#also while we’re at it bring back my girl casey

[jelestes]

if svu is going to keep running i’m gonna need them to eventually admit that olivia benson is and always have been a lesbian, i don’t care how they do it when they do it — s27 or s49 — they just have to do it, it’s beyond ridiculous atp.

[theoriginalvampirequeen]

“What’s the matter, Princess?”

Pairing: Billy Loomis/Reader, Stu Macher/Reader

Word count: 5,375

TW: Innocence Kink, Forced use of “Daddy” and “Sir”, Implied Predator/Prey dynamic, Degrading, (Slight) Non-Con, Double Penetration, Knife Play, Oral Sex and of course unprotected P in V sex (make good decisions, please)

Rory’s dialog: Welcome! I just want to start this by saying, I’ve never wrote anything of this nature before but have always wanted to try. “Me and my big ideas” (I know crazy) Minors do NOT interact with my posts, you do not have my consent. All posts that are appropriate will be stated above the cut. This is NOT one of those. Although I am not responsible for your media consumption, it makes me uncomfortable. I’m open to feedback, that’s the only way I’ll get better but please be respectful about it. I am open to requests as well! Thank you for sitting through my thoughts, and I hope you enjoy <3

“I know Mom, make sure the doors are locked and not walk outside by myself after dark. I haven’t forgot the rules.” I huffed into the corded phone. “Sweetheart, I just want you to be safe, while I’m away. Woodsboro is on high alert right now after what happened to Casey Becker -“ Starting to zone out recalling the events of the past day brought tears to rim my eyes as I tuned out what mom was saying before cutting her off “Mom, please.. I know. She was my friend. I’ll be safe I promise.” All that could be heard on the other line was silence for a couple of seconds before mother stated she had to go before hanging up.

I laid the phone back down on the receiver to pick my book back up to continue reading before bed, it was unfortunately a school night and that meant I couldn’t stay up all night reading this god given book. It didn’t take long to get to the next chapter of my book before I knew I needed to still brush my teeth and wash my face before bed, a soft sigh left my lips while throwing the fuzzy blanket off of my body. These are the times when I’m grateful the walk wasn’t too long to get to that cold chilled bathroom, it was fall, the temperatures were not kind to my small body. It also didn’t help that my baby pink nightgown barely covered my skin. Looking back in the mirror slightly shaming how distraught I looked from all the tears shed for my only girl-friend I tried to keep it together, humming a soft tune from my new favorite artist as I began to brush my teeth. Spitting the remaining toothpaste into the sink, the phone began to ring. What the heck? I make a dash for my bedroom to pick up the phone “Hello? (L/N) residence”

A low chuckle could be heard as I addressed the caller,“Hello, little dove” my heart rate picked up before stumbling over my words, “W-Who is this?” Silence sat on the other side before a deep voice emerged from the modulator used, “I’m hurt little dove, you don’t recognize me?” I chose to stay silent before the caller took hold of the conversation “Oh, little dove don’t be scared now. I think you know exactly who I am.” A single tear fell along my cheek before whispering “what do you want? I-I want you to leave me alone.” My voice cracking at the end of my statement before letting out a soft sob. “No can do princess, don’t you know what I’ve done.. for you!” Each octave of his tone got louder causing me to jump at their words. “I killed Casey for you! You-“ a low growl can be heard through the phone before they pick up their sentence “you, little dove were suppose to be with Casey and Steve that night. I thought you loved slumber parties…Y/N” Once my name was stated, my breath hitched in my throat and from the reaction I received they heard it. Slowly bringing the phone down towards my neck I could hear the deadly chuckle come through. “hey, we’re not done yet.” I brought the phone back up to my ear and whimpered into the phone “I’m going to hang up now.. I don’t want to talk anymore.” I slide the phone down towards the receiver and began to dial a number, a number given to me from my best friend in the instances of an emergency.. maybe he wouldn’t answer given the fact Casey broke up with him. I’ve got to try though..

It neared the last ring before going to voicemail before I heard his voice. “Yo, who’s this?” I stayed silent I could form a coherent sentence that wouldn’t cause him to hang up on me. “Hi, um Stu? It’s Y/N” he didn’t speak for a couple of seconds before letting out a loud laugh. “Hey! Y/N where’d you get my number from? Why’re you calling so late for, huh?” Thoughts raced through my mind, do I tell him the killer called me? Do I just keep him on the phone to stall until morning? I guess my thoughts were to long before Stu spoke again, “Y/N, you okay? Want me to come over?” All I could do was hum in approval. Stu let out a chuckle before informing me that he was on his way then hanging up on me.

I never moved. Not until I heard the doorbell ring. I was wary when walking down the stairs to the front door being very cautious to who could be at the door, I know that Stu was suppose to be coming over but surely it should have taken him a bit longer to get to my house from his? Standing a couple feet from the front door I shouted, “Whose there?” then the phone rang. Shock hit me like a bolt of electricity as I stepped closer to the phone picking it up. “H-hello?” The other end of the phone all that could be heard was shuffling then silence. “Jesus, Y/N are you going to answer the door? It’s fucking freezing.” I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I let out a deep sigh closing the distance between me and the door allowing Stu to come in while closing the door behind him never realizing that I didn’t hear the door lock back. “Thanks for letting me in Y/N, it’s cold as fuck outside. I would have turned into an ice sculpture.” I let out a small giggle then look up at the 6’4 man with red rimmed eyes who was also looking down at my small frame. “I’m sorry Stu, it’s just.. I’m scared.. the killer called me.” He didn’t have an immediate reaction and I instantly regretted telling him about the call. Maybe he’s mad at me for putting him in danger and he’s going to leave. Those thoughts brought tears to my eyes and I tugged at his hand “S-Stu I’m so sorry.. I get it if you w-want to leave..” Stu did the unexpected and pulled me in for a hug and shushed me “oh, Y/N you have nothing to apologize for. I’m glad you called me. I’m here.. to help.” Apart from side hugs from Randy and hugs from Casey I’ve never been touched like this before. Not as intimate as he held me. My cheeks felt flushed as he brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “T-thank you Stu..” His cheeky grin made me smile, almost forgetting about the call that was made to me earlier this evening. “No need to worry, little dove.. you’ll be okay.”

Alarm bells were going off in my head, ‘little dove’ the killer called me little dove. I stood up rather quickly looking at Stu with wide eyes. “W-what did you say?” Stu bit his lip while walking towards me. “What you don’t like it.. little dove?” Tears were rolling down my face at this point, I made the grave mistake of turning and trying to bolt for the front door. When I got closer to the door a black figure with a ghostly white mask guarded the front door making it known that my grand escape was coming to a complete halt. I turned back to Stu who had a small smirk on his face as he opened his arms wide and looked at the masked killer. “Please don’t hurt me.. I don’t want to die.” I started walking back towards Stu, ‘surely he’ll protect me right?’ With each step I took Ghostface took a step towards me until I was pressed up against Stu’s firm chest. “That’s it little dove, come to daddy.” Tears were pouring down my face as I hiccuped. Stu’s arms wrapped around me as Ghostface trailed the sharp end of his knife up my arms. “Please..” I closed my eyes as the knife trailed over the tops of my night gown and collar bones. “Everything will be fine, little dove. Don’t you worry. We’ll take good care of you.” His words were almost threatening more than they were soothing. I opened my eyes to look up at Stu and slowly started to plot my escape from him. I ‘had’ to convince him that I was going to be good. The edge of the knife was finally lifted from my body and I looked up at the masked man noticing his stature, muscular build and about 6 foot tall. Clearly this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. I was a lot shorter than both of them, my stride wasn’t as long as theirs but I’d die trying. I took a small step towards Ghostface, I had one thing that worked to my advantage I knew the layout of my house, they on the other hand, did not. I bolted in the direction of the kitchen towards the garage. Trying my best to stay quiet, keep my breathing in order so I didn’t tire my unathletic self out. It wasn’t long before I was hunted by both of them. I struggled getting the garage door open and as I’m opening the door the back of my nightgown was grabbed and the amount of force used caused the back of the gown to rip as I fell down on my ass. It was in that moment I knew I was ‘screwed’ Stu glided over to me and threw me over his shoulder, while he spanked my ass. “That, little dove will NOT happen again.” It wasn’t long before I was thrown onto the couch while Stu sat in front of me on the coffee table and the masked figure sat next to me slightly tilting his head. I started to cry harder, my gown falling off the tops of my shoulder which caught the attention of both. “Sweet little innocent dove, what are we going to do with you?” Stu’s hand reached for underneath my chin to tip my face towards him. “Please.. just leave.. I wont say anything to anyone.” I was going to plead until I was either dead or they were walking out that door. I heard a low growl come from the masked figure until the figure ripped his mask off of his face and I was met with chocolate brown eyes.. ‘no’ “Billy.. Billy why?” This must have sparked something deep within him because he reached out to the nape of my neck and caused me to whimper, “because little dove. We want you and every time we tried to talk to you we were blown off or ignored. So we had to fix it.”

It was true, the pair constantly tried to talk to me, but I was too nervous to hold conversation having two very handsome men trying to talk to me it was foreign territory. The only time I had ever been in their presence and felt safe was with Casey and Sidney when we had lunch at the fountain. I of course was consumed in whatever book I was reading at the time to keep up with their conversations. “We knew that we wouldn’t have you until we got rid of Casey. So princess now here we are..” Billy purred as Stu took my hand and traced small circles on my fingers. I had so many words I wanted to say but I couldn’t.. my vocabulary failed me. The only thing that fell from my lips were pleads and whispers of their names. “That’s not my name, little dove.” Billy cooed as his hands traced my arms moving the sleeve of my nightgown with him, “You can address me as Sir, this will be your only warning little dove.” “I just watched him as a nodded my head. “Words, Y/N we use our words.” He watched my every move, “y-yes sir..” Stu took my fingers and brought them to his mouth and placed small kisses to them grabbing my attention. “S-Stu? What are you doing?” His blue eyes pierced mine and I couldn’t decipher the look that he held but it made me feel very small. “Daddy. Daddy is just giving you kisses? Is that a crime, little dove?” He held so much emphasis on the first word of his reply. It wasn’t long before he took the tips of my index finger and middle finger into his mouth softly sucking. It felt like electricity surged through my tummy. “S-Stop.. please.” I shuffled as best as I could away from the pair but Billy grabbed the back of my neck hard forcing me to look at him. “Who the fuck told you that you could move? I sure as fuck didn’t. “Enough Stu. I won’t put up with her misbehavior.” Stu’s hold of my fingers loosened and he stood up. Billy pulled me up by my arms and threw me over his shoulder with ease. “I’m sorry.. I-I’m sorry Sir. Please. Please put me down. I’ll behave!” I was full blown crying at this point. This felt like the end. I messed up big time. After a couple of minutes I was flung down on a mattress with both men staring at me before slowly surveying the room. We were in my room and boy was I embarrassed. “damn princess, I see you’re the reason build a bear is still in business.” Stu grabbed one of my teddies and manipulated the arm to wave at me, if we weren’t in life or death situation right now I would have laughed and thought it was cute but I stayed silent and stone faced. Billy was the first to approach me pulling one of his knees down on the bed then the other as he crawled over to me. With each movement he made towards me I shuffled backwards until I was squished up against my headboard. “Sir.. please no..” Billy held a calloused smirk before running one of his hands up my legs forcing the fabric up towards my waist showing off my pretty pink panties with a little bow on the front. All that could be heard was my whimpers and my hand trying to force the fabric back down against his grip. “Princess. Daddy’s had enough. Stop fighting with Sir. You don’t want to make him angry. Don’t make me spank you.” I stopped fighting him out of fear. I looked at Billy and shook my head before releasing my grip on my gown while small tears fell against my cheek “Sir, I-I don’t want that..” Billy crawled up placing his hands level with my hips and brought his lips close to my ear whispering “I don’t give a fuck what you want anymore, little dove. You had your chance” His words broke me, the dam of tears finally broke. I was sobbing at this point I felt the bed shift again and Stu pet my hair while pressing a delicate kiss to my hairline. “Everything will be okay, princess. Stop fighting. We’ll take care of you.” A low laugh could be heard from Billy as he brought the knife to the front of my gown, panic set in and I let out a loud scream. “Please don’t. Please! Sir! NO!” Squeezing my eyes shut waiting for the impact of the knife to hit me, but it never did. Each second my brain became a little more fried.

The sound of fabric ripping brought me back to reality, I was exposed. Vulnerable in front of two of the most popular men in our high school. Little virgin me in front of two playboys. How humiliating, if I wasn’t going to die by their knife I was going to die from humiliation. “So fucking pretty, look Stu.” My small tits were now visible along with my panties. “Holy fuck Princess.. you’re fucking perfect.” Heat rushed to my cheeks as I tried to hide my face. “God, I need to touch them..” Stu’s hand grazed over my left boob to grab onto the right boob pinching my nipple before cupping my breast hard, causing me to let out a loud whine. “St--D-Daddy that hurts!” Billy let out a loud laugh and gripped the inside of my thighs, “Oh princess, we’re sorry.. how about a kiss to make it better?hm? “My eyes trailed Billy’s chocolate ones as he motioned for Stu to move his hand which rested on the other boob. Billy sat forward pressing his body into my legs as he took my nipple into his mouth giving it a small kiss before sucking it deeper into his mouth licking in small circles. Stu now kneading against my neglected breast causing an explosion in my tummy. “Please sir.. Stop.. I feel weird.” I small whimper left my lips as Billy began to suck harder ignoring my pleads. Stu’s grip loosened as he left out a chuckle. “Billy look. She’s fucking enjoying this.” Billy’s lips left my breast and his gaze lowered towards my waistline, my legs were parted wide with a full visual of my panties which were now soaked I felt betrayed. My body was working against me, both of them were in awe at the sight of me wet and at their mercy. Billy’s fingers brought themselves to the now wet patch in my panties swiping against my slit causing me to let out a loud whimper, “no. No. Sir please don’t touch there!” I tried to close my legs but Billy was too quick. He grabbed both of my legs and held them open taking a look at me and then over at Stu. “get a feel Stu, she’s so wet and warm.” Stu was like a kid in the candy store. He made his way down towards my core and pressed his index finger against my clit before swiping down my slit. Stu let out an audible sigh as I whimpered, thrashing side to side slightly. “Daddy no! Don’t touch there! PLEASE” I screamed causing Billy to slap the insides of my thighs. Fire filled my body at that point, my ears were now ringing and it felt like I was no longer in control of my body. I stopped fighting them, there was no point. I lost hope, there wasn’t anything that would stop their assault of my body.

Billy had placed a small kiss to the insides of my thighs as Stu rested his hand upon my clit, as much as I wanted to scream and bolt out of my bedroom I knew I’d never make it in time and I’d receive a grand amount of punishment. The pain was too much for me to handle all at once. I knew there would be bruises from where Billy had slapped against my skin, but part of me didn’t care anymore. I was already almost naked how much worse could it get? Billy’s brown eyes stared up at me while Stu had his focus on the warmth in between my legs, it was almost as if he were in a trance. “What do you think Stu? She obviously loves to scream, should we give her something to scream about?” Billy’s eyes darkened with desire as he spoke to Stu, a small grin appeared on his face as if he were able to read his thoughts. “I think it’d be nice to have our sweet little dove so fucked out the only thing she can do is scream.” My heart rate picked up while tears formed in my eyes “Sir?Daddy? Please no, I’ll be good. I-I don’t wannna do that..” Billy pulled my body off of the headboard and down into the center of the bed looking at me with hungry eyes, “I’m sorry princess, there’s no other way.. you don’t have another option.” Billy starts to slide his fingers under the waistline of my panties and starts to take them down my legs, my heart starts beating at a rate I don’t think I’ve ever reached before. This was panic, pure panic. “Daddy I’m scared..” I look at Stu, he had been more patient with me maybe he could make it stop. If I show him how obedient I can be maybe he’ll make it all go away. I had never been more wrong in my life. Stu looked at me with soft eyes and grabbed my chin in his hand, before whispering “There’s nothing to be scared of little dove, it’ll feel really good and once you feel his tongue all over your pussy you’ll never want him to stop.” Before I could object Billy’s tongue was flat against my clit giving long strokes coating my already wet slit with his saliva. My hand found its place on top of Stu’s crying out for him to make it stop. My eyes were trained on Stu while his were on Billy and my pussy, little whimpers escaped my lips and that caught Billy’s attention; his pace at quickened and he started sucking on my clit taking one of his hands and massaging the inside part of my thigh while the other was placed at my entrance making small circles rimming the already wet hole. My eyes shot over to Billy “SIR! Please! Nothing inside! Please!” The devilish smirk that appeared on his lips while he teased my clit scared me. Everything stopped. I thought it was over. Until I looked up at Stu his gaze fell on me as he leaned down and kissed my lips softly before pulling back. “Princess, it’ll feel so good, I promise.. let us show you how it feels to be seen, how good it feels to get the attention you deserve. I promise it’ll feel so good once Billy puts his fingers inside.” Billy had placed a small wet kiss to my clit before slipping the tip of his middle finger inside my wet cunt causing me to take a deep breath in, Stu pet my hair with one of his hand and the other massaged my breast. At this point I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak, it felt like I couldn’t even breathe anymore. “ I need you to breathe princess. Just relax, let us take care of you. Just trust us..” Within a few seconds Billy put more of his finger inside of me and I slipped and let out a small moan as my brows furrowed together. It hurt, a lot. His thick finger stretched out my walls the farther they went inside me until they reached his end knuckle. “There you go princess.. you’re doing so well.” A tear fell down my cheek as I gripped onto Stu harder. “Please Daddy make it stop hurting!” Stu looked over at Billy and the unspoken words made the room grow heavy, Billy’s tongue found its way back against my clit licking and sucking at an almost therapeutic pace. The discomfort slowly faded to the back of my mind while my whimpers filled the room with the sound of my wetness. “S-Sir please..” I never registered it leaving my mouth but Billy did.

If Billy were lost deeper into thought he wouldn’t have heard my plead but he did. Not only did he hear it so did Stu, my eyes screwed shut while gripping onto Stu I was unaware that Stu seconds away from sucking on my nipple, the element of surprise took me over the edge before I could even register what happened I was cumming. Billy let out a loud guttural moan lapping at the juices that came out of me. “Jesus Princess, you taste so fucking good. Stu you have to taste this” Stu pushed one of my legs above him and billy mimicked the same pattern as I started to pant trying to catch my breath. Billy’s fingers never left the inside of my cunt but now Billy and Stu took turns lapping at the juices which seem to just freely flow. Moans and whimpers left my lips before Billy added his index finger to meet his middle one and I tensed up causing myself to scream. “Ow! Sir!” Billy let a soft bite meet one of my pussy lips causing me to look down at him “It wouldn’t hurt if you just laid there like a good fucking girl and didn’t tense up everytime we tried to please you. Stop being ungrateful.” I don’t know why his words hurt me so bad but it brought tears to my eyes while I stumbled over my words, “I- I’m sorry Sir..” ‘Have a truly lost my mind? It feels like it’ Billy hummed in approval while he and Stu continued their assault on my clit while Billy curled his fingers up against my sweet spot which caused my back to arch off of the bed and moan out ‘Sir’ and ‘Daddy’ over and over until the vibrations stopped. I had came for the second time tonight and they truly seemed like they weren’t going to back out anytime soon. “God Billy she does taste so fucking good.. I don’t think I can take anymore teasing though” They silently looked at each other then back up at me “Who do you want inside that sweet pussy first princess?”

‘Did I just hear that right? No there’s no way..’ My brain was short circuiting the heat rose to my cheek while mumbling out looking over at Billy and Stu. “I- uhm- I thought you were already inside me already Sir..” a soft moan left Billy’s lips “No, angel.. that was nothing compared to what comes next..” Billy caresses my cheek while looking deep in my eyes “Maybe Stu should do it, yeah? He’ll be more gentle with you. Then you can suck my dick and I can train you properly princess.” Swallowing my saliva became difficult it felt like I was already going to choke. “What’s the matter, Princess?” Tears started to form again causing me to let out a small hiccup. “I’m really scared Sir..” Billy presses a small kiss to my lips while whispering softly “I’ll talk to you angel, while daddy takes that sweet innocences from you.” My eyes trained towards Daddy and nods slowly while watching as he gets up frantically taking off his jacket and shirt revealing his toned chest which leaves me in awe. Sir smirks while whispering in my ear, “I know princess, isn’t that a great view?” Sir leans back and starts to take off his shirt as well and my eyes dart from both men in front of me. “Holy cow…” Daddy starts to take off his pants with his boxers and I watch as his dick slaps up against his pelvis and my jaw drops. “There is NO way.. no way!” While my gaze is stuck on Daddy I never noticed how Sir quickly undressed until he started kissing and nibbling on my neck. Soft moans left my lips as Daddy slipped in between my legs, I looked over at Sir and my gaze when down to his dick, it was thicker than Daddy’s and definitely had more ridges while Daddy’s was slightly longer and not as thick. Both equally as mesmerizing and terrifying. “How.. do you think it’ll fit?” Stu reached up to caress my cheek while smirking “We make it fit little dove.” He teased the tip of his dick at the entrance of my pussy before pushing the head in slowly. It ‘truly’ took my breath away. Moans left daddy’s lips while my hand finds sir’s forearm to anchor myself “Daddy! Help!” Daddy’s hand reaches down to my clit and rubs sloppy circles “This will help princess I promise” Small whines left my lips trying my best not to tense too much because of the pain, he pushes in deeper not filling my cunt completely but enough to reach resistance. Sir starts to stroke his already hard dick and moans while watching my face contort from the amount of pain that I feel. A loud scream leaves my lungs while I start to hyperventilate. “Daddy! Please it hurts.” Stu’s brain isn’t focused on my pleads anymore, it’s pretty evident when he thrusts his hips up against the resistance causing him to fully fill me. My head throws forward while screaming as loud as I can before Sir shoves his dick down my throat causing me to choke. “Shhh, it’s okay princess.. just take this.. and suck. It’ll make it feel so much better.” Moans were filling the room from both men while Daddy started to configure his pace to find the perfect rhythm against my cervix causing me to whine against Sir’s dick . Daddy’s hands found their place against my hips pulling my body towards him with each thrust. It wasn’t long before I was choking and gagging on Sir’s dick earning loud grunts from his lips, everything started to feel euphoric, the pleasure had finally taken over. “Fuck if she clenches around me again, I’ll fucking blow..” Whimpering as I hold one hand on Daddy and the other on Sir’s dick that couldn’t fit in my mouth I lost myself I felt like knowing my name wasn’t possible. I circled my tongue against the tip of Sir’s dick and took as much as I could as Daddy was thrusting into me at an unforgiving pace I eventually lost it. I turned my head to the side and screamed out in pleasure. It was to the point where the climaxes were overwhelming and painful. “Fuck! I’m cumming princess! Going to fill you up so good.” Next thing I know I feel warm sticky liquid fill my womb as Stu let out loud moans. “That’s it princess, take all of it like a good girl.” My brain was numb.

Sir noticed how fucked out I was from absolutely nothing and he pressed a light kiss to my forehead before pulling Stu away from my body and slotting himself in between my legs before pushing into my warm used cunt. “Jesus princess, you feel heavenly.” Sir’s pace was slower yet deeper and his thick dick kissed my cervix with each thrust. All I could do was moan and hold onto his wrists as they held my waist. His moans were hypnotic and I was tumbling over the edge yet again, “gonna… cum.. sir” His movement halted completely leaving me to whine at the sudden halt “you. Do. Not. Cum. Without. Me.” Each time he spoke he thrusted deep within and it took everything in my not to just lose it, I could already barely function as it was. But I obeyed as best as I could. Billy’s pace quickened and had become very sloppy, he was close after all the hard work done sucking his dick paid off, what I didn’t know was he was so horny from my lack of experience that he could have come just from how I fumbled fitting his large dick in my mouth but he knew that he needed to cum in that pretty pussy. “Cum with me princess, do it now!” He was demanding and I was submitting. His words threw me off the cliff that my climax was on leaving me screaming his name, not noticing the mistake I made by not addressing him properly. I didn’t care. His warm seed filled me along with Stu’s and I felt overwhelmingly full. “Your little fucking mistake is forgiven because you were screaming my name.” I was left breathless and Billy pulled out slowly watching how I just laid in the bed not able to move a single muscle.

It didn’t take the men long to get fully dressed again, Stu covered my limp body up with a blanket and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. “Sleep tight princess, we’ll see you soon.” All I could do was nod, I wasn’t about to give in to my thoughts of asking them to stay even though I didn’t want them to leave I knew they had to. The pair left my line of sight and I counted the amount of steps they took until they reached the front door. It broke me, not because the events that happened tonight but the fact of how fucked we all are now. My eyes became to droop and my last thought became ‘what happens now?’

[novaksupremacy]

The Veiled Law of Affection- Chapter 6

had the day off so I popped out another one for you :)

The Veiled Law of Affection-Chapter 6

Word Count: 6358

Casey Novak x Olivia Benson

by PKJ @novaksupremacy

Based on the events surrounding S5 E24 "Poison", little bit of smut, lots of mushy angsty schtuff, sibling arguments, one of my favorite Casey episodes.

Read Part 5

“Look you’re making a mistake!” The woman shouted in the interrogation room. As it stood, she was accused of poisoning her adopted daughter. They had learned from her other little girl that she made the poor child stand in the corner with a sponge full of detergent in her mouth. As if that wasn’t bad enough the girl’s hospital visit was delayed by hours, causing sever detriment from the poisoning. Her husband’s sister had also spoken to Benson and Stabler about the many red flags pertaining to her parenting skills.

“Not according to your sister-in-law,” Olivia barked.

The woman scoffed, “Wendy never liked me you can’t listen to her!”

Elliot raised his voice, “Can we listen to your other daughter, Katie, Mrs. Campbell?”

Her attorney Gates laughed, “Sure, because seven-year-olds are so reliable. Tomorrow, she’ll tell you a pony with wings lives in her closet.”

Stabler was fuming at this point, “So Katie made the whole thing up, right? How you shoved a sponge of soapy water into Alexis’ mouth while she gagged and cried! Made her stand in a corner, counting, until she collapsed!”

“I feel terrible that I wasn’t paying close enough attention!” Karen Campbell started shouting, “But I can’t possibly be everywhere at once! I have FOUR children! I am a good mother!

Munch and Fin had Mr. Campbell in the other interrogation room at the same time.

“Why don’t you believe me?” the man leaned against the window, arms folded.

“We do, that’s why you’re not under arrest Munch said flatly.

“My wife did nothing wrong!”

“You couldn’t know what your wife did. You were gone all day.” Fin said more questioning than matter of fact.

“I told you when I got home Alexis had stopped breathing and Karen was hysterical. If we wanted to poison Alexis, what would we bring her to the hospital at all?”

John snapped at him, “Actually I’m more interested in why your wife does the things she does. Like berate and emotionally abuse your adopted daughter.”

“That’s a lie!”

“You callin’ your sister a liar? She says Karen treats that girl worse than a dog!” Fin retorted.

                As Liv and Elliot came out of the interrogation room, they found Agent Huang and Casey waiting for them in the bullpen.

                “The emergency room said they pumped two cups of detergent out of Alexis’ stomach.” Huang stated as they walked up.

                Elliot shook his head in disgust, “Mrs. Campbells accident story is a bunch of crap! No kid is gonna drink two cups of that stuff willingly.”

                “What about the dear old dad?” Liv interjected. “He had to know that his wife hated that kid.”

                Casey sighed, “he wasn’t home so criminally he’s not responsible.”

                “We got the mother right?” Elliot asked, agitated by the situation.

                “How’s the seven-year-old?” The redhead questioned, she knew Elliot was good at his job, but she still had to do hers.

                “Solid.”

                “No chance you influenced her statement?” She didn’t want to ask but she had to.

                “None, counselor. I’ve been doing this a little bit longer than you,” the detective said back his tone less then amiable.

                Casey tilted her head, she hated that El took things so personally. “Just making sure we’re covered, children under nine aren’t automatically swearable.”

                “I can talk to her,” Huang offered, “If she knows the difference between a lie and the truth then she can testify.” Casey nodded as a show of gratitude.

                “Hey Detective Benson, while you’re waiting, I have some paperwork for you in my office that I’ve been meaning to give you.” Casey tossed out nonchalantly.

                “Sure, I’ve got a few minutes.” Liv nodded, her hands in her pockets. “After you Counselor.”

The brunette tailed on the heels of the ADA as they headed down the hall. Huang couldn’t help but snicker as they walked away. “It’s ridiculous that they’re still making excuses at this point. We pretty much all know what that was about.”

“Guess Daddy wants a little midnight snack, you know what I’m sayin’?” Fin nudged the FBI agent in his rib.

Elliot snorted into his coffee, “What?” He laughed so hard he choked on some of the hot liquid. “Who wants a what?”

Fin was laughing “Oh you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing that exchange yet? Imma let you experience that on ya own.”

Munch walked over with a cup of coffee in his hand, “What, what’s so funny what did I miss?” Everyone just shook their heads and assure him it was nothing. “You know this doesn’t make me believe in the conspiracy that everyone’s working against me, any less. If anything, you, you’re just adding fuel to the fire.”

Casey shut the door to her office and locked it, closing the blinds tight.

Liv rubbed her eyes, “Case, I gotta tell you baby, I’m exhausted.”

“I know,” Casey kissed her gently and rubbed her shoulders then steered the detective towards the couch. “I figured my couch was more comfortable than the crib.” She kicked off her heeled boots and made room for Liv to come join her. “Plus, this way I get to hold you, and the door is locked so you won’t get startled.”

Liv crawled over her girlfriend and wedged herself between her and the back of the couch, wrapping her arm and leg around her, squeezing tight. She was exhausted, they had been up since the night before with this case, but Captain wasn’t letting anyone go home until they made some headway on this. Casey reached over the brunette and pulled the blanket down off the back of the couch and covered them with it. She laid soft strokes up and down Liv’s arm with the tips of fingers and pressed her lips to her forehead and held them there for a moment before she kissed lightly and then pressed her cheek against the side of the detectives head and pulled her close. She could feel Liv’s breathing shift indicating that she had fallen asleep. The attorney watched her girlfriend’s chest rise and fall, she looked so peaceful.

“I love you, Olivia.” Casey whispered and kissed her head again. “I wish I could tell you.” Every second spent with Olivia was the happiest moment of her life, even when it wasn’t. Even when it was sad, or upsetting, or the case was spiraling out of control, all she had to do was look at Liv and feel at ease. That was the first time she ever said it out loud, not that her lover heard her. She wouldn’t dare say it then. Everything was going so good, she didn’t want to fuck it up. She dozed off alongside the brunette detective.

Casey stirred about an hour later to Liv kissing her neck. She grinned and stretched, giving the detective more access to her neck. “Mmm I should let you nap in my office more often.”

“Mmm, yes, very refreshing. Better than a cup of coffee.” The brunette smiled as she planted a long tender kiss on her girlfriend.

Casey brought her hand up to cup Liv’s face and deepened the kiss. She let out a sigh as she felt the detective slip her hand down below her waistline. “Babe.” A smile that could only be described as one of pleasure creeped across her face, “we can’t.” The redhead let out another soft sigh and a light moan as Liv continued to tease her. She grabbed her lover’s wrist and looked her square in the eye, “I need you to either fuck me right now or stop what you’re doing.”

“Gladly,” the detective hummed and pulled the ADA underneath her.

                Casey sat up on couch and slid her boots back on as she watched Olivia tighten her belt and adjust her watch.

                “What?” Liv looked up as she was fastening her sleeve buttons, “Did I miss a belt loop or something?” She looked down.

                The younger woman shook her head, her cheeks getting red, even still Liv gave her butterflies. “No,” she said breathlessly, “you’re just beautiful.”

                The brunette leaned over Casey on the couch and kissed her, biting her lip softly before pulling back to meet her gaze, “You’ve pretty stunning yourself, Counselor.” She lingered for a minute before heading towards the door, looking back at her girlfriend one last time before turning the handle. The detective continued to fumble with the buttons on her shirt as she walked out almost walking straight into Munch.

                “Olivia,” the startled detective smiled, “what happened spilled something on your shirt?”

                Realizing she was still half unbuttoned pulled her shirt closed with her fist, “Uhm yea, something like that. I got it out though.” Liv shifted nervously, “Going see Casey? I gotta get back to work.” She motioned the thumb of her free hand back towards her desk.

                “Be careful, Detective. The coffee machine’s on the fritz and looks like your shirt can’t take another hit.” He called out, pointing with the folder in his hand as Liv kept walking. He knocked on the ADAs door.

                “Come in,” Casey called out, “Hey John!” she smiled as he walked through the door, “what’ve you got?”

                “Hey Casey, I just have Huang’s report for you to file before you go to the judge.” Munch walked forward and handed her the file. “Ouch, counselor I don’t think the vanity is worth it. Besides your hair looks nice curly. Platonically speaking of course—you’re not my type.” He straightened his tie.

                The redhead looked at him baffled, “John, I’m not following.” She chuckled. “Did you break into the evidence locker?”

                “Oh,” he waved his hand at her and then motioned to his own neck, “the burn, from your straightener. Looks like it hurts.”

                Casey clasped her hand over her neck and leaned on her elbow. “Huh, yeah, well you know. Lack of sleep.” She chuckled nervously.

                “Do me a favor, don’t operate any heavy machinery.” Munch gave a mock salute and walked out.

                “I deserved that,” Casey muttered under her breath after he left, “payback is a girlfriend with a hickey.”

*******

                “Their seven-year-old daughter? That sounds a bit imprudent.” Judge Taft said as Casey and Gates followed him down the hall.

                “Rittenhouse v. North Hempstead found a three-year-old wasn’t automatically presumed incompetent to testify.” Casey argued.

                “Ah, but you’re in my court now.” Taft’s voice dripping with self-importance.

                “And another case disqualified a seven-year-old witness. It’s completely subjective.” Quipped Gates.

                “Which is why,” Casey was growing impatient, “a psychiatrist examined Katie Campbell and that she understands her duty to tell the truth.”

                “I’m sure the people won't mind if I determine that myself.” Taft stated, his grin was sickening.

                “That’s not necessary Your Honor.” The ADA shook her head, assuring her the proper procedure had been followed.

                “But again, it’s in my court.”

*******

                Olivia stood over the stove stirring the cast iron while Casey stood at the counter furiously chopping up a bell pepper.

                “And then, THEN,” she was practically slamming the knife against the cutting board, “he told me that I needed to dress appropriately.” She stopped chopping and turned towards her girlfriend.

                Liv stopped stirring and turned to look at her girlfriend up and down. “What do you mean appropriately? That suit is perfectly tailored?”

                He said, “By appropriately, I mean in a skirt.” She was swinging her chopping hand as she spoke.

                “Woah, woah, why don’t we put that down.” She carefully clasped the redhead’s wrist between her hands and slid the knife away from Casey as if she were disarming a suspect.

                “Sorry, that’s probably best. I might hurt myself, you know like how I burned myself with my straightener this morning?” her tone shifted to mockingly accusatory and flipped her hair away from her shoulder.

                The brunette gasped, “Jesus baby I’m sorry! I didn’t think it would be that bad, I was just trying to get you back for the one you gave me the day of that softball game.” She chuckled.

                Casey mocked her laugh making a goofy face at her. “Hilarious babe,” she tossed a mushroom at her, “Especially when I had to have it pointed out by Munch! Who by the way is the only one still in the dark about us, totally clueless.”

                The detective wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s waist and leaned into her propping her head up on her shoulder. “I’m sorry Taft is being such a misogynist,” she tightened her hold, “You’re gonna kick ass in court.” She kissed her neck.

                “Ahh, hey!” the redhead swatted playfully at her and pulled her head to the side, “You’ve done enough damage for one day, Detective.” She giggled and leaned her head back to kiss Liv enthusiastically.

*******

                “Its open!” Casey called out, pouring more whiskey into her glass as Liv walked in the door.   

                “Swearability hearing went that badly huh?” the detective furrowed her brow, worried to find her girlfriend drinking alone on the couch.

                “Worse. He basically told me I embarrassed myself and shouldn’t brag about my lack of intellect.” The redhead put the bottle down and waved her hand in its general direction, “Don’t worry I don’t plan on making a habit out of it.”

                The brunette dropped the takeout down on the counter and dropped down next to Casey on the couch, “Well that’s a relief.” She motioned for Casey to swing her legs up over her. She slid the redheads boots off and dropped them to the floor. “Still, I’m sorry that he’s being such an ass.” Liv started to massage the counselor’s feet. “Elliot told me he’s gotta testify that he didn’t coerce her.”                

                The ADA took a swig of her drink and threw her head back, “Uggh Liv, why are you so good at that?”

                The brunette grinned, “I’m just, good with my hands.”

                Casey quirked her brow, letting out a low moan, “Mmm, that you are Detective, that you are.” She opened one eye to look at her girlfriend who was looking at her adoringly, “I see the way you’re looking at me.” She closed her eyes again.

                “Oh yeah and how’s that?” Liv chuckled, continuing to massage, working out a particularly difficult knot.

                The redhead smacked the couch and let out a moan, “Ohhhh, G-d that feels good. You’re spoiling me.” She peaked her eye open again, “And you’re looking at me the way you look at a container of honey chicken, hungry.”

                “Is that so?” The brunette smirked, “I mean cause I have honey chicken over there on the counter…”

                “You could have me on the counter,” Casey bit her lip.

                “Why would I do that,” Liv paused, the ADA picked her head up, the brunette was waiting for her shocked reaction before continuing, “when I can have you right here on the sofa.” She got a good grip on her thighs and pulled Casey down the couch to her.

                Casey squealed, “Babe, my drink!” she quickly dropped the glass to the coffee table, laughing. The detective was already pulling the attorney’s jeans down around her ankles and tossing them in the corner next to a pile of law journals.

                The brunette pulled Casey up to her to kiss her longingly, she could taste the whiskey on her tongue mixed with desire. The redhead moaned and then broke the kiss to catch her breath. “You kill me detective,” her eyes glistened, staring into Liv’s. She pressed a light kiss to her lips, “little deaths.” She sighed. She kissed her hard, running her fingers down the side of the brunette’s face. She allowed herself to fall back onto the couch pulling the cop down on top her, unbuttoning Liv’s shirt button by button.

*******

                Elliot sat in the witness box during the Hudy hearing ordered by Judge Taft. He swore that there was no influence on Katie’s statement and that the girl introduced her mother to the conversation without any prompting. Gates accused him of having a vendetta against Karen Campbell for comments taken out context. Upon stepping down from the witness box, Elliot started to walk away as Taft went ahead and ruled the testimony inadmissible.

                “This is a joke,” Elliot scoffed as he headed towards the back of the courtroom.

                “I beg your pardon, Detective Stabler,” Taft asked sternly?

                “I said this is a joke!” The detective turned back towards the judge.

                “You’d be wise to remember no one cares what you think, once you leave that box.” Taft’s words fell pointedly.

                “That interview wasn’t suggestive,” Elliot muttered walking back towards the bench.

                “Elliot, stop.” Casey raised her voice.

                He continued, “You’re just one of these judges that think cops strong arm witnesses just to make a case. What you think I just bullied a seven-year-old into lying?” He turned to walk away again.

                “Elliot, leave!” Casey commanded, she was trying to protect him and not blow her case at the same time.

                “No Elliot stay,” Taft scoffed, “You’re in contempt.”

                Casey went down to the holding cells to check on her friend, “You alright?”

                “Yeah great, thanks for getting me a couple hours off.” He said sarcastically.

                The redhead laughed incredulously, “You are not blaming this on me.”

                “Well, you did let that defense attorney trash me pretty good in court.”

                The ADA threw her hand up in protest, “Yeah and that stunt you pulled. That’s gonna ensure Taft screws me at trial but hey at least you still have your ego, right?”

                “You bail me out to talk about my ego?” the detective quipped back at her.

                “I did not get you out of there!” Casey rolled her eyes.

                “I called in a favor,” Mary Clark stared at the two of them, arms folded, “The contempt citation is withdrawn. So, if you could possibly stop acting like a petulant child.” She turned her attention to the young attorney, “And you, you need to start playing nice with Oliver Taft.”

                Stabler looked back at Casey, “And you’re worried about my ego. This guy abuses his power and gets away with it.”

                Mary cut him off, “You didn’t help anybody by mouthing off to the trial judge.” She looked back at her protégé, “This isn’t law school Casey, pick your battles. Winning is more important than wearing a skirt.”

*******

                Liv and Casey were lying in bed, the redhead snuggled up in the detective’s arms, staring out into space. The brunette stroked her back, “I can’t believe you asked Taft to recuse himself.”

                “I really fucked myself this time I think.” The anxiety in Casey’s voice was clear. “Why did I do that?”

                “Baby, you did it because you knew it was the right thing. That judge is never going to be impartial and was never going to get justice for that little girl.”

                “He still won’t,” Casey sat up, crossing her legs, and facing her girlfriend. “All I’ve done is ensure that he hates me and will do everything to make sure that I have a hard time prosecuting this case.”

                “What did Mary say?”

                The redhead sighed, “She said I was insane for asking an ego maniac to recuse himself and all I did was make myself an enemy.”

                “What are you gonna do?” Liv followed suit and sat up, taking the ADAs hand to comfort her, “It’s not like you can get him thrown off the bench.”

                “Maybe I can…”

******

                Elliot chased Casey down as she headed to court, “Hey I think I’ve got something that even Taft can’t ignore.”

                She furrowed her brow at him, “What is it?”

                “The records from the adoption agency the Campbells used. They tried to give Alexis back.”

                The redhead nearly fell out, “What? When?”

                “February of this year, only 6 months after her adoption. Wouldn’t hurt her my ass, that’s such bull.”

                The ADA smirked knowing Elliot may have found her a smoking gun.

*****

                It was no use even with the mountain of evidence, Taft’s bias completely controlled the courtroom as he acquitted Karen Campbell. Casey felt so defeated as she walked out of the courthouse, if it was a fair fight, maybe she would’ve felt better about losing. She walked over to Elliot.

                “I’m sorry,” she frowned and tapped him with her briefcase.

                “Don’t be, I know you went to the mat on this one. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.” His hands shoved deep into the pockets of his trench coat.

                “I want Taft off the bench.” She looked Elliot square in the eye.

                Elliot ran his hand down her arm, “and I want a ’65 stingray.” He said consolingly.

                “I’m serious,” she said as the detective had turned to walk away, “I’m going after him.”

                “Casey,” he exhaled, “It’s not worth it, what good does it do, to kill your career?”

                “If this is justice, I don’t want this career.”

                The detective looked at her concerned, “I’m just worried about you putting yourself in a bad position, I’d hate to see you get dragged down because of this bastard.” He grinned, “Besides who’s going to play softball with me when they fire your ass.” He punched her arm playfully.

*****

                Liv was zoned out at her desk working on DD-5s, the background noise of Munch spewing conspiracies at Fin and Cragen practically lulling her to sleep. She was nodding off halfway through a sentence when she felt a presence next to her desk, “Elliot for the last time I do not want a dirty water dog for lunch today.”

                “I’m not gonna ask why Elliot has asked you that more than once today.” Casey joked.

                The detective’s ears perked up and she leaned her head to the side, looking at the tall, gorgeous litigator leaning up against her desk. “Hey Da—DA Novak. ADA Casey. Hey Casey, what’s up?” Liv was about twenty shades of blushing after almost letting that nickname slip at the office.

                Casey leaned down, cleared her throat, and lowered her voice, “Daddy needs a favor.”

                “What’s wrong, Case?” She could tell there was a sense of urgency in her girlfriend’s voice.

                “I need you to help me talk to Cragen about reopening the Rosalind Silvo case. I know in my bones that there was bias on Judge Taft’s part and there was evidence to prove she was innocent…” the redhead pleaded.

                “…But Taft wouldn’t pay for the test.”

                “Exactly! If I can get Cragen to reopen the case, the DA’s office doesn’t have to go through the same channels, I can get permission to exhume the body, clear Silvo, and screw Taft to the wall.” Casey rambled, having to take a deep breath when she finally stopped speaking.

                “Well, I would like to hope I’m the only person you’re screwing against the wall but let me see the case notes and then we can go talk to him together.” Olivia chuckled, waving her hand for Casey to show her the files.

                Liv filled Elliot in and then the three of them brought it to Cragen’s attention, “Casey I’d love to help get an innocent woman out of prison, but I don’t have the manpower to fuel a vendetta.”

                “Its not really that much work boss, I think we got it covered,”

                Cragen shot him a look, “Well thank you for being such a real helper, Elliot.”

                Casey pleaded, hoping her puppy eyes would work on Cragen the way they work on Liv and Elliot, “It’s two interviews, if nothing pans out, I swear I’ll drop it.”

*****

                Liv walked out of the coffee shop and handed one to her girlfriend who was waiting for her on the sidewalk.

                “Thanks. It was a little too crowded in there for me.” Casey reached over and interlinked her fingers with the brunette’s. Her hand was a shaking, not something she’d attempted to do in public before.

                The detective tensed up, “Casey, what if someone sees us?”

                “I’m not ashamed,” she stopped and pulled the brunette’s hand turning her to face her. “I’m proud to say I’m with you, Olivia Benson.”

                Any fear Liv had at this point was washed away with Casey’s words and the adorable little dimples the redhead got when she smiled. She squeezed the attorney’s hand tighter and pulled her in close. “And I am all yours, Counselor. I wasn’t trying to hide you, I just want to keep you safe.”

                Casey smirked and leaned in to kiss the brunette, “Maybe you’ve forgotten how good I am with a bat.” She turned and started to walk again, holding her girlfriend’s hand tight with one hand, and sipping her coffee with the other.

                “You go talk to Mary, I’ll hang back here. I’m gonna check in with the house.” Liv stated as they got closer to the judge’s apartment. Casey nodded and started to walk away, the brunette pulling her back and into a quick kiss before letting her go. She wasn’t going to feel ashamed to show anyone how much Casey meant to her anymore. She watched as the redhead walked down the block and couldn’t help but stare at how good she looked in that outfit, how her hips swayed back and forth. She chewed on her lip and was startled by the phone ringing.

                “Benson. Hey El I was just about to check in. Yeah, I’m good, I’m just waiting for Casey, she’s talking with Judge Clark.”

                Judge Clark walked out of her apartment just to find Casey waiting for her. “I don’t know how I can be more clear,” she was sympathetic but not up for taking on Taft.

                The ADA smirked, “Rosalin Silvo is innocent, here’s the M.E. report.” She handed Mary the file Olivia had gotten from Warner. “Taft let his bias run that courtroom, same crap he always does but this time, he stole a woman’s life.”

                Mary scanned the report, her face dropped, and she looked up at Casey, “That son of a bitch. He’s an embarrassment to the bench.”

                “I’ll worry about him as soon as I get Rosalin Silvo out of jail.”

*****

                After hearing the evidence Judge Preston spoke, “I have to agree with counsel, the only possible remedy is to vacate Ms. Silvo’s conviction. We’re adjourned.” She stated with the bang of her gavel.

                 Rosalin, with tears of joy in her eyes, hugged Mary, and Casey, thanking them before hugging her other child tightly. The ADA and Judge Clark gathered up their things and headed for the door as Taft approached them.

                “Well Judge Clark its good to see you haven’t lost sight of your humble beginnings as a legal aid attorney. Ms. Novak, are you going to be coming through all the decisions I’ve made.” He scoffed.

                “That depends,” she started, “how many other defendant’s have you falsely convicted?”

                “History is full of mistakes Ms. Novak, even your short history.” His tone was aggressive.

                Mary stepped in between him and Casey. “You’re not threatening her, are you? Some people might consider that conduct unbecoming of an officer of the court. You can’t bully your way out of this Oliver.” She gave him a smug look knowing she could tear him down in an instant.

                Casey did her best to hide her enjoyment of this exchange when her cellphone rang. “Casey Novak.” Her heart sank, “Oh G-d.”

*****

                The ADA ran up to the scene as she approached the Campbell household. She stopped at the stairs as she saw the small body being carried out, covered in a white sheet. “Why wasn’t she in the hospital?” she demanded, her voice raw with emotion as her eyes met Elliot, who was exiting the building.

                “Released.” He walked towards her, “Parent’s didn’t want her in a nursing home. The aunt dropped by, found Alexis in her bed already dead.” He paused for a second, “Casey,” he took a deep breath, “Karen was the only one home.”

                “She finished the job.” Casey muttered as Olivia emerged from the doorway with Karen Campbell in cuffs, she was reading her, her Miranda rights as they walked past.

*****

                “Hey, you okay?” Casey was leaning against the door of the call room.

“Hey babe, I’m fine. Is her lawyer here?” Liv lifted her head up.

“No, no not yet it’s okay lay back down.” The redhead walked over and laid down on the cot next to the detective. She pulled Liv’s arm tight around her.

“Baby, you okay?” Liv mumbled into Casey’s back. She was met with silent sobs causing Casey’s body to shake against her. The brunette lifted her head up, “Baby what is it?”

“This is my fault.”

“How could you possibly…”

“I should’ve fought harder to get Taft thrown off the case, off the bench, something! I should’ve done more.”

“Case, you are only one assistant district attorney, and while you are wonderful and gorgeous and intelligent, not to mention compassionate beyond rivaling— you are only one human being.”

                Elliot rapped on the doorframe, “Hey guys, Gates is here, showtime.”

                Casey wiped her tears and stood up straighten out her blazer and the three of them headed down to the interrogation room.

                “What happened,” Elliot sat down and opened his notepad, “You miss us?”

                “You can’t charge my client with murder for a crime she was already acquitted of.” Gates spouted, demanding the release of the client.

                “Unless we’re talking about two separate acts, which we are. Right Karen?” Olivia stated closing the door behind her. “Alexis was suffocated, the poisoning had nothing to do with her death.”

                Casey studied Gates face, he had no idea what his client had done. He was as shocked as they were.

                “I didn’t want to bring her home. Pete insisted. She wouldn’t stop crying, I just wanted her to stop. It wasn’t my fault!

                “What you gonna claim it was an accident again?” Elliot clapped back at her.

                “No! The judge said I should do it.”

                Casey tilted her head, “What Judge?”

                “Judge Taft.” The ADA shot a look at Gates as Karen continued, “He said Alexis was too sick and I had other children to think about. He said we would all be better off if Alexis just died.”

                Olivia looked at her girlfriend in disbelief.

“When did he say this to you?” the redhead pressed.

“The other day in court right before I testified.”

Gates jumped up, “Interview is over, everyone out.”

“What the hell was Taft doing talking to her anyway?” Elliot asked.

“Hanging himself,” Casey scoffed. “The bastard’s done now.”

“Doesn’t that nullify her acquittal,” Liv jumped in.

The redhead nodded, “Sure does not that it matters, we’ve got her on homicide.”

A few minutes later he met the ADA and the detectives outside the interview. “I just want you to know I had no knowledge of this ex-parte or as an officer of the court I would’ve been duty bound to tell you immediately.”

“What did he say?” Casey demanded.

“Apparently, he saw her crying and told her to think of her other kids and maybe they would be better off if Alexis died anyway and then he advised her to get psychiatric help so that this kind of thing wouldn’t happen again. Which I think is a fine idea.”

“Book her and go pick up Taft,” Casey stated as she gathered her things.

“On what grounds,” Cragen questioned.

“Criminal Facilitation Two. He told her to get a shrink which means he knew this was no accident and acquitting her gave her the means and opportunity to commit a Class A felony.”

“He has judicial immunity Casey,” Cragen spoke softly.

“He smoked his judicial immunity the minute he had an ex parte communication with the defendant.” The redhead said as she stormed out of the precinct.

*****

                “I don’t think I’ve every been this nervous.” Casey said checking over her appearance in the mirror. “I cannot lose this case.”

                Liv came up behind her and kissed her neck, “You’re gonna do great baby. C’mon,” she turned her around and straightened the lapel of her jacket, “Everyone knows my Daddy has the best conviction rate in town, and she isn’t scared of anyone, definitely not some old man named Oliver Taft.” She pulled her collar tight and kissed the redhead. “I know you’re already dressed but I think I know how to calm you down.”  She smiled slyly.

                “Mmm, do you now?” Casey raised her brow and bit her lip.

                Liv nodded, sliding the redhead’s suit jacket off and placing it on the counter, “Mhmm yeah. Watch.” she said sliding her tongue into her mouth.

The attorney enthralled in the kiss grabbed for her girlfriend’s belt buckle fumbling to get it undone and get Liv’s fly down. She slid her hand down into the brunette’s waistband as her lover had moved on to kissing down her pulse points. Casey felt how wet Olivia already was and let out a sultry giggle, “Mmm, I’m starting to think I just keep you like this twenty-four/seven. Let Daddy fix it.” She moaned sliding a finger in and pressing her palm to Liv’s clit.

The detective fumbled with Casey’s suit pants as she let out little whimpers which Casey swallowed, kissing her hard. Finally getting them undone, the attorney used her freehand to grab her girlfriends wrist and pull it to her, sliding it down into her boxers. Liv glided two fingers into Casey’s soaked center and thrust her back against the counter.

The ADA threw her head back, “Oh god Olivia! Fuck” she slipped another finger into the detective. The two of them mewling and whimpering as they continued toying with each other’s g-spots. They knew each other’s body’s like clockwork, enough to make it last for hours or make the other cum instantly. Their breath hitching and growing ragged they both knew what was coming next and let go, collapsing against each other and back against the counter.

Casey held Liv’s head against her shoulder and kissed her temple, both of them out of breath. “You make the prettiest noises when I fuck you.”

******

                As they arrived at the courthouse Casey was much more relaxed. She was hurriedly headed towards the courtroom when she heard someone call out to her.

                “Hey Novak! Catch.” She turned around to see Elliot lob something in her direction. She caught it one handed and looked at it.

                “What’s this for?” she said quizzingly.

                “It’s cologne Case, you smell like sex. Keep it,” he headed in, “Knock em dead!”

                As the trial proceeded the prosecution called Taft as their first witness.

                “Is that why you spoke to Karen during her trial, because you thought she was innocent.” The ADA asked casually.

                Taft paused for a second and took a deep breath, “I admit the conversation was ill-advised. We were in the same elevator, she was distraught. I allowed my empathy to overrule my intellect.” Elliot rolled his eyes from the gallery as Taft spoke.

                “Did it every occur to you that Karen Campbell might be responsible for her daughters condition?” Casey continued.

                “I must object, Your Honor.” Taft argued.

                “You felt sorry for the defendant, so you must’ve already decided she was innocent even though the trial had not concluded yet.”

                “I had formed no opinion,” Taft retorted, “as you just said the trial had not yet concluded.”

                “I know,” the redhead swung her hand as she walked over to the jury box. “Which is why it was so strange that you were talking to her. Why did you tell the defendant to quote seek psychiatric help, so this tragedy doesn’t occur again.”

                “She was upset,” the judge answered.

                “Because it sounds like you really did think she poisoned her daughter.” Casey was getting louder, more adamant in how she spoke.

                “It was a mistake, is that what you want me to say Ms. Novak? One mistake in almost three decades?”

                Casey sneered, “Didn’t you make an arguably bigger mistake? When you wrongfully convicted Rosalin Silvo of murdering her daughter and sent her to prison for ten years?” The ADA was shouting at this point.

                “That is completely immaterial,” The Judge argued.

                The redhead stepped to him, “You can’t object Judge Taft.”

                “But I can Ms. Novak,” Judge Bradley warned.

                “Did you tell Karen Campbell to suffocate her daughter?” Casey walked back towards the jury.

                “No.”

                “But you talked to her even though it was clearly improper,”

                “It was a mistake!”

 “You don’t make mistakes, you make judgements, who’s innocent, who’s guilty. You saw Rosalin Silvo and she was a whore. That means she’s a bad mother. And then you saw Karen Campbell. Why did you talk to her Judge?” Casey was furious at this point.

“Your Honor!?” Taft turned towards Judge Bradley.

“Why talk to her? Why talk to Karen Campbell?” the young fiery attorney pressed as Taft stood up in the witness box. “Why talk to a woman who tried to murder her daughter?”

“I didn’t know!”

“Didn’t know what?” Casey shouted, “That she’d turn around and try to do it again.”

“I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOOD PEOPLE” Taft bellowed at Casey.

Judge Bradley banged his gavel, “That’s enough!”

“Nothing further,” the redhead’s lip curled as she walked away.

It didn’t take the Jury long to come back with a guilty verdict. The press was outside waiting for Taft as both Elliot and Casey watched satisfied from afar. He had been demoted before he even left the courtroom. The detective nudged the ADA, “You did good Case.” She nudged him back and smiled.

*****

                “It’s open,” Casey said as she heard her girlfriend approach the door. She was sitting at the counter. “Hey beautiful.”

                Liv walked over and planted a longing kiss on the redhead.

                “Mmm,” Casey couldn’t help but smile at the brunette’s touch. “I have something for you.”

                “You do?” The detective asked, “What is it? Something sexy?”

                Casey giggled, “I hope you think so.” She looked up at Liv, “so you know how you always say how unsafe it is for me to leave my door unlocked when waiting for you? I think I’ve found a solution.” She slid her hand across the counter towards her girlfriend and lifted it away revealing a singular house key. “What do you think?”

Read Part 7

[sloshed-cinema]

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021)

‘Chronically online’ is often tossed about with people who feel the compulsion to constantly share every thought that passes through their often vacant mind on Twitter.  But in some cases, this takes on a deeper, more damaging implication.  Internet forums can be safety nets for people in need of support, and there can be release in exploring problems in abstract through fantasy or storytelling.  It’s when something stops being a tool or even coping mechanism and turns into an obsession which can be dangerous.  I was never a creepypasta kid growing up, and things like SCP files didn’t appeal to me personally.  We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is far more interested in the minutiae of that culture, and does a fairly good job of capturing the spectrum of videos in that corner of the internet, at least to my journeyman’s understanding of it.  Far more fascinating is the implication of the interaction between loner high schooler Casey and JLB, the creator of the World’s Fair mythos.  When JLB reaches out to Casey, it’s disturbing, an older, anonymous man speaking to this young girl, telling her to make more videos, watching her sleep, drawing her deeper into this labyrinth.  He’s a obsessed with this fantasy world too, either unaware of the impacts of what he is doing or too far gone to care.  When Casey’s videos become darker and darker, he has the clarity to pull back, trying to start a dialogue about suicidal ideation and loneliness during a really tough part of life.  She reacts predictably and withdraws, making accusations which floated in my mind from the start but became more conflicted as time progressed and his motives became more vague.  His desire for her not to commit suicide seem genuine, but he also never pulls the E-brake and stops the game entirely.  The final video confessional has to be taken at his word.  Is this the truth, or are these the fantasies of a man feeling guilty over his earlier actions and trying to paint himself the hero?  By the same coin, Casey’s videos have a performative aspect to them which feel artificial even to the girl herself.  Is she trying to create something for herself which she thinks others are genuinely experiencing, or is this artificial, a way to continue to attract attention from JLB?  It’s people reaching out for one another but lacking the emotional bandwidth to fully carry the burden the other one needs, or at least JLB recognizing something of himself in Casey and failing to help her while passively perpetuating her spiral.  Horror can be an effective conduit for processing emotion, but only when you know it’s a vessel rather than something to bring inward.

I will confess the opening scene made me nervous as to how the film would be executed.  But when the film pulls away to bleak shots of desolate midwinter parking lots and abandoned big box retailers accompanied by strains of a song with strong Sufjan-core vibes, I knew there would be something more going on than that bland nightmare.  Namely, anything.  Montage sequences like that capture the essential isolation of the film’s emotional core, a girl who has to use an ASMR video as a comforting parent figure and who seeks solace through the camaraderie of an online game community.  Aside from her choice of created videos, writer-directer Jane Schoenbrun shows an assured hand in shot selection.  At several points we are placed in a frame where we can see both Casey recording herself and how Casey moves about her physical space, blending Casey’s recorded or created reality with how we perceive the greater context.  It’s this combination, paired off against the anonymity of JLB.  We see both characters in similar poses, immobilized on a bed and gazing longingly at videos.  I’m curious to see what Schoenbrun will do next.

THE RULES

SIP

Casey says her own name.

Casey starts recording herself.

An internet video starts to play.

BIG DRINK

The World’s Fair Challenge is named.

Paranormal Activity gets name-dropped.

Someone starts a video call.

[goldenspecter]

Cosmo’s TMNT Masterpost

(Rise, 2003, 2012, and others)

Here’s where you can find pretty much everything I’ve ever made for the TMNT fandom! Fanfics here[haven’t gotten the courage to post fanart here yet], hope you guys enjoy my work. Reblogs are appreciated!

Fanfics

1. Finding my way home(and moving forward)

Out of sheer curiosity, Leonardo and Donatello looked up, and there it was.

A portal.

Had the Universe really taken pity on them? Had it really heard his desperate prayers for one more chance?

It was not like the ones they had seen before, it was an irregular circle made up of several shades of blue, completely different from the perfect and symmetrical pink triangles of the Kraang.

Leonardo and Donatello looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, "Should we go in?" Donatello asked, almost shouting, drawing the attention of the others, who quickly turned to the portal and to see each other, then the two brothers in question.

"It's our best bet, and our only chance," replied Leonardo.

Or rather, with the 2012 kids' home gone, they end up in the Rise verse after a strange portal shows up. Therapy is needed, and start the slow process of healing from their trauma.

(Rise/2012, Work in Progress, written with @keeryd​ )

2. Strawberry Cookies:

"Mikey here was just about to tell me what we could do to cheer Raph up while he's sick," Donnie says. "Mikey continue?"

Now that Mikey had both of his older brothers attention, he grins. "I was thinking we make strawberry cookies!" He does his jazz hands as he says this and is met with looks of something that he can only put as disapproval. "What?"

"You do know that everytime that we have tried to make it-" Donnie starts.

"We mess it up and Raph has to come in and save our butts from burning the cookies?" Leo finishes, "What would be different this time?"

Mikey huffs, "We are doing this so we can cheer him up and to prove that we can do something on our own!" he says, "That's what got Raph sick in the first place!"

Or rather, Raph gets sick after helping his brothers recover from the poisoned pizza puffs. Mikey, Donnie, and Leo take a shot at baking cookies for Raph while trying not to burn their kitchen down.

(One shot, complete)

 3. Chicken Fried Rice:

“I only poured in half a pot of rice,” Donnie complained.

Mikey stared at him, really stared at him before he spoke. “You do realize that rice expands when cooked right?” he said, “You do realize that?”

Donnie was silent, looking away from Mikey.

“Donnie!”

Donnie makes chicken fried rice. Mikey watches over. Shenanigans and brotherly fluff ensue.

one shot in which Donnie is in the kitchen, cooking rice and Mikey, Mikey is positive he should have gotten Donnies braincell. 

(One shot, complete)

 4. Tea Time with Hortense and Patty: 

"Sooo," Raph starts. She's always been weird with awkward silences. "Are these grandma kinning hours?"

"Grandma hours!" Mikey exclaims excitedly. "Grandma time!!!"

"Ah, if it isn't our favorite girl and her little brother!" Hortense tilts her head over in their direction slightly. "Are you going to join us? We were just about done arguing," she says.

---

Today is Tea Time. Two old ladies have a tea party, one of them forgets to bring the food, and they are joined by Mikey and Raph. A good time is still had.

(One Shot, Complete)

5. One of those Days

When Donnie woke up this morning, he woke up with the familiar thrum of anger and irritation running through his body with more intensity than normal. Rubbing the crust out of the corners of his sleep-addled eyes, he jerkily grabbed his phone and turned off the alarm. It's one of Those Days, Donnie noted. Those Days where Donnie isn't capable of handling Mikey's over-enthusiastic optimism or Leon's chaotic trickster nature. His safest bet is to hang out with Raph, his calm and mellow demeanor always helped calm down before Donnie went on a rage fest and say anything he couldn't take back.

Or, Donnie and Raph help each other out, balance each other, and make things a little less difficult.

(One Shot, Complete) 

 6. Gift Hunting: 

“It’s Leo. Tiny Leo,” the voice answers. “I need your help with something.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t say until you say yes first,” Leo says. “It’s really important though.”

Angelo is silent, weighing his options. He could say no, he really could-

“Please, Angelo, you’re the only one who can really help me with this,” Leo pleads.

Rather, Angelo and Leonardo go out in the streets of New York to help the blue banded turtle find gifts for his brothers' sixteenth mutation day. Bonding and fluff ensues.

(One Shot, Complete)

 7. Aftermath:

“Raphie bear?” Mikey called out, gently tapping Raph, with relief washing him when Raph turned his head to face him. “What’s the matter teddy bear?”

“Th-thi-this doesn’t feel real.” Raph stuttered out, his voice cracking as a sob broke through. “I’m not really here. Neither are you and everyone else. I’m still alone with Draxum and his minions. No one’s coming to save me because I was stupid enough to get captured and no one wants such a worthless turtle like me.”

In which Raph was kidnapped and tortured by Baron Draxum and his family has to deal with the aftermath of it.

(One Shot, Complete)

 8. To Be the Eldest

Donnie, the second youngest in his family, wishes he was the eldest for once. Then one night, Donnie gets his wish granted and now he was three small turtles in his care.

Donnie adjusts to being the eldest, comes to some realizations, and makes a promise to his (now) younger brothers.

(Work In Progress)

 9. Wanted: Snaggletooth 

Dr. Noel bent down on his knees in front of Raph, a manic smile that showed too many teeth coming about on his face speaking of pain and suffering that has yet to come. He stretched out his hand towards Raph’s face, placing a thumb under his mouth, pressing into his snaggletooth. “Beautiful. Just as I expected,” he crooned, pulling out a syringe and injecting it into Raph’s neck, pushing the contents of the syringe into his system.

Raph’s eyes fluttered as he started losing consciousness, watching through hooded eyes as Dr. Noel's smile grew even wider, with his last thought right as darkness consumed him being that he hoped his family would find him before it was too late.

Post S2 Finale, Dr. Noel remembers Raphael, his snaggletooth, and manages to find and capture the red masked turtle. It doesn't end well for Raphael.

(Work In Progress)

 10. Dimensional Differences:

They bow. Not like one of those pretentious bows like she would do at Yokai parties and not like the ones she would do with her brothers when they hosted tea parties. They bowed deeply, heads stopping at her stomach, one hand closing around their fists. This spoke of respect and honor.

And that unnerved her a little bit. Why are they bowing so deeply?

“Thank you,” they said in unison. It’s unnerving to April and she felt the uneasiness coming from her brothers too.

“Why are you thanking me?” She said finally, voice sounding foreign to her.

“You saved my life?” Baby Leo said slowly, voice tinged with confusion. “That was an honorable thing to do?”

April blinked, “It shouldn’t be considered honorable for doing what any big sister would do,” she said. “That’s not honor, that’s just being a good older sibling.”

In which April, Sunita, Casey, and the turtles end up in the 2012 verse after a mishap with Leo's ōdachi and stay with the 2012 turtles until they can go home. They find out a lot of things that don't quite jive with them. Some things are the same, some things are different and they're not quite sure how to handle those differences.

(Rise/2012, Work In Progress)

 11. Mind Meld Part Deux:

“Oh thank Galileo that you all are back to normal!”

“What do you mean we’re back to normal?” Raph questioned, pulling back from the hug. Mikey and Leo also pulled back to stare at Donnie. “We’ve-we’ve always been like this?”

Donnie went quiet. He shouldn’t have said that.

“Donnie, what did you do?”

The brothers found out about Donnie’s Mental Intelligence Reprogrammulator. Arguments are had, words are said, words that tear a rift between him and his family, and it’s up to Donnie to earn his brothers’ forgiveness. The only thing is, will he get it?

(Work In Progress)

 12. I'm a little kid and so are you(don't you go and grow up before I do):

The 2003 turtles somehow, someway ended up in the Rise verse, with Rise Splinter and his turtle tots, and stay with them while the boys try to figure out their way home. 2003 Raphael got attached to his tiny counterpart the moment he laid eyes on the tot. (Raph centric)

(Rise/2003, Work In Progress)

 13. Dimensional Self-Isolation

Post S2 Finale, Raph finds himself trapped in the 2012 universe and has a difficult time coping with all of the differences that this world has in store for him. From new villains, unfamiliar familiar faces, and the way the 2012 boys and Splinter treat each other and him, Raph has a heavy plate on his hands during his long term stay.

(Rise/2012, Work In Progress)

14. A Collection of Turtle Thoughts

A collection of drabbles and ficlets about Turtles I've been writing since October 2020. Ranges from humor to hurt/comfort, I have it all.

Requests are open. SFW only though.

(All Iterations, Work in Progress)

If y’all reblog, read, and share my work, I’d really appreciate that! Anything and everything is appreciated, money or not! Thanks folks 🐢💕

[thebookreader12345]

Foster Parents

Pairing: Blake Gallo x reader

Summary: Y/N and Blake, who are both firefighters at Firehouse 51, save a little girl from a fire, and later that day, they discover that the girl’s parents didn’t make it, so both of them agree to foster her

Requested: Yes, by anonymous

Warnings: mentions of death by fire

Word Count: 1,849 Words

“Whoa whoa whoa. What is this?” Mouch asked as he entered the common room, only to find Blake and I taking up the whole couch, including his seat.

“Leave us be, Mouch. We’re tired.” My words were muffled because my face was pressed against Blake’s chest, but I’m assuming Mouch heard me well enough because he didn’t let up.

“Okay, there is one rule in this firehouse, and it’s that the one seat on the couch is mine. You guys have never broken that rule, so why are you doing it now?” Mouch questioned. 

I groaned and sat up, pushing a few stray hairs out of my face. “The reason we’re trying to rest, Mouch, is because there’s a new construction project happening on the same block as our apartment, so on some nights, there’s so much noise that we can hardly sleep.” Just then, the alarm went off throughout the building, and the dispatcher announced that there was a house fire. I groaned again and stood up, stretching my arms and legs before running to the apparatus floor with Blake following close behind me. Everyone put on their gear, and we climbed into the truck ready to go. Stella turned on the engine, flicked on the lights and siren, and then we were off. A few blocks away from the fire, I could see smoke accumulating in the air, which meant this was a big one. As we pulled up to the address, I got to take in the full amount of damage. Bright orange flames were protruding from the windows on the second story, and the once white outside of the house was stained black from being burnt. As soon as we exited the truck, Matt was shouting orders.

“Kidd, you and I will take the top floor, L/N, you and Gallo take the bottom. Mouch, stay here and get the aerial ready just in case we need it,” Matt ordered. Once Blake and I put on our masks and had our gear all situated, we entered the house and started looking around the bottom floor. The first floor was barely touched by the fire, and there was only a bit of smoke that trailed down the stairs filling the rooms. After checking the kitchen, living room, dining room and bathroom and finding no bodies, Blake and I exited the house.

“Captain, the bottom floor is clear,” Blake spoke into his radio. For a few seconds, the radio was silent, but Matt finally said something back.

“Kidd and I have two victims up here. We’re bringing them out now,” Matt replied. About a minute or two later, Stella and Matt exited the house. Matt was carrying a woman in his arms, and Stella was dragging a man behind her. Both looked to be in their early 30s, but because of the severe burns on their bodies, it was hard to tell. As the paramedics went to help them out, a woman approached me.

“Did you guys get the kid out?” the woman asked me.

“I’m sorry?” I question.

“The family that lives here, the Jeffersons, they foster a daughter. She’s about 6 years old,” the woman told me. I scanned the scene, hoping to spot a little girl by the ambulances or near a firefighter, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Blake, there’s a kid in there,” I inform my boyfriend.

“All right. I’ll tell Casey,” Blake said.

“No. I’ll go get her. I’ll be right back,” I exclaim and run into the house, slipping on my mask as I ran up the stairs. I could feel the heat from the flames through my gear, but I pushed that away and continued moving. “Fire department! Call out!” I strained my ears to listen if someone responded, but I didn’t hear anyone. I poked my head through a few doors, and at the end of the hallway, I came across a child’s bedroom. If there was still a little girl in here, she had to be hiding in her room. “Fire department! If anyone is here, please call out.” That’s when I heard a whimper coming from under the bed, so I got down on my knees and peaked to see what was there. In front of me was a little girl with blonde hair, which was partially black from the soot, and she was holding a stuffed rabbit tightly to her chest. I pulled off my mask so that she could see my face, and I knew that wasn’t the best idea considering there was smoke everywhere, but if I was going to get her out of here, then this was the best plan. “Hi. I’m Y/N. Can you tell me your name?”

“Sarah,” the girl responded softly.

“Hey, Sarah. I’m a firefighter,” I tell her. “I need you to climb out from under the bed for me.”

Sarah shook her head and clutched her plushie even tighter. “It’s too scary out there.”

“I know how scared you are right now, but you and I have to get out of here. It’s too dangerous. You’ll be with me the whole time, and I promise I won’t let you get hurt. I just need you to come with me,” I explain. Sarah hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded and crawled out from under the bed. I lifted her into my arms and wrapped my coat around her to keep her face safe from the smoke, and once I grabbed my mask from the floor, I began making my way out of the house. It didn’t take long for us to get out of the house, and as soon as I did, I brought Sarah over to Sylvie and Emily. “Sarah, this is Sylvie and Emily. They’re going to take good care of you.” I set Sarah down and went to go back to my job, but Sarah reached out and grabbed ahold of my hand.

“Can you stay with me? Please,” Sarah begged. Sarah was practically shaking, and the way she was looking at me broke me.

“Of course I’ll stay with you,” I answer. As Sylvie and Brett loaded the stretcher into the back of the ambulance, I turned to my radio. “Captain, I’m heading with the little girl to Med.”

“Copy that. We’ll meet you there later,” Matt responded. I then climbed into the back of the ambulance, and we sped off towards the hospital.

......................................

“Hey. We got here as fast as we could. How’s the little girl doing?” Blake asked and pecked my lips, the rest of Truck 81 right behind him.

“Uh, good. Miraculously, she just had some minor smoke inhalation. Dr. Manning said she would be fine. I haven’t heard about the parents though,” I disclose. At that moment, Dr. Halstead walked into the lobby and made his way over to us. Maybe he had news about the parents.

“Hey, everyone. The parents both had severe 3rd degree burns on more than 50% of their bodies, and major smoke inhalation. I’m sorry, but there was nothing we could do,” Will informed us.

“Wait a minute. You’re saying they’re dead?” I question. Will nodded. “What about Sarah? Where’s she going to go?”

“Well, she’s in the foster system, so we’ve got to call social services down to take her,” Will answered.

I sighed. “Okay. Mind if I sit with her while we wait for them to get here?”

Will shook his head. “Not at all.”

“I’ll come with,” Blake spoke and took ahold of my hand, intertwining our fingers. I smiled at the action, and together, Blake and I walked to the conference room Sarah was waiting in. Her stuffed rabbit was sitting on the table in front of her as she colored on a piece of paper.

“Hey, Sarah. Have you heard about your parents?” I quiz.

She nodded. “I was only with them for a few weeks,” Sarah whispered and traded her blue crayon for a purple one.

“I’m sorry. This is Blake, my boyfriend. We’re just going to sit with you while the hospital calls over some people to help find you a new home,” I tell her.

“Okay,” Sarah said. After about a half an hour, social services arrived to take Sarah. It was hard seeing her go. Even if I had just known her for a little bit, I felt a connection with her. Blake had also seemed to take a liking to her, and while we had been sitting in the conference room, he made her laugh and helped her figure out what to draw next. Just as Sarah and the agent, Mrs. Delores, were about to leave the room, Blake and I shared a look. Blake had lost his family to a fire, and I was no stranger to death. My father had just died last year. We knew what it was like losing parents, and we didn’t want Sarah to end up jumping from home to home.

“Wait!” I call out, stopping Mrs. Delores from exiting the room. “What if we take her.”

“I’m sorry?” Mrs. Delores questioned.

“Blake and I, we could take her. We’ve got stable jobs, and when we’re on shift, my mother could watch Sarah. I know we’re not certified or anything, but Sarah knows and trusts us. If there is any way for this to work, Blake and I would like to foster her,” I state.

Mrs. Delores looked over to Blake. “You’re okay with this?”

“I am,” Blake replied.

“Well, it’ll take about 3-4 months before you can get approved,” Mrs. Delores pointed out.

“I have a friend who can take care of that. Please, Mrs. Delores,” I plead.

“This is unethical, but I see that you really want to take care of Sarah. And we’ll have to schedule a house check sometime this week,” Mrs. Delores added.

“Done,” I say. 

“All right then. You guys can take Sarah home,” Mrs. Delores declared.

One Week Later...

It had been one week since we had started fostering Sarah. Because Matt had been an alderman, he knew people that could speed up the foster parent process for us, so, as of now, Blake and I were official foster parents. Currently, Blake, Sarah and I were all relaxing on the couch watching a movie before bed. I was snuggled up against Blake’s left side, and Sarah was laying on his right, her head resting on his lap. She had been asleep for about 10 minutes and was snoring softly.

“I’m glad we did this,” I tell Blake.

“Me too,” Blake agreed and leaned over to press a chaste kiss to my lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I reply. “Now, which one of us is going to be the bad guy and wake her up?”

“I guess I will, but if we’re going to make this work, we’ve got to take turns. I will not be forever known as the bad guy,” Blake confessed.

I smiled. “Deal.” I know that Blake and I were pretty young to be parenting a child, but in my mind, we were already amazing at it. Sure, we had a lot to learn, but as long as we work together to make sure Sarah is happy, everything will be all right.

____________________

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld @caitsymichelle13 @anotherfan07​

[vanessakirbyfans]

Vanessa Kirby suggests we meet on the Mall, the central location for her on-screen triumph as the young Princess Margaret in The Crown. I’m standing outside the shuttered Institute of Contemporary Arts when she strides into view, a slender, leggy figure with bleached hair and brilliant blue eyes, clad in trademark black, but for her gleaming white Converse trainers.

"I haven’t been here since we were filming!" she marvels through her mask, gazing up the processional avenue towards Buckingham Palace. "I was whizzing up the road on a motorbike, holding onto the back of Matthew Goode [as Antony Armstrong-Jones] and feeling so exhilarated about what on Earth was happening to my life – being in a job I loved, playing someone I loved."

Her ebullient mood was dented when Margaret’s handbag, into which she’d put her own phone, was blown away from between her feet, and an opportunistic passer-by ran off with it. "By the time I could check Find My iPhone, it was already in Leicester Square," she says. "Of course, the costume department were furious because the bag was vintage and a one-off." We both laugh, rather ruefully, for such anecdotes already seem to belong to a more carefree time. This bright, crisp lunchtime in lockdown, the Mall is all but deserted –there would be no need for roadblocks or filming at dawn today – while the roles Kirby is here to discuss are light-years away from her embodiment of a pampered royal party girl.

The morning of our meeting, Pieces of a Woman has launched on Netflix to rapturous reviews and critical acclaim that has seen Kirby, in her first lead role, picked as a front-runner for the award season’s most coveted best-actress gongs.

It is not, however, an easy watch. Kirby plays Martha, a first-time mother whose baby dies moments after being born; the film follows Martha’s subsequent disintegration, alongside that of her close relationships. Her labour, which comes at the start of the film, is some 26 minutes of one unbroken take that manages to be simultaneously intimate and menacing as the camera swoops around the apartment and hovers beside the traumatised protagonists.

Kirby’s performance is astonishingly unselfconscious, which is the more surprising since she never went to drama school (turning down the offer of a place at Lamda in favour of stage roles at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre) and says she couldn't bring herself to dance in front of her friends. "I’m the one who sits in the corner and watches." She describes seeing herself on-screen as "disconcerting", and "not a very natural human experience", and indeed even finds making Zoom calls a trial. "There’s nothing to hide behind!"

For Pieces of a Woman, the director Kornel Mundruczo decided that the birth scene would be the first to be shot, she tells me, as we stroll around St James’s Park, conducting ourselves like a couple of spies in a Le Carré novel. "I knew I’d have to be naked, and literally open my legs and give birth in front of a group of strangers I’d only met that morning. I was actually quite thankful – I thought, the rest of it’s going to be a lot easier."

In fact, she says, she found herself swept away by the emotion of the story. "Normally, it’s so hard to forget there are machines in your face, but I had no idea that a camera was even there." Was it traumatic to act? "The first time we shot it, I was literally sobbing for 10 minutes afterwards. I couldn’t get out of it. My brain was telling me it wasn’t real, but my unconscious didn’t know the difference, especially with having a real baby in my arms.

"Kornel came over onto the bed and held me so tight. He didn’t let go of me for five minutes, and he said, 'Just remember this feeling.' That really helped me for the rest of the movie, when the character doesn’t express anything, but almost has to be doing the howling without speaking a word."

Kirby took her research seriously, even asking a mother-to-be –a total stranger – to allow her to be present in the delivery room at the birth of her son in a north-London hospital. "I remember every single second of it," the actress says emphatically. "I was there, glued to my seat, for seven hours, not even a loo break! I was just amazed, in awe. I saw a woman completely surrender and go on this spiritual journey, which involved indescribable pain, clearly, but also ecstasy. It gave me a whole new respect for women and how powerful they are, and a new empathy for men, because they feel so helpless. And obviously, seeing the baby come out was the most incredible thing in the world I’ve ever seen, by far. After he was born, all of the mother’s colour returned, she looked like an angel, she had a kind of holy glow." Bathetically, it was only then that the couple recognised Kirby. "They were going, 'Oh my God, it’s Princess Margaret! This is so weird!'"

The experience has given her a new philosophy on life, she says. "I was watching the mother go through these contractions, which were excruciating, and the pushing, and then there was a moment of calm, and of expansion. And so, when I’m going through things in my life, I say to myself, this is like a contraction, surrender to it, because there might be something born from it. Sometimes we don’t want that; when we’re feeling something horrible, we want it to pass as far as possible. I’m teaching myself to allow it to be there and not resist or push it away, and that’s because of that woman."

But her character’s storyline also demanded that Kirby understand the experience of stillbirth. A friend introduced her to a woman who had lost her baby Luciana under eerily similar circumstances to those in Martha’s narrative. "She shared everything with me." They have become close friends, and the film’s ending is dedicated to Luciana. Kirby continues to work with Sands, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity, and is voluble in her admiration of the Duchess of Sussex and Chrissy Teigen, both of whom have recently spoken out about their own experiences of miscarriage.

"I feel so close to them and so proud of them for breaking that silence," she says. "Meghan is probably the last person who would feel comfortable sharing her very personal, intimate feelings. It’s that courage that I want to continue to honour. What they’re saying is, if you’ve been through it, we have too, we share your story. I think that makes you feel less lonely. But one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, which is far more than I knew about. Society finds it difficult to hold space for that kind of pain."

Her parents, to whom she is very close, have both seen the film and wept throughout, she says. As if on cue, her phone pings, and her eyes soften when she checks the message; it’s a childhood friend who herself miscarried, getting in touch to say how much the film has meant to her.

The integrity of Kirby’s performance has already netted her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival. "It doesn’t seem real," she says. "I have it in its case – I wouldn’t have it on display, it looks like a football trophy – but occasionally I glance at it and think, 'Did that really happen? Or did I make it up in a weird dream?'" In a similar vein, she is reluctant to engage with the Oscar buzz surrounding her. "I don’t even know when they are," she admits. "My 13-year-old self would have a heart attack. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it!"

Kirby’s other film, The World to Come, is set in mid-19th-century America but touches on the same themes of bereavement and redemption. The central character Abigail, played by Katherine Waterston, has also lost her young daughter, and in her grief, turns away from her husband to have an affair with Tallie, her free-spirited, flame-haired neighbour. "I was glad I was playing Tallie rather than Abigail, because it might have been a bit too much," Kirby confesses – though without giving away spoilers, that role is pretty traumatic too...

The screenplay is taken from the short story of the same name by Jim Shepard, which was inspired by an entry he found in an antique diary: 'My best friend’s moved away, and I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again.' "It was one woman’s voice, like an echo from the past, and we’ll never know who she was," says Kirby. "The World to Come really educated me about what life was like for women not that long ago. They didn’t have a choice about anything they did with their time. You were owned by the house, and the man, and you had no freedom outside that. The best thing about doing this mad job sometimes is having your ignorance illuminated. I gravitate towards things that push beyond my experience, I want to go to places I don’t know, I’m not familiar with."

The experience of making both films has changed her profoundly. "I can’t do anything unless it means something to me now," she says. "It’s a better way to work, because you’re not focused on yourself at all. So maybe I’ll only work once every 10 years!"

To ensure that this is not the case, and in order to find more untold, female-led stories, her ambition is now to set up her own production company. "Even a few years ago, a film about a woman losing a baby would have been unthinkable. There are so many voiceless people, and I have a voice in this industry, and I want to make sure the tribe is represented properly."

It is undeniably awkward, therefore, that her male co-stars in the films, Shia LaBeouf and Casey Affleck, both of whom play violent, abusive husbands, have been called out for their treatment of women. In December, the British singer FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit against LaBeouf, her ex-partner, alleging that he "hurts women. He uses them. He abuses them, both physically and mentally". While LaBeouf largely denied the accusations, he admitted in a statement to The New York Times: "I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say."

Meanwhile, Affleck was sued by two female crew members working on his 2010 film I’m Still Here, one of whom accused him of sexual harassment. He denied the allegations, and the lawsuits were settled out of court, but he later told the Associated Press: "I behaved in a way, and I allowed others to behave in a way, that was really unprofessional, and I’m sorry."

Kirby is understandably reluctant to get into any of this. "I can’t comment on a legal case that’s going on in someone’s personal life," she says. "I feel really protective of Pieces, so that’s what I want to speak about. Because it came out at eight this morning, all I can think about is the mothers I spoke to, and wanting them to be my focus. I just know my job is to honour them."

Perhaps counter-intuitively, starring in Pieces has awakened in her the desire for a family of her own. "It’s definitely made me want a baby, for sure," she says; but she hasn’t currently got a partner, having split up from Callum Turner (Frank Churchill in last year’s Emma), whom she met when they co-starred in the 2014 film Queen & Country. "This year has made me think a lot about the home I want to create. I like the idea of inviting someone into a space that’s mine, preferably before I have kids."

In the near future, however, Kirby has nothing on her plate except for getting through a third lockdown. "I’m free as a bird! I’ve read a lot of stuff, and said no to a lot of stuff..." She currently shares a flat in Tooting, south London, with her sister Juliet, an assistant director, and two friends. "I was just about to move out to live on my own in north London – my God, I would have been so lonely! My sister saved me. It was so nice to have routines together. We were trying to take a bit of exercise, cooking together, watching films that made us feel better, drinking wine on Friday nights..."

By now, having circled St James’s Park several times, we are strolling back towards the Corinthia Hotel, where Kirby has a full programme of Zoom interviews lined up for the afternoon. "That’s why I’m so happy to have actually had the chance to go out and meet you in real life," she says enthusiastically. "It’s funny when everything in your life closes down, and you have to sit with yourself, and you suddenly notice all the things you have and you’re grateful for. I hope that feeling never goes away – I will never underestimate how lucky I am."

[katierosefun]

well, here we are! june basically flew by and it was a little rough, but we’re back with some long recs on cool things i’ve read/listened to/watched, and i’m about to force everyone to sit down and listen to my sleepover-esque ted talk in which i give unwarranted and unasked for rec lists. so here we go!

kdrama:

while you were sleeping

okay, so i tried to watch this kdrama when it came out in like...2017, i think? but for some reason, i wasn’t able to get past the first episode. i don’t really know why? because it’s so beautifully shot, and i super love the premise, which is basically this girl and this guy are somehow able to see things that are going to happen in the future...but only in their dreams. this whole kdrama really handled the plot super well--each episode honestly felt like a movie in itself, and the filming was just stunning, and i think this has to be one of the most visual kdramas i’ve ever seen. each character is also super interesting and complex on their own, and i really loved seeing such a strong cast of characters interact with each other in this world. 

i think the only slight downside of this kdrama was that i couldn’t really get invested in the romance? i’m not quite sure why--i found both lead actors’ performances wonderful, and don’t get me wrong, i did think they were cute together as the drama went on, but i still couldn’t find myself buying into the romance until maybe relatively late in the drama (like...ep 11 or so? ep 16 was honestly when i realized that awww, wait, they’re actually super cute). but then again, i feel like the writers weren’t really prioritizing the romance either--i think they really wanted us to think about the beauty of dreams and redemption and how everyone can touch another person’s life in some significant way, so i can’t really be mad about it!

but anyways, overall i really enjoyed this kdrama and watched it all a lot faster than i thought i would! SOLID music, beautiful cinematography, good acting, mostly good writing, and some really memorable characters! def. a must-watch if you love suspense, aesthetics, and some wonderful characters.

the ghost detective

i’m someone who doesn’t like horror or scary things at all, but i was so intrigued by the plot and whatever material i saw on tumblr, and...of course, choi daniel, lee joo young, lee ji ah, and park eun bin. honestly, this is just a really wonderful and really underrated cast, and they really all brought out their a-game for this 32-episode supernatural / thriller / horror drama. basically, this kdrama follows the story of a young woman who’s trying to figure out who murdered her younger sister...and of course, there’s something supernatural going on. 

honestly, this kdrama was such a ride. i loved the crime-solving aspect of it, and i was really in love with the interactions between all the characters, esp. that of eun bin and daniel’s characters. (guys...they’re so ride and die for each other. there’s also so much yearning. so much yearning in this kdrama, it just about killed me--) 

the villain was absolutely, appropriately, elegantly creepy, and like...scary beyond belief. basically, the villain (lee ji ah’s character) feeds her victims these harmful thoughts and ultimately get them to kill themselves. it’s sad and haunting, especially when you see that the victims tell their victims “don’t listen to the bad things. try only to listen to the good things”. and...yeah. themes of how to handle all of these bad feelings inside of you really came through in this kdrama, and there were a lot of themes of suicide and the kind of rage and sadness that comes with that. (also! if you’re a fan of lots of angsty/whumpy situations....this kdrama definitely does not hold back with all of your fave whump/angst tropes! literally! every! episode! i! had! to! lie! down! because! too! powerful!)

school 2013 

(aww, look at this precious cast…as though they didn’t all make me ugly cry at least five times—)

yeah, yeah, yeah, i’ve talked about this kdrama ad nauseum, and i know i watched it last month, but as i was studying for the lsat, i really, really, really needed some comfort. most notably comfort re: studying life, academics, how difficult it is to study but also be uncertain of your dreams…and if you are certain of your dreams, how that sometimes requires studying but that just makes life all the more overwhelming…can you tell i’ve been thinking about this a lot

i’m not going to ramble more about this kdrama considering i already have done so multiple times, but i enjoyed this rewatch and honestly,,,my love for this show has just grown even more. there’s a good reason why people consider this a comfort kdrama, because. i consider myself deeply comforted. also, i’ve been listening to the ost for the whole month. it’s become a problem. but sometimes. sometimes you need to listen to songs that feel like someone’s patting you on the head and telling you don’t give up, set down your burdens, don’t think you’re alone and dream whatever you want to dream, go wherever you want to go. i’ll stop talking now, but god. when i say that i think everyone who has ever felt incredibly tired by work or school and just wished for someone to give them a big hug either then or now...god. this is just one of those kdramas that i think honestly touched so many people’s lives, and i’m very grateful for the cast and crew and writers for ever bringing this story to life. :’) (god, okay, now i’ll stop talking before i make myself cry i’m fine this is fine)

your honor

so, i watched this kdrama thinking that it would be light and funny given that yoon shi yoon is the main male lead, but boy was i wrong--don’t be fooled by these happy little faces, this kdrama is heavy. this kdrama is about a young man (with a criminal record) who winds up impersonating his twin brother, who happens to be a judge. we also have a trainee who, after seeing the legal system fail her older sister, is on the rise to dispense justice through the courts the best she can.

honestly, the first few episodes were rough, mostly because of the content. big trigger warning for rape, violence, and sexual harassment at work. this kdrama really didn’t hold back when it came to addressing how the very people who use the law can also be the very same people who manipulate and abuse it. because of that, i found this kdrama incredibly powerful. that said, it certainly had its lighthearted moments too. 

overall though, i liked this kdrama. the main characters were incredibly complex and genuinely the type to make me believe that for all the injustices in the world, there are still and always will be people fighting for the right thing. as someone who wants to enter the legal field, this kdrama was just uplifting. i was so blown away by the absolute rawness of the main two leads, esp. yoon shi yoon, who i’ve only ever seen in super lighthearted kdramas. so this was a really interesting change of pace, and i genuinely enjoyed watching this!

waiting for love

so this kdrama is just two episodes, and what’s better is that it’s available on youtube! it’s about two college students--a young woman who’s been hurt by falling in love with jerks now just wants to date, not really fall in love...and a young man who’s excellent at giving dating advice except he’s afraid that he’s never going to actually fall in love, so he just dates a girl for the sake of dating.

now, i kinda thought that this show was going to be kinda lighthearted, a little shallow--but it was weirdly...comforting? idk, i found myself liking it a lot more than i thought it would be. this is far from the perfect kdrama, and i kinda wished that we got more than 2 episodes because i think some of the plot points could have been better expanded, but...there were genuinely a lot of scenes that made me think a bit more about what it actually means to be in a loving relationship--like how it’s not enough to just put on a happy smile and eat meals together, but like...you know. there has to be trust and actual liking and also, yeah, maybe a bit of frustration in order to actually know whether a relationship is real or not. and given that the characters were all discussing the pressure on getting married and romance esp. when you’re in your twenties...idk. makes you think about are you dating someone for the sake of appearances? or do you genuinely...like them?

there was also quite a few tropes that i personally adore in this kdrama, which helped balance out the stuff i found more tiring. there was a lot of the “right person, wrong time” stuff going on (you really want the two main leads to get together after a certain point, and you just keep holding your breath whenever they walk past each other and beg please please please let it be this time...), and also that good old “two strangers fall in love with each other purely over writing to each other” (god. first the half of it, then me & au, then greenhouse podcast...something about this trope huh). that said, there were def. some parts that made me “:////” because some of the characters were kind of frustrating, but i’m gonna chalk that up to good writing since i think i was mostly mad about how i knew people like some of the characters lol. overall, i think this might be at least semi-enjoyable--it’s probably not something i’ll watch again, but it def. made me mull over what it means to actually be in a loving relationship, esp. if you’re in your twenties and everyone around you seems to be in happy romantic relationships/getting engaged and whatnot. 

movie: 

columbus 

i’m a firm believer that there are some movies that are meant to cheer you up, some movies meant to make you cry, and then there’s some movies that are just meant to...sit with you. and this movie is definitely one of them. this story follows casey, a high school graduate, and jin, the son of a famous architect. the two of them are both so incredibly exhausted with their lives (casey with her constant worry about her mother, who’s a recovering drug addict; jin with his surface-level lack of concern for his comatose father). in their small town of columbus, indiana, the two of them bond over architecture and just. being quietly there for each other.

this movie’s been compared a few times to lost in translation in the sense that there’s this not quite romance between the two leads, who have a bit of an age gap (john cho and haley lu richardson have about 20 between them!). to be honest, i didn’t really get the sense that there was supposed to be a romance. if anything, it just felt like...two really lonely people finding each other. definitely not a simple friendship--definitely not a familial kind of relationship, definitely intimate. 

idk. i think this movie might not be for everyone--i definitely agree with a lot of past reviewers that this movie is on the slower side. there’s some stuff here about complicated relationships with parents, a lot of cool architecture, really beautiful shots...and overall, it’s just...quiet. it’s lovely, and i can’t really stop thinking about it. it’s subtle, bittersweet, and oddly compelling. might not be the kind of thing you’d want to watch in the middle of the day, but if you’re a little sad and in the mood for something not to necessarily lift your spirits but...at least acknowledge them and sit with you, then...this is the movie to watch. idk. i felt kind of crummy the day i watched this movie, and i felt as though someone just sat next to me on a park bench until the sun went down. (mayhaps specific but hush, i’m writing this right after finishing this movie, so i’m...feeling a certain way.)

wish dragon 

i watched this movie right after watching columbus because a) decided i was in the mood for something lighter, and b) i learned that john cho?? voiced?? the dragon?? (caroline your crush on john cho’s jumping out this month...) 

but anyways! i loved this movie a lot. it was so satisfying? like, just narratively speaking? and the animation was wonderful and also weirdly smooth and satisfying, and there were a lot of funny and touching moments. this movie’s about this young man named din who stumbles upon a magical teapot that holds the wish dragon long--long has to grant din three wishes, and yes, i know, very aladdin, but that said, this movie has so many original twists that it feels weird to call it an aladdin retelling. it really did feel like a movie completely on its own, which i applaud the writer and director for! 

i don’t want to spoil too much of this movie, but something i really enjoyed was that din’s main wish is just to see his old childhood friend again. idk, i think we all have that one friend from when we were really little that we miss--and this movie really dug into that, as well as themes about parents wanting to do the best they can to provide for their kids, and!!! and long the dragon gets his own storyline and amazing character development too!!! i was honestly just amazed at how this movie fleshed out the characters so well and had so many wonderful themes that just made me tear up. guys. this movie’s great. highly recommend for its wonderful characters and the power of friendship. just a grand old time in general. :’))

searching 

yeah...yeah, i wasn’t kidding about my crush on john cho this month. yes, i watched three of his movies within 24 hours. this movie is about david kim who’s looking for his missing 16 year old daughter, margot. this film is honestly noteworthy for many reasons, one of them being that the entire movie is told through like...a laptop screen, as in we kind of follow david’s frantic search through facetime, facebook, tumblr...which i honestly didn’t think i’d be into, but whoo boy, i was wrong. it just added to the whole addictive quality of this movie, as it usually does when it comes to anything from the thriller genre. 

but besides this just being a straight up addictive thriller with absolutely mouth-dropping twists (but like...good twists, and smart twists, good god--), this movie was just...touching? there’s so many themes related to what grief does to a family (because we learn within the first 10 minutes that the mom died due to cancer), and there’s just...something really fragile about relationships between surviving family members. i was absolutely blown away by john cho’s performance as a tentative and grieving widower whose world just absolutely falls apart in his search for his daughter. this movie was just so...real because of that. like, yes, this movie has all of the suspense that you would expect this kind of movie to have, but there was also just...so many beautiful themes about grief and how far parents would go for their kids and godddd yeah no i started sobbing when the movie ended. god. 

also, my bias towards john cho aside, i...really loved his character. david kim is absolutely believable, and like? he’s not just the guy putting the pieces together--he’s also the guy who misses his wife and also the guy who wishes that he was there for his daughter. he’s also the guy who pauses and re-writes all his text messages because he’s trying to be a good dad. i feel like with a lot of these suspense / missing person movies, it’s really easy to have characters who are just the stoic alpha male types--and david kim definitely had his badass moments in this movie, but like...something i just loved was seeing the vulnerability that comes with...having a missing child. being a parent. god. this movie messed me up but in a good way. i can honestly say that this movie is now probably going to be one of my fave movies of all time. highly recommend, am literally obsessed with it.

book:

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid

ohohoho………where to begin with this book. this was one of those books where i was like “huh i kinda don’t understand why people are so obsessed with this book”, but then i hit like...page 20 or 30 and was like “oh god i Literally Cannot Put This Book Down Oh No” and wound up finishing it in like three days (mind you, i only read at like...midnight these days. i don’t understand why either). 

i finished this book at like 2 am and promptly burst into tears because this was just one of those books. it follows the story of evelyn hugo, a famous hollywood actress from the 60s or so and onwards. known for her intense beauty and her seven husbands, she’s now giving an exclusive interview to the young reporter monique grant, where she’s about to tell all about her life. this book had me dropping my mouth multiple times, and i think tjr can spin one hell of a story, with so many good twists and turns and intensely memorable characters. by the end of the book, i was actually mad that evelyn hugo wasn’t a real person, because i, too, fell a little in love with her and thought, i want to actually watch her movies. i want to learn even more about this remarkable woman. 

but alas! she’s not real, so i don’t get to see her accept an oscar or look up all the tabloids about her and her seven husbands or her speculated (and very, very, very real) relationship with celia st. john. basically...i just loved this book. the last line made me smile and laugh and cry a little bit (actually...cry a lot), and y’know...i’ll admit it’s not totally perfect, but i’m glad this book exists, and i’m glad that even though tjr isn’t bi herself, was very adamant in this book about bisexuality being real. just. like. god. once again. mad that evelyn hugo isn’t real. it’s fine, she’s real in my heart.

[patagucci34]

Partners for Life~ Tyson Jost

Warnings: swearing, some playful touching.... 

Word Count: 11k

All you wanted to do was change into comfy sweats, pour a heavy glass of wine, and forget about the awful week you had at work. But of course, there had to be something else to make this day even worse. When you were about 5 minutes away from your apartment it started down pouring. You cursed to yourself and picked up the pace.

Once you were in the comfort of your building, you let out a sigh of relief and made the trek up to your apartment. When you stepped out of the elevator you were met with a smiling face, one that normally would melt all of your worries away, but today, it only helped a little. You forced a smile back when his smile turned into a concerned frown.

"What happened to you?" He asked, stopping in front of you.

"I got caught in the rain on the way back from work."

He nodded and grabbed the bags out of your hands so you could unlock your door.

"Thanks, Tyson." You said with a small smile, hoping he would leave you be now. Normally you would welcome his company, but you really wanted that glass of wine and quiet night in by yourself. But it wasn't looking like that was the case when he strolled over to your fridge making himself at home. But that didn't stop you from wandering down the hall and taking a warm shower. Maybe then he would get the hint?

Nope. When you walked back out to the living room he was cozied up on the couch. A little bit of your annoyance dissipated when you saw the two wine glasses on the coffee table in front of him. So you grabbed one and plopped back into the couch.

"Rough week?" He asked, grabbing the other glass.

"You have no idea."

"I'm sorry, you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really.…" you sighed, "no game tonight?"

"Nah, we're leaving for a road trip tomorrow."

"Ohh nice, where to?"

"We're going to Florida."

"Ugh, I'm so jealous. I would love some nice weather right now."

Tyson chuckled, "yeah it might do you some good. You're looking a little pasty."

You rolled your eyes and pushed him playfully. "I meant mentally, but thank you for that."

"I know, I'm just messing…" he said patting your thigh "…are you sure you're okay?"

You sighed, "yeah, I just had an awful week at work, and my family has been harping on me a lot lately and I'm just over it all."

"I'm sorry, Y/n/N, what's going on at work?"

"My coworkers are just the worst. We had a huge project due this week and it seemed like I was the only one doing anything. And of course they got all of the credit. But it's fine, things should be better next week."

"What about your family?"

"Where do I even start…lately it's just been about me not having a boyfriend. I just don’t understand the fascination with my love life. My cousin is getting married soon and they really want me to bring someone…but like who cares? I'm 23, I don't see the urgency. But I also don't want to get shit for it the whole weekend. I don't know, whatever, it'll be fine, I'm just annoyed right now."

"When is the wedding?"

"A few weeks from now…why?"

"Is it the All Star break?"

"Ummmm…." you said while checking the dates "yes…why?!"

"I could be your date if you wanted…"

"No, Tyson, I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking, I'm offering."

"I don't know, Tys…"

"Come on, you'll have good company, you won't have to hear about how single you are…"

"Wait, you want to go as my boyfriend?"

"Well I don't think going as your friend would help…"

"You'd really do that?"

"Yes! I want to."

"Alright.…I don't know if it'll work, I'm not sure my family will even believe me."

"Oh, we can make it believable."

You eyed Tyson suspiciously but then gave in. "Okay…alright. I owe you big time."

"Let's just see how the weekend goes…" Tyson said with a smirk.

The rest of the night was spent watching New Girl. Tyson kept refilling your glass and you ended up pretty tipsy. Before Tyson left he helped you into bed and locked up your apartment on the way out.

~~~~~

The next morning, you woke up with a headache, cursing yourself for getting wine drunk. You loved being wine drunk in the moment but hated the hangover. You also cursed yourself at the thought of the little plan you and Tyson had come up with the night before. It's not that you weren't excited to spend an entire weekend with Tyson, it's just that you were pretty nervous about the whole thing. You had grown very close in your time as neighbors, but it was always just as friends. You'd be lying if you said you didn't have a crush on Tyson, but you always kept it to yourself because you didn't want to ruin their friendship, not to mention you didn't think you were his type. You were also nervous about your family buying their 'relationship'. Not only had you been telling your family that you were still single, but they would never believe that you were dating one of the Colorado Avalanche.

You tried to push it from your mind and focus on getting rid of the hangover. You made your way to the kitchen and guzzled down a glass of water accompanied by a few Tylenol and then rummaged through the fridge to make something to eat.

You posted up on the couch after you ate and watched movies all day. You were able to be a bit more productive on Sunday and cleaned your apartment and went grocery shopping for the week.

~~~~~

You didn't see Tyson until Wednesday night. He had texted you earlier in the day asking if you wanted to get take out. When you got home from work, Tyson was already in your apartment with the take out.

"I could kiss you right now, I'm starving." You said as you dropped your bags on the floor and sat down at the table."

Tyson smirked, "it might be good practice…"

"Oh my god, I actually kind of forgot about that…we should talk about our game plan."

"Yes, I like to excel so I need everything there is to know about your family so I'm fully prepared."

You rolled your eyes, "of course you do…well, I mean how long have we been dating for? I've been telling my family I'm single, but I'm sure I could come up with some excuse why I haven't told them."

"Yeah, it might be kind of weird to take your boyfriend of two weeks to a family wedding…"

"Okay, so how long do you think?"

"6 months?"

"Is that too long?"

Tyson shrugged, "I don't know, I think that's fine."

"Alright, and I think we should stick to saying we met through being neighbors."

"Good idea, less room for slip ups…what are you going to use as an excuse for not telling them?"

"I guess maybe that I wanted to feel things out and also because you're kinda famous?"

"Kinda?! I'm hurt."

You giggled at Tyson's dramatics. "Okay, sorry, you're famous. Fully famous."

"Much better…so let's start with the family lessons. I know you have 3 brothers, Charlie, Ben, and Jack. Your parents are Kate and Steve… but I think that's all I got."

"I'm impressed! Yes, Ben is the oldest, he's a lawyer, he's married to Hailey who is a nurse. Charlie is next, he's a teacher, he's engaged to Casey, who is also a teacher. Then there is Jack, he's in his second year of med school and his girlfriend is Carly, she's a physical therapist. Then my parents, Kate and Steve. My dad is a lawyer, Ben works at his firm. And my mom is a nurse. Do you want me to write this stuff down?"

"No way, I'll get it. Just keep going."

"Alright...the cousin that is getting married is on my dad's side. His name is Tom, his fiancé's name is Lauren. Tom does something with finance, I'm not exactly sure what, and Lauren is a social worker. Tom has one sister, Maddie, she's an aspiring actress…" Tyson stifled a laugh at your face when you said her occupation. "My grandparents are Dave and Shelly, they're both retired, but my grandfather was a lawyer, it’s his firm that my dad and Ben work for. And I think I can just introduce you to everyone else as we go…"

"Alright, got it."

"Do you?" You questioned, not believing him.

"Okay, fine, not yet. But I will."

~~~~~

The next few weeks went by faster than you had wanted. As the wedding grew nearer you became more and more nervous. You had let everyone know that you would be bringing your boyfriend, and of course, the questions rolled in. You told them what you had practiced with Tyson, you weren't sure where things were going to go and didn't want to get their hopes up, and because he's a professional athlete you wanted to make sure everything was sound in their relationship before you went public. Although your mom was upset that you didn’t confide in her earlier, they were happy that you had found a boyfriend. It definitely made you feel guilty for lying, but you were able to get over it.

A few days before you were leaving, you went to Tyson's game. You weren't able to go all of the time, but you had a blast when you did. You had become friends with a few of the WAGs and of course a bunch of the guys.

They were all going out after the game to celebrate the beginning of the All Star break and Tyson had invited you to go so you went down to the locker rooms after the game to wait for him.

"Y/N!" You turned at the familiar voice and smiled and gave Andre a hug.

"Hey, Burky, good game!"

"Thanks, are you coming out with us?"

"I am!!"

"Good, Tys is more fun when you're around." He said, winking. You laughed a bit before a few of the others guys joined and talked about the plans for this evening.

A few minutes later, Tyson came up behind you and wrapped his arm around you.

"Hey, Tys!" You greeted him happily.

"Hey, babe." You rolled your eyes at his choice of words. "What?! I'm just trying to get into character." He defended, which made the guys laugh. They all knew about the arrangement and most of them were hoping this weekend would be the push you needed to actually date.

"You ready?" Tyson asked. You nodded and bid farewells until later.

Tyson drove you back to you building and you split ways to get ready.

"How long do you need?" He asked.

"I'll be ready in like 20??"

"Alright, I'll come over in a half hour." He said chuckling at himself, which caused you to roll your eyes but nod your head and go inside.

An hour later you were making your way through the crowd at the club to find everyone else. Tyson had gone to get them drinks while you sat down next to EJ and Landy. Landy was grilling you about the weekend, him being the number one supporter of you guys actually dating. Luckily he let up a bit on  you when Tyson came back and started in on him.

You kept downing drinks as the night went on and ended up being very drunk. Tyson had to help you through the club and he pretty much carried you to your apartment. He was nervous to leave you alone, so he ran over to his apartment to change and came back to stay with you for the night.

~~~~~

The next morning, you groaned as you peeled your eyes open. You were slightly confused about the arm draped over you because you didn't remember talking to any guys at the club. You relaxed when you looked over and saw that it was Tyson.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." He said with a smirk.

"Morning….what are you doing here?"

"You were pretty loaded…I was nervous you might throw up in your sleep so I stayed with you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to get so drunk…"

"I know, it's all good. You just will really be kicking yourself in the car today!"

"Ugh, don't remind me." You said and rolled back over.

"10 more minutes! Then you need to get up and get ready." Tyson reminded.

"Okay, mom." You muffled into the pillow as you fell back asleep.

An hour later you had the car packed up and were on the way. Thankfully, Tyson offered to drive, knowing your current state and just the fact you didn't love driving anyway. You played the music, luckily you had similar taste, so you jammed out for most of the 4 hour drive. You also quizzed him on your family, and just as he claimed, he remembered it all.

Tyson noticed that you had grown quiet in the last half hour. He reached over and grabbed your hand.

"Hey," he started softly, "it's going to be fine."

"I know, I'm just nervous. Even though they're happy I have a boyfriend, they can be so critical and rude. I'm going to apologize in advance for anything that they say."

"I think I can handle them…I'm used to criticism."

"I know…I just, even though we aren't actually dating, you are one of my best friends and I don't want them to scare you off."

"Don't worry about that…I'm not going anywhere." He said and gave your hand a gentle squeeze before pulling it away. You smiled at him and started to realize that this might not have been the best idea for your sake. You had been able to keep your feelings at bay, but this weekend might change that. You push those thoughts out of your mind as Tyson pulls the car into your driveway. You panicked a bit when you saw all of the cars in the driveway. It had been your understanding that Jack was going to be the only of your brothers home tonight and everyone else would be over tomorrow. Tyson noticed your panic and grabbed your hand again.

"What's wrong?"

"My mom told me Jack and Carly were going to be here tonight, not everyone else…"

"Well that's okay, we'll get it over with."

"I know, I just wasn't prepared for this. I'm sorry, I'll stop freaking out."

Tyson chuckled, "don't apologize. But don't worry either, okay? We got this." He reassured you and kissed your forehead. You blushed at the act, you guys had cuddled before and obviously shared the same bed, but this felt different, and it just made you even more nervous.

You both got out and grabbed your bags before approaching the door. You didn't even have time to put your bag down when it burst open.

"Y/N!!! I've missed you so much!" Your mom exclaimed while giving you a tight hug.

"Hi, mom, I missed you too." Once she let go, she turned to Tyson and you introduced the two. "Mom, this is Tyson, Tys, this is mom, Kate."

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you!!!" Your mom exclaimed again, pulling Tyson in for a hug.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Y/L/N. I've heard so much about you."

"Oh, please, call me Kate." She said as she let go. "Well, come in! Everyone's dying to meet you!"

You glanced at Tyson and he winked in return. You followed your mom inside and you put your bags down and went into the living room where everyone was sitting. Tyson put his arm on the small of your back and you leaned into him as you walked into the room.

Your brothers all shot up and surrounded you in a hug, separating you and Tyson. You rolled your eyes but laughed and welcomed their embrace. Once they finally let you go, your dad stepped up and gave you a hug and kissed your cheek. "Hey, baby girl. It's nice to see you."

"It's good to see you too, dad, I've missed you." He gave you one more quick squeeze and let you go so you could introduce Tyson to everyone.

"Well, everyone, this is Tyson…" At this point your brother's partners had joined them. "…Tyson, this is my dad, Steve, Ben and Hailey, Charlie and Casey, and Jack and Carly."

Tyson shook all of their hands as you went down the line.

"It's nice to meet you all." Tyson said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, we're glad she's finally bringing someone home to us!" Your dad joked, causing you to roll your eyes.

"Okay, well, we're gonna bring our stuff upstairs. See you in a few." You said grabbing Tyson's hand and dragging him back into the hallway.

"No funny business!" Your brother Charlie called, laughing at himself. You heard Casey scold him and smiled to yourself.

You led Tyson to your old room, telling him you'll give him a tour once you put your bags down.

"That wasn't so bad…" He said as you plopped down on the bed.

"Yet…it's been 5 minutes."

Tyson chuckled and cupped your face with hands, "hey, what did I tell you? Stop worrying."

"I know, I know. I just can't help it."

"Come on, let's go. I'm ready for the grand tour." He said taking your hands and pulling you up. You sighed, but obliged and led him out of the room.

"….and this is the kitchen!" You said as you finished the tour. Your mom smiled at the two of you as you entered the room.

"Your home is very beautiful, Kate." Tyson said to your mom.

"Oh, you're too sweet…do you mind helping me finish up dinner, Y/n/N?"

"Sure. Tys do you want to help?" You asked, not really wanting to throw him to the wolves with your brothers in the next room.

"Yeah, I'll help. What do you need us to do?" He asked sweetly.

"Can you two finish putting the salad together? All of the stuff is on the counter over there."

You nodded and went to the sink to wash your hands and then you and Tyson started cutting up vegetables. You actually were having a lot of fun, Tyson was trying out some of his new jokes on your mom, which she loved. The whole scene felt very domestic, and of course you couldn't help but think about your feelings for him. You were brought back to reality when Tyson gave you a questioning look and mouthed "are you okay?" You forced a smile back and nodded and went back to cutting vegetables.

Once the three of you finished up, your mom called everyone into the dining room for dinner. Everyone took their seats and dug right in.

"This is delicious, mom." Jack complimented with his mouth full. Everyone chuckled and agreed, your mom blushing from the compliments.

"Well, I had good helpers." She said acknowledging you and Tyson. You both smiled and went back to eating.

You were starting to get nervous because your brothers hadn't really said much to Tyson. They had always been very overprotective and tried to scare off the guys you brought around and even though Tyson wasn't actually your boyfriend you were really nervous for what they might say. You knew better than to think that maybe they grew out of that stage, so it just made you more and more anxious for when it was going to come.

You caught Jack's gaze and he gave you a devilish grin. You gave him a warning look but he just shook his head. This was it. It was coming and there was nothing you could do to stop it. You looked at Tyson and he gave you a small smile and squeezed your thigh under the table.

"So, Tyson…" Charlie started "…hockey, huh?"

You shot a glare at your brother but he just smiled sweetly.

"Uh, yeah, I've played ever since I was young."

"How reliable is it to play professionally?" Ben asked this time.

"Ben…" Your mom scolded.

"It's okay, that's a fair question." Tyson defended. "I would say it's pretty secure, as long as I'm playing well and staying healthy."

"What happens if you get injured?" Jack asked.

"Well, if it's minor I'll get treatment until it's healed and then start playing again."

"And if it's not?"

"Well, I guess, I'd be done playing hockey."

"Okay, that's enough." You said glaring at all of your brothers.

"We just want to make sure you're in good hands, Y/n/N." Jack said sweetly.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself with my own salary, so Tyson's job security shouldn't be of concern." That shut them up for a little, but you knew they weren't done. Not with this dinner and certainly not for the rest of the weekend. Tyson squeezed your thigh again, that definitely being his way of telling you not to get too worked up.

Thankfully, your mom changed the subject to talk about plans for the weekend, but that didn't hold for very long.

"So, Tyson…" Jack started this time "…it must be pretty demanding being a professional athlete, do you even see Y/N that much?" You shot him another glare but he just kept smiling.

"Yeah, it can be, we live across the hall from each other so I pretty much see her whenever I'm home."

"Why does it matter to you how often we see each other?" You asked.

"We're just looking out for you, Y/n/N." Charlie defended.

"Well stop, you're just being rude."

"Alright, let's not fight at the table…" Your mom stated, trying to keep the peace. "Hailey, how are things at the hospital?"

You were thankful she changed the subject again, but you still weren't convinced it would put a total end to the grilling.

And you were right, a few minutes later, Jack spoke up again.

"Tyson, you must have a lot of girls after you, being a professional athlete and all."

You didn't even give Tyson the chance to defend himself before you lost it.

"Are you kidding me right now, Jack?! I cannot believe you would even ask that! Can you not be a dick for like one fucking weekend?!" And you stormed off up the stairs.

Tyson excused himself and followed after you. You sat on the bed, too mad to even cry, which you were thankful for. It was embarrassing enough that Tyson just had to sit through and witness what just happened.

"I'm so sorry, Tys." You apologized as he sat down next to you.

"No need to apologize, Y/n/N. It's not your fault your brother is a dick." You cracked a smile at his comment.

"I just didn't think he'd be like that. They've always been super overprotective, but that was just too much."

"It's really okay. Honestly, I can't say that I wouldn't have asked something similar to my sister's boyfriend. I get it. You're their baby sister, they just want what's best for you. I can take their crap, alright?"

"You're too good." You said with a huff, which made Tyson chuckle.

"Only for you, babe." He said and kissed your forehead. You both settled back on the bed and he tucked you into his side.

A little while later there was a knock on your door. You sat up a little bit and told them to come in. It was your mom.

"Hi, sweetie. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, I just wish Jack wasn't such an asshole."

"I know, I'm sorry, and I'm sorry Tyson that he was acting that way."

"It's okay, I understand, I have a younger sister."

"Well, I think he feels bad he upset you like that…"

"Good." You stated, causing your mom and Tyson to chuckle.

"Alright, well I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight, mom."

"Goodnight, Kate."

"I, um, don't usually freak out like that so, I'm sure it really made them feel bad…" You stated.

"Yeah, now I know to never piss you off."

You laughed at Tyson and cuddled back into his side. "That kind of freak out is reserved for my brothers. You probably won't ever be on the receiving end."

"Good to know." He said chuckling back. "You wanna watch New Girl?"

"Sure, I'm gonna go get changed first."

The rest of the night was spent watching Netflix, cuddled up in your bed. No apology from Jack but you didn't really expect one. He'll probably half ass one in the morning, and you'll forgive him, you always do.

~~~~~~

You were right. When you went downstairs for breakfast, it was just Jack in the kitchen. He looked over at you and held his arms out, signifying a hug. You looked at him and raised your eyebrows, awaiting those magic words.

"Come on, are you really going to make me say it?"

"Yes! You were so awful last night. You really owe an apology to Tyson…"

"Fine, I'm sorry, Y/n/N. I took it too far."

"Yes, you did. But I forgive you…as long as you cool it for the rest of the weekend!"

"I will, I promise."

"Thank you." You beamed and gave him a hug.

"Aww, how sweet!" Charlie cooed as he interrupted you and Jack.

"Hey, I think you and Ben also owe her an apology."

"No way, we didn't take it as far as you did." Charlie defended just as Ben walked in.

"Yeah, I agree, we were pretty mild." Ben agreed.

"Would it really be that bad to apologize to me?" You asked, fully knowing the answer.

"Yes." Ben and Charlie answered at the same time.

You rolled your eyes but went about your business.

"Where is lover boy anyway?" Charlie asked.

You shrugged, "still sleeping."

"Not out for an early morning run?" Jack teased, you rolled your eyes again.

"Stop!! You said you'd cool it!"

"Relax, I'm just teasing."

You rolled your eyes as you sat down at the table and your brothers joined around you.

"But seriously, Y/n/N. Are you happy?"

"Yes, Ben, I'm very happy. He's really good to me."

"Okay good, then we're happy. But as soon as he does something to hurt you…he's done for."

"I know, I know. Although…he is a professional athlete, are you sure you could take him?" You teased.

"Please, it's no contest." Charlie defended which made you laugh.

Just as he was about to throw a grape at you, Tyson walked in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Tys!" You called from the table. He came over and sat next to you and greeted your brothers. "Are you hungry? I can make you some eggs, or we have cereal, I could make pancakes?"

"How come you didn't offer to make any of us that stuff??" Jack whined. You just rolled your eyes and looked back at Tyson.

"I'll have some eggs, but I can help you." He said and the two of you got up and started cooking.

Everyone else ended up joining you in the kitchen so you ended up making breakfast for everyone else too, but you didn't mind. It was fun to hang out with everybody and you were glad that your brothers were done with third degree.

After breakfast you and Tyson went back upstairs to showered for the day. You wanted to show him around your hometown and have a chill day because the next two days were going to be filled with wedding stuff.

When you walked back into your room after your shower, Tyson was lying on the bed looking at his phone. You were just in a towel and while you and Tyson were pretty comfortable with each other, you expected him to go take his shower so you could change. He looked up at you and smirked when he saw your attire.

"You gonna give me a show?"

"Tyson!" You cried. "We're at my parents…and it's 10 in the morning."

"So you're saying you would though?"

"Seriously, that's what you took from that?"

Tyson smirked at you and moved to get off the bed. You watched him as he rummaged through his things and then started to move past you to go to the bathroom. Just as you thought you were safe, he slapped your ass and hurried out of the room. You gasped, though it wasn't very hard, you were not expecting that. You wanted to mad but you couldn't help but smile. If he wanted to play it like that this weekend, you were gonna give it right back.

You decided to only get half-dressed to start…you put on a sexy bra and super cheeky underwear. Once satisfied with your look, you laid down on the bed and waited for Tyson to come back. You didn’t have to wait long, a few minutes later you heard him opening the door.

"Hey, do you know if there is anymore-- whoa." You smirked at the thought of Tyson's face, you couldn't see because you were lying on your stomach so your ass was showing. What you didn't bargain for was for him to be so composed and not let it get to him. So just as you were about to turn around to see what he was doing, you felt a much harder slap to your ass.

"Ow, Tyson! What the hell!"

"Hey, you put your ass out here like that…I can't help it." He smirked and plopped down next to you.

"You're the worst." You grinned as you got up to finish getting dressed.

"You ready?" You asked a little while later after both of you had gotten dressed.

"Yes ma'am, let's get to it. Lots of history to see."

"History? I would hardly call this town historical."

"Yeah, your history." He said with a sweet smile. Your heart melted and you were really starting to wonder if you would make it through this weekend.

You started off by showing him the spot where everyone went to party, you didn't stay long because it was pretty cold, but he thought it was funny that a random spot in the woods was where you used to get drunk. "Hey, you do what you gotta do in a small town." You defended before moving on. You then took him by the high school, you couldn't really spend much time there either because kids were in school. Next you brought him 'downtown'. You walked around going into different little shops and boutiques. Then you brought him to your favorite place to eat for lunch.

The two of you talked a lot about high school and how different it was for both of you. You had never really talked much about your past during your friendship so it was nice to get to know each other a little better.

"So, tell me all about high school Y/N." He said once the two of you had ordered your food.

You sighed, "what do you want to know?"

"I don't know…were you popular? A jock? A nerd?"

"I mean…I guess I was popular…I played sports, I wouldn't identify as a nerd but I did do well in school…"

"Wait you played sports?"

"Yeah, soccer, hockey, and lacrosse."

"I'm sorry, what? You played hockey?? How come you never told me?"

"I don't know…I guess it never came up."

"We talk about hockey all the time…"

"Yeah, you playing hockey…professional hockey…not high school girls hockey. Besides, I really wasn't very good soo..."

"So what?! I can't believe you didn't tell me…I'm taking you skating as soon as we get back to Denver so you can show me your moves."

You shook your head, "nope. No way."

"Why not?!"

"Because I'm really not very good, and that's why I've never mentioned it because I knew that you would make me go skating with you."

"Oh come on, I seriously doubt you're that bad."

"Compared to you, yeah, I am."

Tyson rolled his eyes. "You are so ridiculous…so what else did you do in high school?"

"Well, I was in chorus…and don't ask me to sing for you because I will not be doing that."

"Come on, you're no fun." Tyson whined.

You laughed at him and shook your head, "yeah I guess I left all of it here."

"Anything else that I don't know about you that you want to share with me?? Crazy ex boyfriends?? Girlfriends??"

"I guess I should probably tell you…I do have an ex who will be going to the wedding…we dated for a few years but he was kinda shitty.."

"Shitty?"

You sighed, not really wanting to get into it but you knew that you should give him an explanation because you really didn't know what would happen this weekend. "It was a pretty unhealthy relationship…of course I didn't really know that at the time. It wasn't until I went off to college that I started realizing that something was wrong. I tried to end things while I was away but he wouldn't really let it happen so I tried again when I went back home for break and he, like, freaked out…and um, hit me, so I called my friend to come get me… I was able to get out of the relationship with some help but nothing ever really happened to him because I guess he was having drinking issues…"

"Wait, he hit you…and your family is still bringing him around?"

"Yeah...my uncle is really good friends with his dad so…"

"I'm so sorry, Y/n/N…are you gonna be okay this weekend?"

"It's okay.…it's been a few years now. I haven't really seen him much, I usually avoid the gatherings he goes to. I'm not really sure what will happen this weekend…"

"Well I won't leave your side the whole time. I'll protect you."

"Thanks, Tys. I'm actually so thankful you came with me this weekend."

"Of course. You do so much for me all the time…it's the least I could do."

Even though he meant that in the best way possible, and despite all of the flirty comments and advances, it just reinforced that he really was just here as your friend.

You spent the rest of lunch talking about random stuff. Tyson took his phone out and started taking a picture of you.

"Stop! What are you doing?" You said covering your face.

"Put your hands down!! This is great lighting. Smile, look cute."

You relented and let him take your picture. "You better not put that anywhere."

Tyson smirked, "too late."

"Tyson! I’m gonna kill you." You checked your phone and sure enough he tagged you in his Instagram story.

"It's fine, you look really pretty!"

"Okay, but you have so many followers! They're going to think we're dating."

"We are...aren't we?"

You rolled your eyes and focused back on your food.

"I can take it down if you really want me to, but that might look extra sus."

"No, it's fine. I just will kill you if you do it again."

There wasn't really much else to show him so after you finished you headed back to your parent's house.

Your parents were the only ones home so you greeted them and headed up to your room. Tyson went to the bathroom so you took the opportunity to change into some comfy clothes and put on Netflix. You didn't acknowledge him when he walked back into your room but he had the same idea you did, he stripped down and put on some sweats before lying next to you in bed. Normally you would snuggle up next to him but you decided you needed to start distancing yourself a bit otherwise you were going to end up getting hurt.

You ended up falling asleep and woke up an hour later and woke up with your head on Tyson's shoulder. Figures, you knew that would happen. You turned your head and noticed that he was asleep too and he had wrapped his arm around your waist. You sighed as you grabbed your phone from your nightstand and settled back into bed, not wanting to wake him up.

You opened Instagram and were met with hundreds of notifications. Luckily, you were private, but you had a ton of follower requests. Thanks, Tyson. You scrolled through them, most of them being random girls, a few cute guys that you took the chance and let them follow you. There were a few people with the little blue check mark, mostly other guys in the NHL, but one in particular caught your eye. Mat Barzal. You knew that Tyson was friends with him, and you'd be lying if you denied thinking he was attractive. You had always had a little crush on him, so you accepted his request and kept scrolling through. A few minutes later, you received a DM from Mat. Your heart started racing as you went to open it.

Tyson didn't tell me his neighbor friend was so cute ;)

Okay, now you were freaking out, you did not expect that. Obviously Tyson had told him that he was going to a wedding with you. But it was also more proof that Tyson thought of you as just a friend. I mean, he would have told Mat that he liked you, right? You were interrupted from your thoughts by Tyson shifting next to you.

"Who's that?" He asked groggily.

"Um, no one." You said quickly exiting out of Instagram.

"Obviously not." He said grabbing your phone from your hand and getting out of bed.

"Tyson! Give me my phone back."

"I just want to see who's DMing you." You tried grabbing it from his hands but he held you back with one arm. "Mat?" He asked, growing serious.

"You're the one who posted the story…I'm getting lots of requests from guys in the NHL."

"But Mat?"

"You're acting as if I have any control over this."

"You know he's my friend right?"

"Tyson, he messaged me, I don't know what you want me to do."

"Are you gonna respond?"

"I don't know, I don't really know what to say back to that."

"Do you want to?"

"Well I don't want to be rude, but if it's going to bother you I guess I won't."

"No, I'm sorry, you can respond. I guess it just caught me off guard." He said giving you your phone and leaving the room.

You huffed and sat down on the bed. You were so confused. Why would Tyson react like that if he just liked you as a friend? This weekend was really messing with your head and you were kind of regretting bringing him with you. You had already accepted that you should get over your feelings for him, but now you were worried that it was going to mess with your friendship.

You contemplated what to say back to Mat. You didn't want to upset Tyson but you also didn't want to leave him on read, it might be kind of awkward if you guys ever met in person.

Tyson came back a few minutes later and seemed to be in a little bit of a better mood.

"Did you respond?" He asked, sitting down next to you.

"Not yet, I don't know what to say…any ideas?"

"You wanna mess with him a bit?" He asked with a smirk.

"I don't know, Tys, I don't know him."

"But I do…he'll think it's funny."

You sighed and handed him your phone, "fine."

Tyson took it happily and started typing away.

"What are you saying?" You asked, trying to look over his shoulder. He moved the phone so you could see it.

You know Tyson?

You looked at Tyson quizzically, "where are you going  with this?"

"I'm gonna make it seem like you don't know who he is."

"Tys, that's just mean."

"Relax, it'll be fine."

You only had to wait a few minutes before he replied again.

Wait, Tys hasn't mentioned me?

Tyson started laughing when he read it and you just rolled your eyes, wishing you had never agreed to this.

No…sorry :( Tyson cackled as he sent back,

"It’s not as funny as you think it is, you know."

"Oh, it's hilarious."

Damn, well then I guess I'm gonna have to get you to fall for me all by myself

You laughed as you watched Tyson react to the response.

"Guess that didn't work as well as you thought it would." You teased, grabbing your phone.

"Wait, let me say one more thing!!"

"No, you've done enough. I'm telling him it was a joke."

"You are absolutely no fun." Tyson whined.

You shrugged, "sorry!"

Hey, I’m so sorry, Tyson saw that you DM'd me and thought that it would be funny to mess with you…

I know who you are haha

Of course he did…what a relief though, you are very pretty I would love to meet you sometime :)

I'm sure we could make that happen…as long as Tyson doesn't get in the way.

"What are you saying?" Tyson asked when he saw you grinning at your phone like a teenager.

"Why must you know everything?"

"Because you're both my friends…"

"Fine." You said and showed him what you said. "Looks like you have to introduce us."

Tyson rolled his eyes, "we'll see."

You chose to just ignore him because you didn't want to argue anymore.

"We should probably go socialize…" You said sighing and getting up.

Tyson let out a sigh too and rummaged through his things to find a shirt to put on. Once he put one on the two of you headed downstairs.

Your mom, Casey, and Carly were in the kitchen getting started on dinner. You asked if they needed help but they said no so you went into the living room where your dad, Jack, and Charlie were all watching TV. You took the open loveseat and Tyson put his arm around you and you cuddled into his side. Although things were a little weird between the two of you, you had to keep appearances up. There wasn't much talking going on, although you were glad that your brothers were being pleasant with Tyson.

Tyson was focused on the TV while you were scrolling through Twitter. You hadn't even noticed that Tyson was now looking at your phone with you until he squeezed your shoulder and laughed at the tweet you just liked. You relaxed a little bit more in his arms, glad that things were becoming more comfortable again.

Dinner was much better than it was the night before. Everyone was laughing and making jokes, no one was grilling Tyson…

You helped your mom clean up while everyone else went into the living room to set up for a game of charades.

"So, how are you?" Your mom asked.

"Um, I'm good…why?"

"What? I can't ask how you are?"

"Well, you can, it just seemed a little out of the blue."

"I haven't really had any time alone with you…"

"I know, I'm sorry. I just worry about leaving Tyson alone with them…"

"How come you never told me about him?"

"I told you mom, I didn't know if things were serious or not, and we wanted to keep it kind of private, hockey fans can be crazy."

"I know, but I'm your mother. I want you to feel like you can tell me things like that."

"I do mom, I really do. I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier."

"Things are good with you two?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Things seemed a little tense tonight…"

"We just had a little disagreement earlier, but it's all good."

"Okay...he seems like a really great guy, Y/n/N, and the way he looks at you…it reminds me of how my father looked at my mother…he's really in love with you sweetie. I hope this works out for you two."

You smiled sweetly at your mom and gave her a hug, even though that was the last thing you wanted to hear right now. At this point, you had stopped getting your hopes at little signs because they never ended up meaning anything.  

Once you were finished cleaning up, you and your mom joined everyone else in the living room. You sat down next to Tyson and he put his arm around and kissed the side of your head. You were not looking forward to this game, your family was very competitive, and although you knew Tyson was too, it could get out of hand pretty quickly.

You were split into two teams, thankfully you were with Tyson, Charlie, Casey, and your dad. Jack and Ben are the worst to have on your team because they are the most competitive and they get super pissed when you're not performing well. Your dad and Charlie were also really good at charades so you'd probably win.

It actually ended up being a lot of fun. Thankfully, Jack and Ben didn't get too worked up and of course everyone was drinking so everyone was laughing and having a good time. Your parents called it quits when Ben and Hailey left to go back to their house. The rest of you stayed up and talked for a while before everyone slowly tucked in for the night.

When you and Tyson finally laid down you were exhausted.

"Well tonight went much better than last…" Tyson said, pulling you closer to him.

"Yes...thankfully. I was a little nervous, Jack and Ben can be a little crazy when it comes to games."

Tyson chuckled, "you're one to talk…"

You scoffed, "hey! I am not that competitive."

"Um, I have a monopoly board that would say differently."

"Oh my god, okay, I was really drunk…I don't usually get like that."

"Whatever you say…"

You shook your head and reached over to turn the lamp off.

"Do we have to be up early tomorrow?" Tyson asked.

"No, I don't think so. I think we have to be at the church by 3."

"Perfect, I want to sleep in, I'm exhausted."

"I know, me too."

"Are you gonna sleep in?" He asked, wrapping his arm around your waist.

"I'm gonna try…why?"

"It was hard to keep sleeping once you got up…"

"You want me to stay in bed until you get up?"

"Pretty please?" He asked, sticking his lip out.

You shook your head and chuckled, "yes, I can do that, but not if it's super late!!"

"Okay, deal. Night, Y/n/N."

"Goodnight, Tys."

The next morning you were kicking yourself for the deal you made. You were so tangled up in Tyson it was going to be impossible to even move. You tried to carefully grab your phone so you could see what time it was. 9 am. You relaxed and began checking all of your social media. You were careful to avoid your DMs, you didn't want him to wake up and see anything that would upset him. Although you still wanted to know why he actually cared so much about Mat messaging you.

A little while the arm around your waist tightened and Tyson's head poked up.

"So much better when you're in bed with me." He said groggily. "…just wish we were naked."

"Tyson!" You said shooting up to a sitting position. You looked over at his smug little face. "You are such an asshole."

"You love me." He shrugged, putting an arm around you.

You rolled your eyes, "you disgust me."

You laid there quietly for a few minutes before Tyson spoke up again, "you ready for today?"

"Pretty sure that should be a question for the bride…"

“`Yes but the whole reason I’m here this weekend is to help you get through it.” “Okay, yeah...I’m sure it’ll be fine. Seeing you with me should shut everyone up.”

A smug grin appeared on Tyson’s face, “I can’t argue with you there…”

You shook your head and laughed before growing serious again. “I just am a little nervous about seeing Jake...I don’t know if he’s still drinking and I’m worried he’s going to cause a scene.”

“Well if he does than fuck that. It won’t be your fault either so don’t feel bad if he does.” “I know, it’s just, everyone has always pitied him and let things slide because he’s an alcoholic. I just don’t think my family will see it as his fault...they’ll blame it on me for bringing some new guy around even though that’s all they talk about. I just can’t win with them.”

“Okay, well let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here. Hopefully everything will be fine and we won’t have to worry about it. If it does, we’ll deal with it then, okay? Just try and relax and have fun. Weddings are supposed to be fun.”

“I know...thanks, Tys. I know I keep saying this but I really do appreciate you being here with me.”

“And I will keep telling you that it’s no big deal, sweets.” You smiled as he kissed your forehead. You were quiet for a few moments before he spoke up again. “So...have you heard from Mat at all?”

“Not since last night…” You said softly while Tyson just nodded. “Why?” Tyson shrugged, “just wondering.” You gave him a pointed look. “What? I am!”

“How come you seemed so upset about it last night?” “I didn’t mean to seem upset, I just, I don’t know, it caught me off guard. But I know you think he’s attractive so go for it I guess.” He said enthusiastically.

“Okay, well I don’t care what you say, it clearly bothers you in some way, so I’m not going to talk to him.”

Tyson rolled his eyes but didn’t argue so you figured that meant there was some truth in your statement.

You laid in bed for about another hour talking about random stuff before you got up to shower and start getting ready.

“Alright,” you started as you untangle yourself from Tyson, “I’m gonna get in the shower.” “Wanna save some water and shower together?” He asked with a cheeky grin, grabbing your wrist to keep you in place.

“Absolutely not.” You said as you shrugged his hand off of yours and walked out of the room.

Tyson looked up when you walked back into your room. He opened his mouth but you cut him off before he could even say anything.

“Whatever you’re about to say, the answer is no. Go get in the shower.”

Tyson pouted, but did as he was told, not before grabbing your ass on the way out with a little giggle. You rolled your eyes and went about getting ready.

You couldn’t help but glance over at Tyson as he strolled back through the door a few minutes later. The towel he had wrapped around his waist was starting to fall off of his hips and you had a clear picture of his V line. You hadn’t really noticed that you were staring until you heard Tyson start talking to you.

“Like what you see?”

You blushed and rolled your eyes turning back towards the mirror to finish your makeup.

Once you were finally done with your makeup, Tyson had stepped out of the room so you took the opportunity to put your dress on. You slipped it on and tried your best to zip it up but you couldn’t quite reach. When you heard the door open again you turned to ask Tyson for help.

“Hey Tys can you help me-” You stopped when you saw him staring at you. “Is everything okay? Is there something wrong with my dress?” You asked, starting to panic a bit.

“No, no, not at all. I, um, you just look really beautiful.”

You visibly relaxed and smiled at him. “Thanks, Tys. Could you help me zip up though?” He nodded and stepped towards you and turned back around so he could help you. You could feel Tyson’s breath on the back of your neck. Once he zipped you up you turned around slowly, Tyson not moving a muscle. You looked up at him, his face just inches from yours. He cupped your chin in his hand and he brought your face to his and kissed you softly. You closed your eyes and welcomed his lips on yours.

Tyson pulled away after a few moments and turned away. “Shit, I’m sorry, I…” He trailed off and sat on the bed.

You grew sad at his reaction. Although he initiated the kiss it seems like he also regrets it.

“It’s okay...I, um, I’m gonna go downstairs.” You said and quickly left the room. You ducked into the bathroom and leaned against the counter willing yourself not to cry so you wouldn’t ruin your makeup. You took a few deep breaths to compose yourself and you made your way to the door. Just as you were about to turn the knob there was a knock.

“Y/n/N? Can I come in?” It was Tyson. The tears that you just suppressed were quickly coming back. You opened the door and retreated back to the counter.

“Jesus, are you crying?” You covered your face with your hands because the tears were now rolling. “Please don’t cry Y/N. I didn’t mean to upset you, jesus…” he trailed off as he placed his hands on your shoulders. “Please stop crying...I don’t know why I did that…” “It’s fine, Tys, you got caught up in the moment, it’s fine.” “What? No, not the kiss...the kiss was amazing...I totally meant to do that. I don’t know why I pulled away like that. I guess I just thought maybe that’s not what you wanted and I thought I messed everything up. I guess I did that anyway…” You didn’t say anything and you didn’t move for a few moments. “Will you look at me please?” He asked, softly guiding your chin up to look at him. “I’m sorry, Y/n/N. Please don’t be upset.” “You’re wrong you know…” He gave you a puzzled look but you just kept going. “I’ve wanted you to kiss me so badly...for so long. I just thought maybe you regretted it and that’s why you pulled away…”

“Not at all, babe...not at all.” He said, moving in, grabbing the sides of your face and kissing you tenderly.

This time when he pulled away his hands stayed where they were and he wiped away the remaining tears with his thumbs. “God you are so gorgeous.”

You couldn’t help but laugh a little, “Tyson, I’m crying and my makeup is everywhere.”

“That’s what makes you so beautiful.”

You shook your head and smiled at him, taking his hands in yours and bringing them to your sides.

“Come on, let’s go get you fixed up.” He said, leading you back to your room.

It didn’t take you too long to fix your makeup, and before you knew it you heard your mom yell up the stairs telling you guys to hurry up. You grabbed your shoes and sat on the bed next to Tyson to put them on. You started to open the door to leave and Tyson took your hand to stop you.

“Tys, we need to go what ar-” He stopped you with another kiss that you melted into.

“I know, I’m sorry, I just can’t get enough of your lips right now…”

You chuckled and rolled your eyes, “if we go now you can explore all of my lips later…”

Tyson’s eyes widened and he hurried both of you downstairs where the rest of your family was waiting.

~~~~~~

It was a beautiful day, although still pretty cold, the sun was shining and the snow was shimmering. The church looked gorgeous, they had decorated it with tons and tons of flowers, it looked like a garden and it was beautiful.

You held onto Tyson's arm as you followed the rest of your family to sit down. You got there on the earlier side, so there weren't too many people there yet. You found yourself looking back at the doors quite often, waiting for Jake to arrive. Tyson noticed, because you really weren't being very discrete about it, so he took your hand in his and squeezed it gently. You looked at him and smiled. You were so happy and relieved that you two finally shared how you felt and that you could finally be together. You wanted to believe that nothing would ruin such a beautiful day, but if anyone could, it would be Jake.

You were successfully distracted from the door by your brother's ridiculous argument over which of your cousins was going to get the most shitfaced. By the end of it you had placed $20 on who you thought I'd be.

When the ceremony was about to start, you looked to your left and your breath hitched. You grabbed Tyson's hand and looked at you before following your gaze across the room to where Jake was. He looked back and gave you a reassuring smile and kissed the side of your head. Thankfully, the music started to play and your focus was on the wedding party walking in.

The ceremony was beautiful, their vows were adorable, and all of the speakers and passages were very fitting. It wasn't too long either, which was also nice, you couldn't sit still for very long so you liked when things were quick.

Because of all of the people leaving the church, you avoided an encounter with Jake which you were glad about but you knew it was going to happen so the dread just set in. You were able to keep pretty busy throughout the night. Introducing Tyson to everyone and catching up with family you hadn't seen in a while. Tyson stayed by your side pretty much the whole night which was super comforting. You were nervous for him to leave you because you had caught Jake staring at you a few times, and you knew as soon as you were alone he was going to come up to you.

It didn't happen for a little while longer, which you didn't know if it was better or worse because you now had multiple vodka sodas in you. You had been sitting at the table with Tyson, taking a break from the dance floor, when your dad and uncles had come up to you and asked to steal Tyson. You tried to object but your uncles were insistent on spending a little time with him. You rolled your eyes and sat back, trying to push the anxious thoughts away. But that wasn't happening when you saw him approaching you. You tried to stand up but he grabbed your arm before you could take a step.

"Y/N, please. Just let me talk to you."

You sighed and sat down, making a point to shrug your arm out of his grip.

"So, who's the guy?"

"Tyson, my boyfriend." He scoffed at your reply. "What?" You asked.

"Nothing, I'm just surprised is all."

"Why?"

"Word on the street is, he's a professional athlete."

"So?"

"So, it's probably not going to last long. I wouldn’t say that you’re really his type."

"You don't know anything about me, Jake. We haven't talked in years. And I would really like to keep it that way, so please, leave me alone."

"Oh, come on, Y/n/N. Don't be like that. I wasn't that bad, you blew things way out of proportion."

"Did I? Because I'm pretty sure if your dad wasn't as good of friends with my uncle that you would have been in jail, not rehab. You're lucky you got off as well as you did. Me? I didn't get off that easy. You really fucked me up. I couldn't get near a guy for a year because of you. You were abusive. You were an asshole. And I wish that I hadn't wasted so many years of my life with you." You weren't really sure where you got the nerve to say all that, because as soon as it came out of your mouth you were scared of how he was going to react. He opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, you heard a voice behind you.

"I believe the lady has spoken, you can go now."

To your surprise, he walked right away. It was probably Tyson towering over him that scared him off.

"Well, I was feeling badly that I left you out in the open but it appears my girlfriend is a total badass and was fine on her own…" He commented, wrapping his arms around you and placing his chin on top of your head.

"Yeah, well I'm surprised too. I have no idea why I thought that would be a good idea. I'm not sure what would have happened if you hadn't come over."

"Well, hopefully we never have to find out…are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. It felt good to get that out."

"Good, fuck that guy."

"Yeah, fuck that guy." You said agreeing with him as you let go. "I need another drink…a stiff one."

"Anything for you, my love."

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful, however you downed a few more drinks and were very drunk. Tyson helped you to the car and then up to your room once you got home.

You stripped out of your dress and pounced on Tyson.

"Whoa, easy there killer." He said catching you and placing you gently on the bed.

You kissed for a few minutes before he climbed off of you. "Alright, bedtime."

"What?! Tyson…" you whined. "I've been waiting so long for this."

“Oh have you?!” He asked, quirking his eyebrows.

“Yes, now pleeeeeease.” She whined.

“You’re too drunk, and besides it’s a little weird with your parents down the hall.”

"Ugh, fiiiine." You pouted, taking your bra off and getting comfy in the bed.

"Can you put a shirt on?"

"Oh my god, Tyson, what is wrong with you?"

"I don't know if I can control myself laying with you naked all night. Just please." He said, throwing you one of his shirts.

You sighed and put his shirt over your head. He climbed into bed next to you and wrapped his arms around you.

"I'm so glad you came with me this weekend, Tys."

"Me too, I don't think I could have lasted much longer just as your neighbor."

"Yeah, it was starting to really get to me…"

"What do you mean?"

"I just was thinking that I was going to have to distance myself because I couldn't suppress my feelings anymore…"

"Well, then I'm definitely glad we had this weekend, I would have been really sad if you did that."

"I don't know if I could live with myself if I made you sad…not to mention I'd have Landy on my ass."

"He's been texting me all weekend."

"Really? Why?"

"Updates on if we're together or not."

"Did you tell him?"

"Nah, I want to mess with him a bit."

You chuckled and rolled your eyes, "what are you gonna do?"

"I'm just going to tell him that we had an awful weekend, we got into a huge fight and we're not even friends anymore."

"You're awful."    

"But when I finally tell him that we are together now, he'll be so happy he won't even care."

"Okay, just leave me out of it!"

"Oh you're in it now. We're partners for life."

"For life?"

"I hope so."

"Me too." You said with a small smile. You turned so you were now facing him. "Goodnight, Tys." You said softly, giving him a kiss before snuggling into his chest.

"Goodnight, Y/n/N."

~~~~~~~

The next day you had a big brunch with your family before everyone went their separate ways again. Now that you and Tyson were actually together you were so much more relaxed. Despite the hangovers, everyone was laughing and joking around. You were actually a little sad that you were leaving. But, you were excited to get out of your parent's house and spend some alone time with Tyson.

After what seemed like a never ending goodbye, you and Tyson were finally on the road back to Denver. The car ride was much more pleasurable. Again, you were more relaxed, the weekend was behind you, and you frankly couldn't wait to get back.

When you pulled into the garage, you grabbed all of your bags and headed upstairs. You parted ways so you could put your bags down. A few minutes later, Tyson strolled through your front door. You were grabbing a glass of water in the kitchen, so you got one for him too and then you went back to your room so you could unpack and start some laundry.

"Do you want to bring your laundry over here?" You asked him as you gathered your dirty clothes.

"It's alright, I can do it later."

"I don't mind, Tys. I'm doing it anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, go get it."

Tyson gave you a quick kiss on the cheek and walked off to go get his laundry.

Once you had a load going the two of you went and sat on the couch. You started off just talking but then ended up making out a bit. Tyson was now lying on top of you and things were starting to get heated when his phone rang. "Shit," he muttered as he rummaged around trying to find it on the couch. "It's Landy, I have to answer, I told him to call me."

You rolled your eyes but sat up next to him as he settled back.

"Hey, man." He greeted solemnly. You mouthed for him to put it on speaker.

"Hey, are you home? What happened?"

"Yeah, I'm home…um, things didn't go so well."

"Oh no...what happened?"

"Well, things with her family weren't good to start with. Then the first night we got into a fight about her brothers, and then we got into another argument the next day and I almost just left…I ended up staying but I don't think we're really even friends anymore…"

"WHAT?! Why wouldn't you be friends anymore? What did you do???"

You had to suppress your laughter at Tyson's face when Gabe insinuated it was something he did and not you.

"Why would you think it was something I did?!" Tyson asked, obviously very offended.

"It's Y/N…she just doesn't do anything wrong."

"Okay, well, I don't know. We need a break from each other."

"What the hell, Tyson? Did you even tell her how you feel?"

"I was going to, but I figured telling her after we just had a screaming match wouldn't be the best idea."

"You screamed at each other??? Jesus, what did you fight about?"

"Mat Barzal."

"What?!"

"Yeah he DM'd her on Instagram and it pissed me off."

"Seriously? You screamed at her?! That's not even her fault, man."

"I know, I shouldn't have gotten upset with her, but I did, and now we're just giving each other some space."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Go over to her place right now and make things right."

"I can't, man."

"You can, and you will."

"No, I really can't."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm already over here."

"What?"

"I'm just messing with you, Landy. We're dating now."

"Are you kidding me?! Y/N are you there? Were you in on this??"

"I wanted no part in it!!!"

"Ugh, Tyson, I want to be so mad at you right now, but I'm too happy for you!! It's about time, though. We were going to give you guys like another week, tops, before we took matters into our own hands."

You and Tyson both laughed, "who is we?!" You asked.

"Me, Mel, basically the whole team…"

"Well I'm glad we have lots of supporters." You commented as Tyson pursed his lips.

"NO one will be butting into this relationship…I'm serious Landy."

"I'm sorry that's not the way it works, Josty." Tyson rolled his eyes but you just giggled. "Anyway, I'm glad you two love birds finally figured it out. Have a good rest of your day and use protection!!!"

Tyson rolled his eyes again and hung up on Landy. "We're turning our phones off and spending the rest of the day in the bedroom." He commanded as he put his phone down on the coffee table. He looked at you signifying for you to do the same and you obeyed then followed him into your bedroom.

[migeviellardi]

Out Of Comfort

Rottmnt Donnie Centric Fanfic

Genre : Adventure, Action, Humour, Hurt/Comfort

Summary : Things happens sporadically at times, especially when you meet an interesting stranger that saves you from a lonesome rock decides to fell on your head.

Chapter 3 The Stranger

Mikey : All clear.

Leo : What do you mean ‘all clear’?

Mikey : I’m making sure there’s no police around.

Raph : I thought they’d let us go.

Splinter : They are. But that doesn’t mean that you boys don’t behave.

April : It’s alright, Splints. I’ll make sure they won’t cause any troubles.

Casey : Ugh, what’s the point of life if there won’t be a trouble?

Baron : That you won’t be here, existing.

Casey : WHAT?!

April : Okay. You need to chill.

Donnie walks right behind the group as they strolls the Hidden City’s streets. Head covered in his hoodie with his hands shoved in his pockets. So far, they hadn’t realize he’s being quiet. He’s not having the mood to talk to any of them. 

Although, he agrees with Mikey, he still hasn’t trusted this whole situation. He looks around to make sure there’s no undercover cops or something, perhaps Big Mama’s goons. 

Big Mama. What could she be doing right now? There’s no telling if she’s watching or plotting something. Two years after the incident of ‘You-know-who’, was caused by that wretched spider-lady. 

Nobody knows what her deal is. Her fanatic obsessions about Battle Nexus always made everyone in the world got involve. She had no chill, she never does. Which come to wondering why would his father dated a girl like her?

“Donnie!” 

April’s voice startled him. The group had their heads turned to him. “You okay?” 

Donnie : Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.

Leo : Uh, no. You’re not.

Donnie : Can it, Leo!

Leo : You were spacing out again, Don! And considering we’ve been brothers for like,  forever, usually that means you’re not.

Donnie : Oh, so you’re an expert now?

Leo : I’m an expert to know what you’re thinking, Donnie.

Donnie : No, you’re not.

Leo : Yes, I am.

Donnie : And, why is that?

Leo : ‘Cause we’re twins.

Donnie : We’re not twins.

Leo : Whatever you trying to say, Don. I don’t care. We’re born with the same age.

Donnie : And that doesn’t MEAN that we are. We’re not even the same-

Leo : Ah ah ah, don’t wanna hear it! Lalalala~~~

Donnie : Leo-

Raph : ENOUGH!!

The twins startled at Raph’s shouting. Raph sighed, pinching his nose-bridge.

Raph : We’re here to have some fun, okay? And if I see you two fight again, imma  SHOVE YOUR HEADS into a toilet. Y’all understand me?

Leo : Yeah, yeah.

Donnie : Hmph.

Raph : Good.

Splinter groaned, massaging his constant headache. Why can his sons just behave?

Splinter : Alright, since you two done arguing, why don’t we split up-

Baron : I’ll call dibs with Mikey.

All : .............

Leo : Whoawhoawhoawhoa, did you just say ‘dibs’?!

Baron : Yes, I did.

Mikey : Aawww, okay Barry. I’ll go with you.

Leo : Does nobody questioning that he said ‘dibs’?!!

Donnie : Great, now it’s haunting me.

Raph : He looks weird saying that.

April : Am I hearing things, Barry? Did you eat something alive at your lab again?

Casey : Why you making this a big deal?

Leo : Of course, it’s a big deal. Calling ‘dibs’ is our thing!!!

Splinter : For the love of Hamato, please don’t say that ever again!!

Baron : Don’t worry. I already regretting ever saying that. But my point still stands, I’ll  go with Mikey.

Mikey : Don’t listen to them, Barry! You did a good thing.

Donnie : Michael, you better stay out of his head!

Splinter : Okay, fine. Baron will go with Mikey. I’ll go with red.

Raph : Sure thing, pops.

Leo : Nah, fam. I got somewhere else to go. I’ll fly solo.

With that, Leo took off immediately.

April : What about you, Donnie? Are you fine on your own?

Donnie : Yeah, I’ll be good. You go ahead dealing with the....

Casey : .....

Donnie : Uuh-I’ll go this way. 

Donnie left the group. He can sense for-sure that Casey staring at him. He doesn’t know why she terrifies him so much, she hasn’t done anything to him, regardless of those times they fought her while she still a Foot-recruit. Maybe he’s just paranoid, the fact that he did forgot to take a battleshell with him. 

His hoodie made it obscure and that his brothers didn’t warned him about it means they didn’t know he didn’t use it. With that in mind, he should be more careful and not get himself involve on a fight. The fact that he also didn’t bring his bo. 

“What is wrong with me?” he said to himself. Now fully knowing that he’s extremely vulnerable and too open for an attack, he began to be more cautious. Perhaps he needs to visit a place where there’ll be no violence. A place that strict with rules, like a Mystic Library. 

No. Raph ever told him that their last visit got thrown apart by the Foot-Clan, and if he make a noise above whisper, he’ll be send to a Kiddie Room that filled with hungering monstrous children-behaved Yokais who’s out for blood.

Guess not every safe places are safe after all. 

Then, Donnie yelped as he felt being pulled backwards. Suddenly a huge rock drops in front of him and shattered to bits. Donnie went shocked as he tumbled and fall on his back. A short flying yokai flew down to him.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Are you okay?” she apologized, her wings flutters real fast as he helped him up. 

“Uh, yeah yeah. I’m okay.” the fairy like yokai blew away some dust from him.

“Oh good, I am very glad.” then she turned to his left. “Thank you kindly, sir. I’m not sure what will happen if you didn’t save him.” 

Save him? Donnie looked to his left. A tall human stood still with a sharp gaze staring at him. Donnie flailed back at the guy. The stranger gave him an unexpressive look. He’s a few centimeters taller than him. His slim posture stood steady and a bit stiff. 

He’s unruly silverish grey hair nearly obscuring his slanted grey pupils in his pale skin tone. He’s collar on his cyber yellow jacket unfolded. It also unbuttoned that reveals a white blank T-shirt underneath. His hands shoved in his navy blue pants pockets, looks somewhat made out of a comfy fabric. He’s black and intricate design shoes looks appealing as well.

Donnie don’t know what to say. The stranger keeps staring at him, not saying a word, not even when the fairy said her final apology and flutters off. 

And there it was, the awkward silence. Donnie held his hands close to his chest, he knows he’s extremely vulnerable, but he needs to be ready for a fight. 

Then, the stranger walks towards him. Donnie instinctively walks backwards, keeping his distance from him. He startled and horrified as his shell hits a wall, he was cornered. The men were an inch away from his face. Donnie pressed himself against the wall, body’s trembling in fear, seeing the guy eye to eye.

Then, the guy swept his shoulder from the leftover dust. Donnie flustered by his gesture. The air somewhat less tense than two seconds ago. 

“You alright, kid?” the stranger finally asked. He spoke in a low tones, but not a deep one. Donnie was stunned, he would say something but he can’t. “Are you shook?” 

Once again, Donnie couldn’t speak. Some lump in his throat made him unable to let ou a single word. The stranger sighed, arms crossed.

“I assumed that you are, so I don’t think leaving you here alone will be a good idea.” he walks away from him. Donnie still flustered of what just happened. He stares as the guy moved away then startled when he turned back to him. “Come.” 

He ordered. Donnie isn’t sure if he should trust the guy, let alone that he’s a human. Since when there’s a human besides April and Casey walking in the Hidden City? But he did saves his life. If that rock got him without his battleshell, he probably be dead by now. 

Donnie took a deep breath and release, he followed the stranger somewhere. At least he still have his phone with him, so whenever he’s in trouble, he could call for help. Right now, he keep his distance to the guy in front of him.

What was he doing here? Is he from New York? Because he doesn’t look like he does. And his aura are extremely, menacing. He can’t see it, but he could feel the tensity whenever he got close to him.

The stranger stopped and turned to his right. Donnie was confused when he realize that he took him to the Run-on-the-mill Pizza place. Huh, so he likes pizza too.

Donnie followed him inside, he took a side on the sofa side. He points at the other end of the table, telling him to sit down. Donnie do what he told, and things back to its awkward silence. This time, the guy took his attention at his phone, ignoring Donnie’s constant staring at him. 

Donnie probably would do the same if it wasn’t with the awkwardness hanging in the air.

“Good day, gentlemen.” Donnie look up to see Hueso stood there with his notepads on his bony hands. He seems unimpressed seeing Donnie. “Anything you would like to eat?”

“Order up, kid. Don’t wait for me.” the stranger said, eyes still on his phone. Donnie blinks at the words. He looks back at Hueso who’s staring at the guy then back at him, raising his boned-eyebrow. 

“Uuuh, as usual. Please.” Donnie forced out to smile. Hueso notice that, he wrote his order at the notepads. Then, turned to the stranger. 

“Whatever the kid’s ordered, make it two. I’ll take the bill as well.” he said, still not looking up from his phone. Hueso wrote it down and took off, he took the chance to pat Donnie’s shoulder.

It made him jumped, not sure what’s that for. He watched Hueso leave until he’s longer visible.

“Something bothering you?” Donnie looked back to the voice. The men stares at him at last. The lump in his throat is back, but he knew he can’t stay quiet forever, the guy knew he could speak. He might gets angry and pissed if he didn’t talk.

Donnie clears his throat, gathering his courage to speak up.

Donnie : Um, thanks. For saving me.

Stranger : It won’t happened if you didn’t spaced out.

Donnie : Oh, yeah, that I...*rubbing his neck* I didn’t mean to- Well, I guess I can’t help  it.

Stranger : Can’t help what?

Donnie : Well, I dunno. I just can’t think straight for these past years, science block often  drives me crazy.

Stranger : Science block?

Donnie : More of a tech block, I guess. I just, every time I tried to built things it’s just  didn’t work, all I do it’s fix and fix and FIX-

Stranger : Kid.

Donnie : -it keeps jeopardizing my usual productivity, if wasn’t for a certain  ‘you-know-who’ who took pleasure destroying my LAB that I built since I was  NINE-

Stranger : You what?

Donnie : -destroying my techs like layers of newspapers, my home, my family’s life!!  Sure, we start off with new lifes now that we’re ‘Hamatos’, elite group of ninjas  or whatsoever. Yeah, life was good, until I certainly am NOT!!

Stranger : Okay, kid-

Donnie : -And what would I do? Quit? Run away? Oh, I could. I thought about it. But of  course, my father won’t let me. Keeping me in full surveillance 24/7, For  YEARS!!

Stranger : KID!!

Donnie flinched, then he looked around to see Hueso, with their orders in his hands, and all the customers staring at him. Donnie felt very embarrassed, he pulled down his hood to cover his face, looking away towards a wall. Hueso sighed heavily. 

“Here are your orders.” he puts down two large portion of pizzas on the table. Donnie held on to his hood, ducking his head onto his arm. “If you like, I’ll call Pepino to-”

“No.” Hueso blinked, “No, please don’t! Don’t call anyone!” his voice was semi-whispered. Hueso can see his hand trembles clutching the fabric of his hoodie. Hueso felt sympathetic, it wasn’t the first time the turtle took this place to vent his feelings. 

“I will get some coffee, my treat.” Hueso took off again. The Stranger glanced at the kid, he could hear some sniffles coming off of him. He knows the kid’s crying. He held on to his hoodie for dear life, not wanting everyone to see his tears.

He hates it, Donnie hates it. Crying means weakness, feelings that aren’t supposed to show that make him more vulnerable. He can only hope his family and friends didn’t know about this. He doesn’t want them to worry, he wanted them to stop. He’s fine, he can take care of himself. He’s also a Hamato, he can fix his own problem.

“Sorry.” the word took him back to reality, he sniffles as he slowly peeks from below his hoodie. “Didn’t mean to upset you, kid. I just concern that if you keep spacing out like that, you might hurt yourself.”

The stranger apologized to him, why? What did he do? It was him that supposed to be sorry. For what he done, Donnie just revealed his whole problems to a total stranger. Now, he’ll probably payed the price. Way to go, Donnie. What a way to keep yourself from trouble. Now watch this stranger use your weaknesses to enslave you.

Suddenly, a small blue entity appeared on his face. Donnie flinched, the blue thing looks at him. It looks like a little ghost, with it looks limbless and its body looks like tiny tendrils work as torso and arms with its round head containing two white friendly eyes.

The little thing squeaks, tilting its head. It was a cute to look at. It then flew close to Donnie’s face and hugged his cheek with its tiny tendril arm. It felt warm and comforting, as if it was a real hug. Donnie hovered his hand onto the thing, wondering how to hug back the thing without squishing it.

It then let go of the hug and gently patted his head, telling him to calm down. Donnie wipes his tears, he smiled at it. The blue thing smiled back, twirls happily knowing its attempt of comfort works.

It then flies towards the stranger, perching on his finger. The stranger smiles down at his little friend. It squeaks away, seems talking to him. Donnie titled his head slightly, curiosity began to appear.

“What is that?” he asked. The stranger glances at him. “It looks, cute. It’s that a ghost?”

“This is a wisp, kinda like a small ghost. And also, it’s a ‘she’. Not an ‘it’. Her name is Sia.” he explain. Sia waves happily at him, Donnie waved back. 

“Their more of a soul remnants rather than ghost. Whenever someone or something died, their memories remains, in a form of a wisp.” he added. Donnie blinks, he don’t know souls did that.

“So, are you a....psychic?”

“Kinda.”

“So, you can see ghost. And,....her type of thing?”

Sia flew circling the stranger’s head, “Yes, that’s what psychic means.”

“Well, I know. It just--are there more around here?” 

The stranger looks around him, from corners to corners. Then back at Donnie. “There are, but not much. Five including the one besides you.”

“My what?” then a small greenish entity appears right beside him. Donnie startled. It looks exactly like Sia, only it’s on different color. Donnie somehow felt a familiar precent from it, suddenly a tear came down to his cheek. He startled, what makes him cry?

“Who-who’s this?” he asked.

“Some wisps might wanders around aimlessly when they separated from their souls.” Donnie glanced back at him, “Others, might come back and followed whoever they’re close to.” 

“Whoever they close to?”

“The same case with the one in front of you.” Donnie’s eyes widened. This wisp is whoever close to him? Who was it? Why it felt familiar? 

“And, I believe it’s a ‘she’ as well.”

Donnie gazed back at him, tears began to streams out some more, “And, her name is Karai.” the men revealed. Donnie shocked hearing her Gram-Gram’s name. He looked down to the wisp, she nodded at the sound of her identity. 

Donnie’s tears began to burst. It might not be a real form of her body, but it’s enough to make him pulled her small presence into a hug. Donnie let himself cry one last time, holding close the wisp of his dead Gram-Gram to his chest. 

He could feel the wisp hugged him back. He felt it somehow, the warmth of her arms began to wrapped around him, hugging him close. Almost felt like she never left, that she’ll always be there. Watching over him, accompanying him. He didn’t get to spent much time with her, he wish he could. He wished she still alive. Here with his family.

Donnie let go off the hug, wiping his tears. He cupped his hands to let his wisp sits on his hands. He smiled, she’s not Gram-Gram, but she’s the closest thing about her.

Then, he realized that the stranger still there. He quickly dried his tears with his sleeves, gathering back his bearings.

“Sorry, I...Name’s Donnie by the way.” he finally introduced himself. The stranger raised his eyebrow. He held out his hand at him. Donnie stares at it and took the handshake gesture.

“Silver. Just call me Silver.”

[haziel-luz]

Own it..then Redeem it (2007!Leonardo x reader)

Chapter 4:  Just Words or Truth?

Winter gives smiles and dries his hair with the towel around his neck.

“Ms.Lane, thank you for showing (Y/n) to my office, you may leave.” Winter smiles and the assistant blushes with a nod. She gives you the most envious glare in history before she closes the door.

“Follow me (Y/n).” Winters disappeared back into his second floor and you went up the stairs and followed him to what seems like his home.

“So your work is your home?” You asked, staring at everything in awe. The whole thing felt like a secret base in the office. ‘Just how rich is he?’

“I say it’s better here than to just keep driving around all day. Far easier.” Winters explained and smiled at you while going to the kitchen and pouring me a glass of champagne. He brings the glass towards me and sets his towel on one shoulder.

“Have you decided on my offer, my dear?” Winters looks at you curiously.

“Oh yea, um, I decided to accept your offer on the job. When do you want me to start?” You sat on the couch with him.

“That’s marvelous my dear. You can start tomorrow if you want. I will send a driver to your home.”

“Oh you don’t have to do that.”

“No my dear, I want to. You are the special piece missing in this company and I would love to give you everything you deserved before your workload would commence. Shall we have dinner tonight as a celebration?” Winters gives you the most charming smile.

“Thank you but maybe another night. I made other plans with my friends.” You smiled apologetically. You couldn’t forget about telling your friends about this. Winters is a good friend to you but you couldn’t let it in the way.

“Very well my dear. Now if you excuse me, I’m gonna get ready for a meeting in 30 minutes.” Winters stands up and starts walking to his room until he stops at the door frame. “How about tomorrow night?”

You chuckled while shaking your head. “Sure, tomorrow night sounds good. Good day Mr.Winters.”  You smiled and walked out of his ‘secret’ apartment.

Winters smiled and went back inside his room. Never in his immortal life, has he met a woman like you. If only he met you in his time period, maybe he wouldn’t have stumbled upon this curse. Winters puts his suit on and looks at the warrior suit he had displayed in another closet. He has lived all these years in regret, now knowing that he wants to lead a life full of family. He looks out the window and brings a small smile to his lips. The end of regret and suffering has to start somewhere, and you are that key. Which is why… ‘I want to tell you everything myself.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You walked out the building and a truck honked at you.

“Hey where do you think you're going?” A familiar male voice hollered at you and you turned around.

You see April and Casey leaning on the delivery truck. You walk towards them with a smile on your face.

“I didn’t think I would bump into you both here, but I guess now is better than later.” You hugged April and Casey.

“So you are gonna explain to us? That’s a shame, I wanted to press every single one of your buttons.” April playfully huffed.

“Looks like I saved myself the trouble. Should we go and talk to the guys now? I’ll explain my actions on the way.” You chuckled at her and she nodded.

“Sure, we’re off of work anyways, let’s go to my car.” April smiles and takes out her keys.

“Finally some time with the guys.” Casey smiles to himself and walks along.

“Yea.” You try not to think so much about your encounter with Leo. Raph was right, I have to talk to him one of these days. ‘And thats today.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and the ‘perfect’ couple arrived at the lair and helped them carry some books from the car. Donnie requested some of these from April and he might as well have a library. Coming back to a warm atmosphere that you missed, there was also some tension in this familiar place.

“You guys came!” Mickey was the first to see you three and gave each of you a hug, but yours was the longest. When Mickey pulled away from you, he gave you a big happy smile and you gave one back.

“Of course we did.” You nudged his shoulder with yours, careful not to drop the books. You guys walked to the dinner table to place the books down.

“So where’s Donnie?” April asked, sitting down while Casey went to an arcade machine.

“He’s in his lab but he’ll be out shortly.” Leo suddenly came into view from the training area they had. He was working up a sweat, and just Winter’s he was wearing a towel around his neck like he just got out of the shower. ‘Why do these men have to show up like this?’

“I might as well say ‘hi’ to Splinter while I’m at it.” You swiftly moved to where Splinter would most likely be. In his meditating room. You needed some type of voice to tell that things will get better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo just stared at you walking to Splinter’s meditating room and sighed. Mikey, Casey and April gave Leo a sympathetic look. Seeing you both torn apart like this made them feel bad.

“That bad huh?” Raph came out from his room and jumped down near the dining table.

“Dude, maybe you should make the first move and talk to her.” Mikey suggested.

“Yeah, (Y/n) may be able to listen to you, just as long as you give her the chance to vent on everything she’s held on.” April agreed and gave Leo a reassuring smile.

“That’s if she wants to give in to that chance. Ya know, girls like (Y/n) live by the motto ‘treat people the way you want to be treated’ and I think that’s exactly what she’s doing.” Raph scoffs and Leo only glares at him.

“Let me guess, you gave her that advice.” Leo pulls the towel down away from his neck. April and Mikey can only watch as the two opposite brothers try to square up.

“Oh please, you wrecked the stable relationship you two had. I told her to patch things up with you quickly so that it can just be you and me in the ring.” Raph stood tall with the toughest glare he could give his eldest brother. Sure, Raph was willing to fight his brother one-on-one but it was just downright low to hurt your relationship with Leo in the process. He’d never do that to you or Leo no matter how mad he was at him.

“Guys, cool it.” April stood up slightly and Mikey stood closer to April in case a fight broke out between his brothers. Casey stopped whatever he was playing and stared at the tense scene. He doesn’t want his friends fighting, but he could try to rip them apart from each other.

“The books are here, thanks guys, I appreciate it!” Donnie came into the tense room with a cup of coffee in his hand. Everyone was thankful that Donnie came on time to end the tension. Raph scoffed and left the room while Leo glared at his exit. Everyone let out a breath they were keeping in and Donnie was just confused.

“What did I miss?” Donnie asked the other three and Mikey leaned close enough for him to hear.

“One word, (Y/n).” Mikey said low and discreet enough to make sure he understood. Donnie quickly caught on to the drama.

“Anyways! How about we start with opening these books, shall we?” April insisted to change the subject and Donnie happily agreed. Mikey went to his skateboarding ramp and Casey went back to his game. Leo calmly brought his breathing and anger level down, making his way to his room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You cautiously entered Splinters calm area and the vibe in the room instantly took you over. Breathing out calmly, you walk towards Splinter and he slowly opens his eyes.

“My child, it’s been a while. How are you?” Splinter says gently and gestures you to sit down. He’s been nothing but a sweetheart to you, even if he hasn’t for days. Sometimes you feel guilty for not visiting him more often.

“I’ve been well, I missed you alot Splinter.” You responded and sat down in front of the table. He takes out two tea cups and pours tea on each of them calmly.

“I’ve missed you too my child. I know you’ve been a busy woman. Tell me, are you having any hardships. You know you're always welcome to stay here whenever you like.” Splinter gives you a soft smile, hiding how much he worries about your well being like a father would. Your heart melts for his worries. You wonder what you’ve done to earn a father figure like this, even your own father doesn’t really think about you when he should.

“I’m doing pretty well. My job is paying me well enough and rarely any hardships, but thank you for your offer and concern.” You smiled reassuringly at him. Splinter smiles and drinks his tea, satisfied that your well. You drink as well and your eyes land on a picture beside him. The first picture of everyone together.

“You still have it?” You smiled to yourself and stared at the picture. Splinter looks at the picture and smiles at it.

“Yes, the very first picture of a complete family. I became really happy with how much you’ve all grown since then.” Splinter smiles adoringly at the family photo.

“I was really a rookie back then, still learning right from wrong. Wow, I was so naive” You chuckled and Splinter joined.

“You may have been naive and a ‘rookie’, but to me you’ve given us more to learn.” Splinter smiles at you with appreciation. You tilt your head by the credit he gave you.

“I don’t think I’ve given you guys more to learn.” You were confused, you’ve actually learned more from them than they did from you.

“Well, my sons have learned very important things from you. Reminding them that together we can all be stronger. Helping them realize that finding love comes from within first.” Splinter drinks his tea, his description made you realize what this was about.

“Basically, I should be talking to Leo, shouldn’t I.” You traced the rim of the tea cup, in thought.

“I didn’t imply anything, my child. I know you have your reasons, and reasons should be heard.” He gently put his cup down and poured more tea. Splinter was right, even though he hasn’t explained his words specifically. You and Leo have been separated enough, if the last thing you could do was listen to why he did what he did, then maybe you can both at least go on from the heartbreak.

“Your right, it should. Thank you, Splinter.” You put the cup down and left with determination. Splinter drank his tea and smiled to himself. ‘Finally.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo was just meditating in his dark room with candle lights around him. He breathes in and out, his mind clearing and feeling relaxed. Yet, everytime he tries to clear his mind, you always show up instead. The memories of the two of you, the history of how you met him and his brothers. He screwed up big time when he sent you that letter, he can only imagine how hurt you were.

These arguments with Raph made him realize that he hurt you more than intended. He tensed up a bit when his door was opened without knocking. Taking a deep breath in and out, he sighed and rubbed his temple. “Listen Raph. If you're gonna come in here to penalize with more yelling, then you should leave cause I’m not in the mood.”

“It’s not Raph.” Your voice interrupted his frustrated thoughts. Leo froze for a second and composed himself. He stood up and turned around, surprised that you even made the move to come into his room.

“(Y-Y/n), hey, I thought you were Raph. N-Not that you look like him, I mean- I assumed-You know what, I’m just surprised.” Leo quickly faltered again and you raised an eyebrow at him, amused by how nervous he was.

“I guess that makes two of us. Listen, I just wanted to talk, if you're not busy.” You took the first step and closed his door.

“Sure, I’m not really busy right now.” Leo sat on his bed and patted a spot next to him. You accepted the seat and crossed your legs on his bed. You really missed the comfortable feeling.

“I’m sorry.” Leo started before you can even ask. You faced him and were confused. He continued, “I never wanted you to be so hurt this way. I just thought it would be easier for you to make something better out of your life than just me.” He explained with a sigh. That explanation just spiked up your anger.

“What do you mean by that? You think you can just decide ‘what’s better’ for my life?” You snapped and frowned. Leo flinched but he knew he deserved it so he stayed composed.

“Your right, I had no right to decide that for you, and I know that it’s a low excuse for a break up. But just look at my point of view for a second, I’m a mutant, meaning that my life choices are so limited that it almost seems impossible to have a normal life.” Leo confessed his insecurities but you were still mad.

“Leo, I knew what I signed up for the moment you asked me out. I even imagined the whole relationship between us when I only had a crush on you, but now you're overthinking about that?” You fumed, standing up and facing him with crossed arms.

“Yes I am. You deserve more than me (Y/n).” Leo says sternly and stands up as well. You can’t believe he was saying this.

“What? You're just gonna give up on me when things get tough in your future plans?” You’re not gonna stand down, now he deserves to hear everything he put you through. “After all we’ve been through, you're willing to throw that all away just because our future won’t be normal for me? I call bullshit. I just can’t believe you set me up for the fall.” You started to raise your voice at him.

“If anything, I’m giving you higher options to have a better future.” Leo reasoned while raising his voice a bit, slightly losing his cool.

“Oh sure, yea, let me just thank you for thinking about my future. Real eye-opening of you to realize that you were and always will be a mutant. You know what, I should go ahead and show my appreciation to you by looking for a mutant girl to give you a promising future.” Your sarcasm hit him and now he frowns at the last part.

“I don’t have anyone else, if that’s what you're suggesting.” Leo gritted his teeth. This isn’t how he thought the conversation would go at all.

“Well, damn Leo! Why else would you break up with me through a letter while you’re in Central America?!  It’s either that or I’m not good enough for you.‘Thinking about your future’ my ass!” You retorted with a glare.

“I don’t want you to regret being stuck with me after you realize all the options you had beforehand! I never want to be the reason why you can’t have a good career, a child, or a wedding. I know what I can offer...and it isn’t good enough for you.” Leo’s frustration faded into sadness. Your anger subsided into some guilt and sighed softly to yourself.

You analyzed the situation and blamed some of it on yourself for blowing the conversation into an argument. He had some fault in it too and he knows it. You weren’t a mutant, but you can understand the pressure he feels for trying to give you everything he obviously can’t. Then again, that doesn’t excuse him to let you go so easily, not without knowing how much it hurt you.

“Leo, I love you so much,” He instantly looked into your eyes surprised, “ and I’m sorry, for not giving you enough strength during our relationship.” Leo was about to oppose until you stopped him.

“(Y/-” “No, let me finish. I’ve always told you that ‘I’m so happy that I have you with me.’ This past year has been hell without you. You don’t even know how much I missed you. I mean, look at me! I haven’t slept well until I found out you came back home.” You pointed out the bag under your eyes. Leo started walking closer to you until you stopped him by putting a hand on his chest.

“If you never trusted those words to heart, then it’s pointless...to both of us.” You finished and turned around to leave with tears collecting in your eyes. Leo called out for you but you ignored him. You even ignored everyone else’s concerned expressions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You went out of the sewer and walked around the rooftop. Leo may have some insecurities but you’ve always given him reassurance that you will always be by his side. You went above and beyond for him, so why did he still doubt it? If he was gonna give up then so were you..no matter how much it hurts you.

“(Y/n)?” Raph appeared behind you so suddenly that you turned around without wiping your eyes. “What the hell happened??” Raph jumped down and took his Nightwatcher helmet off.

“J-just went to finally talk to Leo. It’s fine really, things didn’t go as well as I hoped.” You wiped your eyes and gave him a reassuring smile.

Raph frowns and huffs, “That's what you call fine? Stay here, I’m gonna go knock some sense into him.” Raph starts to walk away with his duffle bag and you hold onto his arm.

“Raph no. Just don’t..” You felt a lump in your throat. You couldn’t say another word, cause it would just break you down again. Raph looked at your fragile form and sighed in irritation. All he wanted was for you to be happy with Leo. Sure, he and Splinter Junior have a lot to fix, even if it turns into another physical fight. You don’t look like you can take it anymore, you can barely hold on at this point.

Raph pulled you in for a hug and rubbed your back. You immediately broke down and held on to him. He’s had to console you so many times, so he wasn’t as awkward as the first time. You feel bad that Raph has to be the one to help you through this mess, he didn’t need this.

“Listen, I gotta do some Night Watcher patrol. Mind being my sidekick for tonight?” Raph cleared his throat and asked awkwardly. You snorted at his change of subject. He was still awkward at times. You pulled away and wiped your tears.

“Sure, I’m doing camera duty tho.” You accepted with a chuckle. Raph gave a small smile and put his helmet back on.

“Whatever you say, kid.” Raph makes you follow him to his bike.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leo was in all sorts of emotion. Anger, regret, guilt, sadness. None of these are what he wants at all. Not the rival between him and Raph, and sure as hell not a fight between him and (Y/n). All he wanted was to come back to a complete home, but obviously it wasn’t gonna go that way. Splinter was right, we can’t be expected to continue with our lives as long as we’re fighting each other. Which is why he’s searching for Raph. He needs to talk to him and clear the air.

VROOOOM

‘Or maybe that could wait.’ Leo follows the direction of that well known disruptive motorcycle.

“I guess it’s time to introduce myself, Nightwatcher.”

////////////////////////////////////////

😆Aaaaaah!

😊Was it good? 😣Bad? 🤔Uh-ah-ummm. Please leave kudos or comments to know if I should update another one, or tell me how well I did. Cause honestly, I need determination. I'm gonna go lie down now.😴

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MASTERLIST

[angelwiththeblue-box]

heaven does not compare to you, my love

b-15 x sylvie fic we've all been waiting for | ao3 link

Hunter B-15 knew her place.

She followed the orders given, she never questioned the motive, and she always brought in the Variants.

That is, until the most recent Loki Variant. A female, with the power of mind manipulation.

As they were struggling to bring the Variant in, she got into Hunter B-15’s head, showing flashes of a life Hunter B-15 didn’t know she had.

The TVA told her that all who worked at the TVA were created by the Time Keepers, as a way to fulfill the higher purpose.

That was what Hunter B-15 had always been told. That was what she had always known.

That was the only thing she knew.

Hunter B-15 storms into the Time Theater, demanding that the Variant tell her what's happening.

And Sylvie doesn’t lie.

She grabs B-15’s arm, sending sparks flying up the Hunter’s arm.

The memories return, clearer than ever.

B-15, with a five year old girl, taking a photo.

B-15 with the same girl, now older, braiding her hair.

B-15 with a woman, dancing in the living room.

B-15, with a life, a family.

Sylvie removes her hand, and B-15 blinks, tears mixing in with the rain.

“What now?” B-15 asks, her voice cracking slightly.

Sylvie takes a small step closer, smiling up at B-15. “I have a plan.”

***

“SYLVIE!” B-15 shouts, throwing Sylvie her dagger. She raises her own pruning stick, kicking down one of the guards in an attempt to get to Renslayer.

She fights dirty, the way the TVA always told her not too. ‘It’s supposed to be orderly,’ they said. ‘How can we maintain order if we aren’t orderly,’ they said.

Well, fuck order. Fuck the TVA.

B-15 was free.

For the first time in who knows how long, B-15 had her memories back. She had a choice.

And she was choosing chaos.

***

B-15 looks up as Renslayer opens the door to her cell.

“What’s the Variant’s motivation?” Renslayer asks.

“To bring down the TVA.” B-15 answers without hesitation. “Also anger.”

“Where is she going?”

“To find the creator of the TVA. To destroy them.” B-15 says, and one look at Renslayer, and B-15 can tell something else is going on. “You want to find them too. You want to know what’s going on just as much as she does.”

Renslayer frowns.

“You won’t find them first.” B-15 says, tilting her head to the side.

“And why’s that.” Renslayer says, not even asking.

“Because, while you want it, Sylvie needs it.”

Renslayer growls at B-15, before storming out of the Time Theater, shutting the cell door again, leaving B-15 encased in darkness, the glow of the walls the only light in the room.

***

“You come back for another round of questing?” B-15 asks, not looking up.

“Well, I could. Or, we could cause some chaos.” B-15 looks up to see Sylvie holding a TemPad. Sylvie does her little wave, before shutting off the cell walls. “Come on. Loki and Mobius are ‘burning down Mobius’s desk’ or whatever.” Sylvie shoves the TemPad in her pockets and holds out her hands for B-15 to take them.

Sylvie helped the ex-Hunter out of the cell and together they walked down the quiet hallways of the TVA. Sylvie hands B-15 a pruning stick and together the two of them make their way down the TVA hallway.

Footsteps echo down the hallway and Sylvie and B-15 immediately get into attack position, watching each other’s backs.

Loki and Mobius run into view, and Sylvie sighs and drops her weapon.

“Seriously. We could have killed you.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Loki responds. “B-15. Good to see you.”

“You too.”

“This is nice and all, and I’m glad you aren’t all trying to kill each other, but we have to go.” Mobius says.

“Wait. There’s someone we need to get first.” B-15 groans, and Loki frowns at her.

“Alright, Loki, Mobius, go get the person that Loki’s apparently dying to save. Meet at Renslayer’s office. Loki, you have ten minutes, or we’re leaving without you.” Sylvie says. Loki nods, and he drags Mobius down the hallway, still holding onto his hand.

“That’s new.” B-15 comments. Sylvie grins, and nudges B-15.

“Tell you all about it as we set Renslayer’s office on fire.” B-15 laughs and the two of them head to Renslayer’s office.

“So what are you going to do once we’re done?” Sylvie asks. “Are you going to go home?”

B-15 looks back, on the memories she didn’t know she had, on the family she barely knew anymore, before turning to Sylvie.

“I don’t think so. It’s just… it’s not mine anymore, you know?”

B-15 turns to see a faraway look in Sylvie’s eyes.

“Yeah. I know.”

B-15 slips her hand into Sylvie’s.

“So what are you going to do?” B-15 asks, throwing the question back.

“Loki asked me that same question. And, I still don’t have an answer. But, maybe, we could do it together?”

“I’d like that.”

Hand in hand, the two walk into Renslayer’s office.

“You ready?” B-15 asks. Sylvie nods, a glint in her eyes.

“Let’s burn this hellhole to the ground.”

***

“Wait, Mobius! Slow down!” Loki shouts, chasing his boyfriend into the water. Mobius is laughing and splashing Loki. They’re both happier than they’ve been in a very very long time.

“B-15!” Sylvie steps out of the car they ‘borrowed’ and waves excitedly. “I got food!”

Sylvie slips off her shoes and runs over to B-15, holding a picnic basket. She lifts it up, grinning proudly.

“Looks perfect. Should we get the boys?”

Sylvie looks around, watching Loki and Mobius playing in the water and Casey inspecting the sea life in a tidepool.

“Let them have their moments. We can start without them.” Sylvie sets down the basket and unfolds a blanket. B-15 sits down and Sylvie passes her a sandwich.

“So, I’ve been thinking.” B-15 starts. “B-15 is a bit of a mouth full. What do you think of Hunter?”

Sylvie shifts so she’s pressed against Hunter’s side.

“It’s perfect.”

Sylvie brings Hunter in for a kiss, and the perfect moment lasts for a bit before Loki starts wolf whistling.

“LOKI I SWEAR-” Sylvie stands up, running towards the water. Hunter laughs and follows.

Casey joins the commotion, and soon the five of them are playing in the water, the joy seeping in every crack, every crevice, and healing their broken souls, giving light to a new life, full of love and happiness and peace.

[thestupidhelmet]

I always got the impression that during Zen breakups, Donna more sided with Hyde than Jackie. What do you think?

Donna is often seen through an undeserved negative lens by a portion of T7S fans. Contradictions in her characterization do exist, thanks to inconsistent writing. But when her behavior, dialogue, and choices are examined closely, her true character is revealed. I do this in the metas linked below.

In Defense of Donna (an essay in eight parts).

In Defense of Donna: Supplemental

In Defense of Donna (Yet Again) in Her Relationship with Eric

Was Donna Mean to Jackie from Throughout Their Relationship?

Analyzing the facts burns away the foundation on which the biases about and misinterpretations of Donna’s character are built. After the cut, I discuss in detail her reactions to Jackie and Hyde’s breakups. She’s a far better person, and friend to Jackie, than is often recognized.

Jackie and Hyde’s first breakup occurs in “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You” (5x14), after Jackie shouts, “Get off my boyfriend!” to Annette about Kelso in the previous episode. Below is Donna and Jackie’s first discussion about it.

Donna: So, have you talked to Hyde about the whole, “Get off my boyfriend,” disaster? Jackie: No! And why is everyone making such a big deal about it? It's like every time I walk into a room, people look at me funny. Donna, how do you deal with it? Donna: Jackie, the reason people are making a big deal about it is because it sounds like you still have feelings for Kelso. Jackie: Well, I don't. I think the only reason I said it was because I was having an allergic reaction to the Formans' cheap, generic soda.

Here, Donna is being supportive of both Hyde and Jackie. She cares about them and their relationship. Jackie, however, has a tendency toward denial and self-delusion, which Donna has experienced extensively. She wants Jackie to be honest with herself, face reality, and not put herself or Hyde through the pain she went through with Kelso during seasons 1-4.

The next time in the episode Donna talks about this situation is with Annette at The Hub.

Annette: Guys, I really think there's some unfinished business between Michael and Jackie. When they were together, did she make him happy? Donna: Well, she totally dominated him and made him feel bad about himself. Annette: I guess what I'm really asking is, was she ever fat or anything?

Donna’s assessment isn’t accurate and nowhere near complete. This is not the fault of Donna but the writers, whose take on Jackie and Kelso is made clear in “Everybody Loves Casey” (4x26). Despite the few concessions the writers make during Jackie and Kelso’s exchange that give Jackie some sympathy, the onus for the toxicity of their relationship is put on Jackie. New “facts” that are never mentioned or shown in the series before this episode are introduced so that Kelso can give Jackie the responsibility for his cheating and the audience will agree with him, at least in part.

Donna’s assessment of Jackie and Kelso’s relationship in “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You” reflects the point of view given in “Everybody Loves Casey”. What actually occurs during seasons 1-4 contradicts this assessment. Jackie encourages Kelso and bolsters his self-esteem (see “The Forgotten Son” [4x09] for one of many examples). She buys him so many presents that he owes her $8,265 in 1977 (see “Baby Fever” [3x07)], which is the equivalent to $35,525 today (due to inflation).

Yes, Jackie also berates him, but she most often does so when he mistreats her by lying, cheating, and generally disrespecting her. She also tries to control him in certain situations, like how many of her stuffed animals she’ll keep in his van or refusing to break up with him when he asks to in “Red’s Last Day” (2x02).

But the so-called total domination Donna claims Jackie had over Kelso is false. If it were true, Kelso never would’ve cheated on her with Pam Macy, Laurie, a girl from Sacred Heart. He wouldn’t have avoided her for a week after the first time they have sex or treat her like a servant once he gets in contact with her again. He wouldn’t have ignored her many nos about having sex until she’s exhausted by his relentlessness and given into what he wants. The list goes on.

The point, though, is that real!Donna would not have said Jackie “totally dominated [Kelso] and made him feel bad about himself.” Real!Donna -- who’d tried to get Jackie to break up with cheating Kelso then stay broken up with him -- would have said that Jackie and Kelso made each other miserable and that it wasn’t a healthy relationship for either of them. This assessment would have given Annette, a virtual stranger, enough information without betraying Jackie’s privacy.

Jackie enters The Hub soon after this conversation.

Jackie: Donna, Steven broke up with me. Donna: Oh, Jackie, I'm sorry.

Donna is sincere in her compassion. She doesn’t say, “You deserved it,” or, “What did you expect?” Her friend is hurting, and Donna feels for her.

This is the last interaction between Donna and Jackie before Jackie and Hyde reconcile in this episode. Donna’s empathy is obviously for Jackie. We get no scenes between Donna and Hyde or dialogue from Donna that shows she believes Hyde is in the right for breaking up with her. She just wants Jackie to recognize why Hyde might feel hurt by Jackie calling Kelso her boyfriend.

Jackie and Hyde’s next breakup happens in “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” (5x23). Kelso tells Donna about Hyde sleeping with the nurse.

Kelso: [Hyde] doesn’t know it but I saw him kissing this lady at the hotel. Donna: Oh, my God, that’s horrible. Kelso: I wanna do the right thing, right? So I’m thinking that I’ll just tell Jackie, and then she’ll feel really bad. Then I’ll console her, and -- presto! -- we’re making out topless! Donna: No, Kelso! The thing to do is to tell Hyde that you know and then give him a chance to tell Jackie.

Again, Donna is concerned for the well-being of both Jackie and Hyde and their relationship. She cares about both of them, but Hyde’s behavior / choice is likely incomprehensible to her at this point.

Once Jackie breaks up with Hyde and the full truth is out, Hyde calls Jackie at Donna’s. Donna wants Jackie to talk to him, but Jackie hangs up the phone, and Donna pleads Hyde’s case

Donna:  I think this whole thing was a misunderstanding. Hyde didn’t know what was going on. Jackie: I know, okay? But after Michael, I promised myself that I would never be with another boy who cheated on me. Donna: But Hyde’s so good for you. Since you started dating him you’ve completely stopped quoting Nancy Drew.

Donna’s point of view, again, reflects the writers’ -- that Hyde’s transgression is a “stupid, one-time thing.” If Hyde had actually been written as real!Hyde during this episode and arc (after sleeping with the nurse), he would’ve put Jackie’s pain and feelings ahead of his own, shown true and lasting contrition along with self-awareness, and not expect forgiveness.

Donna’s argument would be much stronger if Hyde hadn’t displayed similar behavior to Kelso’s in season 2 (e.g., acting entitled to Jackie’s forgiveness and growing hostile toward her when he doesn’t get it in his desired time frame). Hyde’s relationship with Jackie does inspire her to grow and change, but that doesn’t negate his betrayal of her -- or vice versa.

Donna needed to give Jackie empathy in this moment rather than try to fix what Hyde had broken, but she does so right after Jackie rejects Donna’s argument to give Hyde a chance. Jackie cries on her shoulder, and Donna holds her during it.

Before Jackie and Hyde reconcile in “Join Together” (6x02), Donna continues to point out the positive effect Jackie’s relationship with Hyde had on Jackie. She’s neither Team Jackie nor Team Hyde. She’s Team Jackie-and-Hyde. She’s supportive of and compassionate toward Jackie while also maintaining faith in Hyde’s innate goodness.

Donna believes that Hyde, at his core, isn’t a cheater. That he isn’t Kelso, but this doesn’t excuse Hyde’s transgression. What’s missing during this breakup arc is a scene where Donna confronts Hyde about what he did, why he chose to act out instead of talk to Jackie, and where she tells him he has to own his crap. This would have connected nicely story-wise (or grown out of) the lessons she should have learned with Eric in season 5 had the show not rushed into their engagement arc.

Donna could have brought up Hyde’s childhood, the source of his deep fear of abandonment, and how he allowed this fear to seep into his relationship with Jackie. Hyde, then, might have admitted he’d fallen for Jackie when she’d chased him back in season 3 and felt betrayed by her ultimately rejecting him for Kelso.

Hyde: I guess that crap came up again when she became my girlfriend. Part of me always believed she’d always go back to him.

Unfortunately, the writers didn’t make these story and character connections, and the characterization and story suffered because of it.

During Jackie and Hyde’s season 7 breakups, Donna behaves similarly as described above. She’s Team Jackie-and-Hyde. She supports both her friends and believes they’re happiest (and best) when together. She brings Jackie to her martial arts class to get out her rage at Hyde in a healthy way. She consistently teases Hyde about his love for Jackie so he won’t deny it to himself or quit fighting for it. She’s always got a hug for Jackie when she needs it, and she calls Hyde on his B.S. (finally) in season 7.

So, no, Donna doesn’t side more with Hyde over Jackie after their breakups. She an equal friend to both of them, despite the flaws in the writing.

[askdani]

Tales of Dani - Chapter 1 - Newtralized! (Final Part)

The Turtles made their way through the docks, watching the Kraang open a portal for the weapon. “Is that the new weapon they were talking about?” Michelangelo asks. After the weapon fully appeared, the portal closed. The orange masked turtle sighed in disappointment. “Doesn’t look like much.” The weapon then stood up and it was revealed to be a large walker. It towered over the Turtles. Michelangelo says, “Never mind.”

The walker took aim on a crate the Kraang had set up for practice. “Kraang, over here!” one of the droids called out. “Over the direction known as this way!” “Kraang targeting!” The laser from the walker hit the crate and created a large pink explosion. The Kraang that was in front of the crate fell out of what was left of its droid. He screeched and gave a thumbs up. “That is what is known as awesome!” another droid said before saluting to the walker.

Meanwhile, Newtralizer, Slash, and Dani arrived and prepared to make their move. “Raka raka roka raka!” Newtralizer says before turning to the tortoise and teenager. “So here’s the plan, you distract the Kraang, I’ll hijack the walker.” “And we’re supposed to trust you inside that thing?” Slash asks, raising an eye-ridge. Newtralizer responded, “I know how to pilot it, and you don’t have a choice.” He began to climb up the storage crates and managed to take a good look at the walker. “This mission is madness,” Dani whispers, watching the newt. Slash watched him too and growled under his breath. He knew the girl was right. As they leapt into their positions, Slash couldn’t help but regret his decision to join someone like the Newtralizer, and get Dani involved.

Back with the Turtles, Leonardo was looking over at his siblings and was saying, “Here’s the plan-” Suddenly, Newtralizer appeared out of nowhere and was on top of the walker. The Kraang inside it quickly noticed and electrocuted him.

After he fell off the walker, Newtralizer quickly moved aside when the foot of the walker nearly stepped on him. The Kraang fired blasters at him. Slash and Dani entered the battle and attacked the droids. “Slash, Danielle, keep the Kraang busy,” Newtralizer ordered, “I’m going for the walker.” “Kraang, attack all non Kraang. Repeat, attack-” before it could finish, the droid got destroyed.

The Turtles quickly jumped from their positions, joining the fight. Raphael runs straight to the Newtralizer with a battle cry. The Salamandrian hits the turtle with his tail and starts firing lasers at him. Raphael dodges and Newtralizer pulls out his blade, blocking the turtle’s sais from stabbing him. He grabs Raphael by the shell, throws him to the side, and aims his laser at him.

Before he could fire, a figure suddenly attacks Newtralizer from behind and punches him. Raphael is surprised to see who it was. Dani reaches her hand towards him, helping him get up. The only thing she said was “Don’t ask.” Raphael nods, giving her thanks for saving him, but suddenly he shouts, “Look out!” Dani turns a second too late and Newtralizer knocks her. “TRAITOR!!!” he shouts. She tumbles a few feet away, before lying down unconscious.

The Kraang inside the walker was having too much fun blasting at the mutants, that he nearly blasted some of the Kraang droids on the ground. “Kraang, watch out for Kraang!” called one of the droids. The walker stepped over two droids. “Stupid Kraang,” one of them muttered.

Donatello runs on top of one of the crates and throws an electric bomb at the walker. “Here goes nothing!” he says. The antennae of the walker quickly noticed and destroyed the bomb in mid-air.

After fighting Raphael and the girl who just betrayed him, Newtralizer makes his way across the crates and jumps on top of the walker again, this time bending the antennae. Now that the defense system was disengaged, he grabs the Kraang pilot and throws him out of the walker. Newtralizer takes control of the weapon and starts firing at the droids. “Kraang walker has been Kraang-jacked by the alien amphibian!” one of them alerted. “Kraang, retreat! Retreat!”

Newtralizer laughed as his enemies scrambled beneath him. He was having great pleasure destroying and stomping any Kraang in his path, unaware that Slash was fighting the rest of the droids underneath him. The mutant tortoise looked up when he noticed a shadow pass over him. He froze when he saw that the walker’s foot was coming straight for him. Suddenly, he heard a voice shout “SPIKE!!” and was tackled out of the way.

Getting up, Slash looked to see Raphael, his former owner, clutching his head. “You...” Slash said, too shocked to even comprehend what just happened. “You saved me, Raphael...” They duck as Newtralizer shoots at them. “I’ll destroy you all!” he laughs.

Regaining consciousness, Dani slowly gets up to her knees. She sees Slash stand up and teleport himself to the top of the walker. Looking at her teleporter, she presses it and teleports herself to another location. “Raka raka roka raka!” Newtralizer cheered. “What are you doing?!” Slash demanded. “They helped us fight the Kraang!” Newtralizer sneered, “This is my battle! I don’t need them!” Slash growled in anger. He lifted his mace and with a roar, he slammed it into the walker, trapping Newtralizer’s tail. He tried to move, but he was stuck tight. “Slash, how could you, brother?!” “You’re no brother of mine,” Slash responds.

Newtralizer lifts his arm to shoot at Slash. But before he could fire, a shuriken broke his teleporter. Newtralizer looked to see where it came from and saw both Dani and Raphael on top of a crate, grinning. The red masked turtle jumped and landed next to Slash on the walker. Newtralizer moved the walker with a sudden jolt. Slash and Raphael lost their balance and fell off. “Slash!” Dani cried out, Michelangelo doing the same for his brother one second later. He managed to get below Raphael and cushioned his fall. “Caught you, bro,” he says with a groan. Dani teleports herself to where the others were and runs to check on Slash, who got up from where he fell. Seeing that he was okay, Dani sighs in relief.

“Raka raka raka!” Newtralizer  aimed the walker’s laser blaster at the four turtle brothers and the two traitors he called his partners. But before he could fire, someone shouted “GOONGALA!!” and shot explosive hockey pucks at the walker. Everyone turned around and saw that Casey was standing on top of the crate behind them. “Casey? You’re back?” Raphael asks. “I figured I’d wait for you all to be in trouble, and then I’d make an awesome heroic entrance!” Casey smiled. “Pretty cool, right?”

Dani chuckles after hearing the hockey vigilante’s response and runs with the others, charging the walker. She, Leonardo, and Slash attack the feet in an attempt to bring it down. Michelangelo uses his kusarigama chain to wrap around the walker’s legs in an attempt to trip it. But the big machine broke the chain, and the group got cornered.

On top of the crates, Casey dodged out of the way when one of the laser blasts nearly hit him. As he did, he noticed a hole on the walker. Casey smirked. He just found a weak spot. Carefully aiming another explosive puck, he smacked it towards the hole. The puck flew through the hole inside the walker and landed next to a power cell.

Newtralizer laughs, ready to destroy the group, but he suddenly stopped when the walker exploded and burst into purple flames. He frantically pressed his broken teleporter multiple times, hoping to to get free. He then zapped away at the last second before the entire walker exploded in a blast.

“Aw, yeah! You’ve been Newtralized, son!” Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and Casey cheered at their victory. Dani couldn’t help but smile as she watched the group celebrate. Maybe the Turtles weren’t so bad after all. “Not bad, Dani!” an excited voice said, interrupting her thoughts. It was Michelangelo facing her with a smile. “You’re like a ninja and Jedi combined!” he continued. “A ninja and a Jedi?” she repeated. “That actually has a nice ring to it! Watch out Kraang, Dani the Ninja Jedi is ready to destroy some droids!” she pulls out her blade and swings it playfully, mimicking the sound of a lightsaber. She paused for a moment and saw that the group was watching her. Michelangelo and Casey were trying to hold their laughs, while Donatello and Leonardo just stared at her with confused faces. Dani laughs nervously and says “... Forget you saw that.” She then turned and saw that Raphael and Slash were having a conversation with each other.

“Thanks, Spike,” Raphael says, quickly correcting himself, “I mean, Slash.” He turns and sees Dani walking her way towards them. “You too, Dani,” Raphael adds, smiling at the teenage girl. “It was nothing,” Dani bashfully replied. Raphael continued, “You know, there’s always room on the team for two more.” Dani shook her head, “I appreciate the offer, Raphael, but I have to pass,” she responded.  He then turned to Slash. The mutant tortoise hesitated for a moment. He also thought about the offer Dani made earlier.

A moment passed and he finally responded. “I need to go my own way. Think I’m... better off solo.” Raphael’s shoulders dropped in disappointment. Dani’s eyes widen, surprised about this decision. “Are you sure?” she asks. “My offer still stands if you’re interested.” Slash shook his head. Dani sighed, sadness shown in her eyes. “Hey, we’ll see each other again,” Slash says, cheering her up. “I promise.” Dani smiles, hope now gleaming on her face. “I knew I made the right choice,” she says. “In what?” Slash asks. Dani’s smile grows wider. “My first friend,” she responds, suddenly giving the tortoise a hug. Slash stared at the top of her head in shock. She was hugging him. Dani was hugging him. His arms rose up to return the hug.

After she pulled away, Dani said, “I should get going. I hope you find what you’re looking for.” With one final smile, she presses her teleporter and disappears, the others watching her.

Seeing that Dani was gone, Slash turned to Raphael. “Goodbye, brother,” he says, shaking the turtle’s hand. “I’ll see you all again someday.” With that, he teleports away. “Goodbye, Spike,” Raphael says sadly. “Don’t sweat it, Raph,” Casey says, skating next to him. “You still got Casey Jones on your team.” “You did awesome, Casey,” Raphael says, smiling at him. “Best partner a turtle could have. “It’s been a long day, guys. Let’s go home,” Leonardo says.

(Meanwhile)

Dani teleported herself to her bedroom at the apartment she lived in. So much has happened. She started fighting the Kraang, she met the Turtles and Casey Jones for the first time, a newt nearly destroyed her, and she finally found a friend. Even though they had to go their own separate ways, Dani knows that someday, she will see Slash again. With that last thought in her head she laid down on her bed and fell asleep, dreaming of adventures that await her. 

(THE END OF CHAPTER 1)

[all-that-tmnt-jazz]

Hiii, so I noticed that in your mashups in the extra info part you always put which one of the boys we would be good friends with, so I was wondering if you could describe how it would be like being best friends with each of the guys :))))

Aww, I’m glad you’ve noticed! I’m actually genuinely happy that people have noticed this- I’m really glad I get to write about it now. I got you, fam

Warnings: None.

Incarnation: Bayverse

Extra Info: All of the boys have a s/o that is not the reader

Leo:

He’s usually very protective of you

He is with a lot of the humans he knows

(You, his s/o, April, Casey, the NYPD, and Vern rather reluctantly)

He often talks to you over a pot of tea or coffee in his morning- your early afternoon

This is truly one of the few times he gets to be alone with you

Since you’re also friends with his brothers, despite them all knowing you’re closest to him

You’re often the one who brings him gifts for his s/o for a few reasons

A) He’s embarrassed to ask April, Casey, or Vern. B) He doesn’t want to ask his s/o to buy their own present. C) You are often the one he talks/brags to about his s/o, so you basically know them as well as he does

And actually, since you’ve met his s/o, you’ve considered introducing him to your s/o

But not without his consent/knowledge, of course

Especially since you know he wants the existence of himself and his family to be kept a secret

But when he agrees, something clicks in your head about how close you two are

“I trust you. If you trust your partner, why shouldn’t I trust them as well?”

Raph:

Honestly, he complains about Leo to you more than he does to Mikey

You give your honest, blunt, outside opinion on shit, which is something Mikey could never do

And Raph loves it

You actually offer to spar with him a lot, mostly so he can get the physical stimulation

And you also know he would win every time- you’re good a ninjutsu, but you’re sucky at sparring compared to him

He often takes out the Tartaruga Truck, telling Donnie it’s to keep the gears turning, but he’s actually going on a joy ride with you riding shotgun

You guys often go through Harlem or over the Hudson and into New Jersey

(Everything is legal in New Jersey)

You, of course, had known about Raph’s partner

Since Raph is the literal worst at flirting (surprise), you’re the one who taught him tricks on smooth talking

And it worked, since his s/o agreed to date him on the first time he asked

He was giggling like a school girl when he told you that night

As he was texting them, he did need your help with responses, so you were constantly looking over his shoulder

It took a year and a half of knowing Raph before you were actually introduced to his brothers

(And honestly, Leo was much nicer and much more respectful than Raph had drawn him to be- given, Raph is a jealous little brother)

But Mikey automatically asked if you two were dating

“Mike! No! I’m dating *insert s/o’s name*, and you know this!”

Mikey surrendered, laughing

You had met his s/o a few days later

When they came into the Lair, you introduced yourself and they hugged you

“Thank you for helping Raph speak properly around me.”

Donnie:

You two had actually met online in the chat room of a videogame

Soon, you two had exchanged numbers

And you were texting non-stop

Then, you propose the idea of meeting

He only reads the message. He doesn’t respond for days

It’s nearly a week before he responds

“Can you keep a secret? Like, life-or-death secret?” he texts you

“Why? Are you hurting yourself? Let me come to you.” You text back

“No, it’s not that. I just look different. Just… Meet me on the rooftop of the building that’s at the corner of 4th ave and 12th street. I’ll explain there.”

You don’t question it. Maybe he has a disability that he’s scared to share or something like that.

It happened to fall in the “something like that” category

“You know how my character in *insert game here* is a turtle who does ninja?” a voice asks you from the shadows- you recognize it as his since you’ve used voice chats before

“Um… Yeah?” you respond.

He stepped out of the shadows, and you gasped

There’s a long silence

He thought you were going to scream, yell, or call the police- especially since you didn’t know they were on his side.

You break it

“I always thought you’d be one to have glasses.”

He smiled like a child on the morning of their birthday

“Well, they were the ones that best fit my needs,” he shrugs.

You roll your eyes

“You’re a dork.”

From there, it’s nightly meetings on the rooftop of your building- which was only a few blocks away

You tell him about your partner, and he tells you about his

Often, these conversations went like this:

“Oh my god, you two are literally soulmates.”

“Right? I can’t believe I got so lucky…”

Mikey:

You actually met Raph first while he and his brothers were on patrol

You had entered the rooftop moments before they arrived onto it, and you hid behind the building that protected the stairway, hoping they wouldn’t notice

Until you accidentally knocked over an old, abandoned ladder

And the hothead grabbed you and pulled you into view

Mikey immediately got you out of his brother’s grasp

“Don’t hurt ‘em, Raph!” Mikey had said, then checked if you were okay

Once you were all set, Leo demanded you keep them a secret

In your shock, you nodded

Mikey protected you, though

“We don’t need to scare them, Leo. We don’t want them to faint like April did.”

You felt comfortable with him, especially since he was so relaxed and protective of you while the others were basically threatening you

Before you had gone back down to your apartment, he found a way to sneak you a piece of paper with his number on it

You texted him later that evening, thanking him

“No problem! My brothers can be a bit harsh. We’re all a bit scared of people disapproving of us, though. We’ve been called monsters before.” He admits when he texts you

“That’s awful! You’re not monsters.”

After weeks of getting together in private, he takes you into the jumbotron of Madison Square Garden

You reunite with his brothers and meet someone you’ve never met before

“Hey guys,” you say. “And you are…?”

“This is *insert s/o’s name*, my partner. I’ve mentioned them, right?”

“Only about a thousand times,” you chuckle. “A pleasure to meet the person behind the name.”

[raleighcarrera]

circles

platinum | shane parker x mc (cadence dorian)

shane and cadence have been best friends their entire lives. so why do things feel so different when she comes to visit him at college? set pre-book. (for @platinumweekend ❤️)

tags: @choicesarehard ; @empressazura; @zigtheeortega ; @pixeljazzy ; @withbeautyandrage 

~3.1k words | T

“it’s not like that.” it feels like at least the fourth or fifth time he’s said as much since he first casually mentioned that cadence would be coming to visit this weekend, much to the delight of his friends. “we’ve been best friends our whole lives. that’s it.”

“sure,” angelica grins, looking just about as far from angelic as any one person can get. “if you say so.”

devon takes a less patronizing approach. she shrugs, not looking up from where she’s filing her nails. “i don’t buy it. you don’t go through puberty with someone without having at least a little sexual tension with them.”

“oh my god,” shane groans, “will you guys stop? we’ve never -- i don’t -- we’re just friends.”

evan, his roommate, hums. “just let me know if you need me to clear out tonight, okay? casey said i could bunk with him.”

“if you guys don’t shut up, i swear to god --”

there’s a chorus of protests from around the table, several whispered exhalations of touchy, i see and hands being raised placatingly. he rolls his eyes, picking up his empty plate. it’s time to go pick cadence up from the bus stop, like -- now. “just please be normal when she gets here, okay?”

“we will if you will!” angelica calls out after him. laughter follows him as he exits the dining hall, and he only exhales once he’s halfway to his car, shaking his head. 

his college friends are far from the first group of people to assume that there’s something more than just friendship between he and cadence. his own parents have implied a number of times that it wouldn’t be the worst thing if they got together, and that’s about a girl that’s slept over at his house more times than he can count, a girl who he went through his power rangers phase with, a girl who saw him through middle school and high school and still somehow liked him enough to call him her best friend.

he’s gotten very good at ignoring comments from people who don’t understand their relationship or even think it’s weird how close they are, so being teased by his friends doesn’t bother him as much as it makes him roll his eyes.

shane’s used to the judgments others cast on what’s always been nothing more than a mutually supportive and wholly enjoyable friendship. still, for some reason, it’s a little tougher to shake off this time than in the past, and he finds that some of their comments have poked at certain sore spots he didn’t even know he had.

he’s uneasy, as he ducks his head and jogs across campus.

it’s probably going to be a very long and very strange weekend.

*

true to form, cadence is beaming when she hops off the bus, the last person to exit the doors that swing open at the campus stop. she’s looking around at everything wide-eyed, like she’s never seen a college campus before, which is hilarious, given that she’s just come from one.

but the tiny performing arts school she attends a few states away is surely at least a little bit different than their hometown state college, a giant university with nearly one-hundred thousand students in attendance.

she rushes over with her duffel and he feels himself grinning back at her as soon as she’s close enough for him to see how bright her eyes are, behind her glasses.

she really is very pretty.

shaking his head, he folds her into the biggest hug he has, making a little oof sound when cadence squeezes him so tightly it leaves him short of breath.

“oh my god, hi,” she squeals into his ear, bouncing up and down on her tip-toes. “i missed you so much. it’s been forever!”

it’s been just about three months, since they said goodbye at her grandma’s house in august the night before they both had to leave to go move in. and while in some ways it feels like they were just together, especially given how they’re constantly in contact, he knows exactly what she means. it definitely also feels like it’s been way too long since he last held her exactly like this.

“i’m so glad you’re here,” he murmurs in return, pulling away to reach for her bag for her. “there’s so much i want to show you.”

“i know!” cadence exclaims, back to smiling at everything again. “i can’t wait to meet all your friends. but -- come on, i’m freezing. first let me see your dorm.”

right. his room. where she’ll be sleeping... with him.

it wasn’t like that’d never happened before. of course it had. you didn’t get to be lifelong best friends without squeezing into a few strange sleeping arrangements. he and cadence had shared a bed, a couch and the same stretch of floor before without even an ounce of weirdness affecting their relationship.

so he can only assume that the reason why it feels suddenly strange, this time, is because of the way his friends had just been teasing him and how uncomfortably close to home some of their comments had landed. 

devon’s voice in particular flashes through his mind again as he does his best not to stare at cadence and her leggings and the sweater that’s slipping off her shoulder: you don’t go through puberty with someone without having at least a little sexual tension with them.

shaking his head to dispel the unwelcome flipping of his stomach, shane jerks his thumbs at the far side of campus with a grin. “right this way.”

*

like always, he finds himself waiting around for her to finish getting ready.

they’re not due at the pregame for another hour, so he’s free to catch up with her (alone, thank god -- evan is meeting them out) while she gets her makeup on, his eyes lingering on the precise movement of her dainty hands applying eyeshadow while she talks a mile a minute about her bus trip earlier that day.

“-- and there was this little girl making bracelets at the terminal, she was so cute. i gave her five dollars and she made me this keychain for my bag on the bus. isn’t it so good?” she sets down her concealer to reach for the beaded lizard hanging off the edge of her duffel. “so cute, right?”

“have you ever gone anywhere without making friends with someone?” shane asks instead of answering, smiling fondly at her. “i swear you could hold a conversation with a brick wall.”

cadence laughs, turning back to the tiny compact mirror balanced on her knees. despite the less-than-ideal environment of his very bare and very poorly lit dorm room, she still looks flawless, brushing highlighter on her cheek until it’s glittering. 

he realizes he’s staring again and averts his eyes guiltily. why does he feel guilty? it’s just cadence. have a few simple months apart made him completely forget how to act around her?

“well, the drive would’ve been boring without anyone to talk to,” she answers finally, “and you were in class.”

“i’m surprised you didn’t bring something to read,” he muses. there’ve been plenty of times he’s had to rip a book out of her hands so she’d pay attention to him and the movie he was trying to show her, after all. 

“god, i just wanted a break from anything academic,” cadence groans, “midterms ruined my life. do you feel like college is a thousand times harder than high school, or is it just me? most of the time i thought everyone had to be exaggerating, but -- i don’t know.” she fidgets on the rug, flicking her eyes up to his. “it’s not like how i thought it’d be.”

shane holds her gaze quietly. college isn’t like how he thought it’d be, either -- it’s actually a little bit better. but it’d be impossible to say so now that she’s admitted she’s struggling.

one thing is exactly like he’d imagined it, though: he misses her just as much as he’d expected to. it’s not easy at all to be so far away from his best friend.

“yeah, i know what you mean,” he says finally, keeping his eyes locked on her even when cadence turns back to her makeup to gloss her lips. “it is hard. and it’s definitely important to take those breaks. don’t worry, we’ll get your mind off of school this weekend.”

cadence laughs, snapping her compact shut and stuffing her makeup back into her bag. “i hope i can keep up with you guys. my school is definitely not a party school.”

“we’ll catch you up,” he promises, grinning at the thought of the evening ahead of them. he’s going to show cadence a good time if it’s the last thing he does. and she has no idea what she’s in for. “don’t worry.”

*

surprisingly, everyone is perfectly nice and normal when they arrive at the pregame. his friends treat cadence like an instant member of the group, like she’s someone they’ve known for years. they welcome her with open arms and start pouring shots down her throat like they’ve done to him so many times before completely effortlessly.

it’s what happens when they get to the party that’s troublesome. 

he’s admittedly a few drinks deep when cadence drags him onto the dance floor. he should’ve known that’d be the first place she’d want to go; all of cadence’s shy little wallflower moments fly straight out the window whenever she’s had so much as a sip of alcohol. 

it’s not his fault he doesn’t manage to stop her. shane’s own head is swimming from the shots he’s had and he figures there’s not much harm in indulging her, but it’s only when they all crowd onto the dance floor and he sees the way his friends are looking at him that he realizes the position they’re in.

“this is awesome!” cadence chirps, angling her head to be near his ear. her arms loop around his neck as she swings her hips to the music. “i’ve never been to a party like this before.”

true, in high school, there were parties like this, but the two of them were never invited to them. they’d gone to prom alone together, and stayed up all night afterwards sneaking sips of alcohol at cadence’s grandma’s while she pointedly went to bed early.

“i’m glad you’re having fun,” he calls back, shuffling awkwardly on his feet in front of her. “do you need a water?”

“no!” cadence’s eyes are bright in the low light of the random living room they’re in, bopping along to the beat. she bounces up and down on her feet, dragging him closer. “you need another drink.”

to say the least. he could probably stand to put some distance between them, too -- get himself a moment of air. shane nods, ducking out from the circle of her arms. “yeah, i’ll be right back.”

he groans as he steps into the kitchen, almost turning around and heading back the way he came; casey and devon are standing in front of the counter. they both give him a pointed look as he slows to a stop in front of them.

“don’t,” he mutters, suddenly feeling very warm from the drinks he’s had and absolutely nothing else. 

“dude,” casey sighs, shaking his head at him, “you guys should probably just hook up and get it over with.”

“okay, that is not helpful,” shane answers, leaning around him to reach for a beer, cracking the tab on the can and taking a big swig in the hopes that it’ll calm him down. unfortunately, his head just spins harder as soon as he swallows. “it’s not a big deal. we’re just excited to see each other.”

there’s a beat before devon answers, eyebrows arched from behind the plastic cup in her hands. “sure.”

admittedly -- the rest of the party is kind of a blur. there’s more drinks and more dancing, and his friends drag he and cadence up on the roof to play some drinking game he doesn’t understand. the thing is... it’s fun, in a way he hasn’t experienced since the summer. sure, he’s been to plenty of parties since the semester started and gone out and gotten drunk and stayed up all night, but...

time with cadence was a different kind of fun. 

having her around, with him at school, filled a void he hadn’t realized he was lacking until she arrived, like he’d simply grown accustomed to a new full-body ache and had only noticed it once it was suddenly removed.

it’d be impossible to pretend not to be endeared by the way she stumbles out of the party and how she hums to herself in the street on the walk home, so he doesn’t bother, slinging his arm around her shoulders to lead her back to the dorm.

while everyone else is arguing about what type of pizza to order, they slip away, and then they’re alone in his room again.

cadence toes out of her shoes and twirls around barefoot across the rug between his and evan’s beds on her way back to her bag. “okay, that was so fun,” she sighs, dropping down onto the floor. “i wish i went to school here.”

“me too,” shane murmurs, watching her pull out her makeup wipes and tie back her hair. his eyes drift over to the twin bed sitting inconspicuously on his side of the room. when he’d invited her up here, he’d assumed they’d both just cram into it like they had so many other times before, in his twin bed at home. now...

now cadence is getting changed into her pajamas with her back to him, and he coughs and does the same, averting his eyes in the dark where he’d never flicked the light on when they got back to the room.

he’s saved from having to think of something to say by the way she crawls straight into his bed and leaves the blanket flipped open for him to join her.

maybe it’s the beer’s fault, that he gets in -- or maybe he has the beer to thank for giving him the courage to get into bed with her, but either way, he does, and within moments he’s nose-to-nose with cadence in the smallest space they’ve ever been in together, and she smiles at him in a way that’s almost unfairly beautiful, for someone who knows him as well as she does.

that’s the thing that’s so unlawful about this: she’s his best friend. she’s been by his side for every single up and down of his life, every moment he was happy or sad or angry. cadence picked him up when he doubted himself, comforted him when he needed it, made him laugh when the world felt ugly and hopeless. 

if he did something wrong now, all of that would go away.

it doesn’t stop her from staring at him, though. cadence keeps her eyes locked on his, and smiles at him through the dark, and evidently he’s the world’s biggest idiot, so he stares back. of course he smiles, too.

“thank you,” she murmurs after a moment, breaking the still silence between them. “i’m glad we did this. i needed this.”

shane swallows, resisting the urge to reach out for her. “you should’ve told me you were struggling. i would’ve had you out sooner. or -- came home, or something.”

she shakes her head. “nah,” cadence whispers, “i could tell you were having too much fun.”

he sighs, giving in and tucking his arm around her back. cadence wiggles closer under the sheets until their knees are touching. “it doesn’t matter how much fun i’m having,” he reminds her, voice as serious as he’s ever heard it before, “because you’re the most important thing in my life. always. and there’s nothing i wouldn’t do for you.”

cadence blinks at him. her face splits into a beautiful, dazzling smile and then, quickly enough to make his head spin, she leans in and kisses him, closing the last inch of space between their faces.

his palm spreads out over her back and he tilts her in closer, kissing back slowly. part of him knows it’s a mistake, but a larger part of him has thought about this before -- too much, probably, for someone who calls himself her best friend. part of him has imagined it a million times, in a million ways, though none of them compare to this -- the real thing.

in none of his fantasies did he ever think it would feel like it does, comforting and familiar but new and exciting all at once. he’d never assumed kissing cadence would feel as natural as breathing -- but it does.

it feels like something they’ve done a thousand times before, and there’s no denying it’s something he’d like to do at least a thousand times more. his exhale is shaky when they break apart, his eyes sweeping her expression for a sign of regret on her beautiful face.

cadence’s eyes blink open slowly, her smile reappearing as soon as they do. “shane...” she murmurs, and something in his chest twists and then cracks wide open, a swarm of butterflies invading his stomach.

“yeah.” this is insane. what are they doing? they shouldn’t be -- he shouldn’t, really, because cadence is his best friend and he needs her and she is...

she is asleep, suddenly, breathing even and deep with her eyes closed again. the lips he’d just been kissing are parted with a little hitch in her exhales.

he relaxes, slumping back against the mattress.

fuck.

is she even going to remember this in the morning?

studying his best friend, curled in towards his chest and fast asleep without a care in the world, like the entire planet hasn’t somehow just shifted on its axis, he can only hope that she will -- because he knows that tonight, and its many revelations, is going to be impossible for him to ever forget.

not that he’d ever try to. a palm scrubs across his face, and he lays down, resting carefully on the other half of the pillow cadence’s hair is taking up the majority of.

well -- at least they’re together on this one, shane muses, as he stares up at the ceiling and tries to calm down enough to go to sleep. 

no matter what madness tomorrow brings, at least he’ll still be sorting through it with his best friend.