit his nose and bounce onto the blanket. You could hardly believe that this was your life and not some crazy dream that you would wake up from at any moment. It felt too good to be true.

“Was that date worth the two month wait?” Tyler asked as he pulled up to the curb in front of your building.

The sun was just beginning to set over the city. The two of you had sat in the park for hours, talking about life and any other topic that you could think of. It was easily one of the best first dates that you had ever been on.

“Definitely. Now I’m just sad that I’ll have to wait another couple months for the next one.”

“So you’re admitting that you want to go on another date?” Tyler grinned.

“Well, I guess, only if you want to,” you stammered, suddenly losing any ounce of confidence you had gained over the course of the date.

“Of course I want to.”

You let out a sigh of relief, causing Tyler to laugh. “Is this goodbye for now?”

“Nah, I’ll walk you to the building,” he said as he shut off the car.

You hopped out onto the sidewalk and waited for Tyler to join you. His hands were dug deep in his pockets as he walked you to your door.

“Now it’s goodbye for now?” you giggled, hoping to mask the disappointment in your tone.

“It is, but first I was hoping that I could get a goodnight kiss?”

Your heart immediately began to pound in your chest. “Um, yeah,” you grinned.

Tyler reached forward and placed a hand on the side of your face. It was hard not to giggle nervously as he looked at you and slowly moved closer. You closed your eyes and allowed his hand to guide you towards him. His lips met yours and suddenly it was like you were the only two people on the sidewalk. Nothing else around you mattered.

“Woah,” you said when he finally pulled away.

He grinned, “Yeah.”

“Could I, maybe, get one more of those?” you said, pulling him towards you again.

He gave you one more kiss before finally letting go of you.

“You just keep making it harder for me to leave,” he smiled.

“And you’re making it harder for me to let you leave.”

“I’ll be back before you know it,” he said, starting to walk backwards.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

“You better!” you called as he got into his car.

He started the engine and waved to you through the passenger window. You smiled and waved back, even though he was more focused on pulling out into the road. Once his car was finally out of sight, you turned and walked back into your building.

The wait had definitely been worth it.