#The more I look into Eric the more I wanna hug him

[lettherebemonsters]

I absolutely love this photo of Eric Newlon because he just looks so broken. Everyone else just partying and barely giving two shits about their lives while he's consumed by his pain.

I wonder if anyone...literally ANYONE....just stopped to give him a hug. To talk to him. To just do ANYTHING that showed that someone cared.

Plus seeing how unkempt he is....he just doesn't take care of himself anymore. He doesn't have a reason to keep going outside of the John Carver kills.

Personally for me....this is a suicide run for him. Once he gets his revenge, he'll go see Amanda again.

[celandeline]

I'm thinking about Carl being insecure about his eye. y/n found a way to comfort him. Imagine what comic Lydia did, LOL. But just write whatever you like

i got a little carried away with this one, so it's going to be a two-parter (sorry)

also- comic Lydia sticking her tongue in his eye socket haunts me like the plague because i can't decide if it's disgusting, or i too, would do that given the opportunity

Believe Me

Carl Grimes X Reader [part two]

You always make a point to see Aaron off when he’s about to leave to go recruiting. You know that he can handle himself, that he’s done this a million times before, that Daryl would never leave him behind, even if things got sticky - but you never know. Coming back alive is never guaranteed. 

You hold his bag for him while he fumbles with the car keys until it unlocks. “You’re sure you don’t want to take anything else? Another water bottle? More protein bars?”

He turns around to take his pack from you with a smile. “We’re only going to be gone for two days, I think I’ll be alright with just this.”

The rumble of Daryls bike announces his presence before he rolls up beside the car, stopping. “Y’ready?” He gruffs. 

“Almost.” He tosses his bag into the passenger seat before turning to back to you with open arms. “Give me a hug.”

You squish yourself into his chest, and squeeze him as tight as you can. “Bye Dad. Be safe.” 

You feel him swallow, and hold you a little tighter. Calling him Dad is still a little new, and it makes him tear up a little more often than not. He’s not your biological father - no, your biological parents died years ago at this point - but he has become a father to you, ever since you started living with him and Eric. 

“You too.” He says, pulling back to look you in the eye. “And make sure Eric doesn’t try the stairs alone again please. He’s not as good at maneuvering in that boot as he thinks he is.”

You grin, and jokingly salute. “Yes sir.”

He slips into the driver's seat, and then he and Daryl are pulling away, heading towards the gates. You watch them go until they round the corner, and try to put your nerves to rest. The sound of plastic wheels on the sidewalk is a welcome distraction, and you turn around to see Carl pushing Judith along in the stroller.

He smiles when you turn around, and you return the gesture. “They’re going out again?” He asks, nodding in the direction your dad and Daryl went. 

“Yeah.” You say. “Only for a couple days this time, but you know.” You never really know when you’re coming back. If you’re coming back. 

He nods, and Judith gurgles happily in her stroller, reaching for the hem of your shirt. “You wanna join?” He asks. “M’ just taking her around the cul de sac before I bring her home for her nap.”

“Sure.” You say, welcoming the distraction from worrying about if this is the time that Aaron doesn’t come back. You fall into step beside Carl as he pushes the stroller along, following the sidewalk, passing by the houses of friends and neighbors. It’s quiet, the middle of the day with most of the adults at work - whatever that may be. It almost feels like you, Carl, and Judith are the only people in this whole town. 

“You think you’re gonna do that?” Carl asks. “Go recruiting with Aaron when they decide we’re old enough for real jobs?”

“I don’t know.” You say, honestly. “I mean, I guess I wouldn’t worry so much if I was with him, but then Eric would worry twice as much. And I don’t have a whole lot of experience out there - I was only on my own for a couple of months before Aaron found me and brought me here. You’d be good though,” You glance over at him. “I mean, you’ve got loads of experience out in the real world.”

He shakes his head. “Nah- I mean, yeah I’m experienced, but I don’t think they want the kid with the mangled face being the one to go make first impressions on new people.” He grins, halfheartedly joking, “Don’t want to scare ‘em off.”

“Huh?” You laugh, looking over at him. “What’re you talking about?”

He rolls his eye. “C’mon.” He says. “I know what I look like. Sending the ugly guy out there to try and recruit people probably isn’t the best image for our group.”

“Carl.” You say, brow furrowing. “Do you know what you look like?” You’re so confused - sure, he’s missing an eye, but he’s still the prettiest boy you’ve ever seen. The eye that he still has is the kind of blue that makes you think of the sky on a sunny day, and you’d kill for hair like his - long and silky and a dark brown that makes his blue eye stand out even more. He looks like a fairy tale prince. 

He glances at you. “You’re looking at me like I’m stupid.”

You laugh. “I mean how could you not be, when-” 

“Wow, thanks.” He snarks, cutting you off. 

“Shut up.” You say, knocking your shoulder into his. “I was trying to say that you’re the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen, before you interrupted me.”

You words hang in the air, and he looks steadfastly ahead. The only sounds are the plastic stroller wheels rolling on the sidewalk, and Judith’s occasional little noises. You can see a blush rising to his cheeks, and bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling, lest he think you’re making fun of him. 

“You’re just saying that ‘cause we’re friends, and you’re trying to be nice.” He says. 

“‘M not.” You insist. “It’s true - you’re really pretty, Carl.”

He still won’t look at you. “Half my face is just a hole.”

“Which just makes you look cool and badass.” You say, trying to peer around his curtain of hair to get him to look at you. He still won’t look at you, and the redness on his face has only gotten worse. “You still don’t believe me.”

He shakes his head, slowing as you reach the steps up to the porch of his house. He walks around to the front of the stroller to unbuckle Judith and lift her out of the seat. She slumps against his shoulder, obviously ready for her nap. “Um.” Carl looks down at the stroller. “Could you-?”

“Gotcha.” You say, folding up the stroller and carrying it up the porch steps after Carl. He opens the door and you follow him inside, gently kicking it shut behind you. “Where-?”

“Uh, we usually just leave it by the door.” He says over his shoulder as he starts up the stairs. “Let me just put her down-” He disappears around the bend in the landing, and you prop the folded stroller against the wall next to the door. You loiter at the bottom of the stairs until Carl appears at the top again, still a little pink. 

He comes down the steps and leads the way into the living room, towards the couch. You plop down onto the sofa, turned to face him next to you. “So-”

“Can we talk about something else?”

“No.” You grin. “Not until you believe me.”

He rolls his eye. “Fine. I believe you.”

“I mean really believe me.” You say. “What’s it going to take?”

“I don’t know.”

“Fine.” You say. “Where’s the nearest mirror?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

He pauses for a moment before responding. “I have one in my room.”

You get up from the couch and creep upstairs, careful to keep quiet so as to not wake Judith, Carl a reluctant half step behind you. He points you in the direction of his room, and you slip inside, holding the door open for him before shutting it quietly. The mirror isn’t anything special, just a rectangle of glass hanging above the dresser, but you grin at the sight of it anyway. 

Grabbing him by the shoulders, you steer him in front of the mirror, watching over his shoulder. “See?”

“Yup.” He says, unenthused. “I see this every day, actually.”

“Apparently not.” You say, moving a hand from his shoulder to gently play with his hair. “I mean, look at this.” You hold the lock up in front of his gaze. “Your hair is gorgeous. And-” You drop his hair in favor of softly holding his jaw, turning his head so that his jawline is more prominent. “This.” You run a finger along the line of his jaw. “This too.” You turn his head again so that you can sweep your touch over the bridge of his nose. “And of course,” You thumb over his cheek, tapping each of his freckles. Your hand still on his cheek, you grin at him in the mirror. “You’re blushing.”

“What are you doing?” He asks, soft. 

“Showing you.” You say. 

“Why?”

“Because you should know.” You say. “And it’s personally offensive when you say you’re ugly, because that means you think the guy I’ve been flirting with is a total dud.”

It takes him a minute to process it, and you can see it in his eye when he puts it together. “You’ve been flirting with me?”

“Maybe you are stupid.” You muse. 

You didn’t think it was possible, but he turns even more red. “I don’t- really? Me? Why?”

“Jesus Christ Carl, how far am I going to have to go before you believe that I like you.” You laugh. 

He makes eye contact with you through the mirror. “As far as you want.”

[rebelliousstories]

My Father’s Daughter

Relationship: Cooper Howard x Reader(Platonic)

Fandom: Fallout

Request: Yes by @silverose365

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Strong Language

Word Count: 1,393

Main Masterlist: Here

Fallout Masterlist: Here

Summary: When his buddy calls, Cooper has no clue the whirlwind he is in for.

“Heya, Coop. Got a minute?” When he picked up the phone, Cooper Howard knew that it was going to be serious. There was no way his old marine buddy would call otherwise.

“Hey, Eric. What’s going on?” He replied, leaning up against the wall of his house.

“I need you to take my daughter. She needs to get away from here. Needs to get away from me.” Eric whispered, losing the bravado he once held so tightly in his voice.

“What do you mean? What’s happening, Eric?” Cooper straightened up as quick as he could and was listening intensely.

“The vaults. I helped with the vaults but they want to send her to one of them as a damn test subject. Should’ve known working for this company was too good to be true.” He kept rambling on, but Cooper was more concerned than ever.

“Eric, I’ll take her. Where are you? Are you guys in any danger?” Refocusing the conversation to the important parts, Cooper was looking around for what he needed to bring with him.

“We’re at a motel in Hollywood. Future Resort on the boulevard.” There was a little commotion on his end of the line.

“Alright Eric, stay there. I’m coming to you. I’ll be there in twenty minutes okay? Stay put. Eric? Eric?” No response. Now Cooper was worried.

“Eric?” He repeated once more, and this time, the man responded.

“Sorry, Coop. That was my daughter. She had a question. Yeah, we’ll stay here. See you soon, Coop.” Both phones were put back on their hooks, and they went about what they needed to do.

True to his word, Cooper arrived at the motel in just under twenty minutes. He may have risked a speeding ticket but there was something more important on the line. Parking the car, he just now realized that Eric had never told him which room he was in. But, the old adage was true; once a marine, always a marine. Scanning his eyes across the room numbers, he found the room he was looking for. Coming upon room twenty, Cooper knocked. The curtains pulled back just a little, and in an instant the door flung open.

“Coop. Good to see you.” Eric brought the man in for a hug, and a pat pat later, Cooper was pulled into the motel room. A young girl sat on the bed reading a book, but was discarded once the man came in.

“Uncle Coop.” She greeted, getting up to hug the man as well. He returned the greetings, before looking back at the girl.

“Ready to go?” He asked, eyeing the suitcase she had on her bed in the room. She nodded solemnly, and picked the case up to start bringing it with her. However, Cooper swooped in and took it from her before she could get it very far. She tried to protest, but the man shot her down every time she tried to take the case back.

“Go say bye to your daddy. I’ll take this out to the car.” Cooper gave one last handshake to his buddy, but the man pulled him in close once more.

“Take good care of her.” Eric whispered, low to the point even Cooper was wondering if he said anything.

“I will.” He whispered back, pulling away and truly seeing the desperation and terror on his friend’s face. Cooper left shortly afterwards, but caught just enough of the farewell between his friend and daughter.

“I don’t wanna leave you daddy.” She cried, hugging her old man tight.

“Ain’t gonna be forever, sweetheart. You’ll see me soon.” He comforted her, but Cooper could hear the worry in his voice that he would not be able to keep his promise.

Their voices faded out from the distance between them as Cooper made his way to his car. Popping the truck, he set the suitcase down in it and leaned against the now closed lid. Thoughts ran wild through his head.

What did Eric mean by “test subject”? The vaults were just supposed to be a means of protection. What had he done that made him so afraid that he felt the need to pack him and his daughter up? What made him feel like Cooper was his only hope to keep his daughter safe?

These thoughts ceased the moment he heard the telltale footsteps of his friend’s daughter walking down the stairs. Her eyes held unshed tears that refused to fall. He opened her door, and without a word, she sat down in her seat. This was not the usual spitfire he knew and had watched grow up. No, this was the face of a young woman who was old enough to know certain things but not old enough to do anything about it.

It took three weeks for her to return to her usual self. Three weeks of laying in her room, depressed, and wanting her father to return. But by that third week, Cooper had found the one thing that brought her out of her shell more than anything; shooting. Being the daughter of a marine, it was not surprising that she was trained on basics from the corps. Watching her sew back together a deep knife cut on her finger, while she barely flinched was impressive.

A shot rang out, and the target had a new hole in it. Cooper was keeping a careful eye on everything while the young woman had been firing the gun. The new hole in question was smack dab in the bullseye.

“You got bullseye, girl. I better catch up or else you’re gonna take my job.” He teased, watching out of his peripheral as she lowered said gun.

“Oh, old man. I already can.” She jested back, playfully hitting the man on his shoulder. He wrapped and arm around her and began the long walk back to the house together. Once inside, he sent her off to get cleaned up before dinner. While he was not the best cook, Cooper could certainly whip up something simple. It was not too much later that he was done, and was plating the meat and potatoes with some extra vegetables on the side.

“Darlin’, dinner is ready!” Cooper called out through the house. He heard the footsteps approach, but then stop.

“Darlin’ come on!” He called again. But the footsteps did not get closer. Going in search of the girl, he found her in front of his radio. Soft music played as the girl just stood there.

“Hey, sweetheart. What’s going on? Dinner is ready.” Cooper stated softly, resting his hand on the girl’s shoulder. She turned to him with the most confused and sad look on her face.

“Oh, darlin’. Now what’s wrong? You got that look on you face.” He inquired, both of his hand now on her shoulders.

“I don’t know how to dance.” She lamented quietly.

“Sweetheart, you don’t know how? Didn’t your daddy ever dance with you? Or did you ever go dancin’ with friends?” Cooper was now curious.

“No,” she shook her head, “I don’t really have many friends because daddy would scare them off. And dance lessons don’t really fit in well with EMT training or hand to hand combat.” After her admission, she turned back to the radio with a forlorn expression. Cooper sat there, dumbfounded, as he processed her words. Before long, he recovered and slipped his hand to lightly grasp hers.

“Well, dancin’ don’t gotta be hard. It’s a simple skill to learn.” While one hand held hers in a soft grasp, the other slipped her hand onto his shoulder. That same hand then landed respectfully on her waist, and they began to sway. There were a couple times where she stumbled, or tripped, or stepped on his toes. But it was alright with him. They kept up their sway all through the rest of the song, only releasing when a faster jive song came on the radio.

The young lady pulled Cooper in for a deep hug. The kind that takes your breath away. Her arms wrapped securely around his neck, while his squeezed around her torso.

“Thanks dad.” She whispered, locked in the hug. Cooper felt the last of his air leave his lungs when he heard her call him that.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” He replied, feeling alright with the world for once.

[twstfanblog]

I’m just imagining Rook coming back home from his 24 hour sex-a-thon with Vil, he’s cheery, he’s happy, he’s the cat who just ate out the canary, the cat who drank all the cream and he comes home and there’s guests there! Who want to go into the city! One of which who looks a rather lot like the whore he’s both trying to baby trap and hope to marry one day. And the last name (un)fortunately confirms it. Rook isn’t due to go back into the city for a bit of time and so he has plenty of time to earn Vils fathers approval and make a great impression on why he would be a fantastic husband for his son.

He’s just hoping that none of his siblings will mention his plans of trying to baby trap Vil or the 24 hour sex-a-thons because that’s very much not the impression you want to give your future father in law. But he swears if one of them breaths even a letter of it, someone’s getting buried alive in the backyard.

When Rook came back into the family home, every last one of his family was just SMILING at him and directing him toward the guest wing. Behold! The father of the future mother of his child! Rook is now just as giddy as his family has been and takes over hosting them.

Eric and Neige have been creeped out since they walked into this damn house because everyone keeps smiling and giggling at them. Sure, they're friendly and make sure they're well taken care of, but stop GRINNING. Rook is actually a relief compared to his family because he actually SPEAKS to them. He asks them a lot of questions, he asks them to describe Vil. Eric actually breaks down a few times just from how worried he is about his son and everything he's had to go through because he believed a lie. Rook is realistic and tells Eric he was delirious with a fever for weeks, he would have believed a lot of things.

When Rook finally goes back into the city he brings Eric and Neige along, but tells them he has to make a quick stop at his preferred brothel to deliver a gift to his beauty. Eric and Neige are frustrated because they wanna start looking for Vil. But Rook is their host so they'll bite their tongues and follow him.

Cue them getting more frustrated watching Rook book an entire day at this brothel and order multiple meals. Still smiling he leads the two of them up to the brothel's customer bath house and tells them he purchased them a bath to clean up. The bath was nice but Rook is now LEADING them to the room and they're about to put their foot down until Rook opens the door.

Rook: Mon amor! I've come baring gifts!

Vil: I don't know why you've brought them so early. What's so special-

Vil turns and drops his fan, looking at his father alive and well standing next to Rook in the doorway. Rook just smiles and bows, telling them to have a wonderful day together and leaves.

It takes a few minutes, Eric moves first, softly calling out Vil's name. And Vil responds by crumbling onto the floor in relief and sobbing; because he wasn't abandoned, his father is alive, he came back for him, he does love him.

Eric, Neige, and Vil all spend the day together in Vil's room. Crying, hugging each other, sharing meals again. They have a lot to catch up on and

Eric: That Rook...very peculiar fellow, isn't he? Are you two close?

Vil:

Vil now wonders if he should tell his father that the man who guided them back together is the same man who's been raw dogging him like he's trying to earn a medal from it.

[bronx-bomber87]

Hello lovely fandom and happy Wednesday. We are cruising along with 6x09. Can't believe we're already on the second to last ep. Not a ton of Chenford or Tim in this one but what we do get is GOOOD. It's an all around good episode though. Let us begin.

6x09 The Squeeze

Recap of 6x06-6x08 got me all in my feels before this one even starts. Poor Tim killing me right off that bat. Always be floored by Eric and his ability to convey so much with a look. How it just makes me wanna hug his hurt away. No wonder Lucy always pulls him in for hugs. How could she not? I’m sure he hasn’t even begun to process how he feels. It’s a lot what just happened to him. It all unfolded in the blink of an eye.

Someone who he used to work closely with killing himself in front of him. Doing so because he’s a dirty cop. Not only that but taking all his secrets with him. Only thing Tim got out of it was Dr. London being dirty too. Grey shows up to the scene and startles Tim out of his thoughts. He debriefs Wade letting him know Mad Dog confessed to being dirty. That he believes Blair to be apart of it as well. Now we all know he didn’t mention her by name.

BUT it was pretty damn implied. With the awkward interactions in the hospital and the rooftop scene. Wade asks if he used her name specifically? Tim tells him no….But it was clear she was who M.D. was speaking of. Grey reminding him to be careful of accusing without any evidence. As amazing as his cop gut is that’s not evidence unfortunately. Loving the hat on Wade btw. Very fitting.

It’s not too long before the accusatory Detective Pearson shows up. Not loving him from the jump. Couldn't stand him for couple reasons. One because douche bag just comes off him in waves. Two the way he comes at Tim makes me wanna knock him on his ass. This guy coming in way too hot for my liking. Far too eager to pin this on Tim.

Makes my protective Sicilian side emerge and she’s not happy. I do love Grey being quick to Tim’s defense. No one better to have his back in this moment. Lucy would be great of course. But Wade is the superior in this moment so his 'back off ' holds more water. Gotta love this man. Always protects his people.

Wade can tell Pearson wants to have a slam dunk case against Tim. It’ll further his career to get such a high-ranking officer tangled in a dirty mess. It's why Grey tells him as such. Ugh. What a schmuck. Kudos to the actor though. I instantly dislike him so well done sir LOL The way Tim watches the body get wheeled away breaks my heart. Damnit Eric you’re too good at your job. Expressing so much in that look I just want to hug him. But that’s Lucy’s job later…

We join Celina officially moving in. This will be an interesting dynamic for s7. Especially after they get back together. I’ll be intrigued how that is all handled... But I’m getting way too ahead of myself. It's hard not to when we don’t know anything. It’s easy to daydream and speculate about the unknown. Anyways John is there and sadly not as a friend but to check in on Celina. She says he’s just making sure she’s not late for her shift.

Nolan commenting would reflect poorly on him and his performance review is coming up. Not selfish at all John….His review should be ‘Needs work.’ But we all know how I feel about him as a teacher. He asks Lucy how she is? I don’t think he expects the epic rant he receives. I mean she has healed some but not nearly enough. Her words sounding like she’s trying to convince herself. Makes me sad. Doing her best to flip all this upheaval into a good thing.

Our girl feels really lost in her life right now. All the turmoil that I don’t know she’s really dealt with. I think part of her having Celina move in is she doesn’t have to deal with it as much. To not have to be alone and sit in her feelings. Because I am the the same way. If left alone too long with my thoughts they eat at me. This scene just being more proof she hasn’t dealt with much of it at all IMO. I know the prevailing theory of the season for Lucy was she was alone. Isolated. I mentioned this in my mini too.

I think a lot of the isolating is self inflicted. Her and Tim are very alike in how they handle emotional distress. At an arms length and solo. Other than Jackson, Tim is the only one she’s really allowed close to her. Tamara yes but that's always been more maternal and not like what she has with Tim. And even him she doesn’t tell everything to and vice versa. It’s very in character for her to do this. I know people thinks because she’s bubbly, optimistic and outgoing this isn’t the case. But it is. Just like how people who are depressed don’t come off that way. When there a signs of it despite their ‘happy or sunny’ demeanor.

She was isolating herself before the breakup even occurred. Rewatching this season she was doing so from the very jump of s6. Their fight in 6x01 being proof of that isolation. She felt herself overloading and shoved him away with her accusation. That was just the start. 6x04 and her rash decisions with Jeff Budny is a huge one as well. She didn’t include the one person she should’ve in that ep. It's how we ended up in that hospital room with her. I’ve said this many times before. But her and Tim are quite alike in how they handle their emotions.

Tim’s is showcased more especially this season. It's easier to detect. If you're really looking you can see her's. Lucy’s were screaming through out this entire season as well. She is a control freak just like Tim in the way she shuts people out. Even her person couldn’t get in and vice versa. They have the same fatal flaw. It’s why their lack of communication became their downfall. Our girl has as much growing to do as Tim does. I’m hoping all this is a setup for s7 for her. To me her explosion here is an example of her not dealing fully with what happened still. Shall see how s7 is handled for her. I'm hopeful.

Their convo is interrupted by Angela calling Lucy. First off I love her looking out for Lucy. Just like she does with Tim. There was a great parallel set for this and 2x12. Angela providing comfort to them both when the other is in distress. Our on-screen cheerleader for them both and I love it sfm. Even knowing what a weird place they’re in, she knew Lucy would wanna know from her than anyone else. We love you Angela Lopez. You’re a real one.

She also knows Lucy well to tell her right off the bat he’s ok. You know her heart stopped when she began that sentence. We watch Lucy instantly go into wifey mode. Both in her body language and tone of voice as Angela explains. How she turns her back to the others when it’s about her person. Needing a moment to herself as she absorbs this information.

Melissa crushing it in this scene with everything she does. From closing her eyes taking in the severity of this situation. To the concerned wifey tone she switched to quickly. We all know she has a million and one thoughts rushing through her brain right now. Mainly was he ok? Does he need her? The worry for him settling into her soul and growing rapidly by time the call ends. Once Angela hangs up she finally turns around and updates them. Concern flooding her tone.

The wifey vibes continue when John gets a call shortly after. Tim has called him to be his union rep. (Only reason he would ever call Nolan in a personal matter...) We watch as anxiety all but pours out of Lucy. Worried wifey mode has activated and it’s not going away. Despite everything they’ve been through. Everything he’s done. Her number one instinct is worry and concern for him. It's deeply rooted. It's who she is.

She loves him so much still. That is written all over this scene and her reaction. That instinct to be there for him coursing through her like a powerful current. I love her stopping Nolan before he goes. The worry seeping out of her tone. Asking how he sounded? Nolan just replying ‘Tight.’ Which is apropos for Tim in situations such as this tbh. The reason she asked this was that she could gather everything she needed to know about his state of mind from that information alone.

When she hears Nolan’s reply her worry increases tenfold. Melissa is killing me in the best way in this scene. Props to her and Eric once again for this season. I can't praise them enough honestly. It hurt so much but hot damn if they weren’t giving their A game and more every single episode. Holy hell. Not that they don’t always. Just with such limited episodes they did really good with the material. Writing was superb for them. They rose to the occasion and then some.

Tim is so anxious waiting for Nolan it’s making me anxious. He is wound so damn tight right now. Not that I blame him but we can feel the anxiety just seeping out of him. The tapping of his feet, hands, and whole body is tense before Nolan arrives. He pops right up the minute John enters the room. He doesn’t look at all prepared for what Tim is about to thrown down at him.

Nolan tries to ask him questions but Tim doesn’t have time for it. Immediately let's him know what’s going on. That they’re going to want to hang this on someone. Now that Mad Dog is dead their scape goat is gone. All that is left is Tim. He’s STRESSED they’re going to hang this around his neck. That he needs Nolan to take over the investigation. I said this in my mini and I'll say it now.

My first thought was I don’t trust Nolan with this….That I wouldn’t have chosen him to spearhead this whole thing. But Tim doesn’t have a ton of options atm. So he’s gotta go with what he’s got. And that happens to be John Nolan right now. He asks Tim who to investigate? Tim tells him to look into Blair London the rookie police department shrink.

That he’s been seeing her and so has Aaron. That he thinks she had leverage on M.D. and that’s why he jumped. I wanna pause here and say how proud I am of Tim in this moment. Look at him reaching out for help this time. Not trying to quarterback this alone. Handling this completely differently than how he handled Ray. Not isolating himself and trying to figure this out solo. He’s going through the proper channels this time. Not wanting to do a OP and segregate himself from everyone.

To say it sucks Dr. London is dirty is an understatement. Because my greatest fear would be what she does in this episode. BUT I am forever grateful to her in the same vein. Because despite her being dirty she truly helped Tim in short time he had her. Look at the growth in this moment right now. I’ve said this many times already but I truly hope we continue his therapy journey. The results are astounding and I need more of this growth. It’s just like Chenford ship crack to me. Tim growth is my other drug of choice haha Give it to me writers LOL

We see Pearson is under Dr. London thumb. (Monica’s really) It leads up to this next scene that makes my blood boil. I hated watching this scene the first time and I didn’t love it any better second time around. It makes me sick to my stomach to watch unfold. How Pearson comes after Tim like a dog with a bone. The way he uses Dr. London to solidly his reasoning makes me all kinds of angry. I'm seeing red.

I HATE them using his sessions and twisting them for their own gain. It was like I said earlier this was my biggest fear of her being dirty. This right here. Gotta commend Danielle Campbell though. She does a really good job in this scene. Even though this was her idea you can see the conflict raging in her. Because she is the one who convinced Tim to go to therapy. For pure reasons actually. To help him out. Which she did. We know that’s why she’s under Monica thumb.

She used her need to help people against her. That she is only doing this because she is being coerced. Doesn’t excuse a damn thing, but explains her hesitation and almost tortured look in this scene. Especially when Pearson comes at Grey. Accusing him of favoritism. Saying he cares more about that than this city. You can see the restraint on Wade's face not to knock this punk out. How very dare you come at him and Tim like this. Makes me wanna rage so much.

This scene right here is why love Angela Lopez so much. That fiery passion she has for those she loves. How she is unwaveringly loyal to those she holds dear. Tim being that person in this moment. Not gonna lie that’s why I love this moment so much. Calling her husband. Love her of her life to chew him out to defend her brother. Her first instinct just like Lucy is to protect him.

To make sure if he’s charging Tim that she better know first. Hot damn Angela. Tell us how you really feel. haha This man is so lucky to have this fire ball in his corner phew lord. Telling Wes she stands by Tim a thousand percent. That he’s family. Ugh my heart. Gonna make me cry. I love their friendship so much. Give me more of them in s7. Their dynamic is fantastic and I need far more of it in my life.

We arrive at the best part of the episode. After nearly fifteen minutes filled with tension…We need this hug as much as these two do. My god. I adore her being so attuned to him. Lucy sees him and knows she needs to go to him. She can see how tense he looks. The clench in his jaw very evident. Her look damn near mirroring the worried look she had in 5x19. That same longing look to reach out to him surging through her. Worried Lucy is a fav of mine and we got to have that a lot in this episode.

This time she doesn't stop herself and we all love her for it. She worries about him, regardless of the state of their relationship. It’s what drives her to go after him before his elevator closes. That magnetic pull she can’t explain nor describe. All Lucy knows is she needs to be near him and comfort him. That even from afar she can tell he needs her. As I said earlier Lucy is so attuned to Tim and what he needs. It’s a beautiful thing to witness.

To say Tim is shocked when she keeps the elevator from closing is an understatement. Not only that but stopping it so they aren’t interrupted. Wanting to ensure they have a moment alone. Even when she says to be clear she’s still mad. That this doesn’t change anything. He’s still clueless as to what is going on here. You can see it all over his face above. He has zero idea why she is in here right now.

Because in his mind there is no way she’s thinking about him. Let alone wanting to be there for him in this moment. Which breaks my heart. The last thing he ever expected was for her to care for him. Or about him in any way shape or form. Also the 4x09 vibes coming off this hug had me losing my friggin mind. This hug is everything. It showcases their bond, the intimacy that still exists between them, the vulnerability has me reeling and how they are each other’s safe place still. *happy sigh*

The way she pulls him in reminiscent of the 4x09 hug. Tim standing there not expecting this moment of comfort and getting it. It’s the way she draws him into to hide in her arms. Just like she did in ‘Breakdown.’ I’m fine….Only difference in this hug from that one is the way he just melts into her arms. The face smoosh into her shoulder. Once again mirroring that infamous hug. We watch all that anxiety and stress just drain out of him. The tension he was carrying into the elevator leaving his body once he's in his happy place. Closing his eyes and surrendering to the comfort she brings him.

He immediately wraps his entire body around her. Melding into her. Easily falling into this hug and her arms. Like two puzzle pieces that are meant to be together. Fitting back together so effortlessly after time apart. Encasing her back in his hands and snuggling in for good measure. Clinging to her like she is his emotional life raft. Because. Well she is. Holding her as close as he physically can. Cherishing this moment. Because I’m sure he never thought he would experience this again. Holding her in his arms like this. Feel her comfort and love.

These two make me insane in the best way. Also let me once again point out Tim's growth. He didn’t even try to fight her like he’s done in the past. He sees this for the gift that it is and absorbs this moment. Savoring it really. The peace you can see on his face floors me. Eric at it again. You can tell this is first time in long time he’s felt whole. This hug is beautiful on some many levels. You can feel the raw emotion coming out of them both.

The concern that’s been building up in Lucy since this morning coming out in waves. She is tucked in TIGHT to him. Clinging to him as much as he is clinging to her. I'm not ok. You can hear the immense worry in her voice as she asks him if he’s ok? Despite everything she felt the draw to be there for him. The way she looks like she can finally breathe as she asks him that question is EVERYTHING.

We get some good hands hands hands in this hug. I can’t stop staring at her thumbs in that gif either. The soothing way she is running her thumbs up and down on his back and arm. Methodical in her soothing of him. Gah I cannot you guys. Her remarkable empathy shines through in this moment. This was a balm my soul needed so much. That all of us needed. We all know how much our boy longed for this.

Can't get over her face pressed so tightly into his neck. Doing this, as she asks him what she’s been dying to since she received that phone call. Like she couldn’t breathe until she knew the answer to this question. Look at the concern on her face when she does. I’m reeling and sobbing. Lucy looks on the verge of tears herself. Their hearts are just starting to mend in this glorious hug. You can feel it. Ours too.

No one does hugs like our ship does. They’re always top tier goodness. Holy hell. They’re just breathing each other in. Calming one another down. The anxiety that was raging in both of them cooling down to a simmer in this embrace. He has melted into her like butter at this point. Reveling in the comfort and empathy she's providing him. The way he says ‘I am now.’ Reminiscent of 5x21 and their phone call in the alley. How he wasn’t ok till he heard her voice.

Song remains the same in this moment. He wasn’t ok until now. Until she had her arms wrapped around him for this hug. Didn’t know he was holding his breath till she released it for him. It’s how he sways with her and sinks even further into her arms. Smooshing his face even farther into her shoulder. It’s so sincere his reply back that I am just a puddle of emotion. He’s so vulnerable in this moment with her.

Letting her know he wasn't ok until she was there. Imma scream at how much I love this growth in him. If there was any more doubt in Lucy’s mind of his feelings for her, this hug and his reaction to it should clear that right up. That is a man who is still so in love with her. Letting her know he wasn’t alright until she came and found him. I’m not crying you are…. Find you a person who knows what you need when you need it. Even when you’re not in the best place. That’s Lucy Chen for this man. Reigniting him falling in love with her all over again in this moment.

Lucy picking up on this growth reflects in her reaction back. Gah it’s the way she tightens her arms around him after she hears this. Closes her eyes and tries to bring him even closer. Trying to wrap him up in her arms even tighter. Absorb any stress he is carrying right now. The sheer relief written all her face. The way she shuts her eyes knowing he’s ok because she is there. *sobs*

Just melting into this man as she holds him as close as she can. Clinging to him as much as he is to her. I’m not ok in the best way. I remember thinking this hug would feed my soul into the hiatus. Just gonna scream into a pillow how much I love this moment. Their chemistry is insane and with a hug? Even more so my god. We are blessed to have a ship where our hugs are this amazing.

I love this faraway shot of their hug. They are in-sync as they part. How do they do that? We can see how deeply entangled they are. Nary an inch between them. You can see how they were just clinging onto each other for dear life. Look at Tim’s arms/hands. How gentle and intimate his are placed.

Having her as close as he can. It’s the hand gently wrapped around her lower back that has me losing it. It’s just so intimate I can’t get over it. Lucy is retuning the favor in kind. She too is just as intertwined as he is in this moment. Arms clinging to him and her face buried in his neck. Their chemistry on massive display here.

You’d think the hug alone would be enough to make me squee to death. Lucy follows it up with fixing his collar. I’m dead. The most wifey move of all moves. Reminded me of the lint picking from 5x12. Such an intimate coupley thing to do. I’m losing my damn mind over it. Wife energy coming off her in waves. Just seemed so automatic and natural when they part.

Also she touches her arm before reopening the door. She can’t keep her hands off him and I’m here for it. Tim looks like he’s going to cry in that elevator. I also love Tim putting his hands in his pockets right after. Because if he doesn’t he’ll never let her go. They’ll never get off this elevator. He could've stayed in that hug all day.

Basked in the comfort she had to give him. So he puts his hands immediately in his pockets after they part. Ugh my heart. They miss each other so much and this hug is screaming that. Also screaming how they didn’t miss a beat. How natural and wonderful it was. *happy sigh* This hug giving me true hope for the first time.

They re-open elevator to find Angela and Harper waiting for them. They look like they’ve been caught. Like they didn’t just have this deeply emotional embrace. The looks they share before Lucy leaves are LOADED. The expression on Angela’s face... She knows they interrupted something. I adore her saying she can get him extradited if he needs it. Love this woman so much. We know just like Lucy she is willing to do anything for this man.

Makes my heart so happy. All these women in his life want is to support and protect him. You can tell Angela wants to be tagged in so badly. Tim telling her won’t be necessary. He didn’t do anything wrong. That she had his back last time. He has different forces at play this time. Adore her saying 'Different isn’t me.’ Not it’s not ha Sadly last of Tim for this ep. *pouts*

Another telling scene for Lucy. Really really need s7 to clear these things up for her. Because despite being wonderfully empathetic human to Tim. She is still lost in life and not sure who she is. I NEED UC and some other things clarified for her next season. I really do. Just because she’s amazing at UC (and she is) doesn’t mean it’s her path. I do love this scene because it’s just Lucy being Lucy.

Having EIGHT covers ready to go. Our little nerd in action here. I adore it so much. It’s the most Lucy Chen thing she could do. Telling them it takes twelve off duty hours to grow. I love her so much. It’s not a mystery why Tim is so damn gone for her. Their faces as she explains cracks me up. Tim wouldn’t be shocked in the least. Hell I’m sure he was there while she was growing some of them.

The detective line is just another stab at our hearts though. Hoping for clarification and goodness for her career in s7. Manifesting it. As much as I need their reconciliation.(and I need it bad) I need her path resolved just as much tbh. For her to find her purpose and grow. Because once her and Tim do this. That reconciliation is gonna be even sweeter because of it.

I will say I was impressed with Nolan. Enjoy this it won’t last ha He handled investigating Blair really well. Rattling the cages of the potential dirty cops she was seeing just by showing up to her office. I forgot seasons 1-2 Nolan was a good cop. He just got really annoying after s3. LOL Also roping Smitty in was hilarious. He was already there for the food so might as well use him.

It’s the first time in what feels like a long time I enjoyed John. He enlists Nell too to help him with data from dispatch. Maybe it’s Bailey that makes him extra irritating to me. Lmao Sorry Jenna....lol Anyways quite the miracle Nolan pulled off in this ep getting me to like him. Not only that but commend him on the job he’s doing. Helping out Tim in a major way and I can’t deny that.

Nolan’s plan works out like gang busters. He went to her office to rattle a dirty cop into revealing himself. Pearson does it perfectly. Losing his mind about finding out they were in Mad Dog's apt. Like I said earlier I commend John on his work in this. Had Tim’s back and then some with his investigation. If they wrote him like this more wouldn’t dog on him so much lol

The other part that is so great is Grey. He is a papa bear ready to devour anyone messing with his work kids. This part was so cathartic to watch after earlier. Watching him dismantle Pearson like the schmuck he is. Was sick of him stomping around the station. Acting like he can just be top dog when he's really on a leash.

Rubbed me the wrong way being disrespectful to Tim and threatening Wade. Watching him attack Nolan/Celina is Grey's final straw. Puts that turd in his place. We watch him visibly shrink as Grey tears him a new asshole LOL All but telling him to stay in his own lane. Get em’ Wade! Nolan putting together the connection of Pearson and Blair due to this. Was fun to watch them piece this together.

Scenes like this give me agita like no other. My heart was beating in my chest for her. Lucy did a really good job despite the toy. Unfortunately it’s one of those loud musical ones. That not only gives away her position. But possibly her cover in the process. He find it’s on the floor. Looking menacing af. This man gives me the creeps on so many levels. I hated this mission for her on so many levels.

Unfortunately they’ll need her going back into the house. Now that Monica is in play it’s crucial she is there. Especially with Batista investigating who tried to kill her. Lucy is worried they’re going to blow her cover faster with her involved…But it’s a risk they have to take. If Tim knew about this he would be feral. Oh Feral Tim how I miss you. I need more 2x11 feral Tim in my life. That's a wishlist for s7 I suppose.

The ep ends with Nolan making a deal I’m not sure he can make lol But he was good in this episode so I’ll give him a pass. You can see how panicked she is. I am impressed John got her on this bench I will say. Getting her to almost spill her guts to him. Saying she didn’t think anyone would get hurt. That's what they all say....

I will say I missed Tim a lot in this ep after he was gone. That's my man. But it was a good episode. Reminded me of what a good ensemble cast we have as a whole. That's all she wrote for this one.

As always thank you to everyone for reading, liking, commenting and reblogging these means more than you’ll ever know. Shall see you all in the finale with 6x10 :)

~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

We get more insight in how Dr. London is being leveraged. Of course it’s a Monica connection because she is the absolute worst….

It’s great to see Pearson get nailed to the wall at the end of the ep. Prick.

[minihotdog]

Fearless Magazine

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3

Prompt:

A mysterious stranger leaves an item of the main character’s front door with a note attached saying “For a rainy day”

***

“If you like him just go and tell him,” Lynn says to me curtly

“And what if he doesn’t like me and is just trying to use me?” I say exasperated.

Lynn looks up from her lunch to face me, “He kissed you, what more do you need? A proposal?”

I sigh and rest my head on my hand, “We both know his reputation.”

Eric was well known for a loner but when he did entertain the presence of a woman it was always a hit and quit.

“Yeah, he’s a whore,” Lynn spits out the statement as if she was claiming that water is wet. “However, he did more with you than he’s done with any other girl.”

“What’s that?”

“Talked to you and acknowledged your presence afterwards,” She says before stuffing her face with food. “He’s probably been laying awake at night thinking about his beautiful Y/n,” Lynn says mockingly, she hugs the air and makes kissy noises. I ball up a napkin and throw it at her while she laughs.

“He made his move, your turn.”

“Ugh! Why is this so complicated?” I ask myself while rubbing my forehead with my fingers.

“I still can’t believe big bad Eric is a softie for you!” 

“Whatever! I’m going back to work!”

***

All day Eric and I caught eachother’s eye. At one point he even winked at me.

I don’t wanna be another girl you charm and then throw off to the side.

I sit on my bed against the wall. My thoughts going back to the night he kissed me, the way his hands felt on me, his soft lips on mine.

The dating cultures of Amity and Dauntless were complete opposites. Dauntless moved too fast. You meet someone and by the first date you are together, left to figure things out as you go.

In Amity, you begin by leaving a gift of the person’s doorstep and if theyre interested, they’ll leave on on yours. Each gift comes with a note telling them about yourself and your favorite things, in hopes that you have some in common. From there you’ll meet in person and go for a walk or sit down and get to know each other. 

Maybe I should give him a gift.

Eric’s Pov

I sit on my couch with my useless leg propped up by a pillow flipping through a book I’ve read a thousand times. *Knock* *Knock*

Who the fuck is that?

I grab my crutch off the coffee table and rock myself forward in a huff. I frown to myself thinking about all the times I took having two working legs for granted.

I look through the peephole.

Oh my fucking god not this again.

I open the door and come face to face with the last person I wanted to see: the faction gossip.

“Hello, Samantha. What can I do for you?” I try my best to be nice to an elder but pieces of my dislike for her seep through.

“What’s this someone left on your doorstep?” She pries.

“I don’t know, I didn’t know it was there.” 

She looks at me suspiciously pursing her lips, the deep wrinkles on her face showing contempt.

“You better not be fooling around with anymore girls,” She warns me before handing me the box that she no doubt opened before knocking on my door.

“I never was,” I defend myself. The glare she shoots my way almost makes mine look like child’s play. “Ma’am,” I add quickly hoping she’d put the glare away. 

“Boy, don’t lie to me. I’ve seen the girls coming in and out of your room.” She puts her finger on my chest, poking me to emphasis her words. “There was that one with the funny accent and then a blonde one that was here the other day.”

“First off, the one with the accent was my ex girlfriend of two years, who hasn’t been here in months. And second, I didn’t have a blonde woman in my room recently.”

“Of course you did! She was the weird looking one with the short hair.” She argues.

“FOUR!?” I blurt out coming to the realization.

“Young man don’t you raise your voice at me!”

“Yes, ma’am, I didn’t mean to. Can I please go inside, I need to take my medication.” I lie while motioning to my cast, desperately trying to get away from her.

She waves her hand in a “go away” motion before turning away from my door.

I shut the door almost leaning against it with relief. I crutch my way back to my spot on the couch, sitting with the box on my lap. I examine the unexpected gift, I almost chortle at the polka-dot box stuck to the top as I open it. Inside lies a container with hot chocolate written across in red with a little santa in a sleigh and a note: “For a rainy day 🙂” written in cursive. 

I flip the note looking for a sender but find nothing. I can only assume it’s from Y/n, trying to court me with her Amity-ness. 

My grin stifles as I remember what Elder Samantha said, “You better not be fooling around with anymore girls!”

Is that what she’s been telling the faction? That I’m hopping bed to bed!?

My heart begins to feel heavy at the thought of Y/n hearing the rumors. I can only wonder what she’ll think of me when she does hear. As fierce as she is, deep down she’s still shy and delicate. She hasn’t been entirely conditioned to dauntless and the viciousness of the elders that live to complain about the changes in the faction, even improvements from when they were young.

What if she already knows?

Y/n’s Pov

“I forgot to put my name on it!”

Lynn hits her forehead with her hand. 

“Who else could it have been from?!” She looks at me flabbergasted. “I don’t understand these dating rituals. In Candor you just go up to someone and tell them ‘I like you’. None of these theatrics,” She says disgruntled. 

I frown at her, “I’d hate to get broken up by a Candor. They’d probably sit there and tell you every little thing that’s wrong with you until shrink,” I cross my arms. 

“That’s the good part! It helps you improve as a person.” 

We go silent upon hearing Eric’s crutch echo down the hallway. He comes through the door, usually he’d at least glance in my direction but today he looked at the ground when he passed me.

“Uh oh,” Lynn whispers before taking a sip of her latte. “Maybe he’s allergic to chocolate and thought you were trying to kill him.”

I shoot her a sharp look.

***

That day I noticed Eric was more to himself than usual. He didn’t stay late with me as he had the last two days. I wanted to ask him if he was alright but didn’t want to step out of bounds. 

Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he found another girl.

I fuss to myself. It was a friday night and I was cooped up in my bedroom ignoring Lynn’s texts telling me to come out. 

Maybe I should go out and get my mind off him.

[kenny-the-ken]

Save the Date

Aged up readers, Y/N is 17, Kenny is 18. All in high school. Mentions of drugs, alcohol, sexual themes and strong language. NOT FOR MINORS!! I hope you all enjoyed my first fic, it was written while running after my 2 year old who throws WAY too many tantrums so sorry if it wasn't my greatest work!

Kenny watched you from across the classroom, he watched how you twiddled your pen between your thumb and forefinger, how you the tip of your tongue darted out of your mouth as you concentrated on what you were writing. Your perfect y/h/c hair flowing in soft waves that cascaded down your back. He had fallen, and he had fallen hard.

Both of you were inseparable, the best of friends, you did everything together, albeit not much, because neither of you could afford to go a lot of places. He loved nothing more than laying down beside you in your bed with his arms wrapped tightly around your waist, you were the one of the only people that knew he was Mysterion, you were one of the very lucky few who had seen him without his orange parka hood suffocating his face. But the most important to him, you were the only one to remember, the first time he died in front of you, you were shattered to a million pieces, your heart completely broken, and the only thing that could ever fix it was Kenny coming back alive, not like that could ever happen.

But it did, and when you heard a small knock on your front door all those years ago, opening it to see those beautiful blue eyes and fluffy blonde hair standing smiling at you, your face covered in smeared black lines of mascara, he knew.

"Kenny?" You uttered, rubbing your eyes as if you were hallucinating, a glove clad hand reaching to cup your tear stained face, he just simply looked at you, tears now welling in his own eyes.

"You- You remember?" He asked, you giving him a small nod as his answer. You smiled, tears still falling down your face.

"Of course I remember, Kenny! You got hit by a bus and everyone shouted about how you'd been killed and then called them bastards!" You responded, before he grabbed you with both hands, saying nothing but pulling you close to him for the tightest hug you'd ever had.

"I'm so glad you remember. No one else does."

That day will stay forever engraved in his mind for as long as he was destined to be on this earth for. And he knew, he knew you were his one true soul mate. Yeah, Kenny had been with plenty of girls before, but none of them made him feel how you did, normally so confident in asking girls out, he was known as a flirt, but he had never been confident enough to ask you out. That was until today.

"Put your balls in your purse, Kinny!" Eric said to him, exiting the class watching you walking in front of him. He was half listening, half in a daydream about how good your ass looked in your jeans.

"Kenny? Hello? Earth to Kenny, are you even listening to us?!" Kyle said, waving his hands in the air in front of Kenny's face.

"Hey dude, I was getting a good view there!! Fuck you, man!" Kenny exclaimed, sighing as he seen you turn the corner in the corridor.

"Dude, you seriously gotta ask her out!" Stan said, the other two boys nodding in agreement.

"How, man? I don't have any money to take her places, what am I supposed to say, 'Hey Y/N wanna come to my house and see my shit bedroom, my mom and dad screaming at each other and our meth lab?!' She'd never go for a guy like me, dudes. And she deserves better than me." He said his head bowing to stare at the tiles of the corridor. His life really was a mess.

"And that's where the broship comes in, dude!" Eric exclaimed, the other boys staring at each other in confusion.

"I bet you $70 you won't ask her out by the end of the day!" Eric said, knowing Kenny couldn't pass up on money like that.

"And if you do, then the money will come in handy for a date right?" Eric said, a shit eating grin plastered upon his face.

"Fine." Kenny replied, saying nothing else before walking off to find you.

There you sat with the other girls, chatting about god knows what and eating your lunch. You could feel a pair of eyes burning through the back of your skull as you turned round, there he stood, your prince in an orange parka. You couldn't see it because of his hood, but he was smiling at you, and was that a blush on his cheeks?

You had serious love and feelings for Kenny, and you always had, but you knew he was a player, he had been with a lot of girls throughout the years, and he never ever chose you, maybe he just didn't see you that way.

He was nervous, a small bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. He made his way over to you.

"Is it hot in here, or is it just being so close to you, girl?" Kenny flirted, causing a small blush to spread along your cheeks.

"What's up, Kenny?" You asked, offering him the half of your sandwich, he normally didn't have much food to eat, so you liked to help when you could. He great-fully accepted the kind offer and then bowed his head slightly, taking on a rather unusual mannerism for him. Normally he was so confident and cocky, but right now, he looked like he might pass out.

And he felt like it too!! Maybe he could just die accidentally and come back tomorr- No! He has to do this! It was now or never.

"Can I- um... can I talk to you about something?" Kenny asked, his gloved hands fidgeting together.

"Of course, Ken, we can talk about anything together! Do you wanna head somewhere more private?" You asked, as he simply nodded in reply, taking off a glove and offering his hand to you.

"I rolled a joint I didn't get to smoke before school today, wanna dip and go to the park?" Kenny questioned, his eyebrow quirking, hoping you'd be down.

"I have Mr Garrison's class after lunch so fuck yeah I wanna dip. My mom isn't home as usual, said she was going to get drugs last night and hasn't came back, so we can go smoke up at my house if you want? I've got frozen pizza!" You exclaimed, a large smile on your face. You could never pass up quality time with Kenny, you both knew that.

"That sounds like absolute bliss, babe. But when we smoke up, I really do need to talk to you about something." He stated, your hands now fully intertwined. As you guys approached the double doors of the school you passed Eric, Kyle and Stan, the three boys staring at you both, wide eyed and mouths wide.

"Hey, fuck you Kinny!" Eric shouted, handing him $70. "Make it last! God knows when you'd be able to get $70 again, Kinny!" He shouted loudly, the blonde boy smirking and flipping him off on his way out the door.

"Fuck you, dude! I'll text y'all later." He shouted back, the doors finally closing behind you both.

The walk was long and cold to your house, since you lived in the same part of town as Kenny, and the school bus wasn't running, since technically school was still in session. During the walk Kenny had shedded his jacket, putting it on you instead, making sure you didn't catch sick and kept warm in the never ending snow that resided in South Park.

Soon enough you were both in your bedroom, the window cracked slightly as Kenny sparked his lighter, taking a long, slow drag of the joint before passing it to you.

"So, what did you wanna talk about? Has your dad gone psycho again?" You asked, taking a few drags of the joint and passing it back to Kenny, your hands grazing slightly, and when you two touched, it felt electric.

He shook his head no. "No, for once it's not my parents." He laughed out, smoke coming down his nostrils.

"Then what's wrong, Ken?" You asked eyebrows raised as your studied your best friends face. He had a light dusting of freckles, soft, pale skin and the most perfect, light pink lips and of course you couldn't forget the adorable little gap in his teeth when he smiled at you. You were in love, you had been in love with him for as long as you could remember.

His hands were ice cold, the blood not reaching them due to the speed his heart was beating at.

"I um... I-" He stuttered, his cheeks a deep shade of crimson, as he quickly puffed on the joint you two shared, passing it to you, he should've asked if you had any vodka here that he could take a shot of, a little Dutch courage, but it was too late, he was already sitting here, your full attention on him as he became a stammering mess.

He took his gaze away from you before he said it, he actually had finally said it to you, and he did so as quickly as the words would come out of his mouth.

"Do you maybe wanna, I don't know, bemygirlfriend? I mean, only if you want to! If you don't, I totally understand, I wouldn't wanna be with me either, I mean, you deserve the world and I can barely afford to feed myself-"

You cut him off by grabbing the front of his t-shirt and pulling him towards you, your lips crashing against one another. You had waited for this since you were younger, you had always dreamed of being his, being his girl. And now you were!

His eyes fluttered closed, melting against you and wrapping his slender arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him on the bed. He had dreamt about this, he had wanked about this! More than once! He'd thought about how your boobs looked without any clothing covering them, how your nipple would feel in his mouth, how hard he could slap your ass, how tight you would feel around his coc-

You both parted ways, panting as you did, a string of salvia connecting your mouths. Both of you were blushing profusely, and Kenny shifted on the bed, feeling the tightness in his jeans starting to bother him.

"I've wanted to do that since the fourth grade." You said, almost in a whisper, only for Kenny to hear.

"Then let's go use this $70 fat ass gave me and I'll take you on our first official date!" Kenny said, a small smile on his lips as he kept his arms wrapped tightly around you, as if a gust of wind could blow you away from him.

"I love you, Kenny McCormick."

"I love you too, Y/N, and I always have." Kenny sighed, the relief he felt come crashing over him. He no longer had to keep it a secret, he loved you, and you loved him, and that was all the mattered. You made him want to stay alive, you made him happy, and you made him whole. I guess soul mates really do exist.

Hey guys!! I really hope you enjoyed this fic, I just kinda banged it out and I haven't checked any spelling or typos, so I'm really sorry about that, I just hope you all enjoy it. Kenny's a cute lil fluff, and I love writing for him, but I'll write for anyone from South Park so if you guys have any suggestions or requests please do send them my way!!

[wheels-of-despair]

Under Pressure | Eric x You vs. The Apocalypse | Series Masterlist

Chapter Three: It's A Christmas Miracle Summary: Eric comes back for Christmas, and experiences all the joys that the most wonderful time of the year has to offer. Words: 3.8k

"Hey!" you beam as you open the door for the fiftieth time tonight. Finally, someone you're actually happy to see. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"Thanks for inviting me," Eric says shyly, hesitating in the hallway at the sight of all the people milling around inside your apartment.

It's December 23rd, and you're having a Christmas party. Well, your husband is. Evan is leaving for a fellowship at a hospital on the other side of the country in January, and this is his last chance to get all his coworkers and friends together before they go off and spend the rest of the year with their families.

"You can come back tomorrow when everyone's gone if you're having second thoughts," you tease, and he finally steps inside. "Your room is doubling as the coat room at the moment, but I promise it'll be all yours again before the night's over."

Eric scans the room, looking intimidated and out of place. Turnout had been a tiny bit higher than you'd expected, but it was no reason to panic. If you can survive, so can he.

"You wanna go dump your stuff?" you prompt.

Eric nods and flees toward the bedroom. You follow slowly, waiting by the door for him. He drops his backpack and his coat, and stands there with his back to you and his face in his hands for a minute.

"Eric?" you ask quietly.

He whips around with wide eyes, not realizing you were watching. You step inside and close the door, leaning against it to provide another barrier between the two of you and the rest of your guests.

"Are you okay?"

"M'fine," he mumbles, running a hand through his hair. "Just wasn't expecting so many people, is all."

"Neither were we," you smile. "But they're good people, for the most part."

"I don't know any of them," he says nervously.

"You didn't really think I was going to set you loose in a room full of strangers, did you?" He stares, so you keep talking. "I'll introduce you. Stick with me, babe. You'll be alright."

Eric nods, takes a deep breath, and walks toward you.

You catch him in a hug instead of opening the door.

"I really am glad you're here," you whisper. "To be honest, I don't know half of these people either. They're mostly your brother's doctor friends. If I hear one more joke involving a body part tonight, I'm going to fling myself off the roof."

Eric chuckles, and you let him go.

"Ready for this?"

He nods, and you leave the room together. You walk around the living room with him, introducing him to people in between conversations. He's polite, but so nervous. Before every handshake, he tries to subtly wipe his palm on his pants. Poor boy. After you make the rounds, you reward him with a visit to the snack table. You load up a plate of appetizers, glance around the room, and grab his sweater to pull him into his brother's bedroom.

"What are we doing?" he asks when the door is closed.

"Taking a break," you answer, sitting on the foot of the bed and surveying your snacks. "You earned it."

"Sorry," he mumbles.

"What are you sorry for?"

"Being so bloody awkward," Eric says pitifully, looking like he's about to cry.

"C'mere," you order, moving the plate of snacks further up the bed and patting the place next to you. His lip quivers, and he walks the few steps to you with an air of dread. What does he think you're going to do to him? When he sits, you wrap an arm around his back and rest your chin on his shoulder.

"I know this isn't your idea of fun," you say quietly. "It's not really mine either. But your brother wanted one last get-together before he goes, and I love him, so I will tolerate these nerds for a night. After that, it'll be just the three of us. Then we can relax."

"And you can stop baby-sitting me," he mumbles.

"Are you kidding me?" you ask, pulling away. "Sneaking away with a treasured confidante is the best part of any party."

You reach back and drag the plate of snacks closer to you.

"You've gotta try one of these sausage rolls," you order, holding a bite-sized bit of heaven between your fingers. Eric takes the treat from your hand and pops it into his mouth. He grins while he chews. "See?" you smile. "Best part of any party. We have snacks, we have comfy seats, and you haven't old one joke that's made me want to shove a grape up your nose."

Eric laughs and reaches for another appetizer.

You return to the party after you clear your snack plate, grateful to see that it's winding down. You resume hostess duties, never straying far from Eric. All three of you sigh in relief when the last straggler finally leaves. You perform a quick clean-up, and once the pile of dishes becomes a mountain, unanimously vote to go to bed and deal with the rest of the mess tomorrow.

On Christmas Eve, you wake in an empty bed to the sound of dishes clanking. You contemplate going back to sleep and letting Evan do all the work, as punishment for leaving you behind for his "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity", but your conscience gets the better of you. You don't bother getting dressed before following the noise, mildly surprised to find the brothers washing and drying together at the kitchen sink. They're not talking, but that's the closest you've ever seen them outside a one-second handshake.

You don't get to observe them for long.

"Oh, look! Sleeping Beauty has decided to join us! After the bulk of the work is done, of course. Wonderful timing as always, darling," your husband snarks.

"Thank you, thank you," you respond with a curtsy. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No, we were waiting for you," Evan answers.

"Waiting for me to to cook for you?" you tease.

"You see what I have to live with?" Evan asks his brother indignantly. "Listen to her! Working my fingers to the bone in here, and this is how she talks to me. Unbelievable."

You raise an eyebrow and wait for an answer.

"Pancakes and sausages are fully cooked and in the bloody oven," he says with phony exasperation, throwing the dish rag into the sink dramatically. "Eric, would you please?"

Eric grins and grabs an oven mitt, pulling out a pile of pancakes and a stack of sausage links.

You cross the kitchen to get the plates and silverware, stopping to kiss your husband on the cheek.

"You could've woken me," you say quietly.

"S'alright," he smiles. "We had a good talk."

Your face splits into a grin. It's a Christmas miracle.

"Oh, go on," he says with a roll of his eyes, pushing you away playfully. You grab the plates and silverware and set the table with a little help from Eric while Evan gets the drinks. After an excellent breakfast, you spend the rest of the morning cleaning up the party debris. In the afternoon, when all the work is done, you reward yourselves with showers and relaxation.

You're lying on the roomy sectional under a fuzzy blanket, your head in Evan's lap while you watch an old Christmas movie, when his phone chirps. You feel your spirits sink before he even picks it up.

"Bloody hell," he complains, throwing his phone onto the couch with a thump. He picks it back up and reads the text again. "I have to get to the hospital," he sighs, patting your shoulder. "It shouldn't take too long."

You sit up to release him. Evan scrambles to the bedroom to change, then stops by to kiss your forehead on his way out. You stare at the door emotionlessly.

"It must be hard," Eric observes from the other side of the sofa, "loving someone who has to be away so much."

"I'm told that absence makes the heart grow fonder," you deadpan. Evan had joked about it after informing you that he would be leaving for a year. You still don't find it funny. "Do you want to finish this movie?"

"Not really," he admits, scrunching one eye.

"Me either," you smile, turning off the TV. "I only tolerate this one because Evan loves it. Why he loves it, I couldn't tell you."

Eric chuckles.

"I think…" you muse, racking your brain for a distraction, "I'm gonna make some Christmas cookies."

"Okay," Eric says quietly.

"Wanna join me?"

Eric nods. You stand and reach out your hands, which he takes, and pull him off the couch. The recipe book is located, the supplies are lined up on the table, and you get to work.

Baking cookies is supposed to be classic holiday fun, but Eric takes it a little too seriously. He checks each recipe repeatedly, terrified that he's going to get a measurement wrong. They're just cookies, you remind him. They're for personal consumption. Half of them will probably be gone before the night's over. Very low stakes. But he waves you off, determined to get everything right. It's sweet.

Just like the cookies he proudly pulls from the oven the second the timer dings. You sit at the table for tea while you wait for them to cool.

"How've you been?" you ask.

"Okay," he answers, eyes on his cup now that there are no distractions in place. You know the feeling. You take a drink while you wait for him to elaborate. He doesn't.

"How's school?"

Worry clouds Eric's face, just like when you'd asked him at Thanksgiving.

"Hey," you say quietly. He looks up. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Eric shakes his head and focuses on his tea, then looks up at you like he wants to say something. You wait patiently.

"School is…" he licks his lips. "It's hard."

You wait a beat before prodding.

"Well, if you wanted the easy route, you should've become a doctor," you wink. He gives you a weak smile. "What's hard about it?"

"It's just… it's a lot," he answers slowly. "It's a lot of classes… and a lot of work… and everything's so different here. And I'm trying so hard, and it's still…" Eric looks to the ceiling, eyes filling with tears. "I'm going to fail at this, just like I've failed at everything else in my life. Everyone knows it."

"I don't."

Eric scoffs. "Surely you've heard about what a loser I am."

"You want to know what I think?" He eyes you warily. "I think you're trying your best, and that's very brave." Eric shakes his head, but you continue. "You came to a new country, all alone, and created a whole new life for yourself. If that's not brave, I don't know what is."

"I'm not brave," Eric protests. "I'm a bloody coward. I'm scared of everything. Every time I have to leave my room, I…" His tears spill. "It's so stupid." He crosses his arms and puts them on the table, hunching over to hide his face in them.

"It's okay to be scared," you say quietly. "Fear is what keeps you alive. You've heard of fight or flight?" Eric lifts his head to look at you, then nods. "You're fighting. You're scared, and everything is new, and school is hard, but you haven't packed up and run home. You're still fighting. And I'm so proud of you for that."

Eric covers his mouth, but the sob escapes anyway.

"Can I hug you?" you ask, on the verge of tears yourself.

His tear-filled eyes widen in shock. But he nods. It makes a new wave wash down his face.

You scoot your chair closer and lean in, and he buries his face in your neck. You hold him tight, rubbing his back in light circles. His tears soak into your sweater.

"You're gonna be alright," you tell him gently. "If you're struggling in school, we'll find you a tutor. If you're uncomfortable in the city, call me, and we'll explore together. You're gonna get through this. It's gonna be okay."

Eric lets you hold him until he calms down. When he pulls back and dries his eyes on his sleeves, you give him a smile.

"You ready to decorate some cookies?"

The conversation turns lighter while you decorate. Eric takes his time, sticking his tongue out adorably as he concentrates on making each cookie look perfect. The evening flies by.

"You made cookies without me?!" is the first thing your husband says when he gets home. You point to a plate containing several undecorated cookies, saved just for him, and he kisses the top of your head on his way to the sink to wash up. Evan decorates and fills you in on the hospital drama of the day while Eric helps you make dinner, which pairs nicely with easygoing conversation. After cleaning up the dinner dishes, you all settle back onto the couch for another movie before bed. A better one, this time. With cookies to munch on.

Christmas morning is nice. The three of you exchange gifts (Eric is quite happy with a new sweater and pair of tickets to that show people won't shut up about) and eat a light breakfast together. It's calm, and it's quiet, and it's just what all of you need.

And then Evan throws you out of the kitchen.

"Get a move on, no Yanks allowed, I'll not have you interfere with our proper English Christmas!"

"Pudding should not have raisins in it!" you call from the doorway.

"You leave my pudding alone!"

"What pudding? You're making FRUIT CAKE!"

"Silence, uncultured swine!"

You cackle and head back to the couch, reaching for the remote and leaving the Englishmen to their feast.

About an hour later, Eric joins you.

"Have you been thrown out, too?"

"My services were no longer required," he says seriously.

"Don't take offense," you smile. "He's very particular about Christmas dinner. I thought you were a great help on Thanksgiving. When we had REAL FOOD!"

"I didn't hear that, and I won't respond to it!" Evan yells from the kitchen, making you both laugh.

"This is almost over," you gesture to the movie on TV. "You get to pick the next one."

Eric looks through your Christmas options, most of which he's never heard of, and chooses It's A Wonderful Life. (After you assure him it's not a musical, like the one you gave up on yesterday.) You're almost asleep, cloaked in a warm blanket and enjoying the delightful smell of the Christmas dinner being cooked by your loving husband, when the sound of a sniffle makes your eyes fly open.

Eric's crying. He's so invested in the movie, he doesn't realize you've seen him. Tears stream down his red face, and he hugs his knees to his chest while he watches the plight of George Bailey. You rise slowly and quietly, grabbing a box of tissues from the end table and sitting next to him. He takes a few sheets and dries his face. You wrap an arm around him, and he leans into you. By the end of the movie, he's melted into your lap. One of your hands strokes his hair absentmindedly. You can feel the occasional teardrop soak through your jeans from where his head rests on your thigh.

"Should've picked a bloody musical," he gripes as the end credits roll.

You chuckle and tousle his curls.

"Can we do a happy one next?" he asks.

"You got it, babe," you smile as you stretch for the remote, not wanting to get up and disturb him. You select a lighthearted family comedy and resume stroking his hair.

You're both asleep when Evan comes in and announces that your Christmas feast is ready. The kitchen table looks like it belongs in a magazine. You are married to a miracle worker. You take your seats and eat together, keeping the conversation light and positive.

"It's not bad… for English fare," you tease when you finally put down your fork. Evan glares. "It was great, sweetheart. You did amazing, as always."

"Thank you," he grins.

"Yeah, it was really good," Eric echoes. Evan gives a bow, then gets up to grab dessert.

"So which dinner was better, Thanksgiving or Christmas?" you ask Eric, leaning forward with a devilish look in your eye.

"Do not answer that!" Evan barks.

You all laugh and eat your dessert, then start the clean-up process… again.

"It's almost time," Evan says mournfully, looking at the clock when the last dish goes in the drainer.

Fifteen minutes to go until the video call Evan has scheduled with his father and step-mother in England. You start stacking books on the coffee table to put the laptop on, and Evan rushes around to make sure everything in the background looks perfect. Eric looks on nervously.

"Why don't you just put the computer on the coffee table?" he asks, while you sit on the couch to test the camera height.

"Because last time Dad saw me from that angle, he asked when I was going in for chin fat reduction surgery," Evan seethes from the Christmas tree, where he's decided that an ornament has been placed a few centimeters away from its optimal location.

"It's a five-minute catch-up," you remind them, "it'll be over before you know it. Get her talking about her dogs, and all you have to do is smile and nod. Don't stress."

"Don't stress, yeah, thanks, all better now," Evan grumbles, dropping onto the couch next to you. You smack him with a pillow, which he then fluffs and sets aside carefully.

"C'mon," you urge Eric, who sits on your other side. You turn the camera on and make sure you're all in frame and lighted to your husband's approval.

"Is that bloody ornament still--" Evan growls and tries to get up, but you grab his sweater and stop him.

"Stop. Those ornaments are perfect. Sit your ass down."

He sighs and leans in front of you to check his appearance on the screen, taking a few seconds to straighten his sweater and smooth his perfectly fine hair. Eric sits quietly the whole time, like he's awaiting sentencing.

"Polite, happy, quick," you remind them. "Then you can be yourselves again."

"Eric, fix your hair," Evan orders.

"What's wrong with my--" You turn to him and smooth it down with your fingers before he can even finish his question.

"Okay, boss, how are we looking?" you ask.

"Dreadful," Evan mourns.

"Thanks," you smile sarcastically, lightly smacking his thigh. He grins, then looks at the clock and lets out a deep breath.

You can see his blood pressure spike when he presses the button that makes that old man and his child bride appear on the screen.

"Hi, Dad! Hi, Camille!"

"Is that Eric?" their father's fourth wife asks, leaning closer to her screen.

"Hi, Camille," he smiles.

"What are you doing there?!" she asks.

"I…" he looks to you for help.

"We thought we'd make it a family affair," you smile, reaching for his hand where the camera can't see. "Hi, Camille! How are the dogs?"

Camille rambles about her pure-bred ankle-biters for a few minutes, and then the old man - and sitting next to her, he does look hilariously old - decides to interrogate Eric about his grades. Eric stutters through a recap and is berated for not getting better marks. He passed, you want to scream! He's doing fine! But you sit quietly until Camille interrupts to hold one of her prized pups up to say hi. The girl grates on everyone's nerves, but her one-track mind makes for a great distraction from the old man's glare. The boys each have one of your hands in a death grip by the time the call ends.

Evan reaches out to close the laptop when it's over, and leans back against the couch with a groan of exhaustion. Eric looks miserable.

"I need a drink," Evan says suddenly, heading for the liquor cabinet.

"Make that two," you mumble, flexing your hands.

"Three?" Eric asks.

Evan brings the bottle back.

An hour later, the boys have deepened their bond by unloading on the awfulness of their father and his last several wives. Between the ranting and the alcohol, they've both unwound significantly.

You've got your head on Evan's shoulder, holding him around the middle, legs stretched out across the couch cushions and tangled together. He's got one arm around you and one holding a nearly empty liquor bottle. Eric faces you from the other end of the couch, his arms spread wide across the backrest. Their feet almost touch in the middle of the long sectional.

"What was your favorite Christmas ever?" you ask, looking up at Evan with all the love in your heart.

"I was around five, I think," he says, the story already on the tip of his tongue. "And all my older brothers were down with the flu. Guess something good came from them never letting me play with them after all. Anyway, on Christmas morning, it was just Mum and I. And Eric, but he was so small, I think he slept the whole time. But Mum watched me open my presents and gave me sweets. Just the two of us. And the rest of those bastards spent the day in bed."

You nuzzle your cheek into his chest. He doesn't talk about his mother much, but you know he misses her. He squeezes you with the arm he's got wrapped around you and takes another swig from the bottle.

"What about you, Eric?" you ask, turning your sleepy eyes to your brother-in-law.

Eric purses his lips and thinks for a moment, before answering: "This one."

You can't decide if that's more sweet or sad, but you know you have to hug him. Right now.

"Awwww," you coo. His face turns red immediately. You untangle yourself from Evan and crawl to his baby brother, not realizing how drunk you are until you nearly lose your balance on all fours. Eric watches you in surprise as you straddle his lap and pull him to you for a hug. "I'm so happy you're here with us," you say, squeezing him. "You deserve so much better, you both do, because you are sweet and wonderful and perfect and I love you so much, even if--"

"OKAY, I think it's time for the Little Drunkard Girl to go to bed," Evan laughs, pulling you off of Eric and hauling you to the bedroom.

The next day, you wake with a pounding head and a vow to never drink again.

Eric leaves that afternoon, after a lunch of leftovers, with a quick hug and another reminder to call if he needs anything. You'll see him again… wait, when's the next holiday?

[canirove]

In The Name of Love | Chapter 17

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Masterlist

"Val, what are you doing?" Pedri says, walking into our room. "We are gonna be… Wait, weren't you wearing a dress?"

"I was."

"Why did you get changed?"

"I'm about to spend an hour singing and jumping around. I don't want to show my butt to everyone around me."

"You have a really nice butt."

"Yeah, a nonexistent one" I chuckle. 

"What?"

"It's ok, I'm used to all my trousers being loose there" I shrug.

"You have a really nice butt, Val" he says, standing in front of me. 

"Pedri, you don't have to say that to make me feel better. It's cute, but not necessary."

"I'm saying it because it is the truth. Look" he says, putting his hands on it, one on each cheek. "Perfect size for my hands. Especially if I do this."

"Pedri!" I laugh when he gives it a squeeze.

"Perfect" he smiles.

"Guys, we are gonna be… late" Ferran says from the door. "Can't you wait until after the show to make out?"

"Can't keep my hands to myself, bro" Pedri shrugs.

"Yeah… Anyway. Eric is ready too, so… yeah" he says before disappearing.

"He's been acting really weird lately, hasn't he?" 

"I don't know" Pedri shrugs again.

"Are you sure everything is ok between you two since kissgate?"

"Please don't call it like that."

"Emma's idea, not mine" I say. "But are you sure everything is ok?"

"It is" he says. "We had an argument, we told each other everything that needed to be said, and have moved on."

"Ok… Then let's go. I can't believe I'm finally seeing Martin Garrix live!"

"You're welcome" Pedri says, kissing my cheek.

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"Oh my God, Pedri! He's playing “High on life”!" I say, squeezing his arm.

"I know" he laughs.

"I love this song so much!" 

"I know" he repeats while I start singing. 

"This song is for someone very special to a friend of mine" Martin says from the stage. "Valeria, Val… This is for you."

"Did… did he just say my name?" I gasp, looking first at Pedri, who is smiling like an idiot, and then at our friends. Eric is filming me with his phone, Ferran looking very serious as he stares at his shoes.

"Val…" Pedri says, taking one of my hands on his, the other cupping my face and making me look at him. "Val, listen to the song."

"What?"

"Just listen" he says before starting to sing along. "And I'd walk a million miles just to see you smile 'til the day I die. Oh, I need you by my side, we'd get high on life 'til the day we die… Valeria… I love you."

"You… you…" I mumble, trying to process what is going on. That he has somehow managed to get Martin Garrix to dedicate me one of my favourite songs. That he has used my favourite part of that song as a declaration of love. And that he has told me that he loves me. Pedri… The Pedri… he loves me. Me. 

"I love you too" I blurt out before throwing myself at him and kissing him. The music is very loud around us and someone is yelling, probably Eric. But the only thing I can hear is the beating of my heart against Pedri's chest. It has never gone that fast. Ever.

"I love you, Val" he repeats against my lips when we manage to break apart.

"I love you too" I giggle. "But wait."

"What?"

"Is Martin now playing “In the name of love”? Did you ask him to play two of my favourite songs together?"

"No, I didn't say anything about this one."

"Well, it's perfect. And do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Wait for it…"

"Val" Pedri chuckles.

"Just wait, ok?" I say, humming the song until it makes it to the part I'm thinking about. "Now. I wanna testify, scream in the holy light, you bring me back to life, and it's all in the name of love!" I sing. Or yell, to be more precise.

"I think I didn't hear you" he laughs.

"I wanna testify, scream in the holy light, you bring me back to life, and it's all in the name of love! In the name of love!" I sing again.

"Louder, Val!"

"In the name of love! In the name of love!" 

"In the name of love!" he sings with me. "In the name of love!" we both scream before going crazy and starting to jump and try to dance while hugging, kissing, laughing… and being in love. 

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"Good morning, Eric."

"Morning, Val."

"Coffee?"

"Please" he sighs as he sits down.

"You could have asked her to stay and have some coffee too" I say, putting the mug in front of him.

"What?"

"The girl you just walked to the door."

"Oh, her."

"Yes, her. Did you at least catch her name?" I chuckle.

"Federica, she's from Turin. And I asked her if she wanted to stay for breakfast, but she didn't want to."

"Looks like someone wasn't up to the challenge last night" I tease him.

"Wow, so mean, Valeria. Who knew happiness would do this to you?"

"What?" I laugh.

"You haven't stopped smiling since Pedri's love confession last night. I know we haven't known each other for that long, but I had never seen you like this."

"I've never felt this happy" I confess, not being able to hide a smile. "Wait, who is that?"

"Uh?"

"That girl" I say, nodding towards the door. The ground floor of the house where we are staying in Ibiza is completely open, the kitchen area getting mixed with the living room and the entrance, giving you no chance to hide if you want to sneak in or out through the main door without being noticed. 

"Oh, that's the girl Ferran was making out with last night after the show."

"The girl he was making out with had curly hair."

"No, she didn't. She had short hair."

"Who was that?" Pedri asks, joining us in the kitchen.

"Ferran's girl from last night" Eric says.

"But he was making out with a girl with curly hair, the one I just saw upstairs."

"What?" Eric and I say at the same time.

"Yeah, she was walking into the bathroom" Pedri shrugs. "And good morning, gorgeous. I love you" he says, kissing my cheek.

"Good morning. Again" I giggle. "I love you too."

"Ewww… Cheesy" Eric says.

"You better get used to it, bro. Because I'm gonna be telling Val that I love her for the rest of our holidays."

"Shouldn't have helped you with your plan."

"Eric, you were cheering for us last night" I chuckle.

"Because it was cute and romantic! You got her favourite artist to dedicate her her favourite song before telling her that you love her for the first time! But I didn't expect you to go all cheesy, Val. You've said you don't like it."

"And I don't. But a day is a day" I shrug.

"Anyway, let's go to what matters right now. Ferran and his girls" Eric says. "If there is a girl upstairs, and another one just left… That only means one thing" he smirks.

"Oh God" I gasp.

"Cheeky Ferran" Pedri laughs. 

"Cheeky? You call doing that cheeky?" 

"Yeah" he shrugs.

"What is it, Val? Never being part of a threesome?" Eric asks me with a teasing smile.

"What do you think?" I say, feeling my cheeks on fire. 

"You need to do something about that, bro."

"Hell no. I don't like sharing" I quickly say.

"Yeah, I'm not into sharing either" Pedri says.

"Now" Eric snorts. 

"I beg your pardon?" I say, looking at Pedri.

"I… well…" he replies, scratching the back of his neck.

"Ok, I'm leaving. I can't continue with this conversation, I'm too old for it."

"Oh, hey there" Ferran smiles after I bump into him when I try to leave.

"Here is our champion!" Eric laughs.

"What?" Ferran says, his eyes still focused on me, his hands on my waist.

"We know what you did last night" Eric says.

"Yes, we do" Pedri adds, his voice sounding deeper than usual.

"Oh, that" Ferran chuckles, taking a step back and letting go of me. Was that awkward? Not at all.

"Yes, that. We want all the details" Eric says.

"But wait until I'm gone to share them if you don't mind" I say, walking away again. Or trying to, because I bump into someone else.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

"It's ok" I smile, looking at the girl in front of me. She is the one I saw Ferran making out with, the one who hadn't left yet.

"I just came to say that I'm leaving."

"Ok" Ferran says.

"Just ok?" she chuckles.

"Yeah" he shrugs.

"Whatever" the girl says, rolling her eyes. "Goodbye, Ferran."

"Goodbye, Claudia."

"I'm Elizabeth. Claudia was the other girl."

"Oh shit" Eric says, him and Pedri trying really hard not to laugh.

"Let me accompany you to the door, Elizabeth" I say, giving the boys my most murderous look.

"Thank you very much" she replies, looking at Ferran one last time. He, on the other hand, is busy looking at his feet, just like he would do last night every time I looked at him. Unless he was busy with his tongue down someone's throat, of course.

"I'm Valeria, by the way."

"Nice to meet you" she smiles.

"And I'm sorry about those three" I say when we make it to the door. "Kids."

"Yeah" she sighs. "Though I should have expected this from him."

"What do you mean?"

"He told me that he was just looking for a one night stand and nothing else, that he just wanted to have fun and forget."

"Forget what?"

"I don't know" Elizabeth shrugs. "But if you ask me… I think he is trying to forget a girl. And failing miserably. The only thing he has managed to forget is my name" she laughs.

"Sorry about that. He is a nice guy, tho."

"Yeah… Anyway, thank you for accompanying me."

"Of course" I smile.

"And good luck having to deal with the three of them" she says.

"I'm a primary school teacher. Dealing with kids is part of my job" I laugh. 

"Oh, that's lovely. The part about being a teacher, I mean. And I should probably go, I could do with some coffee and a croissant."

"Have you called a taxi or something?"

"Yes, don't worry. It's been really nice meeting you, Valeria" she smiles.

"You too, Elizabeth" I smile back.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

Author's note: These are the songs mentioned on this chapter for anyone who may be interested 😊

[edgessunflower]

💍 with jey uso please

Aaaaah

Love at a wedding

Pairing: Jey Uso x Fem reader

Description: While at your Aunt's wedding with your boyfriend Jey, a surprise is in store for you in a special way

You can't help but admire your boyfriend Jey as the two of you drive to be at your aunt's wedding who you both loved and adored dearly. The two of you met through Jey's younger brother Solo who was one of your closest and greatest friends, you sneak upstairs in your grandma's house smiling big when you see your aunt Drew in her dress sharing an emotional hug knowing just how much she deserved to have this moment after her very chaotic life finally finding someone who she loved dearly and was the best thing to ever happen and the most wonderful person to ever be in and a part of her life laughing when jey walks in with his eyes covered before moving his hands away to give her a warm hug and a kiss on her forehead before everyone left talking to her for a few more minutes before everyone took their sits watching the ceremony. You pull your aunt into a tight hug when you see her as everyone starts celebrating after the wedding watching with happy tears for her as she and her husband Eric share their first dance to Stay gold by Stevie Wonder before everyone starts giving their speeches including you "You are one of the most wonderful people I have ever known and I am so grateful to not only have you in my life but that Eric found you and the two of you are gonna share a life together" you share a long hug with two noticing the big smile on their faces but they were looking behind you making you raise a brow until you turned only to see jey on one knee proposing making your heart flip and smile as tears poured like a waterfall nodding as he goes into a speech "The love that I've seen aunt Drew and Eric share made me think how much I love you and how I want you by my side and have a life together and i wanna make that happen as soon as possible, will you marry me?" you say yes as the two of you share a bear hug and a soft kiss admiring the ring as you lock eyes with your aunt and uncle in law "You helped him plan this didn't you guys?" they raise their hands with smiles before hugging both of you not only happy because of their wedding but that their wedding was where such a special moment happened between two wonderful people.

[anangelwhodidntfall]

Hi! I was wondering if you can do headcannons of what dating prince eric would be like? Or even being married to him would be like? But in detail?

Thank you! 😊

A/N: I'm sorry this took so long, had some irl stuff and writers block happen <3

Dating/Being Married to Prince Eric Headcannons

-After a few dates, Eric finally asked you to be his girlfriend during a boat ride while looking at the stars and you said yes of course!

-You two always holding hands wherever you went, it was something simple but it was also a way for you both to know that the other was there

-Him always seeking you out when he had a rough day from his royal duties, and then you took head down to the beach where he could lay his head in your lap and tell you about what was troubling him while you played with his hair and offered him advice

-You two constantly planning out your next adventures, you loved the stars and the unknown and he loved the ocean and the unknown so you two are always exploring

-On the of chance you can't join him on his trips, he always writes you letters and brings you back small gifts that he knows you'll love which always warms your heart to know that he is always thinking about you

-you two constantly pulling pranks on each other, or one the rare chance you team up together, you guys pulling pranks on the staff and the villagers

-Dates by the sea or boat rides where you two can be alone with each other without any interruptions.

-Not being able to keep your hands off of each other, if you two even see each other, you are making your way towards the other where hand holding, lap sitting, hugging and more occur just because your so in love with each other

-Him always surprising you little gifts from the market even if you told him a bunch of times, he doesn't need to constantly show you with gifts, because he is more than enough but he still doesn't because he loves the smile on your face and the growing collection in your room.

-Spontaneous picnics! You'll be work and then he'll show up and pull you away from your work despite your protests which die on your lips once you see the picnic that he set up for you two.

-Going out and watching the stars on the beach, where you tell him about the constellations and different stars and he just watches you with a smile on his face while you two hold hands.

-Sometimes you have difficulty sleeping, so he will come to your room or you will go to his, and there he will cuddle you to sleep while he sings to you where you eventually fall asleep to the sound of his voice and the warmth of your arms.

-Grimsby pointing you out to him and Eric just blurts out that he loves you which makes you smile and blush and he looks at you with a wide grin before making his way over to you. 

-After dating for sometime I wanna say maybe two to three years, Eric finally decides he is gonna purpose to you, I mean the boy I wanted to marry you from the moment he saw you but didn't want to scare you off. 

-So he planned to take you to this beautiful island where you could see the stars so clearly and brightly and then after a picnic dinner he would ask you the question.

-You knew Eric was up to something but couldn't quite figure out, so all through the voyage, you would ask him questions which he gave you some made up answers which you pretended to accept.

-Each night on the voyage you two would have dinner and then go out and look at the stars 

-He also let you steer the ship with his help of course, but he really just wanted to see and hear that beautiful smile of yours when you did something

-You guys finally arrived at the island and you were in awe at how beautiful it was, as Eric docked the ship before helping you down off of it.

-What are we doing here? You asked him. Well I know how you've always wanted to come here, so I figured we could spend a few days here." He said smiling at you as you guys walked towards the bungalow where you would be staying. 

-After eating some dinner you two settled in for the night, pretty exhausted from traveling

-The next morning you two ate breakfast and explored the island while Eric calmed his nerves for what he was planning on doing later today

-You were exhausted from your morning exploring so you decided to lay down for a bit and rest and while you were napping Eric began setting everything up for proposal. 

-You woke and realized sunset was happening and your stomach growled making you go look for Eric and when you walked outside you were greeted with the most beautiful picnic ever and Eric walked over placing a flower in your hair and kiss on your lips. 

You two ate dinner where you talked about what you were gonna do for the last two days here, when you saw Eric stand up making you confused and you watched as he pulled something out of his pocket before kneeling.

-he asked you to be his wife in the most beautiful way possible and you said yes of course and once that ring was on your finger, you two shared the most passion kiss and more under the stars.

-Once you two got home you two shared the news with everyone who was happy for you, and you two ended up having.a two month engagement where you guys got married on the beach and ended up honeymooning on an island that you two wanted to explore. 

-Being married to Eric was absolutely wonderful, you two radiated happiness where you went.

-You two sharing the royal duties making sure the other doesn't get to stressed or overwhelmed about work 

-You two constantly sneaking away for alone time 

-You two always going on adventures together or in the case when you got pregnant and had to stay back you waited anxiously for his letters and his return

-Him being the best husband ever making sure you always woke up to fresh flowers, always making time to have meals with you 

-making sure you two have date nights to keep the spark alive 

-when you told him that you pregnant with ya'lls first child he cried tears of happiness because something was made out of the love between you two.

-constantly having your hands all over each other, never being far apart from one another 

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

tags: @illiana-mystery

chapter 3

warnings: swearing, divorce, suggestive jokes, Roman makes self deprecating jokes (mostly about his weight), smoking 

I tapped my pencil on the desk, staring at the clock and counting down the seconds until I could go on break. A school tour walked in as the clock chimed and I shot out of my seat. Waving to the other receptionist, I headed towards the employee's only door.

"(Y/N)?" I turned when I heard my name called. Roman waved with a smile and I changed direction. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he lifted me off the ground in a hug.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." I whispered. Roman pulled back with a frown. "Bad day. Like really bad. Boss is a jerk. Anyway." I waved it off as I stepped back from him. "What are you doing here?" Roman chuckled and looked behind him. Two little girls were staring at him confused.

"Uh well school trip. I managed to get permission since Kate didn't want to go and they needed one more chaperone or they would cancel." He shrugged, turning back to me. "Figured it would give me some time with my girls." I nodded with a smile.

"I'm happy for you." I said, squeezing his arm. "They'll have fun. Make sure they check out the Ancient Egypt wing. It's really cool. If the girls are as much like me as you say, they'll love it." Roman chuckled.

"Cheap school." He said conspiratorially. "They didn't pay for that." I nodded and looked over at the girls. They stood slightly off from the rest of the kids, watching their dad. "We had to drive the kids down here on our own too. Pay for lunch."

"What time is everyone leaving?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from the girls. Roman smirked.

"Technically, the school says the trip is over in two hours." He said. I nodded, a smile forming. "But they are hosting today as a half day for the kids. They don't have to go back to the school after this."

"So technically speaking you can spend the whole day in the museum if you wanted." I tacked on. Roman nodded. "What are you doing after the tour?" Roman's smirk grew into a smile.

"Nothing." He said. "I have the girls all day. At least until I have to go to work. Then their uncle is going to watch them until Kate can pick them up. But I mean I can call off work if I need to." Roman shrugged. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

"Come with me." I said. Roman followed me, checking on the girls and motioning for them to wait a minute. "Hey Shelly. Eric running the school tour?"

"Yep." Shelly answered. "Why? What's up?" She looked at Roman behind me and gave him a small smile.

"When he's done, can you block out some time for me to take Mr. Craig and his girls through whatever they missed? Including the Ancient Egypt wing." I asked. Shelly gave me a look. "Please Shelly. It would mean a lot to me." I let go of Roman's hand to put mine together.

"You know what happened last time." Shelly said. "We both got in trouble." I pouted and leaned over the desk some.

"Come on Shelly. I'll cover you next time you and Eric wanna sneak off." I said. "I'll buy you lunch. I'll pay for your next date. I'll even clean Eric's car. I'll go to one of his gigs. Come on. Please?" Shelly sighed.

"Fine. I'll take the date money and you coming to a gig." Shelly said, typing in the schedule. "But it's your ass on the line. You're never going to get into archives like this kid." I leaned fully over the desk and hugged her, pulling Shelly dangerously close to her computer.

"Oh thank you!" I squealed. "Thank you!" Shelly pried me off her and laughed.

"Alright. Alright." She made a shoo motion at me. "Now go enjoy what's left of your break and I'll let you know when Eric is done." I nodded eagerly and turned back to Roman. He was trying not to laugh as I took his hand again and pulled him away from reception. "You got your hands full with that one Mr. Craig I tell ya!" Shelly called, winking as Roman turned back to look at her.

"You told her about me?" He asked. I nodded, stopping back by the employee door.

"Yeah. Well I mean..." I trailed off. "I don't have many other friends so who was I going to tell about the handsome waiter who was hitting on me?" I shrugged, feeling my cheeks heat up. Roman ducked his head as he blushed.

"Yeah. Well." He chuckled and turned to look at the girls. "I should uh let you get to your break..." Roman looked back at me, cheeks still dusted pink. I nodded and bit my lip.

"Yeah. I'll be at the desk when you guys finish up so..." Roman nodded, glancing at the girls again before smiling at me.

"Ah fuck it." He said, wrapping his arms around my waist. Smiling to myself, I slipped my arms under his and gripped his shoulders. I closed my eyes in bliss as he held me close. "I didn’t want the girls to meet you this way. But I’m glad that they are going to. Doing what you love.” Roman pulled back and cupped my cheeks. I smiled at him and nodded.

“I’ll do my best for a good first impression.” I promised. Roman nodded and leaned in to kiss my forehead.

“I have no doubt you will sweetie.” My cheeks heated up as he gave me another quick hug and ran off to join his girls. He pointed over by me and the girls nodded. Roman waved as Eric led them off and I ducked into the staff room for the last few minutes of my break. After my break, I dived into my work. Eric tapped the top of my computer. I looked up slowly and frowned when he smiled at me, dangling the keys to the ancient Egypt exhibit.

“your cute waiter is waiting for you.” He teased. I rolled my eyes and took the keys from him. “So the kids…”

“don’t bother me.” I said. “Besides mom sounds like a deadbeat. He’s trying his best.”

“hmm so you’re saying if this works out you’re gonna want Shelly and me to hang out a bit more?” Eric added. I gave him a shy smile.

“yeah?” I offered. “Just so they can see a stable relationship and what they should look for.” I said. Eric nodded.

“You two are still in the honeymoon phase.” I nodded. “And you’re worried they might think that’s normal, which it isn’t, or they’re gonna see their mom as…” I nodded, seeing Roman coming over. On either side was a little girl, holding his hands like their lives depended on it.

“thanks Eric.” I squeezed his hand before meeting Roman in the middle of the lobby. “Hi.” I smiled brightly at the girls, watching Roman gently urge them forward. Kneeling down I held out my hands. “I’m (Y/N).” The girls turned to look at Roman and he nodded, a smile on his face. Both girls shook my hand before going to hide behind Roman. He sighed, defeated and shook his head.

“so much for that.” He muttered. Looking at me, his smile returned and he reached down to put his hands on the girls heads. “The one climbing my leg is mara. And the one who thinks she can disappear into my coat is Cara.” Both girls looked up at him, faces scrunched up at being caught. I smiled softly and nodded. “Girls this is the person I told you about. That’s going to give us the tour? That I…” Roman trailed off and looked at me, cheeks turning pink.

“is this the person you keep talking about at the diner?” Cara asked. “The one you think is the most attractive person you’ve ever seen?” Roman turned red before gulping and nodding.

“Yep.” He said. “Even though that was between me and your uncle Chet. This is them.” Mara looked up at me with her eyebrow raised. I bit my lip to stop from laughing. It was like looking at a miniature Roman. The smile had returned to his face as he watched me fight the urge to laugh at him.

“you girls ready to see some cool stuff?” I asked. I held up the keys. “Some mummies and the inside of a tomb perhaps?” The girls perked up and moved away from Roman. I stood up and nodded towards the hallway behind reception. Roman took the girls' hands again and followed me. "So this is all on loan, which means we don't own it. Another museum is letting us borrow it for another week or so." I turned around so I could talk to them while still walking. The girls nodded and I gave them a small smile. I kept my eyes on them as I continued talking. "Some of it will be here permanently since it was donated like the inside of the tomb and a few pieces of jewelry. But those are going to be moved so they don't get sent out by mistake." Roman chuckled.

"That happen before?" He asked. I nodded, pretending to look sheepish.

"Maybe." I said. "Maybe not. I'm not telling. But there's a reason Eric is a tour guide."

"I heard that!" Eric called as he closed the staff door. I sent him a wave and the girls laughed.

"Anyway..." I trailed off as I turned around to unlock the exhibit. "Be very careful girls. From what your dad has told me, there's enough places for the three of us to get in trouble in here. So stick close to me and we'll be just fine." Roman's eyes went wide.

"Uh I think maybe they..." I turned around and gave him a smile.

"It'll be fine Roman. Promise." I said. Roman looked at me then the girls before furrowing his eyebrows.

"I think maybe..." He looked at me again before closing his eyes and nodding. "Alright. You listen to (Y/N) girls. And keep her out of trouble." Gently pushing the girls towards me, Roman took a deep breath. The girls reached for my hands and I smiled a them. I gave Roman a look before entering the exhibit.

"Alright!" I cheered. "So what first? Mummy? Tomb? Jewelry?"

"Mummy!" The girls cheered. I laughed and nodded.

"That's my favorite too." I said. "We've got him in the sarcophagus. But there's a window where you can still see him. And we've got some pictures." We walked over to the sarcophagus and I let go of their hands. Mara tried to jump to see into the window while Cara turned to look at the pictures. Roman stepped up and picked up Mara. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward to get a better look.

“(Y/N)?” Cara called. I looked at Roman and he nodded, smiling at Mara as she pointed at something in the window. I walked over and knelt down by Cara. “This picture…” she pointed in front of her. “Why are there things sticking out of him?” I looked over at Roman and he raised his eyebrows. There was a smile on his face as he looked at me. I bit my lip and opened my mouth before closing it. Roman nodded at me and I took a deep breath.

“well uh that’s because they’re…” I chewed on my lip, trying to think of a way to explain mummification to her. Roman laughed and turned back to the mummy with Mara. They started talking as I shot him a glare I knew he could see in the reflection. “Well. When someone chose to become a mummy…uh…Roman help me out.” I turned towards him and frowned. Roman chuckled as he put Mara down and walked over.

“they ripped their guts out and put them in jars.” Roman shrugged. My eyes went wide and the girls nodded, walking off to look at the jars in question. “I’ve always just been up front with them. Kate didn’t like it but they are smart for their age so…” he shrugged again.

“I mean…” I stood up and blinked at him. “It’s not so much that you just flat out told them. It’s more…” I looked over at them, happily inspecting the fake jars we had on display. “You don’t hide much from them do you?” I asked, turning back to Roman with a smile. He shook his head.

“not really. I mean I hid you for a bit. But apparently not well.” Roman agreed. “And hey, I’m sorry for barging in. I had a chance and I took it. It slipped my mind you worked here. I got so excited…” I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“Roman, I understand. More than you think.” I said, patting his chest. “They’re worth it.” Roman blushed.

“thank you.” He whispered. He took my hand and squeezed. “And if you want to just meet up at the apartment I can still take you to dinner tonight. After Kate picks up the girls.” Roman looked so hopefully that I could help but smile.

“of course.” I said, squeezing his hand back. “I can’t wait.”

[thevegandarkelf]

Finding Myself, Finding You: Chapter Eighteen

Masterlist

AO3 link

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist <3 (18+ only, MDNI)

We get a little sneaky peeky into Daryl’s feelings in this one and he’s such a sweetie pie it just makes me melt 🖤

Story is 18+ for mature content/themes, minors do not interact please

TW/CWs for this story--implied/referenced past rape, canonical violence, non-canonical violence, blood, gore, referenced past suicide, swearing, surgery, excessive drinking, nightmares, panic attacks, mention of scars, vomiting, amputation, medical procedures, non-con medical procedures, referenced past medical torture, referenced past drugging, attempted sexual assault, panic attacks, mental health struggles, referenced sibling death, referenced parent death, PTSD

Each chapter will have its own TW/CWs listed

This story, Lydia Vector, her family & bestie, and Jake (c) me, TheVeganDarkElf

TWD & its characters (c) AMC & Robert Kirkman, the writer of the comic series

TW/CWs for this chapter--swearing, alcohol consumption, excessive drinking to the point of blacking out, a man being creepy, trying to get a drunk person alone, mention of vomiting and choking

Word count: 3.4k

People started arriving in droves shortly after, placing the food they had worked so hard on on the infirmary table and adults lining up for drinks. The sun was just starting to go down, and the sun was casting a beautiful glow across the whole community. Eric even helped Aaron get downstairs and onto their porch, and he looked so happy to be out of the house again. I immediately ran over when I saw him. Aaron was my first friend at Alexandria, and he held a special place in my heart. It made me happy to see him enjoying himself.

“Oh my God, you’re outside!” I yelled, throwing myself down onto the porch and hugging him, “how does it feel?” Eric sat down on the other side of Aaron, leaning against the pillar on the side of the steps.

“It feels great, I won’t lie,” he replied, “but how are you? You look amazing. By the way you owe me a—“ he paused and lowered his voice to a near whisper, “Daryl update. I wanna know how things are going.” I rolled my eyes and giggled a little. I had gone to see Aaron over the last few weeks, of course, but I was more conservative with the information I shared, keeping a lot of the details of the small, intimate moments we had to myself. However, I did promise him a more formal update eventually.

“Thank you. And you’ll get your update, I promise. But later. I’m getting drunk tonight,” I explained. 

“Good for you. You deserve a day to let loose a little.” I leaned forward and looked next door to my place, seeing Daryl stepping out and looking around, probably for me. His eyes wandered over to us, and I waved for him to come over.

“I’m gonna go with Rosita and get drinks. What do you two want? We’ll grab them for you,” I offered. They gave me their orders, and I got up to join Rosita, but not before stopping to talk to Daryl on the dirt path.

“Look who came outside,” I said, tilting my head to gesture to Aaron, “I’ll be right back with a whiskey for you.” I softly and flirtatiously touched his arm as I walked away. I knew Daryl wasn’t too keen on a lot of physical touch in public, so I always kept it very subtle and minimal, if any at all.

“So Vector, what are you starting with?” Rosita asked as we got in line.

“Something strong,” I said, laughing it off and pretending that it was a joke. It was far from a joke though. “Normally I only drink wine, but I can be a fruity cocktail girl if the time is right. I also have Aaron and Eric’s drinks of choice. And I’m gonna grab Daryl a whiskey. What about you?”

“I’ll join you in that fruity cocktail journey,” she said. We got to the table and poured our drinks, and I poured Eric and Aaron’s. I picked up mine and tossed it back in nearly one swig, slamming the plastic cup down on the table and pouring the same thing again. “Geez Vector, take it easy girly.”

“Told you,” I said, pouring a whiskey neat for Daryl, “trying to get very, very drunk.”

I have no memory of anything after that moment.

*Changing to third-person perspective for the rest of this because Vec is about to be plastered*

Vector grabbed her drink, along with Daryl’s and Aaron’s, and Rosita grabbed hers and Eric’s. They walked back to the men, giving each of them their beverages. 

“Thanks Vec,” Daryl said, taking the cup from her. She gave him a smile before tossing her second drink back.

“Anytime.” Aaron and Eric chuckled at her, but Daryl didn’t, unsure of why it was funny that she drank her drink so quickly. As far as he knew, it was her first, and would probably be one of her only.

“Hey, Maggie and Michonne are here,” Rosita said, jostling Vec by the shoulder. Vec turned and looked over her shoulder, seeing Rosita running over to their friends, the three of them looking excited to see each other.

“If you need me, you know where to find me,” Vec said before she turned and skipped over to join the other women. Aaron took a sip of his drink as he watched her for a moment before turning to Daryl. He had an idea.

“She looks really pretty,” Aaron said, giving Daryl a nudge with his elbow, “what do you think Daryl? You think she looks pretty?”

Daryl swirled his whiskey for a moment, watching Vec hug her friends and laugh about something one of them said, as he tried to find his words. “Yeah. Real pretty.”

She wasn't just pretty. She was empathetic, kind, caring, warm, compassionate. And beautiful. Stunning. Absolutely gorgeous.

She was an incredibly soft thing in an incredibly hard world. Not soft like she couldn't take care of herself, like she was spineless, like she couldn't fight. Soft like kind, caring, like the horrors of the world hadn't changed who she was at her core. Soft like still seeing the good in people and believing everyone deserved a chance. Soft like never judging a book by its cover and giving everyone the same compassion, respect, and empathy unless they proved they didn't deserve it.

She was the most beautiful thing in the apocalypse.

“You two spend a lot of time together.”

“Mhm.” Daryl wasn’t born yesterday, He knew what Aaron was doing. Yeah, he had talked about Vec and his feelings for her, but only to Carol, and he kept it short and simple and left out a lot of details. The details stayed safe in his mind under lock and key. Until he could garner up the courage to tell Vec.

“I can see why. She’s pretty cool,” Aaron said. He took a sip of his drink. “And having a name like Vector? Badass.”

“Yup.”

“Aaron! Long time no see man!” Glenn, Daryl’s saving grace, called out as he wandered over to them.

Daryl spent his time keeping an eye on Vec when he wasn’t talking with Glenn, Aaron, or Rick, who found his way over to the group as well. He liked watching her enjoy herself, surrounded by people she cared about, but he wanted to make sure she was safe.

Vec spent her evening with Rosita, Maggie, and Michonne, the four of them drinking and goofing off like sisters. She kept drinking, not on an empty stomach, but a stomach with very little food in it for the amount she was drinking. She had more drinks than she could count, and no one was stopping her. She was dizzy, dozing off, slurring her words, and completely unaware of what was going on around her. But it was doing what she wanted—numbing the pain.

As the sun went down and it started to get dark, people took to sitting on porches and sprawling out on the grass, winding down from hours of excitement. Michonne left with Rick to go back to the kids, and the other three got up from their spots on the ground to give her hugs to send her off.

One of the guys from gate duty approached Vec, placing a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She turned around, and he held his hand out to her.

“You’re Vector, right?” he said, extending his hand out further when she didn’t return the handshake, “name’s Jake. You look very nice.” She didn’t shake his hand, just gave him a friendly nod.

“I know,” she slurred, swirling her drink in her hand. The look on Jake’s face indicated that those two little words had left a massive bruise on his ego.

“Listen Jake, I don’t think she’s interested,” Rosita said. He tried to hide the look on his face, to hide his bruised ego to no avail.

“She doesn’t even know me,” Jake replied. His voice was becoming increasingly agitated.

“Don’t need to know you to know she’s not interested,” Maggie snapped, “I’m two seconds away from throwing this drink in your face. Now leave.”

Jake reached out and grabbed onto Vec’s forearm. “Hey, let’s say you and I take a stroll. Get to know each other a bit.” She shook his arm off, and he grabbed on again, a little more forceful this time.

“Fuck off,” Vec said, trying to tug her arm away, “or you’re gonna find out.”

Even in her drunken state, Vec still didn’t take any shit from men.

Jake continued to try to coax Vec away from the group, talking about just wanting to talk to her and get to know her. And despite the protests of her and her friends, he wasn’t letting up. But his actions weren’t going unnoticed.

Daryl decided that was enough. He got up from the porch steps and snaked his way through the crowd of people, inserting himself between Jake and Vec, knocking Jake’s arm out of the way and bumping him slightly. Vec looked up at him and smiled when she felt his hand on her back.

“Hello you picturesque human being,” she said, leaning over and resting her head on him.

“Who comes up with picturesque when they’re drunk?” Maggie whispered Rosita, laughing a little. They watched Jake walk away, disgruntled and mumbling curses under his breath. Curses likely directed at Daryl for “cock-blocking” him.

“Hey sunshine, ya doin’ ok?” he asked. She nodded slightly and took another long sip of her drink.

“Mhm,” Vec hummed. A little bit of her drink spilled out onto her lips, and she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth to remove it. “I’m fffffucking fantastic.” She leaned into Daryl a little more and rocked her head back and forth on him. Maggie and Rosita were doing their best to conceal their pleased expressions. Neither of them could deny that Daryl and Vec looked super cute together. Her soft demeanor contrasting Daryl’s rugged personality—they complimented each other nicely.

“How much has she had?” Daryl asked. He was becoming a little concerned as he’d never heard Vec talk like this before. The only time he’d ever seen her drunk, she was still speaking clearly, just very dizzy. She’d never been so drunk that she was slurring her words. Maggie shrugged in response.

“A lot more than three glasses of wine, I can tell you that much,” Rosita explained, recalling the conversation her and Vec had before the dinner started, “she did tell me earlier that she was looking to get very drunk tonight.”

“And ya didn’t ask her why?” he snapped, “no one gets this drunk ‘less they tryna forget somethin’.”

“She’s a grown adult Daryl. She can get shitfaced if she wants,” Maggie said.

While he knew she was right, that Vec was her own person and could make decisions for herself, he just wanted her to be safe in the decisions she made. All he wanted was for her to be happy and safe. And ideally, with him by her side. He cared deeply about Vec, cared about her in a way he hadn’t cared about another person before. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms whenever he walked in the door after a long day, wanted to sit with her and comfort her when she cried, to cozy up to her at night and feel her soft body against his. He liked Vec. He liked her a lot.

Hell, sometimes, in the safety of the confines of his own mind, he even used the L word.

“I’m just a lil tipsy,” Vec chimed in, pulling Daryl from his thoughts. She swung her cup out in front of her to point at her friends, as if that would prove her point that she was “just a little tipsy.”

Daryl stepped in front of Vec and leaned over so that they were at eye-level. “Ya sure you’re ok?” She giggled a little and avoided eye contact with him as she slurred out her response.

“I just want the pain to stop.”

His heart was breaking for her. Whatever this thing was that disturbed her sleep every night, it was effecting her during the day to the point that she was looking to black out to numb the pain. Sweet little Vec, who was there for everyone, and had been there for him more times than he could count, was suffering in silence. Daryl felt awful for not inquiring more, for trying to help more, but he also knew that whatever this thing was was likely a very touchy subject, and bringing it up unprompted and trying to get her to talk about it could make her feel worse.

“‘right, you’re done,” Daryl said, “ain’t gonna let ya poison yourself.”

“I—“ a hiccup cut off her sentence, “I’m fine Daryl. I’m just a weeeee bit tipsy.”

“You’re way past that,” he insisted. He took her cup out of her hand and dumped the remaining drink into the grass, tossing the cup down with it.

“I—I’m too dizzy. Leave me here.” She tried to lower herself to the ground to sit, but he put an arm around her to try to keep her standing.

“Rosita, Maggie, help me get her inside,” he instructed. He reached one arm around her and the other under her legs, scooping her up bridal-style. She put both of her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and started humming, the tune Daryl recognized as the song Vec would often be singing in the shower.

Maggie ran ahead and opened their front door, stepping inside to hold it open for him. He scooted in sideways, careful not to let Vec’s legs smack the doorframe, and Rosita followed close behind. He held her up tightly, not daring to let her slip even an inch.

Daryl would’ve been lying to himself if he said he didn’t absolutely love holding Vec like this.

“Hey Daryl?” Vec said in a sing-song voice.

“Hmm?”

“You’re very handsome, you know that?” She had one arm still draped around his neck and was using her other hand to tap her index finger on his chest with each word she said. 

“She’s gonna kill me,” Rosita whispered, just loud enough for Maggie to hear. The two of them were softly chuckling as they followed Daryl up the stairs.

“You’re drunk, Vec,” he said.

“I meant what I said,” she retorted. Daryl kicked her bedroom door open with his foot and gently set her down on the bed.

Maggie and Rosita came in behind him. “We can help her get changed. She looks great, but I don’t think she’d be too comfortable sleeping in it,” Maggie said. Rosita was already digging around in one of her drawers for anything that resembled pajamas.

“The room is ssssssspinnig,” Vec said as she laid back on her bed, “so many pretty colors.” Daryl stepped out and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the wall outside the door, listening in case there was anything Maggie and Rosita needed.

Rosita pulled a pair of tiny shorts out of one her drawers, “alright, come here my dear. Do you want to get into some comfy clothes?”

“Yes,” Vec slurred, “fuck, I can’t wait to get this bra off.” Her friends were no longer holding back their laughter.

“We’re not gonna stick around for that,” Maggie said, “now c’mon.” Vec rolled across the bed until she reached the other side, and she lazily sat up, swaying slightly back and forth. Maggie bent down and helped Vec get her legs into her shorts, pulling them up to her knees. Vec reached and pulled her shorts up under her dress, successfully despite how out of it she was.

“Did you find a shirt?” Maggie asked as Rosita continued rifling through the drawers.

“No, nothing,” she explained, closing the last drawer she checked, “must’ve skipped laundry day.”

Daryl overheard and was already in his room, searching for a shirt of his for Vec to wear. He settled on a long-sleeved black flannel. It was nice and soft and something Vec would probably find comfortable. He knocked on the door, and Rosita poked her head out.

“Here,” he said, holding the shirt out to her, “she can wear one of mine.” Rosita took the shirt in her hands and smirked. She knew Vec would probably like waking up in one of Daryl’s shirts.

“Is it clean?” she teased.

“Ya really think I’d give ‘er a dirty one?” Rosita chuckled and closed the door again, turning to Maggie and lowering her voice in case Daryl could hear. "Her man came in clutch.”

The two of them helped Vec rise to her feet and get her dress over her head. Maggie tossed the dress into a laundry basket in the corner, and they coaxed Vec to hold her arms over her head and get them into the sleeves.

“This’s rrreal soft,” Vec said as the shirt was slid over her body, “it’s like a blanket.”

“I know she doesn’t like to be drunk, but she’s really funny,” Rosita commented, turning to Vec, “this is Daryl’s shirt.” Vec’s face contorted in worry.

“Am I gonna get in trouble?”

“Sweetie, he brought this in for you,” Maggie explained.

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” she gushed, her face lighting up, “he’s so nice.” She let out another hiccup. “Guys, I think I—“

“I think you should be going to sleep,” Rosita cut her off. Vec fell backward onto the bed, her body bouncing off it once. She closed her eyes and went back to humming the same song as before, kicking her legs gently over the side of the bed. Her friends walked around her, avoiding her kicks, and stepped out into the hall to talk to Daryl.

“Do you want us to stay? Help make sure she’s alright?” Maggie asked. He shook his head.

“Nah, it’s ok. I got it,” he assured, “Imma keep an eye on her. Thanks for helpin’. She’s lucky to have friends like y’all.”

Rosita gave him a smile and a nod. “You go be with her. We’ll let ourselves out.” The two of them went downstairs, and Rosita flipped off the lights before they headed out the front door. Daryl gently knocked on the door before letting himself into Vec’s room.

“Alright sunshine, let’s get you to sleep.” He flipped off the light, and the light of the moon coming in through the window illuminated every surface. He walked around and reached out to help her up. Vec pulled herself to her feet and wrapped her arms around Daryl’s neck for a hug.

He loved seeing her in his shirt. It was baggy on her, the sleeves just a little bit too long, and it just covered her shorts. The way that it hugged her curves, knowing that it would have her scent on it when she took it off…he was obsessed.

“I don’t wanna,” she groaned into his neck, followed by another hiccup.

“You’ll feel better in the mornin’,” he insisted. He held onto her until she was sat down, and he knelt down and grabbed her by the ankles, gently lifting her legs up and into bed. She moved up to rest her head on her pillow and rolled onto her side, facing the door. Daryl took her favorite blanket, which ended up balled up at the foot of the bed, and draped it over her, making sure it covered her bare legs to keep her warm.

“Hey Daryl?”

“Yeah Vec?”

“Can—“ she yawned, still slurring her words as she continued, “can you help me stay awake? I don’t…I don’t wanna have another nightmare.”

“I’ll wake ya if ya start stirrin’,” he reassured. She closed her eyes and yawned again before going back to humming the same song she was before. Daryl slid down the wall by the door, resting up against it and stretching his legs out in front of him. He was going to stay there all night to make sure she wouldn’t choke on her vomit if she threw up, wake her when her nightmares started, and be there to reassure her that everything was ok, as she’d likely be freaked out about not being able to remember most of the events of the night prior.

As he sat there, watching her roll around and hum her little tune, drunk out of her mind to where she certainly wouldn’t remember any of this in the morning, he asked himself the same question over and over again.

What the hell are you running from, Vec?

Taglist: @raddydaddydude

[bronx-bomber87]

Hello my wonderful fandom :) Thank you for all your lovely comments on me being delayed. Not my usual M.O. but I definitely needed the extra time to process. I was GUTTED and absolutely wrecked. Poor D had to deal with my panic spiral for most of Wednesday. (love you lol) I'll be honest I'm still little shook up and sad. Kinda grateful for the 3 week break tbh between episodes. This was a gut punch I wasn't in the least expecting. Hoping we'll get a S7 announcement during this hiatus. *fingers crossed* Get it together ABC. This took me awhile to unpack emotionally so thank you all again for being so patient.

So I want to preface this post. There will be ZERO And I mean ZERO bashing of Tim in this review from me. Would appreciate that in comments as well. I love conversation you know I love comments. What I don't like is hate being spread. Also nothing on Eric either. I've also seen this which is utter madness. Don't touch our captain. Man loves this fandom so much. Deserves respect. If you came to this review for either of those things please promptly exit stage left. I mean that in the kindest way possible but I love Tim/Eric so it's a non starter with me.

I’ve never so deeply related with a character in all my life as I have with Tim Bradford. I’ll be dissecting this ep to best of my ability. I love both these characters so very much. Why I was knocked out for a couple days before could tackle this. I imagine my thoughts will change when I do my summer in depth one. When we have the rest of the season in pocket. I have to say this won't be mini at all. LOL So lets get rid of that concept right now ha I can't be mini with this ep. I am not brief so thanks for reading. Also hats off to Eric my god he was incredible in this episode. Melissa too killing me left, right and center you two. Let us get started.

6x06 Secret and Lies.

Poor Lucy looks like me when I’m stressed and drained af. Tamara asking how stressed she currently is? Lucy answering 19.....She looks like a 19 if not worse tbh. This is probably the most time they've spent apart since they got together. Basically living together at this point let's be honest. Other than 6x01 they haven't really spent time apart aside from that UC op in 5x21. *sigh*

Tamara asking if Tim is still ghosting her? Lucy trying so hard to keep it together with her answer. My heart. What a wreck she is without Tim. Do love that we get to see her pin-up board btw. Good shot of her room we don’t usually get. That cupcake poster I love it so much. Although now it makes me sad...

Lucy asking what's wrong? Tamara telling her she wants to move out with some friends from school. Crap. Her moving is the last thing she needs…. But it's good for her even though the idea makes me sad. End of an era. Lucy is right she needs to live with people her own age. Doesn’t make it hurt less though. This is a ROUGH season for Lucy my god. The hits keep coming for our girl and I wanna hug her. Shield her somehow....

Lucy touching near her tattoo when she reaches Angela. (Mini gut punch.) I do love her coming to Angela about this. If there is anyone who knows Tim like she does it's Angela. Does help she finds his behavior alarming too. I mean of course she does. You can see the immediate worry. The empathy she has for Lucy is there but she holds her cards close in her advice. Telling her to trust him even though it's literally killing her. Not the council Lucy needed to hear or was looking for.

Lucy wanted more action than 'Just wait and trust him.' She has been trusting him but she’s so insanely worried. Going out of her mind with anxiety for her person. It's exuding out of of her and she looks like she wants to cry…Ugh me too Lucy. I’m an empath and an anxious one at that. I would be going out of my mind too…. Angela looks worried as hell though. Even though she isn't conveying that to Lucy at this point. Breaking my heart as she takes off from their convo. Because if she doesn't she'll lose it right then and there.

God I love Angela Lopez. First off well done on tracking him down. She's just a bad ass. I mean it's one of the reason's Lucy reached out to her tbh. Just gets into his car, drinking his soda, calling him out right away. I love her reasoning saying she can live off Wesley’s trust fund. Lmao. Doesn’t matter as much if she get's fired. 'Wine o'clock.' for her. Gotta love the confidence. I truly hope we get more Tim/Angela scenes the rest of this season. I always adore their dynamic.

Tim is sold on her reasoning and starts to explain the current situation he's trapped in. Angela taking it all in and assessing everything as he explains. Once Tim has succinctly summed up his current predicament Angela's reply is the best. 'I’m in.' lmao I love this woman. ‘I got your back boo.’ That she does. In more ways than he even realizes at this point.

Gotta commend Angela calling him out for walking away from Lucy. Not only that but his job to arrest a guy hasn’t thought of in a decade…. Ain’t no one better than her to be there to call him out his crap right now. Not only that but to really dig deep. To know this is far more than what he's sharing. This is why Angela is an incredible detective rooting things out like this. Saying this is more than just protecting Lucy. Her intuition is out of this world.

I mean she's not wrong. Lucy would understand if it was just about the benefits. She would be proud really. Thing is it's about protecting himself too. Which really just scratches the surface of why he is doing this. Tim knows he's caught even if he shrugs it off. She has him dead to rights and he knows it. 'I’m your BFF. I know you.' Ha it’s true whether you like it or not Timothy…Just like Lucy she has your number.

Angela giving him crap with how they're following Ray. Worried he isn't being smart about this. This is so unlike him to be this sloppy and unfocused. She was right he was tailing too close… Ray catches on to their tail quickly. When he scanned the vehicle made me so nervous. Doing it while he's taunting Tim. He's so detail oriented blows my mind Tim let that get by him. This SL gave me such MASSIVE anxiety as I watched it. Oh my lord.

The minute they get back to Angela's place she calls him out once again. Asking why he thinks this is ALL his fault? Tim shrugs it off and she refuses to take that as his final answer. Of course Angela was right there is far more to this story. Tim finally opens up to her about what happened. He had been leading his squadron for some time. Looking to move up to Sergeant.

The catch was he couldn’t be promoted if there was rampant criminality in his unit. Ray clearly was in the way of him moving up. Tim figured he could keep it within his unit if they went after him.. Oh Tim…. It was an unsanctioned mission too. Thinking if he could accomplish this would be easy fast track to his promotion.

Kills me to know he was there during the air strike ugh… Details missing from the last episode. The Humvee saved him and Mark but not his other men… I can't imagine what Tim felt in that moment. The immense amount of guilt laid on his soul from here on out. I mean it makes sense why he never left patrol before Lucy. The last time he tried to advance his career this happened. My broken boy.

Eric CRUSHES this scene. I wanna cry. My poor Timothy. He was more focused more on his career than his oath...Got two of his men killed. My damn heart. He’s so ashamed of himself. The way he points at himself when he says 'leadership.' I knew his military past would be dark but holy crap. I wanted more of his backstory and they delivered that in spades. What a gut punch this had to be for him. No doubt his men were loyal af to him. Would've followed him anywhere and did.

He carries leading those men to their deaths because they followed his leadership. Oof. That is quite the weight to keep on your soul. Also gives us insight to why he shoulders everything. Even when he doesn't have to. Punishing himself for past transgressions such as this. I'm sure when we get to the other side of this season, I will have an even deeper respect for the writers going into his backstory like this. Giving us even more insight to this man.

This hurts so good to get this kind of info. I have no doubt that’s why he shut Lucy out. The shame he feels is overwhelming. I totally get it. Nothing scarier than someone knowing your darkest secrets. Not only that but worrying they’ll think less of you due to it. Tim already struggles with self loathing. Been a theme for him his entire arc on this series. Something I've touched on a lot. This is truly bringing that to light in the most painful way.

We see Ray scanned Tim's car in order to gain access to it. To check his GPS to see where he's been. How he's been tracking him. When he scrolls down to Lucy's address. Made my stomach sink. Legit felt sick to my stomach....

I do love Lucy coming home and having Tamara there. Saying she ordered pizza for them. This is exactly what she needs. Do you really have to go Tamara? I wonder if she'll delay leaving now after this ep. There is a knock at the door and of course it's not the pizza. It's Ray. Hair's on the back of my neck stood up from the moment he entered that apt.

I know Melissa stated in her interview she was nervous about this scene. That she came off awkward in her anger. You are incorrect madam. Holy hell Lucy is a BAMF. Telling him the only call she's gonna make is for the ambulance. Because when she's done with him he's going to need it to wheel him out. Holds her ground like the confident bad ass we've all loved seeing her become.

Lucy calling him shaking and demanding where he was. Ooh lord hell fire coming with her through that front door. I love Angela grabbing Tamara to another room. Like let's go mom and dad are about to have a big blow out. Let's give them some space...

Tim asking if she's ok? Truly concerned but Lucy isn't having ANY of it. 'Do I look ok?' Damn no she doesn't....Ripping into him saying how that creep could've showed up when she wasn't there. Lucy is not wrong....Oh my lord I’ve never seen her so damn mad. She is RAGING at him and rightfully so. Her home was violated, Tamara was put in danger and threatened. All because Tim was trying to protect her. phew.

Tim FINALLY concedes to telling her something. It only seems to enrage her more. She is literally vibrating with anger in this scene with him. The more he tells her the more it doesn't explain why he left her in the dark. Lucy begging him to read her in. I mean she has earned that my love. ..Telling him to stop protecting her. Gah Tim is a deep loyalist who would protect anyone he loves even if it's not the right thing. His reply is a reflection of that.

'I can't. I won't.' He's so driven to keep her safe. His instinct is to protect her but doesn't see he's hurting her in the process. I knew she was going to be pissed he let Angela in and not her. But Tim was right she has a lot less to lose. Which doesn't seem pertinent in this moment...I do love her placing her hands on his when she also replies. 'I can't. I won't.'

Mirroring his words from moments ago. Just like he will never stop protecting her. Lucy will never stop fighting for him or longing to help him. That man is her entire world. The most important person in her life. It makes perfect sense she would help with this. Career be damned. I mean she risked her career to get him a shot at Metro. Of course she would do the same thing in order to shoulder his burden with him.

Love her standing her ground in this moment. Like damnit I love you and you are going to let me in. Whether you like it or not I am here and I'm going to help. If this wasn't a reflection of the communication problems that still painfully exist between them I don't know what is. I mean she tried to be patient and trust him. But honestly he needed this kick in the ass to let her in. Which is a problem. Lucy needs to be the first person he goes to. It shouldn't have to come to this. *sigh*

Their OP goes off without a hitch. Except Ray saying he was going to be an air strike on Tim's life.... God I had no idea as I was watching that scene how true it would be. Tim gets his interview and lies to protect Angela and Lucy. While keeping his own job intact as well. Also welcome back to Jackson’s dad. Hello there Percy. This is not how I wanted to see him again.

But he is IA him returning was never gonna be a good thing tbh in a post Jackson world. Regardless it was nice to see him again. The scene is Grey's office is ROUGH. Never seen Wade so disappointed in Tim. It hurts to watch. Just like this entire gut punch of an episode. Tim is just standing there in utter shame of everything. Ashamed Wade is looking at him like this.

Kills me Grey has to inform Pine of what he did. It makes sense he has to but damn that sucks. The amount of respect Tim has for Wade is immense. To watch him tear Tim apart and just stand there like a puppy being scolded hurts my soul. Especially when he tries to fight Pine knowing. Just dismissing him without further comment or argument...

So I will say this and it's not at all fair to Lucy that I thought this I'm sure. But I felt like if there was gonna be a breakup it would be coming from her. Not Tim in this moment. That's the part of this moment that really knocked the wind out of me. She had every damn right to be the one too btw. Instead she is there waiting for him with open arms. Honestly I took a breath for the first time this entire episode when she welcomed him in.

Wrapping him up in her arms. Encasing him, rubbing his back, her fingers in his hair. Gently cradling him against her. I thought ok maybe we'll be alright. Since Lucy isn't nearly as angry as she was earlier. Maybe they can get through this together. Cause she loved on him regardless of what happened. The unconditional love she has for this man blows me away. I honestly thought with her loving on him maybe they'd make it out. That they’d work through it together.

Tim looks so very defeated. On the verge of an actual breakdown as he explains that he lied about everything. Saying it saved his job...protected Angela and her. It doesn't seem like enough of a win to him. He looks so very destroyed and this is just the beginning of his downward spiral.

Lucy is doing everything to be his rock in this moment. To assuage him of his guilt… Most vulnerable ever seen Tim *pre tears*…. Lucy telling him it was an impossible situation. She would've done the same thing. It’s so very clear she was willing to work through this. To build them back to where they were before he got that phone call. Everything Lucy was in this scene represented her unconditional love for him. Tim is just too destroyed at the moment to see it….Also for him to accept it. It's so hard to truly accept unconditional love if you've never had it before. To truly trust in it.

Lucy is watching him spiral out of control. The way he's talking about himself with such loathing. How she never would've been in a place where she put her self interest over her team like him. She is trying her damndest to right his wrong. But Tim is having none of it. It pains me to see it... Pains Lucy too. It's the way she grabs onto him while he continues his verbal self flogging that get's me.

Trying to ground him in this moment with her touch. Bring him back to her. Something that has worked so well in the past. Sadly not having the intended affect this time around. Tim is too damn gone at this point. He feels he’s betrayed everything he thought he was. THOUGHT he was. *heart clutch* Tim has such a deep moral compass. That's why this is rocking him so very much. Ugh my heart. I too have a crazy deep moral compass. I can't say I wouldn't be spiraling out like him as well.

This was his greatest sin brought to light. To Tim exposing him for the fraud he feels he is. Him saying he's been lying to himself for a long time is a reflection of this. That imposter syndrome coming out real strong here. Something he buried deep down came rushing to the forefront and he is imploding. Says as much above. He no longer feels worthy to be in her life now. I get this anytime I screw up with a friend or my sister. I have this deep sense of shame attached to it. Like I no longer deserve that friend or my sister cause I messed up or if a past sin comes up. That they'll no longer love me or will forever look at me differently cause of it.

It's not logical but it's deeply ingrained from my mom shaming me for doing anything wrong growing up. As it is for Tim. His father literally beat the hell out of him for ever being out of line. He has suffered emotional and physical abuse. Unless confronted and treated comes out like this. Demons making their way to the surface. I was bawling by the time he said 'I'm sorry.' He’s never seen himself worthy of Lucy’s love that much has always been evident. But to see it this raw and visceral ripped my heart out. It’s on the ground where they're both standing.

I think this is something that has been brewing in the background for Tim for a long time. Now that I've had time away to decompress and think. I'm actually very excited they're tackling this. It's clear Tim is not in a place where he thinks he deserves her anymore. Low key never has been. He acts before he thinks. Eric had a great quote from his interview about Tim "He is impulsive and he reacts instead of thinking things through, and it can come out a bit too strong.” That is this decision in a nutshell. He feels he is a burden therefore he is removing himself without thinking it through. The regret that is going to come with this is going to be immense for him.

'You deserve so much better.' Better than me basically. He feels immense shame and that shame is launching him away from her. You know I learned something in therapy about this. About not being perfect and feeling like I'm too much. i.e. a burden. My therapist told me and it made me cry. 'You are worthy of the space you take up in people's lives. They want you there.' Tim does not think he is worthy of the space he is taking up in Lucy's life now. All his sins on the table laid out for her to see. He can't handle it. That much is very clear here. I will say I haven’t let a ship hurt me like this in a long time.

This absolutely crushed me. I couldn't even fathom assembling my thoughts. Cut me very deep. Been with this ship since day one. Also what a crushing blow this is for Lucy. Our poor girl. I mean she gave everything to this relationship. I mean EVERYTHING. She was all in from the moment Tim said ‘Unless it is.’ This was her first real relationship. First real leap into being serious. Thinking about marriage and kids. She gave her all to Tim my god. Her career took a hit for him and she never complained. Knew he was worth it (he still is btw) Fought every step of the way for him. For them.

When he was pulling back above it was an absolute panic for her. She could see him slipping through her fingers. Idk what broke my heart more Tim thinking he’s not worthy of her any longer or her begging him not to do this. She literally can't fathom how he can let go of her like this. Thought she was his person. Tim feels he’s gone back to who he was pre-Lucy and that scares him. He feels undeserving of the love she has to give him. Lucy knows everything and in his mind he can’t imagine her still loving him.

Lucy was as we all were in this scene. In disbelief... Even though Tim put her though absolute hell she was still there to comfort and support him. Because to her he is worth it even in the hard times. We all know Tim isn’t the best with his emotions. In his trauma damaged brain he thinks he’s doing the right thing here. That he’s radioactive, she deserves better than being around him and his reckless behavior.

The kiss on her head. Lucy trying to physically push away his rejection. Stomping all over my damn heart...However this ends up playing out Tim is going to have to address his emotional instability. How he charges forward and doesn’t think things through. Ruled by his emotions in the worst way. He’s impulsive and he’s gonna have to fight to get her back when he’s in a better mindset. Her trust has been obliterated by this. She fought and clawed for them and this was her reward. He’s gonna have to do some serious healing to get back to her. Lucy has loved him the best she can but he needs to put in some work now. We see next ep he's meeting with Aaron's therapist. Don't love that but I’ve wanted Tim to go to therapy for years. He needs this. Therapy doesn’t work unless you put the effort in though.

That will be a challenge for him. When I get out of the purview of this hurt I’m feeling...I’m actually going to be really impressed and happy they had Tim go through this. Do I think this is the end of them? No I think this is some serious growing pains. It was issues that have been percolating since Lucy did that 5 player trade. Hell probably back in 5x12 when Tim sacrificed himself without telling her so they could stay together. I still think that was romantic because of it's intended nature. BUT was the beginning of the communication problems. They’ve grown so very much in that regard. We’ve seen it but there is still work to be done on that front. It just came to a very gutting painful head.

I still have faith in the writers. I still have faith they’ll be ok. It might not be right away and I'm already feeling impatient tbh. But this is some serious realism being applied to them. It wasn't some random BS angst. Honestly we’re lucky our ship gets the most attention, the best SL’s and two people who LOVE these characters. They absolutely adore them and this ship. If you haven’t read Melissa and Eric’s interviews for this episode I highly recommend. This sucks right now. No two ways about it. But we will survive this storm. They’ll come out stronger than ever. Truly believe that. But for now let's rally around each other and get through this together. There will be brighter days ahead just doesn't feel like it right now. We got this.

~~~

Side notes non Chenford.

Do love Aaron working with Harper all if of all I cared about other than their SL in this one. Nolan's I fast forwarded which I normally don't do but I had no patience for his BS in this ep lol My anxiety was rampant in this ep and had no space for him.

Also RIP Metro Tim for the 6x07 promo. This hurts to see not just cause I enjoyed him in that outfit lol But to see his career take a nosedive like this. I wanted more Tim back story. Didn’t think would hurt like this though....Feel free to comment I love you all for any interaction I get with these. <3

[aggravatetheaxe]

i said vincent out of habit but... Eric Draven, pretty pretty please i wanna hug him so bad

Eric Draven x Reader - Hug

cw: he's a dead guy, unrequited love

Decided to do this one in present tense (feeling the present tense lately).

Masterlist

***

You throw yourself into his chest, and he's somehow all at once more solid and less real than you remember.

He's dense, you suppose; there's a density to his physical form now that reminds you of a dead body, unapologetically heavy and filled with nothing but meat and muscle. But when it comes to him, to the Eric you remember, he's a shell of his former self. He seems to remember you, and yet he's distant somehow, like he's speaking to you from somewhere very far away. The warmth of that sweet rockstar you'd crushed on for years, his humanity ... it's all gone.

His arms wrap around you in kind on instinct, but it takes a couple beats for him to squeeze you.

"Y/N ... hey," he whispers, voice thin and fragile as cobwebs. It's cold as death out tonight, and yet his breath makes no vapor.

"Eric," you manage, before giving up entirely and basking in his presence. It's not the same ... not at all. As you breathe deeply, expecting his scent - warm, cinnamon and vanilla and a hint of weed despite his straight-edge tendencies - the smell that comes is distinctly different.

He smells like turned soil ... and some sharp, sweet chemical you can't identify, but mostly soil. And blood, puss. Hurt. He smells like wounds. A molding polyester blend. The musky chalk of corpsepaint. Kerosene. Rain....

The scent is overwhelming, and it makes you pull back, looking into his face with abrupt concern. "Eric ... where - where have you been? How is this ... how is this possible? You died."

He has the decency to look apologetic. "I can't explain. I just need you to trust me."

Of course you trust him. You hadn't spent years pining over him, on the outside looking in on his perfect relationship, to stop trusting him now.

You start a bit as a crow comes down from the sky out of seemingly nowhere and lands on his shoulder. It stares at you with its beady eyes, and under the weight of that stare, you feel like you don't need to know what's going on.

It's Eric, after all. "Okay," you breathe. "Anything you need."

[lost-walmartbag]

Prom with Butters Stotch

Song: Something about you -Eyedress, Dent may

Warnings: N/A

Background: In this one-shot, you and Butters go to prom

Status: Request Open

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"Hey Butters you wanna go to prom with me?" You asked calmly.

You were nervous but you didn't hype yourself up for a week for nothing. You wanted to go to prom with Butters and had hoped he would ask you but it didn't seem like it was gonna happen soon so you had to take matters into your own hands. Butters' face went red as he looked down at you.

"R-really? M-me?" He asked watching your face to see if you were serious.

"Yes, I want to go to prom with you." You state making him blush harder.

He tried to speak but he couldn't. He started to panic a bit because it was clear you were waiting for him to say yes. He was scared if he didn't answer you would change your mind. So rather than saying it he nodded excitedly making your face light up.

"That's great!" You say hugging him tightly. "This is going to be so fun!"

Butters' body was stiff but he was over the moon. He wanted to ask you but Eric convinced him that you would say no. Truthfully he was embarrassed you had to be the one to ask him not because he was the man but rather because he wanted to show off how confident he was.

A week later you and Butters met up on the weekend to go shopping. You met with him at the store you would be getting your dress and saw him patiently waiting.

"Hey Leo." You say walking up to him and making him quickly stand up to greet you.

He was thrown off that you had called him by his name as he truthfully didn't like it. No one called him Leo but hearing it coming from your mouth made him like his name for the first time.

"H-hey." He said with a smile.

"Did I have you waiting for too long?" You asked leading him inside the store.

"Nope, I just got here." He said walking inside and looking around the store.

You grabbed a few dresses you liked and headed to the dressing room. Butters patiently sat outside as you tried them on. You slipped on a blue dress and walked out catching Butter's attention.

"How's this one?" You asked

"You look nice." Butters said watching you closely.

"Idk it doesn't seem me." You say going back into the dressing room and trying on another dress.

This happened a few more times where you tried on dresses, showed Butters, he told you looked nice, and you would disagree. Butters was a bit nervous he was saying the wrong things. He did genuinely think you looked nice in everything so while you were trying on another dress he got up and chose a dress himself. He found a flowy yellow dress almost cottage-coreish. He grabbed it and sat back down in time for you to show off a green dress.

"How about this one?" You asked looking in the mirror. "I don't really like it."

"H-how about this one?" Butters asks handing you the dress he picked out.

You take it and nod going into the dressing room and quickly putting it on. Once you stepped outside Butters face lit up.

"How do I look?" You asked looking in the mirror again.

"You look so beautiful." He said without a second thought.

He meant every word. He'd never seen anyone look as amazing as you did in this moment. You blushed and nodded.

"I think this is the one." You say quietly going into the dressing room again.

You grabbed the dress and went to the cashier who rang up your order but before you could pay Butters put his card in. You stayed silent and the cashier handed him the bag containing your dress. You both stepped out of the store and you smiled to yourself.

The night of the prom you got yourself ready and as you stared in the mirror you felt self-conscious. Butter knocked on your front door and you hesitated to open it not wanting him to see you if you didn't look your best. Once you opened the door he looked down at you a blush creeping on his cheeks.

"H-hi. I-I'm sorry I don't look the best." You say closing your eyes tightly scared he would think the same.

He stayed quiet long enough for you to open your eyes as you questioned if he was even there anymore. He was just standing there staring at you with a bright red face one of his hands covering his mouth.

"A-are you ok?" You asked worried and touching his face feeling the heat.

"You just look so beautiful." He said his voice a bit shaky making you blush harder.

He took your hand gently and you both headed to school. Once you stepped inside you saw everyone having a good time. You both had arrived a bit late as the prom queen and king had been announced to no one's surprise Bebe and Clyde had won. Butters immediately took you to the dance floor wrapping an arm around your waist. He smiled softly as he looked down at you.

"You know you didn't have to buy my dress and stuff." You say quietly as you two dance.

"I wanted to make it up to you." He said

"For what?"

"For having to ask me to prom. I should have asked you but I was scared you say no. You're just so pretty I didn't think you'd want to go with me." He said blushing from embarrassment.

You smile softly up at him and kiss his lips softly. His eyes widened but he kissed back. He was so happy being able to hold you like this. You were just happy knowing Butters actually liked you the way you did him.

A/N: Hey guys I'm like truly sorry if my writing decreases in quality I'm trying that 75-hard thing and bitch I ain't even start yet and I'm crying 😭 so idk wish me luck. I pre-wrote another fic so hopefully if I'm too tired to write I can still get something out for yall tomorrow. Anyway, thank you for reading! Love you all! 🩷🩷🩷