#Elliott and Sunshine can’t do it on their own

[starlitangels]

Marvel: Infinity War is the most ambitious crossover event in history

Redacted:

You sure?

[sinnaminttoast]

Talking about Sunshine’s and Elliott’s current mental state. Possible future issues.

Disclaimer: I’m rambling here so if I sound like I’m just saying anything…I am

Okay with Elliott consistently talking about how this is all his fault and that he shouldn’t have ever brought them into the world of magic….I wonder if this will lead to a future argument for Sunshine and Elliott. He feels like he has to blame someone for all of this. Maybe to find a reason as to why this happened to them? Why sunshine? Why him?

This guilt may even come from the fact that he couldn’t even help them when Blake was torturing Sunshine. He says he can’t sit around and do nothing. Which makes sense because he is their partner and he deeply cares for them.I can’t imagine having to just sit there and watch as Sunshine makes that deal with Blake. He never wanted to leave them and would’ve rather stayed to be tortured with them, than ever leave their side.

He is a dream walker. A very good one at that. To have to watch someone use the same powers you have to torture your loved one, knowing you can’t do anything about it, it’s devastating.

“I’m supposed to be able to protect them. Dreams are the one thing I’m good at. The one thing I know better than anyone else…and I couldn’t help them.”

Aaron says Blake is stronger and while I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm by it, I wonder if this bothers Elliott.

He gets told by the department agent that he is simply a “civilian”. Aaron tells him that he’s just a “civilian”.

And he is just a civilian. A civilian that got caught up in something that was bigger than him. He’s supposed to entrust everything to the department…the same department that has done nothing to shut down Closeknit.

He knows there’s a timer on Sunshine’s life, and yet he’s supposed to sit there and wait. Just wait. Let them handle it. You couldn’t save them. You weren’t strong in comparison.

You brought them into this world of magic. You brought them to Closeknit. You let your powers get muted. You watched them get tortured. You could’ve forgotten them.

You. You. You. Your fault. It’s all his fault

But that’s all what Elliott hears as his anxiety ramps up his fears and repeats his self hatred. It doesn’t matter if it’s rational or not. It’s what his own voice is telling him, but his brother is there to ground him.

All Elliott has is Aaron. Aaron is the anchor he is desperately holding onto.

I can’t imagine that Sunshine will feel safe with magic for a while and their car accident trauma has come back to haunt them, but I don’t think they’d ever blame Elliott. Also!! As far as Sunshine knows, Elliott doesn’t even remember them. So they must feel even more alone with only Brachium to guide them.

Idk if this will be canon, but I think Sunshine probably will suffer from Insomnia. Maybe afraid that if they fall asleep then Blake will be back.

Now as for future arguments…maybe Elliott tries to say he’s bad for them and he’s brought nothing but pain in their life? I genuinely hope not but it seems like this guilt is eating him alive.

And Sunshine…I’m pretty Sunshine has almost died various times 💀 nothing to do with their argument but I just felt the need to point this out

[antisocialmastermind]

Chapter 11

Chap 1 Chap 2 Chap 3 Chap 4 Chap 5 Chap 6 Chap 7 Chap 8 Chap 9 Chap 10 on Ao3

Day 11: SONUEGL = lounges

As June unfolds into July, Kurt is a cat in the sunshine. His whole existence is warm and gold-dipped and he feels obscenely grateful and lucky. He doesn’t even mind Elliott’s constant ribbing about how happy he is. Because he is.

The inaugural show at Muse is drawing to its close and has been by all accounts a great success. The gallery is in the black, which is unheard of in these early days. Several artists have asked about exhibiting and there seems to be an ever-increasing stream of patrons with means and enthusiasm. 

Serena Mbali’s name and Rachel Berry’s notoriety have done wonders in a very short time. Serena’s works have sold well, three of Elliott’s paintings have little red stickers on their title cards, and Kurt has sold every piece on the gallery wall. His head spins when he thinks about it.

He’s dropped his Thursday shift at the restaurant entirely, feeling cautiously optimistic that he can get by, now that Elliott’s able to pay him for his gallery shifts. He uses the extra time in the studio, caught in a spiral of inspiration-creation-bliss-inspiration that he’s never experienced before.

And then there’s Blaine.

Kurt’s had his share of relationships, ranging from a couple of one night stands, when the mood was right, to Eric, who lasted a year and a half before his career took him to the West Coast and out of Kurt’s life. But he’s never had anything like this. He’s been utterly swept off his feet. By a lawyer.

On Fridays, they go out. Usually to somewhere fancy that Kurt never dreamed he’d see. They’ve ridden through Central Park in a horse and carriage like tourists and on a gondola while Blaine fed Kurt sugar-dipped strawberries. They’ve had dinner at the Empire State Building and Kochi and seen Broadway shows and Kurt’s first opera at the Met.

It was awkward at first. He was uncomfortable with the ostentation and wealth that seems entirely unremarkable to Blaine. But Blaine never seems like he’s preening or bragging or even concerned. He does things because he wants to and he can , and Kurt just needs to relax. He feels pampered and adored and giddy with it.

On Saturdays, Kurt lounges in Blaine’s bed for as long as he can before heading to Muse for the day. They lie there and talk lazily about nothing and everything, kissing and giggling and dreaming. They take turns making each other breakfast or dance around each other in the kitchen as they cook together.

And of course, between Friday nights and Saturday mornings, they fuck. Heated and intense and gentle and nuanced, loving and frenzied. It’s pure ecstasy and Kurt can’t get enough.

****

He feels stupid talking to Elliott. Like he’s a kid or naive or both. But if he doesn’t get out of his own head and get some perspective, he’s going to explode. Or eat an entire cheesecake. Or something. They’re in the living room drinking wine when Kurt brings it up.

“Do you think I need to ask Blaine if we’re exclusive?”

Elliott looks mildly confused when he replies, “Why are you asking me?”

“I don’t know,” Kurt sighs. “I don’t trust myself? Like, what if I ask and he’s insulted that I even had to ask, because of course we are. Or what if I don’t ask so he assumes I don’t want to be? Or what if he just laughs at me because I’m making a big thing out of nothing –”

“Kurt,” Elliott interrupts gently, ‘does it feel like nothing?”

“No,” Kurt tells him. “It kind of feels like everything.”

Elliott’s lips tighten into a tiny, repressed smile. “You need to talk to him,” he prods. 

“I know,” Kurt groans. “I know I do. But I just … I don’t wanna jinx it. It’s been so perfect I just don’t want to make waves, you know? I’m ridiculous.”

“You love him?” Elliott’s voice is quiet and his eyes are intent on Kurt’s face.

“I don’t,” Kurt replies. “Not fully. Not yet. But I’m starting to. Or I could. But sometimes it feels like he has all the power and that’s – Oh my god, never mind.”

“Kurt, that’s not okay.” Elliott suddenly looks concerned. “You guys need to be on equal footing if a relationship is going to work. You can’t be feeling less than. And he can’t be in charge all the time. That’s not right.”

“Oh god, no.” Kurt rushes to reassure him. “It’s just me. My head. It’s not anything he’s doing. I guess I just feel… inferior sometimes. Because he’s able to give me so much. And I can’t give him anything.”

Elliott’s eyebrows shoot upward and his face is earnest when he says, “Kurt, I’m pretty sure you’re giving him something he wants. He’s still here, isn’t he?”

“Was that a sex joke?” Kurt asks.

“It really wasn’t,” Elliott says, in that plainly honest way he has. “I mean, if you’re being truthful that he’s not lording it over you or anything, then it sounds like you just need to come to terms with the fact that you’ve got yourself a boyfriend who can spoil you if he wants to.”

“Is he my boyfriend, though?” Kurt whines.

And now Elliott does laugh. “Oh my god, Kurt. Talk to him.”

****

Kurt doesn’t talk to him. The timing hasn’t been right. He will. He’s going to, but right now Kurt’s still waiting tables and making art and helping Elliott change over the show in the gallery.

Several of the pieces from the first show, including all of Kurt’s except one, were sold online to anonymous collectors. In the sales records for each of them is a note reading, ‘ agent will call ,’ so those need to be packed up. 

Elliott’s unsold pieces will stay. He’s the gallery owner and it’s a good conversation starter to have some of his own work on display. But they move it further back.

The modular walls are moved into a new configuration and artists for the next show are coming in to hang their work. Posters and fliers and press releases are designed and typed. Kurt feels like a professional artist for maybe the first time in his life. It’s a strange, wonderful, giddy feeling.

Blaine sends him flowers. Or has lunch delivered for both him and Elliott. Or texts let me know the minute you're free, and Kurt is just over the moon with how perfect his life feels right now.

Which is why it’s such a dizzying fall when it all goes wrong.

Chapter 12

[capitalisticveins]

The Balance Headcanons

took extra long cuz I kept drawing a blank sorryyy winky facceeev

- If someone kills Blake on Fortnite, he looks into their future, finds out when they die, and tells them their deathdate with no context before leaving

- Bestie, like Camelopardalis, owns a zen garden

- NOBODY likes playing Jenga with Smartass, this mf makes the tower stand in ways that shouldn't be possible. And they're not nice about it either, they shit talk the entire time playing.

- Sunshine had a hardcore emo phase while in middle school for like 3 months and Elliott started calling them "Sunshine" on purpose to make them mad. The nickname stuck around

- Brachium's black and foggy eye tear things can create a cloud under him from which he stands over the river with

- Bestie is a MASTER at having lucid dreams. 

- Brachium has tried talking to the river before realizing how stupid he looked

- Sunshine owns a music box, I'll give you $20 if you can guess what it plays

- You know how Elliott acted right after Scorpius temporarily blocked his memories? That's how he's like when he's drunk.

- Aaron likes the Boss Baby movie

- Brachium has a scepter he likes to spin around like a stick

- Blake gave Bestie bangs once when they were 6

- Scorpius thrives in either crop tops or turtlenecks with the boob window shut up

- Brachium has tried to talk to the Sovereigns once when he was younger…didn't go well

- Aaron and Elliott would always sit up by the couch, make cookies and popcorn, and watch the Nightmare before Christmas every Christmas Eve

- Smartass steals the company pens

- Bestie's hair, untamable.

- Scorpius doesn't do skincare, but he could be on the cover of vogue.

- Blake considered games like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Minecraft "the worst of the worst games" until he saw Bestie playing them. They have their own world in Minecraft now.

- Brachium would have an unhealthy addiction to chocolate

- Sunshine likes to keep their hair short, but they don't know how to cut it evenly, so Elliott does it for them.

- Brachium is taller than everyone by a MILE (more like 2 feet taller)

- Scorpius has piercings, I just can't say where.

- Blake has a slutty little waist

- Brachium likes to draw in the sand/dirt by the river

- Bestie owns a hamster that has made 7 attempts to kill itself

- Elliott can't make sandcastles, they deconstruct the moment he removes the pail

- Sunshine on the other hand can make those really detailed ones you see in cartoons

- If you ask Brachium “Is the cup half empty or half full” he’d go “both”

- Smartass calls in sick days whenever they can

- Blake doesn't give up his seat to the elderly, nor does he hold the door for people…unless Bestie is around

- Brachium had a pet bird as a Serenity Daemon

- Bestie is into witchcraft

- You know that scene from El Dorado where Chel and Tulio nearly get caught making out? Yeah that was Blake and Bestie when they hooked up

- Elliott and Sunshine have been friends since they were 7 so Sunshine has met Aaron, he just doesn't know they're dating

- Scorpius THRIVES in horoscopes and the zodiac shit. He hates all Geminis equally

- Bestie has shot Blake with a paintball gun when they were kids

- Brachium likes Honeycrisp apples

- Both Aaron and Smartass prefers orange juice 

- Sunshine and Elliott prefer apple juice

- Blake and Bestie adore passion fruit juice

-Brachium likes sudoku

- Scorpius twerks

- Smartass has a pet rat Aaron HATES.

[krushkreates]

having many elliott and sunshine thoughts today,,,,

elliott pining over sunshine for years and showing it in the most subtle ways,,, checking in on them when they study for finals., cooking for them when they can’t be bothered. cleaning their room when they’re sad

sending “heyyyyy remember to kick ass today” texts when they’ve got a big event

elliott’s love language being acts of service and sunshine’s being quality time,,,, a match made in aria

sunshine and elliott as kids and him seeing them on the playground and immediately declaring to one of his friends “i’m gonna marry them when we’re all big adults”

elliott knowing exactly how sunshine ticks and what they need before they know what’s wrong

elliott consoling sunshine on their kitchen floor after their long term partner leaves them and him having to pick up his own broken heart pieces when he learned they first got together

elliott literally feeling like he could fly when sunshine kisses his cheek for the first time even tho it was only platonic

elliott playing guitar for sunshine and sunshine having the sweetest sounding voice he’s ever heard and he might mess up a chord a few times but sunshine doesn’t mind, it’s just like him to do so

also, elliott teaching sunshine if they don’t know already and having them sit in his lap with his arms on theirs and fingers over theirs

[wandawxdow]

A Kidnapped Soulmate Part 9

Unsurprisingly, Little Palace’s garden was just as extravagant as the interior. Perfectly cared for, the landscape was a blend of various shades and hues bound to inspire even the most uninspired. You stuck to the gravelled path that wove around the expanse and wandered, thorough to absorb the sight.

Aleksander had woken and rushed off as breakfast was delivered, leaving you with only a few gentle kisses and soft-spoken words. Alone and with little time to admire the grounds the day before, you chose to venture out.

Nobody had stopped or even glanced at you as you purposely exited the castle. As such, they missed the slight limp you'd developed from the night earlier.

Since arriving at Little Palace days ago, you'd spent your days inside. So, the sunshine upon your face was much needed and missed, warming your body and providing a rosy flush to your cheeks.

You walked throughout the gardens for what seemed like hours, admiring the manicured sight and occasionally stopping to smell a flower. Throughout your stroll, you collected a variety of them, intending to place them on the small table by your bedside. Though the dark palette of the shared bedroom was pleasing, some colour is never unwelcome in a space.

A twinge in your feet led you over to one of the placed marble chairs scattered throughout the garden. Sitting down sent a wave of relief through your body, and you placed the bouquet down at your side for safekeeping.

You stretched your legs out in front of you, leaning back on your hands and basking in the warmth.

It was hard to believe that your life had completely changed within the last few weeks. Until leaving, you'd never realised how isolated and sheltered your life was. But Aleksander and his Grisha had opened your eyes to a new world. One that is free and exhilarating because of the people, experiences and sense of family. Not due to riches and wealth as was valued in your hometown.

Confused, your eyes peak open at the sound of a commotion. With furrowed brows, you looked around your surroundings, finally locating the noise to the main doors to the Palace. From your seat, you craned to listen, vaguely picking up on a conversation.

“Where is-” “I don't care, ” “find her.”

You stood after a few moments, raising yourself on your toes to see over the trimmed hedges. From there, you matched the familiar voice to a face, Aleksander’s one. He stood at the doors, visually upset and angry. His hands were clenched into fists at his side as he stared daggers at the guards stationed in front of him.

You hovered uncertainly, debating whether or not to approach him and the other two men. Was he looking for you? If not, could you help him find whoever he sought? Or even calm him down before he restored to throttling some poor person?

You took a few steps in his direction, moving away from the hedge that obscured you. You struggled not to jump as Aleksander’s head swerved in your direction. How he knew you were there, you didn't know.

An expression of relief coated his face before something stonier took over. Ditching the men he was conversing with, Aleksander stalked over to you. Confused, you noticed his tense shoulders and darting eyes.

Finally reaching you, Aleksander halted and spoke, “Where have you been?”

His voice was deep, a twinge of something dark within it. His chest rose and fell with laboured breathing, and his jaw clenched.

“I've been here, ” you explained, still deeply confused. Had something happened whilst you were away?

“You can't just-”

Alexander cut himself off as his hand ran through his dark locks. The situation clicked in your mind then; He was worried about where you'd gone as you weren't where you left him.

A bubble of annoyance rose to the surface at the revelation. You'd been independent your entire life, and now your soulmate didn't trust that; Didn't trust you to even take a walk. He said that you ‘can’t.’

“What?” you retorted, “Leave the bedroom?”

You'd seen too many women in your village succumb to the life of a housewife, confined to the house and the children they’d too often been forced to have. You'd always vowed to never be a woman who waits at home for her man to return home. And in your eyes, that’s who Aleksander implied he wanted you to be.

Aleksander’s senses seemed to return to him, his shoulders relaxing, and a look of understanding passing across his face. “Darling, no, ” he expressed, hands reaching out to grasp your own.

He looked desperate at that moment, the most upset you'd ever seen him in the few weeks since you'd met. His hands clenched your own tightly though you still felt the dulled shaking of them.

“I just - I didn't know where you went, ” he reasoned.

“After last night, I - I thought maybe you'd just had enough of me - of us.”

His broken tone broke through your hard resolve and dissolved your lingering anger. “It's alright, ” you spoke out, feelings your eyes well with tears. How could he think that you’d ever have ‘enough’ of him?

You pulled him into a hug and felt his warmth wrap around you. “It’s not, ” he mumbled into your hair, “I’m sorry.”

You nodded, and he pulled away to compose himself. His eyes closed for a moment before his hand once again reach out to hold your own. You directed a small smile to him and prompted him to follow as the two of you slowly walked back towards to doors.

Standing in front of the large doors, you turned to him once again. “Aleks, I need you to know that I have my own life. I need something to do with my days that isn't just sitting in our room.”

“I know, ” he admitted, “and I’ll be better. I promise.”

He was sincere, that you were sure of. “Thank you, ” you smiled.

He replicated your smile before leaning down to playfully whisper in your ear, “Now, how would you feel about attending a ball tonight?”

Tag List - @savannah-elliott @sonnensplitter @coldlilheart @louweasleymalfoy @tranquilitymoon @daybleedsintonightfa11 @auggie2000 @thenightfallingstar @evyiione @mylittlecrazyworldofinterest @navs-bhat @kaqua @kykymyeon @cap-just-said-language @spideylovin @maliasblue @ladyblablabla @fandomstuffff @kaitlyn2907 @cityofstaars @honeyofthegods @coolninjavoid @remugoodgirl @sorrowfulfragmentation @degeathesaviour @bloodyprincess22 @rvgrsbrns @mandos-crest @noortsshift @benbarnes-supremacy @sophistjo @fcvcritecrime @the-real-comically-insane @keithseabrook27 @confuscita @bingewatche @athenamikaelson @aleksanderwh0r3 @woodsabby6 @its-carlerrr @bleh-bleh-blehs

[free-boundsoul]

if you're still doing the kiss prompts, i have a couple!!

62 with elliott and sunshine!

86 with milo and sweetheart!

(Thank you so much for the requests, Mads! I really hope you like them. Also, 62 was just perfect for Eli and Sunshine, it just fits his character so much lol. First time writing for these characters though so I hope they turned out okay. Also um...86 may have gotten a little spicy)

62. Elliott and Sunshine

“I still can’t believe your first kiss was Dalton Petersen.” Elliott snickered, dodging the smack they’d aimed at his chest. “Too slow, Sunshine~” That damn smug smile curled his lips as his eyes glittered in that stupid...charming mischief when he was teasing them.

“It was in third grade on a dare! It doesn’t fucking count.” They insisted, sullenly crossing their arms over their chest as they leaned back in their chair. They were almost tempted to shove the yearbook that was balancing on the armrest to the floor. He just had to find that when they were going through the old stuff in the side room they used for storage. They should have just left that with their parents.

“It so counts! He had such a crush on you too after that. He followed you around everywhere.” Elliott grunted as the yearbook hit his chest, though it didn���t stop him from chuckling. “You’re always so violent.”

“I’ll show you how violent I can be if you don’t knock it off. We were kids, I didn’t even like him! He was a jerk as a kid and he became a bigger jerk when we were in high school. He used to date people for a few days and then drop them when he got bored. He was an asshat!” They ranted; hands raised in exasperation before pushing their hair back from their face. “If they turned out to be an asshole, it doesn’t count. You never counted Rebecca Adams when it turned out that she was just using you to make her ex jealous.”

His nose crinkled in distaste at the memory, “Fair point. We really had bad taste when we were teenagers.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I’d just like one nice kiss from someone who actually cares about me. I don’t think that’s such a bad thing to ask for.” They grumbled as they picked up their drink.

“Well...why don’t we kiss?”

They almost choked on their slushie at the suggestion, their head snapping up to meet his gaze, trying to detect any of the usual teasing or mischief that this was just a joke. But he was serious. “What...are you saying, Eli?”

“C’mon. We’re friends, right? Friends kiss each other all the time.” Elliott insisted before he forced a chuckle, rubbing at his neck as he looked away. “Y’know, unless you don’t want to. Of course. Um, I was just thinking since we’re friends and we care about each other, I mean, I really care about you and-”

“Eli. You really want to kiss me?” They asked. It wasn’t like they hadn’t thought about it before. How could they not when Eli’s eyes shined so much when he looked at them? When those fleeting touches made their heart race or his hand in theirs had the butterflies squirming around? But they didn’t want to risk bringing that up, you weren’t supposed to have those kinds of feelings for your best friend. They didn’t want to chase him off because their stupid heart didn’t get the memo. But if he was the one to say it first...

“Well, yeah, but um, just forget about it. I was just-” He fumbled over his words, a flush crawling up his cheeks as he tried to hide his face behind his cup. He jerked a bit when they stood up to stand in front of him, plucking the cup from his hands to set it on the coffee table. “Sunshi-”

Their lips pressed against his before they could second-guess themselves. He was rigid against them, but only for a moment before he was leaning into them, his hands resting against their waist to pull them closer as their own hands rested on the arms of his chair to steady themselves. His lips were cold against theirs, sweet but with a twang from the blue raspberry syrup he’d picked.

When they pulled back Elliott was blinking up at them, almost in a daze before he beamed up at them, “Oh wow...Sunshine. I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to do that...”

Their heart raced, making them almost light-headed as they leaned their forehead against his. They couldn’t stop the smile that curled their lips, “You wanna do it again?”

86. Milo and Sweetheart

“You kissed me first.”

Their mate snorted at the claim, he didn’t even look up from the paperwork he was doing for the pack as he rolled his eyes. Sweetheart grinned as they rested their chin in their hand to watch him. A little conversation in the group chat they had with David’s and Asher’s mates had brought it to mind. The self-dubbed ‘Angel’ had been the one to kiss the Alpha first, and it didn’t really come to anyone’s surprise that Asher had been the first one to make a move on his mate.

“I definitely didn’t.” Milo insisted. It’d been a little argument between the two of them since they’d mentioned the conversation to him. Still, it didn’t stop them from goading the wolf, especially since his memory was hazy.

“You were literally all over me. I don’t remember that shade giving you a head wound.” The pen in his hand spun around his fingers before he set it on top of the stack of papers, getting to his feet and striding over to them. Those fingers catching their chin to angle their head back as they grinned up at him.

“My memory is just fine, Sweetheart. But I think you might need a little reminder of what I feel like ‘all over you. And I’d be happy to jog that memory of yours.”

The thrill that went through them at the smoldering gaze searing into them only had their grin widening as they gripped the collar of his shirt. “Hmmm, I bet you would. You certainly can’t keep those hands to yourself.”

Their laugh was cut off as his lips claimed theirs, swallowing down their sounds as he crawled over the arm rest. His weight pressing against them until their back hit the cushions as his mouth moved against theirs. His knee sunk into the couch between their thighs, pinning them in place as his fingers slid under the hem of their shirt to trace along their skin.

They moaned against his lips, only pulling back when their lungs started to protest to gasp in a breath. Milo just took the opportunity to move to their neck, pressing kisses to the sensitive skin there, his teeth grazing just enough to make them shudder and for their fingers to thread through his hair. “Ah, this is my turn to show you what my undivided attention on you is like. So keep those pretty hands to yourself, Sweetheart. Or do I have to hold them down?”

They bit back the whimper that tried to escape from his voice growling at their ear, their teeth catching their bottom lip as he nipped the skin right below their ear. Their hands untangled from his hair as their breathing hitched in their chest at the low chuckle that rumbled from his chest. “Wouldya lookit that? You can listen when you want to... Now just relax, Sweetheart. And let me be...all over you.”

[unholyplumpprincess]

Take Care of You

Fic for @fyeahnix ! Thank you so much for your patience during this!!! This also is a sequel for her other fic, ‘Don’t wanna forget a thing’, but can be read as a stand alone!

Ao3 link here

Summary: Wraith and her no good, awful, terrible day. Nothing is going right, stress is piling up, plans aren't going right, and to top it all off she can't sleep. She's gonna have to finally suck up her pride and ask her girlfriend to come over and help her sleep. But, Anita has better plans than just sleeping to help ease her girlfriend.Or! In which Anita takes care of Wraith in more ways than just helping her de-stress.

!!!Minors and ageless blogs dni or you will be blocked!!!

Reblogs > Likes - If you hit Like on this, please Reblog to support more future content like this :D

Fandom: Apex Legends

Relationship: Bangalore/Wraith

Warnings: R18+/NSFT, fluffy moments, mentions of Wraith’s depression, Anita tops with a dragon dildo and it’s gr8, rimming + anal play

Words: 9.5k

_____________

Life could be cruel. 

A statement that Wraith had made herself familiar with for quite some time. Though, she supposes, that this could not be the cruelest it could be. No, this was nothing like when she found out of her past- or... one of her pasts. It could get confused on who and which ‘she’ she was thinking of. Or even if they were a ‘she’ at all. Or what path, which life, which people, which-- 

Sigh. 

Exhausting. It's all too exhausting to consider. Every path, every outcome, every recent nightmare plaguing her mind and making her even more irritable. Nightmares that she didn’t know if they were of watching a life of hers get hurt, another path. Or if it was simple fears that every person had. 

Everything just seemed to be going wrong for her. It started off small enough, her nightmares had been triggered back into place. Insomnia making her dark under eyes look more like bruises nowadays and not helped by the way she rubs her eyes in exhaustion.  

Natalie, bless whatever planet she came from, would always chide her and gently move her hands from her face once she noted Wraith’s nails starting to sink into flesh. Wraith was forever grateful to her, but she wasn’t about to let Natalie believe she had to take care of her in any form of the manner. 

Natalie wasn’t her keeper, not her mother. But whenever Wraith would gently try to tell Natalie that she had this, she’d get a look from her best friend. One that was so gentle with a soft reminder from her glossy pink lips. 

“You do not have to do everything alone either.”

!Rest under the cut here!

A statement Wraith was familiar with. She’d been doing things on her own since she could remember. It just seemed hard to break that habit. To feel like she needed to do it on her own, to try and succeed when she knew it would be better to have even one shoulder to lean on.  

Relationships and friendships required balance, equality. She had to allow herself to get just as much as she gave. 

Harder than it sounded. 

On day three of her awful week, she looks at her phone for a moment in the night. Her thumb resting over the call button of the name ‘Handsome’ with a heart and ring emoji beside it. Cheesy, she’s aware. But for a moment, she thinks of calling Anita or even texting her. 

Just asking for her to be there. 

She would be. Wraith knew she would drop whatever she was doing to come take care of her, make sure she was okay. Wraith could practically taste Anita’s grape lip balm on her lips, the taste of mint on her tongue. The hint of gun smoke that always clung to Anita’s frame. The deepness of her cologne. 

Anita’s presence was like the first drink of water in the morning. The first warm bliss of sunshine after being in the biting cold. The first taste of warm food when you’d had a shitty day. Her presence was like that of comfort. 

Her home. 

In the end, she puts her phone face down. Welcoming another sleepless night with too many people talking. Too much tossing and turning. Too much yearning in her heart, but too much of a stubborn fool to do anything about it. 

-- 

The season is about midway through. Wraith had a strong start, topping the charts with her ferocity. Spurred on by Anita on an opposite squad and making her feel a bit more hectic in her need to hunt her girlfriend down. To pin her by her neck, dig her knees into Anita’s hand and murmur, “Surprise.” in her ear to watch those pretty freckled cheeks flush and a snarl uplifting one side of Anita’s lips before she stabbed her kunai into her throat. 

Flirting with your girlfriend just got more vicious when you were a part of a blood sport. 

Halfway through the season, they paired her with new people who were hoping to get in to call themselves Legends. Most wanted the glory all to themselves, going off as a solo only to get foolishly killed. Of course they did. This was a team sport, after all. But that left Wraith open and on her own. Just another body bag to take off the battlefield. 

Day five, she looks at her phone again. Thumb hovering over the text box that led to her and Anita’s conversation.  

It would be so easy.  

She would come if we just asked.  

Don’t you miss her?  

We miss her.  

Text her-  

Call her-  

Just press the button, you dumb girl-  

The girls, as Wraith has been recently referring to the voices after Anita lovingly calling them ‘Her Ladies’- as they are just people as well. They always have an opinion when it involves Anita. Wraith has always wondered if in all her other lives if they were with her as well, or if all of them had the same attraction. If they even all knew her from various lives. 

That sometimes made her smile. A childish desire to believe soulmates were real. 

Whatever the answer, they all had an opinion about the sunshine in Wraith’s life. Normally trying to get her to do like she’s considering now: Getting Anita into her quarters. 

Wraith huffs. Placing the phone face down on the nightstand and resting in bed with an arm over her eyes as an uproar of voices start trying to convince her to change her mind or to do something saucy to get Anita’s attention. 

-- 

Plans with Natalie fall through at the end of the week. She’s had a breakthrough on a project, meaning she needed to focus all her attention there to possibly prevent a meltdown. She apologizes profusely, but Wraith is quick to tell her she understands and to not worry, they can try for another day. Wraith promises to check in on her in a few hours to make sure she’s not forgetting to eat either, as she knows how Natalie can be when on the brink of something this big. 

So that falls to plan B of Elliott having told Wraith that he and Pathfinder were going to be having a night at the bar and she was free to join. But when Wraith calls him for that, he explains apologetically that Ramya wasn’t feeling too hot today so he was staying in to make sure she was doing okay. Siting something about not leaving family behind. 

It’s sweet, and understandable. Wraith once again explains that she understands, but when the call ends, she feels so horribly exhausted and at her wits end. A sigh on her lips, rubbing at her face and feeling on the very last leg of her thread. 

When she lies on her bed for the seventh day of the week, she stares at the ceiling with a blank expression. In desperate need of something. Anything.  

A sigh escapes her, her brows furrowing and coming to the realization all at once. 

She has to swallow her pride and call her girlfriend. 

It’s not that she doesn’t want to- oh she’s wanted to all week. But it’s...hard to admit to someone that you aren’t okay. That you just need someone there. Not to mention she feels a tinge of guilt. Whenever she had a bad time, her comfort was her girlfriend. To be wrapped in her arms and hear her soothing voice calming her. To smell her cologne and know her worries were put at ease with an easy kiss to the forehead and a tuck of her hair behind her pierced ear. 

Not like Anita hadn’t noticed Wraith doing well- attentive as she was. Wraith just kept saying she had it, that she was fine. Her poor defense mechanism kicking in and pushing away even the woman she loved. 

It’s hard enough for her to even sit up and grab the phone, once again hesitating before forcing herself to just send a simple ‘Hey’ text to her. Telling herself that if Anita said she was busy or even if she wasn’t going to respond because she was already asleep- that Wraith would drop it immediately. That she’d find something else- 

Ting, ting!  

Her phone lights up, casting a blue glow in the dim room and making Wraith’s heart pound at the quick reply. She feels like a teenager as her fingers wrap around her phone and flipping it to look at the text. Her heart does a flutter, feeling relief already in her body and tears pricking her eyes when she sees the text given back to her. 

‘hey boo whats goin on?’ 

A small, tired but fond laugh crosses Wraith’s lips. Rubbing at her eyes to steady herself and feeling a bit ridiculous for having worked herself up to the brink. But exhaustion still wears out her bones. Wraith sinks down onto the ground, pressing her back to her bed and sitting cross legged as she begins typing. 

She erases what she’s writing a few times, starting to become frustrated. Nothing sounds right- or it sounds too needy. Too whiny. Too wanting. But she finally settles on one. 

Honesty. 

‘I just miss you.’ 

That’s what she types at first, letting it sink in before swallowing her pride once more and beginning to type again. 

‘And I...’ 

A moment of hesitation to continue when she hits enter the first time. 

‘I feel like shit. Been having a rough week. Was wondering if you could come over tonight so I could get a few hours of sleep?’ 

When she hits send again, she debates deleting it. But when the read icon pops up in two seconds flat, she knows she’s got Anita’s full attention. 

Something about that makes her feel terribly wanted . 

‘of course pumpkin’ 

Wraith hates that it makes her smile, tired and soft. Pressing her hand to her cheek and feeling a bit ridiculous just how a confirmation and a nickname could make her heart flutter. 

‘be over in twenty’ 

Wraith clicks her phone screen closed. Moving to stand to go take a shower so she at the very least looked half presentable for Anita. Even if her body screams at her to just lie down already. 

Ting ting!  

Another text? Wraith would have assumed Anita was going to finish her nightly work out and then head over. She flips the device in her palm, opening up their conversation. 

‘and don’t even think about showering yet. I’ll take care of you tonight.’ 

‘bath? I’ll bring the snacks’ 

Wraith’s eyes linger on those words with an air of feeling like she was going to melt into a puddle. ‘I’ll take care of you tonight’ Anita said. And she could hear it in her voice too. Low in Wraith’s ear, her full lips caressing the shell of her ear and her voice dropping to a husk with a squeeze to her waist. Where Anita’s hands liked to linger, moving towards her softer abdomen that she oh so loved on her. 

‘I’d love that. Sorry if my hair is a mess :/' 

Wraith finds herself texting back in a more playful manner. Emoticons weren’t normally her thing. But, after texting between Elliott and Natalie who were both plentiful in emojis, Wraith finds herself trying to express her words better by adding some sort of emotion to them. Not so clinical. 

‘you look sexy when your hairs a mess’ 

And once again Wraith hates that it’s the small things that make her pale cheeks flush red. Huffing an amused noise under her breath and knowing Anita is probably laughing in return as Wraith shuts off her phone. 

Her room is a bit of a mess. She hadn’t had the energy to really take care of it much. So, she works on picking up dirty clothing and putting it into the hamper. Finding water bottles to toss out and taking glasses left around her quarters to go wash later. 

It wasn’t horrible, no, just some things where she just felt like she couldn’t do it. Where if she touched one more thing, she would have exploded. 

It looks presentable in a few minutes. Tasks put off that could have been easily done in two minutes that instead took a week to complete. It would have frustrated Wraith on any other day, but today she feels accomplished for even getting that much done. The small wins, as Anita would have put it. 

It makes Wraith feel proud for even rolling out of bed today. 

She also changes into some clean clothes. Nothing fancy, just simple. A spaghetti strap black camisole that her chest near spilled out of- a favorite sleeping shirt and a favorite of Anita’s to see. And some gray sweatpants that were most definitely stolen from Anita with how Wraith has to roll up the bottoms of them to not trip over them. Her hair is tied into a messy ponytail, some black waves curling around her cheeks and making her blow them out of the way with a gust of air. 

She figured she looked presentable enough. Anita tended to like when Wraith was dressed casually, even when Wraith knew how her eyes wandered whenever she dressed up. 

A reminder of their trip just a few months ago for their anniversary crosses through her mind. A small smile playing on her lips when she remembers how Anita couldn’t take her eyes off her in her tight dress. 

The time they spent in Psamathe would always be treasured. Every moment. And every photo tucked away for safe keeping for Wraith’s eyes only. The ones that were more...appropriate had another spot. Namely in her bedroom, on her desk with a photo of the both of them. With Anita’s arm around Wraith’s waist and leaning her cheek atop her head while Wraith smiled with her eyes closed. 

It was one of her favorites. 

She’s outside.  

Wraith makes her way to the living room just as she hears the telltale ‘beep beep’ of the door being unlocked. Able to see the sliding door open to show Anita. Dressed in her casual clothes with her workout bag and a plastic bag slung over her shoulder. Her curls are a bit wet looking, clearly fresh from a shower. A tight white crew neck t-shirt clings to her frame, tucked into camouflage cargo pants and a black leather jacket with silver studs on the shoulders. 

Wraith feels her clit throb. Feeling a bit too wound up already. 

Before Anita can even get a word out, Wraith pounces her. The door sliding shut behind her and bracing Anita’s back to prevent her from falling. Wraith hears a vague ‘woah’ from her and the thump of the two bags over her shoulder hitting the ground. 

Wraith can’t help herself as her strong legs slide around Anita’s hips to secure herself. Feeling calloused palms grab her ass to hold her up and in place just as Wraith’s hands move. One grabbing the nape of Anita’s neck, the other cupping her cheek and dragging her into a hot and heavy kiss. 

Wraith feels all her worries melt away the second their lips make contact. Tasting Anita’s grape lip balm, the taste of mint on her tongue, inhaling the smoky scent off her clothes and the deep scent of leather. The subtleness of the musk and citrus of her cologne. 

She moans freely into her mouth, delighted when Anita hums back, her hands gripping Wraith’s plump ass tight and appreciative. 

Anita is the first to break the kiss, but that doesn’t even make Wraith pause. Kissing down her jawline, down her neck where her teeth start to nip the sensitive flesh right above the silver chains on her dog tags. 

“Fuck-” Anita hisses through her teeth, only spurring Wraith on to seal her lips on a spot on her neck and beginning to suck. Stopping herself from smiling when she hears Anita's breath hitch. 

There's a tighter grip on her ass as Anita walks them back into Wraith’s bedroom. Wraith’s back turned towards her bed and- 

Move. 

When Anita goes to throw her onto the bed, Wraith moves fast to let herself hit the bed. Rolling out from under her just as Anita goes to pounce and promptly hooking her legs around Anita’s waist. Rolling them over so Wraith comes out on top on her lap, delighting in how Anita blinks a few times to get her bearings before her eyes settle on Wraith victoriously atop her. 

“You little -” Anita starts, but is promptly cut off by how hungry Wraith’s lips press to hers. 

Wraith can taste the frustration melting from Anita, feeling how her hands go from pressing at Wraith’s sides to shove her off potentially. To now moving slowly down the curves of her sides, sliding over her plump ass and encouraging Wraith’s little humping movements against her. 

Their lips part occasionally to mingle their breath. Both their half lidded gazes meeting and Anita’s full lips tugging into a small smile when Wraith sighs at the sight of her. But that’s cut off when Wraith leans in again, meeting her tongue first in a kiss that draws a low, deep moan from Anita’s lips. 

Anita’s hands are all over her as Wraith’s hips slowly grind into her. Anita’s hands slide up along her sides, up into her hair to tug it free from its ponytail. Silky black locks fall free, and Anita parts from the kiss just as Wraith sits up a little. Her calloused fingers sliding up and over Wraith’s collarbones, up her neck and just holding loosely for a brief moment around her throat. 

Wraith’s heart flutters, her lashes fluttering just the same and arching her back. A low moan leaving her lips when Anita croons low and raspy in her throat, “Love when you look a mess for me.” 

Wraith shudders under the attention, worries already starting to get put on the back shelf for Future Wraith to deal with. Content to lean back in for another kiss, taking her time licking into Anita’s mouth. Her hands starting to slide under Anita’s shirt, nails scratching along the way across taut muscle- 

Watch it.  

Wraith doesn’t have time to question it. Not when she’s so intoxicated by Anita’s taste and scent. Fingers wrap in her hair at the root, pulling and forcing Wraith’s back to arch and forcing her to sit up. She moans for the pain of it, her hips rolling helplessly into Anita’s lap with a hiss and a flutter of her lashes. 

A low, breathless chuckle falls from Anita’s lips, and Wraith knows the sight of her is making her just as much of a mess as Wraith is. “Woah, Kitty. Relax. I missed you too, but let's focus on you for now, yeah?” 

“I like my way better.” Wraith speaks, a smirk in her voice that is quickly extinguished when her hair is held tighter and forcing her to bare her throat. Keeping her in place like a scruffed kitten as Anita sits up to kiss the expanse of her neck down to the strap of her tanktop on her shoulder. 

“Betcha do. Always been good at distracting yourself from your feelings, hm? Let’s get you cleaned up, princess.” 

Pent up but willing to follow, Wraith only groans low in her throat. Letting Anita slip out from under her and peeking up at her when Anita looks down at her. Wordlessly, Wraith lifts her arms up like a pouting child, enjoying the way Anita’s eyes roll despite her soft smile and she lifts her up. Allowing Wraith to hook her legs around her and arms around her neck to be carried into her bathroom without much of a fight. 

The bathrooms for their quarters were nice. Some had walk in showers, some had clawfoot tubs. In Wraith’s case, she’d gotten a tub. At first that had been a struggle, but if she wanted a shower she could just go to Anita’s or the gym’s locker rooms. Especially on nights where no one else was awake. 

Small risks were had on those nights. With a hand over Anita’s mouth and the other sinking fingers into her and making the soldier beg. 

Anita sets Wraith atop the sink so she can begin drawing the bath. Going under her sink and finding the self-care items that Anita and Natalie had equally purchased for her. 

Bottles full of expensive hair care items that Anita had gotten for her, siting her expertise on hair care. Things like bubbles and soaps purchased by Natalie, who for some reason knew what scents were too much for Wraith and managed to avoid them miraculously. 

“Let’s get you undressed, baby.” Anita’s voice gets Wraith out of her trance. Feeling the weight settling back on her of the last two weeks. Suddenly tired, worn out. Too tired to take off her own clothes and grateful when she feels Anita gently working her out of them. Her warm touch sliding over her bare flesh and it makes Wraith sigh softly, her shoulders slumping. 

When she finally can refocus on the world, it’s when Anita is gently leading her to the tub. Letting Wraith sink into the warm water, the scent of lavender and vanilla quiet in the room. Anita only leaves briefly to return with a few candles, setting them around and turning off the lights to leave a quiet, low glow. 

Wraith watches her quietly. Watching as Anita begins to strip and sighing to herself at the sight of her working out of her clothes. Her eyes sliding over the muscle freshly wound up from Anita’s work out, the scars on her body telling stories not even Wraith knew all the answers to. 

She was picture perfect- even if Anita didn’t think so some days. No one would think the headstrong soldier could have her shy moments, but Wraith knew the truth. When the clothes came off and her dark eyes looked at Wraith as if waiting for her to comment something other than how handsome she thought she was. 

When Anita comes close, Wraith makes room for Anita to slide in behind her. Sliding her legs on either side of Wraith and sloshing the water a bit. Wraith leans back into her when Anita’s arms slide around her slowly, encouraging her to lean back until Anita can rest her chin atop her head. 

They sit in silence, and Wraith knows that Anita is waiting on her to open up. To work through her feelings and talk about it. 

It’d always been...difficult. Where the words wanted to come out, but Wraith’s throat closed. Where her frustrations became something more than just something as simple as a shitty week of back-to-back frustrations. 

Where her memories cannot separate past from present. 

“I don’t know where to start.” Wraith murmurs finally, feeling Anita’s fingers tracing circles into the softness of her abdomen and soothing her immediately. She tips her head back against Anita, closing her eyes when lips press to her forehead gently. 

“Don’t have to say a word ’till you’re ready, Shorty.” Anita murmurs in return, making Wraith at least crack a small smile at the familiar pet name.  

“And if I’m never ready?” 

Wraith can physically feel the smile Anita pulls on her forehead, another press of a kiss there before she grabs Wraith’s chin. She tips it all the way back, straining Wraith’s neck so she has to look up at her. “I have a good way of making stubborn kittens like you talk.” 

Wraith’s face flushes, her heart pounding in her ears and pulling herself from Anita’s hold of her chin to face forward. Anita’s body rumbles behind her with laughter, her nose nuzzling at the top of Wraith’s head and her arms squeezing her back to her strong chest. 

It’s...easy. The thoughts come easy when it’s Anita. Where the words once clog her throat and anxiety eats at her lungs- she can finally find the words. 

And Wraith spills. Talking of her hard week, feeling a weight lifted the second she mentions just how tired and exhausted she is. That she’s tired of being leader, that she just wants to get taken care of and for things to go right. How all her plans have been falling through. 

All while Anita is attentive to her. Humming and going ‘Mhm’ or nodding her head in understanding. Starting to work on washing Wraith’s hair for her, massaging into her scalp and briefly making Wraith’s woes disintegrate with each loving swirl of her fingers and scratch of her nails. The soft scent of lavender and figs filling the room as Anita tips Wraith’s head back to pour water through her hair and pecking a kiss on her forehead. 

Familiar movements come with the conditioner. Where Anita twirls her hair through each strand as if to encourage her natural wavy pattern. Anita was the type to be very particular about her hair, teaching Wraith the care behind it when she expressed interest in doing her hair for her.  

As Wraith’s words start to dwindle down and tears stop pricking her eyes, Anita starts to wash her body so lovingly. A washcloth with vanilla scented soap working all across her body. Her head being practically cradled back into Anita and Wraith’s back arching so she can let her wash her thoroughly. Arching back into her and sighing when Anita moves the washcloth down her body, down over her abdomen. As if pushing all worries down, down, down, into the water below to be later swirled down the drain. 

Wraith can’t really help herself when her breath hitches as bare fingers skim down over her happy trail, down over her mound and then back up. It’s a purposeful tease, one that makes her sigh shakily when she hears Anita’s fond hum behind her in her ear. A small nip to her pierced ear and Anita’s deep tone crooning, “Be patient. Thought you said bath time was a sacred place?” 

“Starting to regret past me.” Wraith huffs, her head straining back in an arch against Anita’s shoulder when her hand starts to come up. Squeezing one of Wraith’s full breasts and skimming over a pierced nipple in a way that catches her breath. It only quickens when Anita’s hand comes up, loosely wrapping around her exposed throat and a low moan leaving Anita’s lips in a way that makes Wraith’s clit throb . 

“Don’t look so temptin'. Might eat you alive.” 

She could make us forget.  

She better watch her mouth before we shut it for h-  

Imagine her tongue-  

Her hands-  

What she could do to us-  

Watch it.  

Wraith’s eyes open just in time to see a bubbly hand come up and a finger to gently tap to her nose. Bubbles linger, popping and tickling and making her nose scrunch.  

Laughter falls from Anita, only to spike up when Wraith squirms from her, grabbing a handful of bubbles to shove into her face. The water sloshes with Anita’s jerk and the sharp gasp from her that’s intended to sound more dramatic and offended than she is. But when she wipes the bubbles aside to look at Wraith’s smug expression, she narrows her own dark eyes. “Oh, it is war.” 

Laughter ensues when Anita lunges forward with a new handful of bubbles. The water sloshing around them and onto the ground as they both try to smash bubbles into each other. 

There's giggling, yells of ‘no fair’ and ‘brat’ being exchanged until finally Wraith goes to splash her and ends up with both her wrists being snatched and held to Anita’s chest to keep her still. 

They’re both panting. Anita’s curls have bubbles popping in them, her skin wet and glistening with the soapy water. Bubbly water swirls down the drain beneath the tub built into the tiles, the floor wet and an even more dangerous battlefield.  

“Truce?” Wraith speaks, looking at how Anita’s eyes narrow with her smile. It’s one that tells her she’s debating throwing another metaphorical punch in. 

“Truce.” Anita finally decides, jerking Wraith’s trapped wrists forward so she can press a kiss to her nose. 

They finally make it out of the bath, but when Wraith goes for her clothes- she's quickly shooed away from them and told to just go lie on the bed after she dries off. 

“Whatever you say, Boss.” Wraith teasingly quips back, quickly getting her ass pinched and making her yelp with laughter as she heads for the bed. Feeling a bit less exhausted then when they had started. 

Lying on the bed dutifully in the dark, Wraith lies on her stomach with her arms crossed under her head and a pillow tucked under her chest and stomach for comfort. It feels a bit exposing to be lying there naked, the sheets feeling cool against her warm flesh. But, Wraith finds comfort in closing her eyes and easing her body’s tension. Knowing Anita wouldn’t do anything to harm her or surprise her. 

When Anita does enter the bedroom again, Wraith can hear the soft swish of clothing on her body. Only mildly disappointing, Wraith’s almost tempted to crack an eye open and grumble for her to get undressed again. 

But words die in her throat when the bed shifts with Anita’s weight, her strong legs straddling Wraith’s thighs and the pop of a cap heard. 

The scent of some sort of oil fills Wraith’s senses first, hearing Anita rubbing her hands together before they start sliding the oil across Wraith’s shoulders and back. Working the taut muscles there first and making a sigh leave her lips as talented fingers slide up the back of her neck and then back down along her spine. 

Anita is god sent with her motions. Even more so when she leans down towards Wraith’s ear, murmuring with her chest pressed to her back and making Wraith feel each rumble of her low voice. “There you go, kitten. Nice and easy, yeah? Relax for me.” 

Wraith hums low in her throat in reply, a sigh following when Anita sits back up and her fingers work down her back and over her sides. Feeling her shift down her body to work more across Wraith’s body and all her taut muscles. Kisses press down her spine, down towards her lower back and kissing each dimple there before the weight shifts again. 

Hands slide over her ass and Wraith tenses up but soon eases. A low moan leaving her when the massaging touches get rougher. Soon pressing to her thighs and pressing them apart until Anita can move her body between them this time.  

If it were anyone else, Wraith would feel exposed. Too exposed for comfort. But...with Anita? She’s never been more willing to rip herself apart, expose all her bad- all her good that came with it. To bust her ribcage open and hold her beating pulse if it meant seeing Anita’s soft, sweet smile that was always crooked and how her dark brown eyes looked at Wraith like she was the most beautiful thing on this planet. 

Wraith’s breath catches, her fingers curling into the sheets when teeth nip at her hip. Soft, pale skin easy to bruise there and making her sigh again when a tongue dips out to taste the bite. 

“Bleh -” Anita huffs, clearly getting a mouthful of oil as she sits up and the moment breaks momentarily. It makes Wraith laugh, shifting to peek over her shoulder to see the way her girlfriend’s nose scrunches and she’s wiping her mouth off on the bottom of her tanktop. Lifting the fabric towards her mouth and showing off her abs in a way that Wraith can’t help but admire. 

“Not your smartest move, baby.” Wraith quips, seeing how Anita’s eyes shift up to her face and narrow in reply. 

“Hey, don’t condescend me.” Anita huffs back at her, reaching and smacking Wraith’s ass just hard enough to make Wraith jump with a flutter of her lashes. “I’m trynna make you feel good. I don’t need you acting like a brat.” 

“Mhh. My apologies, Ma’am. Won’t happen again. I’ll be good.” Wraith smiles through her words, knowing they sound a bit too sarcastic for Anita’s liking with the look she gets. 

Her laughter is smothered in her arms when Anita swats her ass again in a quiet way of telling her to shut up. 

When the tension dies down again, Anita gets back to work of her massage. Working on Wraith’s lower back and easing her once more, working back down to her ass where her hands slide over the plump frame of it. Nails catch Wraith, scratching down the backs of her thighs and making a whine catch in her throat. Another kiss is pressed on her lower back, and that’s all the warning she gets when hands grab her ass and spread her apart. 

Wraith’s face flushes bright red, burying herself deeper into her arms at how exposed she feels. She knows she’s wet too, feeling the warmth seeping there and shuddering when Anita adjusts her grip to make sure she can spread her pussy apart too with the action. 

Wraith can’t help but tip her hips upwards, arching her back and shuddering when Anita moans low in her throat with a, “Good girl.” It sends Wraith into a spiral as her hips jerk into the air without even being touched. 

It was rare Wraith wasn’t in control. She liked having it over Anita- who she believed needed a break from being in control all the time. And just...Wraith struggled with feeling submissive. But in times like this, it didn’t feel so much as submission as it felt like they were equals. Where Anita’s touches were experimental and quiet, always room for Wraith to disagree or politely tell her otherwise. 

It also helps that Anita’s talented hands just made her into putty. Relaxed for the first time in weeks. Her mind thankfully empty except for the thoughts running rampant about being touched. 

Still exposed, Wraith can feel how her cunt drools with slick. She can hear how Anita moans low, her breath close to her skin before her tongue slides up. Licking Wraith from her clit, all the way up her cunt, up further to lick across her ass and along her hole. 

Wraith feels dizzy from how turned on she is. Whimpers falling from her throat unwillingly when Anita’s tongue focuses on her ass. Swiping over her hole, licking and pressing wet, open-mouthed kisses. The pleasure isn’t new, Wraith has been touched like this before, but it doesn’t change how electrifying it feels. 

“God, ‘Nita-” Wraith breathes out, her lashes fluttering when she lifts her head to breathe. Tipping her head back and moaning outwardly when she hears Anita hum against her, her tongue pressing into her experimentally. 

Anita’s rough fingers slide up Wraith’s thigh, slipping briefly along her pussy and collecting the wetness seeping there before her mouth leaves her. Fingers toying now with her ass, brushing wet knuckles across until Wraith feels like she’s going to snap from how tight she’s wound. 

“’Nita- ” Wraith whines this time, her name like a prayer on her tongue as one finger sinks into her ass. Anita’s mouth doesn’t stop though, moving to kiss across her ass instead and sinking her teeth into a soft cheek. Undoubtedly getting more oil in her mouth, but being more subtle about the mistake by dragging her tongue across Wraith’s hip. 

Wraith is practically humping the bed to brush her clit across the sheets. A second finger is introduced to her hole, and her entire body trembles. 

“That’s a good girl. Gotcha purrin’ like a little kitty, hm?” Anita’s voice is rough, sending tremors through Wraith’s body and a mewl following to make her point even more clear. Anita’s fingers pump inside of her, fucking her at a nice pace and sending another jolt through Wraith’s body with a cry. “What a good kitten you are.” 

It’s an experimental phrase. Not that Anita hasn’t teasingly referred to her as a cat before. But in bed? This was new. A new word that only proves to make Wraith clutch at the sheets, mewling and twisting her body as her lower half fills with fire of desire. 

“A-Anita-” Wraith gets out, her breath stuttering and ragged. A third finger is introduced, and she buries her face into the pillow beneath her to muffle her raw cry. Tears fill her eyes at the pleasure, caught between trying to fuck herself back onto Anita’s skilled fingers, or hump downwards against the bed. 

“Use your words, baby.” Anita’s voice is like silk, her fingers rocking slow and hard into Wraith. Dragging them slowly back and pressing back inside, curling downwards into her and making Wraith feel oh so full. 

“Hhh-” Is all Wraith can get out at first, definitely drooling on herself by now as her eyes go unfocused. But she manages at the very least. “Fuck me- just fuck me already, ‘Nita, G-God you’re so good- ah!” 

Hard to talk when your girlfriend can’t get enough of you, it seems. Because Anita only hums at first, still fucking her fingers into Wraith without a sign of stopping. Her tongue returning to lick around her fingers. 

But finally, blissfully, she departs. A small pat to Wraith’s ass and a murmur to wait there and get on all fours being said. 

Sluggishly, Wraith picks herself back up on shaky arms. Moving so she can sit herself up on all fours, hugging a pillow to her chest and arching her back to put her ass nice and high in the air with spread legs. Even going so far as to slowly sway her hips, living up to that cat persona Anita is so fond of calling her. 

She’s watching.  

Wraith can hear fabrics shifting and the loud zzpppt sound of a harness being tugged tight around Anita’s body. She only knows she’s looking because she can hear the mutter of a swear under her breath. It makes Wraith smile to herself, knowing she had such an effect on her. 

The bed creaks and shifts with Anita's weight. She settles behind Wraith, a hand coming underneath her to brush her whole palm against her cunt until Wraith presses down into it in a hump. 

A chuckle is heard behind her before two fingers brush past her enlarged clit, sneaking down until they can slip into her cunt and curling forward. Wraith doesn’t hide her cry, or her eagerness when she shoves her hips back into Anita’s fingers with a moan. 

Wraith knows Anita won’t finger her long- not out of not caring, no. But because Wraith liked the pain of the stretch. It was something Anita had worried about at first the first few times she was allowed to top. Always asking if Wraith was okay, if she was hurt. But nowadays, Anita knew that the rougher she was, the wetter Wraith got. 

“Mmh, hey, Rey?” Anita’s voice is gentle despite her fingers curling into Wraith. It’s hard to hear her at first, but Wraith catches it, humming in her throat quizzically. “Remember when we had our anniversary?” 

It’s not a question. It’s a set up to something bigger. But it’s hard to really be suspicious when your girlfriend is curling her fingers inside of you juuuuust right and her dumb, stupid, gorgeous smoky voice is doing a number on you already. 

So, you can’t really blame Wraith when she practically whimpers out a, “Y-yeah-” without any hint she’s actually listening or curious to what else Anita has to say. 

Thankfully, Anita doesn’t seem to press. Just humming in reply. “Yeah. Was nice.” In a manner that would normally make Wraith suspicious at first, if she wasn’t feeling Anita’s fingers leaving and hearing the shuffle behind her as she comes closer. 

Questions for later. 

Now Wraith can feel the dildo behind her. Anita’s chosen cock of the night was one she was familiar with by now. She can see it in her mind clear as day. A dark, obsidian base to a dragon-like imagery. Thick and girthy, with ribs and bubbles that stimulated harshly. It wasn’t very long, just about maybe six inches, but it was incredibly thick. Fading to a deep shade of red at the tapered head with gold flecks hinting into the silicone. 

Wraith sighs, practically melting so her front rests on the bed and her ass sticks high in the air, thighs splayed wide and ready. She can’t help but move her hips back across Anita’s cock, slipping her cunt across it and letting her breath catch. 

Anita’s laugh behind her is soft and low, her hands grabbing Wraith’s plump ass and holding her nice and steady. “Nice an’ easy, kitty cat. Look like you’re about to purr. That happy to get fucked?” 

Wraith won’t entertain her with a retort. But she does entertain her with a huff, tipping her head so she can look behind her shoulder out of the corner of her eye. Catching Anita’s look, how her head tilts and her curls remain immaculate, her lopsided smile and the glow of the lamp behind her makes her look heavenly. 

Sunshine incarnate. 

And Wraith, the moon, helplessly attracted to her and aching to be within her orbit. 

She’s beautiful.  

She wants us.  

Look at how hungry she is.  

We could have her-  

If she just let us-  

-uld take her, wipe that grin right off her mouth.  

For a brief moment, Anita’s face crosses with worry. Undoubtedly from the milky white of Wraith’s eyes. But with a small smile sent her way to quietly tell her it’s alright, her worry vanishes back to that cocky look and a squeeze of Wraith’s ass. 

“My Ladies distracting you?” Anita says with that same cocky look, that same lopsided grin and gentleness in her dark eyes that makes Wraith’s heart race from more than just arousal now. 

Yes.  

“No.” 

Wraith’s quick reply is met with a laugh. And Wraith hides her smile and playful lie by turning her head back into her arms. 

It doesn’t take long to get back into it. Where Anita lines herself up and gently presses the head in. She’s always so careful at first, always so gentle with her grip on Wraith’s hips. It could be sickening sometimes how gentle this soldier could treat her sometimes. Like glass. 

Like Wraith was something precious to her. 

Wraith groans, shoving her hips back and moaning when she feels the sharp bite of pain from taking the entire cock in at once. She’s greeted with the hiss from Anita, a sharp slap to her ass and a harsh grip that only serves to make Wraith groan. 

“Hey- you’re not in charge here.” Anita grunts, her voice low and blunt nails digging into the soft flesh of Wraith’s ass. Wraith can’t even pretend she’s sorry, not with her moan and how she rolls her hips back into Anita’s for her to just get on with it. “Keep acting bratty and maybe I’ll just have to tie you up.” 

Now THAT gets Wraith’s attention. A weak mewl leaving her at the idea of Anita having to hold her down by the back of her throat, another on the rope binding her wrists behind her back, just using her however she pleased. Taking what she wanted. 

Now that was a thought. 

“Promises, promises.” Wraith manages to choke out through another moan when Anita pulls her hips back nice and slow. Feeling each bump, each rib stimulating inside of her. Apparently, her retort isn’t desired when she feels a slap hit her ass, making Wraith’s body jerk, only to be yanked back roughly by her hips onto Anita’s cock. 

It’s a repetitive motion, one that Wraith tries to keep up with. Trying to fuck herself back onto Anita’s cock or trying to even push herself up onto her forearms to get a better angle. But Anita lets her have none of that, a hand twisting in Wraith’s hair and pressing her cheek back down to the bed, her other hand gripping her hip and holding her still to fuck into her. 

Wraith is a mess under her, clawing at the sheets and trembling under her. Anita’s voice caresses her ear, thick and low and murmuring, “Yeah? You like being treated like this, baby? Like being mine?” And Wraith is so helpless, unable to argue or come up with snarky in time. Only able to whimper in turn. 

When Anita sits up behind her, Wraith can hear the wet sound of maybe fingers in her own mouth before two fingers brush by her ass again. It’s all the warning she gets before they plunge into her, curling and pressing downwards to make Wraith feel fuller and fuller from both holes. 

It’s so overstimulating. It’s so much- she's so close- 

And then Anita stops. 

And Wraith practically screams in frustration, trying to twist herself but still held down by the hand in her hair and only able to exhale sharply in irritation. Trying to fuck herself back onto Anita’s hips and fingers, but unable to with how she’s scooted forward to press flush into Wraith. 

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Anita’s voice is teasing, dripping with faux sympathy. Her fingers aren’t stilling either, pumping into Wraith and making her feel her own slick drool down to the bed undoubtedly in strings. “Ya wanna cum?” 

“Yes- ” Wraith practically hisses, her nails digging into the sheets and feeling just a second closer to ripping open a rift just so she could get the upper hand.  

“Then be a good kitty for me and make some noise. Meow for me.” 

Wraith’s face turns three shades of red, her heart still pounding in her chest from being on the precipice of cumming. There's a feeling almost like humiliation in her and yet she... 

She kind of liked it. 

“Make me.” Wraith finds herself saying, almost immediately regretting it from the way Anita’s fingers still and pull out of her. The feeling of her strong hands holding her hips and sliding them up and over her waist. 

“Suit yourself.” 

It’s with that that Anita pulls out, and at first Wraith goes to maybe turn herself over, but a hand on her lower back keeps her in place now. Feeling how the head of Anita’s cock slips further up, brushing across her ass and making Wraith’s breath catch. There’s no warning when Anita grabs her hips, sinking her blunt nails in and the head popping into Wraith. 

It almost hurts. Almost. But there’s something about that bite that makes Wraith’s eyes roll into the back of her head with each inch fed into her until Anita’s hips press flush to her ass. 

Oh, what Wraith wouldn’t give just to see what Anita looked like right now. 

Wraith is a mess, squirming and on the same hand trying so hard to hold still. Especially when one of Anita’s hands slides off her hip, reaching under her to capture her clit between her index finger and middle finger’s knuckles to jerk her engorged clit casually. 

Anita knew just how to work her. Just how to drive Wraith to the brink and bring her back down. Until Wraith was squirming back on her cock, choking on a sob over how full she feels and how Anita’s hand slaps lightly across her cunt and makes Wraith’s body jump. Pushing her back further onto Anita’s cock and making a moan choke from her again. 

Anita was going to kill her. And what a beautiful death it would be. 

“You know what I want.” Anita gruffly murmurs by Wraith’s ear. “Gonna make me force it out of you? I can do this all day, baby.” 

That finally seems to do it. A mewl parting from Wraith’s lips, followed by Anita’s murmur of ‘Good girl’ that only makes Wraith do it again for good measure. A shatter of Wraith’s need for control. 

Anita’s fingers hook around her hips again, pounding her hips into Wraith’s ass and fucking her harder now. Each loud slap of skin on skin bringing Wraith closer until she’s stuttering on her next pronounced mewl as she’s cumming. Cumming harder than she think she’s ever done in her life with harsh tremors of her body and sobs of Anita’s name. 

That doesn’t even stop Anita, only making her a bit rougher as she reaches under Wraith to grab at her breasts, thumbing at her pierced nipples. Sob after sob leaves Wraith, squirming as her clit throbs and squirt dribbles down her inner thighs from the intensity of her orgasm. Her eyes roll into the back of her head, helpless but to take whatever Anita gives her. 

And take she does. 

It’s when Anita slows her hips down does Wraith finally begin to catch her breath. She’s drooling for sure on her arms, blinking blearily and making a soft noise in her throat of curiosity at why the pace has slowed. 

“Said you remembered our anniversary, right?” Anita asks in that way that really means it’s not a question, so Wraith doesn’t respond. Not until her hair is pulled and forces her head up with a cry, bowing her back beautifully for Anita. It’s then that she gets why Anita is asking. 

In front of her, on the pillow, is a laptop. One that Wraith didn’t even realize was put there. And on the screen is that video she’d taken. Seeing herself crawl up onto the bed to work Anita into a strap on, her own voice in the video ringing out, “Wasn’t really asking you, Princess.” 

Wraith’s breath catches in real time, the fingers twisted in her hair keeping her nice and still as Anita’s hips start to pound into her. “Keep watching.” Anita murmurs, lips brushing by her ear and sending a shiver through Wraith’s frame. 

She’s made to watch as she guides Anita’s head in the video to her cunt, how she’s covered in Wraith’s lipstick from the night, how she slips her panties past her lips, how Anita looks so adoringly at her. 

Like she is now.  

Lips press to the side of Wraith’s neck, just under her ear and kissing down her neck, down her shoulder. Each thrust sends her body bouncing, jerked right back onto Anita’s cock and hearing just how Anita moans nice and low. The harness must be pressing right against her clit, sending dull vibrations through. 

Wraith’s mouth waters at the idea of being able to lick her raw. 

Anita’s low groan and her hips stuttering capture Wraith’s attention. Feeling her hair released so her hips can be grabbed, her wide hips being held still so Anita can fuck herself into her, humping her ass and once more making Wraith’s eyes roll back. The sounds of her girlfriend cumming making her match as she begins to cum with a cry, equally matched by how Anita slaps her ass and grips the plump cheek with a groan. 

As they both come down from their highs, Wraith can’t support her own weight anymore. Not when Anita slips from her and releases her, making Wraith practically melt onto the bed in a splat. Legs apart, one lightly pulled up, her body shaking and trembling and lying in her own little wet spot with lubricant leaking out of her ass. 

Surprise.  

Click!  

“Anita!” 

The click of a camera following flash and one of the Ladies speaking makes Wraith groan in embarrassment. Hearing Anita chuckle and lightly patting her ass lovingly. “What? Thought you’d like a reminder for later, baby.” 

“Mnnnhph-” Wraith groans in turn, reaching back to swat blindly at Anita who laughs as she slips off the bed. 

From there, Wraith is gently pulled into Anita’s lap- who has set her harness to the side and slid her shorts back on. Gently, Wraith is cradled in her lap, a hand on the back of her head and pressing her face into Anita’s neck where she inhales her scent and the hint of sweat. Anita’s other hand rubs Wraith’s thigh softly, soothingly, giving her a fond and comforting squeeze to her frame. 

A kiss presses to Wraith’s ear, and just the gentle move makes her blush, squeezing her arms around Anita tighter and making a positive noise. 

“How do you feel?” Anita murmurs, pressing a firm kiss to Wraith’s shoulder adoringly. 

“Better.” Wraith confirms in a small voice, her throat aching and her mouth dry. “Little thirsty.” 

“Mmh, I’ll bet.” 

“Anita.” 

Anita laughs at the stern, scolding tone. She murmurs an ‘Alright, alright’ as she gently shifts Wraith off her lap and onto the bed- out of the wet spot on the bed. She’s only gone for a moment before a cold water bottle is given to her, following a sugary pack of gummy prowlers that makes Wraith break out into a beam. 

Easy to please, she’s well aware. But she’s also aware of the way Anita looks at her oh so fondly with a little half smile as Wraith snatches the candy delightedly. 

Once more Anita leaves after double checking Wraith didn’t need anything more physically. When she returns, it’s with an armful of fresh sheets, but at first Wraith doesn’t pay any mind to her being there. 

She’s watching us.  

Peeking up and through her lashes, Wraith tries to hold back a blush at seeing Anita with an armful of new sheets and blankets. The little smile back on her face and the lightest flex of her biceps in her tanktop making Wraith feel how she did the first time she’d ever seen Anita look at her like that. 

Thankfully the silent staring is broken when Anita walks in and shoos Wraith from the bed to take the soiled sheets and change them. From there, she goes and gets a wet washcloth to help clean off Wraith without the need for another bath, also getting her a new pair of panties and one of her big hoodies she took comfort in. 

Anita gestures for Wraith’s arms to go up as she holds the hoodie and Wraith obeys. Only for Anita to pull it down over her head, stopping when she’s at her shoulders while Wraith is blind so she can push her back onto the clean bed. Sending Wraith gasping, only to fall into a giggling fit when Anita’s hands grab her hips to hold her in place. Anita presses kisses up her tummy, pressing a raspberry there while Wraith is helpless and squirming, still caught in the hoodie. 

The torture ends soon when Anita tugs the bottom of the hoodie down to rescue Wraith. Wraith can feel her cheeks flushing as she looks up at Anita, seeing her half-lidded eyes and her fond half smirk down at her. She’s straddling Wraith now, arms on either side of her head and looking all the more charming per minute. 

Wraith can’t stop her racing heartbeat when Anita leans in, fondly pressing their foreheads together. 

“Hey.” Anita softly murmurs. 

“Hey.” Wraith murmurs back just as soft, closing her eyes and turning her head to rub their noses softly together. 

They move back into the bed together. With Wraith tucked into Anita’s arms, her ass pressing back against her and her cold fingers holding onto Anita’s arms around her body. Anita’s chin tucks against the top of Wraith’s head, occasionally moving to press a kiss. 

“How are you feeling, by the way?” Anita starts, resting her cheek against the top of Wraith’s head. When Wraith hums back quizzically, Anita clarifies. “You were upset earlier. Ya know just makin’ sure my baby’s okay. I mean, I know you’re satisfied physically-” 

That earns her a laugh from Wraith and an elbow in the ribs, sending Anita laughing in turn. It’s good she’s got her back to Anita, or she’d see just how much her absentminded ‘my baby’ affected Wraith. 

“I’m better,” Wraith murmurs, pulling Anita’s hand up to her face to kiss her palm tenderly. “Thanks...for coming over, I mean. And just...being with me. I should have told you earlier but I-I was...” 

Wraith trails off, pulling Anita’s hand to cup her cheek and sighing when Anita’s thumb caresses her cheekbone. A quiet and patient understanding as she waits for Wraith to continue. 

“I don’t know- I was stubborn, I guess.” Wraith finishes after a moment. Rolling over to look at Anita and letting her arms drape over her waist. At first not meeting Anita’s gaze, not until fingers gingerly grab her chin, guiding her gaze up to Anita. 

“Hey, I get it. It’s hard asking for help. But you know I’m here for you, okay?” Anita’s voice is gentle, a low rumble and making Wraith’s heart burst into a frenzy again. Especially when Anita leans in, pressing a warm, soft kiss to her forehead. “I love you. For better or for worse.” 

“Your ‘hopeless romantic’ is showing again.” Wraith playfully mumbles, smiling when she feels Anita smile against her forehead in turn. 

Soon they settle back down. Only the soft glow of the fairy lights Wraith has overhead making the room glow. Anita cradles Wraith to her chest, stroking through her hair and down her neck, occasionally drawing or writing mindless things with her fingers. 

One day, Wraith’s mind reminds her. 

One day they could forget the games. Start a life on their own together. 

For better or for worse.  

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter 20: Second Assist

Characters: Captain Logan “Sy” Syverson, Shane Benton (OFC), various other original supporting/secondary characters

Summary: Shane reunites with friends and family, hashes out some feelings, and gets real with Sy. Can their relationship survive her trauma? And the threat that still looms above them?

Romance and Smut Abound HERE!

Word Count: 4500

Warnings: Mention of rape, alcoholic beverages, violent imagery…feels out the butt.

Author’s Note: You guys are so splendid and beautiful! I can’t thank you enough for your support and encouragement to finish this piece. First, welcome to new readers! I know poor Henry’s injury and subsequent physiotherapy has driven some of you here, and while I’m sorry for him, I’m glad I can consider myself something of a pioneer in this particular genre and provide you some help for your newfound thirst. To my OG readers, it is to you I owe this entire work, parts written and incomplete, and I hope an eventual book deal. I mean to mention you in my acknowledgements, should this ever reach a willing publisher. You’ve inspired me so supremely that I cannot quantify it, even with the words I hold so dear.

Since my last chapter was posted, we’ve said a relieved goodbye to 2020 and a tentative hello to 2021. To be honest, this year has started out worse than last year. Lots of bad weather in my area this winter, my sister is currently on her way to a new life in another state, and my grandmother, the last grandparent I had, passed away in February. Those last two things have been especially difficult to shake off and recover from, both coming to fruition pretty suddenly. Amongst all that, I’ve been pretty distracted by my other fandoms, especially Marvel, and I’ve been reading a killer book series that I’m utterly in love with. (The Throne of Glass novels by Sarah J. Maas. 10/10 recommend.) But I knew I needed to get back into Shane and Sy’s story, especially given the new and rekindled interest in the subject matter. In all honesty, I’ve had most of it written for months. It’s just been a matter of finishing it off to set up the rest of the story.

I really hope you all enjoy Chapter 20, Second Assist, and would love your feedback and notes. You are all so important to this story, and your notes, reblogs, and comments are cherished. Thank you so much for reading! Love from Hannah!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism. This is an original work by me, Hannah. Please reblog if you wish to share. Please do not repost either in whole or part, as the work of anyone but myself. Thanks so much for reading!

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If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@

Shane woke in her warm bed, late morning sun streaming in through her sheer curtains, the heavier drapes parted to let in the light. She wished she'd remembered to close them before now. She really was not ready to be awake.

She was sore. Achy. Her sleep had been fitful and full of shadowy nightmares and muffled screams. Beyond that, she didn't try to remember images or events. She knew the general premise of the dreams. It would take a lot of time, effort, or a miracle to make her forget those traumas she'd been through in the last week. Not even forget. She knew she never would. But move on from them. Accept them. And heal from them…even that seemed a mighty obstacle. One she was not sure she could surmount.

Through the open bedroom door, she could hear Lynyrd Skynyrd and the clanging and sizzling of pans, and she could smell bacon and freshly brewed coffee. Sy had left the room, but had not, it seemed, gone far. She gingerly sat up, stood from the bed, and donned her robe as she walked out into the hall and down the corridor to the kitchen.

The sight before her warmed her heart. There was Sy. In only his boxers, daringly frying the notoriously dangerous breakfast meat. Upon her entry to the kitchen, she could also smell pancakes, and she thought syrup, as well. He seemed to be warming a bottle of the maple unction in a pot of hot water. He turned as she stepped on a squeaky floorboard, and grinned widely at her.

"Mornin' sunshine." And she was struck by the irony of someone with such a radiant smile calling her sunshine. Especially when she didn't feel much like beaming. But she couldn't help return the expression, even through her pain.

"Mornin' bear. Did you go to the store?" She knew she couldn't have any bacon in her fridge, and she doubted her eggs and milk were still good at this point. But she also couldn't think that he would leave her for any reason.

"Nah, some of the guys brought over some provisions. Matt worked on your car all night, too, and filled up the tank. It's as good as new. He and Nate brought ‘er over as well as the groceries. I just had ‘em get stuff I knew your family wouldn't be bringing later. They've had tons of food given to them this week, and they're ready to share. You should have seen your mom loading me down with sandwiches and chips and whatnot when I visited them."

"I still can't believe you met them. I really wanted to introduce you personally." Shane's face fell. She would never be able to get that back. She wanted to cry. Sy had poured her a cup of coffee and sat it in front of her with her favorite creamer.

"Darlin' I’m so sorry. I had to talk to them."

"I know." she sniffed. "I'm not mad. Not at you. Just…"she didn't want to say Elliott's name. "I'm disappointed that the experience was stolen from me." That so many things had been stolen from her. By that monster. There was no other way to describe him. Sy growled. As if he could read her mind. He really just knew her well enough and shared her thoughts.

"Well, don't worry, we'll have a nice dinner with them one of these days, and we can pretend. Sound good?"

"Yeah, and I can feign nervousness." she laughed.

"And I'll pretend too. That I'm scared to meet your dad." he chuckled. "What if he threatens me with his shotgun?"

"I'll pull the ol' 'Daddy, no, I loooooove him!' line, as I throw myself between you!"

"That oughta work." he laughed and kissed her on the forehead as he stepped toward the stove and flipped a pancake.

As they sat eating their late breakfast, Shane's mind wandered. Nothing had changed on the surface, but everything was different now. This cozily mundane breakfast with her boyfriend felt like an out of body experience. As delicious as it was, as wonderful and comforting as it should feel, her guard was up. Even through her amiable façade. She was not the person she was two weeks ago. She was not the same woman who said goodbye to Sy at the base. Maybe that was the real transformation. Maybe that was why nothing felt normal. It wasn't the world, but her own self coming back into it.

"Shane?" Sy asked, gently, but it felt like he was speaking through a megaphone directly into her ear. She was so startled, she nearly dropped the half full mug of coffee that was paused midway to her lips. A bit sloshed out onto the table and splashed her shirt.

"Shit!" she chided herself. It wasn't a big deal, but she felt stupid jumping at the sound of her own name.

Sy reached for the closest towel, hanging from the oven handle, grabbed it and started for her clothes with it. She stopped him. But she couldn't think about why the intimate act made her uncomfortable.

"No, don't, it's fine. These clothes have seen better days, anyway." She pulled the towel from him and began to mop up the small puddles of coffee around her plate.

Sy seemed to note the stains already present on the shirt, as if trying to divine their history. She was something of a messy eater, so the battle wounds of many a barbecue, spaghetti dinner, and hurried breakfast peppered the now off-white SATB club tee she'd gotten her second or third year in college choir. She thought back to a huge room with high ceilings. White, cinder block walls, flecked tile floors, a beautiful, glossy, black baby grand in front of a long whiteboard with black lines to resemble sheet music. She thought about the mnemonic device she'd learned to help her remember what notes appeared on each line, and in the spaces between them. She pondered the deeper meanings and implications of these devices. EGBDF…every good boy does fine. She thought about the "good boys" in her life. She knew many. Her dad, her brother Ethan, Sy, obviously, her many male coworkers and friends…and honestly they did far better than "fine." They were wonderful. But she was letting the "bad boys" she'd encountered dictate her mood. Permeate her psyche. Tear her down. She didn't want to be like this. Then FACE came to mind, and above their purpose of indicating the notes between the lines on the staff, they called her to action. To face these newly minted demons with all the strength she knew she possessed, and she too would "do fine." But as with almost all actions, this was easier said than done.

She felt a warm presence on her left hand which had paused it's torture of the now coffee-infused kitchen towel. Sy's hand was squeezing hers gently.

"Shane." he uttered, barely above a whisper this time. She looked at him through tears that she had not realized had formed. He continued.

"Shane, what can I do, darlin'? I'll do anything."

"Babe, you're doing everything you can, and more. This…this is all going to have to come from me. I…don't know when I'll be myself again…" she paused, tears streaming now. "I'm…I'm different."

"You're not though." he reached for her face, but she pulled away.

"I am, damn it! Sy, I was…" Words had power. And the one she was thinking of had more power than she thought was warranted. She knew that uttering it would take away it's power…and yet mustering the courage and strength to actually do so…seemed impossible. She took a deep breath, and disassociated herself from the statement, even though it was about her own past.

"I was raped." She refused to cry. She felt it all again. She had never said the words. She had never thought it necessary. Everyone understood. Sy, his friends, and she was sure her own loved ones had made the connection. But she knew she needed to say it now to drive home the points she was about to make.

Sy, looked at the table, nodding, not needing to be told in so many words something he already had surmised from the clear evidence. He remained silent. She went on.

"I love you, Sy. I have since the day we met, on one level or another, and I believe that I always will. But I…right now I can't be a proper girlfriend to you. I can't…be with you, touch you, be touched by you, in the way we used to be. In the way you deserve…and I don't know when…or even if…I ever will. Not that I don't want to. That's ALL I want in the world. To go back. To be the woman who fell in love with this…incredible man. To make love with you, but…I can't."

Sy's eyes were full of tears, their predecessors already descending his round cheeks and disappearing into his thick, dark beard.

"Sy, I don't want to lead you on and keep you tied to a relationship with no life in it. You deserve someone who's whole. Someone who can be a fully invested partner for you, and not this broken, damaged--"

"You stop that, Shane. I won't hear no more of this kinda talk. Y'hear? You're my girl. My woman. My person. No matter what. You gotta know I'd never leave ya just cuz you aren't ready for sex again. You don't think that I would, do ya?"

"Well, you went to Virginia…you took that job…knowing the distance it would put between us. Literally and figuratively."

"Biggest mistake of my life." Shane raised her eyebrows in surprise as Sy elaborated. "I couldn't focus on my classes without wishing you were there. Wishing I could team up with you for discussions and hand to hand combat training…that thought got me a little too excited, if you catch my drift." He smirked, pulling a sheepish smile from Shane. "Then in that forest. I dreamt about you every night. I thought of you constantly. I could barely breath sometimes, I missed ya so damned much. I was an idiot. I was insane to think that I needed anything other than you. Any MORE. There IS no more. You're it. You're the MOST! The most important thing in my life."

The declaration hung like vapors in the air, more felt than seen. Tangible yet ethereal.

"And when I found out that you were missing…I was…well, I think I looked like death…and not warmed over. You can ask the program director I met with after I got the news. She could tell I was just sick over it. And as I thought about it on the way home, pieced things together, started thinking about who'd taken you, I got murderous. Shane, I have been in dozens of battles, skirmishes, firefights, you name it. War. But…the sheer bloodlust I felt thinking about what you could be going through…I've never experienced anything like it. Everything was red. Everything. For days. Until I saw you, alive. And then it went red again when I saw the fear and damage on your face." she could tell he was doing his best not to talk about the farmhouse and that basement, but she still flashed back to the moments before and after his appearance there. The moments when she simultaneously prayed to live and hoped to die.

"You don't owe me anything, Shane. I just want you in my life, and I don't care what your presence looks like. Romantic, platonic, or somewhere in between. I'm here for you. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Shane felt the urge to wrap her arms around her boyfriend, but could not seem to move more than one arm to place her other hand on top of his. She hoped the gratitude and love behind the small, but heartfelt gesture landed. It was all she had in that moment, no matter how abundant her affection.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shane's family's arrival was a complete blur to her. It was joyous, tearful, and the happiest she'd been in a long time. The moment she opened the front door for them, she was surrounded, engulfed with hugs from her parents and siblings. They stood in their affectionate huddle for several moments before Peg waved Sy over with marked insistence. He'd been standing by, observing happily, but not wanting to intrude on the familial reunion.

When they finally dispersed, John asked the two younger men to help him bring in groceries. The women headed into Shane's bedroom for a more private setting in which to talk. Shane filled her mother and sister in the best she could given the rawness of the wounds left on her mind by the events.

She leaned against the headboard cuddling with Gabby while her mom rubbed her feet. She had insisted on doing this thing that had always comforted her children, and made them feel much better when they were younger.

"Well, I'm very proud of you, pumpkin." The girls both looked at their mother, who rather uncharacteristically hadn't spoken in some time. Shane was nonplussed. Peg elaborated.

"You survived something that many women don't. You're talking about it now, which even more women don't. You may think you're broken, but you're just a tree damaged by a storm, but standing stronger than ever." Trust her mom to lay such wisdom on her. When she felt like giving up. When she just wanted pity. When she could only see defeat. Her mother had always found a way to encourage and buoy her and show her the victory.

"Mom's right." Gabby affirmed, and it was Peg's turn to be nonplussed, as the two women, though similar in so many ways, never seemed to see eye to eye. "It's true. Shane I've seen a lot of women come into the clinic in shoes very much like yours. And trust me…some of them…they don't make it to this point. You've got a long way to go before you're fully recovered, don't get me wrong, but you'll get there. You have us. And you have Sy."

"And then there's Sy." She diverted. "How am I supposed to plan any sort of future with him when…" She looked at her mom, and hesitated. Peg rolled her eyes.

"Shane, I know what the two of you get up to when you're alone. You don't have to be shy with me."

"Still…" she took a breath and spoke. "When I can't bring myself to…sleep with him?"

"Look at him, you're kidding, right?" Gabby chided, insensitively, but recanted at the pained expression on Shane's face. "Sorry, sis. Trying to lighten the mood a touch. Too soon. But seriously, I don't think this reluctance you feel will be permanent."

"And even if it is," Peg took over, "that man is out-of-his-mind in love with you, Shaney." She kissed Shane's toe before putting a sock on her foot. "He almost seems to worship you. Now, you know how I feel about using that term outside of religious context, but that is exactly the kind of love I want for you. Devout, and unconditional."

"But, mom, I can't--"

"Did you hear me? I said 'unconditional,' sweetie." Peg interrupted. "No matter what. No matter the obstacle. No matter the distance. No matter the circumstances. Love unwavering. That's what Sy has for you. I've seen it in him. Trust the momma."

The insistence her mother placed on trust had always ruffled Shane's feathers. Gabby's too, who she could feel stiffen slightly beside her. But Shane, for once, really wanted to trust her mother, hoping against hope that she was right. And that she, herself  wouldn't screw up the best relationship she had ever been in or was likely to ever be in again.

The girls had begun talking about some of the coworkers who'd brought food in the past week, and Peg couldn't resist remarking on the character of her favorites and judging the ones she didn't care for…oddly enough, getting more or less, the correct measure of them, as Shane saw it.

After what must have been an hour from the time they'd arrived, they heard a knock on the slightly ajar bedroom door. John poked his head in.

"Ladies, we've put a casserole in the oven, and completed various manly projects around the house--"

"Oh, daddy, what projects?" She cringed. She hated that the men had felt the need to "fix" things.

"Babe, your guest bathroom had not one, but two leaky faucets, your kitchen table seemed to be more of a teeter-totter, and half the light bulbs in the living room were out. Among other tiny things. You're welcome." he smirked his crooked smirk so similar to her own, and she returned it as if he was looking in a mirror.

"Thanks, dad."

"Anyway, lunch is almost ready. So, when you've finished your confab, let's eat."

Dinner passed amiably, Shane found a reserve within herself to allow some quasi-normal behavior, as long as you didn’t look too closely. She was talking animatedly with her siblings, making their parents and Sy laugh riotously. Shane noticed some odd looks passing between Sy and her father, but chalked it up to paranoia. She wished at least Gabby and Ethan could stay, but Heather would be over soon, and she deserved her own dedicated time. Shane wanted to give that to her.

She said her farewells to her family with promises to visit them the next day, and at least one more time before her siblings went back home, if she could work it out.

Sy was so wonderful the whole time. Standing by her, a hand resting lightly on her shoulder as they waved goodbye to the departing vehicle. He made her feel so safe. They went into the kitchen and cleaned up from lunch. Well, Sy cleaned. Shane was texting Heather about when she'd be over.

"Heather says she'll be here in about a half hour. She's picking up wine and pizza." Shane told Sy without looking up from her phone. She could see out of the corner of her eye, though, that he had just closed the dishwasher and was selecting a cycle.

"Sounds great. Do you want me to get out of here? Give you guys some time, one on one?" He asked as he dried his hands, wet from preparing dishes for the machine.

She thought about it, and shuddered. She played a scene in her head that startled her. In her mind's eye, she saw Sy leave and then moments later heard a knock on the door. Presuming it was Heather, she opened the door with abandon, only to see Elliott standing there under a flickering porch light, smirking maliciously at her and ready to overpower and abduct her again. She shook the thought from her head, but remained uneasy as she answered his question.

"Uh, no. Thanks. I'm sure she'll want to talk to both of us. She likes you." Shane grinned softly at Sy in an attempt to mask her trepidation over the thought of him leaving her alone for any period of time. She thought it had worked.

"Okay, well, whatever you think, sunshine. I don't wanna get in the way." He was wiping down the countertops. She felt so impossibly full of love for him, she was starting to wonder how she hadn't yet burst with it. She couldn't bear the thought of holding him back from a fulfilling relationship. He deserved everything she couldn't give him right now. And she knew she should make him leave her. Cut him loose. But she was, as she'd been since she'd met him, a weak woman. She couldn't stand the thought of being without him. Of him no longer being hers. And somehow worse, of not being his, herself. She would always need him for so many reasons, not least of which being her love for him. Maybe one day, she'd recover from this trauma, and be able to be who he deserved. To give him what he needed.

"You're never in the way, bear." She walked up behind him, wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed him as tight as she could. He placed a loving hand over hers, sighing and smiling, though she had no visual proof of the latter. It was just a feeling.

Heather's greeting was no less exuberant than that of Shane's family, but it was more joyful and less emotional, even though she was immensely relieved to see her best friend after so long. They talked as if no time had passed, and Shane mustered up the dregs of her former self to have one more interaction for the day. Thank God it was Heather and not someone who would require more. She wouldn't have it to give.

"I am so glad you're okay, Shane! Things around the clinic have been bleak as fuck. Susan is loosing her mind, Anita is beside herself with concern, and the rest of us just plain ol' miss the hell out of you. And not just because of all of the overtime everyone has been pulling to get your patients seen."

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize…wow, I'm awful. I didn't even think---"

"That you'd be missed? Think again, sister. The place would fall apart if you ever really left. But don't feel guilty. It's the least everyone can do, and they've all said it themselves. We all love you, and know that you'd do the same for any of us if you could at all. Hopefully you won't have to, though!"

Shane nodded, eyes wide in agreement. She wouldn't wish the last week of her life on her worst enemy. On the worst person in the world. Except maybe the people responsible. Tit for tat.

"Well, I'm sorry my absence has caused extra work for all of you." Shane looked into the deep glass of Chardonnay Sy had poured her from the bottle Heather had brought. She felt about as small as the air bubble making it's way up the sloping curve of the stemless vessel. She felt a guilt that she knew was fully void of logic. It made no sense for her to feel guilt for being kidnapped. But she had always had this notion, this nagging voice in her head that told her that her misfortunes were a direct result of her decisions. That she'd inadvertently stepped on the butterfly that resulted in the monsoon she was currently experiencing, and whatever cataclysmic events she would face next.

"Why in God's name are you apologizing for this, Shay?" Heather's tone was kind, but still mildly scolding.

"If I'd never been with Elliott, none of this would have--"

"Bitch, are you a fortune teller?"

"No, but--"

"Soothsayer?"

"No."

"Time traveler?"

"I wish!" Shane chuckled. But she really did wish.

"Have you any real and proven success at consistently predicting the future?"

"I don't, but--"

"No. No buts. No howevers. You had no idea what becoming involved with Elliott could have done. Were there signs, sure. But you can't look on the past as a rubric to judge the quality of your decisions. You know that. You can only learn from your mistakes. And you have."

"Heather's right, sunshine. You really have learned. You look for Elliott's behaviors in mine and shut me down quick if you see 'em. You're not going to let yourself go down that road again. And I'm proud of you for it."

Shane silently worried her wine glass. It was hard to argue with such truth. But it was hard to agree when her own feelings were in such stark opposition. So she did neither.

"Well, I've preached my sermon for the day." she laughed. "I've taken up enough of your time. Oh, your phone. It's in my purse. I think it's fully charged, but I turned it off."

Shane thanked her friend, then Heather hugged them both and took her leave.

"Y'okay, bug?" Sy asked her after what she surmised was several minutes of silence. Minutes she didn't notice as they passed.

"Mmm…" she trailed off.

"Can I do something for ya?" And she really thought about the question. He could probably do a lot of things for her. He could make love to her until she felt whole again, even if it hurt her at first. Not an ideal option. He could probably get them both some new identities and enough money to spirit her away to somewhere her past wouldn't follow. If she became someone new, literally, would she have to bring that old baggage, those old scars, with her? Again, suboptimal. But he could definitely take the source of all grief and turmoil in her life far into the Missouri back country, somewhere not even the hunters would venture, some fallow field or forgotten cistern, and end him. Snuff out his spark of life like a candle caught in a tornado. Spill a fatal amount of his monstrous blood onto the unforgiving earth and send him to the Hell to which he was undoubtedly destined. But did she want that? Did she want another soul as a scar on that of the man she so deeply cherished? He'd say it was worth it. He'd say he'd take a thousand more for her. A million. That was Sy.

"Nothing comes to mind." She lied. And he knew it was a lie, but didn't push it. She was so grateful that he respected her, not for the lie itself, but for the reason she wasn't giving him the whole truth just now.

His phone went off and he picked it up as he stood from his seat at the table. She could only hear that it was Matt, the guy she thought she understood had the car place, before she heard tension in Sy's voice. Even from the next room, she could tell something was wrong, though he was talking too quietly for her to make out words.

She heard him suddenly shout a stream of profanities that he rarely said at all around her, at least, let alone together. There was a bang, and the walls of her kitchen quaked like the tectonic plates beneath them were shifting.

Sy walked back in, his face was red, as were his knuckles. He was shaking an injury out of his hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked, deep concern at his appearance and demeanor, suddenly ominous.

"I need to fix your wall in there." he grumbled, evading, without success. She'd be doing therapy on his hand, next.

"What's really wrong?" she repeated, sternly.

"That was Matt. Elliott's…escaped, somehow. He's in the wind."

Shane's heart became so heavy, she could almost feel it smashing through the kitchen floor and burying itself deep in the cement floor of her basement.

"Oh, God! No! What if he goes to the police!?"

"Fuck that, I'm more concerned about him coming after you!"

The two stared, faces full of equal measures of concern for the other.

Up Next: Chapter 21-Patient Education

[doubleattitude]

Radix Dance Convention Nationals, Las Vegas 2021 Results

Core Performer:

(Top 3/4 in Bold)

Mini Female

Top 20:

Emily Jungmann

Isabella Kouznetsova

Skylar Wong

Madelyn Murphy

Carrigan Paylor

Kate Baldwin

Madison Carmody

Karyna Majeroni

Elizabeth Bilecki

Sasha Milstein

Diana Kouznetsova

Ellary Day Szyndlar

Tiara Sherman

Fiona Wu

Savannah Manzel

Camila Giraldo

Victoria Martinez

Georgia Beth Peters

Addison Price

Regan Gerena

Winner: Carrigan Paylor

Mini Male

Top 7:

Elias Elkind

Karson Koller

Santiago Sosa

Julian Aranda

Michael Cash Savio

Nico Dahl

Josh Lundy

Winner: Michael Cash Savio

Junior Female

Top 20:

Kendyl Fay

Daniela SanGiacomo

Kinley Andrews

Laci Stoico

Haileigh Brennan

Crystal Huang

Giselle Gandarilla

Kira Chan

Rylee Young

Kaili Kester

Taytum Ruckle

Maddie Ortega

Angelina Elliott

Anya Inger

Gracyn French

Aaliyah Dixon

Brinkley Pittman

Breanna Bieler

Alexis Mayer

Madison Ronquillo

Winner: Crystal Huang

Junior Male

Top 6:

Johnny Gray

Zachary Gibson

Haiden Neuville

Wyatt Brisson

Ayden Nguyen

Coltrane Vodicka

Winner: Coltrane Vodicka

Teen Female

Top 25:

Destanye Diaz

Izzy Howard

Kaitlyn Ortega

Jada Specht

Emily Madden

Harlow Ganz

Sabine Nehls

Dyllan Blackburn

Antonia Gonzalez

Brooklyn Law

Isabella Lynch

Avery Cashen

Charlie Kautzer

Valadie Cammack

Kiarra Waidelich

Isabel Joves

Olivia Magni

Rachel Loiselle

Mia Ibach

Cydney Heard

Madison Marshall

Kaylinn Rees

Hayden Frazier

Addison Middleton

Carly Thinfen

Winner: Kiarra Waidelich

Teen Male

Top 21:

Trent Grappe

Jack Brokaw

Luke Barrett

Nathan Scott

Antony Curley

Sam Fine

Louis Sloot

Rosendo Archiga

Harrison Robinson

Christian De Jesus

Xander Perone

Noah Ayden Grady

Jonah Daquigan

Samuel Sharp Jr

Jackson Koressel

Gavin Warfield

AJ Storey

Nicholas Bustos

Tucker Gokey

Ronnie Lewis

Sam Suro

Winner: Antony Curley

Senior Female

Top 22:

Camille Fehr

Rina Kanamaki

Elisabeth Pabich

Kayla Pereira

Sara Eberhardt

Ava La France

Selena Hamilton

Anna Miller

Skye Notary

Priscilla Tom

Mackenzie Jarrett

Libby Wiley

Makayla D’Ambrosio

Camryn Bridges

Maddie Thanos

Lola Coghill

Zoe Lemelman

Makenna Okamoto

Vanessa Valenzuela

Peyton Martineau

Erin Wienke

Izzy Burton

Winner: Erin Wienke

Senior Male

Top 13:

Wysdem Caesar

Garren Garcia

John Mays

Seth Gibson

Raiden King

Alec Brown

Bronson Dahmer

Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl

Sam McWilliams

Levi Sherman

Konnor Kelly

Zach Buri

Thiago Pacheco

Winner: Sam McWilliams

Finals:

High Scores by Age:

Cash Prizes:

1st: $200

2nd: $100

3rd: $50

Rookie Solo

1st: Mila Renae-’Soldier’

2nd: Lucia Piedrahita-’Fields of Gold’

2nd: Aliya Yen-’Loyal, Brave and True’

3rd: Melina Biltz-’Welcome Home’

4th: Zoey Brooks-’My Boyfriend’s Back’

5th: Lexi Menjivar-’I Will Survive’

6th: Moriah Peralta-’Up, Up & Away’

7th: Kaiya Carrillo-’Love Shack’

8th: Kinsey Fitts-’Can You Imagine That’

8th: Shale Herrera-’Dream’

9th: Madison Skapyak-’Songbird’

10th: Eden Hernandez-’Chocolate Box’

Mini Solo

1st: Camila Giraldo-’Welcome to Miami’

2nd: Skylar Wong-’Lovefooll’

3rd: Carrigan Paylor-’Orange Colored Sky’

4th: Regan Gerena-’My Boyfriend’s Back’

4th: Michael Cash Savio-’Rhythm’

5th: Tiara Sherman-’Cielo’

6th: Isabella Kouznetsova-’Trouble’

6th: Emily Jungmann-’You Sleep On’

7th: Winter Eberts-’Hit The Road Jack’

7th: Esme Chou-’Unravel’

8th: Addison Price-’Je Te Laisserai Des Mots’

9th: Avery Maycunich-’Wild is the Wind’

10th: Abigail Pucylowski-’Menace’

Junior Solo

1st: Crystal Huang-’Moonlight Sonata’

2nd: Gracyn French-’A Character of Quiet’

3rd: Angelina Elliot-’Out’

4th: Aaliyah Dixon-’That’s Life’

4th: Alexis Mayer-’Vanished’

5th: Laci Stoico-’Mein Herr’

6th: Daniela SanGiacomo-’Restless’

7th: Lexi Godwin-’Debut’

7th: Brenna Bieler-’Moonlight Sonata’

8th: Naia Parker-’Lit’

9th: Vivienne Robillard-’Immigration’

9th: Zoe Zielinski-’Z’

10th: Maddie Ortega-’A Winged Victory’

10th: Zachary Gibson-’Unknown’

Teen Solo

1st: Sophia Cobo-’Do You Feel Real’

1st: Izzy Howard-’Mer de Velours’

1st: Cydney Heard-’Je T'aime’

1st: Kiarra Waidelich-’The Resemblance is Uncanny’

2nd: Angelika Edejer-’One Giant Leap’

3rd: Kaitlyn Ortega-’Ain’t No Sunshine’

3rd: Harlow Ganz-’Breaking the Surface’

3rd: Antonia Gonzalez-’Like The Wind’

4th: Xander Perone-’Elijah’

4th: Dyllan Blackburn-’Silver Screen’

5th: Charli Ortiz-Ringenbach-’Is This Love’

6th: Ava Greendwaldt-’Countdown’

6th: Sammi Chung-’Eight’

6th: Isabella Warfield-’Nicest Thing’

6th: Jadyn Saigusa-’Wonderlust’

7th: June Hurley-’Don’t Think Of Me Like That’

7th: Kenzie Jones-’Flightless Bird’

8th: Finley Williams-’We’ll See’

9th: Sarah Laskowski-’For You’

10th: Addison Middleton-’ERROR’

10th: Rosendo Arechiga-’Thanks for Asking’

Senior Solo

1st: Thiago Pacheco-’The Poet’

2nd: Selena Hamilton-’Black Car’

3rd: Jackson Roloff-Hafenbreadl-’Darkness’

4th: Maddie Nemeth-’Sycamore Tree’

5th: Olivya Sessing-’House on the Hill’

6th: Sheridan Naugle-’Irreplaceable’

6th: Mia Tassani-’Mam’

6th: Seth Gibson-’Mind Bugs’

7th: Makayla D’Ambrosio-’Consider’

8th: Leigha Agins-’Prerogative’

9th: Milan Furtado-’As We Appear’

9th: Georgi Carmack-’Creature’

9th: Minda Li-’On Her Shoulders’

9th: Britton Moore-’Radiator’

9th: Libby Wiley-’Running Up That Hill’

9th: Sara Eberhardt-’Sticks and stone’

10th: Yasmine Quintana-’Hate’

Rookie Duo/Trio

1st: Danceplex-’Stand By Me’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’It Must Be Love’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Never Enough’

4th: Notion Dance Concepts-’MILK $’

5th: The Industry Dance Academy-’Don’t Go Without Me’

Mini Duo/Trio

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Yesterday’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Something’s Gotta Change’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gracious’

4th: Studio X-’Vogue’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Gonna Get Ya’

Junior Duo/Trio

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Go Girl’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Everything Is In Line’

3rd: Elements Dance Space-’Separate’

4th: Danceplex-’This Is Me Trying’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Wild Life’

Teen Duo/Trio

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Make Me High’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Last Light’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Hey’

4th: Evolution Dance Complex-’Before You Go’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Crystalized’

Senior Duo/Trio

1st: Mather Dance Company-’Trust Me Again’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company-’3′

3rd: MVP Dance Elite-’Bitter

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Revolution’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’June 7th’

5th: Studio 413-’Black Flies’

Rookie Group

1st: Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

2nd: Danceplex-’Lets Hear It For the Boy’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Lullaby’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Girls Night Out’

5th: Notion Dance Concepts-’Firework’

Mini Group

1st: Project 21-’Fan Tan Fannie’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Searching For...’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Don’t Give Up On Me’

4th: Evoke Dance Movement-’I Think I Love You’

5th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Queen Bees’

Junior Group

1st: Project 21-’No Fear But Anticipation’

2nd: Project 21-’Stuff Like That There’

2nd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Wind It Up’

3rd: Prodigy Training Center-’School of Prodigy’

3rd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Sing, Sing, Sing’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Un Momento Finale’

4th: Cypress Dance Project-’What Is Love?’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Wolves’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’1977′

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Alright’

Teen Group

1st: Project 21-’Bring On the Men’

2nd: Project 21-’Girls, Girls, Girls’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Cellophane’

3rd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Heavenly Bodies’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Overdose’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Unchained’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’The Cuckoo’s Nest’

5th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Boom POW’

Senior Group

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Prague’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’I Love America’

2nd: Mather Dance Company-’We The Soldiers’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hard Voices’

4th: Impact Dance Studio-’Fame’

4th: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’Wolves’

5th: Mather Dance Company-’For All We Know’

Rookie Line

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Ooh La La’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Wash & Set’

4th: Cypress Dance Project-’Bat Dance’

Mini Line

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’

1st: Project 21-’Dive In the Pool’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Go Your Own Way’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’You Can’t Stop the Beat’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Always’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Booty Swing’

5th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Distance’

Junior Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Derniere Danse’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Mein Herr’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whole Lotta Woman’

3rd: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

4th: Impact Dance Studio-’Hallelujah’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’It Wasn’t Always Like This’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Mahala’

Teen Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

2nd: Studio 413-’Hold On Tight’

3rd: Project 21-’Post That’

4th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Dream Girls’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’

Senior Line

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Here Comes the Rain’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’No Colors Anymore’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Voice of God’

4th: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’Cody Banks’

Rookie Extended Line

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Brave’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Hard Knock Life’

Mini Extended Line

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Trouble’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Settle Down’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Choo Choo’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Boy Meets Girl’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Dream In Color’

Junior Extended Line

1st: Evoke Dance Movement-’Purse First’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Hold Your Own’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Better Than Ever’

4th: Studio 413-’Girl Boss’

5th: Studio 413-’Goodbye’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Lose Control’

Teen Extended Line

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Euphoric’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hush Up’

3rd: Project 21-’Desoleil’

4th: CanDance Studios-’Throw It Back’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Adios’

5th: CanDance Studios-’The Colony’

Senior Extended Line

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’My House, My Rules’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’So What Now?’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company-’The Ravens’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Terrified’

Junior Production

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’One More Time’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Eminence’

3rd: Studio 413-’Electricity’

Teen Production

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Fly Away’

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gone Too Soon’

High Scores by Performance Division:

Rookie Jazz

1st: Danceplex-’Lets Hear It For the Boy’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Girls Night Out’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Ooh La La’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Wash & Set’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Spice Up Your Life’

5th: The Industry Dance Academy-’Material Girl’

Rookie Contemporary

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’

Rookie Lyrical

1st: Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Lullaby’

3rd: Notion Dance Concepts-’Firework’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Brave’

Rookie Musical Theatre

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’Hard Knock Life’

Rookie Specialty

1st: Cypress Dance Project-’Bat Dance’

Mini Jazz

1st: Project 21-’Dive In the Pool’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’You Can’t Stop the Beat’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Trouble’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’What Have You Done For Me Lately’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Money Heist’

Mini Ballet

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe-’This Way’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whistle A Happy Tune’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Rosamunde’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Cats’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’A Lovely Night’

Mini Hip-Hop

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Queen Bees’

2nd: Prodigy Training Center-’JR Prodigy’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Get Up’

4th: Prodigy Training Center-’Money’

5th: Heat Dance Studio-’Work It Out’

Mini Tap

1st: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’L.O.V.E’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Booty Swing’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Choo Choo’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Swing in the Mood’

4th: Studio 413-’Critical Level’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Charleston Charlie’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Aye Carumba’

Mini Contemporary

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Searching For...’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Distance’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’Lying’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Glad It’s Raining’

Mini Lyrical

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Go Your Own Way’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Don’t Give Up On Me’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Always’

4th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Lego House’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Soon You’ll Get Better’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Dream In Color’

5th: Artistic Motion Dance-’What A Wonderful World’

Mini Musical Theatre

1st: Project 21-’Fan Tan Fannie’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Wedding Bells’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Revolting Children’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’I’ve Got Rhythm’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’All That Jazz’

Mini Specialty

1st: Evoke Dance Movement-’I Think I Love You’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Settle Down’

3rd: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Come Little Children’

4th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Youth Strong’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Child of Light’

Junior Jazz

1st: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whole Lotta Woman’

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’One More Time’

2nd: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Purse First’

4th: Project 21-’Stuff Like That There’

4th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Wind It Up’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Mahala’

5th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Can You Dig It?’

Junior Ballet

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Combust’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Spring’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Bathers’

Junior Hip-Hop

1st: Prodigy Training Center-’School of Prodigy’

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Eminence’

2nd: Studio 413-’Girl Boss’

3rd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Lose Control’

4th: Cypress Dance Project-’Plain Jane’

5th: Heat Dance Studio-’Up’

Junior Tap

1st: Cypress Dance Project-’What Is Love?’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’I Love It’

3rd: Studio 413-’Into The Night’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Valerie’

5th: Cypress Dance Project-’Halftime’

Junior Contemporary

1st: Project 21-’No Fear But Anticipation’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Hold Your Own’

2nd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’It Wasn’t Always Like This’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Un Momento Finale’

4th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Wasted Air’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Wolves’

5th: Studio 413-’Goodbye’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Alright’

Junior Lyrical

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Hallelujah’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’You Are The Reason’

3rd: Stars Dance Studio-’Dawn of Love’

3rd: Impact Dance Studio-’Time After Time’

4th: To The Pointe Dance Centre-’It’s All Coming Back To Me’

5th: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’When I Look At You’

Junior Musical Theatre

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Mein Herr’

2nd: Cypress Dance Project-’Elle’s Big Day’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’West Side Story’

Junior Specialty

1st Impact Dance Studio-’Derniere Danse’

2nd: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Sing, Sing, Sing’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Better Than Ever’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’You’re Mine’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’1977′

5th: Stars Dance Studio-’Spa’

Teen Jazz

1st: Project 21-’Bring On the Men’

2nd: Project 21-’Post That’

3rd: CanDance Studios-’Throw It Back’

4th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Boom POW’

5th: Studio 413-’Social Media Overload’

Teen Ballet

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’To The Pointe’

2nd: Cypress Dance Project-’Hunted’

Teen Hip-Hop

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hush Up’

2nd: CanDance Studios-’Panaramic’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Runnin’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Clones’

5th: Studio 413-’Ready or Not’

5th: Studio 413-’Savage’

Teen Tap

1st: Studio 413-’No One’

2nd: Woodbury Dance Center-’I’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Go’

3rd: Summit Dance Shoppe-’25 Miles’

Teen Contemporary

1st: Studio 413-’Hold On Tight’

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Euphoric’

2nd: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’

3rd: Project 21-’Desoleil’

4th: Project 21-’Girls, Girls, Girls’

5th: CanDance Studios-’Can I’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’Unchained’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’Cellophane’

5th: Stars Dance Studio-’Through our Strength’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’Heavenly Bodies’

Teen Lyrical

1st: Mather Dance Company-’Overdose’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Take Me’

3rd: Studio 19 Dance Complex-’Particles’

4th: Danceplex-’If I Say’

5th: Heat Dance Studio-’He Loves Me’

Teen Musical Theatre

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Singular Sensation’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Almost Like Being In Love’

Teen Ballroom

1st: CanDance Studios-’I Got the Boom’

Teen Specialty

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Dream Girls’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’The Future Is Female’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gone Too Soon’

4th: Heat Dance Studio-’Freedom’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’Pale’

5th: The Industry Dance Academy-’Flashing Lights’

Senior Jazz

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’My House, My Rules’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Fame’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Prisoner’

4th: AVANTI Dance Company-’Need U Tonight’

5th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Cleopatrs in New York’

Senior Ballet

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Illumination’

Senior Hip-Hop

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’CrAzY’

Senior Tap

1st: Woodbury Dance Center-’Funkytown’

Senior Contemporary

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’No Colors Anymore’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’I Love America’

2nd: Mather Dance Company-’We The Soldiers’

3rd: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Wolves’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

4th: The Difference Dance Company-’The Ravens’

5th: The Difference Dance Company-’The First Time’

Senior Lyrical

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Prague’

2nd: Impact Dance Studio-’Here Comes the Rain’

3rd: Mather Dance Company-’Voice of God’

4th: Mather Dance Company-’For All We Know’

5th: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Wash’

Senior Specialty

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Hard Voices’

2nd: The Difference Dance Company-’Cody Banks’

3rd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’So What Now?’

4th: CanDance Studios-’I Won’t Complain’

5th: Cypress Dance Project-’To This Day’

Best of Radix:

Rookie

Winners: 

The Rock Center for Dance-’Innana’

Danceplex-’Little Wonders’

Mini

1st: The Rock Center for Dance-’6 Out of Six’

2nd: Evoke Dance Movement-’Searching For...’

3rd: Project 21-’Dive In the Pool’

4th: Impact Dance Studio-’You Can’t Stop the Beat’

5th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Trouble’

6th: Woodbury Dance Center-’Don’t Give Up On Me’

Junior

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Derniere Danse’

2nd: Project 21-’Proud Mary’

3rd: Woodbury Dance Center-’Mahala’

4th: Summit Dance Shoppe-’Whole Lotta Woman’

5th: Evoke Dance Movement-’Purse First’

6th: The Rock Center for Dance-’All Good People’

7th: Orange County Performing Arts Academy-’Wind It Up’

Teen

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

2nd: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Euphoric’

3rd: Project 21-’Bring On the Men’

4th: Studio 413-’Hold On Tight’

5th: The Rock Center for Dance-’Hey!’

Senior

1st: Impact Dance Studio-’Here Comes the Rain’

1st: Nor Cal Dance Arts-’Prague’

2nd: Mather Dance Company-’Voice of God’

3rd: Project 21-’The Dictator’s Dream’

3rd: The Difference Dance Company-’Wolves’

4th: The Industry Dance Academy-’When Dirt Meets Water’

Best in Show ($10 000):

Winner: Impact Dance Studio-’New York New York’

[sollucets]

hmmm.... this is v late, but 3, 6, and/or 18?? 🤠🤠

from these!

any time is good!!!! im very excited to answer these they are so fun. thank you ginger mfriend 💜💜

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

hmm….. i usually do just write them anyway, lol. as far as rasmr goes…. i would love to write brachium&sunshine/elliott in person interactions of some kind, flavored similarly to cinnamon (oh my god they were roommates) but we know So Little about brachium that i know i would need to make up some shit to do it right, and id like to just wait and hope tbh. i might cave eventually though, it depends. but i have this real nice image of sunshine and brachium holding hands & going shopping for big chunky sunglasses so his eyes don’t freak people out & clothes that actually have color in them, & elliott has to carry the bags. (please erik let my kids out of closeknits basement it’s been more than half a year)

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

the most fun is sam. i like making sure he has the right balance of Southern Flavor without like writing in dialect or whatever. and i am originally southern (texas 😔) so i take some small joy in making him say stuff like ‘might could’ lol

the Easiest (&thus a different flavor of most fun) are my own ocs, Especially aster. love writing aster

18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

this is a fun question!! here’s one: circuit breaker, my william & lovely bonding fic, had a first draft where vincent was also present that i completed before scrapping it. the problem i ran across was that the fic was partially a request, and was meant to be about william & lovely. i wanted it to include some family bonding with william and his progeny and his grandprogeny, but i couldn’t imagine any situation where vincent would fuck off of his own volition when his partner was freaking out, so i ended up having to send him away entirely. here, have some abandoned vincent from that time:

Vincent gives them a long look, brow furrowed. “Was it because of me? On the phone?”

They open their mouth to tell him ‘no’, and the word chokes on the way out, stuck in their throat. They watch as Vincent realizes, as his expression crumbles for a moment. “Hey, hang on. It’s not — I mean, it was, but I was pushing it. I was trying to listen in, I —”

Reaching out, slowly so they can stop him, Vincent pushes a strand of their hair out of their face. His fingers are so soft against their skin, another constant, despite how sad his eyes look. They lean into his touch, the way they always have, drawn to him like a sunflower towards the light.

[angstyaches]

Hey flick! Just read your last fic with poor el and I was just thinking about a potential dynamic between Elliot and Charlie, where Elliot is sick from maybe going through vamp transition stuff and Charlie is around somehow (maybe visiting Shane, or if you can’t figure it out you could just swap him with Shane lol). I could see if Elliot was just mildly sick that Charlie would know to back off and give him some space, but if it was more serious I feel like his deep and intense drive to mother the everloving shit out of people might be too much for him to resist trying to take care of the poor grumpy boi. And besides, Elliot is Shane’s family, so like he feels like he’s GOTTA help even more😂 meanwhile Elliot is annoyed at first but slowly warms up because a) he’s sick as hell and could really use someone to make sure he doesn’t die, and b) Shane trusts Charlie and that’s gotta mean something, right?

I hope this is okay!! My brain has NOT been cooperating with me lately so it's a little messy. This sort of focuses on Charlie’s issues with Elliott.

CW: emeto, blood mention (drank), fear, mistrust

___

"Shit," Shayne sighed as he stared into the boot of Elliott's car, where he and Charlie had just shoved their luggage for the weekend.

"What?" Charlie asked, twisting on the back seat to look back at him.

"I forgot to pack my Docs. Can I get the keys?"

"Lovely, it's 25 degrees all weekend," Charlie laughed, pushing open the car door to lean out and talk to Shayne properly. "Do you really think you'll need them?"

Shayne curled his lip in an exaggerated pout and put out his hand. Charlie dug the house keys out of his pocket and relinquished them, finding himself rewarded with a dark-eyed wink.

"I'll only be a sec," Shayne promised.

"Mmhmm, take your time," Charlie grinned. He shut his door again and watched Shayne jog back towards the house. That was when his gaze fell on the back of Elliott's head, and then on the vampire's hand, which was draped over the top of the steering wheel while his fingers drummed rapidly against the dash.

"Sorry," Charlie chuckled anxiously, wondering when he'd started feeling the need to apologise for Shayne. He tilted his head to try to meet Elliott's gaze in the rear-view mirror, with little success thanks to his dark aviator sunglasses.

"It's fine," Elliott murmured.

"Thanks again for driving us."

Charlie's heart sank when seconds ticked by and Elliott didn't reply again. He really couldn't tell if Elliott was mad or if he was just this closed-off.

Shouldn't have told Shayne to take his time. Should have told him to hurry the fuck up.

Charlie sat back in his seat and put on his seatbelt, taking his time and smoothing out the strap over his shoulder. The awkwardness in the car was as much his own fault as it was Elliott's. He still got shivers down his spine when he recalled that day in the park, and the fear and panic that had taken hold of Shayne when he'd realised Elliott was spying on them; he just couldn't shake the mistrust that had planted itself in him.

Not just that, but on the drive home that same day, Elliott had refused to pull over when his own boyfriend claimed to be carsick, resulting in the poor boy throwing up all over himself.

Plus, Elliott was way too conventionally attractive for Charlie to trust him.

Asshole.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Elliott asked lazily, presumably meeting his eye through his sunglasses in the mirror now.

“I – I, my what?” Charlie stammered, shifting in his seat. For a horrible second, he was worried that Charlie Two’s thoughts had slipped out through his mouth. “Nothing. I have no thoughts.”

“Right,” Elliott mumbled, and he might have burped quietly into his fist just then, but Charlie couldn’t be sure. He could have been clearing his throat. “I’m sure you’ve got absolutely no thoughts on any subject.”

Charlie shook his head and turned his head to look out the opposite window. The wind was brushing across the edges of the trees.

Sarcastic asshole, Charlie Two pointed out from inside his head.

Shayne is also sarcastic.

Yes, but he’s our sarcastic asshole.

Stop saying ‘asshole’!

There was a harsh click as Elliott pushed open the drivers’ side door. He was huffing deeply, as far as Charlie could make out.

Shit. Charlie cleared his throat.

Shit, indeed. Was it something you said?

“Elliott?” Charlie called out, throwing open his own door when Elliott slammed his shut. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, just excuse me a minute.”

“Oh, okay.” Charlie sank a little further down in his seat, stomach sinking. Had he really said something? Did Elliott now think he’d muttered ‘asshole’ under his breath, referring to him? He knew he should go after him and explain, but the idea of facing Elliott when he was mad at him made Charlie’s guts turn to water.

His car door was still open and he could hear Elliott’s shoes crunching on the gravel. The sound halted abruptly when the vampire was a few more feet away, and then there was a harsh retch that made Charlie’s hair stand on end.

“Oh, god...” Charlie fumbled to release himself from the seatbelt he was still strapped in with. As soon as he was out of the car, he spotted where Elliott had stopped to hunch over, hands planted on his knees and his ponytail flopping over the top of his head.

Elliott looked up at the sound of the gravel crunching, and Charlie almost physically recoiled at the sight of the blood and bile clinging to his lips and chin. Charlie took a deep breath, feeling endlessly thankful that he hadn’t had any breakfast yet.

“Are you okay?” he asked, as steadily as he could.

“Don’t come any fuckin’ closer.”

“Right. Sorry.” Charlie’s feet rooted themselves dutifully to the spot, but his heart still twisted with sympathy at how frail Elliott suddenly looked when at the mercy of his own rebelling stomach. “Do – do you need something?”

“No!” Elliott yelled, though as he did, he doubled over again, jaw wrenched apart as another gag ripped through him. Nothing seemed to come up but a deep, nauseated belch, but it still made Charlie shudder and swallow thickly.

Another belch brought up a splash of liquid, and Charlie had to turn away. He was feeling hot and squirmy. Without thinking too much, he decided to be productive despite Elliott’s resistance; after all, it wasn’t exactly his first time dealing with a sick person who didn’t want to be taken care of. It was almost “his thing” at this point.

Charlie paced back to Elliott’s car and turned out the contents of the glove box until he found a pocket-sized packet of tissues. He also remembered that he had a bottle of water in his backpack, so he grabbed that from the back seat.

Luckily, by the time he crossed the gravel again, Elliott’s body seemed to have finished purging itself. He was standing upright at least, and had pushed his aviators up into his hair. He only gave a mild glare as Charlie approached him.

“Here,” Charlie said softly.

“Do not touch me,” Elliott growled as he took the tissues. He did a double-glance towards Charlie as he pulled one out of the packet. “Thank you.”

“Mmhmm.” Charlie smiled tightly and looked away as Elliott mopped his face. To his relief, the front door of the house opened just then and Shayne stepped out, glancing over at the two of them before locking it behind him. Charlie gave him a listless wave.

“Water?” Elliott rasped next to Charlie, making him jump.

“Right! Sorry. Here you go.” Charlie turned to hand it to him, that pained smile still plastered across his face. He seriously couldn't shake the fact that this guy could sprout massive fangs and rip the side out of his neck with no effort at all.

Elliott’s eyes were so golden they almost glistened in the low sunshine, yet without the sunglasses, Charlie could see the dark circles they cast. His eyebrows were furrowed and flecked with sweat, and yet the vampire managed a half-smile as he unscrewed the cap on Charlie’s water bottle.

“Thanks, Charlie.”

“You’re welcome,” Charlie replied, and although it felt a little stiff, it wasn’t quite as stiff as it could have been.

"Everything okay?" Shayne asked, crunching his way across the gravel towards them, his Docs hanging from one hand and the house keys dangling from the other.

After filling his mouth with water, Elliott spat the liquid back out again, making a queasy face. "Much better now."

"Yeah," Charlie breathed, grabbing the keys from Shayne and taking his hand while he was at it. "Better now."

[rainbowmoodring]

In The Current Timeline

What a truly terrible year it has been.

In my young years, 

I have never seen the world and its people

In such a state.

To focus on each and every wrong

Would cause madness

And while the necessity of change

Demands its own focus,

There are times when it is

Enough.

And I must shift my focus

To what kept me going this year.

A list like that is full of many things:

Animals

  Inanimate objects

    Actions

     People

       Intangible sounds

         Opportunities

           Physical feelings

...

Are you thinking of them yet?

The things that make your heart hurt

But for good reasons?

Despite everything, it's still us

And we have overcome this time

Because we refused to give up.

We chose to outlive the sorrow

And the rage

The uncertainty, hopelessness

And numbness.

Because there are people

Who can't stop caring,

Like us.

We don't have a choice, really.

Not the way they say we do.

We love too much, 

And that keeps us alive,

And that keeps us alive.

We are life floats riding waves

Facing the storm

And sticking through together,

A mere rope between us.

The sunshine is welcoming

To a salt-stained face.

So knowing that progress is being made

To better the world one day at a time,

I can only hope that once it's safe again,

I can show up on your doorstep,

So many miles from mine,

And be able to cross the threshold

Into arms I have so dearly missed.

To 2021, with hope.

-Elliott

(12.15.2020)

[krushkreates]

this was a lil hc my lovely friend @palilious requested on the server, and i felt like it deserved to be posted here!

posted with permission!

—

he’s got a sixth sense or something. when it comes to you, elliott is a finely tuned radio and you are the station he had wanted to capture for so long.

he knows exactly how you’re feeling, from the way you tilt your head when listening or how you inhale and tense your shoulders a bit before exhaling when you’re stressed. he knows you like the back of his hand, but elliott would argue he knows you better than he knows himself.

and he does. he can see the way your clothes seem slightly crinkled more than any normal amount. his violet eyes methodically analyze your desk; the laptop and tablet have one smudge print in the corners and haven’t been cleaned off. the trash can is full too. he knows you hate those two things the most when it comes to your workspace being clean.

he sees it in the way the purple that’s tattooed itself under your eyes seems to match his own eye color more these days. your hands tremble when you join him for dinner.

work is almost too much sometimes and he knows that. elliott isn’t always great at comforting while you’re awake, but he’d be damned if he didn’t do something while you slept.

your shoulders are still tense as you sleep. your breathing shallow and focused. when you see him in the dreamscape, you nearly screamed as you threw your drawing pen at him.

you wouldn’t apologize tho, he knows better and he’s not actually upset about it. he’s upset that you’re wound so tightly he can’t unravel the big ball of yarn that you are right now.

but he can here. here, he weaves the sky to blanket you two in whatever pattern you want. you tell him you don’t want to work tomorrow and he laughs, warm and rich. i’ll call out for you sunshine. we’ll get you a doctors note for three days. they can handle it. you say you shouldn’t want to not work.

he says you can have whatever you want and that it’s all yours, and all you want is for him to smother you in kisses under a permanent, radiant sunset.

elliott can oblige. when he wants this for eternity, how could he say no to 8 hours?

[lilyvandersteen]

Lavender’s Blue Chapter 1

In honour of @datshitrandom‘s birthday, I’m posting the first chapter of the Young King Blaine story I’m working on for her and for @riverance. Enjoy!

The prologue to the story can be found here.

Chapter 1: The Letter

“Lavender’s blue, dilly, dilly,

Lavender’s green,

When I am king, dilly, dilly,

You shall be queen.”

The melody drifted towards Blaine as he was climbing a big oak tree. Curious, he looked down, and then froze. Wow, he was high up! Lady Hummel, who was singing below, looked no bigger than one of his toy soldiers.

Blaine swallowed with difficulty. How was he supposed to get down again without falling and ending as a splat on the grass?

His lip started to tremble. “Papa?! Coop?!”

Lady Hummel looked up and smiled. “Hey there, little monkey!”

“I’m not a monkey,” Blaine sniffed, fat tears trickling down his cheeks by now.

“No, you’re Prince Blaine, aren’t you? What’s the matter, sweetie?”

“I’m scared!” Blaine sobbed. “I climbed too high. And now… I don’t know… how to get down!”

“Okay, let’s see…” a deep voice boomed, its low rumble reassuring Blaine at once. “Put your right foot on the branch just below you. The right one, yes. That’s it. Well done.”

Lord Hummel coached Blaine until he reached the lowest branches, and then told him to jump, catching the boy in his arms. “There we go! You’re an excellent climber, Prince Blaine. I’m proud of you!”

“Thank you, Lord Hummel,” Blaine beamed.

Lady Hummel kissed her husband on the cheek and whispered, “You are going to be SUCH a good dad!”

Lord Hummel’s eyes softened, and he put a hand on her huge belly. “Can’t wait.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed softly. “He’s saying hello!”

Blaine looked around, but couldn’t figure out who on earth Lady Hummel was talking about. “Who’s saying hello?”

“The baby,” she explained. “He kicks from time to time, and that’s his way of greeting us. Here, give me your hand.”

Blaine’s eyes went big and round when Lady Hummel’s belly moved under his hand.

“Say hello back!” she encouraged him.

“Hello?”

Lady Hummel laughed and brushed her hand over his curls. “It feels a bit weird talking to my belly, doesn’t it? But you won’t have long to wait now. Just another month, and the baby will be here. You’ll like having a playmate, I’m sure. But you’ll have to be really careful at first. Babies are fragile.”

Blaine tilted his head to the side. “What’s ‘frudgel’?”

“Fragile. It means easily hurt, or easily broken.”

“Oh. I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Lady Hummel smiled at him. “I know you will. Now run along to the castle, little monkey, it’s time for lunch!”

Blaine’s stomach rumbled, and with a wave, he said goodbye to the Hummels and sprinted over the lawn as fast as he could.

Behind him, he heard Lady Hummel resume her song.

“Who told you so, dilly, dilly,

Who told you so?

‘T was my own heart, dilly, dilly,

That told me so.”

K&B

Blaine soon found that being king was a job that never ended. The list of his duties and responsibilities only ever grew, and from the moment his alarm clock woke him until he crawled into bed again late at night, his days were filled to the brim.

His mother was right, though, Blaine was more prepared for this than any of his advisers would have thought. From a young age, he’d followed his father and older brother around, endlessly fascinated by what they did and why, and he’d picked up a lot from their informal teaching, and especially Lord Hummel’s advice. He knew how to couch his thoughts into words that did not offend but conveyed the message anyway. He knew how to prioritise, and he knew how to translate abstract aims into actions to improve the economy and the living conditions in Dalton.

What he found hard was convincing his board of advisers, Lord Clarington chief among them, that his progressive policies were the right way to go.

Lord Clarington was primarily concerned with the economy, and with attracting big companies to Dalton and keeping them in the country by offering them tax shelters and low labour costs.

Lord Smythe, who owned a large cosmetics company, concurred with Clarington on this matter, and so did Lord Remington and Lord Karofsky, both of which had multi-million dollar franchises of their own.

Blaine, however, stubbornly stayed on the path that his father had paved for him. He was determined to help not just the richest of his subjects, but all of them.

When he became king, Blaine had appointed a few friends he trusted as advisers as well: Wes proved invaluable for any legal matters, David was a whiz with money and Trent was an amazing diplomat.

He’d have liked to send all of his father’s old advisers away from the castle, but he knew very well that they were too powerful to cross. He had to keep a watchful eye on them and keep them in check, or he’d end up ousted. Or killed, like his father and brother.

He couldn’t prove that Clarington and his cronies had been behind that, but he had a very strong suspicion. So he kept his enemies close, and he’d warned his friends about them, too. If anything were to happen to Blaine, they would know whom to blame, and they had an emergency plan they could implement to keep Clarington from usurping the throne.

In the meantime, Blaine was doing his utmost to lead the country as best he could, but he found it hard. Really hard. His responsibilities weighed on him, and he felt at least twice his age.

Thank heavens he had Kurt to cheer him up. The boy, devastated to lose his father, had latched onto Blaine like never before, and Blaine, far from pushing him away, found that he craved their close bond just as much as Kurt did.

Kurt was a ray of sunshine in his dreary existence.

Only, it seemed he would have to learn how to do without that sunshine.

Blaine frowned at the letter he’d received from his sister-in-law.

Alex had left the castle after Cooper’s death. She’d only stayed long enough to see Blaine coronated, and then she had gone back to her own country.

Now, though, she announced she was coming for a visit and bringing her younger brother Elliott.

“He’s just turned sixteen, and preparing for his grand tour around the world. What better place to start off his voyage than Dalton?

I know you’re very busy, so rest assured we won’t take up much of your time. Queen Pamela knows of our visit and will take care of all the preparations.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all again. How’s your ward doing? Kurt is about Elliott’s age, if I’m not mistaken. Maybe we can persuade him to join Elliott on his grand tour? I’m sure Elliott would love his company, and for Kurt, it would be great to be able to spend time with someone his own age for a change. The closest he has to that is you, and I know you do your best, but your kingly duties don’t allow you to spend much time with him or to let loose and do all kinds of silly stuff.

I know you had to grow up much faster than you normally would have, but let’s give Kurt the carefree life you missed out on, okay?

We’ll talk more about this once I’ve arrived at Dalton. I think the grand tour could be a marvellous opportunity for Kurt to grow and learn all sorts of things, and find his way in the world.

See you real soon!

Your loving sister,

Alex”

[cranehusbands]

love, or lack thereof

pathfinder/wattson | natalie paquette; requited crushes; soulmate au; apex rarepair week; 1520 words

a/n: two for two, though this was posted a little later than yesterdays due to technical difficulties! sorry about that ^^;;

i have been really excited to write some wattfinder for a little while now, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so! we as a fandom need to treat them both as characters with their own autonomy and not infantilize them, and i think they could come to really understand each other! i wanted to show that through this fic, as well as throwing around the idea that soulmates aren’t always destiny - they’re people you find and bonds you forge through your own love and efforts. <3

once again for @apex-rarepairweek as the day 2 prompt, soulmates!

likes < reblogs, any comments in the tags are appreciated

ao3 mirror in the reblogs!

Preview: And then there was Pathfinder, the happy little MRVN unit that brought that home to her in a totally different way. Ever trusting, much like herself, expressive in himself but never losing that happy tone in his voice. He cared for his friends - his family - and talked of travel and dreams, but never really knowing who he was, or why he was here. But despite that, he carried on with that in stride, forever blind to the future. [...] He treated her with kindness and love, and it came to the point that sometimes she missed his company and high fives, though this was… a different kind of loneliness than that she had once experienced as a child, alienated from any other children that would pass through due to her intelligence and special position. She couldn’t quite place her finger on what it was, but there was just… something about Pathfinder that she didn’t want to lose, not for a moment.

Soulmates are found, not made.

 That’s what she’s always been told. That she would find her soulmate, or they would find her, somehow, isolated in her work for the Syndicate, seemingly barricaded behind the ring she was trying to create. Natalie grew up with stories in her head, about how her papa met her mother, his soulmate, or stories of true love and happiness that was just… found. It was nice enough, but it never seemed logical, to her. Who was willing to take that chance? Couldn’t it go wrong? Even as a child that dreamed in fairytales, the idea of a soulmate always worried her. The mark on the inside of her wrist always haunted her, and she thought that she could not escape the inevitable.

 But she wasn’t a child hiding in that shadow anymore - she was a grown woman, a professional electrical engineers, and an Apex Legend. She had lost her father so suddenly, but gained her new family just as quickly, making her home beside her own creation. And she loved her new family dearly - Dr Caustic was a reserved man, but he valued her intelligence, and did not object to her rambling and flapping of her hands. Elliott was funny, always telling stories of his family and life on Solace, and Anita was a hell of a shot, giving her pointers whenever she could, but not with her usual abrasiveness - she was kinder, self-aware of her own tendency to be quite scary at times. Makoa was caring to her needs, Octavio appealed to her curiosity and the tendency to be rash once in a blue moon. The Apex Games was her house, but the Apex Legends were her home.

 And then there was Pathfinder, the happy little MRVN unit that brought that home to her in a totally different way. Ever trusting, much like herself, expressive in himself but never losing that happy tone in his voice. He cared for his friends - his family - and talked of travel and dreams, but never really knowing who he was, or why he was here. But despite that, he carried on with that in stride, forever blind to the future. It was a blissful ignorance that she could admit she was almost jealous of - he was not bound by such an innate concept as a soulmate. But he was still soul searching, and still so loving and kind to everyone he met, even if they didn’t return the sentiment, like the world was his soulmate and he was ready to give out as many parts of him until it loved him back, as he loved it.

 She’d held this sentiment as the two worked with and against each other through the seasons, the two of them forming a bond quite quickly due to his need for the occasional repair and her curiosity with his components. He treated her with kindness and love, and it came to the point that sometimes she missed his company and high fives, though this was… a different kind of loneliness than that she had once experienced as a child, alienated from any other children that would pass through due to her intelligence and special position. She couldn’t quite place her finger on what it was, but there was just… something about Pathfinder that she didn’t want to lose, not for a moment.

 There was a quiet night, after a game that day, when there was a familiar voice at the door to her room, littered with parts and unusually messy (she liked to work that way).

“Miss Natalie?” The robot had caught her as she was working on her gear, a malfunction with her fences had caused a firefight with an unfair advantage, which was something she didn’t enjoy. 

She jumped a little, pulling up her safety goggles with a small smile. “Pathfinder, hello! You… didn’t knock.”

“Oh, I did knock, you were just busy working, and I didn’t want to just stand there and scare you when you looked up, so…” He trailed off and sheepishly tapped his fingers together, and it seemed whatever annoyance she once had eased a little.

“A-ah, well… sorry about that, my friend. Did you need something? Is your grapple acting up again?”

“Oh, no, you fixed it really well! Thank you, friend.” The screen on his chest flashed like sunshine, as he tapped a hand against where his grapple was hidden in his metal shell. “Well, I just… I had some questions, and Elliott is out doing a press release, so I can’t ask him…”

Of course, Elliott was always his first choice - that worried her, for as much as she loved the trickster, she knew that he didn’t treat Pathfinder the best, or at least, as a friend should. That was something someone should speak to him about. Natalie took her safety goggles off and placed them on her desk, giving the robot her full attention. “Well, what’s up?”

He paused for a moment, assessing whether that was a pun or not before he nodded, taking a seat on the stool beside her. “Well, I wanted to ask… what’s a soulmate?”

The mention of the concept made her freeze, before she looked away for a moment and fiddled with a few loose wires in the base of her pylon. “Well, that’s… why do you ask?”

“I don’t know… I have heard a lot of people say it and celebrate it, but I never knew what it meant. Is it like… a super best friend?”

“In… a way. It’s a lover tied to you by destiny. The one you’re supposed to be with all your life… identified with a mark, l-like this one.” Slowly, she pulled off one of her thick work gloves and showed Pathfinder the inside of her wrist, where she bore a small, glowing mark.

“Oh… that’s pretty.”

“Mhm.”

“...You don’t think so?”

“Huh?” Natalie looked up, at the optic eye now staring up at her. “Well, it is pretty, but…”

“...Do you think it’s silly?”

She didn’t reply, only looked away. Silly, possibly - suffocating, almost definitely.

The robot didn’t respond back for a moment, simply looking at her with a small tilt of his head, before he continued with a thought out loud. “I think you should be able to find your own soulmate.”

“What?”

“Well, if they’re destiny, there’s no point in waiting around - that’s why I’m looking for my creator the way I am. You have to make noise to be heard.”

“That’s… oddly profound, my friend.”

He smiled, or at least, his screen did, a bright beaming yellow reflecting on the LEDs embedded in his chest, beating as any real heart would do - full of love, and hope. “Bloodhound taught me that one, they’re very smart.”

The engineer paused, before she couldn’t help but chuckle. “I suppose they are.”

 Silence fell between them for another moment, but they did not move. She watched the robot shift in place on the stool, and for once, his screen was blank, nothing shown. It was oddly unnerving.

“Miss Natalie?”

“Oui, Pathfinder?”

“Do you want to be my soulmate?”

She was almost taken aback by the question, looking up to him with a slight eyebrow raise. “Pardon?”

“Well, I… it’s silly, but… everyone has been so nice, and that makes me happy, but whenever you’re nice to me I get even happier, and I’ve been searching for so much for so long that I-”

“-want to embrace what you have found?” She finished his thought with her own, watching him look to her and nod slowly. Of course, this made sense - the emotional wanderlust he held was soul searching, but he never knew what it was like to have something - someone - that was his. They were kindred souls, in that way, at least. Natalie smiled to herself. Of course - the loneliness she felt was longing for that comfort of love that she found. She just didn’t realize because it wasn’t something that she had just found… it was a bond she had nurtured, and cherished. A bond she had found. “...I will, Pathfinder.”

He paused, sitting up a little straighter in surprise before clapping his hands together, his heart on the screen glowing a warm, loving pink, almost welcoming her in before he held out a hand to her, pinkie finger extended in a promise. “We’ll be best soulmates forever!”

The engineer giggled, taking her own pinkie finger in his own and curling it around the cold metal appendage, a light dusting of pink brushing across her cheeks. “Pour toujours et à jamais. Always and forever.”

Pathfinder reached out and pressed his head against hers with a gentle bonk, which made her laugh again, bringing up a hand to hold what would have been his cheek, pausing for a moment at the red light reflected onto her skin before kissing his optic with a gentleness and tenderness she didn’t know she possessed. And for the first time since she could remember, Natalie wasn’t afraid of the future.

 Soulmates could be found, but they could also be made - both figuratively and literally, it seemed.